Did You Know...
...that Charles Goodyear performed some of his experiments on rubber while in debtor's prison? He was there so often he referred to it as his "hotel". Chronically in debt because of poor business sense and ill health, Goodyear depended on the generosity of friends and family. Even after he unlocked the secret to vulcanizing rubber, he was unable to improve his financial situation. When he died, his estate was $200,000 in debt.
PatentStorm News
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7370442 | Ankle support to be attached to footwear and footwear equipped with it Disclosed herein is footwear having an ankle support. The footwear has a sole, an upper, and a heel section. The ankle support is worn to surround part of the foot and part of the leg between which an ankle joint is located, wherein a lower portion of the ankle supp... | 05/13/2008 |
| 7316412 | Device for retaining a foot or a boot on a sports apparatus A device for receiving and retaining a foot or a boot on a sports apparatus is disclosed. The device has a seat associated with a rear support element, the rear support element having a support surface facing a free surface, the rear support element being rotatably ... | 01/08/2008 |
| 7219900 | Apparatus, system, and method for unibody skate boot Skate boot apparatuses, a skate, and a method are provided. A base including an upper face configured to receive a wearer's foot and a lower face configured to structurally support a skate mechanism is provided. An integral upper support is provided, the integral up... | 05/22/2007 |
| 7204788 | Pedal stroke adjuster for bicycles or the like A stroke adjusting attachment for bicycles or the like enables selective changing of the diameter of the orbit which is traveled by a foot pedal to adapt a particular bicycle to persons having different leg lengths or who may have physical impairments which limit fo... | 04/17/2007 |
| 7134224 | Laced boot A laced boot having a boot lace and sections of the boot lace run in a continuous one-piece manner as follows: a first section runs from the metatarsal area of the sole over the instep of the boot; a second section runs from the metatarsal area of the sole around th... | 11/14/2006 |
| 7103994 | Automated tightening shoe An automated tightening shoe with crisscrossed laces and a tightening mechanism which operates in one direction to cause automatic tightening of the crisscrossed laces to tighten the shoe about a wearer's foot, and which can be released easily so that the shoe can b... | 09/12/2006 |
| 7086181 | Article of footwear An article of footwear of the type that includes upper, an outer sole, and the following elements, listed from the inside toward the outside of the article of footwear: a comfort liner; a frame for holding the foot and for transmitting forces, made of a substantiall... | 08/08/2006 |
| 7040042 | Ski boot An alpine ski boot is provided that consists of a rigid sole and a shell-less substantially flexible upper portion that is attached to the sole. The boot is secured to the wearer's foot by laces or buckles. The boot is further secured to the wearer's mid-foot area b... | 05/09/2006 |
| 7036244 | Rigid articulated Pointe shoe The invention is a Pointe shoe for ballet. It has a rigid mid-foot section and a rigid toe loop connected by a transverse axis joint located at the metatarsal-phalange joint (M-P). With the foot in Pointe position, the weight of the dancer is supported by the rigid ... | 05/02/2006 |
| 7011334 | Binding mechanism for sports devices, in particular for a snowboard The invention relates to a binding mechanism (1) for sports devices (2), in particular for a snowboard (4), provided with a base plate (11) for fixing to a sports device (2) and for supporting a sports shoe (3), on which a s... | 03/14/2006 |
| 7003904 | Boots with step-in and step-out, e.g. sports boots, in particular ski boots The combination of a boot having a boot shell with a heel region and a step-in step-out aid having an elevated position and an inserted position cooperating with the boot shell, wherein the aid is at least one elongated heel wedge displaceably mounted in the heel re... | 02/28/2006 |
| 6993859 | Snowboard boot with liner harness A boot (200), such as a snowboard boot, having a harness assembly (240) disposed in an outer shell (210). The harness defines a vamp gap and includes a plurality of cord keepers (268) disposed on either side of the gap. A cord—for examp... | 02/07/2006 |
| 6945543 | Snow-board binding A snow board binding comprises a base for supporting a footwear, at least one strap fastening connected to the base for restraining the footwear on the base, and a connection between the strap fastening and the base. The connection comprises a first portion of the s... | 09/20/2005 |
| 6938913 | Snowboard binding A snowboard binding has a support structure with a base plate and side plates that project from the base plate. Tension cables, which hold a single instep element, are attached to the side plates. The instep element extends from a toe region of the boot up to at lea... | 09/06/2005 |
| 6138384 | Snowboard boot with inner stiffening assembly A snowboard boot for freestyle riding includes, as usual, a soft boot-shaped inside portion and a boot-shaped outside portion that is provided with a soft shaft. To transmit the force for backside turns with legs bent to the side, a rigid insert is provid... | 10/31/2000 |
| 6082026 | Snowboard boot ankle support assembly An ankle support assembly for use in combination with a soft-style snowboard boot. The assembly includes a rigid heel cup and a high back support for supporting the calf region of the snowboard rider. The high back support includes an extension member hav... | 07/04/2000 |
| 5937546 | Snowboard boot with inner stiffening assembly A snowboard boot for freestyle riding includes, as usual, a soft boot-shaped inside portion and a boot-shaped outside portion that is provided with a soft shaft. To transmit the force for backside turns with legs bent to the side, a rigid insert is provid... | 08/17/1999 |
| 5826355 | Ski boot having a combined closure and heel-engaging member Sport footwear with a shell, a bootleg, and a device for clamping the heel region of the shell tight, including an eave pivoted on the shell and an anchor member which is associated slidingly with the bootleg, and a tie member between the sliding anchor m... | 10/27/1998 |
| 5815953 | Downhill snow sport boot assembly The invention is the assembly of a flexible walking boot and a boot brace made of a rigid material for receiving and holding the boot within it so that the assembly can be used for downhill skiing or snowboarding. The brace has a sole plate for insertion ... | 10/06/1998 |
| 5771609 | Snowboard boot with inner stiffening assembly A snowboard boot for freestyle riding includes a soft boot-shaped inside portion and a boot-shaped outside portion that is provided with a soft shaft. To transmit the force for backside turns with legs bent to the side, a rigid insert is provided between ... | 06/30/1998 |
| 5632105 | Ski boot incorporating adaptable upper Sport boot incorporating a shell base (1) surmounted by an upper (2) adjustable on the wearer's lower leg and comprising an immobilization device (4) functioning in and in relation to the upper (2). The immobilization device (4) comprises a rotating shim ... | 05/27/1997 |
| 5313720 | Securing device particularly for ski boots A securing device for ski boots, including a lever associated laterally to a ski boot and provided with a cylinder for adjusting the tension of a cable which is preferably associable with a shell at its ends and externally embraces a presser and a flap. T... | 05/24/1994 |
| 5295316 | Ski boot with overlapping shaft members Boot with a shell (1) of variable volume provided with means of tightening, for example buckles (13, 14), and for rear-entry, that is to say provided with a shaft in two parts (3, 4) articulated on the shell. The front part (3) of the shaft has an indenta... | 03/22/1994 |
| 5253436 | Ski boot with foot wedging means The ski boot comprising auxiliary means of wedging at least part of the foot, formed by at least one cam (10) mounted to rotate between the boot and the liner and actuatable from outside.... | 10/19/1993 |
| 5191728 | Ski boot having a rear spoiler, a front cuff and a linkage, wherein the linkage extends from lateral spaced locations at the sides of the boot to anchorage points A ski boot, preferably of the rear entry type, having a shell base on which an upper is journalled around an axis. The upper preferably extends towards the rear through two lateral extensions on which the rear spoiler is journalled. The boot includes an i... | 03/09/1993 |
| 5175949 | Ski boot with selective tensioning device An upper shaft part of the ski boot is pivotable on a lower shaft part about an axis (20) from a standing position, which runs approximately at right angles to the sole (14), into a forwardly inclined rest position which corresponds to the skiing position... | 01/05/1993 |
| 5079858 | Heel securing device particularly for ski boots A heel securing device, for ski boots of the rear-entry type comprising a front quarter and a rear quarter which are associated with a shell inside which an inner shoe can be removably arranged. The peculiarity of the device resides in that it is constitu... | 01/14/1992 |
| 5062226 | Heel securing device, particularly for ski boots The securing device includes a rear quarter associated with a shell, and a flap which embraces the rear heel region. The device further has at least one rod-like element which is freely articulated to the rear quarter and interacts, by means of a plate, w... | 11/05/1991 |
| 5046268 | Ski boot with adjustable spoiler On a ski boot provided with a shell defining a quarter and a spoiler mounted to the quarter, there are provided first and second adjusting devices active between the spoiler and the quarter to controllably shift the spoiler along two directions substantia... | 09/10/1991 |
| 5020248 | Ski boot A ski boot comprising an adjustable support for the foot positioned in the heel portion, the support being a substantially U-shaped spring (4) whose crosspiece (5) is positioned in the heel portion of the shell (7) of the boot and whose legs (6) extend fo... | 06/04/1991 |
| 5012598 | Foot securing device with automatic release, particularly for rear-entry ski boots A securing device having a winding device associated with a rear quarter of the ski boot. The winding device has a pulley for winding a cable acting on a foot. A tab has a first end fixed to the shell of the ski boot and a second end engaging a toggle for... | 05/07/1991 |
| 5005302 | A system for holding a foot in a ski boot In a device for holding a foot in a ski boot with a tiltable cuff (2), a shell (3) overlapping the instep, and a projection (8) overlapping the heel area inside shell (3) or cuff (2), a flexible tensioning member (9) is disposed between cuff (2) or shell ... | 04/09/1991 |
| 4984375 | Downhill ski boot An apparatus for closing the upper of a ski boot on a lower leg of a skier and for retaining the foot of a skier in the shell base of the boot. The apparatus includes a system for closing the upper on the lower leg of the skier which includes a first trac... | 01/15/1991 |
| 4969278 | Closure actuated tightening mechanism for ski boot having variable volume inner shell A ski boot comprises a rigid outer shell and an inner shell which is relatively flexible. The inner shell features a relatively flexible saddle region which extends over the metatarsal and/or instep portions of a wearer's foot. Tensile elements, such as c... | 11/13/1990 |
| 4955149 | Ski boot with ankle support A ski boot comprises a rigid outer shell and an inner shell which is relatively flexible. The inner shell features a relatively flexible saddle region which extends over the metatarsal and/or instep portions of a wearer's foot. Tensile elements, such as c... | 09/11/1990 |
| 4949479 | Ski boot having variable volume inner shell A ski boot comprises a rigid outer shell and an inner shell which is relatively flexible. The inner shell features a relatively flexible saddle region which extends over the metatarsal and/or instep portions of a wearer's foot. Tensile elements, such as c... | 08/21/1990 |
| 4937951 | System for securing a foot or inner shoe in a ski boot or climbing boot System for securing a foot or inner shoe (4) in a ski-boot or climbing boot, with tension elements (11) which extend from the instep to a hinged rear part (2) of the boot (1), in which the tension element or elements (11) are located in a fixable manner i... | 07/03/1990 |
| 4928407 | Ski boot having a hinged sole A ski boot comprises a rigid outer shell and an inner shell which is relatively flexible. The inner shell features a relatively flexible saddle region which extends over the metatarsal and/or instep portions of a wearer's foot. Tensile elements, such as c... | 05/29/1990 |
| 4928408 | Ski boot with improved wearability Ski boot having a shell, a rear quarter and a front quarter, at least the rear quarter being pivoted to the shell. The rear quarter is also articulated to an element of the boot, such as the front quarter, the shell or a flap by means of rods.... | 05/29/1990 |
| 4922634 | Ski boot There is provided a ski boot wherein a support element in the interior of the boot shaft acts on an inner boot in the area of the skier's instep. A pulling element forms a first partial loop which is guided across the front end region of the support eleme... | 05/08/1990 |
