TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to ski poles. In particular the invention is described with reference to a pair of ski poles that can be connected to each other.

BACKGROUND

Ski poles, sometimes referred to as stocks, are used by skiers for balance and propulsion. A modern ski pole typically has a shaft made of aluminium or carbon fibre, a grip (handle) attached to the upper part of the shaft, and a basket near the bottom end of the shaft to stop the pole from sinking into deep snow. The grips of most ski poles are provided with straps that are slipped over the wrist to improve the skiers hold on the grip, and to prevent the loss of the pole in the event of a fall.

In ski resorts, chair lifts are the most common way for skiers to ascend the mountain to the top of the ski trails. When queuing to get on a chair lift, a skier is expected to take the pole straps off their wrists, and not to slip them back on until after they have got off the chair lift. When getting seated into a chair lift, the skier typically holds both ski poles in one hand whilst using the other hand to bring down the safety bar. Should the skier not securely hold onto the ski poles it is easy to drop them, which may pose a hazard and the inconvenience involved in retrieving them.

There is prior art directed to connecting ski poles so that they can be carried and stowed both on and off chair lifts. Some of these proposals as described in DE221873 (Westerhoff), US4234202 (Loffelholz) and Fig. 6 of DEI 0325081 (Baumgartner) utilize magnets on the grips to interconnect them. One of the problems with such devices is that when the grips are close to each other, the magnets will cause attraction and connection even when the skier doesn't want them connected. Furthermore the magnets may be attracted to other

ferromagnetic materials.

DE10325081 also describes other embodiments which invol ve non-magnetic locking, with the locking parts on or below the lower part of the grips. In these arrangements it is difficult to quickly connect and disconnect them, and some are more suited for long term connection rather than a quick connect of the ski poles when intending to get on a chair lift. One of the reasons they are difficult to quick connect, is that ski poles whilst being held by a user must be placed one in front of the other, as the locking parts are in the respective aft and fore sections of the lower part of the grips, making them difficult to quickly align for connection. Some of these embodiments also significantly alter the configuration of the lower part of the hand grips and have large protruding locking parts, which are not desirable as they can inadvertently catch or snag onto to clothing, or easily become damaged.

One arrangement used for detachably interconnecting ski poles mechanically is disclosed in US3866931 (Marker). It relies on snowheads (baskets) near the tip end of the poles, each of which have a first lower hook (a first pair of connecting elements) that can engage with each other, and each handle has a second upper hook (a second pair of connecting elements). In order to allow for the interconnection, the tubular shafts must be elastically deformable in length to at least an extent of the hooks. In order to connect, the lower hooks on the snowheads must engage with each other and the ski pole having the lower upward opening hook must be pulled upwards so that its tubular shaft extends elastically to allow the upper hook on the same ski pole to clear and then engage with the upper hook on the other ski pole. The primary disadvantage is that the hooks are at the lower end of the handle, which means that their location and the extent to which they protrude, may result in them catching or snagging onto to clothing/zippers and the like, or easily become damaged. This is because a user's hand grasps the ski pole handle above the hooks, and in use of the poles it is easy for the exposed protruding hooks to snag onto the user's clothing and the like.

Another arrangement disclosed in US3687472 (Struble, Jr) show ski poles adapted to be mechanically connected together to hold a pair of skis. The ski poles have handles as shown in Fig 5 that utilise a plurality of deep groove and rib formations formed in the front of each handle, which are adapted to interlock together. The ribs are enlarged at their outermost ends to provide a snapping action. However a number of disadvantages are associated with this arrangement. Firstly, the front of one handle requires alignment with front of the other handle such that ribs of one handle may be snapped into connection with the grooves of the other handle. This alignment must be accurately done to ensure that all the ribs on one handle align with the grooves on the other, and may not be carried out quickly otherwise there is a risk of incorrect connection or damage to the ribs. Secondly, the nature of the ribs and grooves means that debris, snow or ice can be embedded in the grooves (ie between the ribs) and trapped there by the enlarged outermost ends of the ribs, making it both difficult to remove such debris and/or snow/ice and to interconnect the handles. Furthermore, the handles are provided with straps and snap fasteners that are used to bind the handles together once the ribs and grooves have been connected. Both the abovementioned disadvantages make such interconnection of handles suited to stowing and transporting of poles and skis to and from the skiing area, rather than for a quick connection of ski poles on the ski slopes in order to ride a chair lift, or to have a short break from skiing.

All of these abovementioned prior art arrangements suffer from the various disadvantages discussed above, and are therefore not suitable for use on the ski fields during use of ski poles for quick and secure connection and disconnection. Despite some of the prior art mechanical locking arrangements being more than forty years old, they have not been commercialised.

The present invention seeks to overcome at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

According to a first aspect the present invention consists in a pair of first and second ski poles connectable to each other, said first ski pole having a first shaft with a first hand-grip at an upper end thereof and a first basket near the lower end thereof, said second ski pole having a second shaft with a second hand-grip at an upper end thereof and a second basket near the lower end thereof, said first hand-grip having a locking device thereon for connection to a counter locking device on said second hand-grip, wherein said first hand-grip is biasedly mounted to said first shaft, and in use for connection of said first and second poles said first and second baskets engage with each other, and said locking device of said first hand-grip is held in biased engagement with said counter locking device of said second hand-grip.

Preferably said first hand-grip is biasedly mounted to said first shaft by a first spring that allows limited axial movement of said hand-grip relative to said first shaft.

Preferably said first hand-grip is mechanically restrained to prevent it being detached from said first shaft by the bias force provide by said first spring.

Preferably said locking device is located in a side of said first hand-grip, and said counter locking device is located in a side of said second hand-grip.

Preferably said locking device is located near the upper end of said first hand-grip, and said counter locking device is located near the upper end of said second hand-grip.

Preferably said locking device of said first hand-grip is a projecting locking part, and said counter locking device is a counter locking part for receiving said projecting locking part. Preferably a ramp is disposed on said projecting locking part, and a lip is associated with said counter locking part, and said ramp and said lip when brought into engagement with each other to assist said projecting locking part into engagement with said counter locking part.

Preferably said second hand-grip is biasedly mounted to said second shaft by a second spring that allows limited axial movement of said second hand-grip relative to said second shaft.

Preferably said first basket of said first pole has male projections engagable with apertures disposed on said second basket.

Preferably said first basket and said second basket are identical, and said first basket and second basket each has a plurality of engagement units, to allow engagement therebetween.

A pair of first and second ski poles as claimed in claim 10, wherein each engagement unit includes a male projection and an aperture.

Preferably each of said first hand-grip and second hand-grip are of two piece construction mounted to its respective shaft via mounting fixture engaging the shaft.

Preferably each of said first hand-grip and second hand-grip has a pommel at its upper end, and said locking part and counter locking parts are formed integrally with the respective pommels.

According to a second aspect the present invention consists in a pair of first and second ski poles said first ski pole having a first shaft with a first hand-grip at an upper end thereof and a first basket near the lower end, said second ski pole having a second shaft with a second handgrip at an upper end thereof and a second basket near the lower end, wherein said first and second ski poles can be interconnected by engagement of said first and second baskets to each other and engagement of said first and second hand-grips to each other, and wherein said first hand grip is mounted to said first shaft via a first spring for limited axial movement relative thereto, and said engagement of said first and second hand-grips is maintained by a biased force provided by said first spring.

Preferably said first hand-grip has a projecting locking part on one of its sides at an upper end thereof, and said second hand-grip has a counter locking part on one of its sides at an upper end thereof, said counter locking part for receiving said projecting locking part.

Preferably said first hand-grip is mechanically restrained to prevent it being detached from said first shaft by the bias force provide by said first spring. Preferably a ramp is disposed on said projecting locking part, and a lip is associated with said counter locking part, and said ramp and said lip when brought into engagement with each other to assist said projecting locking part into engagement with said counter locking part.

Preferably said second hand grip is mounted to said second shaft via a second spring for limited axial movement relative thereto.

Preferably each of said first hand-grip and second hand-grip are of two piece construction mounted to its respective shaft via mounting fixture engaging the shaft.

According to a third aspect the present invention consists in a ski pole comprising a shaft with a hand-grip at an upper end thereof, and a basket near a lower end, wherein said hand grip is biasedly mounted to said shaft via a spring for limited axial movement relative to said shaft, said hand-grip has a locking part projecting there from for connecting to a counter locking part on another associated ski pole, and said projecting locking part is disposed in the side of said hand- grip.

Preferably said hand-grip has a pommel at its upper end, and said locking part is formed integrally with said pommel.

Preferably a ramp is disposed on said projecting locking part, and a lip is associated with said counter locking part on said associated ski pole, and said ramp and said lip when brought into engagement with each other to assist said projecting locking part into engagement with said counter locking part.

Preferably said first hand-grip is of a two piece construction mounted to said shaft via a mounting fixture.

Preferably said spring is mounted on a lug on said mounting fixture.

Preferably each piece of said hand-grip has a post slidably engagable with a respective keyway pocket in said mounting fixture,

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a pair of ski poles in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention in spaced apart configuration.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the pair of ski poles of Fig. 1 in a connected configuration. Fig. 3 is a side view of the pair of ski poles shown in Fig 2 in the connected configuration.

Fig. 4 is a cross- sectional view of the pair of ski poles through IV- IV shown in Fig. 3 in the connected configuration.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the pair of ski poles with the baskets engaged and the spring compressed.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged upper front perspective view of the hand-grips of the ski poles shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged lower rear perspective view of the hand-grips of the ski poles shown in Fig. 1.

Figs 8a, 8b and 8c are cross- sectional schematics of the hand grips of a pair of ski poles in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention apart, as they are being brought together and in engagement.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a pair of ski poles in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention in spaced apart configuration.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the pair of ski poles of Fig. 9 in a connected configuration.

Fig. 1 1 is a side view of the pair of ski poles shown in Fig 10 in the connected configuration.

Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the pair of ski poles through XII-XII shown in Fig. 11 in the connected configuration.

Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the pair of ski poles with the baskets engaged and a spring compressed.

Fig.14 is a partial enlarged perspective view of the baskets of the pair of ski poles of Fig 9, in spaced apart configuration.

Fig.15 is a partial enlarged perspective view of the baskets of the pair of ski poles of Fig 10, in connected configuration.

Fig. 16 depicts an upper enlarged perspective view of the basket shown alone, of the type used in the pair of ski poles shown in Fig. 9.

Fig. 17 depicts a lower enlarged perspective view of the basket of Fig. 16.

Fig. 18 is an enlarged upper front perspective view of the hand-grips of the ski poles shown in Fig. 9. Fig. 19 is an enlarged lower rear perspective view of the hand-grips of the ski poles shown in Fig. 9.

Figs 20a, 20b and 20c are cross-sectional schematics of the hand grips of the pair of ski poles as shown in Fig 9 apart, then as they are being brought together and in engagement.

Fig. 21 is an exploded perspective view of the hand-grip of a ski pole in accordance with a fourth embodiment having a projecting male locking part.

Figs 22a, 22b and 22c are cross-sectional schematics of the hand grip of a ski pole shown in Fig. 21 with a hand grip of ski pole having a complementary female locking part, the two ski poles forming a pair of interconnecting ski poles as they are being brought together and in engagement.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Figs. 1 to 7 depict a first embodiment of a pair of first and second ski poles l a, lb capable of being interconnected to each other.

First ski pole la has a shaft 2 with a first hand-grip 3a at an upper end thereof, and a first basket 4a near the lower tip end 12. Second ski pole lb has a shaft 2 with a second hand-grip 3b at an upper end thereof, and a second basket 4b near the lower tip end 12.

Both first and second hand-grips 3a,3b are preferably made of plastic, and each have a pommel 5 at their upper end. An aperture 7 is provided in each pommel 5 for receiving a strap (not shown).

On first hand-grip 3a below the top of its respective pommel 5 and on one side thereof, is a substantially upward projecting male locking part 6a. On second hand-grip 3b below the top of its its respective pommel 5 and on one side thereof, is a substantially downwardly

female/concave (or counter) locking part 6b adapted to receive locking part 6a of first handgrip 3 a.

First hand-grip 3a is biasedly mounted to shaft 2 of pole la by means of coil spring 8, and is capable of limited axial movement relative to shaft 2. A pin 9 engaging shaft 2 restrains hand grip 3a from being detached from shaft 2 under the influence of spring 8. The biased force of spring 8 to extend urges hand-grip 3a way from tip end 12. Compression of spring 8 allows hand-grip 3a to be urged axially a limited short distance, say of less than 5mm, towards the opposite tip end 12 of shaft 2. Baskets 4a, 4b are preferably made of plastic. Basket 4b of pole lb has a slot 14 capable of having tip end 12 of pole la engage therewith.

In use, when a user (not shown) wants to connect ski poles la,lb to each other he engages tip end 12 of pole la in slot 14 of basket 4b, with basket 4a located above basket 4b as shown in Fig. 5, and brings poles la, lb in close proximity to each other. He then urges hand-grip 3a to axially compress spring 8 and holds it there, while bringing male locking part 6a into alignment with female locking part 6b on hand grip 3b. Release of hand grip 3a by the user causes spring 8 to axially extend urging male locking part 6a of hand grip 3a into engagement with female locking part 6b. As baskets 4a, 4b are inter-engaged, male locking part 6a of hand-grip 3a will remain in engagement with female locking part 6b of hand-grip 3b, as a result of the biased force provided by spring 8, thereby connecting poles l a, lb.

To release (or disconnect) poles la, lb from one another, the user again urges hand grip 3a to axially compress spring 8, so that male locking part 6a can be removed from female locking part 6b, and then removes tip end 12 of pole la from slot 14 of basket 4b.

Figs 8a, 8b and 8c depict hand grips 3c and 3d of a pair of ski poles lc and Id in a second embodiment. Ski poles lc and Id have shafts 2, a coil spring 8, pin 9 and baskets and tip ends (not shown) similar to those components on poles la and lb. However, in this embodiment the male locking part 6c and female locking part 6d differ in shape to the male and female locking parts 6a, 6b of the first embodiment.

Male locking part 6a has a ramp 6e disposed thereon, whilst female locking part has a lip 6f associated therewith at pommel 5d of grip 3d. Ramp 6e and lip 6f assist in the "quick connect" of male locking part 6c and female locking part 6d.

Fig 8a depicts the hand grips 3c and 3d spaced apart as they are being brought together. With the tip end of ski pole lc engaged with the basket of pole Id, hand grip 3c can be brought towards hand grip 3d, as shown in Fig 8b. As ramp 6e strikes lip 6e, hang grip 3c would be urged downwardly against the bias of spring 8 a short distance, until male locking member 6c is able to be urged under the influence of spring 8 into engagement with the concave portion of female locking part 6d as depicted in Fig 8c. To release (or disconnect) poles lc,ld from one another, the user urges hand grip 3c to axially compress spring 8, so that male locking part 6c can be removed from female locking part 6d, in a similar manner to the first embodiment. It should be noted that the male and female locking parts 6a, 6b (and 6c, 6d) which are located in the respective upper parts of hand-grips 3a,3b (3c,3d) below the top of pommels 5, and integral with pommel 5, do not need to be large in size and the biased nature of the spring loaded hand-grip 3a(3c) assists in the quick location of male locking part 6a(6c) into female locking part 6b(6c). As the locking parts 6a, 6b (and 6c, 6d) are small and located just below the top of pommels 5, they do not pose a risk of snagging or catching on to clothing and the like, or getting damaged, as is the case with the prior art. This because in use, when a user's gloved hand (not shown) grasps the handle, small sized locking parts 6a, 6b (and 6c, 6d) do not pose a risk of snagging or catching on other clothing. Also in the rare event that debris and/or snow/ice enter the female locking parts 6b, 6d, then the user can quickly tap the hand grips of the ski poles together, causing the debris and/or snow/ice to readily fall out. Furthermore the male and female locking parts 6a,6b (6c,6d) are on the sides of the respective hand grips 3a,3b (3c,3d), rather than the aft and fore ends as in the prior art DE10325081, making it easy for the user to bring the hand grips 3a,3b (3c,3d) together and engage the locking parts 6a,6b (6c,6d). The limited axial movement of hand-grip 3a or 3c is so small that this movement is negligible and not noticeable to the user when ski pole la or lc is being used conventionally for balance and propulsion.

Figs 9 to 20c depict a third embodiment of a pair of first and second ski poles lj,lk capable of being interconnected to each other. In a similar fashion to the poles of the first embodiment, first ski pole Ij has a shaft 2 with a first hand-grip 3j at an upper end thereof, and a basket 4j near the lower tip end 12. Second ski pole lk has a shaft 2 with a second hand-grip 3k at an upper end thereof, and a second basket 4j near the lower tip end 12.

Both first and second hand-grips 3j,3k like those of the first embodiment are preferably made of plastic, and each have a pommel 5 at their upper end. An aperture 7 is provided in each pommel 5 for receiving a strap (not shown).

On first hand-grip 3j below its respective pommel 5 and on one side thereof, is a substantially upward projecting male locking part 6j. On second hand-grip 3k below its respective pommel 5 and on one side thereof, is a substantially downwardly female/concave (or counter) locking part 6k adapted to receive locking part 6j of first hand-grip 3j. First hand-grip 3j is biasedly mounted to shaft 2 of pole lj by means of coil spring 8, and is capable of limited axial movement relative to shaft 2. A pin 9 engaging shaft 2 restrains hand grip 3j from being detached from shaft 2 under the influence of spring 8. The biased force of spring 8 to extend urges hand-grip 3j way from tip end 12. Compression of spring 8 allows hand-grip 3j to be urged axially a limited short distance, say of less than 5mm, towards the opposite tip end 12 of shaft 2.

Baskets 4j used on first and second ski poles lj, lk are identical to each other, and are preferably made of plastic. Each basket 4j has a three engagement units 15. Each engagement unit 15 is made up of a prong (male projection) 16 paired with an aperture 17, as best seen in Figs 16 and 17. In order to operably connect baskets 4j to one another, two prongs 16 on one basket 4j nestably engage with respective apertures 17 on the other basket 4j.

In use, when a user (not shown) wants to connect ski poles lj, 1 k to each other he nestably engages basket 4j of pole lk with the basket 4j of pole lj, as best seen in Figs 14 and 15. He then urges hand-grip 3j to axially compress spring 8 and holds it there, while bringing male locking part 6j into alignment with female locking part 6k on hand grip 3k. Release of hand grip 3j by the user causes spring 8 to axially extend urging male locking part 6j of hand grip 3j into engagement with female locking part 6k on hand grip 3j. As baskets 4j are inter-engaged, male locking part 6j of hand-grip 3j will remain in engagement with female locking part 6k of hand-grip 3k, as a result of the biased force provided by spring 8, thereby connecting poles lj, lk. To release (or disconnect) poles 1 j , 1 k from one another, the user urges hand grip 3j to axially compress spring 8, so that male locking part 6j can be removed from female locking part 6j.

The limited axial movement of hand-grip 3j is so small that this movement is negligible and not noticeable to the user when ski pole lj is being used conventionally for balance and propulsion.

A spring 8b, similar to spring 8 is used in the mounting of second hand grip 3k to second pole lk via pin 9b, similar to pin 9. Spring 8b and pin 9b are not required for locking and unlocking the hand grips 3j,3k together, but they do provide a similar feel, construction and limited movement to the second hand grip 3k as is provided for first hand grip 3j.

Also the top of portions of hand grips 3j,3k each have respective "flat" surfaces 18 j and 18k as shown in Fig 20a.Wnen hand grips 3j,3k are connected they abut against each other each along an interface F, as shown in Fig 20c. This abutting of flat surfaces 18j,18k assists in preventing or minimizing the twisting of hand grips 3j,3k relative to each other when poles lj,lk are connected together.

In the third embodiment it should be noted that single basket 4j type is used on both poles lj, lk. Furthermore the springs 8,8b and the pins 9,9b are identical for simple assembly of components.

It should be noted that whilst basket 4j is of a type have a female thread in its central bore for screw attachment near tip 12, it should be understood that basket 4j could be attached to shaft 2 by a conventional snap fit or push fit system.

In the abovementioned first, second and third embodiments the hand grips 3a,3b,3c,3d,3j and 3k are all connected (engaged) to their respective shaft 2 via a pin 9. In order to do this, holes must be drilled or machined into shaft 2. Whilst drilling or machining could be done in a shaft 2 made of aluminium to accommodate a pin 9, such a connection arrangement is not suitable for a shaft 2 made of carbon fibre.

Figs. 21 to 22c depict a fourth embodiment of a pair of first and second ski poles lm, In capable of being interconnected to each other.

In this arrangement, each of the first and second hand grips 3m, 3n are of a two piece construction connected to a respective shaft 2 via a mount fixture 19.

Both first and second hand-grips 3m, 3n like those of the earlier embodiments are preferably made of plastic, and each have a pommel 5 at their upper end. On first hand-grip 3m below the top of its respective pommel 5 and on one side thereof, is a substantially upward projecting male locking part 6m. On second hand-grip 3n below the top of its respective pommel 5 and on one side thereof, is a substantially downwardly female/concave (or counter) locking part 6n adapted to receive locking part 6m of first hand-grip 3m. These locking parts 6m, 6n are similar to the locking parts 6j, 6k respectively, of the third embodiment.

The two piece hand-grip construction is now described with reference to hand-grip 3m having male locking part 6m shown in Fig. 21. Hand-grip 3m has two halves 3mi and 3m ₂ which are connected together via four screws 25. Mount fixture 19 has a first end portion 20 which is glued or mechanically fixed into the end of shaft 2. Mount fixture 19 has a lug 22 at the opposite end to first end portion 20. Lug 22 is adapted to have compression spring 8 mounted thereon. Mount fixture 19 has two keyway pockets 23, one on each side, in which respective posts 24 of grip halves 3mi, 3m ₂ are located. In Fig. 21, only one keyway pocket 23 is shown (the other hidden) and only post 24 in 3mi is shown (the other in hand-grip 3m ₂ is hidden). When hand grip 3m is assembled, posts 24 are located inside respective keyway pockets 23, which prevents hand grip 3m from rotating relative to shaft 2. As posts 24 are slidably engagable with limited axial travel in the respectively slightly longer keyway pockets 23, a limited travel path of typically less than 5mm is provided for compression spring 8. The two piece construction for the other hand-grip 3n is similar to that of hand-grip 3m.

As shown in Figs 22a-22c, the hand grips 3m, 3n are brought together for connection to each other in a similar fashion to the earlier shown third embodiment. Also like that of the earlier third embodiment, the limited axial movement of hand-grips 3m, 3n is so small that this movement is negligible when the ski poles are being used conventionally for balance and propulsion.

The advantage of this fourth embodiment over earlier mentioned embodiments, is that it facilitates easier manufacturing where no drilling or machining of shaft 2 is required, making it suitable for shafts made of either carbon fibre or aluminium. Also by splitting hand-grips 3m, 3n into halves, it is possible to reduce moulding cost and part weight.

The terms "comprising" and "including" (and their grammatical variations) as used herein are used in an inclusive sense and not in the exclusive sense of "consisting only of.