Patent Application
20230397693
The present invention relates to a sports shoe, in particular a ski boot, provided with a selectively pivotable tongue, i.e. formed of at least two elements connected in a selectively rotatable manner.
Obviously, it is clear that the invention may also be used in sports shoes similar to a ski boot, such as for example snowboard or ski mountaineering boots, cross-country ski shoes, mountain or rock-climbing shoes, shoes for ice or roller skates, cycling shoes and other types of sports shoes.
Generally, a ski boot essentially comprises a shell adapted to receive the foot of a user, and a cuff adapted to wrap around the lower leg of the user and pivoted to the shell around suitable hinge means; furthermore, suitable and known fastening devices are provided for to allow the adjustment of the degree of fastening of the boot on the foot of the user.
A longitudinal front opening is provided for on said shell and said cuff to facilitate the fitting by the user; this opening is usually covered by a tongue, which also serves as a support for the leg of the user and it allows the transmission of forces.
In boots of the known type there arises the need to be able to eliminate, or at least limit, the oscillation of the cuff with respect to the shell when performing sports activities, so as to ensure a precise and safe skiing, and at the same time allow a free oscillation thereof once through with the sports activity, so as to allow the user to walk easily.
To this end, known are devices for selectively locking the rotation of the cuff with respect to the shell, commonly referred to as “ski-walk devices”, suitable to be moved between an unlocking position, in which the cuff is free to rotate with respect to the shell, therefore determining the walking configuration of the boot, and a locking position in which the cuff is essentially integrally joined with the shell, given that it cannot oscillate with respect thereto, thus setting the skiing configuration of the boot.
However, such ski-walk devices are generally positioned outside the shoe, in a region above the heel of the user, and therefore they can be a hindrance when performing sports activities.
A different solution is proposed in the document EP0695515, which shows a ski boot provided with a covering tongue to which a plate-like appendage is associated, said appendage being rotatably movable between at least two operative positions to vary the flexibility of the boot in the longitudinal plane and therefore the support conditions of the leg of the user.
The operative position of the appendage with respect to the tongue is set by the user using fixing means such as a rivet provided with a washer; as a result, the tongue support conditions cannot be varied when performing sports activities.
Furthermore, in the various positions that can be set, the appendage is always rigidly constrained to the covering tongue, and therefore the respective flexural configurations of the boot are to be attributed exclusively to the part of the appendage that protrudes with respect to the access opening of the cuff and therefore to the different lever arm that acts on the forward bending of the leg of the user.
Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a sports shoe, in particular a ski boot, capable of taking two different operating conditions in which the rigidity of the front part of the shoe and therefore the resistance offered to bending to the leg of the user is different.
Within the task outlined above, an object of the present invention is to provide a sports shoe in which the passage between the two operating conditions is obtained simply and quickly directly by the user, even when performing sports activities.
Lastly but not least, an object of the present invention is to provide a sports shoe that attains the task and objects mentioned above at competitive costs and which can be obtained using the usual known machines, plants and equipment.
The aforementioned tasks and objects, as well as others which will be more apparent from the following description, are achieved by a sports shoe as defined in claim 1.
Further characteristics and advantages of present the invention will become more apparent from the following description of particular embodiments, illustrated by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the attached figures, wherein:
With reference to the attached
In particular, said ski boot 1 substantially comprises a shell 2, adapted to receive the foot of a user and essentially formed of a sole S, essentially defining a surface for supporting the foot, wherefrom it departs, on opposite longitudinal sides, a pair of side walls adapted to be arranged respectively on the inner part and on the outer part of the foot, extending between a tip P, located in an area proximal to the tip of the foot, and a heel T, located in an area proximal to the heel, affecting the lateral regions of the foot up to about the malleoli area.
Said boot 1 further comprises a cuff 3, adapted to wrap around at least at the rear portion of the lower part of the leg of the user, said cuff 3 being pivoted to the shell 2 around suitable hinge means 4, which define a rotation axis essentially horizontal and parallel to the plane defined by the sole of the boot 1; the cuff 3 may therefore rotate with respect to the shell 2 at least forward, that is toward the tip P of the boot 1.
Advantageously, the free edges of the side walls of the shell 2, and possibly the opposite flaps of the cuff 3, define a longitudinal front opening 23 of the boot 1, adapted to facilitate the insertion of the foot of the user into the boot, to which a covering tongue 10′, made of a single piece, is associated, said covering tongue 10′ being connected to the shell 2 in proximity of the tip P through a fixing means 5, such as a rivet.
With reference to
Expressions such as “above”, “below”, “upper”, “lower”, “top”, bottom, “low”, “inner”, “outer” or the like will be used in the description below; the person skilled in the art will have no difficulty understanding that these expressions relate to the position of a sports shoe 1 and a tongue 10 in the normal operating configuration thereof, that is in use, as shown in the attached figures.
In particular, a tongue 10 according to the present invention is adapted to cover at least said front opening 23 of the boot 1, and it comprises at least one first rigid portion 11, adapted to extend, in use, at least at the instep of the foot of the user, and at least one second rigid portion 12, adapted to extend, in use, at the front part of the lower leg of the user.
Preferably, said rigid portions 11, 12 comprise each a corresponding essentially plate-like element preferably having a width greater than the cross-sectional dimension of said front opening 23 and advantageously shaped so as to be able to adapt to the anatomy of the foot of the user, and defining, in use, an inner surface and an outer surface.
Said first portion 11 is connectable to the shell 2 of the boot 1 through fixing means 5, such as for example a rivet, preferably disposed at or in proximity of the tip P of the shell 2; to this end, said first portion 11 is advantageously provided with a hole 11C at a first end edge 11A adapted to allow said rivet 5 to pass through.
Said second rigid portion 12 is instead advantageously rotatably connected to said first portion 11 in an instep region of the foot of the user.
According to a characteristic of the present invention, said tongue 10 further comprises selective locking means adapted to selectively lock/unlock the rotation of said second portion 12 with respect to said first portion 11.
In this manner, said tongue 10 is advantageously adapted to alternatively take a first operating condition, in which said second portion 12 is rigidly connected to the first portion 11, without the possibility of rotating with respect thereto, and-as a result-the forward bending of the cuff 3 with respect to the shell 2 of the boot 1 is prevented, or at least hindered, and a second operating condition, in which said second portion 12 is free to rotate at least forward with respect to said first portion 11, therefore facilitating the forward bending of the cuff 3 with respect to the shell 2.
As a result, when in said first operating condition, said tongue 10 supports the leg of the user, allowing an effective transmission of the forces, and therefore such condition is recommended when performing sports activities determining the skiing configuration of the boot 1; otherwise, when said tongue 10 is in said second operating condition, it allows to follow the natural movement of the ankle of the user and therefore it can be advantageously set when walking, determining the walking configuration of the boot, or when fitting the boot 1.
The passage between the two operating conditions can be obtained by actuating said selective locking means, which can be obtained in various ways; some embodiments according to the present invention, wherein structurally identical or similar elements are indicated using the same reference numeral, are therefore illustrated below.
Said first portion 11 is connected to the shell 2 of the boot 1 through fixing means 5, such as for example a rivet, preferably disposed at or in proximity of the tip P of the boot 1; to this end, said first portion 11 is advantageously provided with a hole 11C at a first end edge 11A adapted to allow said rivet 5 to pass through.
Said second portion 12 is rotatably connected to said first portion 11 around an essentially horizontal rotation axis, advantageously defined by pivoting means 13, such as a pair of pins or rivets adapted to be inserted into articulating openings 16, in particular formed of holes obtained in a second end edge portion 11B of said first portion 11 and on a first end portion 12A of said second portion 12 arranged in an instep region of the foot of the user.
Advantageously, said tongue 10 further comprises selective locking means 20 adapted to selectively lock/unlock the rotation of the second portion 12 of the tongue 10 with respect to said first portion 11.
In particular, said selective locking means 20 comprise a rigid and elongated member 21, such as a rod, hinged with a first end 21A to the first portion 11 of the tongue around an essentially horizontal and eccentric axis with respect to said rotation axis, and provided, preferably in proximity of a second end 21B, with an engaging member 22 which makes it selectively engageable with the second portion 12 to lock/release the rotation of the latter with respect to said first portion 11, therefore determining the corresponding operating condition of the tongue 10.
Said engaging member 22 is preferably formed of a pin housed in a casing 24 slidable along said rod 21, said pin 22 extending transversely with respect to the extension of said rod 21 and adapted to selectively engage a corresponding seat or opening 25 obtained on the second portion 12 of the tongue 10, preferably arranged in proximity of a second end edge portion 12B (or free end portion).
As observable in
Otherwise, when said engaging member 22 is removed from the seat 25 obtained on the second portion 12, displacing it as indicated by the arrow E of
In particular, said first and second portion 11, 12 are preferably pivoted around an essentially horizontal rotation axis defined by pivoting means 13, such as a pair of pins or rivets which allow to pivot a first end portion 12A of said second portion 12 to a second end edge portion 11B of said first portion 11 in an instep region of the foot of the user.
However, in this second embodiment, said second portion 12 is also slidably movable with respect to said first portion 11 between a first position, wherein selective locking means 30 lock the rotation of the second portion 12 with respect to the first portion 11, therefore defining the first operating condition of the tongue 10, and a second position, wherein locking means 30 allow the rotation of the second portion 12 with respect to said first portion 11, thus defining the second operating condition of the tongue 10.
To this end, said pivoting means 13 are preferably fixed to the first end portion 12A of said second portion 12 and slidably received in a corresponding pair of articulating openings 14, arranged on said second end edge portion 11B of said first portion 11 and extending along a cross-sectional direction with respect to the plane defined by the sole S of the boot 1.
Preferably, said articulating openings 14 are bilobed, that is each defined by a lower lobe 14A and an upper lobe 14B, communicating through a cross-sectional narrowing, whereon said pivoting means 13 can be stably received thus defining the two corresponding positions of said second portion 12 with respect to said first portion 11, and being able to “snap” switch between one and the other, as explained in greater detail below.
In this embodiment, the selective locking means 30 are essentially formed of the profiles of said second end edge portion 11B of said first portion 11 and of said first end portion 12A of said second portion 12 which are advantageously configured so that one copies the shape of the other, therefore allowing to be superimposed and obtain a shape coupling between the two portions which prevents the relative rotation thereof.
For example, as shown in
In particular, said selective locking means 30 are configured such that, when said pivoting pins 13 engage the lower lobe 14A of the corresponding opening 14, said second portion 12 is in the first position, in which the respective first end edge portion 12A is superimposed with respect to the profile of the second end edge portion 11B of said first portion 11, such that said at least one rib 31 is received in the counter-shaped seat 32, therefore preventing the rotation of the second portion 12 with respect to said first portion 11, determining the first operating condition of said tongue 10, as shown in
Should the user wish to pass to the second operating condition of the tongue 10, the user must apply a pulling force on said second portion 12 along the direction indicated by the arrow F2 of
Clearly, the first operating condition of said tongue 10 may be obtained again by displacing said second portion 12 backwards from the second position to the first position, in a manner such that said pivoting means 13 return to engage the lower lobe 14A of the opening 14 and-as a result-the profiles of said first end edge portion 12A of said second portion 12 and of the second end edge portion 11B of said first portion 11 are superimposed to obtain a shape coupling.
Even in this embodiment, said second portion 12 is also slidably movable with respect to said first portion 11 between a first position, in which selective locking means lock the rotation of the second portion 12 with respect to the first portion 11, therefore defining the first operating condition of the tongue 10, and a second position, in which locking means 40 allow the rotation of the second portion 12 with respect to said first portion 11, thus defining the second operating condition of the tongue 10.
However, unlike the previous embodiments, said first portion 11 further comprises at least one rigid extension portion 15 which extends at the front part of the lower leg of the user, being arranged more inwards with respect to the boot 1 with respect to said second portion 12 which is therefore superimposed. Preferably, said first portion 11 comprises a pair of rigid extension portions 15 extending parallel from opposite sides of the foot of the user.
Said second portion 12 is rotatably connected to the first portion 11 around an essentially horizontal rotation axis and preferably defined by pivoting means 13, such as a pair of pins or rivets which allow to pivot said first end portion 12A of said second portion 12 to said first portion.
Said pivoting means 13 are preferably fixed to the first end portion 12A of said second portion 12 and advantageously slidably received in a corresponding pair of articulating openings 14, arranged on said first portion 11 at or in proximity of the instep region of the foot of the user and extending along a cross-sectional direction with respect to the plane defined by the sole S of the boot 1, and preferably essentially orthogonal to the latter.
Preferably, said openings 14 are bilobed, that is each defined by a lower lobe 14A and an upper lobe 14B, communicating and separated by a cross-sectional narrowing, whereon said pivoting means 13 can be stably received defining the two corresponding positions of said second portion 12 with respect to said first portion 11, passing between one and the other with a snap action, as explained in greater detail below.
Said selective locking means 40 comprise at least one engaging member 41, such as in particular a wall projecting along the surface facing toward the internal of the boot 1 of said second portion 12, preferably in proximity of the free end portion 12B thereof and adapted to create a recess 42 in which there can be slidably inserted the free end 15A of said extension portion 15 of said first portion 11.
Should said first portion 11 of the tongue 10 comprise a pair of extension portions said selective locking means 40 as a result comprise a corresponding pair of engaging member 41 forming a pair of recesses 42 adapted to slidably receive the corresponding free ends 15A of said extension portions 15.
In particular, the tongue 10 according to this third embodiment operates as follows: when said tongue 10 takes the first operating condition (
When the user wishes to obtain the second operating condition of the tongue 10 (
Clearly, the first operating condition of said tongue 10 may be obtained by displacing said second portion 12 backwards from the second position to the first position, so that said pivoting pins 13 return to snap fit into the lower lobe 14A of the opening 14 and-as a result-the free ends of said extension portions 15 are once again received in the recesses 42 defined by said engaging members 41.
Lastly,
Like in the embodiment described above, said first portion 11 of said tongue 10 comprises at least one extension portion 15 extending at the front part of the lower leg of the user; preferably, said first portion 11 comprises a pair of rigid extension portions 15 extending parallel from opposite sides of the foot of the user.
However, in this embodiment, said second portion 12 of the tongue 10 is pivoted to said first portion 11 around an essentially horizontal rotation axis defined by pivoting means 13, such as a pair of pins or rivets inserted into corresponding articulating openings 16, consisting of holes which allow to pivot a first end portion 12A of said second portion 12 to said first portion 11 in proximity of the foot of the user.
Said selective locking means 50 comprise at least one engaging member 51 formed of a plate-like insert, slidably associated with said second portion 12 and movable between a first position, wherein it locks the rotation of the second portion 12 of the tongue 10 with respect to said first portion 11, and a second position wherein it allows the rotation of the second portion 12 of the tongue 10 with respect to said first portion 11.
Preferably, said insert 51 is slidably constrained to said second portion 12 by means of a pin 52 adapted to engage an elongated opening 53 advantageously obtained at the top free edge portion 12B of said second portion 12 and extending along a direction transverse to the plane defined by the sole S of the boot 1, and preferably essentially orthogonal to the latter.
Preferably, said elongated opening 53 is bilobed, that is defined by a lower lobe 53A and an upper lobe 53B, communicating through a cross-sectional narrowing, in which said pin 52 can be stably received, passing between one and the other with a snap action, and defining the two corresponding positions of the insert 51.
Said selective locking means 50 are configured such that when said pin 52 is received in the upper lobe 53B of said opening 53, said insert 51 is in the first position, in which it is at least partially retracted at the rear part with respect to said second portion 12 and it advantageously defines a recess 54 with the wall of said second portion 12 facing toward the inside of the boot 1 (
Therefore, when said insert 51 is in the first position, said second portion 12 is integrally joined with said first portion 11 through the engagement in the recess 54 of the free ends 15A of the extension portions 15 of the first portion 11, thus preventing the rotation thereof and determining the first operating condition of the tongue 10, as shown in
The passage of said insert 51 from the first to the second position is carried out by imposing a sliding movement thereto in the removal direction, along the direction indicated by the arrow F2 of
Clearly, the first operating condition of said tongue 10 may be obtained by displacing said insert 51 backwards from the second position to the first position, such that said pin 52 returns to snap engage the upper lobe 53B of the opening 53 and-as a result-the free ends 15A of the extension portions 15 are once again inserted into the recess 54 obtained between said insert 51 and the inner surface of said second portion 12.
In conclusion, in the light of the above it is clear that the present invention attains the initially envisaged objects and advantages. The present invention refers to a sports shoe, in particular a ski boot, provided with a covering tongue 10 adapted to take two different operating conditions, in which the rigidity of the front part of the shoe and therefore the resistance offered to bending to the leg of the user is different.
Furthermore, advantageously, a covering tongue 10 according to the present invention can be simply and rapidly directly moved between the two operating conditions by the user, even when performing sports activities.
Obviously, the present invention is susceptible of numerous applications, modifications or variations without departing from the scope of protection, as defined by the claims.
Furthermore, the materials and equipment used to implement the present invention, as well as the shapes and dimensions of the individual components, may be the most suitable depending on the specific requirements.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 102020000026269 | Nov 2020 | IT | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/IB2021/059438 | 10/14/2021 | WO |
