Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02294462 2006-02-17
DESCRIPTION
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to sports footwear, a footwearable skate structure
assembly, in particular for in-line and short-tracking roller skates.
Background of the Invention
Hereinafter, the term in-line roller skates refers to a well-known sport
means, having a plurality of wheels associated longitudinally with a rigid
support,
with specific shoes and used in various disciplines, normally performed by
skaters
on skating rinks with complex manoeuvres, such as frontflips, backflips,
liukang or
kungloo turns, in backside or in backslide, on boardwalks up to the fishbrains
or
other manoeuvres, in addition to speed competitions, and said short-tracking,
as
they are currently known in the specific field.
EP-A-0 551 704 discloses a skate of this kind, including a shell with raised
heel portion and with a sole between the tip and the spur.
As is well known in the present state of the art, the operating effectiveness
of in-line or side-by-side roller skates is dependent more on the conditions
of the
surfaces skated upon than on the mechanical properties of the skates
themselves,
which have been consolidated through the considerable expansion of sport
activities. Conditions, when normal on covered rinks, are practically
nonexistent,
on external rinks or on road surfaces, where a slight unevenness or a small
foreign
body is sufficient to jeopardize manoeuvres and movements and/or cause
serious,
and sometimes dangerous falls, particularly in specialties like said short-
tracking.
The vibrations and their resonance occurring on such skates and on rigid
footwear, caused by unbalanced wheels or due to rolled asphalt-conglomerate
surfaces, are such as to cause serious damage, on associated rolling units
and/or
their mechanical parts; with other established negative effects caused by
abruptly
slowed-down dynamic phases and/or interrupted manoeuvring procedures of a
skater; with consequent numbing in tarsal and metatarsal regions of the feet,
1
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CA 02294462 2006-02-17
muscular cramps and dizziness due to limited vasal blood supply.
To overcome the disadvantages, various manufacturers have proposed in-
line roller skates with interposed rubber pads for supporting rigid footwear
on
equally stiff flat foot arch supports, which, though they may be effective for
normal
amateur activities, cause problems for expert skaters that are as serious as
the
above-mentioned disadvantages.
In fact, both in training and in serious competition on rinks, an athlete is
subjected to severe alternating stresses due to forces generated by vibrations
and
loads bearing on such rigid structures and transmitted integrally from the
lower
limbs to the backbone and the head, with negative effects on the functionality
of
corresponding vital organs and systems.
Moreover, rigid footwear designed for normal skates, worn with interposed
closed-cell "indoor light shoes", although ventilated by recurrent cavities,
are not
capable of allowing a sufficient and effective breathability of shod feet and
covered
shin parts.
The same can be said for the well-known present speed-competition shoes,
made "to measure", normally using plaster casts of a skater's feet, with
imprints
enlarged with padded intermediate materials in order to achieve, in subsequent
phases, "made-to-measure insides" of foam plastomers between such moulds,
with obvious involved processes and considerable production costs, leaving the
aforesaid disadvantages unresolved.
In fact, unfavourable conditions emerged in such manufactures after being
used a few times, due to: impermeable make-ups prejudicial to the proper
transpiration of liquid and volatile humours secreted by the sweat glands of
covered limbs, activated by the vagal section of the neurovegetative system;
the
occurrence of putrid fermentation due to significant sweat retentions;
epithelial
remnants, from maceration, containing considerable quantities of staphylococci
and streptococci; hyperperspiration such as to compromise said dynamic and
specific usage properties. These factors occur most frequently in short-
tracking
practice and competitions, in such acrobatic tricks, in the so-called aerials,
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mistyflips or halfpipes, to which can be ascribed the greatest energy and heat
outputs generated in said dynamics, encountered by both amateur athletes and
expert skaters.
The fundamental purpose of this invention is to solve the above-mentioned
technical problems, and avoiding drawbacks and/or disadvantages.
Summary of the Invention
The results achieved with this footwear, arising from methods according to
this invention, are in: accurate control of the angles of incidence of the
roller skates
on the surfaces impinged upon, radial inclinations suitable for balancing the
centre
of gravity of a skater, especially in short-tracking; constant mutual contacts
between the foot and this footwear, for changes of position and directional
shifts
corresponding to their movements; interconnections conforming to balanced
pressures on tarsal and metatarsal parts, and on malleolar, tendinous and
contiguous regions of a foot; insulation, obtained from internal alveolar
formations,
determining an efficient damping of the effects of vibrations originating from
rolling
units in severe operation, generated from alternated dynamic actions of said
units,
and transduced by individual sources of gravity of a skater misaligned with
respect
to the centre of symmetry of this footwear; reduction of frequencies and
amplitudes
of said vibrations, such as to prevent the generation of resonances due to
periodic
coincidences of alternating forces and/or to oscillations induced in said
assembly
by the conditions and stresses to which it is subjected. Related effects, are
in
short-tracking, during racing phases and procedures; with a footwear with
ventilated inside both in the heel portion and in the shell made up of open
and
alveolar areas such as to favour effective inflows of air from outside and
corresponding outflows of excreted perspiration, appreciably limiting
hyperhidrosis
and hindering spasms of the cutaneous blood vessels and congestions of covered
body parts due to interrupted excretions and vasal blood flows; precluding
stagnations, the formation of moulds, proliferations of bacteria and
associated
consequences.
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In the present device, footwear, particularly for in-line or short-tracking
skates, comprising a shell with a raised heel portion and with a sole having a
tip
and a spur, characterized in that said sole has a plurality of asymmetrical
flaps with
a first and second end in the vicinity of said tip and opposed ends integrated
with
a section enfolding said spur, said section being in correspondence with
opposed
elements forming said heel portion, wherein said heel portion includes
malleolar
regions in contact with a foot bearing on said sole, said heel portion having
an
external contour recessed between projections adapted to receive a skate.
The advantages obtained with this footwear, consist substantially in that:
constant and effective interactions are achieved in every procedure of the
above-
mentioned short-tracking speed activities, developed to safeguard the limbs,
systems and vital organs of an athlete, as well as the components of said
assembly; to which is temporarily associated a conventional sport shoe,
preferably
light and designed to be put to other uses when disengaged, such as to walk to
starting spots, enter or remain in living or other quarters, used as normal
leisure,
trekking or similar footwear, or worn by an athlete, whether the athlete be a
skater
or otherwise, especially for uninterrupted periods.
With the benefits derivable from this footwear, made of suitable filled
plastomers, preferably filled with carbon fibres, which, suitably formed, can
be
used in other related activities, such as ice skating, in the so-called cross-
country
mountain skates, for skates with side-by-side wheels and/or for different
uses,
including cross-country and alpine skiing, and for the so-called ski-rolls for
road
surfaces and/or for other sport activities.
Additional characteristics, advantages and functions of the invention will
become evident hereinafter from detailed descriptions of examples, in
themselves
not binding and/or restrictive, of preferential practical embodiments of a
footwear,
normally for in-line and short-tracking roller skates, in accordance with this
invention, illustrated by the following drawings.
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Brief Description of the Drawings
Fig. 1 is a side view of the footwear, showing the sole with tangible
projections, partially in cross section, designed to be associated with
skates,
normally in-line roller skates or ice skates.
Fig. 2 is a view from above of the footwear of Fig. 1 with said external
prominences noticeably offset with respect to the longitudinal axis of the
arch
support.
Fig. 3 is a side view of an assembly consisting of a skate and footwear, as
in Figures 1 and 2, resulting from a practical industrial embodiment.
Fig. 4 illustrates the footwear, with an associated rigid toe, used in
association with a shoe, preferably a sport shoe designed for different uses
when
it is disengaged from this formation.
Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of said rigid toe taken along line A-A' of
Fig.
4, showing an alveolar intermediate material incorporated therein.
Fig. 6 is a cross section along line B-B' of Fig. 1 of the footwear shown in
Figures 1, 2 and 4, showing said intermediate element of foam plastic
elastomers.
Fig. 7 is a top view of a protective element for malleolar, tendinous and
contiguous regions of a foot, obtained from pads of said materials and with a
plurality of heat-pressed alveolar sectors.
Fig. 8 is a cutaway view of said cut element taken along line C-C' of Fig. 7.
Description of Preferred Embodiment
In accordance with the invention, as best seen in Figures 1-3, footwear 1
includes a shell 2 on a sole 3, with a tip 4 and a spur 5, with a semi-
elliptical
external contour 6 between tangible projections 7,8 to which are associated
the
bases 9,10, with relative connectors, in a support 11 of a skate 12 with a
series of
wheels 13 longitudinally aligned with said support. Also provided is an
internal
arch support 14 of the sole 3, with a plurality of gradual opposed appreciable
projections 15, with a stiffening function for the sole, between downwardly
extending recesses 16 adapted for heads 17 of multiple connectors 18, offset
with
CA 02294462 2006-02-17
respect to the longitudinal axis of said footwear 1, as seen in Figure 2.
As shown in Figures 1-4, there is a plurality of opposed asymmetrical flaps
19,20, corresponding to tarsal and metatarsal regions of a foot. A first end
21 of
the flap 19, in the vicinity of the front side 22 of the projection 7 is
contiguous to the
tip 4. A second end 23 of the opposed flap 20 is lowered in the direction of
the
opposite side 24 of said projection 7. As seen in Figure 2, end regions 25,
opposite to the ends 21,23 of the flaps 19,20, form a section 26 which is
wound
around the spur 5.
As can be seen from Figures 1-4, a plurality of opposed elements 27,
preferably of elliptical form and having opposing foci are adjacent to
inclined
elongate elements 28, the opposed elements forming a heel portion 29,
similarly
structured with terminals 25 and, as with the asymmetrical flaps 19,20, having
a
perforation 30 for known adjustable straps (not shown) for temporary
restraints of
the means worn in this footwear 1.
As shown in Figures 1, 3, and 4, a hollow zone 31 is between the elongate
elements 28 and end sectors 32 of the flaps 19,20 where at least one is
foldable
on the front contour 33 of a shoe 34, indicated by dashed lines in Figures 1
and
3.
The footwear 1, especially when designed for short-tracking, is normally
made of plastomers filled with carbon or Kevlar fibres, with an integrated
element
35, cut from sheets of thermoformable foam elastomer plastics, which includes
a
body 36 with configurations corresponding with said elliptical elements 27,
elongate elements 28, and an intermediate region destined for said spur 5,
respectively indicated with 37, 38 and 39, as can be seen in Fig. 7.
As can be seen in Figures 5-8, a plurality of ridges 40 and furrows 41,
obtained by means of hot-cold thermoforming, with geometrical parameters and
values proportionate with the aforementioned vibration insulation in the
assembly
and to the discharge of perspiration excreted by a foot. A region 42 with
configurations, is in reciprocal relationship with the malleolar regions of
said limb,
thermoformed with the ridges and furrows 40,41, which in the example are
offset
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with respect to the axis of symmetry of the elements 27 as seen in Fig. 7.
This footwear 1, especially when intended for skating practices other than
short-tracking, is provided with a rigid toe 43, preferably associated, made
of filled
plastomers, and adapted for accommodating and retaining a toe of a sport shoe
with extensive woven areas allowing breathing, e.g., Gore-Tex, which can be
applied to other uses when disengaged from the footwear 1. As seen in Figure
5,
an internal space 44 of the toe 43, with a foam intermediate element 45 with
the
ridges 40 and furrows 41, are thermoformed with configurations adapted to the
toe
of a shoe, preferably light and sporty. Also shown in Figure 5 is a tangible
front
hollow area 46, which is intended to provide inflows from outside and outflows
from
inside the toe 43.
The invention involves additional embodiments of said footwear 1,
according to the expressed functional characteristics, obtained by modifying
the
described material characteristics, without departing from the scope of the
present
patent.
Among the most evident modifications, such as the embodiment shown in
Figure 4, include the use of a rigid toe 43 with a monostructure, that is
associated
with the tip 4 of said footwear, in accordance with the dimensions of an
integratable shoe. Another modification would be an open area, normally
intermediate in section 26 enfolding the spur 5, intended fortemporary
interspaces
between associated end regions 25, according to the posterior dimensions of a
shoe and of the means worn. Elements 27 may also be temporarily arranged and
retained on elongate elements 28 and in positions corresponding to malleolar
regions of a foot. A stiffener may also be included, having ridges 40 and
furrows
41 associated with the spur 5 and with dorsal parts of the opposed elements 27
making up the heel portion 29.
Likewise, footwear 1 is feasible with a plurality of components, such as the
sole 3 with asymmetrical flaps 19,20 and integrated in an assembly, the
assembly
being formed by a heel portion 29, with elongate elements 28 with a spur 5, as
well
as a rigid toe 43, pivoted on said projection 7 and retained on the back
projection
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8, with interposed temporary sectors, which correspond to preferential angles
of
inclination of a skater, especially for short-tracking on in-line roller
skates and/or
ice skates.
Additional obvious modifications may result from embodiments of a
wearable structure-skate assembly, in particular one intended for application
in
different sport activities, with ice skates, in-line roller skates, or other
above-
mentioned disciplines.
From the practical embodiments described above, according to the
invention, the illustrated footwears distinguish themselves from the present
state
of the art, cited in the preamble, in clearly overcoming the problems
disclosed and
in achieving the objectives and predetermined purposes.
In each case, any constructive component exemplified, described and
illustrated, necessary for the purposes, can be replaced with other
technically
equivalent means and/or components.
Similarly, in the tests and in practical embodiments, according to the
proposed embodiments and applications, the materials used, and the forms and
dimensions are the most suitable and chosen according to the specified
requirements.
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