BE1024707B1 - SWIMMING DEVICE FOR A FOOT, USE OF A SPALK AS A SWIMMING DEVICE AND METHOD FOR LEARNING A SWIMMING POOL - Google Patents

Abstract

Swimming aid (1) for a foot (2), comprising a splint (4), with a foot portion (5), for attachment to the top of the foot (2), a leg portion (6), for attachment to the front of the foot lower leg (3) adjacent to the foot (2) and a transition section (7) between the foot section (5) and the leg section (6), which is of flexible design. Use of such a splint (4) as a swimming aid (1) and method for teaching a swimming stroke to a person, whereby such a swimming aid (1) is applied to the lower leg (3) and the foot (2) of this person, to bring this foot (2) into a position desired for this swimming stroke with respect to the lower leg (3).

Description

(73) Holder (s):

OVERBERGH Koen 8530, HARELBEKE Belgium (72) Inventor (s):

OVERBERGH Koen 8530 HARELBEKE Belgium (54) SWIMMING AIDS FOR A FOOT, USING A SPLINCH AS A SWIMMING AIDS AND METHOD FOR LEARNING A SWIMMING STROKE (57) Swimming aid (1) for a foot (2), comprising a splint (4), with a foot section (5), for attachment to the top of the foot (2), a leg section (6), for attachment to the front of the lower leg (3) adjacent to the foot (2) and a transition section (7) between the foot section (5) and the leg section (6), which is flexible. Use of such a splint (4) as a swimming aid (1) and method for teaching a swimming stroke to a person, whereby such a swimming aid (1) is attached to the lower leg (3) and the foot (2) of this person, to position this foot (2) in a position desired for this swimming stroke relative to the lower leg (3).

BELGIAN INVENTION PATENT

FPS Economy, K.M.O., Self-employed & Energy

Publication number: 1024707 Filing number: BE2016 / 5753

Intellectual Property Office International classification: A63B 31/10 A63B 31/12 A63B 69/14 A63B 69/00 G09B 19/00 A61F 5/01 Date of issue: 04/06/2018

The Minister of Economy,

Having regard to the Paris Convention of 20 March 1883 for the Protection of Industrial Property;

Having regard to the Law of March 28, 1984 on inventive patents, Article 22, for patent applications filed before September 22, 2014;

Having regard to Title 1 Invention Patents of Book XI of the Economic Law Code, Article XI.24, for patent applications filed from September 22, 2014;

Having regard to the Royal Decree of 2 December 1986 on the filing, granting and maintenance of inventive patents, Article 28;

Having regard to the application for an invention patent received by the Intellectual Property Office on the date of 10/10/2016.

Whereas for patent applications that fall within the scope of Title 1, Book XI, of the Code of Economic Law (hereinafter WER), in accordance with Article XI.19, § 4, second paragraph, of the WER, the granted patent will be limited. to the patent claims for which the novelty search report was prepared, when the patent application is the subject of a novelty search report indicating a lack of unity of invention as referred to in paragraph 1, and when the applicant does not limit his filing and does not file a divisional application in accordance with the search report.

Decision:

Article 1

OVERBERGH Koen, Forestiersstraat 14, 8530 HARELBEKE Belgium;

represented by

CARDOON Annelies, Pres. Kennedypark 31c, 8500, KORTRIJK;

OSTYN Frans, Pres. Kennedypark 31c, 8500, KORTRIJK;

HOSTENS Veerle, Pres. Kennedypark 31c, 8500, KORTRIJK;

CHIELENS Kristof, Pres. Kennedypark 31c, 8500, KORTRIJK;

a Belgian invention patent with a term of 20 years, subject to payment of the annual fees as referred to in Article XI.48, § 1 of the Code of Economic Law, for: SWIMMING AIDS FOR A FOOT, USE OF A SPLIN AS A SWIMMING AIDS AND METHOD FOR LEARNING A SWIMMING STROKE.

INVENTOR (S):

OVERBERGH Koen, Forestiersstraat 14, 8530, HARELBEKE;

PRIORITY:

BREAKDOWN:

Split from basic application: Filing date of the basic application:

Article 2. - This patent is granted without prior investigation into the patentability of the invention, without warranty of the Merit of the invention, nor of the accuracy of its description and at the risk of the applicant (s).

Brussels, 04/06/2018,

With special authorization:

BE2016 / 5753

SWIMMING AIDS FOR A FOOT, USE OF A SPLIN

AS A SWIMMING AIDS AND METHOD FOR LEARNING

OF A SWIMMING Stroke

This invention relates to a swimming aid for a foot, this swimming aid comprising a splint, with a foot part, for attachment to the top of the foot, a leg part, for attachment to the front of the lower leg adjacent to the foot and a transition part between the foot section and the leg section, which is of flexible design, and wherein the foot section is provided to extend to the level of the toes of the foot. The present invention furthermore relates to a method for teaching a swimming stroke.

When learning to swim, for example when teaching breaststroke, many do not keep their feet in the correct position.

To perform the breaststroke correctly, each foot must have an angle of less than or equal to 90 ° with the lower leg. When teaching swimming, the feet will therefore be made to assume an angle that is less than 90 °, so that during swimming the foot itself will assume a maximum angle of 90 °.

The foot must also be properly tilted in order to achieve maximum thrust.

Especially for children who learn to swim, it is difficult to keep the feet in the desired position. As the number of swimming lessons at school is decreasing and there are long waiting times for swimming lessons in public swimming pools, more and more children are unable to swim. Swimming clubs are also increasingly refusing children who do not keep their feet correctly when swimming. In competition, people who keep their feet wrong are also disqualified.

BE2016 / 5753

There are different types of swimming aids for feet. These swimming aids typically increase the thrust surface of the feet, such as webbed feet, for example.

However, these existing foot swimming aids are not suitable aids for correctly learning to position the feet for different swimming strokes and more specifically breaststroke. By increasing the thrust area, a child learns to swim faster, but it is noticed that the child has a less good swimming technique when this child has to fall back on the natural trim with the feet themselves.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a swimming aid for a foot that helps to keep this foot in a correct position.

This object of the invention is achieved by providing a swimming aid for a foot, which includes a splint, with a foot portion, for attachment to the top of the foot, a leg portion, for attachment to the front of the foot adjacent lower leg and a transition portion between the foot portion and the leg portion, which is flexible, the foot portion being adapted to extend to the toes of the foot and the swimming aid comprising a magnetic coupling, with a first magnetic coupling element, which is attached to the foot portion and extends at least partly at the level of the toes and a second magnetic coupling element, which is provided with a fastening means for attaching this second magnetic coupling element to the foot, at least partly at the height of the toes.

With such a splint, the foot will be driven to assume the position with respect to the lower leg, which occupies the foot portion of the splint with respect to the leg portion in the rest position. Other positions are possible, but with a certain resistance. In this way, this splint forms a suitable aid for correct positioning of the foot in relation to the lower leg.

BE2016 / 5753

Because the transition part is flexible, a person who has the splint attached to the lower leg and the foot can still move the foot relative to the lower leg. This ensures maximum comfort for the wearer of the splint. In this way, this person can also step next to a swimming pool with such a splint.

Such a splint thus has sufficient rigidity to occupy the desired position and at the same time sufficient flexibility to allow movement.

With the help of these magnetic coupling elements, a person will be taught to keep not only his foot, but also his toes in the desired position while swimming.

The said magnetic coupling elements can be designed as attracting magnets. It is of course also possible to design only one of the magnetic coupling elements as a magnet and to manufacture the second coupling element from a magnetizable material such as, for example, iron.

Preferably, the assembled foot portion covers substantially the entire top of the foot to which this foot portion is attached. The leg portion when assembled preferably covers mainly the entire front of the lower part of the lower leg.

The shape of the foot portion and the shape of the leg portion are preferably substantially corresponding to the shape of a foot and a lower leg, respectively. These are preferably formed to include a portion of said body parts.

The lateral sides of the foot part and the leg part can optionally be made thinner than the central part of the foot part and the leg part, so that they are flexible in order to simplify the foot part and the leg part.

BE2016 / 5753 take the form of a foot and a lower leg against which the splint is attached. For this it is also possible to give the foot section and leg section complete flexibility.

A splint of a swimming aid according to this invention can be manufactured in several ways and this from several kinds of materials. It could be molded, for example, or injection molded, etc. It is preferably manufactured at least in part from a thermoplastic material, such as, for example, polystyrene, polyethylene, acrylic, polypropylene, polyester, polyamide, polyvinyl chloride, etc. can also be made from a composite. This may optionally be fiber-reinforced.

Preferably, the foot portion and leg portion of a swimming aid according to this invention are placed at rest at an angle of 80 ° to 90 ° relative to each other when in a rest position.

A swimming aid according to this invention preferably also comprises a tensioning means for pulling the foot part and the leg part together, for pulling the foot towards the lower leg.

The angle at which the foot is movable relative to the lower leg can be easily limited with the aid of such a tensioning means. When the foot is moved away from the lower leg during swimming, this movement is now limited thanks to such a tensioning means. However, such a tensioning means will not further hinder the movement of the foot towards the lower leg. This movement has some resistance from the splint itself.

A said tensioning means is preferably attached in use to the foot part at the level of the outside of the foot or at the level of the inside of the foot and is preferably attached to the leg part at the level of the inside of the lower leg or at the level of the outside of the lower leg.

BE2016 / 5753

By mounting the tensioning means in such a way relative to the splint, a foot can not only be placed at a desired angle with respect to the lower leg, but also a desired tilt can be imparted.

A said tensioning means is further preferably adjustable for attachment to the leg section and / or to the foot section. In this way, the same swimming aid can be used for different people, whereby the splint can be adjusted to the desired position for a specific person using the tensioning means. The same swimming aid can also be used for different swimming strokes, whereby the splint can be adjusted to the position desired for this swimming stroke by means of the tensioning means.

A swimming aid according to the invention also particularly preferably includes a second tensioning means for pulling the foot part and the leg part together, for pulling the foot towards the lower leg.

When the first tensioning means is mounted in a said manner in order to give a foot a desired tilt, then in use this second tensioning means is preferably respectively attached to the foot part at the height of the inside of the foot or at the height of the outside of the foot. foot and attached to the leg section at the outside of the lower leg or at the inside of the lower leg.

Said second tensioning means is preferably also adjustable for attaching to the leg section and / or to the foot section.

The tilt of a foot can be adjusted in any direction with the aid of two such adjustable clamping means, which are provided crosswise to each other on the splint.

BE2016 / 5753

In a particularly preferred embodiment of a swimming aid according to the invention, a first tensioning means is fixedly attached to the foot part at the height of the outside of the foot and can be fixedly adjustable to the leg part at the height of the inner side of the lower leg and a second tensioning means is fixedly attached to the foot section at the height of the inside of the foot and adjustable to attach to the leg section at the height of the outside of the lower leg.

The said tensioning means can be designed in several ways. Preferably, such a tensioning means is designed as a tensioning belt of flexible material. This material is preferably non-elastic. For this purpose it can for instance be made of plastic, such as for instance of nylon.

Such a lashing strap can then be realized in an adjustable manner in a fixable manner, this with all kinds of possible solutions for making belts adjustable, for example with the aid of Velcro, as a belt with buckle, etc.

In a specific embodiment, the leg portion or the foot portion is respectively provided with one or more protrusions with a widening at a distance from the leg portion or the foot portion and each lashing strap is respectively provided with several corresponding openings, with which it is adjustably attachable to the leg portion or the foot section, by applying a respective projection with the widening through a said opening.

The fastening means for attaching the second magnetic coupling element can more specifically be designed as a stocking.

A stocking is a simple fastener for attaching this second magnetic coupling element to the foot in a desired position. Such a stocking ensures minimal hindrance for the attachment of the splint to the foot. Furthermore, such a stocking also ensures minimal nuisance when walking or

BE2016 / 5753 swimming. This stocking can for instance be provided in the form of a sock. Optionally, this stocking can be attached to the foot part of the swimming aid. This stocking may, for example, be provided for enveloping only the toes and at least part of the ball of the feet.

The second magnetic coupling element can for instance be sewn on, or glued to, such a stocking, or such a stocking can be provided with a pocket in which this second magnetic coupling element can be fitted, etc.

The foot section, transition section and leg section are preferably continuous, preferably merging almost seamlessly.

The splint of a swimming aid according to this invention is preferably made in one piece.

The transition section can then be designed, for example, as a constriction of the splint relative to the foot section and the leg section. For this purpose, the transition section can for instance be made thinner and / or narrower than the foot section and the leg section, in order to give this transition section the desired flexibility.

In order to easily attach the splint to the foot and lower leg of a person, a swimming aid according to the invention preferably also comprises a first fastening element for fastening the foot part against the foot and a second fastening element for fastening the leg part against the lower leg.

BE2016 / 5753

The first fastening element is herein preferably provided for fixing the foot to the foot section at the height of the ball of this foot, so that the foot is pressed against the foot section to the maximum.

In addition to this first fastening element and this second fastening element, additional fastening elements can optionally be provided.

Such fastening elements are preferably designed in the form of a tape, in order to ensure minimal nuisance. These can for instance be designed as belts and can optionally be provided with a Velcro closure, etc.

The splint of a swimming aid according to this invention is preferably at least partially lined on the inside with a soft inner lining to increase the comfort of a wearer of this swimming aid.

Furthermore, the object of this invention is achieved by providing a method of teaching a swimming stroke to a person, wherein an above-described swimming aid according to the invention is applied to the lower leg and foot of this person, in order to place this foot in a front to bring this swim stroke to the desired position in relation to the lower leg.

Teaching a swimming stroke is normally a long process, in which several steps are taught to perform all movements correctly. Only when propulsion is experienced on the feet itself, is it possible to keep the feet in the correct position when performing the swimming stroke. With the aid of the swimming aid, in a method according to the invention the process of learning a swimming stroke is considerably accelerated, since one comes sooner to the moment when the feet are self-propelled and an automatism is obtained to put the foot in a correct position. when performing the swim stroke.

BE2016 / 5753

The present invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the following detailed description of preferred swimming aids, uses and methods of the present invention. The purpose of this description is only to provide illustrative examples and to indicate further advantages and features of this invention, and thus cannot be construed as limiting the scope of the invention or the patent rights claimed in the claims.

In this detailed description, reference numerals are used to refer to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a swimming aid according to the invention in perspective, attached to the foot and lower leg of a child;

- Figure 2 shows the swimming aid of figure 1 in perspective, attached to the foot and lower leg of a child, with an attached lashing strap;

Figure 3 shows the swimming aid of figure 1 without the sock in front view.

The swimming aid (1) shown in the figures comprises a continuous splint (4), with a foot section (5), a leg section (6) and a transition section (7) between the foot section (5) and the leg section (6). This splint (4) is made in one piece.

In the rest position of the splint (4), the foot section (5) is at an angle to the leg section (6), which is less than 90 °.

The different parts (5, 6, 7) of the splint (4) have a shape corresponding to the shape of the body parts (2, 3) against which they connect in mounted condition.

BE2016 / 5753

The transition portion (7) is formed as a constriction of the splint (4). This transition section (7) is made narrower than the foot section (5) and the leg section (6). In this way, the transition section (7) has a certain flexibility, allowing movement of the foot section (5) relative to the leg section (6). Since the foot section (5) can still move a little in relation to the leg section (6), the person wearing the swimming attachment (1) can still easily leave the pool and also step next to the pool.

The splint (4) is preferably lined on the inside with a soft material, in order to increase its wearing comfort.

The swimming aid (1) includes multiple fasteners (16, 17) to press a lower leg (3) and a foot (2) against the splint (4) in a desired position. For example, the swimming aid (1) at the bottom of the foot section (5) comprises a first fastening strap (16), which here in this embodiment comprises Velcro. This first fastening strap (16) is attached at the height of the ball of the foot (2) and ensures that the foot (2) cannot turn over in different directions and is held firmly in its desired position. At the top, the swimming aid (1) on the leg portion (6) comprises a second fastening strap (17), which here in this embodiment comprises Velcro, for attaching a lower leg (3) adjacent to the foot (2) to the splint (4). In this way, the leg portion (6) of the splint (4) is attached to the front of the lower leg (3) and the foot portion (5) of the splint (4) is attached to the top of the foot (2), as can be seen in figures 1 and 2.

The swimming aid (1) also includes two tension straps (8, 9) with which the angle between the leg section (6) and the foot section (5) can be reduced and with which the foot (2) can be tilted.

A first lashing strap (8) in this embodiment is fixedly attached to the foot portion (5) at the height of the outside of the foot by means of a rivet (10)

BE2016 / 5753 (2). In this embodiment, a second tensioning strap (9) is fixedly attached to the foot portion (5) at the level of the inside of the foot (2) by means of a rivet (10). Both straps (8, 9) are adjustable and can be attached to the leg section (6), either at the height of the outside or the inside of the lower leg (3). Namely, on the lateral sides, the leg portion (6) is provided at the top with a knob (11) in the form of a projection with a widened head. The lashing straps (8, 9) have several perforations (12), which are smaller than the head of these buttons (11). Because the lashing straps (8, 9) are made of flexible material, the heads of these buttons ( 11) are applied through these perforations (12). For example, the tensioning straps (8, 9) can be attached to these buttons (11) and released from them, whereby they cannot simply come back accidentally. By arranging the tensioning straps (8, 9) with other perforations over the knobs (11), these tensioning straps (8, 9) are adjustable to attach to the leg section (6). In Figure 2, the first lashing strap (8) is provided with a perforation (12) over the button (11) of the leg portion (6), which is located at the level of the outside of the lower leg (3). In practice it can be advantageous for swimming strokes to fit the first strap (8) with a perforation (12) over the button (11) of the leg section (6), which is at the level of the inside of the lower leg (3). ) to allow the foot (2) to tilt. The first strap (8) can therefore either be attached to one of the two buttons (11) or left separately from the leg section (6). The second strap (9) can also be either attached to one of the two buttons (11) or left separate from the leg section (6). It is also possible to attach the straps (8, 9) to the leg section (6) in a staggered manner.

At the height of the toes of the foot (2), the foot part (5) is provided on the inside with a recess in which a magnet (13) is fitted. The swimming aid (1) further comprises a sock (15) to which a second magnet (14) is attached. Both magnets (13, 14) attract each other, so that a magnetic coupling is realized between this sock (15) and the foot part (5). This one

BE2016 / 5753 magnetic coupling (13, 14) ensures that a person wearing this swimming aid (1) keeps not only his foot, but also his toes in the desired position while swimming. One of the two magnets (13, 14) could also be replaced by magnetizable material.

To teach a child a swimming stroke, a corresponding swimming aid (1) is attached to each foot (2) of this child. The swimming aid shown (1) is provided for attachment to a child's left foot. By mirroring it, a swimming aid (1) can be obtained to attach to the right foot of this child. The socks (15) are attached to the feet (2) of the child. The splint (4) is then attached to the child's foot (2) and lower leg (3) using the fastening straps (16, 17). The straps (8, 9) are attached to the leg section (6) in the desired position in order to adjust the desired position of each foot (2) of this child. Then the child can be made to perform the movements of the swimming stroke to be learned in the water. The child's feet (2) are automatically floated in a correct position for this swim stroke, so that this child learns to keep his feet in this position for performing this swim stroke.

BE2016 / 5753

Claims (13)

CONCLUSIONS A swimming aid (1) for a foot (2), this swimming aid (1) comprising a splint (4), with a foot part (5), for mounting against the 5 top of the foot (2), a leg section (6), for attachment to the front of the lower leg (3) adjacent to the foot (2) and a transition section (7) between the foot section (5) and the leg section (6 ), which is of flexible design, and wherein the foot part (5) is provided to extend to the level of the toes of the foot (2), characterized in that The swimming aid (1) comprises a magnetic coupling (13, 14), with a first magnetic coupling element (13), which is attached to the foot part (5) and which extends at least partly at the level of the toes and a second magnetic coupling element ( 14), which includes a fastener (15) for attaching this second magnetic 15 coupling element (14) at the foot (2), at least partly at the height of the toes. Swimming aid (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that this swimming aid (1) comprises a tensioning means (8, 9) for moving towards each other 20 pulling the foot section (5) and the leg section (5), for pulling the foot (2) towards the lower leg (3). Swimming aid (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the tensioning means (8, 9) is in use attached to the foot section (5) at the height 25 from the outside of the foot (2) or at the height of the inside of the foot (2) and is attached to the leg section (6) at the height of the inside of the lower leg (3) or at the height of the outside of the lower leg (3). BE2016 / 5753 Swimming aid (1) according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the tensioning means (8, 9) is adjustably attachable to the leg section (6) and / or to the foot section (5). Swimming aid (1) according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that this swimming aid (1) comprises a second tensioning means (9, 8) for pulling the foot section (5) and the leg section (6 together). ), for pulling the foot (2) towards the lower leg (3). Swimming aid (1) according to claim 3 or 4 and 5, characterized in that the second tensioning means (9, 8) is in use respectively attached to the foot section (5) at the height of the inner side of the foot (2) or height of the outside of the foot (2) and is attached to the leg section (6) at the height of the outside of the lower leg (3) or at the height of the inside of the lower leg (3). Swimming aid (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that the second tensioning means (9, 8) is adjustably attachable to the leg section (6) and / or to the foot section (5). Swimming aid (1) according to any one of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that each tensioning means (8, 9) is designed as a tensioning strap (8, 9) of flexible material. Swimming aid (1) according to claims 4 or 7 and 8, characterized in that the leg section (6) or the foot section (5) is respectively provided with one or more projections (11) with a widening at a distance from the leg section ( 6) or the foot section (5) and that each strap (8, 9) is respectively provided with several corresponding openings (12), with which it can be adjustably attached to the leg section (6) or the BE2016 / 5753 foot section (5), by applying a respective projection (11) with the widening through a said opening (12). Swimming aid (1) according to one of the preceding claims, with the Characterized in that the fastening means (15) for fastening the second magnetic coupling element (14) is designed as a sleeve (15). Swimming aid (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the splint (4) is designed as a single piece. Swimming aid (1) according to claim 11, characterized in that the transition part (7) is designed as a cord of the splint (4) relative to the foot part (5) and the leg part (6). Swimming aid (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that this swimming aid (1) comprises a first fastening element (16) for fastening the foot part (5) against the foot (2) and a second fastening element (17 ) includes for securing the leg portion (6) to the lower leg (3). Method for teaching a swimming stroke to a person, characterized in that a swimming aid (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 13 is attached to the lower leg (3) and the foot (2) of this person in order to place the foot (2) in a position desired for this swimming stroke relative to the lower leg (3). BE2016 / 5753 Ί0Ί6 / 5? 53, 1 6 BE2016 / 5753 Bt-2018/5753/1 BE2016 / 5753 BE2816 / 5753 BE2016 / 5753 6/5753 .49 EXCLUSION L / î SWIMMING FOOT FOR A FOOT, USING A SPLINT AS A SWIMMING AIDS AND PROCESS FOR LEARNING OF A SWIMMING Stroke A swimming foot (i) for a foot (2), comprising a splint (4), inet a foot section (S), for attachment to the top of the foot (2), a II leg section (£>) «for attachment to the front of the lower leg (3) adjacent to the foot (2) and a transition section (?) Between the foot section (S) and the leg section (6), which is flexible, Use of such a splint (4), as a swimming aid (1) and method of arming a swimming stroke to a person, such swimming aid (i) on the lower leg (3) and the foot 13 (2) of this person is attacked. remove this foot (2) from the lower leg (3) to bring it into a desired position for this swivel.