Foldable ski crampon for ski touring

Abstract

A foldable ski crampon, comprising: a central base plate that clamps to the top of the ski in an installed working position of the ski crampon; a pair of wings pivotally coupled to opposite sides of the central base plate to suspend the wings on opposite sides of the ski in the installed working position of the ski crampon, each of these wings being pivotable between an unfolded position, which is raised from a plane of the central base plate to hang from it along the ski in this working state, and a storage position, which is folded adjacent to and parallel to the central base plate to achieve a folded storage state of the crampon when not in use on the ski; and at least one lock operable to hold the wings in their unfolded positions in the working condition of the ski crampon.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to ski touring equipment and, more particularly, to a folding ski crampon designed to improve portability and ease of storage. BACKGROUND

[0002] Ski crampons are commonly used by ski tourers to provide additional grip on icy or steep terrain. A ski crampon is a claw-like device made of aluminum or other metal with a U-shaped channel profile. It features a central clamping area that spans the width of the ski at the top and two wings that extend downward from the central clamping area on opposite sides of the ski. Each of these wings has a serrated profile at its lower end that can engage with slippery surfaces to provide the skier with improved stability when traversing such terrain. One end of the central clamping area is typically equipped with a cylindrical coupling pin that inserts laterally into a cylindrical coupling slot on the toe box of the ski binding near the rear end of the toe box.This insertion of the coupling pin takes place while the crampon is lying upright on the ski, from this upright position the crampon is then tilted downwards into a working position that encloses the ski, with the central tensioning area of the crampon stretching over the top of the ski and the two wings hanging downwards on the opposite sides of the ski to present their serrated edges in a downward position for frictional contact with the ground.

[0003] Traditional ski crampons have a rigidly fixed size and shape, meaning they are bulky and take up a lot of space when not in use. This bulkiness presents challenges for skiers who have a strong interest in keeping their gear and supplies as compact and lightweight as possible. Therefore, there is a clear need for a ski crampon that addresses these storage and portability issues without compromising performance. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] According to a first aspect of the invention, a foldable ski crampon is provided, comprising: a central base plate that clamps to the top of the ski in an installed working position of the ski crampon; a pair of wings pivotally coupled to opposite sides of the central base plate to suspend the wings on opposite sides of the ski in the installed working position of the ski crampon, each of these wings being pivotable between an unfolded position raised from the plane of the central base plate to hang from it along the ski in this working state, and a storage position folded adjacent to and parallel to the central base plate to achieve a folded storage state of the crampon when not in use on the ski; and at least one lock that can be operated to hold the wings in their unfolded positions in the working position of the ski crampon.

[0005] The present invention provides a novel ski crampon that folds into a compact, folded configuration for storage and unfolds into a functional configuration for use. The foldable design significantly reduces the stowed dimensions and makes the crampon more convenient to transport.

[0006] According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of using the above-mentioned folding ski crampon, comprising: Storing the folding ski crampon in the folded storage state, which is characterized by storing the wings in their folded positions near the base plate; and When preparing the folding ski crampon for use on the ski, unfold the wings into their unfolded positions, which lift off the base plate, and lock the wings in these unfolded positions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] One or more preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a folding ski crampon according to a first embodiment of the present invention in an unfolded state, ready for installation and use on a ski. Fig. 2 another perspective view of the folding ski crampon from Fig. 1 from the opposite side. Fig. 3 a perspective view of the folding ski crampon from Fig. 1, but folds into a folded storage position for space-saving storage and transport between uses. Fig. 4 another perspective view of the folding ski crampon from Fig. 2, with one of two lock housings removed to reveal the internal locking components of one of the two locks of the ski crampon. Fig. 5 a cross-sectional perspective view of the folding ski crampon from the Fig. 1 to 3 as they are along the line A - A in Fig. 6 would be seen. Fig. 6 a cross-sectional perspective view of the folding ski crampon from the Fig. 1 to 3 as they are along the line B - B in Fig. 1 would be seen. Fig. 7 a top view of the folding ski crampon from Fig. 1 is in an installed working position on a ski. Fig. 8 a top view of the folding ski crampon from Fig. 1 is in an upright transition position assumed during installation on or removal from the ski. Fig. 7A is an enlarged fragmentary view of the ski and crampon from Fig. 7 in the area designated by the detail circle A. Fig. 8A is an enlarged fragmentary view of the ski and crampon from Fig. 8 in the area designated by the detail circle A. Fig. 9 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the folding ski crampon differing only in the inclusion of an alternative style of lock release mechanism allowing a pushed or slidable arrangement. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0008] The drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of a folding ski crampon 10 of the present invention, the main components of which are a central base plate 12, a pair of wings 14A, 14B pivotally connected to the central base plate on opposite sides, and at least one lock 16A, 16B actuated on the two wings 14A, 14B to hold them in specific positions corresponding to an unfolded state of the ski crampon in which it is to be installed and used on a ski. In the illustrated embodiment, the at least one lock is implemented as two independent locks 16A, 16B, one for each wing 14A, 14B, although in other embodiments, a common single lock actuated on both wings could be realized. Each wing 14A, 14B is pivotally movable between an unfolded position ( Fig. 1, 2, 4 and 6 to 8), which is raised from the plane of the central base plate 12, and a storage position ( Fig. 3) which is folded in adjacent and generally parallel relationship to the central base plate 12, thereby achieving a folded storage condition of the crampon when not in use on the ski. A height profile H of the crampon 10, measured in a direction orthogonal to the plane of the base plate 12, in the folded storage condition of Fig. 3 significantly lower than in the unfolded state of Fig. 1 and preferably does not measure more than 50% of the latter in the case of the former.

[0009] In an installed working position of the crampon 10 on a ski 100, which is in the Fig. 7 and Fig. 7A, the central base plate 12 serves the same purpose as the central tensioning area of a conventional rigid U-channel crampon, namely to interact with the ski and act as the crampon's foundation upon which the wings are supported. The base plate 12 is therefore characterized by the inclusion of connecting elements for mounting the crampon to the toe box of a ski binding, for example, illustrated by the inclusion of a cylindrical connecting rod 18 attached to a mounting end of the base plate 12 and an adjacent empty mounting window 20 in the base plate adjacent to the connecting rod 18 to allow the base plate 12 to lie flat against the ski after the connecting rod 18 is inserted into the connecting slot 102A of the toe box 102 of the ski binding, as shown in FIGS. Fig. 8 and Fig. 8A. The cooperating heel of the ski binding is in the Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 is omitted because it is not relevant to the context or function of the invention. The crampon 10 is not limited to this type of mounting on the toe box 102, and the base plate 12 can be reconfigured with various fasteners according to the style of the toe box and the available connection options provided there for the crampon 10.

[0010] The two wings 14A, 14B are characterized by the inclusion of serrated teeth or spikes 22 at the distal ends of the wings 14A, 14B, which extend furthest from the base plate 12 in the deployed positions of the wings, these teeth or spikes 22 serving as tractional gripping features of the wing for interacting with the ground during use of the crampon, consistent with the similarly serrated wings of a conventional fixed non-folding crampon. The proximal portions of the wings 14A, 14B, which are opposite the serrated distal portions and in closer proximity to the base plate 12 in the deployed state of the crampon, differ from those of a conventional fixed non-folding crampon, where the wings would conventionally be seamlessly integrally connected to the base plate at the corners.In the present invention, the proximal portion of each wing 14A, 14B is instead pivotally connected to the base plate for pivotal movement relative thereto about a respective pivot axis 26 extending along a respective side of the base plate 12 and parallel to the corresponding pivot axis 26 of the other wing. It is about this pivot axis 26 that each wing is pivotable between the aforementioned deployed and stored positions.

[0011] In the example shown, the proximal portion of each wing 14A, 14B embodies a first set of one or more hinge knuckles 28, of which there are three in the example shown, but which may vary in number, and a related second set of one or more hinge knuckles 30, of which there are two in the example shown, embodied on a longitudinal edge of the base plate 12 running along the ski 100 in the installed working condition of the crampon 10. The hinge knuckles 28, 30 of the wing 14A, 14B and the base plate 12 are interlocked in alternating relationship to one another, and a hinge pin 32 is installed in this aligned set of interlocked hinge knuckles, thereby forming an operative hinge for pivoting the wing 14A, 14B about the aforementioned pivot axis 26, which in this example is the central axis of the hinge pin 32.A central tensioning region of each wing 14A, 14B refers to that which extends from the hinge knuckles 28 of the wing to the serrated teeth or spikes 22, and this central tensioning region, in the installed working position of the crampon 10, hangs downward along the respective side of the ski to bring the serrated teeth or spikes 22 into operatively effective positions for their ground-engaging purpose.

[0012] For the actuation of each wing 14A, 14B by the respective lock 16A, 16B, each wing 14A, 14B has an L-shaped profile in cross-sectional planes orthogonal to the rotation axes 26 and intersecting the hinge knuckles 28 of the wing 14A, 14B, with the central clamping portion of the wing forming the long leg of the L-shaped profile and a shorter secondary clamping portion of the wing forming the shorter end 34 of the L-shaped profile, which is at an angle of approximately 90 degrees to the long leg. Each hinge knuckle 38 of each wing 14A, 14B of the illustrated embodiment is thus connected to a corresponding such end 34 on this proximal portion of the wing, which serves two purposes.In one sense, this end 34 serves as a mechanical stop device that, in the unfolded position of the sash 14, engages the base plate 12 to block the pivotal movement of the sash beyond this unfolded position, thereby defining the achieved sash orientation in this position. In another sense, the end 34 also serves as a contact point that can be engaged by the respective lock 16A, 16B to hold and secure the sash in this unfolded position. In the areas between the hinge knuckles 28 of the sash 14A, 14B, where the hinge knuckles 30 of the base plate 12 are located, the sash 14 lacks a pronounced end 34 with a ninety-degree angle.

[0013] Each lock 16A, 16B has a corresponding lock housing 36 mounted on top of the base plate 12 in a position extending along the same longitudinal edge of the base plate 12 as the pivotal connection of the respective wing 14A, 14B on which that lock 16A, 16B is operable. The lock housing 36 houses a set of one or more spring-loaded lock pins 38 configured to engage the one or more ends 34 of the wing 14A, 14B in its deployed state. In the illustrated embodiment, there are a plurality of lock pins 38 provided in the same number as the number of ends 34 on the wing 14A, 14B to engage each such end 34 of the wing by one of the spring-loaded lock pins 38, although a longer common lock pin could engage multiple ends or a larger single end could be engaged by multiple lock pins.A respective spring 40 acts on each pin 38 to urge it from an inner side 36A of the lock housing 36 toward an opposite outer side 36B of the lock housing. A projecting upper catch shoulder 38A of the pin 38 projects through a lock opening in this outer side 36B of the lock housing in a standard spring position of the pin 38. In the extended position of the wing 14A, 14B, this upper shoulder 38A of the catch pin 38 engages over the respective end 34 of the wing, thereby capturing the end 34 between an outer upper edge of the base plate 12 and the overlying catch shoulder 38A of the pin directly outside the outer side 36B of the lock housing 36. The spring-loaded positions of the lock pins 38 thus lock the wing 14A, 14B in the unfolded position by engaging the proximal portion of the wing at the ends 34 of this proximal portion.

[0014] To enable easy user release of the locking action of each lock 16A, 16B on the respective wing 14A, 14B when the user wishes to return the ski crampon 10 to its folded storage state, each lock 16A, 16B includes a lock release cam 42, by which a single and short linear actuation is operable to simultaneously release all lock pins 38 from the proximal ends 34 of the respective wing 14A, 14B. Each lock release cam 42 has an elongated and linearly displaceable cam track 42A extending longitudinally through the lock housing 36 in parallel relationship to the longitudinal edge of the base plate at a location just inboard of the outer side 36B of the lock housing 36 and below the projecting catching shoulders 38A of the lock pins 38.At distinct positions along the inner side of the cam rail 42A facing the inner side 36A of the lock housing, the lock release cam 42 includes a plurality of raised cam ramps 42B, provided in the same number as the lock pins 38 on the cam rail 42A and equidistant therefrom, each adjacent the lock pins 38 in their standard locking positions biased by the springs 40. Referring to the position of the connecting rod 18 of the illustrated embodiment as the front end of the crampon, the cam ramps 42B of the illustrated embodiment are located behind the lock pins 38 in their standard locking positions. The release cam 42 is manually actuated in a linear sliding manner, for example by pushing forward a rear end 42C of the release cam 42 which projects from a rear end 36C of the lock housing 36.In the illustrated example, this rear end 42C of the release cam 42 embodies a wide end of a final rear cam ramp 42B and serves as a manual push-button actuator of the release cam 42.

[0015] With regard to the second embodiment of the crampon 10', which is shown in Fig. 9, in addition to or alternatively to a push-button actuator embodied at the rear end 42C of the release cam, a pullable actuator 42D may be provided on the release cam 42 in an exposed position outside the lock housing 36 for being grasped by the user to enable manual pulling of the release cam 42 in the forward direction, alternatively to the forward pushing actuation of the release cam 42, which may be actuated either at its rear end 42C or at the pullable actuator 42D, which may be pulled from the front or pushed from the rear. In the illustrated example, this pullable / pushable actuator 42D is attached to the cam rail 42A of the release cam 42 at a position within the lock housing and projects through a slot 43 in a top wall.The user grasps this type of pullable / pushable actuator 42D at an exposed portion located externally on top of the lock housing and pushes or pulls the actuator 42D forward to slide the release cam 42 into its release position. In another possible alternative, a front end of the release cam 42 could protrude from the front end of the lock housing and have a suitable graspable geometry that allows for manual grasping and pulling of the release cam forward into its release position at this front end of the release cam, wherein an exposed front end of the release cam 42 can serve as a pullable release actuator.

[0016] When the crampon is removed from a ski, the forward linear displacement of the release cam 42 drives the cam ramps 42B into oblique contact with the rear corners of the lower outer surfaces of the lock pins located below the overhanging catching shoulders 38A. This cam action of the lock pins 38 in an inward direction, against the bias of the springs 40, compresses the springs 40 and retracts the catching shoulders 38A of the lock pins 38 from the proximal ends 34 of the wing 14A, 14B, thereby unlocking the wing and pivoting about its pivotal connection to the base plate 12.This allows the user to fold the wing 14A, 14B into its storage position, which lies snugly against and generally parallel to the base plate 12 at the bottom, in an opposed relationship to the top of the base plate 12, to which the locks 16A, 16B are mounted to lock the ends against this top of the base in the deployed working condition. This simple, tool-free and manual unlocking and folding of both wings 14A, 14B achieves the folded storage condition of the crampon, as shown in FIG. Fig.3. This integrated, spring-loaded, tool-less, cam-released, manually displaced lock style of the illustrated embodiment is not only easy to use, but contains no separate or removable locking components (screws, pins, etc.) and eliminates the need for tools that could easily be lost during attempt at use.However, a variety of alternative locking solutions could be employed instead, non-limiting examples of which could be a pin-and-hole lock characterized by one or more spring-loaded pins that engage one or more holes on the deployed sash, a pivoting cam lock with a rotating cam that presses on the deployed sash to hold it in place, a sliding latch lock with a latch that slides into a groove to lock the deployed sash in place, or a screw-accessible lock with a threaded screw or bolt that is tightened to hold the deployed sash in place.

[0017] In preparation for installation and use on a ski, deployment requires only the simple unfolding of the wings 14A, 14B from the storage positions resting against the base plate 12 to the unfolded positions and the locking of the wings 14A, 14B in this unfolded position using the implemented locking type. In the example shown, this is an automated self-locking action achieved by the tool-free spring-loaded locks 16A, 16B upon reaching the unfolded wing positions, without the need for manual locking operation. For subsequent storage of the crampon 10 after use, the locks 16A, 16A are released by a simple push / pull release operation in the illustrated embodiment, allowing the wings 14A, 14B to be manually folded against the base plate 12.This reduces the overall size of the crampon for easy storage with minimal space requirements, for example, in a pocket or backpack. Through optimal design and material selection, for example, by manufacturing the baseplate and wings from lightweight yet durable materials such as aluminum or magnesium, and by incorporating a large mounting window 20 in the baseplate 12 to reduce the base weight relative to the wing size, the folding crampon 10 can effectively balance the desire for lightweight features with the need for strength and durability.

[0018] Since various modifications may be made to the invention as described above and many apparently widely different embodiments thereof may be made, it is intended that all matter in the accompanying specification be interpreted as illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims

[1] A folding ski crampon, comprising: a central base plate that clamps to the top of the ski in an installed working position of the ski crampon; a pair of wings pivotally coupled to opposite sides of the central base plate to suspend the wings on opposite sides of the ski in the installed working position of the ski crampon, each of these wings being pivotable between an unfolded position, which is raised from a plane of the central base plate to hang from it along the ski in this working state, and a storage position, which is folded adjacent to and parallel to the central base plate to achieve a folded storage state of the crampon when not in use on the ski; and at least one lock operable to hold the wings in their unfolded positions in the working condition of the ski crampon. [2] The foldable ski crampon according to claim 1, wherein the at least one lock mechanism comprises a pair of locks each operable on one of the wings. [3] The foldable ski crampon according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one lock is of a spring-loaded type and automatically returns to a locking position. [4] The foldable ski crampon according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one lock is of a tool-less type allowing tool-free operation. [5] The foldable ski crampon according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one lock comprises at least one release action mechanism operable to release a locking action of the at least one lock. [6] The folding ski crampon of claim 5, wherein the at least one release action mechanism comprises a pushable actuator configured for manual actuation. [7] The foldable ski crampon of claim 5, wherein the at least one actuator comprises a pullable actuator configured for manual actuation. [8] The folding ski crampon according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one lock comprises at least one gear mechanism operable to move the lock between locking and release positions. [9] The folding ski crampon according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: the wings have: proximal sections that are close to the base plate in the unfolded positions; and distal sections which, in the unfolded positions, are distal to the base plate and also distal to the proximal sections and are characterized by gripping features of the wing for engagement with the ground; and the at least one lock is configured to engage the wings in the deployed positions at the proximal portions of those wings. [10] The folding ski crampon according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one lock is configured to maintain a portion of each wing in contact with the base plate in the unfolded positions of the wings. [11] The foldable ski crampon according to any one of the preceding claims in combination with the ski.

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