SETTING SUCH A STARTING BLOCK

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to the field of the sport equipment in general and, in particular, it relates to a starting block of the type that is used in the athletics competition comprising 400 m races and, anyway, all the races providing the use of starting blocks .

The invention, furthermore , relates to a method for setting the aforementioned starting block before that an athlete engaged in a sport competition or training .

Background of the invention

As it is known, in the sprint races such as 100 m, 200 m, 400 m, but also 110 m hurdles , and the first runners of 4x100 and 4x400 metres sprint relay, the athletes of the competition brace their feet on the starting blocks in order to assume an ideal position to apply maximum force at the moment of the start signal .

In particular, the blocks have a T shape , which is generally made of metallic material , and laterally provide two supports for the feet which, normally, have five levels of height , that are called "pedals" . Their surface has to be suitable to house the spikes o f the athlete ' s shoes or grooves or slots can be provided at the surface of the same , or it can be covered with a material which allows the use of the shoes with spike .

The position of the plates on the rigid frame can be of adj ustable type , but it has to be prevented that they can move during the real start . Anyway, the plates have to be adj ustable forth and back with respect to each other . The adj ustable devices have to be fastened by strong clamps or blocking mechanisms which can be easily and quickly operated by the athlete .

The blocks have to be connected to a false start detection device approved by the World Athl eti cs .

The track j udge , for the warning, will have headphones for hearing an acoustic signal coming from the control apparatus each time that it detects a false start (when the reaction time is less than 0 . 1 sec ) .

As soon as the j udge hears the acoustic signal , i f the gunshot has already been fired or i f the analogous starting device has been already operated, he/ she will make an automatic warning and the track j udge will immediately examine the times of the false start detection device in order to identi fy which athlete or athletes has/have made the false start .

The starting blocks that are at present used in the athletic competitions have , anyway, some drawbacks . Firstly, the mechanisms described above which allow the athlete to move back and forth the positions of the feet supports , as well as the height with respect to the base frame , are complicated to be operated and the athlete in the time instants that immediately precede the competition risks to lose the concentration necessary to properly adj ust the respective starting block . Furthermore , as anticipated above , even though it is possible to adj ust both along the axial direction and in height the position of the supports , the positions which can be obtained are , anyway, determined by the notches or the slots provided in the base frame, and, therefore, allow only to approximately adjust their position thus making practically impossible for the athlete to adjust accurately and in a personalized way his/her starting blocks.

Another disadvantage of the prior art starting blocks is that an athlete, even in the case that, in time, has found an ideal position for the feet supports for his/her starting position, he/she has, anyway, each time that has a competition, to adjust, before starting, the blocks with a great loss of time and a waste of physical, but most of all mental, energy.

Some examples of prior art starting blocks having the aforementioned disadvantages are described in CN205391754, CN21415842 and US2007/087900.

Summary of the invention

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a starting block for athletic competitions that is able to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art solutions.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a starting block for athletic competitions that is able to automatically and quickly adjust the positions of the feet supports in a personalized way for the different athletes.

It is another object of the invention to provide a starting block for athletic competitions which allow to store the data related to the positions, the inclinations and the spatial orientation of the feet supports in order to retrieve them at the moment of the competition and to be able to adjust them highly accurately and in a personalized way for each athlete .

It is a particular obj ect of the invention to provide a starting block for athletic competitions which allows to detect in a highly accurate way any false start made by an athlete and to communicate the same to the track j udge .

It is a further particular obj ect of the present invention to provide a starting block for athletic competitions which allows communicating to an athlete the di f ferent stages of the start up to the real start signal .

It is also an obj ect of the present invention to provide a method for setting a starting block for athletic competitions having analogous advantages .

These and other obj ects are achieved by a starting block for athletic competitions comprising : a base body; a first and a second support member mounted on said base body and provided respectively with a first and a second athlete' s foot supporting surface, said first and second support members being adapted to move with respect to said base body; a displacement group configured to move at least one between said first and second supporting surfaces with respect to said base body; whose main characteristic i s that said displacement group comprises , furthermore , at least an actuation device configured to move at least one between said first and second support members with respect to said base body along a first direction (x ) and to block the same in a determined axial position ( P1 , P2 ) ; that is , furthermore , provided at least a supplementary actuation device configured to adj ust the inclination at least of one supporting surface with respect to said first direction (x ) ; and that said displacement group comprises , furthermore , a control group configured to operate said or each actuation device and said or each supplementary actuation device , in such a way to move said or each support member along said first direction (x ) up to reach said determined axial position ( P1 , P2 ) and to adj ust said inclination of said first and second supporting surfaces up to reach a determined inclination (al , a2 ) with respect to said first direction (x ) , said determined axial position ( P1 , P2 ) and said determined inclination (al , a2 ) with respect to said first direction (x) being associated, respectively, to position data and to inclination data ; that said control group is , furthermore , configured to process said position data and/or said inclination data of said first and second supporting surfaces and to associate said processed position data and/or said inclination data to a determined work configuration; and that said control group is , furthermore , configured to store said work configuration .

Other features of the invention and related embodiments are described in the dependent claims .

In particular, the aforementioned control group can comprise a storage unit where said determined associated work configuration is stored . More in particular, the storage unit can be the storage unit of the microcontroller that is used .

Advantageously, the internal storage unit can be configured to communicate with an external storage unit , such as a storage unit of an electronic device , for example a smartphone, a PC, a portable computer, or similar devices . In this way, the internal storage unit can send, or receive, the data relating to determined work configuration to or from the external storage unit .

Advantageously, the displacement group can comprise at least a first and a second actuation device configured to cause, respectively, said first and said second support member to slide with respect to said base body along said first direction (x ) .

In particular, the displacement group can comprise , furthermore , at least a third and a fourth actuation device configured to cause , respectively, the first and the second support member to change inclination with respect to the first direction (x ) . More in particular, the third and fourth actuation devices can be configured to cause the aforementioned inclination change by rotating about a second direction ( y) up to reach the determined inclination (al , a2 ) of the first and/or second supporting surface .

Advantageously, the displacement group can comprise , furthermore , at least a fi fth and a sixth actuation device configured to cause , respectively, the first and the second support member to rotate, in particular independently from each other, with respect to a third direction ( z ) orthogonal to the first and second directions , in such a way to adj ust the spatial orientation of the respective supporting surface . In particular, in this way, the athlete can incline the respective supporting surface to the right or left .

In particular, the aforementioned spatial orientation can be associated to orientation data . More in particular, the control group can be, furthermore , configured to process said spatial orientation data and to associate the same to said determined work configuration . Preferably, in this case , the control group can be configured to store also the aforementioned spatial orientation data .

Advantageously, a transmission module is , furthermore , provided to transmit and/or receive via a wired or wireless connection the data related to at least one determined work configuration to/ from a remote server . This can be advantageously adapted to communicate with a database where at least one work configuration, which is , preferably, associated to a determined athlete, for example the athlete who has set the aforementioned work configuration on the starting block, is stored .

In particular, the control group can be configured to trans fer the aforementioned data associated to the or each determined work configuration on a portable support , such as for example a USB pen, via a suitable connection, or on a movable unit such as a smartphone , a PC, a portable computer, or similar electronic devices provided with a storage .

Preferably, at least one among said first, second, third, fourth, fi fth, and sixth actuation device can be an electric motor .

In particular, an interface device can be, furthermore , provided configured to allow a user, in particular the athlete arranged on the starting block, to operate the displacement device in order to adj ust by hand the position and/or the inclination of the first and/or the second supporting surface with respect to the base body .

Advantageously, a detection member can be, furthermore , provided configured to detect the pressure on the first and/or the second supporting surface . In particular, a communication device can be , furthermore , provided adapted to signal if the detected pressure drops below a predetermined minimum pressure threshold value or rises above a predetermined maximum pressure threshold value , before the start signal , in other words if the athlete has made a false start .

In particular, the control group, advantageously before a predetermined athlete starts a sport competition or a training session, can be configured to process the position data and/or the inclination data and/or the spatial orientation data associated to a determined work configuration, advantageously associated to the athlete who is using the starting block, and to operate the or each actuation device according to the aforementioned extracted data, up to reach the corresponding work configuration .

In particular, the data can be already stored onto the internal storage of the control group and simply retrieved, or can be downloaded from an external storage . More in particular, the aforementioned data can be downloaded from a remote server or from a portable storage unit , for example a USB pen or the storage unit of an electronic device such as a smartphone or a PC or a notebook, which is connected to the control group by a wired or wireless connection .

In this way, on the basis of the data which are acquired and stored during the use by the athlete of the position and/or inclination and/or spatial orientation, the athlete or anyone else for him/her, will have simply to start the transmission of the aforementioned data that have been stored, for example in a database of a server or on a portable data support , such as a USB pen or the storage of an electronic device such as a smartphone , associated to him/her and, then, the control group will operate the actuation devices arranged to move the support surfaces of the starting block along the di f ferent axes , to reach the work configuration corresponding to the aforementioned athlete .

According to another aspect of the invention, a system for signalling a false start during an athletic competition, comprises : a plurality of starting blocks ; wherein each control group is , furthermore , configured to communicate to a central command system any false start made by an athlete and detected by a respective pressure detection member on the basis of the pressure data .

According to a further aspect of the invention, a method for setting a starting block provides the steps of : providing a starting block for athletic competitions , said starting block comprising : a base body; a first and a second support member mounted on said base body and provided respectively with a first and a second athlete ' s foot supporting surface , said first and second support members being adapted to move with respect to said base body; moving at least one between said first and second supporting surface with respect to said base body, said movement being carried out by at least an actuation device and comprising the steps of : moving at least one between said first and second support member with respect to said base body along a first direction (x) ; blocking said or each first and second support members in a determined axial position ( P1 , P2 ) ; adj usting the inclination of at least one supporting surface with respect to said first direction (x) up to reach a determined inclination (al , a2 ) with respect to said first direction (x) ; said determined axial position ( P1 , P2 ) and said determined inclination (al , a2 ) with respect to said first direction (x ) being associated, respectively, to position data and to inclination data; and being, furthermore, provided the steps of : processing said position data and/or said inclination data of said first and second supporting surfaces and associating to said processed position and/or inclination data to a determined work configuration; storing said determined work configuration .

In particular, an association step can be , furthermore , provided for associating said determined work configuration to a determined athlete .

Brief description of the drawings

The invention will be now illustrated with the following description of an exemplary embodiment thereof , exempli fying but not limitative , with reference to the attached drawings wherein :

- Fig . 1 diagrammatically shows a side elevation view of a starting block for athletic competitions according to the invention, in working conditions ;

- Fig . 2 diagrammatically shows a side elevation perspective view of the starting block, according to the invention;

- Fig . 3 diagrammatically shows some components of the starting block of figure 2 to highlight some technical characteristics ;

- Fig . 4 diagrammatically shows in side elevation perspective view of a possible alternative embodiment of the starting block of f igure 2 according to the invention;

- Fig . 5 diagrammatically shows a side elevation view of another possible alternative embodiment of the starting block of figure 2 according to the invention;

- Figures from 6A to 7B diagrammatically show side elevation perspective views of other alternative embodiments according to the present invention for the starting block, according to the invention;

- Fig . 8 diagrammatically shows a side elevation perspective view of some starting blocks according to still another alternative embodiment of the invention, in working conditions ;

- Fig . 9 diagrammatically shows an enlargement of a portion of a starting block of figure 8 to highlight some technical characteristics ;

- Fig . 10 diagrammatically shows side elevation perspective views of some starting blocks in working conditions according to still another alternative embodiment of the invention .

Detailed description of some exemplary embodiments of the invention

With reference to figure 1 , a starting block 1 for athletics comprises a base body 10 on which are mounted a first and a second support member 21 and 22 . These are , in particular, adapted to move with respect to the base body 10 . More in particular, the first and second support members 21 and 22 are provided, respectively, with a first and a second supporting surface 23 and 24 upon which the athlete puts a respective foot . In this way, the athlete arranges himsel f /hersel f in a position which allows him/her to have the quickest reaction when the competition starts .

With reference to the figures 2 and 3 , the starting block 1 , according to the invention, provides , furthermore , a displacement group 50 configured to move at least one between the first and second supporting surfaces 23 and 24 with respect to the base body 10 . In particular, at least one between the first and second support members 21 or 22 , can be mounted on a support member 25 or 26 . This can be, advantageously, slidingly mounted along a respective guide member 11 or 12 oriented along the aforementioned first direction x .

According to the present invention, the displacement group 50 comprises at least an actuation device 51 , or 52 , configured to move at least one between the first and the second support member 21 and/or 22 with respect to the base body 10 along a first direction x and, advantageously, to block the or each support member 21 and/or 22 in a respective determined axial position Pl and/or P2 along the aforementioned first direction x .

In particular, the or each actuation member 51 or 52 can be configured to cause the or each support member 25 to slide along the respective guide member 11 or 12 .

In a possible embodiment o f the invention, the or each actuation member 51 or 52 can be an electric motor, for example a linear electric motor, configured to cause the or each support member 21 or 22 to slide along x-axis .

In another possible embodiment of the invention, not shown in the figure for simplicity, the or each actuation member 51 or 52 can be a hydraulic motor, in particular comprising a pump operated by an electric motor in case of the type having a solenoid, and an actuator piston to cause the or each support member 21 or 22 to slide along x-axis , preferably by actuating a valve, to pump the incompressible fluid within the cylinder of the moving actuator piston . This configuration can provide a single pump, anyway operated, to move all the axes of the system by actuating the related command valve of each axis .

Alternatively, the or each actuation member 51 or 52 can be a rotary electric motor . In this case, the linear motion of the first and/or the second support member 21 and/or 22 can be obtained by a motion transmission group 60 , for example comprising a pinion mounted on the motor shaft of the rotary motor and a rack on which the or each support member 21 and/or 22 or the respective support member 25 and/or 26 can be engaged .

In particular, the starting block 1 can, furthermore , provide at least a supplementary actuation device 53 and/or 54 configured to adj ust the inclination of at least one supporting surface 23 and/or 24 with respect to the aforementioned first direction x .

Advantageously, the displacement group 50 can, furthermore , comprise a control group 200 configured to operate the or each actuation device 51 and/or 52 and the or each supplementary actuation device 53 , 54 , in such a way to move the or each support member 21 and/or 22 along the first direction x up to reach the aforementioned determined axial position and to adj ust the inclination of at least one between the first and second supporting surfaces 23 and/or 24 up to reach a determined inclination al and/or a2 with respect to the aforementioned first direction x . More in detail , the control group 200 can be provided with a microcontroller 201 , in particular provided with a memory storage unit 205, such as a Flash memory, or a RAM memory, or an EEPROM memory, adapted to process the received data and to send the actuation signals to the dif ferent actuation devices .

In particular, the displacement group 50 can, furthermore , comprise a third and a fourth electric or hydraulic actuation device 53 and 54 configured to cause a change in the inclination, respectively, of the first and/or the second support member 21 and 22 with respect to the first direction x by rotating about a second direction y, in particular orthogonal to the first direction x, up to reach the determined inclination al and a2 of the first and/or the second supporting surface 23 and/or 24 . In a possible embodiment of the invention, the third and the fourth actuation device 53 and 54 can comprise a third and a fourth electric or hydraulic linear motor operatively connected, for example , by respective connection elements 63 and 64 , in particular articulated arms , respectively to the first and the second support member 21 and 22 .

As diagrammatically shown in the figures 4 and 5 , the displacement group 50 can, furthermore , comprise at least a fifth and a sixth actuation device 55 and 56 configured to cause, respectively, the first and the second support member 21 and 22 to rotate, in particular independently from each other, with respect to a third direction z orthogonal to the first direction x and to the second direction y . In this way, it is possible to incline the respective supporting surface 23 or 24 to the right or left . Therefore, the athlete 100 has also the possibility to orientate the supporting surface 23 and/or 24 in the space and, therefore, the respective foot with respect to his/her lane and, therefore , to have the maximum freedom to assume the ideal position for his/her physical characteristics in order to assure , at the same time , the maximum force at the starting moment and the best starting direction to reduce the lateral oscillations at the beginning of the race . The control group 200 can be, furthermore , configured to store the position and/or inclination and/or spatial orientation data of the first and second support members 21 and 22 and to associate the same to a determined work configuration . This can be carried out , for example, by storing the aforementioned data onto the internal storage 205 , in particular the aforementioned storage of which microcontroller 201 is provided with, into which the position and/or inclination and/or spatial orientation data are stored . More in particular, the aforementioned internal storage 205 can be adapted to communicate with an external storage , in particular the storage of an electronic device able to store the data in a digital format , such as , for example a USB pen or a smartphone , a PC, a notebook etc .

In this way, the aforementioned data can be transferred from the internal storage 205 onto the external storage or vice versa .

In addition or alternatively, the control group 200 can be provided with a module 210 for transmitting data, preferably of wireless type, for example via an internet transmission, in particular a WI-FI or Bluetooth transmission or similar technologies , to transmit and/or receive the aforementioned data to/ from a "cloud" , i . e . a remote server 300 ( figure 7A) .

Alternatively, the aforementioned module 210 can be adapted to transmit the aforementioned data to a local server 300 ' preloaded with data sent by the remote server 300 and/or with data sent from the storage of the device 250 of each athlete , such as smartphone , USB pen, and similar electronic devices ( figures 6B and 7B) .

Again, with reference to figure 7A, the remote server 300 can be configured to communicate with a database 350 , in particular to upload or download, the aforementioned data in/ from a database 350 . In particular, the aforementioned data and, therefore , the respective work configurations , can be , advantageously, associated, in particular by the control group 200 , or by the remote server 300 , to each athlete . In this way, before a sport competition or training, the athlete same or the Company to which the athlete belongs to , or the Company or the public body organizing the event, can recall the data, in particular from the database 350 , and upload them on the di fferent starting blocks 1 in order to set the same in an accurate, highly personali zed and automatic way, before starting the competition . The control group 200 will , then, advantageously start to process the aforementioned data and will operate accordingly the actuation devices of the starting block 1 up to reach the corresponding work configuration associated to the athlete who will use the respective starting block 1 .

As diagrammatically shown in figure 4 , the aforementioned starting block 1 can be provided with an interface device 5 , for example a touchscreen, configured to allow the athlete 100 to operate directly or by means of the control group, the displacement group 50 in order to adj ust by hand the position and/or the inclination and/or the orientation of the first and/or the second supporting surface 23 and/or 24 . Alternatively or in addition to the actuation by hand described above, the interface device 5 can be configured to receive vocal commands on the basis of which the control group 200 can be adapted to operate the displacement group 50 to adj ust the position along the direction x and/or the inclination of at least one supporting surface 23 and/or 24 , as anticipated above .

In particular, as diagrammatically shown in figure 8 , the control group 200 of the starting block 1 , according to the invention, can be configured to communicate with a starting device 250 , in particular a starting pistol , for example of electronic type . More in particular, as diagrammatically shown in detail in figure 9 , the starting block 1 can be provided, preferably at the front zone , advantageously at a central position, in particular substantially between the athletes ' knees 100 arranged in the starting position, with a light signalling device 15 , preferably a LED, configured to communicate to the athlete 100 the di f ferent starting stages , up to the starting signal , in particular sent to the control group 200 by the starting device 250 . More precisely, an automatic starting system can be provided configured to send at the same time to the di f ferent athletes of the competition, for example 7 athletes as in the case of figure 8 , by operating the light device in order to turn on a light signal having a first colour, for example the red colour . Then, the light signal 15 is operated to change its colour in order to signal to the athletes the di f ferent stages of the starting procedure . In particular, the light signal 15 can emit a light of a first colour at the command "on your marks" or "ready" , at which the athletes will assume the final starting position, and then all the LEDs will be turned of f or a light signal having a dif ferent colour will be emitted, by the light signalling device 15 , such as the green light or another fixed or flashing light of the same colour .

As diagrammatically shown in figure 5 , the starting block 1 , according to the invention, can be , furthermore , provided with a detection member 70 , for example a piezoelectric sensor, configured to detect the pressure on the first and/or the second supporting surface 23 and/or 24 . In particular, the or each detection member can be adapted to detect i f the pressure on the supporting surface 23 and/or 24 drops below a predetermined minimum pressure threshold value or rises above a predetermined maximum threshold value, before a start signal , in other words if the athlete has made a false start . In particular, i f a false start is detected, the detection member 70 is adapted to communicate the event to the control group 200 . This can be , in this case, furthermore , configured to emit a light signal , in particular by turning on the above-described LED lights 15 or another lighting device, and/or an audio signal , to signal the false start by an athlete arranged at the aforementioned starting block 1 .

In the case of false start , the control group 200 can be configured to signal , by a wired or wireless connection, for example by Bluetooth or WI-FI , the false start of the athlete l O Oa-l O O f to a central command system 400 ( see figure 8 ) that will provide , advantageously, to communicate the false start to the j udge, i f present , and/or to emit a light and/or an audio signal to communicate to the athletes of the race and to the public, if present, the false start .

As diagrammatically shown in figure 10 , a display 250 ' can be, furthermore , provided positioned at the track j udge and adapted to display the state of the starting blocks , for example the state of the starting blocks la- l f , to allow the track j udge to be sure that no events requesting his/her intervention occur, such as false starts , but also to notice any mal function of the starting blocks la-l f . In particular, the aforementioned display 250 ' can be advantageously operatively connected to the remote server 300 ' described above with reference to figures 6B and 7B .

Advantageously, the base body 10 of the starting block 1 can be provided with one or more engagement elements , for example one or more spikes or similar engagement elements , which are not shown in the figures for simplicity, adapted to engage the base body 10 same to the surface of the athletics track .

The foregoing description of a specific embodiment will so fully reveal the invention according to the conceptual point of view, so that others , by applying current knowledge , will be able to modify and/or adapt for various applications such an embodiment without further research and without parting from the invention, and it is therefore to be understood that such adaptations and modifications will have to be considered as equivalent to the specific embodiment . The means and the materials to realise the di fferent functions described herein could have a different nature without, for this reason, departing from the field of the invention . It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation .