The present invention is in the field of starting blocks for swimmers in competitive swimming and training.
In competitive swimming, the rules allow for the athlete to start a race from outside the water from a starting block, which allows for a faster start than from within the water. A starting block is a platform adjacent to the pool, positioned in the center axis of a pool lane, on which a swimmer can stand and jump off. The size, height of the front edge above the water, angle of the platform relative to horizontal and other defining parameters of the platform are specified in the various rule books for swimming.
There are several types of start for a swimmer from the block. One is to have both feet at the leading edge of the block. Another is to have one foot at the leading edge, the other one further back. This start type is called “track start”.
In a track start the swimmer has the toes of the front foot curled around the leading edge and the back foot is set on the starting platform behind the front foot. The starting platform may be inclined to a maximum of 10 degrees to horizontal, as the ruling books state. Therefore most of the horizontal jump force of the back foot, which is desirable for a fast start, is created through friction of the back foot with the starting platform. Although starting platforms are equipped with a surface with a high coefficient of friction, it is desirable to increase said horizontal force by increasing the angle of the surface the back foot touches. The rule books provide for that.
In recent years an invention to improve track starts, described in US patent application US2005/0227813 and international patents such as EP1501609B1, inventor Curry, Francesca, has led to the adding of a second surface to the starting platform in current embodiments of starting blocks.
In a track start, this second surface increases the angle for the back foot by being upwardly inclined with respect to the platform for the swimmer to push against with the backwards foot whilst jumping off from the platform.
The embodiments of said invention place a “foot wedge” such as 5 shown in
This adjustability leads to a profile of possible top surfaces 4 in
There are several problems with such embodiments, some of them are listed below:
The current invention targets to improve one or more of said problems.
Since the use of a second surface for the back foot is problematic as described above, the present invention utilizes one single continuous surface to present, within the constraints of the sanctioned block profile, a surface with continually increasing angles relative to the horizontal level.
As shown in
Since the biomechanics of each swimmer are different every swimmer will like a different angle of the surface to place the back foot on for a personally optimal start. Through putting the back foot closer or farther away from the leading edge of the curved surface, different angles will be encountered by said back foot. The optimum angle of a given swimmer will be found experimentally during training and can change over time.
Since the block top presents only one surface to the swimmer, the trip hazard is reduced and back mounting steps can be utilized. This embodiment of the invention also eliminates the undesirable gap between a moveable wedge and the block surface.
Since the embodiments of the invention so far described are theoretically optimal for only one body size of swimmers; a further refinement is described. In this embodiment the surface of the starting block is pliable and a forming block underneath said pliable surface forms an upwardly curved surface on the starting platform as before. This forming block can be moved closer and further away from the leading edge, within the constraints of the sanctioned profile. Thus it creates the optimum conditions for the back foot of the swimmer starting with a track start. The forming block is solidly set in place once the desired distance is adjusted so that the forming block does not move during the start should the swimmer exude considerable start forces on the block.
The back side of the forming block, starting at the top, is curved downwards to create a smooth surface with the pliable surface 20 to reduce trip hazards.
The optimal distance of the forming block for a given swimmer is something which is experimentally found during training and can change over time. It is desirable that this distance can be set up quickly and easily during a meet, where typically very little time is available between races or legs of a relay race.
To conducting a competitive swimming event another necessary function is what is called meet management. It includes gathering, tracking and organizing data about each athlete such as name, gender, age, team and others. In addition, a significant function of meet management is determining and tracking specific events, heats and lanes for each swimmer. Meet management is typically administered in information technology systems.
The setting distance of a forming block or a foot wedge can be one of the data points known to the meet management about a particular swimmer. This setting can be transmitted to the starting block for a given race to set the distance before the swimmer mounts the block by manual or motorized means such as stepper motors, hydraulics, pneumatics or other means. Thus a fast adaption of individual settings can be realized needing little set up time between swimmers.
In
As shown in
The forming block 19 in
The gear wheel 23 can be turned manually, for example with a hand wheel, or mechanically through for example a motor. If it is turned by a motor or other means, the information how much to turn it, which determines the distance of the forming block 19 from the leading edge 3 for a given swimmer, can be obtained through means such as a data cable or wireless transmission from either a manual input device or an IT system of a meet manager.
This enables fast set up during races for the series of swimmers utilizing one and the same starting block in sequence as the meet progresses. As an example, the first swimmer could have the distance set to 350 mm, the second to 400 mm, the third to 540 mm, the fourth to 380 mm and so forth. As the meet management calls out a given swimmer for his or her start, the related information of each swimmer's preferred starting block forming block distance is transmitted to the starting block and the distance is set. Once the start of the given swimmer has occurred, the starting block forming block distance for the next swimmer can be transmitted and the distance set, and so forth.
The disclosed embodiments are representative of presently preferred forms of the invention, but are intended to be illustrative rather than definitive of the invention.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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804585 | Depue | Nov 1905 | A |
3010321 | Morrow | Nov 1961 | A |
D202546 | French | Oct 1965 | S |
D240811 | Beall | Aug 1976 | S |
5916031 | Casillan | Jun 1999 | A |
D464699 | Brice | Oct 2002 | S |
6523188 | Kiefer et al. | Feb 2003 | B1 |
7193167 | Brice | Mar 2007 | B1 |
20050227813 | Curry | Oct 2005 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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2358876 | Feb 1975 | DE |
2517738 | Nov 1976 | DE |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20130095980 A1 | Apr 2013 | US |