Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The present invention relates to a blade for ice skates, and,
more particularly, to a blade which can be partially embedded in a supporting
body of plastic material that is, in turn, affixed to a shoe for skating.
In the use of ice skates, each blade and its support are constant-
ly subjected to pressures that depend in severity upon the particular activity
for which the skates are used. The pressures are particularly severe, for
example, when the skates are used for ice hockey.
The resulting pressure,have an adverse effect on the supporting
body of each skate, particularly in the connection of the support body and
the blade. To realize a suitable blade-support combination, it is necessary
to select an appropriate plastic material for the support, and, in particular,
an appropriate anchorage of the blade to the support.
In one prior art technique for attempting to realize an anchorage
that can withstand rough treatment, a support body had been molded directly
over the blade, with a plurality of transverse links between the blade and the
support. For that purpose, the blade is provided, along a side that is
embedded in the support, with a number of transverse holes of various forms
and more or less regular distribution. The dimensions of the holes are chosen
to facilitate the flow of fluid or semi-fluid plastic material that forms the
desired links when the plastic becomes cold.
In another prior art technique for attempting to achieve a suit-
able anchorage, the upper edge of the blade that is embedded in the support
is provided with a plurality of protuberances, each essentially in the form
of a "T" with wings parallel to the edge to form passages. These serve to
provide transverse links that correspond to those provided by the holes men-
tioned above. This last technique, using "T" wings provides better anchorage
between the blade and the support body than does the use of apertures alone.
Both techniques, however, present a technical difficulty not
heretofore overcome. Considering the high temperatures used during the mold-
ing of the support, the shrinkage of the selected plastic material during
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cooling, and the presence of transverse links realized in corresponding
positions at opposite extremities of the blade, internal stresses are
produced which are localized near the blade or passages of the blade. As a
consequence during use of skates that are produced in a conventional way
relatively minor pressures can cause the formation of cracks that can
rapidly lead to a fracture.
The invention provides an ice skating blade that is anchored to
a support in a way that overcomes the difficulties mentioned above.
In accordance with the invention, an ice skating blade is provided
with an upper edge to be embedded in a supporting body of plastic material
by which the blade is affixed to a shoe for skating, comprising a centrally
located transverse aperture near said edge and a first projection above said
edge and spaced from said aperture, this first projection being provided
with a respective appendix formed at an extremity of the blade and extending
towards said aperture, parallel to and spaced from said edge.
According to one realization of the invention, the transverse
aperture is in a central portion of the blade near its upper edge. The
coupling instrumentality can take the form of a projection at an extremity
of the blade, or two projections at opposite extremities of the blade. In
the latter case, the projections are turned towards the transverse aperture
in parallel alignment with the upper edge of the blade. The coupling
instrumentality may also take the form of one or more longitudinally extending
grooves positioned near the upper, embeddable edge of the blade.
The transverse aperture can be in the body of the blade or in a
projection of the blade above its upper edge. The projection containing the
aperture can be at an extremity or an intermediate position.
The principal advantage of the invention is that the anchorage
of the blade to the supporting body is insured with transversal tightness
between the blade and the body. During the cooling of the plastic material
chosen for the supporting body, the material shrinks in a longitudinal
direction with respect to the blade in such a way that there is an apparent
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absence of any zones of undesired stress.
Other characteristics of the invention will become apparent from
a description of several realizations of a blade for ice skates with reference
to, but not limited to, embodiments described below:
Figure 1 represents a side view of a first realization of a blade
for ice skates according to the invention;
Figure 2 represents the blade of Figure 1 anchored to a support
body shown in phantom;
Figures 3 and 4 represent two alternative variations of the blade
of Figure l; and
Figure 5 is a sectional view of the blade of Figure 4 taken along
the line V-V.
With reference to Figures 1 and 2, an ice skating blade 1 accord-
ing to the invention is shown with an edge 2 and associated structure to be
embedded in a support 3 (in phantom) realized using an appropriate plastic
material.
Along the edge 2 the blade 1 has three projection portions 4, 5
and 6 of which the intermediate portion 5 has a transverse passage or hole 7
of prescribed form. The particular passage 7 is oblong with major axis
extending longitudinally in alignment with the edge 2. The remaining projec-
tions 4 and 6 are formed at counterpart extremities of the blade and define
respective appendages 4a and 6a. The appendages extend toward the inter-
mediate projection 5 in parallel alignment with associated portions of the
edge 2 of the blade 1.
The appendages 4a and 6a have a prescribed length in accordance
with the coefficient of shrinkage of the plastic material chosen for realiza-
tion of the supporting base 3. The appendages are separated from edge 2 of
the blade 1 to form respective oblong passages 8 and 9 of prescribed width.
As illustrated in Figure 1 the passages 8 and 9 desirably have substantially
the same width and length as the transverse passage 7. The illustrated length
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of each passage is about eight per cent of the overall length of the blade 1.
The blade 1 described above is rigidly fixed in the supporting
body 3 by molding. During the molding operation, which is completely conven-
tional, plastic material in fluid form engulfs the projections 4 and 6 with
their respective appendages 4a and 6a, the intermediate projection 5 and parts
of the blade in proximity to the edge 2. This completely fills the hole 7 of
the intermediate portion 5 and the passages 8 and 9 of the appendages 4 and
6. As indicated in Figure 2, the overlap of the plastic material from the
edge 2 along the lateral faces of the blade 1 is advantageously approximately
the same as the widths of the passages 7, 8, and 9.
During the subsequent cooling of the molded plastic material and
its consolidation into the support 3, there is an attendant shrinkage of the
plastic. Because of the oblong form of the support body 3, the fixed trans-
verse and oblong passages formed between the support and the blade 1 and the
partially embedding of the blade in the body in correspondence with the hole
7 of the intermediate projection 5, the blade resists the phenomenon of
shrinkage corresponding to the movement of the material from the extremity of
the support body 3 towards its central portion. This movement is nGt ab-
solutely stopped by the configuration of the blade but is guided, particularly
for the plastic material contained between the appendages 4a and 6a and the
edge 2 of the blade, so that internal localized stresses are avoided in the
support body 3.
In other words, an anchorage with the desired resistance character-
istic is insured by the complete embedding of the appendages 4a and 6a of the
projections 4 and 6 and the intermediate projection 5, along with the
realization of transverse links by the solidification of plastic material in
the passage 7 of the projection 5.
The length of each of the appendages 4a and 6a associated with the
projections 4 and 6 is chosen so that when there is consolidation of the sup-
porting body, notwithstanding the effects of shrinkage of the plastic material
in the directions indicated by the arrows, leaving voids in the passages 8 and
9 as shown in Figure 2, the appendages are nevertheless totally embedded in
the body 3.
In Figure 3 there is illustrated a variant ice skating blade of
the invention. With reference to that figure, a blade 11 intended to be
partially embedded in the body (not shown) of plastic material is equipped
along an edge 12 with projection portions 13 and 14 at corresponding opposite
extremities. The portion 13 is pierced by a hole 15, preferably oblong, while
the projection 14 forms an appendage 14a turned towards the portion 13 exten-
ding parallel to and in alignment with the edge 13 of the blade. Between the
appendage 14 and the edge 12 there is formed a passage 16 of prescribed
length and width, which is advan~ageously similar to that of the passage 15.
With reference to Figures 4 and 5 there is illustrated an alter-
native form of the invention. The blade 17 is provided with a hole 18 in its
central portion. On opposite sides 17a and 17b of the blade 17, as further
indicated in the cross-sectional view of Figure 5, there is an anchorage in
the form of corresponding grooves 19 and 20 which extend parallel to the
upper edge 17c of the blade in prescribed relation and distance with respect
to it. The grooves 19 and 20, for example produced by milling, are dimension-
ed for hooking together the plastic material of the support body (not shown)
during molding directly with the blade 17. They confine the shrinkage to
movement in the desired longitudinal direction.
While various aspects of the invention have been set forth by the
drawings and specification, it is to be understood that the foregoing detailed
description is for illustration only and that various changes in parts, as
well as the substitution of equivalent constituents for those shown and des-
cribed may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention
as set forth in the appended claims.
