Ventilated motorcycle boot

This application is a US 371 national stage entry of International Application No. PCT/EP2009/059594, filed Jul. 24, 2009, which claims priority to Italian Application No. MI2008A001378 filed Jul. 25, 2008, the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The present invention relates to a motorcycle boot.

It is known that one of the problems associated with the use of boots, in particular during motorcycle races, is that of overheating of the foot enclosed inside the boot, this representing a major problem for the user.

More generally, the problem of foot ventilation has been the subject of numerous studies and many solutions are known where holes are provided mainly in the tread of the boot, with special arrangements to prevent the entry of water in the event of rain.

Other solutions are also known, for example in the case of boots for in-line skates, where the shoe upper is provided with ventilation openings which are protected by air-permeable material (for example in the form of a fine mesh) so that, during use of the shoe, the air which enters through these ventilation openings or windows passes over the front part of the foot.

However, in the specific case of motorcycle boots, it is required to provide a substantial flow of cooling air and ensure that this flow passes over the entire bottom surface of the foot, without being limited to the front portion.

This result has not yet been achieved with the solutions proposed by the prior art and therefore constitutes the main technical problem and therefore the object of the present invention.

A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a motorcycle boot of the type suitable for the specific discipline known as motocross, provided with means for cooling the sole of the user's foot.

This object, together with others, is achieved by means of a motorcycle boot which has the characteristic features defined in Claim 1 .

The main advantage achieved with the present invention is that of ensuring truly effective cooling and ventilation of the entire foot sole without negatively affecting the structure of the boot.

The features and advantages of the present invention will emerge more clearly from the description which follows of a preferred embodiment, provided with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are a side elevation view and plan view from below, respectively, of the boot sole or tread;

FIG. 3 shows an axonometric view of the shell of the boot;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are a front view and rear view, respectively, of the shell according to FIG. 3 ;

FIG. 6 shows an axonometric view of the upper of the boot;

FIG. 7 shows an exploded view of the two components of the upper according to FIG. 6 ;

FIG. 8 shows a cross-section through a detail of the insole of the upper of the boot;

FIG. 9 shows a side view of the inner bootie of the boot;

FIG. 10 shows a rear view of the inner bootie according to FIG. 9 ;

FIG. 11 shows an exploded view of the entire boot, and

FIG. 12 shows a cross-sectional view of the boot assembled.

With reference to the drawings, the boot to which the present invention relates has, by way of main components, a shell 20 , a sole or tread 22 , an inner bootie 24 and an upper 52 .

Considering firstly the tread 22 , this comprises a base 30 , provided with the molded patterns usually found in this type of boot, and a raised perimetral edge 32 which has at the front, namely at the toe end of the boot, three openings 34 which perform the function explained below when the tread is joined to the shell 20 .

In particular, the perimetral edge is joined externally to the bottom edge portion of the shell, forming a reinforced strip.

If we now consider the shell 20 , with reference to FIGS. 3 , 4 and 5 , this consists of a rigid casing, partly in the form of a shoe, namely comprising a toe piece 36 , a front-upper portion 38 , which has an opening substantially aligned with the axial mid-plane of the boot, the front portion being extended in the form of two side cheeks 40 and terminating at the rear in a spur-like element 42 .

As shown in FIG. 4 , the toe end, namely the front end, of the shell 20 is provided with an opening 46 which is closed by means of a metal mesh 48 so that, when the tread is fixed to the shell so that its raised edge 32 surrounds and embraces the bottom edge of the shell 20 , the three openings 34 are arranged so as to coincide with the opening 46 , forming an air intake.

The shell 20 also has at the rear similar openings 50 which are protected by a mesh which acts as an outlet for the cooling air entering through the air intake described above.

If we now consider FIGS. 6 and 7 , this shows the leg-piece upper of the boot comprising an actual upper, denoted overall by the reference number 52 , and an insole 54 which in the specific case consists of a layer of material shown in cross-section in FIG. 8 and which is commercially available under the name of Air Spring.

As can be seen from FIG. 8 , this material consists of two layers or double layer 80 of substantially rigid polyester yarn fabric, between which tubular channels 56 arranged alongside and parallel to each other are defined. As further shown in FIG. 8 , neighboring channels 56 of the double layer 80 are adjoined so as to abut or be directly adjacent each other in side-to-side manner along their longitudinal extents.

Since the two layers or double layer 80 of fabric are perfectly permeable, the channels 56 , when acted on by an air flow passing along their length, distribute the said air at right angles to their longitudinal axes.

In the embodiment according to the present invention, the material forming the insole 54 is arranged with the tubular channels 56 parallel to the longitudinal axis of the boot.

From FIG. 11 , it can be seen how the upper of the boot is also provided with fastening means 70 for closing and tightening around the user's foot. Since these consist of parts which are conventional in this type of boot they are not described in further detail.

The upper 52 houses internally what may be called an inner bootie 24 ( FIGS. 9 and 10 ) which is composed of a soft part 64 .

This is similar to a shaped stocking which matches the shape of the foot and is made of breathable fabric which allows the air to pass through freely.

The bootie 24 finally houses internally in a removable manner an insole made of the same material referred to above as Air Spring, the sole of the user's foot resting directly on said material.

From FIG. 10 it can be seen how the bootie has at the rear holes 66 for letting out the cooling air after it has passed over the sole and part of the upper surface of the foot, said holes being arranged so as to correspond to the openings formed in the shell for this function. With reference to FIG. 12 , the rear holes 66 are defined as openings that fluidly connect interior of the bootie with exterior of the rigid shell at the rear of the boot.

The structure of the boot according to the present invention may be appreciated more fully from FIGS. 11 and 12 .

Cooling and ventilation of the user's foot begins as soon as the rider mounts a motorcycle and starts a race.

The vehicle movement causes the entry of air through the air intake formed by the three front openings in the tread and the opening formed in the shell

The metal mesh prevents the entry of foreign bodies, such as grit.

The incoming air stream enters into the front ends of the tubular channels in the bottom insole of the upper, passing over the entire bottom surface of the upper.

At the same time this air stream is transferred at right angles to the overlying base of the inner bootie and via the breathable fabric of the bootie passes to the internal insole of the bootie, the tubular channels of which complete distribution of the air over practically all the bottom surface of the user's foot.

The air then passes out through the rear openings formed in the bootie, the opening formed in the upper and finally the screened openings formed at the rear in the shell.

In this way the problem of cooling and ventilation of the user's foot is solved, preventing, especially in sporting disciplines such as motocross, overheating of the foot, which occurs in particular during difficult and long races.

It is understood that conceptually and structurally equivalent variants are possible and may be envisaged, in particular in order to adapt the invention to boot designs which differ in terms of the conventional components.

In other words, it is possible to envisage adopting in other types of motocross boots the underlying principle of the present invention consisting in providing a front air intake, preferably screened by a protection system, a plurality of tubular channels which are aligned substantially with the longitudinal axis of the boot and able to distribute the air at right angles to their axis so that it reaches the sole of the user's foot.