Patent Publication Number: US-9848675-B2

Title: Apparatus for positioning cleats on cyclist shoes

Description:
The present invention relates to an apparatus for adjusting the position at which cleats are fixed on shoes for cyclists. 
     Such shoes have in principle on their soles holding means for fixing cleats intended to attach to the pedals of a bicycle. Muscular efficiency and the non-occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders depend on the correct position of the adjustment of these cleats. The various technical and morphological researches demonstrate that the position of the cleat must be adjusted so that the metatarsophalangeal joint of the big toe can be vertically in line with the axis of the pedal, considering the foot placed horizontally on the pedal. The correct position of the foot procures optimum efficiency of the pedaling. 
     The known solutions for carrying out this adjustment are as follows. There exists an apparatus for adjusting the position of the cleats so that they are placed similarly on the two shoes. The search for this position with respect to the feet of the cyclist is imprecise in placing the foot on the sole of the turned-over shoe. There also exist two appliances, one measuring the size of the foot, the other, a shoe support, having an adjustable finger indicating laterally on the shoe the theoretical location of the metatarsophalangeal joint according to the size of the foot. This solution is imprecise since it is dependent on a manipulation of a shoe and a transfer of a reading. It is fairly complicated to implement. 
     The applicant has thus sought to design an apparatus that is simple to use, complying with the morphological studies and capable of indicating the theoretical position of the cleat of a cyclist shoe according to the morphology of the foot of the cyclist, with a precision that has not yet been achieved. 
     To this end, an apparatus is proposed for effecting the positioning of cleats on cyclist shoes, comprising a baseplate to which it is necessary to apply the arch of the foot, a gauge provided with a stop that can slide freely on said baseplate so as to be put in contact with the calcaneum of the foot, and a wall for wedging the front part of the foot, at the metatarsophalangeal joint of the big toe; according to the invention, the stop is fixed on a plate mounted so as to slide parallel to the baseplate, and at least one support for a shoe corresponding to the foot is fixed to said sliding plate, said support comprising a stop suitable for being able to be put into contact with the shoe counter, the apparatus being provided with a marking means secured to the base of the apparatus and designed so as to indicate, on the shoe sole, the location for placing the cleat. 
     The apparatus thus enables the distance recorded between the metatarsophalangeal joint of the big toe and the calcaneum to be transferred onto the shoe. In operation, the marking means shows on the sole the location of this joint and consequently the exact location for placing the pedal cleat. 
     The positioning of the cleat on the shoe is carried out in a single operation procuring for the apparatus great precision in measurement and rapidity of implementation. 
     According to an additional feature of the invention, the stop for the shoe consists of a sphere. 
     The shoe counter is positioned precisely on the sphere. 
     Advantageously, the sphere is provided with at least one means for pressing the shoe counter against said sphere in order to position said shoe on the corresponding support with reproducible precision. 
     The precision of placing of the cleat on the shoe is improved. 
     According to an additional feature of the invention, the wall for wedging the front part of the foot is an oblique wall that extends the baseplate in an inclined fashion and upwards, forming with said baseplate an obtuse angle of between 130° and 150°. 
     With the toe resting on this inclined wall, the metatarsophalangeal joint of the big toe is thus positioned precisely vertical in line with the intersection of the baseplate and the wall for front wedging of the foot. This inclined plate guarantees the precision of transfer of the location of the cleat onto the sole of the shoe, in conformity with the research work on the subject. 
     According to an additional feature of the invention, the support is provided with a rod forming a kind of shoetree for the shoe in order to hold it from the inside, said rod being fixed to the sliding plate, so that the sole of said shoe can be positioned parallel to the baseplate. 
     According to an additional feature of the invention, the rod comprises a rectilinear part that passes slidingly through a spindle supporting the sphere. 
     It is then possible to adjust the longitudinal position of the rod in order to fit shoes, with a large range of sizes, on the support. A locking means, such as a knurled screw, locks said rod with respect to translation. 
     According to an additional feature of the invention, the apparatus comprises a flap that extends upwards on at least one edge of the baseplate in order to orient the shoe laterally so that the cleat that it is to receive can be fixed so that said shoe can be mounted parallel to the cranks of the cycle or taking account of particular podiatry data. 
     According to an additional feature of the invention, the apparatus comprises two supports and two flaps, disposed on either side of the baseplate, and the sliding plate is hollowed out with a scallop at the location where the foot is placed on the baseplate. 
     In this way a compact construction of the apparatus is obtained, which is capable of achieving the positioning of the cleats on a pair of shoes. 
     According to an additional feature of the invention, the support face of the stop for the calcaneum is tangent to the two spheres, in order to make the theoretical position of the calcaneum of the foot correspond to the inside of the shoe. 
     This feature makes it possible to transfer into the shoe the recorded distance between the metatarsophalangeal joint of the big toe and the calcaneum. 
     According to an additional feature of the invention, two grooves are produced, one transversely through the sliding plate in order to allow a lateral movement of said or each sphere so that it is held on the middle part of the heel grip of the shoe, and the other longitudinally through the baseplate in order to move the sliding plate forwards or backwards, a gripping handle screwed onto a thread extending the axis of said or each sphere making it possible to release and lock said or each sphere in the chosen position and to lock said sliding plate in position. 
     According to an additional feature of the invention, the marking means comprises a housing incorporating a light projector, fixed by means of a foot on the base. 
     According to an additional feature of the invention, the light projector is mounted so as to pivot freely. 
     It can illuminate either the left shoe or the right shoe. 
     According to an additional feature of the invention, the light projector incorporates a laser diode capable of projecting at least one luminous line onto the sole of said shoe. 
     It is then easy to position the cleat on each of the shoes. 
     According to an additional feature of the invention, the foot of the marking means is provided with a means for adjusting its position on the base of the apparatus. 
     It is thus possible to compensate in particular for the measurement of the thickness of a sock, to achieve an over-engagement or an under-engagement of the position of the foot on the pedal, preferably of an experienced cyclist. 
     According to an additional feature of the invention, the foot of the base is fixed to a footing that is mounted for sliding, by means of a runner, on said base, between two supports, and the apparatus is provided with at least one means for measuring the movement of the marking means. 
     It is then possible to measure a dimension related to the placing of the cleat of the shoe, a measurement that is used for adjusting a parameter of the cycle. 
    
    
     
       The features of the invention mentioned above, as well as others, will emerge more clearly from a reading of the following description of an example embodiment, said description being given in relation to the accompanying drawings, among which: 
         FIG. 1  depicts a perspective view of an apparatus for adjusting the position for fixing cleats on cyclist shoes according to the invention, 
         FIG. 2  depicts a perspective view at another angle of such an apparatus on which a shoe is held according to the invention, and 
         FIG. 3  depicts a plan view of a variant embodiment of an apparatus for adjusting the position for fixing cleats on cyclist shoes according to the invention. 
     
    
    
     The apparatus  100 , presented in  FIG. 1 , is intended to achieve the positioning of cleats on at least one and preferentially a pair of cyclist shoes according to the morphology of each foot of the cyclist. It is presented in its position of use. 
     It comprises a base  110  intended to rest on the ground and to which there are fixed a gauge  120  mounted for sliding on said base, at least one support  130  and advantageously two supports  130   a ,  130   b , designed to receive respectively the two left and right shoes on which it is necessary to fix the pedal cleats, and a marking means  150 . 
     The base  110  comprises a planar plate  112  serving as a seating for a foot and on which the gauge  120  can slide. 
     This also incorporates a planar plate  122  deeply hollowed out on one edge, with a scallop  124  thus leaving space for the foot when it rests on the baseplate  112 . A stop  126 , constituting the gauge  120 , turned upwards, is disposed perpendicularly on the scalloped plate  112 , at its most scalloped part, in order to come into contact with the heel of the foot at the end of the sliding gauge  120 . Said plate  122  supporting the gauge  120  can slide between two runners  114  fixed laterally to the baseplate  112 . 
     Each support  130  for a shoe is fixed to the sliding plate  122  supporting the gauge  120 . It is intended to position the shoe correctly, with its sole turned upwards so that its counter, that is to say its rear part or heel grip, situated between its two quarters can be positioned at the same level as the heel of the foot. 
     Each support  130  thus comprises a sphere  132  fixed to a spindle  134  secured to the sliding plate  122 , while being turned upwards, in order to secure the shoe longitudinally with respect to the stop  126 . The counter of the shoe can be put in contact on the sphere  132  with precision. 
     It is interesting to remark that a plate coplanar with the support face of the stop  126  is tangent to the two spheres  132  in order to make the theoretical position of the calcaneum of the foot correspond to the inside of the shoe. 
     The spindle  134  passes through the sphere  132  and is extended by an end piece  136  forming a stop for the descent of the shoe in a turned-over position when the counter of the shoe covers the sphere  132 . 
     The shoe C, held on the apparatus  100  in its turned-over position, is presented in  FIG. 2  in broken lines. Its sole  6  is thus turned upwards. 
     In  FIG. 1 , a rod  138  forming a kind of shoetree is fixed to the spindle  134 , under the sphere  132 , in order to receive the front part of the instep of the shoe so that overall its sole can be positioned parallel to the baseplate  112 . A rectilinear part of the rod passes through the spindle  134 , with the option of adjusting its position so that the support  130  can hold the shoes in a large range of sizes, and in particular from 35 to 52. The locking of this rectilinear part in position is obtained by a clamping screw, preferably knurled, screwed through the spindle  134 . The rectilinear part is extended by a rising oblique part, then by another portion that is vertical and is extended perpendicularly and horizontally by an end part that can support the shoe at its interior lining. 
     A support means, such as a magnet cooperating with a metal part embedded in the sphere, makes it possible to press the shoe on its support  130  correctly and with reproducible precision. A finger mounted for sliding on the free end of the rod  138  is also suitable for pressing the counter of the shoe on the sphere  132  with reproducible precision. 
     A flap  116  extends upwards on at least one edge of the baseplate  112  and in an almost vertical direction. It is used for orienting the shoe laterally so that the cleat that it is to receive can be fixed so that the shoe can be mounted parallel to the cranks of the cycle. The flap  116  is fixed, in  FIG. 1 , by two rods held on each runner. 
     The laterality of the shoes must be respected, that is to say it is necessary to place the left shoe on the left part of the apparatus  100  and the right shoe on the right part of the apparatus placed in its normal position of use, so that the internal edge of the shoes, disposed to the outside, can be put in contact with the corresponding flaps  116 . This is because the internal edge of the shoe is the reference frame with respect to the cycle crank. 
     With the same intention of adapting the support  130  to various sizes of shoe and more precisely their width, the position of the spindle  134  may be modified laterally, that is to say with respect to the flap  116 . Two grooves are thus produced, one transversely through the scalloped plate  122  in order to allow a lateral movement of the sphere  132  so that it is held on the middle part of the heel grip of the shoe, and the other longitudinally through the baseplate  112  in order to move the gauge  120  forwards or backwards. A gripping handle Ms, visible in  FIG. 2 , screwed onto a thread extending the spindle  134 , makes it possible to release and clamp the sphere  132  in the chosen position and to lock said gauge  120  in position. 
     The position of the cleat that is to be fixed to the shoe with respect to the pedal is in principle determined with respect to the metatarsophalangeal joint of the big toe, which must be vertically in line with the axis of the pedal, considering the foot positioned horizontally on said pedal. The apparatus  100  of the invention thus has, in  FIG. 1 , a wall  140  that obliquely and upwardly extends the edge of the baseplate  112  that is opposite to the stop  126 . It makes it possible to wedge the foot from the front, with the big toe in abutment on the inclined wall  140 , on the baseplate  112  before moving the gauge  120  to put the stop  126  in contact with the heel, the calcaneum, of the foot of the cyclist. The oblique wall  140  forms with the baseplate  112  an obtuse angle of between 130° and 150°. In practice, the metatarsophalangeal joint of the big toe is positioned, by means of this wall  140 , precisely vertical in line with the intersection of the baseplate  112  and the wall  140  for front wedging of the foot. 
     The position of the metatarsophalangeal joint of the big toe is thus perfectly defined on the baseplate  112 . 
     This oblique wall  140  is extended at its top by a descending wall  142  that joins a third planar wall  144  forming the front support of the base  110  of the apparatus. On the other side of the apparatus  100 , that is to say on the same side as the stop  126 , its footing is raised by an intermediate wall  145  interposed between the other edge of the baseplate  112  and another wall  146  forming the rear support of the base  110  of the apparatus. The raising of the heel of the cyclist procured by this inclination makes use of the apparatus  100  more comfortable. 
     At this stage of the description of the invention, it will be understood that the position of a shoe can be correctly fixed on the apparatus with respect to the position of the metatarsophalangeal joint of the big toe of the corresponding foot. To show the ideal location for fixing the cleat on the shoe, the marking means  150  comprises a housing  152  incorporating a light projector  154  fixed on a footing  157  by means of a foot  156 , said footing being mounted on the base  110  and precisely on its front wall  144 . The light projector  154  comprises, in an advantageous construction mode, a laser diode capable of projecting a luminous line Lm, depicted in  FIG. 2 , onto the sole S of the shoe C on which it is necessary to place a pedal cleat. The luminous line appears transversely on the sole S of the shoe C. 
     The position of the foot  156  of the marking means  150  can be adjusted finely on the base  110  by means of the presence of a plate for fixing said foot and which has slots passing through it through which fixing screws clamp it. It is thus possible to compensate in particular for the measurement of the thickness of a liner. 
     In  FIG. 1 , the housing  152  is moreover mounted so as to pivot freely, preferably, in a plane perpendicular to the baseplate  112  of the foot of the cyclist and which is also parallel to a generatrix joining the centre of the two spheres  132 . 
     It incorporates a location for housing cells/accumulators capable of supplying the laser diode with current. It also comprises a switch for switching on the laser diode. 
     The functioning of the adjustment apparatus  100  will now be explained. The apparatus  100  rests on the ground. The cyclist, preferably sitting on a chair, places one of his feet, for example the right foot, on the baseplate  112  and rests his other foot alongside the apparatus. He puts his big toe in abutment on a front wedging wall  140 , and then an operator or he himself moves the gauge  120  in order to bring the stop  126  against his heel. He then clamps the gauge by means of the clamping handles Ms. He can consequently remove his foot, his measurement having been acquired. He fits the corresponding shoe C on the angled rod  138  of the right-hand support  130   b , and then brings its counter into contact with the sphere  132 , its internal edge being held in abutment on the lateral positioning flap  116 . 
     It then suffices to power up the marking housing, and to tilt it, where applicable, in order to make a luminous line Lm appear on the sole S at the exact location for placing the pedal cleat. The latter is next fixed to the sole, for example by means of screws. The shoe provided with its cleat can be removed. The same procedure is followed for the other shoe. 
     The apparatus  100  of the invention easily and quickly effects the exact positioning of pedal cleats on cyclist shoes according to the morphology of the feet of the cyclist. The measurement of the positioning is precise. 
     In a variant embodiment presented in  FIG. 3 , the footing  157  of the marking means  150  is mounted for sliding, by means of a runner  160 , on the base  110 . The runner  160  is disposed transversely on the front support wall  144  of said base, enabling the marking means  150  to move from one lateral edge of the apparatus  100  to its other edge, that is to say between one or other of the shoes C present on the apparatus. The two arrows D 1  and D 2  indicate the two directions of movement of the marking means  150 . 
     The apparatus  100  is provided with a means  170  for measuring the movement of the marking means  150 , such as a graduated ruler  170  disposed along the runner  160 , to measure the movement of the marking means  150 . A reference P, present on the base  157 , opposite the markings of the ruler  170 , enables the amount of the movement of the marking means  150  to be read. 
     The light projector  154  of the marking means  150  is equipped with at least one laser diode capable of projecting two luminous lines, the one, described above under the reference Lm, which appears transversely on the sole S of the shoe C, and another luminous line Lm 2  that is perpendicular to it. This other luminous line can thus be moved on the midplane of the shoe by moving the marking means  150 . It is then possible to read, by means of the reference P, the distance d separating the internal edge of the wedged shoe on a corresponding lateral positioning flap  116 , with its midplane, knowing that the zero value of the marking of the ruler  170  is fixed in the support plane of each lateral positioning flap  116 . This measurement is advantageously used for adjusting a parameter of the cycle.