Skipole handle equipped with a safety strap

A pole handle (1) equipped with a safety strap (3) having a connecting piece (11) fixed by snap-fastening into a housing in the handle so as to detach under the effect of a tensile force and which can be reattached to the handle repeatedly. The connecting piece (11) is held in the handle by a pair of projections (7, 8) and can detach from the handle by elastically deforming the projections under the effect of a tensile force directed at least approximiately along the axis of the pole.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 The present invention relates to a ski pole handle equipped with a safety
 strap consisting of a strip formed into a loop equipped with a connecting
 piece fixed by snap-fastening into a housing formed in the upper part of
 the handle so that it detaches from the handle by elastic deformation of
 the snap fastening under the effect of a tensile force which exceeds a
 predetermined value so that it can be reattached to the handle repeatedly.
 A handle of this kind is known from patent DE 28 08 549, the content of
 which is incorporated by reference. The connecting piece consists of an
 elastic clip which is snap-fastened over a transverse metallic bar
 belonging to the handle. The two lengths of the strip which form the strap
 are fixed flat by means of a rivet in a slit in the connecting piece. The
 strap can detach from the handle both under the effect of a tensile force
 directed transversely to the handle and under the effect of a tensile
 force directed along the axis of the pole.
 Patent application DE 26 56 814, the content of which is incorporated by
 reference, also discloses a ski pole handle equipped with a safety ski
 strap equipped with a bent metal connecting piece exhibiting a thickened
 portion in the shape of a dihedron which engages under a corresponding
 bent part of a spring leaf anchored in the bottom of a housing opening
 laterally to the side of the handle and pressing against an abutment screw
 which allows the release force to be adjusted. This construction is
 relatively complicated and the adjusting screw is liable to become
 unscrewed altering the setting. The strap can detach from the handle both
 under the effect of a lateral tensile force and under the effect of a
 tensile force parallel to the axis of the handle, the lateral tensile
 force needed for detachment however being greater than the longitudinal
 tensile force.
 Patent application DE 23 52 600, the content of which is incorporated by
 reference, describes safety handles which detach from the pole under the
 effect of a tensile force directed in the continuation of the pole. This
 same document proposes a safety strap held axially in the handle of a pole
 by a pawl, the rounded snout of which engages directly in the material of
 the strap. In the normal position of use, the strap presses against one
 arm of the pawl so as to prevent the latter from tilting to release itself
 from the strap. The direction of the detachment force is therefore also
 selective. This construction is, however, relatively complicated and
 fragile, the pawl furthermore having to have a spring to prevent the strap
 from escaping while it is being introduced and when the pole is hung up by
 its strap. Furthermore a rigid connecting piece between the strap and the
 pawl is needed in practice.
 In general, it has become apparent that strap detachment under the effect
 of a tensile force transversal to the handle is not needed, or even
 undesirable.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 The object of the invention is to fix a safety strap to a pole handle using
 means which are simpler than the means known from the prior art, which is
 highly robust, but which detaches from the pole only under the effect of a
 tensile force directed at least approximately in the continuation of the
 handle, and in which the strap has a more favorable position of use.
 The ski pole handle according to the invention is one wherein the housing
 in the handle has a cavity which is bounded in the direction of the upper
 end of the handle by a pair of projections and wherein the housing
 communicates laterally with the outside of the handle via a slot, and
 wherein the connecting piece has a shape such that it can be forcibly
 axially introduced into said cavity and held in the cavity by the pair of
 projections in a position such that the strap passes through said slot and
 can turn about an axis transversal to the handle and can detach from the
 handle under the effect of a tensile force directed at least approximately
 in the continuation of the handle.
 This handle is of a very simple construction. The fixing of the strap to
 the handle involves neither pin nor spring nor pawl. The connecting piece
 is fixed directly into the cavity of the housing in the handle. The strap
 is easy to refit. All that is required is for the connecting piece to be
 pushed into the housing in the handle.
 According to one embodiment the strap is articulated to the connecting
 piece and the latter is advantageously equipped with a flange which closes
 off the housing in the handle, it being on this flange that the pressure
 is exerted for refitting the strap.
 The slot is advantageously directed parallel to the longitudinal axis of
 the handle and its width is approximately equal to the thickness of the
 strip of the strap and is then oriented in this way in a vertical plane.
 The strap can turn about an axis transversal to the handle, which gives it
 a great deal of freedom of movement. The vertical position of the lengths
 of the strap in the handle seems more favorable than the customary flat
 position.
 This connecting piece is advantageously made of plastic and is made up of
 two parts joined together so that they cannot be disassembled, by
 snap-fastening, one of the parts having a pin passing through the strap
 and a split conical head which catches in the second part of the
 connecting piece.
 According to one embodiment, the housing is located in an attached plastic
 component which has two lateral catching tabs capable of flexing
 elastically when the attached component is introduced axially into the
 handle so as to catch in the handle. Advantageously, said slot extends
 diametrically across the attached component and also acts as an elasticity
 slot ensuring that the attached component is held in the handle without
 play.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)
 FIG. 1 shows a plastic handle 1 fixed to the end of a ski pole 2 and
 equipped with a strap 3.
 The upper end of the handle 1 has a housing 4, the lower part of which
 forms a cavity 5 extending on each side of an axial slot 6 extending over
 slightly more than half of the diameter of the handle and opening
 laterally to the side of the handle. The cavity 5 is bounded toward the
 top by two projections 7 and 8 arranged symmetrically with respect to the
 slot 6. At the end of the pole, the housing 4 opens to a counterbore 9.
 The strap 3 consists of a strip or tape, the two lengths 3a and 3b of which
 are fixed by means of an eyelet 10 (FIG. 6) to form a loop. The strap 3 is
 connected to the handle 1 by a plastic connecting piece 11. This
 connecting piece is made up of two parts 12 and 13. The part 12 is
 equipped with a stub of a pin 14 with a diameter corresponding to the
 diameter of the eyelet 10 and which is intended to pass through this
 eyelet, and of a rod with a split conical head 15, intended to snap fasten
 into a housing 16 in the part 13. Once assembled to the strap, the two
 parts 12 and 13 form a part, the shape of which mates to that of the
 cavity 5 in which it is held by the projections 7 and 8. The part 12 has a
 stalk 17 secured to a flange 18 equipped with a slit 19. The part 13 is
 identical and symmetrical to the part 12, without the protrusions 14 and
 15. When the connecting part 11 is fixed to the strap, its two parts 12
 and 13 face each other via plane parallel faces which coincide
 respectively with the sides of the slit 19 so that the strap can turn
 about the pin 14 while engaged freely in the slit 19.
 To flix the strap 3 to the handle 1 all that is required is for the
 connecting piece 11 to be pushed into the housing 4 by exerting pressure
 on the flange 18, which pressure pushes it down under the projections 7
 and 8 by elastic deformation of the material of the pole. The shape of the
 entry to the housing 4 positions and guides the connecting piece during
 this assembly operation. The strap itself automatically engages in the
 slot 6. The flange 18 fits into the counterbore 9, closing the housing 4
 and ensuring the continuity of the upper face of the pole.
 When the strap 3 emerges laterally from the handle 1, as is the case in
 FIGS. 1 and 2, it cannot be detached from the handle 1 by tension.
 By contrast, when the strap 3 is in the position 3' depicted in phantom
 line in FIG. 2, that is to say in the continuation of the pole, which is
 what happens when the pole remains stuck in the snow or caught on an
 obstacle, the tension exerted on the strap has the effect of detaching the
 connecting piece 11 from the handle by elastic deformation of the handle.
 The free articulation of the strap about a pin transversal to the handle
 gives it great freedom of movement. This, combined with the position of
 the lengths of the strap as they emerge from the handle, contributes to
 improving the comfort of use.
 The embodiment described could be further simplified by directly
 overmolding a connecting piece onto the strap. In this case, the shape of
 the connecting piece and the shape of the cavity in the handle are such
 that the connecting piece can turn in the cavity about a geometric axis
 perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the handle.
 In general, the cavity in which the connecting piece is held does not
 necessarily have to have a shape that mates to that of the connecting
 piece; it is sufficient that the connecting piece be held in the cavity.
 The invention also applies to a strap oriented in the conventional way
 relative to the handle.
 In the second embodiment depicted in FIGS. 9 to 11 the strap 3 is connected
 to the handle 1 by an attached plastic component 20. This component 20 is
 inserted in a housing 21 in the handle 1.
 The component 20, of rectangular cross section, is equipped at its upper
 end with a flange 22 which is divided into two by a slot 23 extending
 axially over most of the height of the component 20 and forming a housing
 33. On each side the component 20 has a lateral tab 24, 25, respectively
 diverging obliquely upward from the lower end of the component 20. The
 housing 33 comprises a cavity 26 corresponding to the cavity 5 of the
 first embodiment, this cavity being bounded toward the top by two opposed
 projections 27 and 28 corresponding to the projections 7 and 8 of the
 first embodiment. The housing 21 in the handle also has an essentially
 rectangular cross section, the width of which is slightly smaller than the
 width of the component 20 measured transversely to the slot 23.
 Furthermore, the cross section of the component 20 and the cross section
 of the cavity 21 in the handle decrease slightly downward. As the
 component 20 is inserted into the handle, the slot 23 acts as an
 elasticity slot, allowing, the slot 23 to close up slightly. During this
 insertion, the flexible tabs 24 and 25 bend in housings such as 29 in the
 component 20 and retract into these housings. When the component 20 is
 completely inserted into the handle 1, the tabs 24 and 25 move apart to
 catch in housings 30 and 31 in the handle.
 The strap 3 is equipped with a one-piece connecting piece 32 forcibly
 introduced into the hole 10 in the strap and is equipped with a central
 groove in which the strap is engaged.
 The connecting piece 32 is forcibly inserted into the component 20 or
 overmolded onto the strap, as in the previous embodiment.
 This embodiment has the advantage of allowing the use of different
 materials for the handle 1 and for the component 20, it being possible for
 the material of the handle 1 to be more rigid than the material of the
 component 20 which has to allow the connecting piece 30 to escape by
 elastic deformation of the projections 27 and 28.
 Although illustrative embodiments of the invention have been shown and
 described a wide range of modification, change, and substitution is
 contemplated in the foregoing disclosure and in some instances, some
 features of the present invention may be employed without a corresponding
 use of the other features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the
 appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the
 scope of the invention.