Foot stretcher plate with inlet on the left and right, individually adapted to the active user and the boat shape, can be rotated 360 degrees and can be used with any shoes with threaded nuts and / or adapter system for rowing boats, canoes and ergometers using a two-part adapter system

Abstract

The stretcher plate has a left and a right 360 degree rotatable inlet.

Description

[0001] In the Olympic sports of rowing and canoeing, the athlete performs a seated, complex movement. The rowing and canoeing athlete uses their feet, buttocks, and hands as connecting elements to the boat and ergometer. Almost all boats in rowing and canoeing are designed for maximum speed using optimized boat shapes. As a result, the boats are constructed and developed very narrowly and at the edge of controllability for the athletes. In contrast to the hands and buttocks, the feet are surrounded by shoes that individually fit the feet. The shoes, which have threaded nuts in the forefoot area, are firmly screwed to the foot stretcher plate. The foot stretcher plate is firmly screwed to the foot stretcher. The foot stretcher is screwed to the boat or ergometer. The hands, on the other hand, are loosely mounted and connected to the oar, paddle, or handle. The buttocks rest, similarly loosely mounted, on the respective seat.The stretcher plate is fundamentally important and is customized for competition boats. Without it, the boat and ergometer are unusable. The placement of the stretcher plate in terms of height and angle in the boat and on the ergometer, as well as its shape and construction, are extremely important. The stretcher plate not only indirectly influences the speed of the boat and the output of the ergometer, but is also indirectly responsible for the stability of the boat in the x / y / z axes. The stretcher plate generates directional stability and is a significant aid in difficult water conditions, as well as in difficult wind conditions, and is extremely helpful for the athlete in gusty crosswinds. The difficulties for athletes in controlling the racing boat arise from the extremely optimized boat shapes.Currently, all boats and ergometers are moved and operated using foot stretchers, which often do not meet the requirements of the boat shape and the specific genetics of the athlete. Until now, the right and left foot are firmly screwed to the foot stretcher plate using customized shoes in an individual position of shoe toe and distance between the feet in the x / y axis, without any possibility of movement of the shoe and therefore of the athlete's feet. This results in the problem that the screwed shoes and therefore the feet on the foot stretcher and in the boat, including on the ergometer, cannot be moved due to the screw connection. The required rotation of the foot and lower extremities in rowing and canoeing, which is predetermined by human genetics, is not possible. This can cause damage to the athlete's skeleton and musculature. The technically possible angles in the extended position and final pull position are not achieved.The angular velocity and pull-through speed of the oars and paddles are not optimally utilized. The athletes' tendons and joints wear out and are irreparably damaged. The shoes and stretcher plates used wear out after a short time and are therefore unusable. The stretcher plates and their various configurations have previously been represented by manufacturers using replaceable stretcher plates made of carbon fiber, plastic fiber, aluminum alloys, and wood that can be screwed onto the stretcher. Biomechanical measurements of these conventionally used and installed stretcher plates demonstrably show a loss of power and a lack of rotational options. This is also evident in the stretcher force curve. The athlete's feet are individually fitted to the shoes and firmly screwed to the stretcher plate in the forefoot area.Due to the inherent curvature of every shoe sole, the heel of the shoe is usually unable to reach or touch the stretcher, which is used for pushing off and stabilizing the sensitive boat. The athlete's force input into the stretcher to propel the boat is insufficient. The athlete's mass shift from the final pull phase to the lay-out position fundamentally influences the boat's speed and the ergometer's output. With the stretcher systems and shoes currently on the market, maximum output on the ergometer and thus maximum boat speed cannot be achieved.

[0002] This poses problems in that a conventional or orthopedically fitted shoe has a continuous sole with a curved sole. This has previously resulted in the shoe being connected to the foot stretcher plate with threaded nuts in the forefoot area, making it impossible to lower the heel onto the foot stretcher without exerting force and constantly overextending the athlete's foot.

[0003] As an aid, the sole of the shoes used has so far been cut vertically once or several times, thus interrupting the structurally one-piece and continuous shoe sole.

[0004] This does not solve the problem of shoe damage and hyperextension of the athlete's foot.

[0005] In addition, the athletic and natural flow of movement during athletic movement cannot be executed completely correctly; neuronal control by the athlete in order to be able to perform the movement correctly in the necessary sequence is simply not possible.

[0006] In addition, the shoe becomes unusable and unusable in a very short time.

[0007] The special feature of the invention is: When practicing rowing and canoeing, the athlete rotates their upper and lower extremities. Because the shoes are firmly attached to the traditional foot stretcher plate by screws installed in the forefoot area, and the traditional foot stretcher plate is designed without a 360-degree rotation mechanism, the athlete cannot rotate their lower extremities to the extent that the human body's genetics allow.The innovation described in the patent (1) is based on the fact that the left and right shoes are mounted and enclosed in the footrest plate made of any material and can be rotated 360 degrees by means of inlets in various formats, shapes and any materials, and that the inlets made of any material can also be connected to the two-part adapter system shown in patent (19) for use with any shoes designed with threaded nuts and / or adapter systems and with a continuous and unbroken sole.

[0008] The innovation described in patent (19) is based on the fact that any shoes equipped with threaded nuts or any adapter fastening options prefabricated and installed by the manufacturer can be connected to the footrest plate with 360 degree rotatable inlets by means of an adapter piece made of metal, plastic or any other material, shown in patent (20), and thus enables optimal sporting movement in accordance with the genetics of the body.

[0009] An innovation, uniqueness, and unique selling point is that the continuous, curved, one-piece sole of the shoe in use no longer needs to be broken, meaning the athlete no longer needs to buy a special shoe. The shoes now required are available globally on the market in a huge variety of fits, styles, and prices. A further advantage resulting from this innovation and invention is that the athlete can use the shoes multiple times for other sports they practice. Another advantage of being able to use almost any shoe with threaded nuts or other adapter systems is that the variety on the market now makes it easier for athletes to find a shoe that is perfectly suited to their feet and that prevents damage to the athlete's body caused by the extreme forces prevalent in rowing, canoeing, and on the ergometer.

[0010] The innovation and invention allows for better neuronal and sensorimotor control for the efficient execution of the movement required by the sport by the athlete.

[0011] The required movement and this optimization is significantly optimized through higher boat speed and higher output on the ergometer. Depicted in patent (17), the two-part adapter system is made of any material and connects the shoe to the stretcher plate in such a way that one part of the two-part adapter system, specially made of any material, is connected to the manufacturer's curved shoe and thus to its sole, and the other part of the two-part adapter system, specially made of any material, is connected to the 360-degree freely rotatable inlets of the stretcher plate, and both parts of the two-part adapter system, shown in patent (15), are positively connected to one another in any way, shown in patent (18).

[0012] The two-part adapter system shown in patent (15) is made of any plastic, any carbon material, any aluminum alloy, any metal alloy, shown in patent (17).

[0013] A further advantage of the invention and innovation is that the tilting mechanism associated with the connection of the two adapter system parts enables and ensures that the athlete can neurologically place and raise the heel on the footrest plate without constantly overextending the foot.

[0014] Another innovation is that the shoe is attached and positioned at the technically smallest possible distance to the foot stretcher plate, but a tilting mechanism by connecting the two parts of the adapter system enables the free movement of the shoe and thus of the foot in all axes x / y / z and is freely manufactured.

[0015] The innovation described in patent (2) also consists in the fact that the stretcher board has a vertical, centrally running row of holes.

[0016] Right (3) describes right and left holes with milled edges to hold the ball-bearing or non-ball-bearing inlets described in right (11) for screwing the athlete's shoes to the plate.

[0017] Another innovation described in patent (5) is a centrally divided and interlocking two-part stretcher plate with left and right inlets that can be rotated 360 degrees. This innovation means that the athlete's feet and shoes are firmly connected to the stretcher plate, first to the stretcher and then to the boat and ergometer. However, body rotation can still occur smoothly from the lowest extremities, the toes, to the uppermost extremities, the fingers. Larger angles of extension and end pull are generated. The angular velocity and thus the pull-through speed of the oars and paddles increases because the movement can be carried out more evenly, smoothly and without interference thanks to the athlete's muscle chain. The forces emitted by the athlete are greater and are transmitted more effectively to the boat and ergometer, significantly increasing boat speed and the ergometer output.The susceptibility to injury, especially in the lower extremities, is reduced. The risk of injury and wear and tear on the athlete's tendons and joints is reduced. Athletes with limited mobility in their lower extremities in particular benefit enormously from this invention and can therefore finally practice both sports. Even physically disabled athletes can use the sports equipment and meet the associated body rotation requirements thanks to the 360-degree rotating inlets of the foot stretcher plate with the appropriate shoes and the two-part adapter system shown in patent (15). With disabilities in various areas of their body, both skeletal and sensorimotor, disabled athletes in the sports of rowing and canoeing benefit enormously from the aforementioned invention. This invention closes and optimizes the interface between their individual physical disability in sensory and motor skills and the sports equipment.Depending on the degree of physical limitation of the physically disabled athlete, this invention allows access to the sports of rowing, canoeing and their ergometers for the first time. This was impossible with previous, conventional stretcher plates without the aforementioned rotating mechanism and without the now possible use of shoes with a continuous, curved sole. Helmsmanless boats in rowing and canoeing are sometimes moved by means of a foot steering mechanism operated by the athlete's foot. As shown in patent (6), the foot steering system of rowing boats and canoes is built into the stretcher plate and its rotating right and left inlets. The innovation shown in patent (7) comprises stretcher plates with right and left inlets that can be rotated 360 degrees and are made of aluminum alloys, metal alloys or carbon fibers of any type and in any width, length and thickness.

[0018] The inlet of the stretcher plate for right-footed and left-footed users is shown in patent (8) as rectangular, round, or pyramid-shaped. Patent (9) shows any thickness of the stretcher plate. Patent (10) shows any rectangular stretcher adapter plate that is a perfect fit for screwing to 360-degree stretcher plates with inlets for any ergometer of any thickness and material. Some ergometers have a centrally running roller track, which requires the use of adapter plates to reinforce the body of the ergometer and to connect it to the centrally divided 360-degree stretcher plate with inlets. The innovation is that until now, shoes with a continuous, curved sole that encompassed the athlete's feet could not be installed on the ergometer.Another innovation is that the athlete's feet are now firmly screwed into place by means of the foot stretcher plate and the integrated 360-degree rotating inlets, but the feet are still free and mobile in the athlete's joints thanks to the inlets. These adapter plates are required in order to install the foot stretcher plates with rotating inlets on the ergometers. In the sports of rowing and canoeing, manufacturers install various hole pattern systems on the sole. The hole pattern of any shoe system and any shoe adapter system is shown in patent (12) and can be projected onto the foot stretcher plate systems and their 360-degree freely rotating inlets.

[0019] Thanks to these innovations, the athlete feels less resistance during water work, and less effort is required to pull the boat through the water. When the boat is freewheeling, the reduced speed loss is noticeable due to the improved hydrodynamic resistance. Conversely, less force and energy is required during the next rowing or paddling stroke to keep the boat and ergometer at a high average speed and higher output. Another advantage is that the athlete can move the boat with direction stability using their lower body strength, especially during the freewheeling phase, with less effort.

[0020] Another innovation, uniqueness and difference of the invention compared to conventional and previous stretcher plates and the shoes with interrupted soles used with them is that the stretcher plate with rotating function, which is manufactured exactly to the corresponding genetics of the athlete, can also be used together with the adapted shoes in other boats and ergometers that are only used temporarily.

[0021] Another immense advantage is the cost reduction of the one-piece and the centrally separated stretcher plates with inlets and shoes, due to multiple use, interchangeability and increased durability.

[0022] Another advantage is that the stretcher plate, which rotates 360 degrees and includes inlets and shoes, is custom-made and adapted to the specific boat type, hull, athlete, genetic predisposition, and boat's specific use. Depending on the manufacturer, different boat types have different lengths, widths, and drafts, as well as outrigger systems with varying degrees of offset, to which the oarlocks are attached during rowing. As shown in patent (9), the holes for the inlets can be made at any distance from the center of the stretcher plate.

[0023] As shown in patent (13), each of the two holes for receiving the inlets with a limiting function for limiting the angle of the athlete's stance using their shoes can be designed in any shape. The stretcher plate is attached using screws or any adhesive material and is described in patent (14).

[0024] The stretcher board and its length, width, contour, and material thickness are individually adapted to ergonomic factors that vary from person to person, the boat, and the ergometer. The conventional stretcher board does not fully accommodate the individuality of different requirements.

[0025] In the sport of rowing, many fastening options are specified by the manufacturer. As described in patent (8), the inlets attached to the shoes can be made of any material. The advantage of the invention and novelty described in patent (11) is the ball bearings of the inlets, which allow the athlete's axial and lateral thrust forces to be transmitted directly and seamlessly to the stretcher and thus to the boat.

[0026] Another special feature of the invention is that the use of ball bearings facilitates optimization and synchronization of the different athletes in the team boat, thereby increasing boat speed. The athlete's movement sequence can be more easily controlled by motors. Another advantage of the innovation is that the shoes are protected from dirt and damage by ball bearings and inlets in the foot stretcher plate, requiring little maintenance. The patent (14) states that the integrated inlets, with or without ball bearings, can be installed floating, rigid, with any screws or adhesives in the foot stretcher plate and its holes, for right- and left-footed athletes.

[0027] As shown in patent (4), the stretcher board is manufactured either as a single-shell or a double-shell board.

[0028] The body of the stretcher board is individually adapted in the installation base to the stretcher board of the boat specified by the manufacturer.

[0029] The advantage of the invention, unlike previously known stretcher boards, is the biomechanically optimal and measurably better adaptation of the athlete to the sports equipment, which can be proven in terms of flow technology and speed increase. Because the stretcher board is individually adjusted to the prevailing conditions, the athlete sits upright in the boat in the x, y, and z axes. The back pain and poor posture of the muscles and skeleton that are very frequently diagnosed in rowing and canoeing are at least less pronounced or even disappear completely thanks to the invention. Namely because the boat sits more steadily in the water in the x / y / z axes and is therefore more economically controllable by the athlete. This allows the available muscles and joints to be used for effective propulsion. This, and the increased comfort, generates higher output and improved performance for the athlete.The isolation of individual muscles and their dysfunctions is eliminated. This results in improved blood circulation to the muscles, connective tissue, and extremities.

[0030] The positive effect is demonstrable through biomechanical measurements of the athlete, force measurements when transferring power from the boat to the oar, paddle and with comparable measurements of travel times and output on the ergometer.

[0031] These factors combined increase boat speed.

[0032] Of course, the athlete’s well-being has an immense impact on athletic performance.

Claims

[1] The stretcher plate has a left and a right 360 degree rotating inlet. [2] The stretcher board, shown in patent (1), has a central vertical row of holes in any size. [3] The stretcher board, shown in patent (1), (2) has holes on the right and left with milled degrees of any thickness. [4] The stretcher board, shown in patent (1), (2), (3) is single-shell or double-shell. [5] The stretcher plate, shown in patent (1), (2), (3), (4) is one-piece or a centrally divided, interlocking two-piece plate, each with rotating inlets. [6] The footboard plate, shown in patent (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) has a foot control system left and right of any kind with rotating inlets [7] The stretcher plate, shown in patent (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6) is manufactured in any aluminum alloy, metal alloy, carbon fiber and in any length, width and thickness. [8] The inlets, shown in patent (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7) are round, square, pyramid-shaped and made of any kind of material. [9] The stretcher board, shown in patent (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8) is manufactured in any thickness, any format and any distance between the inlets. [10] The stretcher plate, shown in patent (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9) is any rectangular ergometer adapter plate in any thickness and any type of material. [11] The inlets of the footboard plate, shown in patent (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10) can be ball-bearing. [12] The stretcher plate, shown in patent (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11) has the hole pattern of any shoe system and any shoe adapter system. [13] The stretcher plate, shown in patent (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), (12) is manufactured with any limitation possibilities of the rotating inlets. [14] The inlets, shown in patent (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), (12), (13) are made with ball bearings, floating, rigid, any screws, adhesives. [15] The adapter system shown is two-part or multi-part. [16] The two-part or multi-part adapter system shown in patent (15) is manufactured in any form. [17] The two-part or multi-part adapter system shown in patent (15), (16) is made of any material. [18] The two-part or multi-part adapter system shown in patent (15), (16), (17) connects one part to the other part of the two-part or multi-part adapter system in any way. [19] The two-part or multi-part adapter system shown in patent (15), (16), (17), (18) fits any arch of any shoe. [20] The two-part or multi-part adapter system shown in patent (15), (16), (17), (18), (19) fits the 360 degree freely rotatable inlets.