Snowshoes

Abstract

Snowshoes are provided which include a footwear supporting plate, a front binding device and a rear binding device. The plate has a lattice-like, essentially flat configuration formed by a plurality of hollow prismatic structures partially superimposed on one another. The main axis (x) of each hollow prismatic structure may be inclined by an angle (α) between 200 and 70° relative to a middle plane of the plate, in such a manner that lower edges of the hollow prismatic structures form sharp edges which allow the plate to grip snow and inner surfaces of the hollow prismatic structures offer high resistance to penetration into snow allowing for the distribution of weight of a user over a wide contact surface, thereby ensuring good floatability.

Claims

1. A snowshoe comprising a footwear supporting plate configured to be detachably connected to a user's footwear, as well as a binding system attached to said plate and configured to bind the user's footwear to said plate, said plate comprising a plurality of hollow prismatic structures, wherein adjacent hollow prismatic structures partially overlap one another and wherein a main axis (x) of each of said structures is inclined with respect to a middle surface of the plate in such a manner that a projection of said main axis (x) on a longitudinal vertical plane forms an angle (α) between 20° and 70° with a normal direction (z) perpendicular to said middle surface of the plate, wherein inclined inner surfaces of each of the hollow prismatic structures define respective openings in the plate, wherein each opening is configured to receive snow through the hollow prismatic structure, and wherein as snow comes into contact with the inclined inner surfaces, their inclinations resist penetration of the hollow prismatic structures into the snow and provide additional area on which weight of the user is distributed to provide floatability in snow.

2. The snowshoe of claim 1, wherein said angle (α) is between 30 and 50°.

3. The snowshoe of claim 1, wherein said plurality of hollow prismatic structures comprises a first group of structures having arched lower edges and a second group of prismatic structures having pointed lower edges.

4. The snowshoe of claim 3, wherein the plate is configured so as to have rows of structures of said first group alternate with rows of structures of said second group.

5. The snowshoe of claim 1, wherein the inclined inner surfaces of the hollow prismatic structures have different inclinations with respect to the plate in various areas of the plate, in particular the inclined inner surfaces of hollow prismatic structures have a forward inclination in a front part of the plate and a backward inclination in a rear part of the plate.

6. The snowshoe of claim 1, wherein the main axes (x) of the hollow prismatic structures lie in longitudinal vertical planes.

7. The snowshoe of claim 1, wherein the main axes (x) of at least part of the hollow prismatic structures are inclined with respect to longitudinal vertical planes.

8. The snowshoe of claim 1, wherein the binding system comprises a front binding device and a rear binding device each of which is attached to the plate at an adjustable distance from each other.

9. The snowshoe of claim 1, further comprising crampons which are attached directly to the plate or are made in one piece therewith.

10. The snowshoe of claim 8, further comprising crampons which are attached to the front and rear binding devices or are made in one piece therewith.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a snowshoe according to an embodiment of the present invention;

(2) FIG. 1B is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the snowshoe shown in FIG. 1A;

(3) FIG. 2A is a plan view of the plate of the snowshoe of FIG. 1A;

(4) FIG. 2B is an enlarged plan view of a portion of the plate of the snowshoe of FIG. 2A.

(5) FIG. 3 is a section view of the plate of FIG. 2 through a longitudinal vertical section plane; and

(6) FIG. 4 is an exploded view of some components of the snowshoe of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(7) In the following description and claims, terms such as “front” and “rear”, “upper” and “lower”, “longitudinal” and “transverse”, “vertical” and “horizontal” etc. are to be intended as referring to the condition in which the snowshoe is used by the user and rests on the ground on the flat. In particular, the term “longitudinal” is used here to indicate a direction parallel to the walking direction, while the term “transverse” is used here to indicate a direction perpendicular to the walking direction.

(8) With reference first to FIG. 1A, a snowshoe according to an embodiment of the present invention is generally indicated 10. The snowshoe 10 basically comprises a plate 12, a front binding device 14 attached to a front portion of the plate 12 and a rear binding device 16 attached to a rear portion of the plate 12. The plate 12 has an elongated shape extending along the longitudinal direction, in particular a generally rectangular shape with arched smaller sides (front and rear sides). FIG. 1B is an enlarged perspective view of the portion of the snowshoe 10 shown in dashed circle 13 in FIG. 1A.

(9) The front and rear binding devices 14 and 16 are aligned along the longitudinal direction and are preferably positionable at an adjustable distance from each other. To this end, according to the illustrated embodiment the front binding device 14 is attached to the plate 12 in a fixed position, while the rear binding device 16 can be attached to the plate 12 in a number of positions spaced from each other, as will be explained in detail further on.

(10) With reference now to FIGS. 2A to 4 as well, the plate 12 has a lattice-like configuration and is preferably made in one piece, for example of plastic material. FIG. 2B is an enlarged perspective view of the portion of the snowshoe 10 shown in dashed box 15 in FIG. 2A. In the embodiment proposed herein the plate 12 is essentially flat, its middle plane being indicated P in FIG. 3, but might also be slightly concave and have therefore a non-flat middle surface. According to the present invention, the plate 12 is formed by a plurality of hollow prismatic structures 18a, 18b (FIG. 2A) which are partially superimposed on one another and are inclined to the horizontal (or, in broader terms, to the middle surface of the plate, be it flat or not). In particular, the main axis (indicated x in FIG. 3) of each structure 18a, 18b is inclined to such an extent that its projection on a longitudinal vertical plane, i.e. on a vertical plane directed along the longitudinal direction, or front-to-rear direction, of the snowshoe (coinciding with the section plane of the section view of FIG. 3) forms an angle α comprised between 20° and 70° with the vertical direction (indicated z) or, in broader terms, with the direction normal to the middle surface of the plate. The angle α is preferably comprised between 30° and 50°, and more preferably between 35° and 45°.

(11) By virtue of such an inclined arrangement of the structures 18a, 18b, the lower edges 20a, 20b of these structures form sharp edges that allow the plate 12 to get a grip on the snow, be it powder or packed snow, and therefore make walking, in particular climbing, easier. Furthermore, such an inclined arrangement of the structures 18a, 18b causes the inner surfaces (indicated 19a, 19b) of the structures to provide generally high resistance to penetration into the snow and hence to distribute the weight of the user over a wide contact surface, thereby ensuring good floatability. In other words, the inclined inner surfaces 19a, 19b of the hollow prismatic structures 18a, 18b define respective openings, or through holes, 16a, 16b in the plate 12 through which snow can come into contact with the inclined inner surfaces 19a, 19b from below when the snowshoe 10 is in use. As the snow comes into contact with the inclined inner surfaces 19a, 19b, their inclinations resist penetration of the hollow prismatic structures 18a, 18b into the snow and provide additional area on which the weight of the user is distributed to provide floatability in snow.

(12) In the enlarged top and bottom views shown in FIGS. 1B and 2B, respectively, it can be seen that the openings 16a and 16b defined by the inclined inner surfaces 19a and 19b of the hollow prismatic structures 18a and 18b, respectively, extend through the plate 12, giving the plate 12 the aforementioned lattice-like configuration.

(13) In the embodiment shown in the drawings the main axes x of the hollow prismatic structures 18a, 18b are all oriented so as to lie in longitudinal vertical planes, but at least some of them might also be inclined relative to these planes, preferably with different angles of inclination depending on the area of the plate.

(14) Preferably, the plate 12 comprises a first group of structures (those indicated 18a) having an arched lower edge 20a, which is particularly suitable for powder snow, and a second group of structures (those indicated 18b) having a cusped lower edge 20b, particularly suitable for packed snow. According to the illustrated embodiment, the plate 12 is configured so as to have rows of structures 18a of the first group, i.e. with arched lower edge 20a, alternate with rows of structures 18b of the second group, i.e. with cusped lower edge 20b. The invention is not however limited to the specific configuration illustrated herein, as the plate might comprise a higher number of groups of structures of different shape than the one illustrated herein and/or shapes of the structures different from those illustrated herein and/or an arrangement of the groups of structures on the surface of the plate different from the one illustrated herein. Furthermore, although in the illustrated embodiment the hollow prismatic structures have the same sizes, it is however conceivable that the hollow prismatic structures have different sizes (preferably up to 50%) in the various areas of the plate.

(15) According to an embodiment (not shown), the main axes x of the structures 18a, 18b may have different inclinations in the various areas of the plate 12, in particular be inclined frontwards (like the structures 18a, 18b shown in the section view of FIG. 3) in the front part of the plate, so as to improve the grip of the snowshoe on the ground during climbing, and inclined rearwards in the rear part of the plate, so as to improve the grip of the snowshoe on the ground during descent.

(16) The front binding device 14 comprises a base element 22, preferably of metal, which is attached to the plate 12, and a binding member 24, which is hinged to the base element 22 so as to be able to tilt relative to the latter, and hence relative to the plate 12, about a transverse axis of oscillation y and is configured to restrain the toe of the shoe. Likewise, the rear binding device 16 comprises a base element 26, preferably of metal, which is attached to the plate 12, preferably in a longitudinally adjustable position, and a binding member 28, which is attached to the base element 26 and is configured to restrain the heel of the shoe. A lace 30 is inserted into special holes or slots provided in the binding members 24 and 28 of the front and rear binding devices 14 and 16 to allow to safely fasten the snowshoe to the shoe of the user.

(17) Adjustment of the longitudinal position of the rear binding device 16, and hence of the distance from the front binding device 14, is ensured by the possibility to engage a pin 32 of a spring member 34 (in particular a bow spring of harmonic steel) constrained to the base element 26 of the rear binding device 16 each time in one of a plurality of holes 36 provided in an insert 38, preferably also of metal like the base element 26, received in a longitudinal slot 40 of the plate 12.

(18) The base elements 22, 24 of the front and rear binding devices 14, 16 are both preferably provided with crampons 42, 44 so as to further improve walking on ice or mixed terrain. The crampons 42, 44 may be attached to the base elements 22, 24 or be made in one piece therewith. Alternatively, the crampons 42, 44 may be attached directly to the plate 12 or be made in one piece therewith.

(19) By virtue of the special configuration of the plate, the snowshoe according to the invention is compact and lightweight, and hence easy to manoeuvre and transport when not used, but at the same time ensures good grip on snowy, even very steep, slopes, independently of the nature of the snow, and good floatation on powder or variable snow. Moreover, by virtue of the lattice-like configuration of the plate, the snowshoe according to the invention is not easily subject to formation of snow blocks on the lower face of the plate and to accumulation of snow on the upper face upper of the same.

(20) Naturally, the principle of the invention remaining unchanged, the embodiments and the constructional details may be greatly modified with respect to those described purely by way of non-limiting examples, without thereby departing from the scope of protection as described and claimed herein.