Technical Field

The present invention relates to a shell for ski boots.

Background Art

It is known that ski boots, e.g. those for Nordic skiing, comprise a shell, i.e. the bottom part that fits the foot, having both a remarkable resistance to withstand shocks and stresses during use, and a significant stiffness, in order to allow the skier to impress instantaneously the force applied to the ski, allowing a precise and responsive variation of skiing.

Recently, some shells are made of a composite material comprising a polymeric matrix and a reinforcing phase consisting of a fabric, e.g. carbon fiber.

These materials are also called fiber-reinforced composites.

This type of shell is particularly lightweight and resistant and has the required rigidity.

However, it is known that in some ski specialties, such as Nordic skiing, it is essential that the boot, in the metatarsal region of the foot, can bend to allow the skier to lift the heel of the ski boot, sometimes in a significant way, keeping the tip of the boot firmly anchored to the ski itself.

Since the aforementioned composite material is very rigid, the shells made of such material currently available are not able to allow the fundamental movement explained in the previous paragraph.

Description of the Invention

The main aim of the present invention is to provide a shell for ski boots that is at least partially made of a composite material, and which allows the skier, if necessary, to lift the heel of the boot from the ski.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a shell for ski boots which can overcome the above mentioned drawbacks of the prior art in the ambit of a simple, rational, easy, effective to use and economic solution.

The above mentioned objects are achieved by the present shell for ski boots according to claim 1.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more evident from the description of some preferred, but not exclusive embodiments, of a shell for ski boots, illustrated by way of an indicative, yet not limitative example, in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is an axonometric view of the shell according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a top view of the shell according to the invention;

Figure 3 is an axonometric view of the shell according to the invention, including a gaiter;

Figure 4 is an axonometric view of the shell according to the invention, in a different embodiment;

Figures 5 and 6 are axonometric views of the shell according to the invention according to a further embodiment;

Figures 7 and 8 are an axonometric and a top view, respectively, of the shell according to the invention having a special device; and

Figures 9 and 10 are schematic representations of a shell section, taken along the A-A line of Figure 2, in which the shell is obtained in two alternative configurations.

Embodiments of the Invention

With particular reference to these figures, globally indicated with reference numeral 1 is a shell for ski boots, able to receive the foot of a skier (which fits e.g. a so-called shoe liner in soft and insulating material), intended for the most different disciplines, such as Nordic skiing, ski-touring, telemark skiing, and more.

Like other shells, also that of the invention comprises hinging means 2, associable with a bootleg, substantially at the articulation axis of an ankle of the user, and may comprise one or more manually operated closure members 3, suitably distributed on the shell 1 itself and structured so as to tighten it and stably immobilize the foot of the skier.

In the more general aspects of the invention, the shell 1 comprises a rigid body 4, 5 to receive and protect a foot, which constitutes a more rigid part of the shell 1, and is made of (at least) a fiber-reinforced composite material (better described below).

This shell shapes both a front portion 5 to accommodate the tip of the foot (substantially the area of the phalanges) and a rear portion 4.

The shell 1 of the invention also comprises a less rigid part 6, which connects the rear and front portions 4, 5 and which extends substantially above the metatarsal region of the foot, to allow the rear portion 4 to bend with respect to the front one, thus favoring the plantar bending of the foot.

In practice, despite the fact that the invention comprises a shell 1 whose main structure is of a rigid and lightweight composite material, it nevertheless allows the skier to lift the heel of the boot from the ski, as needed, thus overcoming the limits of the prior art.

Following the bending of the foot, in fact, the less rigid part 6, which is located between the more rigid rear and front portions 4, 5, bends to allow the lifting of the heel.

The less rigid part 6 is in particular made of a deformable and elastic material, the composition of which will be discussed in a later section.

Preferably, as can be seen in the attached drawings, the front portion 5 has an ogival shape, while the rear portion 4 has a cradle-like shape without its smaller wall which faces onto the front portion.

The rear and front portions 4, 5 are integrally joined at the bottom to define the sole 7 of the shell 1, while they are advantageously joined at the top by the less rigid part 6, which extends to define at least one continuous bridge between the two portions 4, 5.

Even more in detail, the less rigid part 6 may extend from one side to the other of the shell I, substantially astride of the metatarsal region, until eventually reaching the sole 7.

In practice, preferably, the less rigid part 6 has an arc-shaped or U-shaped spatial extension, even like a segment, and possibly may be concave or convex outwards (or partly concave and partly convex) and have tip or "radial" ends, namely that define an arc-shaped length.

The less rigid part 6 can be entirely continuous, such as in Figures 1 and 2, or it can have lightening steps 8 as in Figure 4.

In any case, the two portions 4, 5 are firmly joined, at the bottom, by the sole 7 and, at the top, by the inventive less rigid part 6. Advantageously, as shown in detail in Figure 2, the less rigid part 6 may extend obliquely to the length of the shell 1 (i.e. with respect to its longitudinal extension), so that its end arranged at the inner side of the shell 1 proves to be advanced with respect to the opposite end arranged at the outer side, so as to follow the natural bending axis of the foot.

According to a preferred and particularly advantageous aspect of the invention, the body 4, 5 and the less rigid part 6 are manufactured together by means of a lamination process, to make a single article.

In practice, the composite material of the body 4, 5 comprises one or more overlapped layers of fibers, preferably fabrics, the layers being overlaid and joined to the wall which defines the less rigid part 6 (regardless of the material with which it is obtained and of the number of layers with which it is made) by means of one of the known lamination techniques but not in the specific use of the invention.

More specifically, this overlapping and joining between the layers of the body 4, 5 and of the less rigid part 6 can be defined, by way of example and without limitation, according to two modes shown in Figures 9 and 10, and as described below.

According to the first mode of Figure 9, the less rigid part 6 is identified by a layer of continuity 18, sandwiched between the layers 16 of the rear portion 4 and the layers 17 of the front portion 5, the layers 16, 17 of the body being in an indefinite number, as shown schematically in the figure.

More precisely, for the purposes of continuity of the shell 1 of the invention, it is sufficient to have an overlapping between the layers 16, 17 of the shell and that (or those) of the less rigid part 6 at the opposite end flaps 20, 21 of the layer of continuity 18, not being required that the layer of continuity 18 itself extends farther on (as the person skilled in the field can appreciate particularly from figures 2 and 9).

In the second mode of Figure 10, the layer of continuity 18 is arranged externally, like a coating , and can also extend along the entire upper periphery of the shell 1, apart from the sole 7; optionally, the layer of continuity 18 may also define the outer surface of the sole 7. In this case, the less rigid part 6 of the invention is simply defined by the area of non-overlapping between the layers 16, 17 of the body and the layer of continuity 18.

In a further alternative embodiment, not shown in the figures, between the layer of continuity 18 arranged externally as shown in figure 10 and the layers 16, 17 of the body adjacent to it, a layer of polymeric material is interposed.

Therefore, e.g., the layer of continuity 18, apart from its already described contribution in structural terms, can also give a contribution to the entire shell as far as aesthetics and pleasant feel are concerned, according to the most different sales needs.

The layers 16, 17 of the body, which may be indefinite in number, provide that already explained feature of rigidity, without their appearance and conformation should be visible to the user.

Advantageously, a plurality of layer of continuity 18 may be envisaged, as well as of layers 16, 17 of body and there are no limits to the combination of layers made of different materials, whose type is detailed hereinafter.

Both the more rigid part of the shell 1 (i.e., the body 4, 5) and the less rigid part

6 may be made in practice of at least one composite material which comprises one or more overlapped layers 16, 17, 18 of fibers, each embedded in a polymeric matrix that, by blocking the fibers, transfers the external load to them and protects them from environmental factors, from wear and from possible mechanical cutting actions.

In particular, such a matrix can be of the thermosetting type, such as the epoxy or thermoplastic resin, as the person skilled in the art knows well.

Alternatively, the less rigid part 6, joined integrally to the body 4, 5 to form the shell 1, can be made of a fabric devoid of polymeric matrix, and therefore it may be a so-called "dry fiber" (e.g. carbon) or other fabric, as long as suitable for the purpose, e.g. nylon, Kevlar®, etc....

In the present description, when layers of fibers or fabrics of fibers are referred to, it is also meant the case of "hybrid fabric", that is to say a fabric made with different fibers.

Furthermore, the less rigid part 6 may be composed of a polyurethane material, of a coated polyester fabric (e.g. with PVC), or of the fabric commercially known as Carbonwear® or the one named Gore-Tex®, or of a polymeric material such as EPDM (Ethylene-Propylene Diene Monomer) rubber or the like.

The composite material of the body 4, 5 may comprise carbon fiber fabrics and/or aramid fiber fabrics.

According to a particularly advantageous version of the invention, the composite material of the body 4, 5 comprises PBO Zylon® fibers which has extraordinarily efficient structural properties.

This version, or others previously illustrated, can combine with the measure of providing that the less rigid part 6 comprises (at least) one composite material comprising mono- oriented polyester-polyarylate fibers (Vectran®).

It is known that Vectran, besides being extremely resistant to fatigue, in the mechanical meaning of the term, has the special property of becoming more flexible with the lowering of temperature, which makes it especially suited to define precisely the less rigid part 6 of the proposed shell 1 , which is intended for use in ski boots.

Furthermore Vectran can also be used for the realization of the body 4, 5.

To ensure that the foot is securely wrapped, avoiding clearance, in order to allow the skier to impress instantaneously the force applied to the ski, the shell may advantageously have a good flexibility in the transversal direction, so as to promote a good adjustment of the above closure members 3 according to the specific dimensions of the foot.

To achieve this, the invention may provide the following two measures.

First of all, as can be seen in the attached figures, the major sides 11, 12 of the rear portion 4 are joined together, at a rear end by a lesser side 13 (which essentially covers the heel), and at the opposite end only by the less rigid part 6, so that there is no "rigid bridge" between the major sides 11, 12, at the front area, and then they can be approached and spaced away depending on the operation of said closure members 3.

Furthermore, the rear portion 4 can comprise cutouts 14, obtained in the side walls 11, 12, at the upper edges, and arranged in front of the hinging means 2. In practice, these cutouts 14 define front parts of the major side walls 11, 12 which are able to bend, upon operation of the closure members 3, even if the rear parts of the same walls are locked at the above mentioned hinging means 2. According to a particular embodiment of the invention, represented in Figures 7 and 8, the less rigid part 6 comprises one or more ripples 9, 10 (e.g. defined by a bellows shape of this part 6) to define a programmed deformation region in the shell 1.

In practice, the less rigid part 6 can be configured in such a way that it tends to deform in a predetermined way, so that the bending of the boot is driven by it, and thus is safer and more effective.

These ripples 9 may be in part transversal or oblique to the direction of the length of the shell 1 ; alternatively or in addition, the ripples 10 may have a shape such as to favor the flexibility of the rear portion 5 with respect to the front one around an axis transversal or oblique to the length of the shell 1 and at the same time to favor flexibility close to and away from the major sides of the rear portion 4.

The shell 1 can have an upper gaiter 15 which may be either joined to the shell itself during the lamination phase (as in Figures 3, 4, 7 and 8), or joined to the rest of the shell 1, using fixing means as in Figures 5 and 6.

In particular, in the optional case in which the less rigid part 6 extends at least on top of and along the upper edge 22 of the shell 1 (see Figures 5 and 6), then the gaiter 15 can be fixed on top of it through its own lower edge 21 (by means of known fixing techniques, such as heat sealing or other).

This upper edge 22 of the shell 1 is the inlet passage for the foot of the skier. Even more in detail, the type of union between gaiter 15 and shell 1 defined in the preceding sections, can be advantageously applied also in the case the above-mentioned layer of continuity 18 extends along the entire upper surface of the shell 1, according to the aforesaid second mode of realization of the union between layers 16, 17 of body 4, 5 and layer/s 18 of the less rigid part 6 (see figure 10).