Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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Backqround of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to ski
equipment and more particularly to a snow ski binding adapted
for use in both alpine and cross-country skiing.
Ski bindings have evolved from a very crude form
wherein a strap was used to secure the skier's boot to the ski
to more sophisticated bindings which automatically release
the skier from the ski when certain relative forces are applied
to the skier or ski. These latter bindings have been referred
to as release bindings and are intended to minimize the risk
of injury to the skier. Release bindings have been directed
toward alpine skiing and have not been concerned with cross-
country skiing which branch of skiing has been rapidly increas-
ing in popularity. Bindings for cross-country skiing have not
in the past varied materially and have all utilized some form
of anchor for the toe of the skier's boot so that the heel of
the skier's boot is free to lift as occurs in normal walking
motions.
The recent increase of interest in cross-country
skiing however, has brought about a need for a binding which
is readily convertible between use as an alpine skiing release
binding and a cross-country binding. While several such
bindings have been developed, none have been totally
satisfactory for both application, '
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~jects of the Invention
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It is an object of the present invention to providea new and improved binding adapted for use both in alpine and
cross-country skiing.
It is another object of the present invention to
provide a new and improved binding for a ski which will
reliably release the skier from the ski upon the application
of certain applied forces to the ski or the skier.
It is another object of the present invention to
provide a new and improved ski binding for use in cross-country
skiing where the binding includes a lift for the heel of the
skier's boot to facilitate up-hill climbing.
It is another object of the present invention to
provide a new and improved ski binding which releases the
skier's boot from the ski through the use of laterally flexible
semi-rigid members which flex to release the boot from the ski
on a predetermined applied force.
Summary_of the Invention
The ski binding of the present invention basically
consists of a boot plate which is selectively securable to the
bottom of a ski boot, and toe and heel pieces which are
securely mountable on a ski to releasably retain the boot plate
on the ski.
The boot plate includes on opposite sides thereof a
pair of semi-rigid spring bars which protrude forwardly
from a central body portion of the boot plate. The leading end
of each spring bar has an inwardly opening recess therein which
are adapted to releasably receive a laterally extending
retention pin on the toe piece of the binding. Ea~h pin on the
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toe piece protrudes into the recess in the associated spring
bar and remains seated in thc recess when the spring bar is in
a neutral, unbiased condition. The pins thereby define an axis
which extends transversely of the ski and about which the boot
plate can pivot such as when the binding is in use for cross-
country skiing. The boot plate further includes an extensible
rear portion so that the interrelationship of the boot plate,
toe and heel pieces can be easily regulated to facilitate
proper mounting of the binding on a ski.
The heel piece includes a block member which has
a beveled surface adapted to cooperate with a mating beveled
surface on the trailing end of the boot plate to hold the :
rearward end of the boot plate immediately adjacent to the ski
when the binding is being used for alpine skiing. 1.
The retention pins which are seated in the recesses l; .
in~the leading end of the spring bars have rounded heads which ~1 :
serve as cam surfaces to assist in biasing the spring bar .
outwardly away from the toe piece when a force is applied to the ~
boot~or ski. A predetermined force applied to the boot in :~
~20 ~ various directions will cause at least one of the spring bar
members to move relative to the ski which will cause the
.~ rounded:head of one of the retention pins to bias the spring
: bar~associated therewith outwardly causing it to be released
'~ from the pin so that the boot plate is released from the ski.
Accordingly, while the bi.nding is ideally suited
~ for cross-country skiing due to the pivotal connection of the
s~ ~ boot to the ski near the toe of the boot, the binding also
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: serves as a very reliable release binding when used for alpine ';~
~ : skiing.
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The heel piece has been designed so that it is mov-
able between a position wherein it restrains the heel portion
of the boot plate to retain the heel closely adjacent to the
ski and a position wherein the heel of the boot plate is free
to move in a vertical direction such as when the binding is used
for cross-country skiing. The heel piece ir.cludes a resilient
member which can be positioned beneath the rearward end of the
boot plaie to bias the rearward end of the boot plate upwardly
to assist a skier in cllmbing up hills by giving lift to the
skier's heel. Further, a lift pin can be incorporated into the
heel piece to facilitate skiing up unusually steep hills where ~-
possibly mechanical aids are used on the ski to grip the snow.
In accordance with the present invention, there is
provided a binding for releasably connecting a boot to a ski com-
prising in combination, a boot plate selectively securable to the
sole of a boo,; toe piece means for pivotally connecting the lead-
ing edge of said boot plate to a ski such that the boot plate can
pivot about the leading edge thereof by lifting and lowering the
trailing edge of the boot plate, and heel piece means adapted to
selectively engage the trailing edge of said boot plate adjacent
to the ski in one position and-in a second position maintain a
spaced relati~nship of the trailing edge of the boot plate from
the ski thereby effecting an angular relationship of the boot with
respect to the ski while allowing the trailing edge of the boot
plate to be selectively raised and lowered in a pivoting move-
ment about tne toe piece.
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Other objects, advantages and capabilitles of the
present invention will become more apparent as the description
proceeds taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION_OP THE DRAWINGS
FIGURE 1 is a frasmentary perspective view of a ski
with the binding of tne present invention mounted thereon and
with a boot connected to the binding.
FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of a ski
having a binding of the present invention mounted thereupon
and with the boot plate portion of the binding removed from
the toe and heel pieces.
FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of the ski
and binding as they are together in FIGVRE 1.
FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary side elevation similar to
, FIGURE 3 with the heel piece in a different position from that
shown in FIGURES 1 and 3.
FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of a ski with
the binding of the present invention mounted thereon.
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FIGU~E 6 is a fragmentary top pl.an view of a ski
illustrating the heel pi.ece of the binding of the pre.sent
invention.
FIGURE 7 is an enlarged perspective view of the pin
and socket connectors between the toe piece and boot plate of
the binding of the present invention.
FIGVRE 8 is an enlarged section taken along line
8-8 of FIGURE 5.
FIGURE 9 is an enlarged section taken along line
9-9 of FIGURE 5.
FIGURE 10 is an enlarged section taken along line
10-10 of FIGURE 5.
FIGURE 11 is an enlarged section taken along line
11-11 of FIGURE 10.
FIGURE 12 is a fragmentary side elevational view
similar to FIGURES 3 and 4 with the heel ~iece cooperating
with the-boot plate in another manner.
FIGURE 13 is a fragmentary side elevational view
similar to FIGURE 4 illustrating the use of a lift pin in the -
binding.
FIGURE 14 is a fragmentary perspective view of the
forward end of the binding of the present invention showing
use of a clip to prevent release of the binding.
Description of the Preferred Embodiment
Referring first to FIGURE 1, the binding 20 of the
present invention is shown mounted on a ski 22 with a ski boot
24 secured to the binding 20. The binding can be seen to
consist of three basic component parts, namely (1) a boot
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plate 26, (2) a toe piece 28, and (3) a heel piece 30.
Referring first to the boot plate 26, which is best
shown in FIGURE 2, it can be seen to include a main body 32
and a pair of spring bar members 34 anchored to the sides of
the body and protruding forwardly therefrom a preselected
distance. The main body 32, which is preferably made of
aluminum, polycarbonate, or the like, is channel shaped in
configuration with the channel opening upwardly. The main
body 32 has a set of aligned apertures 40 therethrough adapted
to removably receive the inner ends 42 of a generally U-shaped
bail member 44 which is adapted to retain the heel portion of
a ski boot on the boot plate. The ends 42 of the bail are
threadedly received in a barrel nut 43 extending between the
sides 32a of the main body in alignment with a pair of aligned
aperatures 40. The bail 44 is generally U-shaped in
configuration and has extension sleeves 45 therein adapted to
extend the length of the bail for various boot fittings.
The U-shaped end 46 of the bail rotatably receives an over
center latch 48 which is adapted to cooperate with the groove
50 typically provided on the heel of ski boots to bias the
heel portion of the boot downwardly in tight engagement with
the boot plate 26 as illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 3. The
over center characteristic of the latch 48 assures that the
heel of the boot will be securely retained against the
trailing end of the boot plate until the latch 48 is released
as by manual fingertip pressure applied to the top of the
latch in a rearward direction.
A stiff U-shaped wire 54 is anchored to the spring
bars 34 at a location immediately in front of the leading end
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55 of the main body portion ~nd this w;re 54 is ~dapted to
extend over and across the lip 56 provided on the toe of
con~entional ski boots to selectively retain the toe of the
ski boot in secure tight relationship with the boot plate 26.
A set of anchor holes 58 are provided in the leading 2nd of
the spring bars to give an added means for adjusting the
cable 54 relative to the boot.
The spring bars 34 are mainly anchored to the body
portion 32 of the boot plate by screw type fasteners 62 and
64 threaded into a barrel nut extending between the sides of
the main body 32. A second set of apertures 66 or openings
are provided through the spring bars 34 forwardly of their
connection to the body portion by the fasteners 62 and 64,
which openings are aligned with one pair of openings (not
seen) provided through the sides 32a of the body portion 32
so that a movable securement bolt 70 or the like in
cooperation with a barrel nut 71 can anchor the spring bar
34 to the body portion 32 at selected locations forwardly
of the main connection. The purpose of this movable
connection will become more clear later.
Near the forwardmost end 74 of each spring bar
member 34, a transverse passage 76 is provided which is
adapted to cooperate with the toe piece 28 in releasably
connecting the forwardmost end of the boot plate to the ski.
A female insert plug 77, FIGURES 2 and 7, is permanently
positioned in the passage 76 of each spring bar and has a
generally hemispherical socket 77a in its end to releasably
receive a male plug 79 on the toe piece as will be described
later. The edge 77b of the female plug 77 has a notch 81
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formed therein which tapers forwardly ~nd outwardly to assist
in connecting the boot plate 26 to the toe piece 28 in a
manner to be described hereinafter. ~ach spring bar 34 is
made out of a semi-rigid material such as 7075 aluminum alloy
and the forward ends of the spring bar members are adapted
to flex laterally outwardly away from the body portion 32 upon
the application of a preselected force which is determined
partially by the strength of the material from which the spring
bar is made, the location at which the movable fastener 70
connects the spring bars to the main body, the cross-sectional
configuration of the spring bars, and the thickness of the
spring bar members which can be seen to be greater on the
leading end than on the trailing end in the embodiment
disclosed. In other words, if the movable fasteners 70 are
positioned in the rearwardmost of the openings 66, the distance
from the fasteners to the leading end 74 of the spring bar,
which is unattached to the body portion, is maximized so that
the force necessary to flex the spring bar is minimized.
Conversely, by positioning the movable fasteners in the forward-
most of the openings 66, the force required to flex the spring
bar is maximized. Following the same theory, the positioning of
the screw 70 in any intermediate opening between the forward-
most and rearwardmost ones will reflect on the force required
to flex the spring bars outwardly to release them from the
connections to the toe piece in a manner to be described
hereinafter.
The boot plate has an end cap 83 slidably fit over
the trailing end of the main body 32 so that the overall length
of the boot plate can be regulated. The end cap 83 has top and
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bottom walls 83a and 83b respectively, side walls 83c and an
upwardly and forwardly incl;ned end wall 83d. The front of
the end cap is open to receive the trailing end of the main
body. A lock bolt 83e passes transversely through the main
body 32, a barrel nut 83f and forwardly opening slots 83g in
the side walls 83c. The lock bolt has a nut 83h, as best
seen in Figure 5, threaded on one end so that the bolt can
be tightened to secure the end cap on the main body.
Referring to FIGURE 10, it will be seen that spacer plates
83j are positioned in the end cap between the trailing end of
the main body and the end wall 83d. A shoulder 83i is formed
in the bottom wall 83b so that the spacer plates 83j are
maintained in an erect position against the trailing end of
the main body. As can be appreciated, by adding additional
spacer plates in the end cap, the overall length of the boot
plate is increased and vice versa. This is an important
feature of the invention since the interrelationship of the
boot plate with the toe piece`28 and heel piece 30 is critical
to the proper functioning of the binding and the provision of
the easily extensible boot plate facilitates easy manipulation
of this interrelationship. Prior to the present invention,
the precise positioning of the toe and heel pieces on boot
plate bindings was critical to the proper functioning of the
binding so that when the toe and heel pieces were not
precisely mounted on the ski, they would have to be remounted.
Such remounting r is, of course, alleviated with use of the
present invention since the length of the boot plate itself
can be regulated to compensate for any error in the mounting
of the toe and heel pieces.
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The toe piece 28 consists of a solid block 80 of
material, such as aluminum, plastic or the like having a
relatively thick center portion 82, thin forward and rearward
portions 84 and 85 with openings (not seen) therethrough
through which screw ~ype fasteners 86 are passed to secure
the toe piece 28 to the ski 22, and a rearwardly extending
vertically oriented ear 90 having a lateral passage there-
through adapted to receive a safety cable 92. The safety
cable is connected to the ear 90 and extends to the boot plate
where it passes beneath the barrel nut 71 so that when a knot
or the like is tied in the associated end of the cable 92,
the cable will be retained between the lower wall 32b of the
body and the barrel nut 71 so that the boot plate is loosely
connected to the toe piece 28 whereby when the ski is
released from the boot plate, it cannot get completely away
from the skier but will be free from the skier to minimize
risk of injury to the skier.
The toe piece has a transversely extending passage
96, best seen in Figure 8, through the relatively thick portion
82 thereof and the pair of laterally extending male plugs 79,
FIGURE 7, are seated therein. Each plug 79 has a serrated
cylindrical body portion 100 which is received in the passage
96 and an enlarged generally nemisperical head 102 protruding
laterally away from the side of the block 80. The plugs 79
are formed to be press fitted into the passage 96 in a
conventional manner for retention.
The rounded head 102 on each male plug 79 serves as
a cam surface and is adapted to be releasably received in the
socket 77a of the associated female plug 77 received in the
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leading end of ~ach spring har 34 to releasably and pivotally
connect the forward end of the boot plate to the toe piece.
When conllecting the boot plate to the laterally extending
plugs 79, one plug is seated in its associated female plug 77
and the boot plate is then rotated about that female plug
until the rounded head on the other male plug 79 slides into
the notch 81 in the other female plug causing the leading end
of the associated spring bar to flex outwardly until the male
plug snaps into the associated female plug where it also
becomes releasably seated as best illustrated in FIGURE 8.
As will be appreciated, the male plugs 79 define an axis 106
which extends transversely of the ski 22 and about which the
boot plate can pivot so long as the heel of the trailing end
52 of the boot plate is not confined. Movement of the spring
bars 34 relative to the male plugs 79, other than the pivotal
movement about the aforedefined transverse axis 106, will
cause the rounded head of the male plugs 79 to cam the
associated spring bar member 34 outwardly and if the force is
great enough, the spring bar can be cammed outwardly until the
associated male plug 79 pops out of the female plug 77 in the
spring bar in which it was seated thereby releasing the boot j-
plate from the toe piece. As mentioned previously, by
positioning the movable fastener 70 in selected ones of the
openings 66 in the spring bar members, the force required to
snap the spring bar off the male plug can be selected.
The heel piece 30 can be seen to include a circular
plate member 108 which is anchored to the ski 22 as by screw
type fasteners 110 and an elongated pivotal block member 112
which is pivotally connected to the plate member by a bolt 114.
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Diametrically o~posed lincar grooves 116 are provided in the
upper surface of the plate member and the plate member is
disposed on the ski so that the grooves are positioned on a
line extending along the central longitudinal axis of the ski.
The grooves 116 cooperate with aligned linear beads 118 on the
bottom surface of the heel piece in releasably holding the
heel piece in a position in which it is aligned with the
longitudinal axis of the ski as shown in FIGURES 1-5. As best
seen in FIGURE 10, the plate member 108 has a centrally located
upstanding hub 120 with a vertical passage therethrough which
receives the bolt 114. The block member 112 has an upstanding
cylindrical sleeve 121 which loosely and pivotally receives
the hub 120 so that the bolt 114 protrudes above the hub and
sleeve. A plurality of disc springs 122 are received on the
upwardly protruding end of the bolt 114 and a nut 123 is
threaded thereon to compress the disc springs so that they
bias the block 112 against the plate member 108 whereby the
beads 118 on the block must overcome the bias of the disc
springs 122 to be moved out of the grooves 116 in the plate member.
The heel block 112 is elongated having a downwardly
and rearwardly tapering upper surface 126 on the rearward end
when in its normal position of FIGURES 1-3. A compression
type spring 128 is mounted on a generally cylindrical nub 124
on the tapering upper surface 126 for a purpose to be
described later. The front end 130 of the block 112, when
the block is oriented in the normal position of FIGURES 1-3,
is formed to incline forwardly and upwardly so as to conform
with the forwardly and upwardly inclined trailing end 36 of
the boot plate 26 to hold the trailing end of the boot plate
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down adjacent the ski when the binding is in use for alpine
skiing, When the heel block 112 is rotated 180 relative
to the normal position shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, the spring
128 is underneath the trailing end o~ the boot plate and
exerts an upward biasing force on the boot plate when
compressed As illustrated in FIGURE 4, the heel block 112
can be positioned so as to extend laterally of the ski when
it is neither desired to retain the trailing end of the boot
plate adjacent the ski or to support the trailing end 52 with
the spring 128.
When the ski is flexed an unusual amount, the
effective distance between the toe and heel pieces is
shortened causing the boot plate to be compressed between the
toe and heel pieces. This would normally result in the boot
plate being released from the toe piece or in placing an
unusual strain on the heel piece. To alleviate this problem,
the heel block 112 is loosely fitted over the hub 120 of the
plate member, as previously mentioned, so as to permit limited
vertical movement of the block relative to the ski,
When the binding 20 is used for alpine skiing
purposes, the leading end of the boot plate is connected to
the laterally extending retention male plugs 79 and the heel
piece is oriented in the normal position of FIGURES 1 and 2
so that the surface 130 on the forward end of the heel block
112 overlies the inclined surface 83d on the trailing end of
the boot plate. This retains the boot plate in a parallel
relationship with the ski 22 as is desired. If the boot is
forced laterally of the ski as the result of a fall or the
like by the skier, the boot plate is released from the toe
piece 28 usually as a result
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of the inclined surf~ces 83d and 130 at the trail;ng end of
the boot plate and the forward end of the heel block rcs~ec-
tively, cooperating in forcing the boot plate forwardly as
the heel of the boot is pivoted either in a vertical or
horizontal direction about the toe piece. Forward movement
of the boot plate will cause at least one of the spring bar
members 34 to be moved, other than pivotally about the axis
106, to cause a retention pin to force the spring bar out
until it is released from the pin. Similarly, if the heel
of the skier is lifted by an excessive force, the beveled
surfaces on the trailing end of the boot plate and the forward
end of the heel block will cam the boot plate forwardly so that
both spring bars are cammed or forced outwardly by the retention
pins to release the spring bars from the toe piece. It will,
therefore, be appreciated that in alpine skiing, the skier is
positively conn,ected to the ski under normal skiing conditions,
but if an excessive force is applied to the boot, the boot
- along with the boot plate will be separated from the ski with
the exception of the loose cable connector 92, so that risk
i 20 of injury to the skier is minimized.
When the binding is used for cross-country skiing
purposes, the spring bars are connected to the retention pins
on the toe piece and the heel block is oriented laterally as
shown in FIGURE 6, or with the leading end of the heel block
under the boot plate as shown in FIGURE 12, so that the heel
of the boot plate is not confined and so that the boot and
boot plate will pivot freely about the transverse axis 106
passing through the retention pins in the toe piece. When
climbing up a hill, for example during cross-country skiing,
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the heel block is oriented as shown in FIGURE 4, with the spring
underlying the trailing end 52 of the boot plate so as to
disengagingly elevate the heel of the boot relative to the ski
whereby the skier's foot is oriented in a substantially
horizontal position even though the ski may be inclined relative
to horizontal as it lies on the upwardly inclined slope. This
makes it easier for the skier to advance up the slope and the
spring bias assists the skier by giving a lift to his heel with
each sliding step without restricting the forward pivotal
motion of the boot plate so that uphill skiing is not as
difficult as with conventional cross-country bindings or
conventional alpine bindings.
When climbing unusually steep hills, for example
when the skier may be using a mechanical aid such as an animal
skin releasably affixed to the bottom of the ski to grip the
snow, a rigid plug 132, FIGURE 13, is inserted into the coil
spring 28 so as to protrude above the spring and support the
trailing end of the boot plate. When the boot plate is so
supported, the skier's foot can be oriented substantially
horizontally even though the ski is lying flat on the unusually
steep hill.
To prevent the boot plate from releasing from the toe
piece, possible accidentally during cross-country skiing, an
inverted U-shaped clip 134, EIGURE 14, is provided to fit
beneath the toe of a boot and strattle the boot plate so as to
lie along the outer surfaces of the spring bars to prevent
lateral movement of the spring bars which, of course, prevents
release of the boot plate from the toe piece. The clip 134
has grooves along opposite sides thereto to receive the toe
wire 54 which helps to hold the clip in place. Of course,
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the clip is not used when the release character;stics of the
binding are desired to be operable.
Although the present invention has been described
with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that
the present disclosure has been made by way of example and
that changes in details of structure may be made without
7 departing from the spirit thereof.
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