EP1846117B1 - Replaceable blade and spikes for snow shoe, and snow shoe provided with one such blade and spikes - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a blade (5) for a snow shoe (1), comprising a lower wall (3) with at least one region in which spikes (6) are to be fixed in a replaceable manner, said blade comprising locking means (50) for the assembly thereof and for locking the same to the snow shoe (1) in a replaceable manner. The inventive blade is characterised in that the locking means (50) are formed by at least one locking tongue (50) enabling the blade to be locked to the snow shoe (1) at least partially by means of a replaceable fixing element (6, 60) forming a complementary locking means (60), when said element (6, 60) is fixed to the lower wall (3) of the snow shoe in the same fixing region as the spikes (6).

Description

The present invention relates to a knife for snowshoeing intended to be mounted on a snowshoe in a removable manner. It is also relative to a snowshoe intended to be equipped with said knife.

Snowshoes have been known for many years because they have been used for centuries by Scandinavians to move on snow. Until today, snowshoes were used for utilitarian or military purposes, to allow alpine populations and troops to travel on snow for their daily needs. Currently, snowshoes are used by athletes who hike and walk, or even competitions. But the sportsmen, although practicing for their pleasure, are more and more demanding for the material they use, and it is true that the products currently sold are not entirely satisfactory.

Thus, snowshoes must combine criteria of grip and lift while maintaining maximum comfort for their users. The combination of these criteria is of particular importance, especially in difficult conditions such as, for example, in hard or icy snow or in conditions of steep slope. The current rackets do not unfortunately allow to obtain sufficient grip in such conditions and make it difficult to progress their users.

In addition, it may be necessary also to decrease the grip of the racket in certain types of use of the racket or snow conditions such as, for example, during the descent.

Thus, the patent US 6,026,597 having for priority filing the document FR 2 769 242 has already proposed to solve the aforementioned drawbacks by means simple, reliable, safe and inexpensive. This patent has an improvement for snowshoeing to allow the adaptation of the snowshoe snow and slope conditions by means of attachment, such as a knife, said means advantageously adapting removably on the racket when necessary and according to the desire of the user.

The present invention provides another improvement for adapting the snowshoe snow conditions and further improved slope.

For this purpose, the subject of the invention is a knife for snowshoes having a bottom wall with at least one zone to which at least one lug is intended to be removably fixed, the knife comprising locking means enabling it to be assembled. and releasably locking to the racket, the locking means being constituted by at least one locking lug, allowing the racket to be locked via at least a portion of a removable fastening member forming a complementary locking means when said member is in a position fixed to the lower wall of the racket in the same attachment zone as the crampon, said racket being characterized in that .
the fastener is the crampon.

It is specified here that in the context of the invention, the term spike, a spur whose tip is the area of attachment to the snow.

It is also specified that in the context of the invention, the term "knife" means an elongated element forming a wall and whose blade constitutes the zone of attachment to the snow.

With such a solution, we obtain, just as the patent teaches. FR 2 769 242 mentioned above, a firm locking of the knife once assembled to the snowshoe while avoiding any residual game between the two likely to hinder the user of the racket in its progression, but it is realized, in addition, this locking using a fastening member or an attachment stud whose attachment area is already provided on the racket without adding additional parts such as a screw / nut system implanted in another zone, or such as a pivoting plate mounted directly on the knife and which necessarily pivots in a perforated area of the racket .... The locking according to the invention therefore does not add additional piece (s) which may (in) t protrude unnecessarily and therefore particularly harmful to the general aesthetic appearance of the racket.

Such a solution also makes it possible to manufacture a simpler knife with only a functional blade profile and a locking tab.

According to the invention, the user can very easily and quickly, either remove the knife from the racket which can also keep the crampon as sole means of attachment, or conversely remove the crampon of the racket which can maintain a knife as a sole hooking means locked through the fastener in the area provided for fixing the crampon.

Finally, the invention advantageously makes it possible to use an existing racket manufactured to receive at least one removable crampon for adding a knife by locking said crampon in a fixed position.

• La figure 1 illustre le mode de réalisation préféré du couteau, du crampon et de la raquette à neige associée.
• La figure 1 est une vue en perspective de dessous de la raquette à laquelle sont fixés deux couteaux incurvés et six crampons selon l'invention,
• La figure 2 est une vue également en perspective de dessous de la raquette à laquelle sont fixés deux autres couteaux incurvés et quatre crampons selon un autre mode réalisation de l'invention.
• La figure 3 est une vue de dessous de la raquette à laquelle sont fixés deux autres couteaux rectilignes et six crampons selon un autre mode de réalisation de l'invention.
• La figure 4 est une vue éclatée de côté de la figure 1 avec les couteaux non assemblés et les crampons non fixés à la raquette selon l'invention.
• La figure 5 est une vue en perspective d'une variante d'exécution d'un couteau selon l'invention ;.
• Les figure 6a est une vue en perspective d'une variante d'exécution d'un crampon selon l'invention.
• La figure 6b est une vue en coupe d'une autre variante d'exécution d'un crampon selon l'invention.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description which follows with reference to the accompanying drawings which are given by way of non-limiting examples.

• The figure 1 illustrates the preferred embodiment of the knife, the crampon and the associated snowshoe.
• The figure 1 is a perspective view from below of the racket to which are fixed two curved knives and six cleats according to the invention,
• The figure 2 is also a perspective view from below of the racket to which are attached two other curved knives and four studs according to another embodiment of the invention.
• The figure 3 is a bottom view of the racket to which are attached two other straight knives and six crampons according to another embodiment of the invention.
• The figure 4 is an exploded side view of the figure 1 with unassembled knives and spikes not fixed to the racket according to the invention.
• The figure 5 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a knife according to the invention;
• The figure 6a is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a crampon according to the invention.
• The figure 6b is a sectional view of another alternative embodiment of a crampon according to the invention.

The racket designated under the general reference (1) is in the form of a perforated plate of vertical plane of general symmetry (P) fixed under the shoe and which consists of a main frame (2) consisting of a wall lower peripheral (3) delimiting an inner zone or sieve (4), comprising a set of internal walls supporting the attachment for retaining the user's shoe, the attachment for retaining the shoe not being shown here.

Said sieve (4) with its set of internal walls forms a general lower surface of support on the snow allowing the user not to sink too much into the snow and this, thanks to the relatively large bearing surface. Note that the attachment for retaining the shoe is preferably articulated relative to the sieve (4) of the racquet itself, along a transverse axis to be pivoted vertically. Advantageously, said attachment is constituted by an articulated plate comprising retaining means for the boot, namely, front retaining means and rear retaining means.

According to the preferred embodiment of the racket, there is provided a knife (5) for snowshoe (1) having a lower peripheral wall (3) to which at least one clamp (6) is removably attached. Said knife (5) comprises locking means (50) for removably assembling and locking it to the racket (1), which consist of at least one locking lug (50) locked to the racket (1) at less in part by the crampon (6) forming complementary locking means (60), when the crampon is in position fixed to the bottom wall (3) of the racket (1).

According to the preferred embodiment of the knife, the tab (50) has an eyelet (500) in which the crampon (6) is housed in part. One part (60) the crampon (6) comes, in the fixed position of the crampon (6) on the racket (1), in abutment against the eyelet (500) itself abuts against the housing (31) of the crampon (6) formed in the bottom wall (3).

According to the preferred embodiment of the knife, the knife (5) further comprises at least one support tongue (51) for pressing the knife (5) against a portion (30) of the bottom wall (3) racket (1).

According to the preferred embodiment of the knife (5), the latter is formed of an elongate blade (52) whose lower edge (520) is toothless in the area where the locking lug (50) is located.

According to the preferred embodiment of the crampon (6) according to the invention, it forms a complementary locking means (60) which cooperates with the locking tab (50) of the knife (5) described above.

According to the preferred embodiment, the crampon (6) has an outer shoulder (60) forming a washer which directly locks the locking tab (50), when the crampon being in position fixed to the racket.

According to another variant of execution of the crampon illustrated in FIG. figure 6a , the crampon (6) has an internal radial groove (61) for locking the locking lug (50) of the knife (5) via a not shown pin. Thus, according to this embodiment, the crampon (6) is first attached to the lower part of the racket (1), for example by screwing the net (62) in a complementary net formed directly in the racket, then the locking tab (50) is disposed around the crampon (6) below its inner radial groove (61) and the pin is inserted into the radial groove (61) by spacing its two branches from one another. It goes without saying that the shape and the dimensions of the pin will be chosen so as to ensure on the one hand a play-free locking between the crampon (6) and the locking lug (50) and on the other hand an insertion and removal in the internal radial groove (61) easy for the user of the racket. According to the invention, the crampon (6) has at its fixing end (62) a thread (63) to cooperate with the thread formed in the lower part of the racket in order to fix the crampon removably to the racket (1). ).

Preferably, the crampon (6) has at its end for fastening (62) a thread for cooperating with a screw (7) intended to pass through the sieve of the racket in order to fix the cleat (6) removably to the racket (1) ( figure 4 ). In this preferred configuration, the knife (5) is first installed along the bottom edge of the sieve, each cleat (6) is inserted into the eyelet (500) and into the housing usually used for this purpose in the sieve then the screws (7) are screwed inside each corresponding crampon (6).

According to another variant of execution of the crampon illustrated in FIG. figure 6b , the crampon (6) has an outer shoulder (60) forming a washer and, as means for removably attaching the crampon (6) to the racket (1) a pusher system (64) with ball (640) and spring ( 641) implanted transversely inside the crampon (6) and which makes it possible to fix and remove the crampon (6) more easily from the racket (1). To use such a removable fastening system (64), a lumen opening to receive the ball (641) must be made in a portion of the stud housing so that said ball (641) blocks the crampon in its housing. This variant allows the user to be able to remove the cleat simply by manual pushing on the ball (641) housed in a locked position in said through hole. It goes without saying that the implantation of the opening hole will be chosen so that the user has easy access to it.

According to the invention, the snowshoe (1) thus comprises the locking means (5, 50, 6, 60) allowing the knife (5) to be locked in position on the racket (1) are constituted at least in part by the removable cleat (6,60) in a fixed position on the racket which cooperates with the locking lug (50) of the knife (5).

According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the knife (5) comprises a side wall (53) provided with a succession of teeth (53a, 53b, 53c, 53d, 53e ...) as shown by the Figures 1 and 2 . The locking tab (s) (50) is (are) arranged transversely to the side wall (53).

According to the preferred embodiment of the knife according to the invention, the teeth (53a, 53b, 53c, 53d, 53e ...) of the same side wall (53) are of different size and shape, as shown by the Figures 1 and 2 .

Note that the knives (5) represented in Figures 1 and 2 are elongated with a curved profile with alternating concave area and of convex zone which marries the profile of the lower peripheral wall (3) thanks in particular to the fact that the knife (5) is made of elastically deformable material transversely to the wall (53) and via the support tongues ( 51). According to another variant of execution, as illustrated in FIG. figure 3 both knives (5) according to the invention may be of elongate shape but with a substantially straight profile. Similarly, if each locking tab (50) illustrated in FIGS. Figures 1 to 4 , has at its end an eyelet (500) which can be housed around a portion of the crampon (6), according to another variant illustrated in FIG. figure 5 , the end of the locking lug (50) may have a half-eyelet shape (501) whose inner profile matches that of the crampon (6). This alternative embodiment allows for the user of the racket (1) according to the invention to provide to separate the (s) knife (s) (5) of the racket (1) without having to completely unscrew the crampon (6) and to remove it from its slot provided for this purpose in the lower rack wall (3) (1).

The invention allows a racquet user to easily and quickly change the surface (s) of attachment by locking or not the knife (s) with the (s) cleat (s) already fixed (s) on the racket and / or removing or not one or more crampons and keeping the knife locked on the racket by a fastener, for example another crampon or other means, such as a screw, housed, for example by screwing, in the housing provided for a crampon.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described and represented by way of examples, but it also includes all the technical equivalents as well as their combinations.

For example, the user may, in the context of the invention, plan to implant a single knife (5) on a right or left edge of the lower peripheral wall (3) of a racket (1) to snow.

If the knives (5) as illustrated, are in the form of an elongated blade with a plurality of teeth different in size and size, they may also be in the form of a blade with a plurality of identical teeth.

Claims (7)

1. Snowshoe (1), comprising at least one detachable blade (5), the said blade comprising a lateral wall (53) which is provided with a succession of teeth (53a, 53b, ...), and comprising a detachable securing unit and locking means (50) which allow the blade to be assembled and locked onto the snowshoe (1) in a detachable manner, whereas the said snowshoe comprises spikes (6), the locking means (50) being constituted by at least one locking lug (50), characterised in that the securing unit is constituted by the spikes (6).
2. Snowshoe (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that the spikes (6) co-operate with the locking lugs (50), which have an eyelet (500) in which the spike(s) is/are partially accommodated.
3. Snowshoe (1) according to claim 2, characterised in that the blade (5) comprises at least one support tongue (51) which makes it possible to support the blade against a part (30) of the lower wall (3) of the snowshoe (3).
4. Snowshoe (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the blade is formed by an elongate plate (52), the lower edge (520) of which is without teeth in the area where the locking lugs are located.
5. Snowshoe (1) according to the preceding claim, characterised in that the spike (6) has an outer shoulder (60) which forms a washer in order to lock the locking lug (50) directly when the spike is in the position in which it is secured to the snowshoe.
6. Snowshoe according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the spike has at its securing end (62) a thread (63) in order to co-operate with the thread which is provided in the lower part (3) of the snowshoe (1), so as to secure the spike (6) to the snowshoe (1) in a detachable manner.
7. Snowshoe (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the spike has at its securing end (62) a thread in order to co-operate with a screw (7) which passes through the screen of the snowshoe, so as to secure the spike (6) to the snowshoe (1) in a detachable manner.

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