Sports boot

Abstract: A sports boot including a flap, particularly usable for the quarter and/or the shell. The flap includes a first rigid element (9a,9b,9c,9d) and a second soft element (10a,10b,10c,10d). The first rigid element laterally affects the leg and/or the foot of the user and is associable, in a removable or fixed manner, with the quarter and/or the shell. The second soft element instead affects the tibial and/or upper metatarsal region. A flap is thus obtained which, by having two degrees of resilience, can be applied at a shell or at a quarter made of a material which is not of extremely high quality and is thus less rigid, although providing an easy insertion of the foot inside the boot. Conversely, a stiffer boot may be provided, by using materials of higher technical characteristics, for high performance boots for competition.

Description: The present invention relates to a sports boot, such as a ski boot or, in general, an item of sports footgear such as a skate. In conventional ski boots, the shell is generally manufactured with high-quality material, such as for example polyurethane, because it must be very rigid, so as to allow optimum transmission of efforts from the foot to the ski, and it also must be highly resistant to abrasion in order to reduce the wear due to coupling to the binding and to interaction with the ground while walking. The shell also has at least one quarter, also made of high-quality material and thus having a high degree of rigidity. The problem which can be observed in these conventional structures resides in the fact that on one hand they have high manufacturing costs, due to the particular type of material used, and that on the other hand their rigidity makes it difficult to insert the foot in the shell, especially for front-entry configurations. This last problem is worsened by the fact that the rigidity of these materials increases as the temperature drops. Italian patent no. 858508 filed on February 26, 1969 discloses a method for manufacturing ski footgear in which a rigid thermoplastic material is injected into a mold to form, with said material, only the lower part of the item of footgear, which is joined to the upper part, made of soft and semi-elastic material, by means of a welding with penetration of the materials along the joining line. However, this solution has some problems: high-quality and rigid material is in fact used for the sole, as well as all the lateral and rear regions of the shell. The soft element affects only the upper metatarsal region and, partially, the lateral region located above the malleoli of the skier. In this case, too, the rigid material must be used for almost all of the boot. Furthermore, in this solution, any replacement of the element made of soft material would be too expensive and also unpractical because of the possible deformation which the lower part, made of rigid thermoplastic material, may have undergone in the course of time. EP-A-484 845 discloses a conventional ski boot as defined in the preamble of the appended claim 1. The aim of the present invention is to eliminate the problems described above in conventional boots by providing a boot which allows the user to optimally transmit efforts at the ski, or at the wheels of the skate, and at the same time allows to achieve an optimum condition of comfort, also providing an easy insertion of the foot. Within the scope of the above aim, an important object is to provide a boot wherein the use of high-quality and therefore rigid material is extremely limited, thus allowing to provide a product having a low cost, conversely, allowing to provide a stiffer boot by using conveniently rigid materials for boot of highly technical characteristics, for example for competitions. Another important object is to provide a boot which is reliable and safe in use and can be manufactured with conventional equipment. A further object is to provide a boot which is structurally simple and easy to apply. This aim, these objects and others which will become apparent hereinafter are achieved by a sports boot as defined in the appended claims. Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description of a particular embodiment, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein: figure 1 is a side view of a boot, according to the invention; figure 2 is a cross section view, taken along the plane II-II of figure 1; figure 3 is an exploded isometric view of the boot. With reference to the above figures, the reference numeral 1 designates a flap applied to a sports boot 2 which is constituted by at least one quarter 4 associated to a shell 3. The illustrated examples show in particular a ski boot. A longitudinal depression 6 is formed on the shell 3 at the upper metatarsal region 5. The quarter 4 instead embraces the skier's leg to the rear and has an opening 8 at the front region 7. Both the quarter 4 and the shell 3 may be made of a traditional high quality material, such as polyurethane, or of a material which is not of extremely high quality, such as for example polypropylene, having a smaller degree of rigidity and resistance to abrasion than other materials, such as polyurethane, usually used in the prior art to obtain the shell and the quarter. A pair of flaps is arranged both at the depression 6 and at the opening 8 so as to cover them. At least in the lateral inner side of the boot, each flap comprises a first rigid element, designated by the reference numerals 9a, 9b, 9c and 9d, and a second soft element, designated by the reference numerals 10a, 10b, 10c and 10d. The external lateral side of the boot may be provided with a flap as described above, as in the illustrated embodiment, or may be provided with a simple flap constituted by a single element formed integrally with or associated with the quarter or shell. The first rigid elements 9a, 9b, 9c and 9d respectively affect the lateral regions 11a and 11b of the user's leg and the lateral regions 12a and 12b of his foot. The first rigid elements can be connected, in a fixed or removable manner, respectively to the quarter 4 and to the shell 3. In the case of a removable connection, adapted first seats 13 and second seats 14 are formed on the quarter and shell. Complementarily shaped first engagement means 15 and second engagement means 16, which are associated approximately at the perimetric edges of the first rigid elements, can be associated with seats 13 and 14. The second soft elements 10a, 10b, 10c and 10d are associated with the first rigid elements, for example by glueing, electric welding or by means of rivets, and affect the front region 7 of the leg and the upper metatarsal region 5, partially overlapping one another. Means for mutually securing the quarter and the shell, such as adapted levers 20, can furthermore be applied to the first rigid elements and to the second soft elements. The use of the present invention is thus as follows: the flap comprises a first rigid element, which affects at least the lateral inner region of the foot or of the leg, and a second soft element, which affects the upper metatarsal region or the tibial region. The shell and quarter can be made either of a material having low strength characteristics and thus of lower quality, allowing for a considerable containment of costs, or of a traditional material of higher technical characteristics, such as polyurethane, for obtaining a stiffening of the lateral regions, particularly of the inner lateral region of the boot for a high performance boot. Furthermore, the presence of the first rigid elements at least at the lateral inner regions of the shell and of the quarter allows optimum transmission of the efforts from the leg and from the foot to the ski, for an improved performance, thus obtaining a boot having regions which are more or less rigid according to the specific requirements. Finally, the presence of the second soft elements allows to easily insert the foot in the boot and subsequently remove it even at low temperatures. In order to ensure the necessary wear-resistance of the shell, in case a low quality material is used, it is possible to apply special heels and tips, of the type disclosed for example in US patent 4,078,322. It has thus been observed that the invention has achieved the intended aim and objects, a flap having been obtained which allows to provide a boot by means of material having low strength characteristics and thus not extremely rigid, the first rigid elements in any case ensuring the rigidity required to ensure lateral support, or to provide a boot with traditional high quality materials with improved technical characteristics for an improved performance. Furthermore, the use of the second soft elements allows to increase comfort for the user. A boot is thus technically provided having more or less rigid regions located in the points where it is technically and functionally necessary to differentiate said degree of rigidity. The material and the dimensions of the individual components of the boot according to the present invention may naturally be the most pertinent according to the specific requirements. Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the scope of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims: A sports boot (2) comprising at least one quarter (4) associated with a shell (3), the sports boot being provided with at least one of a longitudinal depression (6) and an opening (8) which extend respectively at the upper metatarsal region (5) and the tibial region (7) of the sports boot, the sports boot further comprising at least one flap (1) connected to at least one of the shell and the quarter of the boot and arranged to cover at least one of the longitudinal depression (6) and the opening (8), characterized in that said at least one flap comprises a first rigid element (9a,9b,9c,9d), which affects at least the inner lateral regions (11a,11b,12a,12b) of the boot and is associated with at least one of said quarter and said shell, and a second soft element (10a,10b,10c,10d) which is connected to said first rigid element and which affects at least one of the tibial (7) region and upper metatarsal (5) region. Boot according to claim 1, comprising at least two of said flaps, one of which is associated with said shell and arranged at the longitudinal depression (6) at the upper metatarsal region (5), and the other of which is associated with said at least one quarter, which embraces the leg to the rear, and arranged in the front region (7) at the opening (8). Boot according to claim 2, characterized in that said first rigid elements are arranged, on said at least one quarter, at the lateral regions of the boot and, on said shell, at the lateral regions of the boot. Boot according to claim 1, characterized in that said first rigid elements are removably associated with said at least one quarter and said shell. Boot according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that mutual securing means (20) are associated with said first and second elements. Boot according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least a portion of said first rigid element of said at least one flap also is arranged to cover a portion of at least one of said longitudinal depression (6) and said opening (8).

Inventors: TONEL VALERIO, TONEL, VALERIO
Applicants: NORDICA SPA, NORDICA S.P.A
Application year: 1993
Main classification: A43B5
IPC codes: A43B5