AU642028B2 - Shock absorbing ski pole - Google Patents

Description

1- P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

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S S we Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: Invention Title: KAZUO SUGIYAMA Kazuo Sugiyama GRIFFITH HACK CO 71 YORK STREET SYDNEY NSW 2000 SHOCK ABSORBING SKI POLE The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: GH&GO REF: 21911-A:GOS:RK 72 A:r SHOCK ABSORBING SKI POLE Specification Background of the Invention The present invention relates to a shock absorbing ski pole, and more particularly concerns a sky pole having spiral-reciprocally moving and buffering arrangIments available to any skiers for safely and effectively in any kind of snow, descending and sliding in the alpen and Nordic styles.

There have been many prior disclosures about the ski poles, for example, in the Japanese Laid-Open Patents 53-128430 and 52-147131, the German Patent 2055597, the Sweden Patent 132429, andthe US Patent serial No. 3797845.

However, the ski poles disclosed heretofore have the disadvantage in that they have problems of strength, durability, safeness, weight, balance, and mechanical simplification. They also have difficult problems because of the number of parts, production process, and cost.

The ski pole disclosed in the US Patent Serial No. 3797845 has the disadvantage of the grip having the feature of vertical buffering only.

Useful ski poles have to meet the following important conditions.

Light weight. Good balance. High rigidity and durability.

Simple adjustability of the ski pole length in a sporting goods shop or by a skilled perso.n- Minimum shocks caused when the ski pole tip is thrust into snow, thereby protecting members 'f 'the human body and minimizing fatigue for a short and long terms. Quick return and removal from snow within hundreds of-second. High thrusting capability of the pole tip into ice bern. Minimum sticking of the pole tipto heavy or solid snow. Effective 2 propelling action by repulsing force of the bumping spring when descending and sliding, thereby helping to shorten descent time. (10) Workable depending on use and skill level of a skier for alpine descending and nordic sliding. (11) Safe against the dangers of falling, a collision, and similar occasions.

Conventional ski poles can meet the above mentioned conditions to They, however, do not meet the conditions to (11).

'SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention there is provided a ski pole 10 comprising: a grip body, a shaft, a shaft head, and a ring section; wherein the grip body includes a hand grip, and a shaft retaining section including a cavity; the shaft has the shaft head partially inserted in its upper end; the shaft head has a rubber-like cushion mounted on the end which extends from the shaft, and a long compression coil spring and a short compression coil :00:0 15 spring installed over the extending end; the upper end of the shaft and the shaft head are moveably received into the cavity and captured by a driven screw pin which extends through holes in the shaft head and shaft and has each of its ends residing in a respective camming slot in the grip body to permit spirally reciprocal movement between the shaft and the grip body.

Preferably the hand grip comprises two or more members including an outer buffering grip of damping material, and an inner cylinder of hard material having a pipe shaft reinforcing section, the camming slots and a projection to fix it to the outer buffering grip; the buffering grip and the inner cylinder being naturally adhered together or separated by a selection and/or a combination of materials, and when separated be further fixed together by a screw which passes down through the top of the members.

Preferably the two slots are positioned opposite to each other, or 180° S21911A 3 Preferably the direction and length of the slots depend on the use to which the pole is to be put and the ability of the skier.

Preferably the resilience of the cushion; the grip body; the shaft head; and the driven screw pin change in function, dimensions, and shape according to the direction and length of the slots.

Preferably the ring section is rotatably mounted on the end of the shaft opposite said hand grip between upper and lower ring mounting plates.

In another aspect the present invention provides a shock absorbing ski pole comprising: a handle grip body having a concave cavity; a pipe shaft 10 fitting said concave cavity; a shaft head on one end of said pipe shaft which is inserted in the concave cavity; cam slot means on said handle grip body; pin means passing through said cam slot means, said pipe shaft and said shaft head to secure said pipe shaft and shaft head in said handle grip body; resilient cushioning means on the end of said shaft head opposed to the 15 interior end of said concave cavity; a pair of concentric coil springs between the end of said shaft head and said concave cavity; one of said -crings being longer than the other; whereby said pipe shaft and shaft head are slidable in said handle grip against the compression force of said coil springs in a spirally reciprocal movement.

20 At least some ski poles embodying the present invention meet one or more of the above mentioned eleven requirements: Light Weight. A ski pole embodying the present invention is heavier than a conventional pole as it has four additional parts, including rubber-like cushion 8, long compression coil spring 9, short compression coil spring 10, and driving bolt pin 11, as shown in Fig. 8. Each of these parts, however, weigh only a few or several grams. Shaft head 7 and grip body 1 are a little larger than usual.

S2i911A But the total weight is only short compression coil spring 10 to 20 g heavier than usual,making it feel rather light to a user.

Good balance. As the above mentioned extra weight is all concentrated in grip section 2, the overall balance is ideal. It feels light at its tip to a user when the sky pole is swung forward.

High rigidity and durability. These are accomplished by the structure of grip body 1, including pipe shaft retaining section 3, grooves of three-dimensional positive motion cam slot 4, and inside concave cavity 5, and with members, including shaft head 7 and driving bolt pin 11.

It is a cancern that as the cam mechanism is used, driving bolt pin 11 may come loose, and thin, weak pipe shaft 6 may twist and break down. These problems are overcome by driving bolt pin 11 being tightly screwed in until its large head stops to serve as a nut so that shaft head 7 can be tightly inserted into pipe shaft 6 made of viscous resin.

Rubber-like cushion 8 inserted and fixed in upper hole of shaft head 7 may be compressed to a maximum limit to the top end of inside concave cavity 5 when the ski pole is thrust into snow with the strongest impa't. Long compression coil spring 9 and the short compression coil Spring 10 can have allowances adjusted according to the length of projection of shaft head 7 so that they cannot reach S their maximum compression. The head of driving bolt pin 11 can be **4U adjusted to length so that it cannot reach the top ends of cam grooves 4.

A reason for this design is that when the maximum compression load is exerted to the pipe shaft 6, it is born by the top of the inside concave cavity 5 through shaft head 7 and rubber-like cushion 8. The design protects long compression coil spring 9, short compression coil spring 10, and driving bolt pin 11 so that their V durability is increased.

Simple adjustability. The length of the ski pole can be adjusted by disassembling the ski pole and cutting off the end of pipe shaft 6 to a desired length. For assembling, screw hole 18 for to fit driving bolt pin 11 is bored in shaft head 7 while pipe shaft 6 is fitted in a simple jig as shown in Fig. 7. It is preferable to pr6vide the jig in a sporting goods shop in advance.

Little shocks. This is accomplished by the ski pole having long compression coil spring 9 always compressed and holding driving bolt pin 11 at the bottom of three-dimensional positive motion cam slot 4 through shaft head 7 when not in use. With the ski pole is thrust into the snow, the buffering function can occur in a three stage way of long compression coil spring 9 acting loosely first, then acting in cooperation with short compression coil spring 10 on the way, and they act strongly together with rubber-like cushion 8. The ski pole can be pulled out with the strong repulsive force of the springs. With use of grip body la, which will be described later in S" embodiment 2, an additional one or two buffering features are provided

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for further complicated buffering effect.

It is difficult to accurately measure the multi-stage spring effect to protect the body a skier. But, the impact when the ski pole was thrust into a cedar board was measured in a room with an impact sensor attached at the shoulder joint of an adult skier of higher 1 class, assuming he descends in the weldern style at a speed of 30 km per hour on a slope of 28 degrees. Results were around 2.5 G average for a conventional ski pole and 1.5 G for embodiment 1 of the present invention which will be described later. As a reference, the impact exerted to a knee joint of a marathon runner was 6.5 G at 20 km per hour, and that of a bicycle driver was 0.6 G only.

Quick return and removal from snow. It is one of the most '1s K important conditions for the ski pole to return and be removed from snow as quick as possible, particularly for the high class skier in the weldern and competition on a steep slope. It has to be made within hundreds of second. This can be decisively accomplished by the last stage of the buffering effect of the instant strong three-stage spring repulsion described in condition above.

High thrusting capability of the pole tip into an ice bern.

The degree of the ski pole tip thrusting into the ice bern is determined by the spiral reciprocal movement of pipe shaft 6. With the alpen descending method, the right and left hands of the skier have to be turned right and left when the ski pole is thrust. This is achieved with the ski pole of the present invention by adjusting the direction of slope of the three-dimensional positive motion cam 4 described in embodiment 3 below.

0. Minimum sticking of the pole tip to heavy or solid snow. This also is accomplished with the ski pole of the present invention by the spiral reciprocal movement of pipe shaft 6 as in the case of condition above.

Effective propelling action by the repulsing force of the bumping spring in any descending and sliding action. The repulsing force is obtained by the natural returning motion of the buffering mechanism described in condition above. It is particularly 0 important that the strongest repulsion is caused by the initial stage of the combined three-stage reaction.

(10) Workable depending on use and skill level of a skier in alpen descending and nordic sliding. This is accomplished by adjusting the angle of cam 4, length of the grooves, and action of the springs.

(11) Safeness against the dangers of a fall, collision, and in similar occasions. The ski pole is safer than conventional poles as the multi-stage buffering mechanism starts with soft thrusting moves to hard, gradually, and then returns instantly from hard to soft.

The above and other features and advantages of the invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawi'gs,'in which: Brie Description of the drawings Fig, 1 is a cross sectional view illustrating the grip body actual size in a first embodiment of the ski pole of the present invention in which right half part is a cross section taken along line A O'A' of Fig. 2 and the left half part is a cross section along line A 0 A'of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the grip body actual size taken on a longitudinal line as shown in the figure section line A 0' A'.

o Fig. 3 is another cross sectional view illustrating the grip body S, in which the three-dimensional positive motion cam slots are provide d on the higher up on the grip body with cross section at hole 4 being similar to the cross section in Fig 1.

Fig. 4 is .a cross sectional view illustrating the grip body actual size in a second embodiment of the ski pole of the present invention in which right half part is a cross section taken along line A O'A' in Fig. 2 and the left half part is a cross section taken along line A 0 A'in Fig. 2.

Figs. 5 and 6 are sketches illustrating assembly of the ski pole of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is an illustration for adjusting the length of the pipe shaft of the ski pole.

5* Fig. 8 is illustrates mounting of a ring section on the end of the ski pole to minimize sticking in heavy or solid snow.

Description of Preferred Embodiments.

i Embodiment 1 The ski pole in the first embodiment according to the present invention, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, comprises grip body 1, pipe shaft 6, and pole ring section 19. Grip body 1 is integrated with the other functional members, including grip section 2, pipe shaft retaining section 3, three-dimensional positive motion cam slot 4, and inside concave cavity 5. The inside of concave cavity 5 holds the moving members that reciprocate spirally. Shaft head 7 in pipe shaft 6, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, has rubber-like cushion 8 inserted in a hole in a projection at the top thereof. The projection receives long compression coil spring 9 and short compression coil spring installed in the sequence shown. These, as shown in Fig. 6, are inserted into inside concave cavity 5 of grip body 1 until they are stopped by the upper end of concave cavity 5 in grip body 1.

In turn, grooves in three-dimensional positive motion cam slot 4 of grip body 1 are aligned with screw hole 18 to receive driving bolt pin 11 which has three sections of different diameter, the middle section having threads. Driving bolt pin 11 is screwed into threedimensional positive motion cam 4 and screw hole 18, beginning with its thinner section, until its thicker head section is stopped. This completes assembling of the ski pole.

Embodiment 2 0 The ski pole in a second embodiment of the present invention is constructed in a multi-stage combination of two or more members to further increase the buffering effect, while the first embodiment was of the integration type.

Fig. 4 is grip body la of the second embodiment. Grip body la, made of a buffering material such as rubber, has an outside grip section 2, second inside concave cavity 5B, and head bolt hole 17 at the top thereof. Grip body la has an inner cylinder 15 inserted in the top thereof. Grip body la has an inner cylinder 15 inserted in cancave cavity 5B. The inner cylinder 15 has pipeshaft retaining section 3, three-dimensional positive motion cam slots 4, and inside concave cavity 5 formed, and is made from a hard substance. It has a metallic mold (not shown) fitted to grip body la, and has a buffering substance filled in to form it.

Both substances can be selected or combined so that the grip body la and the inner cylinder 15 can be bonded together or alternatively separated. The former serves as one-stage buffer, and the latter as two-stage buffer. In this, grip body la and inner cylinder 1$ are bolted through with head bolt hole 17 at the top end of grip body la.

In addition, they are completely held together by grip fixing projection 16 of inner cylinder 15 to further increase the multi-stage buffering effect.

Embodiment 3 a In grip body 1 and grip body la of the above mentioned two examples, integration and combination constructions, upper and lower sides of the two grooves of the three-dimensional positive motion cam slot 4 are always made perpendicular to the Vnside concave cavity and slanted as shown.

The angles of the grooves are preferably between 0 and 75 degrees, and the length of the grooves is preferably short with a compression coil spring of 10 to 70 mm by which pipe sha ft 6 can be spirally moved when the ski pole is thrust. The grooves can be formed at any position of,/pipe shaft 6 below its practical upper limit.

The three-dimensional positive motion cam slot 4 can be made to charnge dejending on the style, descending or sliding, and the technical lev/el of a skier. This leads to a change of strength and quantity of buffering cushions and functions, dimensions, and shapes of shaft head 7o pipe shaft retaining section 3, and driving bolt pin Fig 8 illustrates the mounting of a ring section 21 on a lower end of pipe shafy 6. Ring section 21 is rotatably mounted. Pipe shaft 6 between upper mounting plate 19 and lower mounting plate 20 with the end sealed by tip 22.The ring section 21 minimizings sticking of the pole trip to heavy or solid snow.

It is to be understood that the form of the present invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred embodiment.

Various changes may be made in the shape, size and arrangement of parts. For example, equivalent elements may be substituted for those illustrated and described herein, parts may be reversed, and certain features of the present invention may be utilized independently of the use of other features, all without departing from the spirit of scope of the present invention as defined in the subjoined claims.

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Claims (14)

1. A ski pole comprising: a grip body, a shaft, a shaft head, and a ring section; wherein the grip body includes a hand grip, and a shaft retaining section including a cavity; the shaft has the shaft head partially inserted in its upper end; the shaft head has a tubber-like cushion mounted on the end which extends from the shaft, and a long compression coil spring and a short compression coil spring installed over the extending end; the uppei end of the shaft and the shaft head are moveably received el into the cavity and captured by a driven screw pin which extends through holes in the shaft head and shaft and has each of its ends residing in a respective camming slot in the grip body to permit spirally reciprocal movement between the shaft and the grip body.

2. A ski pole according to claim 1 in which the hand grip comprises two or more members including an outer buffering grip of damping material, and an inner cylinder of hard material having a pipe shaft reinforcing section, the camming slots and a projection to fix it to the outer S buffering grip; the buffering grip and the inner cylinder being naturally adhered together or separated by a selection and/or a combination of materials, and when separated be further fixed together by a screw which passes down through the top of the members.

3. A ski pole according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the two slots are positioned opposite to each other, or 1800 apart.

4. A ski pole according to any preceding claim, wherein the direction and length of the slots depend on the use to which the pole is to be put and the ability of the skier.

A ski pole according to claim 4, wherein the resilience of the cushion; the grip body; the shaft head; and the driven screw pin change in V A y S21911A f- ce 4 -C 46 4 cc.. 4 4 4 eec. 4 C cc C cc Ce i g e C 6 ccc cr C ccc *c* S 12 function, dimensions, and shape according to the direction and length of the ,slots.

6. A ski pole according to any preceding claim, wherein the ring section is rotatably nmonted on the end of the shaft opposite said hand grip between upper and lower ring mrounting plates.

7. A shock absotbing ski pole comprising: a handle grip body having a concave cavity; a pipe shaft fitting said concave cavity; a shaft head orn one end of said pipe shaft which is inserted in the .0 concave cavity; cam slot means on said handle grip body; vin means passing through said cam slot means, said pipe shaft and said siaft head to secure said pipe shaft and shaft head in said handle grip body; resilient cushioning means on the end of said shaft head opposed to the interior end of said concave cavity; a pair of concentric coil springs between the end of said shaft head and said concave cavity; one of said springs being longer than the other; whereby said pipe shaft and shaft head are slidable in said handle grip against the compression force of said coil springs in a spirally reciprocal movement.

8. The ski pole according to claim 7 in which: said shaft head has a shoulder; said pair of coil springs being mounted on said shoulder; the inner concentric coil spring being longer than the outer concentric coil spring; whereby said concentric springs provide double buffering for small and large shocks. N S21911A 13 f f t f 15

9, The ski pole according to claim 7 in which said cam slot means comprises a pair ofangled slots on opposite sides of said handle grip body.

The ski pole according to claim 9 in which: said pin means comprises a threaded pin; said shaft head having a threaded hole; said pin means being inserted into said threaded hole in said shaft head.

11. The ski pole according to claim 10 in which said pin means has a head portion larger than the threads seated in one of said cam slots and a smooth shank portion seated in the other of said cam slots.

12. The ski pole according to claim 7 in which said handle grip body is comprised of an outer resilient grip section and an interior tubular cylinder having a concave cavity.

13. The ski pole according to claim 12 in which said grip section and inner cylinder have a hole in each of their upper ends for bolting them togither.

14. The ski pole according to claim 12 in which: said inner cylinder has a pipe retaining section on a lower end; Ssaid cam slot means being in said pipe retaining section. A ski pole substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this 27th day of July 1993 KAZUO SUGIYAMA By his Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK CO. S21911A r S( Abstract A ski pole that can accomplish the following capabilities: (1) absorb little shocks caused when the ski pole tip is thrust into snow, thereby protecting members of the human body and minimizing fatigue for short and long terms, quick returning and removal from snow within hundreds of second, high thrusting capability of the pole tip into on ice bern, minimum sticking of the pole tip to heavy or solid snow, effective propelling action by the repulsing force of the bumping spring when of descending and sliding, thereby helping to shorten time, (6)workable depending on use and skill level of a skier in alpen descending and nordic sliding, and safeness against dangers of falling, collision, and similar occasions. SQ@ 6 *0 e@ 8' 0@ i I to OS