Abstract:
A sports shoe, comprising a sole associated with an upper ( 3 ), the upper having a first flap ( 4   a ) and a second flap ( 4   b ) which cooperate with fastening means ( 5   c ), three distinct stabilizer elements ( 6,7,8 ) being associated with the sole and the upper and interacting with at least one element for connecting at least one of their ends.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a sports shoe, particularly a tennis shoe.  
           [0002]    Conventional sports shoe are constituted by a sole associated with an upper having two flaps that can be joined by fastening means, usually constituted by a lace, guided through holes formed in the flaps.  
           [0003]    Conventional shoes are sometimes provided with a mid-sole, made of elastically compressible material, which is arranged between the sole and the upper so as to cushion impacts or vibrations and thus increase user comfort.  
           [0004]    The main drawback of such conventional sports shoes, particularly noticeable in the practice of sports such as tennis or squash, is that they do not offer sufficient support for the foot during sudden changes in direction, entailing possible ankle sprains.  
           [0005]    Particularly during lateral movements, which are very frequent in the above cited sports, such shoes offer poor stability, because the upper, usually made of soft material so as to offer adequate comfort to the user, does not provide sufficient support with respect to the pressure applied by the foot to the lateral part of the upper.  
           [0006]    Accordingly, conventional sports shoes have the evident disadvantage of providing the athlete, during direction changes, with a reactivity which is poor and worsens as the suddenness of the direction changes increases.  
           [0007]    For the same reason, another drawback of conventional shoes is that they offer the user less safety as regards protection from ankle sprains during sports practice.  
           [0008]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,145 partially solves the problems linked to foot support in a shoe and discloses a sculpted sole for use in sports shoes, particularly for athletics.  
           [0009]    Said sculpted sole is constituted by a base made of elastically compressible material and has an upper face, a lower face, a front edge and a rear edge.  
           [0010]    At the lower face of the sole, proximate to the front edge, there are multiple pads which are arranged so that each pad lies under a single toe of the user&#39;s foot, which rests on the upper face of the sole.  
           [0011]    To the rear of the pads, along the lower face of the sole, there are supporting elements which are arranged so as to correspond to the position of the metatarsus.  
           [0012]    The pads and supporting elements have grooves, recesses and channels so that they are shaped complementarily to the toes and metatarsus, respectively, of the foot, which rests on the sole.  
           [0013]    To the rear of the supporting elements, at the heel region, there are flexible plates, made of non-elastic material, which are associated with the heel of the sole in an upper region.  
           [0014]    An intermediate element is provided between the supporting elements and the flexible plates, is approximately X-shaped and is made of elastically compressible material. The intermediate element increases the stability and cushions the impacts against the ground, facilitating the flexing motion of the sole.  
           [0015]    Although the above prior art shoe improves the performance provided during running, as regards support of the sole of the foot, it does provide lateral containment, because said containment is still entrusted solely to the upper, and it does not facilitate lateral movements or increase their safety; moreover, it is quite complicated and expensive to produce.  
           [0016]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,319 discloses a shoe constituted by a sole, by an upper provided with sides and by a fastening element which overlaps the upper and has a plurality of closure protrusions.  
           [0017]    The fastening element lies along both sides of the upper and is connected under the sole.  
           [0018]    Each of the closure protrusions comprises a slotted hole which is suitable for the passage of a lace for mutual connection of the opposite closure protrusions on the two sides of the upper, so as to ensure the fastening of the upper around the user&#39;s foot.  
           [0019]    The fastening element can be rigidly coupled externally to the sole or upper or can be removably associated.  
           [0020]    Such shoe provides a good fastening of the upper around the foot; as regards stabilization of the foot during sports practice, and particularly during lateral movements, it affects only the ankle region and the pre-arch region, without providing a uniform supporting function, for example in the forefoot region.  
           [0021]    Another drawback is that dirt, such as soil, grass or pebbles, can easily accumulate in such shoe at the gaps that may form, during walking, between the fastening element and the upper. That drawback is worsened by the very shape of the fastening element, which comprises many grooves and slotted holes.  
           [0022]    Moreover, the difference in rigidity among the materials that constitute the fastening element, which is preferably rigid, and the upper, which is soft, can lead to tearing of the upper at the regions of contact with the edges of the fastening element.  
           [0023]    Finally, the use of such shoe can lead to tearing of the fastening element at its part that lies below the sole, which can be damaged during contact with bumps or obstacles which protrude from the ground.  
           [0024]    EP-A-0748596 discloses an ankle supporting device which can be used particularly for sports shoes comprising an upper or an innerboot provided with padding and a sole.  
           [0025]    That device is constituted by a structural element which comprises a counter which affects the heel and plantar arch regions and from which at least one tab protrudes which can be associated with the upper or innerboot and affects the lateral and/or rear regions of the foot.  
           [0026]    Such shoe, which comprises the above described supporting device, is suitable to support and protect the ankle, avoiding sprains or other movements which are dangerous for the ankle.  
           [0027]    However, that shoe is too rigid for practicing sports such as tennis, which require high reactivity and a freedom of movement of the foot which the device inevitably restricts.  
           [0028]    Moreover, that device does not perform an effective stabilization of the entire foot, because it affects only the ankle and malleolar region and comprises at the most part of the plantar arch.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0029]    The aim of the present invention is therefore to solve the noted technical problems, eliminating the drawbacks of the cited known art and thus providing a sports shoe which provides the user with optimum foot stability during direction changes and particularly during lateral movements.  
           [0030]    Within the scope of this aim, an important object is to provide a sports shoe which provides adequate support with respect to the pressure applied by the foot to the lateral part of said upper without thereby reducing the comfort offered by the shoe.  
           [0031]    Another important object is to provide a sports shoe which allows the athlete to have high reactivity in direction changes.  
           [0032]    Another important object is to provide the user with high safety, giving maximum protection against ankle sprains which can occur during sports practice.  
           [0033]    Another object is to provide a sports shoe which is structurally simple and has low manufacturing costs.  
           [0034]    This aim and these and other objects which will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a sports shoe comprising a sole associated with an upper, said upper having a first flap and a second flap which cooperate with fastening means, characterized in that three distinct stabilizer elements are associated with said sole and said upper and interact with at least one element for connecting at least one of their ends. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0035]    Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the following detailed description of a particular embodiment thereof, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of the sports shoe according to the invention;  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 2 is a side view of the shoe;  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the shoe;  
         [0039]    [0039]FIG. 4 is a front cross-section view of the shoe;  
         [0040]    [0040]FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the shoe. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0041]    With reference to the figures, the numeral  1  designates a sports shoe, which comprises a sole  2   a  which is associated with a mid-sole  2   b  with which an upper  3  is associated.  
         [0042]    The upper  3  has a first flap  4   a  and a second flap  4   b  that cooperate with a fastening means, constituted for example by a lace  50  which is guided in holes or eyelets  5 .  
         [0043]    A first stabilizer element  6 , a second stabilizer element  7  and a third stabilizer element  8  are associated with the sole  2   a  and with the upper  3 . The stabilizer elements are all variously Y-shaped so as to have a first arm  9 , a second arm  10  and a third arm  11  that are rigidly coupled to respective first, second and third pairs of wings, designated by the reference numerals  12   a  and  12   b ,  13   a  and  13   b , and  14   a  and  14   b , respectively.  
         [0044]    The first, second and third stabilizer elements are preferably made of partially rigid plastic material.  
         [0045]    The first stabilizer element  6  is arranged between the sole  2   a  and the mid-sole  2   b  at a complementarily shaped first seat  15  which is formed in the sole  2   a  along the region of the sole of the foot.  
         [0046]    The first stabilizer element  6  is arranged so that the free ends of the first pair of wings  12   a  and  12   b  reach the perimetric edge  16  of the sole  2 , preferably at a first region  17   a  and at a second region  17   b.    
         [0047]    The first and second regions  17   a  and  17   b  can be located, for example, proximate to the region between the plantar arch and the metatarsus.  
         [0048]    The end of the first arm  9  of the first stabilizer element  6  is arranged so as to affect a heel region  18 .  
         [0049]    The second and third stabilizer elements  7  and  8  are arranged externally with respect to the two sides of said upper  2  and partially wrap around the instep at optional second and third complementarily shaped seats  19   a  and  19   b,  and are orientated so that the ends of the respective second and third arms  10  and  11  are directed toward the heel. The ends can be connected to the first arm  9  and to each other at the heel region  18 .  
         [0050]    The second and third pairs of wings  13   a  and  13   b ,  14   a  and  14   b  of the second and third stabilizer elements  7  and  8  are therefore arranged so that the wings  13   a  and  14   a , also referenced respectively as first and second upper wings, lie above the wings  13   b  and  14   b , also referenced respectively as first and second lower wings. The wings  13   a  and  14   a  are therefore arranged proximate to the ends  20   a  and  20   b , of the first and second flaps  4   a  and  4   b.    
         [0051]    The free ends of the wings  13   b  and  14   b  of the second and third pairs of wings are arranged at the first and second regions  17   a  and  17   b , so as to be able to optionally connect to the free ends of the first pair of wings  12   a  and  12   b , optionally by virtue of an intermediate element.  
         [0052]    In this embodiment, the first, second and third stabilizer elements  6 ,  7  and  8  are not directly connected to each other, but in the region of the heel  18  and in the first and second regions  17   a  and  17   b , respectively, there are first, second and third connecting elements  21   a ,  21   b  and  21   c , arranged within complementarily shaped seats formed in the sole  2   a  and in the mid-sole  2   b.    
         [0053]    At the first, second and third connecting elements  21   a ,  21   b  and  21   c  there are, in the sole  2   a , respectively first, second and third openings  52   a ,  52   b  and  52   c  for respective complementarily shaped first, second and third transparent elements  53   a ,  53   b  and  53   c.    
         [0054]    The first, second and third connecting elements  21   a ,  21   b  and  21   c , preferably made of composite material, are connected to the respective free ends of the first, second and third stabilizer elements  6 ,  7  and  8 .  
         [0055]    In particular, the first connecting element  21   a  is associated with each of the first, second and third arms  9 ,  10  and  11 . The second connecting element  21   b  is associated with the wings  13   b  and  12   a , which respectively belong to the second and first stabilizer elements  7  and  6 . The third connecting element  21   c  is connected to the wings  14   b  and  12   b , which respectively belong to the third and first stabilizer elements  8  and  6 .  
         [0056]    Said connections can be provided by any method well known in the art, for example by gluing or by sewing or melting, directly during molding.  
         [0057]    The connection between the second and third stabilizer elements  7  and  8  and the upper  3  also can be provided in various manners: FIG. 4 illustrates a connection provided by stitched seams  51 .  
         [0058]    At the upper ends  20   a  and  20   b  of the first and second flaps  4   a  and  4   b  there are arranged engagement or sliding means, respectively designated by the reference numerals  22   a  and  22   b , which are constituted by a pair of eyelets which allow the mutual fastening of the free ends of the wings  13   a  and  14   a  of the second and third pairs of wings.  
         [0059]    The operation of the shoe is as follows: with reference to the above cited figures, the shoe  1  has a configuration which forms, around the user&#39;s foot, a sort of cage for supporting and containing the foot.  
         [0060]    Said cage is constituted in a lower region by the first stabilizer element  6 , laterally by the second and third stabilizer elements  7  and  8 , and at the front by the closure lace  50  which passes between the pair of eyelets  22   a  and  22   b.    
         [0061]    This produces a sort of supporting frame which surrounds the foot from the region to the rear of the heel along the plantar arch up to the metatarsus and around the malleoli until it surrounds the instep.  
         [0062]    It has thus been observed that the invention has achieved the intended aim and objects, a sports shoe having been devised which offers the user optimum stability of the foot during changes of direction, particularly during lateral movements.  
         [0063]    The shoe according to the invention also performs an optimum action for withstanding the pressure applied by the foot to the lateral part of said upper without reducing the comfort offered by said shoe.  
         [0064]    The shoe according to the invention is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, within the scope of the appended claims.  
         [0065]    Thus, for example, according to a further embodiment, the first, second and third stabilizer elements are directly associated with each other at their respective free ends, without providing any connecting element, or providing only a partial use thereof, for example by means of the connecting element  21   a  alone, arranged at the heel region  18 .  
         [0066]    The materials used, as well as the dimensions of the individual components of the invention, may of course be the most pertinent according to specific requirements.  
         [0067]    The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. TV2000A000085 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.