EP0958753A2

EP0958753A2 - Football boot with tongue

Info

Publication number: EP0958753A2
Application number: EP99201497A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gianfranco Gramola
Original assignee: VALSPORT SpA
Current assignee: VALSPORT SpA
Priority date: 1998-05-19
Filing date: 1999-05-14
Publication date: 1999-11-24
Also published as: ITPD980056U1; EP0958753A3; IT245061Y1

Abstract

A football boot has an upper having a U-shaped opening (3) extending from a mouth (4) of the boot in the direction towards the tip thereof; a tongue (6) is arranged to close the opening (3) at least partially and lace fastening means (17) are provided between each edge of the tongue (6) and the corresponding edge of the upper (2) facing into the opening in order to tighten the tongue (6) and the upper (2) on the user's foot on both sides.

Description

The present invention relates to a boot for football and similar sports which is produced in accordance with the preamble of claim 1.
Such boots, in the forms currently available on the market, are advantageously used in the game of football in order, during kicking, to prevent the impact of the ball on the boot in the region of the lace fastening on the one hand troubling the footballer and on the other hand producing undesired effects on the trajectory of the kicked ball.
The object of the present invention is to improve known boots, ensuring, on the one hand, the absence of effects on the trajectory of the kicked ball and, on the other hand, improving the uniformity of closure of the boot on the user's foot.
Another object of the invention is to balance the fastening tension of the boot, especially in the region of the instep.
Those and other objects are achieved by the invention by means of a football boot produced in accordance with the claims which follow. The characteristics and advantages of the invention will become clear from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which is illustrated by way of non-limiting example with reference to the appended drawings in which:

Figures 1 to 3 are respective perspective views of the invention in various operating states.

In the drawings, a football boot produced in accordance with the present invention is generally indicated 1. The boot 1 is preferably used for football; however, that indication is not to be interpreted in a limiting sense given that the boot of this invention also lends itself well to use in other sports, such as baseball, rugby and the like.
The boot 1 has an upper 2 which has, at the front, a deep U-shaped opening, generally indicated 3, which starts from the mouth 4 of the boot and extends in the direction towards the tip 5 thereof.
A tongue 6 is secured by means of an end portion 7 thereof to the upper 2 in the region of the base of the opening 3 in order to close the opening at least partially.
The tongue 6 repeats in plan the configuration of the opening 3 with slightly smaller dimensions and lies above a resilient strip 8 which, on the one hand, acts as padding suitable for protecting the region of the footballer's instep and, on the other hand, constitutes a means of holding the boot on the user's foot when the boot is not completely fastened.
At the end remote from the end portion 7, the tongue 6 is provided with a flap 10 foldable onto the tongue 6 in the region of a folding line 11. Restraining means 12a, b, such as the two elements of a pull-fastening known on the market under the registered trademark VELCRO (TM), are used to bold the flap in a folded state on the tongue 6.
The two borders of the tongue 6 and the corresponding borders of the upper have, along the opening 3, a corresponding series of holes 13a, b and, respectively, 14a, b for the passage of a continuous lace 15 threaded into the pairs of corresponding holes 13, 14a, b in order to constitute a double lace fastening generally indicated 17.
As shown, the flap 10 is widened in the region of a middle portion thereof in order to form two wings 18a, b which are placed over the respective lace fastenings to provide further protection thereof and of the user's instep.
The double lace fastening is tightened by taking hold of the free ends of the lace 15 and exerting traction on them, optionally making use of a lacing hook or the fingers to promote the sliding of the lace in the pairs of corresponding holes.
Balanced closure of the boot on the user's foot is thus obtained with closure stresses distributed equally on the right and left sides of the foot. At the same time, in the area of the instep, the double fastening leaves a large region of the tongue free from laces and other formations, the geometry of which would interfere with the trajectory imparted to the ball during kicking, in particular during so-called drives.
The invention described is susceptible of numerous modifications and variants which all fall within the same inventive scope. For example, instead of a single lace 15, it is possible to use a separate lace for each fastening. It is also possible to provide other means of protection, shields, padding and guards in the region of the tongue for the better protection of the footballer's instep.

Claims

A boot for football and similar sports comprising an upper (2) which has an opening in the region of which a lace fastening (17) is arranged for closing the upper (2) on the user's foot in an adjustable manner, the fastening on the upper being positioned at the sides of the instep region, characterized in that it comprises, in the upper, a U-shaped opening (3) which extends from a mouth (4) of the boot in the direction towards the tip thereof, a tongue (6) arranged for the at least partial closure of the opening (3) and lace fastening means (17) between each edge of the tongue (6) and the corresponding edge of the upper (2) facing into the opening to tighten the tongue (6) and the upper (2) on the user's foot on both sides.
A boot according to claim 1, wherein the fastening means (17) comprise a double lace fastening.
A boot according to claim 2, wherein the fastening means comprise respective pairs of holes (13a, b; 14a, b) formed along each border of the upper (2) facing into the opening (3) and along each border of the tongue (6) facing the border of the upper, a single lace (15) being threaded in sequence in the pairs of holes to form the double lace fastening.
A boot according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the tongue (6) is connected to the upper (2) by means of an end portion (7) which joins the tongue and the upper in the region of the base of the opening (3) in the upper.
A boot according to claim 4, wherein the tongue (6) is provided, at the end remote from the end portion (7), with a flap (10) which is foldable onto the tongue (6).