Patent Publication Number: US-10315096-B2

Title: Ice skate blade arrangement

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to United Kingdom Patent Application No. 1513467.9 filed on Jul. 30, 2015, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This disclosure relates to a blade arrangement for an ice skate boot. 
     BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION 
     A blade arrangement for an ice skate boot typically consists of a support, which provides one or more flat surfaces for attaching to the sole and heel portion of the boot to support its weight, and a blade runner, which is mounted to the support and engages the ice when the ice skate boot is in use. 
     For figure skating particularly, it is desirable to have a lightweight ice skate, to make it easy for a user to move about freely and perform jumps etc. Traditionally, blade arrangements have been made from steel. More recently, blade arrangements have been made from aluminium and titanium to help keep the weight of the skates low. However, it has been found these skates may be noisier in use and can give a relatively harsh ride over the ice. In addition, they can provide little protection from impact injuries. This has become a greater issue in recent years as the sport has developed; the jumps performed in competitive figure skating becoming increasingly high, resulting in greater impact forces on landing. Other blade arrangements have been manufactured using carbon fibre, and although they perform well, these can be costly and complex to manufacture. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a blade arrangement for an ice skate boot, the blade arrangement comprising a support for an ice skate boot; a blade runner mounted to the support; and a suspension structure arranged between the support and the blade runner. 
     The suspension structure helps to provide cushioning, to improve the ride of the boot, lower noise, and lower the risk of impact injuries in use. 
     The suspension structure may comprise a resilient element. 
     The resilient element may be formed of an elastomeric material. 
     This provides a durable, low cost, low noise way of providing a suspension. 
     The spring rate of the material of the resilient element may vary along its length. 
     This enables the suspension to be tuned to provide particular support at particular locations. 
     The shore hardness value of the material of the resilient element may vary along its length. 
     The resilient element may be elongate and may extend generally along the length of the blade runner. 
     This allows for suspension along the full length of the blade runner. 
     The resilient element may be in contact with the support and the blade runner along at least a portion of its length. 
     This spreads the loading along the length of the blade runner. 
     The resilient element may be in contact with the support and the blade runner along its entire length. 
     This further spreads loading along the length of the blade runner. 
     The resilient element may be a continuous strip. 
     As it is one piece, assembly of the blade arrangement is simple. 
     The blade runner may be removably mounted to the support. 
     This allows removal of the blade runner for replacement, maintenance or repair. 
     The support may comprise a longitudinal slot in a bottom surface. 
     This provides a simple way of fitting blade runner to the support. 
     The blade runner and the support may each comprise one or more apertures, wherein each aperture of the support is configured to align with one of the apertures of the blade runner, and the blade arrangement may further comprise one or more fastening members, the fastening members passing through the apertures of the blade runner and the apertures of the support to mount the blade runner to the support. 
     This provides a simple, reliable way of holding the blade runner to the support. 
     The blade runner may comprise one or more projecting portions that extend from a top surface of the blade runner and one or more recessed portions located between the projecting portions, along the length of the blade runner. 
     At least a portion of the projecting portions of the blade runner may be configured to fit in the slot. 
     The projecting portions of the blade runner may be lugs, and one of the apertures of the blade runner may be located in each lug, so each aperture of the blade runner aligns with an aperture of the support when the lugs are located in the slot. 
     This provides a strong surround to the aperture through which a fastening member may be fitted. 
     The suspension structure may comprise one or more resilient sleeves, each resilient sleeve being located in one of the apertures of the blade runner and/or the support, the resilient sleeve being configured to surround at least a portion of one of the fastening members. 
     Each sleeve help to provide resilience to the suspension structure, either on its own or to augment the resilient element. 
     The resilient sleeves may be cylindrical bushes. 
     The resilient sleeves may be formed of an elastomeric material. 
     The resilient sleeves may be polyurethane. 
     The resilient sleeves may be integral with the resilient element. 
     The resilient element may be an elongate strip, and the blade arrangement may further comprise one or more linking portions that connect the resilient element to the resilient sleeves, wherein the blade runner comprises one or more cut-out sections for locating the linking portions. 
     This enables a complete single piece suspension structure. 
     The suspension structure may comprise a plurality of discrete resilient portions. 
     This may provide for simpler manufacturing of the suspension structure. 
     Each discrete portion may be an elongate strip. 
     Each discrete strip portion of the suspension structure may be located in a recessed portion of the blade runner. 
     This may help locating of the strip portion during assembly and help it to retain its position in use. 
     The suspension structure may comprise polyurethane. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a blade arrangement for an ice skate boot according to a first embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the blade arrangement of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the blade arrangement of  FIG. 1 , taken through the plane A-A; and 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an underside of a support of the blade arrangement of  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view of a blade arrangement for an ice skate boot according to a second embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring firstly to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a blade arrangement for an ice skate boot is indicated generally at  10 . The blade arrangement  10  is made up of a support  12  for attaching to the sole of an ice skate boot (not shown), a blade runner  20  mounted to the support  12 , and a suspension structure arranged between the support  12  and the blade runner  20 . The suspension structure includes a resilient element  40 , which is arranged between the support  12  and the blade runner  10 . 
     The support  12  is generally made up of a front portion  13  and a rear portion  14 , connected by a bridge portion  15 . The front portion  13  and rear portion  14  are generally planar surfaces, dimensioned and shaped to contact the sole of an ice skate boot, so the ice skate boot can be attached to the support  12 . Typically, the front and rear portions  13 ,  14  include a plurality of holes, so fastening members can be used to secure the support  12  to the sole of an ice skate boot. The bridge portion  15  is made up of an elongate body portion  16  which is connected to the front and rear portions  13 ,  14  by a plurality of arms  17 . In this embodiment, the rear portion  14  is connected to the body portion  16  by one arm  17 , and the front portion  13  is connected to the body portion  16  by two arms  17 . The body portion  16  has a longitudinal slot  18  in a bottom surface, the longitudinal slot  18  extending generally along the entire longitudinal length of the support  12 . As can be seen most clearly in  FIG. 3 , the longitudinal slot  18  defines a recess within the support  12  that extends upwardly from the bottom surface of the body portion  16  of the support  12 . The recess is dimensioned so that it can locate the resilient element  40 , as well as at least a portion of the blade runner  20 . As can be seen from  FIG. 3 , the resilient element  40  is located between the support  12  and the blade runner  20 , a top surface of the resilient element  40  contacting the support  12  and a bottom surface of the resilient element  40  contacting the blade runner  20 . The support  12  includes a plurality of apertures  19  arranged along the length of the support  12 . In this embodiment, the apertures  19  are arranged to be generally at the junctions between the arms  17  and the body portion  16 . Locating the apertures in these positions allows room for the thickness of the resilient element  40  to be increased if desired, e.g. to increase shock absorption. 
     The support  12  is typically manufactured from aluminium. In this embodiment, it is extruded from a T-section billet of aluminium before being finished. It will be appreciated, however, that the support  12  can be made of any appropriate material that is strong and relatively lightweight, such as titanium, magnesium alloy, carbon fibre etc. It can also be manufactured in any appropriate way, e.g. by casting, machining, forging etc. 
     The blade runner  20  is generally elongate, and extends for a length that is approximately equal to the length of the longitudinal slot of the support  12 . It is typically formed from stainless steel, but can be formed of any appropriate material for a blade; a light-weight alloy such as carbon steel, titanium or magnesium alloy, or a ceramic material, for example. The blade runner  20  is made up of a generally straight rear portion  26  and a front portion  28  projecting generally upwardly, in a perpendicular direction from the rear portion  26 . The front portion  28  has an angled front surface  30 , typically at about  45  degrees to the rear portion  26 , which has a plurality of teeth projecting from it. This angled front surface  30  defines a ‘toe pick’ that is used in figure skating to engage the ice to help perform certain jumps, for example. The blade runner  20  also includes projecting portions that extend from a top surface of the blade runner  20  and one or more recessed portions located between the projecting portions, along the length of the blade runner. In this embodiment, the projecting portions are in the form of three rounded lugs  24 . The lugs are configured to fit in the longitudinal slot  18  of the support  12 , when the blade runner  20  is mounted to the support  12 . 
     In this embodiment, the blade runner  20  is removably mounted to the support  12 . This enables the blade runner  20  to be removed and replaced with a new blade runner by a user when the blade runner  20  becomes worn. Alternatively, the blade runner  20  could be temporarily removed and sharpened before being remounted on the support  12 . It will be appreciated however, that the blade runner  20  may be permanently mounted to the support, e.g. by an arrangement including adhesive, an arrangement including welding, or an arrangement including permanent fastening members, e.g. rivets. This may be of application to enable cost-effective versions of ice skate boots to be manufactured at a lower price, to be targeted at less advanced recreational ice skaters, who may not require a replaceable blade. 
     The blade runner  20  comprises apertures  22  that extend transversely through the blade runner  20 . The apertures  22  are distributed along the length of the blade runner  20 . Each aperture  22  is located in a different lug  24 . It can be seen that the lugs  24  are located so that the longitudinal location of the apertures  22  of the blade runner  20  generally corresponds to the longitudinal location of the apertures  19  of the support  12 , so that when the lugs  24  are inserted in the longitudinal slot  18  to mount the blade runner  20  to the support  12 , the apertures  19  of the support  12  are aligned with the apertures  22  of the blade runner  20 . 
     The blade arrangement  10  also includes one or more fastening members, each fastening member passing through one aperture  19  of the support  12  and through one aperture  22  of the blade runner  20 , to mount the blade runner  20  to the support  12 . 
     In this embodiment, the fastening members are screws  50 , but any appropriate arrangement could be used to secure the blade runner  20  to the support  12 , e.g. a nut and bolt arrangement, rivets, grub screws, or projections provided on one of the components arranged to engage corresponding recesses on the other component. The apertures  19  of the support  12  include a threaded inner surface (not shown). As can be seen from  FIG. 3 , the screws  50  have a corresponding threaded surface  58  that engages the threaded inner surface of the aperture  19  to mount the blade runner  20  to the support  12 . A stop is also provided, to prevent over-tightening of the screws  50 . In this embodiment, the stop is a seat  60  that is located in each aperture  19  of the support  12 . The seat  60  has a tapered inner surface defining a generally frusto-conical recess that locates the head of the screw  50 . The seat  60  prevents the screw  50  from being tightened past a defined point, as a surface of the head of the screw  50  engages the inner surface of the seat  60 , and any further movement of the screw  50  through the aperture  19  is prevented. Alternatively, a shoulder could be provided within the aperture  19  to limit the screw movement, or the stop could be a separate component that fits within each aperture  19  of the support  12 , and/or each aperture  22  of the blade runner  20 , to prevent over-tightening of the screws  50 . In this embodiment, the screws  50  engage a threaded inner surface of the apertures  19  of the support  12 , but it will be appreciated that a threaded surface could alternatively be provided on the inner surface of the apertures  22  of the blade runner  20 . The screw may be secured with a locking compound to inhibit loosening. 
     In this embodiment, the resilient element  40  is elongate and extends generally along the length of the blade runner  20 . In this embodiment, the resilient element  40  is a continuous strip. The resilient element  40  is in contact with the support  12  and the blade runner  20  along its entire length, being located in the recess defined by the longitudinal slot  18  of the support  12 . The resilient element is shaped to correspond to the profile of the upper surface of the blade runner  20 , e.g. in this embodiment it has curved portions that correspond to the projecting lugs  24  of the blade runner  20 . This helps to ensure a close fit of the resilient element  40  to the blade runner  20 , and enables force to be transmitted along its entire length in use. 
     In this embodiment, the resilient element  40  is formed of an elastomeric material, such as a thermoplastic polymer. Use of an elastomeric material, that is able to resume its original shape when a deforming force is removed, enables the resilient element to act as a shock absorber, increasing the comfort of the ice skate boot in use, and helping to prevent impact injuries. Polyurethane has been found to be a particularly advantageous material, as it can be easily manufactured to the desired shape by, for example, injection moulding. Also, polyurethane is very durable relative to e.g. rubber, and has noise abatement properties. 
     The material used can be chosen so that the ‘spring rate’ of the resilient element  40  can be varied along the length of the resilient element  40  as desired. The spring rate is defined as the amount of deflection permitted, e.g. if a force of x is applied, the material compresses a distance y. The spring rate is x/y. Therefore, a higher spring rate means less deflection, and so a less ‘springy’ material. The amount of ‘springiness’ of the material can also be defined by its shore hardness value, i.e. the shore hardness value can vary along the length of the resilient element  40 . Typically, to achieve an appropriate amount of cushioning in the ice skate blade arrangement, the resilient element is manufactured using a material with a shore hardness value in the range of 60-90, on the ‘A’ scale. 
     As an example, a first portion of the resilient element  40  could be made from a material with a first spring rate (or shore hardness), and a second portion of the resilient element  40  could be made from a material with a second spring rate (or shore hardness). The first spring rate may be higher than the second spring rate, i.e. the first portion of the resilient element  40  does not deflect as far when compressed as the second portion of the resilient element  40 . The differing materials could be, for example, two differing grades of polyurethane. 
     The thickness of the material used may be varied along the length of the resilient element  40 , so the maximum deflection and/or the spring rate would vary along the length of the resilient element  40 . The varying thickness may be combined with varying material. 
     Polyurethane is also advantageous due to its thermal resistance properties. When heat is introduced into the blade arrangement during sharpening of the blade runner, the resilient element should not deform. 
     The suspension structure of the blade arrangement  10  may also include one or more resilient sleeves  52 . The resilient sleeves  52  are located between the screws  50  and the inside walls of the apertures  22  of the blade runner  20  and the apertures  19  of the support  12 , when the blade arrangement  10  is assembled. Each resilient sleeve  52  is configured to surround at least a portion of one of the screws  50 . In this embodiment the resilient sleeves  52  surround the body of the screws  50 . Each resilient sleeve  52  is generally cylindrical, with a through bore for receiving the body of a screw  50 . Each resilient sleeve  52  acts as a bush between the screws  50  and the support  12  and/or the blade runner  20 . The resilient sleeves  52  are made from an elastomeric material. Preferably, like the resilient element  40 , the material is a thermoplastic polymer that can be easily moulded, such as polyurethane. 
     Therefore, it can be seen that the resilient sleeves  52  act as further cushioning within the blade arrangement  10 , helping to dampen the forces that pass through the blade arrangement  10  in use, to provide improved comfort and lower the risk of an impact injury. In this embodiment, the resilient sleeves  52  and the resilient element  40  are both provided, but it will be appreciated that the suspension structure may include solely the resilient sleeves  52 , without the resilient element  40 . This would still be advantageous, and provide a level of cushioning. 
     Alternatively, the resilient sleeves  52  can be made integral with the resilient element  40  (not shown). In this arrangement, one or more linking portions are provided that connect the resilient element  40  to the resilient sleeves  52 . The blade runner  20  includes one or more cut-out sections to provide a path for locating the linking portions. 
     The body portion  16  of the support  12  also includes one or more longitudinal recesses  54  extending along a side face of the body portion  16  of the support  12 . A corresponding resilient strip  56  is located within each recess  54 . The resilient strip  56  is dimensioned to fit in the recess  54  and is formed of the same material as the resilient element  40  and/or the resilient sleeves  52 . It is intended to be used as branding for the ice skate, to help advertise the cushioning aspect of the product. 
       FIG. 5  shows an alternative blade arrangement  110 . (Features that correspond to the blade arrangement  10  have like numbers, but with the suffix ‘100’). In this arrangement, the suspension structure includes a plurality of discrete resilient portions  140   a ,  140   b  and  140   c , instead of the one-piece resilient element  40 . Each discrete portion  140   a ,  140   b ,  140   c  is an elongate strip. Each discrete portion  140   a ,  140   b ,  140   c  is located in one of the recessed portions of the blade runner  120 . When assembled, the discrete portions  140   a ,  140   b ,  140   c  are located either side of a lug  124  of the blade runner  120 , so it is not necessary to include curved portions, as is necessary for the one-piece resilient element  40 , because the resilient element  40  is required to fit over the profile of the blade runner  20 . The blade runner  120  includes channels  121  in its upper surface, for receiving projections  141  that extend from a bottom surface of the discrete portions  140   a ,  140   b ,  140   c . The engagement of the projections  141  and the channels  121  helps to limit relative movement of the discrete portions  140   a ,  140   b ,  140   c  and the blade runner  120 . 
     Although the invention has been described above with reference to one or more preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that various changes or modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. For example, the suspension structure may be manufactured, at least in part, from non-elastomeric structures such as leaf springs or fluid dampers, either in isolation or in conjunction with elastomeric material. 
     In a variant, one or more holes are drilled through the support of the blade arrangement to further save weight. As an example, see  FIG. 1 , where arrows X and Y indicate the direction that holes could be drilled from the top faces of the support  12  and down into the support  12 , to remove material and reduce weight. In this embodiment, the holes may be blind bores, but it will be appreciated that in other embodiments, holes may be formed in the support that pass all the way through the support. 
     In a further variant, the resilient sleeves  52  are of varying radial thicknesses. For example, the rear resilient sleeve (i.e. the resilient sleeve that is located directly under the heel of the boot in use) is of an increased radial thickness relative to the front resilient sleeves (i.e. the resilient sleeves that are located under the front part of the boot in use). This enables the amount of shock absorption to be varied throughout the shoe. In the example above, it can be seen that the amount of suspension at the rear of the boot would be greater than the amount of suspension at the front of the boot, which may be advantageous as the amount of force that is passed from the boot to the blade arrangement in use can vary between the front and the back.