Footwear with an adjustable stabilizing system, in particular for pronation and/or supination control

Abstract

A footwear has a sole that comprises an adjustable stabilising system, in particular to control phenomena of pronation and / or supination. The stabilisation system comprises at least one adjustment member capable of selectively taking at least two alternative positions within a respective seat present in a component of the sole, the adjustment member having a body with at least two portions or sectors that present different degrees of compressibility.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to footwear, particularly sports footwear, having a sole fitted with an adjustable stabilising system. [0002] It is known that the gait, that is the placing of the foot on the ground during walking or running, varies from person to person depending on the morphological and / or biomechanical characteristics of the subject. Some people rest their foot on the ground in a “neutral” manner, that is substantially correctly from the biomechanical standpoint; on the contrary in others some defect occurs in resting the foot on the ground, in particular due to excessive pronation (or inverted foot rest) or excessive supination (or everted foot rest). Very briefly, in pronation the foot takes on a position in which most of the body weight is loaded onto the inner (in technical jargon the medial) edge of the foot. On the contrary, in supination the foot takes on a position in which the body weight is loaded onto the outer (in techn...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010] In the light of the above, the present invention aims to produce footwear provided with a new system of adjustable stabilisation, particularly to control pronation and / or supination, of simple and economic construction, as well as being versatile and reliable in use. In this general sphere, a particular purpose of the invention is to produce footwear having a stabilising system conceived to facilitate and simplify the phase of adjusting the degree of compressibility of the respective sole, be this carried out by the producer, the retailer or the consumer.

Problems solved by technology

Some people rest their foot on the ground in a “neutral” manner, that is substantially correctly from the biomechanical standpoint; on the contrary in others some defect occurs in resting the foot on the ground, in particular due to excessive pronation (or inverted foot rest) or excessive supination (or everted foot rest).

Even some people who are immune to gait defects when walking normally may suffer from excessive pronation or supination during running or sports activities in general.

This diversification of production involves problems both for the footwear manufacturer, who must set up diversified plant, and for the retailer, who must acquire a larger number of versions of a single model of footwear in the attempt to meet consumers' differing demands.

Solutions of the type indicated are complicated and expensive, as well as difficult to use for the purpose of adjusting the degree of compressibility of the midsole; apart from this, should said valve break the adjustment system would become unusable.

This solution has been found to be unreliable over time, chiefly because use of the footwear involves a risk of damaging the cushioning strip and the means that enable it to be fixed in a removable fashion to the midsole.

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