Downhill ski boot assembly
AssigneeWilliam H. Kaufman Inc.
InventorsWilliam H. Kaufman, Frederick A. Harrison, Claude J. Gidman, Gerald Beekenkamp
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A downhill ski boot assembly combines a flexible walking boot with a boot brace insertable into a standard ski binding to provide a skier with the control and feel of a conventional hard ski boot. The boot brace has a sole plate insertable into the ski binding, a toe cap and boot restraining means for urging the sole of the boot against the sole plate. Lower leg support is provided by the brace by means of upright supports which are preferably inner and outer lateral struts extending from the sole plate to a shin or calf piece. The lower leg support has a spring biased pivot adjacent the ankle region which allows the skier to move his lower leg forward from the ankle against a biasing force.
Claims14
A downhill ski boot assembly, comprising:
- a boot made of flexible materials enabling the wearer to walk normally, the boot having a sole, a toe, a heel, an ankle region, and a leg shaft;
- and
- a boot brace made of a rigid material for receiving and holding the boot within it, said boot brace having a sole plate adapted to be insertable into a downhill ski binding, and a boot receiving structure, comprising:
- a forefoot receiving means attached to the sole plate for receiving the toe of the boot;
- inner and outer lower lateral support members extending upwardly from the sole plate;
- a heel guard extending from one lower lateral support member to the other;
- boot restraining means for urging the sole of the boot against the sole plate, said restraining means being attached to the lower lateral support members;
- inner and outer upper lateral support means engageable with the leg shaft of the boot, said upper support means being attached pivotally to the lower lateral support members about the ankle region of the boot;
- spring bias means at said pivotal ankle region adjacent the pivot to provide a gradient of resistance to the forward rotation of the upper lateral support means about the pivotal ankle region;
- and
- securement means for securing the upper lateral support means about the leg shaft of the boot.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.