Land vehicles – Skates – Shoe attaching means
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-22
2001-08-07
Swann, J. J. (Department: 3611)
Land vehicles
Skates
Shoe attaching means
C280S011310, C280S011330, C280S011224, C280S011221
Reexamination Certificate
active
06270089
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for rapidly linking a boot to a sport article, especially a gliding sport article, such as an ice skate, roller skate, or in-line roller skate.
2. Description of Background and Material Information
Conventional linking systems consist of straps, arranged in the area of the instep girth and the metatarso-phalangeal articulation, that are tightened on the boot. Such linking systems have the drawback of causing excessive pressures and painful spots in the tightening areas without providing, however, a definite clearance-free assembly of the boot to the gliding member.
Different solutions have been envisioned in order to obtain such assemblies, without creating painful tightening spots for the user, from complementary linking systems provided in the boot sole and on the upper portion of the gliding member.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 908,536 provides a method for linking the boot to the gliding member (in this case, an ice skate blade) with a bayonet system. In a particular embodiment, two bayonet systems are provided in the longitudinal direction at the front, whereas a bayonet system perpendicular to the previous ones is provided at the rear.
Such a system imposes a pivoting movement of the rear portion whereas the front portion is already fixed and therefore requires substantial clearances for locking the boot.
Such clearances are incompatible with a good transmission of forces. Based upon Canadian Patent Publication No. 2,141,360, it is known to assemble a boot to an in-line roller skate frame through a buckle fastening at the rear on one of the sole edges. Such a system requires having a sole, on the one hand, extremely rigid, since it is what ensures the linkage to the frame through each of the ends, and that it is therefore subject to substantial forces of compression in the longitudinal direction and, on the other hand, overlapping with respect to the boot upper.
Obviously, such a boot is not well adapted for walking. A similar assembly system is disclosed in French Patent Publication No. 2,720,286 and is subject to the same drawbacks.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,675 discloses a principle for assembling a boot to a frame for an ice skate or roller skate using two pairs of wedge linkages at the front and at the rear, respectively, each wedge linkage having a double gradient in the vertical and transverse direction, respectively.
Such a linkage system requires a very rigid sole and is extremely difficult to achieve, given the existence of double ramps. Indeed, if the conical portions do not correspond or if they correspond incorrectly, a clearance harmful to a rigid and solid assembly will occur. Further, even if the ramps are adjusted correctly, such a system is very sensitive to vibrations and can very easily loosen itself, especially when roller skating which, in particular, causes vibrations.
In any case, the removability the boot is achieved at the expense of the rigidity and accuracy of the boot/gliding member assembly.
Moreover, the known assembly principles are all more or less complicated and require using two hands and the help of tools, especially for screwing. In addition, they are incompatible for using the boot as a walling shoe.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks, and especially to provide a system for assembling and rapidly linking a boot to a gliding member allowing a rigid assembly, and clearance-free in all directions, so as to guarantee a perfect transmission of forces and steering accuracy while being compatible with a boot sole that is relatively flexible and/or adapted for walking.
This object is achieved in the boot/sport article assembly according to the invention in that the boot has at least one locking member, that the sport article has at least one locking device complementary to the locking member to define at least one locking system, and that at least one element of each locking system is elastically displaceably mounted in the vertical direction so as to block the boot against the sport article by traction in the vertical direction during the locking operation.
Indeed, the elastic displacement in the vertical direction of at least one of the locking members allows guaranteeing a clearance-free linkage of the boot to the sport article by traction of the boot against the sport article. The assembly of the boot to the article by a traction in the vertical direction, instead of a compression in the longitudinal direction as with normal assembly embodiments, furthermore allows conserving a relative sole flexibility, compatible with the walking function of the boot, since it is the sport article against which the boot is pressed which will provide the required rigidity.
According to a preferred embodiment, the boot/sport article assembly has two locking systems arranged substantially along the longitudinal axis of the boot, and means for backlash elimination in the longitudinal direction and in the transverse direction, respectively, are associated with at least one locking system.
The linkage thus obtained is completely free of clearance in the three directions and furthermore allows compensating for manufacturing tolerances when the boot has one part made of molded plastic in the assembly zone.
REFERENCES:
patent: 98437 (1869-12-01), Smith
patent: 462279 (1891-11-01), Rochonczy
patent: 908536 (1909-01-01), Arlund
patent: 2998260 (1961-08-01), Meyer
patent: 3918729 (1975-11-01), Peters
patent: 4132424 (1979-01-01), Olivieri
patent: 4932675 (1990-06-01), Olson et al.
patent: 5123664 (1992-06-01), De Mars
patent: 5193827 (1993-03-01), Olson
patent: 5314199 (1994-05-01), Olson et al.
patent: 5961130 (1999-10-01), Gorza
patent: 2141360 (1996-07-01), None
patent: 2720286 (1995-12-01), None
Greenblum & Bernstein P.L.C.
McClellan James S.
Salomon S.A.
Swann J. J.
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