Tool for closing and opening buckles on ski boots

Claim 1

A tool for opening and closing buckles on ski boots of the type having at least one pivotal buckle, the pivotal buckle including an end portion and an intermediate portion and being pivotal about a pivot axis, said buckle including a plurality of teeth and a plurality of gaps therebetween, said teeth and said gaps extending along the longitudinal axis of the buckle, the tool comprising a body having a cavity including first and second spaced apart surfaces and being open at one end of the body to allow for insertion of the buckle, said body having a generally rectangular shape including a top wall, two vertical side walls, and a bottom wall defining two edges, each of said side walls including an elongated groove adjacent said edges to provide sharpened edges positioned at or inwardly of the planes of the vertical side walls, elongated lever means being attached to said body and extending in a direction generally opposite to said open end of said cavity, said cavity having a depth sufficient to span at least the two end teeth and the two end gaps on the buckle, said elongated lever means being movable in one direction to provide for engagement of said end portion of the buckle by the first surface and the intermediate portion of the buckle by the second surface to pivot the buckle in a first direction toward the closed position of the buckle, said lever means being movable in a second direction to provide for engagement of the end portion of the buckle by said second surface and said intermediate portion of the buckle by said first surface to pivot the buckle in a second direction toward the open position of the buckle.