This invention relates to ski poles and more particularly to a basket for ski poles. It is particularly directed to ski poles used for backcountry touring.
Standard ski poles typically comprise a handle connected to a cylindrical shaft with a pointed tip and a basket attached to the bottom of the shaft. Traditional baskets consist of a peripheral hoop to which spokes have been fastened to a hub, which is attached to the ski shaft. Such baskets are well suited to skiing on groomed snow. Ski poles and baskets designed for the backcountry have removable baskets with a standardized coupler of the basket to the pole, so the pole can be used as an avalanche probe. However the disadvantage of this type of basket is that it has a tendency to catch and/or get caught by tree branches, bushes or other obstructions in the snow and particularly under the surface of the snow, while skiing in the backcountry. An entangled basket can strip the basket from the pole or strip the pole from the skier's hand and even pull the skier of balance causing him to fall.
This invention comprises a detachable basket for a ski pole into which the shaft of the pole is inserted, wherein the basket comprises a hub having a center hole with flexible longitudinal radial extensions in sufficient numbers to form an umbel. The term flexible is meant to indicate that the extension can be bent by the application of a force but will spring back to its original position when that force is released. The extensions forming the umbel are sufficiently flexible to move in either the horizontal or vertical direction to the surface of the umbel and yet are sufficiently rigid to support a skier moving through the snow. The longitudinal extensions can take the form of flexible filaments, bristles or rods and are employed in sufficient numbers and length to provide the desired support for the skier. The number and rigidity of such extensions, however, should not be so high as to prevent horizontal and vertical flexing to avoid being entangled by objects in the snow. In a preferred embodiment the basket comprises a hub with flexible filaments radially extending from the hub in sufficient numbers to form an umbel in which the hub contains an opening through which the shaft of the pole is attached to the basket. The type, number, length and diameter of the filament can vary but should be such that in combination such filaments provide the desired rigidity but also provide sufficient flexibility to avoid being entangled by obstructions in the snow. The size and shape of the umbel corresponds to sizes and shapes of baskets heretofore developed. Similarly methods employed heretofore to attach the basket to the pole, usually by means of a male and female coupler, can equally used with the basket of the present invention and generally involves a ferrule attached to the shaft with a mating ring on the basket.
Backcountry ski poles on the market today have a male and a female coupler in which the male part is molded to the ski pole shaft in the form of a ferrule and the female part is molded to the basket in the form of a ring such that the pole shaft can be slipped into the opening of the ring and form a tight press fit of the basket to the pole. The same type attachment of the pole to the basket is also the preferred method of attaching the basket of the present invention to the shaft.
The ski pole basket of the present invention has been described in terms of its preferred embodiment, but as will be apparent to those familiar with skiing in the backcountry, is not limited to such. Depending on the weight of the skier and the conditions of the snow the umbel might comprise flexible extensions in the form of rods having cross sections other than circular. Similarly the extensions may comprise a metal wire rather then a plastic filament. The extensions employed in the ski pole basket of the present invention may take any shape as long as such extensions provide sufficient flexibility in all direction to avoid being caught by obstructions in and under the surface of the snow coming in contact with the pole.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20110272932 A1 | Nov 2011 | US |