Ski Boot Front Insert with Replaceable Contact Elements
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing front inserts for ski boots in ski mountaineering are prone to misalignment and deformation due to stress and repeated use, leading to ineffective hooking with ski bindings and potential need for replacement.
Innovation Solution
A front insert with interchangeable contact elements and housings that allow for perfect alignment and easy replacement of worn-out holes, ensuring optimal coupling with ski bindings without requiring a new ski boot.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the holes in the insert are made for form coupling with the hooking elements, then the hooking function is achieved, but the holes are prone to misalignment and deformation due to stress and repeated use
Solution Approach 1:
The insert is divided into two functional parts: a rigid anchoring body that provides stable positioning, and interchangeable contact elements that can be replaced when worn. This segmentation allows the positioning function to remain stable while the contact surface is renewed.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the state of the contact elements from fixed to interchangeable, allowing parameter restoration. When the holes deform or misalign, the contact element can be replaced with a new one that has precise geometric parameters, restoring the hooking function without replacing the entire insert.
2Device complexity
If the insert is made as a single fixed piece, then the structure is simple, but the entire insert must be replaced when the holes deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The insert structure is segmented into a permanent anchoring body and replaceable contact elements. This allows only the worn contact elements to be replaced rather than the entire insert, reducing replacement costs and complexity while maintaining structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact elements are designed to be discarded when worn and recovered/replaced with new ones. This selective replacement approach avoids the waste of replacing the entire insert, recovering the valuable anchoring body while replacing only the consumable contact surfaces.
3Manufacturing precision
If the holes are aligned perpendicular to the ski axis for optimal hooking, then the coupling precision is maximized, but any misalignment leads to stresses and blows at the hole entry causing deformations
Solution Approach 1:
The design anticipates wear and deformation by providing replaceable contact elements. Before the deformations become critical, the contact elements can be replaced, cushioning against the cumulative effect of stresses and blows that would otherwise lead to insert failure.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact elements are designed as shorter-lived, replaceable components that can be easily replaced when worn. This allows the use of precise but somewhat fragile hole geometries in the contact elements, knowing they can be replaced rather than requiring excessive over-engineering for durability.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3B
Figure 4A~4C
AI summary
The front insert (100) for a ski boot (S) for ski mountaineering, comprises: an anchoring body (1) comprising two heads (10, 20); a first housing (11), realised in the first head (10); a second housing (21), realised in the second head (20); a first contact element (3) comprising a first hole (31); a second contact element (4) comprising a second hole (41). The first housing (11) and the first contact element (3) are reciprocally realised and conformed in such a way that the first contact element (3) is insertable and positionable in the first housing (11), so that the first hole (31) is accessible from outside, and so that the first contact element (3) is decouplable and completely extractable from the first housing (11); the second housing (21) and the second contact element (4) are reciprocally realised and conformed in such a way that the second contact element (4) is insertable and positionable in the second housing (21), so that the second hole (41) is accessible from outside, and so that the second contact element (4) is decouplable and completely extractable from the second housing (21).