GB2474289A

GB2474289A - Ski boot with rear opening cuff

Info

Publication number: GB2474289A
Application number: GB0917732A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Simon Andrew Watson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-10-12
Filing date: 2009-10-12
Publication date: 2011-04-13
Also published as: GB0917732D0

Abstract

A ski boot 1 is described having a sole 4 and an upper 5 with a cuff 11 extending away from the sole 4 of the boot 1. A rear portion 17 of the cuff 11 is pivotable about a hinge 21 substantially parallel with the extent of the cuff 11 so as to be moveable between an open position which facilitates insertion of a foot into the boot in a direction substantially parallel to the extent of the sole 4 and a closed position in which the sole 4 and the upper 5 together define a cavity for receiving a user's foot. The boot may be used with an inner liner 3 (figure 1) which itself is suitable for use as a boot and is provided with a hard sole and a waterproof and insulated upper.

Description

SKI BOOT

The present application relates to specialised footwear, in particular, footwear adapted for use when skiing.

Skiing is a popular sport and pastime which requires the use of skiing equipment including skis and ski boots. Ski boots are specialised footwear which provide a means for a skier to bind himself to the skis. Ski boots are conventionally heavy rigid structures, commonly formed out of a hard plastic material. When securely fastened to a ski, the rigidity of a ski boot enables the skier to control movements of the skis. Further a ski boot's construction supports a skier's ankles, reducing the likelihood of sprain and fracture injuries when skiing.

Unfortunately, as ski boots are designed to assist a skier control skis and to reduce sprain and facture injuries, their design is unsatisfactory in a number of other ways. The design of conventional ski boots is less than optimal for use by a skier when he is not skiing. Walking, i.e. to and from ski lifts and lodges is awkward and often clumsy, and increases the risk of slipping and falling.

Further, the rigidity of a ski boot, whilst necessary to help a skier control skis when skiing, makes putting on ski boots difficult. This is because when a skier inserts their foot into the ski boot, the rigidity of the ski boot prevents the boot from deforming, therefore a skier must force their foot into the boot.

Attempts have been made to try to address this problem.

One of the most common and widely used types of ski boot is known as a front-entry' boot. In this design of boot a split is provided in the front of the rigid outer shell. This split extends from the cuff of the boot to the toe portion and is concealed by two flaps where the flaps overlap each other in order to prevent snow and ice from entering the boot.

Buckles are then provided on the boot with the hook of the buckle and the corresponding catch being attached to the exterior of the rigid outer shell either side of the split. This arrangement is such that when the buckles are released, it is possible to expand the cuff and toe portion to facilitate entry of a skier's foot. Once inserted, the buckles are then fastened which brings the sides of the split together securing the skier's foot in place.

However, when inserting a foot into the front-entry ski boot, the boot simply allows for the mouth of the ski boot to be widened when the buckles are released. In order to use this type of ski boot, a skier is still required to insert a foot into the ski boot by pointing the foot into the gap created by the widened but still narrow cuff and force it in a downward direction. Once the pointed foot reaches the sole of the boot, the skier must then force the foot in a substantially perpendicular direction and wedge the foot forward into the toe portion of the boot. The awkward angle with which a skier must bend and twist this foot makes means that putting on such ski boots remains difficult.

An alternative approach to the front-entry ski boot is known as a rear-entry' ski boot. In a rear-entry ski boot, the cuff of a ski boot is separated into two parts with the rear of the cuff being attached to the front of the cuff and the rest of the boot by a pivot provided near the heel portion of the boot. This arrangement enables the rear portion of the cuff to be pivoted away from the front of a cuff expanding the cuff to enable a skier to insert their foot into the boot. The pivoting action also brings the top of the back of the cuff to a level slightly closer to the sole of the boot and thus reduces the angle through which a user has to turn their foot when inserting their foot into the ski boot. When a skier has inserted their foot into the boot the rear is pivoted back to its original position and latched in place.

Although a rear-entry ski boot is easier to put on than a front-entry ski boot, the design is still not entirely satisfactory. The extent to which the rear of a ski boot can pivot is limited by the need for the boot to provide a continuous rigid extent when the boot is in use.

Although the rear-entry boot reduces the angle a user must turn their foot through when inserting their foot into the boot a significant angle remains. A further drawback of rear-entry boots is that unlike front-entry boots, rear-entry ski boots do not allow for a skier adjust the boot across the foot portion. This failing often means that rear-entry boots provide a poor fit resulting in poorer the control of the skis. Additionally, the lack of rigidity at the rear of the boot prevents a skier from bracing forwards properly and encourages skiers to lean backwards when skiing making control of skis more difficult.

In view of the foregoing, an alternative ski boot is desired which addresses some of the problems identified above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a ski boot comprising: a sole; and an upper having a cuff extending away from the sole of the boot wherein a rear portion of the cuff is pivotable about a hinge substantially parallel with the extent of the cuff so as to be moveable between a open position which facilitates insertion of a foot into the boot in a direction substantially parallel to the extent of the sole and a closed position in which the sole and the upper together define a cavity for receiving a user's foot.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further aspects and embodiments of the present invention will become apparent with reference to the following description and accompanying drawings in which: Figures 1 and 2 are a pair of side views of a ski boot in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention with the boot in a closed position; and Figure 3 is a side view of the ski boot of Figures 1 and 2 in an open position.

SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT

Figures 1 and 2 are a pair of side views of a ski boot in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention with the boot in a closed position. As can be seen in both figures the ski boot 1 comprises a outer shell, typically made of a hard plastic material, into which a removable inner liner 3 (partially visible in Figures 1 and 2) is inserted. The outer shell of the ski boot comprises a rigid sole 4 and an upper 5 integrally formed with the sole 4.

The sole extends along and slightly beyond the length of the upper ending in a pair of flanges 6,7, one 6 provided at the toe of the boot 1 and one 7 at the heel of the boot 1.

When skiing, these flanges 6,7 provide attachment points for securing the boot 1 to a ski.

The upper 5 comprises a toe portion 8 adjacent the sole 4 and a cuff 11 which extends away from the sole 4. When wearing the boot 1 a user's foot is within the cavity defined by the sole 4 and the toe portion 8 of the upper 5 whilst the cuff 11 of the upper 5 serves to secure a skier's calf and ankles.

As in a conventional front-entry ski boot, in this embodiment the front of portion 1 2 of the cuff 11 and the toe portion 8 of the upper 5 each comprise a pair of over lapping flaps.

Four hook and latch fasteners are provided each comprising hook portion 13 and a latch portion 14 where the hook portions 13 and the latch portions 14 are attached to the outer shell on the overlapping flaps. In this embodiment two hook and latch fasteners 13,14 are attached to the toe portion 8 of the upper 5 and two hook and latch fasteners 13,14 are attached to the cuff 8 of the upper 5. As in a conventional front-entry entry ski boot adjustment of the hook and latch fasteners 13,14 varies the extent of the overlap enabling the ski boot 1 to be adjusted to be securely fitted to a user's foot whilst the overlap of the flaps ensures that snow does not enter the interior of the boot 1.

As noted previously, the rigidity of a conventional ski boot, whilst essential in order for a skier to control skis satisfactorily makes putting on ski boots difficult. In order to address this problem and as can best be seen in Figure 2, in accordance with the present invention a rear portion 17 of the cuff 11 adjacent the heel of the ski bootl is attached to the front portion of the cuff 11 via a pair of hinge plates 18,19 by means of a set of rivets.

The hinge plates 18,19 are arranged to rotate about a hinge 21 which runs substantially parallel with the extent of the cuff 11 of the upper 5.

When the hook and latch fasteners 13,14 on the cuff 11 of the upper 5 are fully released, the rear portion 17 of the cuff 11 can rotate about the hinge 21 to move from the closed position illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 to an open position illustrated in Figure 3 which illustrates the ski boot 1 in the absence of any inner liner 3.

When in the open position shown in Figure 3, the rear portion of the cuff 11 no longer prevents a user from inserting their foot into the toe portion 8 of the upper 5 by moving their foot in a direction substantially parallel to the extent of the sole 4 of the ski boot 1.

This means that a user is able to insert the front portion of their foot into the cavity defined by the sole 4 of the ski boot 1 and the toe portion 8 of the upper 5 without having to access the cavity via the cuff 11. This makes putting on the ski boot 1 easier as a user can put on the boot 1 without having to make significant changes to the angle at which the foot is held when inserting their foot into the boot 1.

Once a user, wearing the inner liner 3 has inserted their foot into the boot 1, the rear portion 17 of the cuff 11 can then be returned to the closed position shown in figures 1 and 2 and the hook and latch fasteners 13, 14 can then be adjusted to fit the ski boot 1 to the user's foot 1. In this embodiment, the hook portions 14 of the hook and latch fasteners 13,14 are attached to the rear portion 17 of the cuff 11. In this way the fixing and adjustment of the hook and latch fasteners 13,14 is such to hold the rear portion 17 of the cuff 11 tightly against the front portion 1 2. To assist with the fitting of the front 1 2 and rear 17 portions of the cuff 11, in this embodiment, the division of the cuff 11 into a front 12 and rear 17 portion each have a complementary serpentine edge 24 with complimentary chamfering such that the front 12 and rear portions 17 can be brought snugly together.

It will be appreciated that such an arrangement improves the structural integrity of the boot when the boot 1 is in a closed position and that the complimentary fit between the front 12 and rear portions 17 will be such to guide the rear portion 17 back to the same location whenever the rear portion in moved to the closed position. It will be appreciated that other arrangements such as where the front and rear portions have a straight edge could be used but that if such an arrangement where to be used the straight edge would be a point of weakness in the boot 1.

To further assist with strengthening the ski boot 1 and maintaining the rigidity of the boot when skiing, in this embodiment a stiffening latch 27 is provided on the exterior of the rear portion 1 7 of the cuff 11 which is arranged to latch to a catch (not shown) provided on the upper 5 near the lug 7 at the heel of the boot 1. When latched in place this places the rear of the boot under tension and acts to prevents the rear portion 1 7 of the cuff from becoming separated from the rest of the upper 5 in the direction of the extent of the cuff 11.

As the design of a ski boot 1 in accordance with the present invention makes putting on a ski boot 1 easier, it also allows for greater flexibility in the design of the inner liner 3 for use with a ski boot 1. Conventionally, as a user had to be able to flex their feet through a considerable angle when putting on a ski inner liners have had to be highly flexible and relatively flimsy. In contrast the possibility of a user inserting their foot into the toe portion 8 of the upper 5 by moving their foot in a direction substantially parallel to the extent of the sole 4 of the ski boot 1 removes the need for extensive flexibility from the requirements of the design of an inner liner 3.

Thus in embodiments of the present invention, an inner liner 3 can be provided which itself is suitable for use as a boot in the absence of the outer shell of the ski boot 1. That is to say the inner liner 3 can be provided with a hard sole and with a waterproof and insulated upper such that the inner liner 3 can be used as a boot on its own when a user is not actually skiing.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A ski boot comprising: a sole; and an upper having a cuff extending away from the sole of the boot wherein a rear portion of the cuff is pivotable about a hinge substantially parallel with the extent of the cuff so as to be moveable between a open position which facilitates insertion of a foot into the boot in a direction substantially parallel to the extent of the sole and a closed position in which the sole and the upper together define a cavity for receiving a user's foot.
2. The ski boot of claim 1, wherein the rear portion of the cuff substantially extends from the sole of the ski boot
3. The ski boot of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the rear portion of the cuff and a front portion of the cuff meet at an edge on the opposite side of the cuff to the hinge when the rear portion is in a closed position, with the edges of the front and rear portions of the cuff remote from the hinge being of complementary shapes.
4. The ski boot of claim 3 wherein the edges of the front and rear portions of the cuff remote from the hinge comprise complementary serpentine edges.
5. The ski boot of claim 3 or claim 4 wherein the edges of the front and rear portions of the cuff remote from the hinge comprise complementary chamfered edges.
6. The ski boot of any preceding claim, further comprising fastening means for releasably securing the rear portion of the cuff in the closed position.
7. The ski boot of claim 6, wherein the fastening means comprises one or more latch fasteners including a hook portion and a latch portion wherein one of the hook portion and the latch portion of the fastening means is attached to the rear portion of the cuff and with the other of the hook portion and the latch portion is attached to the front portion of the cuff.
8. The ski boot of claim 6 or 7 wherein the front portion is divided into two sections, wherein adjustment of the fastening means is such to vary the extent of the overlap of the two sections thereby adjusting the size of the cavity defined by the sole and the upper when the rear portion of the cuff is in a closed position.
9. The ski boot of claim 8 wherein the portion of the upper which together with the sole defines a cavity for receiving the front portion of a user's foot is also divided into two overlapping sections, wherein fastening means are attached to said portion of said upper and adjustment of said fastening means is such to vary the extent of overlap thereby adjusting the size of the cavity for receiving the front portion of a user' foot.
10. The ski boot of any preceding claim, further comprising a stiffening latch for releaseably attaching the rear portion of the cuff to a portion of the upper adjacent the sole when the rear portion of the cuff is in a closed position wherein the stiffening latch in use is such to place the rear portion of the cuff under tension.
11. The ski boot of any preceding claim, further comprising a liner for receiving a user's foot wherein the liner is removably insertable into the cavity defined by the sole and the upper of the boot.
12. The ski boot of claim 11 wherein the inner liner is suitable for use as a boot in the absence of the rest of the ski boot.
13. The ski boot of claim 11 wherein the inner liner comprises an upper and a hard sole.
14. The ski boot of claim 13 wherein the upper of the inner liner is waterproof and/or insulated.
15. A ski boot substantially as herein before described with reference to the accompanying drawings.