QUARTER FOR SKATE BOOT

QUARTIER POUR CHAUSSON DE PATIN

English Abstract

A one-piece quarter for a lasted skate boot. It comprises a quarter medial
portion (11), and a quarter lateral portion (13). The quarter medial portion
and lateral portion comprise respectively a foxing medial (12) and lateral
portions (14). The junction line (15) between the lateral and medial portions
defines a symmetry line. A tendon guard (20) is disposed in the upper portion
of the quarter. This tendon guard is preferably sewn to the quarter. The guard
is therefore attached to the quarter, along with the junction line (21).
According to the invention, with a quarter consisting of only one piece, there
is no sewing line along the symmetry line. The skate boot provided with such a
quarter features a stronger heel portion, without any risk of broken sewing
line. It is less expensive to manufacture, with at least one sewing step
eliminated.

French Abstract

L'invention concerne un quartier formé d'une seule pièce pour une chaussure de patin montée. Ce quartier comprend une partie médiane de quartier et une partie latérale de quartier (1). La partie médiane de quartier et la partie latérale (13) comprennent, respectivement, des parties médiane (12) et latérale (14) de bande d'enrobage. La ligne de jonction (15) entre les parties latérale et médiane définit une ligne de symétrie. Un protège-tendon (20) est prévu dans la partie supérieure du quartier. Ce protège-tendon est, de préférence, cousu au quartier. Le protège-tendon est par conséquent fixé au quartier, avec la ligne de jonction (21). Le quartier selon l'invention, composé d'une seule pièce, ne présente plus de ligne de couture le long de la ligne de symétrie. La chaussure de patin pourvue d'un quartier de ce type présente une partie de talon plus résistance, sans risque de rupture de la ligne de couture. Elle est, en outre, moins onéreuse à fabriquer, et il est possible de supprimer au moins une étape de couture.

Claims

1- A skate boot comprising a sole, a front portion for enclosing a wearer's
toes, a rear portion for Enclosing a wearer's heel and ankle, and a medial
and lateral portion for enclosing the sides of a wearer's foot, said rear
portion and said medial and lateral portions comprising:
-a quarter medial portion and a quarter lateral portion integrally connected
together in a one piece construction and being folded at a symmetry line
to form a U-shaped skate boot structure, each said quarter portions
extending upwardly along said symmetry line defining a heel and ankle
portion of said skate boot structure and extending outwardly from said
symmetry line in a narrowing profile for defining both sides of said skate
boot structure; and
- a tendon guard secured to said quarter medial portion and quarter lateral
portion at a junction line in a side-by-side fashion thereby resulting in said
rear portion of said skate boot having an angular profile defined by said
tendon guard and said quarter medial and lateral portions at said junction
line.
2- A skate boot as defined in claim 1 wherein an upper edge of said quarter
medial portion defines with an upper edge of said quarter lateral portion,
an angle which is different than an angle defined by a lower edge of said
tendon guard such that when said tendon guard is secured to said quarter
medial portion and said quarter lateral portion in a side-by-side fashion,
said tendon guard defines an obtuse angle with said quarter medial
portion and quarter lateral portion.
3- A skate boot as defined in claim 2 wherein said angle defined by the upper
edges of said quarter lateral and medial portions is less than 180 degrees
and said angle defined by said lower edge of said tendon guard is at least
180 degrees.



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4- A skate boot as defined in claim 2 further comprising a medial foxing
portion and a lateral foxing portion in a lower area of their respective
quarter portions, said foxing portions being sewn together after said
quarter lateral and medial portions has been shaped, to form a curved
heel profile.
5- A skate boot as defined in claim 1 wherein said tendon guard, when
assembled with said U-shaped skate boot structure defines an obtuse
angle at said junction line.
6- A skate boot as defined in claim 2 wherein said angle defined by the upper
edges of said quarter lateral and medial portions is more than 180
degrees and said angle defined by said lower edge of said tendon guard is
less than 180 degrees.
7- A method of fabricating a skate boot comprising the steps of:
-cutting a one-piece element comprising a quarter medial portion, a
quarter lateral portion, a medial foxing portion and a lateral foxing portion,
said quarter medial portion and said quarter lateral portion, together
defining an upper edge of said one-piece element;
-cutting a tendon guard having a lower edge;
-folding said one-piece element at a symmetry line to form a U-shaped
structure;
-sewing said lower edge of said tendon guard to said upper edge of said
one-piece element end to end to form a butt joint at a junction line, such
that said tendon guard defines an obtuse angle with said one-piece
element;
-sewing together said medial foxing portion and lateral foxing portion to
form a curved heel profile.



7

Description

CA 02302953 2000-03-02
WO 99/12439 PCT/CA98/00845
QUARTER FOR SKATE BOOT
Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a quarter for a lasted skate boot. It also
relates
to the skate boot comprising such a quarter.
Background of the invention
The prior art quarter were consisting of many separate components. A medial
quarter 1 (figure 1 ) and a lateral quarter 2 were manufactured as separate
parts. The rear extremities of these parts, corresponding to the heel aid
ankle
portions of the foot, were then sewn together. A tendon guard 3, also
manufactured as a separate part, was finally disposed on the top end of the
assembly. With such a realization, the rear part of the skate boot was
provided
with a sewing line, presenting many disadvantages. For example, the sewing
line was difficult to realize when using rigid materials. Moreover, the
cambered
shape of these elements caused many difficulties to realize the sewing line.
Furthermore, the boot integrity was considerably affected by the presence of a
sewing line at the rear part of the boot, this area being subject to very
strong
constraints. This sewing line was subject to breaking, causing considerable
damage to the skate boot. During the assembly process, there was a high
probability that the operator set together two similar parts, instead of one
medial
and one lateral quarters, these parts being very similar. The quality control
requirements were very strict, to ensure that the sewing lines were exactly in
a
straight line. According to prior art realizations, the tendon guard was also
placed over the quarters, forming an overlap. This implied additional use of
material, additional weight, etc.
Considering the importance of the quarter to produce a high quality skate
boot, there is a strong demand for an improved quarter.


CA 02302953 2001-05-24
Objects and statement of the invention
It is thus an object of the invention to provide a quarter for skate boot
avoiding the
above mentioned drawbacks.
It is another object of the invention to provide an ice skate boot or a roller
skate
boot provided with such a quarter.
As embodied and broadly described, the invention provides a skate boot
comprising a sole, a front portion for enclosing a wearer's toes, a rear
portion for
enclosing a wearer's heel and ankle, and a medial and lateral portion for
enclosing the sides of a wearer's foot. The rear portion and the medial and
lateral
portions comprise a quarter medial portion and a quarter lateral portion
integrally
connected together in a one-piece construction and folded at a symmetry line
to
form a U-shaped skate boot structure. Each quarter portion extends upwardly
along the symmetry line defining a heel and ankle portion of the skate boot
structure and extends outwardly from the symmetry line in a narrowing profile
for
defining both sides of the skate boot structure. The skate boot comprises a
tendon guard secured to the quarter medial portion and the quarter lateral
portion
at a junction line in a side-by-side fashion, thereby resulting in the rear
portion of
said skate boot having an angular profile defined by the tendon guard and the
quarter medial and lateral portions at the junction line.
Advantageously, the upper edge of the quarter medial portion defines, with the
upper edge of the quarter lateral portion, an angle that is different from an
angle
defined by a lower edge of the tendon guard such that, when the tendon guard
is
secured to the quarter medial and lateral portions in a side-by-side fashion,
the
tendon guard defines an obtuse angle with the quarter medial and lateral
portions.
A skate boot provided with such a quarter has a stronger heel portion, without
any risk of broken sewing line. It is less expensive to manufacture, with at
least
2


CA 02302953 2001-05-24
one sewing step eliminated. There is no necessity to add additional material
to
protect the sewing line.
A tendon guard is advantageously provided in the upper portion of the quarter.
The tendon guard may be partially sewn to the upper portion of the quarter
before
assembly to the skate boot. The tendon guard and the quarter are connected
side by side.
As embodied and broadly described, the invention also provides a method of
fabricating a skate boot comprising the steps of:
A) cutting a one-piece element comprising a quarter medial portion, a
quarter lateral portion, a medial foxing portion and a lateral foxing portion,
the quarter medial portion and the quarter lateral portion together defining
an upper edge of the one-piece element;
B) cutting a tendon guard having a lower edge;
C) folding the one-piece element at a symmetry line to form a U-shaped
structure;
D) sewing the lower edge of the tendon guard to the upper edge of the
one-piece element end to end to form a butt joint at a junction line, such
that the tendon guard defines an obtuse angle with the one-piece element;
E) sewing together the medial foxing portion and lateral foxing portion to
form a curved heel profile.
Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent by reference
to
the following description and the drawings.
Brief description of the drawings
A detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention
is
provided herein below, by way of example only, with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
3


CA 02302953 2001-05-24
Figure 1 is an elevational view of a quarter of a prior art quarter;
Figure 2 is an elevational view of a quarter according to the invention;
Figures 3 and 4 are elevational views of a skate boot with a quarter according
to
the invention;
Figure 5 illustrates a perspective view of a quarter according to the
invention
preformed before assembly to the skate boot.
In the drawings, preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way
of
examples. It is to be expressly understood that the description and drawings
are
only for the purpose of illustration and are an aid for understanding. They
are not
intended to be a definition of the limits of the invention.
3A


CA 02302953 2000-03-02
W'O 99112:139 PCT/C.~98/00845
Detailed description or preferred embodiments
The skate boot, according to the invention, avoids these drawbacks. According
to the invention, the quarter is provided in one piece. It comprises a quarter
medial portion 11, and a quarter lateral portion 13. The quarter medial
portion
11 and lateral portion 13 comprise respectively a foxing medial and lateral
portions 12 and 14. The function line between the lateral and medial portions
defines a symmetry line 15.
In a variant, a tendon guard 20 is disposed in the upper portion of the
quarter.
This tendon guard is preferably sewn to the quarter. The guard is therefore
attached to the quarter, along with the junction line 21. This junction line
is
preferably formed by the top bordering of the upwardly extending central
section of the quarter. Furthermore, the guard is advantageously disposed side
by side with the quarter. This type of joint avoids the formation of any
overlapping of the two assembled parts.
According to the invention, with a quarter consisting of only one piece, there
is
no sewing line along the symmetry line 15.
The two foxing medial and lateral portions 12 and 14 are advantageously joined
together with a sewing line. This assembly line provides an advantageous
curved shape for the heel area. For more resistance, the guard and the foxing
portions are sewn, in the form of zigzags or saw teeth.
'_' S
This improved skate boot features a stronger heel portion, without any risk of
broken sewing line. It is less expensive to manufacture, with at feast one
sewing step eliminated. There is no necessity to add additional material to
protect the sewing line.


CA 02302953 2000-03-02
w0 99/12439 PCT/CA98/00845
The quarter may be manufactured with different materials, for example with a
mufti-layer composite comprising fibres, polymer and nylon, preferably by
dye-cut.
To complete the skate, the quarter is formed, sewn to the upper of the boot.
The sole is then glued to the upper. Finally, the blade assembly is riveted to
the sole.
The above description of preferred embodiments should not be interpreted in
a limiting manner since other variations, modifications and refinements are
possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of
the
invention is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.
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Representative Drawing