The present invention concerns ski bindings, particularly bindings for snowboards.
For the practice of snowboarding, the skier uses ski boots with relatively supple or flexible bindings. Known bindings include a base plate and a back piece for receiving the boot. Moreover, the boots are supported by bindings. The sole of the boot is received directly on the base plate, as is shown, for example, in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/972,455, filed Oct. 5, 2001, or only on the front piece such as is described in European Patent No. EP1 053 769 A1. Of course, all boots are not the same length due to being different sizes, as well as due to being boots of different types and brands. Besides, the manufacturer's define their own shapes for the front of the boot. Previously, the position of the support and binding straps are not particularly adapted to the boot of the user. Consequently, this results in poor retention for certain boots which do not have the dimension or the optimal shape for the front support.
The present invention resides in an improvement that permits a skier to have a front support ideal for his style of skiing and the chosen type of boot. It also permits optimal adjustment on the favorite mounting for snow and hill conditions so that one skis under excellent circumstances.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the binding is more of a type which supports and carries the boot and less of a means of retaining the front of the boot. The lower piece comprises a mechanical supporting piece in front of the toe of the boot. The front support piece and the front retaining means together form a front support and a retaining assembly. The front support piece is mounted by a movable retainer on the base plate which enables its longitudinal position to be adjusted with respect to the base plate.
According to a complimentary characteristic, the combination mechanical support and retainer is disposed in a longitudinal channel which extends toward the front and toward the rear on the front part of the base plate.
According to another characteristic, the front retaining means includes a semi-rigid strap which forms an adjustment means.
Additionally, the front support piece has the form of a transverse plate whose side edges are extended by two lateral or side front walls that extend upward. Each of the front side walls is intended to retain the front of the boot laterally and fix the ends of the front retaining means.
According to another characteristic, the ends of the front strap are pivotally mounted on the side front walls to pivot around a transverse front axis defined by two front lateral pivots. A support zone corresponds to a support surface of the front support piece and is disposed in front of a transverse vertical front plane passing through the pivot axis of the front retaining means.
In a preferred embodiment, the support surface of the front support piece is disposed under the horizontal plane that passes through the pivot axis of the front retaining means.
Moreover, the lower base also carries a rear retaining means that retains the boot at the level of the heel of the foot.
The front and rear retaining means are preferably a flexible strap made of plastic material.
Still further advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.
The invention may take form in various components and arrangements of components, and in various steps and arrangements of steps. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating a preferred embodiment and are not to be construed as limiting the invention.
With reference to
Hereinafter in this application, each of the bindings 2a, 2b will be designated by the general reference numeral 2, and it is to be understood that the description applies to both bindings.
The rear part 21 of the lower base piece 4 is bordered laterally of each edge by a left lateral or side edge 8a and a right lateral or side edge 8b. Each of the side edges includes a wall oriented vertically which is designed to limit lateral or sideways movement of the boot.
The two rear lateral edges 8a, 8b are connected at the rear with a rear arch 9 which carries a rear support piece 10 extending upward toward the top HA. The rear arch 9 serves as stop at the back for a boot 11.
The user's boot 11 has a cuff 12 which is relatively flexible as compared to its lower shell or base part 13 which extends to a toe or front end 14 and a heel or rear end 15 which is mechanically supported near the rear AR against the rear arch 9. The rear support piece 10 serves as a mechanical ankle support at the back for the cuff 10 of the boot 11.
The boot 11, in the illustrated embodiment, is retained on the base piece 4 by a front retaining means 16 which holds the toe 14 of the boot and by a rear retaining means 17 which holds the boot at the level of the heel of the foot.
The front retaining means 16 and the rear retaining means 17 are, in the illustrated embodiment, in the form of a semi-rigid or flexible strap 160, 170, respectively. The straps, for example, are made of a plastic material and advantageously have an adjustment means 27 for adapting to the dimension and size of the boot. Of course, other means for retaining the boot, other than semi-rigid straps, are contemplated.
The ends 26a, 26b of the rear retaining means 17 are pivotally mounted on the arch 9 about a transverse rear axis T1, preferably by pivotal strap connections 28a, 28b.
The boot is supported on the base 4 by means of two support pieces, a front support piece 18 for the front end 14 of the boot, and a heel support piece 19 for the rear end 15.
The front retaining means 16 is connected to the front support piece for them to move together and relative to each other. For this reason, the front support piece 18 has the form of a transverse plate whose side edges are extended by two front lateral or side walls 22a, 22b which extend upward.
Each of the front side walls 22a, 22b laterally retains the front 14 of the boot. The ends 29a, 29b of the front retaining means 16 are attached to the front side walls. The ends 29a, 29b of the front strap 160 are pivotally mounted on these front side walls about a front transverse axis T2 defined by two front side pivots 24a, 24b.
Consequently, the front support piece and the front strap 16 form a front support and retaining assembly 30 which is movable on the base 4 to provide for positional adjustment relative to the base.
The user can choose the longitudinal position of the front support and retaining assembly 30 and thus of the front support piece 18 with the front retaining means 16 to a chosen position corresponding to the size of the boot and particularly of its front end.
The front support piece 18 includes a stop means which permits the user to fix the movable front assembly 30 in a chosen position. The stop means can be of any kind, for example, a central pin or bolt 25.
The support zone Z (
Because of the independence of the front support and retaining assembly 30 from the rear retaining means 9, 10, 17, 19, a distance L1 between the front retaining means 16 and the rear retaining means is adjustable along with a distance L2 between the front support 18 and the rear arch 9.
The support surface 23 of the support piece 18 may be flat, such as illustrated in
In the embodiment of
The upper layer of the support can also be of a deformable or resilient material as is illustrated in
The invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading and understanding the preceding detailed description. It is intended that the invention be construed as including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
01 06109 | May 2001 | FR | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
4177584 | Beyl | Dec 1979 | A |
4336654 | Svoboda et al. | Jun 1982 | A |
4772041 | Klosterman | Sep 1988 | A |
4836571 | Corbisiero | Jun 1989 | A |
4871186 | Klosterman | Oct 1989 | A |
5503900 | Fletcher | Apr 1996 | A |
5586779 | Dawes et al. | Dec 1996 | A |
5758895 | Bumgarner | Jun 1998 | A |
5836592 | Chang | Nov 1998 | A |
5909886 | Tugutaka et al. | Jun 1999 | A |
5970632 | Watson | Oct 1999 | A |
5971407 | Zemke et al. | Oct 1999 | A |
5992861 | Piotrowski | Nov 1999 | A |
6105992 | Schaller et al. | Aug 2000 | A |
6113114 | Zemke et al. | Sep 2000 | A |
6145868 | Schaller et al. | Nov 2000 | A |
6189911 | Caron et al. | Feb 2001 | B1 |
6217039 | Iverson et al. | Apr 2001 | B1 |
6315305 | Gien | Nov 2001 | B1 |
6328328 | Finiel | Dec 2001 | B1 |
6394484 | Maravetz et al. | May 2002 | B1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
1 053 769 | Nov 2000 | EP |
2 769 236 | Oct 1997 | FR |
WO 9842419 | Oct 1998 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20020163162 A1 | Nov 2002 | US |