FASTENING DEVICE FOR A SKI SKIN

DISPOSITIF D'ATTACHE DE HOUSSE DE SKI

English Abstract

The fastening device comprises an upper part having an opening through which a
strap,
which is fastened on the ski skin, can be drawn. Said upper part is connected
to a lower
part, which is hook-shaped and produced from a spring-elastic material,
especially spring
steel. Said lower part can be pushed onto one end of a ski in order to
releasably fasten the
ski to said end of the ski.

Claims

6
What is claimed is:
1. Fastening device for ski skin, comprising an upper part having an opening
through
which a strap, which is fastened on the ski skin, can be drawn, said upper
part is
connected to a lower part, which is hook-shaped and produced from a spring-
elastic
material, said lower part can be pushed onto one end of a ski in order to
releasably
fasten the ski skin to one end of the ski.
2. Fastening device according to claim 1, wherein the lower part is of
approximately
U-shaped design in cross section.
3. Fastening device according to claim 1, wherein the lower part has a free
end which is
directed to the upper part, there is an interspace between this free end and
the upper
part for receiving an end of the ski.
4. Fastening device according to claim 1, wherein the lower part has a
retaining part
which is inserted into an opening of the upper part and anchored in this
opening.
5. Fastening device according to claim 4, wherein the retaining part is
latched in the
opening of the upper part.
6. Fastening device according to claim 5, wherein the retaining part has at
least one
preferably several latching elements which are latched into recesses of the
upper part.
7. Fastening device according to claim 1, wherein the lower part is made from
spring
steel.
8. Fastening device according to claim 1, wherein the lower part is a stamped
and bent
sheet metal.

Description

CA 02595049 2007-07-26
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Fastening device for a ski skin
The invention relates to a fastening device for a ski skin, comprising an
upper part having
an opening through which a strap, which is fastened on the ski skin, can be
drawn.
lo Devices for fastening a ski skin onto one end of a ski have been known for
some time in
different embodiments. A fastening device of this type is known from CH-A-673
399
which is a so called tail hook. This tail hook comprises a plate and a hook-
shaped element,
which is a part of the plate. The opening of the hook element corresponds
approximately to
thickness of the rear end of the ski.
CH-A-2 332 217 discloses a strap and climbing skin attachment assembly
comprising a
clip which is approximately U-shaped in cross section. The ski skin is
connected with a
strap, that is resilient and can be pulled around a rear end of the clip in
order to hold the
clip in place on the tail of the ski. In order to fasten the rear end of the
ski skin, the strap
must be tensioned. This is a disadvantage, as preferably the ski skin should
be fastened to
the rear end of the ski without elastic tension. As the thickness of the rear
end of a ski can
differ, for example between 4,2 mm to 7,0 mm, it is not possible to use this
fastening
device for skis with different thickness. Since a very large number of
different shapes and
thicknesses of ski tails are produced, a correspondingly large number of
different fastening
devices would have to be produced and kept in stock.
It is an object of the invention to provide a fastening device of the type
mentioned, which
avoids the above mentioned disadvantages. The fastening device should be
suitable for skis
with different thicknesses and should nevertheless be reliable and should be
produced
3o economically.

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This object is achieved, in the case of a fastening device of the generic
type, in that said
upper part is connected to a lower part, which is hook-shaped and produced
from a spring-
elastic material, said lower part can be pushed onto one end of a ski in order
to releasably
fasten the ski skin to said end of the ski. The fastening device is therefore
made of two
parts, which are connected together. The lower part is hook-shaped and can be
clipped on
the rear end of the ski. As this lower part is spring-elastic, it can be
widened and
accommodated to the thickness of the ski end. The upper part can be made of
any suitable
material, for example of plastic. This upper part can be especially made by
injection
molding. The lower part can be made of a spring-elastic metal.
According a development of the invention the hook-shaped lower part is U-
shaped in cross
section. According to another development of the invention the lower part has
a free end
which is directed to the upper part, wherein there is an interspace between
this free end and
the upper part for receiving an end of the ski. The interspace between the
free end and the
upper part can vary within a large range and nevertheless a good clamping
effect is
guaranteed.
According to a development of the invention the lower part has a retaining
part, which is
inserted into an opening of the upper part and fixed in this opening. This
enables an easy
and quick connection of the lower part to the upper part.
The upper part and the lower part can be assembled especially easy, if
according to a
development of the invention the retaining part is latched in the opening of
the upper part.
The connection can be releasable or not releasable. According to a development
of the
invention the retaining part has at least one preferably several latching
elements which are
latched into recesses of the upper part. These recesses are preferably
arranged within a
channel of the upper part. The recesses may be through-holes. These latching
elements can
be produced for example by stamping. The latching elements are notches,
latching teeth or
tongues. The lower part can very economically be made of spring steel and is
preferably a
stamped and bent sheet metal.

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Further advantageous features can be gathered from the depending patent
claims, from the
following description and from the drawing.
Exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more details here
bellow with
reference to the drawings, in which:
Figure 1 shows schematically a rear end of a ski with a pushed-on fastening
device
according to the invention,
Figure 2 shows a section through the fastening device according to the
invention,
io Figure 3 shows a three-dimensional view of a cut fastening device according
to the
invention and
Figure 4 is a further three-dimensional view of the cut fastening device
according to
Figure 3.
Figure 1 shows a ski 2 with an end 5, a bottom side 3 and a top side 4. The
end 5 is
preferably the tail of the ski 2, but could be as well the tip of the ski. The
thickness D can
be variable and is preferably in the range between 4,8 mm to 6,5 mm. At the
bottom side 3
of the ski 2 a ski skin 17 is attached, and preferably adhesively bound at the
bottom side 3.
However, other connections are possible. The ski skin 17 is preferably a
climbing skin. At
the ski skin 17 a strap 6 is connected, for example with the help of rivets
(not shown). The
strap 6 is pulled around the ski end 5 and connected within a fastening device
1. This
fastening device I is provided with an opening 15, as shown in Figure 2. The
strap is
pulled through this opening 15. A retaining edge 16 with upwardly protruding
teeth fixes
the strap in place. A free end of the strap 6 (not shown in the drawings)
protrudes from the
opening 15 and can be gripped to shorten the strap.
The fastening device 1 comprises an upper part 8 and a lower part 7. The upper
part 8 is in
the mounted position according to Figure 1 arranged at the top side 4 of the
ski 2. This
upper part 8 is preferably made in one piece of plastic. The lower part 7 is U-
shaped in
cross section and is made of a spring-elastic material, preferably of spring
steel. The lower
part 7 is a clip with a first arm 10, a middle part 11 and a second arm 12.
The second

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arm 12 can be tensioned to vary the interspace between this second arm 12 and
the upper
part 8. This hook-shaped lower part 7 can therefore be slide onto the ski 2
with variable
thicknesses D. When the fastening device I is slide onto an end 5, the second
arm 12 is
deflected elastically and compressed against the bottom side 3 of the ski 2.
The middle part 11 has a length which is larger than the thickness D of the
thickest ski.
The length of the middle part 11 is for example 10 mm. The second arm 12 is
bent
upwards and comprises an upper portion 12a which is bent upwards and a portion
12b
which is bent downwards. Between these two parts 12a and 12b there is an edge
12c,
to which is compressed against the bottom side 3 of the ski 2 as shown in
Figure 1. The
portion 12b comprises a recess, not shown, through which the strap 6 is
placed, as shown
in Figure 1. The end 5 is usually bent upwards, so that the second arm 12 is
not in contact
with the snow. As shown in Figure 1, the strap 6 engages the outer side of the
middle
part 11.
The first arm 10 is a retaining part and is inserted into a slot 14 of the
upper part 8 and
anchored in this. Preferably the first arm 10 and therefore the retaining part
is latched in
the slot 14. The slot 14 is a channel that is open at rear side and the front
side. Laterally
this slot 14 is closed. The breadth and the length of the slot 14 correspond
essentially to the
2o breadth and length of the first arm 10. The slot 14 is connected with three
recesses 9,
which are open at the bottom side of the upper part 8. These recesses 9 are
for example
circular through holes. In these recesses 9 in each case a latching element 13
is latched.
The latching element 13 can be produced by a punch or stamping machine. These
latching
elements 13 are spring-elastic and when the first arm 10 is inserted into the
slot 14
automatically latch into the recesses 9. When this has been done, the lower
part 7 is
essentially not releasably connected to the upper part 8. The lower part 7 can
therefore
easily be connected with the upper part 9. For this it is only necessary to
insert the lower
part 7 of the first arm 10 into the slot 14.
3o The lower part 7 has the shape of a band, as shown in Figures 3 and 4. This
lower part 7
can be produced from a sheet metal with a cutting laser or a stamp machine.

CA 02595049 2007-07-26
List of reference signs
1 fastening device
2 ski
3 bottom side of the ski
4 top side of the ski
5 end
6 strap
7 lower part (hook-shaped part)
8 upper part
9 recess
first arm
11 middle part
12 second arm
12a portion
12b portion
12c edge
13 latching element
14 slot
opening (channel)
16 retaining edge
17 ski skin
D thickness