Boat shoe bottom with excellent drainage and anti-slip features.

The present patent application relates to a boat shoe bottom with excellent drainage and anti-slip features.

As it is known, the market offers a special type of sports shoes, especially dedicated to yachtsmen, characterised in that they are provided with an outsole made of soft rubber to ensure user comfort while protecting the surface of the boat during walking.

These shoes are often provided with a box bottom, of the type provided with a monolithic structure that extends from the tip to the heel and is entirely surrounded by a basically vertical edge adapted to be the surface against which the upper is fixed (by seaming and/or gluing).

It can be otherwise said that the presence of said perimeter edge make is possible for the bottom to be provided with a sort of tub for insertion of the insole.

In actual fact, the insole does not rest directly on the bottom wall of said internal space of the outsole, but on top of a grid of basically vertical projections that protrude from the bottom wall and are obtained with the same material and during the same moulding as the bottom.

Nevertheless, it must be noted that the boat shoes designed according to such a structural configuration are impaired by at least two significant drawbacks.

In order to illustrate them, it must be noted that in a sailing boat people often walk on surfaces that are very wet, if not flooded with water.

In such a situation the water entering the boat uncontrollably and largely penetrates the people's shoes through the uppers and remains inside the shoes, being devoid of a way of outflow.

The water flooding the upper tends to penetrate through the insole inside the cavity of the box bottom, where it remains contained inside the "closed" cells formed by the various intersecting sections of the grid of basically vertical projections.

In such a condition people remain with their feet "flooded" inside their shoes for a long time.

On the other hand, it must be considered that the plastic bottoms mounted on the most common boat shoes have a smooth walking surface with some slight notches.

In view of the above, they are completely inappropriate to ensure anti- slip features when the shoes come in contact with the internal surface of a sailing boat, which is wet and often slippery.

The specific purpose of the present invention is to remedy the inconveniences of the prior art and, more precisely, devise a bottom for boat shoes with excellent drainage or "self-emptying" feature for the abundant water flows that have penetrated inside the shoes through the upper.

In particular, the inventive idea that has made it possible to achieve this first purpose has been to provide the inside of the bottom of the invention, under the insole, with a series of preferential channels adapted to convey the water penetrated inside it towards holes that ensure "natural" outflow towards the outside.

For the good operation of this operational logic, the profiles of said preferential channels adapted to favour water outflow are inclined towards the outflow holes and the holes are situated in the lowest points of the bottom of the invention.

Another purpose of the present invention, for the development of the anti-slip features of the bottom in question, has been achieved by means of a special tread.

Said tread is provided with a special raised surface that is capable, as in car tyres, of "breaking" the water veil formed on the walking surface (specifically, the surface of the sailing boat) to prevent the aquaplaning effect that is currently responsible for the poor grip of traditional, basically smooth rubber outsoles.

For purposes of clarity, the description of the invention continues with reference to the enclosed drawings, which are intended for purposes of illustration only and not in a limiting sense, wherein:

- Figure 1 is a top view of the bottom of the invention;

- Figure 2 is a bottom view of the bottom of the invention;

- Figure 3 is a side view of the bottom of the invention;

- Figure 4 is a back view of the bottom of the invention;

- Figure 5 is a cross-section of figure 1 with plane V-V.

- Figure 6 is a top view of the bottom of the invention according to a further constructive embodiment;

- Figure 7 is a cross-section of fig. 6 with transversal plane VII-VII.

Referring to the figures, the bottom of the invention (1 ) generally has a traditional configuration, which comprises a perimeter edge (2) that surrounds an internal space (V), from the bottom wall (1a) of which numerous basically vertical projections protrude upwards, supporting a traditional insole, not illustrated in the enclosed figures,

As mentioned above, the internal structure of the bottom of the invention (1 ) is determined by the intention to ensure excellent drainage features for the undesired water flows that penetrate inside it.

It must be noted that the projections (3) protruding from the bottom wall (1a) on the internal surface of the front half-sole are arranged in longitudinal parallel lines that are slightly spaced one from another.

In view of the above, a continuous channel (30) is created between each adjacent pair of lines of projections (3), along which the water that has possibly penetrated inside the bottom of the invention (1 ) can flow freely.

In particular, the water outflow is produced from the tip to the heel and accordingly the internal surface of the front half-sole is not perfectly flat, and tends to have an inclined profile, in which the section that corresponds to the tip of the bottom (1 ) is at a considerably higher height than the section that corresponds to the plantar arch of the bottom (1 ), as shown in fig. 5.

Said longitudinal channels (30) have an inclined profile, with the front end at a higher height than the back end.

Because of the inclined channels (30), the water that penetrates inside the front half-sole of the bottom of the invention (1 ) tends to be conveyed backwards towards the plantar arch, which is provided with a first drainage hole (4), with basically vertical axis, that crosses the entire thickness of the bottom (1 ) and is capable of draining the water towards the ground.

The projections (3) are arranged in herringbone configuration to additionally favour the conveyance of the water flow.

Moreover, because of the inclination given to the surface of the bottom wall (1a) on the front half-sole of the bottom (1 ), the projections (3) have a progressively increasing height from the tip to the plantar arch; this is due to the fact that the upper ends must be situated at the same height to define a basically flat surface in order to guarantee correct horizontal support to a traditional insole; reference is made to fig. 5.

Moreover, a special configuration is given to the internal structure of the heel (1 b) of the bottom (1 ).

As a matter of fact, a longitudinal rib (5) projects upwards from the centre of this area (1 b), being provided on the two sides with symmetrically opposite series of conveying and stiffening flaps (6) facing backwards.

Additional series of second conveying and stiffening flaps (7) are provided on the right and left-hand side of the rib (5), facing backwards and basically interfaced with said series of first conveying flaps (6).

Accordingly, two additional conveying channels (300) are formed on the right and left-hand side of the central rib (5), being adapted to be crossed by the water that has not been drained through the first drainage (4) hole.

The conveying action of the channels (300) is favoured not only by the four cooperating series of flaps (6, 7), but also by the inclination given (from the front to the back) to the surface (1 c) under them.

In actual fact, the back end of each channel (300) is provided with a second drainage hole (40), basically with horizontal axis, through which water can be drained on the back of the bottom of the invention (1 ).

It can be said that, also in this case, each of the drainage holes (40) is situated at a considerably lower height than the inlet section (immediately behind the plantar arch) of the conveying channel (300).

Finally, it must be noted that two additional conveying flaps (8) adapted to convey the water towards the hole (4) between them are provided immediately behind the series of front projections (3) and basically on the sides of said first drainage hole (4).

Figures 6 and 7 show an alternative constructive embodiment of the bottom of the invention, which differs from the one described above only in that it is provided with lateral drainage holes (400) arranged along the internal border of said internal space (V) of the bottom (1 ), the bottom wall (1a) of which being provided with internal surface with inclined profile adapted to favour the lateral conveyance of water infiltrations both towards the right side and the left side of the bottom (1 ).

As shown in fig. 7, said internal surface of the bottom wall (1a) is given a so- called saddlebacked profile, with highest point on the longitudinal axis of the bottom (1 ), and lowest point in the intersection between the internal surface of the bottom wall (1a) with the internal border of the space (V).

Consequently, the projections (3) have a progressively increasing height from the longitudinal axis to the sides of the bottom (1 ); this is due to the fact that the upper ends of the projections (3) must be arranged at the same height from the right side to the left side, in order to define a basically flat surface, adapted to guarantee correct horizontal support to the traditional insole; reference is made to fig. 7.

In order to develop the anti-slip feature of the bottom of the invention (1 ), great care has been given to the design of the tread used in the front half-sole; reference is made to fig. 2.

In actual fact, the "front" tread is composed of a regular series of individual basically parallelepiped spikes (10) separated by a grid of suitable grooves (11 ).

The peculiarity of each spike (10) consists in the presence of a central concavity with basically pyramidal profile (10a).

In view of the above, when a similar spike (10) interferes with the water veil on the walking surface, its end interferes with said veil only on the lower perimeter border that, because of the pointed profile, acts as a sort of square blade capable of cutting the water veil and guarantee suitable grip with the walking surface.

Instead, in the heel area, the tread of the bottom (1 ) is composed of two longitudinal raised tongues (12) with scaled surface intrinsically provided with excellent anti-slip feature.