Boot with pivoted upper
First Claim
1. A boot comprising:
- a lower vamp shell having a foot receiving opening defined by an outer wall which includes a lower pocket,an upper shell having an outer wall which includes an upper pocket facing the lower pocket and forming therewith an interior cavity enclosed at least by overlapping outer walls of the upper and lower pockets,pivot means for pivotally interconnecting the upper shell to the lower shell to allow forward and rearward motion of the shells and resulting sliding movement between the overlapped outer walls of the upper and lower pockets; and
a resilient body mounted within the interior cavity and compressed during sliding motion between the overlapped pockets to control the flex characteristics between the upper and lower shells.
7 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A sports boot such as used for skiing has an upper shell interconnected in the ankle region to a lower vamp shell by a pair of side primary pivots. The lower edge of the upper shell has an integrally molded front receptacle which faces a front receptacle integrally molded into the upper edge of the lower vamp shell. The receptacles hold a replaceable resilient insert, the vertical extent of which determines the forward lean angle of the upper shell, and the resiliency of which controls the flex characteristics of the upper shell when pivoted relative to the lower shell. The ends of the receptacles form overlapping stop flanges which abut a replaceable bumper having a vertical extent which controls the maximum rear lean angle of the upper. Rear entry into the boot is provided by a rear door connected by a pair of side door pivots to the upper, and which overlaps a separate replaceable heel door with interior padding for holding down the wearer'"'"'s heel. When the rear door is swung downwardly, the heel door automatically opens rearwardly. In alternate embodiments, the resilient insert and bumper are augmented by an external piston and sleeve mechanism, and the rear door can be connected by side hinges to the upper.
102 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A boot comprising:
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a lower vamp shell having a foot receiving opening defined by an outer wall which includes a lower pocket, an upper shell having an outer wall which includes an upper pocket facing the lower pocket and forming therewith an interior cavity enclosed at least by overlapping outer walls of the upper and lower pockets, pivot means for pivotally interconnecting the upper shell to the lower shell to allow forward and rearward motion of the shells and resulting sliding movement between the overlapped outer walls of the upper and lower pockets; and a resilient body mounted within the interior cavity and compressed during sliding motion between the overlapped pockets to control the flex characteristics between the upper and lower shells. - View Dependent Claims (2, 5)
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3. A boot comprising:
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a lower vamp shell having a foot receiving opening which includes an outer wall and a receptacle wall spaced from a portion of the outer wall to define a lower pocket, an upper shell having a front section which contains an outer wall which overlaps the outer wall of the lower vamp shell at least adjacent the lower pocket, a receptacle wall extending from a portion of the outer wall of the front section to define an upper pocket in the forward terminating edge of the upper shell and facing the lower pocket to form a cavity, a rear door section interconnected to the front section and openable to allow rear entry into the boot, and closure means for securing the rear door section to the front section after entry into the boot; pivot means for pivotally interconnecting the upper shell to the lower shell to allow forward and rearward motion of the shells and resulting sliding movement between the overlapped outer walls and relative movement between the upper and lower pockets; and a resilient body mounted within and extending between the upper and lower pockets and compressed during pivoting motion between the overlapped shells to control the flex characteristics therebetween. - View Dependent Claims (4)
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6. A boot comprising:
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a lower vamp shell having a foot receiving opening defined by an edge which includes a lower receptacle, an upper shell having a lower edge which includes an upper receptacle generally facing the lower receptacle, pivot means for pivotally interconnecting the upper shell to the lower shell to allow forward and rearward motion of the shells and resulting relative movement between the upper and lower receptacles, and a resilient body mounted between the upper and lower receptacles and compressed during pivoting motion between the shells to control the flex characteristics therebetween, the vertical extent of the resilient body controlling the forward lean angle of the upper shell with respect to the lower shell, the resilient body being replaceable with a resilient body of different vertical extent to thereby change the forward lean angle of the boot.
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7. A boot comprising:
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a lower vamp shell having a foot receiving opening defined by an edge which includes a lower receptacle with an extending stop flange, an upper shell having a lower edge which includes an upper receptacle with an extending stop flange, the upper receptacle generally facing the lower receptacle, pivot means for pivotally interconnecting the upper shell to the lower shell to allow forward and rearward motion of the shells and resulting relative movement between the upper and lower receptacles, a resilient body mounted between the upper and lower receptacles and compressed during pivoting motion between the shells to control the flex characteristics therebetween, and a bumper mounted between the stop flanges for controlling the maximum rear lean angle of the upper shell with respect to the vamp shell.
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8. A boot comprising:
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an upper shell having a body mounting means, a lower vamp shell having a body mounting means, pivot means interconnecting the upper shell to the lower shell for pivoting motion of the upper shell relative to the lower shell and resulting movement between the body mounting means, a replaceable body held by and urging apart the body mounting means so that the size of the replaceable body controls the angle of forward lean of the upper shell relative to the lower shell. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A boot comprising:
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a lower vamp shell having a recessed rear edge adjacent a wearer'"'"'s heel and a front edge with a split wall defining a lower pocket, a heel door covering the recessed rear edge and openable to allow rear entry of a foot into the vamp shell, an upper shell assembly including a front section with a lower edge having a split wall which defines an upper pocket facing the lower pocket and a rear door interconnected to the front section and openable to allow rear entry of a leg into the upper shell assembly, the rear door when closed overlapping the heel door, closure means for securing the rear door against the front section of the upper shell, a resilient body located between the lower and upper pockets, and pivot means for pivotally interconnecting the upper shell assembly to the lower vamp shell for pivoting motion of the upper shell assembly with resulting sliding motion of the rear door against the heel door and compression and expansion of the resilient body. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A boot comprising:
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a lower vamp shell, an upper shell assembly including a front section with a pair of downwardly extending legs located on each side of the lower vamp shell and a rear door, a pair of door pivots rotatably interconnecting the pair of extending legs to the sides of the rear door for backward rotation of the rear door to an open position which allows access to the upper shell assembly, closure means for securing the rear door against the front section when closed, a pair of primary pivots offset from the pair of door pivots for pivotally interconnecting the sides of the upper shell assembly to the sides of the lower vamp shell for rotatable motion of the upper shell assembly including the rear door with respect to the lower vamp shell, the pair of downwardly extending legs terminating below the pair of primary pivots and the pair of door pivots being located in the end regions of the pair of legs to allow the rear door to be swung open about pivots located below the pair of primary pivots. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification