CA1239017A - Curling slider - Google Patents

Curling slider

Info

Publication number
CA1239017A
CA1239017A CA000424431A CA424431A CA1239017A CA 1239017 A CA1239017 A CA 1239017A CA 000424431 A CA000424431 A CA 000424431A CA 424431 A CA424431 A CA 424431A CA 1239017 A CA1239017 A CA 1239017A
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
discs
sole
slider
inch
less
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
CA000424431A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Garry E. Wright
Robin D. Anderson
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Priority to CA000424431A priority Critical patent/CA1239017A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1239017A publication Critical patent/CA1239017A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A43FOOTWEAR
    • A43CFASTENINGS OR ATTACHMENTS OF FOOTWEAR; LACES IN GENERAL
    • A43C15/00Non-skid devices or attachments

Landscapes

  • Footwear And Its Accessory, Manufacturing Method And Apparatuses (AREA)

Abstract

Abstract:
A novel curling slider for a curling shoe is described which provides good sliding foot stability on the ice, while maintaining sole flexibility. The slider comprises a plurality of plastic slider discs fixed to the surface of a shoe sole, the discs being fixed in spaced relationship around the perimeter of the sole and being made from a material providing good sliding speed on the ice without scratching the ice.

Description

Curling liver This invention relates to a slider arrangement for use on the soles of shoes worn in the sport of curling.
In playing the game of curling, the ability to slide on the ice is very important. In delivering a rock from the hack, two forms of slide are used. The first and most common is the flat foot slide. The other form is the tuck or toe slide. In the tuck or toe slide, the sole of the sliding shoe is sharply bent between the ball and the instep. While delivering a rock, the sliding foot position varies from curler to curler from vertical to having the toe out up to 45 degrees. The other function of the curl-in slider is to allow a sweeper to slide easily beside the rock using one foot to slide while propelled by the other foot, commonly called the gripper.
It has been commonplace to apply a layer of plastic material to the sole of a curling shoe to function as a slider. However, the materials used as sliding material tend to have a very low flexibility and this greatly inter-lens with the normal flexibility of the sole and also tends to result in sole splitting It is, therefore, the object of the present invention to develop a curling shoe slider that offers both a slippery surface and good stability on the ice, while not interfering with the normal flexibility of the shoe sole.
Summary of the In notion The present invention in one aspect relates to a method for adapting the sole of a shoe as a curling slider in I I

which there is fixed to the surface of the sole a plural-fly of plastic slider discs. These discs are fixed in spaced relationship around the perimeter of the sole of the shoe and are made from a material providing good sliding speed on the ice without scratching the ice.
Another feature of the invention is a curling shoe having the plastic slider discs fixed to the surface of the sole.
The discs can be made from a wide variety of plastic materials which will readily slide on ice, e.g. ABYSS.
nylon, polycarbonate, polypropylene, etc. It is important in selecting a material that it provide a good sliding speed while avoiding ice surface scratching. A material such as plexiglass although showing an excellent sliding speed, tends to scratch the ice surface because of its hardness.
With the design of the present invention, the slider discs themselves heave relatively low flexibility. However, by using a plurality of discs of relatively small trays-verse or cross dimensions in spaced relationship around the perimeter of the sole, the spaces between discs permit normal sole flexibility, while the perimeter design also greatly enhances sliding sole stability by broadening the balance point.
The discs can have a variety of shapes such as round, oval, etc., but they preferably all have a generally curvilinear perimeter. A typical round disc may have a diameter of less than about one inch and a thickness of less than about one-quarter inch, while a typical oval disc may have a length of less than about one and one-half inches and a width of Less than about three-~uarter inch.
Discs of a single shape may be used or both round and oval discs may be used on the same shoe. The ova] discs are particularly useful between the ball and instep, where they may be used to relieve the severe stress on that region of the sole when a curler uses the toe or tuck delivery. Typically about 12 to 20 discs are fixed to each shoe sole, preferably in two rows. The attachment to the sole can be conveniently done by a wide range of commercial adhesives.
In the normal construction of a curling shoe, the base of the sole usually has a slight convex shape which reduces the stability of the sliding foot. The perimeter disc design of the present invention eliminates such stability problems. Thus, it offers an excellent sliding surface, a high degree of stability and a large percentage of the sole flexibility is maintained. With the varied functions of curling and styles of curling, the sole must be free to slide in all directions and the curvilinear perimeter disc design of the present invention offers no directional stress or resistance.
One minor problem that can be encountered with the perimeter disc design is middle sole drag, particularly in the ball and instep region. Such middle sole drag, of course, seriously interferes with the sliding action and this drag can be avoided by either providing a concave configuration to the sole or by applying one or two thin slider discs in the middle of the sole, particularly in the ball/instep region.
Particularly preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated by the attached drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a bottom plan view of a shoe sole with the slider discs attached;
Figure 2 is a further bottom plan view showing an alternative sole arrangement;
figure 3 is a front elevation of a shoe showing a concave sole without any weight applied;
Figure is the same view as Figure 3 with weight applied;
Figure S is a side elevation of a shoe in toe-slide position and Figure 6 it an end elevation showing an unsatisfactory arrangement.

-4- f Looking now at the drawings, Figure 1 shows the sole 11 of a shoe 10 with two rows of round discs 12 down the sides of the sole bottom, with spaces between the discs in each row. The space between adjacent discs in each row is typically less than about one inch. The view in Figure 1 shows a typical arrangement with a total of sixteen discs 12 arranged in two rows, a heel piece 13 and a toe piece 14.
An alternative arrangement is shown in Figure 2, in which both round and oval discs are used. Thus, the shoe 10 has a sole 11 on which is fixed a series of round discs 12 and oval discs 20. It is particularly advantageous to use the oval discs in the ball/instep region and by making these oval discs quite narrow, e.g. less than about five-eights inch, even better flexibility with less stress on the adhered area between the sole and the oval discs is achieved than with the arrangement of Figure 1. The arrangement of oval discs in the ball/instep region also provides greater slide surface on the ice in the tuck or toe slide. Also as illustrated, oval discs may convent gently be used as a heel piece 21 and as a toe piece 22.
As mentioned above, a problem that was encountered with some designs was middle sole drag. This is shown in Figure 6 and it will be seen that as weight is applied to the sole 11, it sags in the middle until it eventually touches the ice. At the same time, the discs 12 tend to tilt with the flexing of the sole so that only the inner edges of the discs 12 contact the ice as shown in Figure 6. This interiors with both the stability and sliding action.
One solution to this is to place one or two discs in the middle of the sole as shown by the dotted lines 15 in Figure 1. The use of oval discs in the ball/instep region also helps to overkill this problem. A preferred arrange-mint is to provide a concave shape to the sole as shown in Figure 3. With this concave shape, the sole 11 and the I I
discs 12 have the shape shown in Figure 3 when no weight is applied to the sole. When weight is applied, there is a normal flexing of the sole, but this flexing results in the center of the sole being pressed down only to the position shown in Figure 4 where there is still an excel-lent clearance between the middle of the sole and the ice surface. Also with the configuration of figure 4, the discs 12 lie flat on the ice, thereby providing both excellent sliding surfaces and excellent stability.
The importance of the ability of the sole to be able to flex in the instep region is illustrated by Figure 5 which shows a shoe in the tussled position. It will be seen that the discs offer little interference with the normal flexing of the sole in this location.

I

SUPPLEMENTARY DISCLOSURE

In the principle disclosure individual discs are desk cried for mounting on the sole of a shoe.
In order to simplify the mounting of the discs on a shoe, according to an alternative embodiment of the invent lion, the discs arranged in a pattern for mounting on ashore sole may be connected by a thin backing sheet. The backing sheet is'preferably(of the same material as that of the discs such that the discs and the backing sheet are formed in a single operation.
Side elevations of the unitary discs and backing sheets are shown in Figures 7 and 8.
Figure 7 corresponds to the arrangement of discs and heel and toe pieces of Figure 1, while Figure 8 corresponds to the arrangement of discs of Figure 2. Thus, in Figure 7 it will be seen that discs 12 with toe piece 14 and heel piece 13 are molded as a single piece with an integral thin backing portion 23. With this arrangement, the entire unitary molded piece is simply glued to the sole of the shoe.
In Figure 8 a second embodiment of the unitary molded slider is shown with round discs 12, oval discs 20, a heel piece 21 and a toe piece 22 integrally molded with a thin backing 24. This is attached to the sole of the shoe in the same manner as the embodiment of Figure 7.

Claims (15)

Claims:
1. A method for adapting the sole of a shoe as a curling slider which comprises fixing to the surface of the sole a plurality of round and oval plastic slider discs, said discs being fixed in spaced relationship around the peri-meter of the sole with the oval discs being mounted at least in the ball/instep region of the sole and the discs being made from a material providing good sliding speed on ice without scratching the ice and the surface of the shoe sole being concave, whereby when weight is applied to the sole it flexes downwardly to a substantially flat position with the slider discs lying flat on the ice.
2. A method according to claim 1 wherein each round disc has a diameter of less than about 1 inch and a thickness of less than about 1/4 inch.
3. A method according to claim 2 wherein each oval disc has a length of less than about 1-1/2 inches, a width of less than about 3/4 inch and a thickness of less than about 1/4 inch.
4. A method according to claim 1 wherein the discs are fixed to the sole by means of an adhesive.
5. A method according to claim 4 wherein about 12 to 20 discs are fixed to one sole.
6. A method according to claim 5 wherein the discs are fixed in two rows down each side of the sole and the discs in each row are spaced from each other by a distance of no more than about one inch.
7. A method according to claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the discs are made from A.B.S., nylon, polycarbonate or polypropylene.
8. A shoe having a sole adapted as a curling slider comprising a plurality of round and oval plastic discs fixed to the surface of the sole, said discs being fixed in spaced relationship around the perimeter of the sole with the oval discs being mounted at least in the ball/instep region of the sole and the discs being made from a material providing good sliding speed on ice without scratching the ice and the surface of the shoe sole being concave, whereby when weight is applied to the sole it flexes downwardly to a substantially flat position with the slider discs lying flat on the ice.
9. A curling slider according to claim 8 wherein each round disc has a diameter of less than about 1 inch and a thickness of less than about 1/4 inch.
10. A curling slider according to claim 9 wherein each oval disc has a length of less than about 1-1/2 inches, a width of less than about 3/4 inch and a thickness of less than about 1/4 inch.
11. A curling slider according to claim 8 wherein about 12 to 20 discs are fixed to each sole.
12. A curling slider according to claim 11 wherein the discs are fixed in two rows down each side of the sole and the discs in each row are spaced from each other by a distance of no more than about one inch.
13. A curling slider according to claim 12 wherein the discs are made from A.B.S., nylon, polycarbonate or polypropylene.

Claims Supported by the Supplementary Disclosure
14. A method according to claim 1 wherein the plastic slider discs are joined to a thin backing sheet, which backing sheet is adhesively fixed to the sole surface.
15. A method according to claim 14 wherein the backing sheet is formed of the same material as the discs.
CA000424431A 1983-03-24 1983-03-24 Curling slider Expired CA1239017A (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA000424431A CA1239017A (en) 1983-03-24 1983-03-24 Curling slider

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA000424431A CA1239017A (en) 1983-03-24 1983-03-24 Curling slider

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1239017A true CA1239017A (en) 1988-07-12

Family

ID=4124861

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA000424431A Expired CA1239017A (en) 1983-03-24 1983-03-24 Curling slider

Country Status (1)

Country Link
CA (1) CA1239017A (en)

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5970631A (en) * 1996-07-23 1999-10-26 Artemis Innovations Inc. Footwear for grinding
US8480095B2 (en) 1999-04-01 2013-07-09 Heeling Sports Limited Heeling apparatus wheel assembly
CN103906447A (en) * 2011-10-27 2014-07-02 耐克国际有限公司 Dual-density insole with molded geometry
US10945485B2 (en) 2012-08-03 2021-03-16 Heeling Sports Limited Heeling apparatus

Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5970631A (en) * 1996-07-23 1999-10-26 Artemis Innovations Inc. Footwear for grinding
US6006451A (en) * 1996-07-23 1999-12-28 Artemis Innovations Inc. Footwear apparatus with grinding plate and method of making same
US6158150A (en) * 1996-07-23 2000-12-12 Artemis Innovations Inc. Longitudinal grind plate
US8480095B2 (en) 1999-04-01 2013-07-09 Heeling Sports Limited Heeling apparatus wheel assembly
US9776067B2 (en) 1999-04-01 2017-10-03 Heeling Sports Limited Heeling apparatus
CN103906447A (en) * 2011-10-27 2014-07-02 耐克国际有限公司 Dual-density insole with molded geometry
US9554616B2 (en) 2011-10-27 2017-01-31 Nike, Inc. Dual-density insole with a molded geometry
US10485291B2 (en) 2011-10-27 2019-11-26 Nike, Inc. Dual-density insole with a molded geometry
US10945485B2 (en) 2012-08-03 2021-03-16 Heeling Sports Limited Heeling apparatus

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