Shoe binding for snowshoes

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a binding for holding a shoe on a snowshoe and more particularly to an improvement which allows good lateral support of the heel and which makes it easier for the user to put on the shoe. The invention also relates to the snowshoe equipped with the binding of the invention.

[0002] Snowshoes have been known for many years, as they have been used for centuries by people, particularly Scandinavians, to move around on snow.

[0003] Until today, snowshoes were used for utilitarian or military purposes, to allow populations and alpine troops to move on the snow as well as for their daily travel.

[0004] Snowshoes are now also used by users who go hiking and walking, and even in competitions. But users are naturally looking for safety, performance, and especially comfort, as well as ease of putting on.

[0005] Many retention devices are known for equipping snowshoes, such as articulated plates comprising shoe binding elements. These elements notably include front and rear binding elements configured to retain the front end and the heel of the shoe respectively. PRIOR STATE OF THE ART

[0006] Examples of such fasteners are for example those described by US20160144266 and WO9628227.

[0007] Even though recent bindings already provide improved usability once fitted, they present difficulties when putting on the shoe.

[0008] In fact, with traditional bindings, the shoe is generally put on and held in place by a set of flexible or semi-rigid straps including tightening buckles, their tightening lengthening the fit.

[0009] For example, US20170225061 discloses a snowshoe having a binding with a sliding rear retaining member, but the shoe is attached to the snowshoe by means of straps which are partly wrapped around the user's ankle, and putting on the snowshoes is consequently long and complex. STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION

[0010] The present invention provides an improvement by proposing a snowshoe binding which is easy to put on, while ensuring good hold of the shoe.

[0011] In order to achieve this goal, the invention proposes a fastening of a shoe on a snowshoe, comprising: a front retaining member forming, when worn, a retainer for the front part of the shoe, a rear retaining member forming, when worn, a retainer for the rear part of the shoe, characterized in that the rear retaining member comprises: a fitting wall, which comprises a central rear portion which, when worn, comes to bear against the upper portion of the user's heel and two lateral portions facing forward, the fitting wall being movable along a front / rear axis between a position of rest and release of the shoe towards the rear, and a position of retention of the shoe towards the front, two lateral links located on either side laterally of the central rear portion and connected at their upper end to the fitting wall at its lateral links, and at their lower end to a bottom of the binding, forward traction means whose actuation pulls the fitting wall towards the front, and in that the traction means comprise traction cables and a reel, the actuation of which exerts traction on the traction cables, the reel being arranged on a cover of the front retaining member, the traction cables, the interlocking wall and the front retaining member forming a tight loop, when the reel is actuation, on the top of the user's foot and around his ankle.

[0012] The forward-moving interlocking wall coupled with the forward-pull means allows for simplified donning, and its movable nature allows the interlocking wall to accommodate a wider range of shoe sizes.

[0013] The fastener according to the invention may further have one or more of the following characteristics.

[0014] The lateral links can be mounted hinged at their lower ends to the bottom of the fixing, the translation of the nesting wall being ensured by the tilting of the lateral links.

[0015] The lateral links can also be mounted hinged at their upper ends to the nesting wall.

[0016] The lateral links may have translation guides at their upper ends crossed by the lateral portions of the nesting wall.

[0017] The side links can be mounted hinged at their lower ends to the bottom of the attachment.

[0018] The interlocking wall may be elastically deformable, the transition from the shoe retention position to the rest and release position being effected by elastic deformation of the interlocking wall, the shoe retention position corresponding to a configuration of lesser deformation of the interlocking wall.

[0019] Alternatively, the interlocking wall and the lateral connections can be produced in the form of a single-piece assembly made of elastically deformable material, the transition from the shoe retention position to the rest and release position being effected by elastic deformation of the interlocking wall and the lateral connections.

[0020] The lower ends of each of the side links may be located forward of the central rear portion. The reel may be a ratchet reel.

[0021] The binding may comprise lateral retaining pieces, arranged laterally on either side, at the level of the metatarsals of the user's foot, behind the front retaining member, comprising passages for the traction cables and fixed at their lower end to the bottom of the binding.

[0022] The side retaining pieces may include passages for the traction cables oriented towards the rear retaining member at the rear, and towards the reel at the front.

[0023] The bottom of the binding can be made of a snowshoe screen or a plate hinged to the snowshoe screen.

[0024] The invention also relates to a snowshoe, characterized in that it comprises a binding as previously described. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0025] Other characteristics and advantages of the fixing according to the invention will appear on reading the detailed description of the figures below, figures among which: there figure 1 is a side view of a first embodiment of the snowshoe, with the binding for retaining the user's shoe in the unshod position ready to be put on, the shoe being shown in dotted lines; figure 2 is a side view of the snowshoe of the figure 1 , with the user's shoe retaining attachment in the wearing position, the shoe being shown in dotted lines; the figure 3 is a perspective view of the snowshoe of the figure 1 , with the user's shoe retaining fastener in the unshod position ready to be put on (without shoes); the figure 4 is a perspective view of the snowshoe of the figure 1, with the user's shoe retaining attachment in the wearing position, the shoe not being shown; the Figure 5 is a top view of the embodiment of the figure 1 ; there figure 6 is a side view of a second embodiment of a snowshoe, with the binding for retaining the user's shoe in the unshod position ready to be put on, the shoe not being shown; figure 7 is a side view of the snowshoe of the figure 6 , with the user's shoe retaining attachment in the wearing position, the shoe being shown in dotted lines; the figure 8 is a view similar to the figure 7 while the pivoting retaining attachment relative to the screen is in the raised position; the figure 9 is a side view of the rear element of the binding according to a first embodiment; the figure 10is a side view of the rear element of the fastener according to a second embodiment; the figure 11 is a side view of the rear element of the fastener according to a third embodiment; and the figure 12 is a side view of the rear element of the fastener according to a fourth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] THE figures 1 to 5 show a first embodiment of binding (1) implemented in a snowshoe (2), once in the rest position and release of a shoe (CH). The Figures 1 and 2 show the snowshoe (2) in profile, the Figures 3 and 4 show the snowshoe (2) in three-quarter rear view, the Figure 5 shows the snowshoe (2) in top view.

[0027] The snowshoe designated under the general reference (2), which comprises the binding (1) according to the invention, is in the form of an elongated plate of dimensions greater than those of the shoe, advantageously openwork forming in a known manner a screen (18) of the snowshoe, of general plane of symmetry (P) comprising a set of walls supporting the binding (1) of the invention, intended to retain the shoe (CH) of the user.

[0028] This hinged plate can be adjusted in length, making the attachment suitable for more shoe sizes.

[0029] Said sieve (18) with its set of internal walls forms a general lower surface for bearing on the snow, allowing the user not to sink too much into the snow, thanks to the bearing surface, of dimensions greater than the lower surface of the sole without sieve (18).

[0030] The attachment (1) for retaining the shoe (CH) on the frame (18) of the snowshoe (2) is for example fixed on the frame (18) comprising front retaining means for the shoe (CH), and rear retaining means for the shoe (CH). Each of the retaining means being constituted by a retaining member (4, 5) for the shoe (CH), namely a front retaining member (4) and a rear retaining member (5).

[0031] By convention, the front (AV) is located towards the user's toes, while the rear (AR) is located towards the user's heel.

[0032] The rear retaining member (5) is movable between a rest position and a shoe release position (CH) shown in figure 1 , and a shoe retention position (CH) shown in figure 2 In particular, the transition from one position to another is carried out either by elastic deformation or by pivoting.

[0033] The rear retaining member (5) is a deformable element, made for example of plastic material of the expanded and crosslinked polyurethane type. It is constituted by a fitting wall (8) forming a cavity open towards the front (AV), formed by a central rear portion (9) whose lateral ends are extended by respectively lateral portions (10a, 10b) extending towards the front (AV).

[0034] According to a characteristic of the invention, the interlocking wall (8) is connected to the screen (18) by two lateral links (11a, 11b) arranged on either side of the plane (P) of general symmetry, and extending upwards (HA) relative to the screen (18) of the racket (2). It should be noted that these lateral fins have two effects: a lateral retention effect of the shoe (CH) allowing good support of the heel along the transverse axis (X, X'), see Figure 5, corresponding to the left-right axis, particularly advantageous when using the snowshoe (2) on a slope, a pre-positioning effect of the central rear portion (9) in the high position facilitating putting on the shoes, knowing that without this pre-positioning, the user would have to hold the interlocking wall (8) to be able to put on the snowshoe (2).

[0035] In particular, the lower ends of each of the lateral links (11a, 11b) are located forward relative to the central rear portion (9), whether in the unshod position ( figure 1 ) or in the shod position ( figure 2 ).

[0036] It is thus ensured that the lateral connections (11a, 11b) are supported against the lateral part of the user's heel. The lateral connections (11a, 11b) are in particular connected at their upper end to the interlocking wall (8) at its lateral portions (10a, 10b).

[0037] The lower ends of each of the lateral links (11a, 11b) are, according to a first embodiment, shown in the figures 1 to 5 , pivotally mounted on the bottom of the attachment (1), which is here the sieve (18), so that the fitting wall (8) of the rear retaining member (5) is pivotable around the transverse axis (X, X'). The front / rear inclination of the lateral links (11a, 11b) makes it possible to translate the fitting wall (8) carried by the upper end of said lateral links (11a, 11b).

[0038] According to the embodiment shown in the figures 6 to 8 , the binding (2) is mounted on an articulated plate (3) which forms the bottom of the binding (1) in place of the sieve (18). The articulated plate (3) is in particular articulated relative to the sieve (18) around a transverse axis (X-X') at the level of the front tip of the shoe (CH).

[0039] In order to ensure that the interlocking wall (8) is pulled forward and that its central part (9) is pressed against the top of the heel of the shoe (CH), means for pulling the interlocking wall (8) forward (AV) are provided.

[0040] The traction means consist of traction cables (16a, 16'a - 16b, 16'b) forming lateral links (13a, 13b) connecting the front ends of the lateral links (10a, 10b) of the nesting wall (8) to the front retaining member (4), and in particular to a reel (14) located on a cover (15) of the front retaining member (4).

[0041] Here, the term cover (15) is understood to mean a plate or tongue which rests against the top of the foot at the level of the metatarsals, at the front.

[0042] These connections are advantageously and as an example of execution, constituted by traction cables (16a, 16'a - 16b, 16'b), at least one of the ends of which is intended to be wound around a reel (14).

[0043] Said winder (14) is manipulated by the user, to move the nesting wall from its rest position, as illustrated in figures 1 , 3 And 6 , towards its shoe retaining position as illustrated in figures 2 , 4 , 7 and 8 , and vice versa from this position to its rest position of release of the shoe (CH).

[0044] The reel (14) may in particular be a ratchet reel, allowing loosening only by actuating a button for example, while tightening is carried out by rotating the reel (14).

[0045] It will be noted that the reel (14) is advantageously of the "Boa" type (registered trademark) and is arranged on a cover (15) of the front retaining member (4).

[0046] According to an execution variant shown in figure 9 , the movement from the rest and release position of the shoe to the retaining position is achieved by simple elastic deformation. For this purpose the lower parts of the lateral links (11a, 11b) will not be pivotally mounted but simply secured to the sieve (18).

[0047] The traction cables (16a, 16'a - 16b, 16'b), the interlocking wall (8) and the front retaining member (5) form a tight loop, when the winder is activated, on the top of the user's foot and around his ankle. The shoe (CH) is then perfectly pressed against the bottom of the binding (1). Putting on the shoe is nevertheless easier and quicker than in the case of straps to be wrapped around the foot and ankle before tightening.

[0048] The nesting wall (8) and possibly the lateral portions (10a, 10b) are then elastic, and the retaining position corresponds to the state of least deformation.

[0049] In order to ensure the lateral retention of the front part of the shoe, a lateral holding piece (17a, 17b) is provided on each side, fixed at their lower end to the bottom of the binding (1), i.e. to the articulated plate (3) or to the sieve (18). Each of the lateral holding pieces (17a, 17b) has passages for the traction cables (16a, 16'a and 16b, 16'b). Each lateral piece (17a, 17b) serves as a guide for the traction cables (16a, 16'a and 16b, 16'b), with passages for the traction cables (16a, 16'a and 16b, 16'b) oriented towards the rear retaining member (4) at the rear, and towards the forward traction means, here the reel (14), at the front.

[0050] The lateral holding parts (17a, 17b) thus form an angled return for the traction cables (16a, 16'a and 16b, 16'b), these returns make it possible to keep said traction cables (16a, 16'a and 16b, 16'b) lowered at the level of the metatarsals and thus to avoid friction of the traction cables (16a, 16'a and 16b, 16'b) against the user's ankle.

[0051] Note that the lateral retaining parts (17a, 17b) are arranged between the front retaining member (4) and the rear retaining member (5) on the path of the traction cables.

[0052] Thus, the fact of winding the cables causes, at the same time as the pressure being applied to the central part (9) of the interlocking wall (8) on the upper part of the heel of the shoe, the closing of the cover (15) on the front of the shoe, thus constituting the front retaining means of the shoe, and the lateral support of said shoe thanks to the lateral support parts (17a, 17b).

[0053] The interlocking wall (9) with its two lateral portions (10a, 10b) as well as the two lateral connections (11a, 11b) is an assembly made of a deformable material. It will be noted that this assembly stands vertically in a natural manner thanks to the two lateral connections (11a, 11b) which extend upwards (HA), so that the central rear portion (9) of the interlocking wall (8) stands at a height (H) of between 3 and 9 cm, relative to the plane of the support of the shoe (CH) on the bottom of the binding (1), which is either the sieve (18) or the articulated plate (3) depending on the construction, so that in the retaining position this central rear portion (9) comes to exert pressure forwards on the upper part of the heel of the shoe (CH).

[0054] Thus, putting on the shoe is particularly easy, because the rear retaining member (5) naturally remains in the position ready to be put on, without having to hold it manually, as illustrated in figures 1 , 3 And 6 .

[0055] Once the shoe is in place, the user only has to place the central rear portion (9) of the interlocking wall (8) in constrained contact against the heel of the shoe (CH), and this by acting on the winder (14), as illustrated in figures 2 , 4 , 7 and 8 .

[0056] To remove the shoes, the user only has to operate the reel (14) to release the traction cables.

[0057] In these different embodiments, the elements of the fixing are identical and bear the same references.

[0058] THE figures 9 to 12schematically represent in side view different embodiments of the rear retaining element (5) of the binding.

[0059] According to the embodiment illustrated in the figure 9 , the rear retaining element is a single-piece assembly made of deformable material, the lower end of the lateral links (11a - 11b) of which are fixed, depending on the embodiment, either to the sieve (18) or to the articulated plate (3). The forward movement of the central rear portion (9) of the interlocking wall (8) against the top of the heel of the shoe (CH) is done in this case by deformation of the entire rear retaining element (5).

[0060] There figure 10 represents an alternative embodiment of the figure 9, according to which the lower ends of the lateral links (11a - 11 b) are articulated to the bottom of the binding (2), that is to say, depending on the embodiments, either to the sieve (18) or to the articulated plate (3). The forward movement of the central rear portion (9) of the interlocking wall (8) against the top of the heel of the shoe is done in this case mainly by rotation and tilting of the lateral links (11a - 11 b).

[0061] There figure 11 represents another variant of execution of the figures 9 And 10 , according to which the upper ends of the lateral links (11a - 11 b) are articulated on the lateral portions (10a, 10b).

[0062] Depending on the method of implementation of the figure 12, the lateral portions (10a, 10b) are slidably mounted on the upper ends of the lateral links (11a - 11b) which comprise translation guides crossed by the lateral portions (10a, 10b) of the nesting wall (8).

[0063] The bindings (1) according to the invention are adjustable in length, which allows for a greater range of adjustment of sizes adapted to different shoe sizes.

[0064] The putting on of the snowshoe (2) by means of the bindings (1) according to the invention is also done in a natural and simple way, the lateral connections (11a - 11b) allowing pre-positioning of the interlocking wall (8), thus ensuring easy handling, because the interlocking wall (8) is then raised and ready to be grasped.

[0065] Once the bindings (1) are in the shoe (CH) retaining position, the traction means (16a, 16'a - 16b, 16'b) are actuated, for example by means of the reel (14). The interlocking wall (8) is then driven towards the front retaining member (4), which locks and holds the shoe (CH) in the binding (1).

Claims

1. A fastener of a shoe (CH) on a snowshoe (2), comprising : - a front retaining member (4) forming, in the fitted state, a retention for the front portion of the shoe (CH), - a rear retaining member (5) forming, in the fitted state, a retention for the rear portion of the shoe (CH), where the rear retaining member (5) comprises: - an interlocking wall (8), which comprises a central rear portion (9) coming, in the fitted state, to bear against the upper portion of the user's heel and two side portions (10a, 10b) oriented towards the front, characterised in that the interlocking wall (8) is movable along a front / rear axis between a rest and release position of the shoe (CH) towards the rear, and a retaining position of the shoe (CH) towards the front, and in that the rear retaining member also comprises: - two side connections (11a, 11b) located on either side of the central rear portion (9) and connected at their upper end to the interlocking wall (8) at its side connections (10a, 10b), and at their lower end to a bottom of the fastener (1), - forward pulling means (AV), the actuation of which pulls the interlocking wall (8) towards the front (AV), and in that the pulling means comprise pulling cables (16a, 16'a - 16b, 16'b), and a winder (14), the actuation of which exerts a pull on the pulling cables (16a, 16'a - 16b, 16'b), the winder (14) being arranged on a cover (15) of the front retaining member (4), the pulling cables (16a, 16'a - 16b, 16'b), the interlocking wall (8) and the front retaining member forming a tight loop, when the winder is actuated, on the top of the user's foot and around his ankle.

2. The fastener according to claim 1, characterised in that the side connections (11a, 11b) are mounted hingedly at their lower ends at the bottom (18, 3) of the fastener (1), the translation of the interlocking wall (8) being ensured by the tilting of the side connections (11a, 11b).

3. The fastener according to claim 2, characterised in that the side connections (11a, 11b) are further mounted hingedly at their upper ends to the interlocking wall (8).

4. The fastener according to claim 1, characterised in that the side connections (11a, 11b) comprise at their upper ends, translational guides passed through by the side portions (10a, 10b) of the interlocking wall (8).

5. The fastener according to the preceding claim, characterised in that the side connections (11a, 11b) are mounted hingedly at their lower ends at the bottom (18, 3) of the fastener (1).

6. The fastener according to claim 1, characterised in that the interlocking wall (8) is elastically deformable, the transition from the retaining position of the shoe (CH) to the rest and release position being done by elastic deformation of the interlocking wall (8), the shoe retaining position (CH) corresponding to a configuration of lesser deformation of the interlocking wall (8).

7. The fastener according to claim 1, characterised in that the interlocking wall (8) and the side connections (11a, 11b) are made in the form of a one-piece assembly made of elastically deformable material, the transition from the retaining position for the shoe (CH) to the position for rest and release taking place by elastic deformation of the interlocking wall (8) and the side connections (11a, 11b).

8. The fastener according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the lower ends of each of the side connections (11a, 11b) are located in front of the central rear portion (9).

9. The fastener according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the winder (14) is a ratchet winder.

10. The fastener according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it comprises side holding parts (17a, 17b), arranged on either side, at the metatarsals of the user's foot, behind relative to the front retaining member (4), comprising passages for the pulling cables (16a, 16'a and 16b, 16'b) and fixed at their lower end at the bottom (18, 3) of the fastener (1).

11. The fastener according to the preceding claim, characterised in that the side holding parts (17a, 17b) comprise passages for the pulling cables (16a, 16'a and 16b, 16'b) oriented in the direction of the rear retaining member (4) at the rear, and towards the winder (14) at the front.

12. The fastener according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the bottom of the fastener (1) consists of a sieve (18) of the snowshoe (2).

13. The fastener according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterised in that the bottom of the fastener (1) consists of a hinged plate (3) relative to the sieve (18) of the snowshoe (2).

14. The Snowshoe, characterised in that it comprises a fastener (1) according to at least one of the preceding claims.