Quick release goalie pad attachment
Quick and reliable attachment of a goalie leg pad to a goalie skate is achieved by providing a fastener semi-permanently attached to the pad and releasably secured to an attachment point on the goalie skate. The fastener is suitable for use by goalies of all ages and abilities.
The invention relates to goalie equipment used in ice hockey and in particular to an improved attachment mechanism for coupling the leg pads to the skates worn by goalies.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONGoaltenders in ice hockey wear protective gear uniquely designed to protect the goaltender from the high impact force of a puck while at the same time, allowing the goaltender sufficient flexibility of movement to prevent the puck from entering the goal. In particular, the goalie's skates and leg pads must work together to form a single system for both blocking the puck from entering the goal and protecting the goalie's feet and legs from the potentially bruising impact force of the puck. Goalie leg pad designs and materials have advanced significantly in recent years. The pads are more flexible and responsive to the goaltender's movements than the pads from ten years ago. Further, the new pads provide better protection for the player. However, prior art systems used to couple the lower portion of the leg pad to the skate have proven to be less than ideal.
Currently, the connection between the skate and leg pad is accomplished in one of two ways. One way is to couple one end of a leather strap to one side of the bottom of pad and to couple a buckle to the other side of the bottom of the pad. The free end of the strap is then passed between the boot and blade of the skate and secured using the buckle. This arrangement suffers from two problems. First, youth hockey players find it difficult to use this arrangement. Also, the strap and buckles break when subjected to the moisture and forces associated with the game of hockey, making the pads unusable until expensive repairs are made.
More recently, this strap and buckle arrangement was replaced by the use of an elongated lace, similar to a skate lace. Such goalie leg pads are sold with a skate lace specifically to perform this function of joining the bottom of the pad to the skate. The lace is woven through one or more eyelets in the toe bridge region on the pad scoop of the leg pad. The lace is then tied in a variety of knots and bows to fasten the pad to the skate with the appropriate length of lace to permit the goalie to flare or rotate the skate while maintaining an appropriate direction of the pad face.
Several problems exist with this lace system. Again, youth hockey players find it difficult to use. They have difficulty manipulating and tying the lace. Also, at even the high school, college, or professional level, the lace can become untied during play. This results in a loss of connection and control between the skate and the pad hindering not only the movement of the goalie, but also the ability of the equipment to rotate properly. An untied lace, if stepped on by the goalie or another player, can also send the player crashing to the ice resulting in injury.
The tendency for the lace to come untied is especially problematic for younger athletes. Often times, when the lace becomes untied, young players are not skilled enough to make the appropriate adjustments or bend over to retie the lace with all the other goalie equipment in place. Lengthy timeouts are required during a practice or game while a lace, now soaked with water from the ice, is retied. This results in costly waste of ice time during a practice session or game. As any youth hockey parent knows, ice time is precious and expensive.
Each of the prior configurations represents an unsatisfactory mechanism for creating an attachment between the skate and pad scoop region of a goalie leg pad. The prior art configurations also fail to provide the desired level of control for delivering directional force to the pad scoop of the leg pad. Therefore, the pad scoop tends to lag slightly behind the foot movement or is simply out of position. Only slight changes in position between the skate and the pad scoop can mean the difference between to goalie making a save or allowing a goal.
The present invention provides a quick and convenient method and mechanism for fastening the skate to the pad and overcomes each of the disadvantages of the prior art systems discussed above.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe objective of the present invention is to provide an improved mechanism for connecting the goalie's leg pad to the goalie's skate.
Goalie skates typically include a boot, a cowling, and a blade. The cowling is a hardened protective composite covering that encases the lower portion of the boot. The goalie skate of the present invention further includes an attachment point. This attachment point is typically located at the toe portion of the cowling or on the front portion of the skate blade. The attachment point may be configured in a variety of different ways.
The goalie leg pad of the present invention generally covers and extends from several inches above the knee down to and over the boot of the skate. A section of the leg pad, referred to as the pad scoop, extends over the boot of the skate. The pad scoop further includes a toe bridge positioned at or near the skate toe when the athlete wears both pieces of equipment. The toe bridge (or pad scoop) typically includes at least one eyelet.
The present invention also provides a quick release, removable fastener to connect the leg pad to the attachment point of the skate. When in use, one end of the fastener is semi-permanently secured to the goalie pad via the eyelets. The other end of the fastener is releasably secured to the attachment point. The fastening element may vary in size and configuration, but optimally will maintain approximately a two inch distance between the skate and the pad scoop at the toe bridge.
The present invention is designed to permit a quick, easy to use, and reliable connection between the leg pad and the skate. The configuration of the fastener and the attachment point provides the desired convenience and easy access long desired by the athlete for effectively providing the functional connection and responsive performance between the skate and pad.
Although the invention is described below with illustrative embodiments, it is understood that the invention may be practiced in a variety of configurations that involve numerous alterations, deletions, and additions without departing from the inventive concept.
The toe portion 30a of the cowling 30 includes an orifice 40. The orifice 40 may be of any shape and size that satisfies the structural and functional requirements for this particular application. For example, the orifice 40 may be circular, ovoid, square, or rectangular. The toe portion 30a further comprises an attachment point 50 crossing the orifice 40. The attachment point 50 may be integrally formed with the cowling 30a or may be a separate element formed from a metal, metal alloy, plastics or the like.
As shown, one possible structure for attachment point 50 is a bar 52 that bisects the orifice 40. While the bar 52 is shown running horizontally, bar 52 may also run vertically within the orifice 40 and still function properly. The bar 52 traverses, the orifice 40 and creates the attachment point 50 in a fastening region 54. Ideally, the bar 52 resides sufficiently behind the outer most portion of the tow portion 30a so that a shot puck will not contact the bar 52 and potentially break the bar 52.
Another suitable embodiment is shown in
Still another alternative embodiment is shown in
Claims
1. A goalie skate comprising:
- (a) a boot;
- (b) a cowling covering a portion of the boot and having a toe portion;
- (c) a blade having a front portion; and
- (d) an attachment point located at either the toe portion of the cowling or the front portion of the blade.
2. The goalie skate of claim 1 wherein the attachment point comprises a hole through the front portion of the blade.
3. The goalie skate of claim 1 wherein said attachment point is integrally molded with the cowling.
4. The goalie skate of claim 1 wherein said attachment point comprises an orifice in the toe portion of the cowling and a bar extending across said opening.
5. The goalie skate of claim 1 wherein said attachment point comprises a structure integrally formed with the toe portion of the cowling and a channel extending through said structure.
6. Protective equipment worn by a hockey goalie comprising:
- (a) a goalie leg pad having at least one eyelet;
- (b) a skate comprising a boot, a cowling covering a portion of the boot and having a toe portion, a blade having a front portion, and an attachment point located at either the toe portion of the cowling or the front portion of the blade, and
- (c) a removable fastening element comprising (i) an elongated element extending through said at least one eyelet and semi-permanently coupled to said goalie leg pad, and (ii) a clip coupled to the elongated element and releasably fastened to said attachment point to join said goalie leg pad to said skate.
7. The protective equipment of claim 6 wherein said clip includes a swivel.
8. The protective equipment of claim 6 wherein said clip comprises a hook and a pressure locking mechanism.
9. The protective equipment of claim 6 wherein said attachment point comprises a hole through the front portion of the blade.
10. The protective equipment of claim 6 wherein said attachment point is integrally molded with the cowling.
11. The protective equipment of claim 6 wherein the attachment point comprises an orifice in the toe portion of the cowling and a bar extending across said opening.
12. The protective equipment of claim 6 wherein said attachment point comprises a structure integrally formed with the toe portion of the cowling and a channel extending through said structure.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 6, 2008
Publication Date: Sep 10, 2009
Inventors: John Goor (Anoka, MN), Zach Sikich (Minneapolis, MN)
Application Number: 12/074,760
International Classification: A63C 3/00 (20060101);