Apparatus, System, and Method for Folding, Stowing, and Deploying Skis

Abstract

A foldable ski is part of a system for traversing over snow and ice covered terrain. The ski is configured to be moved from a deployed condition and shortened in length to a stowed condition. Thus, stowing the ski enables it to fit in small spaces such as in a snowmobile compartment or backpack pocket. The ski is constructed with a plurality of hinges, sections, and locking mechanisms configured to move the sections between the deployed condition and the stowed condition. The ski may also include a mechanism for pivotally coupling footwear to the ski, whether a user is wearing hardshell boots or softshell boots for hiking, skiing, snowmobiling, and/or snowboarding. The mechanism for coupling footwear may include an adjustable binding platform capable of position adjustment and/or length adjustment.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation-in-part of and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 894,541 entitled “FOLDING SKIS FOR PACKS AND SNOWMOBILES AND AN ADJUSTABLE MOUNTING PLATE FOR FOOTWEAR”, filed on Mar. 13, 2007 for Lane Ekberg, and a continuation-in-part of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12 / 017,949 entitled “APPARATUS, SYSTEM, AND METHOD FOR A COLLAPSING APPROACH SKI”, filed on Jan. 22, 2008 for Lane Ekberg, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 888,700 entitled “FOLDING APPROACH SKI SYSTEM”, filed Feb. 7, 2007 for Lane Ekberg, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]This invention relates to devices used for traversing ice and snow, and more particularly relates to collapsible skis that can be easily stowed and carried between uses.[0004]2. Description of the Related Art[0005]A num...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010]From the foregoing discussion, it should be apparent that a need exists for an apparatus, system, and method that have the benefits of skis and the benefits of snow shoes. Beneficially, such an apparatus, system, and method would include foldability such that the apparatus may be a ski or snow shoe that can be folded into a compact volume that is less than half the length of the skis or snow shoes. However, when deployed, the apparatus should have excellent maneuverability in ice, snow, and powder conditions.

[0011]The present invention has been developed in response to the present state of the art, and in particular, in response to the problems and needs in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currently available folding skis and snow shoes. Accordingly, the present invention has been developed to provide an apparatus, system, and method for stowing skis or snow shoes in a compact volume that will easily fit in a back pack or snow mobile compartment, and which overcome many or all of the above-discussed sho

Problems solved by technology

Since it is cumbersome to pack full-length skis and because of the large space requirement, some folding skis have been developed.

These skis typically have hardshell boot bindings, which take up additional space.

As such, these skis are too long and bulky to fit into a snowmobile or backpack pocket.

Furthermore, these skis are structurally very complex and expensive.

Snowmobile enthusiasts sometimes experience engine trouble or machine breakage.

The snowmobile may become stuck with no way to fre

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