4 The present invention relates to system for closing sport shoes in general and in particular to a syste 5 for closing and adjusting the fit of a ski boot or the like A conventional ski boot as presently used in downhill skiing with a ski release binding typically com¬ prises a relatively rigid exterior lower shell and upper cuff and a relatively soft interior liner. The shell and 10 cuff are designed to provide mechanical protection and support for a foot, ankle and lower leg and to provide a stable means for releasably securing the boot to a ski.

Usually the shell and cuff are pivotally coupled in the proximity of the ankle as by a rivet or the like. 15 Boots constructed with a pivoting cuff generally provide • restraint against excess sideways and rearward bending of the leg relative to the foot at the ankle while providing limited forward bending thereof. Less commonly, boots are constructed without a pivoting cuff and forward bending is 20 accommodated by a separation of the upper forward section o the cuff.

The relatively rigid exterior lower shell and upper cuff in conjunction with the relatively soft interior liner in conventional ski boots are designed to also provide 25 restraint against upward, forward, rearward and sideways movement of the foot within the boot. This restraint is necessary to minimize foot discomfort and fatigue from recurring pressure areas and continual movement of the foot ^v in the boot and to control the skis during various skiing τ|t 30 maneuvers and in various terrain and snow conditions.

Furthermore, this restraint is essential to minimize foot movement in order to maximize energy transmission between the foot and the release binding in a potential injury producing fall. 35 In conventional boots the required restraint is usually provided by constructing the shell and the cuff so that each defines overlapping flaps which can be pulled

together against the foot with a plurality of individually adjustable overcenter buckles. This arrangement has several drawbacks. For one, it is relatively tedious and requires frequent experimentation to achieve the desired closeness o the fit. For another, such boots are tightened about the wearer's lower extremity, namely his foot and the lower portion of his lower leg by pulling together relatively rigid plastic components. Although such an arrangement works relatively well for tightening the cuff about the more or less cylindrical lower leg, the irregular shape of the foot makes an even fit difficult to achieve; typically, wearers of such boots experience uncomfortable pressure points.

To at least partially overcome these shortcomings, attempts have been made to reduce the number of buckles required for closing the boot; in some instances to as few as one or two buckles typically located in the vicinity of the cuff which surrounds the skier's lower leg. The remainder of the boot, namely the shell, is rigid and can neither be tightened nor loosened. Instead, attempts are made to fit the boot as closely as possible by providing soft inserts of various shapes and thicknesses and by com¬ promising any adjustability; that is the cuff of the boot can be tightened as desired but the shell has a given tight- ness which may be more or less than what is desired and which cannot be changed. Thus, the closeness of the fit of the shell must remain the same irrespective of whether the person sits, walks or actively skis and, of course, there is no change in the fit during actual skiing. Typically, the magnitude of the restraint require from one moment to the next will vary as the skiing condi- tions and the maneuvers being executed change. Conse¬ quently, an ideal boot should provide for -a close, comfort¬ able fit that does not compromise circulation and warmth for the tracking phase of skiing and provides a momentary tighter fit for the turning phase of skiing and during a fall condition.

As presently designed, conventional ski boots do not adequately compensate for the dynamic conditions that prevail in downhill skiing. With conventional boots, durin a turn when skiing on packed snow, forward bending at the ankle is usually accompanied by a tendency for hindfoot upward movement and forefoot sideways movement because ski control and turning are usually accomplished by downward an sideways force applied to the forward leading edges of the skis. In powder snow, the forward leading edges are kept raised for planing on top of the snow with a tendency for forefoot upward and sideways movement. When maneuvering in snow of different consistencies or in bumpy or mogly ter¬ rain, the skier alternates, frequently and rapidly, between forward and rearward bending in the boots. As a result of this foot movement, ski control with conventional ski boots is significantly reduced. In most injury producing fall conditions, excess movement also reduces energy transmission between the foot and the release binding.

In view of the foregoing, a principal object of the present invention is a sport shoe with a simple, yet effective adjustable fitting system, and in particular, a sport shoe such as a ski boot which can be closed without the need for tediously adjusting numerous buck ls or the like and which further provides a comfortable and effective coupling between the skier's lower extremity and the shoe.

Generally speaking, the present invention accomp¬ lishes this by providing such as a ski boot, which has a lower shell including a boot sole and an upper cuff that is usually movably, e.g. pivotally secured to the shell for movement relative thereto in forward and aft directions.

Both the shell and the cuff are typically constructed of a relatively rigid material such as plastic. The cuff has overlapping cuff members or flaps which extend about the user's lower leg and which can be suitably drawn, together as is further described below. Disposed within the boot is a soft liner which forms a cushion between the wearer's lower extremity and the relatively hard shell and cuff to provide warmth and comfort for the wearer.

Disposed within the boot and immediately above the sole of the shell is a movable foot bed the aft or heel end of which is connected to a cable which extends through an appropriate opening in the shell or cuff to the exterior of the boot. From there the cable extends about the flaps of the cuff to an overcenter buckle.

In one relatively simple embodiment of the inven¬ tion both ends of the cable are attached to the heel end of the foot bed and it extends from the foot bed through the above-mentioned opening and via appropriate guides directly to a single buckle. By closing the buckle the foot bed is raised relative to the sole and, simultaneously therewith, the cuff flaps are tightened about the wearer's leg. _. This not only renders it exceedingly simple to close the boot, it provides a fit of heretofore unattained comfort which grasps the foot and the leg with a relatively uniform pressure. The comfort is at least in part due to the fact that the foot bed firmly presses the wearer's foot, and particularly his instep against the upper portion of the shell and, to a lesser extent, the lower portion of the cuff.

To provide a degree of adjustability so as to accommodate feet and/or lower legs of differing sizes in the same boot and to further vary the tightness of the fit, suitable adjustment means is provided, for example a turn buckle can be incorporated in the cable and/or the buckle can include a plurality of adjustment notches for engaging the cable. Either or both vary the effective length of the cable and thereby the degree to which the foot bed is raised and the cuff members are drawn together when the buckle is closed.

In addition, when the cuff is movably, e.g., pivotally attached to the shell there is a limited degree of shortening of the effective cable length during forward lean. In this manner the tightness with which the foot and the lower leg are grasped is temporarly increased during turning maneuvers and the like.

In another embodiment of the invention the temporary tightening of the fit between the boot and the

lower extremity is enhanced. In this embodiment the movabl foot bed is also disposed within the shell, immediately above the sole thereof, and the aft or heel end thereof is attached only to one end a cab;Le which extends through an appropriate opening in the shell or the cuff to the exterio of the boot. On the exterior the cable is looped about a floating pulley, that is a pulley not fixed to the boot, an the other end of the cable is fixedly attached to the shell The pulley includes a center shaft, preferably on which permits relative rotational movements of the pulley. A second cable is attached to the pulley shaft and extends exteriorly of the boot about the overlapping cuff flaps to the front of the boot. The same overcenter buckle discusse above engages the second cable and, when the buckle is closed, shortens the effective length of the cable and thereby raises the pulley relative to the shell and the sole. Since one end of the first cable is anchored to the shell, raising of the pulley results in a corresponding raising of the foot bed. At the same time, the shortening of the effective length of the second cable tightens the cuff flaps about the wearer's lower leg. In this manner, the same simple and comfortable closing of the boot about the wearer's lower extremity as described in the first mentioned embodiment of the invention is attained. In addition, this embodiment of the invention provides for a much more pronounced dynamic, that is momen¬ tary tightening of the fit of the boot about the lower extremity during use. When the wearer leans forwardly, the cuffs pivot in a forward direction relative to the shell which has the effect of raising the pulley relative to the shell because the pulley is secured to the second cable. Since one end of the cable is fixed to the shell, the other end, together with the movable heel end of the foot bed attached thereto moves with the pulley. Consequently, the foot bed presses the foot and particularly the instep with an increasing force against the inside of the shell.

The raising of the pulley and of the foot bed results in a corresponding increase in the tension applied E.

to the first cable which is transmitted by the pulley shaft to the second cable. This increased tension draws the cuff flaps further together so long as the cuff pivots forwardly relative to the shell and thereby correspondingly increases the closeness or tightness with which the cuff engages the lower leg..

When the forward lean is over and the user returns his leg to its normal position relative to his foot, the cuff pivotally moves back to its normal position, thereby lowering the pulley relative to the shell. This correspond¬ ingly lowers the foot bed within the shell, reduces the force with which the instep is pressed against the inside of the shell, lowers the tension in the cable and permits a loosening of the flaps about the lower leg to the "normal" tightness.

As is apparent from ^" the foregoing, the present invention provides both a simple ^* , one buckle boot which applies a very even contact pressure to all parts of the wearer's lower extremity, that is both his foot and his lower leg immediately above the ankle and a dynamic tighten¬ ing of the fit of the boot on the lower extremity in response to a predetermined relative motion between the shell and the cuff. All this can be accomplished with only a single buckle which renders the sport shoe of the present invention much simpler to use and less expensive to produce than prior art boots which have a much less even fit and little or no dynamic tightening capabilities. The accompanying drawings show: Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 2-2 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation view of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a front elevation view of Fig. 1; _^ Figs- 5-7 are similar to Figs. 1-3 and illustrate a simplified embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 10-10 of Fig. 6; Fig. 11 is a partial cross-sectional side view of a strap interconnecting a heel cup and movable footbed assembly and boot shell according to another embodiment of the present invention; and

Fig. 12 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along lines 12-12 of Fig. 11.

Referring to Figs. 1-4, there is provided in accordance with the present invention a ski boot 700 which has a cuff 701 movably attached to a shell 702 as by a rivet or the like 703. The shell 702 includes a sole 704. The cuff, shell and sole are relatively rigid and typically are made of plastic or a similar material.

In the interior of the cuff and the shell 701 and 702 there is a soft resilient liner 705. The liner 705 provides an initial close, warm and comfortable fit- The ^" liner has a forward section 705a and a rearward section

705b. To facilitate entry and exit from the ski boot, the two sections are separable along an intermediate line 705c extending from the top of the liner down to approximately the rivit 703. The forward and rearward sections overlap along the line of separation to provide for adjustability of fit.

Located in the bottom of the shell 702 and sup¬ ported on the sole member 704 there is a movable footbed 712 which has an aft or heel receiving portion 706. The forward end of the footbed 707 is suitably supported on the sole 704. Attached to the rear end of the footbed 712 is a cable 708 which is routed upwardly through a hole 709 in the liner 705 and cuff 701. From the hole 709 the cable is routed about a floating pulley 710, that is a pulley not otherwise attached to the boot, which is located on the exterior rear portion of the cuff 701. From the pulley 710 the cable 708 is routed downwardly and its other end is attached at a point 711 to the sole 704.

The pulley 710 includes a shaft or pin 715. Attached to the shaft 715 is a cable 716 which is routed from the shaft about a pair of aft cable guides 717 and 718 attached to the cuff 701. From the aft guides the cable 716 is routed about a pair of forward guides 719 and 720 through one of a plurality of cable receiving slots 721 of an over- center buckle 722. The buckle 722 is provided to adjust the boot 700 to a close fit and to prevent loosening of the close fit during skiing. Referring especially to Fig. 2, cuff 701 has an aft cuff member 730 and a forward cuff member 731. The forward cuff member 731, when closed by buckle 722, overlaps the upper end of the shell 702. The overlapping of the shell 702 by the cuff member 731 prevents the cuff member 731 from pivoting rearwardly during rearwardly leaning.

Along its forward edges the rearward cuff member 730 has a pair of flanges 734 and 735. The flanges 734 and 735 can slidably move in and out of spaces 736 and 737 provided therefor interior of the flanges 732 and 733. Similarly the flanges 732 and 733 can slidably move in and out of spaces

738 and 739 provided therefor on the exterior of the flanges 734 and 735.

In use during a forward lean, as during a turning maneuver when a skier leans forwardly in his ski boots, the forward movement of the cuff 701 relative to the shell 702 raises pulley 710 relative to sole 704. This increases the tension in cable 708, because one of its ends is attached to the sole at point 711. As a result, the increasing tension in cable 708 raises footbed 712 relative to the sole 704. The increased tension in cable 708 results in a correspond¬ ing increase in the tension in cable 716 because the two are interconnected by floating pulley 710. The increased ten¬ sion in cable 716 draws cuff members 730 and 731 together. As the cuff members 730 and 731 are drawn together and the rear end of the footbed 712 is raised, there is a momentary tightening of boot 700 on the skier's lower extremity. Specifically, the tightened cuff members grap the leg more firmly and the raised footbed presses the foot more firmly

against the forward portion of shell 702 overlying the foot until the turning or other maneuver requiring a forward lea is over and the skier resumes his normal position again.

It will typically be preferred to cover pulley 71 and as much of the cable as possible to enhance the estheti appearance of the boot and to prevent either or both from becoming entangled with foreign objects. This is readily done by appropriately routing the cables, providing cover¬ ings and/or positioning the pulley on the interior of the shell and cuff (not shown).

Referring to Figs. 5-7, there is shown an embodi¬ ment of the invention which is similar to that shown in Figs. 1-4 but which is relatively simpler in that it pro¬ vides for a reduced adjustment of the tightness of the fit of the boot on the foot in response to relative motion between the shell and the cuff. Since the two embodiments are in most respects identical, the same elements in Figs. 1-4 and 5-7 have the same reference numerals.

In this simplified embodiment of the invention, a single cable 740 has both of its ends attached to heel portion 706 of foot bed 712 at a pair of spaced apart points 742. From the foot bed the two strands of cable 740 extend upwardly, through appropriate openings 709 in the shell and cuff to the exterior of the boot. Hence the cable is route upwardly about aft cable guides 717, 718, and about cuff members 730 forwardly to forward cable guides 719, 720. From the forward cable guides the cable is routed to an appropriate one of a plurality of cable receiving notches 721 in overσenter clamp 722. In use, buckle 722 is first opened so that cuff flap 730, 731 can be moved apart to enable the insertion of a foot in the boot. Thereafter, the clamp is closed which correspondingly shortens the effective length of the cable and thus raises the aft end of foot bed 712. This presses the instep of the foot against the overlying inside of the boot, primarily the shell 702, and thus results in a rela¬ tively even holding pressure or close fit between the foot, the movable foot bed 712 beneath the foot and the inside of

the shell above the foot. The closing of the buckle, the shortening of the effective length of the cable and the resulting increase in the tension in the cable also draws the overlapping cuff flaps 730, 731 together and into firm engagement with the lower leg. Thus, there is formed a fir and relatively uniform pressure fit between the lower extremity and the boot which grasps the foot over most, if not all of its length, as well as the lower portion of the leg without creating undesirable pressure points. During forward lean, and as compared to the embodiment of the present invention shown in Figs. 1-4, the embodiment shown in Figs. 5-7 increases the tightness of th fit between the boot and the lower extremity to a much lesser extent. Nevertheless, there is a momentary increase in the tightness of the fit during forward lean because as the cuff 701 pivots forwardly with respect to the shell 702 about rivet 703, the effective length of cable 740 is slightly reduced because the routing of the cable is not fully concentric with the pivotal motion path of the cuff about the rivet ^* .

It will be noted that in the event a boot is constructed so that the cuff is substantially immovable relative to the shell, e.g. if the shell were of a one-piec construction, the tightness of the fit would remain substan- tially constant at all times. However, the benefit of the present invention of closing the boot with a single buckle and applying a substnatially uniform holding pressure, to th foot by raising the movable foot bed and to the lower leg b drawing together the cuff flaps is still ataind. Referring to Fig. 8, there is provided in another embodiment of the present invention a ski boot designated generally as 750. Except as described below, the ski boot 750 employs many of the same features of the ski boot 700 described above with respect to the embodiment of Figs. 1-4. For convenience, those features are identified using the same numbers used in the description of the embodiment of Figs. 1-4.

In the ski boot 750 the forward cuff member 731 i rigidly secured to the shell 702 by means of a rivet or the like 752. In the upper forward portion of the cuff 731 there is a transducer 753. In a cavity 754 provided therefor in the sole of 704 there is a movable piston and motor assembly 755 which includes a pulley assembly 756, a motor and rack and pinion assembly 757, and a power source and control assembly 758. The assembly 755 is coupled to the transducer 753 by means of an electrical conductor 759, typically routed from the transducer to the assembly betwee shell 702 ad liner 705.

A cable 760 is attached to the rear end of the movable footbed 712 and it is routed through the bore 709 provided therefor in the liner 705 and cuff 701 and about the pulley 710. From the pulley, cable 760 is routed through the bore 709 to the pulley assembly 756 controlled by the movable piston and motor assembly 755 in the sole 704 of the ski boot 750.

In use during a turning maneuver as a skier moves against the ^* forward portions of cuff 701, pressure is in¬ creased on the transducer 753. This generates a signal which activates the movable piston and motor assembly 755 for winding the cable 760 about the pulley assembly 756. As the cable 760 is wound about the pulley assembly 756, its effective length is shortened, tension in the cable in¬ creases and footbed 712 is raised. Simultaneously, cuff members 730 and 731 of the cuff member 701 are drawn together as described above with respect to the embodiment of Figs. 1-4. Similarly when pressure is relieved from the transducer 753, the tightening on the cable 716 and 760 is relieved permitting the footbed 712 and the cuff members 730 and 731 to return to their initial position.

Referring to Figs. 9 and 10 there is provided a ski boot designated generally as 780. The boot has a movable cuff 781 and a shell 782. The cuff 781 is movabiy attached to the shell 782 by means of a shaft 783. In the interior of the cuff and shell members 781 and 782 there is a movable footbed 784. Attached to the shaft 783 is an

elevation plate 785. One end of the shaft 783 has a plur¬ ality of teeth 786. A bore in cuff 781 receives the shaft and has a corresponding set of teeth 787. The teeth 786 an 787 are provided for locking the shaft member 783 to the cuff member 781.

At the opposite end of the shaft 781 there is an adjusting knob 788 and a spring 789. Pivotally connected t the knob 788 is a movable handle 790. The handle 790 can b pivoted outwardly for turning the knob 788. In use as a skier leans forwardly in the boot 780 forward movement of the cuff member 781 rotates the rod 783 through the mating teeth members 786 and 787. As the rod 783 is rotated the elevation plate 785 contacts and.raises the movable footbed 784. Conversely, rearward lean returns the movable footbed 784 to its initial position.

To provide for an initial adjustment of the posi¬ tion of the movable footbed 784 with the cuff 781 in a give position relative to the shell 782, the handle 790 is grasped and rotated outwardly. As the handle 790 is in the proper ^" position for adjusting the knob 788, the ^' knob 788 is pushed inwardly against the force of the spring 789. As th knob 788 is pushed inwardly against the spring 789 the teet 786 on the end of the shaft 783 are disengaged from the teeth 787 in the cuff 781. When the teeth 786 and 787 are disengaged, the shaft 783 is free to rotate independently o the cuff 781 to position the movable footbed 784 at any desired level within the available range of adjustments of the elevation plate 785.

Referring to Figs. 11 and 12, in another embodi- ment of the present invention a ski boot designated gen¬ erally as 800 includes a movable cuff 801 movabiy mounted t a shell 802 on a sole 803. The cuff 801 is coupled to the shell 802 by means of a shaft assembly 804. The shaft assembly 804 has aji elevation plate 805 and an adjusting knob assembly 806. The shaft assembly 804 is substantially identical to the shaft assembly 783 described above with respect to the embodiments of Figs. 9 and 10.

Inside boot 800 is a movable footbed 810 and abov the footbed is an instep engaging strap 811. The strap includes lateral connectors 812 and 813 which are routed through a pair of strap guides 814 and 815 mounted in the heel 816 of the sole 803 of the shell 802.

As described above with respect to the embodiment of Figs. 9 and 10 and the embodiments of Figs. 1-4, after the initial adjustment of the height of the footbed 810 using the adjusting knob 806, further movement of the foot- bed 810 is controlled by movement of the cuff 801 relative to the shell 802 as follows. During a turning maneuver, fo example, when a skier leans forwardly in the boot 800 and moves the cuff 801 forwardly relative to the shell 8.02, the footbed 810 is raised. As the footbed 810 is raised, the skier's foot, and particularly his instep, is pressed with an increasing force against strap 811. This results in a corresponding increase in the tension applied to the con¬ nectors 812 and 813 pulling the instep engaging strap membe 811 downwardly against the instep of a foot enclosed there- by. In this manner, a foot engaged by strap 811 is more tightly restrained between the strap 811 and the footbed 810 until forward pressure on the cuff 801 is relieved.

Of course, the shaft assembly 804 shown in Fig. 11 and 12 can be replaced with the cable pull for raising the foot bed shown in Figs. 1-7. The temporary increase in the force wit -h which the foot is pressed against strap 811 as a result of forward lean of the cuff, and the release of the increased pressure when the cuff returns to its normal position are the .same.