Abstract:
The present invention is directed to a ski boot accessory. The ski boot accessory may include a base member and a bar member attachable to the base member. The base member may be mounted to a ski boot. Further, the bar member may be shaped and oriented such that the bar member deflects slalom gates away from a skier&#39;s legs and/or body. Furthermore, the ski boot accessory may be made of plastic material, an alloy, and the like.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/350,091 filed Jun. 1, 2010 which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to ski boot accessories, and more specifically, to a boot bar for a ski boot. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    Various types of skiing may be performed, such as alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, Nordic skiing, and the like. Alpine skiing involves gates that are mounted at short distances from one another. During a competition, a ski-racer is required to ski between the gates, thereby taking quicker and shorter turns. Generally, the ski-racer takes an inward lean and uses cross-blocking technique to draw his body&#39;s center of gravity closer to a fall line. Owing to the inward lean, the ski-racer&#39;s feet may get close to the gates. The ski-racer needs to divert the gates (due to the obstruction caused by the gates) with his hands or arms for avoiding any accident. Currently, the ski-racer may use his legs or shin guard to push the gates away from his path. However, the gates may get trapped between a bend formed between a foot and a leg of the ski-racer as ski boots have a forward lean. Therefore, the gates may actually lead to accidents. 
         [0006]    In light of the above discussion, there is need for a ski boot accessory that may enable skiers to divert the gates without getting injured due to trapping of the gates. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    In an embodiment of the present invention, a ski boot accessory may be provided. The ski boot accessory may include a base member and a bar member attached to the base member. The base member may be mounted to a ski boot. Furthermore, the ski boot accessory may be made of plastic material, an alloy, and the like. 
         [0008]    Methods and systems described herein may include a ski boot accessory that may include a base member for stably attaching a bar member to a ski boot with a first fastener and a substantially non-planar bar member coupled to the base member with a second fastener and extending upward from the base member. The the ski boot accessory may be composed of at least one of: plastic, a metal alloy, a metal and the metal may be steel. The fastener may be one of: threaded fasteners, snap fit, clamps, rivets, buckles, zipper and grommets. 
         [0009]    Methods and systems described herein may alternatively include a ski boot accessory that may include a base member for stably attaching a bar member to a ski boot with a first fastener and a substantially non-planar bar member coupled to the base member with the first fastener and extending upward from the base member. The base member may include a bar receiving area that is shaped to receive a corresponding shape of the bar member. Also, the bar member may interlock with the base member. 
         [0010]    Methods and systems described herein may also alternatively include a method of directing a ski gate away from a skier that may include attaching a gate deflecting bar member to a base member to form a boot bar; disposing the boot bar on an instep region of a ski boot; and securing the boot bar to the ski boot. The gate deflecting bar member may comprise a non-planar shape. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  depicts a boot bar, in accordance with an embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  depicts a boot bar, in accordance with another embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  depicts a boot bar, in accordance with yet another embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  depicts a single-screw boot bar, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIGS. 5A-5I  depict various views of an embodiment of the boot bar described herein, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  depicts a base member and a bar member of a boot bar interlocked with each other, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIGS. 7A-7G  depict various views of the boot bar of  FIG. 6 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0018]      FIG. 8  depicts a boot bar attached to a boot flap, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0019]    Detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting, but rather to provide an understandable description of the invention. 
         [0020]    The terms “a” or “an,” as used herein, are defined as one or more than one. The term “another,” as used herein, is defined as at least a second or more. The terms “including” and/or “having”, as used herein, are defined as comprising (i.e., open transition). The term “coupled” or “operatively coupled,” as used herein, is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly and not necessarily mechanically. 
         [0021]    Referring now to  FIG. 1 , which depicts a boot bar  100  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In embodiments of the invention, the boot bar  100  may include a base member  102  and a bar member  104 . In an embodiment of the present invention, the boot bar  100  may be made of a single piece of plastic material, or the individual elements may each be made of plastic material. Further, in embodiments of the invention, the boot bar  100  may be mounted on a ski boot between a toe buckle and the next higher buckle of the ski boot. The base member  102  may be fastened to the ski boot by means of a fastener. The fastener may include, without any limitation, a threaded fastener, a snap fit, a clamp, a rivet, a buckle, and the like. Further, the bar member  104  may be fastened to the ski boot by means of a fastener or it may wrap around the base member so that attachment of the base member to the ski also secures the bar member. Alternatively the bar member may interlock with the base member. Yet alternatively, the bar member may be attached to the base member by glue, adhesive material, molecular bonding, heat staking, welding, riveting, forming, press-fit mating, and the like. 
         [0022]    In an embodiment of the present invention, the bar member  104  may protect the shin of the ski-racer from coming in contact with the gates. 
         [0023]    During skiing, the ski-racer may take sharp turns that may cause the ski-racer to come close to the gates. Hence, the gates may come in the way of the ski-racer and may cause hindrance thereto. The ski-racer may push away the gates with the help of the bar member  104 . Specifically, the bar member  104  may divert the gates in an upward direction and may prevent any obstruction that may be caused to the ski-racer. The bar member  104  may thus avoid accidents that may be caused due to the gates getting stuck in the ski boots. Moreover, bar member  104  may avoid trapping of the gates in a bend that may be formed between the foot and the leg of the ski-racer. 
         [0024]    Referring now to  FIG. 2 , which depicts a boot bar  200 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In an embodiment of the invention, the boot bar  200  may include a base member  202  and a bar member  204 . In an embodiment of the present invention, the boot bar  200  may be a two-piece boot bar, and the base member  202  and the bar member  204  may be attached to each other to form the boot bar  200 . In another embodiment of the invention, the base member  202  and the bar member  204  may be configured so that each may be interchanged with variations thereof individually while providing similar benefits as described herein. For example, the ski-racer may directly fasten the bar member  204  to the ski boot without first attaching the bar member  204  to the base member  202  and then attaching the bar member to the base member and/or to the ski boot. Further, in an embodiment of the invention, the base member  202  and/or the bar member  204  may be made of plastic material, a metal material, a composite material, and the like. The base member and the bar member may be made of the same or different materials or composites. The boot bar  200  may be used in a manner similar to the boot bar  100  (as described with reference to  FIG. 1 ) and therefore, is not explained here for the sake of brevity. 
         [0025]    Referring now to  FIG. 3 , which depicts a boot bar  300  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The boot bar  300  may include a base member  302 , a cap member  304 , and a bar member  308 . In an embodiment of the present invention, the boot bar  300  may be a three-piece boot bar in which the base member  302 , the cap member  304 , and the bar member  308  may be attached to a ski boot with fasteners. In an embodiment of the present invention, the base member  302 , the cap member  304 , and the bar member  308  may be attached to each other by means of fasteners, adhesives, molecular bonding, snap fitting, compression fitting, slip fitting, and the like. The base, cap, and bar members may be preassembled before being fitted to the ski boot or they may be assembled individually during assembly to the ski boot. For example, the ski-racer may attach the base member  302 , the cap member  304 , and the bar member  308  to each other before attaching the boot bar  300  to the ski boot. In an embodiment of the present invention, the ski-racer may use the base member  302 , the cap member  304 , and the bar member  308  individually so that alternate embodiments of each member may be assembled as described herein to allow for variations such as length of the bar member, surface finish, branding, and the like. 
         [0026]    The boot bar as described herein may be made of metal, alloy, steel, composite (e.g. carbon fiber) or a combination thereof. In an example, the base member  302  may be made of a metal, the cap member  304  may be made up of an alloy, and the bar member  308  may be made of steel. In another example, the base member  302 , the cap member  304 , and the bar member  308  may be made up of same material, such as metal, steel, or alloy. The bar member  308  may be made of spring steel. In an example, the bar member  308  is configured with a relief cut near the bar member mount area to allow flex in both forward and backward direction. The spring steel with relief cut also allows the bar member to flex when a skier leans forward far enough in the ski boots to contact the bar member with his/her shin. The relief cut may facilitate generous flex in the forward direction away from the skier. Additionally a spring steel bar member facilitates the bar member flexing toward the skier to absorb the impact of the ski gate to mitigate disruption of the skiers foot. In an embodiment the boot bar apparatus as described herein may be configured as a combination of Kevlar and/or carbon fiber mix. 
         [0027]    Further, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention, a boot bar such as the boot bar  100 , the boot bar  200 , and the boot bar  300  may enable a ski-racer to divert gates (positioned in a ski area) from a front portion of a ski boot. The boot bar may therefore prevent any accidents due to trapping of the gates in the ski boots. Further, the boot bar as described above may include a single screw configuration. Various single screw embodiments of the present invention are described in conjunction with  FIGS. 4-8 . 
         [0028]      FIG. 4  depicts a boot bar  400  that may be connected to a ski boot through a single screw, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The boot bar  400  may include a base member  402  and a bar member  404 . Further, the base member  402  may be configured to include a tongue portion  408  that may extend below the base member  402  to facilitate positioning the boot bar  400  on an instep are of a ski boot. The tongue portion  408  may be configured to fit under a ski boot buckle area (not shown). In an embodiment, the bar member  404  and the base member  402  may include an opening  410  for receiving a screw. Further, the opening  410  may extend through the base member  402  so that the the tongue portion  408  is visible when looking through the opening  410 . Accordingly, the bar member  404 , the base member  402 , and the tongue portion  408  may be fastened to a ski boot through a single screw. 
         [0029]    In an embodiment, the boot bar  400  may be secured to a ski boot by slipping the tongue portion  408  under a rigid portion of a ski boot, such as the ski boot buckle flap. For example, the boot bar  400  may be fixed to the ski boot buckle flap as a clamp by fastening the screw so that it pinches the ski boot buckle flap between the screw and the tongue portion  408 . Accordingly, the boot bar  400  may be stably attached to the ski boot. Further, the pressure of the ski boot buckle may further assist in holding the boot bar  400  in place while skiing. Also, the boot bar  400  may be secured to any suitable rigid surface or protrusion of a ski boot apart from a ski boot buckle area that may facilitate securing the boot bar  400  to protect a skier. The boot bar  400  thus disposed may prevent trapping of the gates in the ski boots, legs, or body of a skier. 
         [0030]    Further, the base member  402  and the bar member  404  of the boot bar  400  may be made up of a plastic material, a metal material, a composite material, and the like. 
         [0031]    Various views of an alternate embodiment of a single screw boot bar will be described in conjunction with  FIGS. 5A-5I . Boot bar  500  as depicted in  FIGS. 5A-5I  comprises a single screw base member  402  as shown and described in conjunction with  FIG. 4  and a bar member  204  or  308  as shown and described in conjunction with  FIGS. 2 and 3  respectively. Therefore, the details of these members are not repeated here. 
         [0032]      FIG. 5A  depicts a top perspective view of a boot bar  500 . 
         [0033]      FIG. 5B  depicts a top view of the boot bar  500 . 
         [0034]      FIG. 5C  depicts a side perspective view of the boot bar  500 . 
         [0035]      FIG. 5D  depicts a front view of the boot bar  500 . 
         [0036]      FIG. 5E  depicts a right side view of the boot bar  500 . 
         [0037]      FIG. 5F  depicts a rear view of the boot bar  500 . 
         [0038]      FIG. 5G  depicts a bottom perspective view of the boot bar  500 . 
         [0039]      FIG. 5H  depicts a bottom view of the boot bar  500 . 
         [0040]      FIG. 5I  depicts a rear perspective view of the boot bar  500 . 
         [0041]    Referring to  FIG. 6 , a boot bar  600  is depicted, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. The boot bar  600  may include a base member  602  and a bar member  604  interlocked with the base member  602 . In an embodiment, the base member  602  may include a bar member receiving area that may be shaped to accept a compatibly shaped portion of a bar member  604  (e.g. a lower end portion of bar member  604 ). Further, the base member  602  may facilitate stably attaching the bar member  604  to a ski boot. For example, the base member  602  and the bar member  604  may include an opening  608  for receiving a screw. The bar member  604  may be interlocked with the base member  602  with a single screw such as a countersunk screw. Alternatively, the screw opening  608  may allow the screw to pass through the bar member  604  and base member  602  to be captured by a receptacle that may be affixed to an instep portion of a ski boot. Such an embodiment is further detailed in regards to  FIG. 8 . Various views of the boto bar  600  are depicted in conjunction with  FIGS. 7A-7G . 
         [0042]      FIG. 7A  depicts a top perspective view of a boot bar  600 . 
         [0043]      FIG. 7B  depicts a side perspective view of the boot bar  600 . 
         [0044]      FIG. 7C  depicts a front view of the boot bar  600 . 
         [0045]      FIG. 7D  depicts a right side view of the boot bar  600 . 
         [0046]      FIG. 7E  depicts a rear view of the boot bar  600 . 
         [0047]      FIG. 7F  depicts a bottom perspective view of the boot bar  600 . 
         [0048]      FIG. 7G  depicts a rear perspective view of the boot bar  600 . 
         [0049]    Now referring to  FIG. 8 , an application of the boot bar  600  being attached to a ski boot is depicted. The boot bar  600  may include a bar member  604  and a base member  602 . As described in  FIG. 6 , the bar member  604  may be attached to the base member  602  through a single countersunk screw (not shown). Alternatively, the base member and bar member may each be shaped to support mutual interlocking and the screw may pass through the screw opening  608  without directly fastening the two members together. Further, an instep portion of a ski boot (e.g. boot flap  802 ) may include a receptacle  804  for receiving a screw such as the countersunk screw. In use, the boot bar  600  may be disposed at an instep region of a ski boot (not shown). Thereafter, the countersunk screw that passes through the bar member  604  and base member  602 , may be received by the receptacle  804 . The countersunk screw may interlock the bar member  804  and the base member  808  to the boot through the receptacle  804 . Accordingly, the boot bar  600  may be secured to a ski boot. 
         [0050]    While the invention has been disclosed in connection with the preferred embodiments shown and described in detail, various modifications and improvements thereon will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the spirit and scope of the present invention is not to be limited by the foregoing examples, but is to be understood in the broadest sense allowable by law. 
         [0051]    All documents referenced herein are hereby incorporated by reference.