EP0019643B1

EP0019643B1 - Sectional ski

Info

Publication number: EP0019643B1
Application number: EP79101580A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Thomas P. Galich
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1979-05-22
Filing date: 1979-05-22
Publication date: 1985-09-11
Also published as: EP0019643A1

Description

This invention relates to a sectional ski comprising:

first and second ski sections;
a first coupling member having a generally bar-shaped portion and an enlarged portion, said bar-shaped portion being secured in endwise relation in a slot in said first ski section, said enlarged portion having upper and lower surfaces contoured to form part of said first ski section;
a second coupling member having a generally bar-shaped portion and an enlarged portion, said bar-shaped portion being secured in endwise relation in a slot in said second ski section, said enlarged portion having upper and lower surfaces generally forming a part of the surface of said second ski section;
mating dove-tailed tongue and groove means formed in the ends of said enlarged portions of said first and second coupling member consisting of machined metal for connecting said first and second ski sections in an endwise abutting relation with the dove-tail contoured tongue and groove means.

A sectional ski of the foregoing type is shown and described in United States Patent No. 3,797,838.
With the sectional ski structure shown and described in United States patent No. 3,797,838, the coupling arrangement requires that one of the coupling members have a cavity formed therein for communicating with the edge for receiving a matingly contoured wedge-shaped bar portion on the other coupling portion with a fastening member engaging the coupling members on an axis generally parallel to the surface of the skis.
It is a disadvantage of the prior art that the mate coupling arrangement does not provide positive locking alignment, and there is a risk of lack of rigidity and non-uniform flexing after wearing of mating surfaces.
It is the object of the present invention to provide for satisfying rigidity of the ski sections by an improved design of said coupling members which maintains continual, positive mating alignment.
The solution of the problem is characterized in that the tongue of the dove-tailing is extending transversally that is beginning at one side wall of the ski and is ending near the other side wall and is insertable into and engageable by said groove in sliding relation in a wedge-shaped manner, parallely to the upper and lower surfaces of the ski, said coupling members are tapering off with four to twenty degrees of taper of the mating coacting tongue and groove, a stop edge being provided at the end of the groove for abuttingly engaging a shortened end of the tongue and that means are provided including a screw member passing through said tongue and groove means in a direction generally perpendicular to the plane of the surface of the ski, blocking the tongue against sliding movement.
The foregoing design is providing for a wearing proof and precisely mating assembly of the parts of the sectional ski.
The screw member avoids sidewise relative movement in connection with the stop edge between said tongue and groove means.
The preferred embodiment of the sectional ski according to the invention is described in the following description:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a ski assembled in sections according to the invention;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view, partially broken away, and partially exploded showing the coupling members;
Fig. 3 is a plan view, partially broken away, showing the ski coupling portion in assembled relation; and
Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the structure of Fig. 3.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to Fig. 1 there is shown an assembled sectional ski generally designated 10 formed from a first section 12 interconnected to second section 14 by means of first and second coupling members generally designated 16 and 18. The upper surface of the ski 10 has a central portion immediately above the coupling members 16 and 18 which is the boot supporting portion 20 wherein a boot is retained between a toe piece 22 (shown in dotted line) and a releasable ski binding means 24 (also shown in dotted lines).
As better illustrated in Fig. 2, 3, and 4, the first coupling member 16 has an elongated generally bar-shaped portion 26 insertable within a slot 28 with the bar-shaped portion 26 being disposed in generally parallel relation to the upper and lower surfaces of ski section 12. The bar-shaped portion 26 may be secured within slot 28 by any suitable means and the surface thereof may be suitably configured to assist in the securing. The other end of coupling member 16 is an enlarged portion 30 having upper and lower surfaces generally parallel to each other and configured to form a continuation of the contour of the upper surface and lower surface of the ski section 12. The other coupling member 18 is generally similarly configured with an elongated bar-shaped portion 32 secured within a slot 34 formed in the end of the second ski section 14, the coupling member 18 likewise having an enlarged portion 36 with the upper and lower surfaces thereof generally parallel to each other and generally coextensive in contour with the upper and lower surfaces of second ski section 14 to form a continuation thereof. The overall width of the coupling members 16 and 18 is substantially identical to the width of the ski sections 12 and 14 with the overall height of the enlarged portions 30 and 36 being generally identical to the thickness of the ski sections 12 and 14 respectively.
The coupling members 16 and 18 are configured for connecting together end to end in tight fitting relation to provide the assembled ski 10 shown in Fig. 1. This interconnection is accomplished by means of a transversely extending tongue portion 38 formed in one end of the enlarged portion 36 of the coupling member 18 with the tongue 38 being configured for sliding engagement within a groove 40 formed in the end of the enlarged portion 30 of coupling member 16. The tongue 38 extends in a direction generally parallel to the upper and lower surfaces of the enlarged portion 36 and is located generally centrally with respect to the edge thereof. In side elevation, the tongue 38 is beveled so that the outer edge 42 thereof is deeper or thicker than the edge adjacent the connection with the enlarged portion 36. Similarly, the groove 40 extends along a line generally parallel to the upper and lower surfaces of ski section 12 with the inner surface 44 thereof deeper than the dimension between adjacent surfaces adjacent the edge thereof. In the transverse direction, that is along the length, the tongue 38 and groove 40 are tapered at approximately four to forty degrees to provide a wedge fitting when the tongue 38 is inserted within the groove 40 by sliding in a plane generally parallel to the plane of the surfaces of the ski with the leading outer edge 42 of the tongue 38 in abutting engagement with the inner surface 44 of the groove 40. To provide a positive stop during the insertion, the tongue 38 is slightly shorter than the overall width of the enlarged portion 36 of the coupling member 18, and the groove 40 in the direction of the insertion is provided with stop edge 46 for abuttingly engaging the shortened end of the tongue 38.
Centrally disposed within tongue 38 is an aperture 48 positioned for alignment after insertion with upper and lower apertures 50 and 52 respectively formed in the enlarged portion 30 of the coupling member 16 in communication with the groove 40. The upper aperture 50 is countersunk about the periphery thereof for receiving the head of a shoulder screw 54 which passes therethrough, thence through aperture 48 of tongue 38, into threading engagement with the aperture 52 which is threaded. The threaded end of shoulder screw 54 is of slightly smaller diameter than the main body portion thereof.
The coupling members 16 and 18 are members with four to twenty degrees of taper of the mating co-acting tongue and groove members 38 and 40 respectively, thus providing coupling means integral with the coupling members 16 and 18 respectively. Furthermore by utilizing close mating tolerances the tongue 38 engages the groove 40 in sliding relation in a wedge-shaped manner until the shortened end of tongue 38 abuts against the stop edge 46. The coupling members 16 and 18 are then joined by insertion of the shoulder screw 54 through aperture 50 through aperture 48 for threading engagement with aperture 52, the apertures 48 and 50 being precisely drilled to the diameter of the main body portion of shoulder screw 54 to provide a solid connection for joining together the ski sections 12 and 14 in endwise abutting relation to form the unitary ski assembly 10 shown in Fig. 1.
Furthermore, it has been demonstrated in prototype production, that the captivity and adhesion of the ski sections 12 and 14 and coupling members 16 and 18 is enhanced by tapering their respectively opposing mating surfaces 80, 81 and 82,83 in the range of 30 to 60 degrees as shown in Fig. 4. During handling and use, said taper streng-. thens the bonded joints 80, 81 and 82, 83 by lengthening the adhering cross-sectional surface area whereat bonding occurs and structural soundness is critical to good sectional ski design criteria.
In the preferred embodiment, an additional feature has been added to facilitate assembly and disassembly of respectively opposing ski sections, said features being a ring 58 which is attached to the head of screw 54 and which folds down and fits into the aperture 60. The screw 54 is provided with an anti-rotation tang so as to lock screw 54 in its fully inserted position after the screw is fully screwed in place.

Claims

1. A sectional ski comprising:

first and second ski sections (12, 14);

a first coupling member (16) having a generally bar-shaped portion (26) and an enlarged portion, said bar-shaped portion (26) being secured in endwise relation in a slot (28) in said first ski section (12), said enlarged portion having upper and lower surfaces contoured to form a part of said first ski section (12);

a second coupling member (18) having a generally bar-shaped portion (32) and an enlarged portion, said bar-shaped portion being secured in endwise relation in a slot (34) in said second ski section (14), said enlarged portion having upper and lower surfaces generally forming a part of the surface of said second ski section (14); mating dove-tailed tongue (38) and groove means (40) formed in the ends of said enlarged portions of said first and second coupling members consisting of machined metal, for connecting said first (12) and second ski sections (14) in an endwise abutting relation,

characterized in that the tongue (38) of the dove-tailing is extending transversally that is beginning at one side wall of the ski and is ending near the other side wall and is insertable into and engageable by said groove (40) in sliding relation in a wedgeshaped manner, parallely to the upper and lower surfaces of the ski, said coupling members (16, 18) are tapering off with four to twenty degrees of taper of the mating coacting tongue and groove (38,40), a stop edge (46) being provided at the end of the groove (40) for abuttingly engaging a shortened end of the tongue (38) and that means are provided including a screw member passing through said tongue and groove means in a direction generally perpendicular to the plane of the surface of the ski, blocking the tongue against sliding movement.

2. A sectional ski according to claim 1, characterized in that at the juncture of said bar-shaped portions and enlarged portions, the first and second coupling members (16,18) form an upper and inwardly-angled surface which is inclined inwardly in the range of 30 to 60°, for attaining and capturing the ski sections.