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Sports bootRelated Patent Categories: Boots, Shoes, And Leggings, Uppers, Closure, For Ski BootSports boot description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060174516, Sports boot. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.119 of French Patent Application No. 05.01123, filed on Feb. 4, 2005, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference thereto in its entirety. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The invention relates to an article of footwear and, specifically, to a sports boot, and, more specifically, to a sports boot adapted to be retained on a sports apparatus. [0004] More specifically, the invention relates to boots of the aforementioned types for use in the fields of endeavor such as snowsurfing or snowboarding, skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, including mountain climbing and glacier traveling, skating, including inline skating, skateboarding, and others. [0005] 2. Description of Background and Relevant Information [0006] For certain fields of sport, it is advantageous that the boot be flexible. [0007] In the field of snowboarding, for example, a flexible or supple boot makes it easier to walk or execute acrobatic figures while steering the board. [0008] In a known manner, a boot extends longitudinally between the heel and the toe. The boot includes a sole, an upper, and a means for tightening the upper. The latter can include keepers, at least one lace, a device for reversibly blocking at least one strand of the lace, as well as a strand traction handle. The boot can also include a device for removably affixing the handle to the upper. This structure facilitates the use of the boot. [0009] Indeed, the tightening of the boot is achieved simply by two coordinated actions, namely, tensioning the lace by traction on the handle, on the one hand, and maintaining the tension in the area of the keepers by putting the blocking device in a blocking position, on the other hand. Loosening of the boot results from the blocking device being put in an unblocking situation. [0010] After the boot is tightened, the handle is affixed to the upper so as not to hinder walking or the steering of the apparatus, i.e., the snowboard. Consequently, prior to the loosening of the boot, the handle is separated from the upper. [0011] For affixing the handle to the upper, the prior art has proposed to associate a lug to a main body to form the handle. The lug is an extension piece that allows fixing the body to the upper of the boot. It suffices to position the handle in the area of the opening of the upper, such that the main body is outside and the lug slides inside. A simple push positions the handle on the upper, the latter ending up pinched between the body and the lug. Retaining the handle on the upper prevents hindrance from various obstacles. The resulting advantage is a comfortable use of the boot. [0012] However, it sometimes appears that a non-active portion of the lace that connects the blocking device to the handle becomes hindered by an obstacle. A strand of the lace may be loose and get caught in a projecting obstacle. [0013] In snowboarding, for example, the boot can pass over a bush in the snow. There, a branch can rub against the boot. Sometimes, the branch becomes inserted between the upper and a strand of the lace. This can induce an III-timed unhooking of the handle or hinder the steering. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0014] An object of the invention is to overcome the aforementioned drawback by providing a boot that improves upon boots of the prior art. Thus, one of the objects of the invention is to reduce substantially, or even eliminate, the risk of hindrance between a non-active portion of lace and an obstacle. In other words, the invention aims at preventing the portion of the lace that extends from the blocking device to the handle from becoming hooked to an obstacle. [0015] To this end, the invention proposes a boot including a sole, an upper, and a mechanism for tightening the upper, the mechanism for tightening the upper including lace keepers or guides, at least one lace, a device for blocking at least one strand of the lace, as well as a handle for tensioning the strand, the boot further including a device for removably affixing the handle to the upper. A storing device for the boot according to the invention allows the portion of the strand that extends between the blocking device and the handle to be stored. [0016] Thus, this portion of the strand is not loose in the sense that it is not separated from the upper once the storing is done. As a result, the non-active portion of the lace can hardly ever, or not ever, become hindered by an obstacle. In particular, it is very unlikely that a projecting obstacle could become hooked to a strand of the lace. Among the resulting advantages is that the handle is better retained on the upper and the rider has greater freedom to steer the sports apparatus, such as the snowboard. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS [0017] Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will be better understood from the following description, with reference to the attached drawings showing, by way of a non-limiting embodiment, how the invention can be embodied, and in which: [0018] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a boot according to the described embodiment, in a case where the handle is not affixed to the upper; [0019] FIG. 2 is a partial enlargement of FIG. 1 showing part of the device for affixing the handle to the upper; [0020] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the handle of the boot FIG. 1; Continue reading about Sports boot... Full patent description for Sports boot Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Sports boot patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Sports boot or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Shoe Next Patent Application: Shoe having a waterproof underlining Industry Class: Boots, shoes, and leggings ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Sports boot patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 0.20486 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Qualcomm , Schering-Plough , Schlumberger , Seagate , Siemens , Texas Instruments , 174 |
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