Exoskeletal boot
AssigneeApex Sports Group, LLC
InventorRoger Thompson Neiley
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An exoskeletal boot is provided. The exoskeletal boot can have a walking boot and a boot frame. The boot frame can be formed to receive the walking boot. The walking boot can be secured within the boot frame via one or more buckles. The walking boot can have an externally mounted tongue that can be tensioned via the use of one or more laces and associated tensioning mechanisms. The tongue can be molded to conform to a user's foot and leg while the tensioning mechanisms secure the user's foot and leg within the walking boot. In some embodiments, the boot frame has an open heel to capture the walking boot. In some other embodiments, the boot frame has a rotatable heel configured to pivot away from the toe and receive a heel of the walking boot for easy coupling of the walking boot to the boot frame.
Claims20
A ski boot comprising:
- a walking boot having an externally mounted tongue with at least one lace routed internally in the tongue;
- a boot frame having one or more buckles a toe section and a heel section, the boot frame operable to receive and secure the walking boot;
- wherein the walking boot and boot frame are securely coupled to one another through the use of the one or more buckles to form an integrated unit which can be accepted into a ski binding.
A ski boot comprising:
- a walking boot having a lateral panel, a medial panel, and an externally mounted tongue having at least one lace routed internally in the tongue, the at least one lace configured to draw the tongue toward the lateral panel and the medial panel;
- and
- a boot frame operable to receive and secure the walking boot, the boot frame having
- a shank having a heel cup and a toe cup coupled by a structural bridge,
- a lateral frame support having a first flange, the lateral frame support being coupled to the shank,
- a medial frame support having a second flange, the medial frame support being coupled to the shank,
- a rear connector adjustably coupled to the first flange and the second flange,
- at least a first buckle coupled to the lateral frame support and the medial frame support, and
- a cuff adjustably coupled to the connector, the cuff having at least a second buckle.
A walking boot for use with an exoskeletal boot, the walking boot comprising:
- a lateral panel having a first edge,
- a medial panel joined to the lateral panel by a back panel, the medial panel having a second edge,
- a tongue having an upper portion, a lower portion, a lateral edge, and a medial edge, the lateral edge overlying the first edge and the medial edge overlying the second edge;
- and
- at least one lace routed internally in the tongue, the at least one lace configured to draw the tongue toward the lateral panel and the medial panel.
A boot comprising:
- a walking boot having a toe section, a heel section, and tongue, the tongue being is externally-mounted to the walking boot and secured by at least one lace;
- a boot frame having a toe cup and a rotatable heel cup arranged on a centerline, the rotatable heel cup configured to
- rotate away from the centerline,
- accept the heel section to the rotatable heel cup, and
- rotate the toe section toward the toe cup;
- and
- a plurality of buckles configured to secure the heel section to the rotatable heel cup and the toe section to the toe cup.
An exoskeletal boot frame comprising:
- a structural bridge;
- a lateral side panel having a lateral flange;
- a medial side panel having a medial flange, the lateral side panel and the medial side panel describing an overall width of the boot frame;
- a toe section having a lateral extension and a medial extension configured to receive the structural bridge, the lateral flange, and the medial flange in a clearance fit;
- at least one shim configured to interact with at least one of the medial extension and the medial flange, and the lateral extension and the lateral flange.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.