BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In traditional skates, foot flexing is limited by the rigidity of the upper cuff which are for support to the shin. There is a totally rigid upper cuff and boot and little chance for front flexing. Moreover the materials used to make traditional skates are not such that the skate tends to want to recoil back to its original position.

It is known that experts like a lot of flex in the cuff portion of the boot while beginners prefer boots which is more rigid and an upper cuff which is less flexible.

Examples of prior art devices providing ankle flexion are shown in U. S. patents 5,480,168 and 5,090,138. In U. S. patent 5,480,168, the position of the upper cuff or gaiter relative to the lower outer boot is adjustable by means of a fairly complex mechanism involving screws and springs. However, the difficulty of the device shown in the 5,480,168 patent is that it does not permit flexing forward and then backwards but rather maintains the position of the cuff relative to the lower boot in one position.

In U. S. patent 5,090,138, a spring is used, mounted on the side of the boot to permit flex in the forward direction and rearward direction with some resistance.

Thus, there appears to be a need to provide a low cost mechanism which will

enhance the general flexion properties of the boot, provide better comfort and enhanced performance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a skate boot permitting forward flexing to a greater or lesser degree depending on the material used, and yet which will promote recoiling back to the normal position.

It is therefore a further object to the present invention to make front flexing easier, to offer less resistance than with the traditional skate, and to provide a certain amount of recoil which tends to move the upper cuff back to its original position.

It is also an object of the present invention to be able to easily replace the flexing mechanism and to be able to change the amount of flexibility in the flexing mechanism to adjust for skaters of different levels of competence.

As embodied and broadly described herein, the invention provides a roller skate boot including a lower outer boot adapted to encompass a foot of a skater, on upper boot cuff adapted to encompass a lower leg and ankle area of the skater; said upper boot cuff, in operation, being adapted to pivot forwardly and rearwardly in relation to said lower outer boot, and being pivotally connected thereto; said lower outer boot and said upper boot cuff each including a pair of substantially identical asymmetric apertures in the ankle area ; said apertures being located on either side of the lower leg; said apertures being aligned between the lower outer boot and the upper boot cuff when the skater's foot and leg are in a normal upright position; said apertures being adapted to matingly engage a flexing regulator of substantially identical asymmetric configuration as said apertures; said flexing regulator being constructed of a material which is deformable under a load; wherein, in operation, when a skater flexes a lower leg

forwardly, said flexing regulator resists such flexure but permits said upper boot cuff to move forwardly; and when said skater relaxes said lower leg said flexing regulator causes said upper boot cuff to retum to its normal upright position.

Advantageously, the skate boot further comprises fastener members adapted to mount said flexing regulators and said upper cuff to said lower boot. The fastener members are preferably co-axial and are adapted to serve as pivot points.

The flexing regulator is advantageously made of an elastomeric material. It is easy to produce, inexpensive and provides good flexion characteristics. It could also be made more or less rigid, depending on the desired amount of flexion.

The forward flexing regulator of the present invention consists of a piece of rubber of flexible material which deforms when one flexes forwardly. When the regulator is wom, the part is interchangeable. To accommodate the flexing regulator, aligned asymmetrical holes or apertures are placed near the ankle area of both the lower boot and the upper cuff. The apertures which are asymmetrical are similar in shape to the flex regulator itself. Thus in the normal position, the flex regulator offers no resistance. However, when the skater flexes forwardly with the upper cuff there is a load created on the elastomeric flex regulator which tends after the flexing is over to retum the upper cuff to the normal position as will be shown in greater detail in the drawings.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent by reference to the following description and the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention is provided hereinbelow, by way of example only, with reference to the

accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the roller skate of the present invention ; Figure 2 is a side view of the present invention; Figure 3 is a side view of the major components of the inner boot, outer boot and truckchassis; Figure 4 is a front perspective view of the outer boot; Figure 5 is a rear perspective view of the outer boot; Figure 6 is a side view of the lower outer boot and the upper boot cuff with the forward flexing regulator in the normal position under no load; Figure 7 is a similar view of Figure 6 where, however, said upper boot cuff is moved forwardly and said flexing regulator is under load; Figure 8 is a partial exploded view of the flexing regulator and upper boot cuff and lower outer boot; Figure 9 is an expanded view of the flexing regulator in place, the apertures of the upper boot cuff and the lower outer boot; and Figure 10 is a cross-section 10-10 taken from Figure 9.

In the drawings, preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of examples. It is to be expressly understood that the description and drawings are only for a purpose of illustration and are an aid for understanding. They are not intended to be a definition of the limits of the

invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, comprises an in-line roller skate shown basically as 1. The in-line roller skate 1 consists of a boot 2, which is attached to a wheel chassis 3. Rotatably mounted within side walls of the wheel chassis 3 are a plurality of a aligned wheels 4. Wheels 4 are mounted on axles 5 in a conventional manner.

The boot portion of the skate consists of a partial outer boot and an inner liner. The outer boot comprises a elastic wrap-around heel support 6, as shown in Figures 1,2 and 3. In Figure 3, one notes also that the outer boot has a lower arch support 7 and a side support 8. The side support 8 is advantageously comprise of a thin elongated band extending from the ankle region to the fifth metatarsal. The band defines a lateral aperture located between its lower edge and the upper edge of the lower arch support 7.

An upper cuff 9, which is pivotally connected to the lower outer boot, provides ankle support. Figure 3, shows a pair of rear lower boot extensions 10 and a pair of front lower boot extensions 11 advantageously integrally molded with the lower outer boot. These extensions are configured to attach the boot to the truck chassis 3. Preferably, the rear lower boot extensions have indentations 10A which are adapted to encircle one of the wheel axles 5 to avoid interference with the axle. The forepart of the truck chassis 3 has a pair of vertically elongate apertures 12 which are adapted to align with apertures 13 in the front lower boot extension 11.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a vertically slidable front connecting pin 34 connects apertures 12 and 13. In the rear of chassis 3, is a pair of apertures 14 which are adapted to cooperate and align with pivot point apertures 15

located in rear lower boot extensions 10. Rear pivot pin 33 connects apertures 14 and 15 to pivotally secure the rear lower boot extensions 10 of boot 2 to the chassis while vertically slidable front connecting pin 34 connects front lower boot extensions 11 of the boot 2 to the front portion of the chassis 3 at vertically elongate apertures 12.

As shown more clearly in Figure 3, upper cuff outer boot 9 contains a buckle aperture 16 and an upper flex pivot aperture 17. This is adapted to cooperate with lower flex pivot aperture 18 found in the lower outer boot. A flex device 19 is adapted to fit within upper flex pivot aperture 17 and lower flex pivot aperture 18.

As shown in more clearly in the upper portion of Figure 3, the liner or inner boot, consists of a rear inner boot 20 equipped with an ankle cushioning pad 20a. The liner also consists of a front inner boot 21. Rear and front inner boots 20 and 21 rest on an inner boot base 22 which is equipped on one side thereof with a fifth metatarsal aperture padding 23. The boot of the present invention is also equipped with a metatarsal padding 24, a heel cushioning 25 and a tendon cushioning portion 26. These are most clearly shown in Figure 3.

The skater's foot is secured in the boot by means of laces 27 which traverse lace holders 28, these being located on a lace support pad 29 which is integrally connected to the front inner boot 21. An upper lace tightener 30 is used to tighten the laces.

Support to the ankle region and the upper cuff is provided by a strap 31 which is adapted to be secured within buckle 32 to tighten the upper cuff outer boot 9.

As shown in Figures 1,2 and 3, an elastomeric absorber 35 is placed

between the sole of boot 2 and the skate chassis 3 at the front portion thereof to provide resiliency in a vertical direction as the boot 2 pivots in relation to the skate chassis 3 about pivot pin 33.

Figures 4 and 5 show the outer boot with its various padding elements without liner portions 20,21 and 22. The tendon cushioning portion 26 and the fifth metatarsal padding 23, are shown. In Figures 4 and 5 one sees that the upper cuff outer boot 9 is connected to the heel support lower outer boot 6 by means of flex device 19.

Figures 6 and 7 represent the upper boot cuff 9 in the normal position, and in the forward rotated position, respectively. The flex device 19 pivotally connects lower heel support boot 6 and upper boot cuff 9. The distance Y represents the distance of the back of the upper boot cuff in relation to the lower boot and distance Y'represents the distance of the upper boot cuff 9 in relation to the lower heel support outer boot 6 when the flexing regulator is under load and the upper boot cuff is been flexed forwardly.

Figure 8 is an exploded view showing the various components of the flexing regulator. There is an outer stop 36 adapted to cooperate with flexible elastomeric flexing member 37 and a rear stop 38. A flexing regulator is fixed within apertures 17 on upper boot cuff 9 and apertures 18 on lower heel support outer boot 6.

Figure 9 is an expanded side view from the outside of the boot. The inner closure or cap 38 is not shown.

Figure 10 is a cross-section 10-10 of Figure 9 wherein the flexing regulator has outer closure cap 36, an inner closure cap 38 and a flexible resilient member 37 in place between the upper boot cuff 9 and lower heel support outer boot 6.

It is to be understood that the flexing regulator and its respective apertures can be of any shape other than a symmetric circle to accomplish a similar task. These embodiments are included within the present invention, although not illustrated in detail.

The above description of preferred embodiments should not be interpreted in a timiting manner since variations, modifications or refinements are possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention. For instance, the boot construction and/or the interface between the boot and the frame may vary without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The scope of the invention is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.