Land vehicles – Skates – Shoe attaching means
Utility Patent
2000-03-22
2001-01-02
Camby, Richard M. (Department: 3618)
Land vehicles
Skates
Shoe attaching means
C280S613000, C036S117100
Utility Patent
active
06168184
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to the field of boots intended for participation in gliding sports such as cross-country skiing, ice-skating or roller-skating, snowboarding, etc. It relates more specifically to the boots which are to interact with the gliding member proper by means of a metal pin located under the sole of the boot. It more specifically takes advantage of the means of fixing this pin to the boot. In the remainder of the description, attention will more particularly be devoted to the use of the invention in cross-country skiing, but it must be kept in mind that a person skilled in the art will be readily able to transpose it to other sports such as skating or boarding.
PRIOR ART
As is known, a cross-country ski boot is composed of an upper intended to cover the foot and of a sole connected to the binding and/or the top face of the ski.
Near the front end, the sole has a transverse pin intended to be caught by the binding secured to the ski. It is becoming increasingly common for high-performance boots to have one or more longitudinal grooves under the sole. These grooves interact with complementary ridges on the ski or, more generally, on the binding. In general, the main groove is deeper at the front of the sole in order to house the binding pin. The latter connects between the two vertical sides of the groove.
As is known, this pin extends deeply into the sole to give an effective anchor. This is necessary because during jolts and when the ski is flying, the pin is subjected to high stresses and needs to be firmly attached to the sole in order to prevent it from pulling out.
To improve the anchorage, it has been proposed for the extensions of the pin to be connected to a metal plate embedded in the material of the sole when it is being manufactured by moulding, towards the rear of the boot.
Quite clearly, moulding the sole requires particular precautions and special tooling to allow the
10
sole to be moulded encompassing the two ends of the transverse pin, while leaving this pin visible.
Unfortunately, even though these special procedures are compatible with overmoulding the sole directly to the upper, they require very expensive so-called “slide” moulds because of the undercut formed by the transverse pin. Soles obtained independently are therefore bonded to the upper afterwards. It then follows that the cost price of a boot of this type is still high because sophisticated moulding machines and a significant amount of labour must be used.
The same drawbacks inherent in the moulding of the sole are observed, for example, with snowboarding boots or skates.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to provide a design of that region of the boot that has the metal pin which allows easy moulding, avoiding the use of special tooling while at the same time retaining a high anchorage capability.
Thus, the boot in accordance with the invention is of the type comprising a sole the underside of which has a recess delimited by two more or less vertical walls pointing towards the bottom of the boot, the said recess having passing through it a pin which is intended to interact with means for attaching to the gliding member and comprising a rigid piece embedded in the sole and having two extensions extending into the said walls and intended to accommodate the said pin.
This boot is characterized in that the extensions and the ends of the pin have means intended to make this pin removable.
In other words, the metal pin is removable and is secured to the boot for example by being screwed to a piece embedded within the sole. This embedded piece constitutes the anchoring points for the pin.
The invention therefore consists in using an anchoring piece and a pin which are separate, the anchoring piece being at least partially embedded during the moulding of the sole so that it does not form any undercut.
In this way, the moulding tools are simple, and this in particular allows the sole to be moulded directly on the upper.
In a first embodiment, the embedded rigid piece is a U-shaped stirrup piece, the opening of which points towards the metal pin and the legs of which form the extensions which are intended to accommodate the characteristic pin.
In practice, the rear portion of the U-shaped stirrup piece is situated in a plane more or less parallel to the plane of the underside of the sole of the boot, the front ends of this stirrup piece being arranged in a plane which is also more or less parallel to the plane of the sole, but below the plane of the rear portion of the stirrup piece.
Advantageously, the legs of the said stirrup piece have a discontinuity, the end of each leg being offset downwards with respect to the plane of the stirrup piece. In this way, the ends of the stirrup piece which act as anchoring points for the pin are closer to the underside of the sole, while the anchoring part proper is situated right at the heart of the moulded portion of the front of the boot.
In another embodiment, the embedded metal piece is a plate bent into three portions, namely a first, central, portion, more or less parallel to the sole of the boot, and two lateral portions extending into the side surfaces, these lateral portions being designed to accommodate the transverse pin. This design makes it possible to increase the area of contact between the anchoring piece and the moulded material, and this improves the resistance of the unit as a whole to pulling out.
As regards the catching of the characteristic pin on the boot, a number of embodiments can be envisaged.
Thus, in a first alternative form, the end of the pin, which is for example metal, has a tapped hole into which the threaded shank of a bolt is screwed.
In a second alternative form, the pin has at least one end which is telescopic and retractable, and the two ends of the pin can be housed in housings provided for this purpose in the extensions of the embedded metal piece.
In a third alternative form, the pin may be integral with two hollow sleeves intended to be pushed over visible parts of the extensions of the embedded piece.
Quite obviously, a number of pin geometries and/or cross sections may prove advantageous for use in accordance with the invention. In particular, the pin may be cylindrical but also formed of a strip shaped to suit its purpose.
The provisions in accordance with the invention prove particularly advantageous when manufacturing boots intended for cross-country skiing, and in which the recess is forward of the metatarsophalangeal joint, the extensions then pointing forwards.
As a side issue, the invention makes it possible to solve the problem with wear on the front part of the boot, where repeated contact with the binding causes deformation and even sometimes breakages. For this, the front end of the sole which corresponds to the region of wear can be detached from the boot. It has housings that complement the lateral extensions of the metal piece to allow it to be pushed on, and perforations to allow the transverse pin to pass.
In another embodiment, using the anchoring points formed by the extensions of the embedded piece, the boot has a wide longitudinal groove on the underside of the sole. In combination, the boot has a strip attached inside this wide groove, the lowermost face of this attached strip having a profile which complements the region of the ski and/or of the binding on which it rests. Furthermore, the boot also towards the rear of said wide groove, has means of anchoring the rear of the said attached strip, the front part of the attached strip being anchored by the extensions of the embedded metal piece in combination with the transverse pin.
With this arrangement it is therefore easy, starting from a common boot, to make various versions intended to be adapted to suit various shapes of binding. This design proves particularly advantageous as regards the various types of groove and rib that there are on the underside of the soles of cross-country ski boots.
The arrangements in accordance with the invention may also prove advantageous when producing boots intende
Condini Alessandro
Simonetti Luigi
Camby Richard M.
Skis Rossignal S.A.
Wall Marjama & Bilinski
LandOfFree
Footwear with a releasable pin for use in gliding sports does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Footwear with a releasable pin for use in gliding sports, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Footwear with a releasable pin for use in gliding sports will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2489777