Patent Publication Number: US-9428319-B2

Title: Inflatable snowshoe and rucksack for its storage

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION INFORMATION 
     This application is a 371 of International Application PCT/BG2012/000003 filed 2 Feb. 2012 entitled “Inflatable Snowshoe And Rucksack For Its Storage”, which was published in the English language on 9 Aug. 2012, with International Publication Number WO 2012/103605 A1, and which claims priority from Bulgaria Patent Application 110843 filed 4 Feb. 2011, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a snowshoe and rucksack for its storage with an application in the sports sphere and in particular on snow covered and ice-frozen terrains. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,763,617 discloses an inflatable snowshoe, which includes a corpus and a number of crosswise and longitudinal strips, covering the corpus, thus forming a horizontal base. The corpus is a cylindrical, air-filled chamber the free ends of which are joined with a clamp in a way to form a closed contour in the form of a drop. The corpus has an air valve. Fixing belts are provisioned for the frontal part of the shoe. 
     The known snowshoe is intended only for leveled terrains and small slopes. On greater slopes, its air chamber tends to bend under the pressure thus becoming unstable. The availability of numerous crosswise and longitudinal strips, forming the bottom of the snowshoe also effect its stability. The rear part of shoe is free, due to which the person using the snowshoe can not enjoy considerable stability. 
     TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The main goal of the invention is to create an inflatable snowshoe with a stable and reliable construction for use on various terrains as well as to be easily transportable and be easy to assemble and disassemble. 
     Another objective of the invention is the designing of a rucksack for storing the snowshoe in its inflatable state, which should also serve as an efficient back protector. 
     This task is solved by an inflatable snowshoe that includes a corpus and fixing belts for the shoe. According to the invention, the corpus consists of a cylindrical air chamber and a protective case. The air chamber forms a closed contour with the shape of an elliptic ring with a circular cross section and it is placed in the protective case. An air valve is mounted on the air chamber and the end of this valve passes through an opening, formed on the rear of the protective case. This case consists of separate sections made of strong, wear-resistant material where the separate sections are of varying lengths, joined permanently one to another. Three of the sections, forming the frontal part of the protective case, are raised above the horizontal axis at an angle of α, which falls within from 35° to 40° range. There is a zipper, located along the entire internal circumference, which ensures access to the air chamber. In the frontal part, sideways to the interior surface of the protective case and under the level of the zipper, the fixing belts of the frontal part of the shoe are mounted. In the rear part, sideways to the exterior surface of the protective case and under the level of the zipper, the fixing belts of the shoe&#39;s heels are mounted. The fixing belts for the frontal and rear part of the shoe have lockable buckles with the respective adjusting devices. The locking buckles are protected from freezing by a protective case. The lower part of the fixing belts, which contacts the terrain, is located under the exterior level of the protective case at a distance of “h”. Movable metal spikes are mounted to the lower part of the fixing belts for the frontal part of the shoe. Reinforcement strips are mounted on the exterior side of the side sections of the protective case as well as on the lower surface of the fixing belts contacting the terrain. 
     The specially designed rucksack for storing the snowshoe in its inflated state consists of a case and adjustable tightening strips, mounted immobile in the upper and lower rear part of the casing. The free ends of the strips end with lockable buckles. The case is formed of separate sections with immobile joints between each other. Three of the sections in the upper part of the case are placed at an angle β relative to the side sections so that the profile of the case corresponds to the case of the snowshoe. At least ⅓ of the perimeter of the sidewise located exterior surrounding surface of the case there is a zipper. The case of the rucksack has a main and an additional section divided by a separator. The main section is larger than the additional and permits the placing of one inflated snowshoe. On the exterior surface of the side walls rings are mounted. The case of the rucksack and the protective casing of the snowshoe are made of one and the same wear-resistant material. 
     The protective casing, made of wear-resistant material, protects the air chamber from damages and punctures by hard, sharp objects. The reinforcing strips add an additional security to the snowshoe against damages. The zipper on the protective case permits the quick and easy placement and extracting of the air chamber from the case. 
     Thanks to the raised frontal part of the protective case, and from here the frontal part of the snowshoe itself, the easy and unimpeded climbing of sloping terrains is easy as the frontal part does not permit the front of the shoe to get dug in the snow. 
     The easy and quick mounting of the spikes adds to the unobstructed movements on icy ground. 
     The availability of fixing belts for the frontal and rear part of the shoe fasten the shoe to the snowshoe and ensure stable walking. The belt adjusters permit the use of the snowshoe with various shoe sizes. 
     The location of the lower part of the fixing belts under the level of the protective case guarantees a firmer grip of the terrain. 
     The locking buckles have a protective case which protects them from the accumulation of snow and a possible subsequent freezing. 
     The rucksack with the inflated snowshoe in it protects the user (the person wearing the gear) from unwanted traumas when falling. Thus there is no necessity of a back protector and this decreases considerably the overall weight of the gear during longer marches. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE ENCLOSED FIGURES 
       The invention is further explained with the example of preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  shows a general axonometric view of the snowshoe without the spikes; 
         FIG. 2  shows an axonometric view of the frontal part of the snowshoe; 
         FIG. 3  shows a part of the protective casing when the air chamber is placed in it; 
         FIG. 4  shows a side view of the snowshoe with a shoe placed in it; 
         FIG. 5  is a view of the snowshoe from below, with mounted spikes; 
         FIG. 5 a    shows a general view of the spikes; 
         FIG. 6  shows a general view of the rucksack containing the inflated snowshoe; 
         FIG. 6 a    shows a side view of the rucksack. 
     
    
    
     EXAMPLES OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The inflatable snowshoe, illustrated in the attached figures, contains a corpus and fixing belts. The corpus consists of a cylindrical air chamber  1  and protective case  2 . The air chamber  1  forms a closed contour having the form of an elliptical ring with a circular cross section and is placed in the protective case  2 . The air chamber  1  has a valve  6  mounted on it the end  11  of which passes through an opening  10  formed in the rear part of the protective case  2 . Via the valve  6 , the inflation of the air chamber  1  is performed. The protective case  2  is made of separate sections of a strong, wear-resistant material. The separate sections are of varying length and are sewn one to another in a way which gives a cylindrical profile to the protective case  2 . The side sections of the protective case  2  are of greater length that the frontal and rear sections. The frontal part of protective case  2  contains three sections which are raised in relation to the horizontal axis under an angle of α, which falls within the interval between 35° to 40°. Over the entire internal circumference of protective case  2  there is a zipper  3 , ensuring quick and easy placing of the air chamber  1  in casing  2 . In the frontal part and sideways to the interior surface of the protective case  2 , under the level of the zipper  3  fixing belts  4   a  are permanently mounted for the front part of the shoe. In the rear and sideways to the exterior surface of protective case  2 , under the level of the zipper  3  fixing belts  4   b  are permanently mounted for the heel of the shoe. The fixing belts  4   a  and  4   b  respectively for the front and rear part of the shoe are protected against freezing via the protective case  8 . The adjusting devices  7 ,  7 ′ to the buckles can be widened and narrowed depending on the size of the shoe. The lower part of the fixing belts  4   a  and  4   b , which contacts with the terrain, is located under the level of the exterior surface of protective case  2  at a distance of “h”. To the lower part of the fixing belts  4   a  for the frontal part of the surface, metal spikes  9  are mounted in a mobile fashion and they ensure a better grip of ice-frozen terrains. On the exterior side of the side sections of protective case  2 , as well as on the lower surface of fixing belts  4   a  and  4   b , which contacts with the terrain, reinforcement strips  12  are placed. 
     The rucksack shown on  FIGS. 6 and 6   a  is especially designed for the storage of the snowshoe in its inflated state and under given conditions it also plays the role of a back protector. 
     The profile of the rucksack corresponds completely to the profile of the snowshoe. The rucksack includes a corpus  13  and adjustable tightening strips  14 ,  14 ′ which are immobile and mounted on the upper and lower parts of the corpus  13 . The free ends of the strips  14 ,  14 ′ are fitted with lockable buckles  5 ′. The corpus  13  is formed of separate sections  15   a ,  15   b ,  15   c ,  15   d ,  15   e ,  15   f ,  15   g , which are permanently joined one to another. Three of the sections— 15   a ,  15   b ,  15   c  in the upper part of the corpus  13  are placed at an angle of β relative to side sections  15   d  and  15   g  so that the profile of corpus  13  corresponds to the profile of case  2  of the snowshoe. On at least ⅓ of the perimeter of the exterior side surface of the corpus  13  a zipper  16  is mounted. The corpus  13  of the rucksack has a main section  17  and an additional section  18 , divided by a separator wall. The main section  17  is larger that the additional one  18  and permits the placement of the snowshoe in its inflated state. This way, reinforced by the inflated snowshoe, the corpus  13  serves as a back protector. Along the exterior surface of the side walls of corpus  13  rings  19 ,  19 ′ are mounted. The corpus  13  and the protective case  2  of the snowshoe are made of one and the same wear-resistant material. 
     Using the Invention 
     In a disassembled state, the snowshoe is placed in a small sack with a size of 20-15-5. After taking it out of the sack the zipper  3  of the protective case  2  is opened and in the interior of the case  2  the air chamber  1  is placed in away that the end  11  of the valve  6  passes through the opening  10 , made in the casing  2 . The zipper  3  is then closed. With a pump, compressed air is entered in the air chamber  1  until the air chamber  1  completely fills the interior volume of case  2 . After this the snowshoe is put on and via the fixing belts  4   a  and  4   b  and buckles  5  the shoe is fixed in its frontal and rear part. 
     When necessary and during the crossing of steep and hard terrains the spikes  9  can be mounted to the lower part of the belts  4   a.    
     After use, the valve  6  is opened and the air is let out of the air chamber  1 . The disassembled snowshoe is returned back in the sack. 
     In certain cases the person, using the snowshoe, does not disassemble it but after taking it off the foot it is placed in the main section  17  of corpus  13  of the rucksack. In the additional section  18  the air pump is kept. The rings  19 ,  19 ′ are used to hold ski sticks or some other equipment in order to free the hands of the user to give him/her better support when crossing difficult terrains. After this, the rucksack is placed on the back of the user and via the tightening strips  14  it is fixed to his/her body. In this way, the corpus  13  is reinforced with the inflated snowshoe and serves as a back protector against possible traumas and injuries.