EP1329247B1 - Gliding board and removable cover to be mounted on such a board - Google Patents

Abstract

The ski or snowboard (1), having raised metal plates (3, 4) on its upper surface (5), is equipped with a detachable plastic or cardboard trim panel (10) shaped to engage mechanically with the plates and cover them. The panel has cavities in its underside to receive the plates, and it clips or slides in place to cover them. In a variant of the design the trim panel can be in two sections, each covering one raised plate.

Description

Technical area

The invention relates to the field of snow sports, and more specifically sliding snow sports using a board, such as skiing, or snowboarding. It is more precisely an element forming a protective cover and decor coming into place on the prominent areas of the board.

Previous techniques

In general, a gliding board such as a ski has a binding which is secured to the upper face of the ski. The element forming this attachment can be either directly screwed into the ski, or be mounted on an intermediate element, itself mechanically secured to the ski.

The Applicant has described in document FR 2 756 747 an example of this type of intermediate element. In this case, the upper face of the ski receives one or more metal plates mounted almost permanently. On this plate can be mounted the abutment or the heel of the binding, with a capacity of adjustment, without it being necessary to perform additional holes in the ski.

However, it has been observed that the use of these metal plates can have a number of disadvantages. Indeed, during the storage and transport of the skis on which these metal plates have been mounted, the skis are stacked on top of one another. In this case, the prominent metal plates may scratch the sole glide, or more generally form irregularities in the latter.

A problem that seeks to solve the invention is to eliminate these risks of degradation of the sole.

It has been proposed in document FR 2 624 029 to protect skis before mounting the binding, by packaging them in a plastic bag. Such a solution is not satisfactory when the upper face of the ski has prominent elements, since this plastic bag can easily be torn by the sharp edges of the metal plates with the risk of deteriorating the sole of the neighboring ski.

In addition, when the skis are presented for sale before mounting the bindings, the metal plates contrast with the rest of the decoration of the ski's upper face. This contrast is detrimental to an attractive presentation of the product for sale.

Another problem to be solved by the invention is that of allowing an aesthetic and attractive presentation for the buyer of a ski which is not yet equipped with bindings, but which nevertheless has apparently mechanical parts which will be later concealed.

Presentation of the invention

The invention therefore relates to a gliding board which has on its upper surface protruding elements intended to receive the members of a binding. These protruding elements may be either a metal intermediate plate or the like, which has been screwed onto the board, or parts of elements inserted inside the structure of the board itself, and some portions of which pass through the upper face of the board. the board.

According to the invention, the board also comprises a removable piece forming a cover which covers these prominent elements cooperating mechanically with them.

In other words, the board according to the invention is equipped with an additional piece which is placed above the prominent elements when the skis must be transported and stacked on top of each other. This piece of protection may have a decorated upper face or more generally whose appearance is in harmony with the decor of the upper face of the board.

The board equipped with the characteristic cover can therefore be exposed to sale, without the metal parts for mounting the fasteners are apparent.

Advantageously in practice, the removable part which forms the cover has recesses under its lower face, in which the prominent elements integral with the upper face of the board are housed. Thus, during the establishment of the characteristic cover on the upper face of the board, the prominent elements penetrate into the recesses, and this cooperation can ensure maintenance in position of the cover.

When it is desired to improve the fixing of the cover on the board, it can be provided that the removable part clicks on the prominent elements. However, the securing of the cache on the prominent elements can be carried out using additional additional means such as screws or specific organs provided for this purpose. The cache may also have some stretch, and be put in place after being slightly stretched, by deformation of its material. The cooperation of the cache and the prominent elements can also be effected by sliding. In this case, the cover may have profiled portions, which slide on protruding parts of the prominent elements.

In practice, the board may comprise two prominent elements intended to receive respectively the abutment and the heel of the binding. In this case, the removable piece forming the cover can cover both the prominent elements at once by forming a single piece. Only one cache is needed to perform the characteristic function. However, in certain variants, it can be provided that each of the prominent elements is equipped with a clean cover. In practical, the prominent elements can be as already mentioned, perforated metal pieces and secured to the upper face of the board.

To facilitate stacking skis, it can be provided that the upper face of the removable piece has substantially flat portions, so that the contact between the sole of the ski from above and the cache of the ski from below is distributed over a large area .

Brief description of the figures

• La figure 1 est une vue en perspective sommaire de la zone centrale d'un ski équipé de deux plaques de montage des fixations, et sur lequel le cache caractéristique est montré juste avant d'être mis en place.
• La figure 2 est une vue en coupe longitudinale du ski de la figure 1, lorsque le cache est mis en place.
• La figure 3 est une vue de dessous du cache illustré à la figure 1, montré en association avec les deux plaques solidaires de la face supérieure du ski.

The manner of carrying out the invention as well as the advantages which result therefrom will emerge from the description of the embodiment which follows, in support of the appended figures in which:

• Figure 1 is a summary perspective view of the central area of a ski equipped with two mounting plates of the fasteners, and on which the characteristic cover is shown just before being put in place.
• Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the ski of Figure 1, when the cover is put in place.
• Figure 3 is a bottom view of the cover illustrated in Figure 1, shown in association with the two plates integral with the upper face of the ski.

Way of realizing the invention

As already mentioned, the invention relates to a protective cover or forming a cover which can be placed on prominent members, protruding from the upper face of a gliding board to receive the fasteners. In the illustrated form, the invention is described in the application to alpine skiing, but it can of course be declined to other boards of gliding, including snowboarding.

Thus, as illustrated in Figure 1, the pad area (2) of a ski (1) has two plates (3, 4) mounted on the upper face (5) of the board.

In the illustrated example, these plates (3, 4) are equipped with rows of holes (7) for the attachment of platforms supporting the abutment and the heel of the binding.

Nevertheless, this is a particular embodiment, and the invention is not limited to this single embodiment, but covers all variants in which the plates (3, 4) can receive by all means the abutment and the heel of the fixation.

As seen in Figure 2, these plates (3, 4) are arranged above the upper face (5) of the board, and therefore form prominent elements. The presence of sharp edges combined with the use of rigid materials, typically metal, can cause as already mentioned, the risk of damage to the sole of a ski that will be placed on top.

This is why, in accordance with the invention, the board is equipped with a removable part (10) forming a cover coming to cover the two plates (3, 4).

In the form illustrated, the cover has two portions (11, 12) each covering a plate (3, 4), these two portions (11, 12) being connected by a connecting portion (13). In non-illustrated variants, the two portions (11, 12) may be independent, and each of them placed distinctly on one of the plates (3, 4).

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, each zone (11, 12) of the cover (10) has on its underside a housing (14, 15) into which the plates (3, 4) integral with the upper face can be inserted. of the board (1). These recesses are delimited on the lateral sides by walls (16, 17) whose lower edge can come into contact with the upper face of the ski when the cover (10) is placed on the plates (3, 4).

At the front and rear, the recesses (14, 15) are limited by a substantially vertical wall (18) which cooperates with the respective front and rear ends of the plates (3, 4).

Any beads or other lugs may be provided on the inner faces of the walls (16-18) of the recesses (14, 15), so as to cooperate with the periphery of the plates (3, 4) to ensure an installation by snap.

In the illustrated form, the end walls (18) of the recesses (14, 15) extend forward and rearward by a substantially horizontal flat portion (20) pressing against the upper face (5) of the board.

Other means of cooperation between the cover and the plates can be provided, and for example the presence of fingers located inside the recesses (14, 15), which come into the housings (7) provided on the plates ( 3, 4).

According to another characteristic of the invention, the portions (11, 12) of the cover (10) are substantially flat, and located at a height greater than the connecting portion (13) connecting them. In this way, the support of the sole of a ski that would be placed on the ski (1) is distributed over a relatively large area, thus limiting the risk of depression or deformation of this sole.

In the illustrated form, the upper face of the cover can take on different decorative motifs, making the ski equipped with the cover more attractive. In practice, the materials used to make the cover are made of plastic and for example chosen from the families of ABS, polyurethanes, polyamides or the like. The cover can then be obtained by injection, molding or thermoforming. The cover can also be made of cardboard, by cutting and folding.

It follows from the foregoing that the board according to the invention has the advantages inherent in the use of metallic elements almost definitively. secured to the board for the establishment of fasteners. These advantages are complemented by the fact that these metal elements are hidden when the ski is on sale, until the fasteners are actually mounted. In addition, these generally metallic elements are covered by the characteristic cover which prevents these metal elements injure the sole of neighboring skis when they are stacked.

Claims (7)

1. A gliding board (1) comprising, on its upper surface (5), raised parts (3, 4) intended to accommodate the components of a binding, characterised in that it also comprises a removable cover piece (10) which covers said raised parts (3, 4) and cooperates mechanically with them.
2. A gliding board as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the removable cover piece (10) has openings (14, 15) in its lower surface into which the raised parts (14, 15) joined to the upper surface (5) of the board fit.
3. A gliding board as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the removable piece (10) snaps onto the raised parts (3, 4).
4. A gliding board as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the removable piece slides on the raised parts.
5. A gliding board as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that it comprises two raised parts (3, 4) intended to accommodate the toe piece and the heel piece of the binding respectively and in that the removable cover piece (10) covers both the raised parts (3, 4).
6. A gliding board as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the raised parts (3, 4) are formed by metal plates (3, 4) with holes in them that are joined to the upper surface (5) of the board.
7. A gliding board as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the upper surface of the removable piece has areas (11, 12) that are substantially flat.

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