Ski boot equipped with a tightening mechanism

Abstract

Ski boot comprising a shell (2), a collar (3) which is fixed on the shell and which is intended to surround the lower leg of the user, as well as tightening means (41, 42, 43, 44) for ensuring the closing and tightening of said shell and said collar around the foot and the lower leg of the user, said tightening means comprising an operating member fixed on said lateral horizontal flap, respectively the medial horizontal flap of the boot and at least one associated anchor, fixed on the medial flap, respectively the lateral flap of the boot; said operating member and said associated anchor cooperating with each other in order to slide said flaps on each other;one of said clamping means (41, 43) comprises a common operating member (413, 431) fixed on the lateral horizontal flap or the lateral vertical flap, respectively the medial horizontal flap or the medial vertical flap, and at least two associated anchors (411, 412, 432, 433), the first of said at least two anchors being fixed on said collar and is called common collar anchor (412, 433), while the second of said at least two anchors being fixed on the shell and is called common shell anchor (411, 432).;

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to shoes comprising an external structure inside which a liner is inserted. This type of shoe is used in particular for winter sports. The external structure is mainly rigid and ensures the support of the user's foot while the internal liner is more flexible and has the function of ensuring the comfort of the foot.

[0002] The present invention relates more particularly to alpine ski boots, in particular those which are called "wallet" construction. The "wallet" construction is characterized by a rigid external structure which comprises two main and distinct elements: the shell and the cuff. The shell constitutes the lower portion of the external structure and it receives the user's foot. The cuff constitutes the upper portion, it is fixed to the shell and has the function of supporting the user's lower leg. The other major characteristic of the "wallet" construction is that the adaptation of the internal volume of the boot to the user's foot is achieved by the relative sliding of flaps, each coming from one of the sides of the boot. Such flaps, sometimes called overlaps according to English terminology, can be present at the shell and at the cuff.For the shell flaps, we speak of horizontal flaps, because their overlapping area is located on the top of the foot and it is oriented in a substantially horizontal direction. For the collar flaps, we speak of vertical flaps because their overlapping area is located in front of the user's shin and it is oriented in a substantially vertical direction.

[0003] In general, the connection between the cuff and the shell is made at the level of the user's malleoli. Placing the connection at this location has the advantage of allowing the articulation of the cuff relative to the shell in correspondence with the articulation of the lower leg relative to the foot. One of the difficulties in designing a ski boot is finding the right rigidity for the external structure of the boot. For alpine skiing, the ankle joint should in principle be blocked. However, it is not desirable to completely prevent all movement of the ankle. Indeed, a minimum of flexion of the skier's leg is necessary when steering the ski, particularly for cushioning purposes.

[0004] Traditionally, "wallet" type ski boots are closed using four hooks. A second name for this type of boot is "4-hook alpine ski boot". In fact, the closure and adaptation of the internal volume of the boot to the user's foot is done using two hooks placed on the shell and two hooks placed on the cuff. In this case, the two hooks on the shell apply a tightening force that is exerted along a circumference belonging to a substantially vertical plane, while the two hooks on the cuff apply a tightening force that is exerted along a circumference belonging to a substantially horizontal plane.

[0005] Such a configuration of the direction of the different tightening forces is unfortunately not optimal. Indeed, for a user's foot to be perfectly positioned and held inside a ski boot, it is desirable that the instep area be subjected to a force that is exerted along a circumference belonging to an oblique plane that makes an angle of approximately 45° with the horizontal plane. This circumference is sometimes called PCT for "short heel perimeter". In a 4-hook boot, this effect on the PCT circumference is obtained by the simultaneous effect of the upper hook of the shell and the lower hook of the cuff.

[0006] More recently, a new type of shoe with a "wallet" construction has appeared on the market. This new shoe is characterized by the fact that it no longer has four closing hooks, but only two that serve to tighten the cuff. The shell is tightened using a tightening means that includes a cable that runs along a lacing path between several anchors distributed over the two flaps of the shell and a cable winding device that exerts tension on the cable. This new solution simplifies the shoe tightening operation because by manipulating the cable winding device alone, the user tightens the entire shell.

[0007] Document WO2020160421 continues the previous logic of simplifying the operation of tightening a boot by considering a ski boot that has two cable winding devices. The first is fixed to the shell and, via a lacing path distributed over the shell, simultaneously tightens the entire shell. The second is fixed to the cuff and, via a lacing path distributed over the cuff, simultaneously tightens the entire cuff.

[0008] These new constructions, which aim for simplicity of the tightening operation, do so at the expense of tightening efficiency and user comfort. Indeed, with the simultaneous tightening of the entire shell and / or the entire collar, it is impossible to vary the tightening force in particular areas of the shell and / or collar.

[0009] The object of the invention is to provide an alpine boot with a wrap-around construction for which the tightening efficiency and comfort are greatly improved. In particular, this involves ensuring an improvement in tightening according to the circumference "short heel perimeter" of the user's foot.

[0010] The objective of the invention is achieved by providing a ski boot comprising a rigid external structure inside which a comfort liner is inserted; Said rigid external structure being made up of a shell which comprises a sole oriented along a horizontal plane Ph and which is intended to receive the foot of a user and a collar which is fixed on the shell and which is intended to surround the lower leg of the user; Said shell comprising a medial horizontal flap and a lateral horizontal flap capable of sliding one over the other to reduce the volume of said shell; Said collar comprising a medial vertical flap and a lateral vertical flap capable of sliding one relative to the other;Said shoe further comprising tightening means for ensuring the closure and tightening of said shell and said collar around the foot and lower leg of the user, said tightening means comprising an operating member fixed on said lateral horizontal flap or said lateral vertical flap, respectively on said medial horizontal flap, or said medial vertical flap and, at least one, associated anchor, fixed on the medial horizontal flap or the medial vertical flap, respectively on the lateral horizontal flap or the lateral vertical flap of the shoe; said operating member and said associated anchor cooperating with each other in order to slide said flaps on each other;Judiciously, one of said clamping means comprises a common operating member fixed on the lateral horizontal flap or the lateral vertical flap, respectively on the medial horizontal flap or the medial vertical flap, and at least two associated anchors, the first of said at least two anchors is fixed on said collar and is called common collar anchor, while the second of said at least two anchors is fixed on the shell and is called common shell anchor.;

[0011] Preferably, said common shell anchor is placed in the upper part of the shell and said common collar anchor is placed in the lower part of the collar. In fact, the two common anchors as well as the common operating member are, preferably, placed within a band of the circumference of the shoe called perimeter-short-heel. Within this perimeter-short-heel band, the common operating member can be fixed on the collar or on the shell.

[0012] The invention is not limited to a particular type of tightening means. The common tightening means may be of any known type, including those commonly used for tightening sports shoes. For example, the common tightening means may consist of an alpine ski boot hook device. It may also consist of a cable device having loops and a mechanism that winds and tensiones a metal cable or the like.

[0013] In one embodiment of the invention, the common operating member comprises a lever acting via a toggle mechanism on two loops and said common shell anchor and said common collar anchor are each a rack comprising a plurality of teeth intended to cooperate with said loops.

[0014] In other embodiments, the common operating member is a cable reel device and in that said common shell anchor and said common collar anchor are each passers-by receiving a portion of cable.

[0015] Several variants of these embodiments are conceivable. For example, one where said cable winding device simultaneously winds a first portion of cable which passes through said common collar anchor and a second portion of cable, distinct from the first, which passes through said common shell anchor. Or another one where said cable winding device winds a single cable which passes successively through said common collar anchor and through said common shell anchor.

[0016] The invention will be better understood by reading the description associated with the drawing in which: [ Fig. 1 ] There figure 1 is a view showing the side face of a ski boot according to a first embodiment of the invention. Fig. 2 ] There figure 2 is a view showing the medial face of the ski boot of the figure 1 . [ Fig. 3 ] There figure 3 is a view showing the side face of a ski boot according to a second embodiment of the invention [ Fig. 4 ] There figure 4 is a view showing the medial face of the ski boot of the figure 3 . [ Fig. 5 ] There figure 5 is a view showing the side face of a ski boot according to a variant of the second embodiment of the invention. Fig. 6 ] There figure 6 is a view showing the side face of a ski boot according to a third embodiment of the invention. Fig. 7 ] There figure 7 is a view showing the side face of a ski boot according to a variant of the third embodiment of the invention. Fig. 8 ] There figure 8 is a view showing the side face of a ski boot according to a fourth embodiment of the invention.

[0017] THE figures 1 et 2 represent a ski boot according to a first embodiment of the invention. In a known manner, the ski boot comprises a rigid external structure inside which an internal comfort liner is inserted. The latter is not visible in the figures. Only the rigid external structure is shown.

[0018] This is a so-called "wallet" construction shoe. That is to say, the volumetric adaptation of the external rigid structure is achieved by the relative sliding of two portions of this external structure over each other. It is also a shoe whose rigid external structure comprises two main elements: the shell 2 and the collar 3.

[0019] The shell 2 receives the user's foot. It comprises in particular a sole 21, oriented along the plane Ph, substantially horizontal, a lateral flank 22 and a medial flank 23. The lateral flank 22 and the medial flank 23 meet at the front of the shoe where they form a shell 25 for the toes and at the rear, where they form a counter 27 for the heel. The upper part of the shell is covered by the collar, the line 28, in dotted lines, represents the upper limit of the shell.

[0020] The lateral flank 22 comprises a lateral horizontal flap 221 which constitutes the upper free end of the lateral flank 22. Similarly, the medial flank 23 comprises a medial horizontal flap 231 which constitutes the upper free end of the medial flank 23. The medial horizontal flap 231 and the lateral horizontal flap 221 can slide relative to each other, thus making it possible to reduce the interior volume of the shell.

[0021] The collar 3 comprises a sleeve 31 of substantially cylindrical shape intended to receive the lower leg of the user. The sleeve 31 comprises a medial vertical flap 33 and a lateral vertical flap 32 which overlap and can slide one over the other so as to reduce or increase the diameter of the sleeve and thus adapt the shoe to the morphology of the user's leg. The collar is fixed to the shell 2 by means of fixing means placed on the medial side and the lateral side of the shoe.

[0022] In the embodiment presented to the figures 1 et 2 , the medial vertical flap 33 is divided at its end into two parts which are an upper medial vertical flap 331 and a lower medial vertical flap 332.

[0023] Several tightening means are placed on the boot to generate the sliding of the different flaps against each other and thus ensure the tightening of the boot on the foot and the lower leg of the user. In the construction presented, there are four of them and three of them are made up of hooks whose use is very common for ski boots. This type of hook comprises a buckle actuated by a lever via a toggle mechanism, this first sub-assembly being fixed on the first of the flaps. The buckle cooperates with a rack whose plurality of teeth makes it possible to offer a plurality of positioning of the buckle, the rack being fixed on the other flap. The forefoot hook 42, the instep hook 41, the upper collar hook 44 are of this type. The last tightening means 45 is of a different type.This is a lower leg strap that features a simple recall loop and a hook-and-loop covering.

[0024] According to the invention, the tightening means placed at the instep, which, in this case, is the instep hook 41, is a tightening means common to the shell and to the collar, since it exerts its action both on the top of the shell and on the bottom of the collar. Indeed, this common tightening means comprises a common shell anchor 411, a common collar anchor 412 and a common operating member 413. The common shell anchor, respectively the common collar anchor, is constituted by a rack fixed by a rivet or by a screw on the medial flap of the shell, respectively the medial flap of the collar. The common operating member 413 comprises a lever 4131, a shell buckle 4132, a collar buckle 4133 and a common tie rod 4134 which connects the lever 4131 to each of the buckles 4132, 4133. The lever is fixed on the lateral side of the external structure of the shoe.In the case shown, the lever is fixed by means of a yoke on the lateral side of the hull. However, it is possible to consider fixing the lever on the lateral side of the collar. The lever is fixed on the yoke so as to pivot around a first axis and the common tie rod is fixed to the lever so as to pivot around a second axis parallel to the first axis.

[0025] The common shell anchor 411, the common collar anchor 412 and the attachment point of the common operating member are all placed within the same space called the short heel perimeter strip 11. This strip 11 is shown in the figures by two parallel dotted lines. Due to the positioning of the common tightening means 41 inside the short heel perimeter strip 11, uniform tightening is ensured in the most important area for holding the foot in an alpine boot. Indeed, for optimal fitting of an alpine ski boot, it is essential to correctly position the user's heel at the bottom of the boot, firmly pressed against the counter 27. To do this, a tightening force must be exerted in the short heel perimeter strip.

[0026] Once the actuation of the common tightening means 41 is carried out adequately, the user can actuate the forefoot hook 42, the upper collar hook 44 and the lower leg strap 45. The tightening forces exerted by these different tightening means 42, 44 and 45 are adapted to the needs of the user and are different from that exerted by the common tightening means 41.

[0027] THE figures 3 et 4 show respectively the side view and the medial view of a second embodiment of the invention. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment only in that the common tightening means 43 which ensures the tightening of the short heel perimeter band is a device comprising a cable tensioning means and loops.

[0028] This is also a so-called "wallet" construction shoe, the rigid external structure of which comprises two main elements: the shell 2 and the collar 3.

[0029] The shell 2 receives the user's foot. It comprises in particular a sole 21, oriented along the plane Ph, substantially horizontal, a lateral flank 22 and a medial flank 23. The lateral flank 22 and the medial flank 23 meet at the front of the shoe where they form a shell 25 for the toes and at the rear, where they form a counter 27 for the heel. The upper part of the shell is covered by the collar, the line 28, in dotted lines, represents the upper limit of the shell.

[0030] The lateral flank 22 comprises a lateral horizontal flap 221 which constitutes the upper free end of the lateral flank 22. Similarly, the medial flank 23 comprises a medial horizontal flap 231 which constitutes the upper free end of the medial flank 23. The medial horizontal flap 231 and the lateral horizontal flap 221 can slide relative to each other, thus making it possible to reduce the interior volume of the shell.

[0031] The collar 3 comprises a sleeve 31 of substantially cylindrical shape intended to receive the lower leg of the user. The sleeve 31 comprises a medial vertical flap 33 and a lateral vertical flap 32 which overlap and can slide one over the other so as to reduce or increase the diameter of the sleeve and thus adapt the shoe to the morphology of the user's leg. The collar is fixed to the shell 2 by means of fixing means placed on the medial side and the lateral side of the shoe.

[0032] In the embodiment presented to the figures 3 et 4 , the medial vertical flap 33 is divided at its end into two parts which are an upper medial vertical flap 331 and a lower medial vertical flap 332.

[0033] Several tightening means are placed on the shoe in order to generate the sliding of the different flaps against each other and thus ensure the tightening of the shoe on the foot and the lower leg of the user. In the construction presented, there are four of them and two of them consist of hooks similar to those described in the second embodiment of the invention. These are, in this case, the forefoot hook 42 and the upper collar hook 44. The last of the tightening means, bearing the reference 45, is of the type comprising a simple return loop and a self-gripping covering.

[0034] In the embodiment described in figures 3 et 4 , the common tightening means is a device which bears the overall reference 43. This comprises a cable winding mechanism 431, a first loop 432 which is fixed to the shell and a second loop 433 which is fixed to the collar. The device further comprises a first cable 434 which is attached to the shell at a first fixing point 436 and which from this first fixing point runs through a first lacing zone. The first cable 434 passes through the first loop 432 then enters the cable winding mechanism 431. The device also comprises a second cable 435 which is attached to the collar at a second fixing point 437 and which from this second fixing point runs through a second lacing zone. The second cable 435 passes through the second loop 433 then also enters the cable winding mechanism 431.

[0035] When the cable winding mechanism 431 is manipulated by the user, the first cable 434 and the second cable 435 are simultaneously tensioned and the space corresponding to the short heel perimeter band is tightened against the user's foot. Advantageously, the tightening force at this band is uniform with an equivalent value at the bottom of the collar and at the top of the shell. Furthermore, since the forefoot area and the upper collar area are subjected to tightening means entirely independent of the common tightening means, namely, respectively, the forefoot hook 42 and the upper collar hook 44, it is possible to modulate the different tightening forces over the entire height of the shoe. In this case, a significant force can be exerted on the short heel perimeter band while a lesser force will be exerted at the forefoot and / or the upper collar area.

[0036] There figure 5 represents a side view of a variant of the second embodiment. The shoe of this variant does not differ from the shoe described in figures 3 et 4 than by the placement of the cable winding mechanism 431. This is not fixed on the lateral vertical flap 32 as in the second embodiment, but on the lateral horizontal flap 221

[0037] THE figures 6 And 7 describe two variants of a third embodiment of the invention in which there is only a single cable 439 which is tensioned by the cable winding mechanism. In the variant of the figure 6 , the winding mechanism 431 is fixed on the lateral vertical flap 32 and the cable is fixed to the hull at the level of the fixing point 436, while in the variant of the figure 7 , the mechanism is fixed on the lateral horizontal flap 221, and the cable is fixed to the collar at the level of the fixing point 437. In both cases, the cable slides in the three loops which are the common hull anchor 432, the common collar anchor 433 as well as an additional anchor 438 placed in the vicinity of the lateral fixing means of the collar to the hull.

[0038] There figure 8describes a fourth embodiment of the invention in which the forefoot hook and the upper collar hook of the previous embodiments are no longer present and are replaced by the fact that the first cable 434 and the second cable 435 extend to the forefoot, for the first, and to the top of the collar, for the second. To do this, additional loops 438, 430 are necessary on the front of the shell as well as at the upper part of the collar. After leaving the winder mechanism, the first cable 434 passes successively through the common shell anchor point 432, the additional shell loop 438 and is fixed to the shell at the attachment point 436. Similarly, the second cable 435 passes through the common collar anchor point 433, then through the additional collar loop 430 and is fixed to the collar at the attachment point 437.The lacing path of the cables 434, 435 is longer and there is a decrease in the tightening force as one moves away from the winding mechanism. As a result, the tightening force in the short heel perimeter band 11 is greater than it is in the forefoot and at the top of the collar.

[0039] The invention is not limited to the few embodiments described here by way of example but also covers any equivalent embodiment. For example, in all the embodiments described the common operating member is fixed on the lateral side of the shoe. It will be possible, in a similar manner, to construct variants of each of these embodiments in which the common operating member is fixed on the medial side of the shoe.

Claims

1. Ski boot comprising a rigid external structure inside which a comfort liner is inserted; - said rigid external structure being made up of a shell (2) which comprises a sole (21) oriented along a horizontal plane Ph and which is designed to receive the foot of a user and a collar (3) which is fixed on the shell and which is designed to surround the lower leg of the user; - said shell comprising a medial horizontal flap (231) and a lateral horizontal flap (221) capable of sliding one over the other to reduce the volume of said shell; - said collar comprising a medial vertical flap (33) and a lateral vertical flap (32) capable of sliding one relative to the other;- said shoe comprising tightening means (41, 42, 43, 44) for ensuring the closure and tightening of said shell and said collar around the foot and lower leg of the user, said tightening means comprising an operating member fixed on said lateral horizontal flap or said lateral vertical flap, respectively on said medial horizontal flap or said medial vertical flap and, at least one, associated anchor, fixed on said medial horizontal flap or said medial vertical flap, respectively on said lateral horizontal flap or said lateral vertical flap; said operating member and said associated anchor cooperating with each other in order to slide said flaps on each other. ; characterized in thatone of said clamping means (41, 43) comprises a common operating member (413, 431) fixed on said lateral horizontal flap or said lateral vertical flap, respectively on said medial horizontal flap or said medial vertical flap, and at least two associated anchors (411, 412, 432, 433), the first of said at least two anchors being fixed on said collar and is called common collar anchor (412, 433), while the second of said at least two anchors being fixed on the shell and is called common shell anchor (411, 432), said common operating member exerting its action both on the top of the shell and on the bottom of the collar 2. Ski boot according to claim 1 characterized in that said common operating member (413, 431) is fixed to the collar.

3. Ski boot according to claim 1 characterized in that said common operating member (413, 431) is fixed to the hull.

4. Ski boot according to one of the preceding claims characterized in that said common hull anchor (411, 432) is placed in the upper part of the hull and in that said common collar anchor (412, 433) is placed in the lower part of the collar.

5. Ski boot according to one of claims 1 to 4 characterized in that said common operating member (413) comprises a lever (4131) acting via a toggle mechanism on two loops (4132, 4133) and in that said common shell anchor (411) as well as said common collar anchor (412) are each a rack comprising a plurality of teeth intended to cooperate with said loops 6. Ski boot according to one of claims 1 to 4 characterized in that said common operating member (431) is a cable winder device and in thatsaid common shell anchor (432) as well as said common collar anchor (431) are each passers-by receiving a portion of cable (434, 435).

7. Ski boot according to the preceding claim characterized in that said cable winding device (431) simultaneously winds a first portion of cable (435) which passes through said common collar anchor (433) and a second portion of cable (434) which passes through said common hull anchor (432).

8. Ski boot according to claim 6 characterized in that said cable reel device reels a cable (439) which passes through said common collar anchor and through said common hull anchor.

9. Ski boot according to one of the preceding claims characterized in that it also includes a front foot clamping hook (42).

10. Ski boot according to one of the preceding claims. characterized in that it further comprises an upper collar clamping hook (44).

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