WO2010049404A1

WO2010049404A1 - System for removably installing a fastening device on a sport footwear, and fastening device and sport footwear provided with said system

Info

Publication number: WO2010049404A1
Application number: PCT/EP2009/064115
Authority: WO
Inventors: Remigio Berlese
Original assignee: Abe Sport Group S.R.L.
Priority date: 2008-10-29
Filing date: 2009-10-27
Publication date: 2010-05-06
Also published as: ITPN20080027U1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system for installing a removable base plate (4) of a fastening device (1) for a sport boot or shoe, which includes: a first tooth (6) and at least one second tooth (7) projecting downwardly from the base plate (4) and spaced apart from each other along the longitudinal axis of the base plate (4); a seat (8) associable to the flap (5) and including at least one slit (10) and an opening (11) spaced longitudinally apart from each other and engageable, respectively, with the first tooth (6) and the second tooth (7); a locking element (12) adjacent to the slit (10) and elastically oscillating between a locking working position, in which it impinges against the first tooth (6) when the base plate (4) is stably accommodated in the seat (8), and a lowered release position in which the locking element (12) is disengageable from the first tooth (6) to allow the base plate (4) to be installed on and removed from the flap (5).

Description

SYSTEM FOR REMOVABLY INSTALLING A FASTENING DEVICE ON A SPORT FOOTWEAR, AND FASTENING DEVICE AND SPORT FOOTWEAR

PROVIDED WITH SAID SYSTEM

DESCRIPTION

The present invention refers to a system for removably assembling a fastening device on sport footwear such as, for example, a motorcycle rider's boot, a cycling shoe, an ice-skating of roller-skating boot, a climbing boot, a ski or snowboarding boot; the present invention also includes a fastening device and a sport boot or shoe provided with such assembling system.

Currently known fastening devices include latching devices of lever type, commonly called clasps, which include a lever arm hinged to a base fastened to one of the flaps of the footwear to fasten, an articulated brace on the lever arm and including engagement means suitable for engaging with corresponding gripping means, such as a sector gear, fixed to the other of the flaps to fasten. The latter are generally made of a thermoplastic material, such as polyurethane or polyethylene, capable of supporting latching devices of this type and withstanding the static and dynamic stresses that act upon them.

In some cases, the base on which the lever arm bears is linked in a removable manner to the footwear so as to allow the replacement of the device in case of breakage or wear.

US Patent 4,121 ,359 discloses a solution of this type in which the base, of box- like shape and provided with a pair of arm support brackets, is designed to be inserted into a faired housing projecting from the footwear, a ski boot in this specific case; the housing is formed integrally in one piece from the plastic material of the boot.

Italian Patent IT 1234347 discloses a solution similar to the above, in which the surface of the footwear, in this case a motorcycle riding boot, is provided with projections, on each of which is fastened a plate provided with a couple of latches engageable in a removable manner with appropriate openings on the lever arm support base.

These known solutions are rather complex at the constructive level, and therefore scarcely convenient at the economic level.

One objective of the subject matter of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of the known art mentioned above by devising a system for removably assembling a fastening device on sport footwear, as well as a fastening device and a sport shoe or boot provided with such system that is simplified at the construction level and economically advantageous.

In the scope of the objective as outlined above, one objective of the present invention is to devise an installation system in which the fastening device can be mounted on and removed from the sport footwear in an extremely easy, fast and effortless manner.

Another objective of the present invention is to devise an installation system that is also capable of guaranteeing a safe and reliable attachment of the fastening device on the footwear in the presence of shocks or impacts with the ground or with external objects that could occur when the footwear is being used. A further objective of the present invention is to devise a removable installation system in which both the operation of removal and of installation of the fastening device on the footwear can be carried out directly and easily by the same user without the help of specific equipment.

One not less important objective is to realize a system for the removable installation of a fastening device on a sport shoe or boot, as well as a fastening device and a sport shoe or boot provided with such system, at competitive costs and with the usual known machines and equipment.

The task, objectives and advantages indicated above, as well as others that will be better illustrated in the following description, are achieved by a system for the removable installation of a fastening device on a sport footwear as defined in claim 1.

The subsequent claims define further characteristics of the system for the removable installation according to the present invention, as well as of the fastening device and a sport shoe or boot provided with such system, which will be better illustrated in the description of a particular, but not exclusive, embodiment shown by way of non-limiting example in the enclosed drawings, in which:

- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a fastening device for sport footwear provided with a removable installation system according to the present invention;

- Figure 2 is a perspective view of the fastening device of Figure 1 and of a part of a sport shoe or boot provided with a removable installation system according to the present invention:

- Figures 3, 4 and 5 illustrate, in a cross-sectional view along the longitudinal axis of the fastening device, the operating phases of the removable installation system.

With reference to the above-mentioned figures, number 1 refers to a fastening device for a sport shoe or boot including a lever arm 2 hinged to a pair of brackets 3 projecting from a base plate 4 which can be removably installed on one of the flaps 5 of the sport footwear to be fastened. At least one first tooth 6 and a second tooth 7, spaced apart from each other with respect to the longitudinal axis of the base plate 4, project downward from the base plate 4, and therefore in correspondence of the surface of the plate 4 facing the flap 5, when in use or, with reference to the specific embodiment shown in the enclosed drawings, from the opposite side with respect to the pair of brackets 3, and, preferably, project in correspondence of the end edges of the same plate 4.

The flap 5 of the footwear, for example an element of a cuff of thermoplastic material as shown by way of example in the enclosed figures, is provided with a suitable seat 8, preferably recessed, for accommodating the base plate 4. Advantageously, protection fairings 9 for the fastening device can be provided. The seat 8 includes a slit 10 and an opening 11 engageable respectively with the first tooth 6 and the second tooth 7; the slit 10 is provided, on the side opposite the side facing the opening 11 , with a locking element 12 oscillating in opposition to elastic means, in the manner of a push button, between a lowered release position, as shown in Figure 4, and a working locking position, as shown in Figure 5.

According to a preferred embodiment, the seat 8, including the slit 10 and the opening 11 , and the locking element 12 are formed by moulding the footwear in a single piece with the flap 5, if such a flap is made of thermoplastic material. In particular, the locking element 12 is formed by means of two further slits 13, 14 connected and arranged perpendicularly to the first slit 10; in this manner, a type of elastically deformable tongue is obtained, capable of switching from the locking position to the lowered position through the application of a vertical pressure on the same tongue to cause its elastic deformation.

In an alternative embodiment, the seat 8 may be made up of a second rectangular plate on which are cut the slit 10 and the opening 11 and which is provided with a locking element 12 oscillating in opposition to elastic means or elastically deformable.

The removable installation system according to the present invention, schematically illustrated in Figures 3 to 5, works as follows: Starting from the condition of Figure 3, in which the fastening device 1 is removed from the flap 5, the base plate 4 is approached to the seat 8 so that the first tooth 6 can be inserted into the slit 10 and the second tooth 7 can be engaged in the opening 11 ; the application of a downward pressure on the first tooth 6 causes the lowering by elastic deformation of the locking element 12, as shown schematically in Figure 4, which thus makes it possible to insert the first tooth 6 into the slit 10 and to engage the second tooth 7 into the opening 11 , and thus to anchor the base plate 4 supporting the lever arm 2 to the flap 5 of the footwear. Once the plate 4 is accommodated in the seat 8, and thus the pressing action on the locking element 12 is completed, the latter returns elastically to its working position, locking when fully inserted the end of the plate 4 from which the first tooth 6 projects, thus preventing it from coming out of the slit 10, as shown schematically in Figure 5. In this manner, the fastening device 1 is firmly anchored to the flap 5 and this installation is capable of securely standing up to the various static and dynamic stresses acting upon the device itself when the footwear is being used.

To remove the device 1 from the flap 5, it is sufficient to lift the lever arm 2 and press on the locking element 12 to push it in a lowered position, so that it is possible to disengage the first tooth 6 from the slit 10 and the second tooth 7 from the opening 11 by simply applying a traction force to extract the first and the second tooth 6, 7 from the respective engagements.

From the above description it is thus evident how the present invention achieves the objectives and advantages initially anticipated: in effect, a system has been devised for removably installing a fastening device on a sport shoe or boot as well as a fastening device and a sport footwear provided with said system, constructively simplified and economically advantageous, since the production of the different components, in particular the base plate 4 and the seat 8, is extremely simple and the locking elements are an integral part of the same system, as no additional separate elements such as screws and rivets are required. In addition, it evident how the installation system described above makes it possible to install and remove the fastening device from the shoe or boot in an extremely easy, fast and effortless manner. Given the particular convenience of use, these operations can be carried out directly and easily by the end user even without the help of specific or suitable equipment.

It is also pointed out how the installation system described above is capable of guaranteeing a safe and reliable anchoring of the fastening device on the footwear even in the presence of shocks or impacts with the ground or with external objects that could occur when using the footwear, thanks to the holding capacity in the direction perpendicular to the shoe, given by the engagement of the first and the second tooth 6, 7 respectively with the slit 10 and the opening 11 , as well as in the longitudinal direction due to the effect of the contact between the first tooth 6 and the locking element 12.

Naturally, the invention is amenable to numerous modifications or variations without departing from the scope of patent protection of the present invention as defined in any of the enclosed independent claims.

For example, the installation system described above is equally applicable to a base plate provided with gripping means, such as a sector gear or rack, removably associable with the flap of the footwear opposite the one where the plate is associated with the lever arm. As is well known, the gripping means are engageable with suitable engaging means connected, through a brace, with the lever arm for the purpose of approaching the flaps and thus fastening the footwear.

Naturally, the materials used to implement the present invention, as well as the shapes and dimensions of the individual components, may be the most suitable to meet the specific requirements.

Claims

1) System for the removable installation of a fastening device on a sport shoe or boot, said fastening device (1 ) including a base plate (4) removably associable with a flap (5) of said sport footwear, a lever arm (2) or suitable gripping means being associable to said base plate (4), characterized in that it includes:

- one first tooth (6) and at least one second tooth (7) projecting from said base plate (4) at the surface facing, when in use, said flap (5), said first and second tooth (6, 7) being spaced apart from each other along the longitudinal axis of said base plate (4);

- a seat (8) associable with said flap (5) and including at least one slit (10) and one opening (11 ) spaced longitudinally apart from each other and engageable respectively with said first tooth (6) and said second tooth (7); - a locking element (12) adjacent to said slit (10) and arranged on the opposite side with respect to the part of said slit (10) facing said opening (11 );

- said locking element (12) being oscillatable in opposition to elastic means or by elastic deformation between a locking working position, in which it impinges against said first tooth (6) when said base plate (4) is stably accommodated in said seat (8), and a lowered release position, in which said locking element (12) is disengageable from said first tooth (6) to allow the installation and the removal of said base plate (4) from said flap (5).

2) Removable installation system as in claim 1 , in which said flap (5) is made of thermoplastic material, said seat (8) including said slit (10) and said opening (11 ) being formed in a single piece with said flap (5).

3) Removable installation system as in claim 2, in which said seat (8) is recessed.

4) Removable installation system as in claim 2, in which said locking element (12) is made in a single piece with said flap (5) by means of two further slits (13, 14) connected and arranged perpendicularly to said first slit (10) to form a tongue, said locking element (12) switching from said locking position to said release position by the elastic deformation of said tongue.

5) Removable installation system as in claim 1 , in which said first tooth (6) and said second tooth (7) project in correspondence of the end edges of said base plate (4).

6) Removable installation system as in claim 1 , in which said seat (8) consists of an essentially rectangular second plate in which said slit (10) and said opening (11 ) are formed, said second plate being moreover provided with said locking element (12) oscillating in opposition to elastic means or by elastic deformation.

7) Fastening device including a base plate (4) removably associable to a flap (5) of a sport footwear, to which base plate (4) is associable a lever arm (2) or suitable gripping means, characterized in that said base plate (4) is provided with a first tooth (6) and at least one second tooth (7) projecting from said base plate (4) at the surface facing, when in use, said flap (5) and spaced from each other along the longitudinal axis of said base plate (4), said first tooth (6) being removably engageable with a corresponding slit (10) obtained on said flap (5) and said second tooth (7) being removably engageable with a corresponding opening (11 ) obtained on said flap (5), a locking element (12) oscillating between a locking position and a release position being provided for the removable installation of said device on said footwear.

8) Sport footwear including at least one pair of flaps to be fastened, characterized in that at least one flap (5) of said pair of flaps is provided with at least one recessed seat (8) including at least one slit (10) and an opening (11 ) spaced apart from each other and removably engageable by a respective first tooth (6) and by a respective second tooth (7) projecting from a base plate (4) of a fastening device (1 ) for said footwear, said at least one flap (5) being moreover provided with a locking element (12) adjacent to said slit (10) and elastically oscillating between one locking working position, in which it impinges against said first tooth (6), and a lowered release position, in which said locking element (12) is disengageable from said first tooth (6) to allow the installation and removal of said base plate (4).

9) Footwear as in claim 8, in which said locking element (12) is made in a single piece with said at least one flap (5) by means of two further slits (13, 14) connected and arranged perpendicularly to said first slit (10) to form a tongue, said locking element (12) switching from said locking position to said release position by the elastic deformation of said tongue.

10) Sport footwear as in claim 8, in which said at least one flap (5) includes a plurality of said seats (8), each including at least one slit (10) and an opening (11 ), for the removable installation of a corresponding plurality of base plates (4).