WO2003096835A1

WO2003096835A1 - Support structure for a sports footwear, in particular for figure-skating, and sports footwear using said structure

Info

Publication number: WO2003096835A1
Application number: PCT/EP2003/003850
Authority: WO
Inventors: Guiliano Frati; Sergio Daniel Mccargo
Original assignee: Proskate S.R.L.
Priority date: 2002-05-16
Filing date: 2003-04-14
Publication date: 2003-11-27
Also published as: AU2003224072A1; ITPN20020027U1

Abstract

The present invention refers to an improved support structure for a sports footwear, in particular for figure-skating. The structure is comprised of a base (5), from which a variable-height continous peripheral wall (6) extends upwards to envelop the foot laterally. The base (5) has a first cavity (12) and a second cavity (13) that are provided in correspondance of the toe zone (7) and the heel zone (8), respectively.

Description

SUPPORT STRUCTURE FOR A SPORTS FOOTWEAR, IN

PARTICULAR FOR FIGURE-SKATING, AND SPORTS FOOTWEAR USING SAID STRUCTURE

DESCRIPTION

The present invention refers to an improvement in a rigid support structure for a sports footwear, in particular for a boot for figure-skating on ice or rollers, as well as to sports footwear incorporating such an improved rigid support structure.

In making sports footwear, such as in particular boots intended for use in connection with in-line roller skates or ice-skates, it is a largely known practice to make use of rigid support structures, known generally by the term of bearing frames or shells in the art, and generally made of a thermoplastic material or carbon fibres, in which the soft vamp is then inserted for containing and closing firmly the foot therein. The purpose of these bearing shells is to provide both an adequate support to the foot and the necessary stiffness to the footwear so as to be able to control and lead the skate through an effective and immediate transmission of the efforts from the leg on to the skate.

Prior-art rigid shells of the above cited kind, as generally used in footwear intended for use in connection with racing skates, are given a shape that essentially replicates the shape of the foot in such a manner as to increase the sensitivity of the latter in controlling, leading and running the skate at a high speed during contests. The difference in height between the heel and the toe, which is required in view of a correct set-up and arrangement of the footwear, is obtained by assigning a different height to the corresponding resting zones of the heel and the toe, respectively, on the plate of the carriage supporting the blade or the rollers.

A major drawback that is experienced with the above-mentioned prior- art solutions lies in the fact that such shells are not suitable for use in connection with all and any sports disciplines connected with skating in general, owing to the fact that each one of such disciplines imposes differing and sometimes even mutually clashing requirements to be complied with. In particular, in figure-skating the foot must be provided with a greater support laterally in view of enabling the typical evolutions of this speciality to be properly performed, and its trim, i.e. arrangement must be assigned a greater angle with respect to the resting plane on the ground than the one that is generally required in skates intended for other disciplines.

In addition, skates intended for figure-skating have a carriage provided with an essentially flat resting plate for the sole of the footwear, so that the above-cited problem of prior-art kinds of shells being incompatible, i.e. unfit for use in conjunction with footwear intended for figure-skating is magnified.

It therefore is a main object of the present invention to do away with the above-cited drawbacks of prior-art solutions through the provision of an improved support structure for a sports footwear, in particular a figure-skating footwear, which is capable of fully meeting the particular requirements in connection with a proper support and a correct positioning or trim of the foot that are typical of such a discipline, without any need arising for the related carriages of existing skates to be modified.

Within the above general object, another important purpose of the present invention is to provide an improved support structure of the above cited kind that may be manufactured at reasonably low costs with the use of readily available, largely known tools, machinery and techniques.

According to the present invention, these aims, along with further ones that will be apparent in the following description, are reached in an improved support structure for a sports footwear, in particular a figure- skating footwear, incorporating the characteristics as recited in the appended Claim 1.

Anyway, features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood from the description of a particular, although not sole embodiment that is given below by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

- Figure 1 is a side view of a sports footwear that makes use of a support structure according to the present invention;

- Figure 2 is a perspective view of the support structure according to the present invention;

- Figure 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the structure illustrated in Figure 2.

With reference to the above-mentioned Figures, the reference numeral 1 is used there to generally indicate a sports footwear, in particular for figure-skating, comprising a vamp 2 on which there are provided appropriate receptacles 3 for well-known fastening means (not shown).

Indicated with a dashed line in Figure 1, owing to its being enveloped externally by the vamp 2, is the improved support structure 4 according to the present invention, which shall be briefly referred to as rigid shell in the continuation of this description.

This rigid shell, which can best be seen in Figures 2 and 3, is made as a single-piece construction and is constituted by a base 5 that is adapted to be interfaced with the plate of the carriage (not shown) supporting the ground-contacting surface (set of rollers or ice blade), from which a variable-height continuous peripheral wall 6 extends upwards to envelop the foot laterally.

This peripheral wall 6 has a reduced height in correspondence of the toe zone 7, while said height then increases gradually towards the heel zone 8 until it eventually reaches up to envelop the regions of the malleoli 9 and the Achilles' tendon 10. In turn, the base 5 features a raised central zone 11, which roughly corresponds to the plantar arch and joins on opposite sides with a first cavity 12 and a second cavity 13 that are formed, with the help of said peripheral wall 6, in correspondence of the toe zone 7 and the heel zone 8. In these zones, the base 5 features a substantially flat surface that constitutes, on its lower side, the interface for the plate of the carriage and, on its upper side, the resting place for a first, front wedge 14 and a second, rear wedge 16, where also the foot comes eventually to rest upon, possibly through an insole interposed therebetween. Said first and said second wedges are then counter- shaped to, i.e. shaped to fittingly mate with, and accommodated into said first cavity 12 and said second cavity 13, respectively.

The rigid shell 4 is made as a single-piece construction using a particularly rigid material, preferably carbon fibre or materials offering an approximately equivalent stiffness and strength, so as to be able to provide an optimum support to both the foot and the footwear in all phases of the sports activity being performed and under all conditions involved in such activity. Fully apparent from the above description is therefore the ability of the improved support structure according to the present invention to effectively reach the afore cited aims and advantages: in fact, such a structure, when used in conjunction with a sports footwear, in particular a footwear intended for figure-skating, is capable of ensuring an adequate support to the foot, in particular on the sides thereof, thanks to the provision of said variable-height wall 6 that fully envelops and contains the malleolar regions 9. The lateral stiffness of the support structure 4 is furthermore increased owing to the fact that said wall 6 joins the above- cited malleolar regions 9 with the rear portion of the Achilles' tendon 10.

The correct arrangement, or trim, of the foot, featuring a greater forward inclination than in prior-art solutions, and the capability of interfacing with carriages having a flat resting plate are obtained thanks to the provision of said first and second cavities 12, 13, which on the one side allow for wedges adapted to provide the correct trim to the foot to be accommodated therein and, on the other side, provide flat surfaces on the same level that are adapted to constitute corresponding interfaces connecting to the flat plate.

Finally, the single-piece construction of the structure certainly contributes to an increased overall strength thereof.

It shall be appreciated that the above described support structure may of course be the subject of a number of modifications and variants without departing from the scope of the present invention. It may equally be applied to sports footwear intended for uses differing from figure-skating, but having anyway a same set of substantially equal requirements to be complied with, such as for instance trekking or mountaineering boots.

It should be finally noticed that the materials used to manufacture the structure of the present invention, as well as the shapes and the sizing of the individual component parts thereof, may each time be selected so as to more appropriately meet the particular requirements or suit the particular application, again without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. Improved support structure for a sports footwear, in particular for figure-skating, comprised of a base (5), from which a variable-height continuous peripheral wall (6) extends upwards to envelop the foot laterally, characterized in that the peripheral wall (6) has a reduced height in correspondence of the toe zone (7), while said height then increases gradually towards the heel zone (8) until it eventually reaches up to envelop the regions of the malleoli (9) and the Achilles' tendon (10), and that the base (5) features a raised central zone (11), which roughly corresponds to the plantar arch and joins on opposite sides with a first cavity (12) and a second cavity (13) that are formed, with the help of said peripheral wall (6), in correspondence of said toe zone (7) and said heel zone (8), respectively, where said base (5) features substantially flat surfaces lying on the same level.

2. Structure according to claim 1, in which said base (5) constitutes, on the lower side thereof, the interface for a plate for connection to a skate and, on the upper side thereof, the resting place for a first front wedge (14) and a second rear wedge (16), which are where also the foot comes eventually to rest upon.

3. Structure according to claim 2, in which said first and said second wedges (15, 16) are counter- shaped to, i.e. shaped to fittingly mate with, and accommodated into said first cavity (12) and said second cavity (13), respectively.

4. Structure according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is made as a single-piece construction of carbon- fibre material or any other material having approximately an equal strength and stiffness.

5. Footwear using an improved support structure according to claim 1.

6. Improved support structure for a sports footwear, in particular for figure-skating, and footwear using said improved support structure, characterized by what has been described and illustrated in and with reference to the accompanying drawings.