Board for gliding

Details Board for gliding Board for gliding

1999-12-22

2001-11-13

Mar, Michael (Department: 3619)

Land vehicles

Skates

Runner type

C280S609000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06315317

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF INVENTION
The invention relates to the field of winter sports. It relates more precisely to a ski having a new shape allowing it to run better, particularly as regards the transmission of loads.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As is known, when taking part in alpine skiing, the skier's boot is held securely with respect to the board by means of a safety binding composed of a toe stop located at the front of the boot and a heel binding holding the heel. The bindings are located on the ski in a zone defined normally as the “binding-fitting zone”. This zone is centered with respect to the point of fitting the boot corresponding to the boot's mid-point. Its length is between 30% and 50% of the bearing length of the ski as a function of the size of the ski.
Many skis are sharply waisted and are thus relatively narrow in the median zone corresponding to the zone for fitting the binding.
Due to this narrowness the boot comes into contact with the snow when the ski is sharply tilted during turning stages. To solve this problem, it has been proposed to equip skis with a raised platform on which the two toe-stop and heel-binding parts of the binding are fitted.
Examples of such platforms are described particularly in documents FR 2 105 801, U.S. Pat. No. 3,260,532 and FR 2 409 776.
These platforms present a number of drawbacks, including, inter alia, their weight and their cost. The platforms stiffen the skis and result in a loss of energy at a time when momentum is required for turning. This loss is due to the stacking of mechanical components, the different mechanical clearances and flexions in the suspended parts.
In the initial stage of a turn, the skier exerts forces essentially at the front of the binding. When the momentum is required, these loads are transmitted by the board as far as the snow at the edges of the skis and, more precisely, onto the edges on the inside of the turn.
Thus, at the time of this momentum, the ski deforms and, more precisely, bends principally in flexion.
It is important for the ski to retain its inherent deformation characteristics even when it is equipped with safety bindings and the skier's boot. The ski's tendency to deform affects its behavior, i.e. its precision, grip, speed, comfort, etc. It is directly linked to the intensity and direction of the forces exerted on the ski by the skier. Deformation of the ski depends on the inner structure of the ski and its geometry, particularly its profile and variation in thickness, each ski preferably being designed for a specific type of use: long turns, short turns, powder, etc.
It is thus important not to unduly disrupt the behavior of a ski by equipping it with rigid devices such as bindings and platforms.
Moreover, when momentum is exerted on the ski, a deformation is propagated along the structure of the ski as a function of the board's inherent stiffness. The propagation of this deformation, equivalent to a vibration of the board, gives rise, in the zone of contact between the ski and the snow, i.e. the edges, to an oscillatory variation in the contact pressure.
In practice, this translates into jolting in the bearing zone, commonly known as “chattering”, which disrupts the behavior of the turn and thus the precision of the ski which itself affects skier safety.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention thus relates to a board for gliding, the upper face of which includes a zone for fitting the binding, which is centered with respect to the point for fitting the mid-point of the boot, intended to receive:
in its front portion, the toe stop of a binding;
in its rear portion, the heel binding of a binding.
This board for gliding is noteworthy in that it includes a step between the front portion of the zone for fitting the binding and the rear portion of the zone for fitting the binding, in such a manner that the thickness of the board for gliding in the front portion of the zone for fitting the binding is greater than the thickness of the board for gliding in the rear portion of the zone for fitting the binding.
In other words, the invention consists in giving the board for gliding a particular shape in which the front part, on which the toe stop of the binding is fitted, is raised relative to the rear part. This front part is separated from the rear part of the zone for fitting the binding by a marked difference in level. Step is understood to mean a significant difference in height, embodied by a gradient equivalent to at least 20%.
This excess thickness is present in the zone of the ski which experiences maximum loads, typically corresponding to the momentum forces at the front of the boots of the order of 200 daN to 500 daN. It guarantees advantageous load distribution, improved resistance to deformation of the ski and allows, as a function of the chosen inner structure, either better damping of the vibrations or more efficient transmission of the forces, making the ski more responsive.
In this front zone in which the thickness of the board is greater than that of the board in the rear zone, transmission of the forces over the front of the ski is more widely distributed, thus resulting in a ski which bears more on the snow without penalizing the ability of the rear of the ski to bend in flexion.
This zone of greater thickness limits the deformations and, in particular, the ski's bending in flexion at the active part when commencing the turn, which translates into longer-lasting and thus more effective bearing of the edges on the snow.
Moreover, this excess-thickness zone gives the board rigidity and additional stiffness, which translates into a reduction in the board's capacity to start oscillating and thus a gain in precision when starting and carrying out the turn, in other words greater attenuation of the “chattering” phenomena.
In a particular embodiment, the difference in the thicknesses of the board in the front and rear portions, respectively, of the zone for fitting the binding is between 3 and 30 mm.
Indeed, it has been observed that, when the difference in the thicknesses was less than the aforesaid value, it is difficult for the user to perceive the influence of the raising zone on the ski's behavior, whereas when this difference is in excess of 30 mm, the overall stiffness of the board is modified to too great an extent and generates additional disruptions such as fragility or excess flexibility of the ends.
In one embodiment, the thickness of the board decreases continuously from the front of the front zone of the zone for fitting the binding as far as the front contact line.
In one of such cases, the profile of the ski has a slight gradient descending from the location of the toe stop of the binding as far as the front contact line. This embodiment is particularly advantageous for forming the inner reinforcement located below the upper face forming the graphics. The portion located at the rear of the zone for fitting the binding has a maximum thickness which is less than that of the front zone, which decreases as a slight gradient and without interruption as far as the rear zone of the ski or heel. These two opposing slight-gradient profiles are separated by the characteristic step.
In another advantageous embodiment, the raised zone is also limited toward the front by a second step.
In other words, in this case, the board for gliding has a protuberance formed on the top of the board, at the front of the zone for fitting the bindings, the raising zone being delimited not only at the rear but also at the front by steps. At the front and at the rear of these steps, the ski resembles a conventional ski.
In one embodiment, the front portion of the zone for fitting the binding, having a thickness greater than the rear of the zone for fitting the binding, extends over a length of between 150 and 350 mm.
The greater part of this protuberance is located at the front of the point embodied on the ski as corresponding to the “boot mid-point”.
In this case, the upper surface of the ski has a protuberance allowing stiffening of the ski in order to obtain t

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

Board for gliding does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Board for gliding, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Board for gliding will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2596619