Patent Description:
It is known from the prior art that the aerodynamic efficiency of the rider-motorcycle assembly is one of the features affecting performance during a motorcycle race. In this regard, several solutions associated with the rider's clothing are known for obtaining certain aerodynamic effects.

An example is described in patent <CIT>, which discloses a boot provided with a plurality of flaps, arranged on the inner side of the boot, for improving the braking effect of the vehicle when the rider spreads a leg to take a bend.

A further solution is described in patent <CIT>, which discloses a plurality of deflectors which are applicable to a motorcyclist's suit. These deflectors are attached to the motorcyclist's suit and not to the boot, thus solving the problem of modifying the aerodynamic response of the suit and not of the boots.

The boots are the element worn by the rider which is in the most retracted position with respect to the other garments (suit, helmet, etc.) and often the boots are not adequately protected by the motorcycle body, thus being partially or totally exposed to air when driving, providing a negative contribution to the drag. For these reasons, the boots have a greater impact on whether or not the fluid streamline flowing over the fairing and thus over the rider is closed. The shape of the boot can modify the aerodynamic profile of the rider-motorcycle assembly during a race, in particular when the rider is crouched, on a straight section, and the vehicle is at maximum power/speed.

There is no boot from the prior art which is capable of improving the aerodynamic properties of the rider-motorcycle assembly under racing or high-speed conditions.

The aforesaid drawbacks of the prior art are now solved by a boot for a motorcyclist comprising an upper portion integrally connected to an outsole, in which the upper portion comprises a leg portion and a foot portion integrally connected to each other by means of an ankle portion; in which the leg portion in turn comprises a shin portion and a calf portion; and in which the foot portion in turn comprises a heel portion and a vamp portion. The boot further comprises a curved coverture configured to cover an outer side of the leg portion of the boot. Said curved coverture being shaped according to an airfoil and comprising a leading edge arranged in correspondence of the shin portion and a trailing edge arranged in correspondence of the calf portion. This shape of the boot allows avoiding detachments of the fluid streamline from the rider-motorcycle assembly. Thereby, the aerodynamic properties are improved as compared to conventional motorcycle boots. Moreover, turbulences at the tail of the rider-motorcycle assembly are reduced.

Preferably, the curved coverture can also cover the ankle portion. Thereby, the surface is greater and the aerodynamic losses are further reduced.

Advantageously, the curved coverture can be attached to the outer surface of the boot. This also allows pre-existing boots to be modified.

In particular, the curved coverture can comprise fixing means for attaching the curved coverture to the boot. This solution allows a simple attachment/detachment of the curved coverture to/from the boot. Preferably, said fixing means comprise laces or snap fasteners. These means provide a quick, simple and affordable coupling system of the curved coverture. Alternatively, the curved coverture can be an integral part of a covering to be worn over a conventional boot.

Alternatively, the curved coverture can be embedded in the boot. Thereby, the connection between the curved coverture and the boot is optimized and the risk of air passing between the curved coverture and the outer side of the boot is eliminated.

In particular, the curved coverture can lie under an outer layer of the boot, said outer layer preferably being a leather layer. Thereby, the boot maintains a traditional appearance, although it has an optimized aerodynamic profile. The use of a leather layer can contribute to the resistance of the boot during a possible fall.

Advantageously, the trailing edge of the curved coverture can define a sharp edge with the calf portion. This shape of the boot allows containing the longitudinal length of the boot, and thus improving the wearability thereof and the rider's freedom of movement.

Preferably, said curved coverture is smooth and can have a lower surface roughness than the average surface roughness of the rest of the upper portion of the boot. In essence, the roughness of the curved coverture is lower than that of the rest of the boot, excluding the outsole, thus reducing the aerodynamic resistance of the most exposed portion when the motorcycle travels at a high speed.

Preferably, said curved coverture can define an ogival profile arranged at said shin portion. This ogival profile allows reducing the detachment of the fluid streamline which meets the boot from the fairing, thus reducing or eliminating the turbulences in front of the boot.

Advantageously, the vamp portion can also comprise a second curved coverture to improve the aerodynamic resistance of the foot portion of the boot.

These and other advantages of will appear in more detail from the following description of an embodiment thereof, given by way of a non-limiting, indicative example, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The following description of one or more embodiments of the invention relates to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals in the drawings identify equal or similar elements. The subject of the invention is defined by the appended claims. The technical details, structures or features of the solutions described below can be mutually combined in any manner.

With reference to <FIG>, a motorcycle <NUM> is shown, on which a motorcyclist <NUM> is in the conventional crouched position taken by riders when traveling at high speed. In this position, typically taken on the straight sections of a race track, the aerodynamics of the rider-motorcycle assembly <NUM>, <NUM> is fundamental for performance in terms of possible maximum speed, for consumption optimization and rider comfort.

The present invention aims to improve the aerodynamics of the rider-motorcycle assembly <NUM>, <NUM> by means of a boot <NUM> provided with a curved coverture <NUM>, as better shown in <FIG>.

With reference to the following description, the term "outer side" means the side of the boot not facing the other boot. To be clear, in the boot <NUM> related to the left foot of motorcyclist <NUM> shown in <FIG>, the outer side is the left side, and by difference, the inner side is the right one.

With reference to <FIG>, the boot <NUM> comprises an upper portion <NUM> and an outsole <NUM> integrally connected to each other.

The upper portion <NUM> is further divided into a leg portion <NUM>, a foot portion <NUM>, an ankle portion <NUM>. The ankle portion <NUM> connects the leg portion <NUM> to the foot portion <NUM>.

Moreover, the leg portion <NUM> comprises a shin portion <NUM> and a calf portion <NUM>, while the foot portion <NUM> comprises a heel portion <NUM> and a vamp portion <NUM>.

The shin <NUM>, calf <NUM>, foot <NUM>, ankle <NUM>, heel <NUM> and leg <NUM> portions refer to the corresponding parts of the human body. For example, the heel portion <NUM> of boot <NUM> is meant to be that lying at the heel of motorcyclist <NUM> when the boot <NUM> is worn. For reasons of brevity, all other correspondences with the related portions of the boot are not listed, since they are intuitive in light of the example mentioned above.

The curved coverture <NUM> preferably covers the outer side of the leg portion <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>. Alternatively, and to have a greater deflecting effect, coverture <NUM> can also cover the ankle portion <NUM> or the ankle portion <NUM> and the heel portion <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>.

The curved coverture <NUM> preferably is a semi-rigid, bulge-shaped plate.

The outer surface of this semi-rigid plate preferably is smooth, having a surface roughness less than <NUM>.

The bulge of the plate is more noticeable in <FIG>, which show a section at mid-height of the leg portion <NUM> of boot <NUM>.

It can be perceived that the bulge of the plate in these sections generates a coverture <NUM> with a "J"-like shape.

The bulge is a simple curvature which extends over the entire height of the curved coverture <NUM>.

The semi-rigid plate is preferably made of polymer material. Even more preferably, thermoplastic polymers, such as thermoformed PVC.

The front and rear ends of coverture <NUM> are the leading edge <NUM>' and the trailing edge <NUM>', respectively, of an airfoil depicted in <FIG>.

A complete airfoil <NUM> is shown with a dashed line in <FIG>. The airfoil provided by the curved coverture <NUM> only partially takes up the ideal surface of a complete airfoil <NUM>, otherwise the boot would be too long at the back, thus creating mobility drawbacks and side effects during driving. The rear end could indeed create a sail effect such as to cause an excessive torsion of the rider's leg, especially when steering the motorcycle <NUM>.

The airfoil shape of coverture <NUM> allows limiting or eliminating the detachment of the fluid streamline at boot <NUM>.

Moreover, the connection of coverture <NUM> with boot <NUM> stabilizes the aerodynamic profile, despite the thrust applied by the air lapping it. This factor significantly contributes to the aerodynamic performance of the rider-motorcycle assembly <NUM>, <NUM>.

With reference to <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG>, a first embodiment of boot <NUM> is shown. In this embodiment, coverture <NUM> is applied to the outer side of the boot and is monolithically connected thereto.

The coverture <NUM> is connected to the outer side of the boot by means of an intermediate adhesive layer. Alternatively, coverture <NUM> can be directly sewn to boot <NUM>. Therefore, the coverture <NUM> can be seen from the outside.

Since the curved coverture <NUM> is a smooth plate, the surface opposes less aerodynamic resistance to air than the rest of boot <NUM>, in particular than the inner side of the leg portion <NUM>.

Coverture <NUM> extends from the front to the back of the leg portion <NUM> of boot <NUM>.

In particular, it almost entirely surrounds the shin portion <NUM>, thus defining an ogival profile <NUM>‴, shown in <FIG>. Coverture <NUM> further defines the leading edge <NUM>' and the trailing edge <NUM>".

As shown in <FIG>, boot <NUM> comprises a padding <NUM> and an outer layer <NUM> for covering the padding <NUM>.

Padding <NUM> is shaped so as to form a curvilinear shape at the front and squared at the back. The outer layer <NUM>, usually made of leather, covers the leg portion <NUM> of boot <NUM>, except for coverture <NUM>.

Vice versa, in the third embodiment shown in <FIG>, the coverture <NUM> is arranged between the padding <NUM> and the outer layer <NUM>. In essence, coverture <NUM> cannot be seen from the outside, since it is covered by the outer layer <NUM>. This allows for an aesthetic uniformity of boot <NUM>. Here, the surface roughness of the leg portion <NUM> of boot <NUM> is uniform because the outer layer <NUM> entirely surrounds the leg portion <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, coverture <NUM> is shaped in a similar manner to that of the first embodiment, but without the ogival profile <NUM>‴. In particular, the coverture <NUM> extends from the leading edge <NUM>' to the trailing edge <NUM>".

The third embodiment, similarly to the first one, has a padding <NUM> shaped with a simple front curvature profile and a flat rear profile, as better shown in <FIG> and <FIG>.

In both versions, the curved coverture <NUM> forms a sharp edge with the rear surface of boot <NUM>.

The sharp edge can also affect the inner side of the boot, as shown in the embodiment in <FIG>.

The second embodiment, shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, comprises a traditional boot <NUM>, on the outer surface <NUM> of which a curved coverture <NUM> is attached.

This curved coverture <NUM> is a semi-rigid plate which comprises reversible fixing means <NUM>. Unlike the first embodiment in which coverture <NUM> is permanently connected to boot <NUM>, in this embodiment coverture <NUM> is removable.

The fixing means can be snap fasteners, as shown in <FIG>, or other fixing means <NUM>, such as laces or Velcro fastening systems.

These fixing means are arranged on the inner side of coverture <NUM> and on the outer surface <NUM> of boot <NUM> so as to obtain said fastening when they cooperate with each other.

Preferably, the reversible fixing means <NUM> are configured to allow the detachment of the removable coverture <NUM> if the motorcyclist <NUM> falls, thus without altering the regulatory approval compliance of boot <NUM>.

Preferably, the coverture <NUM> can be made of a clear material in order not to alter the perceived appearance of boot <NUM>.

In this second embodiment, coverture <NUM> is a smooth plate which thus has a lower surface roughness than the surface roughness of the leg portion <NUM> of boot <NUM>, which is made of leather, as in conventional motorcycle boots.

With reference to the embodiments described above, the shape and position of the curved coverture <NUM> of boot <NUM> allows avoiding the detachment of the fluid streamline of air lapping the rider-motorcycle assembly <NUM>, <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>. This figure depicts a section of the rider-motorcycle assembly <NUM>, <NUM> with a plane parallel to the ground and taken at the height of the leg portion <NUM>. As it can be seen in <FIG>, using known boots of the prior art, a detachment of the fluid streamline occurs from the rider-motorcycle assembly <NUM>, <NUM> at the boot. This detachment of the fluid streamline generates resistance forces which increase with speed in a more than proportional manner. Therefore, this undesired effect becomes apparent at high speeds, thus limiting the speed performance and increasing consumption. Using the boots <NUM> according to the present invention, it was instead found, with both calculation simulations (CFD) and wind tunnel tests, that this detachment of the fluid streamline is absent or limited and the aerodynamic performance was considerably improved, as shown in <FIG>. Moreover, by reducing the resistance provided by boot <NUM>, the ergonomics for motorcyclist <NUM> also improves because his/her legs are subjected to less aerodynamic stress.

Optionally, the boot <NUM> of one or more of the embodiments described above can comprise a further curved coverture <NUM> arranged at the vamp portion <NUM>.

The vamp portion <NUM>, in particular the part thereof facing the outer side of boot <NUM>, usually comprises a sacrificial element <NUM>, in jargon referred to as a "soap bar" due to its shape. This element <NUM> is that usually coming into contact with the ground when the motorcyclist <NUM> leans over when the motorcycle <NUM> takes a bend. However, the strictly structural function of element <NUM> aerodynamically limits the performance of the rider-motorcycle assembly <NUM>, <NUM>.

Indeed, the protruding shape of the sacrificial element <NUM> is a protrusion of the vamp portion <NUM> which deflects the fluid streamline of air lapping the boot <NUM>.

Therefore, it is preferable for boot <NUM> to comprise a second curved coverture <NUM> which covers the vamp portion <NUM> of boot <NUM>. In addition to improving the aerodynamic performance of this portion of boot <NUM>, this second curved coverture <NUM> simultaneously acts as a sacrificial element, thus avoiding the use of the conventional one.

Although the above description relates to one boot <NUM>, it is apparent that the description is applicable to both boots <NUM> of a pair of boots <NUM>.

The technical features of the three embodiments described above can be combined with one another to form further embodiments not depicted or described herein.

Claim 1:
Boot (<NUM>) for motorcyclist comprising:
- an upper portion (<NUM>) integrally connected to an outsole (<NUM>);
the upper portion (<NUM>) comprising a leg portion (<NUM>) and a foot portion (<NUM>) integrally connected each other through an ankle portion (<NUM>);
the leg portion (<NUM>) comprising a shin portion (<NUM>) and a calf portion (<NUM>); and
the foot portion (<NUM>) comprising a heel portion (<NUM>) and a vamp portion (<NUM>);
- a curved coverture (<NUM>) configured to cover an outer side of the leg portion (<NUM>) of the boot (<NUM>); said curved coverture (<NUM>) being shaped as airfoil and comprising a leading edge (<NUM>') arranged in correspondence of the shin portion (<NUM>) and a trailing edge (<NUM>") arranged in correspondence of the calf portion (<NUM>).