Salomon S.a.

Yves Cagneux

Denis Gasquet

Maurice Legrand

A ski comprises an elongated body having opposed lateral surfaces and opposed upper and lower walls, a longitudinal core having upper and lower walls extending along the length of the body between front and rear ends of the ski, mechanical resistance elements, internal longitudinal shock absorption elements made of a viscoelastic material, and filling elements connecting the resistance elements to the other elements. At least one of the internal shock absorption elements is a strip of viscoelastic material which is substantially continuous over the entire length of the body of the ski. The width of the strip is limited by the lateral surfaces of the ski, and the thickness of the strip is limited by a wall of the core and a wall of the body. The strip has a thickness along the length of the body which is a nonconstant function of the length of the body conferring on the ski mechanical shock absorption properties which vary along the length of the ski.

Ski having improved shock absorption and vibration resistance

A ski comprises a longitudinally extending body defining a longitudinal median plane and having a sole substantially perpendicular to the plane and adapted to slidably engage a surface. The sole has a central zone lying between front and rear contact zones. The body comprises a core having opposed top and bottom walls, and opposed lateral walls, the core extending substantially the length of the body. The body further includes a shell having a top layer overlying the top wall of the core and lateral surfaces spaced from respective lateral walls of the core. The shell further includes lateral strips of viscoelastic material interposed between each lateral surface of said shell and the respective lateral walls of the core for forming a shock absorber. The cross-sectional area of the lateral strips are a non-constant function of length along the body of the ski at least between said contact zones. As a consequence, a desired distribution of shock absorption properties along the length of the ski can be established by suitable selection of the cross-sectional area of the strips.

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Annecy Le Vieux, France

Yves Cagneux