Ski Boot Front Insert with Movable Contact Elements
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing front inserts for ski mountaineering boots tend to unhook due to rotations caused by transverse stresses during skiing, leading to misalignment and detachment from the ski binding, which can occur even with small rotations, posing safety concerns and disrupting the skiing experience.
Innovation Solution
A front insert for ski mountaineering boots featuring adjustable contact elements with housings and elastic positioning means that allow the holes to misalign and maintain contact with the binding hooks, ensuring the boot remains hooked even during rotations, thus preventing unintended unhooking and allowing realignment after stress subsides.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the holes in the insert are fixed in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the ski boot, then the hooking mechanism is simple and reliable under normal conditions, but the insert becomes misaligned and detaches when the boot rotates due to transverse stresses
Solution Approach 1:
The contact elements are made movable relative to the insert body through elastic positioning means, allowing them to dynamically adjust their position and orientation in response to rotational forces. This dynamic capability enables the holes to maintain alignment with the operating plane of the hooking elements even when the boot rotates, resolving the contradiction between fixed alignment reliability and rotational adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic positioning means enable the contact elements to change their positional parameters (location and orientation) in response to applied forces. When transverse stresses cause boot rotation, the contact elements shift their parameters to compensate for the misalignment, maintaining effective contact with the hooking elements and preventing detachment
2Ease of manufacture
If the insert uses fixed contact elements, then the structure is simple and manufacturing is easy, but small rotations cause detachment and unhooking
Solution Approach 1:
The contact elements are designed with mobility through elastic positioning, transforming the fixed structure into a dynamic system that can adapt to rotational forces. This maintains manufacturing simplicity while dramatically improving hooking stability, as the contact elements automatically adjust to maintain contact during small rotations without requiring complex mechanisms
3Manufacturing precision
If the holes are positioned to align with the operating plane in the neutral position, then hooking is effective initially, but rotation causes the holes to retract from the operating plane and lose contact
Solution Approach 1:
The contact elements are made dynamically adjustable through elastic positioning means, allowing them to maintain precise alignment with the operating plane during rotation. This resolves the contradiction by enabling the holes to compensate for rotational displacement while maintaining manufacturing precision in their initial position
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic positioning means enable the contact elements to self-adjust their position in response to rotational forces without external intervention. The system automatically compensates for misalignment caused by rotation, maintaining effective contact through the holes' ability to move and reorient themselves
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively maintains the hooking of the ski boot to the binding during rotations, preventing unexpected unhooking and allowing the skier to continue skiing safely, with improved alignment and stability compared to prior art solutions.
Implementation Method 1
elastic positioning means that allow the holes to misalign and maintain contact with the binding hooks
Data Source
Figure 1~2B
Figure 3A~3B
Figure 4A~4D
AI summary
The front insert (100) for a ski boot (S) for ski mountaineering comprises a body (1) and two heads (10, 20) which, when the insert (100) is fixed to the ski boot (S), are positioned on lateral portions of the front part (AS) of the ski boot (S). The insert (100) comprises a first housing (11), in the first head (10), a second housing (21) in the second head (20), a first contact element (3) with a first hole (31) for coupling with the first hooking element (A1) of a binding (B) for ski mountaineering and a second contact element (4) comprising a second hole (41) for coupling with a second hooking element (A2) of the binding (B) when the hooking elements (A1, A2) are brought into the neared configuration (S2) of hooking. The first housing (11) and the first contact element (3), like the second housing (21) and the second contact element (4), are reciprocally conformed so as to enable the first contact element (3) and the second contact element (4) to displace from an internal position (3A, 4A), with respect to the first and second housing, towards the outside, so that the first contact element (3) and the second contact element (4) can orientate and position with respect to the first and second housing in such a way that the first hole and the second hole can misalign from an alignment axis (A) in order to maintain the contact with the hooking elements following a rotation of the ski boot with respect to the ski.