Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The present invention relates to an improved cross-
country type ski boot construction wherein the toe portion of
the boot is reinforced to prevent the boot upper from detaching
itself from the sole in the front toe portion of the boot.
Various ski boot constructions are known. This in-
vention relates to a specific type of ski boot known as a cross-
country ski boot. This type of ski boot is normally attached
to a ski harness in the toe portion of the boot, only. Con-
ventional types of cro,ss-country ski boot harnesses comprise
pins protruding into the bottom face of the sole in the front
portion thereof with a clamp, spring biased downwardly, on a front
ledge portion of the sole. The front portion of the sole is
secured to the ski to permit the wearer to pivot its foot on ;
the toe portion thereof as he strides on the snow with the skis.
r~hus, the secured front portion of the boot acts as a pivot and
the rear portion of the boot lifts from the top of the ski during
every stride of the skier.
This pivotal action of the ski boot causes the front
toe portion of the boot upper to detach itself from the sole
portion as the front portion of the sole is rigidly secured to
the ski and the wearer's foot e~erts an outward pressure on
the fabric of the boot upper causing it to detach itself in
the front portion thereof.
It is a feature of the present invention to overcome
the above mentioned disadvantage whereby to prevent the front ~-
portion of the boot upper from detaching itself from the sole
of the boot.
It is a further feature of the present invention to
provide a cross-country type ski boot construction having a novel
front portion construction which is a substantial improvement
over prior art cross-country type ski boots.
According to the above features, frorn a broad aspect,
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the present invention provides a cross-country type ski boot com- - -
prising a boot upper for receiving a foot therein. The boot upper
is attached to a sole which has at least a front edge extending
beyond a toe portion of the boot upper to define a front ledge ;
portion. The boot upper has a reinforcing fabric piece secured
on the toe portion and having a securable free end extending
beyond a lower edge of the toe portion. The securable free end
is secured to the front ledge portion forwardly of the toe
portion, The front ledge portion is provided with a horizontal
slot in at least a portion thereof aligned with the securable
free end to receive and secure the securable free end therein.
The sole is provided w:Lth a boot upper cavity in a top sureace
thereof, with the cavity having a flat base. An elevatecl peri-
pheral ledge defined about the cavity. The horizontal slot is
constituted by sl tting the front ledge portion from a front
edge thereof to the cavity and in horizontal alignment with an
upper surface of the flat base.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention will
now be described with reference to an example as il]ustrated in
the accompanyincJ drawings in which:
FIGURE 1 is a fragmented side view of a cross-country
ski-boot upper constructed in accordance with the invention;
FIGURE 2 is a fragmented section view of the front ;~
portion of a cross-country ski boot of the prior art type,
FIGURE 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but illustrat-
ing the attachrnent of the reinforcing fabric piece of the present
; invention,
FIGURE 4 is a fragmented plan view of a cross-country
; ski boot sole, and
FIGURE 5 is a fragmented top view of a cross-country
ski boot constructed in accordance with the present invention,
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Referring now to the drawings, there is shown gen-
erally at 10 the cross-country type ski boot of the present
invention. The boot consists essentially of a boot upper 11
secured to a sole 12 of rubber or the like material. As is con-
ventional with ski boots, the sole has a front edge 13 extending
beyond a toe portion 14 of the boot upper 11 to define a front
ledge portion 15 for securement in a ski harness, not shown.
In the prior art, see Figure 2, the ~abric pieces
16 of the toe portion 1~ extend inwardly, as shown at 17, under
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the boot upper 11 and are secured along a peripheral edge portion
of a cavity 18 provided in the upper face 19 of the sole 12
(see Figure 4). As shown in Figure 2, an inner sole 20 is
positioned inside the boot upper to provide a smooth inner
bottom surface. The inwardly turned edges are normally glued
to the peripheral marginal edge of the cavity 18. Stiches may
also be provided along the inwardly turned marginal edge. With
such prior art boot construction the front ledge portion 15 of
the sole is usually clamped down rigidly and immovably by a
cross-country ski harness (not shown) to provide pivotal move-
ment of the boot from the front clamped portion thereof. During
normal cross-country skiing motion, an ou-tward pressure is
exerted by the foot of the wearer on the top fabric portion of
the ski boot in the direction of arrow 21. I~his constant
motion and pressure causes the front portion 14 of the ski boot
to detach itself from the front marginal edge of the cavity 18
thus destroying the ski boot.
With the present invention, there is provided a re-
inforcing fabric piece 30 secured on the toe portion 14 and
having a securable free end 31 which extends beyond the lower
A edge ~ of the toe portion 14. The securable free end 31 is
secured to the front ledge portion 15 of the sole 12 in the
following manner.
As shown in Figure 4, the sole 12 is provided with a
boot upper cavity 18 which defines a flat base 22. The portion
of the sole about the cavity 18 constitutes an elevated peri-
pheral ledge 23 extending about the cavity. In order to attach
the securable free end 31 and the reinforcing fabric piece 30
to the front ledge portion 15, the front ledge portion 15 is
slit horizontally from a front edge 24 thereof and extending to
the cavity 18. This slit is clearly shown in Figure 3 and id-
entified by numeral 26. The extent of the slit is shown by the
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dotted lines 25 in Figure 4.
Referring now more specifically to Figures 1 and 3,
it can be seen that the toe portion 14 of the boot 10 is
provided with an inner fabric layer 33 having a lower edge
thereof inwardly turned and secured along the peripheral marginal
edge of the base of the cavity 18, by suitable fastening
means such as glue or stitches. An outer fabric piece 35 is
also secured over a section of the toe portion 14 with the re-
inforcement fabric piece 30 being positioned and secured between
the inner fabric layer 33 and the outer fabric layer 35 by
stitches 41 (see Figure 5). The securable free end 31 o the
reinforcing fabric 30 is positioned in the slot 26 and the slitted
portion of the front edge is then glued back together over the
securable free end 31. Fastener elements 43 (see Figure 5) may
be inserted in the front ledge portion 15 and extend at least
through the securable free end 31 of the reinforcing fabric
piece 30 to provide additional retention.
As seen in Figure 5, the outer fabric piece 35 is
of Y-shape configuration defining a main body section 36,
two diverging end arms 37 and an opening 38 between said arms
37. Each diverging end arms has an attachable free end 39
which is also inwardly turned and secured in the margina:L
edge of the cavity 18 under the lower edge of the fabric
layer 33. As herein shown the reinforcing fabric piece 30 is
an elongated strip of reinforcing nylon material which is
rubber covered. The reinforcing strip 30 is secured centrally
on the toe portion 14 in alignment with the central longitu-
dinal axis 40 of the boot 10. The strip 30 also extends between
the two diverging end arms 37 and is visible from the outside
of the boot in the opening 38 between the arms 37.
It can be seen that with this type of construction of
the toe portion 14 of the ski boot, the clamping pressure applied
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on the front ledge portion 15 of the boot maintains the
securable free end 31 of the reinforcing piece 30 in clamping
pressure. Thus, as the boot pivots on the toe portion thereof,
the stress is applied on the reinforcing piece 30 and it maintains ~:
the front portion construction of the boot in solid attachment
with the sole 12. With this type of construction the above
noted defects of the prior art cross-country ski boots has been
overcome.
Pull test experiments have been made with conven-
tional cross-country type ski boots to determine the force
require~ to pull apart the front portion of the s~i boot upper
Erom the sole portion and with conventional ski boots it has
been found that when a boot comes apart with a pull force oE
100 to 125 pounds, the boot is considered acceptable. However, .
with a cross-country ski boot constructed in accordance with the ~ -
present invention, the maximum pull force of 255 pounds of the test
machine was applied to the front portion of the ski boot and
no separation was apparent.
It is within the ambit of the present invention to . .
cover any obvious modifications of the embodiment thereof
described, provided such modifications fall within the monopoly
defined by the appended claims.
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