US2956812A

US2956812A - Ski holder

Info

Publication number: US2956812A
Application number: US614327A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ivan W Lundquist
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1956-10-05
Filing date: 1956-10-05
Publication date: 1960-10-18
Anticipated expiration: 1977-10-18

Description

Ioct. 1s, 1960 l. W. LUNDQUIST SKI HOLDER Filed Oct. 5, V1956 INVENTOR w BY Mm `18 ATTORNEY United States Patent Office 2,956,812 Patented Oct. 18,

2,956,812 sm HOLDER Ivan W. Lundqust, 496 Shrewsbury St., Holden, Mass. i oci. ys, 1956,Y sehr. No. 614,321

4 claims. (cl. 28o-11.31) (negated under 'ripe 3s, U.s. code (1952), sec. 266) The invention described herein may be manufactured andused by or for the Government for governmental purposes twithout the payment of any royalty thereon.

1 lvThe present invention relates to a holder or support .for skis, and more particularly to means for supporting skis whi'le'not in use.

' An important object of the invention is the provision of means to support a pair of skis from a wall or other surface in such'fashion as to take up a small amount of space vwhile maintaining the desired shape of the skis.

Another object of the invention is to provide a support of this type-"which is of simple and inexpensive construction, whicvh is readily installed in any suitable location, and whichtakes up very little space.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

' In th'e'dr'awingzm i Inthe accompanying drawings, which form a part of Specification" and'wheiein 'like characters of reference denote like parts throughout, y lFigure 1 is' a front elevation of the Vski holder of the present invention, showing a pair of skis supported by the holder,

Figure 2 is a perspective view of one of the end clamps of the ski holder,

Figure 3 is a top plan View off the end clamp showing its position with the skis inserted therein,

Figure 4 is a sectional view on the line 4 4 of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the blank from which the end clamp is made, with lines indicating the fold points on the blank,

Figure 6 is an exploded perspective view of the spreader element of the ski holder, and

Figure 7 is a perspective View of a spreader having a modified securing means.

In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention, the numeral 10 designates the elongated strip blank from which each of the end clamps is fashioned, and a rectangular base tab 11 is shown as integrally formed on its center section and bent back upon such section. Obviously the base tab 11 may be separately formed, if desired, and secured to blank 10 by welding or riveting. The center section 12 of the strip blank 10 cooperates with tab 11 to form the base of the clamp and suitable openings 13 are provided in the tab 11 and center section 12 to receive screws or other means 14 for securing the clamp to a wall or other supporting surface 15. At each end of base section 12 the blank 10 is bent through an angle which slightly exceeds 90 to form slightly converging clamp sides 16 extending a substantial distance away from the base of the clamp. The outer portions of the blank 10 are then bent inwardly to form clamping arms 17 arranged in spaced parallel relation to each other and substantially at right angles to the base section 12. The extreme tip ends of arms 17 are each bent over at a right angle to form stops or inner abutments 18 which normally abut each other, as seen in Figure 2, at a point 'spaced a substantial distance from the base section 12, thereby forming `a split end wall for the space between parallel clamping arms 17. The portions 19 of the blank which connect the arms 17 `and outer clamp sides 16 are smoothly curved or` rounded so that skis may be readily forced between the arms y17, the curved portions 19 Serving as guides for the skis.

' In use' the end clamps are secured to a wall, ceiling, door or other support in spaced relation to engage a pair of skis near the ends thereof. The spacing of the two clamps will Vary for yskis of different lengths, and where the Aclamps'are fastened to an intermediate support which ,in tprn `is fastenedfto a wall or the like, such intermediate sippbrt'shldbe yadju/stable as to length to adapt itself to' skis of varying lengths. A pair of skis 20 is disposed bottom yto bottom and forced into the space between the arms 17 of each end clamp, adjacent the top and bottom portions of theskis, as rillustrated in Figure l. The arms 17 of each end clampl are normally maintained in parallel relation by the tension of clamp sides 16 and the spacing action of the inner abutments 18. When theskis are forced into the clamp, their inner sides will engage the abutments 18, as shown in Figure 3, which serve as stops and the clamping pressure of arms 17 will be substantiallyr constant across the width of the skis, due to the shape of the clamp and the inclination of the clamp sides 16.

As seen in Figure l, when arranged sole to sole and inserted in the two end clamps the skis are pressed together at eachend with the curved or sprung toes extending away from each other, and the heels also extending somewhat away from each other. The portion of each ski between the end clamps is longitudinally curved or cambered, and in order to maintain s uch curvature or camber, an intermediate spreader is provided and comprises a substantially rectangularbody portion 21 in the fo-rm of a plate of any suitable material such as metal, having its side edges bent over in opposite directions to form flanges 22 which are preferably substantially parallel. The body portion 21 extends diagonally from one ilange 22 to the other, forming with the two flanges a spreader which is substantially Z-shaped in cross-section, and which is substantially wider than the skis 20. As seen in Figures 1 and 6 a slotted or bifurcated shaft 23 receives the central portion of the spreader body 21 which is firmly secured in the slotted portion of the shaft 23 as by welding or rivets. The end of shaft 23 is reduced at 24 for rotatable reception in the socket 25 of a socket-plate 26. In order to restrict rotational movement of the shaft 23 to an arc of ninety degrees, the side wall of the socket 25 s provided with a quadrant slot 27. A pin 28 extends through slot 27 into the reduced end 24 of shaft 23 to which it is fixed, as by a force t. Other suitable means may be provided for pivotally supporting the spreader if desired.

As illustrated in Figure l, the socket plate 26 is secured to the wall or supporting surface 15 at the point of maximum camber of the ski, and in its inoperative position the spreader body 21 will assume a position parallel to the skis. When the skis have been properly positioned in the end clamps, the spreader is rotated through its arc of ninety degrees to the spreading position shown in Figure 1. In this illustration, the spreader has been rotated in a clockwise direction so that the rounded edges where the flanges 22 meet the body portion 21 will engage the skis in the spreading operation. In the fully spread position, the anges 22 engage the skis to hold them apart.

It is not necessary to mount the spreader on a rotatable shaft, as it may be freely movable, but in order to prevent loss and be properly positioned it should be secured to the wall or other supporting surface 15, as by means of a flexible cable 29 indicated in Figure 7. However, in

order to prevent possible damage to the skis by scraping of the flange edges, it is preferable to have some mounting such as shown in Figure 6 to positively restrict the rotational movement of the spreader, both as to direction and extent, so that during rotation to spreading position, only the curved edges of the flanges 22 where theyvjoin the body portion 21 will engage the skis to force them apart.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it is to be understood that various changes in the size, shape and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. In a ski support, means to clamp a pair of skis adjacent each end in an edgewise sole to sole relation, and a spreader element pivotally arranged between said skis at a point intermediate said clamping means, said spreader element being movable from a position substantially parallel to the ski soles to a position substantially normal to said skis and in spreading engagement with the soles of the skis, and means to restrict the pivotal movement of the spreader to the area between said two positions.

2. In a ski support, means to clamp a pair of skis adjacent to each end in an edgewise sole to sole relation, and a spreader element disposed between said skis at a point between said clamping means, said spreader element being movable from a position substantially parallel to the ski sole to a position substantially normal to said skis and in spreading engagement with the soles of the skis, said spreader comprising a plate having its edges bent over to form substantially parallel oppositely extending skiengaging ilanges.

3. In a ski support, means to clamp a pair of skis adjacent each end in an edgewise sole to sole relation, and a spreader element pivotally arranged between said skis at a point intermediate said clamping means, said spreader element being movable from a position substantially parallel to the ski soles to a position substantially normal to said skis and in spreading engagement with the soles of the skis, and means to restrict the pivotal movement of the spreader to the area between said two positions, said spreader comprising a plate having its edges bent over to form substantially parallel oppositely extending ski-engaging flanges, said anges extending away from the plate in a direction counter to the direction of rotation of the spreader as it is moved from its position parallel to the ski soles to its spreading position.

4. In a ski support, means to support a pair of skis adjacent their ends in an edgewise sole to sole relation, said supporting means comprising a clamp at each end of the pair of skis, each clamp comprising an elongated stn'p bent upon itself to form a resilient clamp having a base, a pair of sides converging away from the base, and inwardly extending parallel arms having a curved connection with said sides and bent over at their inner ends to form abutments spaced from the clamp base, the abutments normally engaging each other to maintainthe spaced parallel relation of the arms and serving as stops to engage the side edges of the skis and maintain the skis in spaced relation to the base of the clamp, and a spreader element disposed between said skis at a point intermediate the clamps, said spreader element being movable from an inoperative position substantially parallel to the ski soles to an operative position substantially normal to said ski soles and in spreading engagement with the soles of the skis.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Poor Sept. 18, 1945