Abstract:
A retention device for a boot on a glide board adapted for the practice of snowboarding. The device includes a base, a plate, a disk and at least one retention screw for the disk provided to be screwed into the board. The base has a rear support element, a retention mechanism affixed to tie plate retains the boot, and the device extends along a longitudinal direction which is the longitudinal direction of the boot when the latter is retained on the device. The device includes at least one translational guide mechanism for the plate with respect to the base along the longitudinal direction of the device.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention is related to the field of gliding sports, snowboarding in particular, and it is especially related to a device for retaining a boot on a glide board and, more particularly, on a snowboard. 
     2. Description of Background and Relevant Information 
     The sport of snowboarding is generally practiced with boots that are connected to a glide board via retention devices. When a user employs flexible boots that allow for easy walking, he has to use retention devices that enable rear support to be taken with the lower part of the leg, so that the board performs correctly. 
     Known retention devices generally comprise a base affixed to the board via a disk and screws. A rear support element whose position can be adjusted longitudinally with respect to the base allows the boot to be positioned on the device via heel contact, and attachment means retain the boot on the device in contact with the base and the rear support element. 
     These devices make the steering of the board possible, but they do have certain disadvantages. In particular, the adjustment of the position of the foot with respect to the board is time consuming and difficult to undertake, thus causing lost time. This problem is particularly vexing for businesses that rent out equipment, and who must quickly adjust a retention device according to the size of the boot. Another disadvantage is a lack of precision in the rear supports taken, due to the presence of a clearance between the boot and the rear support element. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the invention is to resolve the problem of the time that it takes to adjust a retention device, as well as the problem of the clearance between the boot and the rear support element of the device. 
     In order to resolve these problems, the invention provides for a retention device for a boot on a glide board adapted for snowboarding, such device comprising a base, a plate, a disk and at least one retention screw for the disk provided to attach same to the board, the base having a rear support element provided to come into contact with the boot, a retention element affixed to the plate and enabling the boot to be retained on the device, the device extending along a longitudinal direction which is the longitudinal direction of the boot when the latter is retained on the device. 
     The device according to the invention includes at least one mechanism for the translational guidance of the plate with respect to the base along the longitudinal direction of the device. Consequently, the clearance between the boot and the rear support clement can be adjusted to a zero value so as to enable rear supports to be taken with precision. 
     Another specificity of the device is that the disk biases the plate and the base towards the board when the screw is screwed into the board, such that the plate and the base are immobilized simultaneously with respect to the board. 
     The retention screw or screws for the disk enable the device to be positioned on the board and the rear support clement to be kept in contact with the boot. An advantageous result thereof is that the time required for adjusting the device becomes very short when compared to a traditional device. 
     Preferably, the translational guide mechanism is obtained by the cooperation of at least one groove of the plate with at least one projecting ridge/lip of the base, the groove and the ridge being oriented parallel to the longitudinal direction of the device. Thus, it becomes possible to bring the rear support element closer to or further away from the boot with great ease. 
     The device according to the invention also comprises a positioning mechanism provided to translationally position the plate with respect to the base in the longitudinal direction. 
     Preferably, the positioning mechanism has a cursor that permanently biases the plate towards the base via a pinching effect. 
     Thus, it becomes possible to tighten the retention screws of the disk without any risk of upsetting the position of the base with respect to the plate. The presence of the positioning mechanism enables the position of the plate to be adjusted with respect to the base, before adjusting the position of the device on the board. 
     The disk preferably has a peripheral surface provided to position the plate with respect to the disk, the plate having a surface that is complementary to that of the disk. 
     Finally, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the retention element of the boot and the translational guide mechanism of the plate with respect to the base are arranged in the vicinity of a lateral edge of the device. This facilitates the putting on and removal of the boot. 
     The invention is also related to an assembly having a board and a retention device. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will be better understood in light of the following description, and the annexed drawings that illustrate, in a non-restrictive embodiment, how the invention can be obtained, and wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an assembly having a boot, a retention device according to the invention, and a glide board; 
     FIG. 2 is a partial top view of the device and illustrates a relative displacement between the component elements of the retention device; 
     FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the retention device as assembled on a glide board; 
     FIG. 4 is a cross-section taken along the line IV—IV of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-section taken along the line V—V of FIG.  3 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     A preferred embodiment of the invention is described with the reference to FIGS. 1 through 5. 
     The retention device according to the invention, illustrated for example, in FIG. 1, has a base  1 , a plate  2 , a disk  3 , a retention mechanism  4  for a boot  5 , as well as a rear support element  6 . 
     The device is placed on a support surface  7  of a board  8  by placing a lower surface  9  of the base  1  in contact with the support surface  7 , the lower surface  9  being substantially parallel to a support surface  10  of the base  1  opposite the surface  9  with respect to the thickness of the base  1 . The retention device extends along a longitudinal direction L passing through a front end  11  and a rear end  12  of the base  1 . A rear edge  13  of the rear support element  6 , in the form of a projecting arc with respect to the surface  10 , extends the base  1  towards the rear, the edge  13  being provided to wedge the heel of the boot  5 . The rear support element  6  has a collar  37 , journalled along a substantially transverse axis  14  of the device with respect to the edge  13 , that extends the device away from the surface  10  so as to come into contact with the upper of the boot  5  at the rear of the lower part of a user&#39;s leg. Thus, the entire rear portion of the boot  5  is in contact with the device when it is being used. The journal along the axis  14  advantageously enables the collar  37  to be folded back from the rear support element  6  towards the surface  10  so as to facilitate storage. 
     A stop element  15 , represented in the form of an abutment, limits the rotation of the collar  37  towards the rear, so that the user can take support with the lower part of the leg. 
     The support surface  10 , as well as a support surface  16  of the plate  2 , are provided to receive the sole of the boot  5 . 
     For this reason, as is clearer from FIG. 4, the support surface  10  of the base  1  and the support surface  16  of the plate  2  arc located substantially in a common plane. The plate  2  has a boss  17  that is housed in an oblong opening  18  of the base  1 . The plate  2  has a edge portion or lip  19  that takes support on a recessed portion  20  of the surface  10 . The thicknesses of the base  1  and the plate  2  are provided in such a way that a space  21  remains between the boss  17  and the surface  7  of the board  8 . 
     In a known manner, the disk  3  is seated in an upward open recess  22  of the plate  2 , the respective shapes of the disk  3  and the opening  22  enabling the disk  3  to bias the plate  2  towards the board  8  when affected by a tightening device of the disk  3 . An example of the tightening device of the disk  3  includes the use of four screws  38 , or shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, that are screwed into the board  8  through four oblong holes  23 ,  24 ,  25 ,  26  of the disk  3 , shown, for example, in FIG.  1 . As can be seen from FIG. 4, the screws  38  also cross an opening  27  of the plate  2  as well as the opening  18  of the base  1 . 
     When the tightening screws of the disk  3  arc loosened, it becomes possible, in a known manner, to adjust the position of plate  2  with respect to the board  8 . When the tightening screws of the disk  3  are loosened, it also becomes possible to displace the base  1  with respect to the plate  2  along the longitudinal direction L of the device. 
     Indeed, as can be seen from the example of FIG. 2, the oblong opening  18  of the base  1  allows the boss  17  of the plate  2  to be displaced along the longitudinal direction L between a front end  28  and a rear end  29  of the oblong opening  18 . The amplitude of the displacements is represented by the value  8 . As can be understood on the basis of FIG. 4, when the tightening screws of the disk  3  are tightened, the disk  3  biases the plate  2  towards the board  8 , and the plate  2  biases the base  1  towards the board  8  by support on the strip  19  along a portion  20  of the surface  10 . Consequently, the tightening of the screws simultaneously immobilizes the disk  3 , the plate  2  and the base  1  with respect to the board  8 . By means of the cooperation between the disk and both the plate  2  and the base  1 , the disk can be regarded as a tightening device for the plate and base. The advantages resulting from this characteristic are explained hereafter. 
     As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 3, the retention mechanism  4  is affixed to the plate  2 . The retention means  4  is used to retain the boot  5  on the device in a detachable manner, by cooperating with an insert  30  of the boot  5 . 
     The structure and functioning method of the retention mechanism  4  are explained in U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,589, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference thereto for this purpose, and is not be described detail here. The retention mechanism  4  enables the boot to further put on automatically by taking support with the foot towards the board  8 , and a manual removal is ensured by action on a lever  31  of the retention mechanism  4 . 
     Because the boot  5  is retained on the plate  2 , and because the rear edge  13  is affixed to the base  1 , the same tightening device for the disk  3  allows the device to be positioned on the board  8  and to wedge the edge  13  against the heel of the boot  5 . An advantageous result thereof is that the adjustment operations of the device are made easier. 
     As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the base  1  has a lateral ridge  32  that projects along the surface  10 , and the retention mechanism  4  has a groove  33  provided to cooperate with the ridge  32 , so as to translationally guide the plate  2  with respect to the base  1 . The ridge  32  and the groove  33  are oriented parallel to the longitudinal direction L. This arrangement enables the boot  5  to be aligned on the device. 
     As shown in FIG. 4, any relative displacement in the longitudinal direction L of the base  1  with respect to an assembly comprising the board  8 , the plate  2 , the disk  3  and the tightening screws of the disk  3  on the board  8 , is limited by the contact of the boss  17  with the front end  28  or the rear end  29  of the opening  18  of the base  1 . The maximum displacement amplitude  1  is clearly visible upon seeing the change in position of the retention mechanism  4 , represented in dotted lines for reasons of ease. 
     In order to facilitate the manipulations even further, as seen better from FIG. 5, a positioning mechanism represented in the form of a cursor  34  and affixed to the retention mechanism  4 , for example, along an axis  35 , is shaped like a clip that permanently biases the base  1  and the plate  2  towards one another. In order to achieve this, the cursor has an elastic arm  36  that takes support on the lower surface  9  of the base  1 . The cursor  34  enables the base  1  to be positioned with respect to the plate  2  during the adjustment manipulations of the device, such positioning being a result of the friction of the arm  36  along the surface  9 . Thus, the device remains adjusted correctly, even if the tightening screws of the disk  3  are loosened. 
     The principle for adjusting the device is as follows. Initially, the tightening screws of the disk  3  are loosened slightly. Then, the user puts on the boot, and orients the foot in the position that suits him/her on the board  8 , and brings the edge  13  in contact with the heel of the boot S. Then, all he/she needs to do is slip off the boot and tighten the tightening screws, and the device becomes ready to use. 
     Generally speaking, the device can be manufactured by means of any materials and according to any technique known to one skilled in the art. Specifically, the base  1 , the edge  13  and the ridge  32  can be made all in one piece from an injected plastic material. The plate  2  and a part of the retention mechanism  4  can also be made all in one piece from a metallic alloy, such as an aluminum alloy. 
     The invention is not limited to the particular embodiment described herein, and has all technical equivalents that could be encompassed by the scope of the following claims. 
     In particular, it can be provided that the rear edge  13  and the collar  37  are obtained all in one piece. Other retention mechanisms for the boot  5  on the plate  2  can also be used. The number of screws used for tightening the disk  3  can vary, and a single screw could suffice. Finally, other structures ensuring the same functions could be envisioned to obtain the retention device.