Dance or Sports Shoe Comprising a Force Transmission Element

The invention relates to a dance or sports shoe, in particular a ballet pointe shoe, according to the preamble of claimas well as to a strip-shaped force transmission element for use as part of such a dance or sports shoe according to claim, a sole-cap unit for use as part of a dance or sports shoe according to claimas well as an upper shoe for use as part of a dance or sports shoe according to claim.

As ballet pointe shoes are, according to the present state of knowledge, the most important field of application of the present invention, reference is mainly made to this in the following, but other possible applications are also conceivable, in particular in the field of sport and dance. Examples include contemporary dance (in which the dance shoes are not intended for pointe dancing), general sport and climbing. This means that the shoe according to the invention can in particular also be a sports dance, performance or climbing shoe.

A traditional ballet pointe shoe has a sole, a cap connected to the sole to hold the forefoot, in particular the toes, and an upper shoe made of a textile fabric. In traditional ballet pointe shoes, which are essentially made by hand, additional straps are usually provided to secure the shoe to the dancer's foot. The upper shoe is sewn to the cap and the sole. A well-known problem is that during pointe dancing, the entire weight of the dancer is carried by the tips of the toes, which can lead to deformation of the feet in the long term.

A ballet pointe shoe is known from the generic WO 2019/229043 A1, which can be manufactured much more rationally than a traditional ballet pointe shoe and which furthermore reduces the stresses acting on the foot and leg. This ballet pointe shoe comprises a sole extending from a first end to a second end, which can in particular be part of a sole-cap unit, and a separate upper shoe (i.e. not permanently connected to the sole). The outer side of the sole has a plurality of incisions (which can also be referred to as grooves) extending essentially transversely to the longitudinal extension of the sole. The foot section of the upper shoe is pulled over the sole-cap unit, but has a recess on its underside so that at least some of the grooves in the outer side of the sole are accessible. Elongated connecting sections extend through at least some of these grooves, by means of which the upper shoe is detachably attached to the sole.

Based on this, the present invention sets itself the task of improving a dance or sports shoe in such a way that the load, in particular the point load on the foot when using this dance or sports shoe, is further reduced.

This problem is solved by a dance or sports shoe with the features of claim.

During testing of the generic ballet pointe shoe described above, it was found that stress on the toes can be further reduced by providing at least one force transmission element which has a sole proximate region and a sole distal region, whereby the sole distal region extends over the inner side of the sole—and thus over the top of the foot—at least in the state of use and thus also enables direct force transmission between the corresponding part of the foot and the sole during pointe dancing, so that the toes are relieved. Preferably two, more preferably three such force transmission elements are provided, which are arranged at different longitudinal positions of the sole and thus form a force-receiving cone for the foot. The force transmission elements are preferably located in the area of local circumferential maxima of the foot.

The dance or sports shoe according to the invention thus comprises a sole with an inner side and an outer side, which extends in a longitudinal direction from a rear end to a front end, an upper shoe, which has a foot section, and at least one force transmission element, which has a sole proximate region and a sole distal region. In the state of use, the sole proximate region is attached to the sole in a form fitting and/or a force fitting manner and the sole distal region extends over the inner side of the sole and thus over the surface of the foot wearing the dance shoe facing away from the sole of the foot. The sole distal region can be located inside or outside the foot section.

In order to achieve optimum force transmission between the foot and the sole (optimum means not too strong and not too weak), it is preferable that the sole distal region of the force transmission element has two sections that can be locked together in such a way that the length of the sole distal region can be adjusted. This can be easily achieved by using a hook-and-loop fastener, a ball fastener or a hook fastener to lock the two sections together.

As already mentioned, it is particularly preferable to provide three force transmission elements spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction of the sole, and the following geometry turned out to be particularly preferable: The first force transmission element is located at the position of the ball of the foot, the second force transmission element is located at the position of the middle of the instep of the foot and the third force transmission element is located at the position of the rear end of the instep of the foot (at the transition to the leg), i.e. essentially where the foot has the largest circumference.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the at least one force transmission element extends around the outer side of the sole, at least in the state of use, so that at least a part of the sole proximate region is in contact with the outer side of the sole. This means that the force transmission area forms a closed ring, at least in the state of use, which has proven to be particularly advantageous for force transmission. A further advantage is that the force transmission element can be (and preferably is) designed as a separate element from the sole and the upper shoe. This facilitates both the production and the use of the dance or sports shoe and improves its environmental balance, as the force transmission elements can continue to be used if, for example, the sole is worn out. Such a force transmission element designed as a separate element can have a one-pieced, flexible and preferably not elastically stretchable, strip-shaped base element to which fastening elements, for example Velcro elements, hooks or ball lock elements, are attached or are formed in one piece with it. A synthetic fabric is particularly suitable as a material for the base element. A completely one-piece production is possible, particularly in the case of a ball fastener in which one sole distal section has a plurality of holes and the other sole distal section has a plurality of (usually spherical) protrusions that can be locked into the holes. In this case, the force transmission elements are preferably made of plastic.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the sole proximate region of the at least one force transmission element is designed in such a way that it can interact with a sole as described in WO 2019/229043 A1. In this case, the sole proximate region is designed in the form of at least one, preferably two, elongated connecting sections, which can be inserted into a groove in the outer side of the sole. This results in precise positioning and improved force transmission.

Further preferably, as in WO 2019/229043 A1, the foot section is a separate element which has at least one recess on its underside, through which the elongated connecting sections of the force transmission element extend when worn. As a result, the force transmission elements also hold the foot section of the upper shoe firmly to the sole and foot.

Particularly good results can be achieved if all the elongated connecting sections are each accommodated in an incision on the outer side of the sole.

As already mentioned several times, according to the present state of knowledge, the most important application of the invention is a ballet pointe shoe. This ballet point shoe further comprises a cap connected to the sole, so that the dance or sports shoe is a ballet pointe shoe, wherein the cap and sole preferably form a sole-cap unit, in particular an integral sole-cap unit, for reasons of stability. A preferred material for this sole-cap unit is TPU. This is an easily deformable and therefore not brittle plastic, which is suitable for 3D printing and injection molding, among other things.

In the case of a ballet pointe shoe as just described, it is preferable that the cap extends so far towards the rear end of the sole that the area of the foot where the ball of the foot is located is accommodated in the cap and that the sole distal region of one of the force transmission elements extends over the end of the cap close to the ball (i.e. the rear). This supports the relief of the toes particularly well. In order to achieve good force transmission to the foot, it can be preferable for the cap to have a tongue section which is separated from the rest of the cap by two recesses extending from the edge of the cap, but which is connected to the rest of the cap at its front end. This tongue section can be deflected relative to the rest of the cap. A force transmission element preferably extends over this deflectable tongue section so that the cap does not hinder the transmission of force between the force transmission element and the foot.

As described in the generic WO 2019/229043 A1, the upper shoe can of course also have a stocking-like design and, in addition to the foot section, have a leg section extending from the foot section.

In one embodiment, the upper shoe has a sole section so that the outer side of the sole is essentially completely covered. In this case, several, preferably slit-shaped recesses extend through the sole section so that the grooves in the outer side of the sole are accessible for the connecting sections of the force transmission elements.

Further preferred embodiments are defined in the sub-claims.

show all the components of a preferred embodiment of the dance or sports shoe according to the invention, which is a ballet pointe shoe (hereinafter also referred to as ballet shoe). All components of this embodiment can be separated from each other in the unused state and only interact when the ballet pointe shoe is worn.

shows a sole-cap unit, as is essentially known from the generic WO 2019/229043 A1, in a view from below. This sole-cap unithas a sole extending from a rear endto a front end. A plurality of incisions in the form of groovestoextending substantially transversely to the longitudinal direction of the sole are arranged in the outer side of the sole. A difference to the structure as known from the generic WO 2019/229043 A1 is that the groovestoare arranged in pairs of groovesI,II andIII. The cap of the sole-cap unitcannot be seen indue to the selected view, but can be seen, for example, in.

shows an upper shoeof the ballet pointe shoe, which in the embodiment shown consists exclusively of a foot section, but it should be noted that such an upper shoecould also comprise a leg section, as shown and described in the generic WO 2019/229043 A1. On the underside, the upper shoe has a recess, so that when the upper shoeis pulled over the sole-cap unit, the groovestoare at least partially and sectionally, preferably completely, exposed. It would also be possible to provide several separate recesses instead of one.

The three force transmission elements,,are all constructed in the same way, but can differ from one another in their specific dimensions, which is the case here (and is generally preferred). The force transmission elements,,are strip-shaped, i.e. they have a length (which, when in use, extends essentially transversely to the length of the sole) and a width which is generally less than the length. The first (foremost) force transmission elementis generally the longest and preferably also the widest. In the embodiment example shown, the second force transmission elementis slightly longer than the third and the width of the second and third force transmission elements is the same. Since all force transmission elementsare constructed in the same way, the first force transmission elementis described as an example: This first force transmission elementhas a sole distal section,at each of its two longitudinal ends, wherein the first sole distal sectionhas a fastening element and the second sole distal section has a matching counter-fastening element. In the specific embodiment example shown, the fastening element of the first sole distal sectionis a Velcro elementand the counter fastening element located on the other surface is a corresponding counter Velcro element, so that the force transmission element consists of a base element, which for example consists of a plastic fabric, the Velcro element and the counter Velcro element. As already mentioned, a one-piece design of the force transmission element is also possible.

Two elongated connecting sections,extend between the two sole distal sections,with an aperturebeing located between those two connecting sections,. The distance between the two connecting sections,essentially corresponds to the distance between the grooves,belonging to the first pair of groovesI and the length of the connecting sections,(i.e. the length of the aperture) essentially corresponds to the length of these two grooves, but preferably exceeds them slightly. Velcro elementand counter Velcro element can (naturally) be attached to each other so that the two sole distal sections,form a sole distal region when attached to each other and the force transmission elementforms a closed loop. Since both the Velcro element and the counter Velcro element have a length, the circumference of this loop can be adjusted within a range. The two connecting sections,together form the sole proximate region of the force transmission element. Instead of a Velcro element and a counter Velcro element, a so-called ball fastener can also be provided.

As can be seen from, the three force transmission elements,,can be attached to the outer sideof the soleby inserting their connecting sections,;,;,into the groovesto, so that the first force transmission elementis held by the first pair of groovesI, the second force transmission elementis held by the second pair of groovesII and the third force transmission element is held by the third pair of groovesIII.

As can be seen in particular from, the first pair of groovesI (and thus naturally also the arranged first force transmission element) is located essentially in the region of the rear edge of the capin such a way that, when the two sole distal sections,are closed to form the sole distal region, this sole distal region encloses the cap, as is shown again later in.

The ballet pointe shoe according to the invention can be put on the dancer's foot as follows: First, the sole-cap unit is positioned on the foot in such a way that the forefoot, in particular the toes, are positioned in the cap. Then the upper shoe, which consists in this embodiment exclusively of the foot section, is-starting from the cap-pulled over the foot and the sole-cap unit like a sock, so that it encloses the sole-cap unit except in the area of the recess. Now the three force transmission elements,,are arranged, whereby the two sole distal sections,are first inserted into the grooves of a pair of grooves, whereupon the two sole distal sections are joined together over the foot section of the upper shoe and thus closed. The dancer can individually adjust the length of each sole distal region consisting of the two sole distal sections and thus the “tightness”. Alternatively, the upper shoe can be pulled over the sole-cap unit first, which has the advantage that the connecting sections can be snapped into the grooves before the dancer puts on the shoe.

shows the complete ballet pointe shoe in a state and position as it occurs during pointe dancing. The main effect that occurs due to the force transmission elements,,can be seen here, namely the connection of the foot (not shown) by means of a “vertical cone”, which connects the foot via the force transmission elements under pressure directly to the inner sideof the sole, so that even in this position a certain force fit occurs between the sole of the foot and the inner sideof the sole, which in turn leads to a reduction of the force acting on the toes. This is substantially not the case at all with traditional ballet pointe shoes; here, the majority of the dancer's body weight during pointe dancing rests on the tips of the toes. If the dancer adjusts the force transmission elements,,tight enough, the toes could in principle be almost completely relieved.also show the preferred positions of the three force transmission elements in relation to the foot.

In, all elements of the ballet pointe shoe are shown, with some elements that are not visible (i.e. hidden behind other elements) being shown as dashed lines, so that the structure of the ballet pointe shoe according to the invention can be seen better. In particular, it can be seen that the foot sectionof the upper shoecompletely encloses the sole-cap unit, except for the area of its recess, and in particular encloses the cap. Additionally, it can be seen that the sole distal region of the first force transmission elementencircles the cap. The second force transmission elementpreferably extends essentially over the central area of the instep of the foot and the third force transmission elementis located at the rear end of the instep.

also shows a preferred contour of the groovesto, which are Q-shaped, thus ensuring, among other things, a secure hold of the connecting sections.

also clearly show the force-absorbing cone formed by the force transmission elements,,.

show a second embodiment of an upper shoewhich, like the upper shoe of the first embodiment, consists exclusively of a foot section. However, it should be emphasized that the features now described could also be realized in an upper shoe which additionally comprises a leg section.

The first difference to the first embodiment is that the upper shoe/foot section(these terms are used synonymously in the following) has a sole section. This means that the upper shoe has this sole sectionand an upper section. The upper sectiongenerally consists of a textile material.

Several slit-shaped recessesextend through the sole section. These are arranged at the positions of the grooves-, which extend into the sole. This means that the connecting sections,,,,,of the force transmission elements,,can be inserted into these grooves in exactly the same way as in the first embodiment. The shape of the grooves with an outer section extending from the outer sideof the soleand an adjoining inner section with an enlarged cross-section is also as in the first embodiment. In contrast to the first embodiment, however, the—in the longitudinal direction—middle section of the outer sideof the soleis not exposed. Rather, this is covered by the sole sectionof the upper shoe. In the embodiment shown, the sole section extends over the front end of the cap.

Covering the outer side of the sole essentially completely has several advantages: First, the sole-cap unit is protected from wear, which further extends its lifetime. Furthermore, the damping can be improved if the material or materials of the sole section are selected appropriately. Finally, the grip can be improved (also depending on the choice of material and independent of the material of the sole or sole cap unit). Due to the last advantage in particular, it is preferred if the sole section extends over the front end of the cap.

As can be seen from, the sole sectioncan be made of several layers, three layers in the example shown. The properties of the sole section can be adapted particularly well thanks to the multiple layers. In the embodiment shown, the innermost layerconsists of so-called Strobel board, the middle layer of a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and the outer layerof a microfiber material. This results in good overall durability, good cushioning and a good grip.

The second difference to the first embodiment is that the textile upper sectionof the upper shoe (which substantially corresponds to the upper shoeof the first embodiment, except that it does not cover the front end of the cap (this is taken over by the sole portion in the embodiment shown)) has two areas, namely a substantially non-stretchable first areaand an elastically stretchable second area. The non-stretchable first areaensures a good hold of the foot in the shoe, while the elastically stretchable second area, which extends around the entry openingand up to the heel area, ensures that the upper shoecan be put on and the edge of the entry opening still fits snugly against the foot/leg.

show a second embodiment of the sole-cap unit. The main difference to the first embodiment is that two recesses(which could also be described as slots) extend from the upper section of the edge of the cap, resulting in a tongue section. This is preferably formed with a relatively thin wall thickness, so that at least its rear section can be moved relative to the rest of the cap in the direction of the arrow. The first force transmission elementextends over this tongue sectionand can press it in the direction of the foot, so that good force transmission is also achieved in the area of the cap, even if the rest of the cap (especially in the front section and in the lateral sections) is designed with a large wall thickness and is correspondingly rigid.

A second difference to the first embodiment is that the outer sideof the sole is serrated or corrugated in the rear end region (). This is particularly advantageous when this second embodiment of the sole-cap unit is used with the second embodiment of the upper shoeshown in, since this results in good, slip-free contact with the rear end region of the sole section.

The properties of the sole in terms of flexibility and stiffness, as described in the generic WO 2019/229043 A1, are fully maintained.

As already mentioned, the preferred and currently essential application of the invention is a ballet pointe shoe, but the principle of such force transmission elements can in essentially also be transferred to other sports or dance shoes.

In the embodiment example shown, the force transmission elements are separate elements, which is often preferred. However, it would also be possible to permanently connect the force transmission elements to the sole (in the embodiment example shown, the sole-cap unit) or the upper shoe.

It is also possible to permanently connect the upper shoe to the sole/sole-cap unit and still utilize the described advantages of the force transmission elements.

However, the “modular” structure described above often has advantages, for example with regard to the often lower consumption of resources.