Molded snowshoe with pliable heel contact area

Abstract

A molded plastic snowshoe of the type with a boot binding permitting pivoting in the pitch direction has a boot heel contact area formed of a flexible material. This provides for a soft strike as the boot comes in contact with the snowshoe deck in each step, eliminating the noise that usually accompanies the heel strike on a hard deck, and also increases comfort in use of the snowshoe, with the hard strike feel eliminated. Another advantage is that with a cleat mounted at the bottom of the soft section of decking the snowshoe adapts better to irregularities of terrain since the heel cleat is essentially suspended relative to the stiffer molded portions of the snowshoe. The flexibly suspended heel cleat can be pushed down to engage with snow or ice despite the irregular surface of the terrain and the rigidness of the snowshoe deck surrounding the cleat area.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]This invention relates to the field of snowshoes, and in particular snowshoes constructed of injection or compression molded materials such as polymers or composites.[0002]A number of snowshoes in the commercial market place are made by injection molding of polymers. These snowshoes typically consist of a molded deck, which provides a surface for flotation on the snow, a surface for attaching traction elements to the bottom, and a structure to which a binding can be attached to hold the shoe or boot of the user. The deck of a snowshoe in this category usually is of injection molded plastic of thickness approximately 3-4 mm. Alternately the deck could consist of a fiber reinforced composite of appropriate thickness. Since snowshoes of this design do not rely on a peripheral structural frame for any of the structure of the snowshoe, the deck itself is typically rather rigid (flexural rigidity) so that the structure can support the flotation loads requi...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]In the current invention a molded plastic or composite snowshoe has an open area at the vicinity of the heel strike, with a soft, pliable heel strike insert across this area. This material preferably supports a heel cleat at the bottom side, directly below the position of heel strike. The material in the soft region is one that is at or above its glass transition temperature during use, such as an elastomer. This dampens the sound and reduces sound transmission as compared to a conventional molded snowshoe.

[0010]The impact forces of the user's boot striking the deck of the snowshoe is determined by the materials and construction of the snowshoe. As noted above, traditional wood frame snowshoes with rawhide lacing provide a platform for the heel to strike with some degree of compliance due to this construction. This compliance reduces the impact forces compared to a rigid surfaces. Similarly, aluminum frame snowshoes with stretched, suspended plastic film or plastic coated fabric also provide a surface with some compliance, reducing the magnitude of impact loads that result when the user's boot contacts the snowshoe.

[0011]However, the category of snowshoes formed of molded plastic or composite materials is very different. The molded plastic structure is far more rigid, particularly in the region under the foot, than either of the previous constructions described. The typical construction of molded snowshoes employs materials having moduli of elasticity of around 350,000 psi or greater, in thicknesses of usually about 3 to 4 mm, resulting in a relatively rigid structure, and in particular, rigid against yielding distortion in the vertical direction in the region where the user's boot contacts the upper surface of the snowshoe. The invention solves this problem by providing a soft and flexible material, which may be an elastomeric material, across the open heel area in the region of contact from the heel of the user's boot. In this way the invention achieves the goal of combining the advantages of the molded plastic snowshoe with aspects of noise reduction, comfort and terrain conforming ability which are inherent in the previous types of construction outlined above.

[0013]It is thus among the objects of the invention to combine the advantages of the plastic molded snowshoe with a soft strike feature which reduces noise, increases comfort and increases engagement with the terrain by traction elements. These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment, considered along with the accompanying drawings.

Problems solved by technology

This dampens the sound and reduces sound transmission as compared to a conventional molded snowshoe.

However, the construction of molded snowshoes is such that the structure of the shoe is characterized by one relatively rigid plate or grid structure which precludes the mounting of traction in an area having flexibility.

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