SPORTS BOOT CONSTRUCTION

Abstract

A sports boot and a method for constructing the sports boot are disclosed comprising a unitary body and an external upper assembly. In the current embodiment, the unitary body has a sole portion, an upper portion, and an ankle cuff portion, and comprises injection-molded ethylene vinyl acetate. The external upper assembly is of composite construction from relatively rugged materials, and, in a current embodiment, includes side panels, forefoot panels, and one or more instep panels. The external upper assembly is attached to the unitary body to form the boot.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 61/177,934, filed May 13, 2009, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

The construction of boots, and in particular sports boots, has been evolving over time. Sports boots often present a large number of competing objectives that a designer must consider. For example, often low weight and ruggedness are both high priorities. Because sports boots are typically worn and actively in use for long periods of time, they must be comfortable. However, in many applications such as snow sports, the sports boots must also be responsive to the user such that attached sports equipment, for example skis, snowboards, and the like, can be readily and precisely controlled. Also, because sports boots are typically subjected to relatively rigorous usage and difficult environments, it is important that they be constructed ruggedly and for endurance.

Prior art sports boots typically respond to the various objectives by engineering greater complexity into the sports boots, which can greatly increase costs and provide increasing modes for boot failure. In particular, increasing parts count in the design of sports boots can result in high material costs and high assembly costs. There is a need for a sports boot that provides lightweight, rugged construction, comfort, responsiveness, and ease of construction.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

A sports boot and method for fabricating the sports boot are disclosed. The sports boot includes a unitary body having a sole portion and an upper portion. The upper portion includes a toe portion configured to enclose a portion of a user's foot, and a cuff portion configured to wrap about a user's ankle. A relatively rigid or semi-rigid elongate support is attached to the cuff portion of the unitary body. An external upper assembly is attached to the unitary body and covers a portion of the unitary body. A closure means such as a lacing structure is also provided.

In an embodiment of the invention, the unitary body comprises injection-molded ethylene vinyl acetate.

In an embodiment of the invention, the external upper assembly comprises a side panel, a forefoot panel, and an instep panel that are preassembled prior to attachment to the unitary body.

In an embodiment of the invention, an inner surface of the cuff portion defines a recess that is shaped to receive the elongate support, such that the elongate support is flush with the inner surface of the cuff portion.

In an embodiment of the invention, reinforcing panels are attached to the unitary body to support attachment of the external upper assembly to the unitary body.

In an embodiment of the invention, the unitary body includes a plurality of thickened sections that are not covered by the external upper assembly.

A method of constructing the sports boot is disclosed that includes injection molding the unitary body, attaching a substantially rigid support to the back portion of the unitary body, affixing a plurality of reinforcing panels to an outer surface of the unitary body, forming an external upper assembly, and fixedly attaching the external upper assembly to the unitary body.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of an assembled boot in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a unitary body portion of the boot shown in FIG. 1, showing a back support attached the rear portion of the unitary body;

FIG. 3 shows a side view of the unitary body and back support shown in FIG. 2, with support panels and lace guide webbing attached to an outer surface of the unitary body;

FIG. 4 is a partially exploded side view of the boot shown in FIG. 1, showing an external upper assembly and the unitary body;

FIG. 5 is a partially exploded side view of the boot shown in FIG. 1 showing installation of an optional external arch support structure to a bottom of the unitary body.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Footwear, for example sports boots, and a method for constructing such footwear are disclosed that provide advantages of lightweight, high quality, simplified construction and lower cost. FIG. 1 shows a side view of a sports boot 100 constructed in accordance with the present invention. In this embodiment, the sports boot 100 may be suitable for snow sports such as snowboarding and the like.

The sports boot 100 is constructed with a unitary body 110 that substantially surrounds a user's foot. As disclosed below, in the current embodiment the unitary body 110 includes a sole portion 112, an upper portion 114 (FIG. 2), and a cuff portion 118 (FIG. 2), wherein the sole portion 112, upper portion 114, and cuff portion 118 are all formed together as a unit, in a single body. For example, in a current embodiment the unitary body 110 is formed by injection molding. An external upper assembly 150, which is typically of a composite construction, is then fixedly attached to the unitary body 110 to define the boot 100. A structural support 126 is attached to provide the desired and targeted rigidity to the boot 100. In various embodiments of the invention, additional elements may be included, for example, to facilitate attachment of the upper assembly 150 to the unitary body 110.

An exemplary unitary body 110, which provides the foundation for the boot 100, will now be described with reference to FIG. 2, which shows a side view of the unitary body 110 in isolation. The unitary body 110 comprises a single structure that may be formed using any suitable conventional method for making unitary components having the complex shape as described herein. In an exemplary embodiment, the unitary body 110 is formed from injection-molded ethylene vinyl acetate (“IMEVA”).

The unitary body 110 comprises a sole portion 112 defining an undersurface of the body 110 with an upper portion 114 extending upwardly from the perimeter of the sole portion 112. The upper portion 114 includes a toe portion 116 that surrounds at least part of the user's toes. A cuff portion 118 extends upwardly about a user's ankle. In this embodiment, the sole portion 112 includes thicker tread portions 113 that are adapted to engage the ground. However, it is contemplated that a separate tread or outer sole (not shown) may alternatively be affixed or otherwise attached to the sole portion 112 to provide a ground-engaging surface. A separate tread could be used, for example to provide a surface having enhanced wear characteristics, in order to protect or reduce wear and tear on the unitary body 110.

In the unitary body 110 shown in FIG. 2, thicker rear elements 120, 121 and a toe element 122 are provided. The thickened rear and toe elements 120, 121, 122 are preferably an integrally formed portion of the unitary body 110, and may provide a number of functions, including to provide additional strength or wear resistance in key areas, to tailor the flexibility or other mechanical attributes of the unitary body 110, to better engage external apparatus such as bindings and/or straps, to define attachment regions for other components, to provide additional comfort and/or performance characteristics to the user (for example, providing J-bar supports at the ankle), to improve the aesthetic appearance of the sports boot 110, and the like. For example, in the FIGURES the thicker rear elements 120, 121 are provided with transverse ridges that provide a desired flexibility for dorsiflexion of the user's foot. Of course, relatively thinner portions of the unitary body 110 may similarly be provided.

The front of the unitary body 110 defines an elongate open portion or slot 124, to cooperate with the external upper assembly 150 (FIG. 1) to facilitate receiving the user's foot.

In the current embodiment, a relatively rigid (semi-rigid) elongate support 126 is attached to the back portion of the unitary body 110. It will be appreciated that nothing is perfectly rigid. Semi-rigid and relatively rigid are used herein interchangeably and are expressly defined to mean significantly more rigid than the unitary body, and therefore in the assembly, operable to providing rigidity to the unitary body 110. The relatively rigid elongate support 126 provides a desired level of rigidity to unitary body 110, which may be selectively defined by the design parameters of the support 126, for example, the material selection, thickness, and shape, as will be appreciated by persons of skill in the art. The elongate support 126 is attached to the unitary body 110 in any convenient means, for example, by affixing the support with a suitable adhesive, constructing the unitary body 110 with a recess sized to receive the support 126, forming an internal pocket in the unitary body 110 for slidably receiving the support 126, or the like. The elongate support 126 may optionally include a lower portion that defines a heel counter 128 that is sized and shaped to extend generally about a heel of the user.

Although not shown in the FIGURES, a relatively rigid toe cap, which may be formed from the same material as the elongate support 126, may be inserted and affixed to the toe portion of the unitary body 110. The unitary body 110 would preferably be provided with a recess for receiving the rigid toe cap, such that the toe cap is flush with an inner surface of the unitary body 110. Optionally, a gusset 125 may be attached to an inner surface of the unitary body 110, near the toe end of the open portion 124, to deter moisture from entering the sports boot 100.

FIG. 3 shows a side view of the unitary body 110 and elongate support 126, wherein additional pieces have been attached to the unitary body 110. At this stage of assembly, a cuff reinforcing panel 130 is securely attached to the cuff portion 118 of the unitary body 110. In this embodiment, the cuff reinforcing panel 130 is generally U-shaped and attached to the unitary body 110 by stitching and bonding. A second similar cuff reinforcing panel (not visible) is attached on the opposite side of the unitary body 110. The cuff reinforcing panels 130 are relatively strong panels formed from any suitable material or combination of materials, which may include natural fibers and/or polymeric materials, for example. In one embodiment, the cuff reinforcing panels 130 comprise super-tough nylon panels. The cuff reinforcing panels 130 provide attachment elements or anchors for supporting hooks 131 for a lace 140 (FIG. 4). Of course, if a different fastening mechanism were desired, for example, straps with hooks and loops type materials or the like, the cuff reinforcing panels 130 may provide anchors for such alternative fastening elements. Although the hooks 131 are shown attached with stitching, alternative or additional attachment means may be used, including, for example, rivets, adhesives, or the like.

In the present embodiment, additional reinforcing panels 132 are similarly attached to the upper portion 114. The additional reinforcing panels 132 provide additional attachment structure, for example to support fastening elements. In the present exemplary embodiment, the additional reinforcing panels 132 provide an anchoring for webbing 134 to provide keepers for retaining a lace (not shown). The webbing 134 is attached to the additional reinforcing panels 132 with stitching, which may extend through the unitary body 110. Backing or other panels (not shown) may similarly be provided on an inner surface of the unitary body 110, for example opposite the reinforcing panels 130, 132, to provide stitching support.

Although not required for the present invention, apertures 136 are formed through the unitary body 110 near the open portion 124, and the webbing 134 extends through the apertures 136. It will be appreciated that any number of reinforcing panels may be used, depending on the particular application, and the reinforcing panels may be attached to an interior or an exterior surface of the unitary body 110. It is contemplated that the unitary body 110 may be provided with recesses that are sized and configured to receive the reinforcing panels 130, 132. Such recesses may be readily incorporated into a mold for the unitary body 110, for example, and would enable more precise and repeatable positioning the reinforcing panels.

FIG. 4 shows a partially exploded view of the sports boot 100 with the external upper assembly 150 (shown for reference with the unitary body lace hooks 131 in phantom and the lace 140 in place). The external upper assembly 150 is fabricated of composite construction primarily from relatively rugged and aesthetically pleasing materials, typically sewn or otherwise assembled to define a closure apparatus for the sports boot 100. In this embodiment, the external upper assembly 150 includes: (i) side panels 152 that attach to and overlie a portion of the unitary body 110, (ii) forefoot panels 154 attached to the unitary body 110 over the webbing 134, (iii) one or more instep panels 156 that attach to and extend over the toe portion 116 of the unitary body 110, and (iv) a tongue 158.

The external upper assembly 150 is fixedly attached to the unitary body 110, for example by stitching 127 and/or bonding. It will be appreciated that a portion of the stitching attaching the external upper assembly 150 preferably is disposed to engage the reinforcing panels 130, 132. In addition, the stitching will preferably also engage the webbing 134. The external upper assembly 150 may be formed from any number of suitable materials, including natural and man-made materials, as are known in the art.

FIG. 5 shows an optional arch support 160 that may be attached to a bottom surface of the unitary body 110.

In a particular embodiment of the present method for constructing footwear that is particularly suited to fabricating highback snowboard boots and the like, the fabrication steps include:

• • 1. Forming the unitary body 110, for example, from injection-molded EVA (IMEVA);
  • 2. Attaching the elongate support 126 to the unitary body 110, the support 126 optionally including the heel counter 128;
  • 3. Bonding and/or stitching strategically located reinforcing panels 130, 132 to the unitary body 110;
  • 4. Attaching the webbing 134 for lace keepers to the unitary body 110 with attachment to or through the support panels 132;
  • 5. Attaching the lace hooks 131 to the unitary body 110 with attachment to or through support panels 130;
  • 6. Fabricating the external upper assembly 150;
  • 7. Fixedly attaching the external upper assembly 150 to the unitary body 110; and
  • 8. Optionally, attaching the arch support 160 to the sole portion 112 of the unitary body 110.

Variations on this method will be apparent to persons of skill in the art, without departing from the present invention, and the order of the steps recited above is generally not important, excepting steps having obvious precedence.

It will be appreciated that the disclosed boot and method provide many significant advantages over prior art constructions. For example, the unitary body 110 eliminates the need for many additional parts that are found in conventional sports boot construction, thereby reducing costs of fabrication and assembly, and providing a very lightweight boot. In particular, the method may be practiced without lasting the unitary body 110. If the unitary body 110 is formed from IMEVA, for example, the body may be formed to closely conform to a desired liner (not shown), providing a better fit between the boot and liner that cannot be achieved with conventional lasting due to the need to remove the last.

Moreover, the IMEVA unitary body may be formed with side wall surfaces having J-bar shaping to enhance the J-bars on a liner. (An exemplary J-bar is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,140,128, to Huckle). The IMEVA structural material may be selected and the shape tuned to achieve a desired flex and support functionality. Design choices for the unitary body 110, for example, the thicker rear and toe elements 120, 121, 122, can provide wear surfaces without the need for additional parts or construction steps.

It will be appreciated from the FIGURES that in the current embodiment the unitary body 110 is constructed with thicker portions 120, 121, 122 at locations that are not covered by the external upper assembly 150. The additional thickness therefore provides greater wear resistance at locations that are not protected by the upper assembly 150, and also provides aesthetic benefits.

Although a lacing-type fastening mechanism is shown, it will be readily apparent that other fasting mechanisms may be used, for example cable, BOA®, Velcro®, and the like.

It is contemplated that in some embodiments it may be desirable to add additional structural, aesthetic, or wear members. For example, a sole member may be affixed to a bottom of the unitary body, or other wear panels may be provided to outer surfaces such as the toe or heel of the unitary body. A removable, internal insole may be provided. It is contemplated that the sports boot 100 may be used with a removable liner, as is known in the art. In particular, the removable liner outer surface may be formed to conform closely with the inner surface of the unitary body 110, perhaps including engagement members such as channels and ridges, to lock the position of the removable liner in the boot. It is also contemplated that an internal sock or liner may be affixed to the unitary body. The liner may comprise a fabric sock such as a nylon liner or the like.

While illustrative embodiments have been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated that various changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A sports boot comprising:

a unitary body comprising a sole portion and an upper portion extending upwardly from the sole portion, the upper portion including a toe portion configured to enclose a portion of a user's foot, and a cuff portion configured to wrap about a user's ankle, the upper portion defining an elongate opening extending from the toe portion;

a semi-rigid elongate support attached to the cuff portion of the unitary body;

an external upper assembly attached to the unitary body and covering only a portion of the unitary body; and

a closure means extending across the elongate opening.

2. The sports boot of claim 1, wherein the unitary body comprises injection-molded ethylene vinyl acetate.

3. The sports boot of claim 1, wherein the external upper assembly comprises a side panel, a forefoot panel and an instep panel that are preassembled prior to attachment to the unitary body.

4. The sports boot of claim 1, wherein the cuff portion includes an inner surface defining a recess that is shaped to receive the elongate support such that the elongate support is flush with the inner surface of the cuff portion.

5. The sports boot of claim 1, further comprising a tongue attached to a forefoot end of the elongate opening and extending upwardly along the elongate opening.

6. The sports boot of claim 1, further comprising a gusset attached to an interior surface of the unitary body and extends across the elongate opening.

7. The sports boot of claim 1, further comprising an inner liner sock that covers an interior surface of the unitary body.

8. The sports boot of claim 1, further comprising a reinforcing panel engaging a surface of the unitary body adjacent the elongate opening.

9. The sports boot of claim 8, wherein the reinforcing panel engages an exterior surface of the unitary body.

10. The sports boot of claim 8, wherein the closure means comprises a plurality of lace keepers attached to the reinforcing panel and a lace that slidably engages the lace keepers.

11. The sports boot of claim 8, wherein the unitary body is formed with a recess on the outer surface that is sized and configured to receive the reinforcing panel.

12. The sports boot of claim 1, further comprising a semi-rigid toe cap support that is attached to the toe portion of the unitary body.

13. The sports boot of claim 1, wherein the cuff portion of the unitary body comprises a plurality of thickened sections.

14. The sports boot of claim 13, wherein the thickened sections further comprise transverse channels for increasing the flexibility in a desired flexure direction.

15. The sports boot of claim 1, wherein the semi-rigid elongate support comprises a webbing that is rigid in the tensile direction.

16. A method of constructing a sports boot comprising:

injection molding a unitary body comprising a sole portion and an upper portion extending upwardly from the sole portion, the upper portion including a toe portion configured to enclose a portion of a user's foot, and an upwardly extending back portion positioned to extend along a rear portion of a user's leg, the upper portion defining an elongate opening extending from the toe portion to an upper end of the unitary body;

attaching a semi-rigid support to the back portion of the unitary body;

securely affixing a plurality of reinforcing panels to an outer surface of the unitary body;

forming an external upper assembly;

fixedly attaching the external upper assembly to the unitary body by attaching the external upper assembly to the plurality of reinforcing panels.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of attaching a webbing to the unitary body using at least some of the plurality of reinforcing panels.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the unitary body comprises an injection-molded ethylene vinyl acetate.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the external upper assembly comprises a composite construction having side panels that overlie a portion of the unitary body, forefoot panels that attach to the unitary body, and an instep panel that extends over the toe portion of the unitary body.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the unitary body comprises relatively thick portions that are not covered by the external upper assembly.