EQUIPPED WITH SAID DEVICE

*** DESCRIPTION

Scope of the invention

The present invention refers to an adjusting device that enables the wearer to adjust the articulation of the shell relative to the leg piece of a sports footwear, as well as a footwear equipped with such device. Technical problem

Examples of footwear of the above-cited type include, among other things, ski boots, in which the leg piece and the shell are made of synthetic, i.e. thermoplastic and/or thermosetting materials by such techniques as injection moulding and/ or casting. In some cases, leg piece and shell are made as a single-part construction, i.e. integral with each other; however, in the majority of cases (and this is actually the type of footwear which the present invention relates to), leg piece and shell are provided as separately manufactured parts that are subsequently joined with each other by means enabling an articulated connection, i.e. means enabling them to pivotally swing relative to each other about a horizontal axis.

From a wearer's standpoint, these parts of footwear must be such as to enable the related sports activity to be performed in the best possible way, according to the individual preferences and needs. They must, however, at the same time ensure a maximum extent of comfort to the wearer and additionally enable the wearer to walk, albeit for just short distances and not for too long a time. Background of the invention For this reason, largely known in the ski boot sector is the use of devices that enable the articulation of the shell relative to the leg piece to be adjusted. For example, the disclosure in EP-A-86 908 provides for the use of such a mechanism, mounted on the boot at the height of the Achilles' tendon, which consists of a lever with a central fulcrum resting into a recess provided in the shell, with an upward projecting lip at the upper end and a groove delimited by a transversally extending rib at the lower end. A torsion spring wound around the fulcrum keeps the lever in such a configuration as to ensure that said Hp of the lever is abutting against a corresponding lip provided at the upper end of the recess, and that a metal retainer means attached to the leg piece keeps engaging said groove. In this configuration, there exists a rigidly restrained relationship between leg piece and shell. The wearer can anyway decide to

push the lever above the fulcrum in order to release said metal retainer from the groove and, as a result, enable, owing to said metal retainer being so released from the groove, a less rigidly restrained relationship to be set between the leg piece and the shell of the boot The leg piece is thus permitted to swing into an upright position and, as a result, die wearer is ablee to walk. The above-described device, however, has two major drawbacks, the first one of which derives from the fact that an action to release said metal retainer from the groove can also be triggered in case the portion of the lever lying above the fulcrum is bumped against accidentally and not by the wearer triggering it intentionally. The second one of these major drawbacks shows up during manufacturing, since some parts of the device are mounted on the shell, whereas other parts are mounted on the leg piece of the boot. Thus the boot assembly is relatively complicated.

Another example of prior-art devices of this kind is disclosed in CH-A-678 685. Object of the invention

It therefore is a main object of the present invention to provide a device enabling the wearer to adjust the articulation of the leg piece relative to the shell in a boot, while doing away with the above-mentioned drawbacks of prior-art devices. Summary of the invention

According to the present invention, this object, along with further ones that will become apparent from the following disclosure, is reached in a device for adjusting the articulation of the shell relative to the leg piece of a boot, which incorporates the features and characteristics as illustrated below and recited in the appended claims. Short description of the drawings

Features and characteristics of the device, as considered in particular in connection with a ski boot, as well as the advantages thereof over prior-art solutions will anyway be more readily understood from the following description of a preferred, although not sole embodiment, with reference to the accompanying drawing, where :

- Figure 1 is a side view of a first ski boot, in which the portion where the inventive device is located is enclosed in a circle and sectioned along the vertical mid-line plane, said device being shown in a first position thereof; - Figure 2 is an enlarged-scale view of the sole portion of the boot that is shown circled in Figure 1, in which the device is however shown in a second position thereof;

- Figure 3 is a side view of a second ski boot, in which die portion where the inventive device is located is enclosed in a circle and sectioned along the vertical mid-line plane, wherein said inventive device, while being the same as the one illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, is in diis

case mounted in an upside-down arrangement with respect thereto, and is shown in a first position thereof;

— Figure 4 is an enlarged-scale view of the sole portion of the boot that is shown circled in Figure 3, in which the device is however shown in a second position thereof. Description of a preferred embodiment

In a fully conventional manner, the ski boot that is schematically illustrated in Figure 1 can be noticed to substantially comprise a shell 10 and an leg piece 20 that are joined with each other by means of hinge means 12 in an articulated manner about a horizontal axis mat is approximately situated at the height of the wearer's malleoli from the ground. At least on the rear side of the boot, the shell 10 is provided with a peripheral rib 16 extending under the lower edge 22 of the leg piece 20.

The rear portion of the leg piece 20 comprises a substantially flat fillet 24 that is adapted to accommodate a device for adjusting the articulation of the shell, said device being generally indicated at 30 in the Figures. According to a major feature of the present invention, this adjusting device is wholly provided and arranged on the leg piece 20 of the boot, in the zone thereof corresponding to the Achilles' tendon of die wearer.

To this purpose, the fillet 24 is provided widi a slot 26 in a roughly rectangular shape, the shorter sides of which are the horizontal sides, i.e. the upper side and the lower side. The slot 26 forms a receptacle for a slider 40, which is part of the device 30 and has a outwardly protruding head portion 42 for the wearer to be able to actuate it, to fit in, as this shall be explained in greater detail further on.

As this is illustrated in a more detailed manner in Figure 2, the leg piece 20 has an enlarged lower portion 23, within which there is provided a seat or receptacle 25 having a L- shaped cross-section, wherein said enlarged lower portion practically ends in contact with the outer surface 18 of the shell 10 widiin the recess formed by the rib 16. Above said receptacle 25, in the fillet 24 there is provided a through-hole 29, whereas above the slot 26 diere are provided some horizontally extending ribs 27 for strengthening the leg piece 20.

The slider 40 is a metal cast part or a moulded part of an engineering plastic material and comprises, further to the above-mentioned head portion 42, a stem 44 protruding through the slot 26 with just a minimum tolerance with respect to the horizontal dimension of the same slot, in order to allow for a guided displacement of the slider 40 along the slot.

Further to this slider 40, the adjusting device 30 according to the present invention comprises a flexible leaf 50, a lever 60 and a retaining block 70.

The leaf 50, which is preferably made of music steel, comprises an upper portion 52 that is folded into a box-like shape, and a lower portion consisting of two parallel legs 54 that are inclined downwards in the direction of the shell 10 and are provided of a V-shaped fold 56 immediately above the lower edge. The box-like upper portion 52 of the leaf 50 has a central hole (not visible in the Figure) for the stem 44 of the slider 40, which is duly riveted at 48 upon insertion of a washer 46 therebetween. In this way, the leaf 50 is rigidly fixed to the slider 40 and is therefore capable of displacing jointly therewith along the slot 26 and along the inner surface 21 of the flat fillet 24 of the leg piece 20.

Again, the lever 60 and the retaining block 70 are cast or moulded parts of metal or an engineering plastic material. The retaining block 70 has the lower portion thereof accommodated in the afore mentioned receptacle 25 of the fillet 24, and is rigidly fixed to the leg piece 20 by means of a rivet extended along the through-hole 29 in the fillet 24, as well as along the through-hole 75 provided in the same block 70. The retaining block 70 is additionally provided with a seat (not visible in the Figure) for receiving the horizontal fulcrum 62 of the lever 60. The lever 60 is in fact arranged astride of the same block 70 and has a corrugated, Le. wavy front surface 64 to facilitate the V-shaped folds 56 of the legs 54 of the leaf 50 to fit thereinto.

Close to the lever 60, for it to be able to cooperate with the device 30, the outer surface 18 of the shell 10 has a vertically extending recess 13, which is defined between an upper edge 15 and a lower edge 19.

As already noted hereinbefore, the device 30 can be set in two different positions, which are the ones illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, respectively, depending on the head portion 42 of the slider 40 being actuated by the wearer accordingly.

When said head portion 42 is moved into abutting against the upper side of the slot 26 and, as a result, the slider 40 is displaced upwards, the V-shaped folds 56 of the legs 54 of the flexible leaf 50 are brought to press against the portion of the front surface 64 of the lever 60 that is located above the fulcrum 62. The lever 60 is thereby caused to rotate in a clockwise direction about the fulcrum 62 and the upper end portion 61 moves into engagement against the matching element formed by the upper edge 15 of the recess 13 of the shell 10 (see Figure 1). In this position of the device 30, any articulated movement of the leg piece 20 relative to the shell 10 is thereby prevented, since said engagement of the upper end portion 61 of the lever 60 against the upper edge 15 of the recess 13 of the shell 10 practically prevents the leg piece 20 from being capable of oscillating any further in a clockwise direction, i.e. forwards, while the terminal enlarged portion 23 being so accommodated into the recess formed by the

rib 16 prevents the leg piece 20 from oscillating backwards, i.e. in an anti-clockwise direction.

This is therefore effective in ensuring that, when the device 30 is in the position illustrated in Figure 1, the hinge means 12 are neutralized, Le. deactivated, since the leg piece

20 is rigidly fixed to the shell 10, so that the boot is in an optimum condition in view of complying with the certainly demanding requirements connected with such heavy-duty tasks as competitive races, or the like, which it is due to go through.

When said head portion 42 is on the contrary moved into abutting against the lower side of the slot 26 and, as a result, the slider 40 is displaced downwards, the V-shaped folds 56 of the legs 54 of the flexible leaf 50 are caused to press against the portion of the front surface 64 of the lever 60 that is located below the fulcrum 62, thereby causing the lever 60 to pivotally rotate in an anti-clockwise direction and move out of the recess 13 of the shell 10, thereby enabling the leg piece 20 to pivotally swing forwards relative to the shell 10 thanks to the hinge means 12 being in this way released (see Figure 2). Of course, even in this second position of the device 30 the leg piece 20 is positively prevented from oscillating backwards, Le. in an anti-clockwise direction, by the terminal enlarged portion 23 being so accommodated into the recess formed by the rib 16.

Referring now to Figures 3 and 4, it should first of all be noticed that the device 30 is exacύy the same as the one described afore with reference to Figures 1 and 2. In this case, however, it is mounted in an upside-down arrangement on a boot mat is not provided with any rib 16 under the leg piece 20, while it has a simple step-like configuration 17 on the outer surface 18 of the shell 10 in correspondence to the lever 60.

In this case, when the head portion 42 of the slider 40 is moved into abutting against the lower side of the slot 26 and, as a result, the slider 40 is displaced downwards, the V- shaped folds 56 of the legs 54 of the flexible leaf 50 are caused to press against the portion of the front surface 64 of the lever 60 that is located below the fulcrum 62, thereby causing the lever 60 to pivotally rotate in an anti-clockwise direction. The result is that the lower end portion 63 of the lever 60 is moved into engaging the matching element formed by the step

17 provided in the shell 10 (see Figure 3), so that the leg piece 20 is able to swing forwards (Le. in the clockwise direction) relative to the shell 10 thanks to the hinge means 12, while it it is prevented from swinging backwards (Le. in the anti-clockwise direction).

When said head portion 42 of the slider 40 is on the contrary moved into abutting against the upper side of the slot 26 and, as a result, the slider 40 is displaced upwards, the V- shaped folds 56 of the legs 54 of the flexible leaf 50 are brought to press against the portion of the front surface 64 of the lever 60 that is located above the fulcrum 62. The lever 60 is

thereby caused to pivotally rotate in a clockwise direction about the fulcrum 62 and moves away from the step 17 of the shell 10 (see Figure 4). The result is that the leg piece 20, thanks to the clearance 28 that is in this way created between die inner surface 21 of the fillet 24 of the leg piece 20 and the outer surface 18 of die shell 10, is now free to take or resume a vertical position enabling the wearer to conveniendy walk when not skiing.

The advantages resulting from the adjusting device 30 of the present invention may be summarized as follows:

- the device itself is wholly attached to the leg piece 20 of die boot, whereas prior-art devices of this kind have in all cases some parts attached to the shell and other parts attached to die leg piece of the boot; this means that not a single part of the inventive device 30 is permanendy attached to the shell 10;

- the provision on the shell 10 of die parts intended to cooperate widi the device 30 (i.e. the recess 13 or the step 17) does not create any technical problem, since die leg piece is manufactured as an injection-moulding of plastic material; - the presence of the device 30 does therefore not give rise to problems due to any part thereof protruding into die shell 10, where it could interfere with die anatomy of the wearer's foot;

- it can be used in connection witii various types of ski boots;

- it is comprised of small-size parts that are easy and cost-effective to manufacture. Akhough die invention has been described above witii particular reference to a preferred embodiment tiiereof, it will be appreciated that die invention itself may be embodied also in a number of different embodiments and variants without departing from die scope diereof as defined by die appended claims. So, for example :

- die spring pushing means used to actuate die lever 60 into pivotally rotating following die displacements of die slider 40, may be also means differing from die above- described flexible leaf 50:

- should it not be necessary for die device 30 to be mounted as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, die block 70 may also be provided as a single-part, i.e. integrally moulded with die leg piece 20, rather dian be attached to the latter by means of the rivet 72; - by selecting to fix die device 30 to a mounting plate rotatably provided on die leg piece 20 of a boot that has no rib 16 on die shell 10 under die leg piece, radier tiian direcdy on to the shell itself, both conditions of use as described above and illustrated in die accompanying drawings will be allowed.

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