Sole for a cross-country ski boot including connectors fixed to the sole, and a boot provided with such a sole

A cross-country ski boot comprising:

• a sole having a flexibility to allow a rear end of the sole to be raised and lowered relative to a cross-country ski during skiing;
• an upper connected to and extending upwardly from said sole;
• said sole comprising:
• two connecting members for connecting the sole to a binding device;
• material of the sole, the two connecting members being anchored to the material of the sole;
• each of the two connecting members further comprising anchoring portions anchoring the two connecting members in the material of the sole at respective positions along a length of the sole to allow the rear end of the sole to be raised and lowered relative to the ski during skiing when the connecting members are connected to the binding device;
• an anchoring element, both of the two connecting members extending from the anchoring element, the anchoring element being distinct from but affixed to said the material of the sole at a predetermined section of the sole;
• the anchoring element comprising two anchoring zones, each of the anchoring portions of the two connecting members being fixed to a respective one of the two anchoring zones of the anchoring element;
• the anchoring element further comprising a central zone, the central zone of the anchoring element extending between the two anchoring zones, the central zone of the anchoring element being flexible and sufficiently flexible relative to a flexibility of the sole to enable a flexing of the predetermined section of the sole to which the anchoring element is affixed.

A sole for a cross-country ski boot, said sole comprising:

• two connecting members for connecting the sole to a binding device;
• material of the sole, the two connecting members being anchored to the material of the sole;
• each of the two connecting members further comprising anchoring portions anchoring the two connecting members in the material of the sole at respective positions along a length of the sole to allow a rear end of the sole to be raised and lowered relative to the ski during skiing when the connecting members are connected to the binding device;
• an anchoring element, both of the two connecting members extending from the anchoring element, the anchoring element being distinct from but affixed to the material of the sole at a predetermined section of the sole;
• the anchoring element comprising two anchoring zones, each of the anchoring portions of the two connecting members being fixed to a respective one of the two anchoring zones of the anchoring element;
• the anchoring element further comprising a central zone, the central zone of the anchoring element extending between the two anchoring zones, the central zone of the anchoring element being flexible and sufficiently flexible relative to a flexibility of the material of the sole to enable a flexing of the predetermined section of the sole to which the anchoring element is affixed;
• the anchoring element has a length;
• each of the two connecting members comprises an active portion;
• the active portions of the two connecting members are longitudinally spaced apart a greater distance than the length of the anchoring element at least when the sole is not flexed.

A cross-country ski boot comprising:

• a sole having a flexibility to allow a rear end of the sole to be raised and lowered relative to a cross-country ski during skiing;
• an upper connected to and extending upwardly from said sole;
• said sole comprising:
• two connecting members for connecting the sole to a binding device;
• material of the sole, the two connecting members being anchored to the material of the sole;
• each of the two connecting members further comprising anchoring portions anchoring the two connecting members in the material of the sole at respective positions along a length of the sole to allow the rear end of the sole to be raised and lowered relative to the ski during skiing when the connecting members are connected to the binding device;
• an anchoring element, both of the two connecting members extending from the anchoring element, the anchoring element being distinct from but affixed to said the material of the sole at a predetermined section of the sole;
• the anchoring element comprising two anchoring zones, each of the anchoring portions of the two connecting members being fixed to a respective one of the two anchoring zones of the anchoring element;
• the anchoring element further comprising a central zone, the central zone of the anchoring element extending between the two anchoring zones, the central zone of the anchoring element being flexible and sufficiently flexible relative to a flexibility of the sole to enable a flexing of the predetermined section of the sole to which the anchoring element is affixed;
• the anchoring element has a length;
• each of the two connecting members comprises an active portion;
• the active portions of the two connecting members are longitudinally spaced apart a greater distance than the length of the anchoring element at least when the sole is not flexed.

A ski boot comprising:

• a sole comprising at least one constituent material, the sole extending longitudinally between a front end and a rear end;
• an upper affixed to and extending upwardly from the sole;
• two connecting members, each of the two connecting members having an exposed portion structured and arranged to be connected to a binding device;
• the exposed portions of the two connecting members being positioned, relative to the sole, to bind the ski boot to a ski by means of the binding device, while the rear end of the sole is free to be raised and lowered relative to the ski;
• an anchoring part, distinct from the constituent material of the sole, affixed to the constituent material of the sole, the anchoring part comprising two longitudinally spaced-apart zones;
• the two connecting members extending from respective ones of the two spaced-apart zones of the anchoring part;
• the anchoring part further comprising a central zone, the central zone of the anchoring part extending longitudinally along a predetermined length of the sole between the two spaced-apart zones;
• the central zone of the anchoring part being longitudinally flexible to allow a relative displacement between the exposed portions of the two connecting members during raising and lowering of the rear end of the sole relative to the ski during skiing.

A ski boot comprising:

• a sole comprising at least one constituent material, the sole extending longitudinally between a front end and a rear end;
• an upper affixed to and extending upwardly from the sole;
• two connecting members, each of the two connecting members having an exposed portion structured and arranged to be connected to a binding device;
• the exposed portions of the two connecting members being positioned, relative to the sole, to bind the ski boot to a ski by means of the binding device, while the rear end of the sole is free to be raised and lowered relative to the ski;
• an anchoring part, distinct from the constituent material of the sole, affixed to the constituent material of the sole, the anchoring part comprising two longitudinally spaced-apart zones;
• the two connecting members extending from respective ones of the two spaced-apart zones of the anchoring part;
• the anchoring part further comprising a central zone, the central zone of the anchoring part extending longitudinally along a predetermined length of the sole between the two spaced-apart zones;
• the central zone of the anchoring part being longitudinally flexible to allow a relative displacement between the exposed portions of the two connecting members during raising and lowering of the rear end of the sole relative to the ski during skiing;
• the anchoring element has a length;
• each of the two connecting members comprises an active portion;
• the active portions of the two connecting members are longitudinally spaced apart a greater distance than the length of the anchoring element at least when the sole is not flexed.