U.S. patent number 3,740,873 [Application Number 05/261,488] was granted by the patent office on 1973-06-26 for ski boot with a sole which resists bending.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Wiener Metallwaren-fabrik Smolka & Co.. Invention is credited to Herbert Sturany.
United States Patent |
3,740,873 |
Sturany |
June 26, 1973 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
SKI BOOT WITH A SOLE WHICH RESISTS BENDING
Abstract
Ski boot with a rigid or flexible sole. In a ski boot provided
normally with a relatively flexible sole, there is provided a stiff
insert which is interrupted in the zone of the ball of the foot and
is there provided with one or more cross members. Said cross
members are contoured to having easy rolling movement with respect
to each other or with respect to the adjacent surfaces of the
insert. Tension wires are arranged in the sole in the tension zone
thereof which wires are anchored at the forward end of the boot and
attached to suitable tensioning means at the heel end. These
tensioning means may be manually operated or may be operated
automatically by the heel binding of the ski, whereby same when
actuated will hold the boot sole rigid in condition for effective
skiing but when released will permit the boot its normal
flexibility.
Inventors: |
Sturany; Herbert (Wien,
OE) |
Assignee: |
Wiener Metallwaren-fabrik Smolka
& Co. (Wien-Mauer, OE)
|
Family
ID: |
3574380 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/261,488 |
Filed: |
June 9, 1972 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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Jun 18, 1971 [OE] |
|
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5311/71 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
36/117.4;
280/623 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43B
5/0415 (20130101); A43B 5/0417 (20130101); A43B
13/141 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A43B
13/14 (20060101); A43B 5/04 (20060101); A43b
000/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;36/2.5R,2.5AL,2.5J |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Lawson; Patrick D.
Claims
The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or
privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. In a ski boot having a sole which resists bending, wherein the
improvement comprises a pressure-resisting and bending-resisting
insert (10), of corrosion-resisting metal, is embedded entirely in
the sole member (2), into which insert, in the zone of the ball of
the foot, there is provided at least one link member (11-11) which
is positioned transversely over the entire width and which is
profiled for rolling movement and that said reinforcing insert (10)
is connected to a tensioning device which acts in longitudinal
direction and can be externally operated, by means of which
tensioning device the entire, reinforced sole member (2-10) is
selectively during skiing fixed rigidly, self-lockingly (rigid
sole) or remains flexible during walking without skis.
2. The improvement according to claim 1, wherein the tensioning
device for the hingedly assembled reinforcing insert (10) consists
of two steel wires (21) which are inserted in its tension zone in a
longitudinal direction, which steel wires are secured adjustably on
the front end of the sole (2), and are fixedly connected, through a
tensioning bar (24), on the heel end, and that this tensioning
device can be locked in the extended position of the boot sole (2)
by means of a lockable tensioning member (25) which cooperates with
the tensioning bar (24).
3. The improvement according to claim 2, wherein the tensioning
member of the tensioning device consists of a two-arm lever (25)
which is supported in the heel end of the reinforcing insert (10),
which engages (at 25') on one end the steel wire (21), or the
tensioning bar (24), and on the other end is held in locking
position by its upwardly projecting second arm (25") by means of a
tensioning means.
4. The improvement according to claim 3, wherein the tensioning
lever (25) is held in locking position by means of a separate lever
tensioning means (51-52) which is mounted on the ski boot (1) and
grips around the heel and which engages the upwardly projecting
lever arm (25") (FIG. 5).
5. The improvement according to claim 3, wherein during insertion
of the ski boot (1) into the ski binding the tensioning lever (25)
is held automatically in locking position by means of the heel
clamp (41) of the ski binding, which heel clamp engages its
upwardly projecting arm (25").
6. The improvement according to claim 1, wherein the sole member
(2-10) which is reinforced with the metallic reinforcing insert
(10) is slightly curved, concavely when viewed from above, in
longitudinal direction in relaxed rest position.
Description
The invention relates to a ski boot with a sole which resists
bending and which is made for example of leather, plastic or the
like.
Due to the influence of modern ski technique -- mainly for racing
-- the ski boots have lately themselves gone through a development
of their function from their original condition of quite useable
auxiliary walking means to being purely couplings between foot and
skis. In other words, the present ski technique requires a
substantially lossfree transmission of forces to and from the body
and the ski and the ski boot must consequently be as stiff as
possible. In addition most safety bindings react correctly only if
the ski boot transmits suddenly occurring load peaks without
substantial losses -- therefore practically without any deformation
of the boot itself -- to the safety elements of the ski binding.
For these reasons, modern ski boots are of completely stiff
formation in their position of use and are often molded of one
piece and particularly with a highly bending-resistant sole. Thus,
with such ski boots easy moving even for only a short time is
practically impossible without skis -- and a longer walk on foot is
still worse.
Therefore it is desired to provide a ski boot with a sole which at
one time acquires the desired rigidity upon being fixed to the ski,
either through a simple manual operation or automatically by means
of the ski binding, and acquires at another time without the ski
the movability which is desired for walking.
According to the invention this is achieved in the case of such ski
boots, the bending-resistant sole of which consists for example of
leather, plastic or the like, in a simple and and satisfactory
manner by providing that in the sole member there is completely
embedded a pressure-resistant and bending-resistant insert --
advantageously of a corrosion-resistant metal -- into which
advantageously in the zone of the ball of the foot at least one
cross member is inserted. This lies transversely over the entire
width and is advantageously profiled to have an easy rolling
movement with respect to other similar cross members and/or with
adjacent surfaces of the insert. This reinforcing insert is
connected to a tensioning device which acts in longitudinal
direction and can be externally operated, by means of which the
entire reinforced sole member is selectively arranged, either to be
rigidly fixed (stiff sole) during skiing, or to remain flexible
during walking without skis (with a released tensioning
device).
In a preferred embodiment of this ski boot, the tensioning device
itself consists of two steel wires or the like which are inserted
in a longitudinal direction in the tension zone of the hingedly
assembled reinforcement insert. These steel wires are secured on
the front end of the sole, advantageously adjustably, and are
fixedly connected to the heel end, advantageously through a
tensioning bar. This tensioning device can be held in extended
position by means of a lockable tensioning member which cooperates
with the tensioning bar.
The tensioning device includes a two-arm lever which is pivotally
supported in the heel end of the reinforcing insert. One end of
said lever engages the steel wire, either directly or through the
tensioning bar, and the other end in holding position, which
projects from the boot sole is held by means of a manually or
automatically operable tightening means. In one embodiment the
tensioning lever is advantageously held in locking position by
means of a separate lever tightening means which is mounted on the
ski boot and which grips around the heel and which engages the
upwardly projecting lever arm. In another and particularly
advantageous development of the tensioning device, the tensioning
lever is, during stepping the ski boot into the ski binding,
maintained automatically in locking position by means of the heel
clamping means of the ski binding, which heel clamping means
engages the upwardly projecting arm of the tensioning lever.
The drawings illustrate several exemplary embodiments of the
inventively constructed ski boot with a normally bendable sole
which can when desired be locked into a bending-resistant
condition.
In the drawings:
FIGS. 1 and 1A illustrate such a ski boot, same having a rigid
(skiing) sole when the bendable reinforcing insert is locked in
rigid condition or having, after unlocking of the reinforcing
insert, a bendable walking sole -- each figure being in a vertical
central-cross-sectional view;
FIG. 2 is a horizontal longitudinal cross-sectional view II--II of
FIG. 1 of the boot sole with the reinforcing insert exposed;
FIG. 3 illustrates a ski boot with the reinforcing insert and
tensioning device shown in phantom;
FIG. 3A is in an enlarged scale a cross-sectional view of the
section IIIA of FIG. 3 of the front end of the boot sole showing
means for the fine adjustment of the steel wires; and finally
FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate two variations of the operating members
for the tensioning device for the reinforcing insert.
The ski boot 1 which is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a sole 2
which is made of leather, plastic or the like, in the sole member
of which there is embedded, for example by being molded thereinto,
a pressure-resistant and bending-resistant insert 10 of
corrosion-resistant material, preferably of a hardenable light
alloy or of plastic. This reinforcing insert 10 of the boot sole 2
is hingedly divided in the zone of the ball of the foot -- thus
approximately in the front third, namely by insertion of two
riblike cross members 11 which are transversely positioned over the
entire width and which are here profiled to be capable of mutual
rolling movement. A tensioning device which acts in longitudinal
direction S is provided by means of which, upon operation from
outside, the entire sole member 2 can selectively either be fixed
rigidly for skiing (FIG. 1) or, when the tensioning device is
released, the sole will be flexible for walking without skis (FIG.
1A).
The ski boot can operate advantageously in that the sole in relaxed
condition already has a slight longitudinal bending concavely as
viewed from above -- as indicated in FIG. 1A -- by which during
walking the action of the heavy boot is made easier.
In the top view of the boot sole 2 with exposed reinforcing insert
10 which is illustrated in FIG. 2, the tensioning device for the
bendable reinforcing insert 10 is schematically indicated and same
is illustrated structurally in FIGS. 3 and 3A. This tensioning
device consists of two steel wires 21 or the like which are
inserted in the tension zone of the reinforcing insert 10 in
longitudinal direction. These are each at one end adjustably
secured on the front end of the boot sole 2 and on the other end
connected fixedly on the heel through a tensioning bar 24 which is
received in a recess 12 of the reinforcing insert 10. The steel
wires 21 are fixed, as by soldering, into a journal 22 at their
front ends, which journal is engaged by a setting screw 22A
supported in the front side of the boot sole 2 and by means of
which an exact adjustment of the tensioning device and thereby the
rigidity of the sole in tensioned condition, can be made. A further
adjustable tensioning member 25 (FIG. 4) is inserted flush in a
recess 12 in the heel end of the reinforcing insert 10, which
tensioning member cooperates with the tensioning bar 24 and is
accessible from the outside at its end which projects upwardly from
the boot sole 2 for engagement by an operating member. This
tensioning member consists of a two-arm lever 25, at the lower end
25' of which engages the tensioning bar 24 connecting the steel
wires 21 and the upwardly projecting end 25" of which can be
engaged by suitable tensioning means 41. During the closing
movement of said tensioning means the lower end 25' of the
tensioning lever 25 maintains the tensioning device tensioned with
both steel wires 21 and thus holds the bendable reinforcing insert
10 self-lockingly in its rigid condition.
In operating the system, the upwardly projecting, preferably
grooved, arm 25" of the two-arm tensioning lever 25, which is
supported in the recess 12 of the reinforcing insert 10 on a
horizontal axis, is urged forwardly, after introduction of the ski
boot into the safety binding, by the heel clamp 41 of same with
sufficient force to urge the upper end of said arm 25" into the
recess which is provided between the sole and the upper boot so
that the lower end 25' of the tensioning lever 25 -- as already
mentioned -- keeps the steel wires tensioned by engagement with the
tensioning bar 24 and thus keeps the reinforcing insert 10 rigidly
held. With this automatic operation of the tensioning device the
boot sole 2 is provided in, but only in, the position of use during
skiing with the rigidity required therefor. Without the ski,
however, the boot sole remains automatically sufficiently movable
or bendable to permit also the functioning of the ski boot as
mountaineering boot.
FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a simple operating mechanism for
the tensioning device with manual operation: A lever tensioning
means 51-52 is mounted on the heel end of the ski boot directly
above the sole 2, which lever tensioning means consists of a
semicircularly shaped bar 51 which is secured on one side and of a
snap-lever 52 which is hinged to the other side; in this manner it
is possible to bring the sole 2 into its rigid position of use
prior to stepping into the ski binding.
The advantages which can be achieved by equipping modern rigid ski
boots with the inventively constructed boot sole -- which can be
brought selectively into a flexibly bendable walking position or
into a rigidly fixed position for skiing by means of a
pressure-resisting and bending-resisting reinforcing insert -- can
be easily recognized from what has been discussed thus far.
Further, in the case of two relatively high upper ski boots the
danger of lower leg fractures, which danger is increased due to
their lever action, is reduced considerably in the embodiment with
the automatic release of the tensioning device for the reinforcing
insert.
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