Patent Publication Number: US-9895595-B2

Title: Ski grippers

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not applicable. 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not applicable. 
     THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
     Not applicable. 
     INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM (EFS-WEB) 
     Not applicable. 
     STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR A JOINT INVENTOR 
     Not applicable. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present application relates to gripping strips for skis. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     WO 99/04870 describes an expansion of the skis&#39; width and length with the help of a “tip shape modifier” and a “tail shape modifier”. These parts are being mounted to the skis in front of and behind the binding respectively, and thus make the skis better suited for downhill skiing in deep powder snow. The two parts are each divided into several sections, which are being attached to each other and to the skis. These can be taken on and off the skis according to changing conditions, and be carried in a backpack. This may not be a bad idea, but it seems after all to be somewhat complex and cumbersome in use. And the ski edges have to be completely straight, without any side cut where the sections are to be threaded onto the skis lengthwise. 
     NO 309928 has the gripping surface as a part of the actual ski. It goes along the most of the outer side of the ski base/sliding surface, and constitutes about ¼ of the ski width. The gripping surface is elevated and parallel to the sliding surface, and is equipped with skins or other gripping agents. So to get grip, also here stepping a bit over onto the outer side of the foot is required. An advantage with this solution compared to my own, is that nothing is added to the skis&#39; weight or width, and they retain their suitability for ski tracks. And the bottom outer edges of the skis will still be useable for breaking or swinging. But for good reasons, the gripping surface is here parallel to, and not oblique to the sliding surface. A result of this should be that the grip in hard and icy conditions will hardly be so good, because only the outermost part of the gripping surface should then be in contact with the substrate. To avoid losing too much of the ski&#39;s support surface, the gripping surface can not constitute more than about ¼ of the ski width, which makes the possibility of a quite large gripping surface with much grip rather limited. And the skis have to be reworked, which can be quite inconvenient as well as its adding much cost to the skis. For no major ski producers have been willing to produce these skis, and the ski reworking is a one-man enterprise on the inventor&#39;s home place. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     On a pair of skis, a strip is mounted longitudinally to the outer side of each ski along the ski&#39;s center portion, with a piece of skins attached to the strip&#39;s slightly sloping underside, in order to give an optimal grip as well as an optimal glide to the ski. The strips/Ski Grippers give a better grip than most waxed as well as waxless skis, and no grip wax or other grip agents underneath the skis will reduce the glide. The Ski Grippers are meant fairly easily to be taken on and off the skis, and the same pair can be used on more than one pair of skis. No modification of the skis is required, and Ski Grippers can be used with all sorts of cross country skis. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a line drawings of a ski and ski gripper/strip as seen from below according to the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a cross section of the ski and Ski Gripper/strip shown in  FIG. 1  at the ski midpoint. 
     
    
    
     A: Ski 
     B: Ski&#39;s underside/sliding surface 
     C: Ski Gripper/strip 
     D: Underside of Ski Gripper/strip 
     E: Skins/gripping surface 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Ski Grippers, or gripping strips for skis, is a device initially meant to replace grip waxing of skis, which at times can be quite problematic and time consuming. And the problem of wearing the grip wax off the skis in hard and icy conditions is being eliminated. But Ski Grippers can also replace so-called waxless skis, and use of skins for mountain and touring skis. 
     On a pair of skis, a strip (C) of wood or another material is mounted longitudinally and laterally to the outer side of each ski (A) along the ski center portion/grip zone. To secure continuous contact with the substrate throughout its length, the strip must be mounted with at least 3 attachment points, one at the strip&#39;s midpoint and one at each strip end. The strip should be mounted tightly to the ski (A), to avoid snow or anything to wedge in between. 
     The ski&#39;s and the strip&#39;s abutting bottom edges may be smooth high, or the strip&#39;s edge slightly higher, to be sure that the strip&#39;s edge will not cut into the substrate in the sliding phase. The strip&#39;s width can span from 17 mm (adapted to ski tracks for the narrowest skis), and up to about 60 mm, depending on ski width and on how much grip which is desired. The strip&#39;s height can be from about 15 mm to about 25 mm, dependent on ski thickness, and the length from about 600 to about 800 mm, dependent on ski length. The strip&#39;s underside (D) is, laterally from inner to outer edge, sloping about 5 degrees upward relative to the ski&#39;s underside (A), which underside constitutes the sliding surface (B). The strip&#39;s underside (D) has an interleaving covering most of it&#39;s surface, with a depth of about 2 mm, into which interleaving a piece of skins fits and is attached, which skins constitutes the gripping surface (E). The inner edge of the gripping surface (E) will then go about 5 mm from the outer edge of the sliding surface (A), and the anterior, outer, and rear edges of the gripping surface (E) will go about 2 mm from the respective adjacent bottom edges of the strip. 
     Due to the described angle between the sliding surface (B) and the gripping surface (E), only the gripping surface (E) will be in contact with and rest on the substrate to give optimal grip, when this side is laid flat on the substrate. When the sliding surface is laid flat on the substrate, only this side will be in contact with and rest on the substrate to give optimal glide, due to the described distance as well as to the angle between the two surfaces. Hence in order to get grip, stepping a bit over onto the outer side of the foot is required, which is easier than stepping over the opposite way. And with the Ski Grippers mounted on the outer side of the skis, the skis&#39; inner bottom edges are retained for plow breaking in downhills. The skis&#39; outer bottom edges will of course not be suitable for breaking or swinging, unless the Ski Grippers are taken off the skis. In looser snow conditions, the ski will of course more or less sink down, so that the gripping surface will come in contact with the substrate in the sliding phase, and reduce the glide a bit. So a separate part, not included in this application, a short front end with a tip, is intended to be used with the Ski Grippers, to “clear trail” for the gripping surface.