ES2295887T3 - IMPROVED DORSAL FLEXION FOOTWEAR. - Google Patents

Abstract

An adaptable shoe set in which the set includes: a shoe that has a part (24) of the sole with a predetermined inclination angle, adapted to receive an interchangeable insole (104, 104 ''); and at least one insole that is inserted in the footwear, changing the whole the posture of the foot (40) of a user from an angle in a range between dorsal flexion and plantar flexion to another angle in the range comprised in a defined footwear by a declination angle different from the predetermined angle, characterized in that the footwear is substantially normal in the form of a plantar flexion in which the metatarsal falangian fastening device (16) is adjustable on the user's metatarsal falangian joints (20) with or without a insole (104, 104 '') installed, and the foot contact part (26) of the part (24) of the sole of the shoe is in a way that interconnects properly with the foot (40) so that, when the insole is not installed, the footwear works like a conventional plantar flexion footwear.

Description

Enhanced back flex footwear.

Background of the invention

This invention relates to footwear and, specifically, athletic and leisure shoes that promote dorsal flexion

In standard footwear, the joints Falangian metatarsals remain in a flexion position in takeoff and the user is unable to generate any energy during the jump and only a very small amount of energy during the race due to the fact that the footwear does not straighten until after takeoff when any return of energy is too small, too late, that has no influence in performance. Consequently, the energy used is lost and lacks utility to add propulsion in the jump or in the career. In recent years, athletic shoes have progressed because they have started to have intermediate soles relatively rigid

Moreover, shoe manufacturers in overall it seems that they tend towards more flexible running shoes in the metatarsal falangian joint well increasing the flexibility of the materials used in its manufacture or modifying the structure of the midsole (for example, incorporating flex grooves). This, unfortunately, lacks of any utility in terms of propellant performance and is motivated by preconceived ideas.

During athletic activities, the analysis of the resulting joint moments and the power of the joint indicate that in each joint, there are phases in which Energy is absorbed and phases in which energy is generated. If the absorbed energy dissipates and is not stored for reuse later, it is wasted (that is, it merely generates heat). If the stored energy can be reused and in that case you can Increase performance

The metatarsal falangian joint is a joint that, until now, has been a sink for the energy dissipation and for the generation of very little energy in or before takeoff. This is because an athlete's foot rolls on the tip of the foot and does not flex the floor towards the sole until after takeoff.

U.S. Patent Application UU. . serial 09 / 833,485 granted to Whatley and published as US 2002 026 730, describes a shoe that uses dorsal flexion in an effort to increase the work of certain muscles during a exercise, with special emphasis on making a variety more possible wide movements of the foot so that it works better calf Back flexion is made possible by footwear which leans back (i.e. declines) in comparison with a normal plantar footwear. Essentially, instead of the heel rests on a point higher than the toe, what happens inverse, being the angle of the inverse inclination of approximately 10 degrees. Footwear has proven to be extraordinarily stable However, the inclination of 10 grades and the particularly faded appearance of footwear have limited its marketability and utility in general, except for professional athletes

Due to dorsal flexion, a foot bearing effort in order to avoid damage to the User muscles and joints. The shape of the sole in the that, at its front end, the sole is thicker and more cylindrical, so that it approximates the rolling effect of the natural foot. Figure 21A of the patent application before mentioned shows a shoe that is closer to the of the invention.

In addition, WO 03/055 343 discloses a shoes adaptable to the characteristics of claims 1 and 2.

What is needed is an athletic shoe that take advantage of the power generation capacity of the joint Falangian metatarsal. In addition, what is needed is a shoe from improved back flexion that takes better advantage of the mechanism of the dorsal flexion action in order to obtain a production of Enhanced power, comfort and performance. Also, what I know you need is a dorsal flex shoe that has more shape conventional, in order to improve marketability and comfort of footwear

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Summary of the invention

In claims 1 and 2, a customizable sole set. In claims 3 to 5 dependent, preferred embodiments are disclosed.

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Brief description of the drawings

Figure 1 is a side view of a section cross section of the footwear of the invention.

Figure 2A is a sectional view taken at along line A-A in figure 1 showing the fastening band of the invention in a non-tight position.

Figure 2B is a sectional view taken at along line A-A in figure 1, which shows the fastening band of the invention in tight position.

Figure 3A is an uncovered view that shows the region of the reinforced toe of the invention.

Figure 3B is a perspective view of the reinforced high density plate arranged in the region of the toe cap of the invention.

Figures 4A to 4B are sectional views. partially uncovered longitudinals / in cross section that They show two configurable template configurations.

Figure 7A is a sectional side view of another embodiment of the invention having a sole assembly of a compound

Figure 7B is a bottom view of the embodiment of figure 7A.

Figure 8 is a sectional side view cross section of another embodiment of the invention.

Figure 9A is a table showing different embodiments of the thrust plate of the invention.

Figure 9B is a top view of a thrust plate of the invention.

Figure 10A is a top view of a Template of the invention.

Figure 10B is a sectional side view. transverse, taken along line B-B of the Figure 10A

Detailed description of the preferred embodiment

In the preferred embodiment, as shown in Figure 1, a high-performance dorsal flex shoe 10, it has a cover 12, an upper part 14, and a device 16 of fastening on the 20 metatarsal falangian joint. The cover 12 has a part 22 of the side wall with an edge 13 higher. The part 12 of the side wall is connected to the part 24 of the sole. The sole part 24 has a surface 26 of ground contact, a region 30 of the toe, a region 32 intermediate and a heel part 34. The 30th region of the tip of the Foot is made of a high density material, and has a thickness T, measured in a direction perpendicular to surface 26 of ground contact of part 24 of the sole, greater than the thickness t of the heel part 34, thereby defining an angle characteristic declination α between region 30 of the Toe and part 34 of the heel. The clamping device 16 substantially limits joint movement 20 Falangian metatarsals of a carrier when exercising. The region 30 of the toe has a defined curved region 28 to minimize further flexion of the phalangeal joint 20 metatarsal

The angle α of declination may vary significantly between 1 degree and 15 degrees. Preferred angle It is 5 degrees.

With reference now to Figures 2A and 2B, the clamping device 16, located immediately below the upper part 14 of the footwear 10, and above the joint 20 carrier metatarsal falangiano, holds the upper part 36 of foot 40 against part 24 of the sole to prevent sterile or wasted movement of the foot (and thus prevent the waste of energy). A tight band 42 that has a end 44 connected adjacent to the metacarpal falangians and the other end 46 crimped by means of a loop 50 attached to the part 52 opposite to the Falangian metatarsals, transversely to the point 54 connection, has an end 56 which includes a reinforcement 60 of "VELCRO"? Matching a corresponding reinforcement 61 at the top, allowing said arrangement interlocking of the "VELCRO"? band blocking in position after clamping. Note that the band can be manufacture as part of the tongue, be attached to the outside of the sole and be of variable width. In addition, you can use any known joint arrangement. Even more, an insert can be attached Rigid chest of drawers (not shown) between band 16 and foot 40, adapting the insert substantially to the shape of the top of the foot on the metalangian falangiano 20, increasing from this way the comfort of the band when firmly pressed against the metatarsal falangian joint.

With reference now to Figure 3A, when try to maximize the lever, high pressure is applied to the region 62 of the toes of footwear 10, especially at the time in which the footwear ceases to be in contact with the ground and of such so that the foot the foot 40 (particularly the fingers) should be protected. Therefore, in one aspect of the invention, the region 62 of the fingers is padded with a compressible material 64 for comfort and support and carries a rigid curved thrust plate 66, the molded insert located under the fingers is made of a 70 high density composite material. Note that the fact of that now the forward pressure normally applied to the region of the footwear immediately above the toe 62 is no longer necessary to hold the foot or absorb forces - now, the forward forces are absorbed by the band 16. In addition, the large thrust plate 66 located below the toe 62 in the region designated by reference numeral 66 gives support so that the Toe no longer needs to support the end of the foot - this is done  the band 16 acting in combination with the push plate 66 the which now performs the function equivalent to that of the toe, reducing foot fatigue in this way. Moreover, the part 34 of the heel consists substantially of a material such as viscous low density, specially adapted for footwear maintenance and training gymnastics (note that for competition, this material as viscous is generally not suitable - the design of whose sole is currently made of materials suitable for the surface and sport provided).

Referring now to Figure 3B, plate 66 Thrust is a rigid ground effect guide that controls the career movement and effect the transmission of forces to the ground and into the user's body. Thrust plate 66 It is rigidly constituted in a curved shape, with a surface 80 oriented outward, and an inwardly oriented surface 82, connected by a thin side wall 84. Plate 66 is optimized to reproduce, as accurately as possible, the effect natural rolling of the foot. For aesthetic reasons, to give the Sole a better life and to ensure a firm fixation of the plate 66 elastic to the softest part 24 of the sole or cover 12, in the insert molding process, ribs 90 are arranged in the outwardly oriented surface 80 that fully extend to through an inner layer 92 to expose a surface 91 to outside of footwear 10. In this way, the push plate 66 can be manufactured in different colors and 90 integral nerves they can be visible and add to the footwear a pleasant aspect of multiple tones Preferably, the thrust plate 66 is made of a material that has a measured hardness with shore meter of between 20 and 90 units, while the inner layer 92, as well as The rest of the shoe 12 is made of standard soft material.

The measured torsional stiffness of footwear 10 in the region of the thrust plate 66 is selected so that it is in the environment between 0.1 NMDeg -1 and 0.5 NMDeg -1. The shape, length, location and density of the thrust plate 66 vary depending on the sports or competitive application planned. With in order to minimize the impact on the metabolic cost of the propulsion, the weight of the thrust plate 66 is in the environment of 30 to 250 grams. Essentially, the thrust plate 66 is positioned to minimize flexion of the metatarsal 20 phalangeal joint, in an effort to reduce energy loss in this articulation, particularly during the race and the jump.

The invention substantially reduces the loss of energy due to metatarsal falangian flexion during run (which includes the slow run from speeds of 2 meters / sec to the quick sprint at speeds of 10 meters / sec) and the jump (which includes any propelling activity from the physical fitness test jump to competition breaks in horizontal, lateral and vertical directions). The inventors have exposed that, the use of the footwear of the invention compared to that of a conventional dorsal flex shoe can increase the jump performance between 5% and 10%, and that of the race in approximately 5%. The evidence has shown that, in the jump, the thrust plate 66 absorbed an average of 24 J during the jump with one leg, assuming a body mass of 70 kg, which corresponds to a difference in high jump of approximately 3.5 cm

Referring now to Figure 4A, in another embodiment, a set 100 of dorsal flex shoes adaptable includes a shoe 102 adapted to receive a template 104 interchangeable that is inserted into the footwear. The set 100 gives place to a dorsal footwear defined by a certain β angle of decline. Template 104 has weights 106 selected to provide a certain level of consumption of Energy during use. Weights 106 can be adjusted by use of several configurations in which weights are inserted or injection molded into position on template 104 using, by example, a compound molding process. In this way the shoe 102 of the invention is capable of interconnecting with 104 interchangeable templates of different weight, capacity energy absorption, rigidity and shape, thus allowing to the user greater flexibility when configuring the footwear of the invention for a certain type of sports activity corresponding to a specific declination angle. In addition, the inventors have discovered that, surprisingly, just one small declination angle (an angle of 5 degrees being ideal) contributes substantially to performance, so it is not it is necessary to use a design of the bulbous sole design of the prior art The consequence of this is that the footwear weight 10, 102. Consequently, the volume of the part 24 of the sole is greatly reduced and, in this way, is Possible even a greater variety of footwear weights.

Referring now to Figure 4B, shows a template 120 in which, accordingly, the interconnecting surfaces 122 and 124 help ensure that the Template does not move during the action.

Referring now to Figures 7A and 7B, in another embodiment a dorsal flex shoe 150 is provided which It has a composite sole configuration. A set 152 of sole consists of several layers and different regions that include a central region 154 selected from surface sports, a part 156 of heel as viscose, a region 160 of the reinforced toe, a high front region 162 density, a region 164 higher than medium density, a region 166 low density on the back of the shoe, under the user's heel, and a soft 170 insole for comfort and damping The upper region 164 runs the footwear 150 from the heel to the toe. A padded region 172 protects the user's fingers Note that in Figure 7B, region 156 it is surrounded by the region 174 of higher density or, optionally, by regions 176 of high density, for lateral stability improved Obviously, region 156 can be manufactured with several concordant shapes and sizes, depending on the sport or the surface against which it is planned to load.

In the configuration shown in Figure 4A, you can see that the template 104 increases the thickness of the region 30 of the toe which changes the footwear 102 of plantar flex shoes to set 100 flex shoes dorsal. The inventors have discovered that this presents challenges in the formation of the portion of the upper part 14 affected by the change in the amount of space within the shoe set 100 Available to house the toes and the toe. By consequently, in another embodiment shown in figure 8, they are used 104 'insoles that increase the thickness of the heel part 34 what changes to footwear 110 of maximum dorsal flex shoes approximately 15 degrees (using the lowest heel point located under the calcaneus bone where the foot takes a form rounded) to set 112 of footwear that is plantar flexion or of 0 degrees of decline (i.e., barefoot posture). He Insole thickness 104 'varies about 2.5-3 mm by degree of dorsal flexion.

The embodiment of Figure 8 ensures that the shape of region 62 of the toe remain unchanged when change templates 104 '. As the degree of flexion increases dorsal, the height of the heel part is reduced proportionally without altering that of the part of the template that extends from behind the cuneiform and cuboid bones to the fingers. For example, in an embodiment configured to allow 4 degrees dorsal flexion, the template of the cover 12, can have a variation of ± 10 mm between the thickness of the areas metatarsals and the lowest point of the heel.

In another embodiment, templates 104 'are designed to apply a heel lift of 2.5 to 15 mm, an increase that represents a dorsal flexion change of 1 at 6 degrees. Dashed line 108 indicates a possible situation of the interconnection between two stratified 104 '' templates. The 104 '' templates are formed so that the 104 '' installed first have a lower surface that adapts to the shape of the cover 12, and an upper surface formed to fit at foot 40 of a user, and template 104 '' installed in second place is formed to fit the upper surface of the template installed first, having a surface itself upper that adapts to the foot of a user. This provides the user the possibility of selecting the angle of decline and, of this way, also the degree of dorsal flexion. It should be noted that templates 104 'must also be constructed of a material that has a compression factor comparable to that of the cover 12, in order to ensure during the action the selected dorsal flexion performance.

Even more, in order to create shoes that don't it seems, from the outside, that it is a dorsal flex shoe, the part 22 of the side wall rises and surrounds the heel area of the user and continues in one direction towards region 62 of the toe with an angle? that is smaller than that of dorsal flexion maximum possible in footwear. In this embodiment, the angle the is in fact plantar flexion, so that the dorsal flexion configuration is evident only for the Username.

The templates 104 'are built anatomically of materials typically used for applications of  orthopedic footwear, selecting said materials so that the Deviation tolerance due to material dilation low, so that the shape memory feature is high and for whose duration in compression cycles is large.

Referring now to Figure 9A, shows a table of different embodiments of the plate 66, 162, 180, 182, 184, 186, and 190 thrust of the invention, which, As indicated, they extend from the toe to the Falangian metatarsal ("MF"), or even the cuneiform bones, or even the heel, as appropriate. Note that on plates 186 and 190 of thrust, a part 186 'and 190' thinned, respectively, connects a region from the toe to the heel region. With a plate 184 specially configured "S-shaped" push, the footwear 10 is elastic from end to end and also acts to improve the energy absorption capacity of the sole by its elastic flexion

With reference now to Figure 9B, in a alternative embodiment, on the thrust plate 66 it can be molded, or cut 200 longitudinal openings for the best adaptation of the characteristics of the sole to a sport of specific interest. Specifically, the inertial flexor moment of the thrust plate 66 can be varied selectively, depending on the sport, adding openings to the thrust plate 66. In special cases, you can use more than one thrust plate within the same construction, inserting them molded parallel to each other, superimposed partially or in longitudinally separated segments.

With reference now to figures 10A and 10B, a template 104, 104 'typical for use with footwear 10 has an arch support 210. Only part 212 scratched transversely it has to have a variable thickness.

In operation, a traditional footwear allows flex the metalangian falangiano 20 in order to keep anatomically a logical step on the ground, both to improve the traction to reduce fatigue of the fingers 94 of the Username. In fact the Falangian Metatarsal 20 is the only part of the 40 foot (ankle excluded) that actually flexes when walk The inventors have discovered that increasing stiffness of part 24 of the sole in region 30 of the toe, and also holding the upper part of the foot 40 above the region 20 metalangian falangiano (holding the foot against the flexion of metatarsals), the foot lever is increased. When the lever length can be increased, the moment and, in this way, the production of power of the foot, which results in a lengthening of the stride during the race The result is a "take off from the tip of the improved foot and an extended range of movements, less consumption energy in the area of the tip of the foot and one more stride effective.

Increased stride efficiency leads to a corresponding reduction of the training procedure strenuous and an improved technique, which results, consequently, at a frequently reduced risk of injury associated with overtraining.

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An advantage of the invention is that, angle 30 5 degrees of dorsal flexion produces a 10, 10 'shoe that is a significantly less unsightly, more natural and comfortable and therefore much more likely to be purchased and used by amateur athletes as well as athletes professionals. The invention allows reverse dorsal flexion to the orientation of the foot, at a level whose experimentation has been proven to result in maximum power production, namely 5 degrees In fact, the inventors have learned that, in the footwear supply, there is no other more important benefit to gain that an inclination of inverse dorsal flexion greater than 5 degrees.

Another advantage is that, the fact that the angle of reverse inclination is less in the footwear of the invention than in prior art dorsal flex shoes, it means that less material is needed in manufacturing. Less material is less manufacturing cost as well as a lower minimum weight for the footwear.

In another aspect, the side wall of the roof 12 is formed to give the impression that footwear is a conventional plantar flex shoes.

Another advantage of the invention is that it eliminates the need for the metatarsal falangian joint to be flex because the shoe itself reproduces the movement of this joint and fingers.

An advantage of the invention is that it reduces substantially the loss of energy due to falangian flexion  metatarsal during the run and jump.

Another advantage of the invention is that it improves the foot capacity improving its efficiency and minimizing it time the risk of damaging the foot by selecting the materials of the footwear to absorb pressure and reproduce the rolling movement of the foot

Another advantage is that the footwear is configured to receive templates that fit the thickness of the back of the shoe from extreme dorsal flexion to the plantar flexion, thus preventing problems from occurring morphological where template is designed to increase the thickness of the front of the sole from plantar flexion until dorsal flexion.

Another advantage is that templates can be insert stackably into the footwear, which reduces the Total volume and weight of the set that includes all templates that interconnect with each other.

Another advantage is that footwear improves the Foot capacity improving its effectiveness. In this way, it minimizes  the risk of damaging the foot by selecting footwear materials to absorb pressure and reproduce the rolling motion of the foot.

Another advantage of footwear is that its configuration allows to improve the performance of the flexor muscles plantar.

Another advantage of the invention is that it increases the energy production of a corridor and the applied forces down. The athlete is able to run faster because he increases the stride length and reduces the time of foot contact with the ground.

Claims (5)

1. A set of adaptable footwear in which the set includes:

a shoe that has a part (24) of the sole with a predetermined angle of inclination, adapted to receive an interchangeable insole (104, 104 '); and at least one insole that is inserted in the footwear, changing the whole the posture of the foot (40) of a user from an angle in a range between dorsal flexion and plantar flexion to another angle in the range comprised in a defined footwear by a declination angle different from the predetermined angle, characterized in that the footwear is substantially normal in the form of a plantar flexion in which the metatarsal falangian fastening device (16) is adjustable on the user's metatarsal falangian joints (20) with or without a insole (104, 104 ') installed, and the foot contact part (26) of the part (24) of the sole of the footwear is in a way that properly interconnects with the foot (40) so that, when the Insole is not installed, the footwear works like a conventional plantar flex footwear.

2. A set of adaptable footwear in which the set includes:

a shoe that has a part (24) of the sole with a predetermined angle of inclination, adapted to receive an interchangeable insole (104, 104 '); and at least one insole that is inserted in the footwear, changing the whole the posture of the foot (40) of a user from an angle of the range between the dorsal flexion and the plantar flexion to another angle of the range that gives rise to a footwear defined by a declination angle different from the predetermined angle, characterized in that the region (30) of the toe includes at least one high density hard insert (66, 162, 180, 182, 184, 186, 190) formed to follow the curvature of the part (24) of the sole.

3. The footwear of claim 2, wherein the at least one insert (182, 184, 186, 190) extends from the region of the toe to the heel. 4. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the set includes at least two templates (104) of weights substantially different, which are inserted alternately in footwear, allowing the user the ability to select a weight (106) to have a certain level of energy consumption during use 5. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the footwear is of a form of plantar flexion substantially normal in which the falangian clamping device (16) Metatarsal is adjustable over the joints (20) Falangian user's metatarsals with or without a template (104, 104 ') installed, and the contact part (26) with the foot of the part (24) of the sole of the footwear is in a way that interconnects properly with the foot (40) so that when the template does not is installed, the shoe works like a flex shoe conventional planting.