US2635364A - Heel plate for ski boots - Google Patents

Description

April 21, 1953 F. MEINGAST HEEL PLATE FOR SKI BOOTS Filed May 16, 1951 Fig.2

Fig.4

FRANZ MEmGAST INVENTOR V BY fig, ATTORNEYS,

Patented Apr. 21, 1953 HEEL PLATE FOR SKI BOOTS- Franz Meingast, Gmunden, Austria Application May 16, 1951, Serial No. 226,575 In Austria May 23, 1950 1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to a heel plate for ski boots, which plate may consist of a sheet of any suitable material, e. g., aluminum, or plastic, or plastic-impregnated pasteboard (laminated plastic) or similar strong though somewhat resilient material, and the shape of which snugly conforms to the heel part of the uppers of the ski boot.

The object of this heel plate is to protect the seams at the heel part from damage by the heel strap of the ski binding.

In a perfectly watertight ski boot the seam connecting the uppers and sole must extend all around the boot. The rear portion of this seam, however, is liable to be damaged by the metal heel strap of ski bindings, which will abrade the seam when the latter is unprotected. Moreover, when the skier employing the cable type bindings in use today endeavors to apply the heel strap around the boot not in a horizontal, but in an upwardly inclined arc, to obtain a strong downwardly directed pulling force as is desired particularly during downhill runs, the heel strap will be liable to pull the sole from the uppers at the heel. When the unprotected heel is thus damaged by the heel strap, the boot is first liable to lose its watertightness and finally the sole may come apart from the uppers.

Specifically it is the object of the invention to provide a heel plate which may be attached to a finished ski boot having a roundabout seam connecting the uppers and tthe sole, without need for temporarily detaching and refastening any part of the boot. Thus the roundabout seam cannot be damaged in any way. It is another object of the invention to provide a heel plate of that type, which can be mounted on such boot subsequently by its owner, without the hel of any skilled man.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view from the back.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view.

In order to protect the roundabout seam I connecting the sole and the uppers from being chafed by the heel strap of the ski binding, a plate 2 is provided, of a material resisting compression and fiexion while being slightly resilient. e. g., sheet aluminum, plastic, pasteboard impregnated with plastic (laminated plastic), or the like. To enable the plate to be fastened, it is provided on top with a lug 4, which is inserted through a transverse slot 5 below the back-stay s of the boot. The lower part i of the plate forms a groove to receive the heel strap. Below the groove 1 the plate is fixed to the heel leather by staples 8. This mode of attachment, however, is not the only one possible but may be varied with the same advantages, one important feature residing in the fact that the plate is not sewn to the boot but fastened to the rear part thereof by other means.

What I claim is:

A heel plate for mounting on finished ski boots, having a backstay and a roundabout seam between sole and uppers, comprising a plate conforming to the heel part of the uppers of the ski boot, and means for fixing the plate to the finished ski boot, consisting of an outwardly extending flange arranged at the lower end of the plate and means for fastening said flange fixed to the protruding margin of the sole, and an upwardly protruding lug arranged at the center of the top edge of the plate and adapted to be stuck into a slot in said backstay of said boot, for holding the top of the heel plate to the boot.

FRANZ MEINGAST.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 95,087 Cordtz Sept. 21, 1869 256,939 Williams Apr. 25, 1882 638,879 Packard Dec. 12, 1899 1,575,466 Tyler Mar. 2, 1926 2,116,969 Cyr, Jr. May 10, 1938

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