Background Art Shoes in general, and the implements used in various sports, are subjected to various stresses due to the unevenness of the surface of the terrain or of the snow-covered surface.

This unevenness causes unpleasant vibrations which prevent or limit a correct sports practice.

In the shoemaking field, solutions are currently known which are suitable to reduce the transmission of stresses to the foot due to vibrations transmitted by the skiing surface, by the supporting surface or vibrations due to skating and other vibrations. Those solutions consist in providing specific fixed inserts which are made of a single more or less soft material which is arranged for example in several parts of the boot or shoe or skate or sports implement according to chosen dimensions.

However, said inserts are generally made of a material which is more or less soft according to specific requirements of the individual sport; because of production, spares and cost concerns, those inserts are generally made available in a single material with specific technical characteristics which accordingly cannot take into account the various physical characteristics of users or their specific requirements.

For example, for the same foot size, the variation of the body weight of the user considerably affects the technical result that can be achieved with an insert whose dimensions and features are standardized. Those dimensions and features are accordingly determined and decided during design by the

manufacturer, in practice preventing the user from modifying them as he or she wishes or, for example, according to the characteristics of the surface used during sports practice.

The user must therefore passively accept the technical and structural choices made by the manufacturer, which might not correspond to various requirements of said user.

The same problem is found in the manufacture and design of sports implements, such as skates, skis or snowboards, ski bindings, etcetera: the inserts used to reduce the amount of stress and vibration transmitted to the foot still have preset characteristics and dimensions which are determined during design and therefore the user has no way to adapt the sports implement to his/her requirements, once again passively accepting the choices made by the manufacturer during design.

Going back to the problems above-described for shoes, for example in ski boots, there is the problem of obtaining a rigid structure, which is necessary in order to ensure adequate control of the sports implement and therefore ensure transmission of forces from the foot to the ski. This problem clashes with another requirement, i. e., to be able to walk for example when approaching the ski-lifts. As a partial solution to this drawback, solutions are known which provide for example for a mechanical articulation of the soles and of some components of boots by using mechanical hinges or by providing hollowed-out regions which act as hinges or by using soft materials arranged in the flexing region.

All these solutions, however, are difficult to apply, particularly due to production difficulties, due to possible infiltrations of water or to structural failure due to fatigue of the material over time.

Another problem that can be observed, for example in boots, consists in cushioning or locking the movement of the quarter with respect to the shell.

Solutions are therefore known which are generally of the mechanical type and comprise a plurality of different parts which entail, depending on the

increase of the characteristics to be modified or controlled, a high structural complexity and therefore a high cost of the mechanism, as well as a very long process for refining it and an increase in the weight of the boot and possible jamming problems due to the large number of components.

Summary of the Invention The aim of the present invention is to solve the technical problems of the above-cited prior art and therefore to provide a device which allows to achieve optimum and selectable control of the stresses applied to the foot in shoes or sports implements.

An important object is to provide a device which allows the individual user to rapidly and easily modify stress control according to his/her individual requirements or according to the particular sport or according to the terrain on which said sport is performed.

Another important object is to provide a device which is structurally simple and substantially does not alter the dimensions and weights of the shoes and of the sports implements to which it is applied.

Another important object is to provide a device which is free from malfunctions due to mechanical jamming and is structurally simple.

Another object is to provide a device which associates with the preceding characteristics that of being simple to industrialize and of providing a high containment of costs for production, storage and spares management according to the various sizes or dimensions of the shoes or sports implements.

This aim, these objects and others which will become apparent hereinafter are achieved by a device for controlling stresses in shoes and sports implements, characterized in that it is applied in at least one region subjected to stresses and in that it is constituted by at least one insert or cavity which contains a material which is capable of changing its physical state and can be activated by at least one magnetoelectric actuator.

Brief description of the drawings

Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of particular but not exclusive embodiments, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a side view of a ski boot; Figures 2 and 3 are lateral perspective views of an innerboot of the type that can be used inside a boot; Figure 4 is a side view of a ski binding; Figure 5 is a view of the binding of Figure 4, with a boot associated therewith; Figure 6 is a side view of a ski boot; Figure 7 is a partially sectional view of the boot of Figure 6; Figures 8 and 9 are views, similar to Figures 6 and 7, of another embodiment; Figure 10 is a side view of a shoe; Figures 11 and 12 are two partially sectional side views of the embodiment of Figure 10; Figure 13 is a side view of a shoe; Figures 14 and 15 are partially sectional side views of two shoes applied at a ski binding; Figures 16 and 17 are top views of the tip and tail ends of a ski with the device applied thereto; Figure 18 is a side view of the embodiment of Figures 16 and 17; Figure 19 is a view, similar to Figure 18, of another embodiment; Figure 20 is an exploded view of a roller skate; Figure 21 is a side view of another roller skate; Figure 22 is a sectional view, taken along the plane XXII-XXII of Figure 21; Figure 23 is a side view of another skate; Figure 24 is a sectional view, taken along the plane XIV-XIV of Figure

23; Figure 25 is a view, similar to Figure 24, of another embodiment; Figure 26 is a side view of another skate; Figure 27 is a sectional view, taken along the plane XVII-XVII of Figure 26; Figure 28 is a side view of another skate; Figure 29 is a sectional side view of a component of the skate of Figure 28; Figure 30 is a side view of a skate; Figure 31 is a partially sectional side view of another skate; Figure 32 is a partially sectional side view of another skate; Figure 33 is a partially sectional side view of a detail of Figure 32; Figure 34 is a partially sectional side view of another skate; Figure 35 is a detail view of the skate of Figure 34; Figure 36 is a partially sectional side view of another skate; Figure 37 is a view of a detail of Figure 36.

Wavs of carrying out the Invention With reference to the above figures, the numeral 1 designates a ski boot of the type constituted by a shell 2 which is articulated to a quarter 3 and has a tip 4 and a heel 5 which can be used for connection to a binding 6 for a ski or snowboard 7.

The stress control device, generally designated by the reference numeral 8, is partly constituted by an insert 9 which is applied at the tip 4 and at the heel unit and contains a material which is capable of changing its physical state and can be activated by at least one magnetoelectric actuator, such as a magnet 10.

Said magnet is located in a region which is adjacent to the insert 9 and is therefore, for example, associated with the shell 2.

Said magnets 10 can be detachably associated with the shell so that they can be replaced with others having stronger or weaker magnetic fields

which are suitable to modify the physical state of the material that constitutes the insert.

Said material can be constituted, for example, by a material known by the name RHEONETIC (a registered trademark of LORD TECHMARK, a subsidiary of the US company LORD CORPORATION): essentially, it is a fluid which can pass from the liquid state to the solid state even in a short time if it is subjected to a magnetic field due to the presence of metallic particles, which arrange themselves in an orderly fashion according to the position of the positive pole and of the negative pole, determining a change in the physical state of said material.

In the particular application described, the device allows to cushion vibrations transmitted during sports practice to the foot of the user, who can modify the characteristics of said material, according to his/her requirements, simply by replacing the magnets with others which generate a stronger or weaker magnetic field with respect to the preceding magnet.

Figures 2 and 3 illustrate the application of the device at an innerboot 11 of the soft type which can be inserted in a ski boot or in the shell of, for example, a roller skate or ice skate; in particular, the insole 12 used in the innerboot 11 can directly constitute the insert 9 if the insole is associated below the innerboot, as shown in Figure 2, or accommodated inside it, as shown in Figure 3.

In this case, the magnets can again be placed at the shell, in a region which is adjacent to said insole.

Figures 4 and 5 illustrate the use of the device at the binding 6 for a ski 7; said binding is of the type constituted by a front toe unit 13 and a rear heel unit 14.

In this case, the insert 9 can be interposed between the upper surface 15 of the ski 7 and the plate 16 for connecting the toe unit 13 and the heel unit 14.

A sort of insulating layer is thus formed between the ski and the binding,

whereas the magnets 10 can, for example, be associated at the body 17 of the heel unit 14 and/or at the toe unit 13 and/or at the plate 16.

In this case also, it is therefore possible to customize the degree of the stresses that can be applied by the ski to the foot of the user, acting not only on the shoe but also on the ski.

The magnets 10 can of course be placed in a chosen number in any point of the shoe binding or of the ski.

Figures 6 and 7 illustrate another application of the device, which is used to limit or cushion the backward movement of the quarter 3.

In this case, the insert 9 is arranged externally and to the rear of the shell 2 proximate to the upper perimetric edge 18 thereof.

Advantageously, the insert 9 abuts in a downward region against a first tab 19 which protrudes outside the shell 2 and against a second tab 20 which protrudes inside the quarter 3 in a region located above said insert 9.

Advantageously, it is possible to apply magnets 10 outside the shell 3 in a region which is adjacent to the underlying insert 9.

Said inserts can be advantageously triangular.

As an alternative, as shown in figure 9, the device can be constituted by a cavity 21 obtained at a corresponding raised portion 22 which protrudes to the rear of the shell 2 proximate to the upper perimetric edge 18. The material capable of modifying its physical state can be arranged inside the cavity 21.

A piston 23 can slide inside the cavity 21, protrudes outside and above the raised portion 22, and is connected to the second tab 20 and protrudes inside the quarter 3.

The magnet or magnets 10 can again be arranged at the outer lateral surface of the quarter 3 that is adjacent to the raised portion 22.

Figure 10 generally illustrates a shoe 24 provided with a soft or rigid upper 25 below which a sole 26 of the soft type is associated.

An insert 9 is associated or embedded inside the sole 26, and affects for

example the region between the plantar arch and the tip of the toes. The insert can be as wide as the foot or narrower.

Below the insert 9, it is possible to arrange multiple actuators, optionally in contact with said insert and by embedding them or associating them within the sole. The multiple actuators are constituted by magnets 10 which are mutually connected by means of a line 27 which is in turn connected at an activator 28 which is located at the heel 5 of the sole and is provided with an electric power supply, such as a battery.

Advantageously, the activator 28 can have a third tab 29 which protrudes upward and outside the heel 5 and acts as a switch for supplying power to the magnets 10.

The user can thus decide to keep a soft sole or to increase its hardness according to specific requirements.

Thus, for example, this solution can be used in ski boots, which require completely different characteristics, such as deformability and rigidity, with the same shoe, depending on whether it is used for walking or for skiing.

The activator 28 can be activated for example by pressing, as shown in figure 12, and can therefore be used for example in this respect in combination with a binding 6 for a ski or a snowboard. In this condition, shown in figure 14, when the shoe is coupled to the binding and in particular when the heel interacts with the jaw 30 of the heel unit 14, the magnets 10 are affected so as to force a change of state of the material that is present in the insert 9, which can accordingly become totally rigid.

As an alternative, just the insert 9 is associated with the sole 26, whereas the magnet or magnets 10 are associated with the plate 50 that connects the toe unit 13 and the heel unit 14 of a binding for a ski 7, as shown in Figure 15.

Figures 16 to 19 illustrate another application for the device 8, which can be applied proximate to the tip 31 and/or the tail 32 of a ski 7, acting as a vibration-damping device.

This solution uses a shock absorber which is constituted by a stem 33 which is arranged above the ski 7 and is coupled, at its end, at a first enclosure 34 and at a second enclosure 35 which are in turn coupled to the ski.

The device 8 can be arranged, for example, at the first or second enclosures; in the latter case, the insert 9 is associated with the end of the stem 33 that lies inside the second enclosure 35 and at least one magnet 10 is arranged above it.

In this manner, during skiing the vibrations applied to the ski due to the unevenness of the snow-covered surface are transmitted to the stem 33 and then transmitted and damped by the insert 9.

In this case also, the skier can therefore modify the characteristics of the material contained in the insert 9 and therefore modify the vibration- damping capacity.

Figure 20 illustrates a skate 36 which is composed of a shoe 24 of the type which can be associated, in a downward region, at a support 37 which rests on a first base 38 and on a second base 39 of a frame 40 between the wings 41 of which a series of wheels 42 is freely pivoted.

The device is constituted, in this case, by an insert 9 which contains the material capable of modifying its physical state: said insert assumes, for example, the configuration of an auxiliary shell 43 which surrounds the heel region 44 and affects the sole of the foot of the user. The insert is interposed between the shoe 24 and the support 37.

The device also comprises magnets 10, which can be arranged for example at the first base 38, at the second base 39 and at the support 37.

As an alternative, as shown in Figures 21 and 22, it is possible to use two inserts, both designated by the reference numeral 9, which are arranged in the interspace between the first base 38 and the second base 39 of the support 37 and the lower surface of the auxiliary shell 43.

It is therefore possible to provide pairs of magnets 10 which can be

detachably and externally associated with the wings 41 of the frame 40 for the pivoting of the wheels 42.

Figures 23 and 24 illustrate another embodiment, in which the insert 9 is interposed between the outer surface of the first base 38 and of the second base of the frame 40 for the pivoting of the wheels 42 and a third base 45 of an auxiliary frame 46 which is again C-shaped and between the wings 47 of which the frame 40 is slidingly associated.

The third base 45 can of course be rigidly coupled at the lower surface of the auxiliary shell 43.

Advantageously, it is possible to provide pairs of magnets 10 which are detachably and laterally associated with the wings 47 of the frame 46.

In this solution, the insert 9 is provided by means of a material which is capable of modifying its physical state so as to act both as a shock- absorbing element and as an element for connecting the frame and the auxiliary frame.

Figure 23 illustrates another variation, which uses pairs of inserts 9 which are interposed between the outer lateral surfaces of the wings 47 of the auxiliary frame 46 and the inner lateral surface of the wings 41 of the frame 40.

In this case also, pairs of magnets 10 are used which are detachably and externally associated with the wings 47 of the auxiliary frame 46 in a region which is adjacent to the inserts 9.

Figures 26 and 27 illustrate another embodiment, in which the frame 40 between which the wheels 42 are pivoted is divided into multiple elements by interposing between them, for shock-absorbing and connecting purposes, multiple inserts 9, which can for example partially or totally surround the regions adjacent to the region for the pivoting of the pivots 48 of each wheel 42 or can connect in various manners the perimetric edges of the wings 41.

In this case it is of course possible to provide a plurality of magnets 10 arranged in any manner in regions which are adjacent to the inserts 9 and

therefore, for example, in various regions of the wings 41 and therefore, for example, proximate to one or more regions provided with said inserts 9.

Figures 28,29 and 30 illustrate the application of the device at the brake 49 which is associated in an oscillating manner with the rear of the frame 40 and is optionally actuated by the backward oscillation of the quarter 3 by means of a suitable rod 51.

The brake 49 is constituted for example by an enclosure 52 with which an auxiliary wheel 53 is pivoted at an end which is directed toward the ground; said auxiliary wheel is suitable to interact with said ground.

The auxiliary wheel 53 is constituted by a tread 54 which is associated with an internal cage 55 provided with a hub 56 for pivoting to the enclosure 52.

Said internal cage 55 forms a cavity which accommodates the insert 9 or directly accommodates the material capable of modifying its physical state.

At this point it is possible to use one or more magnets 10 arranged laterally and removably with respect to the enclosure 52.

In this case, braking occurs when the user makes the auxiliary wheel 53 interact with the ground; the tread 54 therefore transmits the rotary motion to the internal cage 55 through the insert 9, whose high viscosity for example provides a high contrast to the rotation, which affects the skate in the form of a braking action.

Said braking capacity is of course determined by the viscosity of the material that constitutes the insert 9 and therefore also by the performance of the magnet 10 in addition to being linked to the speed of the skate and to the mass of the user.

Figure 31 illustrates another solution, which is applied to a skate 1 in which the brake 49 is again of the type that comprises an auxiliary wheel 53 which is provided as in the preceding solution and is slidingly associated with the wings 41 of the pivoting frame 40 for the wheels 42 in a region which is intermediate between two of said wheels, preferably in the region

below the heel of the user.

The auxiliary wheel 53 can therefore be activated, in its movement, by means of at least one rod 57 which is articulated to the end of a bar 58 which is centrally pivoted between the wings 41 of the frame 40 and is rigidly coupled, at its other end, for example to a cable 59 which passes inside the shell 2 and is then guided at the upper perimetric edge 18 of said shell and rigidly coupled to the quarter 3.

A rotation of the quarter is therefore matched by the activation of the bar 58, consequently pushing the auxiliary wheel 53 into contact with the two mutually adjacent wheels 42.

In this case, the magnet 10 can be arranged in a region which is adjacent to the hub of the auxiliary wheel.

Figures 32 and 33 illustrate another embodiment, in which one or more of the wheels 42 of the skate are provided according to the technology shown in Figures 28 and 29 for the auxiliary wheel 53 and are therefore again provided with a tread connected to an internal cage which forms, together with the hub, a seat for the insert 9 or for the material capable of changing its physical state: in this case it is possible to use magnets 10 which are arranged for example coaxially to the hub, so as to obtain a uniform braking action on all the wheels; this allows to reduce the wear of the individual wheel.

In order to vary the braking effect, there is an activator 28 which is provided with an electric power supply, such as a battery, which by means of a connection, for example by means of a cable 27, supplies the individual magnets 10 with electric power so as to modify the viscosity of the insert 9 arranged at each wheel 42.

The activator 28 can be actuated by a suitable element for connection to the quarter 3, such as a cable 59 which is preferably passed inside the shell 2, is made to exit from it at the upper perimetric edge 18 of said shell and is connected to the quarter 3, so that a rotation of said quarter is matched by

the actuation, or lack thereof, of the activator 28.

Figures 34 and 35 again illustrate a skate 36 in which the insert comprising the material capable of modifying its physical state is again associated at the last two rear wheels 42, which are pivoted between the wings 41 of the frame 40, as in the solutions shown in Figures 28 to 33; in this case, however, the actuator is constituted by at least one pair of magnets 10 which are slidingly associated at suitable slots 60a and 60b formed in one wing 41 of the frame 40 in a region that lies between the pivots of the last two wheels 42.

Said magnets can therefore be made to slide in mutually opposite directions and therefore so as to move them simultaneously toward or away from the hub of the respective adjacent wheel by means of a pair of rods 57a and 57b which are pivoted thereto and are pivoted at their other end to the base of a connecting element 61 which is preferably triangular and whose vertex is associated, by virtue of a connecting element 62, with the end of a bar 58 which is pivoted between the wings 41 of the frame 40 and is associated, at the other end, with a cable 59 which can be tensioned by a rotation of the quarter 3.

In this case, therefore, the rotation of the quarter entails the movement of the two magnets 10 from the condition shown in Figure 34, which provides the maximum distance from the hubs of the last two wheels 42, to the minimum-distance condition, shown in Figure 35, in which the maximum actuation of the braking action occurs due to the change in the viscosity of the material that is present on the two wheels 42.

Figures 36 and 37 illustrate another solution for a skate 36; in this case, an auxiliary wheel 53 is used again and is placed in a region which is intermediate between the last two wheels 42 which are pivoted between the wings 41 of the frame 40, said auxiliary wheel 53 having a pivot 48 for pivoting between the wings 41 which also acts at two slots 60 which are formed approximately vertically on said wings and are such as to shift the

auxiliary wheel 53 so that it arranges itself either in contact with the ground or raised with respect to it in a free region between the rolling surfaces of the last two wheels 42.

The auxiliary wheel 53 is again lifted by applying to the quarter 3 a rotation which allows for example to tension a cable 59 which connects the quarter 3 to the end of a bar 58 which is pivoted between the wings 41 of the frame 40 in a region which lies above the last wheel 42 and, at the other end, at a rod 57 which is pivoted, at its other end, to the pivot 48 of the auxiliary wheel 53.

In this case, the magnet 10 or the pair of magnets 10 is arranged on the outer lateral surface of the wings 41 and of the frame 40 in such a region as to arrange them coaxially with respect to the auxiliary wheel 53 in the condition for interacting with the ground, and therefore for activating the braking action, shown in Figure 37.

All these solutions therefore allow to achieve the above mentioned aim and objects, since a device has been devised which can be applied both to shoes and to sports implements and allows to achieve optimum and selectable control of the stresses applied to the foot during sports practice, said control being customizable by the user according to his individual requirements and according for example to the terrain or snow-covered surface on which the sport is practiced.

The device is structurally simple and compact and does not alter substantially the dimensions or weight of the shoes and sports implements to which it is applied.

The possibility to change the magnetoelectric actuators in fact allows a high level of customization of the shock-absorbing or braking effect for example in skates.

Moreover, the user of inserts or cavities containing the material capable of changing its physical state by means of the magnetoelectric actuator allows to considerably simplify the mechanisms otherwise used in the cited

prior art, thus containing costs considerably for an equal level of performance.

The device is of course susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the same inventive concept.

The materials and the dimensions that constitute the individual components of the device may of course also be the most pertinent according to specific requirements.

The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. TV99A000018 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.