[0001] The present invention relates to ice hockey skate blades and more particular to blades
which are embedded in a supporting body of plastic material which is fixed to the
boot of the skate.
[0002] Ice skates have always had to endure high impact forces. In order to keep skates
from cracking, they should be provided with a high strength plastic in the support
position for the blade. Furthermore, the blade should be provided with shrinkage space
so as to avoid stress concentration around the blade, so that the blade can endure
high impact forces.
[0003] Some examples of conventionally practiced methods of construction in ice hockey skates
arrangements have been found in patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,948, issued June
29, 1982 to Couture and U.S. Pat. No. 4,223,900, issued September 23, 1980 to Olivieri.
However, the Couture patent provides poor setting between the blade and the plastics
support material. Olivieri, on the other hand, provides for a good setting between
the blade and the support material, but it fails to solve the weakness of the blade
and plastics material. Furthermore, both of these previous designs waste too much
material, both steel and plastics, during the manufacturing process,thereby making
them uneconomical.
[0004] It is a primary objective of the present invention to provide a blade for ice hockey
skates which has a plurality of slanted slots so as to prevent stress concentrations
around the blade and increase the setability of the blade and plastic material.
[0005] It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a jagged notch at the
opening of each slot to make the plastics material set with to the blade tightly.
[0006] The invention may be carried into practice in various ways and one embodiment will
now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the blade according to the invention.
Fig. 2 is a top view of the blade in Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a frontal view of the blade in Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 shows how the skate blade is embedded in the plastic material.
[0007] Referring to Fig. 1, it can be seen that the blade (10) of the present invention
comprises a plurality of slots (20). The blade (10) can be considered to be divided
into front and rear portions. The slots (20) are symetrically arranged on the top
edge of the blade (10). The front portion and the rear portion of the blade (10) have
the same number of the slots (20). The slots (20) are slanted slots and the openings
(21) of the slots (20) face upward and toward the centre line of the blade (10). Each
opening (21) of the slots (20) comprises two tips (22) and (23), one being an inner
tip (22) and the other being outer tip (23). The outer tips (23) are bent alternately
to the left or to the right as shown in Fig. 3. Since the blade (10) is arranged with
slots (20), stress concentration around the blade (10) can be avoided while manufacturing.
Further, the slots (20) are slanted and opened upward and the outer tips (23) of the
openings (21) are bent, therefore providing a high strength of combination (a good
setting) between the blade (10) and plastics material (30) (as seen in Fig. 2 and
Fig. 4). Even if the ice hockey skate sustains a high impact force, the plastics material
(30) around the blade (10) will not crack. The slots (20) of the blade (10) help to
provide shrinkage space as the plastics material (30) cools to combine with the blade
(10). Moreover, the present invention provides a blade (10) which wastes very little
material so as to provide for more economic manufacturing than was previously available.
1) A blade for ice hockey skates comprising a plurality of slots which are slanted
slots symetrically arranged on the top edge of the blade, each opening of the slots
facing upward and toward the centre line of the blade, the outer tips of the openings
alternately being bent leftward or rightward such that the blade can be embedded in
a supporting body of plastics material to be affixed at a skate boot in order to prevent
the stress concentration on the plastics material around the blade.
