Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
10691~5
This invention relates to a novel hand/wrist attachment
or clamp for a ski pole.
The increased popularity of the sport of skiing in recent
times has, in part, stimulated numerous improvements and refinements in
ski equipment. Both skis and ski poles have undergone significant changes
as regards configuration and the material used in their fabrication, the
two principal objectives in making such changes being to provide stronger
and lighter-weight equipment and to provide equipment which is safer to
the skier.
In spite of the advances made in ski equipment generally,
very little has been done to improve the standard ski pole strap or the
manner of coupling the ski pole to the skier's wrist. The strap used
today is essentially the same as those used years ago. This strap
typically consists of a closed loop piece of material fastened to the
top of the handle of a ski pole. The skier's hand is slipped into the
loop through the bottom to enable the skier to grasp the ski handle
and a portion of the strap lying against the handle, with the remaining
portion of the strap encircling the back of the skier's hand or wrist.
Although this configuration has proved generally acceptable, it is
oftentimes cumbersome to fit the gloved hand of a skier through the loop
and into position and, once the hand is in position, it will not readily
slip free from the strap even if a significant force is applied to the
ski pole. The concern with this latter difficulty, of course, is that
a skier's hand or wrist could be injured if the ski pole were caught,
for example, in the snow, terrain brush or lift equipment and the hand
did not slip out of the strap.
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- This invention relates to an attachment for use with a ski pole,
comprising a cuff member made of resilient material for placement about a
skier's hand, said cuff member being formed in a loop open at a single point
such that ends of the loop are biased toward one another to enable slipping
the hand or wrist through the opening into the cuff member, and a strap
attached to the cuff member, adapting the cuff for attachment to a handle
portion of the ski pole.
This invention also relates to a new hand/wrist attachment for a
ski pole comprising a cuff member made of resilient material for placement
about a skier's hand, said cuff member being formed in a loop open at a
single point such that ends of the loop are biased toward one another to
enable slipping the hand or wrist through the opening into the cuff member,
and a strap joining the cuff member to the handle portion of the ski pole.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a ski pole
hand/wrist attachment into which a skier may readily insert his hand or
; wrist and from which a skier's hand and wrist may be easily released.
It is another object of the present invention, in accordance with
one embodiment thereof, to provide a ski pole hand/wrist attachment which
additionally provides support for the skier's hand.
~'1 20 It is a further object of the present invention, in accordance with
one embodiment thereof, to provide a ski pole hand/wrist attachment which
protects at least a portion of the back of a skier's har.d.
These and other objects of the present invention are realized in a
specific illustrative embodiment which includes a cuff member for placement
about a skier's hand or wrist, with the cuff member having an opening at one
point therein to enable the skier to slip his hand or wrist through the open~
ing into the cuff member. A strap is joined at one end to the cuff member and
at the other end to the handle portion of a ski pole. This construction
provides a reasonably secure attachment of the ski pole to the skier's hand
or wrist while at the same time allowing the hand or wrist to slip from the
coupling when the pole is subjected to a force of sufficient magnitude that
the skier's arm and wrist would otherwise be damaged.
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The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present
invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed
description presented in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a ski pole
hand/wrist attachment made in accordance with the principles of the
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present invention and shown mounted on a ski pole~
FIG. 2 is a side view of the attachment of FIG. 1 with a skier's
hand shown disposed in the attachment and grasping the ski pole handle;
FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the attachment of FIG. l;
FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the attachment; and
FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of another embodiment of a ski
p01e hand/wrist attachment made in accordance with the principles of the
present invention.
One embodiment of a ski pole hand/wrist attachment is shown in
10 FIGS. 1-4 mounted on a ski pole handle 2. As will be apparent from
the following description, this embodiment facilitates both insertion of
a skier's hand or wrist into the attachment and release of the hand or
wrist from the attachment if a force is applied to pull the ski pole out
of the grasp of the skier. Additionally, the preferred embodiment provides
support for the skier's hand when the hand is grasping the ski handle
and provides protection for the back of the skier's hand.
The hand/wrist attachment shown in FIGS. 1-4 includes a cuff
member 4 attached by means of a strap 6 to the top of the ski pole handle
:
2. The cuff member 4 is formed of a band of resilient material, such
20 as plastic, hard rubber, etc., into a continuous loop 8 open or broken
at a single point 10 of the loop. With this configuration, the cuff member
4 fits primarily about a skier's hand as shown in FIG. 2, as would a
bracelet. The cuff member ends 8a and 8b formed at the open or broken
` point 10 are naturally resiliently biased towards one another and yet
will flex apart sufficiently to enable insertion of a hand or wrist through
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; the opening 10 into the cuff member. That is, the cuff member ends 8a
and 8b may be spread apart so that the skier's hand or wrist can pass
therebetween after which the cuff member ends spring back to their original
attitude clamping against the sides of the hand as shown in FIG. 2. In
this embodiment, the cuff member 4 fits about the hand to give the wrist
free movement. If it were desired to provide support for the wrist then,
of course, the cuff member 4 could be adapted to fit about the wrist or
about the wrist and hand.
If additional biasing of the cuff member ends is desired, a leaf
spring of resilient metal, shown by dotted line 12 in FIG. 3, could be
incorporated as the core of the cuff member. Plastic, hard rubber or other
resilient material could then be formed to cover the core 12 as also
generally shown in FIG. 3.
The cuff member 4 is attached to the ski pole handle 2 by means
of a flexible strap 6. The strap is formed of two leg portions 6a and 6b
~oined together at one end for attachment to the upper portion of the ski
pole handle 2. The opposite or free ends of the legs 6a and 6b are joined
to orle edge of the cuff member 4 at spaced apart locations thereon. These
locations are generally opposite the location of the opening 10 of the cuff
member 4. Preferably, the strap 6 is integrally formed with the cuff member
4 from the same material. The strap 6 may be attached to the ski pole
handle 2 by a screw 14 or other suitable means.
- The cuff member 4 and strap 6 are arranged so that when the
combination is hanging free from the ski pole handle 2, the opening 10 is
directed generally outwardly of the ski pole 3. For a skier to insert his
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hand or wrist in the cuff member 4, he simply either spreads the ends 8a
and 8b apart to allow passage of his hand or wrist therethrough into the
cuff member 4, or simply turns his hand or wrist sideways and urges it
against the ends 8a and 8b causing the ends to spread apart from the
pressure and allow passage of the hand or wrist . The skier then grasps
the handle 2 so that the strap legs 6a and 6b lie against the palm of the
skier's hand and pass from the upper portion of the palm downwardly across
the heel of the hand to the cuff member 4 (see FIG. 2). In this position,
the cuff member 4 and strap 6 provide support for the hand when the skier
applies a downward pressure on the ski pole 3.
The described configuration allows the skier's hand to slip through
the opening 10 and out of the cuff member 4 shouffl a force be applied to
the pole 3 to pull the pole away from the skier's hand. This insures that
the skier's arm or hand will not be injured should the ski pole bind against
some object or become entahgled in the ski lift equipment, bushes or trees,
etc .
The width of the cuff member 4 is such that a substantial part of
the back of a skier's hand is covered by the cuff member and this provides
protection for the hand, for example, were the skier to bang his hand
against a ski racing gate or the like. A width of from one to two inches
is especially suitable for providing such protection. ;
Although the strap 6 is flexible, it may be desirable to make it
sufficiently stiff so that even when a skier were not gripping the ski pole -
handle, the cuff member 4 and strap 6 would maintain the handle fairly
close to the palm of the hand to enable the skier to close his hand and
grip the handle. The stiffness necessary to allow this can, of course,
be readily determined.
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Although the embodiment of FIGS. 1-4 of the ski pole hand/wrist
attachment provides for joining the strap 6 to the top of the ski handle 2,
an alternative arrangement shown in FIG. 5 would be to attach the strap -
6 near the bottom of the handle 2. With this arrangement, the strap 6
would not provide support for the hand of the skier, but the cuff member 4
would provide a secure and yet safe means of attaching the ski pole 3 to
the skier's hand or wrist. Thus, the ski pole could hang or drag from the
skier's wrist when not in use or when the skier falls and yet would release
from the skier's hand or wrist when subjected to a force of sufficient
magnitude that the skier's arm or wrist might be injured if the ski pole
remained connected thereto.
It is to be understood that the above-described arrangement is
only illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention.
Nume~Dus other modifications and alternative arrangements may be devised
~! by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of - -
the present invention and the appended claims are intended to cover such
modifications and arrangements.
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