Patent Publication Number: US-7905501-B2

Title: Assembly and frame for blading boot

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a blading boot and more particularly has reference to a blade insert assembly and frame for a blading boot that enables fitting of the blading boot with either wheels or blades in the frame for enabling use of the blading boot as a roller blading boot or as an ice skating boot. 
     The present invention is also concerned with the provision of an insert assembly and frame for a blading boot that are suitable for use in display acrobatics. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     It is well known in the art to provide a blading boot possessing interchangeable frames, assemblies, mountings, or the like for enabling the boot to be deployed in a number of different skating environments. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,534,912 to Laub et al discloses such a boot providing for its use for roller blading, ice-skating, or skiing, the boot being formed with suitable trucks adapted for those uses. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,089 to Marechal describes a boot assembly having spaced apart mountings on its sole for the reception of specially designed mounts for different trucks. US Patent Application No. 2007/0096408 to Yang also provides for a multi-functional boot with interchangeable blades for roller-skating, ice skating or skiing. 
     My earlier U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,990 describes an ice skateboard provided with blade runners spaced apart on trucks secured to the base of the board. Cornelius discloses in his U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,268 an in-line roller blading boot having two pairs of in-line rollers mounted on a truck, the forward pair being spaced from the rearward pair to provide a gap which may be used for acrobatic manoeuvres, such as sliding across raised, surfaces, or sliding down rails for example. The gap provides a bearing surface with which the rail for example engages to allow the blader to slide therealong without the rollers impeding travel. 
     Currently there appears not to be available a blading boot for ice-skating which would facilitate acrobatic manoeuvres of this kind. 
     Accordingly, there is a need for a blade insert assembly and frame for a blading boot that has a simple configuration enabling ice-skating acrobatics of the ‘extreme’ kind mentioned in relation to the prior art. 
     In this specification, the term ‘blader’ is used to indicate a skater using the blading boot. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide an improved assembly and frame for mounting of blades in a blading boot. 
     A more specific object of the invention is to provide a blade insert assembly and frame for an ice-skating boot with the capability of use by a blader for extreme skating involving acrobatics. 
     A further object of the present invention is to provide such a blade insert assembly possessing a safety feature for maintaining blade alignment. 
     A still further object of the present invention is to provide a general-purpose assembly and frame which the ice-skating blade may be exchanged for a roller blade. 
     According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a blade insert assembly mounting of respective ice skating blading elements in a frame having a base securable to a sole of an in-line blading boot, downwardly depending webs defining a space occupied by spaced apart bosses defining zones for the frame, the webs being relieved centrally of the zones to provide arches, the blade insert assembly comprising:
         two parts, each part being securable in the zones and having formations for registration with the zones, when the parts are secured therein, and a slot for accommodating and securing one respective ice skating blade element thereto for mounting and securing said in-line ice skating elements, when the frame is secured to the sole, spaced apart in tandem longitudinally of the sole; and   an adjustment mechanism connecting to at least one said part and provided for a corresponding one of the blade elements, the adjustment mechanism enabling in use lateral adjustment of the corresponding blade element to ensure correct alignment with the other blade element.       

     According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a frame for an in-line blading boot, the frame comprising:
         a base securable to a sole of an in-line blading boot,   downwardly depending webs defining a space occupied by spaced apart bosses defining zones for the frame, the webs being relieved centrally of the zones to provide arches; and   a blade insert assembly having:
           two parts, each part being securable in the zones and having formations for registration with the zones, when the parts are secured therein, and a slot for accommodating and securing one respective ice skating blade element thereto for mounting and securing said in-line ice skating elements, when the frame is secured to the sole, spaced apart in tandem longitudinally of the sole; and   and an adjustment mechanism connecting to at least one said part and provided for a corresponding one of the blade elements, the adjustment mechanism enabling in use lateral adjustment of the corresponding blade element to ensure correct alignment with the other blade element.   
               

     Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a careful reading of the detailed description provided herein, with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the description in association with the following Figures, in which similar references used in different Figures denote similar components, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a side elevation of a blading boot having a blade insert assembly and frame in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention installed thereupon; 
         FIG. 2  is a side perspective view of a the blade insert assembly and frame shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 2   a  is a side perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the blade insert assembly and frame shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded view of the blade insert assembly and frame shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a plan view on the line  4 - 4  in  FIG. 3  showing the blade elements of the blade insert assembly in alignment; and 
         FIG. 4   a  is a plan view similar to  FIG. 4  showing the blade elements of the blade insert assembly kept in alignment using an insert alignment mechanism. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     With reference to the annexed drawings the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be herein described for indicative purpose and by no means as of limitation. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a blading boot  1 , notably an ice-skating boot, having a frame, shown generally as  4 , in accordance with the present invention installed thereupon. 
     The boot  1  has a sole  2  upon which the frame  4  is installed, with the frame  4  accommodating two blade elements  22 ,  24 . Each blade element  22 ,  24  is secured to the frame  4  through the agency of adjustment means  10 . The blade elements  22 ,  24  are provided at their leading and trailing edges with a set of teeth  6   a ,  6   b  respectively. The frame  4  is secured to the sole  2  of the boot  1  by suitable fasteners (not shown) extending through the frame  4  as at  3 . 
       FIG. 2  shows the frame  4  in unitary form with a blade insert assembly therefore, shown generally as  5 , of the present invention. The blade insert assembly  5  has two parts  7 ,  9  registering positively with the underside of the frame  4  which is provided with three bosses  12 ,  14 ,  16  defining four separate zones  17  between two side webs  11 . The side webs  11  are relieved at their longitudinal centers to provide arches  11   a  to provide bearing surfaces for use in the acrobatic usage of the boot  1 . 
     Complementary formations  13 ,  15  on each part  7 ,  9  project into the zones  17  upon assembly of the blade insert assembly  5  in the frame  4 , typically by inserted mounting of the assembly  5  therein. A pad  18  of resilient shock-absorbing material is interposed between the formations  13 ,  15  of each part  7 ,  9  of the blade insert assembly  5  and the sole  2  of the boot  1 . Each part  7 ,  9  of the blade insert assembly  5  is provided with a slot  20  for the reception of a blade element  22 ,  24 , respectively, each element being formed with through fixing holes  23 ,  25  for registration with corresponding holes  26 ,  28  in each of the parts  7 ,  9 . In turn, the frame  4  is provided with two pairs of fixing holes  27 ,  29 . 
     In each one of the holes  26 ,  28  there are located spacers  30 ,  32 , namely an internal spacer  30  and an external spacer  32 . The external spacer  32  is threaded internally and the internal spacer  30  is externally threaded as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 4   a , through the agency of which interengagement the spacers  30 ,  32  are kept together to form an insert adjustment mechanism. The external spacer  32  is fixed in any convenient manner within the parts  7 ,  9  of the blade insert assembly  5  either side of the slot  20  and matches the lateral extent of the parts  7 ,  9 , as shown, as does the internal spacer  30 . The internal spacer  30  is provided at its relatively outer margin with diametrically opposed notches  30 ′ for the reception of an adjustment tool, for example a screwdriver (not shown). A bushing  40  is provided in each of the fixing holes  27 ,  29  in the webs  11  of the frame  4  and is provided with a mushroom head  42 . 
     A mounting pin  50  is provided and in use extends through the webs  11  of the frame  4 , the internal spacers  30  and the holes  23 ,  25  in the blade elements  22 ,  24  to hold the elements to the blade insert assembly  5  and thus to the frame and ultimately to the boot via its sole. The mounting pin  50  is provided with a head  52 , which in one position rests in a recess  60  provided on the outer side of the web  11 . The pin  50  is threaded internally at its end remote from the head  52  for the reception in use of a locking screw  54 , which may similarly rest within a recess (not shown) on the outside of the web  11 . 
     Thus in the assembled condition the frame  4  and the blade insert assembly  5  with the blade elements  22 ,  24  are held together by the adjustment mechanism and the mounting pins  50  extending through these integers and locked in place by the interengagement of the spacers  30 ,  32  and the tightened locking screws  54 . 
     In  FIG. 4 , the blade elements  22 ,  24  are aligned longitudinally along the centre-line of the boot  1 . However, as shown in  FIG. 4   a  one of the elements  22  is misaligned with respect to the other  24  and to the centre-line of the boot  1  and accordingly adjustment becomes necessary in order to ensure proper skating performance and safety. In order to effect adjustment, the locking screw  54  is slackened or removed and the pin  50  is removed for access to the relevant internal spacer  30 . The spacer  30  is turned, for example by the use of a screwdriver engaging the notches  30 ′, in an appropriate direction as shown by arrow A in order to effect relative axial movement between the spacers  30 ,  32 . Once adjustment has been completed, the mounting pin  50  is reinserted and the tightening screw  54  is retightened. If misalignment of the blade elements occurs elsewhere, appropriate adjustment is made locally by the use of the internal spacer  30  nearest to the misalignment. 
       FIG. 2   a  shows a frame  4  in the absence of a blade insert assembly  5  since the blading boot  1  has been custom built for ice-skating only and the frame is of unitary construction, the blade elements being accommodated directly in a slot  20  formed centrally and longitudinally of the frame. In all other respects, the adjustment means are the same and function in the same way as those described above in relation to the other figures. 
     The provision of the arches  11   a  in the side webs of the frame between the two blade elements  22 ,  24  enables use of the boot  1  in acrobatic or extreme skiing in which the blader jumps for example onto a rail, either horizontal or downwardly inclined, to slide down it to land on to ice to skate further. The blader seeks to ensure that the arches locate on the rail to provide a reasonably positive slideway. 
     The present invention thus provides a blading boot for ice-skating in an extreme manner, but with the added and useful feature of being able to correct the alignment of the two blades held in tandem in the frame. The manner of adjustment is relatively simple and swift. 
     It is to be understood that the blading boot of  FIG. 2  could be used for interchangeability into a roller blading boot with the pins  50  becoming the roller pins of the rollers, which are accommodated in the zones  17  of the frame  4 . 
     While a specific embodiment has been described, those skilled in the art will recognize many alterations that could be made within the spirit of the invention, which is defined solely according to the following claims.