EP0704174B1 - Sportshoe for sliding - Google Patents

Abstract

The ski boot (1) comprises a sole (9) which is connected to the ski and a collar (4) pivoted on the heel (5) fixed to the sole, The axis (20) of the pivot (18) is situated in a longitudinal plane of the boot and oriented horizontally. The boot has asymmetric stops for limiting angular displacement of the collar. The collar has an internal lateral extension which fits in the lateral wall of the heel in order to limit outward angular displacement of the collar. This outward angular displacement of the collar is in a range between zero and 20 degrees. Zero displacement corresponds to the vertical position of the collar. Only the stops limit angular displacement of the collar towards the interior of the boot. The heel zone situated on the outside of the boot is higher than the zone situated on the interior side of the boot.

Description

The present invention relates to a shoe intended for the field of sliding sports and particularly suitable for snowboarding or snowboarding.

In general, it is necessary to provide a user, on the one hand, a certain comfort, and on the other hand a support or a guidance of certain parts of the foot or of the leg, for him allow to take without embarrassment of various positions depending on the situations encountered in progress sliding.

The user's positions are correlated with the technique generally used for the practice board sport.

In the case of surfing, we can schematically assimilate a surf to a board whose two opposite sides located lengthwise allow to take and control presses on the snow.

The user has his feet secured to the surf, through his shoes, so that the ends of the feet are close to the same side and the heels are close to the opposite side.

The user's feet are therefore oriented in a substantially transverse direction of the surf.

Therefore, an edge grip on a longitudinal side requires that the leg is well maintained relative to the foot in the direction of the length of the foot. In this case it is necessary to prevent, or at least less limit, a longitudinal flexion movement of the leg relative to the foot.

On the other hand, variations in slope of the relief or changes in direction lead to the user to tilt his legs to maintain balance or to act on the conduct of the surf.

Generally, the inclination of the leg is made substantially in the direction of the length of the surf, that is to say laterally with respect to the foot. It is necessary in this case that the leg can tilt to one side or the other with respect to the foot.

The shoes currently known can be broken into two categories: that of soft shoes, which are then associated with so-called "shell" type fasteners which are supposed to ensure necessary supports, and that of rigid or semi-rigid shoes which are associated with fasteners "buckle" type cooperating only with the sole in the manner of shoe / binding assemblies Alpine skiing.

Soft shoes allow the leg to tilt in all directions relative to the foot, that is to say both in longitudinal and lateral bending, or in a position which combines these two directions of tilt.

• les parties d'appui ou de transmission des efforts ne sont pas en contact direct avec l'ensemble pied/jambe, d'où une perte d'efficacité et défaut de précision,
• les fixations ont une taille standard devant accommoder différentes tailles et largeurs de chaussure, d'où encore des appuis moins "francs" et une mauvaise adaptation à la morphologie de l'utilisateur,
• les fixations à coque constituent sur la planche de surf un volume important rendant ce dernier difficile à transporter,
• les fixations à coque multiplient les épaisseurs entre l'ensemble pied/jambe et la planche.

These shoes have the disadvantage of requiring the user to provide a significant effort in the grips of the edge, to maintain the foot relative to the leg. Indeed, an edge grip is done on one longitudinal side only. The surf is then supported on this single side and it is the effort provided by the user which keeps it in the desired position relative to the slope. The leg muscles are very stressed, which quickly tires the user and annoys him considerably. Furthermore, even if the "shell" type binding used provides some of the support required, the shoe / binding assembly obtained is never optimum, because:

• the support or force transmission parts are not in direct contact with the foot / leg assembly, resulting in a loss of efficiency and lack of precision,
• the bindings have a standard size which must accommodate different shoe sizes and widths, hence still less "frank" support and poor adaptation to the morphology of the user,
• the hull fixings constitute a large volume on the surfboard making it difficult to transport,
• the shell fasteners multiply the thicknesses between the foot / leg assembly and the board.

Known rigid or semi-rigid shoes, such as that disclosed for example in WO 97/16227, include a collar which surrounds the lower leg and allows the user to maintain his surfing without fatigue in the card-taking position. However, these shoes do not allow lateral bending around the ankle, which prevents the user to act correctly to maintain his balance or drive his surfing. Rigidity of the shoe requires the user to carry out movements of exaggerated amplitude, with the bust and arms, to compensate for the lack of lateral mobility of the legs.

Consequently, none of the current shoes is completely satisfactory, in the since none allows a user to be comfortable in all cases encountered in the practice of surfing.

The prior art also includes documents relating to intended fasteners to receive shoes.

For example, document DE-A-36 22 746 discloses a fixing which comprises a collar articulated on a sole by a pivot with a longitudinal axis, a flexible portion of the collar allowing a flexion of the leg.

Another example according to document US-A-4,979,760 describes a fixing which comprises a sole, a collar and a cushion retained on the sole by a strap, the cushion allowing some freedom of movement of the leg both in a transverse direction and in a longitudinal direction.

The aim of the present invention is to remedy the drawbacks highlighted above, and to provide a sliding sports shoe, in particular a surf shoe, of the rigid / semi-rigid type, improved, more suitable for snowboarding or board sports works with similar movements.

To this end, the invention proposes a shoe architecture which allows a user to to master, without fatigue and pain, the movements to be performed for the practice of such sports.

In particular, the invention provides a shoe which allows lateral flexion around ankle.

A shoe according to the invention, intended to cooperate with a binding type assembly loop for the practice of surfing, comprising a sole intended to cooperate with a fixing assembly, and a collar articulated by a means on an associated part secured to the sole. Also, this shoe includes in particular a heel secured to the sole, side walls, a front end and a rod. The shoe is characterized in that the connecting means is a pivot whose axis is located in a substantially longitudinal plane of the shoe. The heel, side walls, and the front end in particular form a rigid belt.

In addition, the pivot axis is preferably oriented in a direction substantially horizontal.

Such a shoe solves the problems of the prior art in the sense that it allows good longitudinal support of the foot relative to the leg, while allowing a lateral inclination of the leg on one side or the other of the foot, and by integrating in the shoe the elements support necessary for the practice of sport, for greater efficiency and greater user comfort.

The user can therefore execute all the movements necessary for the practice of his sport, without abnormal fatigue and without particular discomfort.

• la figure 1 est une vue de trois-quarts arrière d'une chaussure selon l'invention,
• la figure 2 est une vue de trois-quarts avant montrant notamment une coque et un collier, de la chaussure de la figure 1,
• la figure 3 est une vue latérale de la chaussure de la figure 1,
• la figure 4 est une coupe selon IV-IV de la figure 3,
• la figure 5 est une vue similaire à la figure 4, où seuls la coque et le collier sont représentés,
• la figure 6 est une vue similaire à la figure 5.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will be better understood with the aid of the description which will follow, with reference to the appended drawing illustrating, by way of nonlimiting example, how the invention can be implemented and in which:

• FIG. 1 is a rear three-quarter view of a shoe according to the invention,
• FIG. 2 is a front three-quarter view showing in particular a shell and a collar, of the shoe of FIG. 1,
• FIG. 3 is a side view of the shoe of FIG. 1,
• FIG. 4 is a section on IV-IV of FIG. 3,
• FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, where only the shell and the collar are shown,
• FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5.

Figure 1 shows a shoe 1 for the practice of surfing. This shoe 1 includes a shell 2, a rod 3 and a collar 4.

The shell 2 comprises a heel 5, an external lateral wall 6, a front end 7, a wall inner side 8 not visible in FIG. 1, and a rigid sole 9 intended to cooperate with a fixing assembly type "loop" known per se.

The heel 5, the walls 6 and 8 and the end 7 form a relatively rigid belt. This belt is integral with the sole 9 of which a rear relief 10 and a front relief 11 constitute support zones shoe 1, on the ground in the case of walking, or on the surf in the case of sliding.

The belt and the sole 9 can be fixed relative to each other by any means such as riveting, bonding or other. The belt and the sole 9 can also form a whole monobloc obtained for example by injection of a plastic material.

In all cases, the shell 2 obtained by securing the belt and the sole 9 will relatively rigid.

The shell 2 receives the rod 3 which it maintains thanks to the belt described above. He can be provided to glue the rod 3 in the shell 2 to avoid separation of these two parts.

The rod 3 which is relatively flexible covers at least the top of the foot and extends in height to surround the lower leg.

The rod 3 is kept in contact with the foot and the lower leg of the user by means of closure 12 such as a lacing, known to those skilled in the art.

The collar 4, preferably made with a relatively rigid material, surrounds the part upper 13 of the rod 3 and tightens the lower leg of the user, by means of clamping and closure 14 known to those skilled in the art.

A stiffening beam 15 of the collar 4 extends substantially vertically from the upper part 16 towards the lower part 17 of the collar 4.

This beam 15 can be attached to the collar 4 or, depending on a construction method preferred, the beam 15 and the collar 4 can form a single piece which will be produced for example in a plastic material.

The beam 15 allows the articulation of the collar 4 on the heel 5 by a connecting means such as a pivot 18.

The pivot 18, symbolized in FIG. 1 by a circle, can, according to a nonlimiting example, be constituted by the articulation in a hole 19 of the collar, of a cylinder secured to the heel 5.

The hole 19 is visible in Figure 2, in which only the collar 4 and the shell 2 have been shown in exploded view.

The axis 20 of the pivot 18 is located in a substantially longitudinal plane of the shoe 1, so as to allow a lateral inclination of the collar 4 relative to the shell 2, as will be described by the after.

According to a preferred embodiment, the axis 20 of the pivot 18 is oriented in a direction substantially horizontal. Therefore, the axis 20 is approximately parallel to the sole 9, which allows the user's leg to be held in a natural position.

Indeed, a central zone 21 of the associated part or heel 5 secured to the sole 9 cooperates with the collar 4 by the stiffening beam 15 to serve as a stop in the longitudinal direction.

Therefore, bending around the ankle of the foot relative to the leg is not possible in the longitudinal direction of the foot.

The user can therefore easily lean on the edges, since he has almost no more efforts to be provided to maintain a stable position of the leg relative to the foot.

Figure 3, in which the shoe 1 is seen from the outside, provides a better understanding again the phenomenon.

On the other hand, the user will have great facilities to direct his surfing or adapt to the external stresses, because the pivot 18 allows lateral inclinations of the collar 4 as it was says and as shown in Figure 4.

To do this, stop means limit at least in one direction the angular displacements of the collar 4.

Preferably, the collar 4 has an internal lateral extension 22 able to cooperate with a side wall 23 of the heel 5 to limit the angular displacement of the collar 4 towards the outside.

The internal lateral extension 22 acts as a stop by pressing on the side wall 23 of heel 5.

This function is important because the positions taken by the user relative to the south cause inward leg inclinations which are very significant, while the outward inclinations are more reduced.

This is why the abutment means are asymmetrical: the internal lateral extension 22 of the collar 4 extends to cover the side wall 23 of the heel 5, while no extension starts from the stiffening beam 15 to extend and cover a side wall 24 of the heel 5 located on the side outside of the shoe.

The operation of the stop means constituted by the internal lateral extension 22 of the collar 4 is shown schematically in Figures 5 and 6.

FIG. 5 corresponds to an inclination of the collar 4, relative to the shell 2, towards the inside of the shoe 1. This inclination is made according to an angle value α which varies between 0 and 50 degrees. She corresponds to a leg position which transmits a lot of sensitive information to the user, and this is why the collar 4 is guided relative to the shell 2 only by the pivot 18. No stopper limits the angular movement of the collar 4 towards the inner side of the shoe, so as not to annoy the user.

By cons, as shown in Figure 6, it is useful that the interior lateral extension 22 limits the angular movement of the collar 4 towards the outside of the shoe 1, so that the user finds a support which will help him to give efforts for the conduct of his surfing.

To do this, the internal lateral extension 22 located on the lower part 17 of the collar 4 of the inner side of the shoe 1, comes to bear on the inner side wall 23 of the heel 5 of so that the angular displacement β of the collar 4 towards the outside takes place within a range comprised between 0 and 20 degrees, the zero corresponding to the vertical position of the collar 4.

Indeed, when the collar 4 is inclined outward in the direction of the arrow F2, the extension inner side 22 of the collar 4 is pressed against the inner side wall 23 of the heel 5, while when the collar 4 is inclined inward in the direction of the arrow F1, the lateral extension interior 22 is spaced from heel 5 and is therefore inactive.

It is possible to adjust the value of the angular inclination of the collar 4 by modifying the height of the heel 5. Preferably, heel 5 is asymmetrical and the area of heel 5 located towards the outside of shoe 1 is higher than the area towards the inside of shoe 1, compared to sole 9.

This amounts to saying that the outer side wall 24 of the heel 5 is higher than the side wall inner 23, relative to the sole 9.

This arrangement allows on the one hand as we have seen to ensure a stop function towards the exterior of the shoe 1, and on the other hand facilitates a large clearance towards the interior side.

Indeed, the rod 3 is subjected to a significant lateral flexion when the leg tilts towards the interior. The difference in height on the two sides of the heel 5 promotes internal flexion of the upper 3 without deterioration of the shoe 1.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiment thus described, and includes all the technical equivalents which may fall within the scope of the following claims.

It is in particular not limited to an application to a surf shoe but can also be applied to other sliding sports shoes such as skates, inline skates, ... etc.

Claims (13)

1. Boot for a gliding sport comprising a sole (9), adapted to cooperate with a binding assembly of the gliding member, and a collar (4) articulated by a means for attaching to an associated portion affixed to the sole, characterized in that the attaching means is a pivot (18) whose axis (20) is located in a substantially longitudinal plane of the sole.
2. Boot (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the axis (20) of the pivot (18) is oriented in a substantially horizontal direction.
3. Boot (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a stiffening beam (15) of the collar (4) extends substantially vertically from an upper portion (16) towards a lower portion (17) of the collar (4).
4. Boot (1) according to any of claims 1-3, characterized in that it comprises abutment means to limit the angular displacements of the collar (4) in at least one direction.
5. Boot (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that the abutment means are asymmetrical.
6. Boot (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that the collar (4) comprises an internal lateral extension (22) capable of cooperating with a lateral wall (23) of the heel (5) to limit the outward angular displacement of the collar (4).
7. Boot (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that the outward angular displacement of the collar (4) occurs within a range between 0 and 20 degrees, with zero corresponding to the vertical position of the collar (4).
8. Boot (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that no abutment limits the angular displacement of the collar (4) towards the internal side of the boot (1).
9. Boot (1) according to any of claims 1-8, characterized in that the associated portion affixed to the sole (9) is an asymmetrical heel (5), whose zone located towards the exterior of the boot is higher than the zone located towards the interior of the boot, with respect to the sole (9).
10. Boot (1) according to any of claims 1-9, characterized in that the pivot (18) is constituted by the articulation of a cylinder affixed to the heel (5) through a hole (19) of the collar (4).
11. Boot (1) according to any of claims 1-10, characterized in that the associated portion (5) affixed to the sole (9) cooperates with the collar (4) to serve as an abutment in longitudinal flexion.
12. Boot according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a heel (5), lateral walls (6, 8), and a front end (7) forming a rigid belt.
13. Boot according to claim 12, characterized in that the rigid belt (5, 6, 7, 8) is affixed to the sole (9).

Images