Ski-boot

Abstract

A ski-boot comprising an outer rigid shell, to receive the user's foot, and a rigid bootleg, shaped to wrap round the user's ankle, is hinged on the top part of the shell in order to be able to swing about a first reference axis that locally substantially coincides with the articulation axis of the user's ankle; the shell having a front half-shell and a rear half-shell rigidly fixed to one another; the front half-shell having a substantially ogival shape for covering the user's toe substantially up to the beginning of the plantar arch area of the foot and being made of at least one plastic polymer by injection moulding; the rear half-shell being designed to completely cover the remaining part of the foot, starting substantially from the plantar arch area of the foot and being made of a composite material containing fibres embedded in a resin matrix.

1 . A ski-boot comprising an outer rigid shell shaped so as to receive the user's foot, and a rigid bootleg which is shaped so as to wrap round the user's ankle and is hinged on the top part of the shell so to be able to swing about a first reference axis that locally substantially coincides with the articulation axis of the user's ankle; wherein the shell is formed by a front half-shell and a rear half-shell rigidly fixed to one another; the front half-shell having a substantially ogival shape for covering the user's toe substantially up to the beginning of the plantar arch area of the foot and being made of at least one non-reinforced plastic polymer; the rear half-shell being designed to completely cover the remaining part of the foot, starting substantially from the plantar arch area of foot and being made of a composite material containing fibres embedded in a resin matrix. 
   
   
       2 . A ski-boot according to  claim 1 , wherein the front half-shell is provided with a transverse elastically deformable portion which extends from one side to the other of the shell, approximately astride of the metatarsal region of the foot, and is structured so as to enable the front half-shell to deform locally in an elastic way in order to enable the entire shell to bend in an area corresponding to the metatarsal region of the user's foot. 
   
   
       3 . A ski-boot according to  claim 2 , wherein the elastically deformable portion of the front half-shell is defined by a programmed deformation bellows which extends from one side to the other of the shell, roughly astride of the metatarsal region of the foot. 
   
   
       4 . A ski-boot according to  claim 1 , wherein the shell is provided at the bottom with a front sole and a rear heel made of anti-slip elastomeric material; the front sole being stably fixed on the front half-shell of the shell; the rear heel being, instead, stably fixed on the rear half-shell of the shell. 
   
   
       5 . A ski-boot according to  claim 4 , wherein the heel is attached to the rear half-shell via a metal supporting bracket which, in turn, is rigidly fixed on the rear half-shell, on the area corresponding to the heel of the foot. 
   
   
       6 . A ski-boot according to  claim 5 , wherein the metal supporting bracket is structured so as to be able to couple in a rigid and stable, but easily releasable, manner with the heel piece of a ski-coupling device. 
   
   
       7 . A ski-boot according to  claim 5 , wherein the metal supporting bracket is substantially L-shaped so that a first portion of the bracket prolongs underneath the rear half-shell towards the toe of the ski-boot, remaining locally adherent to the outer surface of the rear half-shell, whilst the second portion of the bracket prolongs upwards, remaining always locally adherent to the outer surface of the rear half-shell. 
   
   
       8 . A ski-boot according to  claim 7 , wherein the rear heel consists of a wedge of anti-slip elastomeric material, which is fixed directly on the second portion of the bracket, on the opposite side of the rear half-shell. 
   
   
       9 . A ski-boot according to  claim 1 , wherein the shell is also provided inside with an insole made of foamed plastic polymer, which is positioned on the bottom of the shell, astride of the front half-shell and the rear half-shell so to coat substantially the entire internal surface of the shell which is to support the sole of the user's foot. 
   
   
       10 . A ski-boot according to  claim 1 , wherein it also comprises a bootleg locking device which, according to the skier's choice and alternatively, is able to clamp the bootleg rigidly to the shell so to prevent any relative movement between the two elements; to engage the bootleg to the shell so to allow only positive oscillations of the bootleg which, starting from a pre-set resting position, bring the bootleg up toward the toe of the shell; or else to release the bootleg from the shell so to allow the bootleg to freely oscillate both forwards and backwards. 
   
   
       11 . A ski-boot according to  claim 10 , wherein the bootleg locking device comprises:
 a supporting plate fixed on the outer surface of the bootleg immediately above the area of the rear half-shell that, in use, is to receive the heel of the foot;   an anchorage plate fixed on the outer surface of the rear half-shell, in a position corresponding to the area of the rear half-shell that, in use, is to receive the heel of the foot; and   an coupling lever which is hinged on the supporting plate next to its proximal end so to be able to freely rotate about a second reference axis locally substantially parallel to the first reference axis, and which has the distal end shaped so to be able to engage in a rigid and stable, but easily releasable, manner to said anchorage plate so as to rigidly constrain the bootleg to the rear half-shell.   
   
   
       12 . A ski-boot according to  claim 5 , wherein the anchorage plate of the bootleg locking device is made in one piece with the metal supporting bracket connecting the heel to the rear half-shell. 
   
   
       13 . A ski-boot according to  claim 1 , wherein the bootleg is made of a composite material containing fibres embedded in a resin matrix. 
   
   
       14 . A ski-boot according to  claim 1 , wherein the front half-shell is made of at least one non-reinforced plastic polymer by means of a process of injection moulding. 
   
   
       15 . A ski-boot according to  claim 1 , wherein it also comprises an internal shoe-liner made of soft and thermally insulating material, which is positioned inside the shell and the bootleg and is shaped so to envelop and protect both the foot and the bottom part of the user's leg. 
   
   
       16 . A ski-boot according to  claim 1 , wherein it also comprises manually-operated closing means which are appropriately distributed on the shell and/or on the bootleg, and are structured so to be able to selectively tighten the shell or the bootleg so as to immobilize the user's leg stably inside the ski-boot.