The present invention relates to footwear for sports or activities. More particularly, the present invention relates to a sporting footwear and to a system for enhancing a force transfer, from a foot of a wearer of the footwear, to a playing surface.
In the field of footwear, especially in high-performance sports, it is often desirous to optimize certain parameters of the footwear so as to improve the performance of the user or athlete. Some of these parameters include the weight of the footwear, its engagement with the ground or floor, its breathability, etc. Another such parameter is the effectiveness of the footwear in transferring the force exerted by the foot to the ground on which the footwear is used.
It is known that the amount of force a foot applies to the ground can affect the speed at which the user moves, or the height the user can jump, for example. In the field of sprinting, as but one example, the force applied by the user's foot can significantly affect the time it takes for a sprinter to exit the starting blocks. In the field of ice hockey, as another example, the force applied by the user's feet contained in a hockey skate can affect the speed at which the user moves on the ice.
Some examples of footwear can be found in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,112,905; 7,827,707; 7,343,701; 7,254,904; 7,140,127; 6,895,694; 6,746,027; 6,505,422; 6,082,027; 6,029,374; 5,740,618; 5,701,686; 5,343,636; 5,129,165; 5,111,597; 5,090,138; 5,074,060; 4,901,453; 4,822,363; 4,428,089; 4,120,064; 4,026,046; 3,325,919; 3,165,841; 2,810,214; 2,210,304; 1,996,083; 1,744,122; and 979,243.
Other examples of footwear can be found in the following Canadian patent documents and/or industrial designs: 2,292,996; 2,205,388; 327,201; 300,838; and 273,845.
Consider further the example of a hockey skate. Modern hockey skates are typically hard-shell structures. This is beneficial because hard-shell hockey skates protect the user's foot from impact with sticks, the puck, and other skates, and reinforce the user's foot and ankle. However, hockey skates which are hard-shell do not effectively respond to the movements of the user's foot within the skate itself.
In a typical skating stride, both the user's foot and the end of the user's foot (i.e. the balls of the foot and the toes) contribute to propelling the user forward. As the user's foot reaches the end of her/his stride, the end of the foot applies the majority of the pressure to the sole of the skate, thereby providing an additional propulsive force to move the user forward. Most rigid hockey skates have excess space or “wiggle room” between the top of the foot and the inside of the upper of the skate boot, which is not optimal to the use of the hockey skate.
Hence, in light of the aforementioned, there is a need for a device which, by virtue of its design and components, would be able to overcome or at least minimize some of the aforementioned prior art drawbacks.
One object of the present invention is to provide a solution to at least one of the above-mentioned prior art drawbacks.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sporting footwear for enhancing a force transfer, from a foot of a wearer of the sporting footwear, to a playing surface on which the sporting footwear is used, the sporting footwear comprising:
a shell comprising a heel portion, and opposite sole and upper portions, for receiving and at least partially enclosing the foot of the wearer upon insertion into the shell; and
a force-transferring member comprising opposite first and second contact surfaces, the first contact surface being fixedly connectable to an inner side of the upper portion, and the second contact surface configured for abutting against at least a part of the top of the wearer's foot when inserted into the shell, the force-transferring member being positioned, shaped and sized within the shell so as to fill a void between the top of the foot and the upper portion, thereby enabling an increased operative contact surface within the sporting footwear between foot and shell, so as to enhance force transfer between said foot and shell, and onto the playing surface.
In some optional embodiments, the force-transferring member can take many different shapes and configurations on the top of the foot, and can also be located on different parts of the foot. Moreover, there can be more than one force-transferring member, such as a force-transferring member for each toe, for example. Alternatively, a single force-transferring member may cover and/or wrap around all the toes. The force-transferring member can be made of multiple materials such as, but not limited to, gels, foam, air packs, rubber, cork, etc. Moreover, the force-transferring member can consist of individual loops for housing the toes. The force-transferring member may include a breathing mechanism, such as aeration holes disposed about the force-transferring member, so as to aerate the foot.
In other possible embodiments, the force-transferring member is an insert which can be inserted into the footwear along with the foot, and which may be connected to the footwear by any suitable technique. The insert may be molded so as to contour to that part of the wearer's foot covered by the force-transferring member, thereby providing an efficient fit.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for enhancing a force transfer, from a foot of a wearer to a playing surface, the system comprising:
a footwear for receiving and at least partially enclosing the foot of the wearer upon being inserted therein, the footwear comprising a heel portion, and opposite sole and upper portions; and
a removable force-transferring member comprising opposite first and second contact surfaces, the first contact surface being removably mountable to an inner side of the upper portion of the footwear such that the second contact surface is configured for abutting against at least a part of the top of the foot when inserted into the footwear, the force-transferring member being positioned, shaped, and sized within the footwear so as to fill a void between the top of the wearer's foot and the upper portion, thereby enabling an increased operative contact surface between foot and footwear, so as to enhance force transfer between said foot and footwear, and onto the playing surface.
Optionally, the force-transferring member is positioned within the footwear so as to expand that part of the foot in contact with the footwear, thus improving the force transfer from the foot of the wearer to the footwear, and ultimately the playing surface. This may be achieved because the force-transferring member can protrude inwardly from the upper portion of the footwear towards the top of the foot, at least from a part of the upper portion near the toes and end of the foot. The force-transferring member in such an embodiment is a solid (i.e. integral, consistent, uniform, etc.) material, which can be pre-inserted and permanently integrated into the upper portion of the footwear, or alternatively, provided as an insert being sold separately and for adding to the upper portion.
In so doing, the force-transferring member may provide reinforcement to at least the end of the foot inside a hockey skate, for example, thus reducing any wiggling of toes or “play” within the hockey skate which does not contribute to the skating stride of the wearer.
The components, advantages and other features of the sporting footwear and system will become more apparent upon reading of the following non-restrictive description of some optional configurations, given for the purpose of exemplification only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the following description, the same numerical references refer to similar elements. Furthermore, for the sake of simplicity and clarity, namely so as to not unduly burden the figures with several references numbers, not all figures contain references to all the components and features, and references to some components and features may be found in only one figure, and components and features of the present invention illustrated in other figures can be easily inferred therefrom. The embodiments, geometrical configurations, materials mentioned and/or dimensions shown in the figures are optional, and are given for exemplification purposes only.
Furthermore, although the present invention may be used in various sports, such as in ice hockey, for example, and as a result, is sometimes described in the context of the present invention for a possible use with a hockey skate, it is understood that it may be used with other footwear, and in other sports and/or activities. Some of these footwear include, but are not limited to, downhill ski boots, track-and-field shoes, running shoes, figure skates, athletic shoes, snowboarding boots, hiking boots, etc. For this reason, expressions such as “ice”, “hockey”, “skate”, “blade”, etc. as used herein should not be taken as to limit the scope of the present invention to the sport of hockey and/or hockey skates in particular. These expressions encompass all other kinds of materials, objects and/or purposes with which the present invention could be used and may be useful, as can be easily understood.
Broadly described, the sporting footwear 10, an example of which is shown in
The footwear 10 includes a shell 50. The shell 50 encloses, at least partially, the foot 70 of the wearer. The shell 50 can be substantially rigid. The expression “substantially rigid” means that the shell 50 is made of any suitable material which offers at least some stiffness or inflexibility, and which provides a suitable medium through which force is transferred from the foot 70. One example of a rigid shell 50 includes the skate boot for an ice skate. Another example of a rigid shell 50 includes the exterior and/or body of an athletic shoe.
The shape and configuration of the shell 50 can determine the type of footwear 10 being used. For example, a shell 50 which encloses the foot 70 and ankle of the wearer, but not the lower part of the wearer's leg, can form a “shoe”-type of footwear 10. In another example, a shell 50 which encloses all of the foot 70 as well as the lower part of the wearer's leg, can form a skate boot for an ice skate, an example of which is shown in
The shell 50 has components that provide it with the form needed to enclose the foot 70. These components include a heel portion 52, which forms the rear of the shell 50, and extends from the heel 76 of the foot 70 and up the back of the leg of the wearer, or any portion thereof. Another component is a sole portion 54, which forms the bottom of the shell 50, and which extends along the bottom 71 of the foot 70 between the heel 70 and the end of the toes 74, or any portion thereof. Yet another component is the upper portion 55, which forms the top of the shell 50, and which can extend along the entire top 72 of the foot 70 from the end of the toes 74 to the lower portion of the wearer's leg. The upper portion 55 is disposed opposite to the sole portion 54. In the present disclosure, the use of the term “opposite” to explain the relationship of the upper and sole portions 55,54 refers to the fact that the upper portion 55 is disposed along a top 72 side of the foot 70, while the sole portion 54 is disposed along a bottom (i.e. opposite) side of the foot 70.
The upper portion 55 includes an inner side 57 which is in contact with the foot 70 upon it being inserted into the shell 50. In some optional embodiments, the upper portion 55 can include a tongue 51, an example of which is provided in
The footwear 10 also includes a force-transferring member 20, an example of which is also provided in
It is thus apparent that the member 20 provides support to the foot 70 and/or a part thereof (e.g. the toes 74), which, in turn, allows for the application of force to the shell 50 of the footwear 10, or a part thereof (e.g. the sole portion 54) more effectively. Such support can be located between the foot 70 of the wearer and the shell 50 of the footwear 10, such that the force generated by the foot 70 and/or any of its parts can be enhanced, with the addition of member 20, to the shell 50 of the footwear 10, and thus ultimately, to the playing surface. Although shown as being positioned substantially above the toes 74 in
The member 20 can be made of any suitable material capable of achieving such functionality. In some optional embodiments, the member 20 is made of resilient material, such as rubber, foam, cork, synthetic material, air bladder, etc., or any combination of these. The member 20 can also be enclosed in a fabric material, which can be woven, knitted, spread, crocheted, and/or bonded, or which can be unwoven. Such a fabric can advantageously provide a measure of comfort when the foot 70 of the wearer abuts against the member 20. In order to further advantageously improve comfort, the member 20 can be made of a breathable material which allows for the foot 70 to remain dry and comfortable within the footwear 10. Further optionally, the member 20 can include multiple aeration holes 25 for enhancing the circulation of air between the foot 70 and the footwear 10.
The member 20 has a first contact surface 22 and an opposed second contact surface 24. The surfaces 22,24 can be any planar surfaces, non-planar surfaces (i.e. curved), and/or combination of these that forms an area through which force from the foot 70 is transferred. As such, the surfaces 22,24 can take any suitable configuration or form, be made of any suitable material, have any suitable thickness, and/or have any suitable texture. The first surface 22 is fixedly connectable to the inner side 57 of the upper portion 55, which means that it can be permanently attached and/or integrated to the inner side 57, or removable therefrom as needed. The first surface 22 can be fixedly connected to the inner side 57 by any suitable connection technique, such as, but not limited to, the following group: adhesive, hook and loop fastener, mechanical linkage, stitch, integrated molding, etc. or any combination thereof.
The second surface 24 is opposed to the first surface 22, meaning that the second surface 24 is separated by the body of the member 20 from the first surface 22, and that the second surface 24 faces in an opposite direction (i.e. toward the foot 70) from the first surface 22. Upon insertion of the foot 70 into the shell 50, the second surface 24 is configured for abutting against the foot 70. The term “abut” as used herein refers to the second surface 24 adjoining, touching against, bordering, contacting, etc. some part of the top 72 of the foot 70 of the wearer when the foot 70 is inserted into the shell 50.
Such an abutment allows for the member 20 to be positioned, shaped, and/or sized within the shell 50 such that when the foot 70 is inserted, the member 20 fills a void 12 which forms between the top 72 of the foot 70 and the inner side 57 of the shell 50. The expression “fill a void” refers to the member's 20 ability to reduce, restrict, and/or eliminate the void 12, or merely some part thereof, which forms above the top 72 of the foot 70, and or between other parts of the foot 70 and the inside of the shell 50. In other words, the member 20 does not need to completely fill the void 12, and can instead fill only that part of the void 12 which can help to enhance force transfer. Some types of footwear 10 are mass produced, and thus cannot be designed for the specific foot 70 of the wearer. In such footwear 10, there can exist a space or gap (i.e. void 12) within the footwear 10, between the top 72 of the foot 70, and the upper inside part of the footwear 10. Ice skates are but one example of such footwear 10 having such a void 12. It can thus be appreciated that the void 12 is not limited to a particular configuration or type of footwear 10, and that it can vary in dimension, volume, and nature depending on numerous factors such as, but not limited to: the type of footwear 10, the wearer's foot 70, the activity being conducted, the design of the footwear 10, etc.
The filling of the void 12 by the member 20 provides an increased operative contact surface within the footwear 10 between the foot 70 and the shell 50. The expression “increased operative contact surface” refers to the contact area formed when the top 72 of the foot 70 abuts against the second surface 24 of the member 20. Such a contact area is greater or “increased” in comparison to when the foot 70 does not abut against the member 20. This greater contact area provides a support through which force can be transferred directly from the foot 70 to the shell 50 during use, or “operation”, of the footwear 10 by the wearer. Such use or operation of the footwear 10 can result from the wearer pushing against the footwear 10 and or components thereof (e.g. shell 50, upper portion 55, sole portion 54, etc.), and pushing off and/or away from the playing surface. This increased operative contact area may thus advantageously enhance force transfer from the foot 70 of the wearer to the shell 50, and ultimately, to the footwear 10 and the playing surface through improved support of the foot 70 within the footwear 10.
Having discussed some of the principal components and features of the footwear 10, some of the other optional configurations will be further discussed hereinbelow in reference to the figures.
Although the optional embodiment of
Optionally, the force-transferring member 20 can have a bottom force-transferring member 21, an example of which is provided in
Although
The plate 26 can advantageously help to enhance force transfer from the foot 70 to the shell 50. In one possible embodiment, the force transfer may be enhanced because the plate 26 provides support to the toes 74 in the footwear 10. Such support allows the toes 74 to become more effective in exerting a force on the sole portion 54 of the footwear 10 and, in turn, to the playing surface. In another possible embodiment, the plate 26 may be charged, loaded, supplied, etc. with a load or force when the foot 70 is pivoted about the balls 78 of the toes 74, which can occur whenever the wearer pushes off the playing surface with her/his feet 70. Since the plate 26 is made of a resilient and/or elastic material, this load is then transferred to the shell 50 of the footwear 10 as the foot 70 of the wearer separates from the ground at the end of a stride, for example, thereby enhancing the force transfer from the foot 70 to the playing surface.
In such an optional embodiment, the shell 50 can include a tightening device 28 (e.g. a strap, lace, band, tie, etc.) for tightening the plate 26 and/or comfort layer 27 around the foot 70 of the wearer. In some optional embodiments, the tightening device 28 is mounted near the comfort layer 27, and wraps around the lower leg of the wearer when the foot 70 is inserted in the shell 50. It can thus be appreciated that such an embodiment can help to enhance force transfer by providing an additional charge/discharge point at the ankle of the foot 70. As the ankle joint is flexed forward (i.e. at the end of a running stride or beginning of a skate stride in hockey, for example) the plate 26 becomes charged, in addition to the load generated by the top 72 of the foot 70. At the end of a running stride as the foot 70 leaves the playing surface, or during a skate stride extension, for example, the loaded force at the ankle location is discharged along with the force stored in the top 72.
In other optional embodiments, an example of which is provided in
In some optional embodiments, examples of which are provided in
The above-described optional embodiments of the footwear 10 are not exclusionary, and other embodiments can be used when desired. The choice of embodiment, whether it is described or not, to use can depend on many factors that relate to, among other things, the type of footwear 10 being used, the sport/activity involved, the shape/profile of a wearer's foot 70, cost, ease of manufacturing, etc.
In this regard, another possible embodiment of the footwear 10 can include a force-transferring member 20 consisting of one or many ringlets 30 into which the toes 74 of the foot 70 are inserted, as exemplified in
Moreover, the ringlets 30 can be joined to the shell 50 or any portion thereof by an attachment mechanism, such as a bridging device, which can secure all or some of the ringlets 30 to the interior of the shell 50 and/or any other part of the footwear 10. In such an optional configuration, the bridging device allows for the force applied by the toes 74 to the ringlets 30 to be applied to the footwear 10, and ultimately to the playing surface. The bridging device can be any mechanical linkage such as a tether, rod, connector, etc., of any suitable material, which binds the ringlets and/or any other configuration of the force-transferring member 20 to the footwear 10.
Having described some of the features and components of the footwear 10, its operation and some of its advantages will now be further explained.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is a provided a system for enhancing a force transfer from a foot of a wearer to a playing surface. The system includes a footwear 10, such as any of the possible footwear 10 described above, which receives the foot 70 of the wearer and at least partially encloses it. The system also has a removable force-transferring member 20, such as any of the members 20 described above, which can attached to, and removed from, the footwear 10 as desired. Alternatively, the member 20 can also be permanently affixed to the footwear 10, depending upon any number of factors, such as: the type of footwear 10, the nature of the activity, the wearer's foot 70, etc.
Furthermore, the present invention can provide advantages in that, by virtue of its design and components, the force-transferring member 20 may expand the surface area of the foot 70 or a portion thereof (e.g. top 72) in contact with the footwear 10, and thus enhance force transferred from the foot 70 to the playing surface. Moreover, the above-described member 20 can be an integral part of the footwear 10 and may be located in a manner that does not directly interfere with the ability of the player/wearer to use the footwear 10 in a normal manner. In fact, experimental use has resulted in a noticeable increase in the speed at which a wearer skates on the ice, for example. At levels of extreme competiveness, such as in professional and/or semi-professional sports, these increases, even if minor, can be extremely advantageous and can distinguish a merely exceptional player from a top-of-class one.
In addition, a greater surface area of the foot 70 in contact with the footwear 10 can result in better control of the footwear 10 and the force applied thereby, which often improves performance for turns, crossovers, starts, etc. in hockey, for example.
Furthermore, the footwear 10 may have an ergonomic design that is comfortable and that fits the natural contours of the foot 70 and/or the interior of the footwear 10, which facilitates its use.
In addition, the use of gel/air packs and/or memory foams for the force-transferring member 20 can improve the comfort of the footwear 10 while still allowing for an efficient transfer of force. The various types of force-transferring members 20 can help to reduce and/or remove the natural void 12 (space, gap, etc.) created between the top 72 of the foot 70 and/or toes 74 and the inside of shell 50, which enhances the contact surface between foot 70 and footwear 10 and therefore the transfer of force between those two, and ultimately the playing surface. The use of foam and/or gel/air packs provides for a more pliable and less impactful feel than plastic, for example.
Thus, it can be appreciated that the present invention may help a wearer improve the speed at which she/he runs, skates, etc. and the attendant control of their footwear 10. This is contrast to some conventional footwear, where a wearer's foot or toes are not reinforced, such that they may flail about uselessly inside the footwear, and thus are prevented from efficiently transferring force from the foot to the surface.
Of course, numerous modifications could be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/CA2013/050208 | 3/15/2013 | WO | 00 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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61679125 | Aug 2012 | US |