Various attempts have been made to provide structure for securing footing on a variety of slippery surfaces. Such attempts have included footwear such as overboots into which the conventional footwear would be placed with traction cleats attached to the bottom of the overboot sole. This would help provide improved traction when walking or running on ice, snow or other slippery surfaces.
Independently of such cleated overboots, for use in deep snow or where greater stability is required a snowdeck has also been used. Such snowdeck could be attached to the user's footwear and would be of enlarged size to facilitate walking in deep snow.
Until the present invention no one has developed a cleated overboot that provides all of the benefits that may be desirable for such a device. Moreover, until the present invention, no one has provided a cleated overboot that can be readily attached and detached from a snowdeck so as to allow for quick and easy transitions between smooth slippery conditions and deep snow conditions.
An object of this invention is to provide an improved system for securing footing on a variety of slippery surfaces.
A further object of this invention is to provide such a system which includes a first traction component having the capability of itself providing secure footing on various surfaces, but also having the capability of being mounted to a snowdeck to increase the secure footing.
In a preferred practice of this invention the first traction component includes at least one traction cleat. The system also includes a snowdeck which preferably has a releasable locking mechanism for selective engagement with the traction cleat so that the traction cleat has the dual function of assisting in providing secure footing when the first traction component is used alone or for acting as structure to mount the first traction component to the snowdeck.
In a preferred practice of this invention the releasable locking mechanism includes a catch which would be engaged by an exposed latch in the form of a protrusion or cutout/hole or hook structure on the traction cleat. The locking mechanism also includes a member for activating the catch to selectively engage/disengage the cleat. Preferably, the catch is in the form of a rod mounted on a longitudinal slider. The activating member is secured to a transverse slider which has a cam face disposed against a cam face of the longitudinal slider. Sideways movement of the transverse slider controls the longitudinal movement or positioning of the longitudinal slider. In this manner the catch can be moved to and from its engaging position and its disengaging position.
The first traction component may be an overboot which has sets of traction cleats disposed on the lower surface of its sole with the traction cleat that engages the snowdeck being located on the forefoot region of the overboot.
The improved system also includes novel heel structure which prevents cleats on the traction component from damaging the snowdeck.
The present invention is directed to providing a modular snow travel system for common footwear. In one practice of the invention a first flexible or inflexible traction component is provided which is adapted to be attached to conventional footwear such as running shoes or other types of footwear or to the foot itself. The first traction component could be an overboot which will be described with greater particularity or could simply be some form of binding assembly that could be attached to the footwear or the foot and fulfill all the other basic functions required of the first traction component and would be secured only in part over the footwear or foot.
The first traction component has at least one traction cleat attached thereto, preferably in the forefoot region, so as to provide improved traction when walking or running on ice, snow or other slippery surfaces. For use in deep snow or where greater stability is required, a snowdeck is also provided that includes a locking mechanism adapted to secure to at least one of the cleats of the first traction component and attach it to the snowdeck. Preferably the attachment to the snowdeck allows for the first traction component to pivot relative to the snowdeck to allow for ease in walking or running. Also preferably, the snowdeck includes additional traction cleats or claws attached thereto.
The present invention provides a number of improved first traction components that are adapted to attach to a wide variety of conventional footwear styles, including boots, shoes, and running shoes or to the foot. Preferably the first traction components include one or more buckle systems to allow for quick attachment to and removal from the foot/footwear. These various forms of first traction components provide greatly improved traction for the wearer while also providing additional benefits, such as with the overboot embodiments that provide improved insulation and protection from snow, dirt, or water infiltration of the footwear. Traction cleats may be provided on the forefoot, rear-foot, or mid-foot of the first traction component, or any combination thereof.
The various embodiments of the snowdecks allow for easy step-in addition of additional floatation and/or greater stability for the wearer. Preferably at least one of the traction cleats of the first traction component is adapted to “click in” to a binding or locking mechanism on the snowdeck. When the deck is no longer required, the locking mechanism allows for quick disengaging of the first traction component. Alternatively, utilizing the quick attachment systems on the first traction components, the wearer can leave the first traction component attached to the snowdeck and convert between conventional footwear and something akin to a conventional snowshoe configuration. Various snowdeck configurations and binding systems may be used within the scope of the present invention.
The following description will be directed to a preferred form of modular snow travel system. Such system 10 is illustrated in
As best shown in
The lower surface of the sole 28 of overboot 12 includes sets of cleats located at any suitable location in order to provide the desired traction to secure footing on a slippery surface. Such sets of cleats are preferably around the periphery of the sole 28 and could include cleats 30 as illustrated located at the toe and heel portions of sole 28. Additional sets of cleats 32, 34 and 36 also extend from the sole. Preferably the cleats on one longitudinal side of overboot 12 are mirror images of those on the other longitudinal side.
As best shown in
As illustrated in
It is to be understood that although the drawings illustrate one overboot and one snowdeck, a complete system would, of course, be provided for each foot of the user.
A heel block 46 is mounted to a heel pad or support 48 provided on decking 42. Heel block 46 would be located between the sets of claws 44 located in the heel portion and would be of sufficient height to be surrounded by and generally elevate the overboot cleats 30,34 above decking 42 so as to not damage the decking when the overboot is mounted to the snowdeck by minimizing any digging of the cleats into the decking The spacer aspect of the heel block may maintain the cleats generally out of contact but could permit some contact as long as damage to the decking is minimized. If desired, heel block 42 could include some form of catch, such as pins which may be selectively extended from the heel block, for engagement by the hook portion 38 of the cleats 34. Where, instead of a “snowdeck”, the first traction component (e.g. overboot 12) is mounted to a ski, mounting to both the forefoot and rear foot may be desired. Accordingly, the term “snowdeck” is not intended to be limited to conventional snowdecks but could include various types of devices for attachment to the feet to assist movement in snow, such as snowshoes, skis or the like. For most uses of system 10, it is preferred that there be no physical attachment of the heel portion of the overboot with the snowdeck so that the user may readily pivot the user's foot by having attachment solely in the forefoot area as later described.
Heel block 46 may be mounted on the heel area decking 42 by being secured to the heel pad or support member 48 which contains a longitudinal slot 50 and two sets of transverse slots 52,52. See
The provision of a spacer such as heel block 46 to generally elevate the cleats of the traction component from the snowdeck 14 is a distinct advantage over prior arrangements. In that regard, a spacer assures that the cleats of a traction system in the heel area are prevented from generally contacting the snowshoe deck. Such spacer in the preferred form is a heel block, such as heel block 46 mounted directly to the snowdeck 14. The concept of a spacer, however, may also be practiced where, for example, the spacer is mounted (such as being detachably mounted) to the traction device or traction component so that it provides a spacing member of sufficient thickness to generally elevate the cleats from the snowshoe deck. The provision of such a spacer is advantageous over prior arrangements using, for example, cutouts in the snowshoe deck to avoid contact by the cleats of the traction system.
A key feature of this invention is the provision of a releasable locking mechanism 56 for selectively engaging the first traction component, such as overboot 12, with the snowdeck 14. The components of the releasable locking mechanism 56 are best shown in
As shown in
Under certain snow conditions it may be desirable to provide a gasket 62 mounted beneath the plate 58 which covers housing 64 in order to reduce snow or other contaminants infiltrating the locking mechanism. Gasket 62 is also provided with a pair of elongated slits 66 aligned with slots 60 of plate 58 so that the cleats 36 also extend through gasket 62. The slits 66 create a seal below slots 60 to minimize snow entering and contaminating the click-in locking mechanism.
Various components of the locking mechanism 56 located in housing 64 are illustrated in
As also shown in
Preferably the pull cord is made of a strong, yet bendable material such as a braided metal wire. Other suitable materials could be used and, although not as preferred, the pull cord itself could be a stiff non-bendable member since the main requirement is that it have sufficient strength to be pulled in a transverse direction and that it is coupled to the transverse slider so that the lateral pulling is transmitted to the transverse slider to cause the transverse slider to shift back and forth to and from its locking and unlocking conditions.
After cleats 36 have been fully inserted into the housing 64 (
When it is desired to remove overboot 12 from snowdeck 14 handle 104 is pulled to shift transverse slider 70 back to the position shown in
Although the above description and the drawings include the provision of an exposed hook 38 in the cleat 36 which is engaged by the locking mechanism, other forms of latch members may be used. For example, instead of an exposed hook, the latch member could be a hole or cutout in the cleat which would be selectively engaged by the movement of a bar functioning as the catch member in the locking mechanism. Such bar could be a bar of circular cross-section fitting in a circular or round hole or cutout. Alternatively, the latch might be a protrusion on the cleat 36 which would be engaged with a catch movable into the path of movement of the protrusion when the traction cleat 36 has entered the locking mechanism. The locking mechanism itself could take any suitable form such as being part of a strap system which would have a catch member movable into the path of movement of the latch.
It is to be understood that where reference is made to a releasable locking mechanism, such locking mechanism could be of the type specifically illustrated and described or could be a strap system incorporating the components to effect the selective engagement and disengagement with the cleat of the traction component.
An advantageous feature of this invention is that an audible click is heard when the transverse slider is moved to its locking condition and is moved to its unlocking condition. This provides assurance to the wearer that the overboot has been appropriately locked to or released from the snowdeck.
The present system provides an advantageous manner of mounting the traction component to the snowshoe deck. When, for example, the cleat 36 is mated with the locking mechanism and in particular with the plate 58 by entering its slot 60, the cleat 36 is held strongly from rotating in nearly all planes even without the bar or rod 78 being clicked into place. This “nesting” of the two components assures a very secure connection and allows the cleat 36 to be removed by moving it in the vertical direction in a single plane perpendicular to the slot. Thus, while the click-in bar is important, there is still much stability built into the design even without the bar.
The preferred practice of this invention utilizes a set of two traction cleats 36,36 which cooperate with the locking mechanism having two sets of slots. The invention, however, could also be practiced with only one or with more than two of such traction cleats 36 with appropriate modification of the locking mechanism.
It is to be understood that the above description with regard to the illustrated preferred embodiment of this invention is not intended to be limiting and that the invention could be practiced with different variations. Reference is made to provisional application Ser. No. 60/758,890, filed Jan. 12, 2006, all of the details of which are incorporated herein by reference thereto. Among the variations described in that provisional application are the use of a detachable binding for the snowdeck instead of an overboot whereby the binding could be attached to suitable footwear such as running shoes. Thus, the cleats 36 described with regard to the overboot, could be part of a separate binding where the invention is practiced without an overboot. Other variations described in the provisional application include the use of a cradle which could be inserted within an overshoe, which would be another alternative to the use of the overboot described and illustrated in
This application is based upon provisional application Ser. No. 60/758,890, filed Jan. 12, 2006.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60758890 | Jan 2006 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 11622038 | Jan 2007 | US |
Child | 12759938 | US |