Ski boot having an interchangeable sole portion for controlling global wedging angle of the boot

A ski boot for use with a ski having a top surface includes a rigid shell base having an upper wedged thereon at an orientation angle alpha with respect to the normal to a mating surface carried by a tenon on the toe end of the base. A separate sole portion is provided having a recess complementary to the tenon for slidably receiving the same. The recess of the portion is wedged on a ski at an orientation angle beta with respect to the top surface of the ski when the shell base is connected to the ski by a binding. The global wedging angle of the boot is the algebraic sum of the orientation angle alpha and the wedging angle beta.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of Invention 
This invention relates to a ski boot having a rigid plastic shell base, and 
an interchangeable sole portion for controlling the global wedging angle 
of the boot. In particular, the invention relates to ski boots having 
soles suitable both for walking and for attachment to ski bindings, and 
designed to meet certain criteria of international standards selected to 
assure safe operation of a binding which constitutes the functional 
interface between a boot and a ski. 
2. Discussion of Background Material 
The number of skiers engaged in alpine skiing has recently increased; and 
this increase has aggravated the problem of accommodating ski boots to the 
morphology of the legs of a certain class of such skiers such that the 
boots can be used with a maximum of comfort and safety. 
The proper global wedging angle of a boot, which is the angle between a 
plane perpendicular to the top surface of a ski and the direction imposed 
on the lower leg of the wearer by the upper of the boot, should depend 
upon the morphological orientation of the leg of a skier. Effecting 
modification of the global wedging angle to accommodate different skiers 
is a problem addressed by mechanisms disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 
3,922,800, 3,747,235, and 3,885,329; and in French Patent No. 2,166,677. 
These patents relate to means for orienting the foot of a skier by 
modifying the orientation of the upper of the boot with respect to the top 
surface of the ski. Other publications teach adding shims to the sole of a 
boot to effect a predetermined angular wedging of the upper. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,322 discloses a ski boot having removable and 
interchangeable sole portions. This expedient makes it possible to utilize 
different wedging angles for a given shell base of a ski boot which is 
designed for use with conventional bindings by reason of the provision of 
different sets of sole portions. In this patent, modification of the 
wedging angle of the boot is achieved only because of the 
interchangeability of sole portions selected from a stock thereof having 
angles of inclination lying within a predetermined range. Unfortunately, 
knowledge of the desired angle of inclination is not always immediately 
available to a skier. On the other hand, if a skier decides to interchange 
the sole portion from his right boot with the sole portion from his left 
boot, the angular wedging is automatically changed from an orientation 
towards the exterior of his knees to an orientation towards the interior 
thereof, or vice versa. This does not resolve the problem of morphological 
adaptation which may become even further aggravated by this exchange. 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to improve the angular 
wedging system of a ski boot having removable sole portions by allowing 
for the interchangeability of the sole portions of the right boot with the 
left boot of a single pair of boots such that the amount of angular 
wedging varies on the interior of a given morphological orientation of the 
legs of a skier. 
SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
The present invention is directed to a ski boot for use with a ski having a 
top surface, wherein the boot is composed of a rigid shell base having an 
upper attached thereto, and having front and rear ends for establishing 
interior and exterior directions relative to the leg of a person wearing 
the boot, and retention means on one of the ends. The upper of the boot is 
wedged on the base at an orientation angle alpha with respect to the 
retention means. The boot also includes a sole portion having cooperation 
means cooperable with the retention means for releasably mounting the sole 
portion on the shell base, wherein the sole portion is constructed and 
arranged so that the cooperation means is adapted to be wedged on the ski 
at a wedging angle beta with respect to the top surface of the ski when 
the sole portion is connected to the ski by a binding. The retention means 
is preferably in the form of a tenon carrying a planar mating surface, and 
the cooperation means is in the form of recess complementary to the tenon 
for slidably receiving said tenon. 
The ski boot in accordance with the present invention, as described above, 
may include a second retention means on the other of the ends of the shell 
having a second mating surface, wherein the upper is wedged on the base at 
an orientation angle alpha with respect to the second mating surface; the 
boot may also include a second sole portion having second cooperation 
means cooperable with the second mating surface for releasably mounting 
the second sole portion on the shell base. 
Preferably, the retention means is in the form of a tenon carrying the 
mating surface thereon, and each cooperation means is in the form of a 
recess complementary to and slidably receiving a tenon, in which case the 
orientation angle alpha preferably extends in the exterior direction, and 
the orientation angle alpha is different from said wedging angle beta. 
The ski boot in accordance with the present invention, as described above, 
preferably includes a sole portion having a bottom surface for contacting 
the top surface of the ski when the shell base is connected to the ski by 
a binding, and indicia means are provided in the bottom surface for 
indicating the magnitude and direction of the wedging of the boot. 
The ski boot of the present invention, may also include means for 
releasably attaching the sole portion to the shell base to prevent 
inadvertent detachment of the sole portion. 
The orientation angle alpha of the ski boot in accordance with the present 
invention, as described above, may extend in the exterior direction as 
well as in the interior direction; and the orientation angle alpha may be 
different from the wedging angle beta. 
In addition, the present invention is also directed to a pair of ski boots 
for use with skis each of which has a top surface, wherein the pair of ski 
boots includes a left and a right rigid shell base each having an upper 
wedged thereon at an orientation angle alpha with respect to a mating 
surface carried by a tenon on the toe end of the base; and a sole portion 
associated with each base and having a recess complementary to the tenon 
on the base for slidably receiving the same and releasably mounting the 
sole portion on the base; wherein the recess of a sole portion is wedged 
on a ski at an orientation angle beta with respect to the top surface 
thereof when the shell base with which the sole portion is associated is 
connected to the ski by a binding; and the sole portions are constructed 
and arranged so as to be interchangeable between the left and the right 
boots, preferably wherein the wedging angle beta of the sole portions are 
of equal magnitude but of opposite sign. 
Also, the present invention is directed to a sole portion for a ski boot 
for use with a ski having a top surface, wherein the boot has a rigid 
shell base and an upper wedged thereon at an orientation angle alpha with 
respect to the normal to a mating surface carried by tenon on one end of 
said base. The sole portion includes cooperation means in the form of a 
recess complementary to the tenon for slidably receiving the same and 
mounting the sole portion on the shell base of the boot such that the 
recess is wedged on the ski at an orientation angle beta with respect to 
the top surface of the ski when the shell base is connected thereto by a 
binding, wherein the cooperation means is constructed and arranged such 
that the orientation angle alpha is different from the wedging angle beta. 
The sole portion may also include a bottom surface for contacting the top 
surface of the ski when the shell base is connected thereto by a binding, 
wherein the bottom surface including surface gripping means, as well as 
indicia on the bottom surface for indicating the magnitude and direction 
of the global wedging angle of the boot to which the portion is attached. 
An alpine ski boot according to the present invention, as described above, 
is designed to receive a removable portion on the sole of the boot, such 
portion being in the form of a unitary member that extends the entire 
length of the sole of the boot, or preferably, in the form of separate tip 
portions, one for the toe of the boot and one for the heel. These portions 
serve to wedge the upper of the boot on a ski to which the boot is 
attached at a designated global wedging angle with respect to the top of 
the ski or to the plane of contact of the ski with the ground. Each 
portion may be provided with a cavity or opening of appropriate shape 
constituting cooperation means that cooperate with retention means of 
complementary shape provided on the shell base of the boot. 
A ski boot according to the present invention is thus used with a ski 
having a top surface, the boot including a rigid shell base having an 
upper attached thereto and having front and rear ends for establishing 
interior and exterior directions relative to the leg of a person wearing 
the boot. Retention means are provided on at least one of the ends of the 
shell base; and the upper is wedged on the base at an orientation angle 
alpha with respect to the retention means. A sole portion is provided 
having cooperation means cooperable with the retention means for 
releasably mounting the sole portion on the shell base. The cooperable 
means are adapted to be wedged on the ski at a wedging angle beta with 
respect to the top surface of the ski when the shell base is connected 
thereto by a binding. As a consequence of this construction, the global 
wedging angle is the algebraic sum of the orientation angle alpha and the 
wedging angle beta. Preferably, the orientation angle alpha is different 
from the wedging angle beta. 
In the preferred form of the invention, the retention means is in the form 
of a tenon carrying a planar mating surface, and the cooperation means is 
in the form of a recess complementary to the tenon for slidably receiving 
the same. 
The sole portion for the left boot is interchangeable with the sole portion 
of the right boot. Under this circumstance, the magnitude of the wedging 
angles beta of the sole portions are the same, but the sign of the wedging 
angles are opposite.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring now to FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 designates a ski boot 
according to the present invention positioned on the upper of ski 2 which 
serves as a reference surface for defining the global wedging angle of the 
boot. Boot 1 is constituted by rigid shell 3 having upper 4 journalled for 
pivotal movement on axis 5, and having sole 6 adapted both for walking and 
for cooperation with binding means (not shown) for securing the boot to 
ski 2. The global wedging angle gamma of the boot is the angle that axis 5 
makes with the top surface of ski 2 when the boot is attached by a binding 
to the top of a ski. 
Sole 6 of the boot includes a removable portion which may comprise separate 
tip portion 6' on the front or toe end of the boot, and tip portion 6" on 
the back or heel end of the boot. Portions 6' and 6" are attached to the 
lower part of the shell by cooperation means on each portion cooperable 
with retention means integral with the boot for locating and retaining the 
portions to the shell base. If necessary, additional assembly means such 
as screws, rivets, etc. can be used to enhance retention of the portions 
on the base. 
Rigid shell 3 is provided on its lower portion, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, 
with retention means adapted to receive cooperation means 7 provided on 
the portions. These retention means are constituted at the front and at 
the heel of the shell base, respectively, by tenons 8 and 9 which project 
forwardly and rearwardly respectively from the base and slideable receive 
corresponding portions 6' at the toe and 6" at the heel (as shown in the 
dashed lines) according to one of the characteristic features of the 
invention. As a consequence, the upper of shell base 3 is wedged at an 
orientation angle alpha with respect to the normal to the plane containing 
the lower mating surface of tenons 8, 9 such that axis 5, about which the 
upper is pivotal on the base, is inclined at an angle alpha with respect 
to the top surface of the ski. This angle is directed toward the exterior 
for both a right boot illustrated in FIG. 2, and a left boot as well. 
Thus, journalled upper 4 is mounted on the shell so as to be pre-wedged or 
inclined towards the exterior by the predetermined angle alpha. According 
to a preferred embodiment, the orientation angle alpha is on the order of 
about 2.degree.30', and is directed towards the exterior for each of a 
single pair of boots. As explained below, this orientation angle can be 
reversed if necessary. 
FIG. 4 illustrates a pair of opposite handed tip portions 6', wherein the 
portion for a left boot is shown in FIG. 4a, and the portion for a right 
boot is shown in FIG. 4b. Each portion 6' comprises ground engaging 
surface 10 provided, at least partially, with an anti-ski relief pattern 
in the form of surface gripping means. Contained within the thickness of 
the portion is cavity 11 whose shape and dimensions correspond and are 
complementary to those of those of tenons 8 and 9. Cavity 11 and tenons 8 
and 9 in each portion are preferably, but not necessarily, rectilinear, 
and inclined with respect to the normal to the top surface of a ski when 
the boot associated with the portion is attached to the ski by a binding. 
The inclination of cavity 11 defines angle beta which is oriented, for 
example, towards the exterior of the boot. 
FIG. 5 illustrates an application of the present invention to a pair of 
shells of ski boots provided with removable tip portions showing the 
effect of the orientation angle alpha associated with the boot alone) and 
the wedging angle beta (associated with the tip portions alone) on the 
global wedging angle. This global wedging angle gamma is obtained by the 
combination of rigid shell 3, whose orientation angle alpha is preoriented 
towards the exterior, with sole tip portions 6', 6" each having its cavity 
11 establishing a wedging angle beta. By way of example, the mounting of 
shell 3 of a boot is achieved by employing tenon 8 which nests in cavity 
11 in tip portion 6'. Each of the elements thus mounted and assembled 
establish the angles alpha and beta, the value of the global wedging angle 
gamma being the algebraic sum of the angles alpha and beta. A shell may 
have, for example, an orientation angle alpha of 2.degree.30 with respect 
to the plane of the mating surfaces of its retention means constituted by 
tenons 8 and 9. Cavities 11 in the tip portions, which constitute 
cooperation means for cooperating with the tenons, may have a wedging 
angle beta that ranges from about 0.degree.30' to 1.degree.30'. For a 
single pair of boots, tip portions having wedging angles of opposite hand 
can be used on each boot in symmetrical fashion as shown in FIGS. 5a and 
5b; or, the wedging angles beta of the tip portions can be different. 
Depending upon the circumstances, the angle beta may be less than the 
angle alpha. However, the global wedging angle gamma will always be 
directed towards the exterior of the wearer even after switching the right 
tip to the left boot and the left tip to the right boot (FIGS. 6a and 6b). 
The range of adjustment of the lateral inclination of the boots of a single 
pair is shown in the following table and defined by the limits gamma 1 and 
gamma 2: 
__________________________________________________________________________ 
alpha DIRECTION 
beta 
DIRECTION 
gamma 
DIRECTION 
__________________________________________________________________________ 
FIG. 5 
2.degree.30' 
exterior 
0.degree.30' 
exterior 
3.degree. 
exterior 
FIG. 6 exterior 
0.degree.30' 
interior 
2.degree. 
exterior 
FIG. 5 
2.degree.30' 
exterior 
1.degree.30' 
exterior 
4.degree. 
exterior 
FIG. 6 exterior 
1.degree.30' 
interior 
1.degree. 
exterior 
__________________________________________________________________________ 
The arrangement according to the invention permits a bowlegged skier whose 
legs are curved towards the exterior to adjust the value of wedging of his 
boots by judicious selection of suitable tip portions and appropriate 
application to the boots. Similarly, the same arrangements can be made for 
knock-kneed skiers whose legs are curved towards the interior, either by 
preserving the angle of orientation alpha by a lateral inclination towards 
the exterior of the boot but using tip portions whose wedging angle beta 
tips are greater than alpha. Alternatively, the orientation angle alpha 
can be selected to provide an inclination towards the interior of the 
boot; and tip portions can be selected to provide wedging angles beta less 
than alpha. 
To improve the retention of the tip portions on the tenons of the shell, 
removable assembly means may be provided where necessary. FIGS. 7 and 7a 
illustrate this in that three screw holes 12 are provided in tip portion 
6. Ground engaging surface 10 of portions 6' include indicia 13 which 
displays the magnitude and direction of the global wedging angle gamma 
obtained depending upon whether the tip portion is applied to the left 
boot or to the right boot. Preferably, the indicia are placed in 
countersunk recesses or hollows in the anti-slip reliefs on each of the 
tips such that the visibility of the markings is not affected by wear of 
the ground-engaging surface. 
The different descriptions described above with reference to FIGS. 1-7a 
define various possibilities of attachment and use of the means of the 
invention, and other embodiments and ways of putting the invention to use 
exist without going beyond the scope of the invention. 
While the above description refers to, and the drawings show, retention 
means on the shell base in the form of a tenon having a rectilinear 
cross-section, other shapes are of course possible. In such case, the 
orientation angle alpha is measured as the angle between the axis about 
which the upper pivots and the normal to the vertical median plane of the 
shell. 
Finally, although the invention has been described with reference to 
particular means, materials and embodiments, the invention is not limited 
to the particulars disclosed and extends to all equivalents within the 
scope of the claims.