Patent Publication Number: US-2009224525-A1

Title: Quick release goalie pad attachment

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to goalie equipment used in ice hockey and in particular to an improved attachment mechanism for coupling the leg pads to the skates worn by goalies. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Goaltenders in ice hockey wear protective gear uniquely designed to protect the goaltender from the high impact force of a puck while at the same time, allowing the goaltender sufficient flexibility of movement to prevent the puck from entering the goal. In particular, the goalie&#39;s skates and leg pads must work together to form a single system for both blocking the puck from entering the goal and protecting the goalie&#39;s feet and legs from the potentially bruising impact force of the puck. Goalie leg pad designs and materials have advanced significantly in recent years. The pads are more flexible and responsive to the goaltender&#39;s movements than the pads from ten years ago. Further, the new pads provide better protection for the player. However, prior art systems used to couple the lower portion of the leg pad to the skate have proven to be less than ideal. 
     Currently, the connection between the skate and leg pad is accomplished in one of two ways. One way is to couple one end of a leather strap to one side of the bottom of pad and to couple a buckle to the other side of the bottom of the pad. The free end of the strap is then passed between the boot and blade of the skate and secured using the buckle. This arrangement suffers from two problems. First, youth hockey players find it difficult to use this arrangement. Also, the strap and buckles break when subjected to the moisture and forces associated with the game of hockey, making the pads unusable until expensive repairs are made. 
     More recently, this strap and buckle arrangement was replaced by the use of an elongated lace, similar to a skate lace. Such goalie leg pads are sold with a skate lace specifically to perform this function of joining the bottom of the pad to the skate. The lace is woven through one or more eyelets in the toe bridge region on the pad scoop of the leg pad. The lace is then tied in a variety of knots and bows to fasten the pad to the skate with the appropriate length of lace to permit the goalie to flare or rotate the skate while maintaining an appropriate direction of the pad face. 
     Several problems exist with this lace system. Again, youth hockey players find it difficult to use. They have difficulty manipulating and tying the lace. Also, at even the high school, college, or professional level, the lace can become untied during play. This results in a loss of connection and control between the skate and the pad hindering not only the movement of the goalie, but also the ability of the equipment to rotate properly. An untied lace, if stepped on by the goalie or another player, can also send the player crashing to the ice resulting in injury. 
     The tendency for the lace to come untied is especially problematic for younger athletes. Often times, when the lace becomes untied, young players are not skilled enough to make the appropriate adjustments or bend over to retie the lace with all the other goalie equipment in place. Lengthy timeouts are required during a practice or game while a lace, now soaked with water from the ice, is retied. This results in costly waste of ice time during a practice session or game. As any youth hockey parent knows, ice time is precious and expensive. 
     Each of the prior configurations represents an unsatisfactory mechanism for creating an attachment between the skate and pad scoop region of a goalie leg pad. The prior art configurations also fail to provide the desired level of control for delivering directional force to the pad scoop of the leg pad. Therefore, the pad scoop tends to lag slightly behind the foot movement or is simply out of position. Only slight changes in position between the skate and the pad scoop can mean the difference between to goalie making a save or allowing a goal. 
     The present invention provides a quick and convenient method and mechanism for fastening the skate to the pad and overcomes each of the disadvantages of the prior art systems discussed above. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The objective of the present invention is to provide an improved mechanism for connecting the goalie&#39;s leg pad to the goalie&#39;s skate. 
     Goalie skates typically include a boot, a cowling, and a blade. The cowling is a hardened protective composite covering that encases the lower portion of the boot. The goalie skate of the present invention further includes an attachment point. This attachment point is typically located at the toe portion of the cowling or on the front portion of the skate blade. The attachment point may be configured in a variety of different ways. 
     The goalie leg pad of the present invention generally covers and extends from several inches above the knee down to and over the boot of the skate. A section of the leg pad, referred to as the pad scoop, extends over the boot of the skate. The pad scoop further includes a toe bridge positioned at or near the skate toe when the athlete wears both pieces of equipment. The toe bridge (or pad scoop) typically includes at least one eyelet. 
     The present invention also provides a quick release, removable fastener to connect the leg pad to the attachment point of the skate. When in use, one end of the fastener is semi-permanently secured to the goalie pad via the eyelets. The other end of the fastener is releasably secured to the attachment point. The fastening element may vary in size and configuration, but optimally will maintain approximately a two inch distance between the skate and the pad scoop at the toe bridge. 
     The present invention is designed to permit a quick, easy to use, and reliable connection between the leg pad and the skate. The configuration of the fastener and the attachment point provides the desired convenience and easy access long desired by the athlete for effectively providing the functional connection and responsive performance between the skate and pad. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating one embodiment of the fastening region for a goalie skate toe portion comprising an integrally formed horizontal bar structure within an ovoid orifice at or near the toe cowl. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating one embodiment of the fastening region for a goalie skate toe portion comprising a horizontal cutout structure fastening region at or near the toe cowl. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view illustrating one embodiment of the fastening region for a goalie skate toe portion comprising a vertical cutout structure fastening region at or near the toe cowl. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view illustrating one embodiment of the fastening region for a goalie skate toe portion comprising an independent generally vertical tab containing an orifice at or near the leading generally vertical edge of the tab. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view illustrating one embodiment of the fastening region for a goalie skate wherein an orifice is located on the skate blade and positioned at or near the vertical front edge of the skate blade. 
         FIGS. 6   a - c  each are a front view illustrating the various common configurations for goalie pad toe bridges. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT 
     Although the invention is described below with illustrative embodiments, it is understood that the invention may be practiced in a variety of configurations that involve numerous alterations, deletions, and additions without departing from the inventive concept. 
       FIG. 1  is illustrative of one embodiment of a goalie skate made in accordance with the present invention. The goalie skate includes a boot (not shown), a blade  20  and a cowling  30 . The illustrated skate cowling  30  is for the left skate. The right skate is the mirror image of the cowling  30  pictured and contains all of the same elements detailed herein. The cowling  30  may be constructed from any material that satisfies the functional requirements for impact and manufacturability. 
     The toe portion  30   a  of the cowling  30  includes an orifice  40 . The orifice  40  may be of any shape and size that satisfies the structural and functional requirements for this particular application. For example, the orifice  40  may be circular, ovoid, square, or rectangular. The toe portion  30   a  further comprises an attachment point  50  crossing the orifice  40 . The attachment point  50  may be integrally formed with the cowling  30   a  or may be a separate element formed from a metal, metal alloy, plastics or the like. 
     As shown, one possible structure for attachment point  50  is a bar  52  that bisects the orifice  40 . While the bar  52  is shown running horizontally, bar  52  may also run vertically within the orifice  40  and still function properly. The bar  52  traverses, the orifice  40  and creates the attachment point  50  in a fastening region  54 . Ideally, the bar  52  resides sufficiently behind the outer most portion of the tow portion  30   a  so that a shot puck will not contact the bar  52  and potentially break the bar  52 . 
       FIG. 1  also shows a fastener, generally indicated as  60 , made in accordance with the present invention. The fastener  60  includes a first clip  62 . The clip  62  comprises a hook  62   a  with pressure locking mechanism  62   b . The clip  62  further includes a swivel mechanism  62   c . The pressure locking mechanism  62   b  allows for easy connection and removal of the clip  62  to the attachment point  50 . As illustrated, there is ample space within the orifice  40  and around the exposed section of the attachment point  50  to accommodate quick and easy attachment of the first clip  62  to the attachment point  50 . The orifice  40 , however, should also be small enough so a puck cannot penetrate the orifice and reach either the bar or the player&#39;s toes. The fastener  60  further includes a second clip  63 . The second clip comprises a flexible elongated member  63   a  and a locking member  63   b . The locking member  63   b  preferably includes a male threaded portion attached to one end of the flexible elongated member  63   a  and a female threaded portion attached to the other end of elongated member  63   a . As shown in  FIG. 6   c , the elongated member  63   a  is inserted through eyelets  115  in the goalie pad and the male and female portions of locking member  63   b  are joined together to secure the removable fastener element  60  to the pad in semi-permanent fashion. 
       FIG. 2  shows an alternative embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the attachment point  50  is a horizontal structure  51  integrally formed within the cowling  30   a . Extending through the horizontal structure  51  is a channel  51   a . The channel  51   a  is sized to receive the hook  62   a  of the first clip  62 . 
       FIG. 3  shows another suitable embodiment. As shown in  FIG. 3 , attachment point  50  is a vertical structure  53  integrally formed within the toe portion  30   a . The vertical structure  53  has a thickness that will accommodate a channel  53   a  bored through the structure. The channel  53   a  is sized to receive the hook  62   a  of the first clip  62 . 
     Another suitable embodiment is shown in  FIG. 4 . In  FIG. 4 , attachment point  50  is a vertical structure  58  integrally formed with and a part of the toe portion  30   a . The vertical structure  58  has a thickness that will accommodate a channel  58   a  bored through the structure. The channel  58   a  is again sized to receive the hook  62   a  of the first clip  62   
     Still another alternative embodiment is shown in  FIG. 5 . In this embodiment the attachment point is generally identified as  80  and comprises an orifice  81  extending through the front portion of skate blade  90 , i.e. positioned immediately adjacent the generally vertical front edge  93  of the skate blade as opposed to further back along the blade such as openings  94  and  95 . 
       FIGS. 6   a - c  shows three different toe bridge arrangements commonly used on goalie pads. In each, the toe bridge region is generally identified as  110 .  FIG. 6   a  depicts a configuration wherein the attachment eyelets  115  are placed directly into the pad scoop  120 .  FIG. 6   b  depicts a configuration wherein attachment eyelets are placed in a toe bridge tab  130 .  FIG. 6   b  also shows an alternative embodiment of fastener  60 . In this embodiment, the locking member  63   b  has been replaced with a pair of removable stops  64  that are attached to the opposite ends of the flexible elongated member  63   a  after the ends have been passed through the corresponding eyelets. The stops  64  cooperate with the eyelets to retain the elongated flexible member  63   a  in an attached relationship to the pad. These stops  64  can either be threaded, snapped or clamped onto the ends of the flexible elongated member  63   a  and can also be used to adjust the distance between the two stops along the flexible elongated member  63   a  to ensure that a desired maximum distance between the pad and the portion of the cowling is maintained. Finally,  FIG. 6   c  depicts a configuration where a reinforced attachment slot  140  is placed in the toe bridge tab  130 . Eyelets  115  are located within and move within the slot. In each case, the eyelets  115  receive the flexible member  63   a  of clip  63  and are used to thereby semi-permanently join the fastener  60  to the pad scoop  120 . With the fastener  60  thus attached to the pad scoop  120 , the player puts on the skate and pad and then quickly secures the pad to the skate by clipping the first clip  62  to the attachment point  50 .