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(11) | EP 0 496 931 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Covering element particularly applicable to soccer shoes |
| (57) The present invention relates to a covering element (1) particularly applicable to
items of footwear for soccer, which comprises a body made of a substantially elastic
material which defines a cavity for the insertion at least of the front portion of
a soccer shoe and has means for removable retention on the shoe. The body defines,
on its outer surface: at the front, at the tip, a substantially planar front surface
(20), above, between the tip and the instep of the foot, a substantially concave surfacer
(30), and laterally, an outer lateral surface (40) which extends into a spur toward
the rear upper part and an inner lateral surface (50) with a shape which corresponds
substantially to the configuration of the surface of the shoe. |
[0002] As known, soccer shoes substantially have a configuration which, generally speaking, can be likened to that of a normal shoe, in particular in the front region, which is the region most used to kick the ball.
[0003] Accordingly, the configuration of the shoe has a rounded shape which in the upper median part is interrupted by the presence of the shoe fastening lace, which in practice creates an irregular surface which protrudes with respect to the remainder of the shoe.
[0004] It is also known that it is particularly important for a soccer player to be able to direct the ball with the maximum possible accuracy; the region of impact between the shoe and the ball is consequently decisive,
[0005] The European patent EP 0 104 196 describes a covering for an item of footwear, for example for soccer players, which is substantially constituted by a part which covers the top region of the upper and has means for coupling, in a downward position, below a portion of the edge of the item of footwear itself, leaving free the region affected by the sole.
[0006] In this embodiment, the covering simply has the function of defining a region for impact between the foot and the ball with an improved friction coefficient determined by the material of which the body is made, but does not allow to define regions which allow to direct the ball more accurately when kicking.
[0007] By means of the described embodiment, the connection between the covering body and the item of footwear furthermore does not seem able to adequately withstand the impact and mutual sliding forces which occur when the ball is struck.
[0008] The patent application DE 38 37 504 describes an item of footwear which is provided, directly on the upper, with pads or similar elements which allow to define particular shapes for the outer surface, according to the different regions of impact with the ball.
[0009] This embodiment has the disadvantage of significantly increasing the weight of the item of footwear, so that it is not suitable for being used by a soccer player for the duration of the match.
[0010] The type of surface used furthermore does not allow one to be in the best conditions for hitting the ball during a soccer match.
[0011] The aim of the invention is indeed to solve the above described problem by providing a covering element particularly applicable to soccer player shoes which allows to create on the outer surface of the shoe regions which are shaped according to the specific use for soccer playing and allow to extend the useful region for impact between the ball and the shoe in all the various types of kick which are normally performed.
[0012] Within the scope of the above aim, a particular object of the invention is to provide a covering element which has an extremely reduced weight, so as to avoid unduly increasing the weight of the shoe and producing fatigue for the user.
[0013] Another object of the present invention is to provide a covering element which allows to considerably improve the grip between the shoe and the ball at the moment of impact, with the consequent possibility of imparting the required spins to the ball in order to control its trajectory.
[0014] Another object of the present invention is to provide a covering element which, besides improving kicking accuracy, constitutes a shoe protection element, eliminating the wear of said shoe determined by the impact and acting as element for protecting the shoe when said shoe is used on wet ground, since water and mud cannot adhere to the shoe, since in practice the grip points, which instead are observed with conventional items of footwear, are missing.
[0015] Not least object of the present invention is to provide a covering element which can be easily and comfortably applied to an item of footwear, with the additional assurance of an extremely valid and safe coupling even during the execution of considerably powerful kicks.
[0016] This aim, these objects and others which will become apparent hereinafter are achieved by a covering element particularly applicable to soccer shoes, characterized in that it comprises a body made of a substantially elastic material which defines a cavity for the insertion of at least the front portion of a soccer shoe and has means for removable retention on said shoe, said body defining, on its outer surface: at the front, at the tip, a substantially planar front surface; above, between the tip and the foot instep, a substantially concave surface; and laterally, an outer lateral surface, which extends into a spur toward the rear upper part, and an inner lateral surface with a shape which corresponds substantially to the configuration of the surface of the shoe.
[0017] Further characteristics and advantages will become apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of a covering element particularly applicable to soccer shoes, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
figure 1 is a schematic perspective view, taken from the front end, of the covering element according to the invention;
figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of the covering element, taken from the rear end;
figure 3 is a top plan view of the covering element;
figure 4 is a bottom plan view of the covering element;
figure 5 is a transverse sectional view of the covering element, in which the shoe is schematically indicated;
figure 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of figure 3;
figure 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII of figure 3;
figure 8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII of figure 3;
figure 9 is a sectional view taken along the line IX-IX of figure 3;
figure 10 is a sectional view taken along the line X-X of figure 3;
figure 11 is a sectional view taken along the line XI-XI of figure 3;
figure 12 is a sectional view taken along the line XII-XII of figure 3;
figure 13 is a sectional view taken along the line XIII-XIII of figure 3;
figure 14 is a sectional view taken along the line XIV-XIV of figure 3.
[0018] With reference to the above figures, the covering element particularly applicable to soccer shoes, according to the invention, comprises a body, generally indicated by the reference numeral 1, which is advantageously made of a substantially elastic material which is constituted by synthetic or natural rubber or by materials which have similar characteristics.
[0019] Preferably, from experimental tests which have been conducted it has been found that it is advantageous to use a mix of natural or synthetic rubber with resilience characteristics equal to, or greater than, those of natural rubber, with a hardness comprised between 15 and 70 short A; in the base rubber, the mix has a content of more than 5% of natural rubber or synthetic rubber with resilience characteristics equal to, or greater than, those of natural rubber.
[0020] A chemical product known as "factice" and constituted by vulcanized oil is furthermore provided in the base rubber in a percentage comprised between 1 and 25%.
[0021] With respect to the base rubber, it is then possible to introduce plasticizing charges smaller than 250% with respect to the base rubber.
[0022] Said body 1 defines, in its front portion, an inner cavity 2 in which the front part of a soccer shoe, generally indicated by the reference numeral 3 and generically illustrated in figure 5, can be inserted.
[0023] It should be noted that the configuration of said cavity is not provided by means of a shape which is complementary to that of the shoe, but by means of a different shape, so that the body 1 assumes the required outer shape when the shoe is inserted.
[0024] Lateral bands 5 extend from the front part of the body 1, where said cavity 2 is defined, and taper substantially toward the rear region 6 which is arranged so as to embrace the heel of the shoe. An elongated narrow portion 8 extends between the rear region 6 and the lower part 7 of the body 1 and widens at said sole 7, where holes 11 can be defined for the passage of the studs 12 of the shoe.
[0025] In the front region, said body 1 defines, on its outer surface, a substantially planar front surface which is arranged proximate to the perpendicular with respect to the plane of arrangement of the lower part 7 and has in any case an outer surface which is inclined by no more than 30o with respect to the part 7.
[0026] At said front surface 20, the body 1 has a thickness, in its central part, which is comprised between 0.8 and 7 mm, and its radius of curvature with respect to the upper surface 30 is advantageously comprised between 1 and 30 mm in the various cross-sections.
[0027] The blending radius between the front part and the part 7 is internally comprised between 0.1 and 5 mm, i.e. it is substantially a sharp edge, whereas a radius comprised between 1 and 6 mm is provided externally.
[0028] The upper surface 30 is substantially concave and, as more clearly illustrated in figure 14, is arranged asymmetrically with respect to the median axis of the shoe; more precisely, its width, on the outer side of the foot, is greater by an amount comprised between 1 and 30% with respect to the distance between the centerline and the inner side of the foot; this entails, in a plan view, a different radius between the inner upper edge and the outer upper edge.
[0029] The body furthermore has an outer lateral surface 40 which is inclined, with respect to the plane which is perpendicular to the part 7, by an angle which is comprised between 5 and 50o; said angle becomes more acute from the tip toward the rear part, where the outer lateral surface 40 defines a cusp 41 which extends toward the upper and rear part.
[0030] The outer lateral surface affects a shoe portion comprised between 20 and 50%, and advantageously it has a concave shape 44 in the upper portion with a radius of curvature of more than 50 mm and a convex shape 45 at the cusp, with a radius of more than 35 mm, whereas in the lower part 46 of the cusp it again has a convex shape with a radius comprised between 15 and 100 mm.
[0031] The outer lateral surface divaricates from the upper surface, where it forms a cusp which has an upper radius which must not exceed 5 mm.
[0032] An inner lateral surface 50 is furthermore provided on the inner lateral surface of the body 1 and substantially has a shape which matches the configuration of the shoe with a reduction of the thickness of the body 1 to zero at the rear part, so as to respect in the best manner the only currently valid impact surface of a soccer shoe, i.e. the concavity of the inner instep.
[0033] The upper front surface is delimited, with respect to the inner and outer lateral surfaces, by two predominantly raised apexes 80 and 81 which have, in transverse cross-section, a radius substantially comprised between 0.1 and 10 mm; the inner apex 81, i.e. the apex which is interposed between the upper front surface and the outer lateral surface, is furthermore arranged at a lower level with respect to the outer apex 80 by an amount h which is advantageously comprised between 1 and 4 mm.
[0034] Observing the sectional views in detail, it can be seen that the cross-section illustrated in figure 8, substantially proximate to the tip, shows that the body 1 has lateral thicknesses comprised between 0.5 and 7 mm, with a substantially constant thickness until the radii of the inner cross-section start to vary in order to define the two apexes arranged outside the upper surface, where the thickness of the rubber can be comprised between 2 and 10 mm.
[0035] The radius of the curvature of the outer lateral surface varies between 10 and 150 mm, whereas the inner radius of the outer apex is comprised between 2,5 and 40 mm.
[0036] The radius of curvature of the concave front surface is comprised between 40 and 200 mm on the outer surface and advantageously comprised between 40 and 300 mm on the inner surface.
[0037] It should be noted that by means of this arrangement, the outer apex is relatively higher than the inner apex, so as to lower the trajectory of the ball in so-called half-overhead kicks, which normally tend to make the ball go too high.
[0038] This difference in height between the apexes is considerably important, since it allows to better direct the trajectory of the ball.
[0039] Observing the cross-section of figure 9, it can be seen that the inner curvature radii for radiusing between the outer surfaces and the front upper surface are comprised between 2.5 and 70 mm, whereas the curvature radii of the apexes and of the inner and outer surfaces are substantially similar to the preceding figure.
[0040] The outer lateral surface is inclined, in a transverse cross-section, by 10 to 50o with respect to the part 7 or bottom, whereas the inner lateral surface has an inclination comprised between 0 and 40o.
[0041] In the cross-section illustrated in figure 10, the curvature radius of the apex of the outer lateral surface increases until it reaches 80 mm.
[0042] At the cross-section of figure 11, which substantially illustrates a median portion of the shoe, the body 1 is practically interrupted in the lower part to leave free for impact the so-called "inner instep", which already presently constitutes an ideal surface for ball impact.
[0043] The end part of the outer lateral surface is furthermore substantially arranged in this region.
[0044] As can be seen from figure 12, which corresponds approximately to the foot instep, the front upper surface becomes substantially planar and the body 1 has a uniform thickness substantially comprised between 2 and 10 mm.
[0045] In the subsequent cross-section of figure 13 it can be seen that the body 1 has a surface with a convex radius which radiuses with the lateral constant-thickness surfaces.
[0046] According to the cross-section of figure 7, it is shown that the connection between the lower portion and the rear portion is defined by means of an edge which is preferably sharp or in any case has a radius not exceeding 10 mm.
[0047] It should also be noted that the length of the body 1 is calculated so that it is smaller than the length of the shoe on which it will be applied by an amount comprised between 10 and 40%, so that by exploiting the elasticity of the material it is possible to subject the body 1 to tension so as to keep it tightly secured to the shoe.
[0048] Furthermore, in order to facilitate foot transpiration, it is possible to provide holes, indicated by 85, which substantially affect the regions of the front part of the body 1 which covers the shoes, thus obtaining the advantage of facilitating foot transpiration and of further reducing the weight of said body 1.
[0049] Grooves, generally indicated by the reference numeral 90, are advantageously defined on the various impact surfaces defined; on the upper concave surface, said grooves are inclined from the rear left to the front right, for the right shoe, whereas they are inclined backward from the rear right to the front left for the left shoe. The outer lateral surface of the right shoe has grooves from the rear top to the front bottom both on the right foot and on the left foot; similarly, on the inner lateral surface of the left shoe and of the right shoe, the grooves are inclined from the rear top to the front bottom for both shoes.
[0050] The inclination of the grooves or knurlings imparts, at the moment of impact, a trajectory component to the ball which tends to lower the trajectory itself, consequently correcting the typical defects currently observed with the trend of the ball to rise with respect to playing field at the moment of impact.
[0051] From what has been described above it can thus be seen that the invention achieves the proposed aim and objects, and in particular the fact is stressed that by applying the body 1 to the shoe it is possible to impart a precise direction to the ball by means of a careful study of the ergonomic movements of a soccer player, in all the conditions of a match, providing four substantial impact surfaces and keeping substantially unchanged the only concave surface currently present in the shoe, i.e. the inner instep surface.
[0052] The body 1, as described, furthermore provides the advantage of having an absolute and persistent adhesion of the covering to the shoe, an excellent compliance with the problem related to the excess weight, which could in part cancel out the advantages offered by the provision of an ideal surface, and the problem of using a material suitable for the specific purpose, such as rubber or in any case elastomeric products or thermoplastic materials, which would have scarce foot ventilation if they were not provided with perforations distributed uniformly on their surfaces, is furthermore solved.
[0053] Covering a shoe with a covering, besides improving the characteristics of impact between the shoe and the ball, also gives the great advantage of protecting the shoe from wear.
[0054] Another extremely important aspect is furthermore constituted by the fact that the inner cavity is not shaped complementarily with respect to the shoe, so that in practice channels substantially filled with air are created at the apex regions and act as an element which allows a better adaptation to the surface during the impact of the ball and furthermore act as cushioning element in case of collisions between players at the moment of impact.
[0055] The invention thus conceived is susceptible to numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the inventive concept.
[0057] In practice, the materials employed, although the best results have been obtained with the above described materials, as well as the contingent shapes and dimensions, may be any according to the requirements.
[0058] Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the scope of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.
1. Covering element particularly applicable to soccer shoes, characterized in that it
comprises a body made of a substantially elastic material which defines a cavity for
the insertion of at least the front portion of a soccer player shoe and has means
for removable retention on said shoe, said body defining, on its outer surface: at
the front, at the tip, a substantially planar front surface; above, between the tip
and the instep of the foot, a substantially concave upper surface; and laterally,
an outer lateral surface which extends into a spur toward the rear upper part and
an inner lateral surface with a shape which corresponds substantially to the configuration
of the surface of the shoe.
2. Covering element, according to claim 1, characterized in that said means for the removable
retention of said body on said shoe comprise lateral bands which extend between the
front part of said body and a rear band which embraces the heel, an elongated narrow
portion being furthermore provided, said portion joining said rear band to the lower
part of said body, holes for the passage of the studs of the shoe being definable
in said lower part.
3. Covering element, according to the preceding claims, characterized in that said substantially
planar front surface is arranged substantially proximate to the perpendicular with
respect to the plane of arrangement of said lower part.
4. Covering element, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized
in that the angle formed between the perpendicular and the outer surface of said front
surface is smaller than 30o.
5. Covering element, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized
in that said concave upper surface is arranged asymmetrically with respect to the
median axis of the shoe, its width from the centerline to the outer side of the foot
being greater, by an amount comprised between 1 and 30%, than the distance between
the centerline and the inner lateral surface of said body.
6. Covering element, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized
in that the angle comprised between the outside of the outer lateral surface and the
perpendicular to the lower part is comprised between 5 and 50o, said angle increasing from the tip toward the upper part of said body.
7. Covering element, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized
in that said outer lateral surface has a length comprised between 20 and 50% of the
length of said body.
8. Covering element, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized
in that cusps which are raised with respect to said upper surface are defined between
said lateral surfaces and said upper surface, the outer cusp being at a higher level
than the inner cusp.
9. Covering element, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized
in that said cavity is shaped complementarily with respect to the inserted shoe only
in some surface portions in order to obtain the preset configuration on the inner
surfaces for impact with the ball.
10. Covering element, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized
in that said body has, in a longitudinal direction, a length which is smaller by an
amount comprised between 10 and 40% than the useful length of the shoe on which it
is applied.
11. Covering element, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized
in that said elongated narrow portion defines a sharp edge at the lower part of the
heel.
12. Covering element, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized
in that it comprises grooves on said lateral surfaces and on said concave upper surface.
13. Covering element, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized
in that said grooves on the upper surface of the right shoe are inclined from the
rear left backward to the front right on the upper surface of the right shoe, are
inclined from the rear right to the front left on the upper surface of the left shoe,
are inclined from the rear top backward to the front bottom, both for the right shoe
and for the left shoe, on the outer lateral surface, and are inclined from the rear
top to the front bottom, both for the right shoe and for the left shoe, on the inner
lateral surface.
14. Covering element, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized
in that it comprises a plurality of ventilation through holes defined on at least
one of said surfaces.