FR3016301A1 - SLIDING GEAR IN SEVERAL PARTS - Google Patents

Abstract

Gliding machine (9) comprising at least three gliding bodies (1, 2, 3) that can selectively be secured or disengaged from each other. When the gliding bodies are secured, first and second gliding bodies (1, 2) form opposite side portions of the assembled gliding apparatus; a third intermediate gliding body (3) forms a middle part of the gliding machine assembled, the third gliding body being disposed between the first and second gliding body. The first and second gliding bodies each comprise at least one stiffening element (13, 15, 23, 25) that does not include the intermediate gliding body.

Description

The invention relates to gliding machines on snow, and in particular snowboards comprising several separable elements in at least two skis. Snowboarders often want to practice on areas that are not accessible by ski lifts, especially to have clear snow or areas less frequented by the public. For this, a number of practitioners use hiking skis to be able to go up trails and reach an isolated slope, carrying a snowboard on their backs. Once the slope is reached, the users unhook the skis, put on the surfboard and go down the slope, the skis hung on the back. As the user must have a pair of skis and a surfboard, the weight and bulk are problematic for the user.

To solve this problem, one solution is to join at least two elements to form a gliding machine. The elements are joined together to present a configuration of surfboard, or separated to form two independent skis used to go up tracks. The patent EP-B-0 635 286 describes in particular a snowboard snowboard comprising two gliding bodies elongate along a longitudinal axis. These gliding bodies form either two independent skis or opposite side sliding surfaces of a snowboard. In snowboard configuration, a median glide body is attached to the two lateral sliding bodies, between them. The median gliding body forms a sliding surface between the lateral sliding surfaces. In the prior art, the structure of the gliding bodies constituting this type of gliding device is similar whether it is the side boards or the one or the central boards. The user of this type of gliding device seeks above all the lightness of the elements of the gliding device and, for the gliding bodies used as ski touring, sufficient rigidity. This rigidity, mainly in flexion around a transverse axis, allows a good behavior and a good behavior of the gliding boards during the phases of ascent. To obtain satisfactory bending characteristics of the skis, these boards can be reinforced by adding reinforcements above and / or below the core. With the constructions of the prior art, the median board, resuming a structure similar to the side boards, weighs down the assembled gliding apparatus and penalizes its carrying during climbing phases, because of its weight. On the other hand, this construction stiffens the behavior of the assembled gliding apparatus, in particular in flexion about a longitudinal axis. However, for the descent, the user prefers to use a gliding machine assembled relatively flexible. The invention aims to solve one or more of these disadvantages. An object of the invention is to provide an improved gliding apparatus comprising at least three gliding bodies. Another object of the invention is to provide a lightweight gliding machine. Another object of the invention is to facilitate the carrying of the constituent elements during the climbing phases. Another object of the invention is to provide a gliding machine assembled relatively flexible. The invention thus relates to a gliding apparatus comprising at least three gliding bodies that can selectively be secured or disconnected from each other. When the gliding bodies are secured, first and second sliding bodies form opposite side portions of the assembled gliding apparatus; a third intermediate gliding body forms a median part of the gliding machine assembled, the third gliding body being disposed between the first and second gliding body. The first and second gliding bodies each comprise at least one stiffening element that does not include the intermediate gliding body.

This construction makes it possible to reinforce the lateral sliding bodies while lightening the intermediate or central sliding body. The lightening facilitates the carrying and brings flexibility in the behavior of the gliding device assembled. The reinforcements of the sideboards provide better behavior during the climbing phases. The skier is more efficient and less tired.

According to advantageous but non-mandatory aspects of the invention, such a gliding machine can incorporate one or more of the following characteristics, taken in any technically permissible combination: the stiffening element makes it possible to increase the bending stiffness of a machine sliding around its transverse axis.

Each sliding body comprises a core disposed between an upper face and a lower face. - The stiffening element comprises an upper reinforcing layer placed between the core and the upper face of the first or second sliding body. The stiffening element comprises a lower reinforcing layer placed between the core and the lower face of the first or second gliding body. The reinforcing layer partially covers the core of the gliding body. - The basis weight or the reinforcing layers of the first and second sliding body is different from the basis weight or the reinforcing layers of the intermediate gliding body. - The intermediate gliding body comprises at least two separable parts. Other features and advantages of the invention will emerge clearly from the description which is given below, for information only and in no way limitative, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: - Figure 1 is a schematic top view of a gliding apparatus according to the invention; - Figure 2 is a schematic sectional view along II-II of Figure 1. In the following description, it will make use of terms such as "horizontal", "vertical", "longitudinal", "transverse", "upper", "lower", "up", "down", "forward", "backward". These terms must be interpreted in a relative manner in relation to the normal position of the gliding machine, and the normal direction of advancement thereof. For example, the notion "vertical" corresponds to the direction of the thickness and "horizontal" to the sliding surface. Similarly, the notion of "transversal" corresponds to the width of the surf and "longitudinal" to its length.

Figure 1 is a top view of a snow sliding machine 9 comprising sliding bodies 1, 2 and 3 joined together by means 4 known per se. In this schematic representation, the shoe bindings are not shown. In this example, first and second gliding bodies 1, 2 form opposite side portions of the assembled gliding apparatus. Between these two sliding bodies, a third intermediate gliding body 3 is inserted. This forms a median part of the gliding machine assembled. Thus, a lateral edge of the third intermediate gliding body 3 is vis-à-vis a medial edge of the first gliding body 1. Similarly, the other side edge of the third intermediate gliding body 3 25 is screwed With respect to a medial edge of the second gliding body 2. Once the gliding bodies are assembled, the gliding apparatus forms a unitary unit snowboard. The upper surfaces 19, 29 and 39 of each sliding body 1, 2 and 3 are substantially aligned to make a flat bearing surface of the fasteners. In addition, the lower surfaces 10, 20 and 30 of each gliding body 1, 2 and 3 are also substantially aligned. These lower surfaces constitute the sliding surfaces intended to be in contact with the snow. In this example, the intermediate gliding body 3 is formed of a single board. Alternatively, it can be composed of several separable parts. It can be in two parts or more. Each board portion can thus be more easily transported during the climbing phases, for example, in or on a backpack. In a conventional manner and as illustrated in FIG. 2, a gliding body comprises a core 11, 21, 31, often made of wood, between two side edges 30 12a, 12b, 22a, 22b, 32 The edges are generally made of plastic, for example ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene). The core is covered with a protective layer. This may comprise a decorative layer and / or a varnish, not shown. Advantageously, the protective layer comprises one or more reinforcing layers 13, 14, 23, 24, 34. These reinforcing layers make it possible to bring stiffness to the gliding body and in particular to bending around a transverse axis and bending around a longitudinal axis. The reinforcing layers are, for example, composed of a composite comprising an epoxy matrix containing glass fibers. These reinforcing layers may be characterized by a "grammage" expressing the proportion of reinforcing elements, such as fiberglass, in a matrix. The unit of measurement is gram per square meter. Thus, a reinforcing layer of 450 g / m2 means that for 1 m2 of this layer, it contains 450 g of glass fibers in this example. Note that, the higher the weight, the more the layer is heavy because the reinforcing element is generally heavier than the matrix. In the example shown, the reinforcing layers 13, 14, 15, 16, 23, 24, 25, 26, 34, 36 do not necessarily have the same grammage. The core rests on a lower part of the gliding body. This lower part advantageously comprises one or more reinforcing layers 15, 16, 20, 25, 26, 36. Like the upper reinforcing layers 13, 14, 23, 24, 34, these layers of lower reinforcements increase the stiffness of the body of the body. slips. Under these lower reinforcement layers 15, 16, 25, 26, 36, there is a conventional structure consisting of a gliding layer 17, 27, 37 intended to be in contact with the snow. It is this layer that ensures the movement of the body glide. The gliding layer is made of plastic, for example PE (PolyEthylene). In a conventional manner, the sliding layer is laterally bordered by metal edges 18a, 18b, 28a, 28b. These edges allow you to hang on the snow to avoid skidding. They are therefore only useful on the sides of the gliding machines moving on the snow.

In surf configuration, the surfer only needs side edges 18b, 28b. However, in ski configuration, the two gliding bodies 1, 2 used as a ski must be provided with side edges 18a, 18b, 28a, 28b, on either side of the board. It should be noted that the intermediate gliding body 3 is not used as an independent gliding device. As a result, the intermediate gliding body does not need edges. They are not useful for this body of gliding especially as they are expensive and weigh down the body gliding. In addition, having no edges, the third intermediate gliding body 3 has more flexibility which mitigates the additional stiffening of the assembled gliding device caused by the median edges 18a, 28a gliding bodies sideways 1, 2. To lighten the gliding machine while maintaining good bending characteristics of sliding bodies usable as skis, it is expected that the first and second sliding body each comprise at least one stiffening element 13, 15, 23, 25 that does not include the intermediate gliding body. In other words, a different structure is provided for the intermediate gliding body in which stiffening elements are removed. According to this embodiment, the first and second gliding bodies thus have a greater stiffness than those of the third intermediate body. It is advantageous to increase the stiffness of the side skis and more particularly the flexural stiffness around a transverse axis so as to obtain a certain nervousness in these boards when they are used as skis during climbs. The behavior of the skis helps the skier to climb the slopes. The stiffness comparison between the different sliding bodies is appreciated in relation to the structure of the board and / or the elements reported. We compare the structures by reasoning by equivalence. Thus, it does not take into account the difference in width of the gliding bodies that can affect the stiffness. In our example, the stiffener elements are additional reinforcement layers. More specifically, the intermediate gliding body 3 comprises a single upper reinforcing layer 34 and a single lower reinforcing layer 36 whereas the lateral gliding bodies comprise two upper reinforcing layers 13, 14, 23, 24 and two reinforcing layers As the density of a reinforcing layer is substantially greater than the density of the core, generally four to five times higher, by eliminating two layers of reinforcement, the intermediate gliding body is made lighter. . In order to align the upper surfaces 19, 29, 39 and lower 10, 20, 30 of the gliding bodies 1, 2, 3 between them, the core 31 and the edges 32 of the intermediate gliding body 3 are higher than the core 11 , 21 and the edges 12a, 12b, 21a and 21b of the lateral gliding bodies 1, 2. This alignment of the lower surfaces is important to obtain a large gliding surface. On the other hand, by removing two layers of reinforcement on the intermediate gliding body, it brings a little more flexibility in the behavior of this board. The gliding body is therefore more flexible around a longitudinal axis and around a transverse axis. The flexibility of this intermediate gliding body refers to the behavior of the gliding device assembled. The surfer thus obtains a flexible board with flexural characteristics adapted to his needs. In addition, the lateral gliding bodies used as skis are individually stiffer, which allows a more suitable behavior for ski touring. According to the illustrated embodiment, the lightening is achieved by removing an upper reinforcing layer and a lower reinforcing layer in the intermediate gliding body 3. However, the invention also covers other constructions. For example, each gliding body may have only one upper reinforcing layer and / or one lower reinforcing layer. In this case, the stiffness of the gliding bodies can be varied by changing the basis weight of the reinforcing layers. In this case, the thickness of the reinforcement layers may be the same. For example, the reinforcing layers of the lateral gliding bodies may have a basis weight of 1000 g / m 2 while the reinforcing layers of the intermediate gliding body may have a basis weight of 500 g / m 2. In this example, the stiffener element corresponds to the weight used in the reinforcing layer. Here, by increasing the grammage, the stiffness is increased. Note that in order to obtain a determined basis weight, layers can simply be superimposed as illustrated in FIG. 2, where the grammage of the reinforcing layers of the side gliding bodies is obtained by superposing two layers 13, 14; 23, 24, 15, 16; 25, 26. Alternatively, the stiffness of the gliding bodies can be varied by having different reinforcing layer thicknesses between the lateral glide bodies and the intermediate gliding body. Alternatively, the construction can provide that there is no upper reinforcement layer or no lower reinforcing layer, above or below the core, in some or all of the gliding bodies 1, 2 and 3 In another variant, the reinforcing layer 13, 15, 23, 25 of the lateral gliding bodies 1, 2 partially or locally covers the core 11, 21, for example, over a portion of the length of the gliding body and / or on a part of the width of the gliding body. In this case, the reinforcing layer is positioned so as to obtain optimum bending characteristics. With this partial overlap, the lateral sliding bodies 1, 2 and the assembled gliding apparatus 9 are lightened. In another variant, the stiffening element is a reinforcement placed in the core, for example a beam extending into the middle part of the core of the lateral sliding bodies. In the preceding illustrations, the stiffening element corresponds to an internal reinforcing layer. The invention also extends to external stiffening elements, removable or not. For example, it may be a bending bar fixed, locally, on the upper face 19, 29 of a lateral gliding body 1, 2.

The invention is not limited to these embodiments. It is possible to combine these embodiments. The invention also extends to all the embodiments covered by the appended claims.

Claims (3)

CLAIMS10 15 2. 3. 20 4. 25 5. 30 6. 7. 35 1. Gliding device (9) comprising at least three gliding bodies (1, 2, 3) can selectively be joined or separated from each other; when the sliding bodies are secured: - first and second sliding body (1, 2) form opposite side portions of the assembled gliding apparatus; - A third intermediate gliding body (3) forms a middle portion of the assembled gliding apparatus, the third gliding body being disposed between the first and second gliding body; characterized in that the first and second gliding bodies each comprise at least one stiffening element (13, 15, 23, 25) that does not include the intermediate gliding body. Sliding apparatus (9) according to claim 1, characterized in that the stiffening element makes it possible to increase the bending stiffness of a gliding apparatus around a transverse axis. Gliding device (9) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each gliding body (1, 2, 3) comprises a core (11, 21, 31) disposed between an upper face (19, 29, 39). ) and a lower face (10, 20, 30). Gliding device (9) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the stiffening element comprises an upper reinforcing layer (13, 23) placed between the core (11, 21) and the upper face (19, 29) of the first or second gliding body (1, 2). Gliding device (9) according to one of claims 3 or 4, characterized in that the stiffening element comprises a lower reinforcing layer (15, 25) placed between the core (11, 21) and the lower face (10). 20) of the first or second gliding body (1, 2). Gliding device (9) according to one of claims 4 or 5, characterized in that the reinforcing layer (13, 15, 23, 25) partly covers the core (11, 21) of the gliding body (1, 2 ). Gliding machine (9) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the basis weight of the reinforcing layer or layers (13, 14, 23, 24, 15, 16, 25, 26) of the first and second bodies of slip (1, 2) is different from the basis weight of the reinforcing layer (34, 36) of the intermediate gliding body (3) .8. Gliding device (9) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the intermediate gliding body comprises at least two separable parts.