FR2701361A1 - Lever-rack closure device for a ski boot - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a closure device (8) for a ski boot, including a rack (1) equipped with several notches (5) delimited by partitions (15), and in which a hooking finger (4) of a tension lever (3) is intended to bear, this lever (3) actuating a traction member (6) fastened on a part (7) of a boot and ensuring the connection between this part (7) and another part (2) of the boot. The rack (1) consists of two separate elements (11) and (12) which are mutually interlinked; the element (11), obtained from plastic material, is equipped with notches (5'), whilst the element (12) which is produced in a very strong material is fitted over the said element (11) and serves as a means for reinforcing the latter.

Description

DEVICE FOR CLOSING A LEVER AND RACK FOR A SKI SHOE
The present invention relates to closing devices of the "lever-rack" type for ski boots and relates to a rack for hooking the lever.

 Closing devices of this type are known and taught in particular in the French patents published under the numbers 2,543,411 and 2,345,959. The devices described in these patents comprise on the one hand, a part provided with several notches which constitutes the rack , and on the other hand, a tension lever of a traction member ensuring the connection between the parts of the shoe to be brought closer to one another. According to several embodiments shown, this tension lever has a pivot axis which also constitutes the hooking finger intended to fit into that of the notches of the rack chosen as a function of the desired degree of tightening.

 In general, the racks of such closing devices are advantageously produced by molding a plastic material for reasons of cost, weight, ease of coloring, etc., but also for reasons of manufacture when it is a question of obtaining non-aggressive rounded shapes, or even necessarily developed with a view to using the elasticity properties of the plastic, as is the case in French patent No. 2,345,959; in fact, according to this patent, the bottom of the notches of the rack has a width sensitively corresponding to that of the diameter of the latching finger of the lever, while, "entry" is of a slightly narrower width. is provided to avoid, on the one hand, untimely detachment of the lever in the open position "on or off" outside the rack, and on the other hand, the reconnection of said lever therein to return to the closed position. introduction of the lever hooking finger into the notch of the rack is effected "forcefully" in the entry zone of said notch, the partition of which with the neighboring notch, because it is obtained in material plastic, elastically deforms by giving passage to said gripping finger which then takes place at the bottom of the notch where it is held captive by said partition which returns to its initial stable position.

 The use of a plastic material for the racks of closing devices of the type which have just been described by way of example, is therefore advantageous for the multiple advantages mentioned above which it provides. However, these closing devices allowing only a stepwise adjustment of the degrees of tightening, that is to say notch by notch, it turns out to be necessary to locate the notches as close as possible to each other, in view to obtain the most progressive adjustment possible, and therefore to define the partitions of material separating said notches in relatively small thicknesses. It follows from this constraint that the known racks produced prove to be fragile and in particular capable of breaking in the event of impacts and / or significant clamping forces for example.

 Another drawback also appears in the use of such racks, and relates to the safety of their attachment to the shoe part which is to receive them. Indeed, the fact that these plastic racks undergo relatively large tensile forces arising, on the one hand, from the degree of tightening effected using the lever, and on the other hand, during skiing, movements of the skier tending to spread the closed shoe parts, in particular in the area of the upper at the level of the lower leg of the skier, the fixing of said racks by rivets, bolts, snap-fastening, etc. is subjected to shearing forces which can be considerable, and likely to cause the total or partial rupture of the racks, or even at least the deterioration of the area of their fixing.

 The object of the present invention is to provide a rack for a closure device for a ski boot which retains the advantages provided by the use of a plastic material, and which is able to withstand the tensile and shear stresses in particular, as well as 'to shocks, without being damaged.

 To this end, the invention relates to a closure device for a ski boot comprising a rack provided with several notches delimited by partitions, and in which the latching finger of a tension lever is intended to bear, this lever tension actuating a traction member fixed on a shoe part, and ensuring the connection between this shoe part and another shoe part where the rack is located. The invention is characterized in that the rack is obtained in two separate elements overlapping one another, one made of plastic, in the form of an elongated body provided with transverse notches, and the other, made of very resistant material, presented under the form of a reinforcement jumper which fits under the body, that is to say on the side opposite the notches, this jumper being provided with at least one fixing means for securing it to the part of the shoe which is d removed from the rack, the latter extending longitudinally in the direction corresponding to that of the tensile force exerted by the closing device.

 According to another characteristic of the rack according to the invention, the reinforcement rider of the elongated body has an open transverse profile in the shape of a U, the wings of which are each provided with teeth determining between them notches of profile combined with that of the bottom. notches of the elongated body with which they coincide when said rider is nested on said body, the teeth of the rider extending in correspondence with the partitions of the elongated body.

 The invention will moreover be better understood and other characteristics of that will be highlighted in the description which follows with reference to the appended drawings, illustrating, by way of nonlimiting examples, different embodiments.

 Figure i is a partial perspective view showing two parts of shoes connected together by means of a closure device comprising a rack according to the invention.

 Figure 2 is a partial perspective view illustrating a closing device in which a cam tension lever cooperates with the opening with the rack object of the invention to achieve its automatic disconnection during its extreme tilting.

 FIG. 3 is a view in partial section, along the line II-II of the closure device in FIG. 1.

 Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of the rack according to the invention showing its constituent elements.

 Figure 5 is a partial sectional view, enlarged along the line V-V, of the closure device of Figure 1 showing another embodiment of the rack still according to the invention.

 Figures 6 and 7 are enlarged views of the end of the notches of the rack of Figure 5, schematically illustrating the behavior of said notches, in Figure 6 with the latching finger of the tension lever, in Figure 7 in case of shock on the end of a notch.

 The closure device 8 shown in FIG. 1 comprises a rack 1 secured to a shoe part 2, by at least one assembly means 9, and a tensioning lever 3 provided with a hooking finger 4 intended to bear. in one of the notches 5 of said rack, in order to actuate a traction member 6 connected by means 10 to another part 7 of the shoe. This closure device 8 thus ensures the connection between the two parts 2 and 7 of the shoe using the lever 3 which, according to the notch 5 chosen for the support of its catching finger 4, makes it possible to bring the connection together. of said parts 2 and 7 from each other, and or to vary the degree of tightening.

Preferably, the rack 1 is of generally elongated shape, and the notches 5, delimited by partitions 15, extend transversely, or even perpendicularly, to its longitudinal median axis these notches 5 have an open U-shaped profile, visible in particular in Figure 3, and are advantageously but not necessarily inclined in the direction opposite to that in which the traction is exerted on the latching finger 4 of the lever 3. In this exemplary embodiment of the closure device 8, of on the one hand, the lever 3 is in the form of a stirrup, the arms 3 'of which are connected to each other at their end 3 "by the hooking finger 4, and on the other hand, the traction member 6 is in the form of a loop rectangular, the long sides 6 'of which extend outside the arms 3' of the lever 3, while the short sides 6 "constitute the attachment joints of the latter. The closure device 8 can thus be provided to function as a toggle in which the fixed articulation points are the attachment finger 4 for the lever 3, and the end 6 "connected to the shoe part 7 for the traction member 6, and the mobile articulation point, is constituted by the other end 6 ", connected to lever 3.

 In accordance with the invention, the rack 1, as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4, is obtained in two separate elements 11-12, nesting one inside the other, one, 11, made of plastic, in the form of an elongated body provided with notches 5 ', and the other, 12, made of a very resistant material such as steel for example, being in the form of a jumper intended to reinforce the body 1 1 by fitting under the latter and by following its outline so that it is positioned precisely on the latter.To this end, the jumper 12 has an open transverse profile U-shaped, the wings 14 passed through two corresponding slots 18 obtained in the base 19 of the body 11, extend on the sides of the notches 5 'of the latter. Furthermore, the central zone of the jumper 12, which corresponds to the base of its U-shape, extends in the longitudinal direction under the body 11, and comprises a fixing lug 21 advantageously located on the side of the end 20 of the latter, opposite the shoe part 7 where is connected, using means 10, the traction member 6; this fixing lug 21, provided with a fixing means 13, such as a hole for example, is intended to retain the rider 12 on the shoe part 2 and, due to its overlapping with the body 11, to retain the rack 1 as a whole consisting of said jumper 12 and body 11. This retention is preferably carried out using a single assembly means 9, such as a rivet for example, which means simultaneously connecting the two inseparably elements II and 12 of the rack, the element 1 1 forming the body is obviously equipped with a fixing means, or hole 13 ′ corresponding to that 13 of the element 12, or rider. It follows from this arrangement that the 'tensile force exerted by the lever 3 on the body 11, when the closure device 8 is in the closed position, is supported by the two elements, body 1 1 and rider 12, constituting the rack 1, at the assembly and fi xation 9 on the shoe part 2, that is to say at the place where the forces are essentially shear forces.

 According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the jumper 12, or reinforcing element, is provided to also take charge of the tensile forces exerted by the lever 3 on the notches 5 of the body 11 made of plastic. For this, the wings 14 of the rider 12, or even at least one of the wings 14, are provided with teeth 16 determining between them notches 17 of profile conjugate to that of the notches 5 'of the body 11 with which said notches coincide. when the rider is positioned on said body, the teeth 16 extending in correspondence with the partitions 15.The rack 1 thus produced has notches 5 consisting of notches 5 ′ and 17 delimited, the first by the plastic partitions 15, and the second by the teeth 16 made of very resistant material, such as steel in this example. It follows from this construction that the tensile force which the latching finger 4 of the tensioning lever 3 is likely to exert on the notches 5 of the rack 1 is also supported by the two constituent elements 11 and 12 of this last, the reinforcing element 12, or rider, ensuring the solidity of the rack and its resistance to the various constraints mentioned above.

 According to an improvement, the rider 12 for strengthening the rack 1 is provided, on the side of the other end 20 ′ of the body 11, with another fixing means 23, such as a latching stud, being mounted by interlocking through a cutout 24 made in the wall of part 2 of the shoe comprising said rack 1. This improvement reinforces the assembly of the rack 1 on part 2 of the shoe and makes it possible to distribute the shearing forces eVou d ' tearing, to which said rack is likely to be subjected, between the assembly rivet 9 and the stud 23.

 Advantageously, the rack 1 is designed to be able to pivot angularly by a certain value around its assembly means 9 so that it is oriented as exactly as possible in the axis of the closing force exerted by the lever. 3.

 In the embodiment of the closure device 8 which has just been described with reference to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the ends 3 "of the tensioning lever 3 have a substantially circular profile and centered on the latching finger 4 ce profile is determined in relation to the position of the bottom 25 of the notches 5 relative to the base 19 of the rack so that the latching finger 4 remains constantly in abutment on said bottom 25, whatever the open position or closing the lever 3.

 On the other hand, it is conceivable as shown in FIG. 2 that a lever 33 with cam 34, similar to that described in French patent No. 2 345 959, can be used with a rack 1 according to the invention. , the extraction of the latching finger 4 of the lever 33 out of the notches 5 of the rack 1 can be obtained simply by the maneuver in full opening of said lever 33; in fact, during this maneuver, the cam 34 of the lever 33 is supported on base 19 and then constitutes the new pivot point of said lever 33 by forcing the hooking finger 4 to come out of the notch 5 in which it was engaged.

 Again, as illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, the rack 31, still in accordance with the invention, can be produced with an elongated body 41 made of plastic material in which partitions 35 delimits notches 35 ′ of U profile whose bottom 37 has a width L greater than that j of the inlet 38, and at least equal to that L of the hooking finger 4, that is to say equal to the diameter of that if it is provided with a cylindrical section .

 In such an embodiment, the rider 12 of the rack 31 is identical to the previous one, that is to say that the U-shaped profile of its notches 17 is constant, and at least equal to the width L: of the finger attachment 4. The rack 31 therefore has notches 45 formed by the notches 35 'and 17.

By this arrangement, when the finger 4 is engaged or extracted from a notch 45 of the rack 31, respectively according to the arrows F1 and F2, FIG. 6, only the partitions 35, obtained in plastic material, deform elastically during the passage in force of said finger and return immediately to their initial position.

 In general, and in order to benefit as much as possible from the elastic and damping qualities of the plastic, and to avoid any possible risk of injury, the jumper 12 is defined to be inserted inside the surface of wrapping of the elongated body it or 41. In this way, no hard part of the jumper 12 is capable of being projecting from the outside of the rack 1 or 31. As an example of such an insertion, the racks 1 and 31, FIGS. 1 to 7, include a jumper 1 I, the end 16 ′ of the teeth 16 of which is set back from that of the partitions 15 and 35 of the elongated bodies 1 1 and 41. As a complement to such an arrangement, the lateral zones 15 ′, 55 ′, at the end of the partitions 15 and 35 each have, in the extension of the teeth 16, a protruding shoulder whose thickness corresponds substantially to that of the wall of said teeth 16. In this way, only an external side part the wings 14 of the rider 12 are visible between the ends 15 ′, 55 ′, and the base 19.

 It is understood that the insertion of the jumper 12 on the elongated body 41 must not harm the operation of the rack 31 described with reference to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, in particular it must not prevent the elastic bending of the partitions 35 delimiting the notches 45. For this, a certain free space is provided between the ends 16 ′ of the teeth 16 and the end shoulders 55 ′ facing each other.

For example, the free space between the ends 16 ′ and the shoulders 55 ′, which are substantially straight and parallel, allows the partitions 35 to be flexed with a view to extracting and introducing the attachment finger 4, according to F1 and F2, figure 6, and the shock absorption according to
F3, figure 7.
Also, the rack 1 or 31 may consist of a reinforcing element comprising only a notched wing of profile conjugated to that of the notches 5, 45, of the elongated body 11, 41, without going beyond the framework of the invention.

 Again, the rack 1, 31 can be obtained with two separate elements 11-12, 12-41, assembled together by overmolding.

 Finally, it is also conceivable to obtain the elongated body 11, 41 of the rack 1, 31 directly from molding with the part 2 of the shoe on which said rack 1, 31 must be located. In this construction method, the reinforcing element 12 is attached and fixed to the shoe part 2, preferably by engagement of its wings 14 through openings obtained in said part 2 in correspondence with the elongated body 11, 41, and possibly secured by a mechanical assembly means such as a rivet, a pin, etc ...

 The rack 1, 31 can of course be used with other types of levers than those 3, 33 which have just been described, which levers can actuate flexible or rigid traction members 6, made up of cables for example, but also made up of straps, and the rack 1, 31 can be mounted on all types of shoes in order to ensure their closure and'or tightening, but also in order to retain two parts of the shoe capable of moving away from one of the 'other by pivoting as is the case in alpine ski boots where the part forming the upper is generally pivoting on the part forming the shell base.

Claims (10)

 1- Closure device (8) for a ski boot comprising a rack (1.31) provided with several notches (5.45) delimited by partitions (15.35), and in which a fastening finger (4) a tension lever (3.33) is intended to bear, this lever (3.33) actuating a traction member (6) fixed on a part (7) of the shoe, and ensuring the connection between this part ( 7) and another part (2) of a shoe where the rack (1.31) is located, characterized in that the rack (1.31) is obtained in two distinct elements (11-12,41-12) s 'overlapping one another, One (11-41) made of plastic, in the form of an elongated body (11,41) provided with transverse notches (5 ′, 35 ′), and the other (12) made of very resistant material , in the form of a reinforcement rider (12) which fits under the body (11,41), this rider (12) being provided with at least one fixing means (13,23) for the secure to the shoe part provided with the rack (1.31), the latter extending longitudinally in the direction corresponding to that of the tensile force exerted by the closure device (8).  2- closure device for ski boot according to claim 1, characterized in that the rider (12) has an open transverse profile in the shape of a U whose wings (14) are each provided with teeth (16) delimiting between them notches (17) of profile conjugated to that of notches (5 ', 35) of the elongated body (11,41) with which they come to coincide to form the notches (5,45) when said rider (12) is nested on said body (11,41), the teeth (16) extending in correspondence with partitions (15,35) which delimit the notches (5 ', 35') of the body (11,41).  3- closure device for ski boot according to claim 2, characterized in that the ends (16 ') of the teeth (16) of the rider (12) are located at a certain distance below those of the partitions (15,35 ) of the elongated body (11,41), leaving free end lateral zones (15 ', 55') of said partitions (15,35) which extend in the extension of said teeth (16).  4- closure device for ski boot according to claim 3, characterized in that the lateral end zones (15 ', 55') of the partitions (15,35) have, in the extension of the teeth (16) of the rider (12), a projecting shoulder whose thickness corresponds substantially to that of the wall of said teeth (16).  5- closure device for ski boot according to claim 4, characterized in that a free space remains between the ends (16 ') of the teeth (16) of the rider (12) and the shoulders of ends (55') .  6- Closure device for ski boot according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the partitions (35) delimiting the notches (35 ') of the elongated body (41) determine a notch profile in U whose the bottom (37) is wider than retracted (38), said bottom (37) having a width L at least equal to that L 'of the latching finger (4) of the tensioning lever (3).  7- closure device for ski boot according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the rider (12) comprises at least one fixing means (13,23) allowing its assembly with the part (2) shoe.  8- closure device for ski boot according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that at least one assembly means (9) joins the elongated body (11,41) provided with notches (5 ', 35 ') with the reinforcement rider (12).  9- Closure device for ski boot according to claims 7 and 8, characterized in that the rack (1) is connected to the part (2) of the boot using at least one connecting means (9 ) of the elongated body (11,41) with the rider (12).  10- closure device for ski boot according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the elongated body (11,41) of the rack (1,31) is obtained by molding with the part (2) shoe.