CA1043371A - Deliberately releasable safety ski-binding with two latches - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT

In a safety ski-binding for connecting a ski boot directly to a ski or over a sole plate of the ski by means of an extensible cable near each of the front and back of the boot, extension of the cable being resiliently opposed by the spring of a cable drum and the cable being only deliberately detachable from the boot or sole plate, the boot or sole plate is held to the ski against vertical as well as horizontal motion by two latching devices each comprising a catch member on the ski or on the boot or sole plate and a latch member movable with respect to the catch member and biassed into engagement therewith by the cable.

Description

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The present invention relates to safety ski-binding which connect a ~ki boot to a ski, either directly or indirectly by way Or a sole plate, by means of a cable control engaging near each of the front and back of the sole of the boot, wherein each cable control can be pulled out to a limited e~tent asainst the action of a sprin3 force and can only deliberately be relea6ed from the boot or sole plate, respectiYely, and wherein the boot or sole plate is, under normal operating condition~, secured on the skl agalnst horizontal motion by at least one latching mechani~m.
Such a safety ski-binding, in which the cable control~ engage f~ttings that are fixed to the sole of the boot, is shown for example ln German Specification 2,156,936. Another and even older safety ski-binding of this kind, which has likewise only been disclosed on paper and wherein a sole plate is pro~ided for the ski boot, is disclosed for e~ample in klstrias Specification 211,203.
qhese safety ski-bindings prevent the unlntentional complete aetachment of the boot from the ski. ~fter there has been relative tion between the boot a~d the ski as a result of e~cessive load which ~oe~ not only ha~e a shook or impact effeot, the sprisg foroe ensures a~tomatic resetting. The characteri~tio of the sprisgs nece~sitates as increase in the sprint force with increasing movemest of the boot r l-tivel~ to ths ski.
Th ~afety of a akier during a fall nece~sitates a certais nilL~mum lensth by which the cablo controls can be pulled out asd thus there are t~D opposin6 requirement~, namely a suffioie3t length by whioh the oable oan be pulled out and the retA~n~ foroe that is neoessary during kilng for trassmittisg steering forces asd for takin6 up impacts.
In the embodiment w cording to the said ~strias Specification, these r q~iremests are sot fulfilled or fulfllled only inadequately, which esplaiss ~h~ this particular bisdin6 has not fousd practical success.

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. 1043371 In the embodiment according.to the aforcmcntioned German specification, however, the requirements are met more satisfactorily, at least fr~m a theoretical point of view. This is achieved in that each cable control is under the influence of a spiral spring disposed coaxially with ~he associated cable drum and acting there-on, the spring being relatively weak, and in that a second stronger spring in the form of a wound spiral spring influences the cable drum within a so-called range of elasticity. As a result of this, only the weak spiral spring acts on the boot in the sense of pulling the cable back if the boot has moved beyond the range of elasticity with respect to the ski. As soon as the boot and ski have been pulled together again to a sufficient extent, the relaxation of the stronger spring takes effect and returns the boot and ski to their normal position relatively to one another.
This embodiment of safety ski-binding according to German Specification 2,156,936 nevertheless exhibits certain disadvantages that detract from its utility. First of all the two latching devices that are provided are not able to provide relative rotation between the boot and the ski when there is a strictly rotary load of appropriate size, because the latching devices do not comprise a movable element as is usually the case with other known latching devices. Further, this safety ski-binding requires a larger number of parts because two substantially successively operative spring systems are required. ~his makes the manufacture more expensive and the device as a whole more liable to faults.
Again, this ski-binding has not been used in practise.
lt is an object of the present invention to improve a safety ski-binding of the aforementioned kind so that it will meet the previously discussed requirements and yet be simple and cheap to make and reliable in operation.

- 3 -104~371 According to the present invention there is provided a safety ski-binding for connecting a ski boot to a ski, the binding comprising a latching mechanism actinq between the boot and the ski for retaining the boot on the ski against relative vertical and horizontal movement under normal operating conditions; said latching mechanism including a housing fixedly mounted relative to one of said boot or ski; biasing pulley means rotatably mounted in said housing; means for biasing said pulley means in one direction; cable means, one end of which is mounted on said biasing pulley and hence is biased therewith;
a latch member pivotably mounted on said housing for movement toward and away from the other said boot or ski, guide pulley means mounted on said latch member for guiding the opposite end of said cable means; a catch member fixed relative to said other of said boot or ski for associating with said latch - member and, when so associated, for retaining the boot on the ski against relative vertical movement; connector means for fixing said other end of said cable means relative to said catch member so that~said movably mounted latch member is urged toward said catch member as a result of the biasing force exerted on said cable means by said biasing pulley.
This construction permits, inter alia, a secure and purely rotational or translatory movement of the boot or sole plate on the ski when there is a correspondingly high torsional load. In addition, the safety ski-binding according to the invention requires only one spring system at each of the f ront and back.
The movable latch member of the latching device may be in the form of a slide member. It could also be in the form of a latching lever, in which case it is preferably formed by the shorter arm of a bell crank lever, the cable being guided along both arms, each of which carries at least one pulley. It is advantageous if the pulley of the longer arm is ~ _ 4 _ A

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adjustable therealong, thereby providing a simple form of adjustability for the releasing force of the latching device.
Examples of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:-Fig. 1 is a part-sectional plan view of a first embodiment of safety ski-binding;

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H g. 2 i8 a side elcvation Or the binding according to Fig. l;
Pie. 3 18 a plan viev of the aame binding showing the 801e plate pivoted to a lateral position;
~ig. 4 18 a side elevation of a second e~bodiment of ~ki-binding;
Fig. 5 is a plan view of the ~ig. 4 binding, And ~ig. 6 is a side elevation of the binding of ~ig~. 4 and 5, ~herein the sole plate has been completely released in an upward direction.
The safety ski-binding shown in Eigs. 1 to 3 is a so-called plate binding. ~he sole plate 1 carries a sole holder 2 at one end for recei~ing and securely holding the tip of the ski boot. At its other end, the sole plate ¢arries a sole holder 3 which is pivotable about a horizontal trans~erse a~is 4 relativsly to the sole plate. ~5xed to the sole holder 3 there is a pedal 5 (see Fig. 3) 80 that, after the front end Or the sole of the boot has been introdl-ced into the sole holder 2, the rear end of t~e sole of the boot can automatically swing to 1ts locking position as the boot is depressed during the stepping-in procedure. The ~ole holder 3 can w only be deliberately mo~ed from its lo~k1~g to its open po~ition, for e~ample by aotuating an opening handle 6.
THO cable controls or tackles are pro~ided in the sole plate 1, a le bost shown in Pig. 1. The t~o osble aontrols are mirror images of one another and oonsequentl~ the ~ame referenoe numeral3 ha~e been employed for both oontrols and it will be necessary to desoribe only on oit them. Mbunted in the sole plate on a ~ertical shaft 7 there is o~bl- dru~ 8. This drum is sub~eoted to the influen¢e of a splral ep~ B such a~ that known from ~erman Speoiitication 2,156,936. Sinoe tha ~piral gpring is kno~n per ~e, it need not be de~¢ribed in further detail ana it ha~ been omitted from the draw~Lg for olarity. It ~uPfi¢es to say that this spring biasses the oable drum 8 in the sense of keeping the cable 9 ~ound up on ths drum.

~043371 Each cable control includes a slide latch member 10 which is unted for longitudinal displacement within the sole plate 1 and an operative end of which pro~ects from the end of the sole plate. To limit the amount of movement of the slide latch member 10 in the pro~ected or outward directlon, it is provided with abutments 11.
~d~acent each end of the sole plate 1 and screwed to the top of the ski 12 there is a fitting 13 oontaining a catch groove 1~ for oc-operatins with the respective slide latch member 10.
Ihe cable 9 of each cable control or tackle extends from the oable drum 8, over pulleys 15, 16 to a fixed anchoring point 17 on the fitting 13. Whereas the pulley 15 is rotatably mounted in the sole plate 1, the pulley 16 is unted at the inner end of the slide latch member 10.
~isea to the cable drum 8 there is a ratchet wheel 18 of a retain-- 15 i ~ device, of which the pawl 19 is unted on a vertical shaft 20 in the sole plate i. lne pawl is in the form of a b d l crank la~er a~d i8 under the iDfluence of a ret~ g spring 21 which normally holds the operatlve end of the pawl in engagsment with the ratchet wheel 18. Also aisposed in the sole plate 1 there is a push button 22 which, when aotuated, pivots the pawl 19 aga$nst the act~on of the ret~n~n6 sprin6 n to di~eDeag~ the ratohet whe d 18.
lig~. 1 ant 2 show the safety ski-bina~ng in its normal operating po d tion on the ski. ~y means of the ~anner in which the cable of each ¢able control i8 guided by bein6 passed over the pulley 16 on the ~lide latoh member 10, the latter is pressed into the catoh ~roove 14 o~ the n ttin6 13 at pra¢tioally twioe the foroe that is imparted to the oable by the splral sprin6 asso¢iated ~ith the cable drum 8. When there is a predetersined lar6e torque load and/or liftin3 foroe eserted on the 8~i boot, the slide latch member 10 is displaced aeainst the atlon of its lockl~4s foroe and finally disen&ages from the 6roove. On lU43;~71 further movement of the sole plate 1 relatively to the ski, the pulley 16 serves as no more than a direct~on-changing roll for the ¢able and consequently only the lower resistance Or the spiral spring opposes movement of the plate during pulling out of the cable 9.
After the force that gave rise to the movement has slack~ned off or disappeared, the retaining de~ice 18? 19 provided according to the present invention prevents the automatic resetting of the sole plate 1 on the ski 12 or, conversely, pulling up of the ski agæinst the sole plate. This prevents the need during asy one fall for releasing the or each latchins device two or re times.
Tb apply the binding to the ski when the skier has come to a halt after a fall, he need merely press the push button 22 of the e~tended cable control, thereby freeing the cable d = 8 to enable it to wind ~p the cable 9.
The safety ski-binding of Figs. 4 to 6 18 likewise a so-called plate bind~ng. Ihe sole plate 25 a~a~ car~es ~he ~ole h~lders ana 3, o~ shich the latter forms part of a step-in assangement that cas only be deliberately opened. ~8 in the previously desoribed embodiment, a pedal ana an opening key are aesig~ated 5 and 6, respectively.
S-ourea to the sole plate 25 at each of the front and back at r epeotive anohoring points 27, there iB a cable 26 of a cable control or tackle. 4Bain, the cable controls are mirror images of one asother, for ~hich reason onl~ one of them ~ill be described and the same reforence numerals have been employed for both.
Tho cable 26 e~tends from the anchoring point 27 over pulleys 28, 29, 30 and 31 to a cable drum 32. In the sa~e way as for the cable drum of the embodiment according to ~ig~. 1 to 3, a spiral spring (not eho~n) in n uences the cable drum 32 in the sense of ~indin~-up the cable 26. The ~haft 33 of the drum 32 e~tends horizontally and trassversely ~ith respeot to the ski 12 and is mounted in side ~al18 34 of a frame 35 that is scre~od onto the s~i. Tho lde ~alls of the frame also support -- ~043371 shafts 36 and 37 for the re~pective pulleys 29 and 31. The ~haft 36 additionAlly serves as a pivot shaft of a bell crank lever hav~ng arms 38 aud 39. Ihe pulley 28 i~ carried at the free end of the shorter lever arm 38 and the pulley 30 is mounted at the free end of the other lever arm 39.
The lever arm 38 serves as a latching lever, its free end beinB
provided with a latching tongue 40 which engages in a catch groove of a fitting 41 provided at the associated end of the sole plate 25. The free end of the lever arm 38 is also provided with a guide me~ber 42 for the cable 26.
qhe pulle~ 30 is ad~ustable along the lever arm 39. qhi8 may be -effected by a spindle drive (not shown).
Each latching device holds the associated end of the sole plate 24 against upward movement as ~ell as horizontal displacement as long as any force tending to ve the sole plate remaina below a predetermined value that can safely be withstood by the leg of the skier. ~he latchlng le~er 38 remalns engaged in the catch groove of the fitting 41 under the aotion of the oable 26.
The rmal operating condition of the safety ski-binding is shown in Figs. 4 and 5. On the oocurrence of a hi6h torgue and/or lifting foro- on the ski boot, the latohlns 16ver 38 will swing about the shaft 36. ~hen the latching tongue 40 has disengsBed the fitting 41, the sole pl-te 25 is free to move away from the s~i against the aotion Or the ~ull ~ertet on the oable 26 by the spiral spring of the assooiated oabl- aru~. Tb pre~ent automatic resettin6 Of the sole plate 25 to the s~i or, oonver~ely, pulling up Or the s~i a&ainst the sole plate after th foroe that csusea movement Or the sole plate has slackened off or dis~ppeared, a pawl ana ratchet retal~ing device may be provided in the ~a~e way as for the H 68. 1 to 7 e~bod~ment.
H g. 6 shows the sole plate released from both latck~llg devices.
Pi otal vement of the latching levers on withdrawal of the sole plate ~V43371 is limited by abutments which, in the present oase, are formed by oable drum housings. The relea~ing force for the latching device is ~ariable by changing the sp wing of the pulley 30 from the ~haft 36.
Both of the illustrated embodiments show the preferred u~of ,5 a sole plate 1 or 25. Sole plate~ have the advantage that they do away with the need for a special ski boot or special attachments for the boot. The ~g8. 1 to ~ embodiment can be modified in that the oable controls are not providsd within the sole plate but in front of and behind same in a manner corresponding to the second embodiment.
Con~ersely, the second embodiment of Fiss. 4 to 6 ma~ be modified in that the cable controls are acco~odated in the sole plate, the fitting~
41 containing the catch grooves then being mounted on the ski.
If however there is no ob~ection to having a ~pecial ~ki boot, the illustrated sole plate 1 or 25 is repl w ed by the sole of the boot itself. In the case of Figs. 1 to 3, the sole would therefore accommo-2stc '~ cab'e ^on~rol^. I~ bo~h am~od~e3'~, tha ~ ~a2 oablO
anchorages sleh as 17 asd 27 ~ould be replaoed by deliberately detachable anohorages .
It ~ill be e~ident that the present invention cas be embodied in ~aIlous oonstructions- ~umerous modifications are po~sible. The only ~eatures essential to the invention are that two lat¢hin~ devices are pro~iaed for seourLns the sole plate or sole of the boot a&ainst vertical ro~ament, that each latchins de~ice oomprises a catch member Sixed d ther to the ski or to the sole plate (or sole of the boot) and a l-toh member ~hich is mo~able ~ith respect to the catch member ana is ~ountea on or is the part engaged b~ the extensible sprisg-loadea end o~ the cable control, that the cable control biasses the latch member to the latching posltion, asa that the ~able latch member carries a pulley o~er ~hich the oable of each oontrol pas~es to a fixed eschoriss 3 point.

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Claims (7)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A safety ski-binding for connecting a ski boot to a ski, the binding comprising a latching mechanism acting between the boot and the ski for retaining the boot on the ski against relative vertical and horizontal movement under normal operating conditions; said latching mechanism including a housing fixedly mounted relative to one of said boot or ski;
biasing pulley means rotatably mounted in said housing; means for biasing said pulley means in one direction; cable means, one end of which is mounted on said biasing pulley and hence is biased therewith; a latch member pivotably mounted on said housing for movement toward and away from the other said boot or ski, guide pulley means mounted on said latch member for guiding the opposite end of said cable means; a catch member fixed relative to said other of said boot or ski for associating with said latch member and, when so associated, for retaining the boot on the ski against relative vertical movement; connector means for fixing said other end of said cable means relative to said catch member so that said movably mounted latch member is urged toward said catch member as a result of the biasing force exerted on said cable means by said biasing pulley.

2. A safety ski-binding according to claim 1, chara-cterised in that said movably mounted latch member comprises a latching lever.

3. A safety ski-binding according to claim 2, char-acterised in that said latching lever comprises a bell crank lever having a pair of arms, and a pulley on each of said arms in guiding engagement with said cable.

4. A safety ski-binding according to claim 3, wherein one of said arms has a length greater than the other arm and including means for permitting longitudinal adjustment of the position of the pulley on said one arm.

5. A safety ski-binding according to claim 1, further comprising a sole plate adapted to be releasably attached to the boot.

6. A safety ski-binding according to claim 5, wherein said housing is fixedly mounted relative to said boot and said other end of said cable is fixed by said connector means.

7. A safety ski-binding according to claim 5, wherein said housing is fixedly mounted relative to said ski and said other end of said cable is fixed to said connector means to said sole plate.