Boots – shoes – and leggings – Boots and shoes – Occupational or athletic shoe
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-14
2001-08-28
Sewell, Paul T. (Department: 3728)
Boots, shoes, and leggings
Boots and shoes
Occupational or athletic shoe
C036S119100, C036S089000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06279252
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a support particularly for shoes which are associable with a sport implement such as a ski, a roller skate or an ice skate.
It is known that a ski marketed by the company Salomon SA and designated by the trade-name “Snowblade” is currently commercially available; such ski is characterized by a very limited length, approximately one meter, and by a binding which is composed of a base which can be associated in the upper region of the ski and substantially has a first resting region and a second resting region for the heel and tip of a ski boot.
The base has a first front metallic loop at the first region and a second rear metallic loop at the second region.
A lever is rotatably associated at said second loop and is adapted to lock the tip of the boot at the base after arranging the first loop at a heel region of the boot.
A rigid boot, designated by the trade-name “Edition 1”, is in fact marketed together with this type of ski by the same company Salomon SA: the use of such boot with the related ski requires the presence, in the heel and tip region, of adapted seats for the first loop, the second loop and the lever, and the boot must be highly rigid in order to provide optimum transmission of forces to the ski.
Likewise, a skate with in-line wheels is known which is marketed by the company Rollerblade Inc., by the trade-name “WBS”, and is provided with a shoe which can be detachably associated with a wheel supporting frame by means of an engagement device which is similar to the preceding one.
FR-2641703 and DE-29806184 disclose ski bindings of the above described type.
The drawback of above cited prior art is essentially the need, if one wishes to use the ski or skate, to also purchase the particular type of shoe respectively associable with it, which cannot be otherwise used for other sports. As a partial solution to this drawback, this same Applicant filed an Italian utility model application, No. Tv98U000047, which discloses a support for shoes that can be associated with a ski having a base provided with a first front engagement element which comprises a fastening lever and a second rear engagement element, characterized in that it is constituted by a body which surrounds in a rear region part of a conventional trekking or climbing boot and is rigidly coupled to the second engagement element, said body having means for removable locking to the shoe.
Although this solution is undoubtedly valid, some drawbacks are noted, such as less than optimum stability because of the connection to the engagement element, which is rotatably associated with the support of the binding.
It has in fact been noted that during sports practice the weight force that acts on the support of the shoe is transmitted directly at the rear loop of the binding, thus increasing the working stresses for which the loop was designed owing to the increased lever arm.
This causes instability in the coupling to the shoe, to the detriment of the durability of the binding and of the safety of the user.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The aim of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of the cited prior art, by providing a support which allows to use a sports implement, such as a ski of the conventional type or of the above-described type or a roller skate or an ice skate, with shoes which are not specifically meant for such implements and can also be used for normal walking.
An important object of the present invention is to provide a support which allows, during sports practice, to support the shoe in an optimum manner, allowing the user to achieve optimum transmission of all forces to the sports implement.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a support which can be applied to a conventional sports implement without having to modify the system for locking the shoe to the implement.
This aim, these objects and others which will become apparent hereinafter are achieved by a support device, particularly for shoes, characterized in that it comprises a rigid shell which partially surrounds said shoe laterally, to the rear and in a lower region and can be interposed between said shoe and an element for engaging a sports implement, said rigid shell having means for removably locking to said shoe.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3801119 (1974-04-01), Andre
patent: 4949479 (1990-08-01), Ottieri
patent: 4979760 (1990-12-01), Derrah
patent: 5596820 (1997-01-01), Edauw et al.
patent: U- 29806184 (1998-06-01), None
patent: A-0634115 (1995-01-01), None
patent: A- 0821890 (1998-02-01), None
patent: A- 2626189 (1989-07-01), None
patent: A- 2641703 (1990-07-01), None
Pozzobon Alessandro
Soligo Stefano
Arnold Troy
Benetton Group S.p.A.
Josif Albert
Modiano Guido
O'Byrne Daniel
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