FOOTBED AND OTHER WEARABLE ARTICLES

Abstract

A footbed for a skate (e.g., an ice hockey skate), which may enhance a fit of the skate on a skater's foot. The footbed comprises an upper side for engaging the skater's foot received in a skate boot of the skate, a lower side opposite to the upper side, and thermoformable material allowing the footbed to be thermoformed to conform to the skater's foot. The thermoformable material may comprise a shape-memory material. Footbeds for other footwear are also disclosed. Other articles wearable by users, such as articles of personal protective equipment (e.g., helmets, leg guards, etc.), are disclosed.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority under 35 USC 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 62/114,296 filed on Feb. 10, 2015 and hereby incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD

This disclosure generally relates to footbeds for footwear and to other articles wearable by users for improving fit, stability, support, and/or comfort, for providing protection, and/or for other purposes.

BACKGROUND

Various articles are wearable by users who engage in various activities, such as walking, running, playing sports, working, etc., for improving fit, stability, support and/or comfort, for providing protection (e.g., against impacts), and/or for other purposes.

For example, a footbed can be used in a user's footwear (e.g., shoe or boot) to improve fit, stability, support and/or comfort. Some footbeds have a soft layer typically made of a cushioning or shock-absorbing material. The soft layer in some cases may conform to the user's foot by wearing the footbed in the user's footwear. In other cases, the footbed is required to be heated, typically in an oven, placed on a cushioning device, and then the user stands on the cushioning device for a period of time to allow the soft layer to conform to the user's foot.

Existing footbeds, however, present some deficiencies. For instance, in some cases, once a footbed is formed to a user's foot, it cannot be easily returned to its original shape. As a result, if the footbed is not formed as desired or if the user for some reason wants to return the footbed to its original shape, the user would typically have to purchase a new footbed. Also, in some cases where a footbed needs to be heated prior to being formed to a user's foot, it may not be readily apparent if or when the footbed has been properly heated and/or is ready to be formed to the user's foot. Another potential drawback is that the soft layer of a footbed is typically fairly flexible (i.e., non-rigid), which may not necessarily be desirable in certain applications. For example, in certain sports, such as hockey, softness or flexibility of a footbed may not be desirable since it can affect speed, stability, and/or other aspects of a user's performance.

Similar considerations may arise for certain other articles wearable by users, such as helmets, shoulder pads, arm guards, leg guards, and/or other items of personal protective equipment.

For these and/or other reasons, there is therefore a need for providing improved footbeds and/or other wearable articles.

SUMMARY

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, there is provided a footbed for a skate. The footbed comprises: an upper side for engaging a skater's foot received in a skate boot of the skate; a lower side opposite to the upper side; and thermoformable material allowing the footbed to be thermoformed to conform to the skater's foot.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a skate comprising: a skate boot for receiving a skater's foot; and a footbed for engaging the skater's foot when received in the skate boot. The footbed comprises thermoformable material allowing the footbed to be thermoformed to conform to the skater's foot.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a footbed for footwear. The footbed comprises: an upper side for engaging a user's foot received in the footwear; a lower side opposite to the upper side; and thermoformable material allowing the footbed to be thermoformed to conform to the user's foot. The thermoformable material comprises a shape-memory material.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided footwear comprising: a cavity for receiving a user's foot; and a footbed for engaging the user's foot when received in the cavity. The footbed comprises thermoformable material allowing the footbed to be thermoformed to conform to the user's foot. The thermoformable material comprises a shape-memory material.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a footbed for footwear. The footbed comprises: an upper side for engaging a user's foot received in the footwear; a lower side opposite to the upper side; thermoformable material allowing the footbed to be thermoformed to conform to the user's foot; and a thermoforming readiness indicator to indicate when the footbed is ready to be thermoformed to the user's foot in the footwear.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided footwear comprising: a cavity for receiving a user's foot; and a footbed for engaging the user's foot when received in the cavity. The footbed comprises thermoformable material allowing the footbed to be thermoformed to conform to the user's foot. The footwear comprises a thermoforming readiness indicator to indicate when the footbed is ready to be thermoformed to the user's foot in the footwear.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a helmet for protecting a user's head. The helmet comprises an outer shell and a pad disposed between the outer shell and the user's head when the helmet is worn. The pad comprises thermoformable material allowing the pad to be thermoformed to conform to the user's head.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a helmet for protecting a user's head. The helmet comprises an outer shell and a pad disposed between the outer shell and the user's head when the helmet is worn. The pad comprises thermoformable material allowing the pad to be thermoformed to conform to the user's head. The thermoformable material comprises a shape-memory material.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided an article wearable by a user. The article comprises a member for positioning adjacent to a body part of the user. The member comprises thermoformable material allowing the article to be thermoformed to conform to the user's body part. The thermoformable material comprises a shape-memory material.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided an article wearable by a user. The article comprise a member for positioning adjacent to a body part of the user. The member comprises thermoformable material allowing the article to be thermoformed to conform to the user's body part. The article comprises a thermoforming readiness indicator to indicate when the article is ready to be thermoformed to the user's body part.

These and other aspects of the invention will now become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following description of embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A detailed description of embodiments of the invention is provided below, by way of example only, with reference to the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ice skate comprising a footbed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the ice skate of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are side and front views of a right foot of a wearer of the ice skate with an integument of the foot shown in dotted lines and bones shown in solid lines;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the footbed;

FIG. 6 is a top view of the footbed;

FIG. 7 is a side view of a medial side of the footbed;

FIG. 8 is a side view of a lateral side of the footbed;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a heat source for heating the footbed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the footbed in which a body of thermoformable material and a covering of the footbed are separated for illustration purposes;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of an example of a process for thermoforming the footbed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 is a state diagram illustrating possible states of the footbed;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a variant of the footbed in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a variant of the ice skate where a thermoforming readiness indicator is present on an exterior of the ice skate;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a roller skate in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a shoe in accordance with another embodiment of the invention; and

FIGS. 17 to 25 show examples of protective gear wearable by users in accordance with other embodiments of the invention.

In the drawings, embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood that the description and drawings are only for purposes of illustration and as an aid to understanding, and are not intended to be a definition of the limits of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 and 2 show an example of footwear 10 wearable on a user's foot in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the footwear 10 is a skate 10 for allowing the user, i.e., skater, to skate. The skate 10 comprises a skate boot 11 for enclosing the skater's foot and a skating device 13 for contacting a surface on which the skater skates. In this embodiment, the skate 10 is an ice skate and the skating device 13 comprises a blade holder 28 and a blade 52 for contacting an ice surface on which the skater skates. More particularly, in this example, the skate 10 is an ice hockey skate designed for playing ice hockey. In other examples, the skate 10 may be designed for other types of ice skating.

The skate boot 11 comprises a cavity 22 for receiving the skater's foot. With additional reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the skater's foot F includes toes T, a ball B, an arch ARC, a plantar surface PS, a top surface TS, a medial side MS and a lateral side LS. The top surface TS of the skater's foot F is continuous with a lower portion of the skater's shin S. In addition, the skater has a heel H, an Achilles tendon AT, and an ankle A having a medial malleolus MM and a lateral malleolus LM that is at a lower position than the medial malleolus MM. The Achilles tendon AT has an upper part UP and a lower part LP projecting outwardly with relation to the upper part UP and merging with the heel H. A forefoot of the skater includes the toes T and the ball B, a hindfoot of the skater includes the heel H, and a midfoot of the skater is between the forefoot and midfoot.

As further discussed below, in this embodiment, a footbed 40 is provided in the cavity 22 of the skate boot 11 to engage the skater's foot and enhance a fit of the skate 10 on the skater's foot. The footbed 40 is thermoformable to conform to the skater's foot and the cavity 22 of the skate boot 11 in order to optimize the fit of the skate 10 on the skater's foot. This may in some cases allow the skater to achieve greater power, control and/or stability when skating.

In this embodiment, the skate boot 11 comprises a front portion 17 for receiving the toes T of the skater's foot, a rear portion 19 for receiving the heel H of the skater's foot, and an intermediate portion 21 between the front portion 17 and the rear portion 19. More particularly, in this embodiment, the skate boot 11 comprises an outer shell 12, a toe cap 14 for facing the toes T, a tongue 16 extending upwardly and rearwardly from the toe cap 14 for covering the top surface TS of the skater's foot, a rigid insert 18 for providing more rigidity around the ankle A and the heel H of the skater's foot, an inner lining 20, and an insole 24. The skate boot 11 also comprises lace members 38 and eyelets 42 punched into the lace members 38, the outer shell 12 and the inner lining 20 vis-à-vis apertures 41 in order to receive laces for tying on the skate 10.

In this example of implementation, the inner lining 20 is affixed to an inner surface of the outer shell 12 and comprises an inner surface 32 to contact the heel H and medial and lateral sides MS, LS of the skater's foot F and the skater's ankle A. The inner lining 20 is made of a soft material (e.g., a fabric made of NYLON® fibers or any other suitable fabric). The rigid insert 18 is sandwiched between the outer shell 12 and the inner lining 20 and may be affixed in any suitable way (e.g., glued to the inner surface of the outer shell 12 and stitched along its periphery to the outer shell 12). The insole 24 has an upper surface 25 for facing the plantar surface PS of the skater's foot and a lower surface 23 on which the outer shell 12 may be affixed.

Also, in this example of implementation, the outer shell 12 is molded such that it comprises a heel portion 44 for receiving the heel H, an ankle portion 46 for receiving the ankle A, and medial and lateral side portions 50, 60 for facing the medial and lateral sides MS, LS of the skater's foot, respectively. The medial and lateral side portions 50, 60 include upper edges 51, 61 which connect to the lace members 38. The heel portion 44 may be molded such that it is substantially cup shaped for following the contour of the heel H. The ankle portion 46 comprises medial and lateral ankle sides 52, 54. The medial ankle side 52 has a medial cup-shaped depression 56 for receiving the medial malleolus MM and the lateral ankle side 54 has a lateral cup-shaped depression 58 for receiving the lateral malleolus LM of the skater. The lateral depression 58 is located slightly lower than the medial depression 56, for conforming to the morphology of the skater's foot. The ankle portion 46 further comprises a rear portion 47 facing the lower part LP of the Achilles tendon AT. The rear portion 47 may be molded such that it follows the lower part LP of the Achilles tendon AT. Furthermore, the skate boot 11 also includes a tendon guard 43 affixed to the rear portion 47 of the ankle portion 46 and extending upwardly therefrom. An outsole 26 may be provided but may be omitted if the outer shell 12 is sufficiently rigid for receiving the blade holder 28.

The skate boot 11 may be constructed in any other suitable way in other embodiments. For example, in other embodiments, various components of the skate boot 11 mentioned above may be configured differently or omitted and/or the skate boot 11 may comprise any other components that may be made of any other suitable materials and/or using any other suitable processes.

The footbed 40 is an insole provided in the cavity 22 of the skate boot 11 to engage the skater's foot in order to enhance the fit of the skate 10 on the skater's foot. The footbed 40 comprises an upper side 34 for engaging the skater's foot F and a lower side 36 opposite to the upper side 34 for engaging the skate boot 11. In this example, the footbed 40 is insertable into and removable from the cavity 22 of the skate boot 11.

With additional reference to FIGS. 5 to 8, in this embodiment, the footbed 40 is elongated such that it has a longitudinal axis 45 defining a longitudinal direction of the footbed 40 and comprises a forefoot portion 71, a hindfoot portion 72, and a midfoot portion 73 to respectively engage the skater's forefoot, hindfoot and midfoot. The upper side 34 of the footbed 40 comprises a plantar surface 38 for engaging the plantar surface PS of the skater's foot when the skater's foot is received on the footbed 40. The footbed 40 comprises a wall 49 projecting upwardly from the plantar surface 38. In this example, the wall is configured to turn about the skater's heel H and face part of the medial side MS and part of the lateral side LS of the skater's foot. The wall 49 includes an arched portion 74 that projects upwardly from the plantar surface 38 for engaging the arch ARC of the skater's foot.

More particularly, in this embodiment, the footbed 40 has a longitudinal curvature, including an arch 81, along its longitudinal axis 45. The arch 81 defines a curve that is generally shaped longitudinally to overlap the midfoot of the skater's foot. More specifically, the curve defined by the arch 81 is generally shaped longitudinally to overlap the arch ARC of the skater's foot. The footbed 40 also has a transversal curvature, including that which defines the wall 49. The transversal curvature forms a concave portion 79 generally shaped to encompass the skater's hindfoot. The transversal curvature may also include a concave portion 82 that overlaps the forefoot portion of the skater's foot and is less concave than the concave portion 79.

The footbed 40 is thermoformable such that it can be formed by heating it and applying pressure to it to conform to the skater's foot F and the skate boot 11. To that end, the footbed 40 comprises a body 48 of thermoformable material 50 which can conform to a shape of the skater's foot F by heating the thermoformable material 50 and by having the skater's foot F apply pressure to the footbed 40 while the footbed 40 is in the cavity 22 of the skate boot 11. In this embodiment, the footbed 40 also comprises a covering 86 affixed to the body 48 of thermoformable material 50 on the upper side 34 of the footbed 40. In this example, the covering 86 is a cushion that may enhance comfort (e.g., in high impact landing zones).

With additional reference to FIG. 9, the thermoformable material 50 can be heated by a heat source 61. In this embodiment, the heat source 61 is an oven. The oven 61 may be located in a commercial or industrial site (e.g., a store or other facility making or selling skates), a sports facility (e.g., an arena), or a residence (e.g., the skater's residence). For instance, in various examples of implementation, the oven 61 may be an industrial oven, a kitchen oven (e.g., range), a skate oven, a boot oven, or any other suitable oven. In other embodiments, instead of being an oven, the heat source 61 may be any other suitable heating device (e.g., a heat gun).

In this embodiment, the thermoformable material 50 has a “memory”. More specifically, the thermoformable material 50 is a shape-memory material. That is, the thermoformable material 50 is imparted with an “original shape” when it is originally formed during manufacturing of the footbed 40 and, then, upon the footbed 40 being deformed into a “formed shape” (that may be any one of a plurality of different shapes) in which it conforms to the skater's foot F and the skate boot 11 by thermoforming, the thermoformable material 50 recovers (i.e., returns to) its original shape when it is re-heated to a predetermined temperature T_o, which will be referred to as a “shape-recovering temperature”, without load or pressure applied to it. For example, the shape-recovering temperature T_o may be a softening point of the thermoformable material 50.

The thermoformable material 50 has a thermoforming temperature T_f at which it is sufficiently soft to deform from its original shape to the formed shape in which it conforms to the skater's foot F and the skate boot 11. The thermoforming temperature T_f is low enough that it does not burn or otherwise harm or discomfort the skater while he/she applies pressure on the footbed 40 within the cavity 22 of the skate boot 11. For example, in some embodiments, the thermoforming temperature T_f may be no greater than 85° C., in some cases no greater than 80° C., in some cases no greater than 75° C., in some cases no greater than 70° C., in some cases no greater than 65° C., and in some cases even less. For instance, in some embodiments, the thermoforming temperature T_f may be between 50° C. and 85° C., in some cases between 50° C. and 80° C., in some cases between 50° C. and 75° C., in some cases between 50° C. and 70° C., and in some cases between 50° C. and 65° C. In some examples, the thermoforming temperature T_f may be at least 60° C. (e.g., to avoid situations in which the footbed 40 would be left in a place, such as a car or other vehicle during a hot summer day, where a temperature of 50° C. could be reached). For example, in some embodiments, the thermoforming temperature T_f may be between 60° C. and 70° C. (e.g., 62° C.).

In this embodiment, the thermoformable material 50 is a polymeric material. That is, at least a main (i.e., a main or sole) constituent of the thermoformable material 50 is a polymer. In this example, the polymer is a sole constituent of the thermoformable material 50. More specifically, in this embodiment, the polymer is a shape-memory polymer (e.g., a thermally-induced shape-memory polymer in this example). In this case, the polymer of the thermoformable material 50 is polyurethane. In other examples, the thermoformable material 50 may be a composite material including a polymer matrix in which another constituent (e.g., fibres) is embedded. Although in this embodiment the thermoformable material 50 is a polymeric material, any other suitable shape-memory material may be used in other embodiments.

Thus, in this embodiment, the thermoformable material 50 is a thermally-induced shape-memory polymer (SMP). For instance, in some examples of implementation, the thermoformable material 50 may be a shape-memory polymer commercially available from various sources (Taiwan Kurim Enterprises Co., Ltd., Cornerstone Research Group (GRG) Inc., etc.) Any other suitable shape-memory polymer may be used in other embodiments.

Shape-memory materials, including shape-memory polymers, are known and, as such, no detailed description of these materials will be presented here. In general, shape-memory materials, including shape-memory polymers, are materials that can actively change from a first shape to a second shape and recover the first shape in response to a particular stimulus (e.g., heat, a magnetic or electric field, light, etc.). The second shape is obtained by mechanical deformation and subsequent fixation of that deformation from the first shape. It is appreciated that the first shape is a permanent shape which is formed by conventional processing (e.g., extruding, injection molding, etc.). The process of transforming from the first shape to the second shape is sometime referred to as “programming”. When the material is fixed in the second shape and upon the application of an external stimulus, the material recovers the first shape (i.e., its initial permanent shape). In some cases, this process can be repeated several times, with different formed shapes of a temporary nature.

For a more detailed review of shape-memory polymers, one may be referred to “Shape-memory polymers”, Marc Behl and Andreas Lendlein, Materials Today, Volume 10, Issue 4, April 2007, Pages 20-28, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

In this embodiment, a thermoforming process of the footbed 40 thus involves heating the footbed 40 to the thermoforming temperature T_f and having the skater's foot apply pressure to the footbed 40 when inserted into the cavity 22 of the skate boot 11. During this thermoforming process, a deformation of the footbed 40 occurs when the footbed 40 is heated to the thermoforming temperature T_f and then subsequent fixation of the footbed 40 into the formed shape occurs once the temperature drops below the thermoforming temperature T_f. Furthermore, a recovery process of the footbed 40 involves application of a stimulus in the form of heat to the footbed 40 until the footbed 40 reaches the shape-recovering temperature T_o. Heating the footbed 40 to the shape-recovering temperature T_o occurs without load or pressure applied to it and results in an indirect actuation of the footbed 40 returning to its original shape based on the shape-memory effect of the thermoformable material 50. Then, once the temperature of the footbed 40 drops below the shape-recovering temperature T_o, the footbed 40 remains in its original shape. The footbed 40 can be thermoformed to the formed shape and recover its original shape several times, while in some cases allowing the formed shape of the footbed 40 to be any one of a plurality of different shapes in response to different deformations.

The thermoformable material 50 is rigid and hard at room temperature (which is considered herein to be 20° C.). When the footbed 40 is thermoformed to conform to the skater's foot and the skate boot 11, this rigidity may help the skater to develop greater power, control and/or stability when skating as this effectively brings the skate 10 in conformance to the skater's foot. This is in contrast to soft and flexible materials which are used in some conventional footbeds.

For example, in some embodiments, a modulus of elasticity (i.e., tensile modulus) of the thermoformable material 50 may be at least 150 MPa, in some cases at least 200 MPa, in some cases at least 250 MPa, in some cases at least 300 MPa, and in some cases even more (e.g., at least 350 MPa), according to ASTM D638-10. The modulus of elasticity of the thermoformable material 50 may have any other suitable value in other embodiments.

As another example, in some embodiments, such as this one in which the footbed 40 is inserted into the cavity 22 of the skate boot 11, at room temperature, the thermoformable material 50 may be stiffer (i.e., more rigid) than an underlying material 88 of the skate boot 11 which it contacts and on which it is rests, such as, in this example, a material making up the upper surface 25 of the insole 24. For instance, in some embodiments, a ratio of the modulus of elasticity of the thermoformable material 50 over a modulus of elasticity of the underlying material 88 of the skate boot 11 may be at least 1.1, in some cases at least 1.25, in some cases at least 1.5, in some cases at least 2, and in some cases even more. This ratio may have any other suitable value in other embodiments. In other embodiments, the thermoformable material 50 may be less stiff than the underlying material 88 of the skate boot 11 which it contacts and on which it is rests.

As yet another example, in some embodiments, the thermoformable material 50 may be rigid enough that it substantially does not compress at room temperature when the skater's foot rests on the footbed 40 while the skater is standing on the skate 10 compared to when the skater's foot is not in the skate boot 11 and the footbed 40 is unloaded. For instance, a thickness G of the thermoformable material 50 may remain substantially constant at room temperature whether (i) the skater's foot rests on the footbed 40 while the skater is standing on the skate 10 or (ii) the skater's foot is not in the skate boot 11 and the footbed 40 is unloaded. For example, in some embodiments, a ratio of (i) the thickness G of the thermoformable material 50 when the skater's foot rests on the footbed 40 while the skater is standing on the skate 10 over (ii) the thickness G of the thermoformable material 50 when the skater's foot is not in the skate boot 11 and the footbed 40 is unloaded may be no less than 0.95, in some cases no less than 0.98, and in some cases 1.0 (i.e., there is no change in thickness). This ratio may have any other suitable value in other embodiments.

As yet another example, in some embodiments, a hardness of the thermoformable material 50 may be at least 40 Shore D, in some cases at least 50 Shore D, in some cases at least 60 Shore D, and in some cases even more. The hardness of the thermoformable material 50 may have any other suitable value in other embodiments.

As yet another example, in some embodiments, the thermoformable material 50 may be harder than the underlying material 88 of the skate boot 11 which contacts and supports the footbed 40. For instance, in some embodiments, a ratio of the hardness of the thermoformable material 50 over a hardness of the underlying material 88 of the skate boot 11 may be at least 1.1, in some cases at least 1.25, in some cases at least 1.5, in some cases at least 2, and in some cases even more. This ratio may have any other suitable value in other embodiments. In other embodiments, the thermoformable material 50 may be softer than the underlying material 88 of the skate boot 11 which it contacts and on which it is rests.

The thickness G of the body 48 of thermoformable material 50 may have any suitable value. For example, in this embodiment, the thickness G of the body 48 of thermoformable material 50 may be no more than 6 mm, in some cases no more than 5 mm, in some cases no more than 4 mm, in some cases no more than 3 mm, in some cases no more than 2 mm, and in some cases even less. In some embodiments, the thickness G of the body 48 of thermoformable material 50 may vary between different portions of the footbed 40. For example, in some embodiments, the thickness G of the body 48 of thermoformable material 50 may vary between the forefoot portion 71, the hindfoot portion 72, and the midfoot portion 73 of the footbed 40, in which case the thickness G of the body 48 of thermoformable material 50 can be taken as a minimum value of the thickness G of the body 48 of thermoformable material 50 among these different portions.

In some examples of implementation, the thickness G of the body 48 of thermoformable material 50 may undergo little or no change when the footbed 40 is thermoformed to conform to the skater's foot. For instance, in some embodiments, the thickness G of the body 48 of thermoformable material 50 may have a certain value G_o when the footbed 40 is in its original shape and another value G_f when the footbed 40 is in the formed shape after being thermoformed which is identical or very close to the value G_o. For example, in some embodiments, a ratio of the thickness G_f of the thermoformable material 50 when the footbed 40 is in the formed shape over the thickness G_o of the thermoformable material 50 when the footbed 40 is in its original shape may be no less than 0.95, in some cases no less than 0.98, and in some cases 1 (i.e., there is no change in thickness). This ratio may have any other suitable value in other embodiments. In some cases, any reduction in thickness of the thermoformable material 50 that may occur during the thermoforming process may be restored when the footbed 40 is heated to the shape-recovering temperature T_o.

In this embodiment, the footbed 40 comprises a thermoforming readiness indicator 66 to indicate when the footbed 40 is ready temperature-wise to be thermoformed to the skater's foot in the cavity 22 of the skate boot 11. The thermoforming readiness indicator 66 comprises a temperature sensor 68 that is sensitive to a current temperature of the thermoformable material 50. In this example, a characteristic of the temperature sensor 68 is changeable in response to a variation in temperature of the thermoformable material 50. Changes in the characteristic of the temperature sensor 68 can therefore provide information relevant for thermoforming of the footbed 40, including an indication of when the footbed 40 is ready temperature-wise to be thermoformed to the skater's foot.

In this example of implementation, the characteristic of the temperature sensor 68 that is changeable is a visual characteristic (e.g., a color or a degree of transparency) of the temperature sensor 68. The temperature sensor 68 interacts with light differently (e.g., reflects, absorbs, and/or transmits light differently) based on its temperature. Thus, a determination of whether the footbed 40 is ready to be thermoformed can be made based on the visual characteristic of the temperature sensor 68.

More particularly, in this embodiment, the temperature sensor 68 comprises a thermochromic substance 70. In this example of implementation, the thermochromatic substance 70 is a thermochromic ink applied onto the thermoformable material 50. In other examples of implementation, the thermochromic substance 70 may be embedded into the thermoformable material 50 (e.g., into the polymer itself).

The thermochromic ink 70 is a temperature-sensitive compound having a visual characteristic (e.g., a color or a degree of transparency) that temporarily changes with exposure to temperature variation. In various embodiments, the thermochromic ink 70 may include liquid crystals, leuco dyes, or any other suitable substance. For example, in some embodiments, the thermochromic ink 70 may be commercially available from various sources (e.g., Chromatic Technologies Inc. (CTI), NCC in Taiwan, etc.). Any other suitable thermochromic ink may be used in other embodiments. Thermochromic inks are known and, as such, no detailed description of them ink will be presented here.

In this embodiment, the thermochromic ink 70 has a given visual state (e.g., a given color or degree of transparency) when the temperature of the footbed 40 is below a temperature threshold and a different visual state (e.g., a different color or degree of transparency) when the temperature of the footbed 40 is above the temperature threshold. More particularly, in this embodiment, the thermochromic ink 70 is of a given color, say black, while the temperature of the footbed 40 is below the temperature threshold and disappears (i.e., is not readily visible to the human eye) when the footbed 40 is above the temperature threshold. The thermochromic ink 70 may disappear by becoming clear (i.e., transparent) or acquiring the same color as the thermoformable material 50 (e.g., if the thermoformable material 50 is blue, the thermochromic ink 50 may disappear by changing from black to blue). In this case, the thermochromic ink 70 disappears by becoming clear (i.e., transparent). For example, the temperature threshold may be related to the thermoforming temperature T_f, such as by corresponding to or being slightly above the thermoforming temperature T_f, or any other suitable temperature threshold.

The thermochromic ink 70 may be arranged in any suitable way. For instance, in this embodiment, the thermochromic ink 70 is distributed into a plurality of thermochromic ink portions 76₁-76₆. In this example, the thermochromic ink portions 76₁-76₆ are a gradient of larger to smaller sized portions, with the ink portion 76₁ larger than the ink portions 76₂-76₆, the ink portion 76₂ larger than ink portions 76₃-76₆, and so on. The thermochromic ink 70 may be arranged in any other suitable manner in other embodiments.

For example, in this embodiment, the footbed 40 can be heated in the oven 61 to a thermoforming temperature T_f-h (i.e., a high thermoforming temperature greater than the thermoforming temperature T_f), which is indicated by the thermochromic ink 70 having disappeared (i.e., changed from black to clear or to the same color as the thermoformable material 50). This signals that the footbed 40 can be removed from the over 61 (e.g., an instruction may be provided with the footbed 40 to indicate that the footbed 40 can be removed from the oven 61 when the thermochromic ink 70 has disappeared). In some cases, the temperature T_f-h may be the shape-recovering temperature T_o and in these cases the disappearance of the ink 70 indicates that the footbed 40 has reached the shape-recovering temperature T_o and has returned to the original shape. Then, once the footbed 40 is removed from the oven 61 and is cooled down to a thermoforming temperature T_f-l (i.e., a lower thermoforming temperature no less than the thermoforming temperature T_f but lower than the high thermoforming temperature T_f-h), the ink 70 starts to re-appear to indicate that the footbed 40 is ready to be thermoformed. This signals that the footbed 40 can be placed in the cavity 22 of the skate 10 and the skater's foot can apply pressure to the footbed 40 such that it conforms to the skater's foot and the skate boot 11.

With additional reference to FIG. 10, in this embodiment, the covering 86 is affixed to an upper surface 59 of the body 48 of thermoformable material 50. In this example, the covering 86 extends over at least a majority of the upper surface 59 of the body 48 of thermoformable material 50. In this case, the covering 86 extends in the forefoot portion 71, the hindfoot portion 72, and the midfoot portion 73 of the footbed 40.

In this example of implementation, the covering 86 is adhesively affixed to the body 48 of thermoformable material 50 by an adhesive 63. The adhesive 63 is able to withstand temperature variations experienced by the footbed 40 when it is heated to be thermoformed. For instance, the adhesive 63 may be a polychloroprene adhesive. Any other suitable adhesive may be used in other embodiments. The covering 86 may be affixed to the body 48 of thermoformable material 50 in any other way in other examples of implementation (e.g., by mechanical fasteners, etc.).

The covering 86 may be implemented in any suitable manner. In this embodiment, the covering 86 comprises a cushioning material 64 and an outer cover 77.

The cushioning material 64 is more flexible (i.e., less rigid) and softer than the thermoformable material 50. That is, a modulus of elasticity of the cushioning material 64 is lower than the modulus of elasticity of the thermoformable material 50, while a hardness of the cushioning material 64 is lower than the hardness of the thermoformable material 50. In this example of implementation, the cushioning material 64 is foam. For instance, the foam 64 may include polyethylene foam (e.g., low- or mid-density polyethylene foam). Any other suitable foam may be used in other embodiments (e.g., ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) foam, polyurethane foam, polypropylene foam, etc.). In some cases, the foam 64 may include a single type of foam. In other cases, the foam 64 may include two or more different types of foam, such as foams having different densities and/or different material compositions (e.g., an outer layer of foam that is denser than an inner layer of foam).

The outer cover 77 is affixed to the cushioning material 64. More particularly, in this embodiment, the outer cover 77 comprises a layer of fabric affixed to the cushioning material 64. The layer of fabric may be woven or nonwoven and may be made of nylon, rayon, cotton, polyester, or any other suitable material. In this example, the outer cover 77 is affixed to the cushioning material 64 by an adhesive (e.g., a solvent-based adhesive).The outer cover 77 may be affixed to the cushioning material 64 in any other suitable way in other examples (e.g., by mechanical fasteners).

A thickness V of the covering 86 may have any suitable value. For example, in some embodiments, the thickness V of the covering 86 may be comparable to the thickness G of the body 48 of thermoformable material 50. For instance, in some embodiments, a ratio of the thickness V of the covering 86 over the thickness G of the body 48 of thermoformable material 50 may be between 0.7 and 1.3, in some cases between 0.8 and 1.2, and in some cases between 0.9 and 1.1. This ratio may have any other suitable value in other embodiments.

In this embodiment, the footbed 40 comprises frictional elements 57₁-57_F, 89₁-89_G to increase friction between the skater's foot and the footbed 40 and between the skate boot 11 and the footbed 40 in order to enhance stability and reduce slippage.

More particularly, in this embodiment, the frictional elements 57₁-57_F are grippers to engage the skater's foot and reduce a potential for slippage of the skater's foot relative to the footbed 40. A frictional force exerted by a gripper 57_x on the skater's foot is greater than a frictional force exerted by an area of the footbed 40 outside of the grippers 57₁-57_F on the skater's foot (i.e., a coefficient of friction between the gripper 57_x and the skater's foot 12 is greater than a coefficient of friction between the area of the footbed 40 outside of the grippers 57₁-57_F and the skater's foot). More specifically, the grippers 57₁-57_F are provided on the covering 86 and their coefficient of friction with the skater's foot is greater than a coefficient of the outer cover 77 with the skater's foot. In this case, the grippers 57₁-57_F are disposed in the forefoot 71 of the footbed 40 to reduce slippage in that region.

The grippers 57₁-57_F may comprise any suitable material to exert sufficient friction. For example, in this embodiment, each of the grippers 57₁-57_F comprises a tackifying material 90 such as a thermoplastic elastomer (e.g., Santoprene™) polyurethane (thermoplastic or thermoset), polyvinyl chloride (e.g., Plastisol), silicone, or any other suitable material providing tackiness. Any other suitable material providing a high coefficient of friction may be used in other embodiments. The grippers 57₁-57_F may be provided in any suitable way. For instance, in this embodiment, the grippers 57₁-57_F may be printed (e.g., screen-printed) onto the outer cover 77. In other embodiments, the grippers 57₁-57_F may be adhesively bonded to the outer cover 77, stitched to the outer cover 77, or provided using any other suitable process.

Also, in this embodiment, the frictional elements 89₁-89_G are textured areas of the body 48 of thermoformable material 50 that generate greater friction with the skater's foot and the skate boot 11 than areas of the body 48 of thermoformable material 50 outside of the textured areas 89₁-89_G. For instance, in this example of implementation, the textured areas 89₁-89_G include ridges (e.g., in a cross-hatched pattern) formed when originally molding the body 48 of thermoformable material 50. The textured areas 89₁-89_G may be arranged in any other suitable way in other examples of implementation.

In some embodiments, the covering 86 may be positioned on top of the thermoforming readiness indicator 66 and in such embodiments, the covering 86 may be provided with a region, a cutout, a window and/or any other suitable means in which the thermoforming readiness indicator 66 is visible through the covering 86.

In some embodiments, the thermoforming readiness indicator 66 may be embedded and/or indented into the thermoformable material 50 of the footbed 40, which may assist in reducing wear of the thermochromic substance 70 off of the thermoforming readiness indicator 66 by use or wear of the footbed 40.

An example will now be presented with reference to FIG. 11 which illustrates a flowchart of a process 1100 for thermoforming the footbed 40 in some embodiments. At step 1102, the heat source 61 is applied to the footbed 40. In this example, the footbed 40 is in its original shape when the heat source 61 is applied. Also, in this example, the heat source is the oven 61, previously discussed. The oven 61 may be preheated for a set period of time (e.g., 5 minutes, or any other suitable time) or to a specific temperature prior to the footbed 40 being placed in the oven 61. In this example, the oven 61 is set to a temperature of about 75° C. (e.g., about 170° F.). In this example, once the oven 61 has been preheated, the footbed 40 is placed in the oven 61 face up (e.g., the lower side 36 may touch a surface or a rack of the oven 61 and the upper side 34 does not engage the surface or the rack of the oven 61). In this example, the skate 10 is placed in the oven 61 along with the footbed 40. In some cases, the skate 10 may be heated for a set period of time (e.g., 1 minute 30 seconds, or any other suitable time) prior to or after the footbed 40 is placed in the oven 61. Yet, in other cases, the skate 10 may not be heated at all. At step 1104, a determination is made as to whether the footbed 40 is ready to be thermoformed. For example, in some cases, the thermoforming readiness indicator 66 may indicate that the footbed 40 is ready to be thermoformed based on the temperature of the footbed 40. In this example, the thermochromic ink portions 76₁-76₆ of the thermochromic ink 70 change from black to clear to indicate that the footbed 40 is ready to be thermoformed, when the temperature of the footbed 40 is above 65° C., say 70° C. Then, at step 1106, the heat source 61 is ceased to be applied to the footbed 40. In this example, the footbed 40 is removed from the oven 61 along with the skate 10. At this step, when the footbed 40 is removed from the oven 61, all of the thermochromic ink portions 76₁-76₆ are clear. Then, at step 1108, once the footbed 40 is removed from the oven 61, the thermochromic ink portions 76₁-76₆ of the indicator 66 start to reappear as the temperature of the footbed 40 drops, which indicates that the footbed 40 should be inserted into the cavity 22 of the skate 10 and thermoformed by the skater's foot. In this example, the thermochromic ink portions 76₁-76₆ of the indicator 66 start to reappear around 65° C. Once the footbed 40 is inserted into the cavity 22 of the skate 10, the skater can insert his/her foot F into the cavity 22 of the skate 10 and then apply pressure to the footbed 40 (e.g., stand-up with the skate 10 on). The skater may then continue to stand on the footbed 40 for a specific amount of time. For example, the skater may stand on the footbed for 1 minute, while in other cases the skater may stand on the footbed for longer or shorter than 1 minute. This step allows for a mechanical deformation of the footbed 40 and subsequent fixation of the footbed 40 in that deformation. The skater may then repeat the aforementioned steps for a second footbed for his/her other skate.

The footbed 40 may be thermoformed a number of times, by first heating the footbed 40 in the formed shape to the shape-recovering temperature T_o to recover its original shape and then repeating the process 1100.

In some embodiments, the footbed 40 may originally be configured with the arch 81 being exaggeratedly high and the wall 49 defining a narrow heel cup such that, when the footbed 40 is thermoformed, the arch 81 is lowered and the wall 49 defines a wider heel cup to conform to the skater's foot. For instance, the arched portion 74 and lateral and medial portions of the wall 49 may be such that the footbed 40 between the lateral and medial portions of the wall 49 is narrower than the skater's foot F. During thermoforming of the footbed 40, the arched portion 74 and the lateral and medial portions of the wall 49 move in position such that footbed 40 becomes wider and conforms to the skater's foot F (e.g., the lateral and medial portions of the wall 49 move away from one another).

FIG. 12 is a state diagram illustrating possible states that the footbed 40 may be in from being provided after manufacture in its original shape, to being thermoformed into a formed shape, to recovering its original shape, and to being subsequently thermoformed into a different formed shape. At state S1, the footbed 40 is provided to the user in its original shape. The user may then chose to thermoform the footbed 40, by first heating the footbed 40 to a temperature at least as high as the thermoforming temperature T_f (i.e., T≧T_f), as illustrated by the transition T₁₂, causing the footbed 40 to enter state S2 where the footbed 40 is in a deformable state. Then, while the temperature of the footbed 40 is at or above the thermoforming temperature T_f (e.g., the footbed 40 remains in state S2), the footbed 40 may be deformed in to any desired formed shape. Once the temperature of the footbed 40 drops below the thermoforming temperature T_f (i.e., T<T_f), as illustrated by the transition T₂₃, subsequent fixation of that formed shape occurs and the footbed 40 then enters state S3. The footbed 40 maintains the fixated formed shape while the temperature of the footbed 40 remains below the shape-recovering temperature T_o (i.e., T<T_o) (e.g., the footbed 40 remains in state S3). Then, if the footbed 40 is heated above the shape-recovering temperature T_o (i.e., T>T_o), as illustrated by the transition T₃₄, then the footbed returns to its original shape when no load or pressure is applied and the footbed 40 enters state S4. Then, once the footbed 40 is allowed to cool down so the temperature drops below the shape-recovering temperature T_o (i.e., T<T_o), as illustrated by the transition T₄₁, then the footbed 40 maintains the original shape and returns to the original state S1. Once the footbed 40 returns to the original state S1, it is possible for the state of the footbed 40 to be changed amongst the various states (S1, S2, S3, and S4), if the condition for the transition from state-to-state is met.

In some embodiments, the shape-recovering temperature T_o may be equal to the thermoforming temperature T_f. In other embodiments, the shape-recovering temperature T_o may be greater than the thermoforming temperature T_f (i.e., T_f<T_o). In other words, the activation temperature for shape-recovery may be greater than or equal to the thermoforming temperature.

The footbed 40 may be implemented in various other ways in other embodiments.

For example, in other embodiments, the thermoforming readiness indicator 66 may indicate a rigidity of the footbed 40 (e.g., it is a stiffness indicator, which would not necessarily indicate temperature). FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a variant of the footbed 40 where the thermoforming readiness indicator 66 is a stiffness indicator. The thermoforming readiness indicator 66 comprises a stiffness sensor 68′ that is sensitive to a current rigidity of the thermoformable material 50. In this embodiment, the thermoforming readiness indicator 66 indicates when the footbed 40 is ready rigidity-wise to be thermoformed to the skater's foot in the cavity 22 of the skate boot 11. In this example, a characteristic of the stiffness sensor 68′ is changeable in response to a variation in rigidity of the thermoformable material 50. In this case, the characteristic of the stiffness sensor 68′ that is changeable is a visual characteristic (e.g., a color or a degree of transparency) of the stiffness sensor 68′. More particularly, in this embodiment, the stiffness sensor 68′ comprises a thermochromic substance 70′ which may be similar to the thermochromic substance 70 discussed previously.

The stiffness indicator 66 may detect a range of stiffness of the footbed 40. For example, when the stiffness of the thermoformable material 50 of the footbed 40 is below a stiffness threshold, the thermoformable material 50 is not ready rigidity-wise to be thermoformed and, when the stiffness of the thermoformable material 50 of the footbed 40 is above the stiffness threshold, the thermoformable material 50 is ready rigidity-wise to be thermoformed. For instance, in this embodiment, when the stiffness of the thermoformable material 50 of the footbed 40 is below the stiffness threshold, the indicator 66′ is of a given color, say black, and if the stiffness of the thermoformable material 50 of the footbed 40 is above the stiffness threshold, the indicator 66′ becomes clear (i.e., disappears). The stiffness threshold may have any suitable value. As another example, while in embodiments considered above the thermoforming readiness indicator 66 provides two indications, namely a first indication that the footbed 40 is to be removed from the oven 61 and a second indication that the footbed 40 is ready to be thermoformed by the skater's foot in the skate boot 11, in other embodiments, two separate thermoforming readiness indicators may be provided, namely a first one to first indicate that the footbed 40 is to be removed from the oven 61 and a second one to indicate that the footbed 40 is ready to be thermoformed by the skater's foot in the skate boot 11.

While in this embodiment the thermoforming readiness indicator 66 is present on the footbed 40, in other embodiments, a thermoforming readiness indicator 66″ may be present on the skate 10, such as, for instance, as illustrated in FIG. 14. In this embodiment, the indicator 66″ is provided on the skate boot 11 and is similar in construction to the indicator 66 previously discussed, notably in that it comprises thermochromic ink 70″. The indicator 66″ may be disposed at any suitable place on the skate 10.

In this embodiment, the skate 10 having the footbed 40 inserted in the cavity 22 may be heated in the oven 61 in a similar fashion as previously discussed. As the indicator 66″ is positioned on the exterior of the skate 10, the temperature at which the thermochromic ink 70″ of the indicator 66″ on the skate 10 disappears and reappears may vary from, but be calibrated to, the temperature at which the thermochromic ink 70 of the indicator 66 on the footbed 40 disappears and reappears. More specifically, the temperature at which the thermochromic ink 70″ of the indicator 66″ on the skate 10 disappears and reappears may be higher than the temperature at which the thermochromic ink 70 of the indicator 66 on the footbed 40 disappears and reappears to account for additional time needed for the footbed 40 to heat up compared to the exterior of the skate 10.

For example, when the skate 10 is heated in the oven 61 to a temperature T′_f-h (i.e., a temperature greater than the thermoforming temperature T_f) the thermochromic ink 70″ disappears, which indicates to the user that the footbed 40 is at or above the thermoforming temperature T_f that is desirable for thermoforming the footbed 40. Then, once the skate 10 is removed from the oven 61 and is cooled down to a temperature T′_f-l (i.e., a lower temperature no less than the thermoforming temperature T_f but lower than the temperature T′_f-h), the ink 70″ starts to re-appear to indicate to the user that the footbed 40 is ready to be thermoformed (e.g., the skater's foot can be inserted in the skate boot 11 to apply pressure to the footbed 40 in the skate 10).

In such embodiments where the thermoforming readiness indicator 66″ is located on the exterior of the skate 10, the thermoforming readiness indicator 60 may be omitted from the footbed 40. Also, when the indicator 66″ is visible to the user during the thermoforming process (e.g., the user has inserted his/her foot F into the cavity 22 of the skate 10 and is applying pressure to the footbed 40), the user may then continue to stand on the footbed 40 for a specific amount of time or may look to the indicator 66″, which may indicate when the formed shape of footbed 40 has been fixed. For example, the indicator 66″ may indicate when the temperature of the footbed 40 is below the thermoforming temperature T_f.

In various embodiments, the footbed 40 may be manufactured (e.g., by injection molding or otherwise molding the body 48 of thermformable material 50) for various sizes (e.g., small, medium, large; U.S. foot sizes 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, etc.; or any other suitable range of sizes). In some cases, the footbed 40 may be cutable to adjust its size (e.g., such that a half size may be formed or formed to fit into existing skates).

Although in embodiments considered above the footbed 40 is provided separately from the skate 10 and insertable into and removable from the skate boot 11, the footbed 40 may be an integrated part of the skate boot 11 in other embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, the lower side 36 of the footbed 40 may be fastened (e.g., with adhesive, mechanical fastener, or any other suitable fastening means) to a remainder of the skate boot 11. In such embodiments, the thermoforming readiness indicator 66″ may be provided on the exterior of the skate 10).

While in this embodiment the skate 10 is an ice skate, the skate 10 in which the footbed 40 is provided may be any other type of skate in other embodiments. For example, in other embodiments, as shown in FIG. 15, the skate 10 may be a roller skate for playing roller hockey or engaging in another type of roller skating and the skating device 13 may comprise a frame 53 carrying a plurality of roller wheels 54₁-54₄ for contacting a dry skating surface (e.g., a polymeric, concrete or wooden surface).

Although in this embodiment the footwear 10 is a skate, the footwear 10 in which the footbed 40 is provided may be any other type of footwear in other embodiments. For example, in other embodiments, the footwear 10 may be a shoe or a boot, as shown in FIG. 16. Although a running shoe is illustrated in FIG. 16, it is appreciated that any type of shoe or boot may be used, such as a tennis shoe, golf shoe, rugby shoe, basketball shoe, or any other suitable shoe or boot.

While embodiments discussed above relate to footwear in which is provided a thermoformable footbed, in other embodiments, other articles wearable by users adjacent to other body parts (e.g., a head, arms, legs, a chest, etc.) of the users may comprise thermoformable material and be constructed using principles discussed herein in respect of the footbed 40. For example, in other embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 17 to 25, protective gear 110 wearable by a user may comprise a member 140 (e.g., a pad) to be positioned adjacent to a body part of the user and comprising thermoformable material 150 constructed using principles discussed herein in respect of the footbed 40. This may allow the protective gear 110 to better fit the user.

For example, in some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 17 to 21, the protective gear 110 may comprise a helmet (e.g., a hockey, lacrosse, baseball, football, or other sports helmet) in which the member 140 comprising the thermoformable material 150 is a pad for engaging the user's head. The pad 140 comprises padding 144 shaped by the thermoformable material 150. That is, a shape of the pad 140 is dictated by a shape of the thermoformable material 150. The thermoformable material 150 thus implements a support 148 on which the padding 144 is mounted such that the shape of the support 148 defines the shape of the padding 144. The padding 144 may be fastened to the support 148 in any suitable way (e.g., by an adhesive, by one or more screws, staples, or other mechanical fasteners, by overmolding, etc.).

In this embodiment, the padding 144 comprises a plurality of padding elements 153₁-153₃ that are mounted to the support 148 such that the padding elements 153₁-153₃ are movable relative to one another when the shape of the support 148 is altered. The padding 144 may be a single one-piece padding layer that can change shape when the shape of the support 148 is altered in other embodiments.

The padding 144 comprises cushioning material 161. In this example of implementation, the cushioning material 161 is foam. For instance, the foam 161 may include polyethylene foam (e.g., low- or mid-density polyethylene foam), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) foam, polyurethane foam, polypropylene foam, or any other suitable foam. In some cases, the foam 161 may include a single type of foam. In other cases, the foam 161 may include two or more different types of foam, such as foams having different densities and/or different material compositions (e.g., an outer layer of foam that is denser than an inner layer of foam). The cushioning material 161 may be implemented in any other suitable way in other examples of implementation (e.g., rubber or another elastomer).

In this example, the cushioning material 161 is more flexible (i.e., less rigid) and softer than the thermoformable material 150. That is, a modulus of elasticity of the cushioning material 161 is lower than the modulus of elasticity of the thermoformable material 150, while a hardness of the cushioning material 161 is lower than the hardness of the thermoformable material 150.

In this embodiment, the pad 140 is selectively (i) detachable and removable from and (ii) attachable to a remainder of the helmet 110 in order to allow it to be removed, thermoformed, and reinstalled within the helmet 110. More particularly, in this embodiment, the pad 140 comprises a connector 170 to connect it to another part of the helmet 110. For instance, in this embodiment, the connector 170 of the pad 140 is connectable to an outer shell 180 of the helmet 110. In this case, the connector 170 of the pad 140 is connectable to a connector 185 of the outer shell 180. For example, in various embodiments, the connector 170 of the pad 140 and the connector 185 of the outer shell 180 may be buttons (e.g., male and female snap buttons), clips, hook-and-loop fasteners). The connector 170 of the pad 140 may be implemented in any other suitable way in other embodiments.

In some embodiments, the pad 140 may comprise a thermoforming readiness indicator, similar to that discussed above, to indicate when the pad 140 is ready to be thermoformed.

As other examples, in other embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 22 and 23, the protective gear 110 may comprise an arm guard (e.g., an elbow pad). In other embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 24 and 25, the protective gear 110 may comprise a leg guard (e.g., a shin guard). In yet other embodiments, the protective gear 110 may comprise shoulder pads.

Although in embodiments discussed above the body 48 of the footbed 40 and the member 140 of the protective gear 110 comprise a shape-memory material which is responsive to a thermal stimulus (i.e., the thermoformable material 50, 150 which is a thermally-induced shape-memory polymer), in other embodiments, a body or other member of a footbed, protective gear, or other wearable article may comprise a shape-memory material exhibiting a shape-memory effect triggered by a stimulus that is not heat but rather light (e.g., infrared light), an electric field, a magnetic field, immersion in liquid (e.g., water, a solution, etc.), or any other suitable stimulus.

While in embodiments discussed above the terms “original shape” and “formed shape” are used, the term “original shape” may be used interchangeably with “permanent shape”, “permanent form”, “stored form” (or any other suitable phrase) and the term “formed shape” may be used interchangeably with “temporary shape”, “temporary form” (or any other suitable phrase).

To facilitate the description, any reference numeral designating an element in one figure designates the same element if used in any other figures. In describing the embodiments, specific terminology has been resorted to for the sake of clarity but the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is understood that each specific term comprises all equivalents.

In some embodiments, any feature of any embodiment described herein may be used in combination with any feature of any other embodiment described herein.

Certain additional elements that may be needed for operation of certain embodiments have not been described or illustrated as they are assumed to be within the purview of those of ordinary skill in the art. Moreover, certain embodiments may be free of, may lack and/or may function without any element that is not specifically disclosed herein.

In case of any discrepancy, inconsistency, or other difference between terms used herein and terms used in any document incorporated by reference herein, meanings of the terms used herein are to prevail and be used.

Although various embodiments have been illustrated, this was for the purpose of describing, but not limiting, the invention. Various modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art and are within the scope of this invention, which is defined more particularly by the attached claims.

Claims

1. A footbed for a skate, the footbed comprising:

an upper side for engaging a skater's foot received in a skate boot of the skate;

a lower side opposite to the upper side; and

thermoformable material allowing the footbed to be thermoformed to conform to the skater's foot.

2. The footbed of claim 1, wherein the thermoformable material comprises a shape-memory material.

3. The footbed of claim 2, wherein the shape-memory material allows the footbed to be thermoformed into a plurality of different shapes and to recover an original shape in response to being heated to a shape-recovering temperature.

4. The footbed of claim 2, wherein the shape-memory material comprises a shape-memory polymer.

5. The footbed of claim 3, wherein the shape-memory polymer is a shape-memory polyurethane.

6. The footbed of claim 1, wherein a thermoforming temperature of the thermoformable material is no greater than 85° C.

7. The footbed of claim 1, wherein a thermoforming temperature of the thermoformable material is no greater than 75° C.

8. (canceled)

9. (canceled)

10. (canceled)

11. (canceled)

12. The footbed of claim 1, wherein the thermoformable material is rigid at room temperature.

13. The footbed of claim 1, wherein, at room temperature, the thermoformable material is stiffer than an underlying material of the skate boot that contacts and supports the footbed in use.

14. (canceled)

15. (canceled)

16. (canceled)

17. The footbed of claim 1, wherein a modulus of elasticity of the thermoformable material is at least 150 MPa according to ASTM D638-10.

18. (canceled)

19. The footbed of claim 1, wherein the thermoformable material substantially does not compress at room temperature when the skater's foot rests on the footbed while the skater is standing on the skate.

20. The footbed of claim 1, wherein a thickness of the thermoformable material remains substantially constant at room temperature whether (i) the skater's foot rests on the footbed while the skater is standing on the skate 10 or (ii) the skater's foot is not in the skate boot and the footbed is unloaded.

21. The footbed of claim 1, wherein a ratio of (i) a thickness of the thermoformable material when the skater's foot rests on the footbed while the skater is standing on the skate over (ii) the thickness of the thermoformable material when the skater's foot is not in the skate boot and the footbed is unloaded is no less than 0.95.

22. (canceled)

23. The footbed of claim 1, wherein a hardness of the thermoformable material is at least 40 Shore D.

24. (canceled)

25. The footbed of claim 1, wherein the thermoformable material is harder than an underlying material of the skate boot that contacts and supports the footbed.

26. (canceled)

27. (canceled)

28. (canceled)

29. (canceled)

30. (canceled)

31. (canceled)

32. The footbed of claim 1, wherein a thickness of the thermoformable material when the footbed has been thermoformed to conform to the skater's foot is substantially equal to the thickness of the thermoformable material when the footbed is in an original shape prior to being thermoformed to conform to the skater's foot.

33. The footbed of claim 1, comprising a thermoforming readiness indicator to indicate when the footbed is ready to be thermoformed to the skater's foot in the skate boot.

34. The footbed of claim 33, wherein the thermoforming readiness indicator comprises a temperature sensor that is sensitive to a current temperature of the thermoformable material.

35. The footbed of claim 34, wherein a visual characteristic of the temperature sensor is changeable in response to variation in the current temperature of the thermoformable material.

36. The footbed of claim 35, wherein the visual characteristic is a color of the temperature sensor.

37. The footbed of claim 35, wherein the visual characteristic is a degree of transparency of the temperature sensor.

38. The footbed of claim 35, wherein the temperature sensor comprises a thermochromic substance.

39. The footbed of claim 38, wherein the thermochromatic substance is a thermochromic ink applied to the thermoformable material.

40. The footbed of claim 39, wherein the thermochromic ink has a first visual state when the current temperature of the thermoformable material is below a temperature threshold and a second visual state, different from the first visual state, when the current temperature of the thermoformable material is above the temperature threshold.

41. The footbed of claim 40, wherein the first visual state includes a first color and the second visual state includes a second color different from the first color.

42. The footbed of claim 40, wherein the first visual state includes a first degree of transparency and the second visual state includes a second degree of transparency different from the first degree of transparency.

43. The footbed of claim 39, wherein the thermochromic ink is visible when the current temperature of the thermoformable material is below a temperature threshold and disappears when the current temperature of the thermoformable material is above the temperature threshold.

44. The footbed of claim 39, wherein the thermochromic ink is distributed into a plurality of thermochromic ink portions on the thermoformable material.

45. The footbed of claim 1, wherein the footbed is insertable into and removable from a cavity of the skate boot.

46. The footbed of claim 1, comprising a plantar surface for engaging a plantar surface of the skater's foot and a wall projecting upwardly from the plantar surface of the footbed.

47. The footbed of claim 46, wherein the wall is configured to turn about a heel of the skater's foot and face part of a medial side of the skater's foot and part of a lateral side of the skater's foot.

48. The footbed of claim 46, wherein the wall comprises an arched portion for engaging an arch of the skater's foot.

49. The footbed of claim 1, wherein the footbed comprises a forefoot portion, a hindfoot portion, and a midfoot portion for respectively engaging a forefoot, a hindfoot, and a midfoot of the skater's foot.

50. The footbed of claim 1, wherein the footbed has a longitudinal curvature defining an arched portion to overlap an arch of the skater's foot.

51. The footbed of claim 50, wherein the footbed has a transversal curvature defining a concave portion to encompass a hindfoot of the skater's foot.

52. The footbed of claim 1, comprising a covering affixed to the thermoformable material at the upper side of the footbed.

53. The footbed of claim 53, wherein: the footbed comprises a forefoot portion, a hindfoot portion, and a midfoot portion for respectively engaging a forefoot, a hindfoot, and a midfoot of the skater's foot; and the covering extends in the forefoot portion, the hindfoot portion, and the midfoot portion of the footbed.

54. The footbed of claim 52, wherein the covering is adhesively affixed to the thermoformable material by an adhesive able to withstand temperature variations experienced by the footbed when heated to be thermoformed to conform to the skater's foot.

55. The footbed of claim 52, wherein the covering comprises cushioning material.

56. The footbed of claim 55, wherein the cushioning material is more flexible and softer than the thermoformable material.

57. The footbed of claim 56, wherein a modulus of elasticity of the cushioning material is lower than a modulus of elasticity of the thermoformable material.

58. The footbed of claim 56, wherein a hardness of the cushioning material is lower than a hardness of the thermoformable material.

59. The footbed of claim 55, wherein the cushioning material is foam.

60. The footbed of claim 55, wherein the covering comprises an outer cover disposed over the cushioning material.

61. The footbed of claim 60, wherein the outer cover comprises a layer of fabric.

62. (canceled)

63. (canceled)

64. The footbed of claim 1, comprising a frictional element to increase friction between the skater's foot and the footbed such that a coefficient of friction between the frictional element and the skater's foot is greater than a coefficient of friction between an area of the footbed outside of the frictional element and the skater's foot.

65. (canceled)

66. The footbed of claim 64, wherein the frictional element comprises a tackifying material.

67. (canceled)

68. The footbed of claim 64, wherein the frictional element comprises a textured area.

69. The footbed of claim 64, wherein the frictional element is one of a plurality of frictional elements that are distributed on the footbed.

70. A skate comprising:

a skate boot for receiving a skater's foot; and

a footbed for engaging the skater's foot when received in the skate boot, the footbed comprising thermoformable material allowing the footbed to be thermoformed to conform to the skater's foot.

71. The skate of claim 70, wherein the footbed is fastened to a remainder of the skate boot.

72. The skate of claim 70, comprising a thermoforming readiness indicator to indicate when the footbed is ready to be thermoformed to the skater's foot in the skate boot.

73. The skate of claim 72, wherein the thermoforming readiness indicator is disposed on an exterior of the skate.

74. A footbed for footwear, the footbed comprising:

an upper side for engaging a user's foot received in the footwear;

a lower side opposite to the upper side; and

thermoformable material allowing the footbed to be thermoformed to conform to the user's foot, the thermoformable material comprising a shape-memory material.

75. (canceled)

76. A footbed for footwear, the footbed comprising:

an upper side for engaging a user's foot received in the footwear;

a lower side opposite to the upper side;

thermoformable material allowing the footbed to be thermoformed to conform to the user's foot; and

a thermoforming readiness indicator to indicate when the footbed is ready to be thermoformed to the user's foot in the footwear.

77. (canceled)

78. (canceled)

79. (canceled)

80. (canceled)

81. (canceled)

82. (canceled)

83. (canceled)

84. (canceled)

85. (canceled)

86. (canceled)

87. (canceled)