CA1134403A

CA1134403A - Slalom ski binding

Info

Publication number: CA1134403A
Application number: CA000328680A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Jack G. Gustavsson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1978-06-19
Filing date: 1979-05-30
Publication date: 1982-10-26
Also published as: ATA430179A; JPS6258748B2; DE2952860T1; EP0016777A1; AU4810179A; CH644026A5; SE409176B; JPS55500486A; AU528002B2; GB2038189B; WO1980000063A1; EP0016777B1; GB2038189A; AT370001B; IT1117223B; SU1041018A3; DE2952860C2; IT7949426A0

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

The invention relates to a safety binding for down-hill skiing comprising a toe connection means and a heel con-nection means for cooperation with corresponding parts of a ski boot in which the toe connection means comprises a rotatable roller having a support web portion and from the said web portion an upwardly diverging conical portion, which roller and its shaft are spring biased and movable in the longitudinal direction of the ski. The heel connection means comprises an U-formed clamp which is rotatably mounted about a vertical fixed pin of the binding and which is formed with two parallel up-right lock clamps having recesses facing the front part of the binding and cooperating with side rollers of the boot. The toe connection means and the heel connection means are interconnected over a base plate which is fixed mounted on the ski.

Description

~44~!3 The present invention generally relates to ski bindings, and is more particularly directed to a type of slalom binding, so called release binding, which is formed with a toe fastening means and a heel fastening means which co-operate with the slalom boot in such a way, that the binding retains the boot during normal skiing but causes a release of a boot from the binding at a relative force between the slalom boot and the binding exceeding a predetermined force. It must be possible to obtain release either when the boot is subjected to a strong rotating movement in relation to the slalom binding or when the boot is raised from the binding at the heel fastening means or possibly at the toe fastening means.
Ski bindings of this type are well known in the art and the ski bind-ing which is at present most commonly used comprises two separate parts, vi~. a toe connection means and a heel connection means. The heel connection means is formed so that it may, by a special actuation be swung up whereas the toe con-nection means comprises a bracket which generally can be rotated about a verti-cal shaft but which is kept by an adjustable spring in a predetermined central position. The slalom boot is clamped into such a binding by the boot being placed on the binding and the toe moved into a position underneath the bracket at the toe connection means, whereupon the heel connection means is treaded or stepped down so as to clamp the heel portion of the boot to the binding and ski.
It has been found that the friction between the boot and the ski in rotation under load often is too high, so that the binding does not release sufficiently early, and to eliminate this disadvantage an anti-friction plate has been mounted just behind the toe bracket on a base plate which is connected to the toe connection means. In this case it is important that the toe bracket is adjusted so that the slalom boot is held pressed onto the friction plate the pressure being such that the binding readily releases if the boot is rotated vigorously in relation to the ski. A too strong pressing downwards of the boot C

~3~3 may prevent release of the binding and a too light clamping may cause the binding to release at too low forces. Also the heel connection means must press the boot to the binding with such force that the binding releases when the boot is raised with an exactly predetermined force.
Ski bindings of this type are disadvantageous in some respects. Both the toe connection means and the heel connection means must be adjusted very carefully depending on the weight of the skier, the level of skiing skill, the condition of the ski path and many other factors. The adjustment must be made very exactly which is both a time consuming and exacting task. It is also very important that the boot is completely clean at the bottom surface both when adjusting the binding and when skiing, since snow, ice, sand or any other mater-ial at the bottom surface of the boot cause changes of the release values.
Further the friction plate for the toe cup of the boot becomes worn in time, and the binding frequently must be readjusted. Since the binding is formed with two parts there is also a need for great accuracy when mounting the binding on the ski, and both rough adjustment and fine adjustment of the release forces must be made after the binding is mounted on the ski.
In order to eliminate some of the above mentioned disadvantages another type of ski binding has come on the market which is a so called plate binding in which the toe connection means and the heel connection means are mounted on a plate which is releasable and which can in turn be clamped to the ski by means of two fastening means, one for the front part of the plate and one for the rear part of the plate.
Also in such plate ski bindings release is effected by rotating and lifting forces, and upon release the entire unit of boot and plate is released whereas the fastening means remain on the ski.
In this type of ski binding there are two adjustment means for the plate, one for the front part of the plate and one for the rear part thereof.

1~34403 There is an anti-friction plate provided just behind the toe connection means mounted on the ski, and also in this case snow, ice, sand and other foreign matter may cause a false rotation release. Also in this case the toe con-nection means and the heel connection means are separated from each other, and adjustment must be made by means of two separate adjustment screws. As in the previously discussed ski binding the toe connection means and the heel connec-tion means move when the ski bows, for instance at a hollow or a hump, and there is a serious risk that the binding falsely releases at hollowsor humps on the slope.
Another type of ski binding, in which attempts have been made to eliminate further or other disadvantages comprises a plate, which is screwed to D the underside of the boot and which co-operates with two side ~ s which are screw connected to the ski. Also this binding is sensitive to snow, ice or foreign matter under the boot or under the plate, foreign matter may easily enter the clamp mechanism for the side ~7alls, and the side ~Jalls must for various reasons be very strongly clamped, and therefore it may be difficult, especially for children, to insert the boot including the attachment plate into the ski binding.
Most of the previously known ski bindings also involve the disadvantage that the boot must always enter the binding with the toe part first whereas it may seem natural to many people to engage the binding with the heel part of the boot put down first on the ski or the bottom plate. In most of the previous slalom bindings the heel connection means is provided to clamp the boot at the rearmost part thereof, whereas for orthopedical reasons it is considered more suitable to provide the heel connection means so as to form substantially an elongation of the longitudinal direction of the fibula (the lower leg portion).
In this case a rotation and a subsequent release occurs substantially about the center of the leg rather than some distance behind the center as in the previous-.
' 11349~V3 ly known ski bindings.
The basis of the invention therefore is the problem to provide a safety ski binding for downhill skiing which provides a simple connection of the binding to the ski;
provides for simple insertion of the boot into the binding;
is formed as an integral unit of toe connection means, heel connection means and intermediate plate;
provides a good release depending on side forces;
makes release possible even in the direction upwards of the toe portion;
allows release upwards for the heel portion of the boot;
which has one single adjustment means which is common for the entire ski binding;
which retains the boot safely and free from play;
which may easily be moved to other skis;
which is basically insensitive to snow, ice, dirt and foreign matter whether in the mechanism or under the boot;
in which the boot can very easily be reinserted after the binding has released;
which is completely insensitive to flexure of the ski at hollows or humps etc.;
and which is completely maintenance-free.
The invention provides safety binding for downhill skiing comprising a base plate supporting at one end a toe connection means and at the other end a heel connection means for co-operation with corresponding parts of the ski boot, wherein the toe connection means is bi-conic and formed with a support web portion from which extends an upwardly diverging conical portion enabling the toe of the boot to release in an upwards direction, the toe connection means 1~3~03 being movable in the longitudinal direction of the ski binding and being spring biassed towards the heel connection means, the heel connection means comprises a U-formed clamp which is rotatably mounted about a fixed upright pin of the binding.
Preferably the toe connection means comprises a rotatable roller carried on a central upright shaft.
Since the toe connection means and the heel connection means are interconnected by means of the binding base plate, the entire binding provides an integral unit which can be mounted as a unit, directly on the ski. The bi-conical portion of the toe connection means may be a bi-conic roller which in addition to a release both in the transverse direction and in the upwards direction of the toe part of the boot at super strong load also makes it possible to tread or step the boot into the binding by pressing the boot straight downwards by contacting the upper cone of the bi-conic roller. The heel connection clamp preferably has grooves and which co-operate with rollers provided in the boot substantially on line with the fibula of the skier. The heel connection clamp is suitably formed so that the boot can be mounted by the heel portion of the boot being pressed straight downwards. In a particular embodiment of the invention the boot does not directly contact the base plate but there is a small space between the base plate and the boot that makes the ski bindings fairly insensitive to snow, ice and foreign matter on the under-side of the boot.
Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will be evident from the following detailed specification of a preferred embodiment thereof in which reference will be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:-Figure 1 diagrammatically and in a perspective view from the front and one side illustrates a ski binding according to the invention and the associated boot, C

113~03 Figure 2 diagrammatically and in a perspective view from behind and the other side shows the same ski binding but without the boot;
Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal section centrally through an embodiment of the ski binding; and, Figure 4 illustrates the same ski binding from above and in part diagrammatically.
With reference to the drawings there is shown a safety ski binding 1 for downhill skiing which is formed as an integral unit and adapted to be mounted on a ski 2 and for use together with a ski boot 3 having special fittings adapted to the binding. The binding generally comprises a base plate 4 which at its front end carries a toe connection means in a form of a conical or bi-conical roller 5 and which at the rear end carries a heel connection means 6 for the boot.
As best illustrated in Figure 3, the base plate 4 is formed as a box which is at least partly hollow and which comprises a top plate 7, a bottom plate 8 and sides 9. The plates 7 and 8 may be of metal, for instance aluminium, which is suitably treated to act as a repellant to snow, ice and dirt etc. At the front end the base plate 4 carries the toe connection means 5 for the boot 3 and at the rear end the base plate carries the heel connection means 6 for the boot 3.
The toe connection means includes a slide 10 which is slidable in the longitudinal direction of the ski binding inside the base plate 4 and it is guided by two longitudinally extending guide bars 11. In the slide 10 a screw pin 12 is mounted and extends up through a longitudinal slot 13 of the top plate 7. The upper portion of the pin 12 carries the toe connection roller 5 on ball bearings 14 so that the roller can rotate with minimum frictior. about the pin 12.
The roller 5 is formed with a guiding base disc 15 contacting or provided adjacent the top plate 7, and from the base disc 15 a short web por~ion extends upwards and merges into an upwardly diverging cone 17. The cone angle can be varied according to the circumstances, but a suitable cone angle may be 45 .
From the diverging cone 17 the roller is formed with an upwardly converging second cone 18, so that the roller provides a bi-cone having a cone angle tip or narrow border surface 19. The cone surface 17 acts to enable release by rotating the boot 3 upwards from the heel connection means, and the cone surface 18 acts to enable a treading or stepping of the boot into a binding with the toe moved downwards over the cone surface 18. At the front short end the base plate 24 has a projecting screw support 20 which is fixedly connected to the base plate, and through the screw support a screw 21 extends rearwardly to a shoulder of the slide 10. The portion of the screw 20 facing the slide 10 is tapered at 22, and there is a shoulder between a narrow portion 22 and the wide portion of the screw. ~n the narrow portion 22 of the screw a number of cup springs 23 are mounted and clamped between the shoulder of the screw 21 and the slide 10.
By adjusting the screw 21 it is consequently possible to provide a stronger or lighter clamp force for the boot. By further reducing or increasing the number of cup springs the binding can easily be adapted to different sizes of boots or to boots of different types.
For co-operation with the roller 5 the boot is provided with a con-nection bar 24 at the toe thereof. The connection bar 24 is screwed or in any other way stably mounted on the boot and it is bow formed or angularly formed.
The angle and the length of the connection bar 24 is adapted to the intended effect. A short connection bar or a connection bar having a wide opening angle gives a quicker release than a long connection bar or a bar having a narrower opening angle. By the bow form or angle form the boot is enabled to rotate some distance in relation to the roller 5 while the roller 5 is pressed forwards against the action of the cup springs 23, and if the torque does not exceed the maximum torque for release the spring biassed roller 5 presses the boot back to C

~L3~03 its initial central position as soon as the torque or the rotation force ceases.
Since the binding is completely symmetrical the boot may rotate in both directions with the same effect. At the rear end of the binding the top plate 7 and the bottom plate 8 projects some distance beyond the base plate 4 and between the projecting portions of the plates 7 and 8 the heel connection means 6 is rotatably mounted about a vertical pin 25. The heel connection means or the heel clamp is formed by a bottom plate 26 which is rotatable about the vertical pin 25 and which at each side of the binding carries an upwardly projecting lock clamp 27. The lock clamps 27 can be screwed or mounted in any other way at the bottom plate 26 and at the front edges each lock clamp 27 is formed with a recess preferably in the form of three straight edges of which the bottom edge 28 extends parallel to the base plate 4, the rear end 29 extends upwards at an angle rearwardly from the bottom edge 28 and the upper edge 30 extends forwardly and upwardly at an angle to the horizontal plane. Above the recesses the lock clamps provide a forwardly directed ear 31 the front edge 32 of which is directed upwardly and rearwardly at a predetermined angle to the horizontal plane. The angles of the upper edge 30 and the front edge 32 are determined according to the circumstances. The purpose of the upper edge 30 is to enable release by lifting the boot upwards with a force exceeding a predetermined maximum clamping force, and the purpose of the front edge 32 is to enable treading of the boot straight downwards into the binding.
For co-operation with the lock clamps 27 the boot is provided with a roller 33 on both sides thereof. The roller 33 is formed with a vertical or slightly conical flange 34 and a horizontal cylindrical portion 35. The purpose of the flange 34 is to provide guidance of the boot into exact position against the lock clamps 27, and the purpose of the horizontal cylindrical portion 35 is to provide locking of the boot in the lock clamps. Therefore the dimension of the horizontal portion 35 of the rollers 33 is adapted to the dimensions of the ,~

recess 28-30. It should be observed that the toe and heel clamps and the corresponding parts of the boot are preferably formed so that the boot is not in direct contact with the top plate 7 but a small space is present between the boot and the top plate to accommodate a slight amount of snow, ice or dirt on the boot without causing problems.
The binding can be mounted in any suitable way on the ski and in Figure 3 is shown how the binding is mounted by means of screws 36 acting from underneath the ski. Preferably the rear portion of the binding is connected by means of two parallel screws whereas the front portion is connected by means of a single screw. In order to eliminate the risk of unintentional release in case of hollows, humps or similar the binding is mounted on a slight distance above the upper surface of the ski, and for this purpose a spacer washer 37 is provided between the ski and the binding which permits the ski to bow without affecting the binding.
In the conventional way the binding can be provided with recesses for a catch strap for instance in the form of a slot 38 provided in the portion of the bottom plate 8 projecting rearwardly, or the binding can be provided with a stop means of a type known per se which releases and stops the ski as soon as the boot is removed upwards from the binding.
The binding according to the invention may be manufactured and adjusted in a factory as a unit together with a boot and there is no need for complicated mounting or adjusting. The only thing which possibly remains is the adjustment of the release force depending on special demands of the skier and this is made by one single adjustment means, viz. the screw 21. The boot can very simply be treaded into the binding either by the toe connection bar 24 being introduced in the toe roller 5 whereupon the boot is treaded downwards at the heel portion, whereby the cylinder part 35 of the boot roller 33 slides along the front edge 32 of the lock clamp 27 and snaps into the recess 28-30, ~ _g_ ~13~03 or by the boot being mounted in the opposite way, viz. so that the heel portion is firstly moved into the lock clamps 27, whereupon the toe portion of the boot is treaded down over the bi-conical roller 5. Since there is no connection between the underside of the boot and the binding, both ways of treading the boot into the binding are easy, and in both ways the double cone roller is moved somewhat forwards against the action of the cup springs 23 until the toe or heel portion of the boot has snapped into its respective connection means.
It is to be understood that the above described embodiments of the invention which are illustrated in the drawings are only illuminating examples and that all kinds of modifications may be presented in the scope of the appended claims.

~ -10--

Claims

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

1. Safety binding for downhill skiing comprising a base plate supporting at one end a toe connection means and at the other end a heel connection means for co-operation with corresponding parts of the ski boot, wherein the toe connection means is bi-conic and formed with a support web portion from which extends an upwardly diverging conical portion enabling the toe of the boot to release in an upwards direction, the toe connection means being movable in the longitudinal direction of the ski binding and being spring biassed towards the heel connection means, the heel connection means comprises a U-formed clamp which is rotatably mounted about a fixed upright pin of the binding.

2. Safety ski binding according to claim 1, wherein the toe connection means comprises a roller which is rotatably mounted on a central upright shaft.

3. Safety binding according to claim 1, wherein the heel connection means comprises two parallel and upwardly directed lock clamps having recesses facing the front part of the binding, whereby the upper edge of each said recess extends at an angle to the horizontal plane in order to enable an upwards release of the heel part of boot, the lock clamp having an entering edge extending up-wardly and rearwardly from said upper edge in order to enable insertion of the ski boot into the binding from above the binding.

4. Safety binding according to claim 3, wherein at a point substantially corresponding to a plane extending through the tibia of the skier, the boot has a connection roller on each side, which roller coact with the lock clamps to clamp the boot in the binding.

5. Safety binding according to claim 2, wherein the toe connection roller is a bi-conic roller having a conical upper surface allowing a treading inser-tion of the boot into the binding from above and having a conical undersurface allowing a release in the upwards direction of the boot.

6. Safety binding according to claim 5, wherein the upright shaft upon which the toe connection roller is rotatably mounted is in turn mounted in a slide which is slidable in the longitudinal direction of the binding and which is spring biassed.

7. Safety binding according to claim 5 or 6, wherein said slide is slidably guided by two parallel guide bars, the spring actuation being provided by a screw which is threaded at the front part of the binding and which has a shoulder, and in which a pressure spring means is provided between the shoulder of the screw and said slide.

8. Safety binding according to claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the toe connection means and the heel connection means are formed so that there is a slight space between the under side of the boot and the upper side of the binding.

9. Safety binding according to claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the base plate is adapted to be mounted at a slight distance above the top surface of the ski.