Sports boot for skiers and the like

Claim 2

A sports boot for skiers and the like for receiving a person's foot, said boot comprising, in combination: a substantially rigid outer boot shell for receiving a person's foot; and a boot liner receivable within said shell, said liner including a flexible bladder having a size and shape to fit within said shell in a position folded generally about the rear and rear sides of the person's foot received within said shell, and further to extend upwardly at least a short distance above the ankle region of the person's foot; said bladder being subdivided into a plurality of individual vented chambers each of relatively low vertical dimension and including a plurality of said chambers in vertically stacked relation on opposite sides of the person's foot; each of said chambers being at least partially filled with a particulate material of substantially uniform particle size and further including means permitting expulsion of a substantial portion of the air from said chambers when the person's foot is received into said boot shell so that said particulate material within each of said chambers assumes a substantially rigid configuration in general conformance with the adjacent anatomical shape of the person's foot for improved mechanical force coupling between the person's foot and said boot shell.

Claim 3

The sports boot of claim 1 wherein said sports boot comprises a snow ski boot, said boot further including means for releasable connection to a snow ski.

Claim 4

The sports boot of claim 1 wherein said bladder is formed from a pair of flexible overlying layers of air impermeable sheet material with a substantially sealed peripheral seam to prevent escape of air from between said layers, and further including a plurality of inner seams interconnecting said layers to define said plurality of chambers, each of said inner seams including vent means for permitting migration of air between adjacent ones of said chambers, and a main air discharge tube in communication with one of said chambers to permit ingress and egress of air from between said bladder layers.

Claim 5

The sports boot of claim 3 further including filter means within said main air discharge tube to prevent escape of particulate material from between said bladder layers.

Claim 6

The sports boot of claim 3 further including filter means for preventing migration of said particulate material from one of said chambers to another.

Claim 7

The sports boot of claim 3 further including desiccant means for preventing ingress of moisture into said chambers.

Claim 8

The sports boot of claim 3 further including a one-way check valve along said main air discharge tube for releasably preventing ingress of air into said chambers.

Claim 9

The sports boot of claim 3 further including vacuum pump means for manually drawing air from said chambers and for releasably maintaining a vacuum within said chambers.

Claim 10

The sports boot of claim 1 wherein said plurality of chambers on each side of the person's foot includes at least one chamber extending from the rear of said shell over the top of the person's heel bone and then extending downwardly in front of the person's heel bone to a lower margin of the bladder to lock the heel bone in place during boot use.

Claim 11

The sports boot of claim 3 wherein said vent means comprises a plurality of small openings along said inner seam between each of said chambers, said small openings having a diametric size of from about 0.030 to about 0.040 inch.

Claim 12

The sports boot of claim 1 wherein each of said chambers has a relatively low vertical dimension on the order of about 0.75 inch to about 2.0 inch.

Claim 13

The sports boot of claim 11 wherein each of said chambers has a relatively low vertical dimension on the order of about 1.0 inch.

Claim 14

The sports boot of claim 1 wherein said particulate material has a substantially uniform size selected from within the range of about 40 to about 120 mesh.

Claim 15

The sports boot of claim 13 wherein said particulate material has a size selected from within the range of about 50 to about 70 mesh.

Claim 16

The sports boot of claim 13 wherein said particulate material comprises hollow microspheres of a ceramic-based material.

Claim 17

The sports boot of claim 1 wherein said liner further includes a sock component for reception into said boot shell, said sock component having said bladder secured thereto.

Claim 18

A sports boot for skiers and the like for receiving a person's foot, said boot comprising, in combination: a substantially rigid outer boot shell for receiving a person's foot; and a boot liner receivable within said shell, said liner including a flexible bladder having a size and shape to fit within said shell in a position folded generally about the rear and rear sides of the person's foot received within said shell, and further to extend upwardly at least a short distance above the ankle region of the person's foot; said bladder being formed from a pair of overlying layers of air impermeable sheet material and including a peripheral seam joining said layers together to prevent escape of air from between said layers, and further including a plurality of inner seams interconnecting said layers together to subdivide said bladder into a plurality of relatively small chambers of relatively low vertical dimension, each of said inner seams having relatively small vent openings formed therein to permit migration of air from one chamber to another, at least one of said chambers being communicated to atmosphere, said bladder including a plurality of said chambers in vertically stacked relation on opposite sides of the person's foot; each of said chambers being at least partially filled with a particulate material of substantially uniform particle size, said vent openings permitting explusion of a substantial portion of the air from said chambers when the person's foot is received into said boot shell so that said particulate material within each of said chambers assumes a substantially rigid configuration in general conformance with the adjacent anatomical shape of the person's foot for improved mechanical force coupling between the person's foot and said boot shell.

Claim 19

A sports boot for skiers and the like for receiving a person's foot, said boot comprising, in combination: a substantially rigid outer boot shell for receiving a person's foot; and a boot liner receivable within said shell, said liner including a flexible bladder having a size and shape to fit within said shell in a position folded generally about the rear and rear sides of the person's foot received within said shell, and further to extend upwardly at least a short distance above the ankle region of the person's foot; said bladder being formed from a pair of overlying layers of air impermeable sheet material and including a peripheral seam joining said layers together to prevent escape of air from between said layers, and further including a plurality of inner seams interconnecting said layers together to subdivide said bladder into a plurality of relatively small chambers of relatively low vertical dimension, each of said inner seams having relatively small vent openings formed therein to permit migration of air from one chamber to another, at least one of said chambers being communicated to atmosphere, said bladder including a plurality of said chambers in vertically stacked relation on opposite sides of the person's foot; each of said chambers being at least partially filled with a particulate material of substantially uniform particle size, said vent openings permitting explusion of a substantial portion of the air from said chambers when the person's foot is received into said boot shell so that said particulate material within each of said chambers assumes a substantially rigid configuration in general conformance with the adjacent anatomical shape of the person's foot for improved mechanical force coupling between the person's foot and said boot shell.

Claim 20

The sports boot of claim 17 further including a main air discharge tube for communicating said at least one of said chambers to atmosphere.

Claim 21

A sports boot for skiers and the like for receiving a person's foot, said boot comprising, in combination: a substantially rigid outer boot shell for receiving a person's foot; and a boot liner receiveable within said shell, said liner including a flexible bladder having a size and shape to fit within said shell in a position folded generally about the rear and rear sides of the person's foot received within said shell, and further to extend upwardly at least a short distance above the ankle region of the person's foot; said bladder being formed from a pair of overlying layers of air impermeable sheet material and including a peripheral seam joining said layers together to prevent escape of air from between said layers, and further including a plurality of inner seams interconnecting said layers together to subdivide said bladder into a plurality of relatively small chambers of relatively low vertical dimension, each of said inner seams having relatively small vent openings formed therein to permit migration of air from one chamber to another, at least one of said chambers being communicated to atmosphere, said bladder including a plurality of said chambers in vertically stacked relation on opposite sides of the person's foot; each of said chambers being at least partially filled with a particulate material of substantially uniform particle size within the range of from about 50 to about 70 mesh, said vent openings permitting explusion of a substantial portion of the air from said chambers when the person's foot is received into said boot shell so that said particulate material within each of said chambers assumes a substantially rigid configuration in general conformance with the adjacent anatomical shape of the person's foot for improved mechanical force coupling between the person's foot and said boot shell.

Claim 22

A sports boot for skiers and the like for receiving a person's foot, said boot comprising, in combination: a substantially rigid outer boot shell for receiving a person's foot; and a boot liner receiveable within said shell, said liner including a flexible bladder having a size and shape to fit within said shell in a position folded generally about the rear and rear sides of the person's foot received within said shell, and further to extend upwardly at least a short distance above the ankle region of the person's foot; said bladder being formed from a pair of overlying layers of air impermeable sheet material and including a peripheral seam joining said layers together to prevent escape of air from between said layers, and further including a plurality of inner seams interconnecting said layers together to subdivide said bladder into a plurality of relatively small chambers of relatively low vertical dimension, each of said inner seams having relatively small vent openings formed therein to permit migration of air from one chamber to another, at least one of said chambers being communicated to atmosphere, said bladder including a plurality of said chambers in vertically stacked relation on opposite sides of the person's foot; each of said chambers being at least partially filled with a particulate material of substantially uniform particle size within the range of from about 50 to about 70 mesh, said vent openings permitting explusion of a substantial portion of the air from said chambers when the person's foot is received into said boot shell so that said particulate material within each of said chambers assumes a substantially rigid configuration in general conformance with the adjacent anatomical shape of the person's foot for improved mechanical force coupling between the person's foot and said boot shell.

Claim 23

The sports boot of claim 19 further including filter means for preventing migration of said particulate material from one chamber to another.

Claim 24

A support device for receiving and supporting an anatomical joint of a person, such as for receiving and supporting the ankle region or the like of a person's foot, said support device comprising, in combination: a substantially rigid outer shell having a size and shape for mounting about the anatomical joint; and a liner receivable within said shell, said liner including a flexible bladder having a size and shape to fit within said shell in a position folded generally about the anatomical joint received within said shell; said bladder being subdivided into a plurality of individual vented chambers each of relatively low vertical extension and including a plurality of said chambers in vertically stacked relation on at least opposite ides of the anatomical joint; each of said chambers being at least partially filled with a particulate material of substantially uniform particle size and further including means permitting expulsion of a substantial portion of the air from said chambers when the anatomical joint is received into said shell so that said particulate material within each of said chambers assumes a substantially rigid configuration in general conformance with the adjacent anatomical shape of the joint for improved mechanical force coupling between the joint and said shell.

Claim 25

A support device for receiving and supporting an anatomical joint of a person, such as for receiving and supporting the ankle region or the like of a person's foot, said support device comprising, in combination: a substantially rigid outer shell having a size and shape for mounting about the anatomical joint; and a liner receivable within said shell, said liner including a flexible bladder having a size and shape to fit within said shell in a position folded generally about the anatomical joint received within said shell; said bladder being subdivided into a plurality of individual vented chambers each of relatively low vertical extension and including a plurality of said chambers in vertically stacked relation on at least opposite ides of the anatomical joint; each of said chambers being at least partially filled with a particulate material of substantially uniform particle size and further including means permitting expulsion of a substantial portion of the air from said chambers when the anatomical joint is received into said shell so that said particulate material within each of said chambers assumes a substantially rigid configuration in general conformance with the adjacent anatomical shape of the joint for improved mechanical force coupling between the joint and said shell.

Claim 26

A sports shoe for receiving a persons's foot, said shoe comprising, in combination: an outer shoe member for receiving a person's foot; a liner receivable within said shoe member, said liner including a flexible bladder having a size and shape to fit within said shoe member in a position folded generally about the rear and rear sides of the person's foot received within said shoe member, and further to extend upwardly at least a short distance above the ankle region of the person's foot; said bladder being subdivided into a plurality of individual vented chambers each of relatively low vertical dimension and including a plurality of said chambers in vertically stacked relation on opposite sides of the person's foot; each of said chambers being at least partially filled with a particulate material of substantially uniform particle size and further including means permitting expulsion of a substantial portion of the air from said chambers when the person's foot is received into said shoe member so that said particulate material within each of said chambers assumes a substantially rigid configuration in general conformance with the adjacent anatomical shape of the person's foot for improved mechanical force coupling between the person's foot and said shoe member.

Claim 27

A sports shoe for receiving a persons's foot, said shoe comprising, in combination: an outer shoe member for receiving a person's foot; a liner receivable within said shoe member, said liner including a flexible bladder having a size and shape to fit within said shoe member in a position folded generally about the rear and rear sides of the person's foot received within said shoe member, and further to extend upwardly at least a short distance above the ankle region of the person's foot; said bladder being subdivided into a plurality of individual vented chambers each of relatively low vertical dimension and including a plurality of said chambers in vertically stacked relation on opposite sides of the person's foot; each of said chambers being at least partially filled with a particulate material of substantially uniform particle size and further including means permitting expulsion of a substantial portion of the air from said chambers when the person's foot is received into said shoe member so that said particulate material within each of said chambers assumes a substantially rigid configuration in general conformance with the adjacent anatomical shape of the person's foot for improved mechanical force coupling between the person's foot and said shoe member.

Claim 28

The sports shoe of claim 22 wherein said particulate material has a substantially uniform size selected from within the range of about 40 to about 120 mesh.