Single-Pull Tightened Snowshoe Binding

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/482,868, filed on Oct. 7, 2023 and entitled SINGLE-PULL TIGHTENED SNOWSHOE BINDING, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/446,345, filed on Aug. 30, 2021 and entitled SINGLE-PULL TIGHTENED SNOWSHOE BINDING, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 63/076,069, filed on Sep. 9, 2020 and entitled SINGLE PULL TIGHTENED SNOWSHOE BINDING, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application 63/113,357, filed on Nov. 13, 2020 and entitled SINGLE-PULL TIGHTENED SNOWSHOE BINDING, the entire contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.

The present invention is directed to single-pull tightened snowshoe binding for releasably interconnecting to a shoe through a single action rather than requiring multiple steps to transition between a first configuration allowing the insertion of a shoe into the binding and second configuration constraining the shoe within the binding.

A single-pull tightened snowshoe binding is provided, the binding comprising: a sole plate configured to be hingedly interconnected to a snowshoe along an axis extending transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the snowshoe; a toe cap interconnected with the sole plate with a first anterior strap and a second anterior strap, wherein the anterior straps are configured to wrap around the lateral aspects of a toe box of a shoe inserted within the snowshoe binding, and wherein the toe cap is configured to interface with a top aspect of the shoe; a first lateral strap extending outward from the sole plate, wherein the first lateral strap is configured to wrap upward along a lateral aspect of the shoe and extend toward a posterior aspect of the shoe; a second lateral strap extending outward from the sole plate, wherein the second lateral strap is configured to wrap upward along a lateral aspect of a shoe and extend toward the posterior aspect of the snowshoe binding; a first tightening strap having a first end and a second end, the first end of the first tightening strap interconnected to a posterior aspect of the toe cap, the first tightening strap slideably interconnected with the distal end of the first lateral strap, wherein the second end of the first tightening strap is configured to span around the posterior aspect of the shoe; a second tightening strap having a first end and a second end, the first end of the second tightening strap interconnected to a posterior aspect of the toe cap, the second tightening strap slideably interconnected with the distal end of the second lateral strap, wherein the second end of the second tightening strap is configured to span around the posterior aspect of the shoe; the second ends of the first and second tightening straps interconnected by a strap tightening mechanism; wherein tightening of the first and second tightening straps simultaneously retracts the toe cap toward the sole plate, retracts the first and second lateral straps upward along a lateral aspect of a shoe inserted in the binding, and biases the shoe toward the toe cap. The present invention provides a number of advantages depending on the particular aspect, embodiment, and/or configuration.

The preceding is a simplified summary of the disclosure to provide an understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. This summary is neither an extensive nor exhaustive overview of the disclosure and its various aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations. It is intended neither to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of the disclosure but to present selected concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form as an introduction to the more detailed description presented below. As will be appreciated, other aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations of the disclosure are possible utilizing, alone or in combination, one or more of the features set forth above or described in detail below. Also, while the disclosure is presented in terms of exemplary embodiments, it should be appreciated that individual aspects of the disclosure can be separately claimed.

Referring to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, shown in, is a snowshoe bindinggenerally comprising a sole plate, a toe cap, first anterior strapand second anterior strap, a first lateral strap, a second lateral strap, a first tightening strap, a second tightening strap, and a strap tightening mechanism.

As shown in, the sole plateis hingedly interconnected to a snowshoealong an axis extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of the snowshoe. In a preferred embodiment, the sole plateis interconnected by rivetsor bolts to a crampon platecomprising an axial channel. An axleaffixed to the snowshoeis rotatably contained within the axial channelbetween the sole plateand the crampon plateso that the sole platemay hinge about the axle. In a preferred embodiment, the sole plateis made of molded polyurethane and the crampon plateis made of steel or aluminum.

As shown in, in a preferred embodiment, first anterior strapand second anterior strapare interconnected to the toe capand configured to wrap around the front lateral aspects of the toe box of a shoe. In one embodiment, the strapsandare interconnected to the sole plateby rivets. However, the anterior strapsandcould be integrally formed with the sole plate. Likewise, in the embodiment shown, the anterior strapsandare integrally formed with the toe cap. However, the anterior strapsandcould be interconnected to the toe capby other methods such as by riveting. In another embodiment, the toe capis interconnected to the sole plate by a single anterior strap or by more than two anterior straps. Alternatively, the toe capis shaped to receive the toe portion of a shoe and is interconnected to the sole plateor formed with the sole platefrom a single piece of flexible material. The toe capis configured to receive the toe portion of a shoe wherein the sole platesupports the bottom aspect of the shoe, the toe caprests on the top aspect of the shoe, and the anterior strapsandinterface with the front lateral aspects of the toe portion of the shoe. Alternatively, the toe capis shaped to receive the toe portion of the shoe and interfaces with the top and front aspects of the shoe. In a preferred embodiment, the toe capand anterior strapsandare made of molded polyurethane. In some embodiments, the toe capmay further comprise a pad on the bottom surface made of EVA foam in a preferred mode.

As shown in, in a preferred embodiment, first tightening straphas a first endand a second end. The first endof first tightening strapis interconnected at a posterior aspect of the toe capand the second endis configured to span around the posterior aspect of a shoe inserted in the binding. An intermediate portion of the first tightening strapis slideably interconnected to a distal endof first lateral strapby sleeves. Second tightening straphas a first endand a second end. The first endof second tightening strapis interconnected at a posterior aspect of the toe capand the second endis configured to span around the posterior aspect of a shoe inserted in the binding. An intermediate portion of the second tightening strapis slideably interconnected to a distal endof second lateral strapby sleeves. The second endsandof the first and second tightening strapsandare interconnected by a strap tightening mechanism. In a preferred embodiment, the first and second tightening strapsandare comprised of molded polyurethane. In another embodiment, the first and second tightening strapsandare comprised of nylon webbing or nylon webbing with a plastic coating. In another embodiment, the first and second tightening strapsandare comprised of a cord or rope and are interconnected by a cord locking mechanism.

As shown in, in one embodiment, the strap tightening mechanismcomprises a buckle comprising a frameand pronginterconnected to the second endof the first tightening strapwhich allows a user to tighten or loosen the binding using the adjustment holesin the second endof the second tightening strap. Alternatively, the tightening mechanism may comprise: a ratchet buckle such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,763,209; a rack and pinion mechanism such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,015,625; or an adjustable side-release buckle, strap lock buckle, or cam buckle such as the molded plastic devices available from National Webbing Products.

As shown in, beginning in the first configuration, the toe capis extended away from the sole plateallowing the insertion of the toe portion of a shoe between the sole plateand the toe cap, and in contact with the anterior strapsand. The heal portion of the shoe is inserted forward of the first and second tightening strapsand. Utilizing tightening mechanism, the first and second tightening strapsandare shortened which tensions the tightening straps relative to toe capand causes the lateral sides of the posterior aspect of the toe capto retract simultaneously and about equally in a downward direction toward the sole plateas shown in.

Simultaneously, the tension in the first and second tightening strapsandcauses the first and second lateral strapsandto retract upward along a lateral aspect of a shoe inserted in the binding. Tightening the first and second tightening strapsandalso biases the shoe toward the toe cap. As shown in, in this second configuration, when the toe capis retracted toward the sole plate, the shoe is captured between the sole plateand the toe cap.

Beginning in the second configuration, releasing or loosening tightening mechanismallows the first and second tightening strapsandto lengthen, allowing the first and second lateral strapsandto extend away from the lateral aspect of the shoe and the toe capto extend away from the sole plateand the placing the snowshoe binding in the first configuration.

As shown in, in a preferred embodiment comprising flexible lateral strapsand, the lateral straps are interconnected with the sole plate. The first lateral strapextends outward from the sole plate and is configured to wrap upward along a lateral aspect of the shoe, then extend toward a posterior aspect of a shoe. The second lateral strapextends outward from the sole plate and is configured to wrap upward along a lateral aspect of the shoe, then extend toward a posterior aspect of a shoe. The distal ends of the first and second lateral straps,andrespectively, comprise slidable sleeves. In a preferred embodiment, the lateral strapsandare comprised of a first vertical portionandand a second vertical portionand. The separated first and second portions allow the lateral straps to better conform to the lateral aspect of the shoe. In a preferred embodiment, the lateral strapsandare comprised of a flexible but resilient material, such as molded polyurethane, which allow the lateral strapsandto conform around a shoe when the snowshoe bindingis tightened, but that tend to spring back towards an open position when the snowshoe bindingis loosened.

As shown in, the distal endsandof the first and second lateral strapsandare slideably interconnected to an intermediate portion of the first and second tightening strapsand, respectively, by sleeves. The sleevesare oriented to maintain a longitudinal direction of the first and second tightening strapsandrelative to the extended direction of the posterior portions of lateral strapsand. In an alternative embodiment, the first and second tightening strapsandare slidably interconnected to the distal endsandof the first and second lateral strapsandusing a single elongated sleeve, channel, or passageway. First and second tightening strapsandare configured to span around the posterior aspect of the shoe between the distal endsandof the lateral straps.

As shown in, in a first configuration, the toe capis extended away from the sole plateand the first and second tightening strapsandare extended in a posterior direction of the snowshoe binding. The first configuration allows the insertion of the toe box of a shoe between the sole plate, the toe cap, and in contact with the anterior strapsand, and the heel of the shoe between the lateral strapsandand forward of the first and second tightening strapsand. As shown in FIG., in a second configuration, shortening of the first and second tightening strapsandusing tightening mechanismcauses the toe capto retract toward the sole platethereby interconnecting the shoe between the sole plateand the toe cap, tensioning of the lateral strapsandaround the lateral aspects of the shoe, and tensioning of the first and second tightening strapsandaround the posterior aspect of the shoe, thereby urging the shoe in a forward direction towards the toe capand first and second anterior strapsand.

As used herein, the phrases “at least one,” “one or more,” and “and/or” are open-ended expressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive in operation. For example, each of the expressions “at least one of A, B and C,” “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, or C” and “A, B, and/or C” means A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B and C together. The term “a” or “an” entity refers to one or more of that entity. As such, the terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more” and “at least one” can be used interchangeably herein. It is also to be noted that the terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are used interchangeably and are meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof, as well as additional items. As used herein, the term “lateral” means of, at, toward, or from the side or sides. The term “medial” is often used to medically refer to the inside of the foot and “lateral” is used to medically refer to the outside of the foot, but herein, “lateral” can refer to either the inside or outside of a foot or shoe.

The structural materials employed advantageously in the present invention are fashioned from: molded, injected, extruded, or machined plastics; molded, injected, extruded, or machined rubber; extruded, machined, or cast aluminum, stainless steel, or other metals; and suitable alternatives are available, as one skilled in the art would recognize readily. Likewise, any padding, where padding is desirable, is preferably some kind of foamed elastomer, though other suitable materials exist. Other hardware, brackets, locking pins and supports may be fashioned from aluminum, stainless steel, brass, or other suitable material. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that embodiments of the present disclosure may be constructed of materials known to provide, or predictably manufactured to provide the various aspects of the present disclosure. These materials may include, for example, stainless steel, titanium alloy, aluminum alloy, chromium alloy, and other metals or metal alloys. These materials may also include, for example, carbon fiber, ABS plastic, polyurethane, and other fiber-encased resinous materials, synthetic materials, polymers, and natural materials. The system and its elements could be flexible, semi-rigid, or rigid and made of materials such as stainless steel, titanium alloy, aluminum alloy, chromium alloy, and other metals or metal alloys, carbon fiber, ABS plastic, polyurethane, and other fiber-encased resinous materials, synthetic materials, polymers, and natural materials. In one embodiment, some or all components are manufactured by way of 3-D printing.

The present disclosure, in various aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations, includes components, methods, processes, systems and/or apparatus substantially as depicted and described herein, including various aspects, embodiments, configurations embodiments, sub-combinations, and/or subsets thereof. Those of skill in the art will understand how to make and use the disclosed aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations after understanding the present disclosure. The present disclosure, in various aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations, includes providing devices and processes in the absence of items not depicted and/or described herein or in various aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations hereof, including in the absence of such items as may have been used in previous devices or processes, e.g., for improving performance, achieving ease and/or reducing cost of implementation.

The foregoing description has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. The foregoing is not intended to limit the disclosure to the form or forms disclosed herein. In the foregoing description for example, various features of the disclosure are grouped together in one or more aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. The features of the aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations of the disclosure may be combined in alternate aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations other than those discussed above. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claims require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed aspect, embodiment, and/or configuration. References to a shoe in the claims herein is intended to express the functionality of the binding relative to a shoe that may be inserted within the binding and is not intended to require that a shoe be within the binding in the claimed invention.

While various embodiments of the present invention are described herein in detail, it is apparent that modifications and alterations of those embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be expressly understood that such modifications and alterations are within the scope and spirit of the present invention. Further, the inventions described herein are capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. In addition, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purposes of description and should not be regarded as limiting. Moreover, though the description has included description of one or more aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations and certain variations and modifications, other variations, combinations, and modifications are within the scope of the disclosure, e.g., as may be within the skill and knowledge of those in the art, after understanding the present disclosure. It is intended to obtain rights which include alternative aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations to the extent permitted, including alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions, ranges, or steps to those claimed, whether or not such alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions, ranges or steps are disclosed herein, and without intending to publicly dedicate any patentable subject matter.