Abstract:
A device for fixing a boot onto a sporting apparatus. The device includes a base, front and rear boot retaining assemblies having abutment surfaces, front and rear guides, and mechanisms for releasing the boot, as well as a structural arrangement to attach the device onto the sporting apparatus. The device also includes the boot with its sole capable of being supported on the base, the boot having front and rear catching members. The front and rear catching members are applied respectively to the front abutment surfaces and the rear guides when the boot is first put on, then the rear catching members follow a trajectory that modifies the distance which separates them from the front catching members to come to rest on the rear abutment surfaces when the boot is completely on.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention is related to a device for fixing the foot onto a sporting article of the snowboard, or skate board type, of the type comprising a boot, a base, catching members, rear ankle retaining assemblies as well as means for attaching it onto the selected sporting article. 
     2. Description of Background and Relevant Information 
     Such fixing devices intended to be mounted onto sporting articles such as snowboards are known, and they comprise a base, equipped with vertical retaining means for the boot, that rests directly on top of the sporting article, and at its center, it has a circular recess, along the upper edges of which is applied a supporting disc which is itself affixed onto the sporting article by virtue of screws. The upper edges of the circular opening of the base as well as the lower edges of the supporting disc have notched surfaces that cooperate with each other to allow, is when the screws are loosened, the orientation of the foot to be adjusted with respect to the axis of the sporting article so that the device can be adapted to various practices and to a variety of users. The means for retaining the boot on the base are constituted, as is the case, for instance, with snowboard bindings for flexible boots, also well known by the term shells, of straps which are generally two in number, and are positioned on top of the boot, one near the instep ant the other near the toe, each such strap generally comprising two separate sections, each of the sections being fixed by one of its ends to the base by virtue of anchoring means, constituted, for example, of screws, that cooperate with the drill holes present in the two vertical walls extending the base, on either side of the foot. The strap sections can be connected to each other via a tightening system borne by their other end and be substantially similar to a hook used for tightening alpine ski boots, which are also well known. 
     Such a device describing the prior state of the art is disclosed, for example, in the patent document WO 93/14835. It calls for manual intervention by the user when the boot is put on or tin off, the user being forced to bend in order to tighten the two straps on top of his boot once it has been positioned on the base. In addition, such a device forces the user to take off his boot and use a screwdriver if he wishes to change the angular adjustment of his bindings. 
     Other devices, such as described, for example, in the patent document WO 96/05894 add, beneath the sole of the boot, a rigid plate that projects on either side of the boot or therebelow and cooperates with the retaining means affixed to the sporting article. Although the configuration of these catching members provides a simple solution to the problem of putting on the boot, which can thus be done without using the hands, the presence of a plate beneath the sole causes the boot to stiffen, thereby adversely impacting its comfort, especially while walking. 
     It is an object of the invention to improve the ergonomics of devices such as described in the patent document WO 93/14835, by allowing the boot to be put on more quickly and with less strain, while at the same time retaining all the flexibility of the sole. In addition, it will allow the user to change the orientation of the foot with respect to the sporting article without having to remove the boot or use tools. 
     To this end, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, such a fixing device comprises a base, equipped with a structural arrangement for adjusting the orientation of the foot with respect to the axis of the sporting article, front and rear retaining assemblies, front and rear guides, as well as mechanisms for releasing the foot, mechanisms for fixing it onto the sporting article, and a boot, whose sole can rest on the base, and equipped with front and rear catching members affixed to the boot. When the boot is put on, the front catching members of the boot rest on the front retaining assemblies in such a way that the boot can no longer be lifted or translated towards the rear. To this end, the front retaining assemblies have upwardly open U-shaped recesses, open towards the front, that receive the front catching members of the boot. Such members consist of projections that extend perpendicularly with respect to the axis of the foot at the level of the sole and beyond the edge thereof, so that they exceed the foot on either side. The rear catching members are then applied on the rear guides, and they follow, due to the pressure of the heel of the boots a trajectory during which the distance separating them from the front catching members increases substantially, thus resulting in an extension of the sole; thereafter they are applied onto the rear retaining assemblies when the heel of the sole comes into contact with the base. In this so-called locking position, the sole returns to its original length. 
     To this end, between its front and rear catching members, the sole of the boot has a connecting element present in the core of the sole, or constituted thereof and fixed to each of the catching members that are capable of being deformed substantially and elastically, when a stress is applied thereupon along a longitudinal axis. 
     The rear catching members consist of an axis crossing the sole and bearing, on either side, wheels that are free to rotate. These wheels rotate, when the boot is put on, along a guide section borne by the rear guides. 
     According to another characteristic of the device, the releasing mechanism consists of at least one mobile element having limited clearance whose movement, which is caused manually by the user when he wants to remove his boot, affects at least one of the catching members, so as to elongate the sole to allow the catching members of the sole to come out from the base retaining assemblies. 
     According to another characteristic of the device, the base has an is arrangement to block the orientation of the foot, consisting of a latch equipped with an index that is translationally mobile inside the latch, elastic means to return the index to the lowered position, and an index manipulating member. On the other hand, the attachment member on the sporting article has openings capable of receiving the index so as to prevent the rotation of the base. A groove on the upper surface of the latch can receive the index manipulating member. Thus, when the manipulating member is engaged in the groove, the index is in the lowered position and it blocks the rotation of the base by being engaged in one of the openings of the attachment member. When the user wishes to modify the orientation of the foot, he pulls on the manipulating member, and can thus, without having to take off the boot, rotate his foot about a vertical axis and then block it into the more appropriate angular position. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     The invention, its advantages and other characteristics will be better understood from the following description, with reference to the annexed schematic drawings, that illustrate, as a non-restrictive example, one embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the entire device. 
     FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the sole of the boot, 
     FIG. 3 is a side view of the device when the boot is put on. 
     FIG. 4 is a top view of the base and the attachment members on a sporting article. 
     FIGS. 5,  6  and  7  represent other possible embodiments of the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference to FIGS. 1,  2 ,  3  and  4 , the device comprises a base ( 2 ), fixed onto the sporting article ( 1 ) by virtue of an attachment member ( 4 ), and a boot ( 3 ). 
     The base ( 2 ) has front guide and retaining assemblies ( 21 ) and ( 23 ), rear guide and retaining assemblies ( 22 ) and ( 24 ), an arrangement ( 25 ) for blocking the orientation of the foot, a releasing mechanism ( 5 ), a support plate ( 26 ) on which the boot ( 3 ) comes to rest, and carries ankle retaining elements at the rear, not represented in the drawings but complying in every way to the prior state of the art, as disclosed in the document WO 93/14835. 
     At the level of its sole ( 33 ), the boot ( 3 ) has front ( 31 ) and rear ( 32 ) catching members. 
     The support plate ( 26 ) is substantially rectangular and has a length that is slightly less than the width of the sporting article ( 1 ), and a width that is greater than that of the boot ( 3 ). It rests on the sporting article ( 1 ) via its lower surface, and at its center, it has a wide circular slot whose upper edges form a bevel ( 27 ). 
     The front catching members ( 31 ) of the boot ( 3 ) are constituted of a cylindrical shaft crossing the sole ( 33 ) of the boot ( 3 ) along a horizontal and transverse axis near the first front quarter of the total length of the sole ( 33 ) and exceeding along either side thereof. 
     The front guides ( 21 ) are located on either side of the front half of the boot ( 3 ) and each forms, via its upper and rear surfaces, a section ( 211 ) that is inclined from the front to the rear and from the top to the bottom. The front retaining assemblies ( 23 ) arm located in alignment with the guides ( 21 ), and each consists of two vertical and parallel walls that have a recess, substantially in the shape of a frontwardly open U, whose lower portion constitutes an abutment surface ( 231 ), adapted to receive the front catching members ( 31 ) of the boot ( 3 ). The front guides ( 21 ) are substantially higher than the retaining assemblies ( 23 ), such that the front catching members ( 31 ) of the boot ( 3 ) can easily be applied therein when the toe moves towards the front. Moreover, the inclined section ( 211 ) causes the front catching members ( 31 ) to be engaged in the front retaining assemblies ( 23 ) and then rest against the abutment surfaces ( 231 ), a position in which the toe of the boot ( 3 ) can neither be lifted, nor translated towards the rear. The groove separating the two vertical walls receives the releasing mechanisms ( 5 ). 
     The releasing mechanisms consist of two levers, rotationally mounted about the transverse axles ( 9 ) borne by the front retaining assemblies ( 23 ) on either side of the foot. Each of these levers has a short arm ( 52 ) intended to rest against the front catching members ( 31 ) of the boot ( 3 ) and a long arm ( 51 ) extending upwardly and frontwardly when the device is locked, and which the user can activate along direction (F) when he wants to remove the boot. The short arm ( 52 ) has a section ( 521 ) comprising a recess capable of driving the catching members ( 31 ) of the boot ( 3 ) towards the front, when die lever rotates about its axle ( 9 ) in a clockwise direction. To this end, the axle ( 9 ) is comprised in a horizontal plane located above the abutment surface ( 231 ), The action of the releasing mechanisms ( 5 ) thus permits the catching members ( 31 ) of the boot ( 3 ) to be taken out from the retaining assemblies ( 23 ) of the base ( 2 ). 
     The rear guides ( 22 ) are located along the upper surface of the support plate ( 26 ) and are affixed thereto. They extend symmetrically with respect to a vertical longitudinal plane, on either side of the rear half of the boot ( 3 ), and each of them consists of a vertical wall whose upper and rear surfaces form a specific guide section ( 221 ), substantially inclined from the front to the rear and from the top to the bottom, whose distance from the points at the front abutment surfaces ( 231 ) increases progressively, along a regular curve, to reach a maximum that is slightly greater than the distance separating the front ( 31 ) and rear ( 32 ) catching members of the boot ( 3 ) at rest, and then rejoins he rear retaining assemblies ( 24 ). These assemblies consist of a recess, in the shape of a recumbent U, open towards the rear and made in the vertical wall, whose base forms an abutment surface ( 241 ) designed to receive the rear catching members ( 32 ) of the boot ( 3 ), when the heel of the boot ( 3 ) comes into contact with the support plate ( 26 ). 
     The rear catching members ( 32 ) of the boot ( 3 ) are constituted by a horizontal axe ( 321 ) crossing the sole ( 33 ) of the boot ( 3 ) perpendicularly to the axis of the foot, at the level of the last rear quarter of the total length of the sole ( 33 ) and ending on either side of the foot via two cylindrical projections each bearing a wheel ( 322 ) that can rotate freely about the axle ( 321 ). 
     When the front catching members ( 31 ) rest against the abutment surfaces ( 231 ) a pressure (P) from the user on the heel of the boot ( 3 ) applies the wheels ( 322 ) onto the guide section ( 221 ) on which they roll from the top to the bottom and from te front to the rear, thus forcing the sole ( 33 ) of the boot ( 3 ) to be progressively elongated. Then, the wheels ( 322 ) become engaged in the rear retaining assemblies ( 24 ) and rest against the abutment surfaces ( 241 ) while allowing the sole ( 33 ) to substantially revert to its original length via elasticity. To this end, the distance separating the front ( 231 ) and rear ( 241 ) abutment surfaces is substantially equal to the distance separating the front ( 31 ) and rear ( 32 ) catching members of the boot ( 3 ). 
     The attachment member ( 4 ) for attaching the device of the invention onto the sporting article ( 1 ) consists of a supporting disc, the lower surface edges of which have a bevel ( 43 ), such bevel being applied on the bevel ( 27 ) of the support plate ( 26 ), thus allowing the base ( 2 ) to be kept aligned with respect to the attachment member ( 4 ). On the other hand, the attachment member ( 4 ) has drill holes ( 41 ) for the passage of the binding screws. 
     Tightening these screws ensures the vertical retention of the base ( 2 ), but it still allows the base ( 2 ) to rotate about a vertical axis by the friction between the bevel ( 43 ) of the attachment member ( 4 ) and the bevel ( 27 ) of the base ( 2 ) and between the bottom of the support plate ( 26 ) and the top of the sporting article ( 1 ). 
     Furthermore, the supporting disc of the attachment member ( 4 ) has a series of openings ( 42 ) and ( 421 ) distributed along a peripheral circumference, and located at different angular positions with respect to the center of the disc, depending on the user&#39;s convenience, and cooperating with the arrangement ( 25 ) for blocking the orientation of the foot. 
     The latter consist of a latch borne by the top of the support plate ( 26 ), in the middle of its length, one of its ends being affixed to such plate whereas the other extends above the central slot. It comprises a vertical bore, open at the bottom and closed on the top, whose axis cuts the circumference of the supporting disc along which the openings ( 42 ) and ( 421 ) are made. The upper surface of the latch comprises a vertical drill hole ending in the bore and co-axial thereto, as well as a groove ( 251 ) parallel to the axis of the foot and centered along the axis of the bore. An index ( 6 ) is vertically translated inside the bore. It moves from a raised position, in which its lower end is in a horizontal plane located above the upper surface of the supporting disc of the attachment member ( 4 ), to a lowered position, towards which it is returned via a compression spring ( 8 ), and in which it can be engaged in the openings ( 42 ). The index ( 6 ) is constituted of a shaft that has a flange in its lower portion, and a manipulating member ( 7 ) at its upper end that can be engaged in the groove ( 251 ). The compression spring ( 8 ) rests between the top of the flange and the base of the bore, around the index ( 6 ), inside the bore. 
     The index ( 6 ) blocks the rotation of the base ( 2 ) when its lower end is engaged into an opening ( 42 ). If one wants it to rotate freely about itself, for example in order to bring the front foot in the axis of the sporting article ( 1 ), and the rear foot has been unshod in order to practice the technique of scooting, the manipulating member ( 7 ) need only be pulled upwardly and then rotated by a quarter of a revolution so that it abuts against the upper surface of the latch without being able to be engaged in the groove ( 251 ), thus preventing the index ( 6 ) from going back down and keeping the spring ( 8 ) compressed. 
     The blocking arrangement ( 25 ) is preferably located along the inner surface of the foot so as to be housed in the hollow left by the plantar arch in this area. The diameter of the attachment member ( 4 ) is thus enough to exceed the sole ( 33 ) of the boot ( 3 ) in this area. 
     This device is compatible with various means for retaining the ankle towards the rear. They can be external, i.e. be borne by the base ( 2 ), as described in the patent document WO 93/14835, or they can be internal and consist of stiffening means borne by the upper of the boot ( 3 ). 
     The length by which the catching members ( 31 ) and ( 32 ) exceed the sole ( 33 ) of the boot does not exceed 1.5 cm so that they do not impede walking. According to a preferred embodiment, the front ( 31 ) catching members of the boot ( 3 ) may also not exceed the sole ( 33 ). In this case, adequate recesses made in such sole beneath the foot make them accessible to the retaining assemblies ( 23 ), which are no longer located on each side of the foot but underneath it. 
     One embodiment is especially intended for snowboarding, a sport in which a given user is not called upon to vary the orientation of his foot by more than 90° during any session. In order that, while adjusting the orientation of the foot, the index ( 6 ) does not accidentally become engaged in the openings ( 42 ) that do not correspond to the adjustment desired by the user, the supporting disc of the attachment member ( 4 ) only has three openings ( 42 ) per each 90° angle sector. It is possible to envision, for example, an opening that allows the foot to be oriented substantially perpendicularly to the sporting article, so as to promote lateral stability and acrobatic maneuvers, another opening could be intended for practicing scooting by placing the front foot in the axis of the sporting article, and an intermediate opening could be used when speed is the primary factor. Additionally, in order to increase the number of possible adjustments, each 90° angle section of the supporting disc of the attachment member ( 4 ) can have openings ( 421 ) located at different angular positions, such that when the supporting disc is unscrewed, a 90° rotation thereof allows for new adjustments. According to another embodiment, the support disc does not comprise any opening except for the binding drill holes ( 41 ), but has an angular gradation distributed along 360°, the drilling of the openings ( 42 ), ( 421 ) being left at the user&#39;s discretion. 
     According to another embodiment, the sole ( 33 ) of the boot ( 3 ) comprises in its core, an elastic element connecting the front ( 31 ) and rear ( 32 ) catching members to each other. The elastic element is intended to control the tension that is exerted when the boot is put on. 
     According to FIG. 5 which represents another embodiment, the front ( 23 ) and rear ( 24 ) retaining assemblies cooperate to compress the sole ( 33 ) under the effect of a vertical pressure (P) on the heel of the boot ( 3 ). To this end, the front retaining assemblies ( 23 ) have a substantially recumbent U shaped recess in their rear surface, the recess being open towards the rear and its base having an abutment surface ( 231 ) intended to receive the front catching members ( 31 ) of the boot ( 3 ). Furthermore, the rear retaining assemblies ( 24 ) have, on their frontal surface, a guide section ( 221 ) that the rear catching members ( 32 ) of the boot ( 3 ) cross from top to bottom, and whose distance from the points of the front abutment surface ( 231 ) reduces progressively to a reach a minimum that is substantially less than the distance separating the front ( 31 ) and rear ( 32 ) catching members of the boot ( 3 ) at rest. This section rejoins a recumbent U shaped recess, open towards the front, whose base has an abutment surface ( 241 ) intended to receive the rear catching members ( 32 ) of the boot ( 3 ). The releasing assemblies ( 5 ) consist of a lever that is mobile about an axle ( 9 ) whose lower end rests against the front catching members ( 31 ) and pushes them back when the user exerts a force (F) on its other end. 
     FIGS. 6 and 7 represent a boot intended to rest on a base as described in FIG. 1, but do not comprise the releasing assemblies ( 5 ). These assemblies are replaced by a device borne by the sole ( 33 ) of the boot ( 3 ). The sole ( 33 ) comprises a central recess ( 35 ) extended via a groove ( 36 ) receiving a flexible element ( 12 ) of a steel cable or other type, connecting the front catching members ( 31 ) of the boot ( 3 ) to a lever ( 11 ) mobile about an axle ( 14 ) borne by a support member ( 13 ) affixed to the rear surface of the upper of the boot ( 3 ). The front catching members ( 31 ) of boot ( 3 ) consist of a crank that can be rotated about an axis crossing the sole perpendicularly to the foot, and whose projections on either side of the sole ( 33 ) am off-centered with respect to the rotational axis and accessible by virtue of groove ( 36 ) made in the sole ( 33 ). The flexible element ( 12 ) is connected to the catching members by their central portion which is also off centered. According to this embodiment, when the lever ( 11 ) is in the raised position, the flexible element ( 12 ) is tensed and keeps the front catching members ( 31 ) at the rear. In this position, the user can put on the boot by engaging such catching members ( 31 ) into the retaining assemblies ( 23 ), and then by lowering his heel so as to lock the rear catching members ( 32 ) in the rear retaining assemblies ( 24 ). To take off the boot, he activates the lever ( 11 ) along the direction (S), thus resulting in the relaxation of the flexible element and enabling the front catching members to rotate about their axes in the direction (S). Thus the user can withdraw his foot to take out the rear catching members ( 32 ) from the rear retaining assemblies ( 24 ).