Land vehicles – Skates – Shoe attaching means
Patent
1999-04-05
2000-04-18
Johnson, Brian L.
Land vehicles
Skates
Shoe attaching means
A63C 920
Patent
active
060505907
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The objective of the invention is an automatic booting device for a snow surfboard and a boot for this board. The snow surfboard, also called snowboard, is a varyingly flexible elongated board designed to slide on snow.
Compared to the time in service, the snowboards are expensive. Moreover they take up substantial space when not in use. Accordingly many casual sports people prefer renting snowboards to purchasing them. Present booting devices require adjustment depending on boot type and size. Currently commercially available automatic snowboard booting devices offer few booting positions, entailing inconvenience, especially with the so-called alpine, rigid-shell boots.
In fact present automatic booting devices are fitted with a highly directional latching mechanism. Most booting devices for automatic booting boards require the user to apply high accuracy in booting up. These booting devices are unsatisfactory because some are off center relative to the boot and require a yoke at the boot front. They do not spread the stresses well over the board. They engage sideways, or in highly directional manner, with discomfort to the user. Moreover they cannot be used with so-called shell, rigid boots. Regarding other types, the position during engagement masks the booting device from the user and demands high accuracy. These booting devices lack the ability to automatically adjust tightening when snow accumulates under the boot. Because the snow is tamped by user motion, a void is left, leading to instabilities.
Proposals have been advanced to improve the automatic board booting devices by fitting them with a base comprising lateral hooks of which one is locked by a lever and into which will snap two yokes solidly joined to the boot. One of the yokes is locked by a closing means allowing passage when booting-up but preventing yoke return by blocking the way in the case of vertical force. While such a booting device is satisfactory as regards automatic booting, on the other hand it is inconvenient because booting must be implemented very directionally. As regards shell boots, this kind of booting device precludes using a rigid boot because, with the user's articulations being held in place, his/her leg lacks the required pliancy to allow device engagement. Another kind of booting device comprises a lower plate fastened to the board, the female base rigidly joined to the boot being fitted with the closing means, and while this design offers the feature of automatic board booting, it does however incur the drawback of masking the part to be engaged because being located under the user's boot.
Snowboard boots already are known which comprise flanges at their two ends or complex parts under the sole to hold them in place on the board or the ski. Most of these boots are user friendly, however they raise problems in some cases as regards affixation to the board or ski, in particular when snow has aggregated on the board or the ski or under the boot, in particular as regards boots affixed underneath their soles. Moreover, as regards the boots affixed at the front and rear or at the sides in cantilever manner, force transmission is less than optimal.
Other boots comprise recesses in the boot's middle zone to allow holding them by means of claws. These booting devices are comparatively complex and of low reliability. Moreover these boot recesses may fill with snow or the booting device may be covered by it, making booting-up difficult.
The objective of the invention is to create a booting device free of the drawbacks of the present ones and a boot for such a booting device. These goals are attained by the snowboard booting device defined in claim 1 and by the boot defined in claim 5.
The invention is elucidated in the following description of illustrative embodiments of the invention and in relation to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective of one embodiment of the board booting-device of the invention,
FIG. 2 is a topview of the booting device of FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 is a front view of the booting device of FIG. 1,
FIGS. 4a and 4
REFERENCES:
patent: 3891227 (1975-06-01), Spademan
patent: 3905613 (1975-09-01), Romeo
patent: 4392666 (1983-07-01), Ramer
patent: 4403789 (1983-09-01), Hickey
patent: 4959913 (1990-10-01), Provence et al.
patent: 5558355 (1996-09-01), Henry
patent: 5577757 (1996-11-01), Riepl et al.
patent: 5697631 (1997-12-01), Ratzek et al.
patent: 5875566 (1999-03-01), Bourdeau et al.
Britton Michael
Johnson Brian L.
LandOfFree
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