CA1124061A - Cross-country ski shoe and binding - Google Patents
Cross-country ski shoe and bindingInfo
- Publication number
- CA1124061A CA1124061A CA364,189A CA364189A CA1124061A CA 1124061 A CA1124061 A CA 1124061A CA 364189 A CA364189 A CA 364189A CA 1124061 A CA1124061 A CA 1124061A
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- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- sole portion
- stirrup
- forwardly extending
- sole
- ski
- Prior art date
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Abstract
Abstract of the Disclosure A binding for use with a cross-country ski and holding in position a forwardly extending portion of a ski shoe sole, which comprises a front jaw adapted to be affixed to the ski, the front jaw including a stirrup shaped to receive the forwardly extending sole portion which is elastically deformed in an end position of the sole portion received in the stirrup, and the forwardly extending sole portion including an anchoring part engaging the stirrup in the end position. The sole is of synthetic resin and includes upwardly projecting lateral edges forwardly of the heel.
Description
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The present invention relates to a binding and a ski shoe for use with a cross-country ski, and more parti- -cularly to a ski binding, and its combination with the shoe, which comprises a front jaw adapted to be affixed to the ski and to hold in position a forwardly extending portion of the sole of the ski shoe.
; Known ski bindings of this type have a front jaw with a plurality of upwardly projecting pins adapted to engage in bores in the shoe sole. The shoe is held in a resilient strap which may be of varied structure. Ski ; bindings with snap closures are also known. Published German Patent Application No. 2,610,041 discloses a binding ,~:
. for use with a cross-country ski, which comprises a stirrup affixed to the ski and receiving an extension of the ski shoe sole which must be held in position by a pin passing there-through. The pin may be the shaft of a screw which threadedly ~ .
engages a cylinder mounted on the stirrup and which may be rotated. It is also possible for the pin to pass through '-~ the shoe sole e~tension transversely and horizontally, in which case it is formed and secured like a safety pin. This type of attachment of the sole extension to the binding is time-consuming and requires many component parts loss of one of which makes the entire binding useless.
In all of the known multi-component bindings, any of the components may wear out individually. Furthermore, engagement and disengagement of the shoe is not without problems and takes time. Also, since the underside of the ski shoe sole is usually ribbed to increase the friction and prevent gliding during a cross-country walk, the hard, ribbed underside of the sole will soon roughen the ski surface.
This will cause snow and ice to settle in the crevices, which is highly undesirable.
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Conventionally, the soles of ski shoes for use with -`a cross-country ski are of synthetic resin, and it is desir-able to make these synthetic resin soles so that they do not warp. However, if a sole is resistant to flexure so that it does not tend to warp and if it extends in a flat plane, it cannot be used for cross-country skiing because such a stiff sole will rapidly tire the foot of the skier.
Extensive observations have shown that, even if the shoe fits well and is held securely in the binding as well as in the region of the heel, the lateral guidance of the ski is not optimal since lateral displacements of the , forward portion of the foot and the uppers surrounding it are `3 possible with respect to the shoe sole. Displacements up to about 10 mm have been observed. This results in an imprecise guidance of the ski, particularly in curvesO
;It is a primary object of this invention to improve bindings for use with cross-country skis and their combina-tion with associated ski shoes by reducing the component parts of the binding to a minimum and totally avoiding any pivoted or loose parts which may wear out, avoiding various dis-advantages of known bindings, and providing a binding which may be readily engaged and disengaged without the use of the hands of the skier.
It is another object of the invention to decrease the stiffness of the forwardly extending sole portion and to prevent rotation of the sole portion even when subjected to maximum pressure.
It is also an object of the present invention to improve a shoe for use in cross-country skiing by providing a lateral guidance that remains effective even when the shoe sole is worn.
The above and other objects are accomplished
The present invention relates to a binding and a ski shoe for use with a cross-country ski, and more parti- -cularly to a ski binding, and its combination with the shoe, which comprises a front jaw adapted to be affixed to the ski and to hold in position a forwardly extending portion of the sole of the ski shoe.
; Known ski bindings of this type have a front jaw with a plurality of upwardly projecting pins adapted to engage in bores in the shoe sole. The shoe is held in a resilient strap which may be of varied structure. Ski ; bindings with snap closures are also known. Published German Patent Application No. 2,610,041 discloses a binding ,~:
. for use with a cross-country ski, which comprises a stirrup affixed to the ski and receiving an extension of the ski shoe sole which must be held in position by a pin passing there-through. The pin may be the shaft of a screw which threadedly ~ .
engages a cylinder mounted on the stirrup and which may be rotated. It is also possible for the pin to pass through '-~ the shoe sole e~tension transversely and horizontally, in which case it is formed and secured like a safety pin. This type of attachment of the sole extension to the binding is time-consuming and requires many component parts loss of one of which makes the entire binding useless.
In all of the known multi-component bindings, any of the components may wear out individually. Furthermore, engagement and disengagement of the shoe is not without problems and takes time. Also, since the underside of the ski shoe sole is usually ribbed to increase the friction and prevent gliding during a cross-country walk, the hard, ribbed underside of the sole will soon roughen the ski surface.
This will cause snow and ice to settle in the crevices, which is highly undesirable.
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Conventionally, the soles of ski shoes for use with -`a cross-country ski are of synthetic resin, and it is desir-able to make these synthetic resin soles so that they do not warp. However, if a sole is resistant to flexure so that it does not tend to warp and if it extends in a flat plane, it cannot be used for cross-country skiing because such a stiff sole will rapidly tire the foot of the skier.
Extensive observations have shown that, even if the shoe fits well and is held securely in the binding as well as in the region of the heel, the lateral guidance of the ski is not optimal since lateral displacements of the , forward portion of the foot and the uppers surrounding it are `3 possible with respect to the shoe sole. Displacements up to about 10 mm have been observed. This results in an imprecise guidance of the ski, particularly in curvesO
;It is a primary object of this invention to improve bindings for use with cross-country skis and their combina-tion with associated ski shoes by reducing the component parts of the binding to a minimum and totally avoiding any pivoted or loose parts which may wear out, avoiding various dis-advantages of known bindings, and providing a binding which may be readily engaged and disengaged without the use of the hands of the skier.
It is another object of the invention to decrease the stiffness of the forwardly extending sole portion and to prevent rotation of the sole portion even when subjected to maximum pressure.
It is also an object of the present invention to improve a shoe for use in cross-country skiing by providing a lateral guidance that remains effective even when the shoe sole is worn.
The above and other objects are accomplished
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according to one aspect of this invention with a binding for use with a cross-country ski and adapted to hold in position a forwardly extending portion of a ski shoe sole, which comprises a front jaw adapted to be affixed to the ski, the ` front jaw including a stirrup shaped to receive the forwardly extending sole portion, to deform the forwardly extending sole portion elastically in an end position of the sole por-tion in the stirrup, and to anchor the forwardly extending sole portion to the binding in the end position.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a combination of a binding for use with a cross-country ski and a ski shoe having an elastically deformable, ` forwardly extending sole portion adapted to be held in posi-tion by the binding. The binding comprises a front jaw . adapted to be affixed to the s~i, the front jaw including a stirrup shaped to receive the forwardly extending sole por-tion, the forwardly extending sole portion being elastically ; deformed in an end position of the sole portion recei~ed in the stirrup, and the forwardly extending sole portion ~0 including an anchoring part engaging the stirrup in the end position.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the presen-t invention, there is provided a ski shoe for use with a cross-country ski and comprising a sole having an elastically deformable, forwardly extending sole portion including an anchoring part adapted to be deformed elastically and held in an end position in a stirrup of a binding affixed to the ski.
This invention also provides a ski shoe for use with a cross-country ski, comprising a sole means of synthetic resin, the sole means including a heel portion defining a recess of V-shaped cross-section and upwardly projecting : `
lateral edges forwardly of the heel portion.
The above and other objects, advantages and features .~ of the invention will become more apparent from the following ~ detailed description of certain now preferred ernbodiments r' thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying schematic drawing wherein:
'~ FIG. 1 is a side view, partly in section, of one ,~' embodiment of a binding and ski shoeaccording to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a top view of FIG. l, FIGS. 3 and 4 are views similar to FIG. 1 and . showing two further ernbodiments, FIG. 5 is a side elevational view, on an enlarged . scale, showing various optional and preferred ., details of ~he sole and the forwardly e~tending sole portion, as well as of the stirrup;
FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the shoe of FIG. 5, -FIG. 7 is a view similar to that of FIG. l, on an enlarged scale, of another embodiment;
FIGS. 8 to 12 schematically show top view of the forwardly extending sole portion incorporat-ing various optional features;
FIG. 13 is a partial side elevational view, partly : in section, of yet another er~bodiment, ` FIGS. 14 to 17 schernatically illustrate, in trans-verse cross-section, comparisons between conventional ski shoe soles and a preferred : embodiment of the sole means according to this invention;
FIG. 18 is a perspective top view of -the sole of FIG. 17;
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FIG. 19 is a bottom plan view of the heel portion of a sole incorporating a preferred feature of the invention;
FIGS. 20 and 21 are end views of the heel portion, respectively illustrating a conventional engagement of the heel portion with the ski and the engagement according to ~'IG. 19;
FIG. 22 is a transverse section showing a preferred embodiment of the sole;
FI~. 23 illustrates a shoe with the sole of FIG. 22 and held on a ski; and FIGS. 24 and 25 are respectively bottom plan and sectional views illustrating transverse stiffening inserts for the sole.
Throughout the drawing, like reference numerals designate like parts functioning in a like manner.
Referring now to the drawing and first to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown the forward part of sole 1 of a ski boot, this forward part being tapered not to exceed the width of a cross-country ski and having a further t~pered forwardly extending portion 2. The binding for use with this cross- -country ski and adapted to hold the forwardly extending sole portion in position comprises front jaw 3' adapted to be affixed to the ski, for instance, by an adhesive and/or fastening elements, sl~ch as screws or ~olts, the illustrated front jaw of the binding including depending side plates
according to one aspect of this invention with a binding for use with a cross-country ski and adapted to hold in position a forwardly extending portion of a ski shoe sole, which comprises a front jaw adapted to be affixed to the ski, the ` front jaw including a stirrup shaped to receive the forwardly extending sole portion, to deform the forwardly extending sole portion elastically in an end position of the sole por-tion in the stirrup, and to anchor the forwardly extending sole portion to the binding in the end position.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a combination of a binding for use with a cross-country ski and a ski shoe having an elastically deformable, ` forwardly extending sole portion adapted to be held in posi-tion by the binding. The binding comprises a front jaw . adapted to be affixed to the s~i, the front jaw including a stirrup shaped to receive the forwardly extending sole por-tion, the forwardly extending sole portion being elastically ; deformed in an end position of the sole portion recei~ed in the stirrup, and the forwardly extending sole portion ~0 including an anchoring part engaging the stirrup in the end position.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the presen-t invention, there is provided a ski shoe for use with a cross-country ski and comprising a sole having an elastically deformable, forwardly extending sole portion including an anchoring part adapted to be deformed elastically and held in an end position in a stirrup of a binding affixed to the ski.
This invention also provides a ski shoe for use with a cross-country ski, comprising a sole means of synthetic resin, the sole means including a heel portion defining a recess of V-shaped cross-section and upwardly projecting : `
lateral edges forwardly of the heel portion.
The above and other objects, advantages and features .~ of the invention will become more apparent from the following ~ detailed description of certain now preferred ernbodiments r' thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying schematic drawing wherein:
'~ FIG. 1 is a side view, partly in section, of one ,~' embodiment of a binding and ski shoeaccording to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a top view of FIG. l, FIGS. 3 and 4 are views similar to FIG. 1 and . showing two further ernbodiments, FIG. 5 is a side elevational view, on an enlarged . scale, showing various optional and preferred ., details of ~he sole and the forwardly e~tending sole portion, as well as of the stirrup;
FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the shoe of FIG. 5, -FIG. 7 is a view similar to that of FIG. l, on an enlarged scale, of another embodiment;
FIGS. 8 to 12 schematically show top view of the forwardly extending sole portion incorporat-ing various optional features;
FIG. 13 is a partial side elevational view, partly : in section, of yet another er~bodiment, ` FIGS. 14 to 17 schernatically illustrate, in trans-verse cross-section, comparisons between conventional ski shoe soles and a preferred : embodiment of the sole means according to this invention;
FIG. 18 is a perspective top view of -the sole of FIG. 17;
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FIG. 19 is a bottom plan view of the heel portion of a sole incorporating a preferred feature of the invention;
FIGS. 20 and 21 are end views of the heel portion, respectively illustrating a conventional engagement of the heel portion with the ski and the engagement according to ~'IG. 19;
FIG. 22 is a transverse section showing a preferred embodiment of the sole;
FI~. 23 illustrates a shoe with the sole of FIG. 22 and held on a ski; and FIGS. 24 and 25 are respectively bottom plan and sectional views illustrating transverse stiffening inserts for the sole.
Throughout the drawing, like reference numerals designate like parts functioning in a like manner.
Referring now to the drawing and first to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown the forward part of sole 1 of a ski boot, this forward part being tapered not to exceed the width of a cross-country ski and having a further t~pered forwardly extending portion 2. The binding for use with this cross- -country ski and adapted to hold the forwardly extending sole portion in position comprises front jaw 3' adapted to be affixed to the ski, for instance, by an adhesive and/or fastening elements, sl~ch as screws or ~olts, the illustrated front jaw of the binding including depending side plates
3''' which are screwed to the lateral edges 3'' of the ski.
The front jaw of the binding includes stirrup 3 which is a strap shaped to receive forwardly extending sole portion 2 and to deform this portion elastically in the illustrated end position of sole portion 2 in stirrup 3. As shown in broken lines in FIG. 1, in its untensioned condition, forwardly ~2~
:
extending sole portion 2 rises substantially above the level of the stirrup but when inserted thereinto to subtend the stirrup, it is depressed so that it is yieldingly and firmly held in stirrup 3 of the binding and i5 anchored thereto in the illustrated end position, the tensioning of sole portion 2 by stirrup 3 assuring a firm grip thereon in the binding.
The forward anchoring part of sole portion 2 yieldingly engages stirrup 3 and has recessed abutment 4 which forms a hook engaging forward edge 6 of stirrup 3.
Front jaw 3' of the binding comprises base plate 29 supporting stirrup 3 and protective edge S projecting upward-ly from the base plate frontward of the stirrup, the upwardly projecting protective edge conforming generally to the shape of the front part of forwardly extending sole portion 2, as best shown in FIG. 2. The stirrup is arranged between the shoe and the anchoring part of sole portion 2 engaging the stirrup. Forward edge 6 of the stirrup faces, but is spaced from, protective edge 5. Undercut abutment 4 of the anchoring part conforms to inclined forward edge 6 of the transversely extending strap constituting stirrup 3.
The forwardly extending sole portion rises from the sole of the ski boot at an obtuse angle along a transverse line extendin~ between the forward edge 6 and thé rear edge 5 of stirrup strap 3, this line being spaced a distance a from rear edge 5, i.e., being closer thereto than to the, forward edge of the stirrup. In this manner, a more or less parallel guide for forwardly extending sole portion 2 through the opening defined between base plate 29 and stirrup 3 is assured. Since pivot b constituted by the transverse line whence sole portion 2 rises at an obtuse angle is offset from rear edge 5 of stirrup 3 t the rearwardly inclined front edge 6 of the stirrup will he firmly anchored in the undercut ,. .
abutment of anchoring part 4 In a cross-country ski boot, pivot c about which forwardly extending sole portion 2 may be bent in relation to sole 1 is spaced rearwardly from binding stirrup 3 so that raising of the heel during cross-country skiing will not cause sole portion 2 to be flexed within the binding.
; The above-described combination has the advantage that, with the heel raised, forwardly extending sole portion 2 may be simply inserted into the binding until, in the end position, the undercut abutment in its anchoring part ~ will snap into engagement with inclined forward edge 6 of stirrup 3, thus fixing the boot in position on the ski. Distance a will be selected in accordance with the elasticity of the sole material to make certain that no flexing forces will be transmitted to forwardly extending sole portion 2 when the heel is raised during cross-country skiing. With anchoring part 4 at a substantially higher level in its untensioned condition than the stirrup of the binding so that it is yieldingly depressed thereby when it subtends the stirrup strap and with the hooking engagement of the anchoring part and the stirrup strap in the end position, tensioning forces will always be transmitted upwardly to the stirrup strap even when the heel is raised to its highest position. Pro-tective edge S prevents snow from lodging below forwardly - extending sole portion 2, which may form an ice wedge under ;~ anchoring part ~ and make disengagement rom the binding difficult. The protective edge, as shown in FIG. 1, is preferably extended to the upper edge of sole portion 2, thus assisting in the prevention of an accidental disengagement of 3~ the ski boot from the binding.
To enable the boot to be readily disengaged without the use of the skier's hands and b~nding down, the tip of _ anchoring part 4 of forwardly extending sole portion 2 defines a round notch 7 adapted to receive a point of a ski ; pole whereby the sole portion may be engaged and depressed by the ski pole for disengaging the ski boot from the binding.
Upon depressing the anchoring part below the level of stirrup strap 3, the sole portion 2 may simply be slipped out of the binding.
Affixing the front jaw of the binding to lateral edges 3'' of the ski by means of side plates has the advantage that the rigidity of the ski is not reduced by tap holes for screws affixing the base plate to the ski surface. However, any suitable attachment, including a combination of adhesive and mechanical fastening, may be used. Also, as shown in FIG. 1, side plates 3''' may have webs 3'''' wedging into lateral edges 3'' of the ski for a firmer grip.
As is shown in FIG~ 2, front jaw 3' of the binding may comprise conical guide piece 8 for facilitating the guidance and insertion of forwardly extending sole portion 2 into the binding and also improving the lateral guidance of the ski. As shown in broken lines, the lateral walls of stirrup 3 may also conically converge to improve the seating of sole portion 2 in the stirrup.
The modification illustrated in FIG. 3 differs from that of FIGS. 1 and 2 by the fact that it omits guide piece 8, thus shortening the binding.
In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the binding has no base plate, and stirrup 3 is mounted directly on the ski by side plates 3'''. In this embodiment, lodging of snow or ice between the ski surface and the rising anchoring part of forwardly extending sole portion 2 in front of the stirrup is prevented by wedge 9 of an elastic foarn material, which is affixed to the ski frontward of stirrup 3 and is adapted to ~4~36~L
hold the forwardly extending sole portion in the end position against forward movement. The wedge is held in position by a pivotal or slidable member 10 affixed to the ski.
The enlarged showing of E'IG. 5 indicates configura-tions of stirrup 3 and forwardly extending sole portion 2 which assure optimal anchoring of these two parts to each other. Thus, as shown at 11, the underside of stirrup strap 3 may be partially inclined with respect to the plane of the surface of the ski, i.e., it may rise in relation thereto in the direction of the ski boot, or, as shown in broken lines at 11', the entire underside of the stirrup strap may be so inclined. Furthermore, inclined plane means constituted by wedges 12 extending over part of the width of base plate 29 are provided to project from the base plate into the opening defined between the base plate and the stirrup, this inclined plane means being adapted to engage corresponding groove means in the underside of forwardly extending sole portion 2.
Depending on the rigidity or elasticity of the ~ material forming forwardly extending sole portion 2 and as ,~ 20 shown in broken lines in FIG. 5, transverse ledge 12' may ; be provided on the underside of this sole portion and the sole portion may have a reduced transverse cross-section forwardly of the ledge. In this manner, the force required for inser-tion of sole portion 2 in the binding and its flexing capacity ; may be adjusted within desired limits. The untensioned condition of sole portion 2, when it does not subtend stirrup strap 3, is also indicated in this figure, as in FIG. 1. In the untensioned or rest position, the forwardly extending sole portion must rise to a level sufficiently high above - 30 that of the stirrup that, when this sole portion is depressed and restrained by the stirrup, the upward pressure of sole portion 2 against the underside of stirrup 3, which it ,,., _ g _ .:
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subtends, always assures a firm anchoring of the ski boot in the front jaw of the binding, even when the heel is raised to its highest level during cross-country skiing.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, forwardly extending sole portion 2 and sole 1 has laterally extending parts 13 having a ribbed or corrugated underside and leaving therebetween a longitudinally extending sole part for engagement with the surface of the ski. The ribbed parts of the sole will prevent sliding and this modification is particularly useful with the embodiments of FIGS. 3 and 4.
In the embodiment of FIG. 7, the binding is sub-stantially of the form shown in FIG. 5, including front jaw 15 comprising base plate 29 supporting stirrup strap 16 which has forward edge 20, the base plate being affixed to ski 14 and defining an opening with strap 16 for receiving forwardly extending portion 26 of sole 18 of ski boot 19. Sole portion 26 has anchoring part 17 whose recessed abutment 21 is engaged by forward edge 20 of the stirrup in the illustrated end position.
~; 20 Forwardly extending sole portion 26 defines trans-verse slot 22 extending upwardly from the underside of the sole portion and rearwardly from anchoring part 17 thereof.
1`his obli~ue slot in sole portion 26 is so wide and leaves at its upper and inner end 23 such a thin layer of sole ; material that a pivot is defined thereat for pivoting anchor-ing part 17 in relation to the rear part of sole portion 26.
The sole portion itself is pivotal in relation to sole 18 about pivot 25 rearwardly of stirrup 16.
To avoid extension of anchoring part 17 when sub-jected to a tensile force in the direction of arrow 17, steel leaf spring 23 is embedded in sole portion 26 and extends ; throughout its length. As shown in FIG. 8, such inserts may ' ~ -- 10 --~4~
take the form of a loop 34 and other shapes of inserts, such as bands or grids may be used to the same effect. Also, instead of steel inserts, it is possible to use another hard material of less extensibility than the sole material, and if the sole is an injection-molded synthetic resin, it may simply be injection molded about such inserts~ The inserts may have a gauge of about 1 mm, for example.
If desired, forward edge 20 and conforming abutment 21 may be arcuate so that the corners of anchoring part 17 will be sufficiently depressed when a ski pole engages notch 7 and is pressed down to assure disengagement of the anchoring part from the stirrup strap and enable the ski boot to be slipped out of the binding. Such an arcuate formation will also improve the hooking engagement between stirrup and anchoring part as the ski is moved in various directions.
In the embodiment of FIG. 7, base plate 29 of the front jaw has webs 30 extending in the longitudinal direction of ski 14 and the underside of forwardly extending sole por-tion 26 defines corresponding grooves 31 receiving the webs.
This improves the guidance of the ski boot in relation to the binding and also holds the boot therein against lateral movement. One such web and meshing groove along the longi-tudinal center line of the ski or a plurality of such webs and grooves may be provided~
As sho~m in the drawing, lengthwise slipping of the ski boot in the binding may be further prevented by providing transverse webs 32 on the base plate to cooperate with shoulder or groove 33 in the sole portion ~6. These webs and grooves need not extend over the entire width of the binding and sole, and are so dimensioned that they do not interfere with the engagement and disengagement of the ski boot, being designed to absorb horizontal forces and thus ~124~
relieving tension on anchoring part 17. At the same time, groove 33 p~ovides an advantageous flexing line in coopera-tion with notched pivot 25, which facilitates cross~country skiing. Generally, these transverse webs and grooves do not extend to the lateral edges of the base plate and sole por-tion 26 so as not to reduce the horizontal stiffness. Groove 33 is preferably wider than web 32 so that tensile forces and resulting extensions of the sole are distributed over a larger width.
As indicated in broken lines, the ski boot is manu-factured with forwardly extending sole portion ~6 enclosing an angle with sole 18 of the boot so as to reduce any exten-r sion of sole portion 26 when i-t is bent down into the binding - and held therein.
In the embodiment of FIG. B, the forwardly extending sole portion has a pair of lateral guide faces 35, 36 extend-ing substantially parallel to each other in the longitudinal direction of the ski for engaging contact with corresponding extending guide faces of the stirrup. As indicated herein-above, the forwardly extending sole portion tends to be ~: extended by tensile forces transmitting thereto during skiing.
If the lateral engaging faces of the binding stirrup are strongly conical, i.e., converge, this leads to looseness impairing the safety of the binding. Parallel guide faces of a length exceeding any possible extension of the forwardly ` extending sole portion during skiing will assure proper guidance for the boot in the binding.
~; The anchoring part 17 is subjected to flexing at ~` the points of hooking engagement with the stirrup. This is avoided by providing, as shown in FIG. 9, lateral hooking recesses 37, 38 which retain the vertical hooking movement between anchoring part 17 and stirrup 16, forces 39, 40 ''"
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exerted upon the hooking points pressing against each other.
A similarly functioning anchoring of the forwardly extending sole portion to the ski binding is obtained in the embodiment of FIG. 10 by providing a cut-out 41 in this sole portion forwardly of the stirrup in the anchoring part of the sole portion and engaging this cut-out with a corres-ponding projection in the front jaw of the binding.
In the embodiment of FIG. 11, the forwardly extend-ing sole portion 46 has a pair of laterally recessed engaging faces for hooked engagement with corresponding abutments in the front jaw, which abutments constitute the binding stirrup in this embodiment. In this embodiment, the anchoring part of the forwardly extending sole portion defines vertical slot
The front jaw of the binding includes stirrup 3 which is a strap shaped to receive forwardly extending sole portion 2 and to deform this portion elastically in the illustrated end position of sole portion 2 in stirrup 3. As shown in broken lines in FIG. 1, in its untensioned condition, forwardly ~2~
:
extending sole portion 2 rises substantially above the level of the stirrup but when inserted thereinto to subtend the stirrup, it is depressed so that it is yieldingly and firmly held in stirrup 3 of the binding and i5 anchored thereto in the illustrated end position, the tensioning of sole portion 2 by stirrup 3 assuring a firm grip thereon in the binding.
The forward anchoring part of sole portion 2 yieldingly engages stirrup 3 and has recessed abutment 4 which forms a hook engaging forward edge 6 of stirrup 3.
Front jaw 3' of the binding comprises base plate 29 supporting stirrup 3 and protective edge S projecting upward-ly from the base plate frontward of the stirrup, the upwardly projecting protective edge conforming generally to the shape of the front part of forwardly extending sole portion 2, as best shown in FIG. 2. The stirrup is arranged between the shoe and the anchoring part of sole portion 2 engaging the stirrup. Forward edge 6 of the stirrup faces, but is spaced from, protective edge 5. Undercut abutment 4 of the anchoring part conforms to inclined forward edge 6 of the transversely extending strap constituting stirrup 3.
The forwardly extending sole portion rises from the sole of the ski boot at an obtuse angle along a transverse line extendin~ between the forward edge 6 and thé rear edge 5 of stirrup strap 3, this line being spaced a distance a from rear edge 5, i.e., being closer thereto than to the, forward edge of the stirrup. In this manner, a more or less parallel guide for forwardly extending sole portion 2 through the opening defined between base plate 29 and stirrup 3 is assured. Since pivot b constituted by the transverse line whence sole portion 2 rises at an obtuse angle is offset from rear edge 5 of stirrup 3 t the rearwardly inclined front edge 6 of the stirrup will he firmly anchored in the undercut ,. .
abutment of anchoring part 4 In a cross-country ski boot, pivot c about which forwardly extending sole portion 2 may be bent in relation to sole 1 is spaced rearwardly from binding stirrup 3 so that raising of the heel during cross-country skiing will not cause sole portion 2 to be flexed within the binding.
; The above-described combination has the advantage that, with the heel raised, forwardly extending sole portion 2 may be simply inserted into the binding until, in the end position, the undercut abutment in its anchoring part ~ will snap into engagement with inclined forward edge 6 of stirrup 3, thus fixing the boot in position on the ski. Distance a will be selected in accordance with the elasticity of the sole material to make certain that no flexing forces will be transmitted to forwardly extending sole portion 2 when the heel is raised during cross-country skiing. With anchoring part 4 at a substantially higher level in its untensioned condition than the stirrup of the binding so that it is yieldingly depressed thereby when it subtends the stirrup strap and with the hooking engagement of the anchoring part and the stirrup strap in the end position, tensioning forces will always be transmitted upwardly to the stirrup strap even when the heel is raised to its highest position. Pro-tective edge S prevents snow from lodging below forwardly - extending sole portion 2, which may form an ice wedge under ;~ anchoring part ~ and make disengagement rom the binding difficult. The protective edge, as shown in FIG. 1, is preferably extended to the upper edge of sole portion 2, thus assisting in the prevention of an accidental disengagement of 3~ the ski boot from the binding.
To enable the boot to be readily disengaged without the use of the skier's hands and b~nding down, the tip of _ anchoring part 4 of forwardly extending sole portion 2 defines a round notch 7 adapted to receive a point of a ski ; pole whereby the sole portion may be engaged and depressed by the ski pole for disengaging the ski boot from the binding.
Upon depressing the anchoring part below the level of stirrup strap 3, the sole portion 2 may simply be slipped out of the binding.
Affixing the front jaw of the binding to lateral edges 3'' of the ski by means of side plates has the advantage that the rigidity of the ski is not reduced by tap holes for screws affixing the base plate to the ski surface. However, any suitable attachment, including a combination of adhesive and mechanical fastening, may be used. Also, as shown in FIG. 1, side plates 3''' may have webs 3'''' wedging into lateral edges 3'' of the ski for a firmer grip.
As is shown in FIG~ 2, front jaw 3' of the binding may comprise conical guide piece 8 for facilitating the guidance and insertion of forwardly extending sole portion 2 into the binding and also improving the lateral guidance of the ski. As shown in broken lines, the lateral walls of stirrup 3 may also conically converge to improve the seating of sole portion 2 in the stirrup.
The modification illustrated in FIG. 3 differs from that of FIGS. 1 and 2 by the fact that it omits guide piece 8, thus shortening the binding.
In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the binding has no base plate, and stirrup 3 is mounted directly on the ski by side plates 3'''. In this embodiment, lodging of snow or ice between the ski surface and the rising anchoring part of forwardly extending sole portion 2 in front of the stirrup is prevented by wedge 9 of an elastic foarn material, which is affixed to the ski frontward of stirrup 3 and is adapted to ~4~36~L
hold the forwardly extending sole portion in the end position against forward movement. The wedge is held in position by a pivotal or slidable member 10 affixed to the ski.
The enlarged showing of E'IG. 5 indicates configura-tions of stirrup 3 and forwardly extending sole portion 2 which assure optimal anchoring of these two parts to each other. Thus, as shown at 11, the underside of stirrup strap 3 may be partially inclined with respect to the plane of the surface of the ski, i.e., it may rise in relation thereto in the direction of the ski boot, or, as shown in broken lines at 11', the entire underside of the stirrup strap may be so inclined. Furthermore, inclined plane means constituted by wedges 12 extending over part of the width of base plate 29 are provided to project from the base plate into the opening defined between the base plate and the stirrup, this inclined plane means being adapted to engage corresponding groove means in the underside of forwardly extending sole portion 2.
Depending on the rigidity or elasticity of the ~ material forming forwardly extending sole portion 2 and as ,~ 20 shown in broken lines in FIG. 5, transverse ledge 12' may ; be provided on the underside of this sole portion and the sole portion may have a reduced transverse cross-section forwardly of the ledge. In this manner, the force required for inser-tion of sole portion 2 in the binding and its flexing capacity ; may be adjusted within desired limits. The untensioned condition of sole portion 2, when it does not subtend stirrup strap 3, is also indicated in this figure, as in FIG. 1. In the untensioned or rest position, the forwardly extending sole portion must rise to a level sufficiently high above - 30 that of the stirrup that, when this sole portion is depressed and restrained by the stirrup, the upward pressure of sole portion 2 against the underside of stirrup 3, which it ,,., _ g _ .:
~L~L2~'~36~
subtends, always assures a firm anchoring of the ski boot in the front jaw of the binding, even when the heel is raised to its highest level during cross-country skiing.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, forwardly extending sole portion 2 and sole 1 has laterally extending parts 13 having a ribbed or corrugated underside and leaving therebetween a longitudinally extending sole part for engagement with the surface of the ski. The ribbed parts of the sole will prevent sliding and this modification is particularly useful with the embodiments of FIGS. 3 and 4.
In the embodiment of FIG. 7, the binding is sub-stantially of the form shown in FIG. 5, including front jaw 15 comprising base plate 29 supporting stirrup strap 16 which has forward edge 20, the base plate being affixed to ski 14 and defining an opening with strap 16 for receiving forwardly extending portion 26 of sole 18 of ski boot 19. Sole portion 26 has anchoring part 17 whose recessed abutment 21 is engaged by forward edge 20 of the stirrup in the illustrated end position.
~; 20 Forwardly extending sole portion 26 defines trans-verse slot 22 extending upwardly from the underside of the sole portion and rearwardly from anchoring part 17 thereof.
1`his obli~ue slot in sole portion 26 is so wide and leaves at its upper and inner end 23 such a thin layer of sole ; material that a pivot is defined thereat for pivoting anchor-ing part 17 in relation to the rear part of sole portion 26.
The sole portion itself is pivotal in relation to sole 18 about pivot 25 rearwardly of stirrup 16.
To avoid extension of anchoring part 17 when sub-jected to a tensile force in the direction of arrow 17, steel leaf spring 23 is embedded in sole portion 26 and extends ; throughout its length. As shown in FIG. 8, such inserts may ' ~ -- 10 --~4~
take the form of a loop 34 and other shapes of inserts, such as bands or grids may be used to the same effect. Also, instead of steel inserts, it is possible to use another hard material of less extensibility than the sole material, and if the sole is an injection-molded synthetic resin, it may simply be injection molded about such inserts~ The inserts may have a gauge of about 1 mm, for example.
If desired, forward edge 20 and conforming abutment 21 may be arcuate so that the corners of anchoring part 17 will be sufficiently depressed when a ski pole engages notch 7 and is pressed down to assure disengagement of the anchoring part from the stirrup strap and enable the ski boot to be slipped out of the binding. Such an arcuate formation will also improve the hooking engagement between stirrup and anchoring part as the ski is moved in various directions.
In the embodiment of FIG. 7, base plate 29 of the front jaw has webs 30 extending in the longitudinal direction of ski 14 and the underside of forwardly extending sole por-tion 26 defines corresponding grooves 31 receiving the webs.
This improves the guidance of the ski boot in relation to the binding and also holds the boot therein against lateral movement. One such web and meshing groove along the longi-tudinal center line of the ski or a plurality of such webs and grooves may be provided~
As sho~m in the drawing, lengthwise slipping of the ski boot in the binding may be further prevented by providing transverse webs 32 on the base plate to cooperate with shoulder or groove 33 in the sole portion ~6. These webs and grooves need not extend over the entire width of the binding and sole, and are so dimensioned that they do not interfere with the engagement and disengagement of the ski boot, being designed to absorb horizontal forces and thus ~124~
relieving tension on anchoring part 17. At the same time, groove 33 p~ovides an advantageous flexing line in coopera-tion with notched pivot 25, which facilitates cross~country skiing. Generally, these transverse webs and grooves do not extend to the lateral edges of the base plate and sole por-tion 26 so as not to reduce the horizontal stiffness. Groove 33 is preferably wider than web 32 so that tensile forces and resulting extensions of the sole are distributed over a larger width.
As indicated in broken lines, the ski boot is manu-factured with forwardly extending sole portion ~6 enclosing an angle with sole 18 of the boot so as to reduce any exten-r sion of sole portion 26 when i-t is bent down into the binding - and held therein.
In the embodiment of FIG. B, the forwardly extending sole portion has a pair of lateral guide faces 35, 36 extend-ing substantially parallel to each other in the longitudinal direction of the ski for engaging contact with corresponding extending guide faces of the stirrup. As indicated herein-above, the forwardly extending sole portion tends to be ~: extended by tensile forces transmitting thereto during skiing.
If the lateral engaging faces of the binding stirrup are strongly conical, i.e., converge, this leads to looseness impairing the safety of the binding. Parallel guide faces of a length exceeding any possible extension of the forwardly ` extending sole portion during skiing will assure proper guidance for the boot in the binding.
~; The anchoring part 17 is subjected to flexing at ~` the points of hooking engagement with the stirrup. This is avoided by providing, as shown in FIG. 9, lateral hooking recesses 37, 38 which retain the vertical hooking movement between anchoring part 17 and stirrup 16, forces 39, 40 ''"
~ ~2~
exerted upon the hooking points pressing against each other.
A similarly functioning anchoring of the forwardly extending sole portion to the ski binding is obtained in the embodiment of FIG. 10 by providing a cut-out 41 in this sole portion forwardly of the stirrup in the anchoring part of the sole portion and engaging this cut-out with a corres-ponding projection in the front jaw of the binding.
In the embodiment of FIG. 11, the forwardly extend-ing sole portion 46 has a pair of laterally recessed engaging faces for hooked engagement with corresponding abutments in the front jaw, which abutments constitute the binding stirrup in this embodiment. In this embodiment, the anchoring part of the forwardly extending sole portion defines vertical slot
4~3 of V-shaped cross-section extending between the laterally recessed engaging faces whereby the anchoring part is divided into two sections 42 and 43 horizontally displaceable towards each other. In this manner, the forwardly extending sole portion may be elastically deformed when it is received between the lateral abutments provided by the stirrup of the binding and anchoring part sections 42, 43 are elastically pressed horizontally outwardly against the stirrup abutments to anchor the forwardly extending sole portion to the binding in the end position.
In the modification of FIG. 1~, forwardly extending sole portion 47 defines slot 49 of V-shaped cross-section dividing the anchoring part in two sections 44 and 45 similar in structure and function to the embodiment of FIG. 11, the facing walls of the two sections defining therebetween a cut-out for engagement with a corresponding projection of the front jaw of the binding. Thus, the forwardly extending sole portion may he anchored to the binding by lateral hooking.
In the embodiment of FIG. 13, forwardly extending ~2~`~6~
; sole portion 50 has a transversely recessed groove in its underside, which is anchored to a transverse ledge of base plate 29 when sole portion 50 is in its end position and is elastically deformed by stirrup strap 3 to press the recessed groove into engagement with the ledge, thus hooking sole por-tion 50 to the binding and anchoring it therein. A pivot 51 is mounted on the base plate forwardly of the ledge so that the anchoring part of sole portion 50 may be flexed there-,- about for unhooking the sole portion and enabling the ski ''~
boot to be disengaged from the binding.
~ 'hile the forwardly extending sole portion has been described and illustrated as an integral portion of the boot sole and being of the same material, this need not be so, and such a forwardly extending portion may, in fact, be attached to an existing sole in any suitable manner and may be com-prised of any suitable material, including metal.
A preferred ski boot structure will be described hereinbelow in connection with FIGS. 14 to 21. FIG. 14 shows a transverse cross-section taken in the region of the ball of ' 20 the foot of a conventional sXi hoot having a flat sole 52 supported on ski 53. As is indicated in FIG. 15, in this ' region of the largest width of the foot, portions 54 and 55 of the-uppers may be raadily displaced laterally to assume ~, positions 55, 56 indicated in broken lines. This interferes with a secure lateral guidance, and this disadvantage is over-come in accordance with one aspect of the present invention in the manner shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the invention taking advantage of the manufacturing possibilities available by the use of synthetic resin as a sole material, which enables ' 30 the sole to be injection molded.
To prevent the lateral displacament of parts of the uppers, the synthetic resin sole means is provided with :, upwardly projecting lateral edges forwardly of the heel por-tion. In the modification of FIG. 16, the sole means comprises an outer sole and inner sole 60 with lateral edges 61 and 62 imparting a lateral stiffness to the uppers and thereby holding them against lateral displacement. In the modification of FIG. 17, the sole means is an outer sole and lateral edges 58 and 59 extend over the uppers of the shoe, with the same effect. The modification of FIG. 16 has the advantage that boots of different widths may be provided with different inner soles to adapt the boots to various foot widths. If desired, the inserts may have enhanced transverse stiffness in the region of the ball of the foot so that the impact of the hall on the underlying ski is reduced.
The upwardly projecting lateral sole edges must be flexible in the longitudinal direction of the foot, for which purpose they define a series of slots 63 to 68 extending sub-stantially vertically to the sole means and sub-dividing the lateral edges into overlapping sections which cover the sides of the foot like the scales of a fish.
i:
Another weak point in conventional boots for use in cross-country skiing is the connection at the tip of the shoe , between the sole and the uppers. Again taking advantage of the manufacturing capabilities afforded by the use of moldable or extrudable synthetic resin, it is preferred to provide the sole with flap 69 integral with the sole and arranged to cover the tip of the shoe, as shown in FIG. 18. The flap is to be pulled over the shoe tip and bonded thereto by an adhesive.
This provides an effective and secure connection of the sole to the uppers at the forward portion of the shoe.
~ecause the lateral displacement forces exerted ` upon the uppers are stronger on the outside than on the , inside, outer lateral edge 70 is proportioned to project to a 2~
higher level than inner lateral edge 71, as shown in FIG. 18.
Since the overlapping edge sections interengage movably, they do not increase the rigidity of shoe sole 72.
As shown in FIGS. 19, 20, 21, the preferred ski shoe of the invention has sole means including a heel portion defining a recess of V-shaped cross-section defined by diverging walls 7~ and 75, this V-shaped recess engaging a corresponding web 73 projecting from the ski surface so that the heel may be held on the ski against lateral displacement.
Conventionally and as illustrated in FIG. 20, diverging walls 74, 75 extend down to the underside 76 of the heel. As the heel is lifted and lowere~ during cross-country skiing, the corners at the recessed are worn and resultant splinters rejecting from the ski surface impair the proper engagement of the recess with the web. Accordingly and in accordance ; with this invention, beveled transition zones 77 and 78 are provided between the underside 76 of the sole and the V-shaped recess defined between diverging walls 74, 75, as shown in FIG. 21. In this manner, the zone of engagement between web and recess is separated from the underside of the sole which rests on the ski and any wear of the sole or ski no longer causes a failure in the proper interengagement between the recess and web. In addition, the small spaces defined by the beveled transition zones will enable any snow lodged there to be compressed therein, rather than to stay in the inter-face between the ski and shoe sole.
It is also important to provide a broad support for the heel to reduce sidewise tilting in relation to the ski. This is obtained in accordance with the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 19 by providing a three-armed web 79, the V-shaped recess correspondingly comprising rectilinear center recess portion 80 and two diverging rectilinear recess '-~L~L2~
portions 81 and 82 extending from an end of the center recessportion. The diverging V-shaped recess portions 81, 82 enclose an angle between 90 and 270, preferably not exceeding 120.
The heat insulating qualities of synthetic resin soles may be increased by laminating the same with synthetic ; resin films which do not transmit infrared radiation, thus providing additional protection for the feet of the skier against cold.
Boots for use in cross-country skiing must be light and flexible, particularly below the balls of the feet.
Therefore, the soles of such boots are necessarily quite resilient in a transverse direction, which makes the lateral guidance of the ski very difficult.
Cross-country skis are narrow, in contrast to down-hill skis whose width is about 45 mm. Because of the narrow-ness of cross-country skis, the feet of the skier, parti-cularly in the regions of the balls of the feet, overhang the ski laterally and vertical pushing forces up to 150 kg have been measured. Under such forces, as indicated in FIG. 22, the laterally overhanging portions of sole 83 tend to curve down. The skier, therefore, feels the pressure of the narrow ski against the sole of his foot, particularly in the center region. This causes undue fatigue and pain during a long cross-country run. While it is possible to reduce or avoid this difficulty by increasing the gauge of the sole and, thus, its rigidity, this produces a corresponding weight increase, ;~ which is undesirable.
As shown in FIG. 22, this difficulty is overcome if the sole extends in an upwardly curvilinear plane, i.e., it is concave in a transverse direction. Thus, a downward force ' will bring the sole in a flat condition, rather than curving : , G~
downwardly over the lateral edges of the ski. This will relieve the pressure of the narrow ski against the foot sole and also will stretch the uppers when the overhanging lateral portions of the sole are straightened so that the uppers will be free of undesirable folds produced during cross-country skiing.
It has been found in the production of ski boots with curvilinear soles that it is difficult to mount the uppers on the insole. The transverse stiffness of the sole means, particularly below the region of the ball of the foot, may be increased by making the insole of a transversely sculptured sheet material which provides a strong moment of resistance in a transverse direction for the overhanging lateral portions of the sole without imparting any significant resisting to a rolling motion in the longitudinal direction of the ski. Since it is difficult to find a suitable material having the desired rigidity characteristics, the invention provides in the embodiment shown in FIG. 24 an insole of a rigid but thin sheet material, such as an aluminum sheet or a synthetic resin sheet, which is bonded to the outer sole in transverse strips. An aluminum sheet having a gauge of about 0.2 to 0.5 mm is sufficient for this purpose~ In the bottom plan view of FIG. 24, the lateral edges of a ski are designated by numerals 91 and 93 while the central axis of the ski is designated 92. It will be noted that the width of the strips extending beyond ski edges 91 and 93 are widest where the load of the foot exerts the highest flexing forces and is reduced gradually from the lateral ski edges towards the ski axis. Thus, material is saved where it is not needed 30 to stiffen the sole and the weight of the sole is held as low as possible. Other strip shapes are possible, of course, but the illustrated configuration will produce maximum stiffness -.:~
:
with minimum weight. To form strips 94, transverse slits 95 end in rounded loops 96 adjacent ski edge 91 and leave a ; narrow rim interconnecting all strips to increase the lateral stiffness of the sole. At thls part of the sole, the strongest pressure forces are transmitted from the foot to the sole. At the opposite side adjacent ski edge 93, there is no connection between the insole strips, slots 95 extending to the ends of the strips and ~he edge of the sole.
As shown in the transverse section of FIG. 25, which shows the shoe sole in the region of a ski edge, outer sole 97 carries insole 98 and an upper layer consisting of trans-verse strips 94. This produces a laminate consisting of outer sole, edge of uppers, insole and strips producing maximum stiffness with a minimum of material and weight. In most cases, an aluminum strip layer weighing about 2 to 3 grams will suffice, the weight of the strip layer configurated according to FIG. 24 being about 2 g while parallel strips will have a weight of about 3 g, with a sheet gauge of 0.2 mm. ~lits 95 between the strips 94 are very important because, when the insole is flexed, the absence of such slits would cause the insole to be compressed only to width of the strips, which amounts to an increase in the rigidity in a - longitudinal direction in comparison to a sole without trans-verse strips and which may be compressed uniformly along its ; entire length. The slits separate the strips from each other.
FIG. 23 shows preferred ski boot 85 with sole 86 .:
transversely curved in the manner indicated in FIG. 22 to form a dome-shaped support particularly for the ball region of the foot. When the ski is pushed forward while the heel is raised, an optimal angle is obtained between shoe 85 and ,~.
ski 87 if the shoe is cut and manufactured to fit the bent , foot so that no force is required to move the shoe into the 19 _ , 6~
.
raised position shown in FIG. 23. When the ski is slid along the snow as the shoe sole rests on the ski surface, the weight of the skier will provide the required force and no muscle force is needed. The weight of the skier will simply press sole 86 flatly against the ski and the uppers will be tensioned. Elastic inserts, such as steel strips 88, may be provided in the sole, particularly in the region of the ball ; of the foot, to increase the transverse rigidity and resist-ance to warping of the sole so that the ski may be properly ~; 10 guided, particularly in curving paths and in climbs up steep hills. Such reliable transverse guidance has not been available with conventional cross-country ski boots.
FIG. 23 also shows two tensile elements 89 and 90 extending along the length of shoe 85 and enhancing the return of the shoe into its raised position.
This application is a division of application Serial ~o. 300,854, filed April 11, 1978.
,.'.~
.
,
In the modification of FIG. 1~, forwardly extending sole portion 47 defines slot 49 of V-shaped cross-section dividing the anchoring part in two sections 44 and 45 similar in structure and function to the embodiment of FIG. 11, the facing walls of the two sections defining therebetween a cut-out for engagement with a corresponding projection of the front jaw of the binding. Thus, the forwardly extending sole portion may he anchored to the binding by lateral hooking.
In the embodiment of FIG. 13, forwardly extending ~2~`~6~
; sole portion 50 has a transversely recessed groove in its underside, which is anchored to a transverse ledge of base plate 29 when sole portion 50 is in its end position and is elastically deformed by stirrup strap 3 to press the recessed groove into engagement with the ledge, thus hooking sole por-tion 50 to the binding and anchoring it therein. A pivot 51 is mounted on the base plate forwardly of the ledge so that the anchoring part of sole portion 50 may be flexed there-,- about for unhooking the sole portion and enabling the ski ''~
boot to be disengaged from the binding.
~ 'hile the forwardly extending sole portion has been described and illustrated as an integral portion of the boot sole and being of the same material, this need not be so, and such a forwardly extending portion may, in fact, be attached to an existing sole in any suitable manner and may be com-prised of any suitable material, including metal.
A preferred ski boot structure will be described hereinbelow in connection with FIGS. 14 to 21. FIG. 14 shows a transverse cross-section taken in the region of the ball of ' 20 the foot of a conventional sXi hoot having a flat sole 52 supported on ski 53. As is indicated in FIG. 15, in this ' region of the largest width of the foot, portions 54 and 55 of the-uppers may be raadily displaced laterally to assume ~, positions 55, 56 indicated in broken lines. This interferes with a secure lateral guidance, and this disadvantage is over-come in accordance with one aspect of the present invention in the manner shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the invention taking advantage of the manufacturing possibilities available by the use of synthetic resin as a sole material, which enables ' 30 the sole to be injection molded.
To prevent the lateral displacament of parts of the uppers, the synthetic resin sole means is provided with :, upwardly projecting lateral edges forwardly of the heel por-tion. In the modification of FIG. 16, the sole means comprises an outer sole and inner sole 60 with lateral edges 61 and 62 imparting a lateral stiffness to the uppers and thereby holding them against lateral displacement. In the modification of FIG. 17, the sole means is an outer sole and lateral edges 58 and 59 extend over the uppers of the shoe, with the same effect. The modification of FIG. 16 has the advantage that boots of different widths may be provided with different inner soles to adapt the boots to various foot widths. If desired, the inserts may have enhanced transverse stiffness in the region of the ball of the foot so that the impact of the hall on the underlying ski is reduced.
The upwardly projecting lateral sole edges must be flexible in the longitudinal direction of the foot, for which purpose they define a series of slots 63 to 68 extending sub-stantially vertically to the sole means and sub-dividing the lateral edges into overlapping sections which cover the sides of the foot like the scales of a fish.
i:
Another weak point in conventional boots for use in cross-country skiing is the connection at the tip of the shoe , between the sole and the uppers. Again taking advantage of the manufacturing capabilities afforded by the use of moldable or extrudable synthetic resin, it is preferred to provide the sole with flap 69 integral with the sole and arranged to cover the tip of the shoe, as shown in FIG. 18. The flap is to be pulled over the shoe tip and bonded thereto by an adhesive.
This provides an effective and secure connection of the sole to the uppers at the forward portion of the shoe.
~ecause the lateral displacement forces exerted ` upon the uppers are stronger on the outside than on the , inside, outer lateral edge 70 is proportioned to project to a 2~
higher level than inner lateral edge 71, as shown in FIG. 18.
Since the overlapping edge sections interengage movably, they do not increase the rigidity of shoe sole 72.
As shown in FIGS. 19, 20, 21, the preferred ski shoe of the invention has sole means including a heel portion defining a recess of V-shaped cross-section defined by diverging walls 7~ and 75, this V-shaped recess engaging a corresponding web 73 projecting from the ski surface so that the heel may be held on the ski against lateral displacement.
Conventionally and as illustrated in FIG. 20, diverging walls 74, 75 extend down to the underside 76 of the heel. As the heel is lifted and lowere~ during cross-country skiing, the corners at the recessed are worn and resultant splinters rejecting from the ski surface impair the proper engagement of the recess with the web. Accordingly and in accordance ; with this invention, beveled transition zones 77 and 78 are provided between the underside 76 of the sole and the V-shaped recess defined between diverging walls 74, 75, as shown in FIG. 21. In this manner, the zone of engagement between web and recess is separated from the underside of the sole which rests on the ski and any wear of the sole or ski no longer causes a failure in the proper interengagement between the recess and web. In addition, the small spaces defined by the beveled transition zones will enable any snow lodged there to be compressed therein, rather than to stay in the inter-face between the ski and shoe sole.
It is also important to provide a broad support for the heel to reduce sidewise tilting in relation to the ski. This is obtained in accordance with the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 19 by providing a three-armed web 79, the V-shaped recess correspondingly comprising rectilinear center recess portion 80 and two diverging rectilinear recess '-~L~L2~
portions 81 and 82 extending from an end of the center recessportion. The diverging V-shaped recess portions 81, 82 enclose an angle between 90 and 270, preferably not exceeding 120.
The heat insulating qualities of synthetic resin soles may be increased by laminating the same with synthetic ; resin films which do not transmit infrared radiation, thus providing additional protection for the feet of the skier against cold.
Boots for use in cross-country skiing must be light and flexible, particularly below the balls of the feet.
Therefore, the soles of such boots are necessarily quite resilient in a transverse direction, which makes the lateral guidance of the ski very difficult.
Cross-country skis are narrow, in contrast to down-hill skis whose width is about 45 mm. Because of the narrow-ness of cross-country skis, the feet of the skier, parti-cularly in the regions of the balls of the feet, overhang the ski laterally and vertical pushing forces up to 150 kg have been measured. Under such forces, as indicated in FIG. 22, the laterally overhanging portions of sole 83 tend to curve down. The skier, therefore, feels the pressure of the narrow ski against the sole of his foot, particularly in the center region. This causes undue fatigue and pain during a long cross-country run. While it is possible to reduce or avoid this difficulty by increasing the gauge of the sole and, thus, its rigidity, this produces a corresponding weight increase, ;~ which is undesirable.
As shown in FIG. 22, this difficulty is overcome if the sole extends in an upwardly curvilinear plane, i.e., it is concave in a transverse direction. Thus, a downward force ' will bring the sole in a flat condition, rather than curving : , G~
downwardly over the lateral edges of the ski. This will relieve the pressure of the narrow ski against the foot sole and also will stretch the uppers when the overhanging lateral portions of the sole are straightened so that the uppers will be free of undesirable folds produced during cross-country skiing.
It has been found in the production of ski boots with curvilinear soles that it is difficult to mount the uppers on the insole. The transverse stiffness of the sole means, particularly below the region of the ball of the foot, may be increased by making the insole of a transversely sculptured sheet material which provides a strong moment of resistance in a transverse direction for the overhanging lateral portions of the sole without imparting any significant resisting to a rolling motion in the longitudinal direction of the ski. Since it is difficult to find a suitable material having the desired rigidity characteristics, the invention provides in the embodiment shown in FIG. 24 an insole of a rigid but thin sheet material, such as an aluminum sheet or a synthetic resin sheet, which is bonded to the outer sole in transverse strips. An aluminum sheet having a gauge of about 0.2 to 0.5 mm is sufficient for this purpose~ In the bottom plan view of FIG. 24, the lateral edges of a ski are designated by numerals 91 and 93 while the central axis of the ski is designated 92. It will be noted that the width of the strips extending beyond ski edges 91 and 93 are widest where the load of the foot exerts the highest flexing forces and is reduced gradually from the lateral ski edges towards the ski axis. Thus, material is saved where it is not needed 30 to stiffen the sole and the weight of the sole is held as low as possible. Other strip shapes are possible, of course, but the illustrated configuration will produce maximum stiffness -.:~
:
with minimum weight. To form strips 94, transverse slits 95 end in rounded loops 96 adjacent ski edge 91 and leave a ; narrow rim interconnecting all strips to increase the lateral stiffness of the sole. At thls part of the sole, the strongest pressure forces are transmitted from the foot to the sole. At the opposite side adjacent ski edge 93, there is no connection between the insole strips, slots 95 extending to the ends of the strips and ~he edge of the sole.
As shown in the transverse section of FIG. 25, which shows the shoe sole in the region of a ski edge, outer sole 97 carries insole 98 and an upper layer consisting of trans-verse strips 94. This produces a laminate consisting of outer sole, edge of uppers, insole and strips producing maximum stiffness with a minimum of material and weight. In most cases, an aluminum strip layer weighing about 2 to 3 grams will suffice, the weight of the strip layer configurated according to FIG. 24 being about 2 g while parallel strips will have a weight of about 3 g, with a sheet gauge of 0.2 mm. ~lits 95 between the strips 94 are very important because, when the insole is flexed, the absence of such slits would cause the insole to be compressed only to width of the strips, which amounts to an increase in the rigidity in a - longitudinal direction in comparison to a sole without trans-verse strips and which may be compressed uniformly along its ; entire length. The slits separate the strips from each other.
FIG. 23 shows preferred ski boot 85 with sole 86 .:
transversely curved in the manner indicated in FIG. 22 to form a dome-shaped support particularly for the ball region of the foot. When the ski is pushed forward while the heel is raised, an optimal angle is obtained between shoe 85 and ,~.
ski 87 if the shoe is cut and manufactured to fit the bent , foot so that no force is required to move the shoe into the 19 _ , 6~
.
raised position shown in FIG. 23. When the ski is slid along the snow as the shoe sole rests on the ski surface, the weight of the skier will provide the required force and no muscle force is needed. The weight of the skier will simply press sole 86 flatly against the ski and the uppers will be tensioned. Elastic inserts, such as steel strips 88, may be provided in the sole, particularly in the region of the ball ; of the foot, to increase the transverse rigidity and resist-ance to warping of the sole so that the ski may be properly ~; 10 guided, particularly in curving paths and in climbs up steep hills. Such reliable transverse guidance has not been available with conventional cross-country ski boots.
FIG. 23 also shows two tensile elements 89 and 90 extending along the length of shoe 85 and enhancing the return of the shoe into its raised position.
This application is a division of application Serial ~o. 300,854, filed April 11, 1978.
,.'.~
.
,
Claims (29)
1. A ski shoe for use with a cross-country ski and comprising a sole having an elastically deformable, forwardly extending sole portion including an anchoring part, the sole portion being adapted to be elastically deformed in an end position by a stirrup of a binding affixed to the ski and the anchoring part being in snapping engagement with the stirrup in the end position.
2. The ski shoe of claim 1, wherein the forwardly extending sole portion encloses an obtuse angle with the sole and the anchoring part has a recessed abutment for engagement with a forward edge of transversely extending strap forming the stirrup.
3. The ski shoe of claim 2, wherein the abutment is undercut.
4. The ski shoe of claim 2, wherein the forwardly extending sole portion rises from the ski shoe sole at the obtuse angle along a transverse line, the forwardly extending sole portion extending substantially above the level of the stirrup strap when not engaged thereby.
5. The ski shoe of claim 4, wherein the transverse line constitutes a pivot about which the forwardly extending sole portion is pivotal in relation to the ski shoe sole.
6. The ski shoe of claim 1, wherein the anchoring part of the forwardly extending sole portion defines a notch adapted to receive a point of a ski pole whereby the sole portion may be engaged and depressed by the ski pole for disengaging the ski shoe from the binding.
7. The ski shoe of claim 1, further comprising a transverse ledge on the underside of the forwardly extending sole portion, the sole portion having a reduced transverse cross-section forwardly of the ledge.
8. The ski shoe of claim 1, wherein the forwardly extending sole portion defines a transverse slot extending upwardly from the underside of the sole portion and rearwardly from the anchoring part thereof.
9. The ski shoe of claim 8, further comprising a steel leaf spring insert extending longitudinally through the forwardly extending sole portion.
10. The ski shoe of claim 8, wherein the forwardly extending sole portion has a pair of lateral guide faces extending substantially parallel to each other in the longi-tudinal direction of the ski for contacting engagement with correspondingly extending guide faces of the stirrup.
11. The ski shoe of claim 8, wherein the forwardly extending sole portion defines a cut-out in the anchoring part for engagement with a corresponding projection in the binding.
12. The ski shoe of claim 8, wherein the forwardly extending sole portion has a pair of laterally recessed engaging faces adjacent the anchoring part, the stirrup being in hooked engagement with the recesses for holding the sole portion substantially immovable in said direction.
13. The ski shoe of claim 12, wherein the anchoring part of the forwardly extending sole portion defines a slot of V-shaped cross-section,extending in said direction into the forwardly extending sole portion between the laterally recessed engaging faces to form two sections yieldingly displaceable in a lateral direction for snapping engagement of the sections with the stirrup at the engaging faces.
14. The ski shoe of claim 1, the anchoring part of the forwardly extending sole portion defining a slot of V-shaped cross-section extending in said direction to form two sections yieldingly displaceable in a lateral-direction for elastic lateral engagement with the stirrup, facing walls of the two sections defining therebetween a cut-out, and the front jaw having a projection corresponding to the cut-out and engaging the same.
15. A ski shoe for use with a cross-country ski and comprising a sole having an elastically deformable, forwardly extending sole portion including an anchoring part, the sole and sole portion extending in the same direction, the sole portion being adapted to be elastically deformed in an end position by a stirrup of a binding affixed to the ski and the anchoring part being in snapping engagement with parts of the stirrup in an end position whereby said parts of the stirrups are stationary relative to the ski.
16. A binding for use with a cross-country ski and adapted to hold in position an elastically deformable, forwardly extending portion of a ski shoe sole, the sole and the sole portion extending in the same direction, which comprises a front jaw adapted to be affixed to the ski, the front jaw including a stirrup shaped to receive the forwardly extending sole portion and to deform the forwardly extending sole portion elastically in an end position of the sole portion for snapping engagement with the stirrup, thereby to anchor the forwardly extending sole portion to the binding in the end position by elastic engagement of the sole portion with the stirrup.
17. A binding for use with a cross-country ski and adapted to hold in position an elastically deformable, forwardly extending portion of a ski shoe sole, which comprises a front jaw adapted to be affixed to the ski, the front jaw including a stirrup shaped to receive the forwardly extending sole portion and to deform the forwardly extending sole portion elastically in an end position of the sole portion for snapping engagement with the stirrup, thereby to anchor the forwardly extending sole portion to the binding in the end position by elastic engagement of the sole portion with the stirrup, a base plate supporting the stirrup and a protective edge projecting upwardly from the base plate frontward of the stirrup, the upwardly projecting protective edge conforming generally to the shape of a front part of the forwardly extending sole portion.
18. A binding for use with a cross-country ski and adapted to hold in position an elastically deformable, forwardly extending portion of a ski shoe sole, which comprises a front jaw adapted to be affixed to the ski, the front jaw including a stirrup shaped to receive the forwardly extending sole portion and to deform the forwardly extending sole portion elastically in an end position of the sole portion for snapping engagement with the stirrup, thereby to anchor the forwardly extending sole portion to the binding in the end position by elastic engagement of the sole portion with the stirrup, and a wedge of an elastic foam material affixed to the ski frontward of the stirrup and adapted to hold the forwardly extending sole portion in the end position against forward movement.
19. A binding for use with a cross-country ski and adapted to hold in position an elastically deformable, forwardly extending portion of a ski shoe sole, which comprises a front jaw adapted to be affixed to the ski, the front jaw including a stirrup shaped to receive the forwardly extending sole portion and to deform the forwardly extending sole portion elastically in an end position of the sole portion for snapping engagement with the stirrup, thereby to anchor the forwardly extending sole portion to the binding in the end position by elastic engagement of the sole portion with the stirrup, a base plate supporting the stirrup, the base plate and the stirrup defining an opening therebetween for receiving the forwardly extending sole portion, and transversely extending inclined plane means projecting from the base plate into the opening, the inclined plane means being adapted to engage corresponding groove means in the underside of the forwardly extending sole portion.
20. In combination, a binding for use with a cross-country ski and a ski shoe having a sole and an elastically deformable, forwardly extending sole portion adapted to be held in position by the binding, the sole and the sole portion extending in the same direction, the binding comprising a front jaw adapted to be affixed to the ski, the front jaw including a stirrup shaped to receive the forwardly extending sole portion, the forwardly extending sole portion being elastically deformed in an end position of the sole portion received in the stirrup for snapping engagement with the stirrup, and the forwardly extending sole portion including an anchoring part snappingly en-gaging the stirrup in the end position for substantially immovably holding the sole portion in position in the binding.
21. In combination, a binding for use with a cross-country ski and a ski shoe having a sole and an elastically deformable, forwardly extending sole portion adapted to be held in position by the binding, the sole and the sole portion extending in the same direction and the sole portion including an anchoring part enclosing an obtuse angle with the ski shoe sole, the binding comprising a front jaw including a stirrup shaped to receive the forwardly extending sole portion and arranged between the shoe and the anchoring part, the stirrup including a transversely extending strap having a forward and a rear edge, the forwardly extending sole portion being elastically deformed in an end position of the sole portion received in the stirrup for snapping engagement with the stirrup and the anchoring part having a recessed abutment yieldingly and snappingly engaging the forward edge of the strap for substantially immovably holding the sole portion in position in the binding.
22. In combination, a binding for use with a cross-country ski and a ski shoe having a sole and an elastically deformable, forwardly extending sole portion adapted to be held in position by the binding, the sole and the sole portion extending in the same direction and the sole portion including an anchoring part, the binding comprising a front jaw including a stirrup shaped to receive the forwardly extending sole portion, the forwardly extending sole portion being elastically deformed in an end position of the sole portion received in the stirrup for snapping engagement with the stirrup and the anchoring part snappingly engaging the stirrup in the end position for substantially immovably holding the sole portion in position in the binding, and the front jaw further including a base plate supporting the stirrup and a protective edge projecting upwardly from the base plate frontward of the stirrup, the upwardly projecting protective edge conforming generally to the shape of the anchoring part of the forwardly extending sole portion.
23. In combination, a binding for use with a cross-country ski and a ski shoe having a sole and an elastically deformable, forwardly extending sole portion adapted to be held in position by the binding, the sole and the sole portion extending in the same direction and the sole portion including an anchoring part, the binding comprising a front jaw including a stirrup shaped to receive the forwardly extending sole portion, the forwardly extending sole portion being elastically deformed in an end position of the sole portion received in the stirrup for snapping engagement with the stirrup and the anchoring part snappingly engaging the stirrup in the end position for substantially immovably holding the sole portion in position in the binding, and further comprising a wedge of an elastic foam material affixed to the ski frontwardly of the stirrup and holding the forwardly extending sole portion in the end position against forward movement.
24. In combination, a binding for use with a cross-country ski and a ski shoe having a sole and an elastically deformable, forwardly extending sole portion adapted to be held in position by the binding, the sole and the sole portion extending in the same direction and the sole portion including an anchoring part, the binding comprising a front jaw including a stirrup shaped to receive the forwardly extending sole portion, the forwardly extending sole portion being elastically deformed in an end position of the sole portion received in the stirrup for snapping engagement with the stirrup and the anchoring part snappingly engaging the stirrup in the end position for substantially immovably holding the sole portion in position in the binding, and the anchoring part defining a notch adapted to receive a point of a ski pole whereby the sole portion may be engaged and depressed by the ski pole for disengaging the ski shoe from the binding.
In combination, a binding for use with a cross country ski and a ski shoe having a sole and an elastic-ally deformable, forwardly extending sole portion adapted to be held in position by the binding, the sole and the sole portion extending in the same direction and the sole portion including an anchoring part, the binding comprising a front jaw including a stirrup shaped to receive the forwardly extending sole portion, the forwardly extending sole portion being elastically deformed in an end position of the sole portion received in the stirrup for snapping engagement with the stirrup and the anchoring part snappingly engaging the stirrup in the end position for substantially immovably holding the sole portion in position in the binding, and the front jaw further including a base plate supporting the stirrup, the base plate and the stirrup defining an opening there-between for receiving the forwardly extending sole portion, and further comprising transversely extending inclined plane means projecting from the base plate into the opening, the inclined plane means engaging corresponding groove means in the underside of the forwardly extending sole portion.
26. In combination, a binding for use with a cross-country ski and a ski shoe having a sole and an elastically deformable, forwardly extending sole portion adapted to be held in position by the binding, the sole and the sole portion extending in the same direction, the binding comprising a front jaw including a stirrup shaped to receive the forwardly extending sole portion, the forwardly extending sole portion being elastically deformed in an end position of the sole portion received in the stirrup for snapping engagement with the stirrup, the forwardly extending sole portion including an anchoring part snappingly engaging the stirrup in the end position for substantially immovably holding the sole portion in position in the binding and the forwardly extending sole portion defining a transverse slot extending upwardly from the underside of the sole portion and rearwardly from the anchoring part thereof.
27. The combination of claim 26, wherein the forwardly extending sole portion has a pair of laterally recessed engaging faces adjacent the anchoring part, the stirrup being in hooked engagement with the recesses for holding the sole portion substantially immovable in said direction.
28. The combination of claim 27, wherein the anchoring part of the forwardly extending sole portion defines a slot of V-shaped cross section extending into the forwardly extending sole portion between the laterally recessed engaging faces to form two sections yieldingly displaceable in a lateral direction for snapping engagement of the sections with the stirrup at the engaging faces.
29. In combination, a binding for use with a cross-country ski and a ski shoe having a sole and an elastically deformable, forwardly extending sole portion adapted to be held in position by the binding, the sole and the sole portion extending in the same direction, the binding comprising a front jaw including a stirrup shaped to receive the forwardly extending sole portion, the forwardly extending sole portion being elastically deformed in an end position of the sole portion received in the stirrup for snapping engagement with the stirrup, the forwardly extending sole portion including an anchoring part snappingly engaging the stirrup in the end position for substantially immovably holding the sole portion in position in the binding, the anchoring part of the forwardly extending sole portion defining a slot of V-shaped cross section dividing the anchoring part into two sections yieldingly displaceable in a lateral direction for elastic lateral engagement with the stirrup, facing walls of the two sections defining therebetween a cut-out, and the front jaw having a projection corresponding to the cut-out and engaging the same.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA364,189A CA1124061A (en) | 1977-04-13 | 1980-11-06 | Cross-country ski shoe and binding |
Applications Claiming Priority (4)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| ATA2578/77 | 1977-04-13 | ||
| AT2578A AT357057B (en) | 1977-02-22 | 1978-01-03 | SLICER |
| CA300,854A CA1115744A (en) | 1977-04-13 | 1978-04-11 | Cross-country ski shoe and binding |
| CA364,189A CA1124061A (en) | 1977-04-13 | 1980-11-06 | Cross-country ski shoe and binding |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1124061A true CA1124061A (en) | 1982-05-25 |
Family
ID=27145744
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA364,189A Expired CA1124061A (en) | 1977-04-13 | 1980-11-06 | Cross-country ski shoe and binding |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1124061A (en) |
-
1980
- 1980-11-06 CA CA364,189A patent/CA1124061A/en not_active Expired
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |