U.S. patent application number 14/717964 was filed with the patent office on 2016-03-03 for ice skate blade.
The applicant listed for this patent is Dennis John Finley. Invention is credited to Dennis John Finley.
Application Number | 20160059107 14/717964 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 55027864 |
Filed Date | 2016-03-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160059107 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Finley; Dennis John |
March 3, 2016 |
ICE SKATE BLADE
Abstract
A skate blade for an ice hockey skate comprising a blade having
an upper portion having a thickness corresponding to a standard
skate blade and a lower portion having a pair of substantially
parallel side walls defining a lower portion thickness of between
4.06 to 6.35 mm, the lower portion thickness extending from the
bottom of the blade a height of 3.175 to 4.45 mm.
Inventors: |
Finley; Dennis John;
(Langley, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Finley; Dennis John |
Langley |
|
CA |
|
|
Family ID: |
55027864 |
Appl. No.: |
14/717964 |
Filed: |
May 20, 2015 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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62021044 |
Jul 4, 2014 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
280/11.18 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63C 1/303 20130101;
A63C 1/32 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A63C 1/32 20060101
A63C001/32 |
Claims
1. An ice skate blade comprising: a top surface for fitting into an
ice skate frame and a bottom edge, a pair of substantially parallel
upper side surfaces defining an upper portion having a thickness of
approximately 3 mm, and a pair of substantially parallel lower side
surfaces defining a lower portion having a thickness of between
4.06 to 6.35 mm.
2. The ice skate blade of claim 1 wherein said lower portion having
a height measured from said bottom edge of between 3.175 mm to 4.45
mm.
3. The ice skate blade of claim 2 wherein said lower portion having
a thickness between 4.39 mm to 4.83 mm.
4. An ice skate blade for use with hockey skates comprising an
elongated arcuate steel blade having a top surface with a
connection system for connecting to a hockey skate and a bottom
surface for engaging an ice surface, said blade having a first
thickness at said top and a second thickness at said bottom, said
second thickness being selected from a range of thicknesses between
4.06 to 6.35 mm.
5. The ice skate blade of claim 4 wherein said second thickness
extending from said bottom surface a height of between 3.175 to
4.45 mm forming a lower portion of said skate blade.
6. The ice skate blade of claim 5 wherein said second thickness
being between 4.39 and 4.83 mm.
7. (canceled)
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to an improved ice skate blade
for an ice hockey skate.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Hockey is a very competitive sport. As training programs and
coaching has improved, so too has the speed and skill of the
players. In addition, with advances in technology, hockey equipment
has improved over the years--becoming lighter and stronger. Skates
have been designed with blades that balance the competing
requirements of strength and weight--the blade needs to be thick
enough to resist transverse impacts on the blade and yet be as thin
as possible to limit their weight. For example, blades have been
made of high grade stainless steel and lightweight aluminum fused
together by epoxy and rivets.
[0003] Besides, the focus on strength/weight, a number of new skate
blade designs have been developed in order provide the user with an
advantage over a standard skate blade.
[0004] For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,314,708 teaches an ice skate
blade having an elongated flat blade body defining opposed side
walls and a support bottom edge having a slot in at least a forward
half portion thereof intermediate the opposed side walls and a
solid rear portion. The bottom portion of the blade is wider (up to
150 thousandths of an inch) than the top, which is the typical
blade thickness (about 120 thousandths of an inch). According to
the patent, this additional thickness is required in order that
opposed side walls (shoulder portions 24) on each side of the slot
are sufficiently thick to resist transverse impact during a game of
hockey.
[0005] According to the patent, the two thin opposed side walls
provide better penetration of the ice as each side wall is thinner
than a regular skate blade. In addition, the patent teaches that
the thin blades in combination with the substantially flat bottom
edge provides for better acceleration and stability in sweeping
curve motions or in backward skating.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,813 issued to Hall teaches a skate blade
having a skating edge having two widths. The front toe portion of
the blade has a width equivalent to a standard hockey ice skate,
while a gliding portion behind the toe portion has a narrower width
corresponding to ice skate racing blades. According to the
teachings of Hall, "the provision of the narrower blade portion in
this area of the edge allows for an increase in gliding speeds
similar to that obtained with racing skates" (see column 2, lines
44-46).
[0007] In addition to designs reducing the width of the blade in
order to increase performance, other designs have focussed on the
angle of the blade. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,830,251 to
Titzmann teaches an ice skate blade having an upper portion with
parallel sides (like a normal hockey skate blade), and a lower
portion having two faces flared outwardly from the upper portion
thereby providing angled cutting edges, the angle being between 4
to 12 degrees from the vertical, preferably 8 degrees. Titzmann
teaches that the effectiveness of the blade is dependent on the
special relationship between the bottom width, preferably between
4-5 mm, and the preferred angles of the lower faces. As sharpening
the blade will affect this, the blade will lose its preferred
advantage, becoming less effective with each sharpening. The
solution presented by Titzmann is to use material for the blade
that is hard enough not to require frequent sharpening.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,709 issued to Lambert also teaches
angling the skate blade cutting edge in order to improve
performance. Lambert teaches a skate blade having an upper portion
having a standard skate blade width, a middle portion wider than
the upper portion and a lower portion having angled side walls such
that it is wider at the bottom than at the top where it joins with
the middle portion. According to Lambert, the preferred angle is
between 2 and 8 degrees, and most preferably between 4 and 5
degrees. The middle portion is 4 mm wide and provides added
rigidity, with the angled lower portion "providing edges with much
improved ice penetration with the result that trajectory changes
are greatly facilitated, and better release are retained when
skating" (column 5, lines 11-14).
[0009] While the above designs have addressed various shortcomings
of prior art skate blades, there remains a need for an improved
skate blade.
[0010] Objects of the invention will be apparent from the
description that follows.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] The invention consists of a skate blade for use on an ice
skate, the skate blade having an upper portion having substantially
parallel sides defining a standard hockey blade width
(approximately 3 mm) and a lower portion having substantially
parallel sides defining a uniform width, preferably between 4.06 mm
to 6.35 mm.
[0012] The lower portion is of a uniform thickness (width) having a
height measured from the bottom edge of the blade of between 3.175
mm to 4.45 mm.
[0013] The foregoing was intended as a broad summary only and of
only some of the aspects of the invention. It was not intended to
define the limits or requirements of the invention. Other aspects
of the invention will be appreciated by reference to the detailed
description of the preferred embodiment and to the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] These and other features of the invention will become more
apparent from the following description in which reference is made
to the appended drawings and wherein:
[0015] FIG. 1 is a side view of a skate blade according to the
present invention.
[0016] FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the skate blade shown in
FIG. 1, taken along line A-A.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0017] The preferred embodiment of a skate blade 2 according to the
present invention for use in playing hockey is shown in FIG. 1. The
skate blade 2 has a top edge 4, a bottom edge 6 and an upper
portion having a pair of side walls 5, 7, and a lower portion
having a pair of side walls 9, 11, as shown in FIG. 2. The side
walls 5, 7 are substantially parallel and define a blade width 20
corresponding to the standard width of a hockey skate blade
(approximately 3 mm). The lower portion 10 side walls 9, 11 are
also substantially parallel and define a blade width 16 that is
wider than that of the upper portion.
[0018] Preferably, lower portion 10 has a blade width of between
4.06 mm (0.160 inch) to 6.35 mm (0.250 inch) and a height 18 that
is between 3.175 mm to 4.45 mm (0.125 to 0.175 inches). The height
of the lower portion allows the blade to be ground and reshaped
without losing the width at the bottom to maintain the same
performance grind after grind when being sharpened. In addition,
some skaters like to alter the bottom of the blade, grinding more
at the front and back of the skate blade in order to increase the
arc of the blade. Having a sufficient height of lower portion 10
allows a blade to be sharpened in this fashion while still
maintaining the same bottom edge width throughout the length of the
blade. This is not possible with the prior art angled side edge
designs. At the same time, limiting the height of the lower portion
helps keep the overall weight of the blade down so as not to impact
long term performance by a user.
[0019] The most preferred width of the lower portion is between
4.39 mm to 4.83 mm (0.173 to 0.190 inches), with the larger size
being more desirable for use with a larger user (100 kg or 220 lbs
and above). Once into the larger weight users, the additional width
appears helpful in preventing the skate blade from digging too deep
into the ice surface.
[0020] The skate blade 2 is equipped with a mounting system for
mounting the blade into a blade-holding system for a skate as known
in the art. As shown in FIG. 1, the mounting system could be in the
form of a pair of connecting elements 12 and 14 elevated above the
top edge 4 of blade 2. Of course, the connecting elements of the
mounting system can be modified to correspond to a variety of
different blade-holding systems in order to accommodate different
skate brands.
[0021] As shown in FIG. 2, the bottom surface 22 is concave between
opposite bottom edges 6 of sides 5, 7. The concavity can be varied
as known in the art and depending on the skater's own
preferences.
[0022] When using the blades of the present invention as compared
to a standard hockey skate blade, the glide speed is notably faster
and requires less effort. The blades may be sharpened (ground) many
times without any performance loss as the width of the lower
portion will remain constant for many skate sharpenings
(essentially until the blade has been reduced to an overall height
that a user would consider too small for use and get a new blade).
In addition, as discussed above, a given user can re-profile the
arc of the blade and maintain the same performance characteristics
along the full length of the blade edge.
[0023] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the
preferred and alternative embodiments have been described in some
detail but that certain modifications may be practiced without
departing from the principles of the invention.
* * * * *