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EP-4180097-B1 - A SNOWBOARD AND/OR SKI JUMPING STRUCTURE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAID STRUCTURE

EP4180097B1EP 4180097 B1EP4180097 B1EP 4180097B1EP-4180097-B1

Inventors

  • GOEGELE, JOHANNES

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20221111

Claims (17)

  1. A snowboard and/or ski jumping structure configured to be run along a riding direction (D) and made with snow in particular of a ski area and/or snow park; the snowboard and/or ski jumping structure comprising a ramp (2, 102), in particular made with snow, comprising a transition zone (3, 103) and a take-off zone (4, 104), wherein the take-off zone (4, 104) is characterized by a take-off angle (Ad, AAd) at a take-off point (4a, 104a) of the take-off zone (4, 104); and a landing zone (5, 105), particularly made with snow, comprising a first zone (6, 106), preferably a sweet-spot zone, and a second zone (7, 107), preferably a critical zone; wherein the first zone (6, 106) has variable slopes along the riding direction (D); wherein the first zone (6) comprises a plurality of segments (6c) aligned along the riding direction (D), wherein each segment (6c) extends along a dimension (L6c), in particular a length preferably measured along the riding direction (D), and the dimension (L6c) of each segment (6c) is different from the dimension (L6c) of the previous segment (L6c) or of the following segment (L6c) relative to the riding direction (D); the snowboard and/or ski jumping structure being characterized in that said plurality of segments (6c) comprises a first group of segments (6c) and a second group of segments (6c), wherein said dimension (L6c) of each segment (6c) of the first group of segments (6c) is smaller than said dimension (L6c) of the previous segment (6c) of the first group of segments (6c) and/or said dimension (L6c) of each segment (6c) of the first group of segments (6c) is greater than said dimension (L6c) of the following segment (6c) of the first group of segments (6c); and wherein said dimension (L6c) of each segment (6c) of the second group of segments (6c) is greater than said dimension (L6c) of the previous segment (6c) of the group of segments (6c) and/or said dimension of each segment (6c) of the second group of segments (6c) is smaller than said dimension of the following segment (6c) of the second group of segments (6c) relative to the riding direction (D).
  2. Snowboard and/or ski jumping structure of claim 1, wherein the first zone (6, 106) has variable slopes along the riding direction (D) and between 25 and 45 degrees, particularly between 28 and 40 degrees, preferably between 30 and 39 degrees.
  3. Snowboard and/or ski jumping structure of claim 1 or 2, wherein a start point (6a, 106a) of the first zone (6, 106), relative to the riding direction (D), is at the same altitude as the take-off point (4a, 104a) or the difference in altitudes is in the range of +/- 1 meter.
  4. Snowboard and/or ski jumping structure of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the landing zone (6, 106), in particular the first zone (6, 106), has a curved profile in particular having an exponential trend along the riding direction (D).
  5. Snowboard and/or ski jumping structure of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first zone (6, 106) of the landing zone (5, 105) has a variable slope, preferably between 25 and 45 degrees, which increases as the riding direction (D) increases, in particular has a slope at the initial point (6a, 106a) of the first zone (6, 106) between 28 and 32 degrees, and in particular has a final slope of the first zone (6, 106) between 36 and 40 degrees.
  6. Snowboard and/or ski jumping structure of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the take-off angle (Ad, AAd) at the take-off point (4a, 104a) is between 32° and 43°, particularly between 35° and 39°, preferably the take-off angle (Ad) at the take-off point (4a, 104a) is 37°.
  7. Snowboard and/or ski jumping structure of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the landing zone (5, 105), in particular the first zone (6, 106), has a length (L2, L12) between 14 meters and 22 meters, in particular between 16 meters and 20 meters, in particular being 18 meters.
  8. Snowboard and/or ski jumping structure of any of the preceding claims, comprising a table (10, 110) comprising a hillock (11, 111) and a knuckle zone (12, 112), in particular arranged between the take-off zone (4, 104) and the landing zone (6, 106), wherein the table (10, 110) extends for a length (L1, L11) between 10 meters and 24 meters, in particular between 15 meters and 19 meters, in particular between 16 meters and 18 meters, in particular between 16.5 meters and 17.7 meters, in particular equal to 16.6 +/-0.1 meters or 17.6 meters +/- 0.1 meters.
  9. Snowboard and/or ski jumping structure of any one of the preceding claims, comprising a starting area (20, 120) configured to cause the snowboarder and skier to assume speed, in particular the starting area (20, 120) has a first portion (21, 121) having a downhill slope relative to the riding direction (D) in which it is ridden, and a second portion (22, 122) following the first portion (21, 121) relative to the riding direction (D) which preferably is substantially flat or has a second slope less than the first slope; in particular, the starting area (20, 120) is disposed before the take-off zone (102) with respect to the riding direction (D).
  10. Snowboard and/or ski jumping structure of any one of the preceding claims, comprising an exit zone (30, 130) disposed after the landing zone (5, 105) with respect to the riding direction (D).
  11. Snowboard and/or ski jumping structure of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first zone (6) comprises a plurality of segments (6c) aligned along the riding direction (D), and wherein each segment (6c) has a different slope than the previous segment (6c) and than the following segment (6c) relative to the riding direction (D), in particular, the following segment (6c) has a greater slope than the previous segment (6c) relative to the riding direction (D).
  12. A snowboard and/or ski jump slope comprising a first snowboard and/or ski jump structure (1) according to any one of the preceding claims and a second snowboard and/or ski jump structure (101) according to any one of the preceding claims; and wherein a difference in altitudes (D11) between a starting point (6a) of the first zone (6) of the first jump structure (1) and the take-off point (104a) of the second jump structure (101) is within the range of 10 to 40 meters, in particular from 15.5 to 21.5 meters and in particular is equal to 18.5 meters +/- 0.5 meters.
  13. A method of making a snowboard and/or ski jump structure, wherein the snowboard and/or ski jump structure (1, 101) is configured to be ridden along a riding direction (D); the method comprising the step of making, particularly on a snowy surface and using preferably natural or artificial snow, a ramp (2, 102) comprising a transition zone (3, 103) and a take-off zone (4, 104), wherein the take-off zone (4, 104) has a take-off angle (Ad, AAd) at the take-off point (4a) of the take-off zone (4, 104); and a landing zone (5, 105) comprising a first zone (6, 106), preferably a sweet-spot zone, and a second zone (7), preferably a critical zone; the method comprising the step of making the first zone (6, 106) with variable slopes along the riding direction (D); wherein the first zone (6) comprises a plurality of segments (6c) aligned along the riding direction (D), wherein each segment (6c) extends along a dimension (L6c), in particular a length preferably measured along the riding direction (D), and the dimension (L6c) of each segment (6c) is different from the dimension (L6c) of the previous segment (L6c) or of the following segment (L6c) relative to the riding direction (D); wherein said plurality of segments (6c) comprises a first group of segments (6c) and a second group of segments (6c), wherein said dimension (L6c) of each segment (6c) of the first group of segments (6c) is smaller than said dimension (L6c) of the previous segment (6c) of the first group of segments (6c) and/or said dimension (L6c) of each segment (6c) of the first group of segments (6c) is greater than said dimension (L6c) of the following segment (6c) of the first group of segments (6c); and wherein said dimension (L6c) of each segment (6c) of the second group of segments (6c) is greater than said dimension (L6c) of the previous segment (6c) of the group of segments (6c) and/or said dimension of each segment (6c) of the second group of segments (6c) is smaller than said dimension of the following segment (6c) of the second group of segments (6c) relative to the riding direction (D).
  14. A method of making a snowboard and/or ski jump structure according to claim 13, wherein the method is implemented with a snow grooming vehicle and at least a snow working tool, preferably a blade and/or a tiller, of the snow grooming vehicle.
  15. A method of making a snowboard and/or ski jump structure according to any one of claims 13 or 14, the method comprising the steps of: detecting current geographic coordinates of the vehicle; and making the take-off zone (4, 104) and/or the landing zone (5, 105) by acting on at least a parameter of the at least a vehicle tool on the basis of the detected geographic coordinates and to stored instructions.
  16. Method of claim 15, further comprising the step of controlling the at least a parameter of the at least a vehicle implement based on geographic coordinates, preferably detected by a vehicle geographic coordinate detection device, and based on parameter values of the instructions coupled to the detected geographic coordinate values and preferably stored in a memory of a vehicle control unit.
  17. Method of claim 15 or 16, comprising the step of detecting the snow depth at the location of the snow grooming vehicle, preferably using a snow depth detection device of the snow grooming vehicle, and achieving the take-off zone (4, 104) and/or the landing zone (5, 105) by acting on at least a parameter of the at least a snow grooming vehicle tool on the basis of detected snow depth, detected geographic coordinates and/or stored instructions related to working parameters of at least a parameter of the at least a snow grooming vehicle tool and coupled to snow depth values and/or geographic coordinate values.

Description

Technical Field The invention relates to a snowboard and/or ski jumping structure, to a snowboard and/or ski run comprising said jumping structure and to a method for making said jumping structure. Background A snowboard and/or ski jumping structure can usually be configured in different ways, depending on the type of trick, in particular on the type of jump, for which it was created. Furthermore, the term snow park includes a variety of freestyle facilities, which can be natural, i.e. made with natural or artificial snow, or artificial, i.e. made with prefabricated pieces of materials other than snow and laid in the snow park. A snow park usually comprises a plurality of freestyle fixtures, usually different from one another, so that snowboarders and/or skiers can perform different tricks while riding in the snow park. As a consequence, a snow park comprises an entry, an exit and a plurality of freestyle fixtures, even different form one another, between the entry and the exit of the snow park. Furthermore, a snow park consists of a plurality of jumping slopes, which, in turn, comprise jumping structures built with snow and/or with artificial structures, such as for example boxes, rails or other elements on which snowboarders and/or skiers ride with the board/skis and/or perform tricks. Furthermore, in a snow park there are, among other things, snowboard and/or ski slopes, which, in turn, comprise one or more snowboard and/or ski jumping structures, also known as jumps, or consisting of steel, plastic or wood, also known as jibs. Jumping structures entail a flying phase, during which users, also called snowboarders and/or skiers, can perform different tricks, such as for example twists, somersaults, turns or any other type of tricks, such as for example tricks called grabs, spins or flips In particular, the snowboard and/or ski jumping structure comprises a starting area, which has a first portion having a constant slope, in particular a downhill slope, and a second portion following the first portion, which is substantially flat; a ramp, which comprises a transition zone and a take-off zone; a table zone comprising a hillock and a knuckle zone; a landing zone comprising a first zone, also called sweet-spot zone, and a second zone, also called critical zone, in particular the first zone comprises a slope having a given angle, which is constant over the entire first zone; and finally and exit zone. Terrain park jumps are disclosed in: "LEVY DEAN ET AL: "A design rationale for safer terrain park jumps that limit equivalent fall height" ISSN: 1369-7072; and PETRONE NICOLA ET AL: "Designing, building, measuring, and testing a constant equivalent fall height terrain park jump" ISSN: 1369-7072. WO 2020/104860 A1 discloses a snow groomer vehicle with automated functions. A drawback of the prior art lies in that snowboard and/or ski jumping structures have a level of risk that increases as the difficulty of the tricks to be performed increases. Summary An object of the invention is to provide a snowboard and/or ski jumping structure, which reduces the risk of accidents for snowboarders and/or skiers. Another object of the invention is to provide a snowboard and/or ski jumping structure, which allows users to perform tricks with a high level of difficulty without increasing the risk of accidents. Another object of the invention is to provide a snowboard and/or ski jumping structure, which allows for a greater flying time compared to the prior art, without increasing the risk of accidents compared to the prior art. According to the invention, there is provided a snowboard and/or ski jumping structure according to claim 1. The first zone is called sweet-spot zone. The invention offers a snowboard and/or ski jumping structure, which increases the range of speeds in the take-off point without increasing the equivalent falling height in the landing moment and, hence, without increasing the risk of accidents. In this way, users can perform jumps with a high level of difficulty without increasing the risk of accidents; indeed, thanks to the variable slope, the landing takes place in a less risky manner, though without decreasing the flying time needed to perform given tricks. In other words, the invention offers a wider range of speeds in the take-off point and, thanks to the invention, users can perform jumps with a longer flying time compared to the prior art, without increasing the risk of accidents compared to the prior art. Another object of the invention is to provide a snowboard and/or ski jump slope, which reduces the drawbacks of the prior art. According to the invention, there is provided a snowboard and/or ski jump slope according to claim 12. Another object of the invention is to provide a method for making a snowboard and/or ski jumping structure. According to the invention, there is provided a method for making a snowboard and/or ski jumping structure according to claim 13. Another object of the invention is