EP0177599A1

EP0177599A1 - Ski-boot with parallelogram clamping

Info

Publication number: EP0177599A1
Application number: EP85902104A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Edda Mannella
Original assignee: TECNOSKI SNC
Current assignee: TECNOSKI SNC
Priority date: 1984-04-10
Filing date: 1985-04-09
Publication date: 1986-04-16
Also published as: IT8420482A0; IT1209521B; WO1985004557A1

Abstract

Cette chaussure de ski se caractérise par le fait que sa partie arrière est fixée à l'empeigne à l'aide de quatre liaisons qui forment - avec la partie fixe et la partie mobile de la chaussure - deux parallélogrammes disposés latéralement. Ces parallélogrammes permettent à la partie arrière de s'approcher de la partie avant chaque fois que leurs liaisons effectuent une demi-rotation. Par ce mouvement, lors de la fermeture définitive, le pied est poussé vers l'avant sous l'effet d'une pression oblique exercée par la paume de la main.This ski boot is characterized by the fact that its rear part is fixed to the upper using four connections which form - with the fixed part and the mobile part of the shoe - two parallelograms arranged laterally. These parallelograms allow the rear part to approach the front part each time their connections make a half-rotation. By this movement, during final closing, the foot is pushed forward under the effect of oblique pressure exerted by the palm of the hand.

Description

DESCRIPTION Ski-boot with parallelogram clamping The characteristic of this ski-boot consists in the fact that its hack part is fixed to the boot-vamp by means of four links which form - together with the ski-boot (the fixed and the moving part) - two side- -parallelograms. Such parallelograms allow the back part to near the front part whenever their links make half-rotation movement. This movement makes the final clamping push the foot forward by means of a slanting pressure caused by the palm of the hand.

At present, ski-boots are fastened in various ways, generally by means of levers. The main drawback to such levers consists in the fact that, as they stick out of the boot-vamp, they are subject to shocks which could open or even break such levers. Another drawback to such levers is represented by the time and the effort necessary to close such levers in order to clamp the foot as wished. Finally, they are not nice from an aesthetic viewpoint because they stick out of the boot and hardly match with the design of the boot. Such remark is confirmed by the present tendency to reduce the number of levers as much as possible.

The clamping device described in this document offers one main advantage: the possibility of clamping the ski-boot with one single - and simple - pressing movement. In fact, once the link's length is adjusted, every subsequent clamping will be as precise and accurate as the first one. This type of clamping can be fixed not only on ski-boots, but also on ice-skates or roller-skates or on whatever type of boot or shoe. Table I shows a ski-boot equipped with the type of clamping - this document presents - in the position "clamped". Table II shows the same type of ski-boot in position "unclamped". Table III shows a ski-boot in section and in the position of maximum unclamping, which allows for a more precise description of the invention. No 1 shows the back moving-part of the boot in its farthest position from the leg (that is in its unclamped position). You can also notice the padded shoe 2 and the gasket 3 which, wnen tne boot is clamped, is press.ed against part 4 of the boot. This must happen when the two pairs of links 6 have accomplished a 180° rotation towards right from the position shown in the figure. The precise fitting of the gasket 3 into the part of the boot 4 depends on the length of the links 6.

Such links are made of a central cylinder in which two screws are tightened respectively with right and left pitch. In this way, by operating the central cylinder, it is possible to increase or decrease the distance between A and B (or between C and D): the greater such length is, the tighter is the clamping, because the distance between the back padding 2 and the front padding 8 and 10 is shorter. With the clamping operation, described above, the foot is pushed forward inside the boot until it gets under the padding shoe 10. A special loose sole 11 that can move freely inside the boot, could make such sliding movement of the foot easier. The links used could be of different type . They could be simple and small plates with various holes so as to have a link length that can adjust the tightening of the clamping. Or also, such links could consist of screws 16 fixed on the moving pin (A,C) fig.3 and screwed in the fixed pin (B, D) so as to allow the back part to near the front part still further when the boot is clamped. In this case, there would be. four screws on each boot. Such screws could be tightened by means of a special wing nut put on them; or they could be screwed with a screwdriver or a coin inserted in a special slot, and so on. In this case, the degree of tightenening of the boot could be adjusted when the foot is inside the boot by screwing the four screws. Besides, when the boot is unclamped, a further tightening of the four screws could lead to tighter clamping, though continuing to be as Taalanced as during the previous tightening operation when the foot is inside the boot. This elastic pressure - shown in table III and used only when putting on or taking off the ski-boot - does not occur when links (6) are located on the left of the pin B; but it occurs when links are located obliquely and upwards on the right side of the pin. In order to clamp the ski-boot, it is necessary to rotate such links of about 45°. This rotating movement is caused by pushing down the back part 1. The tightening or horizontal movement is caused by a vertical lowering movement, in a circular area where ever bigger vertical movements are associated with ever smaller horizontal movements. The result of this situation is that to an ever tighter clamping corresponds a progressively reduced physical effort. This is possible if we consider part 8 as part of the boot-shoe, which is possible either designing the two parts as a single part, or by linking one part to the other by means of device 9. Such a device may be a link like link 6 having the function of creating a certain angle between the shoe and the boot-leg, according to the skier's needs, by tightening the screws of the corrisponding double lead screw (9A).

Device 9 can also work as elastic bind and be made in different ways, which does not mean that the main chracteristies of the invention are affected.

In any case, with the clamping operation (with horizontal links on the right of B and D) , the backwards reaction-push give by the elastic parts of the ski- boot, does not virtually lead to the unclamping of the boot. However, in order to be sure - that is in order to be sure that the device does not allow for undesired unclamping (when skiing) - the links not only must be horizontal, but also tilted downwards. In this way, the horizontal reaction pushes cause a further lowering movement of the back moving-part (1, 2) until the foot touches the insile part of the vamp. (5). Another device apt to prevent the boot from unclamping casually could consist in some sort of bolt. In this case, the ski-boot could be unclamped with links located in any angular position. We can take fig. 2 of tableIII as an example. This figure shows one of the fixed pins (i.e. hinges ) round the axes of which the links rotate. Such a pin must be attached to one of the four links: it would be better if the pin could be located outside and on the boot-vamp: in fact in this position, operating the the pin would be easier. Besides, the pin is not subject to shocks. This pin is tooth-headed 12. Such tooth-headed pin is in connection with the end 13 of the lever 14 hinged in 15. The possible unclamping movement of the ski-boot causes rotation of the tooth-headed pin 12 in the direction shown by arrow f. This causes pushes against end 13 of the lever 14 which would rotate such lever round its axis 15. As the radii's sum of the point where the contact occurs is higher than the distance between the two centers, such rotation does not occur, while the tooth-headed pin stands still: in this way, it prevents the links 6 from rotating and consequently, it prevents the ski-boot from unclamping. On the contrary, if one wants to unclamp the ski-boot, one only has to push in the direction of arrow a. Such device is a ratchet gear, actually, whose end is kept in touch with tooth-headed pin 23 elasbically by an elastic return device - extension spring round axis 16 or extention spring or compression spring oe also flexure spring if the lever is placed somewhere else. - Just remark that the release of this ratchet gear is easy because the opening moment is very little or unexisting because the elastic push against the foot should be aligned to the link.

Claims

Ski-boot or any similar thing with parallelogram clamping. Characteristics: the boot-leg consists of a front part joined to the shoe, and of a back part connected with the shoe by means of four links or by articulated arms forming two moving parallelograms at the two sides of the ski-boot. Each parallelogram consists of a fixed part and a moving part. In this way, the moving part - whenever it nears the fixed part -tightens and clamps the leg while pushing the foot forward. Consequently, the foot slides inside the shoe and is clamped tight.

2) Ski-boot or any similar thing with parallelogram clamping as claimed above. It is characterized by four moving links consisting of four screws that can be screwed in the upper parts of four fixed pins. Such screws can be screwen - tightened or loosened - in the upper part of the other four pins which rotate round the fixed pins when clamping or unclamping the ski- boot. In this way, the distance between the fixed and the moving pins can vary so as to tighten the ski- boot as wished even when the foot is clamped inside it.

3) Ski-boot or any similar thing with parallelogram clamping as claimed above. It is characterized by four moving links consisting of a central cylinder with right-handed and left-handed thread. Some screwed devices with right-handed and left-handed threads can be screwed in it. These devices are hinged respectively on the fixed part and on the moving part of the shoe. In this way, the distance between the fixed and the moving pins can vary when the ski-boot is unclamped. 4) Ski-boot or any similar thing with parallelogram clamping as claimed above. It is characterized by four links consisting of plates with holes in their ends so that one end can be fixed on the fixed part of the ski-boot, while the other can be fixed on the back moving-part of the ski-boot so as to tighten the ski- -boot correctly. 5 ) Ski-boot or any similar thing with parallelogram clamping as claimed above. It is charcaterized by one fixed adjusting-device of the back moving-part consisting of a tooth-headed pin - i.e. one of the fixed pins placed outside, on the upper part of the boot coxinected to a screwed link. A ratchet gear is located on such tooth-headed pin which is connected to the afore mentioned tooth-headed pin elastically by means of a special return spring. This ratchet gear can be moved when one wants to unclamp the ski-boot (i.e. to separate the back moving-part from the fixed part of the ski- boot.

6) Ski-boot or any similar thing with parallelogram clamping as claimed above. It is characterized by a back moving-part, the lower area of which can fit the upper edge of the fixed shoe by means of a soft and waterproof gasket that can be fixed to the back moving-part or to the fixed shoe of the ski-boot.

7) Ski-boot or any similar thing with parallelogram clamping as claimed above. It is characterized by two fixed low-placed pins of the parallelogram that work also as pins for tightening the boot-leg. In this way the angular position of the boot-leg with the shoe can be varied. Besides, such device makes it possible to link the boot-leg to the shoe elastically by means of a special adjusting and shock-absorber device placed on the back of the ski-boot.

8) Ski-boot or any similar thing with parallelogram clamping device as claimed above. It is characterized by one or more return springs returning the moving part to the fixed part of the ski-boot. Such springs can be made either of steel (helical and nest spring) or of rubber if they are extension springs. In this way, the ski-boot can be clamped in any position. Such springs can also be made of steel, if they are torsion springs acting round the pins of the ski-boot fixed-part.

9) Ski-boot or any similar thing with parallelogram clamping device as claimed above. It is characterized by a final stop push of the clamping phase. Its function is to place the four rotating pins of the shoe under their respective four fixed pins. In this way, the elastic force of the foot reaction creates a Movement in the direction of the clamping rotation while separating the back part of the ski-boot from the foot - so as to prevent the ski-boot from unclamping while skiing.

10) Ski-boot or any similar thing with parallelogram clamping as claimed above. It is characterized by a thin sole placed between the vamp of the ski-boot (i.e. the external part of the boot) and the inside padded shoe. In this way, the padded shoe can slide forward in order to make the foot slip under the vamp of the ski-boot. Consequently, the upper part of the foot is clamped when the leg is pushed forward by the tightening action.