Device for retaining a boot on a gliding board

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6247709
  • Patent Number
    6,247,709
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, January 28, 1999
    26 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, June 19, 2001
    23 years ago
Abstract
A device for retaining a boot on a gliding board having a base with an upper surface and a lower surface, at least one cavity being provided in the thickness of the base between the upper surface and the lower surface to house a pad. The pad projects at least partially with respect to the upper surface when it is housed in the cavity. The device has an arrangement allowing a removable fastening of the pad in the cavity.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates to the field of devices for retaining a boot on a gliding board, and particularly to devices used for snowboarding.




2. Description of Background and Relevant Information




Snowboarding is generally done with a board and boots retained on the board by retaining devices.




Certain devices have a base, provided to be affixed to the board, and means for retaining the boot on the base.




Pads, housed in cavities of the base so as to touch the sole of the boot, allow absorbing impacts related to the steering of the board. The structures of the pads and cavities are such that each pad is retained in a cavity by the board when the base is affixed to the board. When the base is detached from the board, each pad can be removed from its receiving cavity.




The removability of the pads facilitates their replacement when they are worn out but hinders the operations of mounting, adjusting or maintaining the devices.




This problem is particularly perceptible by the people whose occupation is to rent gliding boards to users, since these people must frequently handle the retaining devices to adjust and maintain them.




To overcome this problem, the pads are glued in the cavities. It then becomes difficult and tedious to replace them when they are worn out.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




An object of the invention is a retaining device on which at least one pad can be removably retained without it being difficult or tedious to change it.




To this end, the invention proposes a device for retaining a boot on a gliding board, the device including a base which has an upper surface provided to receive the boot sole, and a lower surface provided to take support on the board, at least one cavity being provided in the thickness of the base between the upper surface and the lower surface to house a pad, the pad projecting at least partially with respect to the upper surface when it is housed in the cavity.




The device includes a means allowing a removable fastening of the pad on the base in the cavity.




This arrangement makes changing the pad easy and quick. Further, it is also easy to mount, adjust or maintain the device.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS




Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will be better understood from the following description, with reference to the attached drawings that show, by way of a non-limiting example, how the invention can be embodied, and in which:





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of a device according to the invention;





FIG. 2

is an exploded perspective view of a part of the device;





FIG. 3

is a cross-section taken along the line III—III of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 4

is a cross-section taken along line IV—IV of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 5

is an exploded perspective view of a device according to an alternate embodiment of the invention.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION




An example of an embodiment of the invention is described with regard to

FIGS. 1-4

.




A retaining device


1


, seen in

FIG. 1

, allows retaining a boot


2


on a board


3


.




The device


1


has a base


4


retained on the board


3


by a retaining arrangement, well known to one skilled in the art, shown in the form of a disk


5


and screws


6


,


7


,


8


,


9


. The board


3


is shown only partially for reasons of convenience.




A retaining mechanism


10


is affixed to the base


4


to retain the boot


2


on the base


4


.




The retaining mechanism


10


is shown in the form of a structure that allows a removable fastening of an anchoring means


11


, itself affixed to the boot


2


by an appropriate means.




It follows that the boot


2


, shown in dotted lines for better understanding, can be removably retained on the base


4


.




The retaining mechanism


10


and the boot


2


associated to the anchoring means


11


are known from document FR 96 13158, the disclosure of which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference thereto in its entirety and will not be described in further detail here.




The device


1


has front


12


and rear


13


pads provided to touch the sole


14


of the boot


2


when the latter is retained on the base


4


.




The pads


12


,


13


are removably retained on the base


4


, as understood better from

FIGS. 2

,


3


, and


4


.




The partial perspective view of

FIG. 2

shows that the pad


12


can be introduced in a cavity


15


of the base


4


to be retained in the cavity


15


.




As better understood from

FIG. 3

, the pad


12


has the shape of a plate or flange, having an upper surface


16


provided to touch the base


4


, and a lower surface


17


provided to touch the board


3


.




A boss


18


projects from the upper surface


16


of the plate, (or flange) the boss


18


having a contact surface


10


provided to contact the boot


2


, and a peripheral edge or side


20


connecting the contact surface


19


to the upper surface


16


.




The cavity (or opening)


15


extends through the thickness t of the base


4


, the cavity (or opening)


15


having an upper portion


21


which receives the boss


18


of the pad


12


, and a lower portion


22


which receives the plate of the pad


12


.




As better understood also from

FIG. 2

, the upper portion


21


of the cavity (or opening)


15


has a an inner peripheral edge


23


whose length is substantially equal to the length of the peripheral edge (or side)


20


of the boss


18


of the pad


12


.




Thus, the pad


12


can be introduced into the cavity (or opening)


15


on the side of a lower surface


24


of the base


4


, the surface


24


being provided to take support on the board


3


. Portions (or tabs


25


,


26


,


27


,


28


,


29


,


30


of the plate, (or flange) demarcating the upper surface


16


, prevent any displacement of the pad


12


in a direction going from the lower surface


24


towards an upper surface


31


of the base


4


.




A displacement of the pad


12


with respect to the base


4


, in any direction substantially parallel to the upper surface


31


, is prevented by the contact of the peripheral edge (or side)


20


inner with the peripheral edge


23


.




Fastening means oppose a displacement of the pad


12


with respect to the base


4


in a direction going from the upper surface


31


towards the lower surface


24


, i.e., in an unfastening direction of the pad


12


with respect to the base


4


.




These fastening means are shown in the form of bosses, or protrusions such as the bosses


32


,


33


, that project with respect to the peripheral edge


23


of the upper portion


21


of the cavity or opening


15


.




The interaction of the bosses or protrusions of the inner peripheral edge


23


with the pad


12


is shown in FIG.


4


. In this figure, bosses or protrusions


33


and


34


of the edge


23


are housed in notches


35


,


36


for receiving the bosses


33


,


34


, respectively, the notches


35


,


36


being provided in the peripheral edge or side


20


of the pad


12


.




The housing of the bosses or protrusions


33


,


34


in the notches


35


,


36


is possible due to the nature of the constitutive materials of the base


4


and of the pads


12


,


13


.




The base


4


is made of a relatively rigid material, i.e., a material that is hardly deformed under the action of forces exerted by a user during the steering of the board


3


. A metallic alloy or plastic material, reinforced or non-reinforced, such as a glass fiber reinforced polyamide, is quite suitable.




The pads


12


,


13


are made of a relatively flexible material, i.e., a material that can deform when a manual pressure is exerted on it and which takes on its initial form when the pressure is removed.




Thus, as understood from

FIGS. 2

,


3


,


4


, the pad


12


is manually nested into the cavity (or opening)


15


when the device


1


is not retained on the board


3


.




It suffices to pass the boss


18


through the cavity (or opening)


15


until the upper surface


16


of the pad


12


touches the base


4


. Thereafter, the bosses to protrusions


33


,


34


are housed in the notches


35


,


36


and hold the pad


12


in place on the base


4


. It is then easy to manipulate the device


1


without losing the pad. The operations of mounting, dismounting, maintaining or adjusting the device are facilitated.




Separating the pad


12


from the base


4


is easily done when the device


1


is not retained on the board


3


. It suffices to manually push the boss


18


so as to distance the upper surface


16


of the pad


12


from the base


4


. This operation is easily done due to the flexibility of the constitutive material of the pad


12


. The flexibility of the pad


12


is increased by the presence of a cavity


37


of the pad


12


that opens out on the lower surface


17


.




The advantage is that the replacement of the pad


12


is very easy and very quick.




Of course, as shown in

FIG. 3

, for example, the pad


12


cannot exit the cavity (or opening)


15


when the device


1


is retained on the board


3


. Thus, the pad


12


can absorb impacts from the boot


2


on the base


4


.




The invention is not limited to the previously described embodiment, and it includes all the equivalent techniques that are encompassed by the scope of the following claims.




In particular, the number of bosses of the peripheral edge


23


is not limited.




The bosses of the edge


23


can have any appropriate form, such as that of a prism, a portion of a sphere, a cylinder, a cone or other.




The bosses (or protrusions) could be arranged on the peripheral edge (or side)


20


of the pad


12


.




The notches, such as the notches


35


,


36


, are not indispensable.




The presence of the cavity


37


is not indispensable.




The plate demarcating the upper surface


16


and the lower surface


17


could have a continuous aspect, i.e., with some material connecting the portions tabs


25


,


26


,


27


,


28


,


29


,


30


.




Each pad


12


,


13


can have an appropriate form, such as that of an ellipse, a circle, a polygon or other.




The cavity (or opening)


15


could have a closed end and the mounting of the pad could be done on the side of the upper surface


31


.




Further, the means allowing a removable fastening of the pad


12


can have a different structure than the one using bosses. For example, nails could extend through the pad


12


between the surfaces


16


and


17


to be driven into the base


4


. In this case, the nail heads face the board


3


. To remove the pad


12


from the device


1


or to place it thereon, it is not necessary to remove the nails. Indeed, the flexibility of the pad


12


allows it to be deformed in order to allow the nail heads to extend through the constitutive material of the pad


12


. Further, the nails and the base


4


can be of one single piece.




It is also possible to achieve the invention as shown in FIG.


5


.




According to this alternative embodiment, the device has a pad


40


and a base


41


. The pad


40


has two bosses


42


,


43


provided to be housed in two cavities (opening)


44


,


45


, respectively, of the base


41


. A retaining means


46


and a disk


47


are used to retain a boot on the base


41


and to retain the base


41


on a board, respectively.




The pad


40


has an opening


48


allowing the disk


47


to cooperate with the board to retain the base


41


.




The pad


40


has an upper surface


49


on which the base


41


take support when the latter is retained on the board. This means that when the device is retained on the board, the base


41


is not in contact with the board, because the base


41


take support on the pad


40


.




Only a lower surface


50


of the pad


40


, opposite to the upper surface


49


with respect to the thickness of the pad


40


, comes into contact with the board.




When the device is assembled, the bosses


42


,


43


project with respect to an upper surface


51


of the base


41


. This allows the bosses


42


,


45


to touch the boot sole to absorb the impacts or vibrations of the boots with respect to the device. More than two bosses could be provided in an alternative embodiment, to contact the boot side.




Each of the peripheral edges


52


,


53


of the cavities


44


,


45


has fastening means shown in the form of bosses (or protrusions)


54


,


55


,


56


and


57


.




The instant application is based upon French Patent Application No. 98 01265, filed Jan. 30, 1998, the disclosure of which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference thereto in its entirety, and the priority of which is hereby claimed under 35 USC 119.



Claims
  • 1. A device for retaining a boot on a gliding board, the device comprising:a base having an upper surface positionable to receive a sole of the boot, a lower surface positionable to face a topside of the gliding board, and at least one opening extending though said base between said upper surface and said lower surface; at least one pad removably housable within said at least one opening, wherein when said at least one pad is housed in said at least one opening, said at least one pad projects upwardly beyond said upper surface of said base; and a fastening system allowing removable connection of said at least one pad in said at least one opening, said fastening system comprising at least one tab portion radially extending from said at least one pad and at least one recess formed in said lower surface of said base and positioned adjacent to said at least one opening for receiving said at least one tab when said at least one pad is housed within said at least one opening.
  • 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein said at least one pad further comprises at least one boss having a boot contact surface; anda plate connected to a lower portion of an outer peripheral side of said at least one boss, said plate forming said at least one tab portion, including an upper surface adapted to contact said base and a lower surface adapted to contact the gliding board.
  • 3. The device according to claim 1, wherein said at least one tab portion includes a plurality of tab portions radially projecting from and circumferentially spaced along an outer peripheral side of said at least one pad;said plurality of tab portions being separated from each other by at least one receiving notch housed within said outer peripheral side of said at least one pad.
  • 4. The device according to claim 3, wherein said at least one recess formed in said lower surface of said base comprises a plurality of recesses adapted to respectively receive said plurality of tab portions.
  • 5. The device according to claim 3, wherein said fastening system further comprises at least one protrusion that projects from an inner peripheral side of said at least one opening, wherein said at least one protrusion is adapted to interfit with said at least one receiving notch.
  • 6. The device according to claim 3, wherein said plurality of tab portions have varying circumferential lengths.
  • 7. The device according to claim 1, wherein said at least one pad has an inner cavity exposed from the underside of said at least one pad which provides a hollow area throughout said at least one pad.
  • 8. The device according to claim 1, wherein said base is made of a substantially rigid material and wherein said at least one pad is made of a substantially flexible material.
  • 9. A device for retaining a boot on a gliding board, the device comprising:a base having upper and lower sides, said upper side adapted to receive the sole of the boot and said lower side adapted to interface with a topside of the gliding board, said base having at least one opening extending through said base between said upper and lower sides, wherein said at least one opening is adapted to house at least one pad; said at least one pad having a boot contact surface which projects upwardly beyond said upper side of said base when secured thereto; and a fastening system, comprising, a plurality of tab portions, extending from said at least one pad, adapted to be received by a plurality of recesses; said plurality of recesses located on said lower side of said base and located adjacent an inner peripheral edge defining said opening; said fastening system allowing a secured interfitting and removable connection of said at least one pad to said base.
  • 10. The device according to claim 9, wherein said at least one pad comprises an outer peripheral side; anda flange connected to a lower end of said outer peripheral side of said at least one pad, said flange configured in an annular shape, forming said plurality of tab portions, and having an upper surface and lower surface.
  • 11. The device according to claim 10, wherein said plurality of tab portions radially project from and are circumferentially spaced along said outer peripheral side of said at least one pad, said plurality of tab portions being spaced apart from each other by at least one receiving notch, said at least one receiving notch being housed within said peripheral side of at least one pad.
  • 12. The device according to claim 11, wherein said fastening system further comprises at least one projection, which projects from said inner peripheral edge defining said opening of said base, said at least one projection adapted to securely interfit within said at least one receiving notch.
  • 13. The device according to claim 9, wherein said at least one pad has a hollow displaced area exposed from the underside of said pad.
  • 14. The device according to claim 9, wherein said base is made of a rigid material and said at least one pad is made of a flexible and resilient material.
  • 15. The device according to claim 9, wherein said plurality of tab portions have varying circumferential lengths.
  • 16. A device for retaining a boot on a gliding board, the device comprising:a base having an upper surface positionable to receive a sole of the boot, a lower surface positionable to face a topside of the gliding board, and at least one opening extending though said base between said upper surface and said lower surface; said at least one pad removably housable within said at least one opening, wherein when said at least one pad is housed in said at least one opening, said at least one pad projects upwardly beyond said upper surface of said base; and a fastening system allowing removable connection of said at least one pad in said at least one opening, said fastening system comprising, a plurality of lower tab receiving recesses located on said lower surface of said base; at least one protrusion projecting from an inner peripheral edge of said at least one opening; and at least one boss projecting upwardly from said pad having a plurality of tabs adapted to securely interfit with said plurality of lower tab receiving recesses and at least one receiving notch adapted to securely interfit with said at least one protrusion.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
98 01265 Jan 1998 FR
US Referenced Citations (9)
Number Name Date Kind
3689094 Marker et al. Sep 1972
3887205 Edmund Jun 1975
3944238 Weigl et al. Mar 1976
5503900 Fletcher Apr 1996
5564728 Renaud-Goud Oct 1996
5660493 Stephens Aug 1997
5879019 Mantel Mar 1999
5909894 Meader et al. Jun 1999
6045149 Chonier et al. Apr 2000
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number Date Country
WO9704843 Feb 1997 WO