US3360277A - Structure for snow skis and the like, of pressed metal plate, preferably of steel - Google Patents

Description

United States Patent 3 360 277 STRUCTURE FOR SN OW SKIS AND THE LIKE, OF PRESSEI) METAL PLATE, PREFERABLY OF STEEL Mario Salvo, Via Pirelli 30, Milan, Italy Filed Apr. 9, 1965, Ser. No. 446,837 Claims priority, appgigatit/nggtaly, Apr. 28, 1964,

5 Claims. (Cl. 280-11.13)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to snow skis and particularly a structure of snow skis obtained by means of metal plates, preferably thin sheet steel, suitably pressed and welded together.

The advantages but also the inconveniences are known of the conventional skis made of different grades of wood, as well as the attempts that have been made to produce skis of light metal alloys or of plastic materials, usually having a solid cross-section; but also these attempts did not bring satisfactory results, the skis themselves being too expensive, or tooheavy, or not quite capable of withstanding all the stresses to which a ski is subjected during its use.

The object of the present invention is the provision of a ski formed from relatively few elements of thin metal sheet, preferably steel sheet, suitably pressed and welded at their edges or other joining zones, such structures resulting, because of their configuration, in resilient, light weight skis that withstand, better than any other type known heretofore, all the stresses to which a ski may be subjected in use, and in particular also the torsion stresses that are encountered for instance during descents or ascensions in a direction transverse to the slope when the ski is canted relative to the ground.

More precisely, according to the present invention, the ski presents a structure constituted by a bottom element of thin pressed sheet steel, so as to form the ski sole and the longitudinal edges thereof are such as to replace the usual laminae for reinforcing the ski corners. Said structure includes a second element, pressed so as to form, after welding on the first element, a hollow structure, preferably provided with reinforcing ribs and on the top surface whereof there will be applied the ski footbinding, while a longitudinal reinforcing element, also made of pressed sheet metal, is placed inside, between the two above mentioned elements, and extends over the entire length of the ski, or over a portion of the same.

The advantages offered by the structure of the present invention are manifold, and chief among them are the following: possibility of adoption of very thin sheet gauges so as to be able to use sheet steel without exceeding the usual weight limits; the abolition of the usual overlaid laminae to protect the lower edges; the possibility of obtaining skis of different lengths with a same set of dies requiring only the variation of the combination of the elements constituting same, to obtain the desired different lengths; and the resistance that such a type of ski structure presents to all stresses to which such instruments are subjected during their use.

To such advantages are to be added those of a limited cost and an indefinite life.

The ski structure according to the invention may be adapted, with suitable changes, also for water skis and the like.

The accompanying drawing illustrates schematically, and only as an example, an embodiment of a ski according to the present invention, and namely:

FIG. 1 is a cross-section of a ski structure according to the invention, through the central part of the ski itself;

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view, at a much reduced scale relative to the preceding figure, of a complete ski according to the present invention.

As is clearly apparent from FIG. 1, the main parts of the structure of the present invention are two, namely the top element 1, shaped as a channel, and adapted to constitute the top and the sides of a ski, and the lower element or sole 2, that constitutes the bottom thereof, resting on the ground. The elements 1 and 2 terminate at their longitudinal edges in flanges protruding outwardly, shown in the drawing at 3 and 3' respectively, and adapted to overlap and be welded together, preferably with a continuous perfectly tight seam, obtained for instance by means of electric resistance welding rollers. The bottom element 2 between the longitudinal flanges'3' is slightly recessed so as to form a seat for the application of a strip of plastic material 4, or of another suitable material, constituting the surface sliding on the snow. Said strip 4 may be secured in the recess of element 2. in various Ways, preferably through glueing. It is thus evident how with this type of ski sole application the longitudinal laminae for the protection of the ski edges are eliminated because this function is performed directly, as already mentioned, by the outer borders 3 of the sheet steel element 2.

The element 1 is provided with longitudinal ribs, two of which are shown in FIG. 1, by the reference numeral 5, ribs that are obtained by pressing, and therefore practically at no extra cost, and which at the same time impart a greater strength to the structure. At 6 there is shown a shaped element, also of metal sheet, that in the illustrative example has the shape of a U with the ends of its arms bent over horizontally towards the outside, said horizontal flanges being Welded to the underside of the flat central zone of element 1. Such a shaped element 6 shall preferably have such a size that its lower portion will abut against the upper side of the sole 2 without the need of being secured thereon.

The structure just described, of the present invention, affords several advantages. In fact, elements 1 and 2 constitute, after their assemblage, a girder which, during its use is subjected to a bending stress that places the upper fibers under compression, and the lower ones under tension. The stresses that may be reached under specific conditions are very high inasmuch as there is a remarkable longitudinal flexibility of the structure.

In particular it is known how, for relatively thin portions of a structure, in the presence of remarkable compression stresses, there occurs the risk of the structure becoming bent or collapsed. The ribs 5 and the reinforcement 6 prevent this.

From the foregoing it is clearly apparent how one may adopt even very thin thicknesses to constitute the element 1, and how such a possibility, besides advantages per se evident, involves also that of allowing the use of sheet steel, which heretofore has been precluded for such type of design, because of the unacceptable weight that would have resulted for the ski itself.

Sheet steel, as is known, is a material that costs less than other alloys, that heretofore have been tentatively tried for use in such constructions, and at the same time is easily workable, in ready supply, and does not require the corner reinforcements that, even on wooden skis, are made 3 of steel. Moreover, the hardness and abrasion resistance of steel, as well as its flexibility, are well known.

FIG. 2 represents, as already stated, a schematic plan view of a ski according to the present invention. In the drawing, line XX indicates the trace of the vertical plan passing through the narrowest section of the ski. It is known in fact how, with the exception of some types designed for particular performances, the skis are narrower in the zone where the skiers shoe is fixed, and how such a width becomes increasingly wider towards the fore portion or point of the ski, and, to a smaller extent, also tow-ards the rear portion or tail of the ski itself.

It is also known how the thickness, that is the dimension shown as s in FIG. 1, is also variable along the ski. In particular its thickness is greater in said zone, where the shoe is fixed, and diminishes both towards the ski point and towards its tail. In a ski according to the present invention, the greater thickness section is expressly made to coincide with the minimum width section; also, the variation of the width as well as of the thickness is symmetrical for a certain ,distance in both directions from plane XX. in FIG. 2, there will be arranged one after the other, as

In FIG. 2 such zones, of symmetrical variation of the ski structure width and thickness, are respectively limited by the lines YY and ZZ, which are shown equidistant from the line XX. With this expedient, the construction of skis according to the present invention may be carried out for all the pre-established lengths of ski, practically with the same dies, which allows a remarkable saving in manufacturing costs, and thus an additional advantage. In fact, if it is desired to obtain a shorter ski, for instance of the length resulting from the sum of the two zones 7 and 8 in FIG. 2, these will be arranged one after the other, as sections Y- Y and ZZ, that are equal, are made to coincide. And these short skis will be easily obtained using the same dies only by eliminating the intermediate die portion, corresponding to the length YY, ZZ.

When instead it is desired to obtain skis of the maximum length, that is that shown in FIG. 2, the ski elements will be pressed with dies including also the portion between the lines YY and ZZ.

Skis of intermediate length will be obtained obviously by abolishing the shorter sections, such as for instance the one in FIG. 2 comprised between lines 9 and 10, each placed at the same distance d from the center line XX.

The advantages, at the production level, of such geometrical structure are evident when one considers the that the most rational manufacturing process for each of the three elements 1, 2 and 6 is that of pressing, or more generally, of shaping. Therefore, by means of two main dies, respectively for parts 7 and 8, as well as with a set of dies, one for each of the intermediate section lengths, it will be possible to obtain the assortment of skis of the desired lengths, simply by arranging said dies one after the other.

Of course, the preceding description and the figures in the drawing have an exemplifying value, concerning the constructive details. However, the particular shape of each of the elements constituting the ski structure according to the invention, or the inner reinforcements, and in general all the constructive details, such as the construction materials, may be varied according to needs without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention.

What I claim is:

1. A ski comprising two basic elements pressed from thin strong metal and spaced apart over most of their width, and a single reinforcing member pressed from sheet metal, both said basic elements having at both longitudinal edges thereof two flat horizontal marginal flanges that are disposed one on top of the other and welded together by continuous welds so as to constitute continuous and sharp side edges of the ski, said reinforcing member being U-shaped and being narrower than said basic elements and being disposed between said two basic elements and being welded to only one of said basic elements.

2. A ski as claimed in claim 1, having a longitudinal midportion of sustantial length and of constant crosssectional configuration over its length.

3. A ski comprising upper and lower sheet metal members which together have a box-shaped cross-sectional configuration, each said member having outwardly extending flanges at its marginal edges with the flanges disposed at the lower corners of the box-shaped cross section of the ski and Welded together, and a U-shaped reinforcing member disposed inside the box between said members and being secured by welding to one only of said members and touching but being unsecured to the other of said members.

4. A ski as claimed in claim 3, said U-shaped member having outwardly extending flanges that are welded to the underside of the upper of said members.

5. A ski as claimed in claim 3, the lower of said members being pressed into a sinuous cross-sectional configuration such that it has a downwardly opening recess between its marginal flanges, said recess extending most of the width of the ski, and a strip of plastic secured in said recess and having its lower surface substantially flush with the lower surfaces of said flanges.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,552,990 9/1925 Hunt 28011.l3 2,434,851 1/1948 Hoerle 280l1.13 2,560,693 7/1951 Hickman 2801 1. 13 3,145,998 8/1964 Holmberg et al. 28011.13

FOREIGN PATENTS 152,918 6/1932 Switzerland.

LEO FRIAGLIA, Primary Examiner. MILTON L. SMITH, Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A SKI COMPRISING TWO BASIC ELEMENTS PRESSED FROM THIN STRONG METAL AND SPACED APART OVER MOST OF THEIR WIDTH, AND A SINGLE REINFORCING MEMBER PRESSED FROM SHEET METAL, BOTH SAID BASIC ELEMENTS HAVING AT BOTH LONGITUDINAL EDGES THEREOF TWO FLAT HORIZONTAL MARGINAL FLANGES THAT ARE DISPOSED ONE ON TOP OF THE OTHER AND WELDED TOGETHER BY CONTINUOUS WELDS SO AS TO CONSTITUTE CONTINUOUS AND SHARP SIDE EDGES OF THE SKI, SAID REINFORCING MEMBER BEING U-SHAPED AND BEING NARROWER THAN SAID BASIC ELEMENTS AND BEING DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID TWO BASIC ELEMENTS AND BEING WELDED TO ONLY ONE OF SAID BASIC ELEMENTS.

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