CA1042032A

CA1042032A - Safety ski binding with releasably detented sole plate

Info

Publication number: CA1042032A
Application number: CA213,511A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Frank P. D'alessio; Erl A. Koenig
Original assignee: G P I
Current assignee: G P I
Priority date: 1973-11-13
Filing date: 1974-11-12
Publication date: 1978-11-07
Also published as: DE2453868A1; FR2250548A1; JPS50112134A; FR2250548B1; IT1046988B; CH593700A5

Abstract

SAFETY SKI BINDING

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A safety ski binding wherein the boot is releasably mounted on a sole plate which in turn is releasably secured to the ski so as to be released therefrom upon the application of forces of predetermined magnitude and direction. The sole plate may be mounted on the ski by two pairs of mounting elements, one of said mounting elements in each pair being carried by said sole plate, the other mounting element in each said pair being adapted for mounting on said ski. Said pairs of mounting means may be positioned in fixed spaced relation on opposite sides of the longitudinal center of said sole plate. One or both of said pairs of mounting elements may include a plunger of low profile not projecting above the upper surface of the sole plate. One or both of said low profile plungers may be positioned below said upper surface of said sole plate.

Description

104;~03Z
13ACICGI~OUND Ol~ Tlll~ INVI-N'l`ION

This invention relates generally to ski bindings j adapted to permit release Gf the skier from the -skis under ¦ certain conditions to avoid injury to the skier under such conditions. Such bindings must not only serve as a release system, but must provide firm communication between the foot ¦ of the skier and the ski for the displacement of the ski ¦ during use. In the art, a number of releasable ski binding I arrangements are known. However, with the known ski binding arrangements, it has proved difficult to adequately perform both the force transmission function and the safety release : function with a single binding, thereby resulting in compromises . ~ to the detriment of one or the other of these functions.
¦I Furtber, installation of the known ski binding arrangements requires the fitting of the binding, selected according to ;
¦I the size of the skier, to the ski. This has proved a laborious process frequently resulting in error and increased cost to the skier and the seller of skiing supplies. By the novel ski binding arrangement according to the invention, the fore-going difficulties in the prior art have been overcome.

.: SU~fMARY OF Tlll~ INVI.NTION
: Generally speaking, in accordance witll the inven~ion, I
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j a safety binding for releasably securing a boot to a ski is , 1`, provided including a sole plate, first mounting means on said Il sole pla~e for releasably securing said boot to said sole ¦ plate and second mounting means for releasably securing said sole plate to said ski. 'l'he first mounting means may be adjustable to accommodate boots of a range of sizes while ' said second mounting means may include at least two pairs of ¦ mounting elements spaced longitudinally along said sole plate and ski on opposite sides of the longitudinal center of said plate in a single fixed relation for said range of sizes. The second i mounting means are adapted for automatically releasing said sole plate from said ski on application of forces of pre-1l determined magnitude and directions thereto.
L I Said second mounting means includes first and second sets of mounting elements, at least one element of each set jl being mounted on each of the sole plate and ski, at least one of said mounting elements includes a plunger means for binding said sets of mounting elements in cooperative engage-¦I ment. Said plunger may have a relatively low profile and may be mounted beneath the upper surface of the sole plate.
: If said plunger means is mounted on said ski adjacent said sole plate, at least the portion thereof adjacent said sole plate ¦I would not project from said ski beyond the length of said sole ; ¦l plate. Each of said sets of mounting elements may include : I -3-- I!
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a plunger means mounted below the surface of said sole plates.
On the latter embodiment, said two plunger means may be formed integral with said sole plate having displaceable plunger portions thereof projecting forwardly and rearwardly, respectively of said sole plate.
The mounting elements of both of said sets respect-ively define a socket and a plunger shaped to engage the sole plate against the ski and to laterally position the sole plate relative to the axis of the ski while permitting release of said sole plate from said ski at either set in either the upwardly direction relative to said ski, laterally relative to said ski or a combination thereof. Said sets of mounting elements are respectively positioned forwardly and rearwardly of tle lateral centerline of said ski. Said plunger means may include means for selectively adjusting the bias force thereof.
Template means may be provided for application to said ski for indicating the position of the mounting elements on the ski. A portion of the mounting elements on the ski may be mounted integral with the ski during the formation thereof.
The first mounting means may include a rear retaining lever supported on said sole plate by cable means for engaging the rear of a user's boot to retain the boot against the sole plate. Said rear retaining lever may be ~.; , 11, . . .
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- I formed with at least two spaced slots for releasably receiving said cable means so as to define two different pivot points for the mounting of said retaining lever, whereby, by selection of the slot in which the cable means is mounted, different shal)ed boots can be securely accommodated.
l Accordingly, it is an object of this invention '~ to provide a safety ski binding which readily transmits force to the ski, while releasing the skier from the ski when the 1I forces exceed a predetermined amount.
Another object of the invention is to provide ! a safety ski binding which may be utilized for a wide range ! of sizes while permitting a single positioning of the mounting elements on the ski.
A further object of the invention is to provide a safety ski binding wherein the boot may be mounted on a sole plate, said sole plate being adjustable to permit il mounting of boots of a wide range o~ sizes.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a safety ski binding wherein the mounting elements secured to the ski may be mounted on the ski integral therewith ¦ during the formation of said ski.
- ¦ Still another object of the invention is to provide a safety ski binding wherein the release mechanism is in ! the form of a biased plunger mounted beneath the sole plate .. 11 : . I I

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Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.
The invention accordingly comprises the featllres of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the constructions hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
j For a fuller understanding of the invention, reference isi had to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

- ; FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a boot and ski joined by an embodiment of the safety ski binding according to the invention as taught in our United States Patent No. 3,838,866;
; FIGS. 2 and 3 are expanded partial sectional views taken along lines 2-2 and 3-3 respectively of FIG. l;
FIG. 4 is an expanded partial sectional view taken . along lines 4-4 of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is an expanded top plan view ofa plunger housing constructed in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the instant invention;
: FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along lines 6-6 of . FIG. 5;

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Fig. 7 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the retaining lever illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2;
Fig. 8 is a sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the safety ski binding according to the invention; and Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken along lines 9-9 of Fig. 8.

DESCRIPTION OF THE_PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Figs. 1-4 depict an em~odiment of a ski binding taken from and shown in Figs. 19-22 of Canadian Patent Nos.
978,561 and 986,961. In said embodiment, boot 12 is secured to a sole plate 170 by a fixed front boot securing means and a displaceable rear boot securing means. Said front boot securing means utilizes a cable 62 fixedly secured to sole plate 170 by end members 172. The front end of sole plate 170 is formed with laterally extending wing portions 174 adapted to extend laterally relative to the sole 16 of the boot, whereby said end members may be readily secured to said sole plate. The rear boot securing means includes a thickened region 176 in sole plate 170 having a plurality of laterally extending apertures 178 therethrough, said apertures being spaced . ' .

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longitudinally along said sole plate. A keyway slot 180 is formed in the inner surface of said apertures. L-shaped pivot arms 182 are provided, each end 134 thereof being smooth and provided with a key 186 at the end thereof dimensioned to be received in keyway slot 180. The other end of L-shaped pivot arm 182 is received within sleeve 36 in the manner described above. The bottom surface 188 of sole plate 170 is formed with a pair of outer longitudinally extending channels 190 and a pair of inner longitudinally extending channels 192 dimensioned to intersect laterally extending apertures 178 and to receive key 186 when said key is aligned therewith and L-shaped pivot arms 182 are pivoted.

The foregoing construction permits the quick insertion and removal of pivot arms 182, and also permits a lateral size adjustment. Thus, to insert the pivot arms, it is necessary merely to align end 184 of said pivot arm so that key 186 aligns with keyhole slot 180, slide said pivot arm end into an aperture until said key is aligned with one of the channels 190 and 192 and pivot said L-shaped pivot arm. After pivoting, said pivot arm is locked in position. By aligning keys 186 with channels 192, as opposed to channels 190, the rear boot . . .
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~ securing means can firmly retain a narrower boot.
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L-shaped pivot arms 182 are mounted in sleeves 36 wl~ich receive the ends of cable 38. Sleeve 36 is adapted to permit free rotation of the sleeves while the ends of the cable are firmly retained therein, the coupling between the L-shaped pivot arms 182 and sleeve 36 being a threaded coupling to permit the adjustment of the length of the loop defined by the pivot arms, sleeves and cable through the rotation of said sleeves.
Cable 38 is preferably formed of a central core of braided wires having a single wire helically wound thereabout.

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Cable 38 passes through an aperture in a retaining lever 46'. Said retaining lever is pivotable about said cable and is depicted in the locked position. In said position, one arm 48' thereof rests against the heel of boot sole 16, while the ;
other arm 50' thereof engages against the rear of the upper por-tion of ~he boot 12. When so positioned, cable 38 is kept in tension and the release of the boot requires the application of ` substantial pressure to pivot retaining lever 46 in the clockwise -~direction as viewed in FIG. 1 about a fulcrum defined by the end ; of arm 48' of said lever. The retaining lever is put back into ; place in like manner, by resting the end of arm 48 against the ; heel of boot sole 16 and rotating the retaining lever in the counter clockwise direction as viewed in FIG.l.

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Referring now to FIG. 7, retaining le~er 46" is shown formed with at least two elongated slots 44' traversing the width of said retaining lever 46" for securing cable 38' in the manner hereinabove discussed. The elongated slots permit the retaining lever 46' to be vertically adjusted to better conform to the different boots to be secured thereby.
Further, the distance between the pivot axis defined by the slot receiving the cable 38' and the fulcrum defined by arm 48 of the lever is adjusted to insure that the lever cannot be accidentally displaced to free the boot when used wi~h boots of a novelty of shapes. The helical wire 42' wound about braided wires 40 has a portion removed in the region of a portion of slots 44' so that repositioning of the cable in the other slot 44' is readily achieved by pulling one end of helical wire 42' free of the slot and removing the cable by passing the braided wires 40 through the narrow opening in the slot.

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The cable is inserted by reversing the process.
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In the embodiment of FIGS. 1-4, retaining lever 46' thereof is formed with a pair of parallel slot apertures 194 through the arm 50' thereof. A strap 196 is threaded through . . .
.; ' said slot apertures, extends about boot 12, and is secured at ;, ; the front of said boot by buckle 198. Strap 196 serves to provide an affirmative retaining means for retaining lever 46' to prevent the inadvertent releasing thereof during skiing. An ' anti-runaway strap 200 is also provided having a first loop 202 '''`
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at one end through which strap 196 is threaded and a second loop 204 at the other end thereof through which is threaded a wire retainer 206. Said wire retainer is received in a pair of opposed apertures formed in the side of housing 92' of plunger means 90'. Said anti-runaway strap is provided with sufficient slack so as not to interfere with the release of sole plate 170 from ski 14. However, upon such release, said anti-runaway strap prevents the ski from passing out of the reach of the skier.

The sole plate 170 is releasably secured to ski 114 by a front coupling including pie shaped camming member 150 and ~camming buttons 70" and a rear coupling consisting of a plunger 90' mounted on the ski and a socket member 116 mounted to the ~rear edge of said sole plate. The plunger means consists of a housing 92' having a pair of flanges 93 projecting on either `side thereof. Each of said flanges is formed with a pair of apertures therethrough to permit securing of said housing to , ski 14 by means of bolts 95. Adjusting member 98' formed with - a knurled knob portion 100' projects from an aperture in one end of housing 92' while a plunger 106 extends from an aperture in the front end of housing 92'. A coil spring (not shown) is mounted within the housing to bias plunger 106 against socket member 116, said socket member being formed with a depression defining a socket and with grooved paths leading from the de-'pression to either side and downwardly to guide the plunger during ., .
release laterally and vertically relative to the ski. The portion of threadedshaft 102' of adjusting member 98' is formed with a . .

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series of longitudinally spaced index lines 208 which provide a means whereby the skier can judge the force required to release the ski binding according to the invention. Button 70'' rests on a friction plate 214 mounted directly to ski 14. Such a friction plate would be used when the material of ski 14 was not sufficiently strong to bear the frictional displacement of button 70" .
Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, plunger means 90'' is illustrated,which plunger means is in other respects similar in co~struction to the plunger means depicted in FIGS. 1 through 4 except that the housing 93' is formed with a low profile.
Specifically, the portion of the housing 93' near the plunger and socket means is formed with a height lower than that of the sole plate 170' and the socket means 116' disposed on the end of said sole plate. The forming of housing 93' with a height lower than the sole plate provides a clearance of the boot 12 over the housing 93' the plunger 90' can be utilized with any sized bootD The forming of housing 93' with a height lower than the sole plate, permits the heel of the boot to project rear-wardly beyond the rear end of the sole plate and overlap the plunger means, an arrangement impossible where the plunger means is shaped as depicted in FIG. 1. The embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5 permits a sole plate having a fixed front securing means as de-picted in Fig. 1 to accommodate a wider range of boot sizes ~without interfering with the rear plunger means. The low profile ~is achieved by providing a plurality of parallel springs 180' in place of the single large coil spring of FIG. 1.

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Referring now to FIGS. 2-4, it is seen that the top surface 210 of sole plate 170 is formed with a series of longi-tudinally extending ridges 212 projecting therefrom. Said ridges serve to support the sole 16 of boot 12 in spaced relation to surface 210 of sole plate 170 so as to permit space for the clearance of snow and ice therebetween to insure a firm engage-ment between said boot and said sole plate.

Still another embodiment is depicted in FIG. 8, wherein the sole plate 18" " forms a housing for a double plunger mechanism. Said sole plate is defined by a base member 230 and a cover portion 232 (Fig. 9) held to said base portion by rivet 23~. Base 230 is formed with an internal wall 236 defining chambers for receiving said double plunger mechanism and for ., i, limiting the displacement of the respective components thereof.

Said double plunger mechanism consists of a front plunger 168' . . . ~
~and a rear plunger 168" projecting forwardly and rearwardly ;
respectively of sole plate 18" " .
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Tlle inner ellds oE plungers 16~' and 168" are respectively formed with a laterally projecting flange portion 238' and 238" which respectively ride in chambers 240' and 240" to limit the traverse of the respective plungers.
The plunger mechanism includes a central turnbuckle 242 which projects into and is accessible through an opening 244 in base 230. The turnbuckle is formed with a plurality of slots 224 therethrougll to permit rotation thereof from outside of the sole plate. Threaded into turnbuckle 242 are a pair of threaded shafts 246' and 246". At the end of each of said shafts is an end plate 248' and 248" respectively. A single front coil spring ' 250 is engaged between plate 248' and flange 238' to bias plunger 168' in the Lorwardly direction. A pair of coil springs 252 are compressed between end plate 248" and flange 238" to bias plunger 168" in the rearwardly direction. The bias force applied to the respective plungers is coordinately adjusted through the rotation of turnbuckle 242.
The sole plate is held on ski 14 by a front socket member 254 and a rear socket member 256 shaped to define camming surfaces for cooperation with the sculptured tongues defining the outer ends of plungers 168' and 168" respectively. The camming surfaces on the respective socket members and plungers are shaped to define paths for the separation of the sole plate from the ski from either the front or the rear in both lateral directions relative to the ski as well as the separation of the sole plate upwardly from the ski. At least the rear socket member is provide~
with a camming surface 258 on the upper edge thereof for engage-I
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¦¦ment against the lower ca~ning surLace of plunger 168" during moun~ing of the sole plate on ~he ski.
The sole plate preferably engages against the front socket member 254 to prevent displacement during skiing.
jj The so]e plate is formed with a plurality of bores 262 in the side wall thereof corresponding to apertures 1~8 in the embodiment of FIG. 1 for receiving pivot arms such as pivot arms 18~ to hold the rear of the boot on the sole plate. The pivot arms would be formed with projections, bores 262 would be formed with I keyhole slots, and enlarged regions 264 at the end of each bore - I are provided to receive the projections on pivot armsl82 and to ¦ permit the pivoting of said pivot arms.
While in the embodiment depicted, the rear plunger is ¦biased by two springs, any combination of springs biasing the ¦ front and rear plunger may be provided as desired by the design of the specific binding. The cover and base of the sole plate may be joined by welding or other appropriate means. The sole plate may be formed from plastic material. ~ile the embodiment depicted in the drawings provides the socket mounted to the ski and the plunger being provided with a tongue for receipt in the socket, the socket could be mounted on the plunger, a member I provided with a projecting tongue being fixedly mounted on the ¦~ ski.

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¦l It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, ¦ and those made apparent from the preceding description3 are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in Il the above constructions without departing from the spirit and I scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained ¦ in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings ¦¦ shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
¦l It is also to be understood that the following claims j are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features ¦ of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.
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Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A safety binding for releasably securing a boot to a ski having an upper surface, comprising a sole plate defining a housing; means for securing said boot to said sole plate; and first and second sets of means for releasably affixing said sole plate to said ski upper surface, said sets of means being shaped to permit both relative lateral and relative normal displacement of said ski and sole plate at both sets thereof, both of said sets of means including cooperative interengaging surfaces defining a pocket and a projection into said pocket, one of each of which surfaces is positioned on said ski and the other of each of which surfaces is positioned on said sole plate and the surfaces of each of which sets of means contact each other along an interface shaped to cause said plate to be positioned laterally and normally relative to said ski upper surface in the region of both of said sets of means as said cooperating interengaging surfaces of each such set are concurrently impelled toward each other; means for impelling said surfaces in each of said sets toward each other concurrently, which impelling means includes front and rear plunger means mounted within said housing, each of said front and rear plunger means defining, at an outer end thereof projecting forwardly and rearwardly respectively of said sole plate, one of said pocket and projection of each of said first and second sets of means respectively, said impelling means being sufficiently yielding to permit said cooperating interengaging surfaces of either of said sets of means to become disengaged from each other through relative displacement by motion having an axial component and either a lateral component, a normal component, or a combination of lateral and normal components due to the application of force moments counter-directional to the force moments imparted to said cooperating inter-engaging surfaces by said impelling means; and support means for mounting on said ski, one of said pocket and projection of the one of said first and second sets of means positioned forwardly of said sole plate, said impelling means being adapted such that a front surface of said sole plate normally abuts said support means when said sole plate is mounted on said ski to prevent forward motion of said sole plate during use.

2. A safety binding as recited in claim 1, wherein each of said plunger means includes a displaceable plunger and spring means biasing said plunger and including means for selectively adjusting the bias of the spring means of at least one of said plunger means.

3. A safety binding as recited in claim 2, including means for coordinately adjusting the bias of both of said front and rear plunger means.

4. A safety binding as recited in claim 3, wherein said means for coordinately adjusting the bias of said front and rear plunger means includes turnbuckle means operatively coupled to the respective spring means of said front and rear plunger means, the housing defined by said sole plate having an aperture providing access to said turnbuckle for the selective manipulation thereof.

5. A safety binding as recited in claim 2, wherein the spring means of said rear plunger means is adapted to exert a greater bias force than the spring means of said front plunger means.

6. A safety binding as recited in claim 1, wherein said support means includes a sole plate engaging surface defining a convex curve in a plane substantially parallel to said ski upper surface, the front surface of said sole plate normally abutting said sole plate engaging surface of said support means substantially in the region of the apex of the convex curve thereof.

7. A safety binding as recited in claim 1, including means for mounting said boot on said ski, said mounting means being ad-justable to accommodate boots of a range of sizes, said mounting means including rear mounting means having cable means, means for releasably securing said cable means to said sole plate at a plurality of positions spaced along the axis of said ski and lever means for engaging against the rear of said boot, said lever means being formed with at least two spaced elongated slots for receiving said cable means to define alternative pivoting axes for said lever, whereby said lever, by selection of the slot in which said cable means is received, may engage and hold the rear of boots of different configurations.