FOOT SECURING DEVICE, PARTICULARLY FOR SKI BOOTS

Abstract: The foot securing device comprises a cable (11) which extends partially inside a boot (1) and is guided by means of guide elements (12, 13) to act on a foot presser (10). The boot (1) has a front quarter (3) connected to a shell (2), and an upper front quarter (6) connected to an upper portion of the front quarter (3). The cable (11) extends over the upper front quarter (6) so as to act on the presser (10) according to the movement of the upper front quarter (6) with respect to the quarter (3).

Description: The present invention relates to a foot securing device, particularly for ski boots as mentioned in the precharacterising part of claim 1. As is known, a problem found in the manufacture of ski boots is that of securing the foot, especially during the flexing phase when the heel tends to rise, not ensuring a precise transmission of the stresses from the foot to the ski. Several securing devices have been hitherto adopted, particularly of the type wherein a cable acts on a plate which presses on the foot. Such devices are known, for example, from U.S. patent No. 4,449,274 and from French patent No. 2536965. In the solutions hitherto adopted, the cable often traces tortuous paths which complicate the construction of the boot, or there are complicated and expensive adjustment mechanisms which furthermore increase the overall weight of the boot. The same problems also arise in systems with a mechanical presser, for example of the type wherein one or more screws act directly on a pressure plate. Some known systems provide a good adjustment of the pressure on the foot, even if by means of complicated devices, but this pressure is often constant both during the flexing phase and during the extension and resting phase. In order to firmly secure the foot during the flexing phase, a pressure much greater than that necessary during the rest and/or extension phase is required. In conventional devices, it often occurs that the foot is subject to an excessive pressure during the extension and rest phases or, vice versa, it is not firmly secured during the flexing phase. WO-A-81/01645 shows a foot securing device according to the precharacterising part of claim 1 comprising a ski boot with a pair of foot instep engaging strap members and a lower leg-engaging element which comprises a pair of rigid arm members extending on the opposite sides of the foot and a shin-engaging shaped section interconnected between respective ends of the rigid arm members. The bottom ends of the rigid arm members are pivotally connected to the ski boot along with a pulley member, and a cable element is interconnected between such pulley member and the foot instep engaging strap members. Thus, the inclination of the leg determines, through engagement with the shin-engaging shaped section, the position of the pulley member and accordingly the degree of pressure supplied by the instep engaging strap members. The aim of the present invention is therefore to eliminate the disadvantages described above in known types by providing a device which exerts a pressure on the foot which is adapted to the variable conditions of use of the boot. Within the scope of the aim described above, a particular object of the invention is to provide a device which is simple to use and easy to manufacture, and therefore advantageous from an economic point of view. The aim described above, as well as the objects mentioned and others which will become apparent hereinafter, are achieved by a foot securing device, particularly for ski boots, as defined in the precharacterising part of the appended claim 1. Further characteristics and advantages will become apparent from the description of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of a device illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein: fig. 1 is a lateral elevation view, in cross section, of a boot with the device applied to a heel presser; fig. 2 is a lateral elevation view, in cross section, of a boot with the device applied simultaneously to a foot instep presser and to a heel presser; fig. 3 is a sectional elevation view of a boot with the device applied to a presser consisting of an insole; fig. 4 is a transverse cross section view of a means for the adjustment of the working length of the cable; and fig. 5 is a graph showing the pressure exerted on the foot by the presser while skiing. With reference to the above described figures, a ski boot comprises a shell 1 whereto are connected, in a per se known manner, a front quarter 2 and a rear quarter 3. A movable element is arranged in a depressed region of the front upper border of the front quarter, and is composed of a movable element or front upper quarter 6 which is oscillable with respect to the front quarter 3. The upper front quarter 6 can, for example, be pivoted by means of the pivot 7 to the front region of the quarter 6 and has elongated slots 8 engaged by respective pins 9 fixed to the sides of the front quarter. The upper front quarter 6 can be connected to the front quarter 2 even by means of other different systems, for example as described in the U.S. patent application serial No. 07/036519, filed by the same Applicant. With this arrangement, the upper front quarter 6 is oscillable with respect to the front quarter 3 along a transverse axis which passes through the pivot 7. The device further consists of a pressure plate 10b, pivoted in a per se known manner to the shell 1 or freely slideable, arranged inside said shell at the foot instep and preferably outside the inner boot with which ski boots are normally provided. A cable 11a, located inside the boot, acts on the pressure plate 10b and extends above the plate 10b embracing it transversely with respect to its longitudinal extension. Said cable 11a, which is guided by means of a lower guide element 12 and of an upper guide element 13, extends along the lateral region of the boot and protrudes from the slot 14 proximate to the upper front quarter 6, embracing it on the outer side. The guide elements 12 and 13 can be constituted by pulleys or similar means fixed to the inside of the boot. For example, in the figures, the lower guide elements 12 consist of pulleys arranged at pivots for the pivoting of the quarters with respect to the shell; while the upper guide elements 13 each expediently consist of a shaped raised portion provided on the inner surface of the sides of the front quarter 2. Obviously, there are two pairs of guide elements, since the cable extends on both sides of the boot, only one of said sides being visible in the figures. The two lower guide elements 12 are preferably arranged downwardly with respect to the pressure plate 10b so that the cable 11a, which extends above the plate 10b, can act on said plate and press on the foot. For the correct operation of the device it is important that the guide elements 12 and 13 be positioned so that an inclination of the upper front quarter 6 is matched by an increase in the length of the cable between a point defined on the outside of the upper front quarter and the guide elements 12 or 13. Said point can consist, for example, of a notch 17 provided transversely on the front outer surface of the upper front quarter 6 which accommodates the external portion of the cable 11a. For the adjustment of the useful length of the cable 11a, an adjustment element 15 for the adjustment of the working length of said cable is provided, and in this case is advantageously located on a side of the front quarter 2. Said element 15 follows the excursion of the cable during the flexing phase and is therefore movable with respect to the quarter. The element 15 can be furthermore provided by known means, such as for example a cylinder 15a with counterposed threads which engage threaded ends 15b of the cable 11, slideable in a slot 16 provided on the front quarter so that the cylinder 15a is manually rotatable from the outside. The adjustment element 15, besides performing a fine adjustment of the tension of the cable 11, allows a sufficient slackening of said cable to facilitate the operation of putting on the boot. The position of the cable 11 on the outer side of the upper front quarter 6, can be advantageously ensured by means of a series of notches 17 provided transversely with respect to said upper front quarter. Said plurality of notches 17 allow an approximate adjustment of the tension of the cable. With reference to fig. 1, the pressure plate 10a can be arranged at the heel of the foot by obtaining it, for example, out of the inner shoe or out of the shell of said boot. The structure of the device, with the plate 10a at the heel, is such that the pressure is exerted on the heel. With reference to fig. 2, the device is characterized in that it comprises two pressure plates which act simultaneously on the foot. A pressure plate 10b is located at the foot instep, pivoted to the shell or freely slideable, while a pressure plate 10c is located at the heel and can expediently be defined by the inner shoe or by the shell of the boot. The cable 11a is advantageously fixed at one end, for example by means of an eyelet, to a first point 18 located inside the shell 1 and arranged downwardly and laterally with respect to the region of location of said pressure plate 10b and extends transversely above said plate with respect to its longitudinal extension. At the other end, the cable 11a is fixed, in a similar manner, to a second point 19 arranged inside the shell and located frontally and laterally with respect to the region of location of said pressure plate 10c. Similarly to the above mentioned devices, the cable 11a extends along the sides of the quarter of the boot by means of the lower guide element 12 and the upper guide element 13 on one side and by means of the lower guide element 12a and the upper guide element 13a on the other side, and protrudes out of the slots 14a and 14b, arranged symmetrically proximate to the front quarter, extending on the outer side of said quarter. An adjustment element 15 for the adjustment of the working length of the cable is advantageously arranged in the lateral region of the boot for permitting the fine adjustment of the tension of the cable. The operation of each of the devices described above is substantially similar: during the leg flexing phase there is an increase in the distance between the upper guide elements 13 and the point 14 defined on the upper front quarter where the cable 11 is accommodated. This increase results in an increase in the pressure on the foot by means of a further tensioning of said cable. During the extension phase, the initial pressure is restored by virtue of the elastic return of the cable. In other words, the pressure on the foot depends on the inclination of the upper front quarter with respect to the front quarter and therefore on the inclination of the leg. This is correct from a technical point of view, since during flexing a greater securing of the foot is required to prevent the rise of the heel, thus ensuring a precise transmission of the stresses from the foot to the ski. The graph of fig. 5 shows the pressure on the foot during the flexing, extension and rest phases. With reference to fig. 3, the device, according to another aspect of the invention, is characterized in that the cable 11 is caused to pass, inside the boot 1, beneath an insole 20 which can be interposed between the base of the shell 1 and the inner shoe 21, the insole 20 being movable and acting on the foot as a presser. In the leg flexing phase, once the cable is positioned on the point 14 and the element 15 is adjusted, the insole 20 is caused to rise, the cable 11 sliding on the upper guide elements 13a and 13. In practice it has been observed that the device according to the invention fully achieves the intended aim and in particular the fact is stressed that it is simple to use and easy to manufacture. The materials employed, which are preferably those conventionally used in the manufacture of ski boots, as well as the dimensions and the contingent shapes, may be any according to the specific requirements.

Claims: Foot securing device, particularly for ski boots having an upper cuff like member (2, 3) associated with a shell (1), comprising: a movable element (6) which is movable with respect to at least said shell (1), at least one foot presser (10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 20) arranged inside said shell (1), at least one cable (11, 11a) connecting said at least one presser (10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 20) to said movable element (6) so that a movement of said movable element (6) with respect to said shell (1) is matched by a movement of said at least one presser (10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 20), characterized in that said upper cuff like member comprises a front quarter (2) and a rear quarter 3, that said movable element (6) is connected to said front quarter (2) and is movable with respect thereto, and that said at least one foot presser comprises either a presser (10a,10c) located proximate to the heel of the foot or an insole presser (20) which is interposed between said shell and an inner shoe (21) arranged inside said boot. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said cable (11, 11a) is provided with means (15) for the adjustment of its length. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that said adjustment means (15) comprise a cylinder (15a) provided with counterposed threads engaged with threaded ends (15b) of said cable (11, 11a), said cylinder (15a) being slideably associated with said front quarter (2) at an adapted slot (16) intended to allow said cylinder (15a) to be rotated from the outside. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said cable (11, 11a) extends at least partially inside said boot and protrudes from said boot through slots (14, 14a, 14b) proximate to said movable element (6). Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said movable element (6) is provided with one or more notches (17) for the accommodation of said cable (11, 11a), provided on its outer surface. Device according to claim 7, characterized in that said presser (10a,10c) located proximate to the heel of the foot is obtained out of an inner shoe or out of said shell (2) of said boot. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises two pressers, a front presser (10b) located proximate to the foot instep and a rear presser (10c) located at the heel. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said cable (11) is provided monolithically.

Inventors: SARTOR, MARIANO
Applicants: NORDICA S.P.A.
Application year: 1987
Main classification: A43B5
IPC codes: A43B5