FR2791901A1 - Snowboard has front and rear binding sections with spaced holes to receive boots in selected positions - Google Patents

Abstract

The snowboard (1) has front (9a) and rear (b) binding sections between its ends (2,3). Each binding section has a row (17,18) of holes in its upper face and extending longitudinally. The board has four openings in each row. The gaps between the outer and inner openings is thirty millimetres and the gap between the inner openings is ten millimetres.

Description

Snowboard intended for snowboarding The invention is

  relates to the field of boards

  intended for snowboarding.

  A board has a length defined by a front end and a rear end. While driving the board, the user has both feet retained on an upper face of the board, each at a restraint area. One of the feet is closer to the front end,

  the other is closer to the rear end.

  The practice of snowboarding, or snowboarding, leads the user to drive the board on different types of

  snow. In particular, snow can be compact or powdery.

  For driving on compact snow, the user needs to move the center of gravity of his body towards the front of the board to negotiate a turn. Indeed, a predominance of weight at the front generates a sliding of the front part, under the effect of gravity. This phenomenon allows changes

  direction in driving the board.

  For driving in powder snow, the user rather needs to move the center of gravity of his body towards the back of the board. In fact, it is necessary in this case to keep the front end of the board above the snow. A predominance of weight at the rear allows the

  holding up the front end.

  It follows that, depending on the type of snow on which it is moving, the user secures each foot on the board to a different position. For compact snow, the two feet are brought together towards the front, compared to a more distant position of the two feet when driving in powder snow. Thus a displacement of the weight of the body, towards an end towards which the feet were brought closer, has a more important influence on the handling of the board than if this same displacement were carried out compared to a position of the feet

further from the end.

  To allow the position of each foot to be modified relative to the board, the prior art has proposed different solutions. The most common solution is to hold each leg with a fastener. Each attachment is itself removably secured to the board by means of four screws, the screws being arranged with respect to each other like the four corners of a square 40 mm square. To receive the screws, the board has on its upper face threaded holes arranged in two parallel rows. The rows are spaced 40 mm apart from each other, and are oriented in the direction of the

length of the board.

  The holes in the two rows face each other in a

  transverse direction of the board.

  In some cases, the distance between two successive holes in a row is 20 mm. In other cases, this distance is 40 mm. Thus, a user can move each binding in the longitudinal direction of the board, either in a 20 mm pitch, or in a 40 mm pitch. As a result, he can adjust the position of the bindings to favor either driving on compact snow, or driving in a

powder snow.

  It is desirable that a positioning of the bindings, which facilitates driving on compact snow, allows an acceptable driving in powder snow. Conversely, it is desirable that a positioning of the bindings, which facilitates driving in powder snow, allows acceptable driving on a

compact snow.

  Thus, when the type of snow encountered while driving changes, the user retains control of the trajectory of

the board.

  However, it appeared that with the known boards, it is possible to find only one position of the bindings facilitating driving for a type of snow, while

  allowing acceptable driving for the other type of snow.

  For example, if the user finds a position of the bindings which facilitates driving on compact snow while making it acceptable in powder snow, then he cannot find another position of the bindings, on the same board, which facilitates a driving in powder snow while

  making it acceptable on compact snow.

  It follows that in certain cases of change in the type of snow encountered while driving, the user does not arrive

  not to maintain control of the path of the board.

  The invention particularly relates to a gliding board on which it is possible to position bindings in two distinct positions, one of the positions facilitating driving on compact snow while making it acceptable in powder snow, the other position facilitating driving in powder snow while making it acceptable on snow

compact.

  A gliding board intended for the practice of snowboarding, according to the invention, has a length delimited by a first end and a second end in a longitudinal direction of the board, a width delimited by a first edge and a second edge according a transverse direction of the board, and a thickness delimited by an upper face and a lower face or sliding face, the board also having, from the first end to the second end, a first end zone, a first retaining zone , a central zone, a second retaining zone, a second end zone, each retaining zone having at least one row of orifices opening onto the upper face, the row being oriented substantially along the

longitudinal direction.

  The board is characterized in that the row of orifices comprises four orifices, the distance separating the axis of the first orifice from the axis of the second orifice being substantially equal to 30 mm, the distance separating the axis of the second orifice from the axis of the third orifice being substantially equal to 10 mm, and the distance separating the axis of the third orifice from the axis of the fourth orifice being substantially equal

at 30 mmn.

  The particular arrangement of the holes allows the user to offset each fastener by 30 mm in the direction of the length of the board, relative to a given position, when the gap

  between the fixing retaining screws is 40 mm.

  It appeared that this difference makes it possible to pass from a position which facilitates driving on compact snow while making it acceptable in powder snow, to another position which it facilitates driving on powder snow while making it

  acceptable on compact snow, and vice versa.

  An advantage is that the user retains control of the trajectory of the board if he alternately encounters compact snow and powder snow, whatever the

  position chosen for the fixings.

  Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will be

  better understood using the description which follows, in

  look at the appended drawing illustrating, according to nonlimiting examples, how the invention can be implemented, and in which: - Figure 1 is a perspective view of a board according to a first embodiment of the invention, - the Figure 2 is a partial top view of the board of Figure 1, - Figure 3 is a section on III-III of Figure 2, - Figure 4 is a section on IV-IV of Figure 3, - the FIG. 5 is a section along VV of FIG. 3, - FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an element of FIG. 3, - FIG. 7 is similar to FIG. 6, but corresponds to a second embodiment, - Figure 8 is similar to Figures 6 and 7, but corresponds to a third embodiment of the invention, - Figure 9 is similar to Figures 6 to 8, but corresponds to a fourth embodiment of the invention, - Figure 10 corresponds to a fifth embodiment. The first embodiment is described below using

Figures 1 to 6.

  A gliding board 1 is shown in perspective in FIG. 1. In a known manner, the board 1 has a length delimited by a first end 2 and a second end 3 in a longitudinal direction L of the board 1, a width delimited by a first edge 4 and a second edge 5 in a transverse direction W of the board 1, and a thickness delimited by an upper face 6 and a face

lower or sliding face 7.

  The board 1 also has, from the first end 2 to the second end 3, a first end zone 8a, a first retaining zone 9a, a central zone 10, a second

  retention zone 9b, and a second end zone 8b.

  The different zones are easily found on the board 1. When the board 1 is flat on a reference surface, it touches the surface only by two transverse contact lines. Each line is a border between an end zone and a containment zone. Each end zone extends above the surface, as well as each retaining zone and the central zone. The retention zones 9a, 9b are each located inside the border line. The distance between the retention zones 9a, 9b is therefore the distance between the borders, at which it is necessary

  subtract about 2 to 5 times the width of a shoe.

  Each of the retaining zones 9a, 9b is a zone which has means provided for retaining a fixing on the

  upper face 6. These means will be described below.

  Each of the ends 2, 3 can be arbitrarily qualified as a front or rear end, depending on whether a user is right-handed or left-handed. For example, in the following

  from the description, the first end 2 is considered to be

  rear end, and the second end 3 is considered

as the front end.

  The means provided for retaining the fasteners are the same in each of the retention zones 9a, 9b. That’s why only

  the means of zone 9a are described below.

  Preferably but not limited to, the retaining means comprise a set of six inserts 11, 12, 13, 14,

15, 16.

  As can be better understood with the help of FIG. 2, the inserts are distributed in the board 1 over two rows 17, 18. The inserts 11, 12, 13 belong to row 17, and the inserts 14, 15, 16 belong to row 18. The rows 17, 18 are each substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction L. They are respectively located at the same distance from the edge 4 or 5 of the board 1, and are distant

  one of the other with a value d substantially equal to 40 mm.

  The inserts 11, 12, 13 and 14, 15, 16 are respectively opposite in the transverse direction W. The inserts 11, 13, 14 and 16 are identical to each other, and the inserts 12 and 15 are also identical one compared to the other. For this reason, only inserts 15 and

  16 are described in detail below.

  Each insert is housed in the board 1 as can be understood with the help of FIG. 3. In a known manner, the board 1 has, depending on its thickness between the upper 6 and lower 7 faces, a covering layer 19, an upper reinforcement 20, a core 21, a lower reinforcement 22, and a

sole 23.

  Of course, the materials used to make the constituent elements of the board 1 are known to those skilled in the art. The core 21 may be made of wood or of foam of a synthetic material. The reinforcements 20, 22 can comprise synthetic or metallic fibers impregnated with thermosetting resin. The cover layer 19 can be made from acetyl-butadiene-styrene. The sole 23 can

include polyethylene.

  The covering layer 19 defines the upper face 6,

  while the sole 23 delimits the lower face 7.

  As can be understood with the aid of FIGS. 3 and 4, the insert 16 is a part of revolution housed in the thickness of the board 1. The insert 16 comprises a cylinder 24 extended by a shoulder 25. A face d 'support 26 of the shoulder 25 is supported on the reinforcement 22, while one end 27 of the cylinder 24 is flush with the upper face 6. The insert 16 has an orifice 28 of cylindrical shape. The cylinder 24, the shoulder 25 and the orifice 28 are defined with respect to a

same axis 29.

  The orifice 28 has a thread 30 provided for receiving a screw, not shown, the screw being provided for retaining a

  fixing, also not shown, on the upper face 6.

  To prevent the insert 16 from coming out of the thickness of the board 1 during driving, a retaining face 31 of the insert 16 is supported on the material constituting the core

  21. As a result, the face 26 remains in contact with the reinforcement 22.

  In addition, provision may be made for the face 26 to be secured to the reinforcement 22, for example by means of an adhesive. The fact that the insert 16 remains in contact with the reinforcement 22, by its face 26, allows the thread 30 to have the greatest possible length. Thus, a screw is retained over a greater length. It follows that the retention of a fixation is better. As is known to those skilled in the art, it is necessary for the retaining face 31 to have a sufficient surface for

  prevent insert 16 from being torn off from plate 1.

  For example, for a cylinder 24 with an outside diameter close to 9 mm, the shoulder 25 has a diameter close to

19 mm.

  The insert 16 can be produced with any suitable material,

  such as steel or any other metal or metal alloy.

  The insert 16 and the inserts 11, 13, 14 are very inexpensive to manufacture, because it is well known that for equal function, a

  piece of revolution is more economical.

  According to the invention, the board 1 is provided with two inserts

  12, 15 different from the inserts 11, 13, 14 and 16.

  Figures 3, 5 and 6 describe the insert 15, as well as its location in the plate 1 relative to the

traditional inserts 16 and 14.

  The insert 15 has, in the same spirit as what has been said for the insert 16, a bearing face 32 intended to remain in contact with the reinforcement 22, a retaining face 33 provided to bear on the material constituting the nucleus 21, and a

  end 34 which is flush with the upper face 6.

  The distance between the faces 32 and 33 delimits the thickness of a shoulder 35. A chimney 36 extends between the face 33 and

the end 34.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, two orifices 37, 38 with respective axes 39, 40 are formed in the insert 15. Each of the orifices 37, 38 has a thread 41, 42, designed to receive a screw identical to that received for example by

insert 16.

  The axes 39, 40 are parallel to each other,

  and separated by a distance substantially equal to 10 mm.

  The insert 15 is not a part of revolution, that is to say that it is not manufactured with a lathe. It can be produced by molding with resumption of machining, or by machining a blank for example with a milling machine for the exterior, then a drill for the orifices 37, 38. Here again the material used is preferably steel , or another metal, or a

metal alloy.

  The insertion of the inserts in plate 1 is done as

explained below.

  All the axes of the orifices of the inserts of a retaining zone 9a or 9b are substantially perpendicular to the face

upper 6.

  On each of the rows 17, 18, the four axes of the four orifices are aligned and contained in a plane which passes through the axes of the orifices. Of course, this plan is oriented according to

  the longitudinal direction L of the board 1.

  As can be understood from FIG. 3, the distances which separate the axes of the orifices in row 18 in the direction

  the length of the board are as follows.

  The distance between the axis 29 of the insert 16 and the axis 39 of the insert 15 is substantially 30 mm. The distance between the axes 39 and 40 of the insert 15 is, as has been said, substantially 10 mm. Finally, the distance between the axis 40 of the insert 15 and an axis 43 of an orifice 44 of the insert 14 is

approximately 30 mm.

  It follows that the user who wants to screw his fixing on the upper face 6 in the retaining zone 9a has the choice between two positions. The number of positions is imposed by the combination of the following factors: - the distances in the longitudinal direction L between the axes of rows 17 and 18 are the same, since the respective orifices of the inserts of rows 17, 18 are opposite each other the transverse direction W, - the four screws used to secure the attachment to the board are arranged at the four corners of a 40 mm square. If one refers to FIG. 2, and that the successive references 45, 46, 47 and 48 designate the orifices of the inserts 11, 12 and 13, then the two positions of the fixing

are obtained as follows.

  A retracted position for fixing the zone 9a is obtained if the four screws are screwed into the holes 45, 47, 38 and 28. In fact, these four holes are located at the four corners of a square 40 mm in side, and the orifices 45 and 28 are towards the rear of the board. If a similar adjustment is made in the retaining zone 9b, that is to say if the orifices used bring a binding as close as possible to the rear end 2 of the board 1, the position of the two bindings facilitates driving in powder snow. Of course, the inserts are positioned in the board 1 so that the position of the bindings, which facilitates driving in powder snow, allows acceptable driving on a

compact snow.

  An advanced position for fixing the zone 9a is obtained if the four screws are screwed into the holes 46, 48, 44 and 37. These four holes are also located at the four corners of a square with a side of 40 mm. As the respective distances between the holes 45 and 46, 47 and 48, 38 and 44, or even 28 and 37 is 30 mm, it appears that the advanced position of the fixing is more distant from the rear end by 30 mm 2 Or, it is closer to

the front end 3 of 30 mm.

  If a similar adjustment is made in the retaining zone 9b, that is to say if the orifices used bring the binding as close as possible to the front end 3 of the board 1, the position of the two bindings, and therefore of the two feet of the user, facilitates driving on compact snow while

  allowing an acceptable handling in powder snow.

  The 30 mm gap between the two positions of the bindings allows the user to quickly and easily find a riding position that suits him and which guarantees him a stable trajectory of the board even if the type of

snow changes.

  As shown in Figure 6, the chimney 36 of the insert 15 has a section of substantially elliptical shape. Its longitudinal radius, measured in the direction L, is substantially equal to 10 mm. Its transverse radius, measured according to

  the direction W, is substantially equal to 6 mm.

  The shoulder 35 extends, in the longitudinal direction L between two edges 49, 50 distant from each other by approximately 20 to 22 mm, and in the transverse direction W between two distant edges 51, 52 relative to each other

about 20 to 25 mm.

  As can be better understood with the help of FIG. 3, the relatively reduced distance between the edges 49 and 50 allows the board 1 to maintain good aptitude for longitudinal bending. Indeed, an insert has a rigidity greater than that of the core 21, and can thus influence the

  deformation of the core 21 and therefore of the plate 1.

  The second embodiment is presented using FIG. 7. It differs from the first embodiment only in that to obtain a 10 mm gap between two axes of successive orifices, an insert 60 has a common shoulder 61 with two chimneys 62 and 63. The distance between the axes 64, 65 of the chimneys 62, 63 is substantially equal to 10 mm. The axes 64, 65 are positioned relative to the shoulder 61, as are the axes 39, 40 relative to the shoulder 35 of the insert

  according to the first embodiment.

  The third embodiment is presented with the aid of FIG. 8. It differs from the first embodiment only in that, in order to obtain a difference of 10 mm between two axes of successive orifices, an insert 70 has an elliptical shoulder 71 and an elliptical chimney 72. Ports 73, 74 with axes

  respective 75, 76 are formed in the chimney 72.

  The fourth embodiment is presented with the aid of FIG. 9. It differs from the first embodiment only in that to obtain a difference of 10 mm between two axes of successive orifices, an insert 80 has an elliptical shoulder 81 and two chimneys 82, 83. Ports 84, 85 with respective axes

  86, 87 are provided in the chimneys 82, 83.

  The fifth embodiment is presented with the aid of FIG. 10. This embodiment proposes a single insert 90 intended to be housed in the board 1. A base 91 maintains eight chimneys 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99 so that the axes of their respective orifices are distributed with respect to each other, as are the axes of the orifices of the inserts of the first embodiment. Thus, the axes of the orifices 92 and 93, 94 and 95, 97 and 96, as well as 99 and 98, are separated substantially by 30 mm. The axes of the orifices 93 and 94, as well as 98 and 97, are substantially separated by 10 mm. Finally the axes of orifices 92 and 99, 93 and 98, 94 and 97, as well as

  and 96, are separated substantially by 40 mm.

  The insert 90 improves the resistance to tearing off of the screws retaining a fixing, because the surface of the base 91 in contact

with the nucleus is important.

  Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiments thus described, and includes all the equivalents

  techniques which may fall within the scope of the claims which

will follow.

  In particular, many other forms could be

  provided for making the inserts.

  On the other hand, the difference between the two driving positions substantially equal to 30 mm must be interpreted as covering in particular a range of values ranging from 25 to 30 mm, the value of 30 mm being preferred. In the case of a 25 mm gap, the distance between the axes of the first and second holes in a row is 25 mm, the distance between the axes of the second and third holes is 15 mm, and the distance between the axes

  of the third and fourth holes is 25 mm.

Claims (6)

  1- Gliding board (1) intended for snowboarding, the board (1) having a length defined by a first end (2) and a second end (3) in a longitudinal direction (L) of the board (1), a width delimited by a first edge (4) and a second edge (5) in a transverse direction (W) of the board (1), and a thickness delimited by an upper face (6) and a lower face or sliding face (7), the board (1) also having, from the first end (2) to the second end (3), a first end region (8a), a first retaining region (9a), a central zone (10), a second retaining zone (9b), a second end zone (8b), each retaining zone (9a, 9b) having at least one row (17, 18) of orifices (28 , 37, 38, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48) opening onto the upper face (6), the row (17, 18) being oriented substantially in the longitudinal direction (L), caract erected by the fact that the row (17, 18) of orifices comprises four orifices, the distance separating the axis of the first orifice from the axis of the second orifice being substantially equal to 30 mm, the distance separating the axis of the second orifice of the axis of the third orifice being substantially equal to 10 mm, and the distance separating the axis of the third orifice from the axis of the fourth   orifice being substantially equal to 30 mm.   2- Gliding board (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that each retaining zone (9a, 9b)   has two rows (17, 18) of orifices.   3- Gliding board (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the orifices of the two rows   (17, 18) are opposite in the transverse direction (W).   4- Gliding board (1) according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the distance between the axes of the orifices of the two rows (17, 18) in the direction   transverse (W) is substantially 40 mm.   - Gliding board (1) according to any one of   Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that each orifice has a thread.   6- Gliding board (1) according to any one of   Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that two   orifices (37, 38), whose axes (39, 40) are separated from   mm, are provided in the same insert (15).   7- Insert (15) intended to be incorporated into a gliding board (1) intended for snowboarding, the insert (15) having a shoulder (35) and a chimney (36), two orifices (37 , 38) being formed in the chimney (36) so that their respective axes (39, 40) are parallel with respect to each other, the orifices (37, 38) opening onto the same end face ( 34) of the insert (15), the end (34) being opposite the shoulder (35) relative to the chimney (36), the orifices (37, 38) allowing the reception of screws retaining a fixation on the board (1), characterized in that the distance which separates the axes (39, 40) from the two   orifices (37, 38) is substantially equal to 10 mm.