EP0743023A1 - Flexible boot for snow-surfing - Google Patents

Abstract

A snow-board boot is made with an outer sole (1) of a material which is relatively resistant to abrasion and has three separate thrust zones (10, 11, 12); one (10) in the region of the heel and the other two (11, 12) in the region of the metatarsal, located one on each side of the sole's centre line. The inside of the sole has two recesses corresponding to the positions of the two metatarsal thrust zones, each contg. a pad of a supple and elastically compressible material. Another pad is situated in an inner sole recess over the heel thrust zone. The two metatarsal pads can be made from materials of different hardness, while the heel pad is of a microcellular material such as EVA, polyurethane, polyethylene or PVC. The outer sole is of vulcanised or thermoplastic rubber.

Description

The present invention relates to a snowboard boot, in particular a boot of the flexible type suitable for the practice of specialized disciplines such as "free ride" and "free style". Such a boot comprises a largely flexible upper as opposed to shoes of the "rigid" type adapted to the practice of the discipline of surfing in the Alps which have a rigid external shell generally associated with a cuff also rigid possibly articulated on the shell.

The surfer who practices these new disciplines realizes more and more complex aerial figures during which he adopts a very prone attitude forwards or backwards of his surfing. It must then flex one of the legs strongly inward in the direction of bringing the knees closer together as illustrated by way of example in FIG. 1. The other leg also undergoes a lateral inclination outward. less pronounced. It is impossible to obtain such degrees of inclination with shoes of the rigid type, even when provision is made for an articulation of the spoiler on the shell along an axis contained in the longitudinal plane of the shoe.

Figure 2 shows, in fact, the position in lateral flexion of the lower leg anatomically. The angle of inclination α is equal to the sum of the angle of inclination α1 obtained by pivoting the heel and the angle of inclination α2 obtained by pivoting around the ankle joint. When the foot and the leg assume such a position without constraint of the shoe, it can be observed that the foot twists, the ankle flexes laterally and the heel rolls on its point of support.

In the context of the use of a rigid shoe, the heel cannot, in principle, pivot around the angle α1 due to the stiffness of the upper, and the articulation around the ankle can only be favored by the adaptation of an articulated collar. The rigid shoe generally allows good transmission of support but blocks natural deformations of the foot and ankle during flexion movements of the leg in the practice of certain disciplines such as "free ride" or "free style".

Certain changes have been made to rigid boots as in patent DE-OS-37 42 918 which relates to a ski boot having a rigid sole in which are provided recesses intended to receive elastic and deformable inserts, making it possible to improve the shock absorption carried laterally. However, such a solution is not suitable for the practice of surfing and addresses a completely different damping problem than the problem of lateral bending linked to the practice of surfing.

Patent AT 2277/92 relates to a "rigid" type surf shoe having a shell, a cuff and a sole which is provided with a bearing surface with two elastic sole elements arranged laterally one next to the 'other. The goal is to allow the shoe to be able to tilt about a pivot axis inclined relative to the median longitudinal plane. This solution certainly allows to spare the ligaments in the ankle region by the tilting exerted. However, the drawback lies in the fact that it is the entire rigid rod which rocks laterally around the determined inclination axis. This results in a significant loss of sensations due to this lateral laxity and the retention of the foot inside the rigid shell, which ultimately is detrimental in driving the surf during the changes.

The object of the present invention is to provide a solution to the problems mentioned above. In particular, it aims to propose a boot which allows lateral mobility of the leg which is very important for the production of figures linked to the practice of "free style" and "free ride", while respecting the naturally twisted position of the foot and the flexion of the ankle at its joint. Another object is to keep, at the same time, all the sensations and information captured by the foot of the surfer by authorizing, not a tilting of the whole of the shoe which would be contrary to the desired effect, but an accompaniment to the movement as natural as possible from the foot to the inside of the boot.

• une première zone d'appui située dans la région du talon,
• une seconde et une troisième zone d'appui située dans la région des métatarses ; espacées latéralement l'une de l'autre par rapport à la direction longitudinale de la botte et localisées à proximité de chaque côté ; respectivement intérieur et extérieur de la botte ;
     ladite semelle externe comprenant au moins deux logements internes avants situés, chacun, dans ladite seconde et troisième zone d'appui, et dans lesquels sont insérés des éléments internes avants en matériau souple et compressible élastiquement.

For this, the invention relates to a snowboard boot of the flexible type comprising an outer sole of relatively hard material resistant to abrasion. Said sole has three distinct relief areas, respectively:

• a first support zone located in the heel region,
• a second and a third support zone located in the metatarsal region; spaced laterally from each other with respect to the longitudinal direction of the boot and located close to each side; respectively inside and outside of the boot;
  said external sole comprising at least two front internal housings, each located in said second and third support zone, and into which are inserted front internal elements made of flexible and elastically compressible material.

The three support zones represent in fact, the main anatomical support points of a bare foot.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the first heel support zone has, transverse to the vertical median plane oriented longitudinally, a generally convex shape. Thus, the lateral rolling of the heel along α1 is favored.

According to another characteristic, the front internal elements have comparatively different hardness characteristics. The support zones being separated from each other, it is advantageous to be able to treat the mobility of the forefoot inside the boot by elements with different characteristics as required.

According to an additional characteristic of the invention, the external sole comprises in the heel support zone a rear housing in which is inserted a rear internal element made of flexible material and having good damping properties. The cushioning effect in the heel area provides additional comfort to the user when receiving jumps.

• la figure 1 illustre schématiquement la position d'un surfeur dans l'exécution de figures courantes ;
• la figure 2 montre une vue anatomiqe de la position du pied droit du surfeur de la figure 1 ;
• la figure 3 est une vue en perspective d'une botte de surf selon l'invention ;
• la figure 4 est une vue en élévation de la semelle de la botte de surf de l'invention ;
• la figure 5 est une vue en coupe selon A-A de la vue de la figure 4 ;
• la figure 6 est une vue en coupe selon B-B de la vue de la figure 4 ;
• la figure 7 est une vue schématique en coupe selon A-A lors d'une flexion latérale de la jambe dans la position du surfeur de la figure 1 ;
• la figure 8 est une vue schématique en coupe selon B-B dans la même configuration que dans la figure 7.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from the description which follows, with reference to the appended drawings which illustrate, by way of nonlimiting example, the implementation of the invention and in which:

• Figure 1 schematically illustrates the position of a surfer in the execution of current figures;
• Figure 2 shows an anatomical view of the position of the right foot of the surfer of Figure 1;
• Figure 3 is a perspective view of a surf boot according to the invention;
• Figure 4 is an elevational view of the sole of the surf boot of the invention;
• Figure 5 is a sectional view along AA of the view of Figure 4;
• Figure 6 is a sectional view along BB of the view of Figure 4;
• Figure 7 is a schematic sectional view along AA during a lateral bending of the leg in the position of the surfer of Figure 1;
• FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view along BB in the same configuration as in FIG. 7.

The boot illustrated in Figure 3 is intended for the practice of surfing. It has a part of the upper which has been deliberately trivialized but which generally relates to what specialists call a "flexible" boot.

In general, such a boot has an outer sole of wear 1 which will be detailed later, an inner part 2 flexible and padded, in the form of a slipper which can rise more or less high on the calf, and an outer part 3 called rod whose flexibility is also important but which can be provided with buttresses, or even stiffening inserts or an internal or external articulated spoiler. Such boot structures have been detailed according to different versions in patent application DE-A1-43 33 503, or even in the French application not yet published n ° 94 08872 belonging to the plaintiff.

The sole 1 of the boot according to the invention is made of hard material resistant to abrasion. It comprises three support zones 10, 11, 12 which are distinct and independent of one another constituting summarily a support triangle 6, so that the boot is at rest posed in a single position relative to its support without risk of limping. Such a defect is moreover very frequent on the soles of sports shoes obtained by vulcanization or by injection.

The sole also has a fastening means 5 located between the metatarsal region and the heel region. Preferably, the means is central, that is to say that it is located inside the lift triangle 6, between the front support zones 11, 12 and the heel support zone 10. The attachment means 5 is part of a set for retaining the boot on the surf which has been the subject of French patent applications not yet published No. 9306006 and No. 9408872 belonging to the applicant. In the specific example illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, the attachment means 5 of the sole has a recess 50 oriented transversely to the longitudinal direction materialized by the axis II 'of the sole and a section 51 oriented along the longitudinal direction of the axis II 'of the sole.

The other part of the device, not shown, has complementary shapes intended to cooperate with the recess 50 and a locking member intended to cooperate with the profile 51.

Of course, the attachment means 5 can also be more or less offset towards the external (EXT) or internal (INT) side with respect to the median longitudinal axis I-I 'shown.

The association of the three support zones 10, 11, 12 and of an attachment means 5 located substantially inside the lift triangle 6 define different couples which intervene directly in the stiffness of the front or rear supports on the surfboard and this in an advantageous way, to execute turns "back-side" or "front-side" or which still intervene in the characteristics of flexion or lateral restraint for the execution of certain aerial figures, in particular.

The outer sole 1 is preferably a cup sole well known to those skilled in the art and which is characterized by the fact that it has raised edges 13 at its periphery as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. A inside, the sole further comprises two front housings 21, 22 located in the two support zones 11, 12 of the metatarsal region. In these housings are inserted front internal elements 31, 32 of flexible and elastically compressible material. Preferably, the front internal elements have comparatively different mechanical characteristics to favor the movement of the forefoot on the internal or external side as appropriate. In particular, the elements have different hardness characteristics.

We can also adapt the shape, flexibility or thickness of the elements depending on the desired effects, the size of the surfer or the degree of sensitivity sought in the support areas.

In the heel support zone 10, the sole also includes a rear housing 20 into which is inserted a rear internal element 30 made of flexible material and having good damping properties. Such an element is made of microcellular material with a polymer matrix, preferably chosen from EVA, polyurethanes, polyethylenes and PVC. The hardness and density can be variable depending on the compression damping effect sought.

The heel support zone 10 has, transversely with respect to the longitudinal direction of axis II ′, a generally convex shape, as shown in FIG. 6, to favor the rolling of the heel on one side or the other during lateral flexion.

The external surface of the sole in the determined support zones 10, 11, 12 may have ridges 8 in relief or in hollow having the function of improving the grip during walking, in particular.

The internal structure of the shoe represented in FIGS. 5 to 8 has been deliberately simplified so as to show only the essential constituent means of the invention. In particular, the boot is also likely to receive of course a first insole for mounting and a first insole.

One can also provide for the insertion of an internal bootie with internal clamping device of the foot inside the bootie.

Figures 7 and 8 show in cross section the behavior of the boot during a lateral bending stress at the location of the different support zones. The front part of the boot, in the metatarsal region, does not tilt during bending with respect to the median vertical plane P oriented longitudinally, but it is simply the front of the foot 7 which moves inside the boot and which exerts pressure on one of the elements 32 of elastically deformable material. In order to promote movement of the foot, the sole is covered, in the region of the metatarsals at least, by a rod 4 formed by a flexible envelope which is connected to the edges 13 by gluing and / or sewing.

In the heel support zone 10, the lateral bending, on the contrary, causes the sole part to roll, favored by its convex shape, so that an inclination α1 of the ankle / boot assembly is obtained relative to the plane P as shown in figure 8.

FIG. 9 schematically shows the transformation of the lifting triangle 6 into a second triangle 60 after pivoting of the leg. The first triangle 6 is defined by its support points 100, 110, 120 contained in the support zones 10, 11, 12. After pivoting, only the support point 100 actually moves, by the rolling effect from the heel, inside the heel support zone 10, to become point 100b. Of course, this is to explain the principle, and in reality, the support points 100, 110, 120 can move very substantially in any direction depending on the support of the surfer. Similarly, in all rigor and taking into account the crushing of the sole, it is not actually a fulcrum, properly speaking, but more, bearing surfaces with contours close to the bearing zones defined.

Among the materials constituting the outer sole, one will choose from the group consisting of vulcanized rubbers and thermoplastic rubbers.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiment described, and includes all the technical equivalents which may fall within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (7)

Snowboard boot of the flexible type comprising an outer outsole (1) of relatively hard abrasion-resistant material, characterized in that said sole has three distinct relief zones (10, 11, 12) , respectively : - a first support zone (10) located in the heel region, - a second and a third support zone (11, 12) located in the metatarsal region; spaced laterally from each other with respect to the longitudinal direction of the boot and located close to each side; respectively inside (INT) and outside (EXT) of the boot;
said outer sole (1) comprising at least two front internal housings (21, 22) each located in said second and third support zone (11, 12), and into which front internal elements (31, 32 are inserted) ) in flexible and elastically compressible materials. Snowboard boot according to claim 1, characterized in that the first heel support zone (10) has, transversely to the longitudinal median vertical plane (P) a generally convex shape. Snowboard boot according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the front internal elements (31, 32) have comparatively different hardness characteristics. Snowboard boot according to claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the outer sole comprises in the heel bearing area a rear housing (20) in which is inserted a rear internal element (30) of flexible material and having good damping properties. Snowboard boot according to claim 4, characterized in that the rear internal element (30) is made of microcellular material chosen from EVA, polyurethanes, polyethylenes and PVC. Snowboard boot according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least in the metatarsal region, the sole (1) is covered by a rod (4) formed by a flexible envelope which is connected to it by collage and / or sewing. Snowboard boot according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the material or materials constituting the outer sole (1) is chosen from the group consisting of vulcanized rubbers and thermoplastic rubbers.

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