Land vehicles – Skates – Shoe attaching means
Reexamination Certificate
1997-10-10
2001-07-31
Vanaman, Frank (Department: 3611)
Land vehicles
Skates
Shoe attaching means
C280S014220, C280S634000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06267403
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to an item of equipment for the practice of snowboarding. More precisely, the invention relates to a binding and the complementary shoe which make it possible, on the one hand, for the shoe to be engaged automatically and, on the other hand, for the shoe to be secured to the snowboard, irrespective of the depth of snow lying in between the shoe and the board.
PRIOR ART
As is known, there are several techniques for the practice of snowboarding. Mention may, in particular, be made of the first form termed “alpine gliding” which is practiced on ski trails of traditional appearance, on prepared snow.
A second form termed “freestyle” is also known, which takes place on particular pistes forming semi-cylindrical valleys, generally artificially hollowed, and commonly referred to by the expression “halfpipe”. Lastly, it is also known that snowboarding is practiced on powdery snow slopes.
It is quite clear that each of these modes of use requires a number of properties in the articulation between the user's leg and the board, in particular as regards forward flexing and rearward support.
Chronologically, three different types of shoes have been proposed, to be combined with corresponding bindings which are also different.
Firstly, the first shoes used for the practice of snowboarding were downhill ski boots, that is to say boots having a rigid shell allowing limited forward inclination of the leg. These shoes are fitted to bindings having elements, namely a fixed stirrup piece into which the heel of the shoe is inserted, and an articulated front stop in the form of a stirrup piece, provided with a buckle and capable of engaging the front portion of the toe of the shoe. Quite clearly, this type of shoe proves to be too rigid, in particular in disciplines requiring large articulations of the tibia relative to the foot, such as the technique practiced in “halfpipes”.
This type of shoe also proves to be poorly suited to walking because it is too rigid.
Subsequently, the use of flexible shoes was proposed, these more generally having the form of a boot which is advantageously practical for walking. Unfortunately, the existence of this flexibility made it necessary to develop the bindings in order to allow them to cater for rearward support.
Bindings were thus developed having a platform on which the shoe is fixed by several straps and which have a rigid back plate fixed substantially perpendicularly to the board and rising toward the calf. Unfortunately, the use of straps requires adjustment operations every time the shoes are engaged on the board, and it is well known that this takes place frequently in snowboarding, especially when the user reaches a flat region or when he needs to use a ski lift.
Another type of binding is also known which employs retractable components, secured to the board, which interact with complementary attachment elements secured to the sole of the shoe. In this case, the shoes have a flexible base and include a number of reinforcements in the regions needed for taking up rearward forces and transferring feel from the board to the foot. More precisely, in Patent Application FR 2,733,671, the Applicant has described a shoe which has a frame combining a rigid sole and a back spoiler which is also rigid. Unfortunately, although satisfactory, this solution is substantially equivalent to a rigid shoe and entails discomfort when walking, as well as deadening of the feel. The sensitivity of architectures of this type to mechanical play is also to be noted.
Lastly, another type of binding is known, which is illustrated in document WO 96/17660 and is essentially composed of a plate which is mounted on the board and whose rear part comprises a rigid spoiler intended to surround the bottom rear part of the leg and to take up rearward forces. The shoe is secured to this binding at two points, namely, on the one hand, at the spoiler by means of a catch which latches a protruding portion of the shoe and, on the other hand, at the front, under the sole by means of a transverse groove in which a corresponding transverse axle of the binding is housed. Unfortunately, the operation of engaging the shoe is carried out “blind” because the attachment elements are located under the shoe and do not allow the user to see the attachment proper. More precisely, when the user fits his shoe into the binding, there is a risk that the toe of his shoe will abut against the board and that attachment to the transverse axle will not take place.
Further, the use of a transverse axle interacting with an open groove located on the shoe necessarily leads to the shoe having a degree of lateral play inside the binding. It is therefore not possible to use different shoe sizes with this binding, without entailing the risk of the shoe becoming loose relative to the board.
Finally, in order to be capable of functioning, this binding requires that the sole of the user's shoe be free of a wedge of packed snow, or it may not be possible for the initial engagement of the binding to take place.
One of the problems which the invention therefore proposes to solve is to provide a snowboard binding which makes it possible to fit a shoe which is essentially flexible, and therefore comfortable for walking, using an automatic shoe engagement operation during which the user can check that his shoe is fitted and attached correctly.
One of the other problems which the invention proposes to solve is to make it possible to fit a large number of different shoe sizes into a snowboard binding.
A further problem resides in how the binding functions when there is a wedge of snow present under the sole of the shoe, in view of the fact that this packed snow may later become removed, that is to say the initial position of the shoe relative to the binding may become altered.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention therefore relates to a shoe/binding assembly for a snow gliding board, and in particular for a snowboard, allowing the shoe to be secured temporarily to said board at a plurality of contact attachment points which, on the binding, consist of attachment means intended to interact with complementary attachment means which are located on the shoe at the front and rear of the sole.
This shoe/binding assembly for a snow gliding board is one wherein at least one of the attachment points has a plurality of positions for locking of the attachment means of the shoe by those of the binding, so as to prohibit any movement of the shoe upward and to make it possible to change automatically from one locking position to the next in the downward direction of the shoe, under the effect of the user's weight.
In other words, the shoe is equipped with characteristic elements which make it possible to attach to the binding while ensuring permanent contact of the various points of interaction of the shoe with the binding. In this way, when the user engages his shoe with the snowboard, the characteristic attachment point is locked in the optimum position, thus avoiding any play between the shoe and the binding.
Thus, for example, the sole of the shoe often has a wedge of packed snow which becomes formed during walking and lies in between the sole of the shoe and the snowboard. The characteristic elements of the invention are constructed in such a way that, as the packed snow becomes removed, the position of the shoe is adapted in order to avoid the occurrence of any vertical play.
In practice, the attachment means which have a plurality of locking positions are located either at the front or at the rear of the shoe and the binding.
In one embodiment, the attachment means consist, on the one hand, of a catch and, on the other hand, of a notched region into which the catch locks, the catch and the notched region being located either on the shoe and on the binding, or vice versa.
In a practical embodiment, the catch is articulated either onto the shoe or onto the binding and is associated with a return element which presses it into contact with the notched region lying opposite.
In an alternative
Bauvois Jean
Bossin Rodolphe
Skis Rossignol S.A.
Vanaman Frank
Wall Marjama & Bilinski
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