EP0093371B1

EP0093371B1 - Adjusting and fastening device particularly for ski boots

Info

Publication number: EP0093371B1
Application number: EP83104032A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Carlo Valsecchi; Franco Piatti; Giuseppe Bianchi Bazzi
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1982-05-03
Filing date: 1983-04-25
Publication date: 1986-07-23
Also published as: DE3364673D1; JPS593A; EP0093371A1; IT1153500B; ATE20812T1; IT8221033A0

Abstract

This invention relates to a ski boot adjusting and fastening device which comprises a body (1) adapted for association with one of the flaps to be tightened and having a first actuating element (2) carried pivotally on the body (1) itself and reachable from the outside. The first actuating element (2) interacts with a rotary to translatory motion conversion unit (10-12) associated with a link element (21) which is connected to an engagement member interacting with the other of the flaps to be brought together.

Description

This invention relates to an adjusting and fastening device particularly for ski boots.
As is known, to fasten ski boots or skiing footwear, a lever arrangement is currently used which, in its more general embodiment, includes a part articulated to one of the flaps to be secured together, to which part a ring or hook arrangement is connected for engagement with a mating part attached to the other of the flaps to be secured together, a rotation movement of the lever being effective to bring together and tighten such flaps.
With this type of lever arrangement, to make the fastener adjustable, i.e. to adjust the useful length of the link whereto the fastening hook or ring is connected, it is common practice to provide a threaded rod which is carried rotatably either on the lever or its mating part and is turned to effect a translation of the link, thereby the useful length of the latter is changed.
This form of adjustment has, first of all, the disadvantage that it must be performed with the lever in the open, i.e. unlatched, position, and moreover, cannot provide fine adjustment capabilities because, in order not to have the hook or ring located at the wrong position, it is generally required that a 360° rotation be completed, which results in a one pitch length translation of the threads utilized.
FR-A-2 068 227 discloses a fastening device in which a rack and pinion mechanism is provided for adjusting the tension of the fastening device.
A rack and pinion mechanism of the disclosed type is not self locking, so that additional mechanical componentparts.are to be provided in order to lock the mechanism under tension thereby rendering the mechanism complicated cumbersome and unreliable. Moverover, since necessarily the diameter of the pinion has a reduced size the transmission ratio of the rack and pinion mechanism is inherently such that on the one hand a great force has to be applied on the pinion in order to reach the desired tensioning and on the other hand a very fine adjustment of the tensioning can in practice not be obtained, since the pitch of the toothing cannot be reduced beyond those limits which determine the strength of the tooth under the occurring stresses. The above prior art has been acknowledged in the precharacterizing part of claim 1.
It is a primary object of this invention to remove such prior drawbacks by providing an adjusting and fastening device specially designed for ski boot applications, which allows the useful length of the link to be very accurately and easily adjusted even with the device in its closed position, that is with the link under tension, thus enabling the user to directly perform a very accurate and reliable adjustment without going through the trial-and-error procedure involved by conventional devices and without the need of exerting great manual forces onto the device.
It is another object of the invention to provide an adjusting and fastening device which, by virtue of its constructional features, can be used directly as a fastener without involving its attachment to a traditional tightening lever as usually employed in ski boot fasteners.
A further object of this invention is to provide an adjustment device which, owing to its peculiar design, can give full assurance of reliable and safe operation, while affording a high degree of versatility of the device.
A not unimportant object of the invention is to provide such a device, which is of simple construction and can be readily manufactured from widely available elements and materials.
These and other objects, such as will be apparent hereinafter, are achieved by an adjusting and fastening device particularly for ski boots, comprising a body (1) adapted for association with one of the ski boot flaps to be secured together, an actuating wheel-like element (2, 10) carried rotatably on said body (1) and having one part (3) thereof accessible from outside of said body (1), said actuating wheel element (2, 10) interacting with a rotary to translatory motion conversion unit (11-12) associated with a link element (21) connected to engagement means interacting with the other of said ski boot flaps to be secured together, characterized in that said rotary to translatory motion conversion unit (11, 12) comprises an axially stationary but rotatable nut screw formation (11) which is associated with said actuating wheel-like element (2, 10) and an axially slidable, but rotatorily stationary threaded rod (12) in screwing engagement with said nut screw formation (11) and wherein said link element (21) is connected'with said threaded rod (12). The actuating wheel-like element (2, 10) comprises a gear member (10) having at the central part thereof said threaded nut screw formation (11).
Further features and advantages will be apparent from the following description of a preferred, though not limitative, embodiment of an adjusting and fastening device particularly for ski boots, as illustrated by way of example only in the accompanying drawing, where:

Figure 1 is a sectional view of this device;
Figure 2 is a sectional view of this device as attached to an actuating lever;
Figure 3 is a perspective view showing in detail the first actuating means and rotary to translatory motion conversion means; and
Figure 4 is a top plan view of the device, as attached to a lever.

Making reference to the drawing figures, the adjusting and fastening device particularly for ski boots, according to the invention, comprises a body, indicated at 1, which can be associated with either of the ski boot flaps to be secured together.
Mounted rotatably on said body 1 is a first actuating element which advantageously comprises a small wheel 2 having a knurled outer surface 3 and an axial center pin 4 which performs the dual function of an axle and element of engagement with the body 1.
Said wheel 2 has on one face thereof a flat serration 5 extending circumferentially around said pin 4.
The wheel 2 is attached to the body 1 and held in position by a small cover 6 from which portions of the wheel periphery protrude sidewards to allow the wheel to be operated from the outside.
The wheel 2 interacts with a rotary to translatory motion conversion unit which advantageously comprises a nut screw 11 formed in a second wheel-like element consisting of a pinion gear 10 arranged for rotation about a substantially perpendicular axis to the rotation axis of the wheel 2 with said axially mounted nut screw formation 11 engaging with a threaded rod 12 which is acted upon by means effective to prevent the rod from rotating about its own axis, thereby the rotary motion imparted to the gear 10 is converted into a translation of the rod 12. As clearly visible in Figs. 1 and 2 the seat 1a prevents with walls 1b and 1c axial displacement of pinion gear 10.
The rod 12 is translatable within a recess 20 defined on the interior of the body.1 and is connected, at one end thereof, to a link 21 protruding out of the body 1 and having at its other end engagement means interacting with the other of the flaps to be secured together which may comprise either a ring or hook, in conformity with conventional practice.
The means which prevents the rod 12 from rotating may comprise a slot 30 formed through the body 1, wherethrough the link 21 projects outwardly which is advantageously of a foil-like or flat shape; similarly, the rod may have a polygonal shank which engages in a corresponding recess 20 of polygonal shape.
The pitch of the thread of the rod 12 and nut screw 11 is a very fine one, so that, owing to the gear 10 engaging with the wheel 2, a considerable tensile force may be applied by virtue of the large speed reduction effect provided by the fine pitch thread, whereby by manipulating the wheel 2 it becomes possible to apply such a pull force as to enable the ski boot to be tightened without the assistance of the conventional lever; moreover, the provision of the mechanisms just described affords a very fine adjustment capability of the useful length and, hence, enables the user to adjust at will the tightening force.
It should be noted that, owing indeed to the very high force which can be developed by acting on the wheel 2, the adjustment can be performed with the device in its fastened position, i.e. with the link under tension, in contrast with similar prior devices.
Furthermore, in order to favor an accurate adjustment, the link element 21 may be provided with an indexed scale displaying its useful length, and consequently the applied pull force.
It should be added to the foregoing that the body 1 may be hinge connected to a closure lever 50 attached to either of the flaps to be secured together, in which case the device would mainly perform an adjusting function, the fastening function proper of the fastening device being performed by the lever, which may be of conventional design.
The operation of the device described hereinabove is quite simple: in fact, the user, in order to effect an accurate adjustment of the applicable fastening force, is simply required to operate the wheel 2, turning it such as to alter, in either direction, the useful length of the link 21 and while being enabled to exert a considerable tightening force, owing to the coupling of the mechanisms just described which are of a non- reversible type, that is such that a tension applied on the link cannot result in the wheel 2 rotating, only the rotation of the wheel 2 being able of producing a translation of the link.
It will be appreciated from the foregoing description that the invention achieves its objects, and in particular that the provision of a geared device with a high reduction ratio, resulting from the fine pitch of the threads of the rod 12 and nut screw 11, enables the development of high tensile forces for an adequately.small effort to operate the wheel 2.
The invention as described is susceptible of many modifications and variations without departing from the true scope of the instant inventive concept.
Moreover, all the details may be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.
In practicing the invention, the materials used, and the dimensions and contingent shapes, may be any'selected one to meet individual application requirements.

Claims

1. An adjusting` and` fastening device particularly for ski boots, comprising a body adapted for association with one of the skit boot flaps to be secured together, an actuating wheel-like element carried rotatably on said body and having one part thereof accessible from outside of said body said actuating wheel element interacting with a rotary to translatory motion conversion unit associated with a link element connected to engagement means interacting with the other of said ski boot flaps to be secured together, characterized in that said rotary to translatory motion conversion unit comprises an axially stationary but rotatable nut screw formation, which is associated with said actuating wheel-like element and an axially slidable, but rotatorily stationary threaded rod in screwing engagement with said nut screw formation and wherein said link element is connected with said threaded rod.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein said actuating wheel-like element comprises gear element having at the central part thereof said threaded nut screw formation.

3. A device according to claim 1, 2 wherein said actuating element comprises a small wheel (2) having centrally on one face thereof an axial pin (4) for pivotal engagement with said body (1) and a flat serration (5) of circular configuration extending around a circumference centered on said pin (4) and wherein a further actuating element is provided in the form of a gear member (10) comprising on the outside periphery thereof a toothed wheel formation (10) in transmissive engagement with said flat serration (5).

4. A device according to claim 1-3, wherein said small wheel (2) has a knurled peripheral edge surface (3) and wherein the device further comprises a small cover (6) associated with said body (1) for holding said wheel (2) in position, said knurled peripheral edge surface (3) at least partly projecting outwardly with respect to said cover (6).

5. A device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the means for preventing said rod (12) from rotating about its own axis comprise a slot (30) formed through said body (1) and having a matched configuration to said link element (21), said link element having a flat shape flat protruding out of said body (1).

6. A device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said means for preventing said rod (12) from rotating comprise a polygonal shank slidably engaged in a recess (20) of matched configuration formed on the interior of said body (1).

7. A device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said body (1) is hinge connected to an actuating lever (50) journalled to said one of said flaps to be secured together.

8. A device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said first actuating element (2) can be operated with said device in the closed position, i.e. with said link element (21) under tension.

9. A device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises an indexed scale on said link element (21).