EP1321055A1

EP1321055A1 - Sports shoe

Info

Publication number: EP1321055A1
Application number: EP02028249A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Giorgio Baggio; Davide Soligo
Original assignee: HTM Sport SpA
Current assignee: HTM Sport SpA
Priority date: 2001-12-21
Filing date: 2002-12-16
Publication date: 2003-06-25
Also published as: ITMI20012736A1

Abstract

A sports shoe constituted by a rigid box-like shell (2), which has a perimetric ridge (5) that laterally wraps around part of the foot, first and second tabs (11,12) which affect the foot instep region, and a first rigid tongue (9). The shell contains a semirigid secondary shell (15) that wraps around the foot except for the instep region (10). A semirigid cuff is articulated to the secondary shell in the malleolar region (17), and two second soft tongues (18a,18b) are associated with the secondary shell (15) and affect the foot instep region. A soft outer covering is associated with the secondary shell and the cuff (19).

Description

The present invention relates to a sports shoe, particularly a ski boot or a skate.
Conventional ski boots may be constituted by a shell and by at least one quarter made of very rigid plastics, so as to allow to protect the foot and the lower part of the leg against accidental impacts and to allow the anchoring of levers that are subjected to considerable tensions imparted to them during fastening and during sports practice, and also allow the transmission of forces from the foot to the sports implement.
This high rigidity of conventional boots contrasts with the need to provide the user with optimum comfort during the sports practice.
As a partial solution to such drawback, a ski boot has been proposed, which is marketed by the Rossignol company under the trademark SOFT1 and is constituted by a rigid shell that laterally surrounds the foot of the user and part of the lower region of the leg of the user and has an upper opening.
A quarter is pivoted to the rigid shell; the quarter also is rigid and laterally surrounds the leg of the user. The ends of closure levers are associated with the flaps of the quarter and the shell. Also, the shell is overmolded at an additional upper.
An upper with soft overlapping flaps is associated at the upper open region of the shell, and a soft innerboot can be arranged inside the quarter and the shell.
Also such boot has, however, drawbacks. The high rigidity of the shell and the quarter contrasts with the softness of the soft overlapping flaps arranged in the metatarsal and instep region of the foot, which transmit directly to this region of the foot the tensions applied by the fastening of the levers and the additional tensions that occur during sports practice.
Furthermore, the bands that constitute the levers rest directly at the underlying soft flaps: this entails difficulty in the mutual sliding of the two materials and therefore the discomfort for the user increases when the levers are fastened and when they are further tensioned during sports practice.
Therefore, the forces transmitted directly to the metatarsal region, to the instep region and to the front part of the tibia are such as to produce localized pressure regions that decrease user comfort.
The aim of the present invention is to solve the drawbacks noted above and solve the described technical problems by providing a sports shoe, such as a ski boot or a skate, that allows to achieve optimum transmission of the forces of the foot to the sports implement, allows optimum anchoring of the levers, and allows the user to achieve a high degree of comfort both when putting on the shoe and during sports practice.
An object is to provide a sports shoe that has a low weight.
A further object is to provide a sports shoe that has low manufacturing costs by limiting the use of high-rigidity materials.
A further object is to provide a sports shoe in which the fastening of the levers does not cause localized pressures in the metatarsal and instep regions of the foot or in the front part of the tibia of the user's leg.
This aim and these and other objects that will become better apparent from the description that follows are achieved by a sports shoe, as claimed in the appended claims.
Further aims and objects will become better apparent during the description that follows, which must be considered together with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate by way of non-limitative example a particular embodiment of the invention, in which:
Figure 1 is a first side view of a ski boot;
Figure 2 is a second side view of the ski boot;
Figure 3 is a first side view of the rigid box-like shell;
Figure 4 is a second side view of the rigid box-like shell;
Figures 5 and 6 are side views of the rigid box-like shell;
Figure 7 is a side view of the semirigid cuff;
Figure 8 is a side view of the semirigid secondary shell;
Figure 9 is a side view of the secondary shell with the cuff assembled thereto;
Figure 10 is a side view of the secondary shell and an exploded view of the pair of second tongues without the soft outer covering;
Figure 11 is a view of the secondary shell, with the cuff articulated thereto, with which the two second tongues are associated without the soft outer covering;
Figure 12 is a side view of the cuff alone, without the soft outer covering;
Figure 13 is a side view of the secondary shell alone and of the pair of second tongues without the soft outer covering.
With reference to the cited figures, and bearing in mind that they exemplify a particular embodiment and are in variable scale and that individual reference numerals designate identical or equivalent parts therein, the reference numeral 1 designates a sports shoe, particularly a ski boot, which is constituted by a rigid box-like shell 2.
The shell is produced for example by injecting thermoplastic material with thicknesses 3 whose dimensions are comparable to those of conventional ski boot shells.
The box-like shell 2 includes a lower sole 4 of a standardized type, from which a perimetric ridge 5 protrudes. The ridge laterally surrounds part of the foot of the user and therefore has a limited height with respect to the surface on which the sole rests on the ski.
Counters 8a and 8b are provided at a heel region 6 and at a toe region 7; the first counter is directed toward the heel region 6, and a first tongue 9 is hinged thereto. The tongue is as rigid as the box-like shell and lies longitudinally in the direction of the region 6 of the heel, so as to affect a region 10 of the user's foot instep.
A first tab 11 and a second tab 12 protrude from the perimetric ridge 5, transversely to the box-like shell 2 and at a chosen point of the foot instep region 10.
The first tab 11 has such an extension as to affect at least the entire height of the lateral edge of the foot of the user, optionally partially surmounting it, while the second tab 12 surrounds, in an upper region, the first tongue 9, which is rigid, affecting it totally or partially.
The first and second tabs may have the same rigidity of the box-like shell and can be separate from the shell and associated therewith.
The second tab 12 is substantially shaped like a letter Y, in which first wings 13a, 13b are connected to the perimetric ridge 5 in regions that are approximately adjacent to the plantar arch region, on the opposite side with respect to the first tab, so as to allow a better and optimum distribution of the forces when fastening a first lever 14 adapted to mutually fasten the first and second tabs.
The sports shoe also comprises a semirigid secondary shell 15, which is also made for example of thermoplastic material but is not as thick as the box-like shell 2, so as to be less rigid.
The secondary shell 15 surrounds the entire foot of the user, except for the foot instep region 10, where there is an opening 16.
The secondary shell 15 surrounds the entire malleolar region 17 and partially surrounds the rear-lateral region of the leg of the user.
Two second tongues 18a and 18b can be positioned at the opening 16 and are associated with the secondary shell 15. The flaps are made of a material that is soft and therefore suitable to increase user comfort.
The two second tongues 18a and 18b are associated by riveting, gluing or overmolding at the edges formed by the opening 16 in the secondary shell 15.
The shoe also comprises a semirigid cuff 19 which is approximately as rigid as the secondary shell 15, which is articulated thereto by means of rivets, or other fasteners, at the malleolar region 17.
The cuff 19 is open at the front.
A soft outer covering 20 is associated with the secondary shell 15 and with the cuff 19.
For example, the covering 20 is provided by means of fabric or other soft material.
Moreover, the covering 20 can be obtained by gluing and/or sewing it, in one or more pieces, directly to the secondary shell and to the cuff.
Once the secondary shell and the cuff have been mutually assembled, the resulting structure can be inserted at the box-like shell 2, so as to thus obtain the shoe 1.
To allow the fastening of the shoe, there is for example a second lever 21, which is arranged in the foot instep region so that its ends are associated for example at the studs for the pivoting of the secondary shell 15 to the cuff 19.
It is also possible to apply a third lever 22, which is identical to the first lever 14 and therefore is again Y-shaped so as to form second wings 23a and 23b which mutually diverge and are associable with the free ends for example at the cuff 19 by means of appropriate rivets or fixing elements.
A usual known soft innerboot 24 can then be inserted in the structure thus obtained.
It has thus been found that the described and illustrated solution has achieved its intended aim and objects, obtaining a sports shoe, such as a ski boot or a skate, which allows optimum transmission of the forces of the foot to the sports implement, allows optimum anchoring of the levers, and allows the user to achieve a high degree of comfort both when putting on the shoe and during sports practice.
The shoe thus obtained has a low weight and reduced manufacturing costs, because the use of highly rigid materials is limited.
Finally, the shoe not only allows optimum connection of the levers thereto but also allows to avoid producing localized pressures in the metatarsal and instep regions of the foot or at the front region of the tibia of the user's leg.
The materials and the shape or the dimensions of the individual components of the shoes may of course be the most pertinent and disparate according to specific requirements.
The various means for performing certain different functions need not certainly coexist only in relation to the illustrated embodiment but may also be present per se in many embodiments, including embodiments that have not been illustrated.

Claims

A sports shoe, characterized in that it comprises a rigid box-like shell which has a perimetric ridge that laterally surrounds part of the foot, first and second tabs which affect the foot instep region, and a first rigid tongue for containing a semirigid secondary shell that surrounds the foot except for the instep region, to which a semirigid cuff is articulated in the malleolar region, two second soft tongues being associated with said secondary shell and affecting the foot instep region, a soft outer covering being associated with said secondary shell and said cuff.
A sports shoe, characterized in that it comprises a rigid box-like shell which laterally surrounds part of the foot and the foot instep region, for containing a semirigid secondary shell that surrounds the foot except for the instep region, to which a semirigid cuff is articulated in the malleolar region, two second soft tongues being associated with said secondary shell and affecting the foot instep region.
The shoe according to claim 1, characterized in that a soft outer covering is associated with said secondary shell and said cuff.
A sports shoe, characterized in that it comprises a rigid box-like shell, which laterally surrounds part of the foot and the foot instep region, for containing a semirigid secondary shell that surrounds the foot except for the instep region, to which a semirigid cuff is articulated in the malleolar region, two second soft tongues being associated with said secondary shell and affecting the foot instep region, a soft outer covering being associated with said secondary shell and said cuff.
The shoe according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said rigid box-like shell comprises a lower sole from which a perimetric ridge protrudes and laterally surrounds part of the user's foot, said ridge having a low height with respect to the surface for resting said sole on a ski.
The shoe according to claim 5, characterized in that counters are present on said box-like shell at the heel region and at the toe region, the first counter being turned back toward the heel region, a first tongue being pivoted to said counter and being as rigid as said box-like shell.
The shoe according to claims 5 and 6, characterized in that said first tongue protrudes longitudinally toward the heel region so as to affect the instep region of the user's foot and part of the tibia.
The shoe according to claims 5 and 7, characterized in that a first tab and a second tab protrude from said perimetric ridge, transversely to said box-like shell and at a chosen point of the foot instep region.
The shoe according to claims 5 and 8, characterized in that said first tab has an extension that affects at least the entire height of the lateral edge of the foot of the user.
The shoe according to claims 5 and 8, characterized in that the extension of said first tab is such that it surmounts said foot.
The shoe according to claims 5 and 9, characterized in that said second tab surrounds said first rigid tongue in an upper region.
The shoe according to claims 5, 10 and 11, characterized in that said first and second tabs have the same degree of rigidity as said box-like shell.
The shoe according to claims 5, 10 and 11, characterized in that said first and second tabs have a different degree of rigidity with respect to said box-like shell and are separate from it and associated with it.
The shoe according to claims 5, 12 and 13, characterized in that said second tab is substantially Y-shaped, so as to form first wings that are divaricated and blended with said perimetric ridge in regions that are approximately adjacent to the plantar arch region, on the opposite side with respect to said first tab.
The shoe according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said semirigid secondary shell is thinner than said box-like shell, so as to be less rigid than said shell.
The shoe according to claims 5 and 15, characterized in that said secondary shell surrounds the entire foot of the user except for the foot instep region, where there is an opening, said secondary shell surrounding the entire malleolar region and partially surrounding the rear-lateral region of the leg of the user.
The shoe according to claims 5 and 16, characterized in that two second tongues, made of soft material and therefore suitable to increase user comfort, can be positioned at said opening and associated with said secondary shell.
The shoe according to claims 5 and 17, characterized in that said two second tongues are associated by riveting at the edges formed by said opening in said secondary shell.
The shoe according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said semirigid cuff is approximately as rigid as said secondary shell and is articulated to it by means of suitable studs or rivets at the malleolar region.
The shoe according to claims 5 and 19, characterized in that said cuff is open at the front.
The shoe according to claims 5 and 20, characterized in that a soft outer covering is associated with said secondary shell and with said cuff and is preferably made of fabric or other soft material.
The shoe according to claims 5 and 21, characterized in that said covering is formed in one or more pieces and is glued and/or stitched to said secondary shell and said cuff.
The shoe according to claims 5 and 22, characterized in that said secondary shell and said cuff, when assembled, can be inserted at said box-like shell.
The shoe according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a second lever that is arranged in the foot instep region, with its ends associated at the studs for the pivoting of said secondary shell to said cuff.
The shoe according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a third lever that is identical to said first lever and therefore is also Y-shaped so as to form second wings that mutually diverge and can be associated, at their free ends, at said cuff by rivets or other fasteners.