EP2762025B1

EP2762025B1 - Improved footwear for the sport of ski jumping

Info

Publication number: EP2762025B1
Application number: EP14152241.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Giuliano Frati
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2013-02-04
Filing date: 2014-01-23
Publication date: 2015-12-02
Anticipated expiration: 2034-01-23
Also published as: SI2762025T1; EP2762025A1; ITPD20130024A1

Description

The present invention relates to footwear for the sport of ski jumping, having the characteristics stated in the preamble to Claim 1, which is the principal claim.
The invention relates to the specific technical field of footwear designed for the sport of ski jumping, which was historically included among competitive winter sports from the early 19th century onwards. Ski jumping, an Olympic sport since the first Winter Olympics of 1924, has undergone considerable changes, with the length of the jump increasing from the 23 metres of the first official world record in 1879 to the 246.5 metres recently achieved in Norway in February 2011. These rapid and thorough-going changes led the International Ski Federation to divide the sport, as early as the end of the last century, into two specialities, namely K90 and K120 which allow jumps of about 130 metres, and ski flying, which originated at the giant ramp of Planica, Slovenia, specially built for this sport in 1994, allowing jumps of more than 230 metres.
These changes have been accompanied by the development of very precise rules concerning each individual type of equipment, garment and footwear used by athletes in competitions, setting strict specifications, for example regarding the measurements of skis, based on a table proportional to the athlete's weight and height, or regarding the maximum amount of air that must pass through the fabric of the suit worn by the jumper. The rules also specify that the score awarded for a jump must take into account both the length of the jump and the quality of its execution. The score awarded for style, for example, starts at a certain level of assigned points at the moment of take-off from the ramp, and penalties are deducted from this level in respect of each correction of body position during the flight, the more or less precise positioning of the skis, and the landing, with or without the use of the Telemark technique.
Clearly, therefore, the technical development of materials for these two jumping sports must specifically conform to the new technical and regulatory requirements, but above all to the personal requirements of jumpers, in order to assist them in the execution of jumps.
Regarding the footwear worn by jumpers, a known type has a simple liner with a leather upper, with an equally simple fastening system for closure around the foot and with a sole of plastic material adapted for fixing to the ski bindings. However, this type of footwear cannot fully meet the requirements of athletes, and has important limitations. For example, it is designed to provide a single sagittal inclination fixed at a predetermined angle with respect to the vertical (for example, an angle of 24°), which, although it allows the jumper to perform the sequence of motor actions of take-off from the ramp, flight and landing, restricts all the other normal functions of the footwear, by forcing the athlete to walk on his heels, for example.
Additionally, each athlete wishing to adapt the footwear to his own requirements is normally obliged to adjust a movable wedge, conventionally made of a cork-like material, inside the footwear in order to correct the standard inclination of the footwear so as to bring it closer to the natural inclination.
The athlete also encounters serious difficulties in maintaining the precision of the footwear over time, since the footwear is subject to considerable wear, and in ensuring that its levels of performance can be continually repeated. The presence of even a single moving part in the footwear means that appropriate performance cannot be guaranteed. In fact, the greater the stability that can be obtained in the area of the footwear which has to transmit the load to the ground, the easier and more convenient it will be for the athlete to repeat jumps with power, precision and quality of style. A correct body position at the moment of take-off from the lip of the ramp, launching the athlete on to the proper flight trajectory, is dependent on the correct placing of the sole in the loading area of the pressure transferred to the ski from the inside of the footwear; the greater the force transmitted, the greater is the velocity at which it reaches the ground and the better is the result in terms of length of flight and quality of repetition of the jump.
A further commonly expressed requirement is to limit the degradation of the performance of the footwear as far as possible, so as to provide the athlete with footwear that is stable over time. This is essential in order to allow the neuromotor functions controlling balance and coordination to reach a level of performance leading to the perfection of motor actions, instead of having to provide the correction required by the deterioration of equipment.
In this respect, it is also essential for the footwear to follow the natural force transmission angles of each athlete. At the present time, it is impossible to reach a high standard of execution of the movement with the known footwear, since in each jump there are substantial mechanical differences in the distribution of forces within the footwear, which are not controllable by the athlete and which cannot be made uniform or constant from one jump to another, owing to the parts applied to the footwear. Therefore this known footwear cannot be adapted correctly, in a stable and precise manner, to the requirements of the new distances jumped by athletes.
DE 20 2011 005708 U1 discloses footwear with the features of the preamble of claim 1.
A principal object of the present invention is to provide footwear for the sport of ski jumping which is structurally and functionally designed to overcome the limitations stated above with reference to the aforementioned prior art, while also meeting the requirements that have arisen in this sport.
This and other objects, which are made clear below, are achieved by the invention by means of footwear for the sport of ski jumping made in accordance with the appended claims.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become clear from the following detailed description of a preferred example of embodiment thereof, illustrated, purely for guidance and in a non-limiting way, by the attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of footwear for ski jumping made according to the present invention in a first operating configuration,
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the footwear of Fig. 1 in a second operating configuration,
Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the footwear of the preceding figures,
Figure 4 is a perspective view of the footwear of the preceding figures, in a further configuration,
Figures 5 and 6 are perspective views, with parts detached, of a component of the footwear of the preceding figures,
Figure 7 is a schematic view in side elevation of detail of the component of Figure 6, shown in different operating conditions.

In the figures, the number 1 indicates the whole of an item of footwear for ski jumping made according to the present invention. It comprises a semi-rigid foot shell 2 on which a cuff 3 is pivotably hinged.
The number 2a identifies a portion of the foot shell, conveniently made of composite material, extending so as to substantially enclose the rear malleolar and heel region of the footwear, and fastened in its lower part to a sole structure 4, which is developed longitudinally between a toe area and a heel area of the footwear. An inner shoe 5 with a soft upper is fitted inside the foot shell portion 2a and is provided with a front fastening of a conventional type for securing the footwear on the athlete's foot.
The cuff 3 is also conveniently made of composite material in order to provide a strong, light, rigid structure capable of supporting the loads and forces generated during the performance of a jump, and has an open tubular configuration, as shown clearly in the figures, adapted to substantially enclose the calf area of the leg. Known fastening means, of the strap type for example, are provided at the upper end of the cuff to secure the athlete's leg to the cuff. At its opposing longitudinal end, the cuff 3 is hinged on the foot shell 2, on each side of the latter, about a substantially malleolar axis, indicated by X in the figures.
The footwear further comprises means of adjusting the angular inclination of the cuff 3 relative to the foot shell 2, in a sagittal plane (extending parallel to the plane of representation of Figure 1), in which the cuff can pivot from and towards the toe and heel areas of the footwear, these means being provided, on each side of the foot shell 2, at the point of hinging about the axis X. The system of hinging and angular adjustment of the cuff 3 is described in detail below with reference to only one side of the foot shell 2, it being understood that this system is associated with each of the opposing sides of the footwear.
In each hinging area, there are provided a first and a second disc- like element 6, 7, which are fastened, respectively, to the cuff 3 and to the foot shell portion 2, coaxially with the hinge axis X, and are also fastened axially to each other and are rotatable relative to each other about the hinge axis. It is to be understood that other configurations of the elements 6, 7, different from the disc-like configuration, are possible, the disc-like shape described herein being a preferred choice.
Each disc- like element 6, 7 is fastened removably to the corresponding cuff and foot shell portion by a plurality of clamping screws, all indicated by 8, which pass through holes extending through the cuff and foot shell portions so as to engage with clamping nuts provided on the opposite sides. The disc- like elements 6, 7 are also fastened together axially by means of a pivot screw 9 passing centrally through a hole 6a in the element 6 and engaged by screwing in a threaded through hole 7a formed centrally in the element 7.
The number 10 indicates a pivoting appendage associated with the first disc-like element 6, which is selectively engageable in a seat 11 provided in the second element 7 in order to limit the relative rotation between the elements 6 and 7 in a configuration which is appropriate for the act of jumping, as will be evident from the remainder of the description.
More particularly, the appendage 10 extends in one piece from a lever device 12, hinged on the first disc-like element 6, and having the function of allowing rapid operation for disengaging the appendage from the seat, thereby allowing free relative rotation between the elements 6 and 7 when the appendage is removed from the seat. In this condition, the cuff can pivot freely relative to the foot shell, mainly for the purpose of allowing the cuff to be positioned vertically, favouring comfortable travel outside the jumping phase.
In greater detail, the lever 12 is pivoted on the first disc-like element 6 about a pivot axis Y, by means of a pin 13 supported rotatably in a pair of projections 14 projecting in the same direction from one surface of the disc-like element 6 which faces outwards from the foot shell 2.
The appendage 10 extends from the lever 12 towards the second disc-like element 7, through a penetrating opening 15 formed in the element 6 (and a corresponding opening formed in the cuff 3), until it engages the seat 11, the latter being made in the form of a slot passing through the thickness of the disc-like element 7.
The number 16 indicates an operating end of the lever 12 by means of which the lever is caused to rotate about its pivot axis Y. At the longitudinally opposing end of the lever 12 there is provided a spring member 17, in the form a helical compression spring for example, which acts between the disc-like element 6 and the lever 12 to urge the appendage 10 elastically against the disc-like element 7 and into the corresponding seat 11, when the appendage and seat are in such a position that mutual engagement is possible.
The seat 11 is made in the form of a slot with a closed profile, and has a pair of opposing inner sides 11a, 11b, extending substantially along respective radial directions of the disc-like element 7, these sides being encountered by the appendage 10 in its limited pivoting movement when engaged in the slot. In other words, the sides 11a, 11b form means for limiting and stopping the pivoting of the appendage, and therefore of the cuff 3 relative to the foot shell 2, the sides 11a, 11b thus defining a pair of predetermined minimum and maximum angles of inclination of the cuff 3 relative to the foot shell, in such a way that the angle of inclination assumed by the jumper in the act of jumping is in the range between these predetermined angles. With reference to Figure 7, in which the appendage 10 engaged in the slot-like seat 11 is shown schematically, and in which the letter Z identifies the vertical axis, running perpendicularly to the plane on which the footwear bears on the ground and perpendicularly intersecting the malleolar hinge axis X, the radial directions of development of the sides 11a, 11b form angles A and B respectively with the axial direction Z. The letter A indicates the angle defined by the side 11a of the slot relative to the vertical Z, while B indicates the angle formed by the side 11b relative to the vertical Z. Angle A is the angle of inclination assumed by the cuff 3 when the appendage 10 is brought to bear on the side 11a of the slot, while angle B represents the angle of inclination of the cuff when the appendage is made to butt against side 11b of the slot. In Figure 7, the appendage and the cuff in the configuration with the appendage bearing against the side 11b of the slot 11 (angle of inclination B) are shown in solid lines, while the configuration with the appendage bearing against the side 11 (angle of inclination A) is shown in dashed lines, and the appendage and the cuff in the vertical position of the latter, with the appendage disengaged from the slot, are shown in dash-and-dot lines.
In fact, when the appendage 10 is disengaged from the slot 11 (by a quick release action performed by raising the lever 12), the cuff 3 can be rotated by pivoting freely relative to the foot shell 2 either towards the heel area (in the clockwise direction of rotation according to Figure 7), to position it vertically, or towards the toe area (in the anticlockwise direction) to increase the forward inclination of the cuff.
The angle A is chosen, by suitable shaping of the slot, so as to have a value in the range from about 20° to 45°, and preferably in the range from 30° to 40°, the selected value defining the optimal inclination of the cuff relative to the foot shell that the athlete assumes in the initial phase of the jump, when the whole load has to be transferred, by the pressure exerted by the athlete inside the footwear, to the ski in ground contact with the ramp. This configuration is shown in Figure 2.
After take-off from the lip of the ramp, in what is known as the flight phase before landing, the athlete can make further changes to his body position in flight, controlling the inclination of the ski relative to the body by pivoting the cuff further relative to the foot shell at permitted angles of inclination between angles A and B. On completion of the jump, at the end of the landing phase, the athlete can quickly release the appendage 10 from the slot-like seat 11 by simultaneously raising both levers 12 (for example, by grasping the respective operating end 16 of the corresponding lever with each hand, raising it against the action of the spring 17, and pushing the cuff backwards), thereby allowing the cuff to be positioned vertically in a quick and convenient manner, in a configuration such that comfortable travel is possible with the footwear bearing fully on the ground. In this configuration, shown in Figure 1, the appendage, once disengaged from the slot, is still urged elastically against the disc-like element 7 and is kept in sliding contact with the element 7 during the step of rotation. Consequently, when the athlete wishes to move from a travel condition (with the cuff 3 positioned vertically) to a configuration appropriate for jumping (at the angle of inclination A), he simply has to incline his leg forward to the position in which the appendage 10 is brought up to the slot-like seat 11 and is made to engage the latter by the elastic loading action applied by the spring 17. According to a further characteristic of the invention, the disc-like element 7 can be designed to be interchangeable with one or more similar disc-like elements 7, each having a seat with a slot 11 with a different interval between the opposing sides 11a, 11b. For example, it is possible to provide a range of disc-like elements 7 with angles of inclination A differing from each other by 1° or 2°, all the provided angles lying within a range from about 30° to 40°, and with the angle B kept equal to a value in the range from 50° to 70°, and preferably equal to about 60°. In this way the athlete can provide his footwear with a predetermined angle of inclination A, simply by changing the disc-like elements 7 in the footwear, these elements being easily removable because they are fastened to the foot shell with screws, the athlete selecting the element most appropriate for the jump to be attempted. In this way the athlete can adapt the same footwear to specific requirements imposed by the specific jump being attempted, optimizing the angle of inclination to one which is preferred in order to meet the requirements.
Figure 4 shows the footwear 1, with the cuff 3 pivoted beyond the angle B (with the appendage disengaged from the slot) in a configuration in which the cuff is closed on to the foot shell. Although this configuration obviously does not represent an operating configuration assumed by the athlete while wearing the footwear, it may represent a condition of the footwear with conveniently reduced overall dimensions, suitable for facilitating the transport and/or movement of the footwear with other equipment.
Thus the invention achieves the proposed objects while yielding numerous advantages, as described, by comparison with the known solutions.
A first advantage lies in the fact that the footwear according to the present invention provides a system for adjusting and locking the inclination of the cuff which enables the footwear to be kept highly stable during the jumping phase, while also allowing the system to be unlocked quickly for easy and fast vertical positioning of the cuff so as to enable the athlete to travel in a natural manner as soon as the execution of the jump is completed. It also enables the athlete to wear the footwear for a certain period before the execution of the jump, in a comfortable way (with the cuff positioned vertically), while allowing the inclined configuration of the cuff required for jumping to be provided quickly when required.
Another advantage is that, with the footwear according to the invention, the athlete not only has stability and precision in the angular inclination assumed on take-off, but can also control his body position in the flight phase, because of the limited degree of pivoting allowed to the cuff relative to the foot shell.
Yet another advantage is that the footwear can be configured with different angles of inclination, according to the athlete's requirements, simply by interchange one of the two disc-like elements of the inclination adjustment system associated with each side of the foot shell.
The structure of the footwear and of the system for adjusting and locking the angle of inclination also enable the footwear to be kept entirely stable during the execution of the jump, thus keeping the performance characteristics constant over time.

Claims

Footwear for the sport of ski jumping, comprising a cuff (3) hinged pivotably to a semi-rigid foot shell (2) about a malleolar hinge axis (X), comprising means of adjusting the angular inclination of the cuff (3) relative to the foot shell (2) in a sagittal plane in which the cuff (3) can pivot from and towards the toe and heel areas of the footwear, characterized in that these means comprise, in each area of hinging of the cuff (3) to the foot shell (2), at least a first and a second disc-like element (6, 7) which are fastened to the cuff (3) and to the foot shell (2) respectively, coaxially with the hinge axis (X), and which are also fastened axially to each other and are rotatable relative to each other about the hinge axis,
at least one locking appendage (10) being provided on the first disc-like element (6) and being selectively engageable in a seat (11) provided in the second element (7) in order to limit the relative rotation between these elements (6, 7) in the configuration which is appropriate for the act of jumping, and in that it comprises
a lever device (12) associated with the locking appendage (10) and hinged on the first disc-like element (6) to provide rapid disengagement of the appendage (10) from the corresponding seat (11), such that free rotation is allowed between these elements (6, 7) when the appendage (10) is disengaged from the seat (11), whereby the cuff (3) can pivot freely relative to the foot shell (2), particularly so as to allow the cuff (3) to be placed in a vertical position which favours comfortable travel when the act of jumping is not being performed.
Footwear according to Claim 1, wherein the lever (12) is pivoted on the first disc-like element (6) about a pivot axis (Y), the locking appendage (10) extending from the lever (12) towards the second disc-like element (7), a spring (17) being provided between the first disc-like element (6) and the end of the lever (12), on the opposite side of the lever pivot axis (y) from the appendage (10), in order to urge the appendage (10) resiliently against the second disc-like element (7) and into the corresponding seat when the appendage (10) and seat (11) are in the corresponding positions for mutual engagement, the lever (12) including an operating end (16), longitudinally opposite the end where the spring (17) acts, in order to favour the pivoting of the lever (12) about its pivot, in opposition to the spring (17), during the rapid disengagement of the appendage (10) from the seat (11).
Footwear according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the seat (11) is shaped as a slot passing through the second disc-like element (7), the slot having opposing inner sides (11a, 11b) extending radially in the disc-like element (7), between which sides the appendage (10) is restrained during the limited pivoting movement of the appendage (10) when engaged in the seat (11), the sides of the slot defining, respectively, the predetermined minimum and maximum angles of inclination (A, B) of the cuff (3) relative to the foot shell (2), in such a way that the angle of inclination of the cuff (3) assumed by the jumper during jumping has a value in the range between these predetermined angles.
Footwear according to Claim 3, wherein at least the second disc-like element (7) is mounted removably and can be made interchangeable with other disc-like elements (7) having slots with different angular amplitudes defined between their opposing sides, in order to allow the jumper to have a different configuration of the predetermined angles (A, B) of relative pivoting between the cuff (3) and the foot shell (2).
Footwear according to any of the preceding claims, wherein both of the disc-like elements (6, 7) are fastened removably, to the cuff (3) and to the foot shell (2) respectively.
Footwear according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the predetermined minimum angle (A) of inclination of the cuff (3) to the foot shell (2) is specified within the range from 20° and 45°, measured relative to a vertical line perpendicular to the surface of the sole area of the foot shell of the footwear which can bear on the ground.
Footwear according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the pair of second disc-like elements (7) is fastened to a portion (2a) of the foot shell (2) made of composite material adapted to enclose a malleolar and heel area of the footwear and extending to a sole structure (4) of the footwear lying between the opposing toe and heel areas of the footwear, an inner shoe (5) with a soft upper being mounted inside the aforesaid portion (2a) of the foot shell made of composite material.
Footwear according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cuff (3) is made of composite material and has an open tubular shape extending so as to substantially enclose the calf area of the leg, the pair of the first disc-like elements (6) being provided at a longitudinal end of the open tubular structure of the cuff (3).