WO2010084407A1

WO2010084407A1 - Electronic monitoring system for sports equipment and corresponding footwear and support element

Info

Publication number: WO2010084407A1
Application number: PCT/IB2010/000101
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ricardo Delmuns Carvajal
Original assignee: Freemagnet Technologies Limited
Priority date: 2009-01-22
Filing date: 2010-01-21
Publication date: 2010-07-29

Abstract

Electronic monitoring system for sports equipment and corresponding footwear and support element. Electronic monitoring system for sports equipment, comprising a support element for a foot, a piece of footwear (1 ) and some means for attaching footwear (1) to the support element. The attachment means comprise some means for establishing an attraction force between the support element and the footwear, which is transmitted through the inside of the perimeter of the sole of said footwear. The system comprises some electronic sensors (5) that measure the stress applied to the attachment means through the support element and the footwear. The signals are processed and they are used to monitor the stress applied and to release the attachment means when necessary. A safety system releases the footwear if stress values are reached that exceed a safety threshold.

Description

ELECTRONIC SYSTEM FOR MONITORING A SPORTS AND FOOTWEAR EQUIPMENT AND CORRESPONDING SUPPORT ELEMENT

DESCRIPTION

Field of the invention

The invention relates to an electronic system for monitoring sports equipment comprising a support element for an athlete's foot, a footwear for the athlete's foot and a means for attaching the footwear to the support element. An example is the case of a winter sport that is practiced with one or two boards on which the user rests with the feet, such as skiing and snowboarding, with all its variants. Another example is cycling, in which the bicycle pedal has some means of securing the cyclist's sneaker. The team therefore includes at least one support element for the athlete's foot, footwear and some means for attaching the footwear to the support element. The fastening means comprise a first fastening surface arranged in the support element facing upwards (that is, on which the footwear will be fixed, for example in the case of winter sports tables the surface opposite to the surface of the The board designed to slide on the snow), and a second clamping surface disposed on the sole of the shoe, facing downwards (that is, facing outwards, so that it faces the first clamping surface). The fastening means further comprise means for establishing a force of attraction between the surfaces that tend to keep the surfaces joined together, where the force of attraction is transmitted through the inside of the perimeter of the sole of the shoe.

The invention also relates to a footwear and a support element for an athlete's foot that includes some of the components of the invention. State of the art

Some boots fixings on skis are known which comprise electromechanical devices. These electromechanical devices receive the signal from some sensor and release the mechanical fixation located on the toe or the heel of the boot when some preset value is exceeded.

Also known are boots fastening systems on boards based on magnetic and / or electromagnetic devices as well as based on pneumatic devices, such as those described in WO 2005/092454, ES P200703221, ES P200800719 and ES P200800720.

Despite the available devices, there are still cases in which the athlete suffers injuries due to the fact that the fixings have not been released properly, both for having been released too late (or not having been released at all) and for having been released too soon, leaving the Athlete in a high risk situation. In US 6,007,086 a mechanical / magnetic fixing system (based on permanent magnets combined with mechanical fasteners) of a ski equipment that includes sensors and a microprocessor that calculates the stresses to which it is subjected is described the athlete and that is capable of generating a signal that activates a permanent magnet rejection force and releases the ski boot, both in a case of risk of damage and on a voluntary basis, to be able to fix or release the ski boots in a voluntary way. In addition, it should be noted that the system for fixing and releasing the boot of the patent 6,007,086 can only act on a fixed and predetermined position on the ski table, limiting the possibilities of skiing and other sports in those that the practitioner may wish (or need) the freedom to place themselves in different positions for various reasons, such as for example the snow condition or the style to be practiced in the case of skiing. However, there is a need to improve the study of the efforts made by an athlete during the practice of the sport in question, in order to avoid overexertion and correct incorrect postures or habits.

All this is applicable to any sport in which the athlete has his feet held in a support element, such as cycling, skiing, snowboarding, etc.

Summary of the invention

The object of the invention is to overcome these drawbacks. This purpose is achieved by an electronic monitoring system of a sports equipment of the type indicated at the beginning characterized in that it comprises a plurality of electronic sensors that measure forces and / or moments of force (in general, forces) applied to the fastening means to through the first and / or second surfaces, where the sensors send signals to a processing unit, where the processing unit has calculation means that process the data on the forces and / or moments of force (in general, the efforts), where the calculation means emit monitoring signals, and communication means which, upon receiving the monitoring signals, send the monitoring signals to a user.

Indeed, by having sensors distributed on the first and / or second surfaces, a very precise set of data can be obtained of all the efforts that take place during the practice of the sport in question in the areas of support between the athlete and the person (s). supporting elements These data can be stored in a memory that preferably has the processing unit and can be analyzed later or in real time, so that precise details about the athlete's style, position, inclinations, possible incorrect postures, possible deficiencies can be detected in your bodybuilding, etc. In this way you can improve the style, training and technique of the athlete, and you can analyze the effect that has various changes or - TO -

improvements introduced both in the team and in the style or preparation of the athlete,

In general, and when it is indicated that the electronic sensors measure forces and / or moments of force (in general, forces), they should be understood in a broad sense, including forces in the strict sense as well as pressures, deformations, shear stresses, etc. , that is, any signal that can be adequately picked up by an electronic sensor and that can give an indication of the efforts to which the athlete's body is being subjected.

Thus, the electronic monitoring system can provide a plurality of data to the user of the system (which can be the athlete himself, or, for example, a coach or instructor who is tracking an athlete) so that decisions can be made in real time and, for example, correct postures, change the distribution of efforts, etc. Thus, for example, the athlete may have headphones and may receive a warning that he has adopted a certain posture that is excessively and unnecessarily overloading a certain ligament, so that the athlete can take a corrective action in time. The information Ie can reach the headphones directly emitted by the electronic monitoring system or, for example, Ie can be sent by the instructor (which is the one that receives the signal from the system, for example, on a tracking screen or other means suitable for receiving system information).

The athlete can take his sports practice further, with the security that the monitoring system incorporates a safety system such that when some effort is placed above a certain parameter will release the subject.

A series of optional improvements that can be included in the system will be indicated below. Advantageously, the equipment is a winter sports equipment, comprising at least one board (which includes a support element for one foot and the corresponding fastening means), and where the footwear is a boot (ski, snowboard, etc.)

Preferably, the means for fastening the footwear to the support element are electromagnetic, comprising at least one electromagnet disposed on one of the first and / or second surfaces and a ferromagnetic element disposed on the other of the first and / or second surfaces, where the sensors are capable of measuring forces perpendicular to the first and / or second surfaces and / or moments of force generated by forces perpendicular to the first and / or second surfaces, to which the electromagnet and / or the ferromagnetic element is subjected. By "forces perpendicular to the surfaces" it should be understood not only those forces that are strictly perpendicular to said surfaces but also the components perpendicular to said surfaces irrespective of whether the force in question has a non-perpendicular spatial orientation, that is, it has additionally some component parallel to said surfaces. Indeed, by measuring forces perpendicular to the first and / or the second surface, very detailed information can be obtained of the efforts that are being transmitted from the board to the footwear and vice versa: weight distribution between the back and the front of the footwear, distribution of weights between the outer side edge and the inner side edge of the footwear, moments (ie pairs of forces) according to the entire plane of both surfaces. In addition, this solution is particularly simple to implement since two sensors can be placed directly on the first and / or the second surface or they can be inserted between the electromagnetic element (or the ferromagnetic element) and the footwear or support element ( solution in which the sensor will be more protected). In general, the first surface and / or the second surface will be of relatively large dimensions: they can be as large as the entire perimeter of the sole of the footwear and even larger, such as for example the entire surface of the board (in the case of sports of board: ski, snowboard, etc.), but they can also be a set of smaller surfaces properly distributed in the sole of the footwear and / or in the support element. In any case, they will always be comparatively large surfaces with respect to the size of the sensor, so that a plurality of them can be placed so that a stress distribution map can be drawn on a plurality of points on each of the surfaces .

Another advantageous solution is obtained when the means for fastening the footwear to the support element are electromagnetic, comprising at least one electromagnet disposed on one of the first and / or second surfaces and a ferromagnetic element disposed on the other of the first and / or second surfaces, where the sensors are capable of measuring forces parallel to the first and / or second surfaces and / or moments of force generated by forces parallel to the first and / or second surfaces, to which the electromagnet and / or the element is subjected ferromagnetic. In a manner equivalent to the previous case, "forces parallel to surfaces" should be understood not only those forces that are strictly parallel to said surfaces but also components parallel to said surfaces regardless of whether the force in question has an orientation non-parallel spatial, that is, additionally have some component perpendicular to said surfaces. Indeed, both the electromagnet and the ferromagnetic element will always be physical elements of a certain thickness. It is possible, for example, to distribute sensors in a plurality of points of this thickness of the electromagnet or of the ferromagnetic element and thus obtain information about forces that are parallel to the first and second surfaces and about moments perpendicular to them.

It is particularly advantageous when both solutions are combined or, in general, when sensors distributed in the space are arranged so that the combination of information of the different sensors allows to detect forces and moments (in general, forces) in any direction of the space. In general, it will be sufficient to be able to determine forces and moments in three spatial directions that are not coplanar with each other since in this way it will be possible to determine all the spatial components of the resultant forces and moments. However, the more sensors available, the greater the information that will be obtained and that can be processed and analyzed. Another preferred embodiment of the invention is obtained when the means for attaching the footwear to the support element are pneumatic, and comprise at least one suction cup disposed on one of the first and / or second surfaces and a support area suitable for Ia fixation of the suction cup, arranged on the other of the first and / or second surfaces, where the sensors are suitable for measuring forces perpendicular to the first and / or second surfaces and / or moments of force generated by forces perpendicular to the first and / or second surfaces to which the suction cup and / or the support area is subjected.

In a manner analogous to the case of electromagnetic fastening means, there is another preferred embodiment of the invention when the means for fastening the footwear to the support element are pneumatic, as indicated in the previous paragraph, and when the sensors are suitable to measure forces parallel to the first and / or second surfaces and / or moments of force generated by forces parallel to the first and / or second surfaces, to which the suction cup and / or the support area is subjected. Likewise, as in the case of electromagnetic clamping means, it is particularly advantageous to combine both alternatives. In both cases, the forces must be interpreted as indicated above.

Advantageously the sensors are strain gauges. The sensors can also be differential transformers or piezoelectric transducers, and even the system can have a combination of them.

A subject of the invention is also a shoe of a sports team (preferably a boot of a winter sports team) and / or a support element of a sports team (preferably a table of a winter sports team), where the equipment comprises an electronic monitoring system according to the invention, characterized in that it comprises at least one of said sensors. Brief description of the drawings

Other advantages and characteristics of the invention can be seen from the following description, in which, without any limitation, preferred embodiments of the invention are mentioned, mentioning the accompanying drawings. The figures show:

Figs. 1 to 3, schematic views of a cross section of three embodiments of the invention.

Fig. 4, a schematic plan view of the embodiment of Fig. 2.

Detailed description of some embodiments of the invention

In the figures described below are shown, by way of example, solutions that can be indistinctly in the footwear or in the support element, so, although they are always drawn "down" (as if they were integrated in footwear) should not be construed as being exclusively suitable solutions to be included only in footwear.

In Fig. 1 a shoe 1 is shown that has a second clamping surface 2 and an electromagnet 3. On the electromagnet 3 sensors 5 are arranged that send their signals to a processing unit 7. The processing unit 7 comprises all the necessary elements to be able to work: battery, memories, microprocessor, data entry and exit registers, communication with the outside (for example by means of a wireless telecommunications system (for example bluetooth)), etc. Additionally, the processing unit 7 has an output through which it can send a release signal and the clamping system has release means activatable by said release signal (for example a relay that deactivates the electromagnet 3). The communication system with the outside of the processing unit 7 can serve, among other things, to transmit the monitoring signals. In Fig. 2 an alternative of the system of Figure 1 is shown in which there are, in addition, sensors 5 arranged on the lateral surface of the electromagnet 3. On the other hand, in Fig. 3 the case has been schematically represented in that the electromagnet 3 is in a housing with a hemispherical geometry, so that the sensors 5 could be arranged with any orientation in space.

In Fig. 4 a plan view of the sole of footwear 1 and an electromagnet 3 coated with a plurality of sensors 5 has been shown.

As indicated above, the drawings are schematic and are simply a particular solution. Instead of an electromagnet 3 it could be a sheet of ferromagnetic material. Also, instead of footwear 1 it could be the support element. As regards Fig. 4, both footwear 1 and the support element can have a plurality of magnets and / or ferromagnetic elements, each covered with a plurality of sensors 5. On the other hand, everything is It could be done in an analogous way if instead of a clamping system based on electromagnets and ferromagnetic materials it was based on a pneumatic system, with suction cups and support areas suitable for fixing them. The suction cups will always be fixed to the footwear 1 (or to the support element) through a housing that will transmit to the footwear 1 (or to the support element) and, therefore, to the sensors 5, the forces to which they are seen submitted.

Although the sensors 5 are preferably interspersed between the means of establishing the attractive force (for example, the electromagnet, the ferromagnetic element or the support area) and the rest of the structure of the footwear 1 (or the support element ), this does not have to be just like that. Indeed, the sensors could also be arranged on the free surface of the means for establishing the attractive force (for example, in the case of the electromagnet, the ferromagnetic element or the support area). In this case, the sensor 5, instead of receiving the effort once transmitted through the means of establishing the force of attraction, would receive it directly from the first surface of the support element (in the case of being mounted on the footwear 1) or of the second surface of the footwear 1 (in the case of being mounted on the support element). In return, the sensor 5 will be affected in a more direct way of possible external aggressions (blows, scratches, humidity, the electromagnet's own magnetic field, etc.)

Claims

1 - Electronic monitoring system of a sports equipment, said equipment comprising at least one support element for a foot of an athlete, a footwear (1) for said foot and a means of securing said footwear (1) to said support element, wherein said fastening means comprise a first fastening surface disposed on said support element, facing upwards, and a second fastening surface (2) disposed on the sole of said footwear (1), facing downwards, and wherein said fastening means further comprise means for establishing an attractive force between said surfaces that tend to keep said surfaces joined together, where said attractive force is transmitted through the inside of the perimeter of said sole of said footwear (1), characterized in that it comprises a plurality of electronic sensors (5) that measure forces and / or moments of force applied to said fastening means to through said first and / or second surfaces (2), where said sensors (5) send signals to a processing unit (7), where said processing unit (7) has calculation means that process said forces and / or force moments, where said calculation means emit monitoring signals, and communication means that, upon receiving said monitoring signals, send said monitoring signals to a user.

2 - Electronic monitoring system according to claim 1, characterized in that said equipment is a winter sports equipment, comprising at least one board, and wherein said footwear (1) is a boot.

3 - System according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that said fastening means are electromagnetic, comprising at least one electromagnet (3) disposed on one of said first and / or second surfaces (2) and a ferromagnetic element arranged in The other of said first and / or second surfaces (2), wherein said sensors (5) are apt to measure forces perpendicular to said first and / or second surfaces (2) and / or moments of force generated by forces perpendicular to said first and / or second surfaces (2), to which said electromagnet (3) and / or said ferromagnetic element is subjected

4 - System according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said fastening means are electromagnetic, comprising at least one electromagnet (3) disposed on one of said first and / or second surfaces (2) and a ferromagnetic element arranged in The other of said first and / or second surfaces (2), wherein said sensors (5) are able to measure forces parallel to said first and / or second surfaces (2) and / or moments of force generated by forces parallel to said first and / or second surfaces (2), to which said electromagnet (3) and / or said ferromagnetic element is subjected

5 - System according to any of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that said fastening means are pneumatic, comprising at least one suction cup arranged on one of said first and / or second surfaces (2) and a support area suitable for fixing of said suction cup, arranged on the other of said first and / or second surfaces (2), where said sensors (5) are suitable for measuring forces perpendicular to said first and / or second surfaces (2) and / or moments of force generated by forces perpendicular to said first and / or second surfaces (2), to which said suction cup and / or said support area is subjected

6 - System according to any of claims 1, 2 and 5, characterized in that said fastening means are pneumatic, comprising at least one suction cup arranged on one of said first and / or second surfaces (2) and a support area suitable for The fixing of said suction cup disposed on the other of said first and / or second surfaces (2), where said sensors (5) are apt to measure forces parallel to said first and / or second surfaces (2) and / or moments of force generated by forces parallel to said first and / or second surfaces (2), to which said suction cup and / or said support area is subjected

7 - System according to any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said sensors (5) are strain gauges 8 - System according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said sensors (5) are differential transformers or piezoelectric transducers.

9 - Footwear (1) of a sports equipment, said equipment comprising a system according to any of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it comprises at least one of said sensors (5).

10 - Footwear according to claim 9, characterized in that it is a boot of a winter sports team.

11 - Support element, for a foot of an athlete, of a sports team, said equipment comprising a system according to any of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it comprises at least one of said sensors (5).

12 - Support element, for a foot of an athlete, according to claim 11, characterized in that it is a table of a winter sports team.

13 - System according to any one of claims 3 to 6 in which the monitoring system incorporates a safety system that releases the fixing system in the case where thresholds of stress established from physical characteristics, injuries, are exceeded previous and type of sport that are incorporated into the computer system of the monitoring system, so that the electrical supply to the electromagnetic or electro-venting system is automatically cut off, achieving an immediate release of the fixing.