Patent ID: 7913426
Filing Date: 2011-03-29
Classification: A43B

Abstract:
1. Item of footwear, which is intended for sporting use, comprising: a first rigid shell which defines a body which is intended to receive a foot of a user and which extends in an extension direction, said first rigid shell including an area defining a housing on one lateral side of said body, a second rigid shell which defines an upper which is intended to receive the leg of the user and which extends substantially in an upright direction, an articulation which connects the body and the upper, said articulation allowing the upper to rotate relative to the body in a transverse direction which is substantially perpendicular to the extension direction and the upright direction, in order to allow flexion of the foot of the user, a stop limiter that limits the rotation of the upper relative to the body in the transverse direction within a maximum rotation range, said stop limiter comprising: a first stop limiter comprising a first flexion element which is connected to a front of the body and a second flexion element which is connected to a front of the upper, one coming into contact with the other in order to limit the rotation of the upper relative to the body in the transverse direction in a flexion rotation direction, a second stop limiter comprising a first extension element which is connected to a rear of the body and a second extension element which is connected to a rear of the upper, one coming into contact with the other in order to limit the rotation of the upper relative to the body in the transverse direction in an extension rotation direction counter to the flexion rotation direction, damping means having an inactive state when the upper and the body move relative to each other within a normal rotation range, which is not zero and which is strictly included within the maximum rotation range, so that the damping means are active only when the upper and the body move relative to each other between the normal rotation range and the maximum rotation range, said damping means comprising: a flexible plate which has a first end which is connected to the upper and a second end which moves freely within the normal rotation range and which comes into abutment with the housing of the body between the normal rotation range and the maximum rotation range to produce a force in the transverse direction opposing the moving together of the first and second flexion elements, and to produce a force in the transverse direction opposing the moving together of the first and second extension elements,