WO2014038937A1

WO2014038937A1 - Pivoting anatomical shoe

Info

Publication number: WO2014038937A1
Application number: PCT/NL2013/050641
Authority: WO
Inventors: Albert Adriaan Flinterman; Hendrik Diederik Willem Van Groen
Original assignee: Buckney Shoes B.V.
Priority date: 2012-09-05
Filing date: 2013-09-05
Publication date: 2014-03-13
Also published as: NL2009421C2

Abstract

The invention concerns a pivotable shoe. The shoe comprises a sole with a front part and a rear part. The front part and the rear part of the sole being pivotably connected. The front part of the sole is provided with a front upper part and the rear part of the sole is provided with a rear upper part. The rear upper part is provided with a heel. The heel extends into the area of interaction of the front and the rear upper part. The heel may be an insert. The front upper part and/or the rear upper part may be provided with one or more additional inserts. The inserts are typically hard shells or soft paddings that provide additional support and protection to the foot and accordingly improve the wearing comfort.

Description

Pivoting anatomical shoe.

The invention relates to a shoe comprising a front portion and a rear portion, wherein the front portion

comprises a front upper part and a front under part and the rear portion comprises a rear upper part and a rear under part, said front portion and said rear portion being pivotably connected and the rear upper part being provided with a heel. The invention also concerns inserts for such shoe.

O2013/039385 and WO2009/014433, which latter application matured into European patent EP-B-2 173 208, disclose such a shoe. This known shoe comprises a sole and an upper. The sole is divided in a front part and rear part. The front part and the rear part of the sole, being the front under part respectively the rear under part of the shoe, are pivotally connected by a hinge. The upper is divided in a front upper part and a rear upper part, which are respectively connected to the front part of the sole and the rear part of the sole. The front upper part and the rear upper part are moveable relative to each other by pivoting the front part of the sole and the rear part of the sole relative to each other. In this way the shoe may be opened and closed. In open

position the shoe may be easily entered by a foot.

This known shoe does not require laces and provides a large entrance opening for the foot. Accordingly this known shoe is very suitable for younger children, and elderly and/or disabled people. Also other shoe users will appreciate the large entrance opening of the shoe and the simple way of opening and closing of the shoe, even without using hands.

The known shoe also comprises stiffening means, extending from the sole into the upper, so that the user of the shoe receives and perceives adequate support. These stiffening means are provided to compensate for the relaxation of the shoe at the location of the division of the shoe in the front portion and the back portion.

Shoes in general have a heel (also known as contrefort) provided at the rear part of the shoe to provide sufficient support to the heel of the foot. But still, despite of the specific stiffening means of the known pivotable shoe and the heel of shoes in general, overall, the known shoe does not always ensure sufficient or optimal wearing comfort and protection to the foot. Moreover, the known shoe does not always provide sufficient support for power transmission during opening and closing of the shoe.

It is an object of the invention to overcome one or more of the above-mentioned problems and to provide a shoe with optimal wearing comfort and that provides sufficient protection to the foot, and is easier to open and close.

In a first aspect of the invention the front upper part and the rear upper part interact in a region of overlap wherein said upper part and said rear upper part at least partly overlap, and the heel extends and reaches into the said area of overlap and interaction of the front upper part and the rear upper part.

In this way the foot is for a large part enclosed by the heel (contrefort) , not only at the heel part of the foot, but also at the mid part of the foot. Further, beacause the front upper part and the rear upper part at least partly overlap and the heel reaches into this area of overlap, the overlap or interaction area of the front and back upper part, which is in general the weaker part of a pivotable shoe, is provided with additional stiffness. This provides additional support and protection to the mid-foot.

As a result, the foot is over a substantial and most relevant part of its length optimally supported and protected, without compromising the ease of stepping in and out of the shoe, which is not even impaired by the extended heel which reaches into the area of interaction of the front upper part and the rear upper part. The shoe of the invention is at its front part sufficiently flexible for winding and unwinding of the foot .

Preferably the heel extends to the area of

interaction of the front upper part and the rear upper part at both the medial and the lateral side of the shoe. In this way the foot is adequately supported and protected at both sides of the foot.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the heel extends between the lateral and medial side of the shoe near the rear under part. The underside of the heel of the foot is then also optimal supported. In fact the entire heel of the foot can thus be supported and protected by the heel

(contrefort) of the shoe.

According to again another aspect of the invention the heel is made of one or more inserts. Also, the front upper part and/or the rear upper part may be provided with one or more additional inserts. Since the pivotable shoe does not require laces and does not require a flexible upper, the application of inserts provides an addition dimension of freedom in shoe design. The shoe may be adapted to a specific application, such as a specific type of sport, and/or to a specific group of users, such as disabled persons. The inserts may be hard shells. Such hard shells will, because of their stiffness, provide optimal support and protection to the foot. The inserts may also facilitate power transmission, in

particular to a hinge, when opening or closing the shoe. As the shoe itself is pivotable, such a hard shell will not impede stepping in and out of the shoe. Accordingly the wearing comfort is enhanced considerably.

According to the invention the hard shell may be made of cellulose. This material provides sufficient stiffness and strength and is suitable barrier between the internal foot climate and the environmental conditions of the shoe.

Alternatively, the hard shell may be made of a synthetic material. Synthetic material will provide an

extremely stiff and strong shell, which will provide

additional protection to the foot, in particular also

protection against impact forces.

The hard shell may be adapted to the foot of a specific user. The shoe is then custom-made to provide optimal wearing comfort.

In another embodiment of the invention the front portion and the rear portion of the shoe are pivotably

connected by a hinge and, in locked position, the hinge is a hard shell extending from the front portion to the rear portion of the shoe. The hinge of the invention facilitates opening and closing of the shoe, however in locked position the hinge becomes a hard shell. This shell can withstand high torsion forces an accordingly the shoe becomes very stable from the sole up.

According to the invention, the hinge of the shoe and the heel in the rear upper part may be in contact with each other. This combination, the hinge and the heel in the rear upper part together, provide a stiff support to the foot from the rear to the front of the shoe. Moreover the power

transmission during opening and closing of the shoe is

optimized.

In an embodiment of the invention the hinge and the part of the heel that extends between the lateral and medial side of the shoe near the rear under part, are in contact with each other.

The invention also provides that the insert is preferably padding. Such padding may be applied to provide improved fit and comfort. Typically such padding will be soft and will be applied where, instead of stiffness, an optimal contact between foot and shoe is required or where protection is required, such as in the front upper part. Application of padding in the front upper part of the shoe is possible because the pivotable shoe will have no laces there.

According to the invention the padding may be adapted or may be adaptable to the foot of a specific user. Again a custom-made shoe will be obtained that will provide optimal wearing comfort. In particular the padding may be made of foam. Memory type foam is very suitable for this application as it will adapt itself to the foot of the specific user.

The invention also provides inserts for application in shoes according to the invention.

The various aspects of the invention will now be described in more detail and will be elucidated, by way of example which is not limiting as to the appended claims, with reference to the accompanying drawing which shows in

-Figure 1, a state of art shoe provided with a hinge, in closed position with a state of art heel (contrefort) ;

-Figure 2, the shoe of figure 1 in open position;

-Figure 3, the shoe of figure 1 provided with a heel insert according to the invention;

-Figure 4, the shoe of figure 3 in open position; -Figure 5, the heel insert of the shoe of the figures

3 and 4 ;

-Figure 6, the heel insert of figure 5, in combination with the hinge of the shoe of the figures 1-4;

-Figure 7, a soccer shoe provided with hard shell inserts and soft paddings.

Whenever in the figure the same reference numerals are applied, these numerals refer to the same parts.

The shoe 1 shown in figure 1 is provided with a sole 2. The sole 2 has a front part 3 and a back part 4. The front part 3 and the back part 4 of the sole are connected by a hinge 21. The font part 9 of the hinge 21 is connected to the front part 3 of the sole 2 and the back part 10 of the hinge 21 is connected to the back part 4 of the sole 2. The front part 9 and the back part 10 of hinge 21 are connected by an axis 8 and are relatively moveable with respect to each other around said axis 8. The front part 3 of the sole 2 is provided with a front upper 5 and the back part 4 of the sole 2 is provided with a rear upper 6. The front upper 5 and the rear upper 6 have an interface 20. The edges 20a and 20b of the rear upper 6 respectively the front upper 5 cover the sides of the closed shoe 2 and provide a large entrance 7 for the foot when the shoe is open. In this way, stepping in and stepping out is facilitated. After stepping in, the shoe 2 may be closed again and the foot is enclosed by the shoe. In general the hinge 21 is spring loaded (not shown here) and forces the hinge 21 and the shoe 2 in open position after releasing the spring. When stepping in, the foot will load the hinge 21 against the spring force, the hinge and the shoe will close and be locked in closed position. The rear upper 6 of the shoe of figure 1 and 2 is provided with a state of art heel 22. This state of art heel 22 provides stiffness to the back of the shoe 1 and accordingly to the back of the foot.

It is obvious that the shoe of figure 1 and figure 2 does not require laces and that accordingly the front upper 5 has a smooth surface. Accordingly, besides the ease of

entering the shoe, this shoe provides additional design possibilities. But still, overall, the state of art shoe does not provide sufficient wearing comfort, support and protection to the foot. Moreover, the shoe does not provide sufficient stiffness for power transmission from the foot to. the hinge during opening and closing of the shoe.

In figure 3 and 4 the shoe 1 is according to the invention provided with a heel 11 that extends to the

interface 20. The heel 11 is a hard shell insert. The heel 11, because of its stiffness, provides optimal support and

protection to the foot, from the rear of the foot to the mid of the foot. This is typically the part of the foot that requires maximum stiffness. As the shoe 1 itself is pivotable, the hard shell 11 will not impede stepping in and out the shoe 1. Accordingly the wearing comfort is enhanced considerably. According to the teachings of the invention the rear upper 6 extends inside to shoe 1 over the interface 20 in the area of the front upper 5. In this way the interface 20 is closed, even in open position of shoe 1, as shown in figure 2.

The heel 11 is shown in more detail in figure 5. The heel 11 extends from the medial side 13 to the lateral side 12 of the shoe. In this way major part of the foot is enclosed by the hard shell and optimal supported and protected. The hard shell 11 also extends under the foot, between the medial and the lateral side, with its support surface 15.

The front upper part 5 and the rear upper part 6 of the shoe 1 partly overlap. As can be seen in figure 3 and 4 the heel 11 reaches into the area of overlap. In this way also the interaction area 20 of the front 5 and rear upper part 6, in general the weaker part of a pivotable shoe 1 is provided with additional stiffness. This provides additional support and protection to the mid-foot.

Figure 6 shows in more detail how the hinge 21 of the shoe 1 and a heel 11 in the rear upper part may interact. The support surface 15, at its lower side, rests at the rear part 10 of the hinge 21. Accordingly, the hinge 21 and the heel 11 together, provide a stiff support to the foot from the rear to the front of the shoe 1. Moreover the power transmission during opening and closing of the shoe is optimized as the force of the heel is directly transmitted to the hinge 21. The hinge 21 facilitates opening and closing of the shoe 1, however in locked position the hinge 21 becomes a hard shell according to the invention. This shell type hinge 21 can withstand high torsion forces an accordingly the shoe 1 becomes very stable from the sole 2 up.

The heel 11 may be made of any suitable material, such as cellulose. Cellulose provides sufficient stiffness and strength and is a suitable barrier between the internal foot climate and the environmental conditions of the shoe.

Alternatively, the heel 11 may be made of a synthetic

material. Synthetic material will provide an extremely stiff and strong shell, which will provide additional protection to the foot, in particular also protection against impact forces. Wearing comfort will be further enhanced when the heel 11 is adapted to the foot of a specific user, in this particular case to the heel of the user.

The soccer shoe 1 of figure 7 is in similar way provided with a heel 11. The soccer shoe 1 is also provided with stiffening means 16. As elucidated in European patent EP B 2173208, these stiffening means 16 are provided between the sole 2 and the front upper 5, to compensate for the relaxation of the shoe 1 at the location of the division 20 in the shoe between the front portion and the back portion of shoe 1.

Together with the heel 11, the stiffening means 16 provide maximum support and protection to the foot of a soccer player. In addition the front upper 5 is provided with soft paddings 17 and 18. These paddings 17, 18 provide additional support to the front of the foot without impeding winding and unwinding of the foot. Moreover the soft padding 17, 18 will enclose the foot and provide additional protection. The soft feel will also improve the wearing comfort as friction areas between the shoe and the foot will be covered by the soft padding 17, 18. Typically the padding will be made of foam. Foam has the ability to adapt to the foot contour. Preferably a memory type of foam such as polyurethane is applied to mold to the contour of the foot under body temperature (high-density foam) or under foot pressure (lower-density foam) . The foam will recover after cooling down or removing pressure. As no laces are reguired also the outside of the shoe may be tuned to a specific design or a certain application. The paddings 17 and 18 provide to the soccer shoe an evenly curved outside surface, which will enhance the shoe/ball interaction. The user may control the ball and shoot the ball with more precision and apply a broader range of shots.

To the person skilled in art it is obvious that the above given embodiments represent only a few of the many possible variations in which the shoe according to the invention may be embodied. Therefore the embodiments given here must be understood as an elucidation to the appended claims without limiting the scope of the appended claims. Within the protective scope of these claims numerous

variations are conceivable. For instance, different types of sport specific inserts may be applied at different spots in the upper of the shoe. Also the inserts may be adapted to different types of disabilities.

Claims

1. Shoe (1) comprising a front portion and a rear portion, wherein the front portion comprises a front upper part (5) and a front under part (3) and the rear portion comprises a rear upper part (6) and a rear under part (4), said front portion and said rear portion being pivotably connected and the rear upper part being provided with a heel (11), characterized in that the front upper part (5) and the rear upper part (6) interact in a region of overlap wherein said upper part (5) and said rear upper part (6) at least partly overlap, and that the heel (11) extends and reaches into the said area of overlap of the front upper part (5) and the rear upper part (6) .

2. Shoe (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the heel (11) extends into the area of interaction of the front upper part (5) and the rear upper part (6) at both the medial and the lateral side of the shoe.

3. Shoe according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the heel (11) extends between the lateral and medial side of the shoe (1) near the rear under part (4) .

4. Shoe according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that that the heel (11) is made of one or more inserts.

5. Shoe according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the front upper (5) part and/or the rear upper part (6) are provided with one or more additional inserts (17, 18, 21) .

6. Shoe (1) according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that one or more of the inserts (11, 17, 18, 21) are hard shells.

7. Shoe (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that the hard shell is made of cellulose.

8. Shoe (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that the hard shell is made of a synthetic material.

9. Shoe (1) according to one of the claims 4-8, characterized in that the insert is adapted to the foot of a specific user.

10. Shoe (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the front portion and the rear portion of the shoe (1) are pivotally connected by a hinge (21) and that, in locked position, the hinge (21) is a hard shell extending from the front portion in the rear portion of the shoe.

11. Shoe (1) according to claim 10, characterized in that the hinge (21) and the heel (11) in the rear upper part (6) are in contact with each other.

12. Shoe (1) according to claim 11, characterized in that the hinge (21) and the part of the heel (11) that extends between the lateral and medial side of the shoe near the sole, are in contact with each other.

13. Shoe (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an insert is a padding (17, 18) .

14. Shoe (1) according to claim 13, characterized in that the padding (17, 18) is adapted or is adaptable to the foot of a specific user.

15. Shoe (1) according to one of the claims 13 or 14, characterized in that the padding (17, 18) is made of foam.

16. Shoe (1) according to claim 15, characterized in that the foam is memory type foam.

17. Insert (11, 21, 17, 18) for a shoe (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims.