Skate or other footwear

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12465111-B2
Application number	US-202016996836-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 18, 2020
Priority date	Feb 14, 2020
Publication date	Nov 11, 2025
Grant date	Nov 11, 2025

Abstract

Footwear, such as a skate (e.g., a hockey skate), comprising a boot (e.g., a skate boot) or other foot-receiving structure configured to receive a user's foot, in which the boot or other foot-receiving structure is designed to enhance performance, including a range of motion of the user and energy transfer (e.g., to a skating surface while skating or otherwise moving on the skating surface), fit on the user's foot, and/or comfort of the user, such as by having articulated, thermoformable and/or removable parts that may have desired properties in selected regions.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A goalie skate for a hockey goalkeeper, the goalie skate comprising:
a. a skate boot for receiving a foot of the hockey goalkeeper, the skate boot comprising a shell and a liner; b. a blade for contacting ice; and c. a blade holder between the skate boot and the blade;
the shell comprising a medial side portion configured to face a medial side of the hockey goalkeeper's foot, a lateral side portion configured to face a lateral side of the hockey goalkeeper's foot, a heel portion configured to face a heel of the hockey goalkeeper's foot, and an ankle portion configured to face an ankle of the hockey goalkeeper,
the shell comprising an upper shell member including at least part of the ankle portion of the shell,
the shell comprising a lower shell member distinct from the upper shell member and including at least part of the medial side portion of the shell, at least part of the lateral side portion of the shell, and at least part of the heel portion of the shell that are molded with one another as one piece,
the shell being articulated such that the upper shell member of the shell is movable about a pivot relative to the lower shell member of the shell when the hockey goalkeeper is moving on the ice,
the upper shell member of the shell and the pivot being configured to interface with the lower shell member of the shell to limit movement of the upper shell member of the shell relative to the lower shell member of the shell,
the liner being removably disposed within the shell and comprising a thermoformable material such that the liner is configured to be thermoformable about the hockey goalkeeper's foot.

2 . The goalie skate of claim 1 , wherein at least a majority of the liner is configured to be thermoformable about the hockey goalkeeper's foot.

3 . The goalie skate of claim 1 , wherein at least part of the liner is non-thermoformable.

4 . The goalie skate of claim 1 , wherein the liner comprises a medial side portion configured to face the medial side of the hockey goalkeeper's foot, a lateral side portion configured to face the lateral side of the hockey goalkeeper's foot, a heel portion configured to face the heel of the hockey goalkeeper's foot, and an ankle portion configured to face the ankle of the hockey goalkeeper.

5 . The goalie skate of claim 4 , wherein at least part of the medial side portion of the liner and at least part of the lateral side portion of the liner are configured to be thermoformable about the hockey goalkeeper's foot.

6 . The goalie skate of claim 4 , wherein the liner comprises a toe portion configured to enclose toes of the hockey goalkeeper's foot.

7 . The goalie skate of claim 6 , wherein at least part of the toe portion of the liner is non-thermoformable.

8 . The goalie skate of claim 4 , wherein the liner comprises an instep portion configured to face an instep of the hockey goalkeeper's foot.

9 . The goalie skate of claim 8 , wherein the liner comprises a tongue including the instep portion of the liner.

10 . The goalie skate of claim 4 , wherein the liner comprises a sole portion configured to face a plantar surface of the hockey goalkeeper's foot.

11 . The goalie skate of claim 10 , wherein at least part of the sole portion of the liner is configured to be thermoformable about the hockey goalkeeper's foot.

12 . The goalie skate of claim 1 , wherein the liner comprises a thermoformable portion and a non-thermoformable portion.

13 . The goalie skate of claim 1 , wherein the liner comprises the thermoformable material and a non-thermoformable material.

14 . The goalie skate of claim 1 , wherein the thermoformable material of the liner is a first thermoformable material, and the liner comprises a plurality of thermoformable materials that are different and that include the first thermoformable material.

15 . The goalie skate of claim 14 , wherein the thermoformable materials of the liner include foams.

16 . The goalie skate of claim 14 , wherein the thermoformable materials of the liner are fastened to one another.

17 . The goalie skate of claim 1 , wherein the liner comprises a lace and lacing openings receiving the lace.

18 . The goalie skate of claim 1 , wherein the shell comprises a thermoformable material such that the shell is configured to be thermoformable about the hockey goalkeeper's foot.

19 . The goalie skate of claim 18 , wherein a thermoformable portion of the shell overlies a thermoformable portion of the liner.

20 . The goalie skate of claim 19 , wherein: the thermoformable portion of the shell is a first thermoformable portion of the shell; a second thermoformable portion of the shell overlies a second thermoformable portion of the liner; a thermoformability of the first thermoformable portion of the shell is greater than a thermoformability of the second thermoformable portion of the shell; and a thermoformability of the first thermoformable portion of the liner is greater than a thermoformability of the second thermoformable portion of the liner.

21 . The goalie skate of claim 1 , wherein at least part of the upper shell member and at least part of the lower shell member are thermoformable about the hockey goalkeeper's foot.

22 . The goalie skate of claim 1 , wherein at least a majority of the upper shell member and at least part a majority of the lower shell member are configured to be thermoformable about the hockey goalkeeper's foot.

23 . The goalie skate of claim 1 , wherein the shell comprises a plurality of zones that differ in stiffness.

24 . The goalie skate of claim 23 , wherein a thickness of the shell varies between the plurality of zones of the shell.

25 . The goalie skate of claim 23 , wherein the plurality of zones of the shell comprise a plurality of materials that are different.

26 . The goalie skate of claim 1 , wherein the shell comprises a reinforcing rib.

27 . The goalie skate of claim 1 , wherein the shell comprises a plurality of reinforcing ribs.

28 . The goalie skate of claim 1 , wherein the upper shell member is pivotable relative to the lower shell member by at least 20°.

29 . The goalie skate of claim 1 , wherein the pivot comprises: a medial pivot element pivotally connecting a medial part of the lower shell member and a medial part of the upper shell member; and a lateral pivot element pivotally connecting a lateral part of the lower shell member and a lateral part of the upper shell member.

30 . The goalie skate of claim 1 , wherein the shell comprises a fiber-reinforced composite.

31 . The goalie skate of claim 1 , wherein each of the upper shell member and the lower shell member is molded.

32 . The goalie skate of claim 1 , wherein the upper shell member is disposed over the lower shell member.

33 . The goalie skate of claim 1 , wherein the lower shell member and the upper shell member constitute at least part of an exterior of the goalie skate.

34 . The goalie skate of claim 1 , wherein the shell is configured to cover at least 80% of a total surface of the hockey goalkeeper's foot when the hockey goalkeeper wears the goalie skate.

35 . The goalie skate of claim 1 , wherein the medial side portion of the shell is configured to comple

Assignees

• Bauer Hockey Llc

Inventors

• Dubois Sebastien
• Francis Christopher
• Lavoie Robert
• Lambert Sebastien
• Liu Peter

Classifications

• A63C1/42

  Manufacture of skates · CPC title

• A43B23/086

  made of impregnated fabrics, plastics or the like · CPC title

• A43B5/1691

  characterised by the higher part of the upper, e.g. surrounding the ankle, by the quarter or cuff · CPC title

• A43B5/1683

  characterised by the lower part of the upper or by the shell · CPC title

• A43B5/1625

  made from materials with different rigidities · CPC title