Patent Application
20100207361
This invention concerns a ski-fastening intended for fixing one's leg on a ski.
All present solutions for attaching one's leg on a ski are based on the principle of using a special ski boot which is fixed before skiing by items fixing the forepart and the heel seat. The composition of such a boot must ensure the transmission of all necessary directional forces on a rigid sole, which is fixed in a ski-fastening. This composition must be sufficiently solid and rigid, yet it must be sufficiently loose in order to allow for specific moves. This usually results in a boot, which is more or less functional for skiing. However, such a boot designed for contemporary ski-fastenings is not suitable for walking. Further drawbacks of such a boot are its relatively high weight and the fact that it is not easily storable and the requirement for a complicated ski-fastening construction.
The aforementioned drawbacks are eliminated by ski-fastening, which is fixed on a ski or on a platform attached to a ski or on a platform of a safety platform binding. The ski-fastening includes a heel seat stop, a forepart fixing item, a forepart stop and a main body for fixing other parts of one's leg. The principle of this invention lies in the fact that the body of the holder is pendulously attached to the main body. The holder contains a height-adjustment component, on which there is a rotationally embedded calf support with an item for shank fixation. The ski-fastening further includes a holder's control component for pendulous movement and an item for fetlock fixation. If the ski-fastening is constructed favourably, the holder's control component for pendulous movement consists of a compression spring coiled around a bolt and confined between the body of the holder and a nut placed at one end of the bolt. The bolt's opposite end is fastened onto a spindle, which is rotationally embedded in the main body.
The main advantage of the ski-fastening, according to this invention, is that it does not require the use of a special boot in order to function properly, because one can use boots/shoes suitable for any other activity. Therefore, any shoe that sufficiently protects one's leg from relevant conditions, namely from cold and/or humidity, can be used with the ski-fastening according to this invention. Such a shoe does not even need to have a completely rigid sole, because the ski-fastening ensures the transmission of relevant forces in an entirely different way from all currently existing bindings. On principle the transmission of the directional forces on the binding, according to this invention, is ensured by the holder with calf support and the holder's connection with a ski. The calf support is individually height-adjustable in the holder. At its bottom end the body with the holder and the calf support is embedded in the main body in such a way that the body with the holder and the calf support could move pendulously around the axis which is perpendicular to the linear axis of a ski and parallel to the ski surface. Additionally, this pendulous movement is limited under control. This results in a controlled movement of the calf, which is transmitted on the ski while eliminating all intolerable stress or injury in the ankle area. Further benefits of this invention are its low weight, its easy adjustability into transporting or storing state, its easy construction and therefore its easy production.
The invention and its effects are further explained in the following examples of its execution with the help of the attached drawing which includes just one picture schematically illustrating the ski-fastening in the drawing.
A ski-fastening, according to this invention, is fixed on a ski or on a platform 1 attached to a ski or on a platform of a safety platform binding and comprises a heel seat stop 2 and a fetlock fixing item 3. The fetlock fixing item 3, made for instance of a strap, is attached to the platform 1 by fixing components 20 which also forms the side heel seat stops on the binding. Further, the ski-fastening includes a forepart fixing item 4, which is also advantageously made of a strap. On the binding, the forepart fixing item 4 is attached to the platform 1 by fixing components 21 which also forms side forepart stops. The ski-fastening further comprises a forepart stop 5 and a main body 6 for fixing other parts of one's leg. The body 16 of the holder 7 is pendulously attached to the main body 6 by the medium of a spindle 18. This holder 7 contains a height-adjustment component 8 on which there is a rotationally embedded by the medium of a spindle 19 a calf support 9 with an item 10 for shank fixation. The item 10 for shank fixation is made for instance of a strap. The ski-fastening further includes the holder's 7 control component 11 for pendulous movement.
The holder's 7 control component 11 for pendulous movement consists of a compression spring 12 coiled around a bolt 13 and confined between the body 16 of the holder 7 and a nut 14 placed at one end of the bolt 13. The bolt's 13 opposite end is fastened onto a spindle 17, which is rotationally embedded in the main body 6. Favourably, a pad 15 can be placed under the nut 14 on the bolt 13.
In order to make the ski-fastening, according to this invention, ready for skiing from its transportation state, first the holder's 7 control component 11 for pendulous movement needs to be put together. This is done by getting the bolt 13 through a mortis in the body 16 of the holder 7 and by coiling the spring 12 around the bolt 13 and by pressing this spring 12 confined between the body 16 of holder 7 and the nut 14. Eventually, this nut 14 placed on the bolt 13 can be supported by a pad 15. Also the calf support 9 needs to be turned around the spindle 19 from a transportation state into a leg-fastening state. Afterwards, a skier with any kind of shoe can start fastening it onto a ski. First, he places the shoe between the heel stop 2 and the forepart stop 5 and then he fixes it by the fetlock fixing item 3 and by the forepart fixing item 4. Next, the skier adjusts the height of the calf support 9 favourably by the advance motion of the component 8 in the holder 7. Finally, the skier completes the fastening of his leg onto a ski by fixing his shank in the binding by the item 10 for shank fixation on the holder 7.
The transmission of the directional forces on the ski-fastening, according to this invention, during skiing is ensured by the holder 7 with calf support 9 and the holder's 7 connection with a ski. At its bottom end the body 16 with the holder 7 and the calf support 9 is embedded in the main body 6 in such a way that the holder 7 and the calf support 9 could move pendulously, specifically around the spindle 18, around the axis which is perpendicular to the linear axis of a ski and parallel to the ski surface. Additionally, this pendulous movement is limited under control by the holder's 7 control component 11 for pendulous movement. This results in a controlled movement of the calf, which is transmitted on the ski while eliminating all intolerable stress or injury in the ankle area. The calf support 9 is individually height-adjustable in the holder 7 by the height-adjustment component 8.
The main advantage of ski-fastening, according to this invention, is that it does not require the use of a special boot in order to function properly, because one can use boots suitable for any other activity. Therefore, any shoe that sufficiently protects one's leg from relevant conditions, namely from cold and/or humidity, can be used with ski-fastening according to this invention. Such a shoe does not even need to have a completely rigid sole, because ski-fastening ensures the transmission of relevant forces in an entirely different way from all currently existing bindings, as was already explained in the previous paragraph. Further benefits of this invention are its low weight, its easy adjustability into transporting or storing state, its easy construction and therefore its easy production.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PV 2007 652 | Sep 2007 | CZ | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CZ2008/000109 | 9/15/2008 | WO | 00 | 3/16/2010 |
