VIBRATION ABSORBING DEVICE,
PARTICULARLY FOR SHOES OR SPORTS
IMPLEMENTS
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a device for absorbing vibrations, particularly for use in footwear, such as for example shoes, climbing boots, ski boots or trekking boots, or in sports implements, including for example skates, skis and tennis racquets.
[0002] Conventional devices for absorbing vibrations are currently commercially available and are mainly applied in sports shoes for tennis, basketball or running.
[0003] In particular, vibration absorbing devices are widely used for reducing the shocks caused by the impact of the shoe against the ground during sports activity.
[0004] These conventional devices are generally constituted by one or more cavities or cells formed for example inside the sole of the shoe, usually in the heel region, which contain air or optionally viscous fluid substances, commonly known as gels, constituted by silicone foam or by other synthetic substances.
[0005] Other conventional devices, also used in the sole of sports shoes, are constituted by thin layers of elastically compressible material or by honeycomb cells which contain air or gel.
[0006] EP no. 878142 discloses an insole for sports shoes which comprises an insole made of soft elastic material and of an undulated layer which is arranged inside said insole at least in the heel region.
[0007] The amplitude and wavelength of the undulated layer can be variable both along the longitudinal axis, from the front edge to the rear edge, and between the median region and the lateral ends of said heel region, thus entailing a range of different stability and damping solutions.
[0008] In the field of sports implements, vibration damping is achieved for example by adopting, in tennis racquets, internally hollow frames or handles with layers of soft or elastically compressible material associated therewith.
[0009] In the shoe manufacturing field, solutions are currently known which are adapted to reduce the transmission of stresses to the foot caused by vibrations transmitted by the skiing surface, by the supporting surface, or due to skating and others: these solutions consist in providing specific fixed inserts which are made of a single material of varying softness which is arranged for example in a plurality of parts of the boot or shoe or skate or sports implement according to chosen dimensions.
[0010] It is evident that the use of these devices is designed to optimize the performance of the shoes and sports implements to which they are applied, and their cushioning characteristic is added to the inherent characteristic of the shoe or implement, whose performance must be optimized per se.
[0011] All the cited conventional devices, however, have the drawback that they must be manufactured and optimized exclusively for a specific use, i.e., studied and designed for a given shoe or sports implement.
[0012] The use of these conventional devices accordingly has the drawback of requiring a diversified, and therefore expensive, design and manufacturing commitment in the development of each implement or shoe.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0013] The aim of the present invention is to solve the mentioned problems, eliminating the drawbacks of the cited prior art, by providing a vibration absorbing device whose basic structure is substantially constant as its applications vary, thus being able to provide simply and rapidly vibration absorbing devices which can be used in different types of shoe or sport implement.
[0014] Within the scope of this aim, an object is to provide a device which can be manufactured by using conventional methods, allowing to vary the characteristics of the product simply and rapidly.
[0015] Another object is to provide a device which is reliable and safe in use and can be manufactured at low costs by means of conventional machines and equipment.
[0016] This aim and these and other objects which will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a vibration absorbing device characterized in that it is constituted by a mesh which has a vertical warp with two faces, contains no filling, is elastically deformable and is embedded or coated with at least one layer of plastic material which is adapted to modify its deformability.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the following detailed description of a particular embodiment thereof, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0018] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a first type of mesh;
[0019] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a second type of mesh;
[0020] FIG. 3 is a side view of the warp of a mesh;
[0021] FIGS. 4 and 5 are sectional views, taken along a transverse plane, of a thread of the mesh, shown respectively without and with coating;
[0022] FIG. 6 is a side view of a shoe which uses the device according to the invention;
[0023] FIGS. 7 and 8 are plan views of, respectively, a first absorbing device and a second absorbing device which are applied to a shoe and have been illustrated for the sake of clarity although they are embedded in the sole;
[0024] FIG. 9 is a side view of a skate which uses the device according to the invention;
[0025] FIG. 10 is a front view of a detail of the skate;
[0026] FIGS. 11, 12 and 13 are front sectional views of three types of device applied to three different skis.
[0027] FIG. 14 is a side view of a shoe provided with the device according to the invention.
[0028] FIG. 15 is a bottom view of an inner sole provided with the device according to the invention;
