US3775871A

US3775871A - Raised stop for ski boot of the pivoted ankle cuff type

Info

Publication number: US3775871A
Application number: US00285493A
Authority: US
Inventors: R Serko
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1972-08-31
Filing date: 1972-08-31
Publication date: 1973-12-04
Anticipated expiration: 1990-12-04

Abstract

A ski boot having a raised stop attachable thereto for limiting rearward movement, beyond that attainable in a conventional boot, of an ankle cuff which is pivotally attached in the region of a wearer''s ankle to a lower shell of the boot. The lower shell has a raised back wall to which a quarter is secured, the top edge of the quarter being below the top edge of the back wall. Rearward pivotal movement of the ankle cuff normally is limited by abutment of the lower edge of this cuff against the top edge of the quarter. The stop has an arcuate thin tongue from the lower edge of which a perpendicular shoulder projects. When the tongue is inserted between the exterior surface of the back wall and the interior surface of the ankle cuff to such an extent that the lower surface of the shoulder seats on the top edge of this back wall, the stop presents a raised surface to further restrict rearward pivotal movement of the ankle cuff, thereby enabling the wearer to maintain greater control over a ski attached to the boot which he could not do with the more extensive rearward movement inherent in the lower height of conventional quarters.

Description

United States Patent [191 Serko RAISED STOP FOR SKI BOOT THE PIVOTED ANKLE CUFF TYPE Richard A. Serko, 26 Craig St., Jericho, NY' 11753 [22] Filed: Aug. 31, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 285,493

[76] Inventor:

Primary Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson Attorney-Morris Kirschstein et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A ski boot having a raised stop attachable thereto for Dec. 4, 1973 limiting rearward movement, beyond that attainable in a conventional boot, of an ankle cufi which is pivotally attached in the region of a wearers ankle to a lower shell of the boot. The lower shell has a raised back wall to which a quarter is secured, the top edge of the quarter being below the top edge of the back wall. Rearward pivotal movement of the ankle cuff normally is limited by abutment of the lower edge of this cuff against the top edge of the quarter. The stop has an arcuate thin tongue from the lower edge of which a perpendicular shoulder projects. When the tongue isinserted between the exterior surface of the back wall and the interior surface of the ankle cuff to such an extent that the lower surface of the shoulder seats on the top edge of this back wall, the stop presents a raised surface to further restrict rearward pivotal movement of the ankle cuff, thereby enabling the wearer to maintain greater control over a ski attached to the boot which he could not do with the more extensive rearward movement inherent in the lower height of conventional quarters.

6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures RAISED STOP FOR SKI BOOT OF THE PIVOTED ANKLE CUFF TYPE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an attachment for a ski boot having a pivotally mounted ankle cuff, the attachment limiting rearward pivoting beyond a predetermined position which is short of that permitted without the attachment.

2. Description of the Prior Art Many currently marketed ski boots are provided with ankle cuffs which are pivotally attached to low cut lower oxford type shells whereby to allow ankles of skiers to pivot in a forward direction. Such pivoting of the ankles is advantageous, especially during downhill skiing, since it allows the centers of gravity of the skiers to be shifted towards the fronts or tips of the skis, thereby giving the users better control over the movement of the skis.

However, because a pivoting ankle cuff is able to swing forwardly, it also is able to pivot rearwardly until a bottom rear edge of the ankle cuff abuts the projecting top edge of a quarter which is attached to the rear wall of the lower shell. Unfortunately, in a conventional boot of the pivoted cuff type well before the ankle cuff abuts the top of the quarter, the center of gravity of the skier has shifted so far rearwardly that he may lose control of the skis.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 1. Purposes of the Invention It is an object of the invention to provide for a conventional boot of the pivoted cuff type a readily insertable attachment that will further restrict rearward pivoted movement of an ankle cuff.

It is another object of the invention to provide a simple inexpensive attachment which can be quickly secured to a ski boot so that the rearward movement of a pivotally attached ankle cuff can be further limited whereby to improve the performance of an as-bought boot.

Other objects of the invention in part will be obvious and in part will be pointed out hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention pertains to an after-market modification of a certain type of ski boot to wit, one having an ankle cuff pivoted to a lower shell. In such a boot rearward movement of the ankle cuff is limited by abutment of the rear edge of the cuff against a projecting quarter attached to the rear wall of the shell. Frequently this limitation is insufficient because, due to it, in certain skiing postures so much of a skiers weight is effectively removed from the tips of the skiis that a degree of control is lost with consequent possible detrimental effects. Pursuant to the present invention rearward movement is further restricted in an as-bought boot by use of a supplemental stop. The stop includes a transversely curved tongue from the base of which a perpendicular shoulder projects. The tongue is insertable between the cuff and the back wall of the lower shell with the shoulder resting on the quarter thereby further limiting rearward pivoting movement of the cuff relative to the shell so that the skier automatically will maintain better control over his skis.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings, in which is shown one of the various possible embodiments of the invention,

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of an as-bought ski boot having the defect aforementioned and of an attachable stop, before the stop is secured to the boot to alleviate said defect;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the ski boot and stop after the stop has been secured to the boot; and FIG. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged cross-sectional view of the boot and stop taken substantially along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now in detail to the drawings, a standard pivoted cuff type ski boot 10 is shown. The boot has a two-part upper 12 to the bottom of which a sole 14 is affixed. The sole has a heel 16. The upper includes a low cut oxford type lower shell 18 typically made from fiber glass, plastic, stiff leather or metal. The shell has a raised back wall 19 to which a quarter 20 is attached, the top edge of the quarter being below the top edge of the rear wall. The upper further includes an ankle cuff 22 usually made of fiber glass, plastic or stiff leather. A wrap around pad or sock 7A of a foam resilient type plastic is contained in the boot and projects slightly above the ankle cuff. The ankle cuff is connected to the lower shell for pivotal movement about a horizontal transverse axis that passes through the region of the wearers ankle. For this purpose the ankle cuff has downward extensions 26 on both sides thereof (only one extension is shown in the drawings) which extensions are pivotally secured, as by rivets 28, to the lower shell 18. The ankle cuff 22 includes front flaps 30 for, with the aid of conventional fasteners (not shown), closing the front of the boot upper. Additional conventional fasteners 32 also are used to close the front of the boot upper. The foregoing arrangement permits the ankle cuff to pivot rearwardly relative to the lower shell until the rear edge of the ankle cuff strikes the upper edge of the quarter. Such pivoting occurs during various skiing maneuvers. The extent of rearward pivoting in a conventional as-bought boot of this type is quite extensive and allows such movement to a degree which endangers the skiers control. More specifically when the skier tilts back too far the distribution of his weight shifts and lifts too much from the tips of the skis where weight is needed to maintain good control. This is particularly observable in down hill skiing.

Pursuant to the present invention the foregoing defect of an as-bought ski boot of the pivoted cuff type is remedied by supplying to the user on the after market a stop 34 which is readily and quickly attachable without special tools or skills to the boot and will, when attached, restrict rearward pivoting of the ankle cuff to an acceptable degree. Such stop is of stiff material such as metal or semi-rigid material such as plastic. The stop is composed of a thin tongue 36 which is elongated vertically and is transversely arcuate (see FIG. 3). The tip and sides of the tongue are of reduced thickness for a reason soon to be apparent. The tongue has at its base an integral shoulder 38 the top and bottom surfaces of which are substantially perpendicular to the length of the tongue.

To use the stop the tip is introduced into the space between the ankle cuff and the rear wall 19, the reduced thickness of said tip and edges of the tongue making such insertion easy to perform without tools or great strength or manual dexterity. The tongue is inserted into said space until the upper surface of the shoulder abuts the lower edge of the ankle cuff and/or the lower surface of the shoulder abuts the upper edge of the quarter (see FIG. 2). In such positions the stop acts as either an extension of the said part of the ankle cuff or the said part of the quarter. In this position the stop holds apart from each other, in the rearmost pivoted position of the cuff, the lower edge of the cuff and the upper edge of the quarter, thus limiting to a greater degree rearward pivotal movement of the cuff with respect to the lower shell. By selecting a shoulder of suitable thickness, i.e., choosing a stop from a selection of different stops having shoulders of different thicknesses, the limit of rearward pivotal movement of upper ankle cuff portion 22 can be selectively adjusted to the satisfaction of the user.

As shown in FIG. 3 the transverse shape of the tongue essentially conforms to the transverse shape of the rear of the pivoted cuff and the rear wall 19; and the tongue can be sufficiently pliable to conform to these shapes if there is a slight mismatch.

It will be appreciated that the stop is so dimensioned as to be snugly received between the cuff and the rear wall 19 so that it will not slip out in use yet can be removed and replaced if desired.

It thus is seen that there is provided a stop for a ski boot for limiting rearward movement of a pivoted ankle cuff which achieves the several objects of the invention and is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein described, or shown in the accompanying drawings, is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having now described the invention, there is claimed as new and is desired to be secured by Letters Patent:

1. For use with a ski boot having a lower shell with a raised rear wall and an ankle cuff pivotally secured to said shell to allow pivotal movement of said ankle cuff in response to shifts in the weight of an individual using the boot, said cuff in part overlying said rear wall, said boot having a quarter the upper edge of which is in the path of travel of the lower edge of the cuff so as to define a rearmost pivoted position of the cuff:

means for further limiting rearward pivotal movement of said cuff, said means including a stop including a tongue and a shoulder in one-piece with the tongue and projecting perpendicularly therefrom, said tongue being shaped and dimensioned to be insertable between the raised rear wall of the lower shell and the cuff and thereby have the shoulder define a more forward limit position to the rearward pivotal movement of the cuff so as to increase control over a ski attached to the boot, by lessening the shift of the users weight from the tip of a ski.

2. A limiting means according to claim 1 wherein the shoulder is positioned between a rear bottom edge of said cuff and the top edge of the rear wall.

3. A limiting means according to claim 2 wherein the tongue has a shape conforming to that of said cuff and rear wall.

4. A limiting means according to claim 1 wherein the tongue has a tip and side edges of reduced thickness to ease insertion of the tongue under the cuff.

5. A limiting means according to claim 1 wherein the tongue is arcuate.

6. A limiting means according to claim 1 wherein the tongue is sufficiently pliable to conform to the shape of the cuff.

Claims

1. For use with a ski boot having a lower shell with a raised rear wall and an ankle cuff pivotally secured to said shell to allow pivotal movement of said ankle cuff in response to shifts in the weight of an individual using the boot, said cuff in part overlying said rear wall, said boot having a quarter the upper edge of which is in the path of travel of the lower edge of the cuff so as to define a rearmost pivoted position of the cuff: means for further limiting rearward pivotal movement of said cuff, said means including a stop including a tongue and a shoulder in one-piece with the tongue and projecting perpendicularly therefrom, said tongue being shaped and dimensioned to be insertable between the raised rear wall of the lower shell and the cuff and thereby have the shoulder define a more forward limit position to the rearward pivotal movement of the cuff so as to increase control over a ski attached to the boot, by lessening the shift of the user''s weight from the tip of a ski.

5. A limiting means according to claim 1 wherein the tongue is arcuate.