US3287774A

US3287774A - Ski boot fastening comprising step adjusted toggle means

Info

Publication number: US3287774A
Application number: US411495A
Authority: US
Inventors: Kenneth W Binding; John D Mahoney
Original assignee: Market Forge Co
Current assignee: Market Forge Co
Priority date: 1964-11-16
Filing date: 1964-11-16
Publication date: 1966-11-29
Anticipated expiration: 1983-11-29
Also published as: FR1441552A

Description

NOV. 29, 1966 K W, B1ND|NG ET AL 3,287,774

SKI BOOT FASTENING COMPRISING STEP ADJUSTED TOGGLE MEANS Filed Nov. 16, 1964 United States Patent 3,287,774 SKI BOOT FASTENING COMPRISING STEP ADJUSTED TOGGLE MEANS Kenneth W. Binding, Winchester, and `lohn D. Mahoney, Marshfield, Mass., assignors to Market Forge Company, Everett, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Nov. 16, 1964, Ser. No. 411,495

8 Claims. (Cl. 24-70) This invention relates to fastenings and especially to fastenings for ski boots.

Many ski boots are fastened by lace entrained about rows of lacing hooks at opposite sides of the instep of the boot, however, such lace is awkward to apply because it is normally quite long and easily becomes knotted and entangled, and because the hooks themselves may become bent, making it difficult to loop the lace beneath the hooks. Lacing is time consuming, tiresome and annoying. Moreover, since the lace itself is relatively long, it is difficult to pull it tight enough to be effective especially when the boot has a heavy reinforced upper as is now in common use to improve control of the skis at high speed. Women find it practically impossible to pull the lace tight enough to take advantage of the support provided by the structure of the boot and many leg and ankle injuries are the direct results of failure to effectively tighten the lace. The ultimate lacing of boots to the proper degree of tightness however has certain disadvantages, to wit, over prolonged periods tight boots become uncomfortable, making the feet cold, and yet most skiers will not loosen the lace during periods of rest because of the difficulties in resecuring it. Additional disadvantages inherent in lace are that it stretches, becomes frayed and is relatively expensive to renew often enough to insure safety under all circumstances. To overcome the disadvantages of lace and laced boots, boots are being manufactured with toggle fastening elements engageable across the instep and the angle which make it possible, by means of the mechanical advantage afforded by the toggle lever, to obtain maximum security even with the heaviest of boot uppers; and which enables quickly and easily releasing the boots at any period of rest no matter how short to afford relief from the pressure and restoration of normal circulation in the feet andas quickly refastening and securing the boots for use. Such boots, however, at the present time are very expensive and hence beyond the reach of the average skier. Moreover, many skiers have perfectly good lace-type boots which they would not wish to discard. The principal objects of this invention are therefore to provide means for converting a conventional lacetype boot to a toggle-type boot thereby to obtain all of the advantages of the toggle-type boot; to provide means for accomplishing such conversion without modification of the structure of the lace-type boot or requiring the services of a skilled shoe maker to make the conversion; to provide means which is adapted to be applied to substantially all makes and kinds of ski boots, regardless of size, which now embody eyelet hooks or at least eyelets in which the hooks are adapted to be fixed; and to provide means which is relatively inconspicuous, attractive, reliable, durable, adjustable and inexpensive to manufacture.

As herein illustrated, the toggle assembly comprises parts adapted to be anchored to pairs of lacing hooks at opposite sides of the instep; a flexible strap connected ICC at one end to one of the parts, the strap being adapted to extend the major portion of the way across the instep from one row of lacing hooks at one side to the other row of lacing hooks at the other side; a loop at the distal end of the strap adapted to extend the remainder of the way across the instep; and a lever pivotally connected to the other part adapted, by engagement with the loop, to pull the strap taut across the instep and to secure the strap. Each part comprises a spring clip having opposed limbs spring-biased toward each other operative to grip the top and bottom sides of the heads of the hooks, and angularly disposed ends adapted to engage the outer and inner sides of the shanks of the hooks. One of the spring clips has spaced pulls integral with the limbs adapted to receive between them the end of the strap and means for fastening the end of the strap therebetween. The other of the spring clips has a bearing formed on the upper one of the limbs to which one end of the toggle lever is adapted to be pivotally attached by means of a pin, and a stabilizer part extending from the lower one of the limbs inwardly of the hooks for engagement with the upper to prevent tipping. The strap is connected at one end to the spring clip by a rivet extending through it and at its other end to the loop by folding a portion of the strap on itself and inserting a threaded fastener through it. If a leather strap is employed, it is reinforced along its opposite edges by spaced parallel rows of nylon stitching close enough to the holes for receiving the rivet and fastening means tov prevent elongation and tearing. The end portions of the strap may be further strengthened by dipping in a high strength plastic such as will penetrate the leather and reduce wetting. Optionally the strap may be made of Mylar.

, The invention will now be described in greater detaily with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. l is a perspective of a ski boot showing the toggle assemblies applied to the instep and ankle portions of the boot; f

FIG. 2 is a plan view of one of the toggle assemblies removed from the boot;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 3 3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a section taken on the line 4--4 of FIG. 2,v

to much larger scale, of the part attached to lthe hooksV at the outside of the boot and to which one end of the toggle is connected; f

FIG. 5 is a sectiontaken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 2, to much larger scale, of the part attached to the hooks at the inside of the boot and to which one end of the strap is connected; and

FIG. 6 is a section to much larger scale of the strap taken on the line 6-6yof FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a typical ski boot 10 provided at opposite sides of the instep portion 12 of the upper with rows of lacing hooks 14, each of which comprises an outwardly projecting head 16, a shank 18, and a base 20 by means of which it is secured in an eyelet 22 riveted'into the upper material of the boot.

Normally such a boot is secured by lace entrained about the hooks. It is the purpose of this invention to substitute for the lace, toggle assemblies thereby to convert the boot from fastening by means of lace to fastening by means of toggles to obtain the advantages of the latter. The toggle assemblies for making this conversion, of which there are three shown herein in FIG. l, two of them being located across the instep and one across the ankle, are comprised of parts 26a and 26b adapted to be applied directly to a pair of lacing hooks at each side of the instep. The part 26a is attached to a pair of hooks at the outer side of the =boot and is adapted to have connected to it one end of a ilexible strap 28 which in turn is adapted to extend the major part of the way across the instep toward the inner side, and has fastened to its distal end a loop 30. The part 26h is secured directly to a pair of hooks at the inner side of the boot and is adapted to have pivotally mounted on it a toggle lever 32 for engagement with the loop 30 to draw the strap 4tautly across the instep to secure the boot.

The parts 26a and 26h have acommon structure comprising spaced

limbs

34 and 36 integrally joined along one edge by a bent portion 38 and open along their other edges. At the open edges there are downwardly bent portions 40 and 42. The limbs 34 'and 36 converge slightly from their joined edges to their unjoined edges and are adapted to yieldingly engage the heads 16 of pairs of hooks to which the parts are applied. The bent portions 38 are adapted to engage the outer edges of the heads land the bent portions 40 and 42 are adapted to engage the inner and outer sides of the shanks of the hooks. Each part is made long enough so as to embrace a pair of hooks and the bent portions 40, as shown in FIG. 4, are adapted to bear against the outer sides of the Shanks close to their bases so as to reduce the tilting moment which tends to tip the hooks inwardly toward each other when the toggle lever is engaged with the strap ends.

The part 26a differs from the part 2621 in that it has intermediate its ends inwardly extending, spaced

parallel pulls

44 and 46 between which the end of the strap is adapted to be secured. The pulls contain aligned holes 48 and 50 for receiving a rivet 52.

The strap, as shown in FIG. 6, may be comprised of leather and to prevent stretching and also to strengthen it and hence lessen the liability of its tearing where the fastening rivet and adjustable fastener pass through it, spaced parallel rows of nylon stitching 53 are inserted in the strap throughout its length` Preferably the rows of stitching are close enough to the rivet and adjustable fastener holes to reinforce the leather in the vicinity of the holes sufiiciently to prevent elongation thereof. Optonally, the end portions of the strap may be reinforced by coating or impregnation with a high strength plastic compound.

The distal end of the strap is provided with a plurality of adjusting holes 54 and is folded on itself about the loop 30 which is generally triangular in conguration, having a base limb 58 corresponding substantially in width to the end of the strap, converging side limbs 60 extending from the base, and a narrow limb 62 -at its apex for engagement with the toggle lever. A fastening element 64, such as a double-headed screw comprised of interengageable telescoping threaded parts 66 and 68 inserted through holes in the overlapping parts of the strap is employed to adjust the length of the strap and hence the proximity of the loop 30 to the toggle lever.

The part 26h diiiers from the part 26a in that it has a rolled bearing sleeve 70 adjacent the bent part 38 formed by a portion of the upper limb 34 bent upwardly and then back ou itself. The bearing sleeve 70 contains a slot 72 and the lower limb 36 adjacent the bearing is provided with a slot 74 aligned with that in the bearing. The toggle lever 32 comprises a narrow arcuateshaped blade containing at one end a hole 76 for receiving a pivot pin 78 by means of which it is pivotally connected Within the slot 72 in the bearing 70. The slot 74 receives the circular end portion 80 of the lever and provides side bearings which prevent wobble of the lever from side-to-side. The lever is stitfened on its upper side by a bent-over flange 82 and has on its underside a plurality of notches 84 adapted to be engaged with the narrow limb 62 of the loop 30. To lessen tipping the lower limb 36 has an inwardly projecting stabilizing part 86 adapted to bear against Ithe upper inwardly of the row of hooks at that side.

The two parts embodying the assembly and including the strap and toggle lever are mounted opposite each other on opposite pairs of hooks by slipping the clips over the outer sides of the hooks so as to engage their heads between the upper and lower limbs and to engage the bent portions inside and outside the shanks of the hooks. The metal is spring steel and ordinarily there is sul'licient resistance to displacement of these limbs as they are forced onto the hooks to retain them in place. If desired, the limbs may be pressed together to enhance this gripping action by striking the upper limbs while the lower limbs are supported against a rigid anvil to permanently bend the junctions. The strap is now `adjusted to provide the proper length for the part of the shoe on which the assembly is mounted whereupon the toggle lever is swung upwardly about its pivot in a clockwise direction, as shown in FIG. l; the loop is placed over its upper end and engaged with one of the notches 84; and then the lever is rotated in a counterclockwise direction to bring it down past its center of rotation and hence to lock the toggle. By selecting the proper notch 84 the desired amount of 4tension may be obtained in the strap Vand if the number of notches provided is not sucient the strap itself may be shortened.

As shown, there are three of these assemblies on the boot, however, four may be used if desired or only two. Also, as illustrated, the parts are designed to be lapplied to pairs of lacing hooks at each side of the instep to distribute the pull so that there is less danger of the hooks being torn loose. However, for lighter weight boots and childrens boots, it is within the scope of the invention to employ parts adapted 4to be applied to one hook at each side.

If the boot has only lacing eyelets or lacing holes, lacing hooks may be fastened therein to receive the parts 26a, 26b, or rivets or bolts having appropriately shaped heads may be secured therein for receiving the parts. The toggle devices are described for use with ski boots; however, they may be adapted for use with other kinds of shoes, for example high lace skates, hunting boots and the like.

The parts 26a, 26b are comprised of No. 1055 sheet steel of .018 gauge, heat-treated, tumbled and quenched in known fashion to provide a black oxide nish. The oxide nish resists rusting and provides a natural black color which may be directly lacquered for use. The loop 30 is comprised of No. 1055 heat-treated wire of 0.125 gauge, heat-treated, tumbled and quenched in known fashion to provide a black oxide finish which is also lacquered. The toggle lever 32 is comprised of No. 1055 steel, heattreated, of .050 gauge, tumbled 'and chrome plated. The nylon thread 52 used for reinforcing the leather strap has a tensile strength of 600 pounds per square inch and an elongation of 18% at this stress. is inserted in rows of `approximately of an inch from each side of the longitudinal center line of the strap. As pointed out above, a Mylar strap may be employed.

It should be understood that the present disclosure s for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A toggle assembly for converting a ski boot provided with lacing hooks to toggle-closure fastenings, comprising spring clips adapted to be applied to the heads of pairs of hooks at opposite sides of the instep, each clip having opposed limbs spring-biased toward each other operative to grip the top and bottom sides of the heads of the hooks, and angularly disposed ends adapted to engage 4the outer and inner sides of the shanks of the Preferably the stitching hooks, spaced pulls integral with the limbs of one of the clips, a flexible strap secured at one end between said pulls, said strap being adapted to extend across the instep toward the clip at the opposite side, a loop secured to the distal end of the strap, a bearing on said other clip and a toggle lever pivotally supported by a pin extending through it and the bearing on said clip, said lever being engageable with the loop to pull the strap transversely of the instep and secure the strap in tension by closing of the toggle lever, said loop and toggle lever being shaped to conform closely to the contour of the shoe.

2. A toggle assembly for converting a boot provided with lacing hooks to toggle-closure fastenings, comprising spring clips having opposed, substantially at limbs adjoined along one side and yieldably biased toward each other so as to grip the upper and lower sides of the heads of the hooks over which they are pressed, and at their unjoined sides downwardly bent ends, the ends of the upper limbs being adapted to bear against the outer sides of the Shanks of the hooks and the ends of the lower limbs being adapted to bear against the inner sides of the Shanks of the hooks adjacent the bases, each of said clips embodying two such pairs of limbs spaced far enough apart to be engageable with pairs of hooks at each side, spaced parallel flat pulls extending from the limbs of one of the clips, means securing an end of the strap between said pulls, said strap being adapted to extend therefrom across the instep substantially to the clip at the opposite side, a loop fixed to the distal end of the strap, a bearing at the outer side of the other clip, said bearing containing a slot, a lever mounted in the slot on a pin, said lever being engageable with the loop to pull the strap taut across the instep of the boot, and a stabilizer part at the inner side of said other clip adapted, by contact with the upper, to resist tipping of the clip, said loop and lever being shaped to conform to the surface of the boot.

3. A toggle assembly for converting a boot provided with lacing hooks to toggle-closure fastenings, comprising clips adapted to be engaged with pairs of hooks at opposite sides of the instep, each clip comprising spring metal folded on itself to form spaced pairs of spring-biased limbs for engagement with the upper and lower sides of the heads of pairs of lacing hooks, the bent portions of the clips, by engagement with the outer edges of the heads of the hooks, preventing inward displacement of the clips toward each other, downwardly extending lips at the inner ends of the upper limbs adapted to have engagement with the outer sides of the Shanks of the hooks to prevent outward displacement of the clips, means intermediate the pairs of spring-biased limbs of one of the clips for attaching one end of a strap thereto, said strap being adapted to extend across the instep of the boot substantially to the other clip, bearing means intermediate the pairs of spring-pressed limbs of the other clip for supporting a toggle, and a toggle pivotally mounted on said bearing means, said toggle being adapted, by engagement with the distal end of the strap, to pull the strap transversely of the instep and secure it under tension, said toggle being shaped to conform closely to the curvature of the boot at that side.

4. A toggle assembly for converting a boot provided with lacing hooks to toggle-closure fastenings, comprising parts having transversely spaced pairs of metal limbs formed of spring metal bent on itself and converging toward each other so as to be adapted to yieldingly engage the upper and lower sides of the heads of the hooks on which they are placed, the bights at the folded sides of the limbs being adapted to engage the outer sides of the heads of the hooks, and downwardly bent lips at the open sides of the limbs adapted to be engaged with the inner and outer sides of the shanks of the hooks, a pair of spaced parallel pulls intermediate the pairs of limbs of one of the parts extending from the open sides of the limbs of said part for receiving the end of a strap, means for securing the end of the strap between said pulls, a bearing intermediate the pairs of limbs of the other part, formed of a part of the upper one of the limbs, said bearing being adapted to have an end of a toggle lever attached thereto, a toggle lever, and a pin connecting an end of the toggle lever to said bearing, said lever and strap being cooperable to place the strap under tension across the instep of the boot, and a stabilizer part extending from the lower limb of the part inwardly relative to the hooks at that side adapted, by engagement with the upper, to prevent tilting of the part.

5. A toggle assembly according to claim 4, wherein the lower limb 0f the part provided with the bearing contains a slot for receiving the proximal end of the lever supported by the bearing, operative, by engagement with the sides of the lever, to constrain lateral movement thereof.

6. A toggle assembly for use with a ski boot having spaced lace-holding means for drawing the boot tight on the foot, comprising anchor parts adapted to be secured to said lace-holding means and toggle parts connected to said anchor parts adapted, by interengagement, to shorten the distance between said anchor parts by drawing said anchor parts toward each other, means securing the anchor parts to the lace-holding means comprising spring clips constrictively engaged with said lace-holding means, said toggle parts comprising a flexible strap connected at one end to one of the anchor parts, said strap being adapted to extend across the gap between the parts from the part to which it is connected substantially to the other part, a loop at the distal end of the strap, and a toggle lever pivotally mounted on the other part, said lever being operable, by engagement With the loop, to pull the strap taut between the lace-holding means, said loop and lever being adapted to lie against and closely conform to the outer side of the boot adjacent the part to which the lever is mounted, and means pivotally connecting said one end of the flexible strap to said anchor means for angular displacement about an axis perpendicular to the surface of the strap.

7. A toggle assembly for use with a ski boot having spaced lace-holding meansl for drawing the boot tight on the foot, comprising anchor parts adapted to be se- Cured to said lace-holding means and toggle parts connected to said anchor parts adapted, by interengagement, to shorten the distance between said anchor parts by drawing said anchor parts toward each other, means securing the anchor parts to the lace-holding means comprising spring clips constrictively engaged with said lace-holding means, said toggle parts comprising a exible strap connected at one end to one of the anchor parts, said strap being adapted to extend across the gap between the parts from the part to which it is connected substantially to the other part, a loop at the distal end of the strap, and a toggle lever pivotally mounted on the other part, said lever being operable, by engagement with the loop, to pull the strap taut between the lace-holding means, said loop and lever being adapted to lie against and closely conform to the outer side of the boot adjacent the part to which the lever is mounted; characterized in that the strap is leather and the nylon thread has a tensile strength in the order of 600 pounds per square inch, and an elongation of not more than 18 at said stress.

8. A toggle assembly for use with a ski boot having spaced lace-holding means for drawing the boot tight on the foot, comprising anchor parts adapted to be secured to `said lace-holding means and toggle parts connected to said anchor parts adapted, by interengagement, to shorten the distance between said anchor parts by drawing said anchor parts toward each other, means securing the anchor parts to the lace-holding means comprising spring clips constrictively engaged with said lace-holding-means, said toggle parts comprising a exible strap connected at one end to one of the anchor parts, said strap being adapted to extend across the gap between the parts from the part to which it is connected substantially to the other part, a loop at the distal end of the strap, and a toggle lever pivotally mounted on the other part, said lever being operable, by engagement with the loop, to pull the strap taut between the lace-holding means, said loop and lever being adapted to lie against and closely conform to the outer side ofthe boot adjacent the part to which the lever is mounted; characterized in that the strap is leather and is reinforced lengthwise by spaced parallel rows of nylon stitching situated at opposite sides of the longitudinal center line of the strap and close enough to the center line to prevent substantial elongation of the strap.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS l2/l905 8/1909 7/l950 l1/l950 11/1958 9/1965 Saunders 24-203 Ellis.

Gould.

Leseshe 24-38 X Andre 36-50 X Martin 24--69 Dunn 24-68 WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

MILTON S. MEHR, Examiner.

Claims

1. A TOGGLE ASSEMBLY FOR CONVERTING A SKI BOOT PROVIDED WITH LACING HOOKS TO TOGGLE-CLOSURE FASTENINGS, COMPRISING SPRING CLIPS ADAPTED TO BE APPLIED TO THE HEADS OF PAIRS OF HOOKS AT OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE INSTEP, EACH CLIP HAVING OPPOSED LIMBS SPRING-BIASED TOWARD EACH OTHER OPERATIVE TO GRIP THE TOP AND BOTTOM SIDES OF THE HEADS OF THE HOOKS, AND ANGULARLY DISPOSED ENDS ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE OUTER AND INNER SIDES OF THE SHANKS OF THE HOOKS, SPACED PULLS INTEGRAL WITH THE LIMBS OF ONE OF THE CLIPS, A FLEXIBLE STRAP SECURED AT ONE END BETWEEN SAID PULLS, SAID STRAP BEING ADAPTED TO EXTEND ACROSS THE INSTEP TOWARD THE CLIP AT THE OPPOSITE SIDE, A LOOP SECURED TO