Patent Grant
11179624
The present application relates to attaching soft boots to objects with particular application to soft boot snowboard bindings.
Snowboard bindings provide the critical connectivity between a rider's foot and the rider's boot that is connected to the snowboard (hereinafter “board”). Unfortunately, attaching existing strapping is often cumbersome and inherently challenging because not only do standard bindings require the rider to bend over and use two hands to attach the strapping, it requires that the rider will probably have to sit down to perform the task. Furthermore, it is most likely that the rider is wearing gloves that make it difficult to manipulate the fine manipulation required of standard straps. Lastly, it is most likely a task that needs to be performed in snow, in cold conditions that make the flexibility of standard strapping rigid and unresponsive to large padded gloves.
For the case of rear-entry bindings, the rider is forced to bend completely down and then reach far behind themselves to grab the proper section of the binding, again, in the cold with large, padded, cumbersome gloves, to delicately operate a part of the binding.
The present invention addresses and overcomes the aforementioned challenge of the standard binding with embodiments that allow riders to easily and effortlessly strap in and out of their bindings with only one hand and do so while wearing large padded gloves for the cold and still standing up. Herein, we present the following intermediate designs, which, although not as easy as a step-in-binding, improves accessibility while also being much simpler to manufacture, which results in the present invention being considerably much less expensive. Additionally, it should be noted that unlike the prior art, the present designs are add-ons to existing bindings allowing the riders to retain their current investment in the binding they already own.
The need for easier entry leads to a range of multiple designs for step-in bindings with specialized boot such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,722,680A, 6,189,913B1, 6,270,110B1, US20050138849A1, U.S. Pat. No. 9,149,711B1, US20170216710A1. Unfortunately, these designs require specialized boots, which limits their usefulness. Furthermore, these designs, while easy to step into, have difficulty when there is snow on the bottom of the boot. Additionally, these designs don't provide the same secure level of connectivity to the user's foot, the boot, and the snowboard, reducing ride quality and feel. In essence, the present invention creates an easy to adjust, seamless connection between the rider's foot, boot and snowboard that the rider will inherently feel and more connected to and in complete control of their board.
We could find no prior-art on how to adapt rear-entry bindings for one-handed use. In regards to rear-entry bindings, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,692,765A, 8,827,280B2, EP2086652B1, EP0787512 A1, DE202008000714U1, the common denominator is that while they all do allow one-hand operation and the ability for a rider to use their existing boots, these rear-entry patents, unfortunately, require that the riders 1) reach behind their boot to adjust complex components and 2) spend considerably more money to attain some level of support and control.
There have also been improved strap designs such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,267,390B1, 7,306,241B2; however, these are designed to allow easier adjustment of the tightness, not for one-handed attachment for easier entry and exit. Interestingly, U.S. Pat. No. 7,306,241B2 includes an optional hook+loop element that is introduced to overcome the difficulty of their design. This is achieved by an added tightening cable that attempts to keep the two-element strap from separating sufficiently far to allow the rider to enter and exit their board. But rather than teaching of this as the primary way to provide easy entry and exit, the provided patent teaches (Column 5) a means to address the problem of the tightening element coupling by using the standard two straps which may no longer be sufficiently separated enough to permit entry and exit. The prior art, in this case, describes a simple hook-catch mechanism to allow expansion to get around the cabling of their design. Their motivation is overcoming a new limitation of their own design, not related to one-handed easy attaching.
Furthermore, we have tested multiple simple hook catch designs similar to the design sketched in U.S. Pat. No. 7,306,241B2 as well as the more complex designs in U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,367A. The experiments we performed showed that the mechanisms of the prior art were not designed for self-rotation because if the latch was not parallel to the strap angle, which varies by rider, the fit was uncomfortable. More significantly, our testing showed that these aforementioned designs, comprised a simple straight catch in a triangular hook, while easily attachable, would then also disengage far too easily if the straps accidentally became loose—they were not secure and hence not well suited to snowboarding. We note that since the design of U.S. Pat. No. 7,306,241B2 includes a novel tightening mechanism, this loosening may not be a difficulty in their design but also note the full U.S. Pat. No. 7,306,241B2 design added significant complexity and cost.
The inventor has decades of snowboarding experience and invention experience and has researched and prototyped over a dozen different one-hand or step-in designs over a multi-year period, before discovering the current invention. Not only is the current invention more effective than prior-art, but the current invention also allows a significantly reduced cost for a single-handed secure connection for top-entry bindings and simple, low-cost adaption of rear-entry and hybrid designs. Once the idea of a one-handed strap attachment is presented, hindsight bias may make it seem obvious, but for more than 20 years of snowboard, designers have failed to have the insight to combine these ideas to make quick attach one-handed straps; instead, they have been developing ever more complex design for easy entry snowboard bindings as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,722,680A, 6,189,913B1, 6,270,110B1, US20050138849A1, U.S. Pat. No. 9,149,711B1. The present invention is a non-obvious tradeoff—it is not as easy for entry as either a step-in binding or rear entry binding but is significantly easier than the two-hands needed for standard snowboard strapping, or the reach-behind of rear-entry binding.
To best of our knowledge, there have been no teachings for any type of snowboard strap/binding combinations where the strap itself was designed for rapid one-hand attachment. The closest match to this concept is U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,700A, which teaches of a bar mechanism that connects to both straps into a harness that can then interface with a quick-release mechanism—the strap itself is not released, rather the bar connecting them is released. The U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,700A patent does not discuss easy one-hand strapping in, and the design is considerably more complex with the need for an added bar, and latching means, the alignment of the straps is restricted to the connecting bar and does not provide the level of ankle/heel support of traditional strap bindings or the rotational elements needed for comfortable use. In contrast, the present invention modifies an individual strap so that the single independent strap is quick to attach and has no added moving parts.
Not only are there no teachings on the combination of keyholes for snowboard binding straps, within the snowboard industry, but the motivation to pursue such a design also is not obvious because binding straps are already easily separated from the ratchet and not viewed as needing to be easily removed from the snowboard binding. Furthermore, keyhole attachments elements are already used in the snowboard industry, e.g., for attaching bindings to the board (WO2012102420A1) or ridged studs on boots directly to the binding, and other applications of attacking ridged object to other ridged objects, but not for flexible objects like straps. Even when the keyhole strap design is first mentioned, it would likely be dismissed as having too high a risk of having the strap come loose—when the ideas were presented to the mechanical engineering design team commissioned to develop better designs, and they dismissed the idea as not viable. Apparently is not that obvious that the natural combination of the tension from normal strap ratcheting and a sufficiently long/complex keyhole channel would result in making the keyhole connection stable even on a curved flexible attachment like strap over a boot that will occasionally loosen up during use.
In the space of keyhole+stud designs, there are more complex “locking” versions, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,562,422B2, US20090025529A, which could be adapted to the current invention though testing has shown that the complex keyhole patterns described herein have been sufficient to prevent accidental release and are both cheaper to manufacture and do not require the complex “unlocking” step which makes it more difficult to release without bending over further. Our simple novel designs with a friction element via spring or rolling washer, provide more security with much less cost.
The fundamental idea of this invention is the ability to use flexible members and appropriately chosen attachment and rotation points to allow basic one-handed attachment to a snowboard binding with sufficient security to navigate on simple terrain such as getting off a lift or on the flats, and with that to then allow the user to fully secure the binding will moving along.
This omnibus specification presents related embodiments to solve the drawbacks of the prior art because the presented invention comprises products that one can seamlessly affix to their existing boot and binding with only one hand and without having to reach as far behind and below the boot. Furthermore, the present inventions make it possible to securely affix the boot even when snow adheres to the bottom of the rider's boot while maintaining security if some of that snow causes a loosening of the boot. Additionally, the present inventions provide a simple retrofit mechanism for increased flexibility and robustness, all while not adding moving parts to an existing binding.
While there is a primary element for the invention because existing binding comes in many forms, the invention takes on many different embodiments, to simplify the discussion we first discuss the application in a traditional top-entry strap-based binding, then we present its application in typical rear and hybrid entry models. The core idea of a flexible attachment, rotation for comfortable use, and one-handed operation apply across all models, and those skilled in the art will find this teaches a broad set of methods that can be applied to almost soft boot snowboard binding. But because each model is a bit different, we described different embodiments in sufficient detail to allow the implementation of the preferred embodiments on different types of bindings while also demonstrating the general concepts. While we describe everything in terms of snowboard boots and bindings, the overall design applies to any binding of feet/boots to objects and hence could be applied in snowshoes, skis, waterskis, and other sports.
The first embodiment of the invention provides a novel quick-connect and quick-release binding strap design that can be seamlessly retrofitted on existing top-entry bindings. In one embodiment, the present invention also provides a keyhole design for safety that is easy to use. Said keyhole design also functions as a pivoting point for comfort and stability. The design of the present invention allows entry and exit while using only one gloved hand. The simple design inherently allows for increased robustness, and the ability to retrofit with existing bindings means increased usability for owners of existing bindings, and lower end-rider total cost.
The core element of this embodiment is a novel strap design with a first keyhole binding region, 10, a section at the end of a larger opening, and a second entry hole, 20, on the wide end of the strap, 30.
This simple embodiment employs a straight-line communication, 35, between the keyhole binding region, 10, and the entry hole, 20. The straight-line communication is simpler to use and manufacture, while at the same time, compared to a simple hook/catch, it reduces the risk of an accidental release if the strap is slightly loose. However, since the strap is to be ratcheted down tightly to provide a secure connection with the board, the tension on the strap provides a secure connection as long as the pivot pin's head is even larger than the keyhole binding region, 10 or the communication region 35. There is an inherent tradeoff in the length of the communication 35, the safety of retaining the strap, the amount of ratcheting needed to achieve tightness. Our experiments with this type of linear aligned communications regions, 35, have found that it should include a travel distance of at least 0.375 inches and ideally 0.5 inches so that if the strap does become loose, e.g., from snow underfoot eventually coming out, the rider can feel the loosening while the strap is still in the communication channel and still secure from release.
In this embodiment, the strap has standard tooth/gearing ladder sections, 40, for interfacing with a standard snowboard binding ratchet. At various locations along the strap, there can be small guide holes, 50, that allows for a locking fixture such as a screw or tie-wrap that can be added after placing the strap through the ratchet, thereby preventing the strap from being accidentally removed from the ratchet as the rider quickly releases the ratchet mechanism. The holes 50 also support connecting multiple straps together for extension and also provide a guide for a wire strap for rear-entry designs.
In addition to security, the keyhole design makes one-handed operation easier as the strap will stay in place after sliding the pin into the keyhole, allowing the rider to then reach up and use the same hand to ratchet to tighten down the strap. Once tightened, the tension inherently keeps the pivot pin, 100, in the keyhole binding region, 10, and provides for a secure connection between the boot, 190, and the binding, 130, while allowing the strap, 145, to pivot for the comfort of the fit.
An important novelty of the present invention is that with the combination of pivot pin attached to binding, and the strap with keyhole, the resultant is that the rider never needs to remove the strap from the ratchet. The traditional approach of reinserting a strap into the ratchet is what takes two hands, one to hold the strap and the second to hold the ratchet or its strap, then guiding one strap into the ratchet while maintaining alignment of the two parts. Conversely, with the present invention, to connect the strap to the board, the rider simply slides the larger strap entry hole, 20, over the flange, 110, on the pivot pin, 100, and then ratchets down the strap which tightens the keyhole portion against the pivot pin which rotates as it tightens, providing a secure while comfortable connection. Furthermore, with said flange, 110, being larger than the keyhole binding section, 10, and communication channel 35, even if the strap loosens slightly, e.g., because of packed snow beneath the boot breaking free, the strap will not come off over the flange. When riders release the strap, they use the standard release on the strap ratchet which frees up sufficient slack in the strap that the entry hole, 20, can be aligned with the flange, 110, and the strap can be removed over the flange, 110, completely releasing the strap.
While the pivot pin's flange, 110, could be achieved using a screw with a large head as a pivot pin, e.g., a truss or sidewalk screw, an alternative would be to use a standard screw for the pivot pin with a washer and spacer. The spacer would provide a better pivot by reducing friction between the straps and the screw threads while also providing a fixed spacing from the pivot pinhead to the body of the binding. With a spacer, a larger washer could then be provided at the pivot head end to increase the effective diameter of the flange, 110, while keeping the cost lower by using standard parts such as screws, washer, and spacers.
Multiple alternative embodiments are shown in
The first embodiment in
An alternative embodiment of a non-linear keyhole is shown in the second attachment embodiment, 402 of
The right example embodiment attachment, 403, in
In addition, the smooth communication region, 480, the embodiment 403 includes a secondary catch point, 490, where the pivot pin will catch if the strap is loose and accidentally moving along the communication region. In most keyhole designs, the binding region, 10, the entry point, 20, and communication region are all aligned, but in these attachment embodiments, they are not. This allows for increased security with a shorter distance between the mounting, 60, and binding regions, which is important so as to not to overly increase the total length of the snowboard strap. In one embodiment, 403, the entry point, 20, full communication region, 480, and binding point, 10, are all near the far edge of the attachment with respect to the mounting point, 60. This type of design, a pivot pin attached to the binding in close proximity to the board, 491—the narrow separation, 492, allows the full connection/sliding to accommodate a pivot pin near the board. That embodiment also shows a narrow neck region around the single pivoting mounting point, 60, which can be useful when region for connection to the strap is narrow while also allowing the whole attachment to rotate as it is tightened to keep the forces between the strap, the mounting point, 60, and the keyhole binding region, 10, all aligned. A secondary advantage of the tapered design 403, is that on some binding where there is no screw location for the toe binding strap, one of the tapered designs may be used to go in toe strap insert area and thereby provide a location for mounting the pivot pin.
The bottom embodiment, 404, of
Providing secondary uses can also be incorporated into the design with minimal cost. If the designs 401 and 403 are made from sufficiently strong metal, e.g., 14 gauge or larger steel, the communication channels 480 or 450 also functions as a bottle opener and the 403 adapters can be configured as a multi-tool with a screwdriver edge, 496, and hex-head wrench region, 495, for working on the snowboard/binding. The hex-head region 495 may be sized to match the nuts, 160, that hold the pivot pin to the binding the attachment to the strap, thereby ensuring the rider always has the tools needed to maintain the strap adapter. With more flexibility, the communication region 450 of the keyhole in the 401 adapters is configured as a series of overlapping hexagonal regions that can provide a wrench for different size hex nuts. This is a novel keyhole design that serves as a wrench and bottle opener and provides more useful value for the rider at minimal to no higher manufacturing cost.
Alternative designs that vary the third dimensional (out of the drawing plane) thickness of the material, e.g., the main adapter 30 being 2 mm thick while the pivot binding region, 10, is either thicker, e.g., 2.25 mm, to help hold the flange of the pivot pin in place, or so that the entry 20 or communication region 480 is thicker/higher, so the pivot pin is less likely to accidentally slide into that region. Rather than varying the actual material thickness, varying offset in the third dimension might be achieved by stamping the keyhole area to be non-planar, which could also add structural strength to the design. Combinations of all three design elements can obviously be combined.
An attachment, as in
On some bindings, the toe strap region does not have an obvious place to mount the pivot pin without drilling a hole in the binding. In one embodiment, the pivot pin is added to one of the existing straps, which generally have holes for adjusting the size of the strap. The strap or adapter can then go over the strap-attached pivot pin rather than a pivot pin through the binding. This can leave the other side of the strap to use the existing ratchet on the other side of the toe strap. Alternatively, an adapter, e.g., 403, can be provided to go through the binding region and provide a position for mounting the pivot pin.
In an alternative embodiment, shown in
The above describes a few embodiments but are not meant to be restrictive or exhaustive. Those skilled in the art will see a wide range of alternatives in for designs, from strap material choices, strap design around the keyhole, keyhole depth and design, pivot pin material, pivot pin design, spacer material, and locking mechanisms.
Not all bindings use top entry with ladder straps and ratchet as the primary entry/exit to the boot. A well-known alternative binding design uses straps to hold a fixed or movable top material over the foot, while the foot enters/exits the binding from behind and is wedged into the upper material, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,897A. Alternative rear-entry designs use straps as the upper material but still use rear entry and the primary entry/exit, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,765. In such designs, see
The application of the invention can make the securing of the binding easier. In one embodiment of a design for rear-entry bindings, as shown in
When pulled it, if connected to the rear locking mechanism, 530, behind the highback 520, the resulting pull can lock the binding in place with a single pull of a handle, 570. Since the handle 570 is on/near the front/side of the foot, and well above the ground level, this is much easier and more comfortable. In one embodiment, the wire is guided through a hole In the highback, but Another alternative would add a screw-on or mechanism to the highback rather than having to drill a hole in it. Even if pulling does not fully engage the rear locking mechanism 530, once the highback 520 is lifted up by pulling the wire 510 or handle 570, it is considerably easier to fully engage the rear locking mechanism 530 as it will be much higher and more accessible.
The novelty of this embodiment is the unique ability of the rider with the gloved hand simply pulling on a highly accessible cord 520 or handle 570 that results in an efficient means to lock into the rear entry binding. If just connected to the highback, 520, the wire can lift the highback to a level that the highback locking mechanism, 530, can be grasped with less bending. The flexible strap (wire), 510, being higher than the binding, reduces the reach needed to engage the binding. For comfort, the fixed mechanism, 550, which is holding the boot, is often comprised primarily of cloth, and hence it might rip if the wire went through it directly. Thus the hole, 50, in the ladder strap provides protection against ripping. Because the wire is regularly being pulled through the hole, even a plastic ladder strap may wear through, so an alternative would be to hook a ring of material through the hole, e.g., a metal ring, and use that to guide the wire. Another embodiment would use a ring that goes around but not through the strap. Another alternative embodiment would not use the ladder strap with holes but would put a protective mechanism in the fixed upper material, e.g., a grommet or a plastic internal element in the upper material and route/connect the second connecting means through that protective mechanism.
Using a self-coiling wire for the flexible strapping member, 510, provides the advantage that after the highback, 520, is lifted into place, the wire will coil up, reducing the risk of it catching or dragging. An alternative would be to have an explicit coiling mechanism mounted along the wire, e.g., mounted on the highback 520, or integral to the handle 570, but that would increase the cost.
The key concept and non-obviousness of the innovation of the improved rear-entry mechanism are that the flexible wire allows easier access with a less stressful reach because the connecting wire is mounted higher on the binding and connected to or through a high section of the movable highback binding. This reduces the distance that must be reached by more than 8 inches and as much as 15 inches. While we have shown embodiments taking advantage of the novel strap design, those skilled in the art will see multiple variations on where to add the second connecting means, the materials to be used, style of handle, attachment to the locking mechanism.
In an alternative embodiment, the flexible wire (510) is directly attached to the strap (550), either through a whole (50) or just wrapped around the strap (550). In this design, the user grabs the coiled section of the strap and pull upward to pull the rear support (520) upward around the pivot point (540). If the coil (510) is pulled hard enough, it will even directly latch the safety mechanism (530).
Another type of “rear-entry” binding space, sometimes called a hybrid binding, has both the rear-entry mechanism of a rear-entry binding with the fully adjustable/removable ratchet arch strap (145) of a top-entry binding. This provides the user with a choice of entry/exit methods, providing both rapid-easy entries of the rear-entry with the high adjustability of the ratchet mechanism of traditional straps. One could apply any of the prior designs to such a hybrid binding. But in applying the invention to such hybrid binding multiple previous designs can be combined, see
It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made to the embodiments and applications disclosed herein while being consistent with the current invention.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/840,324 filed Apr. 29, 2019, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20200384344 A1 | Dec 2020 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62840324 | Apr 2019 | US |
