WO1998041121A1

WO1998041121A1 - Fastening device of lever toothed strap type for sports footwear in general

Info

Publication number: WO1998041121A1
Application number: PCT/EP1998/001157
Authority: WO
Inventors: Dino Martignago
Original assignee: Everest S.P.A.
Priority date: 1997-03-17
Filing date: 1998-03-02
Publication date: 1998-09-24
Also published as: ITVE970017V0; IT243463Y1; ITVE970017U1

Abstract

A fastening device of lever and toothed strap type for sports footwear in general, comprising a traction lever (12) for a toothed strap (26), and ratchet-type engagement means (18, 20) for said toothed strap, characterised in that said ratchet-type engagement means comprise at least one pair of pawls (22, 24), which do not engage simultaneously in the strap teeth.

Description

FASTENING DEVICE OF LEVER TOOTHED STRAP TYPE FOR SPORTS FOOTWEAR IN GENERAL

This invention relates to a fastening device of lever toothed strap type for sports footwear in general Fastening devices of lever and toothed strap type are known for sports footwear in general These devices generally comprises a fork rigid with one side of the footwear vamp and carrying a hinged lever provided with a toothed strap engaging in a retention ratchet rigid with the other side of the vamp

In other cases the retention ratchet is mounted on the lever to engage the free end of the toothed strap rigid with the other side of the vamp

The retention ratchet consists of a basepiece provided with side walls supporting a hinge pin for a rocker member provided at one end with a pawl

In the absence of external stressing, a spring coaxial to the hinge pin maintains the pawl engaged in one of the teeth of the toothed strap To operate the device the toothed strap is inserted into the gap formed by the basepiece and the pawl of the retention ratchet and pushed so that the pawl slides along the passive flank of the teeth to advance without difficulty and engage in the recess of a tooth after every straddling movement, to maintain the attained position To slacken the degree of tightening between the two sides of the vamp, the user temporarily acts on the operating arm of the rocker member to disengage the pawl from the strap tooth and enable the pawl to re-engage in another of the teeth

These known fastening devices suffer however from the drawback that because of the tension to which the strap is subjected operating the retention ratchet does not enable gradual slackening to be achieved, and can in fact result in sudden withdrawal of the strap from the retention ratchet, such withdrawal being a particular drawback when practising certain sports, such as cycling

According to the invention these drawbacks are eliminated by a fastening device of lever and toothed strap type for sports footwear in general as described in claim 1

The invention is described in detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawing, on which

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a lever fastening device of the invention, Figure 2 is a plan view thereof, and

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section therethrough the line Ill-Ill of Figure 2

As can be seen from the figures, the lever fastening device of the invention comprises substantially a fork 2 rigid with one side 4 of the footwear and having sidepieces 6 provided with substantially inclined slotted holes 8 in which there is inserted a hinge pin 10 for a lever indicated overall by 12

In correspondence with that region which surrounds the hinge pin, the lever comprises two transverse teeth 14 Coaxial to the hinge pin there is positioned an elastic spring 16 which, when external stresses are absent, maintains the lever substantially horizontal, with the pin 10 positioned in the upper end of the slotted holes 8

There are also pivoted to the sidepieces 6 of the fork 2, on a pin 17, two retention ratchets 18,20 of rocker type, with their gripper arms 22,24 of different length and with the difference in length not a whole multiple of the tooth pitch of the toothed strap 26 to be engaged in the lever The gripper arms 22,24 of the two rocker ratchets extend in facing outer lateral appendices 28,30 the sidepieces of the fork element

Each retention ratchet 18,20 is provided with an elastic spring 38 positioned coaxial to the pin 17 and which, when external stresses are absent, maintains the gripper arms 22,24 substantially in contact with the base of the fork

The fastening device of the invention operates in the following manner with the lever 12 substantially coplanar with the fork, le with the lever in its closed configuration, the toothed strap 26 is inserted manually, in the direction indicated by the arrow 40 firstly into the gap formed by the base of the fork and the teeth 14 of the lever 12 and then between the base of the fork and the pawls of the gripper arms 22 and 24

During this stage the pawls overcome the elastic reaction of the springs 38 to slide along the passive part of the teeth, so that the strap can be advanced without any difficulty, with the pawls engaging in the recess of a tooth after every straddling movement, to maintain the attained position

The lever 12 is then rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow 42 in Figure 3, this rotation having the effect of causing a tooth of the lever 12 to elastically engage in one of the teeth of the toothed strap 26 by the action of the spring 16, with consequent movement of the strap in the direction indicated by the arrow 40, and engagement by one of the pawls of the end of the arms 22 and 24 in that tooth which was previously engaged by the other pawl During the return travel of the lever, the tooth 14 overcomes the elastic action of the spring 16 to slide along the passive part of the next tooth of the strap until it engages in its recess.

During this travel the strap remains however engaged by one of the pawls of the arms 22 and 24, to hence maintain the degree of tensioπing attained.

By continuing this lever operation in one direction or the other, the toothed strap becomes tensioned until the desired fastening intensity is obtained. When this configuration is achieved, the lever is positioned coplanar with the basepiece so that the teeth 14 do not interfere with the teeth of the toothed strap.

To slacken the degree of tightening provided by the strap, the user operates the appendix 28 or 30 of one of the two rocker ratchets so as to disengage the pawl of the corresponding arm 22, 24 from the tooth of the strap, which can hence be withdrawn from the fork by the amount allowed before being engaged by the other pawl which is not currently engaged.

The user then operates that other appendix 30 or 28 whose pawl has in the meantime been engaged by the teeth, so that the strap can be withdrawn by a further length. By repeating this alternate operation of the two retention ratchet operating appendices, the strap can be withdrawn by the desired amount.

From the aforegoing it is apparent that the lever fastening device of the invention has the advantage of allowing controlled withdrawal of the strap from the retention ratchet, by a simple and comfortable operation. In a different embodiment, not shown on the drawings, the lever is rigid with a fork mounted on one side of the vamp and to which the strap is connected, its other end engaging in the basepiece to which the retention ratchets are secured.

Claims

C L A I M S

1. A fastening device of lever and toothed strap type for sports footwear in general, comprising a traction lever (12) for a toothed strap (26), and ratchet- type engagement means (18,20) for said toothed strap, characterised in that said ratchet-type engagement means comprise at least one pair of pawls (22,24), which do not engage simultaneously in the strap teeth.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that the ratchet-type engagement means (18,20) are mounted on the basepiece (2) on which the traction lever is mounted.

3. A fastening device as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that said ratchet-type engagement means (18,20) are positioned side by side and hinged on the same hinge pin (16).

4. A fastening device as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that coaxial with the hinge pin (16) there are provided springs (38) which, when external stresses are absent, maintain at least one of the pawls engaged with the strap teeth.

5. A fastening device as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that those arms (22,24) of the two retention ratchets which engage the strap are of different length, the difference in length not being a whole multiple of the tooth pitch of the strap.

6. A device as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that the retention ratchets are provided with outwardly projecting appendices on their operating arms.