FR3082400A1 - REMOVABLE TONGUE FOR INJECTED BOOT, ASSOCIATED BOOT AND SHOE - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a removable tongue (16) for liner, said tongue (16) comprising: - an upper portion (20) intended to come into contact with a tibial region and a region situated opposite the talus of the foot of a user; - A lower portion (21) intended to come into contact with a rear part of the top of the user's foot; - Removable connection means (17) able to connect said tongue (16) with the liner; and - a heating element (25) connected to said lower portion (21) so that said heating element (25) can extend between a point of the boot and the toes of the user.

Description

REMOVABLE TONGUE FOR INJECTED BOOT, ASSOCIATED BOOT AND FOOTWEAR

Technical area

The invention relates to a removable tongue for use with a slipper. The invention also relates to a bootie and a shoe incorporating the removable tongue.

The present invention belongs to the field of foot covering elements produced by injection, such as shoes, boots or any element which makes it possible to produce the interface between the user's foot and the ground by adapting the morphology of the foot. of a user with the internal edges of the interface element. More particularly, the present invention is intended to be used in a specific shoe for which the user's foot must be held firmly, for example for the practice of skiing, snowboarding, water skiing, rollerblading or ice skating .

The invention relates more particularly to an interface element between the foot of the user and the ground in which the comfort of the user is improved by providing heat to the foot of the user.

PRIOR ART

Within the meaning of the invention, a slipper describes an interface element which makes it possible to hold the foot and ankle of a user in a shell while ensuring a certain comfort. An injected liner more particularly relates to a liner comprising at least one pocket intended to be filled with a material intended to solidify in order to adapt the shape of the liner to the morphology of a user.

To carry out the injection of the liner, the user's foot is placed in the liner, itself inserted in a shell. The material is injected in liquid phase into the pockets of the liner so that the outer walls of the liner match the inner walls of the shell and the inner walls of the liner follow the curves of the wearer's foot.

The user's foot must be stationary until the material solidifies so as to complete the injection process of the liner. Following this injection process, the user obtains a slipper adapted to his morphology which provides optimal support for his foot and ankle while ensuring a certain level of comfort.

There are several types of injected liners with variations in the material and shape of the injection bags. Some slippers have a fixed tongue and others have a removable tongue. The use of a removable tongue makes it possible to propose different tongues for the same liner in order to adapt the tongue to the morphology of the tibial part of the user. In addition, these removable tabs can be injected or not.

The invention relates more particularly to slippers having removable tabs because they have better adaptability to the morphology of the users. An injected liner with a removable tongue of the prior art is illustrated in FIG. 1.

This FIG. 1 reveals a liner 10 marketed by the Applicant made of polyurethane. The liner 10 has a sole 11 at the edges of which rise lateral uprights 12a, 12b and a point 13. The lateral uprights 12a, 12b are sewn together in the rear part of liner 10. In the front part of liner 10, the lateral uprights 12a, 12b are sewn on the point 13.

The tip 13 is intended to surround the user's foot from the metatarsophalangeal joint to the ends of the toes. The lateral uprights 12a, 12b are intended to surround the rear of the foot, the ankle and the bottom of the Peronean region.

Two injection pockets are integrated in each lateral upright 12a, 12b. These injection bags are connected to inlet 14 and outlet pipes 15. The inlet pipes 14 are intended to inject the material while outlet pipes 15 are intended to extract the material present in the pockets when the pockets are completely filled.

The bottom of the tibial region and the region located opposite the talus of the user's foot are protected by a removable tongue 16. This tongue 16 is disposed inside the liner 10 and it is fixed on the tip 13 by a removable link 17 of loop and hook type. The tongue 16 is also constrained in the liner 10 by laces 18 connecting the lateral uprights 12a, 12b at the bottom of the tibial region and the region located opposite the talus of the wearer's foot.

Thus, the tongue 16 has an upper portion 20, intended to come into contact with the tibial region and the region located opposite the talus of the user's foot, and a lower portion 21 intended to come into contact with the top. of the user's foot. The removable connection means 17 are fixed to one end of this lower portion 21.

To improve the comfort of use, some slippers incorporate heating elements. For example, international patent application WO 2014/30014 describes a liner with a tongue, attached to the liner, which incorporates a heating element. Thus, the heating element of international patent application WO 2014/30014 makes it possible to heat the tibial region of the user.

Preferably, a heating element is placed under the foot or on the user's toes in order to heat the user's toes. Thus, a heating element is conventionally integrated in the toe or in the sole of existing slippers.

However, it is common to get a poor quality injected liner after the liner injection process, for example if the user's foot moves during solidification of the material. In this case, it is necessary to re-inject a new liner. When a heating element is integrated in the toe or in the sole of an injected liner, performing a poor quality injection condemns the entire liner, including the heating element.

Given the cost of a heating element, it is currently very harmful to perform a poor quality injection with an injected liner which incorporates a heating element.

The technical problem that the invention seeks to solve is to heat the toes of the user using a bootie in which a bad injection does not destroy the heating element.

Expose the invention

The present invention proposes to solve this technical problem by a removable tongue for a bootie which incorporates a heating element able to extend between a point of the bootie and the toes of a user carrying the tongue.

According to a first aspect, the invention relates to a removable tongue for a bootie, said tongue comprising:

- an upper portion intended to come into contact with a tibial region and a region situated opposite the talus of a user's foot;

- a lower portion intended to come into contact with a rear part of the top of the user's foot; and

- Removable connecting means able to connect said tongue with the liner.

The invention is characterized in that said tongue also includes a heating element connected to said lower portion so that said heating element can extend between a point of the boot and the toes of the user.

The invention thus makes it possible to heat the toes of the user by using a heating element fixed on a removable tongue instead of being integrated into the sole or the tip of the boot. In doing so, the removable tongue can be detached from the liner to be reused if the injection of the liner is of poor quality. It follows that the heating element is not lost in the event of a bad injection.

In addition, the removable tongue can be adapted to several slippers so that it is possible to replace an existing tongue with a heating tab of the invention if the user wishes to integrate a heating element after a period of use of the slipper. with a removable tab without heating element. In addition, the tongue of the invention can also be fitted on thermoformed slippers.

Similarly to the removable tabs of the prior art, the connecting means can be separate from said heating element and connected to said lower portion so as to cooperate with complementary connecting means arranged above the tip of the boot. This positioning of the connecting means above the tip makes it possible to limit the feeling of confinement of the user's toes in the tip.

Alternatively, removable connecting means are fixed to said heating element so as to cooperate with complementary connecting means arranged under the tip of the boot.

Thus, the removable connection between the tongue and the tip can be ensured by the heating element under the upper wall of the tip.

When the connection between the tongue and the tip is carried out on the tip by means of connection separate from the heating element, removable connection means arranged on the heating element can guarantee the positioning of the heating element between the toes and The point. Alternatively, when the heating element does not have removable connecting means, the positioning of the user's foot in the boot moves the heating element to arrange it between the toes and the tip.

For example, said removable connection means can be means of the loops and hooks type, in particular those sold under the Velcro® brand.

The heating element can be supplied by an energy conversion device. As a variant, the heating element is preferably supplied by an energy storage element.

According to one embodiment, said removable tongue comprises an energy storage element integrated inside said removable tongue in said upper portion. The energy storage element can be sized to withstand a lifetime of use sufficient for the life of the tab. In this case, when the energy storage element is empty, it is possible to replace the tab. Alternatively, the tongue may incorporate a connector connected to the energy storage element so as to allow recharging of the energy storage element.

According to another embodiment, said removable tongue comprises a connector, disposed at an upper end of said removable tongue, and a power cable extending from said heating element to said connector passing through said upper portions. and lower. This connector allows you to connect an external energy storage element to the tab. For example, this electrical energy storage element can be mounted on the shell of a ski boot.

According to one embodiment, said tongue comprises an internal pocket capable of allowing the injection of a material intended to solidify. This embodiment makes it possible to obtain an injected tongue capable of adapting to the morphology of the tibial region and of the region situated opposite the talus of the user's foot.

According to one embodiment, said tongue comprises partitions forming said upper and lower portions, said partitions being made of polyurethane or ethylene-vinyl acetate.

According to a second aspect, the invention relates to a liner comprising:

- a sole at the edges of which rise a point and lateral uprights, said lateral uprights being sewn together in a rear part of said liner and sewn on said point in a front part of said liner; and

- a removable tongue according to the first aspect of the invention, said removable tongue being removably attached to the liner.

According to a third aspect, the invention relates to a shoe comprising a shell inside of which is arranged a boot according to the second aspect of the invention.

Brief description of the figures

The manner of carrying out the invention as well as the advantages which ensue therefrom will emerge clearly from the embodiment which follows, given by way of indication but not limitation, with the support of the appended figures in which figures 1 to 3 represent:

Figure 1: a perspective view of an injected boot of the state of the art;

Figure 2: a perspective view of a removable heating tab according to a first embodiment of the invention; and Figure 3: a partial sectional view of a liner incorporating a removable heating tongue according to a second embodiment of the invention.

Detailed description of the invention

In the following description, the terms "front" and "rear" refer to the position of the tongue when used in a bootie. The front corresponding to the front of the liner, that is to say the part facing the toes of the user's foot, and the rear corresponding to the rear of the liner, that is to say the part opposite the heel of the user's foot.

FIG. 2 illustrates a tongue 16 comprising an upper portion 20 and a lower portion 21. The upper portion 20 is intended to come into contact with a tibial region and a region situated opposite the talus of the foot of a user while the lower portion 21 is intended to come into contact with a rear part of the top of the user's foot. The lower portions 21 and upper 20 can be made of ethylene vinyl acetate in the case of a non-injected tongue. Alternatively, the lower 21 and upper 20 portions may include at least one internal pocket capable of allowing the injection of a material intended to solidify so as to form an injected tongue. An injected tongue is preferably made of polyurethane. In addition, the lower portions 21 and upper 20 can be reinforced by reinforcing elements, for example pieces of nylon.

The upper end of the upper portion 20 is provided with a handle 30 to facilitate the positioning and the extraction of the tongue 16 when it is inserted in a liner 10.

The tongue 16 can be inserted into an injected liner 10 as described with reference to FIG. 1. The liner 10 of FIG. 1 has a sole 11 at the edges of which rise lateral uprights 12a, 12b and a point 13. The lateral uprights 12a, 12b are sewn together in the rear part of the liner 10.

In the front part of the boot 10, the lateral uprights 12a, 12b are sewn onto the tip 13. The tip 13 is intended to surround the user's foot from the metatarsophalangeal joint to the ends of the toes. The lateral uprights 12a, 12b are intended to surround the rear of the foot, the ankle and the bottom of the Peronean region.

Two injection pockets are integrated in each lateral upright 12a, 12b. These injection bags are connected to inlet 14 and outlet pipes 15. The inlet pipes 14 are intended to inject the material while outlet pipes 15 are intended to extract the material present in the pockets when the pockets are completely filled.

The tongue 16 is fixed with the liner 10 at a front end of the lower portion 21 by removable connection means 17. As illustrated in Figures 1 and 3, the removable connection means 17 may correspond to a piece of fabric sewn at the lower end of the lower portion 21. The underside of the piece of fabric has loops capable of cooperating with hooks placed on top of the tip 13 of the boot 10.

Other removable connection means 17 are possible. For example, the lower end of the lower portion 21 may be provided with a loop and the fixing may be carried out by a lug fixed on the tip of the bootie which enters this loop. When the lug surrounds the loop, one end of the lug is fixed to another part of the lug by a loop-and-hook type fastening to secure the tongue. As a variant, the tongue can also be fixed to the lateral uprights 12a, 12b by one or more removable connection means 17.

In addition to the removable connection means 17, the tongue 16 also has a heating element 25 connected to the lower end of the lower portion 21. In FIGS. 2 and 3, the heating element 25 is in the form of a part circular incorporating a resistive element. Alternatively, the heating element 25 can take any known form. In the example of Figure 3, the heating element 25 is directly connected to the lower end of the lower portion 21 while in the example of Figure 2, the heating element 25 is covered with a pocket of protection.

In all cases, the heating element 25 is configured to be placed inside a liner 10 between a tip 13 of the liner 10 and the user's toes. The heating element 25 thus makes it possible to heat the toes of the user by emitting heat over the toes of the user.

The heating element 25 can be placed in contact with the tip 13 of the liner 10 by the action of the user when he inserts his foot into the liner 10. As a variant, the heating element 25 can integrate connection means removable disposed on the heating element 25. For example, the upper surface of the heating element 25 may include loops intended to cooperate with hooks disposed on the underside of the tip 13 of the liner 10. These removable connecting means can also be used to fix the tongue 16 with the liner 10 and can therefore replace the removable connecting means 17 of FIGS. 1 to 3.

When the heating element 25 corresponds to an electrical resistance, it is necessary to supply this electrical resistance. To do this, the upper portion 20 of the tongue 16 can integrate an electrical energy storage element. Preferably, this energy storage element is disposed on the external fax machine of the tongue 16 in the tibial region in order to limit the discomfort caused to the user by the presence of this energy storage element.

Alternatively, the energy storage element may be external to the tongue 16. Preferably, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the tongue 16 has a connector 26 disposed at an upper end of the tongue 16 This connector 26 is connected to the heating element 25 by a cable extending from the heating element 25 to the connector 26 passing through the lower 21 and upper portions 20. A housing and a cover may be provided at the level from the upper end of the upper portion 20 to store the connector 26 when it is not in use.

Thus, the tongue 16 can be used in an injected liner. As a variant, the removable tongue 16 of the invention to adapt to any type of liner comprising a removable tongue, for example a thermoformed liner.

The invention thus makes it possible to provide a heating solution to a shoe incorporating a liner with a removable tongue. The invention can be adapted to a plurality of different liners, for example an injected or thermoformed liner.

The heating produced by the invention above the toes of the user proves to be very effective and makes it possible to improve the comfort of the user.

Claims (10)

1. A removable tongue (16) for a boot, said tongue (16) comprising: - an upper portion (20) intended to come into contact with a tibial region and a region situated opposite the talus of a user's foot; - A lower portion (21) intended to come into contact with a rear part of the top of the user's foot; and - removable connection means (17) able to connect said tongue (16) with the liner (10); characterized in that said tongue (16) also includes a heating element (25) connected to said lower portion (21) so that said heating element (25) can extend between a point (13) of the liner (10) and the user's toes. 2. removable tongue according to claim 1, wherein said removable connecting means (17) are separate from said heating element (25) and are connected to said lower portion (21) so as to cooperate with complementary connecting means arranged au- above the tip (13) of the liner (10). 3. removable tongue according to claim 1 or 2, wherein removable connecting means (17) are fixed on said heating element (25) so as to cooperate with complementary connecting means disposed under the tip (13) of the liner ( 10). 4. removable tongue according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said removable connecting means (17) are means of the loops and hooks. 5. Removable tongue according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said removable tongue (17) comprises an energy storage element integrated inside said removable tongue (17) in said upper portion (20). 6. removable tongue according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said removable tongue (17) comprises a connector (26), disposed at an upper end of said removable tongue (17), and a cable power supply extending from said heating element (25) to said connector (26) passing through said upper (20) and lower (21) portions. 7. removable tongue according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein said tongue comprises an internal pocket adapted to allow the injection of a material intended to solidify. 8. Removable tongue according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein said tongue comprises partitions forming said upper (20) and lower (21) portions, said partitions being made of polyurethane or ethylene vinyl acetate. 9. Slipper (10) comprising: - a sole (11) at the edges of which rise a point (13) and lateral uprights (12a, 12b), said lateral uprights (12a, 12b) being sewn together in a rear part of said liner (10) and sewn on said toe (13) in a front part of said liner (10); and - a removable tongue (16) according to one of claims 1 to 8, said removable tongue (16) being removably attached (16) to the liner (10). 10. Shoe comprising a shell inside of which is disposed a boot according to claim 9.