EP2274994A1

EP2274994A1 - Climbing shoe

Info

Publication number: EP2274994A1
Application number: EP10169749A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Heinz Mariacher
Original assignee: Calzaturificio SCARPA SpA
Current assignee: Calzaturificio SCARPA SpA
Priority date: 2009-07-15
Filing date: 2010-07-15
Publication date: 2011-01-19
Anticipated expiration: 2030-07-15
Also published as: EP2274994B1; ITTV20090146A1; IT1398425B1; SI2274994T1; ES2486668T3

Abstract

A climbing shoe (1) having an upper (2) of appropriate shape; an innersole (3) fixed to the bottom (2a) of the upper (2) to cover at least the portion of the upper (2) corresponding to the metatarsal-phalangeal area (P₁) of the sole of the foot; a sole (4) fixed to the bottom (2a) of the upper (2) to cover the whole innersole (3); and a number of tensioning bands (5, 6, 7, 8) of elastic material, fixed to the upper (2) to surround and evenly grip the user's foot; the innersole (3) being defined by a plastic or composite material strip (3) which is substantially rigid in response to mechanical stress parallel to the plane of the strip, and flexible in response to stress perpendicular to the plane of the strip; the tensioning bands (5, 6, 7, 8) including a substantially V-shaped first tensioning band (5), which has the central portion (5') glued directly to the innersole (3) to cover the area of the upper (2) corresponding to the metatarsal-phalangeal area (P₁), and has the two lateral portions (5") that extend along the two sides (2b) of the upper (2), roughly up to the point where the astragalus joins the calcaneus of the foot; said lateral portions (5") of the first tensioning band (5) being glued directly to the upper (2).

Description

The present invention relates to a climbing shoe.
As is known, climbing shoes normally comprise a leather upper designed to wrap around and completely cover the foot; a flexible, cured-rubber sole glued to the bottom of the upper; and a number of tensioning bands of elastic material, normally highly elastic rubber, glued to the upper to surround the foot as tightly as possible without hurting, while at the same time allowing effective foot control by the shoe, to discharge the weight force safely on the tip of the foot.
More specifically, most climbing shoes normally comprise a substantially horseshoe-shaped first tensioning band or "cap" that covers the tip of the upper surrounding the metatarsal-phalangeal area of the sole of the foot; and a second or "heel" tensioning band that covers the area of the upper just above the heel of the foot (i.e. the area of the foot where the Achilles' tendon joins the calcaneus), and extends along the two sides of the upper up to the two ends of the metatarsal-phalangeal area of the sole of the foot, where it joins the first tensioning band to form a sort of annular elastic tie to tightly surround and contain the foot.
In addition, the first tensioning band also partly covers the bottom of the upper at the metatarsal-phalangeal area of the sole of the foot, and the flexible, cured-rubber sole is glued to the bottom of the upper, partly over the first and second tensioning band, so as to form with them a sort of elastic enclosure or hood, which surrounds and protects the tip of the foot and is connected elastically to the heel of the foot by the second tensioning band.
In more recently marketed climbing shoes, the cured-rubber sole only covers the bottom of the upper at the metatarsal-phalangeal area of the sole of the foot, and the second or "heel" tensioning band only extends along the outer side of the upper, to cover the bottom of the upper at the arch area and the metatarsal-phalangeal area of the sole of the foot, obviously beneath the cured-rubber sole. In this case, the shoe also comprises a third tensioning band, which is glued to the bottom of the upper, to cover the tarsus-calcaneus area, continues up the back of the upper, to also cover the heel area, and joins with the second or "heel" tensioning band above the heel.
Though functionally excellent, climbing shoes of the above types have been found to adapt poorly to the shape of the user's foot, thus impairing to a certain extent the user's foothold sensitivity.
Aim of the present invention is therefore to provide a climbing shoe designed to more completely and effectively enclose the user's foot, while at the same time enhancing comfort and the foothold sensitivity of the user.
In compliance with the above aims, according to the present invention there is provided a climbing shoe as defined in Claim 1 and preferably, though not necessarily, in any one of the dependent Claims.
A non-limiting embodiment of the present invention will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :

Figure 1 shows a schematic view in perspective of a climbing shoe in accordance with the teachings of the present invention; whereas
Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 show the Figure 1 shoe with parts removed for clarity.

With reference to Figures 1 to 5, number 1 indicates as a whole a climbing shoe substantially comprising an upper 2, which is preferably, though not necessarily, made of leather and/or other fabric or porous synthetic material, and is shaped to wrap around and completely cover the user's foot, including the sole of the foot; a rigid innersole 3 glued to the bottom 2a of upper 2, to roughly cover the whole of bottom 2a of upper 2, i.e. the part of upper 2 covering the sole of the foot; a flexible sole 4, of cured rubber, Vibram, or similar material, glued to the bottom 2a of upper 2 to completely cover innersole 3; and a number of tensioning bands of elastic material, made of rubber or other elastomeric material, and glued to upper 2 to surround and grip upper 2 to the user's foot.
With particular reference to Figures 1, 2 and 3, rigid innersole 3 is defined by a flat, plastic or composite material strip 3 which is less than 3 millimeters thick and which is substantially rigid and undeformable in response to mechanical stress parallel to the plane of the strip, and flexible in response to stress perpendicular to the plane of the strip.
More specifically, in the example shown, innersole 3 is defined by a strip 3 of multilayer composite material comprising a sheet of preferably, though not necessarily, polyurethane- or vinyl-based plastic material, and a sheet of non-woven fabric - preferably, though not necessarily, polyester - attached, e.g. glued, firmly to one of the two faces of the plastic material sheet.
In an alternative embodiment, the composite material strip 3 may have two sheets of non-woven fabric, each attached firmly to a respective face of the plastic material sheet.
In the example shown, innersole 3 is defined by a strip of composite material known as "FLEXAN PLUS" marketed by FORESTALI S.p.A.
As regards the tensioning bands, shoe 1, as shown in Figures 1 and 3, comprises a substantially V-shaped first tensioning band 5, which has the central portion 5' glued directly to innersole 3, underneath sole 4, to cover the area of upper 2 corresponding to the metatarsal-phalangeal area P₁ of the sole of the foot, and has the two lateral portions 5" that extend along the inner and outer sides 2b of upper 2, roughly from the borderline between the metatarsal-phalangeal area P₁ of the sole of the foot and the arch area P₂, up to roughly the point where the astragalus joins the calcaneus of the foot. As opposed to being glued to innersole 3, the two lateral portions 5" of tensioning band 5 are glued directly and seamlessly to upper 2.
With reference to Figures 1, 3 and 4, shoe 1 also comprises a substantially inverted-T-shaped second tensioning band 6 glued directly to upper 2 at the heel, so that the two bottom oblong portions 6' surround the tarsus-calcaneus area P₃ of the sole of the foot and partly cover the edge of innersole 3, and the top oblong portion 6" covers the area of upper 2 just above the heel of the foot (i.e. the area of the foot where the Achilles' tendon joins the calcaneus).
In the example shown, tensioning band 6 preferably, though not necessarily, also has a longitudinal slit separating the two bottom oblong portions 6', and which also extends partly into the top oblong portion 6".
With reference to Figures 1, 3 and 4, shoe 1 also comprises a substantially horseshoe-shaped third tensioning band 7, which covers the portion of upper 2 directly above the heel and roughly corresponding to the point where the Achilles' tendon joins the calcaneus, overlaps the top end of top oblong portion 6" of tensioning band 6, and extends along the two sides 2b of upper 2 down to the bottom 2a of upper 2 at the arch area P₂, first overlapping the ends of the two lateral portions 5" of tensioning band 5, and then innersole 3.
Tensioning band 7 is obviously glued seamlessly to innersole 3, upper 2, and the two lateral portions 5" of tensioning band 5, and is therefore fixed firmly to tensioning band 5 to form with it a first annular elastic tie connecting the metatarsal-phalangeal area P₁ to the heel.
In addition to the above, tensioning band 7 is preferably, though not necessarily, also fixed firmly to the ends of the two bottom oblong portions 6' of tensioning band 6. In other words, the ends of top oblong portion 6" and the two bottom oblong portions 6' of tensioning band 6 extend beneath tensioning band 7, and tensioning band 7 is glued to tensioning band 6 at all the overlapping points.
With reference to Figures 1 and 5, shoe 1 also comprises a substantially horseshoe-shaped fourth tensioning band 8, which covers the front portion of upper 2 surrounding the metatarsal-phalangeal area P₁ of the sole of the foot, and overlaps tensioning band 5, and possibly innersole 3, while still remaining beneath sole 4.
In this case, too, tensioning band 8 is glued seamlessly to upper 2 and tensioning band 5, and is therefore fixed firmly to tensioning band 5, roughly along the whole outer edge of central portion 5', to form, with tensioning band 5, a sort of enclosure or hood of elastic material, which wraps around and protects the tip of the foot, and is connected to the heel of the foot by the two lateral portions 5" of tensioning band 5 and by tensioning band 7.
With reference to Figure 1, sole 4 is glued to the bottom 2a of upper 2 to cover innersole 3; central portion 5' of tensioning band 5; the portion of tensioning band 8 extending over innersole 3 and the metatarsal-phalangeal area P₁ of the sole of the foot; the two ends of tensioning band 7 overlapping innersole 3; and the portion of tensioning band 6 extending over the tarsus-calcaneus area P₃ of the sole of the foot.
Sole 4 is obviously fixed elastically to tensioning bands 5, 6, 7 and 8 at all the overlapping points, so the two ends of tensioning band 7 are also connected to each other, beneath the arch, and tensioning band 7 also forms a second annular elastic tie connecting the arch area P₂ to the heel.
In other words, tensioning bands 5 and 7 form two annular elastic ties, which surround and grip upper 2 to the user's foot along two slightly offset paths, to achieve a highly effective foot-containing effect.
In the example shown, sole 4 preferably, though not necessarily, also comprises a flat rear tailpiece 4', which extends up along the heel of upper 2, and overlaps the top oblong portion 6" of tensioning band 6 to cover the longitudinal slit separating the two bottom oblong portions 6' of the same tensioning band.
Operation of climbing shoe 1 is obvious from the above description and therefore needs no further explanation, except to note that, when assembling shoe 1, the design and location of tensioning band 5 cause the part of innersole 3 covering the metatarsal-phalangeal area P₁ of the sole of the foot to curve slightly, spoon-fashion, inwards of the shoe, and keep innersole 3, and sole 4 covering it, indefinitely in that position, so the tip of shoe 1 is forced into a downward-concave spoon shape, which enormously improves the foot-containing performance of shoe 1 and the foothold sensitivity of the user.
Also, when assembling shoe 1, the combined action of tensioning bands 5 and 7 arches innersole 3, and keeps it, and sole 4 covering it, indefinitely in that position, so the tip of shoe 1 is forced into a more prehensile arched shaped.
Finally, the design of tensioning band 5 provides for differently pre-tensioning the inner and outer sides 2b of upper 2 to adapt shoe 1 better to the shape of the user's foot.
The structure of shoe 1 has enormous advantage by virtue of the design and location of tensioning band 5, tensioning bands 5, 6, 7 and 8 as a whole wrap more effectively around the user's foot, adapt much more closely to the shape of the user's foot, and so greatly improve user comfort and foothold sensitivity.
Moreover, the arrangement of tensioning bands 5 and 7 arches the foot to adapt more closely than current climbing shoes to the shape of the user's foot, and so achieve maximum foot-containing performance of the shoe, with no impairment whatsoever in comfort.
Clearly, changes may be made to climbing shoe 1 as described and illustrated herein without, however, departing from the scope of the present invention.
For example, as opposed to completely covering the bottom 2a of upper 2, innersole 3 may be shaped to only cover the portion of upper 2 corresponding to the metatarsal-phalangeal area P₁ of the sole of the foot, and possibly also all or part of the portion of upper 2 corresponding to the arch area P₂.
In another variation, not shown, on reaching the point where the astragalus joins the calcaneus of the foot, at least one of the two lateral portions 5" of tensioning band 5 may continue along the inner or outer side 2b of upper 2, roughly along the same path as tensioning band 7, up to the area directly over the heel (i.e. roughly the point where the Achilles' tendon joins the calcaneus), and then extend down the other side 2b of upper 2 and join firmly to the other lateral portion 5" of tensioning band 5.
In this variation, tensioning band 5 therefore is able to form the elastic tie connecting the metatarsal-phalangeal area P₁ to the heel without the aid of tensioning band 7 which, in this case, becomes optional.

Claims

A climbing shoe (1) comprising an upper (2) of appropriate shape, an innersole (3) fixed to the bottom (2a) of the upper (2) to cover at least the portion of the upper (2) corresponding to the metatarsal-phalangeal area (P₁) of the sole of the foot, a sole (4) fixed to the bottom (2a) of said upper (2) to cover the innersole (3), and a number of elastic material tensioning bands (5, 6, 7, 8) which are fixed to the upper (2) to surround and evenly grip the user's foot; the climbing shoe (1) being characterized
in that the innersole (3) comprises a plastic or composite material strip (3) which is substantially rigid in response to mechanical stress parallel to the plane of the strip, and flexible in response to stress perpendicular to the plane of the strip; and
in that said number of tensioning bands (5, 6, 7, 8) comprise a substantially V-shaped first tensioning band (5), which has the central portion (5') glued directly to the innersole (3) to cover the area of the upper (2) corresponding to the metatarsal-phalangeal area (P₁), and has the two lateral portions (5") that extend along the two sides (2b) of the upper (2), roughly up to the point where the astragalus joins the calcaneus of the foot; said lateral portions (5") of the first tensioning band (5) being glued directly to the upper (2).
A climbing shoe as claimed in Claim 1, characterized in that the two lateral portions (5") of said first tensioning band (5) extend along the two sides (2b) of the upper (2), roughly from the borderline between the metatarsal-phalangeal area (P₁) of the sole of the foot and the arch area (P₂), up to roughly the point where the astragalus joins the calcaneus of the foot.
A climbing shoe as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said number of tensioning bands (5, 6, 7, 8) also comprise a substantially horseshoe-shaped second tensioning band (7), which covers the portion of the upper (2) just above the heel, extends along the two sides (2b) of the upper (2) down to the bottom (2a) of the upper (2) at the arch area (P₂), and overlaps the ends of the two lateral portions (5") of the first tensioning band (5), and the innersole (3); the second tensioning band (7) being glued to the upper (2), to the lateral portions (5") of the first tensioning band (5), and to the innersole (3) .
A climbing shoe as claimed in Claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that said number of tensioning bands (5, 6, 7, 8) also comprise a substantially horseshoe-shaped third tensioning band (8), which covers the front portion of the upper (2) surrounding the metatarsal-phalangeal area (P₁) of the sole of the foot, and overlaps the first tensioning band (5), while still remaining underneath the sole (4).
A climbing shoe as claimed in any one of the foregoing Claims, characterized in that said number of tensioning bands (5, 6, 7, 8) also comprise a substantially inverted-T-shaped fourth tensioning band (6) which is glued to the upper (2) at the heel, so that the two bottom oblong portions (6') surround the tarsus-calcaneus area (P₃) of the sole of the foot, underneath the sole (4), and the top oblong portion (6") covers the area of the upper (2) just above the heel of the foot.
A climbing shoe as claimed in Claims 3 and 5, characterized in that the top oblong portion (6") of said fourth tensioning band (6) is connected to said second tensioning band (7).
A climbing shoe as claimed in Claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the ends of the two bottom oblong portions (6') of the fourth tensioning band (6) extend underneath the second tensioning band (7).
A climbing shoe as claimed in any one of the foregoing Claims, characterized in that the innersole (3) is shaped to cover substantially the whole of the bottom (2a) of the upper (2).
A climbing shoe as claimed in any one of the foregoing Claims, characterized in that the plastic or composite material strip (3) is a flat strip curved substantially into a spoon shape at the metatarsal-phalangeal area (P₁) of the sole of the foot.
A climbing shoe as claimed in any one of the foregoing Claims, characterized in that the strip (3) of plastic or composite material is a strip of multilayer composite material (3) comprising a sheet of plastic material, and at least one sheet of non-woven fabric attached firmly to one of the two faces of the sheet of plastic material.
A climbing shoe as claimed in Claim 10, characterized in that the sheet of plastic material is a sheet of polyurethane- or vinyl-based plastic material.
A climbing shoe as claimed in Claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the sheet of non-woven fabric is made of polyester.
A climbing shoe as claimed in any one of the foregoing Claims, characterized in that at least one of the two lateral portions (5") of the first tensioning band (5) extends along the side (2b) of the upper (2) up to step over the heel, and along the other side (2b) of the upper up to the other lateral portion (5") of the first tensioning band (5), to which it is fixed firmly.
A climbing shoe as claimed in any one of the foregoing Claims, characterized in that the first (5) and/or second (7) and/or third (8) and/or fourth (6) tensioning bands are made of rubber or other elastomeric material.
A climbing shoe as claimed in any one of the foregoing Claims, characterized in that the upper is made of leather.