Boots – shoes – and leggings – Boots and shoes – Occupational or athletic shoe
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-28
2001-05-08
Sewell, Paul T. (Department: 3728)
Boots, shoes, and leggings
Boots and shoes
Occupational or athletic shoe
C036S118200, C036S117100, C036S010000, C036S119100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06226898
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to boots for alpine or downhill skiing, and more particularly, to a multilayered downhill ski boot or other glide board boot construction.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Speed and directional control in downhill skiing occurs by a skier shifting weight and applying lower leg force through the ball of the foot to the edge of the ski. Accurate and efficient edge control is required for clean turning and stopping. Conventional downhill ski boots include a substantially rigid thermoplastic outer boot that aids this force transmission, limiting medial and lateral flexion of the ankle, while also protecting the skier's ankle.
The rigid outer shell of a conventional ski boot receives an elastomeric foam lining. The lining both thermally insulates the skier's foot, and provides padding for comfort and fit between the skier's foot and the rigid outer shell of the boot. A series of over-center cam buckle straps are provided on the outer shell. The skier's foot is inserted downwardly into the boot, and the straps are then tightened in an attempt to compress the outer shell and the inner liner about the user's foot. Compression is limited, however, by the rigidity of the outer shell. After skiing, the buckles are loosened and the skier's foot is withdrawn upwardly from the boot. Due to the substantially rigid nature of the outer shell, withdrawal of the skier's foot can be difficult.
While conventional downhill ski boots provide adequate protection for a skier's foot, this construction is limited in the ability of the skier to closely conform the rigid outer shell and elastomeric inner lining about the skier's foot. Because the shape of a skier's foot varies from individual to individual, a ski boot tends to fit any given individual tightly in some areas of the foot and lower leg, and loosely in other areas. The ski boot is typically tightly compressed about the skier's shin, while it is inadequately tightened and fitted around other areas such as over the arch of the skier's foot. This is due primarily to the inability to adequately conform and compress the rigid outer shell.
As a result, certain areas of the skier's foot and lower leg receive too much pressure from a conventional ski boot, and may cause discomfort or pain to the skier, particularly during extended use. Likewise, the lack of close fit in other areas of the boot permits movement or slop of the skier's foot within the boot, such as horizontally in lateral and medial directions, during skiing. In order to shift the skier's weight to the ski through the boot, the skier's ball of the foot and toes will often first shift, resulting in less efficient force transmission and loss of a degree of control. Further, as a result of this loose fit, force tends to be applied from the skier's shin to the ski boot and then to the ski. This further increases the degree of pressure exerted on and discomfort to the forward side of the skier's shin.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a downhill ski boot for receiving a skier's foot and securing it to the heel and toe bindings of a ski. The downhill ski boot includes an inner shell that substantially surrounds a skier's foot. The inner shell is selected to have a predetermined degree of stiffness or flexibility, as selected for given performance levels. The inner shell includes a vamp portion covering the arch of the skier's foot. The downhill ski boot further includes a substantially rigid outer shell that receives the inner shell. The outer shell includes a base having a sole portion that supports the underside of the skier's foot, and a sidewall portion extending upwardly from the sole portion along side at least some regions of the skier's foot. The sidewall portion defines a longitudinal gap between left and right sides of the sidewall portion, over the vamp portion of the inner shell. The base further defines heel and toe binding surfaces for engagement by the heel and toe bindings. The rigid outer shell includes an ankle cuff extending upwardly from the base that is securable about the skier's ankle to aid in maintaining lateral and medial rigidity of the skier's foot. A first compression strap is secured to the base and spans the gap in the sidewall portion, and is fastenable to compress the inner shell about the skier's arch. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the outer shell and inner shell cooperatively form a compressible, close-fitting shell system, which receives a separate inner lining.
In further aspects of the present invention, the downhill ski boot includes a semirigid tongue guard piece that covers the vamp portion of the inner shell and spans the longitudinal gap in the outer shell. A plurality of compression straps are fastenable over the guard to compress the inner shell for a close fit of the ski boot to a skier's foot, while also drawing the left and right sides of the sidewall portion of the base of the rigid outer shell together.
In a further aspect of the present invention, the compressible inner shell of the downhill ski boot is contoured to project into apertures defined in the substantially rigid outer shell, thereby forming a substantially water tight seal between the inner shell and outer shell.
In a still further aspect of the present invention, the substantially rigid outer shell of the ski boot includes a force transmission reinforcement extending from the ankle cuff to a lower surface of the base. The force transmission reinforcement in the preferred embodiment includes a strut having a first segment integrally molded into the ankle support cuff which abuts a second segment integrally molded into the base, for transmitting force from the skier's leg to the undersurface of the ski boot, beneath the ball of a skier's foot, and to the ski.
In a still further aspect of the present invention, the skier's foot is removable from the downhill ski boot of the present invention forwardly as well as upwardly due to the longitudinal gap defined in the outer shell of the boot, easing removal and placement of the skier's foot.
While the preferred embodiment herein is described as a downhill ski boot, the boot construction of the present invention can also be adapted for use with other glide board boots, such as snow board boots.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5050319 (1999-09-01), Perotto et al.
patent: 5435080 (1995-07-01), Meiselman
patent: 5509217 (1996-04-01), Condini
patent: 5528841 (1996-06-01), Pozzobon
patent: 5682686 (1997-11-01), Condini
patent: 5878513 (1999-03-01), Annovi et al.
patent: 5901469 (1999-05-01), Saillet
patent: 5933987 (1999-08-01), Demarchi
patent: 6021589 (2000-02-01), Cagliari et al.
patent: 19527320A (1997-01-01), None
Trimble Alan M.
Vandergrift James A.
Christensen O'Connor Johnson & Kindness PLLC
K-2 Corporation
Mohandesi Jila
Sewell Paul T.
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