Support adjuster device for the quarters of ski boots

Abstract: The present invention relates to a support adjuster device for the quarters of ski boots including a shaped body (1, 31, 41, 61, 81), pivoted to the quarter (4, 34, 44, 64, 84) of a ski boot, and means (51, 54, 55, 56, 20, 25, 23, 10, 11, 22, 320, 323, 310, 311, 322, 71, 91) for adjusting and releasably locking the shaped body in any desired position with respect to the quarter. The device enables a skier to adjust the abutment of the quarter on the leg as desired through easily operable means.

Description: The present invention relates to a support andjuster for the quarters of ski boots. As is known, to practice skiing correctly it is necessary for the rear quarter and possibly the front quarter, of rear-entry ski boots, or the rear part of the single quarter in the case of front-entry ski boots, to offer some support to the rear part of the leg substantially in the region of the calf. In the French Patent No. 2.089.128, a rear support device is described which comprises a tab which can be adapted to the calf of the skier, a support adjustment system is also described, but this system is, in practice, scarcely practical for the user and is rather complicated to provide. In most ski boots, this kind of support cannot be adjusted according to one's own skiing requirements, so that in practice the user adjusts the rear support offered by the quarter by varying the closing action of the quarter itself. US-A-4203235 discloses a removable accessory device for canting the leg of a user applicable on the rear part of a quarter of a ski boot. In one embodiment the device is pivotally attached to the quarter of the boot and is provided with adjustable wedge means arranged between the rear top edge of the quarter and the rear lower edge of the canting member, the wedge acting as abutment means. A strap and buckle are provided for displacing inwardly and outwardly the wedge member thereby adjusting the canting angle of the canting member. The wedge member has a unidirectional positive action on the lower edge of the canting member only when inwardly urged to increase the canting angle. Therefore, the canting member is free to oscillate inwardly, i.e. in the increasing sense of the canting angle. Thereby, during the forward lean of the user's leg the canting member is free to accompany the leg and in this position of the leg the canting member keeps flippering between the user's leg and the abutment surface of the wedge member, which is a remarkable drawback of the canting member. Moreover, when the leg performs a rearward lean the canting member is rearwardly tilted by the action of the leg and is caused abruptly to strike against the wedge member, which irritates on the one hand the user's leg and on the other hand engenders increased local stresses on the pivot means and on the abutment surfaces of the wedge member and the adjacent edges of the quarter and the canting member thereby rapidly deteriorating this structure. Moreover, during the forward lean of the user's leg and the flippering of the canting member a gap is formed between the abutment surfaces of the wedge member and the lower edge of the canting member, such gap being outwardly open. Consequently extraneous material is allowed to penetrate such gap and deposit therein preventing a regular performance of the wedge member. The above considered drawbacks constitute problems to be solved. The aim proposed by the present invention is to solve the above described problems by providing a support adjuster specifically adapted for the quarters of ski boots, which allows the user the possibility of adjusting as required the supporting action effected on the leg by the upper end of the quarter while maintaining the support adjuster in a stable condition. Within the scope of the above described aim, a particular object of the invention is to provide an adjuster which allows to achieve a greater adaptation to large calves in order to reduce pressures on the upper part. Still another object of the invention is to provide a support adjuster which is very quick and simple to operate, since it does not require particular or in any way complicated manoeuvers. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a rear support adjuster which can be fitted with extreme ease and speed to a ski boot, without thereby giving rise to particular complexities in structure. A not least object of the present invention is to provide a support adjuster which is structurally simple and which, furthermore, is of very low cost. The above considered problems are solved and the indicated object achieved by the invention as defined in appended claim 1. Further characteristics and advantages will become apparent from the detailed description of a support adjuster for the quarters of ski boots, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective rear view of a quarter of a ski boot bearing a rear support adjuster, according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross section view of the support adjuster of Fig. 1. With reference to Figs. 1 and 2, the support adjuster for ski boot quarters, according to the invention, comprises a shaped body, generally indicated by the reference numeral 1, which in the illustrated embodiment is shaped so as to embrace at least a portion of the rear part of the leg of a skier. In more detail, the shaped body 1 is provided with lateral fins 2 tapering forwards which join to a central portion 3 which can be positioned in the rear part of the leg of a skier, substantially below the region affected by the calf. The fins 2, at their tapered end, are connected to the quarter 4 by means of a coupling which is preferably a hinge-like or oscillable connection. As illustrated in the figures, studs or pivots are provided indicated by the reference numeral 6, which connect the fins 2 with the lateral part of the quarter 4 so as to allow an oscillation of the shaped body 1 about an axis which is substantially transverse with respect to the longitudinal extension of the leg and transverse with respect to the longitudinal extension of the foot. A denticulated tab 10, provided with saw-like teeth 11, extends downwards from the connecting portion 3, and is accommodated in a recess 12 defined on the outer part of the quarter, while the shaped body is mainly accommodated inside the quarter. Means are furthermore provided for the releasable locking of the position of the shaped body, which are composed of a small lever 20 pivoted in a middle portion thereof to its supporting base 22 and provided, at one end, with engagement teeth 23 which couple with the saw-like teeth 11. Elastic means act, in a per se known manner, on the small lever 20, which means keep the engagement teeth elastically engaged with the saw-like teeth of the tab 10, thus obtaining a coupling which allows upward displacement of the denticulated tab with a ratcheting motion of the engagement teeth on the teeth of the denticulated tab, thereby resisting upward displacement of the tab, while they perform a locking action against downward displacement of the denticulated tab. The lever 20 is furthermore provided with an operating end, indicated by the reference numeral 25, which can be operated to uncouple the engagement teeth from the denticulated tab. As is schematically indicated with broken line in Fig. 2, it is possible to vary the support provided by the shaped body 1 for the leg simply by varying the position of the shaped body 1 with respect to the quarter, and in particular by rotating forwards the shaped body 1 a greater support is achieved, while the degree of support decreases by rotating the shaped body backwards, i.e. anticlockwise with reference to the illustration. The presence of the denticulated lever structures as described above, when in closed condition causes the position assumed by the shaped body to remain stable since all the acting actions would tend to push the denticulated tab back downwards, said tab being prevented from moving in this direction by the teeth of the lever 20, while actions directed in the opposite sense, which are of minor intensity, are resisted by the denticulated lever structure, thereby allowing the shaped body to remain tendentially stable. In order to change the position or to move backwards the shaped body 1, it is sufficient to act on the operating end of the small lever 20, consequently performing the uncoupling of the engagament teeth 23 from the teeth 11 of the denticulated tab 10. The support adjuster according to the invention, in all the embodiments described, can be used on any kind of ski boot, both of the conventional monolithic type and of the rear-entry type with the rear quarter pivoted to the shell, and, again, of the type having the front quarter separate from the rear quarter. From what has been described, it can thus be seen that the invention achieves the intended aims, and in particular the fact is stressed that, with extremely simple means, a ski boot is provided which offers the user the possibility of altering as desired the support offered rearwardly to the leg by the quarter, so as to better adapt to the habits and the needs of the user. In practice, the materials employed, as well as the dimensions and the contingent shapes, may be any according to the requirements.

Claims: A ski boot with a support adjuster device, the ski boot comprising a quarter (4) having a lower end which is connected to a shell of the ski boot and a rear upper end which is arranged near the calf region of a skier, the quarter extending from the lower end upwardly to the rear upper end thereof, the support adjuster device comprising a shaped body (1) supported at said rear upper end of the quarter and thereby said shaped body embraces the lower calf region of the leg of a skier, said support adjuster device further comprising means (10, 20) for adjusting and releasably locking the positioning of said shaped body with respect to said quarter, said shaped body being provided with a pair of lateral fin formations (2) which extend in a longitudinal direction of the boot and which are joined to each other by a central portion (3) positioned at the rear part of the leg of the skier and extending transverse to said fin formations, said support adjuster device being characterized in that said pair of lateral fin formations of said shaped body are each in a pivotal relationship with a respective lateral part of said upper end of said quarter by virtue of pivot means (6) defining an axis of rotation extending transverse to the longitudinal direction of the boot to allow oscillation of said shaped body thereabout and wherein said means (10, 20) for adjusting and releasably locking the positioning of said shaped body (1) have a locking mechanism (20, 23) arranged in a plane substantially parallel to the plane defined by said central portion (3) and having one component part (20) secured to the quarter which releasably engages with a second component part (23) secured to the shaped body by means of engagament means (11) preventing in closed conditions rearward oscillation of said shaped body and resisting oscillation of said shaped body in the opposite direction thereby to maintain said shaped body tendentially stable in closed conditions of said locking means. Ski boot with support adjuster device according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said locking mechanism comprises a denticulated tab (10) which is provided with saw-like teeth (11) extending from said central portion (3) along a direction substantially corresponding to that of the upward extension of said quarter (4), said denticulated tab (10) being slideably accommodatable in a recess (12) defined on the outer part of said quarter (4). Ski boot with support adjuster device according to claim 2, characterized in that said locking mechanism further comprises a small lever (20) which is pivoted in a middle portion of said recess (12), said lever being provided at one end thereof with engagement teeth (23), said engagement teeth being coupleable with said saw-like teeth (11) of said denticulated tab (10), said lever being provided at its other end thereof with an operating end (25) which can be operated to overcome the elastic biasing action of elastic means which elastically keep said engagement teeth (23) engaged with said saw-like teeth (11), the coupling between said saw-like teeth (11) and said engagement teeth (23) being adapted to resist the upward sliding of said denticulated tab (10) and to prevent the downward motion.

Inventors: SARTOR MARIANO, SARTOR, MARIANO
Applicants: NORDICA SPA, NORDICA S.P.A.
Application year: 1987
Main classification: A43B5
IPC codes: A43C11, A43B23, A43B5, A43B21