Abstract:
A harness for an item of footwear comprises a foot interface adapted to receive an underside of the item of footwear thereon. Two lateral straps each have opposed ends connected to the foot interface, and each form a continuous hoop between the opposed ends for a portion of the item of footwear to be received in the continuous hoops on the foot interface. Each of the lateral straps has a longitudinal degree of expansion and contraction to increase or reduce a size of the respective continuous hoop. A cable route is on the lateral straps, the cable route having cable housings and/or cable channels. A cable is routed in the at least one cable route. A closure device pulls on the cable to reduce the size of the continuous hoops in the degree of contraction.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    The present application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/082,290. Filed on Nov. 20, 2014 and incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE APPLICATION 
       [0002]    The present application relates to snowshoes, and to a construction thereof, as well as to a harness used in snow sport equipment such as snowshoes and snowboards. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE ART 
       [0003]    Snowshoes are commonly used to walk on snow, especially for recreational purposes. Snowshoes come in different configurations, as a function of the physical activity performed with the snowshoes. In order to enhance their performance, snowshoes must be as light as possible. Indeed, snowshoes operate under the principle of flotation on snow, whereby their weight is a design factor. 
         [0004]    Moreover, sports equipment such as snowshoes and snowboards featuring a harness to which one attaches a boot are not always practical in that some time is required to attach one&#39;s boot into the harness. It would be desirable to develop harnesses that facilitate fastening while not affecting the performance of the sports equipment it is a part of. 
       SUMMARY OF THE APPLICATION 
       [0005]    It is therefore an aim of the present disclosure to provide a snowshoe that addresses issues related with the prior art. 
         [0006]    It is a further aim of the present disclosure to provide a harness that addresses issues related with the prior art. 
         [0007]    Therefore, in accordance with an embodiment of the present application, there is provided a harness for an item of footwear comprising: a foot interface adapted to receive an underside of the item of footwear thereon; at least two lateral straps each having opposed ends connected to the foot interface, and each forming a continuous hoop between the opposed ends for a portion of the item of footwear to be received in the continuous hoops on the foot interface, each of the at least two lateral straps having a longitudinal degree of expansion and contraction to increase or reduce a size of the respective continuous hoop; at least one cable route on the at least two lateral straps, the cable route having at least one of cable housings and cable channels; at least one cable routed in the at least one cable route; and at least one closure device to pull on the at least one cable to reduce the size of the continuous hoops in the degree of contraction. 
         [0008]    Further in accordance with the embodiment, there is provided a snowshoe comprising: a frame defining a periphery of the snowshoe, a deck defining with the frame a footprint of the snowshoe, and a foot opening in the deck; and a binding comprising the harness described above, the binding pivotally connected to the frame or deck; whereby a front end of the binding is displaceable into the foot opening below a footprint of the snowshoe. 
         [0009]    In accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a snowshoe comprising: a frame having at least a tubular member defining a periphery of the snowshoe, the tubular member having a top surface portion of a given width; a deck having a portion of its periphery aligned with and covering at least a portion of the top surface portion of the tubular member over the given width; an adhesive between the top surface portion and the deck to secure the deck to the frame; and a binding operatively connected to at least one of the frame and the deck and adapted to be connected to footwear of a wearer. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a snowshoe of the present disclosure, as used with a boot; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is an underside view of the snowshoe of  FIG. 1 , showing a cross frame member; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a harness of the snowshoe of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a top view of the snowshoe of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is an underside view showing a base of the harness of  FIG. 3 ; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is a sectional schematic view of a deck and frame of the snowshoe of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0016]    Referring to the drawings and more particularly to  FIG. 1 , a snowshoe in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure is generally shown at  10  (a.k.a., snow shoe, raquette, etc), as used by a user wearing boot A. The snowshoe  10  is conventionally used as part of a pair of snowshoes. The snowshoe  10  of the figures may be a left-side or right-side snowshoe, with or without shape variations between left side or right side. Typically, the snowshoes  10  for left and right side are mirror images of one another, with a harness being oriented as a function of the side of the snowshoe  10 . Moreover, the overall shape of the snowshoe  10  may vary as a function of the side. The following description  10  applies to both right-side and left-side snowshoes, unless stated otherwise. 
         [0017]    The snowshoe  10  may have a peripheral frame  20 , a deck  30 , a binding  40  including a harness  50 , and a heel cleat unit (not shown). 
         [0018]    The peripheral frame  20  forms the structure of the snowshoe  10 , and delimits its footprint. The frame  20  is typically made of a metal/alloys, such as aluminum, titanium, steel, etc, or of composite materials. 
         [0019]    The deck  30  defines the majority of the footprint surface of the snowshoe  10 , and is hence responsible for spreading the weight of the user, i.e., the deck  30  achieves the flotation effect. The deck  30  may be secured directly to the peripheral frame  20  in a stretched state, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure described hereinafter. The deck  30  is made of any suitable panel material, such as textiles, polymers, tarps, woven, non-woven, to name but a few, with properties such as puncture resistance, tear resistance, etc. Alternatively, the frame  20  and deck  30  may form one integral panel, instead of being separate interconnected components. 
         [0020]    The binding  40  is the interface between the boot A or shoe of the wearer (hereinafter boot for simplicity), and the snowshoe  10 . Moreover, the binding  40  allows a hinging movement of the boot for instance by way of an elastic band connecting the binding  40  to the frame  20  and/or deck  30 , by which the front portion of the binding  40  plunges below a footprint of the frame  20  and deck  30 . 
         [0021]    The harness  50  is part of the binding  40  (although likely removable from a remainder of the binding  40 ) that is designed to releasably secure the boot A to the binding  40  and hence to the snowshoe  10 . 
         [0022]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the peripheral frame  20  is shown having a tear-drop like shape, which shape is disclosed as a non-limitative example, as various other shapes are considered. Likewise, the nose and/or tail of the frame  20  may raise slightly upwards as in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , or may adopt other configurations, such a generally flat geometry, etc. As observed in  FIG. 2 , cross frame members  21  (one of which is shown) may extend from one side of the frame  20  to another, spanning across the full width of the snowshoe  10 . The cross frame member  21  at the front is used as structural support upon which the bonding  40  and harness  50  are connected (e.g., with a hinge). A rear cross frame member  21  may also be provided, for instance to support a heel raising mechanism. According to an embodiment, the cross frame member  21  is glued to the peripheral frame  20 . A suitable adhesive for such a purpose is Loctite® H8000™ provided for exemplary purposes, although numerous other adhesives are considered. 
         [0023]    In an embodiment, the peripheral frame  20  is a tubular frame, in that it is made of a hollow tube (i.e., frame defined by a tube extending lengthwise along the periphery of the snowshoe  10 ), and could be open as opposed to closed. It is also considered to have a solid frame  20  as opposed to a tubular frame, provided the weight of the solid frame  20  is not excessive by an appropriate section of materials. 
         [0024]    By way of the arrangement of  FIG. 6 , the frame  20  has a generally flat top support surface  22  of a given width, for a tapered bottom  23  (i.e., the downwardly-facing apex). The frame  20  may have traction components  24  at its bottom (as in  FIG. 1 ), to provide additional traction over flat or circular frames. The tapered bottom  23  is one among other possible configurations, other arrangements including a serrated bottom surface, an abrasive coating on the bottom surface, etc. The traction components  24  may be known as teeth, studs, spikes, cleats, nails, etc. The traction components may be glued to the frame  20  using appropriate adhesives such as Loctite® H8000™. 
         [0025]    Hence, the deck  30  may be secured directly to the frame  20 , as the support surface  22  of the frame  20  defines sufficient space in the given width for an adhesive to anchor the deck  30  directly against the frame  20 , i.e., without additional mechanical fasteners, interfacing brackets, or without loops of excessive deck material surrounding the frame  20 . For instance, an adhesive that is well suited is Loctite® H8000™ provided for exemplary purposes, although numerous other adhesives are considered. By the downwardly-facing apex, the tapered bottom  23  may provide additional purchase to the frame  20  compared with flatter bottom shapes of prior art frames. A triangular-like section is well suited to provide addition purchase and to form appropriate support for the deck in the direct connection with the adhesive, but other sectional shapes are considered. For instance, square, trapezoid, oval and/or rounded shapes could achieve suitable results as well. 
         [0026]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the deck  30  is shown having a geometry substantially similar to that of the peripheral frame  20 , as a result of the direct interconnection of the deck  30  to the frame  20 , as described above. The deck  30  has a cutout  32 , which cutout  32  allows the front of the boot to plunge below the plane of the deck  30 , in a typical walking/running motion. The binding  40  is secured to the snowshoe  10  in register with the cutout  32 . The binding  40  has pivots  41 , by which base plate  43  is pivotally connected to the cross frame member  21 . The base plate  43  is made of a rigid material, such as a metal. As observed in  FIG. 2 , cleats  44  (i.e., crampons, teeth) project downwardly from the base plate  43 , and the cleats  44  provide purchase to the forefoot region of the boot sole when the snowshoe  10  is worn, as the base plate  43  and cleats  44  are opposite the cutout  32 , and the cleats  44  may thus pivot below the plane of the deck  30  to provide purchase to user A using the snowshoe  10 . In an embodiment, as illustrated in  FIGS. 1-3 , the base plate  43  and cleats  44  are a monolithic piece of bent and machined metal stock, although other configurations are considered, such as molded metal, composites, etc. 
         [0027]    Referring to  FIGS. 3 to 5 , the harness  50  is shown in greater detail. The harness  50  has a foot interface  51 . The foot interface  51  is the portion of the harness  50  upon which at a part of the underface of the sole of the boot A will lie when the boot A is strapped to the harness  50 . The foot interface  51  is connected to the base plate  43  of the binding  40  so as to be pivotable relative to the frame  20  and deck  30 . 
         [0028]    The foot interface  51  may be in the form of a plate have a base layer or plate  51 A upon which a traction layer or plate  51 B is over-molded or fixated face-to-face on the base layer  51 A, to concurrently define the foot interface  51 . Alternatively, the foot interface  51  may have a unitary construction (e.g., be one monolithic piece). Other configurations for the foot interface  51  include tubular frame members, etc. Concurrently, the base layer  51 A and the traction layer  51 B form a relatively flat assembly of relatively small thickness. The base layer  51 A may be the more rigid of the two layers to provide the structural integrity of the foot interface  51 . 
         [0029]    The harness  50  further comprises a rear lateral strap  52  and may also comprise a front lateral strap  53 . The lateral straps  52  and  53  are provided to wrap around the upper portion of the boot so as to tie down the boot A to the foot interface  51 . Stated differently, the lateral straps  52  and  53  form continuous hoops in which a user&#39;s boot may be inserted. For this reason, the circumference of the rear lateral strap  52  and front lateral strap  53  can be decreased or increased to tighten or loosen the harness  50  and allow insertion or removal of the boot A from the harness  50 . The expression “lateral” is used as it reflects the lateral positioning of the straps  52  and  53  relative to the human anatomy (they are generally parallel to a latero-lateral direction). Another expression that could be used for the straps  52  and  53  is transverse straps or hoops, in that the straps  52  and  53  are transversely positioned relative to a length of the foot. 
         [0030]    The rear lateral strap  52  comprises a pair of base strap portions  52 A. In an embodiment, the base strap portions  52 A are integral with the traction layer  51 B of the foot interface  51 , although the base strap portions  52 A may be pivotally connected to the foot interface  51  as well. The base strap portions  52 A project laterally from the foot interface  51 . The rear lateral strap  52  further comprises an upper or central strap portion  52 B connected at opposite ends to the base strap portions  52 A, thereby forming a continuous hoop with the foot interface  51 . The lateral strap  52  is said to be continuous in that there is no gap between any of the portions  52 A and  52 B. As observed, the upper strap portion  52 B is in telescopic arrangement with the base strap portions  52 A in such a way that the upper strap portion  52 B is in sliding relation with the base strap portions  52 A, i.e., a sliding joint providing one degree of translation (or degree of contraction and expansion) is allowed between the upper strap portion  52 B and the base strap portions  52 A. One configuration considered to allow this translation is to have a channel and end bridge defined in the base strap portions  52 A as shown in  FIG. 3 , and an enlarged head at opposite ends of the upper strap portion  52 B to delimit and end movement between the upper strap portion  52 B and the base strap portions  52 A, by contact between the enlarged head and end bridge. Other arrangements are contemplated, such as telescopic tubes, etc. The rear lateral strap  52  has a guide channel  52 C in the upper strap portion  52 B, the guide channel  52 C formed by a U-bracket or by any other similar formation. It is also contemplated to form the lateral strap  52  with a pair of strap portions as opposed to the three strap portions described above. 
         [0031]    The front lateral strap  53  has a similar configuration, with a pair of base strap portions  53 A and an upper strap portion  53 B (or two, four or more of the strap portions overall), whereby the description provided above for the rear lateral strap  52  applies to the front lateral strap  53 , especially regarding the translation. The front lateral strap  53  has a guide channel  53 C in the upper strap portion  53 B, the guide channel  53 C formed by a U-bracket or by any other similar formation. 
         [0032]    A longitudinal strap  54  projects from a front end of the foot interface  51  and, like the base strap portions  52 A and  53 A, may be integral with the traction layer  51 B of the foot interface  51 . The longitudinal strap  54  has an elongated body that then curves rearwardly to pass through the guide channels  53 C and  52 C of the lateral straps  53  and  52 . Teeth  54 A (a.k.a., gear rack, serrations, etc) are defined on a top surface of the longitudinal strap  54 , and are positioned opposite the guide channel  52 C of the rear lateral strap  52 . The teeth  54 A are of the type found in cable ties or tie wraps, to provide a ratchet-type unidirectional movement of the longitudinal strap  54 . A free end of the longitudinal strap  54  may define a handle  54 B rear of the lateral strap  52 , for the user to exert a pulling action on the longitudinal strap  54 . 
         [0033]    Accordingly, by way of the guide channels  52 C and  53 C, the longitudinal strap  54  may translate relative to the lateral straps  52  and  53 , i.e., along its longitudinal dimension, in a transverse direction relative to these lateral straps  52  and  53 . Moreover, the straps  52  and  53  are tightened, the longitudinal strap  54  may be limited to translational movement in a front-to-rear direction because of the teeth  54 A thereon. Stated differently, the tightening caused by the cable  58  may result in the lateral strap  53  and longitudinal strap  54  sufficiently pressed against one another for the teeth  54 A to be blocked from moving. This may entail the presence of an abutment on an underside of the central strap portion  52 B, in the guide channel  52 C. 
         [0034]    Still referring to  FIGS. 3 to 5 , pivots  55  are provided on tabs projecting rearwardly from the base strap portions  52 A. The pivots  55  are provided for the pivoting connection of a heel strap  56  to the rear lateral strap  52 . The heel strap  56  may be provided with size adjustment, for instance by way of buckle, tongue and hole assembly as commonly found in watch straps or by way of any other suitable mechanism, such as complementary Velcro™ patches The heel strap  56  wraps around the heel portion of the user&#39;s boot A when the harness  50  is tightened. 
         [0035]    A closure dial  57  is provided on top of the upper strap portion  52 B. According to an embodiment, the closure dial  57  is part of a Boa™ closure system. Other closure systems or closure devices are usable as well, as will be described hereinafter. In the case of the use of a Boa™ closure system, the closure dial  57  is a ratchet wheel that rotated to induce a pulling action on opposite ends of cable  58 . As cable  58  is attached at opposite ends to the closure dial  57 , it forms a closed figure, whereby the pulling action on its end with shorten the size of the hoop, and this feature is used to tighten the harness  50  upon the boot A. 
         [0036]    More specifically, cable  58  passes through a cable route that may consist of a plurality of cable housings  59 A provided in the upper strap portions  52 B and  53 B of the lateral straps  52  and  53 , respectively. Moreover, cable housings  59  may also be part of the base strap portions  52 A and  53 A, as observed in  FIG. 3 . The cable housings  59 A in the base strap portions  52 A and  53 A communicate with cable channels  59 B, as best shown in  FIG. 5 , in the foot interface  51 . 
         [0037]    Cable channels  59 B route the cable  58  from the cable housings  59 A in the base strap portions  52 A to the housings  59 A of the base strap portions  53 A. Accordingly, in the illustrated embodiment, a single cable  58  travels from the closure dial  57  down one of the housings  59 A of the upper strap portion  52 B through the housing  59 A of one of the base strap portions  52 A, through one of the channels  59 B, into all housings surrounding the front lateral strap  53 , back through another of the channels  59 B in the foot interface  51 , and through the housing  59 A of the other base strap portion  52 A. The end of the cable  58  then reaches the closure dial  57  through the housing  59 A on the other side of the upper strap portion  52 B. A rotation of the closure dial  57  will result in a pulling action on both ends of the cable  58 , thereby bringing the upper strap portions  52 B and  53 B in a tightened position with their related base strap portions  52 A and  53 A. As per the configuration of a Boa™ closure system, upon raising the closure dial  57 , the tension in the cable  58  is released, thereby allowing the loosening of the lateral straps  52  and  53  by a simple movement of one&#39;s boot A in the harness  50 . 
         [0038]    Advantageously, the cable route for the cable  58  as described above allows the use of a single closure system (and single closure dial  57 ) to close the two lateral straps. Hence, there results a simpler tightening of the harness  50  over two or more distinct closure systems, i.e., one per lateral strap, although two separate closure systems could be used as well, one for each strap. It is however contemplated to use other closure mechanisms, such as a rack and pinion assembly as an alternative to the closure dial  57 . A rack and pinion assembly, with a two-direction closure system, could be used to pull/release a cable (such as cable  58 ) in a similar fashion to the Boa™ closure system. Hence, there are alternatives to the Boa™ closure system. Moreover, although a single cable  58  is shown and described, a pair of cables  58  could be used, each of these cables  58  having an end in the closure dial  57 , and another end secured to the lower strap portions  53 A or to the foot interface  51 , to pull on the upper strap portion  53 B. It is observed that the continuous nature of the hoops formed by the lateral straps  52  and  53  prevents direct contact between the boot and the cable(s)  58 . The degree of contraction and expansion as described above is configured to provide enough play between strap portions of each strap  52 / 53  to prevent contact of the cable  58  with the boot. 
         [0039]    As mentioned above, the closure dial  57  has an up and down movement in a direction parallel to its rotational axis, to engage or release the mechanism of the closure dial  57  to the cable  58 . When the closure dial  57  is up, the cable  58  is free to be loosened, whereas when the closure dial  57  is down, the cable  58  is tied to the closure dial  57  such that a rotation of the closure dual  57  results in the pulling action. 
         [0040]    When the closure dial  57  is raised to its releasing position, the longitudinal strap  54  may be used to help loosening the straps  52  and  53 . Indeed, as the longitudinal strap  54  is transversely positioned relative to the straps  52  and  53  and under same (in guide channels  52 C and  53 C), the user A may simply pull on the handle  54 B to expand the lateral straps  52  and  53 . 
         [0041]    It is pointed out that the harness  50  may be used with other equipment. For example, the harness  50  may have some of its parts used for a snowboard binding. For example, the telescopic lateral straps  52  and  53 , and closure system with dial  57 , cable  58  and housings  59 A/channels  59 B could form part of a snowboard biding.