WO2023135512A1

WO2023135512A1 - Footwear for sports disciplines with an improved structure

Info

Publication number: WO2023135512A1
Application number: PCT/IB2023/050198
Authority: WO
Inventors: Thomas Theodore SCHWARZ
Original assignee: O’Neal Europe Gmbh & Ko. Kg
Priority date: 2022-01-14
Filing date: 2023-01-10
Publication date: 2023-07-20
Also published as: WO2023135514A1

Abstract

A footwear (10) for sports disciplines with an improved structure, comprising a sole (11) and an upper (3), in which the upper (3) is flexible in an area (3A) corresponding to the instep where there is a soft joint (3B). The upper portion (1) of the upper (3) comprises a series of protections, which are developed from a lower area (15) of the instep to an upper perimetral edge (16) of the upper (3), so as to define a frontal opening (18) for the introduction of the foot during the fitting operations. The front opening (18) is closable via a plurality of levers (24, 25, 26), which act on respective blocking bands (241, 251, 261). The footwear (10) comprises an element (200) for adjusting the flexion, of a removable type and made of plastic polymers (PU) at different levels of hardness and/or different thicknesses, which is inserted on the area (3A) of the instep and superior to the soft joint (3B). The element (200) for adjusting the flexion comprises two joints (201, 202) protecting the area (3A) of the instep; the joints (201, 202) are placed at the ends of a central flat seat (204), and each joint (201, 202) comprises a plurality of longitudinal and transverse ribs (203).

Description

FOOTWEAR FOR SPORTS DISCIPLINES WITH AN IMPROVED STRUCTURE

The present invention relates, in general, to a footwear with an improved structure, such as a boot, suitable for the practice of sports disciplines, such as, for example, motorcycling.

More specifically, the invention relates to a system for adjusting the flexion of the upper portion of the footwear with respect to the lower portion, such as to act as a protection from blunt and/or muscular trauma to the user, realizing a physical block to excessive compression of the foot.

It is well known, especially in the practice of sports disciplines such as motorcycling, that the legs and ankles of a motorcyclist during running are subjected to various types of stress, such as compression, flexion and torsion forces. For this very reason, in the case of accidental bumps or falls, the aforementioned parts of the body can be subjected to trauma, even severe ones.

Originally, the uppers of sports footwear were made entirely of soft material and had at least two flaps, which could be partially overlapped with each other and tightened by means of appropriate lacing and lever or band fastening systems.

However, this type of upper had serious drawbacks due to the softness of the protection of the upper, especially in relation to the safety of the user during sports practice.

In order to minimize this eventuality, over the past few years, special boots have been developed having appropriate protectors or plates made of rigid or semirigid polymeric material that have greatly improved the degree of safety offered to athletes.

Even in this case, however, the rigidity of the plates is transmitted over the entire structure of the footwear, thus limiting its flexibility and forcing the wearer to experience considerable fatigue during sports practice. In addition, such stiffness increases the difficulty for the user in putting on or off the foot during shoe opening or closing operations, not to mention the fact that such rigid plates require expensive molds and specific machinery for their perimeter stitching.

Precisely for the aforementioned reasons, freedom of movement of the leg with respect to the foot, particularly flexion, is ensured by leaving some specific areas of the boot upper unprotected, such as the areas at the instep and ankle.

However, as can be deduced, in this way the total safety of the footwear is lacking to grant some freedom of movement to the rider's foot.

In the context of the aforementioned needs, therefore, it is the aim of the present invention to make a footwear for sports disciplines, such as motocross, with an improved structure, which obviates the aforementioned drawbacks, and, in particular, to make a boot for sports disciplines, which enables optimum protection for the user's leg to be achieved, while allowing optimum fit, as well as freedom of movement of the leg and foot.

Another aim of the present invention is to make a footwear for sports disciplines with an improved structure, which further allows for a protective action of the upper, being able to ensure a calibrated grip when supporting the footwear, as well as an optimal flexibility thus increasing comfort for the user.

A further aim of the present invention is to make a footwear for sports disciplines with an improved structure whose technical characteristics can be restored quickly and inexpensively and which offers the greatest guarantees of reliability and safety of use.

Again, one aim of the present invention is to make available a footwear for sports disciplines with an improved structure capable of assisting the rider, following a forward or backward bending movement of the leg, to recover a neutral position, in which the foot is placed substantially perpendicular to the leg.

These and other aims are achieved by a footwear for sports disciplines with an improved structure, particularly for motorcycling, according to the attached claim 1.

Additional dependent claims contain other detailed features of the invention.

Further aims and advantages of the present invention will be clear from the following description, referring to a preferred, but not limiting, example embodiment of the footwear for sports disciplines with an improved structure, and the accompanying drawings, where:

- figures 1 and 2 are two side views of the footwear for sports disciplines, according to the present invention, in the position of use;

- figure 3A is a front view of the footwear for sports disciplines of figure 1 ;

- figure 3B is a detail view of figure 3A;

- figure 4 is a partially exploded view of a detail of figure 3A, according to the invention.

With reference to the mentioned figures, the footwear for sports disciplines with an improved structure, according to the invention, is referred to generically by the numerical reference 10.

More in detail, footwear 10 can be subdivided into two areas, where 1 is the upper portion delegated to protect the leg and 2 is the lower portion delegated to protect the foot. Footwear 10 is composed of an upper 3, which involves the foot and, partially, the user's leg, associated with a sole 1 1 . The upper 3 flexes -right/left and forward/backward- where the two portions 1 , 2 described above are intersected and only forward or backward in the instep area 3A, where a soft joint 3B formed normally of leather or fabric and foam is sewn.

The upper portion 1 of the upper 3 comprises a series of leg and shin protectors of the user, preferably made of plastic polymers and formed of at least one first front and/or side protection or boot 13 and at least one second inner lateral and/or rear protection 131 . Said first and second protections 13 and 131 extend from the instep lower area 15 to the upper perimetral edge 16 of the upper 3, wrapping around the perimeter of the user's leg.

Advantageously, the aforementioned first and second protections 13, 131 define a frontal opening 18 for the introduction of the foot during the footwear 10 fitting operations.

The lower portion 2 of the upper 3 comprises a series of user's foot protections made of plastic polymers and formed of at least an inner protection 7, a heel protection 8 and a toe protection 9.

Advantageously, on either side of the upper 3 and in a position substantially corresponding to the malleolus of the user's foot are two shaped plates 21 , preferably made of plastic polymers, one on each side.

Again advantageously, said two plates 21 comprise a lower portion on the side of the heel 8 of the footwear 10 and an upper portion placed on the opposite side from said lower portion, substantially in the direction of the upper perimetral edge 16 of the same footwear 10.

As visible, for example, in figures 1 and 2, the footwear 10 comprises a lower support 8A, preferably of a rigid type, placed in correspondence with the heel 8, and an upper support 5, also preferably of a rigid type, placed on the opposite side from the lower support 8A.

Specifically, the upper support 5 and lower support 8A are fixed on the upper 3 in correspondence with the lateral and/or rear protection 131. Each plate 21 , at the corresponding lower portion, is pivoted to the lower support 8A by means of a stud 22, while a "T"-shaped fastener 23 is pivoted to the upper support 5 of the footwear 10. The stud 22 and the fastener 23 operate within arcuate housings made on the upper support 5 and lower support 8A, in order to allow flexion - right/left and forward/backward - of the footwear 10 in the malleolus area, resulting in a first level of control and guidance of the flexion of the upper portion 1 with respect to the lower portion 2 of the upper 3. In this way, it advantageously prevents, already at a first level, the occurrence of twisting or trauma to the user's foot.

As particularly visible in figure 4, the "T"-shaped fastener 23 comprises a button 231 placed on the inner side of the relative plate 21 and, more in detail, on the side of the plate 21 facing substantially in the direction of the upper portion 1 of the upper 3. Advantageously, each button 231 has a geometry such that it fits into a relative arched opening 232 placed in correspondence with the upper support 5.

Recapitulating, again with reference to figures 1 , 2 and 4, the plates 21 are fixed on the footwear 10 by means of the stud 22, in correspondence of the relative lower support 8A, and by means of the button 231 of the fastener 23, which is apt to fit into the arched opening 232 of the upper support 5 (where the same button 231 is rotated to engage).

In the proximity of the stud 23 and button 231 , the plate 21 has a substantially arcuate and asymmetrical shaping.

Both the upper and lower supports 5, 8A have at their ends a height difference or step 6, corresponding to the thickness of plate 21 , which is a feedback for the rotational movements of plate 21 .

The step 6 on the lower support 8A has a shaping corresponding to the shaping of plate 21 , so that guided rotation of plate 21 is allowed, thus preventing unnatural movements of the malleolus and of the ankle.

Advantageously, the final tightening of the footwear 10 is accomplished by a plurality of levers 24, 25, 26, preferably made of plastic polymers or metal, with quick loading and release, acting on respective bands 241 , 251 , 261 also preferably made of plastic polymers.

In addition, again advantageously and in preferred embodiment, the said footwear 10 comprises an element 200 for adjusting the flexion, of a removable type and suitable for insertion on the anterior portion of the upper 3, in particular in the area 3A of the instep and more specifically above the soft joint 3B, in which the blocking bands 241 , 251 , 261 with respective levers 24, 25, 26 are provided.

Advantageously, the adjusting element 200, since it is of the removable type, is such that it allows the user to remove it from the footwear 10 if it can be considered limiting in the riding of the motorcycle, representing a possible cause of accidents.

As visible in figure 3B, the element 200 comprises at least two joints 201 and 202, designed to act as protection of the area 3A of the instep, which are located at the ends of a central flat seat 204. In particular, each joint 201 , 202 comprises a plurality of longitudinal and transverse ribs 203 (present, in particular, in a number of three and parallel to each other), which allow adjustment of the flexion of the footwear 10.

In an example embodiment, such as that described in figures 3A and 3B, the element 200 advantageously comprises a first joint 201 located in the direction of the upper portion 1 of the footwear 10, a central flat seat 204 and a second joint 202 located on the opposite side from the first joint 201 .

More particularly, the element 200 for adjusting the flexion comprises, at a first lateral portion of each of the joints 201 and 202, at least one fixing means 205, in particular a screw, to enable the attachment of the element 200 to the upper support 5 and to the lower support 8A, and, at a second portion of the joints 201 and 202 opposite to the first, an inverted "U" shaped coupling 206 (Figure 2) suitable for realizing the lateral attachment of the element 200 to the soft joint 3B, also by means of a possible additional screw.

Advantageously, the element 200 for adjusting the flexion comprises, at the top, a first wing, apt to engage within the boot 13 where a first blocking band 241 with respective lever 24 operates, and, at the bottom, a second wing, apt to engage at a second blocking band 261 with respective lever 26.

Advantageously, to ensure stable positioning of the element 200 in the footwear 10, the central flat seat 204 of the element 200 is positioned inferiorly to a third blocking band 251 with respective lever 25.

In preferred embodiments, the element 200 is made of plastic polymers at different levels of hardness and/or different thicknesses.

As illustrated in the attached figures, it can thus be understood how the technical solution described and illustrated allows, on the one hand, an optimal opening of the footwear and, on the other hand, its optimal flexibility and effectiveness of use.

From the description made, the characteristics of the footwear with an improved structure, which is the subject of the present invention, are clear, as are its advantages. Finally, it is clear that numerous other variants may be made to the footwear in question, without departing from the principles of novelty inherent in the inventive idea, just as it is clear that, in the practical implementation of the invention, the materials, shapes and sizes of the details illustrated may be any as required and the same may be replaced with others that are technically equivalent.

Claims

7

1 . Footwear (10) for sports disciplines with an improved structure, comprising a sole (1 1 ) and an upper (3), wherein said upper (3) has an upper portion (1 ) for protecting a user's leg and a lower portion (2) for protecting a user's foot, and wherein said upper (3) is flexible in an area (3A) corresponding to the user's instep, wherein a soft joint (3B) is present, said upper portion (1 ) of the upper (3) comprising a series of protections, which comprise at least a first front protection or boot (13) and a second lateral and/or rear protection (131 ), which develop from a lower area (15) of the instep up to an upper perimetral edge (16) of the upper (3), so as to define a front opening (18) for the introduction of the user's foot during the operations of putting on the footwear (10), said front opening (18) being closable by means of a plurality of levers (24, 25, 26) with quick loading and release, acting on respective blocking bands (241 , 251 , 261 ), wherein said footwear (10) comprises an element (200) for adjusting the flexion, of a removable type, which is inserted on said area (3A) of the instep and above said soft joint (3B), wherein said blocking bands (241 , 251 , 261 ) and said levers (24, 25, 26) are provided, said element (200) for adjusting the flexion comprises at least two joints (201 , 202), protecting said zone (3A) of the instep, which are placed at the ends of a central flat seat (204), and wherein each joint (201 , 202) comprises a plurality of longitudinal ribs (203), and wherein said upper (3) comprises a series of supports (7, 8, 9), which comprise a lower support (8A), placed at the heel (8) of the user, and an upper support (5), placed on the opposite side with respect to said lower support (8A), and side protectors and/or shaped plates (21 ), placed substantially in correspondence with the malleolus of the user, said upper and lower supports (5, 8A) being fixed on said upper (3) in correspondence with said lateral and/or rear protection (131 ), characterized in that said element (200) for adjusting the flexion comprises:

- in correspondence of a first lateral portion of each of said at least two joint (201 , 202), at least one fixing means (205), in particular a screw, for fixing said element (200) for adjusting the flexion to said upper (5) and lower (8A) supports;

- in correspondence of a second lateral portion of said joint (201 , 202), opposite to said first lateral portion, a coupling (206), shaped as an inverted "U", for laterally fixing said element (200) for adjusting the flexion on said soft joint (3B).

2. Footwear (10) as claimed in claim 1 , characterized by the fact that said upper portion (1 ) of said upper (3) comprises a series of guards made of plastic polymers. 8

3. Footwear (10) as claimed in at least one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that said levers (24, 25, 26) with quick loading and release, suitable for closing said front opening (18), are made of plastic polymers or metal.

4. Footwear (10) as claimed in at least one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that said blocking bands (241 , 251 , 261 ) are made of plastic polymers.

5. Footwear (10) as claimed in at least one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that said element (200) for adjusting the flexion is made of plastic polymers at different levels of hardness and/or different thicknesses.

6. Footwear (10) as claimed in at least one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that said side side protectors and/or shaped plates (21 ) are made of plastic polymers.

7. Footwear (10) as claimed in at least one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that said lateral attachment of said element (200) for adjusting the flexion on said soft joint (3B) is made by means of a screw.

8. Footwear (10) as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that a first joint (201 ) of said element (200) for adjusting the flexion is placed in the direction of said upper portion (1 ) of said upper (3) of footwear (10), while a second joint (202) of said element

(200) for adjusting the flexion is placed on the opposite side from said first joint

(201 ).

9. Footwear (10) as claimed in at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said of said element (200) for adjusting the flexion comprises, in an upper portion, a first wing, apt to engage within said boot (13) wherein operates a first blocking band (241 ) with a respective first lever (24), and, inferiorly, a second wing, adapted to engage at a second blocking band (261 ) and a respective second lever (26), said central flat seat (204) being positioned where there is a third blocking band (251 ) and a respective third lever (25).