ROAD SLALOM GATE

PORTE DE SLALUM

English Abstract

ABSTRACT
The Road Slalom Gate allows skiers to train in the summer in conditionssimilar to those of a winter slalom course.
The Road Slalom Gate is composed of a rubber base and a light weight tube
vertically attached to the base through an articulation mechanism. The
articulation allows the tube to move in any direction when stuck by a passing
skater and to recover to its initial vertical position immediately after.

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege
is claimed are defined as follows:
1 An articulated hard surface slalom pole composed of a reinforced foam
pole attached to a flexible base.
2 A slalom pole as defined in claim 1 in which the articulation is
composed of a threaded coupling device and an elastic cord enclosed
in a rigid tube.
3 A slalom pole as defined in claim 1 in which the pole is made of a
reinforced foam tube.

Description

207966~
SPECI~ICATIONS
A slalom gate is a vertical pole arolmd which the skier must pass with his/her
skis in a predetermined direction. A winter slalom gate is planted hlto the
snow to such a depth as to withstand the impact of a skier. In addition, a
slalom gate has an articulation which enables the gate to fall when hit and to
recover to a vertical position immediately after impact.
The Road Slalom Gate is designed to function exactly the same as a winter
slalom gate and is used by skaters wea~ing in-line skates. Unlike the winter
slalom gates, the Road Slalom Gate rests on the surface of the road. The road
surface is not penetrated or affected in any way.
A basic requirement in a slalom pole is that it must articulate at the ground
level, so that there wiU be no other resistance against the passing skater than
the weight of the pole itself.
In all prior attempts, winter slalom poles have been used, with different base
types. However, due to the weight of the winter slalom poles all these
solutions have difficulties securing the base to the road surface. In one
example the base had to be weighted down with sand bags. In another
instance, the base was glued to the road surface. Such solutions are
impractical and make this type of training inaccessible to the majority of the
skaiters.
The Road Slalom Gate solves these problems by using a lightweight pole made
of reinforced foam tube 125 cm high, attached to a flexible rubber base.
The rubber base rests freely on the surface of the road and provides stability
to the vertical pole~through its weight. Due to its flexibility, the rubber basewiU adjust to match the road surface variations.
In road trials, I have found this solution to be ve~y beneficiary to skiers, as
it eliminates the inhibition caused by the impact with a solid slalom pole.
Unlike the winter slalom gate, the Road Slalom Gate does not require the use
of almour, other than the normal protection gear used by the in-line skaters.
The drawings which illustrate the Road Slalom Gate are:
:: : :
- Pig 1 elevation of the whole assembly. scale of 1:5
- Fig 2 plan of the whole assembly. scale of 1:5
- Fig 3 s:ction through the articulation. scale of 1:1
- Fig 4 section through the articulation, with the pole leaning. scale of 1:1
- Kg 5 elevation o~ the whole assembly, with the pole leaning. scale of 1 :1
I

2079669
SPECI~lCATIONS cont.
Figure 1 is a vertical elevation of the Road Slalom Gate assembly. The pole
is attached to the base through the articulation mechanism. When struck by a
passing skater, the pole moves away allowing unobstructed passage.
The Road Slalom Gate assembly consists of the rubber base, the lower
coupling piece, the articulation mechanism and the foam pole. The lower
coupling piece is attached to the rubber base. The articulation mechanism is
attached to the pole. These two assemblies can be put together or taken apart
through the lower and upper coupling pieces which are threaded. This design
also allows for compact storage and transportation.
Figure 2 is a horizontal plan of the pole and base assembly. This drawing
shows where the pole is placed on the base. The pole placement on the base
allows the same base to be used for left and right turning gates.
Figure 3 is a section through the articulation mechanism. The articulation
mechanism is composed of the threaded upper coupling piece, the rubber
washer, the rubber disk, the pole holding cap, the elastic cord casing tube and
finally the elastic cord. The elastic cord is tensed and holds together a11 the
listed components. When tightened onto the lower coupling piece, the
articu1ation mechanism allows the pole to move in any direction, up to 90
degrees from the vertical.
Figure 4 is a vertical section through the articulation mechanism with the pole
pushed away from its vertical resting position. This section illustrates how thearticulation mechanism works.
The articulation mechanism allows the pole to recover to vertical position
immediately after the impact. The rubber washer allows the pole to move and
recover with ease to and from small angles from the vertical, where the
momentum generated by the pole's own weight is small. The larger rubber
disk generates enough momentum to raise the pole to vertical from any
position. This function is also aided by the rubber foam disk which rests on
the base. When the pole falls, the rubber disk compresses the rubber foam
ring. All the energy generated by the falling pole is absorbed by the elastic
cord and the foam ring. This energy is used to lift the pole to the vertical
position.
Pigure 3 also shows the foam tube composition. The major two properties of
this pole are its strength and ]ight weight. The pole strength is obtained
through an outer layer which tightly covers the pole and through an inner rigid
tube. The inner tube distributes the irnpact force over a larger area and in thesame time aUows the pole to remain flexible.

Representative Drawing