Slip resistant ski boot protection apparatus

Abstract

A flexible, rollable sole having a thin elastic or rubber cord attached thereto in parallel to and at a distance from the sole edge, the elastic cord fits around the ski boot at the junction of the sole and upper, the elastic cord extends around the boot at the level of the sole. The attachment may comprise a plurality of extensions of the plastic or rubber cord. In embodiments pair of soles sufficient to completely cover the toe and heel of the boot have a short gap therebetween. In embodiments a thin elastic hand holds a fabric upper body in place. Large loops allow a user to easily manipulated the device wearing ski gloves, a band, fastener or hook may be used to hold the device to its companion device or in the rolled up position or around the boot shaft while the user is skiing.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This invention claims the priority and benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 626,355 filed Nov. 9th, 2004 in the name of the same inventor, Frederick Robert May, and entitled “SLIP RESISTANT SKI BOOT PROTECTION SYSTEM”.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates generally to ski boots, and specifically to ski boot protectors and traction aids. STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH [0003] This invention was not made under contract with an agency of the US Government, nor by any agency of the US Government. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0004] Ski boots are specialized boots which serve several functions. They are intended to retain the warmth of the user's foot in cold conditions. Famously, they move the site of any broken leg up the shin bone and away from the ankle, thus providing an easier medical fix in the event of a broken leg. [0005] On a more mundane level, ski boots are designed, dimensioned and co...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0032] A ski boot protector fits on the sole of a ski boot due to being dimensioned and configured to wrap around the sole of the ski boot. An elastic or rubber rim holds a fabric body in place, a flexible tread provides protection for the ski boot sole from the ground, snow or ice walked on while being flexible enough to allow the device to roll up for easy storage in a pocket when not being worn. Large loops are dimensioned and configured to allow a user to easily manipulated the device wearing ski gloves, a hook or a hook-and-loop fabric band may be used to hold the device to its companion device or to hold it in the rolled up position.

[0035] In the presently preferred embodiment and best mode now contemplated, the device may also have a pair of soles sufficient to completely or partially cover the ground contacting portions of a ski boot sole (toe and heel), and with a rising upper at the toe and heel to surround the vertical thickness of the ski boot toe and heel, with a short gap between the heel sole and toe sole, so as to further increase flexibility and allow even easier rolling and storage.

[0066] a large loop attached to the traction aid at a first location, the loop large enough to allow easy manipulation by an individual wearing bulky ski gloves.

Problems solved by technology

Walking on ski boots is initially disconcerting, but most users pick up the trick quickly.

After that, a pair of new problems with walking on ski boots quickly emerges.

The first is lack of traction.

This problem tends to yield to practice on the part of the user, which only exacerbates the other problem: damage and wear on the ski boot soles.

The devices (generally “projections, indentations and fittings” in this application) are easily damaged or worn by being used as traction devices or treads by walking users.

Even short walks can damage the devices enough to cause problems or even safety issues, since the fit of sole to binding is very precise in some regards.

However, the mid-section of the sole remains largely exposed to the hazards of ice, rocks, debris, door sills and the like.

A problem with such rigid devices is that they are also somewhat difficult to handle and store when not in use, being essentially squares of hard plastic with cleats on them.

Two other problems occur with the hard plastic snap on devices.

The first such problem is that the devices tend to stretch over time.

As a result of stretching, they eventually begin to fall off.

While walking, the normal skier simply has very little ability to see such devices at all, as they attach to the bottom of the ski boots.

Thus, the absence of the traction device may go un-noticed.

The second problem with such devices is that makers tend to compensate for the stretching problem by making the tolerances of the devices as tight as possible, thus making the devices extremely hard to get on or even off when they are new.

Such devices cannot fit onto a ski boot, being dimensioned and configured to fit upon a normal dress shoe.

Images