Dual-action buckle

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6347436
  • Patent Number
    6,347,436
  • Date Filed
    Wednesday, August 30, 2000
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, February 19, 2002
    22 years ago
Abstract
A dual action buckle (20) which employs a cable tightening action and a strap tensioning action to tighten two separate portions of a boot, notably a snowboard boot (10). Thus, the boot (10) may be tightened around the foot and/or particular functionalities of the boot (10) may be engaged to a preset condition with one simple buckle closing action. During rest periods when the applied tightening and/or functionalities are not needed, they may be deactivated with one simple buckle opening action, giving relief to the foot, greater ease of walking, etc. The invention includes a primary lever (26), a secondary lever pivotally connected to the primary lever (26) and a pulley (42). The pulley (42) acts to double the cable retraction action of the secondary lever (32). This allows the dual action buckle (20) to be made much smaller than would otherwise be the case.
Description




TECHNICAL FIELD




The invention relates generally to a securing device for a sport boot, and particularly to a securing device for a soft-type snowboard boot having an integrated highback support for setting the forward lean of the boot and a strap for securing the user's foot in the boot.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




Several types of sport boots require a rear support structure which acts to provide resistance to the leg or foot in certain desired directions, thus allowing a more effective transfer of forces from the body to the attached sports equipment such as a snowboard, an in-line skate or a ski. When the user is resting, however, the resistance provided by the boot may cause discomfort.




In the case of soft-type snowboard boots adapted for use with a step-in binding system, the highback support, which is critical for controlling a snowboard, may be integrated within the construction of this type of boot. When the rider leans back against the highback, the toe is pulled upwards, thus tipping the board onto its heelside edge. However, the angle of the highback that is required to provide adequate control while snowboarding (typically in the range of 10-30 degrees) also makes walking uncomfortable and difficult.




Also, it is necessary to firmly hold the foot in the boot so that the forces employed by the user are effectively transmitted through the boot structure into the sport equipment so as to give the user a fine degree of control over his/her equipment. One of the devices employed in this regard is an instep strap, which closes over the top of the foot just below the ankle and helps keep the user's foot firmly located in the boot during maneuvering actions. However, the degree of tightening necessary to sufficiently secure the foot can be uncomfortable when walking or during non-active periods.




Due to the possible discomfort, it is desirable to be able to (1) release both the rear support structure (i.e., the highback) and the instep strap during walking or periods of rest and then (2) reapply the desired settings quickly and efficiently when needed. We have found that the simplest way to achieve this is to employ a single mechanism which both tightens and locks the instep strap and pulls the highback into position.




U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,393 issued to Marxer discloses a dual functionality buckle which retracts two cables that tighten two separate sections of the boot (in this case, across the metatarsal and at the instep). However, this device is limited in the amount of cable which is retracted when the buckle is closed, and therefore this device would have to be substantially larger (that is, the distance from the buckle fulcrum axis to the cable fulcrum axis would have to be much longer) in order to retract sufficient cable to engage and completely disengage an integral high back on a sport boot. Secondly, this device pulls the two cables in the same direction, and it would be difficult to employ this design for the discussed application as the two tensioning directions (i.e., one tensioning direction for the instep strap and one tensional direction for the high back) are positioned at widely separated angles to each other. Third, the Marxer design has no provision for closing the buckle without employing the tensioning actions. Thus, the buckle must remain open in order for the tensioning to be deactivated, thereby exposing the buckle to possible damage from striking other objects while walking.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The present invention provides a dual action buckle for a sport boot which employs both a cable tightening action and a strap tensioning action to tighten two separate portions of the sport boot. Thus, the boot may be tightened around the foot and/or particular functionalities of the boot may be engaged to a preset condition with one simple buckle fastening action. During rest periods when the applied tightening and/or functionalities are not needed, they may be deactivated with one simple buckle unfastening action, giving relief to the foot, for greater ease in walking, resting, etc. The dual action buckle of the present invention includes a cable tightening mechanism having a lever and a pulley. The pulley acts to double the cable retraction action of the lever. This allows the mechanism to be made much smaller than would otherwise be the case.




In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the dual-action buckle is adapted to provide tensioning/untensioning to the instep strap and highback support of a soft-type snowboard boot. It is understood that the dual action buckle of the present invention may also be incorporated into other types of sport boots, including but not limited to ski boots, in-line skate boots, and snow shoes.




Methods and apparatus which incorporate the features described above and which are effective to function as described above constitute specific objects of this invention.




Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which by way of illustration, show preferred embodiments of the present invention and the principles thereof and what are now considered to be the best modes contemplated for applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING VIEWS





FIG. 1

is a side elevation view of a soft-type snowboard boot having an internal highback reinforcement and which is shown equipped with the dual action buckle of the present invention.





FIG. 1A

is a side elevation view similar to

FIG. 1

in partial cut away exposing the internal highback support that lays beneath the exterior boot upper.





FIG. 2

is a perspective view of the dual action buckle in a fully open position.





FIG. 3

is a perspective view of the dual action buckle in a partially closed position.





FIG. 4

is a perspective view of the dual action buckle in the fully closed position.





FIG. 5

is a perspective view of the dual action buckle in a fully open position showing the secondary lever raised upward from the surface of the frame to permit disengagement from the cable (not shown).





FIG. 6

is a perspective view similar to FIG.


2


and illustrating an alternate embodiment of the present invention.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION




The following detailed description illustrates the invention by way of example, not by way of limitation of the principles of the invention. This description will clearly enable one skilled in the art to make and use the invention, and describes several embodiments, adaptations, variations, alternatives and uses of the invention, including what we presently believe is the best mode of carrying out the invention.




The sport boot


10


shown in

FIGS. 1 and 1A

consists, in a manner understood by those experienced in the art, of an upper


12


having an integral highback


14


with a cable housing


16


fixedly mounted thereto, through which passes a cable


18


. The highback


14


is disposed internally of the visible outer boot portion or upper


12


and the cable housing


16


and cable


18


for tensioning the high back


14


are also preferably routed internally of the boot exterior


12


. The path of the cable


18


though (i.e., underneath the exterior portion of upper


12


) the boot


10


is shown in phantom. Although not shown, one end of the cable


18


is fixedly attached to one side of the boot upper


12


(preferably the medial or instep side of the boot opposite the buckle mechanism


20


) and enters a dual action buckle mechanism


20


on the other side of the boot


10


such as the lateral side of the boot as shown. Also on the boot


10


is an instep strap


22


(see FIGS.


2


-


5


), which attaches at one end to a conventional adjustable receptor (not shown) and at the other to the dual action buckle mechanism


20


mentioned above by an instep strap tensioning member


23


. Closure of the buckle mechanism


20


both draws the cable


18


into itself pulling the highback


14


forward into a riding position (i.e., in a direction towards the toe cap portion


24


of the boot


10


), and simultaneously tightens the instep strap


22


to firmly hold the rider's foot against the boot sole.




As is best seen in

FIGS. 2-5

, the dual action buckle mechanism


20


of the present invention comprises a primary lever arm


26


pivotally mounted on a frame


28


by an axle or cross pin


30


. A secondary lever arm


32


is pivotally mounted to the primary lever


26


, also using an axle or cross pin


34


, the centerline of which is a distance L


1


from the centerline of the first axle


30


. The opposite or free end


36


of the secondary lever


32


is able to slide along the upper surface


38


of the frame


28


, which end


36


is normally held against the upper surface


38


of the frame


28


by means of a biasing spring


40


(see FIG.


5


). The highback tensioning cable


18


travels downward from the highback


14


, crosses beneath the buckle frame


28


and is directed through a passageway or hole


29


formed in the frame


28


, around a pulley


42


then across the top or upper sliding surface


38


of the frame


28


, crossing the path of the sliding end


36


of the secondary lever


32


, and finally terminates into a cylindrical slug


44


which is pivotally held in a clip


46


formed in the other side of flame


28


(i.e., on the side of the frame opposite the pulley


42


). The free end


36


of secondary lever


32


has a leading edge that is formed into a shovelling flange


48


which acts to engage and pick up the cable


18


and bring it towards the far end


49


of the frame


28


. The shovelling flange


48


is formed in such a way to cradle the cable


18


like a pulley wheel and thereby permit the cable


18


to slide along the cradle surface of the shovelling flange


48


.




By closing the primary lever


26


, the shovelling flange


48


of free end


36


of the secondary lever


32


over which the cable


18


slides is forced away from the pivoting axis


30


of the primary lever


26


, thus drawing into the mechanism a length of cable approximately equal to twice the distance travelled by the end


36


of the secondary lever


32


. The secondary lever


32


may be disengaged from the cable


18


, so that the buckle


20


may be closed without activating the forward lean function of the boot (i.e., without tensioning the highback reinforcement). The buckle


20


is opened and closed by moving the primary lever as indicated by directional arrow A.




In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the frame


28


is secured to the boot upper


12


by means of a primary rivet


50


. It is understood that the frame


28


may also be removably or fixedly secured to the boot upper in other ways customary to the snowboard boot industry. In addition, the frame


28


may be formed integral with portions of the boot upper material. This is especially advantageous in the case where portions of the boot upper are constructed from strong thermoformable plastic materials.




The instep strap tensioning member


23


has one end pivotally connected to the primary lever


26


at pivot axis


34


and has a secondary rivet


23




a


or similar fastener connection at its other end. The instep strap


22


, in turn, is attached to the secondary rivet


23




a


As noted above, the opposite end of the instep strap


22


is held in a receptor (not shown) on the opposite side of the boot


10


. When the primary lever


26


is closed, this member (i.e., instep strap


22


) is tensioned, and the tension vector in the preferred embodiment passes between the centerline of the primary rivet


50


and the frame


28


, thus ensuring an over-center condition which holds the buckle


20


closed against the boot


10


.




As is best seen in

FIGS. 3 and 5

, there is a spring loaded hook member


52


attached at the free end of the primary lever


26


which engages a tab


54


formed on the far end


49


of the frame


28


. In use, the hook member


52


is biased by its spring to lock the primary lever


26


closed against the frame


28


. When the buckle is closed a cam surface


53


formed into the end of the hook member


52


slides on the tab


54


, opening the hook member


52


until it engages the tab


54


. This action positively locks the primary lever


26


closed against the frame


28


. A finger tab


56


formed into the hook member


52


is provided to allow the hook member


52


to be unlocked from the frame


28


. Lifting upwards on this tab


56


counters the closing force of the spring loaded hook member


52


and pulls the hook member away from engagement with the tab


54


while also pulling upwards on the primary lever


26


, thus opening the buckle


20


. The opening and closing motion of the spring loaded hook member


52


is indicated by directional arrow B.





FIG. 6

illustrates an alternate embodiment of the invention, wherein the free end of the primary lever


26


is formed with rigid hook end


58


that includes a nub or projection


60


. The nub


60


is effective to overlap and engage the tab


54


when the primary lever


26


is moved into the fully closed position. The locking engagement of the nub


60


with the tab


54


is overcome by a moderate level of upward pulling or prying force applied by the user to the rigid hook end


58


of the primary lever


26


.




It should be understood that various modifications within the scope of this invention can be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, while the embodiments shown and described herein illustrate a dual action buckle for releasably tensioning an instep strap and a highback portion of a soft-type snowboard boot, it should be understood that the dual action buckle could be adapted to provide simultaneously releasable tensioning to other portions of the snowboard boot as well as other types of sport boots in general, such as in-line skate boots, ski boots, snow shoes, etc. Further, while the flexible tensioning members disclosed and particularly described herein include an instep strap and a cable, other flexible tensioning members and/or tightening force transfer members may be use with good results, including but not limited to wire, rope, etc. We therefore wish our invention to be defined by the scope of the appended claims as broadly as the prior art will permit, and in view of the specification if need be.



Claims
  • 1. A dual action buckle for releasably tightening two portions of a sport boot including a strap oriented along a first axis of the sport boot and a tensioning cable oriented along a second axis of the sport boot, wherein said second axis is nonparallel to said first axis, said buckle comprising:a) a buckle frame adapted to be attached to an upper portion of said sport boot, said buckle frame including a generally planar upper surface bounded by opposed first and second end portions and opposed first and second side portions; b) a primary lever including a fulcrum end pivotally connected to said first end of said buckle frame to define a first pivot axis, said primary lever being movable between an open position and a closed position; c) said primary lever further including a second pivot axis spaced from and parallel to said first pivot axis and pivotally connecting a strap member to said primary lever, said strap member for tensioning a first portion of said sport boot; d) a secondary lever having a fulcrum end pivotally connected to said second pivot axis of said primary lever and a free end adapted to slide in a lengthwise direction along said upper surface of said buckle frame as said primary lever is moved between said open and closed positions; and e) a tensioning cable for tensioning a second portion of said sport boot, said tensioning cable having a terminal end retained along one of said side portions of said buckle frame and a cable portion oriented across said buckle frame upper surface and in front of said secondary lever free end such that movement of said primary lever into said closed position simultaneously tightens the strap member connected to said first sport boot portion and moves said secondary lever free end into tensioning engagement with said tensioning cable to tighten said second sport boot portion.
  • 2. A dual action buckle according to claim 1, wherein:a) said frame includes a pulley around which the cable is directed; and b) said pulley being effective to provide a mechanical advantage to the dual action buckle by doubling the cable retraction action of said secondary lever.
  • 3. A dual action buckle according to claim 1, wherein said frame includes a hole through which the cable is routed to pass underneath said upper surface of said buckle frame in one direction.
  • 4. A dual action buckle according to claim 1, wherein said free end of said secondary lever is formed as a shoveling flange for engaging the cable that is directed across the upper sliding surface of said frame.
  • 5. A dual action buckle according to claim 1, wherein said secondary lever may be disengaged from the cable thus allowing the buckle to be closed without retracting the cable.
  • 6. A dual action buckle according to claim 1, wherein said first pivot axis is positioned at a sufficient offset distance relative to said second pivot axis so that when said buckle is in a closed position, a tension vector imparted at said second pivot axis passes below said first pivot axis to create an over center condition which acts to urge said primary lever toward said frame and hold the buckle closed.
  • 7. A dual action buckle according to claim 1, wherein a spring loaded hook member is provided to said primary lever in order to lock it closed to a tab formed in said frame.
  • 8. A dual action buckle according to claim 7, wherein said spring loaded hook member comprises a cam face adapted to slide on said tab and thus move away from said tab when said primary lever is moved towards said frame.
  • 9. A dual action buckle according to claim 7, wherein said spring loaded hook member further includes a finger tab which allows said hook to be disengaged from locking engagement with said tab of said frame.
  • 10. A dual action buckle according to claim 1, wherein said strap member includes a tensioning arm and a ratcheting strap.
  • 11. A dual action buckle according to claim 10, wherein said tensioning arm and said ratcheting strap are removably attached to one another.
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 08/,788,775, filed Jan. 24, 1997 and entitled “Snowboard Boot Ankle Support Device”, Jeff Waldo Sand and Erik Anderson inventors, is incorporated by reference in this application. The co-pending international patent application number PCT/US98/00336 filed Jan. 15, 1998 which claims the benefit of provisional U.S. Application No. 60/098,366; Nov. 14, 1997 and entitled “Improved Snowboard Boot Ankle Support Assembly”, Jeff Waldo Sand and Ted Barber inventors, is also incorporated by reference in this application.

PCT Information
Filing Document Filing Date Country Kind
PCT/US98/24184 WO 00
Publishing Document Publishing Date Country Kind
WO99/60878 12/2/1999 WO A
US Referenced Citations (8)
Number Name Date Kind
4677768 Benoit et al. Jul 1987 A
4754560 Nerrinck Jul 1988 A
4765069 Baggio et al. Aug 1988 A
4788781 Benoit et al. Dec 1988 A
4796337 Marxer Jan 1989 A
4852222 Courvoisier et al. Aug 1989 A
5158559 Pozzobon et al. Oct 1992 A
6055707 Simioni May 2000 A
Provisional Applications (1)
Number Date Country
60/098366 Nov 1997 US