Ski boot and tightening device
Patent Information
- Application Number
- FR2023001817
- Authority / Receiving Office
- FR · FR
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2023-02-28
- Publication Date
- 2025-08-22
- Estimated Expiration
- 2043-02-28
Smart Images
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Abstract
Description
Title of the invention: Ski boot and tightening device
[0001] The present application relates to alpine ski boots, in particular, so-called front entry ski boots whose rigid shell is made up of two main parts which are, on the one hand, a shell base and, on the other hand, a collar which can be articulated on said shell bottom.
[0002] The practice of downhill skiing on slopes requires having particularly rigid ski boots. This is why these are made up of a rigid shell inside which a comfortable inner liner is placed.
[0003] There are currently different types of shell for alpine ski boots, including so-called "rear entry" boots and so-called "front entry" boots. Of course, the biggest difference between these types of boots lies in the way the boot is put on. In the first case, an articulated spoiler opens towards the rear, allowing the foot to be inserted through the back of the boot. In the second case, it is the front of the boot, and in particular the top of the forefoot of the boot, which opens, or widens, to allow the foot to be inserted. However, there are many other differences between these two types of boots. In particular, regarding the closure and / or tightening of the shell. In the case of "rear entry", the different elements that make up the shell are not very deformable, and it is the fact that they are articulated relative to each other that allows the shell to be closed on the user's foot.Independently, a tightening device ensures the adaptation of the internal volume of the boot to the user's foot. This tightening device quite often works with the help of one or more cables. The Nordica NS 770 alpine ski boot from 1983 is an example of this type of boot. The shell is closed by a ratchet and notched strap device while the forefoot is tightened by a cable and winder device which does not deform the outer shell of the boot since it only affects the inner liner.
[0004] In the case of "front entries", the closing of the shell and the tightening of the user's foot are concomitant. Indeed, parts of the shell deform to modify the internal volume of the shell: on the one hand to enlarge the volume and allow the introduction of the foot and on the other hand to reduce it and adapt it to the morphology of the user's foot. Due to the rigidity of the shell and the need to be able to deform it, powerful tightening mechanisms are used for this type of shoe. These are in particular the buckle hooks, rack and pinion and knee mechanism which are used. This type of shoe is currently the most used by manufacturers for the excellent compromise between comfort and performance that it allows to obtain.
[0005] The invention falls within the scope of shoes of this type and sets itself the objective to improve its comfort, performance and ease of use. To achieve this, the use of a cable clamping device is considered.
[0006] Recently, attempts to use cable and winder devices for "front entry" ski boots have been made in the related field of ski touring boots. Ski touring boots are somewhat unusual ski boots in that they must allow you to climb slopes without the aid of ski lifts. To facilitate walking and climbing, they are notably much lighter and much less rigid than downhill ski boots. The relative flexibility of the elements of the outer shell, and in particular the bottom of the shell, have made it possible to use cable and winder tightening devices on these boots. Patent EP 3192386 describes a ski touring boot that uses a cable and winder tightening device to ensure the bottom of the shell is tightened.However, to improve the tightening efficiency, it was necessary to use an additional floating part, placed between the two sides of the bottom of the hull on which loops for the cable are provided and on which the reel is fixed.
[0007] Patent EP 3153047 also describes a ski touring boot whose lower portion of the shell is equipped with a cable and a winder mechanism. However, in order to ensure that the winder tightening device can effectively act on the relatively rigid shell, it is provided that in the area above the foot, the upper opening of the bottom of the shell is framed by a panel made of a more flexible material. It is on this peripheral panel of the opening that the loops of the tightening device are fixed.
[0008] The objective of the invention is the construction of a front-entry piste ski boot whose outer shell comprises a shell base and a collar surrounding the bottom of a user's foot. The closing and tightening of the shell base are carried out concomitantly by moving a first portion of the shell bottom relative to a second portion of the shell bottom. This boot must combine ease of use, precise tightening, steering performance and improved aesthetic appearance.
[0009] In particular, the objective of the invention is to improve the feeling of support that the user feels when putting on the shoe.
[0010] The objective of the invention is achieved by providing a ski boot comprising a shell bottom, a collar fixed to said shell bottom by means of at least two axial fixing means and tightening means; said at least two fixing means comprising a medial fixing means, respectively a lateral fixing means, substantially placed opposite the user's internal malleolus, respectively substantially placed opposite his external malleolus; said shell bottom comprising a medial flap and a lateral flap capable of sliding one relative to the other so as to adapt the internal volume of the bottom of the shell; said tightening means comprise a cable, a means for anchoring said cable on one of the flaps of the shell base, a medial loop fixed on the medial flap, a lateral loop fixed on the lateral flap, a mechanism for tensioning the cable and a third loop which is fixed to the distal end of a strap, said strap being secured to the shell by its proximal end thanks to the lateral fixing means or to the medial fixing means. Preferably, said strap is retained by means of an anchoring ring on said medial or lateral fixing means and said anchoring ring comprises a first opening used to connect the strap with the ring and a second opening capable of surrounding said medial or lateral fixing means so as to allow rotation of the strap around the medial or lateral fixing means.
[0011] The invention will be better understood on reading the description and the drawing in which: [Fig.l] [Fig.l] represents in perspective view, a ski boot according to the invention.
[0012] [Fig.2] [Fig.2] is a side view of the shoe of [Fig.l]
[0013] [Fig.3] [Fig.3] is a top view of the instep strap
[0014] [Fig.4] [Fig.4] is a side view of the instep strap
[0015] [Fig.5] [Fig.5] is a view of an alternative cable tensioning device
[0016] [Fig.l] describes a boot 1 intended for downhill skiing. This boot comprises an outer shell 2 inside which an inner liner 9 is inserted. The inner liner 9 is not permanently attached to the outer shell and can be removed from the latter. This is a so-called "front entry" boot. The outer shell 2 consists of two main parts: the bottom of the shell 21 and the collar 22. The bottom of the shell 21 is intended to receive the user's foot and to envelop it from the toes to the heel. The bottom of the shell thus covers the entire forefoot of the user up to the instep.
[0017] The collar 22 is fixed to the bottom of the shell 21, using at least two axial fixing means 231, 232 located respectively on the medial side and the lateral side of the shoe. The medial axial fixing means 231 and the lateral axial fixing means 232 are substantially coaxial, placed opposite the medial malleolus, respectively lateral malleolus of the user. The axial fixing means can be of any type known in the field, for example rivets or screws.
[0018] The upper front part of the bottom of the shell 21 defines an opening which serves, on the one hand, to facilitate the introduction of the foot and, on the other hand, to adapt the interior volume of the shoe 1 to the shape of the user's foot. This opening is made between two portions of the bottom of the shell which are movable relative to each other. In practice, these two movable portions are, on the one hand, the upper flap 212, and on the other hand, the lower flap 213. [Fig. 2] shows in section the configuration of these two flaps 212, 213. The upper flap 212 is an integral part of the bottom of the shell 21, it is located on the medial side of the shoe. The lower flap 213 is also an integral part of the bottom of the shell and is placed on the lateral side of the shoe.
[0019] The means for tightening the bottom of the shell are constituted by a lacing system which comprises a cable 32, an anchoring means 35 for the cable 32, a plurality of loops 331, 332, 333 and a mechanism for tensioning the cable 31 which, in the embodiment described, is in the form of a cable winding device. Under the action of the tightening device, the medial flap 212 overlaps the lateral flap 213. The relative movement of the medial flap 212 with respect to the lateral flap 213 in the tightening direction is achieved by the traction exerted by the portion of the cable 32 which is fixed to the lateral flap by means of the anchor 35 and passes alternately through an anterior medial loop 331 of the medial flap, then through the lateral loop 333 of the lateral flap, finally through the posterior medial loop 332 of the medial flap. The free end 2121 of the upper flap 212 can then slide over the overlapping zone 2131 which is provided on the lower flap 213.The overlap area is actually the area of the lower flap that the upper flap is likely to cover.
[0020] In the case where the user has a thin and not very voluminous foot, it is possible that in order for the shoe to be correctly adjusted and tightened, he must operate the tightening device until the entire overlapping area is covered by the upper flap.
[0021] The shoe of the invention is characterized by a particular configuration of one of the loops. This is one of the loops arranged on the medial side of the shoe. As can be seen in [Fig.2], the loop is fixed to the end of a strap 36 and this strap is itself fixed to the medial axial fixing means 231 connecting the collar 22 to the bottom of the shell 21. The strap 36 is advantageously placed at the level of the user's instep. The strap has a length of about ten centimeters, it guarantees a better wrap and above all due to its orientation, it makes it possible to direct the user's heel towards the rear of the shoe. Indeed, it can be seen, by extending the direction of the strap, that it will exert a traction directed towards the rear end of the sole of the shoe.
[0022] [Fig. 3] shows a top view of the strap alone and [Fig. 4] shows a side view. It comprises a main portion 361, which in the embodiment described here consists of a textile strip which is folded and sewn onto itself at its two ends so as to form two loops. These two loops are visible in [Fig. 4] which is a side view. One of these two loops, the proximal loop 3611 is used for fixing the anchoring ring 362, while the other, the distal loop 2612, is used for fixing the medial loop 332.
[0023] The anchor ring 362 is made by cutting a metal sheet in which two through openings are provided. The first opening 3621 is an oblong opening through which the textile strip of the main portion 361 passes. The second opening 3622 is preferably circular and is designed to be crossed by the medial axial fixing means 231. Advantageously, the anchoring ring is relatively thin, only a few millimeters, it can easily be inserted between the bottom of the shell 21 and the collar 22. In addition, the circular shape of the second opening gives the strap the possibility of being able to rotate around the medial fixing means 231. In practice, the bottom of the shell or the collar may have a projecting cylindrical protrusion, centered on the axial or medial fixing means and whose external diameter is substantially identical to that of the second opening 3622.This adjustment between the anchor ring 362 and the shell allows for better distribution of the forces generated by the cable tensioning device during the shoe tightening process and facilitates the rotation of the strap. The anchor ring is inserted between .
[0024] In the embodiment described, the anchoring ring is placed between the bottom of the hull and the collar. In an alternative embodiment, it is possible to provide for fixing the anchoring ring to the outside of the collar.
[0025] The posterior medial loop 332 is placed inside the distal loop 3612. The loop is stabilized inside this loop by means of two reinforcements 363 and 364 between which it is sandwiched. Preferably, the two reinforcements are made of plastic materials and are overmolded onto the textile strip so as to ensure their anchoring on the latter. A rivet 365, or any other equivalent fixing means is used to secure the two reinforcements and the loop 332.
[0026] [Fig. 5] shows an alternative embodiment of the invention in which the cable tensioning mechanism 32 is constituted by a ratchet device 31'. Since this alternative differs from the previously described embodiment only by the cable tensioning mechanism, only the latter will be described below. This comprises a notched band 311 at the end of which the end of the cable 32 is secured. Each tooth 3111 of the notched band 311 is capable of coming into contact with a retaining tooth arranged under the ratchet 313. Thus the notched band 311 can be immobilized in different positions under the effect of a tension of the cable exerted in the direction T. Each position of the notched strap determines a different tension of the cable or a different internal volume of the hull. The tensioning device 31' of the cable 32 is fixed to the bottom of the hull by means of the base 312 and it is actuated by means of the lever 314.
[0027] The invention is not limited to the embodiments and variants described above. It indeed concerns all equivalent variants. For example, in the embodiment presented above, the cable tensioning mechanism is placed on the side flap of the shoe, while the strap is held to the shell by the medial attachment means. This is of course one possibility among others. Indeed, it is easy to imagine placing the cable tensioning mechanism on the medial flap. Similarly, it is possible to use the lateral attachment means to secure the strap to the shell.
Claims
Claims
1. Ski boot (1) comprising a rigid shell (2) inside which is inserted an internal comfort liner (9) and tightening means, said shell (2) comprising a shell bottom (21) and a collar (22) fixed to said shell base by means of at least two axial fixing means, said at least two fixing means comprising a medial fixing means (231) substantially placed opposite the user's internal malleolus and a lateral fixing means (232) substantially placed opposite his external malleolus; said shell bottom comprising a medial flap (212) and a lateral flap (213) capable of sliding relative to each other so as to adapt the internal volume of the shell bottom;said tightening means comprise a cable (32), a means (35) for anchoring said cable on one of the flaps of the shell base, a medial loop (331) fixed on the medial flap, a lateral loop (333) fixed on the lateral flap (213), a third loop (332) and a tensioning mechanism (31, 31') of the cable, said shoe being characterized in that said third loop (332) is fixed to the distal end of a strap (36), said strap being secured to the shell (2) by its proximal end thanks to the lateral fixing means (232) or to the medial fixing means (231);
2. Ski boot (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said strap is retained by means of an anchoring ring (362) on said medial or lateral fixing means.
3. Ski boot (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that said anchoring ring comprises a first opening (3621) serving to connect the strap with the anchoring ring.
4. Ski boot (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that said anchoring ring comprises a second opening (3622) capable of surrounding said medial or lateral fixing means so as to allow rotation of the strap around the medial or lateral fixing means.
5. Ski boot (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the cable tensioning mechanism is a winder device (31).
6. Ski boot (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the cable tensioning mechanism is a ratchet device (31').