FR2564711A1 - Closure device for a rear-entry ski boot - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a closure device for a rear-entry ski boot, comprising a rigid outer shell and an inner padding. The device is arranged in order to produce differentiated clamping over the foot and round the leg of the skier, respectively, by means of a single traction member. The device comprises at least one drawstring 10 which extends at least partially above the instep and which is actuated by a traction member 11 in order to clamp the foot against the insole 13 and, simultaneously, to clamp the two parts of the upper 3 of the boot. The drawstring is connected to the body 2 of the shell which surrounds the foot. It extends through the front part 4 of the upper and is connected to the traction member, fastened at the rear part 6 of the upper. The drawstring 10 comprises retention means 14 for limiting, in an adjustable manner, the effect of traction on its part acting on the foot of the skier and in order to concentrate the effect of an additional traction on the upper 3.

Description

CLOSURE DEVICE FOR A SKI SHOE
OPENING BACKWARDS
The present invention relates to a closure device for a ski boot opening towards the rear and comprising a rigid outer shell of synthetic material, an inner padding which forms, with said shell, a body in which the skier's foot is housed. and a rod surrounding the lower part of the skier's leg, this rod being provided with a part which can be folded backwards to allow the foot to enter the boot, and at least one tie which extends at least partially in above the instep and which is actuated by a single traction member, which has the effect of pressing the foot against the insole and at the same time tightening the upper on the skier's leg.

Ski boots are well known comprising a rigid outer shell forming the body and the upper of the boot, and a movable inner padding. In a known type of ski boot, called a boot with rear opening, it is provided that the rear part of the shell and of the padding is foldable backwards to allow the skier to introduce his foot into the boot, then can be pushed back forward to be clamped against the front part of the shoe so as to close it.

The locking of the folding part of the shoe is generally carried out using traction means arranged between the body and the folding part of the shoe and actuated by levers. The adjustment of the clamping force is obtained by teeth provided on the traction means and / or on the levers, and / or by screw devices when a fine adjustment is necessary.

In ski boots with rear opening of known type, several traction means are provided, and therefore several levers, ensuring on the one hand a regular distribution of the force along the opening of the boot during blocking and allowing, on the other hand, to differentiate the intensities of these forces according to the personal requirements of the user according to the morphological peculiarities of his foot and the particular conditions of use.

In addition, the actuation of these levers constitutes a difficult and inconvenient manipulation, in particular taking into account the unfavorable environmental conditions in which it is executed.

To eliminate these drawbacks, a closure device has been proposed comprising a cable which extends transversely above the instep, between the body of the shoe and the padding, descends laterally to the sole, then is turned over. upwards along the folding part of the rod and finally extends horizontally to engage in two retaining elements arranged in the fixed part of the rod, one of these elements being a traction lever. Thanks to the arrangement of this cable which, as has been said, surrounds both the body and the upper of the boot, an effective tightening is obtained both on the skier's leg and on his foot, and this by means of a single lever.

The main drawback of this closure device is that, since there is only one locking element, it is not possible to adjust and differentiate the clamping forces on the foot and on the leg. of the skier, which goes against the general requirements of the ski technique and the specific requirements related to the morphology and habits of the skier.

Another disadvantage of this known device consists in that, when the skier's leg is pressed against the rear part of the rod, there is an increase in the tightening on the instep and a simultaneous relaxation of the tightening on the leg.

The object of the present invention is to allow the closing of a ski boot with rear opening by the actuation of a single lever, but at the same time offering the possibility of differentiating the intensity of the tightening in the area of the upper. and in the area of the shoe body, to the desired extent and according to the specific requirements of the use.

Another object of the invention consists in obtaining a differentiated closure by means of a device which does not undergo variations in the clamping forces on the instep and / or on the leg when the skier's leg is bent towards the back.

Another object of the invention consists in obtaining a differentiated closure with a large adjustment margin.

According to the invention, these objects are achieved by a closure device of the type mentioned in the preamble, characterized in that the tie rod is connected to the body of the shoe, extends through the front part of the upper, is connected to said member. of traction, in turn fixed to the rear folding part of the rod, and includes retaining means to adjustably limit the traction effect on its part acting on the skier's foot and to concentrate the effect of a additional traction on both parts of the rod.

According to a first embodiment, the tie comprises a pressing member disposed in the area of the instep, between the padding and the outer shell, and a retaining element pressing against said pressing and cooperating member, during closing of the shoe, with a stop element disposed on the shell, the position of this retainer being adjustable relative to the stop member.This retainer can be constituted by at least one block adjustable in longitudinal direction relative to the pressing member and guided in a slot in the front part of the rod,
The stop element being constituted by the lower end of said slot,
The retaining element may consist of a block provided with a toothed surface associated with a corresponding toothed surface, disposed along the edges of said slot, and held in engagement by a lever with eccentric head projecting from the front part. of the stem.

According to another aspect of the invention, the tie comprises a substantially inextensible and at least partially flexible element, extending transversely above the instep of the skier, descending to the sole, then bent upwards to go up along the rod, to the front part of which it is connected with the possibility of limited axial sliding, to be connected to a winding member constituting said traction member.

According to another embodiment, each tie comprises: - a part extending transversely above the instep of the skier, - a pair of belts connecting the two parts of the rod and connected
to a winding member constituting said traction member, - a pair of cables respectively connecting said transverse part to the
corresponding strap, - a sheath for each of the cables, fixed to the body of my shoe
negates that the position of at least one of its ends is adjustable by
relative to it, and - a pair of retaining elements, arranged on -each belt and cooperating
with a corresponding stop element arranged on the front part of the
rod.

In this case, the front part of the rod may have a passage for the corresponding part in the form of a tie rod, while, in the part of this passage opposite to the rear part of the rod, each belt has a retaining element whose size is larger than that of this passage.

According to a variant, one end of at least one sheath can be fixed to the body of the shoe by means of an eccentric plate adjustable from the outside to vary the position of said end relative to the insole.

Another embodiment of the device comprises a pair of belts provided with one end connected to a transverse element adjustable from the outside in the longitudinal direction of the body of the shoe, against the insole, and of another end. connected to a winding member constituting said traction member, these belts passing through the front part of the rod.

In this embodiment, the transverse element connected to one end of the belts can be coupled to a threaded longitudinal rod, actuated from the outside and housed with this transverse element between the sole and the insole. Preferably, one end of said threaded rod emerges rearward and carries, by an articulation, a lever which is movable between a rest position, in which it is entirely housed in a cavity formed in the heel of the shoe, and an actuating position of the threaded rod, position in which this lever is projecting outside. With this transverse element coupled to a threaded rod, the insole can rest on the transverse element by an inclined plane arranged to cause a lifting of the insole when the transverse element is moved backwards.

The present invention will be better understood on the basis of the description of three preferred embodiments, given below with reference to the appended drawings, in which
FIG. I is a partially cut side view of a ski boot with rear opening, equipped with a closure device according to the invention,
FIG. 2 is a view of the rear of the shoe of FIG. 1, partially cut along line II-II of FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a detail delimited by line III in FIG. I,
FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 1, representing a second embodiment of a ski boot equipped with a device according to the invention,
FIG. 5 is a view of the rear of the shoe of FIG. 4, partially cut along the line VV of FIG. 4,
FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a detail delimited by line VI in FIG. 4,
FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 1, representing a third embodiment of a ski boot equipped with a device according to the invention, and
FIG. 8 is a view of the rear of the shoe of FIG. 7, partially cut along line VIII-VIII.

With reference to the drawings, the closure device according to the invention is installed in a ski boot comprising a rigid outer shell 1 of synthetic material, which forms a body 2 and a rod 3 of the boot, this rod being divided into a part front 4, articulated at 5 on the body 2 near the malleoli, and a rear part 6 also articulated at 5 on the body 2.

A traditional soft padding 7 is placed inside the shell 1.

According to the first embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, there is provided, in the front part of the shoe, between the body 2 and the padding 7, a pressing member 8 shaped so as to wrap the upper part of the instep (not shown). Each lateral edge 9 of the pressing member 8 is fixed to a tie rod 10 which, in this embodiment, consists of a steel cable, but could also be in the form of a belt or another flexible and substantially inextensible element.

The other end of each cable 10 is connected to a winding member 11 or another tra-ction member, disposed on the rear part 6 of the upper 3 of the shoe.

Each cable 10 is partially housed in a corresponding sheath 10 'fixed to the shell 1 and arranged, like the pressure member 8, between this and the padding 7. Each sheath 10' has a lower end located near the sole 12, passes transversely under the insole 13, then rises from the opposite side of the shoe along the upper 3 and has an upper end near the vertical edge of the front part 4 of the upper.

In addition, a toothed block 14 is applied against the pressing member 8, on a vertical toothed part of this member. This block 14 passes through a vertical slot 15 formed in the front part 4 of the upper 3 of the shoe.

The position of the toothed block 14 in the vertical direction on the pressing member 8, along the slot 15, can be adjusted using a lever 16 with an eccentric head which, depending on its position, keeps the block 14 coupled or decoupled with the toothed part of the pressing member 8.

The operation of this embodiment of the closure device is as follows:
To introduce the foot into the shoe, the winding member 11 is released, which makes it possible to tilt the rear part 6 of the upper 3 backwards.

Once the skier has introduced his foot, he actuates the winding member 11, thus exerting traction on the two cables 10, and through them traction on the pressing member 8 in the direction of the sole 12, thus causing tightening the foot against the insole 13.

This tightening is limited by the support of the block 14 against the lower end of the slot 15. From this moment, any additional traction on the cables 10, and therefore any shortening of the part of these cables located between the sheaths 10 'and the winding member 11, brings the rear part 6 closer to the front part 4 of the rod 3, therefore tightening the ankle and the adjacent part of the skier's leg.

Consequently, it is possible to adjust the tightness on the skier's leg independently of the tightening adjustment on the foot. In practice, the first adjustment is made once and for all according to the anatomical shape of the foot and the desired degree of tightening. On the contrary, the second adjustment is carried out each time by means of the winding member II.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 6, the tie rods comprise two separate parts 20, 20 '. More particularly, the part 20 is constituted by a cable connected, as in the previous case, to the pressing member 8, while the part 20 ′ is constituted by a belt, one end of which is connected to the cable 20 by a pin 17 and the other end of which is connected to the winding member 11 after having passed through the front part 4 of the rod 3. The pin! 7 has a size greater than that of
The opening of the passage of the belt 20 'through the front part 4 of the rod.

One end of a sheath 20 "containing the cable 20 is connected to the front part 4 of the rod 3, while the other end of this sheath 20" is fixed to a longitudinal plate 18, articulated at 5 on the body 2 of the shoe.

The angular position of the plate 18 can be varied relative to the body 2 by means of a lever 19 with an eccentric head. In the locked position, this lever maintains a toothed part of said plate 18 in abutment against a corresponding toothed part fixed to the body 2 or formed in the latter.

The operation of this second embodiment of the closure device is as follows
Once the skier has introduced his foot into the ski boot, he actuates the winding member II which, by means of the belts 20 ′, exerts traction on the cables 20 and therefore on the pressing member 8 , which blocks the skier's foot against the insole 13. This tightening ends when the ankles 17 reach the opening of the passage of the corresponding belt 20 'in the front part 4 of the upper 3 of the shoe. From this stage, any additional traction on the belts 20 ′ causes the two parts 4 and 6 of the rod 3 to come together, thus tightening the ankle and the skier's leg.

Also in this embodiment, as in the previous one, it is possible to regulate beforehand and independently the tightening of the foot and the leg of the skier, in a very fast and convenient manner, by varying the angular position of the plate 18 by relative to its articulation 5. In particular, if the plate 18 is rotated, by means of the lever 19, in the direction which approaches the pressing member 8 the part of this plate supporting the end of the sheath 20 " , the clamping of the foot by the pressing member 8 will be weakened, while it will be increased in the case of a rotation of the plate in the opposite direction.

In the embodiment shown, the ski boot is provided with a single adjustment plate on the outside of the boot, and the traction or pulling element consists of a single cable which passes transversely over the pressure member 8, then below the insole 13.

An equivalent solution could however include two separate cables, connected to the pressing member, sliding in respective sheaths and both provided with an adjustment plate 18.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, two separate tie rods 30 are provided, each of which is constituted by a belt subdivided into two parts 30 ′ and 30 "connected to each other, as in the previous embodiment, in the area of an ankle 17.

The part 30 'of the tie rod crosses the opening of a passage formed in the front part 4 of the upper 3 of the shoe, while the part 30 "passes over the instep, between the padding 7 and the shell 1, and its lower end is fixed to a transverse element 21 in which engages a threaded longitudinal rod 22, actuated itself by an external lever 23.

This lever 23 is articulated at the end of said threaded rod 22 and it is movable between a rest position, in which it is entirely housed in a cavity 24 formed in the heel 25 of the shoe, and an actuation position, in which it projects outwards and can be easily manipulated by the skier who wishes to rotate the threaded rod 22.

The insole 13 'of the shoe has, on its underside, an inclined plane 26 resting on the transverse element 21 whatever the position of this element along the threaded rod 22. The inclination of this plane inclined 26 is such that the more the transverse element 21 is in the retracted position, the more the insole 13 'is raised.

The operation of this third embodiment of the closure device is as follows
For a given position of the transverse element 21, the tightening of the skier's foot, previously introduced into the boot, is effected by actuating the winding member 11. This produces traction on the two parts 30 ', 30 " of the tie which, because of its transverse position above the instep, first presses the foot against the insole. When the ankles 17 reach the corresponding opening of the passage in the front part 4 of the upper 3, they stop this tightening and cause a mutual approximation of the two parts 4 and 6 of the upper 3 of the shoe.

Consequently, in this embodiment also, the tightening of the foot is substantially constant, while the tightening of the ankle and the leg is adjustable by means of the winding member II. If it is also desired to vary the tightening of the skier's foot during the adjustment of the boot, it suffices to actuate the lever 23 (preferably when the boot is loose). By this lever, one causes a rotation of the longitudinal rod 22, therefore a longitudinal translation of the transverse element 21 to which are fixed the lower ends of the two belts 30 ".

This translation of the transverse element 21, for example towards the rear, has a double effect. By moving the attachment point of the two 30 "belts backwards, it is equivalent to a shortening of the belts and therefore to an increase in the tightening. At the same time, it causes a lifting of the insole 13 ′, therefore another In summary, the displacement of the transverse element 21 produces two cumulative effects, each of which can itself provide an adjustment in the tightening of the device on the skier's foot. As a result, this combined effect considerably increases the available adjustment margin.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above by way of example, but it extends to any modification or variant obvious to those skilled in the art.

Claims (8)

Claims 1. Closure device for a ski boot opening towards the rear and comprising a rigid outer shell of synthetic material, an inner padding which forms with said shell a body in which the skier's foot is housed and a rod surrounding the lower part of the skier's leg, this rod being provided with a part which can be folded backwards to allow the foot to enter the boot, and at least one tie which extends at least partially above the neck. -foot and which is actuated by a single traction member, which has the effect of pressing the foot against the insole and at the same time tightening the rod on the skier's leg, characterized in that the pulling (10, 20, 30) is connected to said body (2), extends through the front part (4) of the rod (3), is connected to said traction member (11), fixed in turn to the rear folding part (6) of the rod (3), and comprises retaining means (14, 17) to limit in a controlled manner able the traction effect on its part acting on the skier's foot and to concentrate the effect of an additional traction on the two parts (4, 6) of the rod (3) 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the tie rod (10) comprises a pressing member (8) disposed in the area of the instep, between the padding (7) and the outer shell (1), and a retaining element (14) s' pressing against the pressing member (8) and cooperating, during the closing of the boot, with a stop element disposed on said shell (1), the position of this retaining element (14) being adjustable relative to the stop element. 3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the retaining element consists of at least one block (14) adjustable in longitudinal direction relative to the pressing member (8) and guided in a slot (15) formed in the front part (4) of the rod (3), the stop element being constituted by the lower end of this slot (15). 4. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that the retaining element consists of a block (14) provided with a toothed surface associated with a corresponding toothed surface, disposed along the edges of said slot (15), and held in engagement by a lever (16) with an eccentric head projecting from the front part of the rod. 5. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the tie (10, 20, 30) comprises a substantially inextensible element and at least partially - flexible, extending transversely above the instep of the skier, descending to '' at the sole, then bent upwards to go up along the rod (3), to the front part (4) of which it is connected with possibility of limited axial sliding, to be connected to a winding member ( 11) constituting said traction member. 6. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that each tie comprises - a part (8) extending transversely above the instep of the  skier, - a pair of belts (20 ') connecting the two parts (4, 6) of the rod (3)  and connected to a winding member (11) constituting said  traction, T a pair of cables (20) respectively connecting said transverse part  (8) to the corresponding belt (20 '), - a sheath (20 ") for each of the cables (20), fixed to said body (2) of my  negates that the position of at least one of its ends is adjustable by  relative thereto, and - a pair of retaining elements (17), arranged on each belt and coo  operating with a corresponding stop element arranged on the front part  (4) of the rod (3r 7.A device according to claim 6, characterized in that the front part (4) of the rod has a passage for the corresponding belt-shaped part (20 ') of the tie rod, and in that that, in the part of this passage opposite the rear part (6) of the rod, each belt (20 ') comprises a retaining element (17) whose size is larger than that of this passage. 8. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that one end of at least one sheath (20 ") is fixed to said body (2) by means of an eccentric plate (18) adjustable from the outside for varying the position of said end relative to the insole 9. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a pair of belts (30) provided with one end connected to a transverse element (21) adjustable by the outside in the longitudinal direction of said body (2), against the insole (13 '), and from another end connected to a winding member (11) constituting said traction member, these belts passing through the front part (4) of the rod (3). 10. Device according to claim 9, characterized in that said transverse element (21) connected to one end of the belts is coupled to a threaded longitudinal rod (22), actuated from the outside and housed with this transverse element between the sole ( 12) and the insole (13 ').  He. Device according to claim 10, characterized in that one end of said threaded rod (22) emerges rearward and carries, by an articulation, a lever (23) which is movable between a rest position, in which it is fully housed in a cavity (24) formed in the heel of the shoe, and an actuation position of the threaded rod (22), position in which this lever is projecting outside. 12. Device according to claim 10 or II, characterized in that the inner sole (13 ') is supported on the transverse element (21) by an inclined plane (26) arranged to cause a lifting of the inner sole when the he transverse element is moved backwards.