EP0773048B1 - Snowboard - Google Patents

Abstract

The ski or snow board consists of a main lower body layer (3) extending along its whole length and equipped with a sole and lengthwise edges. It also comprises a core and a metal or textile reinforcing member. An upper body layer (6) extends for at least a part of the ski or snow board's length. The upper body layer is fixed rigidly to the lower one in the centre. Its front and/or rear ends are connected to the lower layer via an elastic intermediate layer (12) and matching corrugated surfaces on the two layers which form alternating projections and recesses (13,14). The length of the upper layer is between 0.2 and 0.9 of the overall length of the ski/snow board.

Description

The present invention relates to a board for sliding on snow, such as skiing, monoskiing or surfing.

A snow gliding board has a front end raised called spatula, a central part receiving the fixing (s) for the skier's shoe (s), called the skate zone, and a rear end called heel.

The pressure exerted by a board on the snow, resulting from the weight of the skier is not constant from the tip to the heel. Thus, as shown in Figure 1 of the accompanying schematic drawing, which is a diagram, in which the abscissa axis corresponds to the length of the board and the ordinate axis corresponds to the pressure of this board on snow, under the load of the user, it is visible that the main pressure on the snow is exerted in the pad area PA , and that a certain pressure is exerted in the areas of tip S and heel T. Between the tip and heel zones, and the skate zone, there are two zones A and B , in which the pressure is almost zero. However, it would be desirable to benefit from a distribution of the pressure of the ski over the snow, which is as homogeneous as possible over the length of the ski.

Document FR-A-2 670 392 relates to a ski comprising a lower part or base on which an upper part forming a stiffener rests, this stiffener being able to be fixed in different ways on the base, and being able in particular not to be fixed on the base in its central part, the interface between these two parts being relatively flat. The purpose of this structure is to modulate the rigidity of the ski as a function of the type of stiffener used, and to provide damping by shearing effect at the ends of the stiffener, insofar as these ends are not rigidly fixed on the base.

The object of the invention is to provide a board for gliding on snow, in which the pressure distribution curve exerted on the snow as gradual as possible over at least part of the length of the board.

To this end, this board, of the type comprising, on the one hand, a body extending over the entire length of the board and forming, at ends of it, the tip and the heel, this body comprising in particular the sliding sole bordered by longitudinal edges, a core, side walls and at least one reinforcement constituted by at minus a metal blade, a textile tablecloth or metal rods and, on the other hand, at least one upper blade which, extending over at least part of the board, except at the tip and the heel, rests on the body by being fixed to it locally rigidly either in its central part, either in one of its front or rear end zones, is characterized in that the base of the upper blade and the surface corresponding upper body include, in at least one of end zones of the upper blade not fixed on the body, and on their faces bearing one against the other, complementary profiled parts protruding and recessed, intended to transform a movement of longitudinal sliding of the blade over the body in a force comprising a pressure component perpendicular to the surface of the sole.

When the board bends, that is to say when passage of hollows and bumps, or when turning, there is a displacement relative of the upper blade with respect to the body. Considering the rigid connection located at a distance from at least one end of the blade, only the front and / or rear end (s) of the blade not linked to the body and say free can move towards it. This relative displacement of at least one of the ends of the upper blade relative to the upper surface of the body is taken advantage of to improve the quality of the contact between the board and the snow, by transforming the forces resulting from the sliding movement of the blade on the body in a vertical pressure component of the board on snow.

According to one embodiment of this board, the blade upper body and include, in at least one of the areas end of the upper blade, facing faces comprising nested complementary notches, in the form of bars / grooves transverse, or fingers / cuvettes.

These notches can come in different forms of bars / grooves oriented transversely to the ski and have example a sawtooth profile, or a wavy profile. It is possible to provide, in each free end zone of the blade superior, a single notch or several successive notches. The shape of the notches influences the behavior of the board. To the extent that the notches are sawtooth-shaped, with large slopes, the vertical pressure component of the board on snow is more important if the notches are formed by undulations with gentler slopes, the pressure component being all the more important as the apex angle presented by each notch is weak. The pressure component can also be modulated as a function the height of the notches, and especially depending on the stiffness of the blade higher, i.e. the thrust pressure in the plane perpendicular to the sole.

According to an embodiment of this plate, in at least one of the end zones of the upper blade, this is linked to the blade lower through a layer of elastic material.

This layer of elastic material provides an intimate bond while allowing sliding between the upper blade and the body. This also avoids the formation of voids, in which snow could penetrate.

It is also possible that in each end zone free of the upper blade, it is simply in contact with the body, without any intermediate mechanical connection, the assembly being covered by a protective cover preventing the penetration of snow. Advantageously, in at least one of the end zones of the blade upper, it rests on the body, a cover fixed on the body covering at least part of this end region of the blade upper and pressing via an elastic element on the face upper blade to ensure contact pressure of this on the body.

According to one embodiment, the upper blade extends in the central part of the board, as well as in its front and / or rear, and is rigidly fixed to the body, in the single part center of the board.

In this case, the upper blade is either placed above the body, or embedded in the upper surface of the body.

According to a variant, the upper blade extends from an area from the front or rear end of the board to the other rear end zone or before and is rigidly attached to the body at one of these only two end zones.

According to another embodiment, the upper blade is more short and extends in the front area and / or in the back area of the board, but not in the central part of it.

The same gliding board can be equipped with several upper blades offset longitudinally with respect to other.

The length of the upper blade is between 0.2 and 0.9 times the length of the board.

The upper blade can extend over the entire width of the board, or only over part of its width.

According to one embodiment of this board, the blade upper consists of a core associated with at least one reinforcement, laterally bordered by two reinforcing elements and covered by an upper wall.

According to another embodiment of this board, the blade upper consists of a core associated with at least one reinforcement and laterally bordered and covered on its upper side by an element shell-shaped profile. In this case, the body of the board has a traditional structure, while the upper blade is made up essentially by a hull.

Figure 1 est une vue d'un diagramme de répartition de la pression d'un ski, de type connu, sur la neige en fonction de sa longueur ;

Figure 2 est une vue en perspective d'un ski selon l'invention équipé d'une fixation de chaussure ;

Figure 3 est une vue de côté du ski de figure 2 ;

Figure 4 est une vue de côté du détail D de figure 3 ;

Figures 5 et 6 sont deux vues similaires à figure 4 correspondant à deux variantes de ski ;

Figures 7 et 8 sont deux vues correspondant respectivement à figure 3 et 4 en position fléchie du ski de figure 3 ;

Figure 9 est une vue schématique, en coupe transversale selon la ligne IX-IX de figure 7, d'une variante d'une zone d'extrémité du ski de figure 2 ;

Figures 10 et 11 sont deux vues similaires à figure 3 de deux autres formes d'exécution de skis selon l'invention ;

Figure 12 est une vue de dessus d'un autre ski ;

Figure 13 est une vue partielle en coupe longitudinale selon la ligne XIII-XIII de figure 12 ;

Figure 14 est une vue d'une variante du ski de figure 12 ;

Figures 15 et 16 sont deux vues en coupe transversale de deux skis selon l'invention ;

Figure 17 est une vue d'un diagramme similaire à figure 1 représentant la pression d'appui d'un ski sur la neige en fonction de sa longueur, dans le cas d'un ski selon l'invention.

In any case, the invention will be clearly understood with the aid of the description which follows, with reference to the appended schematic drawing representing, by way of nonlimiting examples, several embodiments of this board, in the case of its application to a ski:

Figure 1 is a view of a pressure distribution diagram of a ski, of known type, on snow as a function of its length;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a ski according to the invention equipped with a shoe binding;

Figure 3 is a side view of the ski of Figure 2 ;

Figure 4 is a side view of detail D of Figure 3 ;

Figures 5 and 6 are two views similar to Figure 4 corresponding to two ski variants;

Figures 7 and 8 are two views corresponding respectively to Figure 3 and 4 in the bent position of the ski of Figure 3 ;

Figure 9 is a schematic view, in cross section along the line IX-IX of Figure 7 , of a variant of an end region of the ski of Figure 2 ;

Figures 10 and 11 are two views similar to Figure 3 of two other embodiments of skis according to the invention;

Figure 12 is a top view of another ski;

Figure 13 is a partial view in longitudinal section along the line XIII-XIII of Figure 12 ;

Figure 14 is a view of a variant of the ski of Figure 12 ;

Figures 15 and 16 are two cross-sectional views of two skis according to the invention;

Figure 17 is a view of a diagram similar to Figure 1 showing the support pressure of a ski on snow as a function of its length, in the case of a ski according to the invention.

FIG. 2 represents a ski 2 comprising a body 3 defining the length of the ski, and in particular having a tip 4 at the front end of the ski and a heel 5 at the rear end of the ski. On this body 3 rests an upper blade 6 extending in the central part or pad area 7 of the ski, up to near the tip and heel areas. This upper blade 6 is equipped with a binding for a shoe comprising a stop 8 and a heel piece 9 . The upper blade 6 is rigidly fixed on the body 3 in the shoe zone 7 . This rigid attachment 10 is shown in the figures by a dotted line. In the end zones, the upper blade 6 is pressed against the body 3 , in an elastic manner, with the interposition of a layer 12 of elastic material. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 , the base of the upper blade 6 comprises, near each of its ends, a V-shaped notch 13 projecting downward, oriented transversely to the ski, while the body 3 has a recess 14 of complementary shape, in which the notch 13 is engaged when the ski is in the rest position, that is to say not flexed.

FIG. 5 represents a variant of this ski, in which the body 3 and the base of the upper blade 6 each have a succession of notches and complementary recesses in the form of saw teeth. FIG. 6 represents a variant of the ski of FIG. 5 , in which the notches are formed by undulations 15 in the general shape of a sinusoid.

Figure 7 illustrates the ski 2 of Figures 2 and 3 in the bent position. The detail E in FIG. 7 , shown on an enlarged scale in FIG. 8 , shows the relative displacement of the upper blade 6 with respect to the body 3 during this bending movement. It follows from the diagram that the upper blade 6 tends to move in the direction of the heel of the ski according to arrow F , thus exerting, via the notch 13 , a pressure P on the body 3 , this pressure force comprising a vertical component tending to exert pressure on the snow.

As a result, the pressure curve of the ski on the snow has the shape shown in FIG. 17 , in which there is an improvement in the continuity of the pressure between the pad area PA and the areas of the tip S and the heel T , compared to a pressure curve characteristic of a known ski and shown in FIG. 1 .

It is possible to modulate the value of the pressure exerted by the upper blade taking into account the elasticity of the latter as well as the slope and the height of the notches, as well as the elasticity of the intermediate film 12 .

FIG. 9 represents an alternative embodiment of a ski according to the invention. In this variant, an upper blade 16 rests on a body 17 , without joining to the body and without interposition of elastic material in at least one of its end zones. As shown in FIG. 9 , the upper blade 16 is of width less than that of the body 17 , and a cover 18 , fixed on the body 17 , covers the upper blade 16 over at least part of the length of its zone of end. Between the upper wall of the cover 18 and the upper blade 16 is interposed a layer of elastic material 19 . This layer of elastic material could be replaced by a leaf spring, for example. It follows from this structure that the elastic element 19 , constrained by the cover 18 , ensures contact pressure between the upper blade 16 and the body 17 .

FIG. 10 represents an alternative embodiment of the ski of FIG. 3 , in which the same elements are designated by the same references as above. In this case, there is a rigid connection zone 20 between the upper blade 6 and the body 3 , in the rear end zone of the upper blade. Over the rest of its length, the upper blade is mounted to slide freely longitudinally on the body, with notches 13 in the front end region, preferably with the interposition of an elastic element 12 , or mounting of a cover, as described with reference to FIG. 9 , forming a device for lateral centering of the blade relative to the body of the ski.

FIG. 11 shows another embodiment of a ski according to the invention, in which the body 22 supports an upper blade 23 which extends only from the central part of the ski to the front region thereof. In order to ensure continuity at the upper surface of the ski, the body 22 has a greater thickness in its rear part, this zone of greater thickness being extended in the central part and in the front part of the ski by a recessed area, in which the upper blade 23 is mounted. This upper blade 23 is rigidly fixed 24 at the level of the skid zone, and is mounted freely on the lower blade 22 in the front part of the ski.

Figure 12 shows another ski in top view. This ski comprises a body 37 , on the upper face of which rests, in its front zone, an upper blade 38 of width less than that of the body. This blade is fixed to the body by its rear end, while its front end rests on the body. This front end of the blade 38 is equipped with a profiled finger 39 engaged in a housing 40 formed in the upper surface of the body, as shown in FIG. 13 .

FIG. 14 represents another ski, equipped with two blades 38 resting on the same body 37 , in the front and rear zones thereof.

FIG. 15 represents a cross-sectional view of a first type of ski according to the invention. This ski comprises a body 3 constituted by a core 26 , the base of which rests on a sole 27 bordered by two longitudinal edges 28 . The side walls of the core 26 are covered by edges 29 resting on the edges 28 . The upper blade 6 is, for its part, constituted by a core 30 , the side walls of which are covered by upper edges 32 and the upper face of which is covered by an upper wall 33 . Insofar as the section in FIG. 15 corresponds to an end zone, a layer of elastic material 34 is interposed between the body 3 and the upper blade 6 . This FIG. 15 does not represent the reinforcing elements that the ski can include both at the level of the body 3 and at the top blade 6 .

FIG. 16 is an alternative embodiment of the ski of FIG. 15 . In this ski, the body 3 has the same structure and the same elements are designated by the same references as above. The upper blade, for its part, has an upper wall and side walls formed by a shell 35 , the edges of which rest on the lower edges 29 of the body 3 .

It goes without saying that the invention is not limited only to embodiments of this ski, described above by way of examples, it on the contrary embraces all variants.

Claims (14)

1. Board for sliding on snow, such as a ski, a monoski or a snowboard, of the type comprising, on the one hand, a body (3) extending over the entire length of the board and forming, at the ends of the latter, the tip (4) and the heel (5), this body comprising in particular the sliding sole bounded by longitudinal edges, a core, lateral walls and at least one reinforcement consisting of at least one metal strip, a textile sheet or metal rods and, on the other hand, at least one upper strip (6) which, extending over at least a portion of the board, except in the region of the tip and of the heel, rests on the body (3), being fixed to the latter locally in a rigid manner either in its central portion or in one of its end zones, front or rear, characterized in that the base of the upper strip (6) and the corresponding upper surface of the body (3) comprise, in at least one of the end zones of the upper strip (6) not fixed to the body (3), and on their faces bearing against one another, complementary projecting and hollow profiled portions (13, 14, 15) intended to convert a longitudinal sliding movement of the strip (6) on the body (3) into a force comprising a pressure component perpendicular to the surface of the sole.
2. Board for sliding according to Claim 1, characterized in that the upper strip (6) and the body (3) comprise, in at least one of the end zones of the upper strip (6), opposite faces comprising complementary imbricate notches (13, 14, 15) in the form of transverse small bars/grooves, or of fingers/recesses.
3. Board for sliding according to Claim 2, characterized in that the small bars/grooves (13, 14) are oriented perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the board and each have a saw-toothed profile.
4. Board for sliding according to Claim 2, characterized in that the small bars (15) are oriented perpendicularly to the ski and each have an undulation-shaped profile.
5. Board for sliding according to Claim 2, characterized in that, in each end zone of the upper strip (6), the upper strip and the body have a number of successive notches (13, 14).
6. Board for sliding according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, in at least one of the end zones of the upper strip (6), the latter is connected to the body (3) by means of a layer (12) of elastic material.
7. Board for sliding according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, in at least one of the end zones of the upper strip, the latter rests on the body, a cover integral with the body covering at least a portion of this end zone of the upper strip and pressing by means of an elastic element on the upper face of the upper strip so as to bring about a contact pressure of the latter on the body of the board.
8. Board for sliding according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the upper strip extends in the central portion of the board, and also in its front and/or rear zones, and is fixed in a rigid manner on the body in only the central portion of the board.
9. Board for sliding according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the upper strip extends from one end zone, front or rear, of the board to the other end zone, rear or front, and is fixed in a rigid manner on the body in the region of only one of these two end zones.
10. Board for sliding according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the upper strip extends in the front zone and/or in the rear zone of the board, but not in the central portion of the latter.
11. Board for sliding according to any one of Claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the length of the upper strip is between 0.2 and 0.9 times the length of the board.
12. Board for sliding according to any one of Claims 1 to 11, characterized in that it comprises a number of upper strips staggered longitudinally in relation to one another.
13. Board for sliding according to any one of Claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the upper strip (6) consists of a core (30) which is associated with at least one reinforcement, bounded laterally by two reinforcement elements (32), and covered by an upper wall (33).
14. Board for sliding according to any one of Claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the upper strip (6) consists of a core (30) which is associated with at least one reinforcement, bounded laterally and covered on its upper face by a profiled element (35) in the form of a shell.

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