Patent Application
20170106957
Not Applicable
The invention generally relates to a rowing shoe fastening assembly. More specifically, the invention relates to a shoe fastening assembly for attaching a rowing shoe to a footrest of a rowing mechanism.
The sport of rowing involves the use of various types of equipment and components, that when used together provide a rower the stability and support, which allow the rower to effectively perform the required stroke movements for rowing. Two such important components are the footrest or footboard of a rowing boat and the rower's shoes. Typically, during a rowing operation, the rower places their feet on the footrest of the boat, which is commonly an angled surface and allows the rower to transfer force to the boat for efficient operation of the rowing movements.
Current mechanism and designs exist which allow the rower to attach his shoes on a footrest of a rowing boat, so that the rower's feet can be securely attached to the footrest and provide more stability during the rowing action. Some designs include a one-size-fits-all aspect, where the shoe is mounted and attached on the footrest and the user has little choice as to the fit of the shoe. Other designs include cleats fitted on the sole of a rowing shoe which can attach to clear receivers mounted on the footrest of a boat. These designs often require the wearer of the shoe to perform multiple directional movements to engage and release the cleat to the cleat receiver. Movements during attachment of the cleat can include a combination of forward and downward movements which the user necessarily has to perform for proper engagement of the cleat to the cleat receiver on the footrest. Furthermore, presently known designs often require the user to rotate their foot in an outward movement in order to release the cleat from the receiver once the rower wants to release the shoes from attachment with the footrest. This rotation motion can often be a cause of injury to the feet, and more specifically the ankle joints.
Other currently existing cleat designs additionally allow for rotation or pivoting of the shoe with respect to the footrest during operation and also allow for accessory movements, such as twisting, side to side or forward and backwards movements once the shoe is engaged with the footrest. Furthermore, some fastening mechanisms only allow for connection of the shoe to the footrest in small surface areas within the forefoot. All of these aspects result in a reduced force transfer to the boat and they effectively shorten the length of the stroke during rowing. Furthermore, rotation of the feet during rowing leads to a unstable positioning of the feet and adds unnecessary movement into the stroke which can reduce horizontal forces thereby resulting in loss of boat speed and can also have a potential risk for injury.
These existing designs also involve the use and connection of multiple components or moving parts which are complicated to fit onto existing footrest and rowing shoes. This makes the fitting and execution of these designs more complex and allows for various points of failure within the numerous interconnecting parts, in addition to limiting the use to only specific shoes for each design.
In light of the above, it will become apparent to those skilled in the art that a need exists for an improved rowing shoe fastening mechanism which eliminates unnecessary accessory movements and allows for the attachment of the shoe to the footrest through a single simplified movement and can be operable with various types of rowing shoes. The present invention addresses these drawbacks, as will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following disclosure.
The present invention is directed towards a rowing shoe fastening assembly, which provides a secure engagement of a shoe to a rowing mechanism, by means of a single interlocking movement in a single direction, thereby providing a means for a simple and safe attachment of a rower's shoe to a rowing boat or rowing equipment. A rowing mechanism is defined as rowing boats, indoor rowing machines, or other types of rowing equipment.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a rowing shoe fastening assembly is provided, which includes a receiving plate and a shoe plate configured to be mounted on a portion of a shoe.
The shoe plate includes a release tab and can be engaged in a locked position within the receiving plate by a single interlocking movement and is released from the locked position by activating the release tab and sliding the shoe plate past the receiving plate in a parallel direction relative to the receiving plate.
The receiving plate has a lip protruding from a base portion and includes at least one cavity, for engaging the shoe plate in the locked position. The shoe plate has at least one opening coupled to at least one protruding edge and additionally includes a projection coupled to a body of the release tab. The shoe plate is engaged with the receiving plate in a locked position by a single interlocking movement which includes inserting the at least one protruding edge of the shoe plate into the at least one cavity of the receiving plate and sliding the projection of the release tab to an overlapping position relative to the lip protruding from the base portion of said receiving plate. Both the inserting the at least one protruding edge and the sliding of the projection of the release tab are performed by a single movement in a single direction.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a rowing shoe fastening assembly is provided, which includes a receiving plate and a shoe plate configured to be mounted on a portion of a shoe. The receiving plate includes a release tab, a projection on the release tab and at least one cavity. The shoe plate includes a lip protruding from a base portion of the shoe plate and at least one protruding edge. The shoe plate can be engaged in a locked position within the receiving plate by a single interlocking movement and is released from the locked position by activating the release tab on the receiving plate and sliding the shoe plate past the receiving plate in a parallel direction relative to the receiving plate. The single interlocking movement includes inserting a protruding edge of the shoe plate into the at a cavity of the receiving plate and sliding the lip protruding from a base portion of the shoe plate into an overlapping position relative to the projection on the release tab. The insertion of the protruding edge and sliding of the lip protruding from the shoe plate are performed by a single movement in a single direction.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a rowing shoe fastening assembly is provided, which includes a receiving plate and a shoe plate configured to be mounted on a portion of a shoe. The receiving plate includes a release tab, a projection on the release tab and at least one protruding edge and the shoe plate includes a protruding lip from a base portion of the shoe plate and at least one cavity. The shoe plate can be engaged in a locked position within the receiving plate by a single interlocking movement and is released from the locked position by activating the release tab on the receiving plate and sliding the shoe plate past the receiving plate in a parallel direction relative to the receiving plate. The single interlocking movement includes inserting at least one protruding edge of the receiving plate into at least one cavity of the shoe plate and sliding the lip protruding from a base portion of the shoe plate into an overlapping position relative to the projection on the release tab. The insertion of the protruding edge and sliding of the lip protruding from the shoe plate are performed by a single movement in a single direction.
In some embodiments, the receiving plate is configured to be attached or mounted onto the footrest of a rowing mechanism. In other embodiments, the receiving plate can be incorporated within the footrest and integral with the footrest. In this context, integral with the footrest is defined as a footrest already having a receiving plate incorporated thereon, and does not require separate attachment of the receiving plate through means of various fasteners. Thusly, the receiving plate is a non-detachable portion of the footrest. Integral with the footrest can further be defined as including a footrest which is manufactured as a single component already having the receiving plate thereon.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
In the drawings:
In the following Detailed Description, reference is made to the accompanying, drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts. Directional terminology, such as “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “back,” “leading,” “trailing,” etc., is used with reference to the orientation of the Figure(s) being described. Because components of embodiments of the present invention can be positioned in a number of different orientations, the directional terminology is used for purposes of illustration and is in no way limiting. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The following detailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims.
A rowing shoe fastening assembly is illustrated in
In one embodiment, as illustrated in
The receiving plate 10, is attached to the footrest support 4, through fasteners (not shown) which are placed in and inserted through the plurality of apertures 40, and allow for the removable or nonremovable attachment of the receiving plate 10 to the footrest support 4. The fasteners used for attachment are preferably screws, but other suitable types of fasteners may also be used.
In one embodiment, the base receiving plate 10, additionally comprises at least one cavity 50 (two cavities are shown in the present embodiment, as an example), centrally located and spaced apart from each other on the middle portion of the body of the receiving plate 10, as illustrated in the view of the top side 30 in
In the front portion of the receiving plate 10, an engagement mechanism 70 protrudes forwardly from the body of the receiving plate 10. The engagement mechanism 70 comprises a protruding lip 72 which is connected to a base portion 74 of the engagement mechanism 70. The protruding lip 72 has a front wall 75 and hack wall 76. The front wall 75 is a substantially flat surface and is slightly tilted forward at a non-perpendicular angle with respect to the base portion 74 of the engagement mechanism 70. The back wall 76 has a slightly curved shape for reasons which will be discussed in detail in further embodiments.
Illustrated in
As can be seen in
Shown in
The shoe plate 100 additionally comprises a projection 178 protruding from and coupled to the body of the release tab 170. As will be later described in detail, the projection 178 of the release tab 170 engages with the protruding lip 72 which is connected to a base portion 74 of the engagement mechanism 70 in the receiving plate 10 (shown in
As best seen in
This single interlocking movement step allows for attachment of the receiving plate 10 with the shoe plate 100, not only through the engagement and overlap of the protruding edges 190 within the cavities 50 and locked (overlapped) in position by the raised edges 52, but also through connection made between the engagement mechanism 70 of the receiving plate 10 and release tab 170 of the shoe plate 100. This additional connection is best seen in
Depicted in
Once the rowing activity is complete, the user of the shoe 8 can release the shoe 8, along with the shoe plate 100 attached thereon, and allow for the release detachment from the receiving plate 10, by a simple release mechanism, as best illustrated in
Turning now to the release mechanism, as depicted in
In another embodiment (not illustrated), the release tab 170 of the shoe plate 100 and the engagement mechanism 70 of the receiving plate 10 may be switched. That is to say, the release tab 170 can be incorporated and resides on the receiving plate 10, whereas the engagement mechanism 70 is incorporated and resides on the shoe plate 100.
For example, in this embodiment, the receiving plate 10 is contained within a footrest 4 and integral therewith, as opposed to having to be attached to a surface 2 of the footrest 4 by fasteners. The footrest 4 of a rowing mechanism can be designed to have the receiving plate 10 already built in and can be formed as a single unitary piece or component. The receiving plate 10 would reside and bordering a perimeter top edge of the footrest 4, the receiving plate having the release tab 170 incorporated therein. If the receiving plate 10 is incorporated bordering the outer top perimeter edge of the footrest 4, the release tab 170 is free to be moved in an upward or downward position relative to the body of the receiving plate, contained within the footrest 4, as there are no hindrances below or above the release tab 170.
In this embodiment, the release tab 170 resides in the front portion of the receiving plate 10 (similarly to the position of the release tab 170 when on the shoe plate 10 in the previous embodiment). To engage the shoe plate 100 in a locked position with the receiving plate 10, by a single interlocking movement, the shoe plate 100 is moved forward and parallel with respect to the receiving plate 10 and the protruding lip 72 which now resides on the shoe plate 100, slides past the projection 178 of the release tab and is engaged thereon with the same single interlocking movement, as previously described above. The projection 178 of the release tab may have an angled or curved back wall to allow for the protruding lip 72 of the receiving plate 10 to slide along and past the back wall and onto an overlapping position during a single interlocking step. All other components of the receiving plate 10 and shoe plate 100 remain as in the previous embodiment, that is, the cavities 50 and raised edges 52 on the receiving plate interlock in the same fashion with the protruding edges 190 on the shoe plate 100, wherein the raised edges 52 overlap with protruding edges 190 to keep the shoe plate and the receiving plate in a locked position to each other.
During a releasing step of this embodiment, the user exerts activates the release tab by exerting a downward force on the release tab 170, so that the it is moved away from protruding lip 72 of the shoe plate 100, thereby releasing the protruding lip 72 and the projection 178 from a locked position and allowing the user to slide the shoe plate 100 past the receiving plate 10 in a parallel direction relative to the receiving plate 10. During this movement, the protruding edges 190 of the shoe plate 100 are no longer interlocked and residing below the raised edges 52 on the receiving plate, thereby allowing the user to remove the shoe plate 100 from the receiving plate 10.
In a further embodiment (not illustrated), the receiving plate 10 and the shoe plate 100, can not only have a switched location of the release tab 170 and the engagement mechanism 70 from one component to the other, but can also switch the location of the cavities 50 and the openings 160 coupled to the protruding edges 190. That is to say, the cavities 50 now reside on the shoe plate 100 and the openings 160 coupled to the protruding edges 190 in this embodiment reside on the receiving plate 10. In this configuration, the single interlocking movement of the two components still operates in the same fashion, however, with a switch in the direction of the movement. The direction exerted on the shoe plate 100 in this embodiment would be the opposite of that shown in
The releasing step would function similarly as in the above described embodiments. The user would exert a downward force on the release tab 170 (away from the facing shoe plate 100 residing above the receiving plate 10), thereby activating the release tab and a force is exerted which causes the shoe plate 100 to slide in a parallel direction with respect to the receiving plate 10 and be released from the locked position. The force exerted on the shoe plate 100 would be in the opposite direction as in the first illustrated embodiment. In this configuration, the user would push the shoe plate 100 in a forward direction (opposite to the direction shown by arrow Z in
The receiving plate 10 and the shoe plate 100 are preferably manufactured using a single constructing material. In one example, both the base receiving plate 10 and the shoe plate 100 can be composed of a resin or thermoplastic polymeric material, preferably having high stiffness, low friction and strong dimensional stability. One example of a suitable thermoplastic polymeric material is an acetal polymer, (also known as Polyoxymethylene) which is commonly known and used in the art for injection molding applications. The acetal polymer can be a homopolymer or a copolymer. Other resinous or polymeric materials may also be used, preferably those which exhibit characteristics of high strength and stiffness, high wear resistance, high melting points, good frictional properties, creep and fatigue resistance and can easily be machined or fabricated. Examples of such polymers include, polyimides high density polyethylene, high density polyethylene (HDPE), polyamides, polyether sulphone, polyether etherketone, and polyethylene terephthalate.
In one embodiment, the base receiving plate 10 and the shoe plate 100 can be manufactured to the above disclosed configurations by an injection molding technique, as already commonly known in the art. The injection molding process requires the use of an injection molding machine, raw polymeric material, and a mold. The polymer is melted in the injection molding machine and then injected into the mold, where it cools and solidifies into the final part. After sufficient time has passed, the cooled part may be ejected from the mold. In other embodiments, the base receiving plate 10 and shoe plate 100 can be manufactured through other known suitable techniques, such as other commonly known molding techniques, or 3D printing, including for example fused filament 3D printing.
While selected embodiments have been selected to be illustrated of the present invention, and specific examples have been described herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be aimed to cover in the appended claims. It will, therefore, be understood by those skilled in the art that the particular embodiments of the invention presented here are by way of illustration only, and are not meant to be in any way restrictive; therefore, numerous changes and modifications may be made, and the full use of equivalents resorted to, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as outlined in the appended claims.
