WO1996028227A1

WO1996028227A1 - Snowshoe bindings

Info

Publication number: WO1996028227A1
Application number: PCT/FR1996/000368
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jean-Claude Bibollet
Original assignee: S.A.R.L. Bibollet
Priority date: 1995-03-10
Filing date: 1996-03-08
Publication date: 1996-09-19
Also published as: FR2731359A1; FR2731359B1

Abstract

A snowshoe binding including a rigid lower plate (6) supporting the front portion of the boot sole and having a front projecting portion (7) extending upwards therefrom to form a front toe-piece. Two resiliently semi-flexible side arms (8, 9) have front ends integral with the front projection (7) and extend on either side up to their back ends (10, 11) with a degree of freedom to bend sideways. A clamping strap (14) holds the boot against the rigid lower plate (6) and squeezes together the back ends (10, 11) of the side arms (8, 9) so that they engage the sides of the boot and provide directional support therefor.

Description

The present invention relates to shoe binding devices for snowshoes.

Originally, the snowshoes consisted of a wooden frame, of different shapes, inside which were stretched skin straps or cords constituting a sieve. Nowadays, synthetic materials and metal have replaced wood and straps, but the general shapes of the rackets themselves have remained practically unchanged because they are generally satisfactory. It is quite different from the means, generally called bindings, intended to secure the user's shoes to said rackets.

Indeed, particularly in the case of so-called "Canadian" snowshoes, the realization of these bindings is not easy because the shoe must be immobilized in longitudinal and lateral translation, relative to the racket, while retaining the possibility of pivoting in a vertical plane turning around a fictitious, substantially horizontal axis, located near the sieve. An opening, generally called a window, begins in front of this fictitious axis and is made in said sieve to clear the area swept by the forefoot when the foot tilts during walking. Thus, the heel of the shoe can be lifted naturally during walking without lifting the rear of the racket, which itself must remain in contact with the ground as much as possible.

The so-called "French" snowshoes, generally smaller than the previous ones, are characterized by a system of fasteners now pressed against the sieve the sole of the shoe, over its entire length, seeking to avoid as much as possible. rotational or translational movements of the shoe relative to the racket. The racket therefore accompanies the shoe in all its movements. In "Canadian" snowshoes, the shoe was first attached using leather straps with which a harness was made, forming a sort of flexible pocket, in which the front part of the shoe was housed. the shoe. A strap, of length adjustable by a loop system and whose ends were attached to the aforementioned pocket, was wrapped around the ankle of the user to prevent the shoe from moving back and out of the front pocket . Nowadays, in this type of fixing as described by example in document US-A-3,755,926, leather has been replaced by synthetic straps, or even by rubber, without however succeeding in correcting the major faults of such a flexible pocket system, namely a lack of lateral holding, making it very difficult to control in the direction of the racket, and a certain difficulty in putting on and taking off because of the significant tensions to be applied to the straps so that these ensure sufficient securing of the shoe; said straps also tend to loosen gradually when walking or to be difficult to release when snow and ice block the tension loops.

A structure facilitating the entry and exit of the shoe is described in US-A-5,259,128, but does not provide satisfactory lateral hold and directivity. In document US-A-4 259 793, the binding comprises a small rigid articulated bottom plate, substantially smaller than the front of the shoe, to which is fixed a flexible sheet which passes under the sole of the shoe and rises laterally from on either side of the shoe to wrap it. The lateral edges of the flexible sheet are connected to each other by a tightening strap passing over the foot. A transverse strap connects the front edges of the flexible sheet. The tightening of the tightening strap acts like a tube with a longitudinal axis, the diameter of which is reduced around the shoe. This results in excessive tightening of the shoe, which excludes the use of flexible and comfortable shoes.

Another more recent technique consists in replacing this harness with a rigid plate which can pivot about 120 ° around an axis located in the vicinity of the sieve and disposed perpendicular to the plane of general symmetry of the racket. While this type of swivel plate attachment is easy to put on and take off and allows control over the direction of the racket to be controlled, it nevertheless requires the use of rigid shoes. Indeed, when the immobilization of the shoe on said plate takes place by trapping the sole between a front stirrup and a rear lever now pressed the rear of the shoe on the plate, this requires great rigidity of the sole to avoid that it does not escape from these attachment means. As an alternative, when said shoe is immobilized on the plate using straps, these must bear on a shoe with a rigid shell so as not to risk compressing the foot itself inside the shoe. Now these rigid shoes are always very expensive to buy, and often uncomfortable and heavy to use.

The object of the present invention is to solve the aforementioned drawbacks, by proposing an original and new design for binding for snowshoes, a binding which ensures satisfactory grip of the boot, and satisfactory direction control of the racket, whatever the type of shoe used, allowing the use of flexible and light shoes, more comfortable.

The invention also aims to make such a binding easily adaptable to different shoe sizes, and to types of shoes having the most diverse shapes.

And the invention applies both to "Canadian" rackets with articulated fixings and to "French" rackets with non-articulated fixings. To achieve these and other objects, a binding according to the invention for adapting a shoe to a snowshoe comprises an enveloping front structure adaptable to a snowshoe body and shaped to wrap the front part of the snowshoe. a shoe, and comprises a rear structure connected to the front structure and shaped to repel the shoe in the front enveloping structure, the front enveloping structure comprises:

- a rigid lower plate, dimensioned to support the front part of the shoe sole and provided with an anterior rise opposing in advance the anterior edge of the shoe sole, - two opposite side cheeks, elastically semi-flexible, integral at their anterior ends of the anterior rise of the rigid lower plate, the lateral cheeks developing backwards from their anterior ends to posterior ends, adapted to flex laterally elastically around their anterior ends of connection to the anterior rise, and having a degree of freedom relative to the rigid lower plate during said lateral bending around their anterior ends,

- a flexible tightening system connecting the lower plate and the posterior end zones of the lateral cheeks and shaped to pass over the instep of the shoe, so that the tightening of the tightening system tends to press the shoe on the rigid bottom plate, and tends to bring the semi-lateral cheeks sideways towards each other flexible which thus come to bear against the sides of the shoe and hold it laterally in the manner of a clamp articulated around substantially vertical anterior axes.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the flexible tightening system comprises an elastically extensible and flexible tightening strap, in one or more sections, connecting the lower plate to the zones of posterior ends of the lateral cheeks and forming an upper loop passing over the zone instep.

A flexible longitudinal strap advantageously connects the front part of the rigid lower plate and the upper tightening strap loop.

Preferably, an adjustable retaining strap connects and extends the rear ends of the side cheeks so as to surround the heel of the shoe and thus form said rear fixing structure.

The invention thus provides a snowshoe provided with a binding as defined above.

Other objects, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will emerge from the following description of particular embodiments, given in relation to the attached figures, among which:

- Figure 1 illustrates a side view of a binding according to an embodiment of the invention;

- Figure 2 is a top view of the binding of Figure 1, - - Figure 3 is an elevation in cross section along the plane A-A of Figure 1;

- Figure 4 is a side view of a binding according to a second embodiment of the invention, -

- Figure 5 is a top view of the binding of Figure 4, - - Figure 6 is a side view of a binding according to a third embodiment of the invention, -

- Figure 7 is a top view of the binding of Figure 6;

- Figure 8 is a cross section showing a detail of the attachment of Figures 6 and 7; - Figure 9 is a side view of the rigid lower plate-side plates assembly of the attachment of Figures 6 and 7, -

- Figure 10 is a half top view of the assembly of Figure 9, * - Figure 11 is a half cross-section along the plane BB of Figure 10;

- Figure 12 is a partial view in longitudinal section of the front binding part according to a particular embodiment suitable for receiving cross-country ski boots;

- Figure 13 illustrates the adaptation of a binding according to the invention on a "French" racket;

- Figure 14 illustrates the adaptation of a binding according to the invention on a "Canadian" racket, - - Figure 15 is a top view of a binding according to another embodiment of the invention, - and

FIG. 16 is a side view in median longitudinal section of the binding of FIG. 15.

As illustrated in particular in FIGS. 13 and 14, a binding l according to the invention allows a shoe 2 to be retained on a snowshoe body 3. The binding 1 comprises a front wrap structure 4, adaptable to the snowshoe body 3, and shaped to wrap the front part of the shoe 2. The binding 1 further comprises a rear structure 5, connected to the front structure 4, and shaped to push the shoe 2 forward to maintain the engagement of its front part in the enveloping front structure 4.

In all the embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the figures, the enveloping front structure 4 comprises a rigid lower plate 6, dimensioned to support the front part at least of the sole of the shoe 2, and provided with 'an anterior rise 7 opposing in advance the anterior edge of the sole of the shoe 2. Two lateral cheeks 8 and 9, opposite, elastically semi-flexible, are integral at their anterior ends with the anterior rise 7 of the lower plate rigid 6, and extend rearward to respective rear ends 10 and 11, preferably located beyond the instep of shoe 2.

The lateral cheeks 8 and 9 have a degree of freedom relative to the rigid lower plate 6 during their lateral bending around their anterior ends integral with the anterior lift 7, allowing their elastic bending by spacing or approximation as illustrated by the double arrows 12 and 13, in particular in FIGS. 2 and 3. A flexible tightening strap 14 connects the lower plate 6 and the posterior ends 10 and 11 of the lateral leases, and is shaped to pass over the instep 15 of the shoe 2. The tightening of the tightening strap 14 thus tends to press the shoe 2 on the lower plate 6, and tends to bring the lateral ηouches towards each other

8 and 9 which thus come to bear against the sides of the shoe and hold it laterally in the manner of a clamp articulated around substantially vertical anterior axes. The lateral ηoues 8 and 9, which are elastically semi-flexible, are advantageously made of a thermoplastic material, for example an acetal resin, the flexural modulus of which can advantageously be between 200 MPa and 4 GPa approximately.

23 ° C, at a thickness of 2 to 5 mm approximately. Their elastic flexibility, while having a certain rigidity, makes it possible to distribute the lateral support forces over the entire length of the front part of the shoe, thus ensuring improved lateral support which allows good grip of the shoe and correct guidance. towards the snowshoe The lower plate 6 and the side flaps 8 and 9 can advantageously be molded from the same thermoplastic material, and the lower plate

6 and its anterior rise 7 have an increased thickness, for example from 5 to 9 mm approximately, to give them greater rigidity.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, there is the rigid lower plate 6, the opposite side cheeks 8 and 9 and the front lift 7, with a tightening strap 14 In addition, a semi-rigid longitudinal tongue 16 connects the anterior lift 7 and the upper part of the tightening strap 14 When tightening the tightening strap 14, the semi-rigid longitudinal tongue 16 is pressed against the top of the forefoot.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 11, there is also the rigid lower plate 6, with its front ascent 7 on which the front ends of the side valleys 8 and 9 are secured, with a tightening strap 14 going around of the instep In this embodiment, a semi-rigid longitudinal tongue 17 connects the upper part of the tightening strap 14 to a front hoop 18 secured to the front part 7 of the rigid lower plate 6 and going around the front part of the shoe at the toes The tightening strap 14, the semi-rigid longitudinal tongue 17 and the arch 18 can advantageously be formed from a single piece of plastic or an elastic material such as natural or synthetic rubber, as illustrated in the figures.

The attachment of the tightening strap 14 and the hoop 18 to the lower plate 6 can for example be carried out as illustrated in FIG. 8: the lower plate 6 comprises longitudinal slots 19 and 20 in which engage respective ends 21 and 22 of the strap 14 or the arch 18. Said ends 21 and 22 comprise a hole with a transverse axis and parallel to the plane of the strap 14 or the arch 18 and into which a rod can be introduced rigid 34 forming a bulge preventing their return by the corresponding slot 19 or 20.

Thus, FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate the assembly as a whole, with the tightening strap 14, the longitudinal tongue 17 and the hoop 18 assembled on the basic structure formed by the rigid lower plate 6, the anterior lift 7 and the side cheeks 8 and 9.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 16, there is also the rigid lower plate 6 with its front ascent 7 on which the front ends of the side cheeks 8 and 9 are secured. There is also a tightening strap 14 making the instep. In this embodiment, a flexible longitudinal strap 50 connects the front part 7 of the rigid lower plate 6 and the upper loop formed by the tightening strap 1. The flexible longitudinal strap 50 can for example have a Y shape, with two branches 51 and 52 as illustrated in FIG. 15. In this same embodiment of FIGS. 15 and 16, the flexible longitudinal strap 50 comprises, at the end anterior of its internal face, two pins 53 and 54 offset laterally on either side of the longitudinal fixing axis and shaped to engage respectively in an anterior housing of right or left cross-country ski boot. This provides better lateral grip of the cross-country ski boot, when such a boot is used. These lugs do not prevent the maintenance of a normal shoe.

In all the embodiments, the tightening strap 14 is advantageously elastically extensible and flexible, and can be produced in one or more sections, connecting the lower plate 6 to the rear end zones 10 and 11 of the side cheeks 8 and 9 and forming an upper loop passing over the instep area. The tightening strap 14, and the flexible longitudinal strap 50 when this is provided, can advantageously be made of an elastically extensible elastomer, allowing elastic elongation without breaking of at least 100% under a stress of approximately 2 MPa, and having a Shore A hardness of 45 to 55 approximately. The straps may have a thickness of approximately 1.5 to 4 mm.

Figures 9 to 11 illustrate a part of the binding, constituted by the basic structure formed by the rigid lower plate 6, its anterior rise 7 and the side cheeks 8 and 9, without the tightening strap 14 or the longitudinal tongue 17 or the hoop 18. In the embodiment illustrated in these Figures 9 to 11, it is noted that the side cheeks 8 and 9 are connected to the rigid lower plate 6 on the front portion of their length, while being separated from the rigid lower plate 6 through a slot 22 on the rear portion of their length. According to the anterior portion of their length, the lateral cheeks 8 and 9 are connected to the lateral edges of the rigid lower plate 6 by respective walls 23 having longitudinal folds such as the folds 24 and 25 illustrated in FIG. 11. The longitudinal folds 24 and 25 guarantee the freedom of lateral bending of the lateral cheeks 8 and 9, as illustrated in dotted lines in FIG. 11. Thus, in FIG. 11, it can be seen that the wall 23 is connected to the lateral edge of the rigid lower plate 6 by a first part 26 developing downwards, which part 26 being angularly connected according to the fold 25 to an oblique part 27 which rises outwards and which is angularly connected to the lateral cheek 9.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 12, the front lift 7 comprises a rear housing 28 shaped to receive and immobilize the front end 29 of a cross-country ski boot 2. For example, the rear housing 28 comprises an axial tongue 41 which engages in a corresponding recess in the shoe sole 2, blocking the shoe 2 vertically and laterally.

In all the embodiments which have been represented, an adjustable retaining strap 5 connects and extends the posterior ends

10 and 11 of the side cheeks 8 and 9, so as to surround the heel of the shoe 2 and thus to form the rear fixing structure. The retaining strap 5 can be elastically extensible and flexible, produced in the same material as the tightening strap 14 and the longitudinal strap 50.

In the embodiments illustrated in Figures 7 and 15, the retaining strap 5 is both adjustable and captive. For this, its free end portions such as the end 37 pass through loops 35 and 36 provided on the external faces of the respective ends 10 and 11 of the side cheeks 8 and 9. Said free end portions of retaining strap 5 include a transverse hole into which is introduced a rigid rod 38 forming a bulge preventing their return by the passer-by 35 or 36. A lug or hook 39 or 40 of the cheek 8 or 9, or of the tightening strap 14, allows the adjustment of the retaining strap 5 by passing a hole in said retaining strap 5, as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 7 and in solid lines in FIG. 15. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 13, the lower plate 6 is fixed on the upper surface of the racket body 3 by assembly means 30 preventing any movement of the binding relative to the racket body 3, thus constituting a "French" racket. In the embodiment of Figures 14 or 16, the lower plate 6 is articulated on the racket body 3 along a transverse axis of rotation 31, allowing the free pivoting of the binding l around the axis 31, and thus constituting a "Canadian" racket. In this case, during the pivoting of the binding 1, the front part of the binding enters the window 32 and can sink into the snow under the plane of the racket body 3. Cleats 33 can be provided under the front part rigid bottom plate 6, favoring anchoring in snow or ice.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments which have been explicitly described, but it includes the various variants and generalizations thereof contained in the field of claims below.

Claims

CLAIMS 1 - Attachment (1) for the adaptation of a shoe (2) on a snowshoe (3), comprising a front enveloping structure (4) adaptable to a body of snowshoe (3) and shaped to wrap the front part of a shoe (2), and comprising a rear structure (5) connected to the front structure (4) and shaped to push the shoe (2) back into the front enveloping structure (4), characterized in that the front wrap-around structure (4) includes:

a rigid lower plate (6), dimensioned to support the front part of the shoe sole (2) and provided with a front rise (7) opposing in advance the front edge of the shoe sole (2), two opposite side cheeks (8,9), elastically semi-flexible, integral at their anterior ends with the anterior rise (7) of the rigid lower plate (6), developing rearward from their anterior ends to ends posterior (10,11), adapted to flex laterally (12, 13) elastically around their anterior ends of connection to the anterior lift (7), and having a degree of freedom relative to the rigid lower plate (6) during said lateral bending around their anterior ends,

- a flexible clamping system (14) connecting the lower plate (6) and the posterior end zones (10, 11) of the lateral cheeks (8, 9) and shaped to pass over the instep (15) shoe (2), so that the tightening of the tightening system (14) tends to press the shoe (2) on the rigid lower plate (6), and tends to bring the side cheeks laterally towards each other (8, 9) semi-flexible which thus come to bear against the sides of the shoe (2) and hold it laterally in the manner of a clamp articulated around substantially vertical anterior axes. 2 - binding according to claim 1, characterized in that the flexible clamping system comprises a tightening strap (14) elastically extensible and flexible, in one or more sections, connecting the lower plate (6) to the rear end zones ( 10, 11) of the side cheeks (8, 9) and forming an upper loop passing over the instep area. 3 - Attachment according to claim 2, characterized in that a flexible longitudinal strap (50) connects the front part of rigid lower plate (6) and the upper loop of tightening strap (14).

4 - A binding according to claim 3, characterized in that the tightening straps (14) and longitudinal (50) are made of an elastically stretchy elastomer, allowing elastic elongation without breaking at least 100% under a stress of approximately 2 MPa, and having a Shore A hardness of 45 to 55 approximately, according to a thickness of 1.5 to 4 mm approximately. 5 - Attachment according to one of claims 3 or 4, characterized in that the flexible longitudinal strap (50) comprises, at the anterior end of its internal face, two lugs (53, 54) offset laterally from side and other of the longitudinal axis of fixation and shaped to engage respectively in an anterior housing of right or left cross-country ski boot.

6 - binding according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the front lift (7) comprises a rear housing (28) shaped to receive and immobilize the front end (29) of a cross-country ski boot . 7 - Attachment according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the lateral cheeks (8, 9) are connected, according to the anterior portion of their length, to the lateral edges of the rigid lower plate (6) by walls (23) with longitudinal folds (24, 25) guaranteeing the freedom of lateral flexion (12, 13) of the lateral cheeks (8, 9).

8 - Attachment according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the lower plate (6) and the side cheeks (8, 9) are formed of a thermoplastic material, for example an acetal resin, the module of which bending is between 200 MPa and 4 GPa approximately at 23 ° C, according to a thickness of 2 to 5 mm approximately for the side] oues (8, 9) and from 5 to 9 mm approximately for the lower plate (6).

9 - A binding according to any one of claims l to 8, characterized in that an adjustable retaining strap (5) connects and extends

* the posterior ends (10, 11) of the lateral cheeks (8, 9), so as to surround the heel of the shoe (2) and thus to form said rear fixing structure. 10 - Snowshoe provided with a binding according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the lower plate (6) is articulated on the racket body (3) along a transverse axis of rotation (31).