The present invention relates to functional footwear suitable for rope climbing, and in particular to a sole attachable to an upper of a footwear and adapted to provide improved rope climbing capabilities. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a manufacturing method of such sole and footwear.

INTRODUCTION Many outdoor and indoor activities of today still use ropes either for recreational purposes, or as a tool to climb up and/or over obstacles, to cross inaccessible areas such as a river or gorge, or to bridge two peaks.

For example, vertical rope climbing is a popular training exercise that is frequently used for a full body workout in the army. Soldiers and combat athletes in particular have been using climbing ropes for training exercises for thousands of years mainly because it is both simple and very effective. Recently, rope climbing has also been rediscovered in today's recreational gyms. Commonly known techniques of climbing a rope or traversing on a rope are shown in Figure 1. Figures 1 (a] and (b] show a very popular rope climbing technique used particularly in army and combat training drills, where the feet are used for support and/or as an anchor. Both techniques (a] and (b] are based on the principle of pinching/clamping the rope between the feet so as to create sufficient foothold to support the climber's body weight without having to use the hands and arms. This technique is also called the "brake and squat" technique and allows the climber to "inchworm" up the rope by (i] bending the legs, (ii] "braking" the feet on the rope and (iif) straighten the legs to push the body up the rope, (iv] re-gripping the rope at a higher point of the rope and (v] loosening the "brake" between the feet to repeat the cycle until the climber reaches the top of the rope. The same technique can be used when descending a rope, but in reverse order. In the technique shown in Figure 1 (a], the rope is simply pinched between the sole of a first foot / shoe and a region of the dorsum of the second foot / shoe to create enough friction between the rope and the foot / shoe surfaces allowing to support the bodyweight of the climber. The technique shown in Figure 1 (b] is a similar to the technique shown in Figure 1 (a], but varies in that the rope is wrapped around the dorsum of the first foot and the sole of the second foot so as to create a loop for the second foot to stand in and to support the climbers body weight. Figure 1 (c] shows a technique specifically used for traversing on a rope, for example to cross a river or gorge. Here, the climber uses hands and interlocking feet to hold on to the rope and to horizontally traverse along the rope. A harness and clipper or snap-hook may be used to secure/belay the climber to the rope and take the bodyweight off the hands and feet.

When applying the techniques as shown in Figures 1 (a] to (c], it is generally recommended to use at least some kind of footwear to improve the stiffness of the foot sole and/or provide protection against injuries caused by the rope. Other activities where foot-supported rope-handling techniques are used can be found, for example, in sailing or tree logging.

Most of the currently available footwear may be adapted to provide stiffness and/or protection to the climber's foot. However, none of the available footwear is adapted to specifically facilitate and/or improve foot-supported rope climbing techniques as shown in Figures 1 (a], (b] or (c] or other rope-handling activities such as in sailing or tree-logging. Also, footwear is subjected to considerable wear and tear when used for any one of the above mentioned rope-handling activities, hence the lifetime of the footwear is significantly shortened, therefore increasing the cost for repair and/or replacement. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide functional footwear that improves the effectiveness and ergonomics when handling ropes, and in particular when climbing ropes. It is an object of the invention to obviate or mitigate one or more of the problems associated with the use of currently available footwear when rope handling or climbing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Preferred embodiments of the invention seek to overcome one or more of the above disadvantages of the prior art.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sole attachable to an upper of a footwear suitable for rope climbing, comprising:

a base portion adapted to receive a foot having an insole surface and an outsole surface;

at least one grip support member, extending from a lateral side and/or medial side of said base portion in a region corresponding to the metatarsal and proximal phalanges, in a direction up and around the upper towards the dorsum of the foot, and adapted to be engageable with a climbing rope during rope climbing.

This provides the advantage that the stiffness of the footwear is only increased at the portion of the footwear that engages with the rope during rope climbing or rope handling, thus allowing a relatively flexible shoe to provide sufficient support and protection to the foot. Also, the grip support member according to the first aspect of the present invention provides the advantage of increased friction between the footwear and the rope when engaged in, for example, foot-supported rope climbing. Hence, the climber may expand considerably less energy for forcing the feet together in order to provide enough friction and support between the feet and the rope. The grip support member also improves the protection of the foot by providing additional padding that absorbs the constriction forces exerted by the rope looped around the foot. Therefore, the protective layer provided by the grip support member, not only enhances the functionality of the footwear with regards to rope handling or rope climbing, but also improves the durability of the footwear.

Advantageously, the grip support may comprise an outer grip surface having a complementary profile to the outer surface of a climbing rope. In particular the outer grip surface may have a concave portion which is complementary to the outer profile of a climbing rope. More advantageously, the outer grip surface may comprise a tread pattern adapted to cooperate with the outer surface of the climbing rope by frictional engagement. Even more advantageously, the tread pattern comprises a plurality of sipes aligned transversely to a longitudinal axis of said outer grip surface. The sipes are slits cut in the surface of the rubber. This provides the advantage that the contact surface between the grip support member and the outer rope surface is maximised, thus maximising the friction provided between the footwear and the rope. In particular, the complementary profile is a concavely shaped surface that is adapted to receive the rope such as to provide a guide for the rope when moved over and/or around the footwear. This facilitates the movement of the climber up or down the rope, because the rope is lead by the concave surface such as to retain it in its correct position around the footwear so that the footwear does not accidentally slip out of engagement with the rope. The tread pattern or sipes further enhance the gripping properties similar to the profile of a tyre by increasing friction between the rope and the outer grip surface and by facilitating the removal of moisture.

The outer grip surface may be removably attached to the grip support member, therefore providing the advantage that a worn or damaged outer grip surface can be replaced with a new one to restore the footwear to its full functionality without having to replace the whole sole or footwear. The outsole surface of the base portion may comprise a distal outsole end and a proximal outsole end spaced apart by a bridging region formed by said grip support surface. Advantageously, the outer grip surface starts from a region along a central longitudinal axis of said base portion and extends substantially perpendicular to said central longitudinal axis of said base portion along the longitudinal axis of said grip support member.

This provides the advantage that the outer grip surface matches the natural line of a bent rope therefore maximizing the contact surface between the grip support member and the rope. This increases the friction between the grip support member and the rope, and improves the rope-guiding capabilities of the grip support member.

The at least one grip support member may further comprise at least one reinforcement portion coupled between said grip support member and said base portion. This provides the advantage of additional structural strength to the grip support member.

A first of said at least one grip support member may extend from a medial side of said base portion in a region corresponding to the first metatarsal, in a direction up and around the upper alignable with the inferior extensor retinaculum tendon. Furthermore, a second of said at least one grip support member may extend from a lateral side of said base portion in a region corresponding to the fifth metatarsal, in a direction up and around the upper along a curved axis parallel to the inferior extensor retinaculum tendon.

The grip support member may terminate at the dorsum of the foot.

The sole may be removably attachable to the upper of a footwear. Advantageously, the sole may be removably attached to the upper via strapping means. This provides the advantage that the sole can be easily replaced in case of damage. Alternatively, the sole may be fixedly attached to the upper. Advantageously, the grip support member may be fixedly attached to the upper so as to be supported by the upper. This provides the advantage of an improved integrity due to a stronger bond between the sole and the upper, therefore minimizing tear and wear of the footwear.

The sole may be made of a polymer material. Advantageously, the sole may be made of a polymer rubber.

The preferred shore hardness for the grip support side straps is 40-50 Shore A .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows an example of the foot position for (a] a first "brake and squad" rope climbing technique, (b] an alternative second "brake and squad" rope climbing technique, and (c] a rope traversing technique; and

Figure 2 shows a preferred embodiment of the sole of the present invention from (a] a lateral view (where the dashed lower line is a flat surface on which the sole is resting], (b] a bottom view, (c] a medial view, and (d] a cross sectional view along A-A; and Figure 3 shows the sole of Figure 2 when fixedly attached to the upper of a footwear from (a] a lateral view, (b] a bottom view, (c] a medial view, and (d] a top view; and Figure 4 shows an alternative embodiment of the sole of the present invention when removably attached to the upper of a footwear from (a] a lateral view, (b] a bottom view, (c] a medial view, and (d] a top view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Referring to Figure 2 (a], (b], (c] and (d], a preferred example of the sole 100 embodying the present invention comprises a base portion 102, a first grip support member 104 extending from a lateral side of the base portion 102, a second grip support member 106 extending from a medial side of the base portion 102. First and second grip support member 104 and 106 are integral parts of the base portion 102 of the sole 100 in this embodiment. The first grip support member 104 extends from a region corresponding to the fifth metatarsal bone, and the second grip support member extends from a region corresponding to the first metatarsal bone. A first outer grip surface 108 and a second outer grip surface 110 are located along a longitudinal axis of the respective first and second grip support members 104 and 106 and are an integral part of respective first and second grip support members 104 and 106. Alternatively, at least part of the first and/or second outer grip surface 108 and 110 are removably attached to respective grip support members 104 and 106. For example, the first and/or second outer grip surface 108 and 110 could be in the form of an inlay that is press-fitted into a recess of respective grip support member 104 and 106. It is understood by the skilled person in the art that any other suitable attachment means, such as a hook and loop fastener, may be used to removably attach respective first and/or second outer grip surface 108 and 110 to the grip support member 104 and/or 106. Also, first and/or second grip surface 108 and 110 may be made of a different material to the grip support member 104 and 106. A preferred material for the first and/or second grip surface is a rubber with a shore harness of 40-50 Shore A. The outer surface inlays (not shown] may be made of a stiffer, more resilient material. Alternatively, the outer surface inlays (not shown] may be made of a softer material that has enhanced frictional properties when in engagement with the rope.

As shown in Figure 2 (a] and (c], first and second outer grip surface 108 and 110 are concavely shaped such as to match the outer surface of the climbing rope therefore maximising the contact surface between the climbing rope and the grip support member 108, 110. The first and second outer grip surface 108 and 110 further include a tread pattern in form of a plurality of sipes 112 aligned transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the first and second grip support member 104 and 106.

The grip support member 104 and/or 106 may also be concavely shaped in the area where it associates with or receives the first and/or second grip surface. The tread pattern improves the grip between the rope and the sole to minimise slipping.

As shown in Figure 2 (b], the base portion 102 of the sole 100 is divided into a distal outsole portion 114 and a proximal outsole portion 116 which are spaced apart by a bridging portion 118 of the first and second outer grip surface 108 and 110. Preferably, proximal outsole portion 116, distal outsole portion 114 and bridging portion 118 are an integral part of the base portion 102 of the sole 100. More preferably, the bridging portion 118 of first and second outer grip surface 108 and 110, starts from a region along a central longitudinal axis of the base portion 102, so as to form two symmetrically opposed outer grip surfaces. The first and/or second grip support member 104 and 106 have respective first and second reinforcement frame portions 120 and 122, located proximally and distally of respective first and/or second outer grip surface 108 and 110. The reinforcement frame portions 120 and 122 prevent longitudinal movement of the first and/or second grip support member 104 and 106 with respect to the base portion 102 of the sole 100.

Referring now to Figure 3 (a], (b], (c] and (d], the sole 100 of the preferred embodiment of the present invention is fixedly attached to an upper 202 of a footwear 200. The sole 100 may be sewn and/or glued to the upper 202 of footwear 200, or attached to the upper and/or footwear by any other suitable attaching, adhering or bonding means.

Figure 4 (a], (b], (c] and (d] shows an alternative embodiment 300 of the sole 100 of the present invention, comprising all of the features of the preferred embodiment of the sole 100, but which is removably attachable to the upper 202 of footwear 200 by means of straps 302. Preferably, the straps 302 are coupled to the reinforcement frame portions 304 of the first grip support member 306 and/or are formed from an extension of the outer grip surface 308 of the second grip support member 310. Preferably, the straps 302 may attach to the upper 202 via a hook and loop fastener (not shown] in order to removably fix the sole 300 to the upper 202 of the footwear 200. Alternatively, the straps 302 may use a buckle mechanism to fasten the sole 300 to the upper 202 of the footwear 200. However, it is understood by the skilled person in the art that any other suitable fastening means may be used to removably attach the sole 300 to the upper 202 of footwear 200.

In another alternative embodiment, first and/or second grip support member 104, 106, 306, 310 and respective bridging portion 118 may be removably retrofit to a footwear using strap 302 as described above. Preferably, the sole 100, 300 may be made of any resilient material suitable to form a sole of a footwear. For example, the sole 100, 300 may be made from any polymer material, and in particular may be made from any polymer rubber. It is important that the material selected for the sole is sufficiently soft to allow contouring to the shape of the foot whilst remaining sufficiently hardwearing for a reasonable length of use. Furthermore, the material is selected to be soft enough to result in the deformation of the rubber by the asperities of the rope. The more load on the rubber the more penetration and the better the adhesion is proportional to contact area.

A typical manufacturing process of any of the embodiments of the sole 100, 300 of the present invention may include injection moulding using suitable casting moulds (not shown] or moulding press. The sole 100 may be manufactured as a one-piece portion. Alternatively. The sole of the present invention may be assembled from a plurality of parts that are separately injection moulded and either glued or sewn together, or connected by any other suitable bonding means.

In particular, PU injection may be used to chemically bond first and/or second grip support member 104, 106, 306, 310 to base portion 102. For example, the PU bond material may be injected such as to encase the edge of the base portion 102 and grip support member 104, 106, 306, 310. Alternatively, a stitch line may be used to attach first and/or second grip support member 104, 106, 306, 310 to base portion 102.

During use, the climber simply engages the grip support member 104, 106 with the rope during climbing.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the above embodiment has been described by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, and that various alterations and modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.