Patent Application
20060183385
This invention is in the field of equipment for the sport of rowing.
Rowing is an activity in which oars are used to move a boat through the water. The oars, oarlock, rigging, and the footrest transmit the power of the rower to the boat. The speed of the boat is in part determined by the efficiency of this transmission of power.
During the rowing stroke, the rower sits on a sliding seat that moves fore and aft, and the rower's power is transmitted to the boat by means of the oars. The rower's feet are secured to the boat by a footrest and the rower pushes with his feet as the oars move through the water and the rower's legs become extended. The rower faces rearward, with his back to the direction of boat movement.
The rowing motion is composed of the power stroke, feathering of the oar, the recovery stroke, and squaring of the oar in preparation for the power stroke. At the beginning of the power stroke, the oars are in the water and perpendicular to the water surface, and the rower's body and the seat are in the aft-most position, with the legs compressed. As the oars are moved through the water, the rower's body is displaced towards the bow of the boat on the sliding seat. The efficiency of the power stroke and in particular, the beginning of the power stroke, is crucial to attaining the best boat speed.
In current footrest technology, the feet and shoes are flexed during the initiation of the power stroke, and the foot pressure is transferred to the footrest by contact with the ball of the foot only, as the heel of the shoe is in the air and not in contact with the footrest. The heel only comes in contact with the footrest at the end of the power stroke, when the legs are fully extended.
Prior art footrests and shoes have one or more of the following disadvantages.
The transfer of force to the footrest is inefficient. The arch of the foot is elastic and flexes as the rower pushes away from the footrest at the initiation of the power stroke. This elastic flexion absorbs part of the power that could be transferred to the boat.
In addition, the plantar tendons of the foot become highly stressed, causing discomfort to the rower, and over time, overuse injuries, such as plantar fasciitis.
The elastic limit of the arch of the foot limits the amount of travel of the rower fore and aft, as the front of the shoe is firmly attached to the footrest, and only the heel is allowed to elevate off the surface of the footboard as the rower reaches the end of the recovery stroke.
Current rowing shoes are firmly secured to the boat by screws and the process to change the shoes, such as is necessary for rowers of different shoe size, is tedious and time consuming.
There remains, therefore, a substantial need for an effective means to transfer the force from the foot to the footrest, to reduce the inherent injuries to the foot tendons, and to easily attach and detach the shoes from the rowing boat.
The present invention meets the above-described needs by providing a pivoting footrest to improve the efficiency of the link between the rower's shoes and the boat, improving rower comfort and reducing foot injuries associated with repetitive stresses placed on the arch of the foot, and by providing detachable shoes.
The components of the invention are attached to boat hull. The components include a pair of shoes and one combined pivoting footrest, or two separate pivoting footrests, one for each shoe. A footrest support attaches the pivoting footrests and shoes to the boat. A spring stores energy during the last phase of the recovery stroke, and this energy is returned to the boat during the initial portion of the power stroke. The pivoting movement of the whole foot is a more natural movement for the foot and ankle, as the whole sole of the foot is used as the rower pushes away from the footrest. In addition, a pivoting footrest allows a small amount of additional fore and aft rower travel, lengthening the power stroke, permitting the rower's force to be applied during a longer period of time.
An important object of this invention is to provide a more comfortable ergonomic position of the feet during rowing by means of an ergonomic footrest.
Another object of this invention is to reduce repetitive-use injuries by means of a more anatomically correct foot position during the rowing motion.
Another object of the invention is to provide a footrest structured to permit a longer rowing stroke.
Another object of the invention is to provide a spring attached to the footrest to accumulate potential energy during the end of the recovery stroke and structured to return this energy to the boat during the initial portion of the power stroke.
Another object of the invention is to provide a detachable shoe for a rowing boat.
Another object of the invention is to provide a rowing shoe with a rigid sole structured to limit flexion of the foot during the rowing motion.
These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become obvious to a person of ordinary skill in this art upon reading the detailed description of this invention including the associated drawings as presented herein.
Alternatively, various spring types (not shown), or an elastic element (not shown) could be used by someone skilled in the art as a means for storing energy instead of torsion springs (36).
Various other modifications, adaptations and alternative designs are of course possible in light of the teachings as presented herein. Therefore it should be understood that, while still remaining within the scope and meaning of the appended claims, this invention could be practiced in a manner other than that which is specifically described herein.
