Patent Application
20210212411
This application is based upon French Patent Application No. FR 20 00210, filed Jan. 10, 2020, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference thereto in its entirety, and the priority of which is claimed under 35 U.S.C. § 119.
The present invention relates to boots having an outer shell within which a liner is positioned. A boot of this type can be used such as for winter sports and, for example, for the practice of winter sports. The outer shell is mainly rigid and provides support for the user's foot whereas the inner liner is more flexible and has for a function to provide comfort for the foot.
Boots, such as alpine ski boots, can particularly include an outer shell comprising a lower portion and an upper portion configured to wrap around the lower leg area. The upper portion and the lower portion can essentially be different portions of the same structure, as in a so-called rear entry boot. However, as a general rule, the upper portion of the shell of the boot is a collar that is journaled on the lower portion of the shell so as to allow a certain angular movement of the leg in relation to the foot.
The lower portion has an opening at the top to enable the boot to be put on. This opening is closed by the overlapping of flaps, or overlaps, which are retained against one another by closure buckles. In most of the so-called overlap boots, two hooks are used to close the lower portion of the shell, with one of these hooks located in the vicinity of the instep of the user.
The area of the instep is critical for the comfort of the skier. This is the particular area in which it is possible to exert a force to keep the heel of the skier firmly in place at the bottom of the boot. Therefore, one of the tighteners of the boot is systematically located closest to what is sometimes referred to as the short heel perimeter. However, this area is in the immediate vicinity of the ankle joint so that, in order not to hinder movement, the position of the instep tightening hook is offset downward. This hook is then positioned opposite the convex area of the top of the foot.
The aforementioned convex area, which constitutes the lower portion of the instep, is particularly sensitive for some people. Therefore, these skiers may have to turn to custom ski boot fitting professionals, commonly known as “bootfitters.”
Bootfitters can use a number of methods to adjust a ski boot as much as possible to the particular shape of a user's foot. In particular, they can deform, grind the shell, in all areas where this is possible. However, it is sometimes difficult to intervene in the area of the instep due to the presence of the instep tightening hook. Furthermore, the modifications made to the shell in this area by the bootfitter may simply have no effect on comfort when the user tightens the boot.
Discomfort in an alpine ski boot may increase when the inner liner has its own tightening means, such as laces, for example. Indeed, the presence of means for tightening the inner liner under the shell generates an over-thickness and possibly a discomfort for the user. Therefore, a number of manufacturers choose to omit specific tightening means for the liner, to the detriment of the quality of foot support in the ski boot. In addition, even when present, inner tightening is often difficult to adjust in the area of the foot due to hindrance caused by the outer upper.
Finally, foot support in the area of the ankle remains a key element in the performance of the skier. Therefore, a number of users are sometimes faced with a dilemma: tighten the boot strongly to have good support of the ankle, to the detriment of comfort, or tighten the boot less strongly to favor comfort and avoid pain, to the detriment of performance.
The invention provides a sports boot having an outer shell and an inner liner that does not have the drawbacks of the prior art.
The invention therefore provides a sports boot, in particular an alpine ski boot, that improves support of the foot and in particular support of the ankle while guaranteeing greater comfort compared to the boots of the prior art.
The invention also facilitates the work of bootfitters when they modify a mass-produced boot to conform it to the foot of a user.
The invention provides a boot having an outer upper within which an inner comfort element is inserted, the outer upper comprising at least two portions movable with respect to one another, a tightener being provided to bring the two portions closer to one another in order to adapt the volume of the boot to the foot of user, the tightener comprising an outer tractor, a first end of which is fixed to a first portion of the outer upper, and a second end of which is in relation with an actuator fixed to a second portion of the outer upper, and an inner tractor mainly positioned under the outer upper, the inner tractor being in relation with the same actuator.
In one embodiment of the invention, the boot is an alpine ski boot comprising an outer upper and an inner liner. In its lower portion, the outer upper comprises two flanks (a medial flank and a lateral flank) having upper ends, namely the medial flap and the lateral flap, respectively, that are movable with respect to one another and overlap one another to tighten the boot.
In a particular version, the connector interconnects the inner tractor and the outer tractor.
In a particular version, the tightener is positioned in the area of the upper portion of the instep, in the vicinity of the short heel perimeter line.
In certain embodiments of the invention, the actuator is fixed on the lateral flank of the lower portion by a first outer anchor, and the outer tractor is fixed on the medial flank of the lower portion by a second outer anchor whereas the inner tractor is fixed to the outer upper by an inner anchoring.
Also according to the invention a boot can be provided which, in addition to having the characteristics of the five preceding paragraphs, can also include any technically acceptable combination of the following characteristics:
Other characteristics and advantages of the invention can be better understood from the description that follows, with reference to the annexed drawings illustrating, by way of non-limiting embodiments, how the invention can be carried out, and in which:
The drawings are given as examples and are not limiting to the invention. They constitute schematic representations intended to facilitate the understanding of the invention and are not necessarily at scale for practical applications. In particular, the thicknesses and dimensions of the various portions can be modified.
The outer upper 1 is in the form of a relatively rigid shell produced by injection of a thermoplastic material such as polyurethane (PU), polyamide (PA), polypropylene (PP), or any other equivalent material or any combination of the aforementioned materials. It is possible to produce the outer upper in a different manner, for example by assembling a plurality of textile and/or plastic panels or by stiffening plies of fibers (carbon, glass, basalt, flax, etc.) within a thermosetting or thermoplastic resin matrix.
The outer upper 1 is mainly comprised of a lower portion 11, provided to receive the foot of the user, and an upper portion 12 provide to surround the lower leg. The upper portion 12 is fixed to the lower portion 11 with a slight possibility of movement to accompany the flexion generated by the ankle joint. The lower portion 11 is comprised of a sole 113 from which extends a heel counter 114, a toe box 115, as well as a medial flank 111 and a lateral flank 112 connecting the toe box 115 and the heel counter 114 on the medial side and the lateral side, respectively, of the boot. The upper end of the medial flank 111 as well as that of the lateral flank 112 are substantially movable in relation to one another and in relation to the remainder of the outer upper. In the embodiment of the invention that is selected here, the upper ends of the flanks constitute flaps, also referred to as “overlaps”, which overlap one another to close the upper opening 116 and to make it impervious. As is more visible in
Various tighteners are positioned in various locations of the outer upper in order to close the boot and make it impervious, on the one hand, and to adapt the inner volume to the foot of the user, on the other hand. The outer upper of the boot shown in
The tighteners of the upper portion 12 comprise two rack buckles 33, 34, which are commonly used in the field of alpine ski boots. The upper portion is comprised of an open collar having two free ends overlapping one another. One end carries a toggle buckle, and the other end carries a rack 328 having a plurality of teeth. A toggle buckle is shown in top view in
The buckle 32 is fixed to the outer upper via a yoke 324. A plate 323 for actuating the tightener is pivotally mounted on the yoke 324 by virtue of the two pins 326. The buckle 321, strictly speaking, is connected to the plate 323 via a tie rod 322, which is pivotally mounted due to an axle 325 in a notch provided in the center of the plate 323. A pin 327 positioned at the distal end of the buckle 321 is provided to cooperate with the teeth of the rack 328, the cooperation of the pin with any one of the teeth ensuring a different adjustment of the tighteners.
Tighteners 33 and 34 are therefore tighteners of the type just described. The upper tightener 35, commonly referred to as the lower leg tightener, is of a different type. This is a tightener that offers more flexibility and a greater range of adjustment.
Tightening for the lower portion 11 of the outer upper comprises a rack buckle 32 similar to that described above and a notched strap and ratchet tightener 31, commonly called a “ratchet”. The rack buckle 32 ensures the tightening of the forefoot portion of the lower portion of the upper, whereas the notched strap and ratchet tightener 31 ensures the tightening in the area of the upper portion of the instep.
As can be seen in
The medial flap 1111 overlaps the lateral flap 1121. However, the flaps are sufficiently movable in relation to one another to enable them to be spaced apart, thus enlarging the upper opening 116, on the one hand, and to slide over one another thus reducing the inner volume of the boot, on the other hand.
The characteristic tightening device of the invention has an actuator 30. In this view, and in the subsequent views, the actuator is shown schematically as a first functional box in dotted lines and is designated by the reference numeral 30 because, as explained below, this actuator can take a plurality of forms without departing from the scope of the invention. In particular, it may be comprised of a plate of the ratchet and notched strap tightener 31 shown in
The actuator 30 is fixed, or can be removably fixed, to the lateral flank 112 of the outer upper due to a first outer anchor 301. It is functionally connected to the medial flank 111 via an outer tractor 50 so as to provide tightening of the upper. The outer tractor 50 is fixed, or alternatively, can be removably fixed, to the lateral flank 111 of the outer upper via a second outer anchor 502.
A tightener of the invention further comprises an inner tractor 60 that is essentially positioned under the outer upper and fixed thereto via an inner anchor 603. The outer tractor 50 and the inner tractor 60 are associated such that the actuator 30 acts simultaneously on the inner and outer tractors. The connector that performs this function are shown in the form of a second functional box in dotted lines and is designated by the reference numeral 40.
In
In
Irrespective of the configuration selected for the connector 40 between the inner tractor and the outer tractor, the operation of the entire tightener is generally the same. On the one hand, the outer tractor tensioned by the actuator conventionally provides tightening of the outer upper. That is to say that the medial flank 111 comes close to the lateral flank 112. On the other hand, the inner tractor 60, positioned under the outer upper, acts on the inner comfort element 2, which is itself positioned within the upper. In fact, they enable the inner comfort element to be tightened against the foot of the user. In order for the action of the inner tractor to be significant on the inner comfort element 2, it is important that the inner anchor 601 be positioned as low as possible within the outer upper. In the first embodiment, the inner anchor 601 is placed in the area of the sole 113. It is therefore positioned below the inner comfort element.
The inner 50 and outer 60 tractors can be produced in a number of different ways. For example, the inner tractor can be flat and relatively flexible. It is indeed necessary to prevent them from forming an excessive over-thickness. For example, they can be comprised of a textile strap, a cable, or a thermoplastic strip. In advantageous embodiments, they are made from an elastic material, or include an elastic portion. The outer tractor can be of the same type as the inner tractor, that is to say a strap, whether elastic or not, a cable, etc. But they can also be comprised of a conventional tightening buckle, such as the buckle 321 shown in
A tightener according to the invention can make it possible to achieve a weight reduction because common actuators simultaneously provide inner tightening of the comfort element and outer tightening of the outer upper, but also to improve the efficiency of the outer tightening. Indeed, the outer tightening of the outer upper is all the easier as the tightening of the inner comfort element does not have to be carried out transitively by the outer tractor but by a separate inner tractor. Nevertheless, one of the major advantages of a tightener according to the invention is to improve the support of the ankle by providing inner tightening thereof. This is particularly the case when the inner tractor has a certain elasticity.
The two portions 61, 62 of the inner tractor 60 are interconnected by a connector 70 positioned above the inner comfort element 2 in the vicinity of the upper opening 116 of the outer upper. The connector 70 can take a plurality of configurations.
In
In this embodiment, the actuator 30 is comprised of a cable spool fixed to the lateral flank 112 by a first outer anchor 301 and of a cable fixed to the medial flank 111 by a second outer anchor 302. The inner tractor (not visible in
The rotation of the wheel of the actuator 30 exerts traction on the cable 38, which subsequently exerts traction, not only on the connector 40 and the inner and outer tractors associated therewith, but also on the medial 111 and lateral 112 flanks due to the keepers 303 and to the anchor 302. This embodiment allows for an additional weight reduction compared to the first embodiments.
The tighteners of the upper portion 12 comprise two rack buckles 33, 34. The tighteners of the lower portion 11 are comprised of cable tightening. These are similar to those described for the third embodiment in
The strap 80 comprises two portions. The first of these portions constitutes the outer tractor 50. This portion of the strap 80 is fixed to the lateral flank 111 of the lower portion of the outer upper via an outer anchor 502. The second portion of the strap 80 constitutes the inner tractor 60. This portion penetrates within the lower portion 11 and is fixed thereto via the medial connection 16.
According to the invention, the inner tractor 60 and the outer tractor 50 are connected to the same actuator 30. Thus, when the user exerts a rotation on the wheel of the actuator 30, the tightening is carried out simultaneously on the outside of the lower portion 11 through the various keepers 303 and the outer tractor 50, but also on the inside of the lower portion 11, due to the inner tractor 60.
The present invention, although described here with a small number of embodiments, can be available in a multitude of configurations. Indeed, any technically acceptable combination of the actuator 30 (buckle, ratchet, spool, etc.), of the connector 40 (fixed, adjustable, free), and of the connector 70 of the inner tractor can be utilized without leaving the scope of the invention.
Further, at least because the various embodiments of the invention are disclosed herein in a manner that enables one to make and use them as described and shown, such as for simplicity or efficiency, for example, the invention can be practiced in the absence of any additional element or additional structure that is not specifically disclosed herein.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000210 | Jan 2020 | FR | national |
