CA2243565C - Quick release binding - Google Patents
Quick release binding Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CA2243565C CA2243565C CA002243565A CA2243565A CA2243565C CA 2243565 C CA2243565 C CA 2243565C CA 002243565 A CA002243565 A CA 002243565A CA 2243565 A CA2243565 A CA 2243565A CA 2243565 C CA2243565 C CA 2243565C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- latch
- closing lever
- binding
- boot
- bar
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Fee Related
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Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63C—SKATES; SKIS; ROLLER SKATES; DESIGN OR LAYOUT OF COURTS, RINKS OR THE LIKE
- A63C10/00—Snowboard bindings
- A63C10/02—Snowboard bindings characterised by details of the shoe holders
- A63C10/04—Shoe holders for passing over the shoe
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63C—SKATES; SKIS; ROLLER SKATES; DESIGN OR LAYOUT OF COURTS, RINKS OR THE LIKE
- A63C10/00—Snowboard bindings
- A63C10/24—Calf or heel supports, e.g. adjustable high back or heel loops
Abstract
Attachment for a binding having straps and fitting a user's boot, the bindin g attached to a snow gliding or wake boarding device. Upon detachment of one end of each strap of the binding, the ends are attach ed to a spanning bar (11). A closing lever (10) is mounted to the spanning bar (12, 14) to provide a preselected mechanical advantage. A front clip (30) having a niche rod (32) is mounted near the tow end of the binding (33), and a rear clip (20) having a latch (26) is mounted near the heel end. The closing lever is engaged with the niche rod (32) and then with the latch (26), moving the spanning bar downward and tightening the straps around the boot. The first insertion of the boot requires adjustment of the strap tension; subsequent insertions do not require further adjustment. The closing lever (10) is releasable from the latch, loosening the straps for boot removal. Th e latch may be fitted with a cable release and a safety lock (28) to prevent disengagement of the closing lever from the latch.
Description
2 .
QUICK RELEASE BINDING
QUICK RELEASE BINDING
s BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the art of removably 8 attaching at least one boot worn by a user to a snow 9 gliding device or wake boarding device and more particularlly providing quick on and off attachment of the 11 boot of the user to t:he binding mounted on the snow gliding 12 device by means of a single latchable lever. The lever .is 13 configured to provide' a mechanical advantage to allow the 14 closure of straps over the boot whereby the straps secure the boot within the binding. With the mechanical advantage 16 the lever may be closed with one hand, even if the hand is 17 gloved.
19 Description of the Prior Art The art of binding a boot to a snow gliding 21 device has a long hiatory and many variations. As the snow 22 gliding device evolv<ad from cross country skis to downhill 23 skis to snowboards, the bindings have evolved to 2a accommodate each device, each change in boot technology and the demands in performance, ease of use and safety. The 26 teaching herein of a pivoting locking bar with a mechanical 27 advantage may also be used for the binding of a wake 2B gliding device.
29 Disengagement and reengagement of at least one boot with the snowboard is required to utilize a lift. The 31 board usually remains attached to one foot while the other 32 foot is disengaged to ease the boarding and dismount from a 33 chair lift.
34 Currently there are over 300 different configurations of a binding into which the user places a WO 97!26052 2 PCTlLTS97/00657 1 boot for secure attachment to a snowboard. There are also 2 ~ numerous configurations_of a binding for a wakeboard. Most 3 of the bindings can be lumped into a group referred to as 4 "standard bindings" consisting of a foot bed attachable directly to the snowboard or wake board and at least a toe 6 strap and an instep strap to secure the user's boot within 7 the foot bed. Each time the user wishes to remove a boot 8 from the binding, all straps must be uncoupled. Upon 9 wishing to remount the board, the user must reengage the 1o straps and adjust the tension to secure the boot within the 11 foot bed of the binding.
12 The current art teaches the use of straps with 13 buckles. Some of the buckles incorporate ratchets whereby 14 the strap, having a tooth textured surface, may be drawn tight through the buckle by pumping the ratchet. Releasing 16 the strap to catch a lift and then reengaging the strap 17 after disembarking the lift may be difficult with heavy 18 gloves and build-up of ice on the boot, strap or buckle.
19 When the snow is deep, it is sometimes difficult to locate 2o the ratchet.
21 Should the strap become disengaged from the 22 buckle, it is most difficult to reengage it under the usual 23 conditions of cold, wet environment of snow boarding.
24 Solutions to eliminate the straps have taught the use of a steel plate mounted to the board and engageable by 26 a step in connector mounted to the sole of the user's boot.
27 This type of boot requires a stiff sole and reduces the 28 maneuverability of the boot. The step in connector of the 29 boot or plate on the board may become packed with ice so 3D that the connector fails to completely engage the connector 31 to the plate Further, because the user must step into and 32 lock this device, if the board is resting on soft snow, the 33 force to lock in this mounting tends to drive the board 34 into the snow without engagement of the connector onto the plate .
SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) 1 A proposed solution to the problem is attempted 2 in U.S. patent 5,143,396 ('396). This solution teaches the 3 use of a huge, heavy, special built cradle for the boot.
4 '396 further teaches the use of two specially fabricated straps which only adjust by removing the strap end engaged s remote from the closing bar and reengaging the special 7 strap at the next set of holes until hopefully, by 8 experimentation, a snug fit over the boot is achieved when 9 the bar is closed. '396 attempts to teach the use of a latch device (page 5, line 40 '(how this occurs is to be 11 described)'. Unfortunately '396 does not describe how the 12 handle 86 and fastening means 36 function. The only 13 teaching is that pressing down on the handle 86 will 14 release the bar. According to this teaching, this release may then occur at some time not desired by the user.
16 Further, according to this teaching the "hinged" portion of 17 the bar is at one end and the handle 86 is at the other end 18 with the straps mounted between the "hinged" end and the 19 handle 86. No mechanical advantage is taught or even suggested by '396 to ease the engagement of the handle 86 21 with the fastening means 36. Only direct pressure to force 22 the straps over the boot, which may be enlarged with ice, 23 snow, and moisture, is utilized by '396.
24 '396 does not teach or suggest that it may be adapted to any other binding than its own specially built 26 binding with the inherent limitation as to the kind of boot 27 which functions with that binding.
28 Thus, there has long been a need for an 29 arrangement which allows the user to easily engage and disengage a boot to a snow board or wake board device.
31 It is desired that the arrangement allow a full 32 range of adjustment of the tension of the straps to 33 accommodate the user's boot.
34 It is further desired that the strap tension adjustment be required only initially and not again SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 2S) WO 97/26052 PCT/US97l00657 1 especially after disengagement and reengagement of the boot 2 to the board.
3 It is further desired that the arrangement be 4 able to be activated and deactivated by a user even wearing thick gloves in a cold environment. It is preferred that 6 the engagement or disengagement be accomplished, without 7 requiring great strength. It is desired that this be one 8 easy stroke like movement yet be securely engaged so as to 9 not inadvertently disengage.
1o It is further desired that the arrangement 11 engagement not be adversely affected by a build up of ice 12 on the boot, binding, straps or board.
13 It is further desired that the engagement not 14 require strong pressure which would drive the board into soft snow.
16 It is desired that a simple latching or 17 unlatching movement engage and disengage the arrangement 18 holding the boot to the binding.
19 It is desired that this movement be accomplished with the placement of a simple bar which can be engaged 21 even if the user is wearing thick gloves.
22 It is further desired that the closing 23 incorporate a mechani~~al advantage to reduce the force 24 required to engage t:he latch within a catch.
It is further desired that the arrangement adapt 26 to the users boot, soft or hard, without requiring any 27 special connector to be mounted to th.e boot.
2a Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide 3o a binding arrangement which addresses these aims.
11'x': 97/26052 ~ PCT/US97/00657 According to the present invention there is provided a ~,ir;ciing arrangement that includes a front clip and a rear clip 22 mountable to the user's binding. A spanning bar is 23 engageble with the straps, spans the straps and is pulled 24 taut by a closing lever which snaps into place with the ease of closing a door latch. The closing lever is 26 attached to the spanning bar at a preselected position to 27 provide a mechanical advantage and may be locked into place 28 within the rear clip. When latched and unlocked, the rear 29 clip is designed for quick release of the closing lever.
Upon release, the closing lever is positioned for quick 31 reengagement within the front and rear clips.
32 In the preferred enbodiment, the application of a 33 spanning bar to span the straps and the mounting of an end 34 of each strap to they spanning bar provides a quick securing of the user's boot under the straps and a quick release of 36 the boot when the spanning bar is disengaged. The clips 1 being mountable to the existing binding of the user allows 2 the present invention to adapt to the boot, board, and 3 binding owned by the user, be the boot soft or hard, 4 without requiring any special clips to be attached to the boot or board.
B BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
7 The above and other embodiments of the present 8 invention may be more fully understood from the following 9 detailed description, taken together with the accompanying drawings, wherein similar reference characters refer to 't1 similar elements throughout, and in which:
12 Figure 1 is a plane side view of a boot engaged 13 in a standard binding by the invention;
14. Figure 2 is a top view of the spanning bar and closing lever in the latched position, not mounted on the 16 binding;
17 Figure 3 is side view of the spanning bar and 18 closing lever in the latched position, not mounted on the 19 binding;
20Figure 4 is a front end view of the front clip 21mounted to the binding;
22Figure 5 is a side view of the front clip mounted 23to the binding;
24Figure 6 is a top view of the front clip mounted 26to the binding;
26Figure 7 is a front end view of the rear clip;
27Figure 8 is a bottom view of the rear clip 28mounted to the binding;
29Figure 9 is a side view of another embodiment of 30the rear clip;
31Figure 10 is a back view of another embodiment of 32the rear clip; and, 33Figure 11 is a top view bottom view of another 34embodiment of the rear clip.
SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 2fi) 1 -Referring now to the drawing, FIG. 1 shows the 2 boot of the user engaged in a standard binding by the 3 latchable, releasable arrangement according to the 4 invention.
The overall function of the invention herein is 6 best understood from Figure 1. The boot of the user is ~ 7 held within a binding device by a set of straps. The 8 straps are initially adjusted for the desired level of 9 snugness after the closing lever 10 is engaged within the front clip 30 and the rear clip 20. This action lowers the 11 spanning bar 11 into position. To extricate the boot from 12 the binding, the user presses on the upper portion of clip 13 20 to release the closing lever 10. This allows the 14 disengagement of the closing lever 10from the front clip 30 as well allowing the spanning bar 11 to move. As the 16 ends of the set of straps are attached to the spanning bar 17 11, the tension on the straps to hold the boot within the 18 binding is released thereby allowing the boot to be 19 extracted from the binding.
Most straps either come with or may be fitted 21 with buckles which have a ratchet adjustment for tightening 22 the strap. After the straps are mounted with one end on 23 the binding and the other end on the spanning bar 11, after 24 initially engaging the closing lever 10 into the clips, the straps may be adjusted by operating the ratchet thereby 26 drawing the strap into and through the buckle to achieve a 27 comfortably snug configuration.
28 As the straps are released sufficiently to allow 29 the boot to be removed, the straps are likewise sufficiently loose to allow the boot to be reinserted.
31 Thus, upon engaging the closing lever 10 within the front 32 clip 30 and then the rear clip 20, the spanning bar 11 re-33 initiates the preset tension of the straps to hold the boot 34 within the binding. No further adjustment should be necessary.
SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) -In the prior art, 'C.he user had to release the 2 buckles on the straps in order to remove the boot from the 3 binding. To remount the boot to the binding, the user had 4 to reengage the straps into the buckles and adjust the tension to the desired level. This required two hands and 6 may require the removal of any gloves in order to 7 accomplish the function.
8 Figure 1 illustrates that the spanning bar 11 is 9 attached to the closing lever 10 at a preselected position between the straps. Further, the closing lever 10 is 11 fabricated with a wing tip 19 within which is selected the 12 point to attach the spanning bar 11 to the closing lever 'i3 10. These positions are selected to give at least a five 14 to one mechanical advantage to the engagement of the boot within the straps. The front clip 30 acts as a fulcrum so 16 that for every five inches of travel of the end of the 17 closing lever 10 remote from the front clip 30, the 18 spanning bar 1l is moved down one inch.
79 With the present invention, at the mechanical advantage provided, the insertion, locking, initial 21 adjustment, release, re-insertion, and re-locking may be 22 accomplished with only one hand and that hand may be 23 protected with a glove.
24 The units are fabricated of a preselected material, chosen to be light weight, strong and able to 26 function in a cold, wet environment. A light weight 27 urethane is used in the preferred embodiment for the 28 closing bar 10 and rear clip 20 latch. Both of these items 29 may be strengthened by containing a reinforcement bar of metal or wound carbon filament. The spanning bar 11 may be 31 fabricated of aluminum due to its light weight and strength 32 characteristics.
33 A fourth element may be added. As the release of 34 the closing lever 10 and spanning bar 11 may result in the contact of these items with the upper surface of the board, 36 this contact point may become worn, pitted, or damaged. A
SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) 1 protective pad may be mounted on the board in a position to 2 protecta preselected, limited surface area of the board 3 from contact with these items.
4 Note that when the closing lever 10 is detached from the rear latch 20, the bit of shock cord 18 connecting 8 the closing lever 10 and spanning bar 11 holds the closing 7 lever 10 in a vertical position for easy location and 8 ,reengagement with the clips 30 and 20 by the user.
9 There are only three main items comprising this invention. The items are designed to be attached to any 11 off the shelf, standard binding, and allow the adjustment 12 of the tension of the unit to be adjusted for containment 13 of the user's shoes into the binding. No special binding 14 or shoes are required. As there are over 300 different bindings and an equal number of soft shoes and hard boots, 16 the object of this invention to be universally adaptable to 17 whatever equipment is currently owned by the user is met.
18 The three units are designed to be usable on 19 either the right or the left side of the binding. The location, right, left, inside, or outside is a user 21 preference.
22 The standard binding owned by the user is assumed 23 to be mountable on the user's board. The individual units 24 taught herein are mounted directly to the user's binding.
Every effort was made to make the mounting holes or slots 26 compatible with as many pre-drilled holes on the bindings 27 as possible. However, there may be some bindings which 28 require drilling to establish new mounting holes or enlarge 29 existing mounting holes to allow attachment of the units.
3o The front clip 30 is shaped to guide one end of 31 the closing lever 10 into position, the rear clip 20 holds 32 the closing lever 10 latched and capable of immediate 33 release. The movement of the closing lever 10 lowers the 34 spanning bar 11 to tighten the straps. As discussed above, the configuration and attachment of the spanning bar 11 and SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) WO 97/26052 ,I ~ PCT/US97/00657 1 closing liver 10 provides a mechanical advantage to the 2 closing function.
3 The individual units and their function are shown in Figures 2 through 8 with another embodiment of the rear clip shown in Figures 9, 10 and.ll wherein:
6 Figures 2 and 3 depict the arrangement of the 7 spanning bar 11 and closing lever generally designated 10.
8 The closing lever 10 is unitarily fabricated of a generally 9 tubular body 8 portion and a wing tip 19 portion. The tubular body 8 is of a diameter to be engageble with the 11 front clip 30. The tubular body 8 may be generally 12 straight but may be fabricated with a slight curved shaped 'i3 to conform to the general rounded shape of the binding.
14 The spanning bar 11 and closing lever 10 are pivotally joined, at preselected position to provide a preselected 16 mechanical advantage, by a bolt 12 and lock nut 14. They 17 are spaced apart with a washer 13 to be freely rotatable 18 around the axis of the bolt 12. One end of the shock cord 19 18 may be retained by the front strap mount 16 attaching the front strap to the spanning bar 11. The wing tip 19 2Z accepts the other end of the shock cord 18 to be retained 22 therein by a knot. When unlatched, the short shock cord 18 23 pulls the closing lever 10 into a vertical position, making 24 the closing lever 10 easy for the user to locate. The remote ends of the spanning bar 11 contain front strap 26 mounts 16 and rear strap mounts 17 to which at least two of 27 the standard binding straps are attached by one end after 28 removal of these ends from the standard binding. The other 29 end of each strap remains mounted to the standard binding.
3o As the closing lever 10 is put in place, it pulls the 31 spanning bar 11 down toward the binding, with a preselected 32 mechanical advantage, thereby tightening the straps 33 attached to the spanning bar 11 over the user's boot.
a 34 The end of the tubular body 8 is formed with a niche 9 which is engageble with the front clip 30 and acts 36 as fulcrum point to exert pressure on the spanning bar 11 SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) 1 and straps for latching the end of the closing lever 10 2 remote from the niche 9 into the rear clip 20 thereby 3 securing the boot into the binding.
q. The closing lever 10 may need to be bent or fabricated in a curve to accommodate the curvature, front 6 to back, of some standard bindings in order to allow the 7 closing lever 10 to engage both the frontclip 30 and rear 8 clip 20.
g The spanning bar 11 may have a plurality of holes 7 drilled to remove material to make the bar 11 lighter.
11 The location and number of holes are preselected to not 12 degrade the structural integrity of the spanning bar 11.
13 Figures 4, 5 and 6 show the detail of the front 14 clip generally designated 30. The front clip 30 is fabricated of a generally box shaped niche locking bar 16 support 35 in which is mounted a niche locking bar 32. The 97 locking bar 32 is located to allow the tubular body 8 to be 18 inserted within the bar support 35 in a position whereby 19 the niche 9 engages the niche locking bar 32. An adjustment slot 31 is fabricated in the side of the front 2~ clip 30 to allow the front clip 30 to be mounted on the 22 binding by means of a bolt and lock nut 33 and the niche 23 locking bar 32. The length and placement of the adjustment 24 slot 31 is selected to be compatible with most predrilled holes in standard bindings. The slot 31 is elongated to 26 allow adjustment in the positioning of the front bracket to 27 accommodate shorter or longer standard bindings.
2g Figures 7 and 8 show the detail of the rear clip 29 generally designated 101. This rear latch arrangement 101 is assembled of a rear latch support 102 on which is 31 pivotally mounted a rear latch 104 by means of the rear 32 latch mounting bolt 109 and a lock nut 108. A rear latch 33 spring 103 is incorporated within the rear latch 104 and 34 mounted on the rear latch mounting bolt 109 to urge the rear latch 104 to a closed position over the closing lever 36 10. The rear latch mounting bracket may be mounted to the SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) WO 97/26052 ' 2 PCT/US97/00657 1 binding with a single rear latch support mounting bolt 106.
2' To prevent twisting, a.lock washer 107 may be mounted on 3 the bolt 106, secured to the binding by lock nut 112. A
4 further aid to prevent twisting is to use a rear latch mounting bracket 105 which wraps around the rear latch s support 102. The mounting bracket 105 is fabricated of 7 plastic to better engage the locking washer 107. The 8 mounting of the rear latch arrangement 101 is with the 9 latch 104 hook toward the binding. The hook 104 is formed 1o with a sloping face 110 which pushes back the hook 104 11 against the spring 103 while the closing lever 10 is pushed 12 down the sloping face 110 to allow the closing lever 10 to 13 be engaged within the rear latch arrangement 101 when the 14 spring 103 urges the rear latch 104 closed over the closing lever 10.
16 Another embodiment of the rear latch generally 17 designated 20 is illustrated in Figures 9, 10 and 11. The Z8 rear latch 20 is fabricated of a generally box shaped latch 19 support 24 within which the latch 23 is spring 25 loaded by 2o assembling the latch 23 and spring 25 within the latch 21 support 24 with a spring mount bolt 27. The spring 22 mounting allows the latch 23 to move rearward toward the 23 rear bracket 21 when the closing lever 10 is pushed down 24 the sloping face 26 until the closing lever 10 is engaged within the latch 23. Simple pressure by the user on the 28 sloping face 26 moves the latch 23 rearward enough to 27 release the closing lever 10 from the latch 23.
28 The spring mount bolt 27 also mounts the latch 29. support 24 to the rear bracket 21 with a lack nut to allow vertical positioning of the latch 23 . The rear bracket 21 31 is formed with an adjustment slot 22 to accommodate 32 mounting of the rear bracket 21 to the user's binding by 33 any available predrilled holes formed in the binding.
r 34 As the usefulness of this invention becomes apparent, some binding manufacturers may form the front and 36 rear of the binding to accept the front clip 30 and rear SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26, _: ~.. -:._._. :._:~:.:_~_~:"->~~.~._ __:._._.... _. _~~_=.. .__ ~_~_, _ ...
.~a ___ : ~ .. I ~ ..: __ _ _ . . . ...
v DOCKET PAAPP~ ~3S3 PAGE
ht b this invention withou~~~~~ ~d~
1 clip 20 as taug y 2 rear bracket 21. ~~S 2 0 MAR 1998 g The latch 23 may accommodate the mounting of a 4 safety lock 28 with mounting screw 29. Once the closing lever 10 is engaged within the latch 23, the safety lock 28 s may be turned vertical to securely hold the closing lever 7 10 within the latch 23 until the safety lock 28 is rotated 8 to a position to allow the disengagement of the closing 9 lever 10 from the latch 23. This safety lock 28 1o arrangement avoids any uncontrolled or accidental release 11 of the user's boot from the binding should the face 26 be 12 inadvertently pushed rearward enough to disengage the 13 closing lever 10 from the latch 23.
In another embodiment not shown, a cable release may be incorporated whereby one end of the cable is attached to the face 26 of the latch, the other end of the t7 cable being accessible for the user to pull thereby moving ~s the face 26 of the latch to a position to release the 1a closing lever 10 from the latch.
2o Since certain changes may be made in the above 21 apparatus without departing from the scope of the invention 22 herein involved, it is intended that all matter contained 23 in the above description, as shown in the accompanying 24 drawings, shall be interpreted in an illustrative, and not a limiting sense.
AMEND~D SH~~fi
This invention relates to the art of removably 8 attaching at least one boot worn by a user to a snow 9 gliding device or wake boarding device and more particularlly providing quick on and off attachment of the 11 boot of the user to t:he binding mounted on the snow gliding 12 device by means of a single latchable lever. The lever .is 13 configured to provide' a mechanical advantage to allow the 14 closure of straps over the boot whereby the straps secure the boot within the binding. With the mechanical advantage 16 the lever may be closed with one hand, even if the hand is 17 gloved.
19 Description of the Prior Art The art of binding a boot to a snow gliding 21 device has a long hiatory and many variations. As the snow 22 gliding device evolv<ad from cross country skis to downhill 23 skis to snowboards, the bindings have evolved to 2a accommodate each device, each change in boot technology and the demands in performance, ease of use and safety. The 26 teaching herein of a pivoting locking bar with a mechanical 27 advantage may also be used for the binding of a wake 2B gliding device.
29 Disengagement and reengagement of at least one boot with the snowboard is required to utilize a lift. The 31 board usually remains attached to one foot while the other 32 foot is disengaged to ease the boarding and dismount from a 33 chair lift.
34 Currently there are over 300 different configurations of a binding into which the user places a WO 97!26052 2 PCTlLTS97/00657 1 boot for secure attachment to a snowboard. There are also 2 ~ numerous configurations_of a binding for a wakeboard. Most 3 of the bindings can be lumped into a group referred to as 4 "standard bindings" consisting of a foot bed attachable directly to the snowboard or wake board and at least a toe 6 strap and an instep strap to secure the user's boot within 7 the foot bed. Each time the user wishes to remove a boot 8 from the binding, all straps must be uncoupled. Upon 9 wishing to remount the board, the user must reengage the 1o straps and adjust the tension to secure the boot within the 11 foot bed of the binding.
12 The current art teaches the use of straps with 13 buckles. Some of the buckles incorporate ratchets whereby 14 the strap, having a tooth textured surface, may be drawn tight through the buckle by pumping the ratchet. Releasing 16 the strap to catch a lift and then reengaging the strap 17 after disembarking the lift may be difficult with heavy 18 gloves and build-up of ice on the boot, strap or buckle.
19 When the snow is deep, it is sometimes difficult to locate 2o the ratchet.
21 Should the strap become disengaged from the 22 buckle, it is most difficult to reengage it under the usual 23 conditions of cold, wet environment of snow boarding.
24 Solutions to eliminate the straps have taught the use of a steel plate mounted to the board and engageable by 26 a step in connector mounted to the sole of the user's boot.
27 This type of boot requires a stiff sole and reduces the 28 maneuverability of the boot. The step in connector of the 29 boot or plate on the board may become packed with ice so 3D that the connector fails to completely engage the connector 31 to the plate Further, because the user must step into and 32 lock this device, if the board is resting on soft snow, the 33 force to lock in this mounting tends to drive the board 34 into the snow without engagement of the connector onto the plate .
SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) 1 A proposed solution to the problem is attempted 2 in U.S. patent 5,143,396 ('396). This solution teaches the 3 use of a huge, heavy, special built cradle for the boot.
4 '396 further teaches the use of two specially fabricated straps which only adjust by removing the strap end engaged s remote from the closing bar and reengaging the special 7 strap at the next set of holes until hopefully, by 8 experimentation, a snug fit over the boot is achieved when 9 the bar is closed. '396 attempts to teach the use of a latch device (page 5, line 40 '(how this occurs is to be 11 described)'. Unfortunately '396 does not describe how the 12 handle 86 and fastening means 36 function. The only 13 teaching is that pressing down on the handle 86 will 14 release the bar. According to this teaching, this release may then occur at some time not desired by the user.
16 Further, according to this teaching the "hinged" portion of 17 the bar is at one end and the handle 86 is at the other end 18 with the straps mounted between the "hinged" end and the 19 handle 86. No mechanical advantage is taught or even suggested by '396 to ease the engagement of the handle 86 21 with the fastening means 36. Only direct pressure to force 22 the straps over the boot, which may be enlarged with ice, 23 snow, and moisture, is utilized by '396.
24 '396 does not teach or suggest that it may be adapted to any other binding than its own specially built 26 binding with the inherent limitation as to the kind of boot 27 which functions with that binding.
28 Thus, there has long been a need for an 29 arrangement which allows the user to easily engage and disengage a boot to a snow board or wake board device.
31 It is desired that the arrangement allow a full 32 range of adjustment of the tension of the straps to 33 accommodate the user's boot.
34 It is further desired that the strap tension adjustment be required only initially and not again SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 2S) WO 97/26052 PCT/US97l00657 1 especially after disengagement and reengagement of the boot 2 to the board.
3 It is further desired that the arrangement be 4 able to be activated and deactivated by a user even wearing thick gloves in a cold environment. It is preferred that 6 the engagement or disengagement be accomplished, without 7 requiring great strength. It is desired that this be one 8 easy stroke like movement yet be securely engaged so as to 9 not inadvertently disengage.
1o It is further desired that the arrangement 11 engagement not be adversely affected by a build up of ice 12 on the boot, binding, straps or board.
13 It is further desired that the engagement not 14 require strong pressure which would drive the board into soft snow.
16 It is desired that a simple latching or 17 unlatching movement engage and disengage the arrangement 18 holding the boot to the binding.
19 It is desired that this movement be accomplished with the placement of a simple bar which can be engaged 21 even if the user is wearing thick gloves.
22 It is further desired that the closing 23 incorporate a mechani~~al advantage to reduce the force 24 required to engage t:he latch within a catch.
It is further desired that the arrangement adapt 26 to the users boot, soft or hard, without requiring any 27 special connector to be mounted to th.e boot.
2a Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide 3o a binding arrangement which addresses these aims.
11'x': 97/26052 ~ PCT/US97/00657 According to the present invention there is provided a ~,ir;ciing arrangement that includes a front clip and a rear clip 22 mountable to the user's binding. A spanning bar is 23 engageble with the straps, spans the straps and is pulled 24 taut by a closing lever which snaps into place with the ease of closing a door latch. The closing lever is 26 attached to the spanning bar at a preselected position to 27 provide a mechanical advantage and may be locked into place 28 within the rear clip. When latched and unlocked, the rear 29 clip is designed for quick release of the closing lever.
Upon release, the closing lever is positioned for quick 31 reengagement within the front and rear clips.
32 In the preferred enbodiment, the application of a 33 spanning bar to span the straps and the mounting of an end 34 of each strap to they spanning bar provides a quick securing of the user's boot under the straps and a quick release of 36 the boot when the spanning bar is disengaged. The clips 1 being mountable to the existing binding of the user allows 2 the present invention to adapt to the boot, board, and 3 binding owned by the user, be the boot soft or hard, 4 without requiring any special clips to be attached to the boot or board.
B BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
7 The above and other embodiments of the present 8 invention may be more fully understood from the following 9 detailed description, taken together with the accompanying drawings, wherein similar reference characters refer to 't1 similar elements throughout, and in which:
12 Figure 1 is a plane side view of a boot engaged 13 in a standard binding by the invention;
14. Figure 2 is a top view of the spanning bar and closing lever in the latched position, not mounted on the 16 binding;
17 Figure 3 is side view of the spanning bar and 18 closing lever in the latched position, not mounted on the 19 binding;
20Figure 4 is a front end view of the front clip 21mounted to the binding;
22Figure 5 is a side view of the front clip mounted 23to the binding;
24Figure 6 is a top view of the front clip mounted 26to the binding;
26Figure 7 is a front end view of the rear clip;
27Figure 8 is a bottom view of the rear clip 28mounted to the binding;
29Figure 9 is a side view of another embodiment of 30the rear clip;
31Figure 10 is a back view of another embodiment of 32the rear clip; and, 33Figure 11 is a top view bottom view of another 34embodiment of the rear clip.
SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 2fi) 1 -Referring now to the drawing, FIG. 1 shows the 2 boot of the user engaged in a standard binding by the 3 latchable, releasable arrangement according to the 4 invention.
The overall function of the invention herein is 6 best understood from Figure 1. The boot of the user is ~ 7 held within a binding device by a set of straps. The 8 straps are initially adjusted for the desired level of 9 snugness after the closing lever 10 is engaged within the front clip 30 and the rear clip 20. This action lowers the 11 spanning bar 11 into position. To extricate the boot from 12 the binding, the user presses on the upper portion of clip 13 20 to release the closing lever 10. This allows the 14 disengagement of the closing lever 10from the front clip 30 as well allowing the spanning bar 11 to move. As the 16 ends of the set of straps are attached to the spanning bar 17 11, the tension on the straps to hold the boot within the 18 binding is released thereby allowing the boot to be 19 extracted from the binding.
Most straps either come with or may be fitted 21 with buckles which have a ratchet adjustment for tightening 22 the strap. After the straps are mounted with one end on 23 the binding and the other end on the spanning bar 11, after 24 initially engaging the closing lever 10 into the clips, the straps may be adjusted by operating the ratchet thereby 26 drawing the strap into and through the buckle to achieve a 27 comfortably snug configuration.
28 As the straps are released sufficiently to allow 29 the boot to be removed, the straps are likewise sufficiently loose to allow the boot to be reinserted.
31 Thus, upon engaging the closing lever 10 within the front 32 clip 30 and then the rear clip 20, the spanning bar 11 re-33 initiates the preset tension of the straps to hold the boot 34 within the binding. No further adjustment should be necessary.
SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) -In the prior art, 'C.he user had to release the 2 buckles on the straps in order to remove the boot from the 3 binding. To remount the boot to the binding, the user had 4 to reengage the straps into the buckles and adjust the tension to the desired level. This required two hands and 6 may require the removal of any gloves in order to 7 accomplish the function.
8 Figure 1 illustrates that the spanning bar 11 is 9 attached to the closing lever 10 at a preselected position between the straps. Further, the closing lever 10 is 11 fabricated with a wing tip 19 within which is selected the 12 point to attach the spanning bar 11 to the closing lever 'i3 10. These positions are selected to give at least a five 14 to one mechanical advantage to the engagement of the boot within the straps. The front clip 30 acts as a fulcrum so 16 that for every five inches of travel of the end of the 17 closing lever 10 remote from the front clip 30, the 18 spanning bar 1l is moved down one inch.
79 With the present invention, at the mechanical advantage provided, the insertion, locking, initial 21 adjustment, release, re-insertion, and re-locking may be 22 accomplished with only one hand and that hand may be 23 protected with a glove.
24 The units are fabricated of a preselected material, chosen to be light weight, strong and able to 26 function in a cold, wet environment. A light weight 27 urethane is used in the preferred embodiment for the 28 closing bar 10 and rear clip 20 latch. Both of these items 29 may be strengthened by containing a reinforcement bar of metal or wound carbon filament. The spanning bar 11 may be 31 fabricated of aluminum due to its light weight and strength 32 characteristics.
33 A fourth element may be added. As the release of 34 the closing lever 10 and spanning bar 11 may result in the contact of these items with the upper surface of the board, 36 this contact point may become worn, pitted, or damaged. A
SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) 1 protective pad may be mounted on the board in a position to 2 protecta preselected, limited surface area of the board 3 from contact with these items.
4 Note that when the closing lever 10 is detached from the rear latch 20, the bit of shock cord 18 connecting 8 the closing lever 10 and spanning bar 11 holds the closing 7 lever 10 in a vertical position for easy location and 8 ,reengagement with the clips 30 and 20 by the user.
9 There are only three main items comprising this invention. The items are designed to be attached to any 11 off the shelf, standard binding, and allow the adjustment 12 of the tension of the unit to be adjusted for containment 13 of the user's shoes into the binding. No special binding 14 or shoes are required. As there are over 300 different bindings and an equal number of soft shoes and hard boots, 16 the object of this invention to be universally adaptable to 17 whatever equipment is currently owned by the user is met.
18 The three units are designed to be usable on 19 either the right or the left side of the binding. The location, right, left, inside, or outside is a user 21 preference.
22 The standard binding owned by the user is assumed 23 to be mountable on the user's board. The individual units 24 taught herein are mounted directly to the user's binding.
Every effort was made to make the mounting holes or slots 26 compatible with as many pre-drilled holes on the bindings 27 as possible. However, there may be some bindings which 28 require drilling to establish new mounting holes or enlarge 29 existing mounting holes to allow attachment of the units.
3o The front clip 30 is shaped to guide one end of 31 the closing lever 10 into position, the rear clip 20 holds 32 the closing lever 10 latched and capable of immediate 33 release. The movement of the closing lever 10 lowers the 34 spanning bar 11 to tighten the straps. As discussed above, the configuration and attachment of the spanning bar 11 and SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) WO 97/26052 ,I ~ PCT/US97/00657 1 closing liver 10 provides a mechanical advantage to the 2 closing function.
3 The individual units and their function are shown in Figures 2 through 8 with another embodiment of the rear clip shown in Figures 9, 10 and.ll wherein:
6 Figures 2 and 3 depict the arrangement of the 7 spanning bar 11 and closing lever generally designated 10.
8 The closing lever 10 is unitarily fabricated of a generally 9 tubular body 8 portion and a wing tip 19 portion. The tubular body 8 is of a diameter to be engageble with the 11 front clip 30. The tubular body 8 may be generally 12 straight but may be fabricated with a slight curved shaped 'i3 to conform to the general rounded shape of the binding.
14 The spanning bar 11 and closing lever 10 are pivotally joined, at preselected position to provide a preselected 16 mechanical advantage, by a bolt 12 and lock nut 14. They 17 are spaced apart with a washer 13 to be freely rotatable 18 around the axis of the bolt 12. One end of the shock cord 19 18 may be retained by the front strap mount 16 attaching the front strap to the spanning bar 11. The wing tip 19 2Z accepts the other end of the shock cord 18 to be retained 22 therein by a knot. When unlatched, the short shock cord 18 23 pulls the closing lever 10 into a vertical position, making 24 the closing lever 10 easy for the user to locate. The remote ends of the spanning bar 11 contain front strap 26 mounts 16 and rear strap mounts 17 to which at least two of 27 the standard binding straps are attached by one end after 28 removal of these ends from the standard binding. The other 29 end of each strap remains mounted to the standard binding.
3o As the closing lever 10 is put in place, it pulls the 31 spanning bar 11 down toward the binding, with a preselected 32 mechanical advantage, thereby tightening the straps 33 attached to the spanning bar 11 over the user's boot.
a 34 The end of the tubular body 8 is formed with a niche 9 which is engageble with the front clip 30 and acts 36 as fulcrum point to exert pressure on the spanning bar 11 SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) 1 and straps for latching the end of the closing lever 10 2 remote from the niche 9 into the rear clip 20 thereby 3 securing the boot into the binding.
q. The closing lever 10 may need to be bent or fabricated in a curve to accommodate the curvature, front 6 to back, of some standard bindings in order to allow the 7 closing lever 10 to engage both the frontclip 30 and rear 8 clip 20.
g The spanning bar 11 may have a plurality of holes 7 drilled to remove material to make the bar 11 lighter.
11 The location and number of holes are preselected to not 12 degrade the structural integrity of the spanning bar 11.
13 Figures 4, 5 and 6 show the detail of the front 14 clip generally designated 30. The front clip 30 is fabricated of a generally box shaped niche locking bar 16 support 35 in which is mounted a niche locking bar 32. The 97 locking bar 32 is located to allow the tubular body 8 to be 18 inserted within the bar support 35 in a position whereby 19 the niche 9 engages the niche locking bar 32. An adjustment slot 31 is fabricated in the side of the front 2~ clip 30 to allow the front clip 30 to be mounted on the 22 binding by means of a bolt and lock nut 33 and the niche 23 locking bar 32. The length and placement of the adjustment 24 slot 31 is selected to be compatible with most predrilled holes in standard bindings. The slot 31 is elongated to 26 allow adjustment in the positioning of the front bracket to 27 accommodate shorter or longer standard bindings.
2g Figures 7 and 8 show the detail of the rear clip 29 generally designated 101. This rear latch arrangement 101 is assembled of a rear latch support 102 on which is 31 pivotally mounted a rear latch 104 by means of the rear 32 latch mounting bolt 109 and a lock nut 108. A rear latch 33 spring 103 is incorporated within the rear latch 104 and 34 mounted on the rear latch mounting bolt 109 to urge the rear latch 104 to a closed position over the closing lever 36 10. The rear latch mounting bracket may be mounted to the SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) WO 97/26052 ' 2 PCT/US97/00657 1 binding with a single rear latch support mounting bolt 106.
2' To prevent twisting, a.lock washer 107 may be mounted on 3 the bolt 106, secured to the binding by lock nut 112. A
4 further aid to prevent twisting is to use a rear latch mounting bracket 105 which wraps around the rear latch s support 102. The mounting bracket 105 is fabricated of 7 plastic to better engage the locking washer 107. The 8 mounting of the rear latch arrangement 101 is with the 9 latch 104 hook toward the binding. The hook 104 is formed 1o with a sloping face 110 which pushes back the hook 104 11 against the spring 103 while the closing lever 10 is pushed 12 down the sloping face 110 to allow the closing lever 10 to 13 be engaged within the rear latch arrangement 101 when the 14 spring 103 urges the rear latch 104 closed over the closing lever 10.
16 Another embodiment of the rear latch generally 17 designated 20 is illustrated in Figures 9, 10 and 11. The Z8 rear latch 20 is fabricated of a generally box shaped latch 19 support 24 within which the latch 23 is spring 25 loaded by 2o assembling the latch 23 and spring 25 within the latch 21 support 24 with a spring mount bolt 27. The spring 22 mounting allows the latch 23 to move rearward toward the 23 rear bracket 21 when the closing lever 10 is pushed down 24 the sloping face 26 until the closing lever 10 is engaged within the latch 23. Simple pressure by the user on the 28 sloping face 26 moves the latch 23 rearward enough to 27 release the closing lever 10 from the latch 23.
28 The spring mount bolt 27 also mounts the latch 29. support 24 to the rear bracket 21 with a lack nut to allow vertical positioning of the latch 23 . The rear bracket 21 31 is formed with an adjustment slot 22 to accommodate 32 mounting of the rear bracket 21 to the user's binding by 33 any available predrilled holes formed in the binding.
r 34 As the usefulness of this invention becomes apparent, some binding manufacturers may form the front and 36 rear of the binding to accept the front clip 30 and rear SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26, _: ~.. -:._._. :._:~:.:_~_~:"->~~.~._ __:._._.... _. _~~_=.. .__ ~_~_, _ ...
.~a ___ : ~ .. I ~ ..: __ _ _ . . . ...
v DOCKET PAAPP~ ~3S3 PAGE
ht b this invention withou~~~~~ ~d~
1 clip 20 as taug y 2 rear bracket 21. ~~S 2 0 MAR 1998 g The latch 23 may accommodate the mounting of a 4 safety lock 28 with mounting screw 29. Once the closing lever 10 is engaged within the latch 23, the safety lock 28 s may be turned vertical to securely hold the closing lever 7 10 within the latch 23 until the safety lock 28 is rotated 8 to a position to allow the disengagement of the closing 9 lever 10 from the latch 23. This safety lock 28 1o arrangement avoids any uncontrolled or accidental release 11 of the user's boot from the binding should the face 26 be 12 inadvertently pushed rearward enough to disengage the 13 closing lever 10 from the latch 23.
In another embodiment not shown, a cable release may be incorporated whereby one end of the cable is attached to the face 26 of the latch, the other end of the t7 cable being accessible for the user to pull thereby moving ~s the face 26 of the latch to a position to release the 1a closing lever 10 from the latch.
2o Since certain changes may be made in the above 21 apparatus without departing from the scope of the invention 22 herein involved, it is intended that all matter contained 23 in the above description, as shown in the accompanying 24 drawings, shall be interpreted in an illustrative, and not a limiting sense.
AMEND~D SH~~fi
Claims (19)
1. A binding arrangement for repeatable quick attachment and instant release, under user selection, of a boot worn by a user, said boot having a heel and a toe portion, said binding arrangement including a binding mounted on a snow gliding or wake boarding device and straps attached at one end to the binding, for securing said boot, the tension of said straps first being initially adjusted to comfortably secure said boot within said binding, said binding arrangement comprising, in combination:
a front clip mountable at a preselected position of said binding near the toe portion of said boot;
a rear clip having a releasable latch mounted near the heel portion of said boot;
a spanning bar fabricated to allow one end of each of said straps remote from the end attached to said binding to be attached thereto;
a closing lever of a preselected size and shape mounted to said spanning bar, one end of said closing lever having a niche engagable with said front clip whereby upon the engagement of said closing lever into said front clip and latching a portion of said closing lever remote from said niche within said rear clip, said spanning bar is positioned to enclose said boot within said binding with said straps.
a front clip mountable at a preselected position of said binding near the toe portion of said boot;
a rear clip having a releasable latch mounted near the heel portion of said boot;
a spanning bar fabricated to allow one end of each of said straps remote from the end attached to said binding to be attached thereto;
a closing lever of a preselected size and shape mounted to said spanning bar, one end of said closing lever having a niche engagable with said front clip whereby upon the engagement of said closing lever into said front clip and latching a portion of said closing lever remote from said niche within said rear clip, said spanning bar is positioned to enclose said boot within said binding with said straps.
2. The arrangement defined in claim 1 wherein the mounting of said closing lever to said spanning bar is at a preselected position to give a preselected mechanical advantage to the positioning of said spanning bar upon the engagement of said closing lever with said clips.
3. The arrangement defined in claim 1 wherein;
a preselected portion of said closing lever is reinforced.
a preselected portion of said closing lever is reinforced.
4. The arrangement defined in claim 1 wherein;
a preselected portion of said latch is reinforced.
a preselected portion of said latch is reinforced.
5. The arrangement defined in claim 1 wherein;
the weight of said spanning bar is decreased by removing preselected portions of said spanning bar without decreasing the structural integrity of said spanning bar which may allow said spanning bar to be permanently misshapen during normal use.
the weight of said spanning bar is decreased by removing preselected portions of said spanning bar without decreasing the structural integrity of said spanning bar which may allow said spanning bar to be permanently misshapen during normal use.
6. The arrangement defined in claim 1 wherein;
said closing lever is rotatably attached to said spanning bar, a preselected length of shock cord having a first end and a second end is attached to said closing lever by said first end and attached to said spanning bar by said second end whereby, upon release of said closing lever from said latch, said shock cord holds said closing lever essentially vertical to said spanning bar thereby rendering said closing lever easily locatable by the user to reengage said closing lever within said front and rear clips.
said closing lever is rotatably attached to said spanning bar, a preselected length of shock cord having a first end and a second end is attached to said closing lever by said first end and attached to said spanning bar by said second end whereby, upon release of said closing lever from said latch, said shock cord holds said closing lever essentially vertical to said spanning bar thereby rendering said closing lever easily locatable by the user to reengage said closing lever within said front and rear clips.
7. The arrangement defined in claim 1 wherein said front clip further comprises:
a niche bar support;
a niche bar mounted at a position within said support to accept said niche of said closing lever; and, a front adaptive bracket whereby said niche bar support may be mounted to a preselected position on said binding.
a niche bar support;
a niche bar mounted at a position within said support to accept said niche of said closing lever; and, a front adaptive bracket whereby said niche bar support may be mounted to a preselected position on said binding.
8. The arrangement defined in claim 7 wherein said front adaptive bracket further comprises:
first walls forming a preselected shaped slot whereby said front adaptive bracket may be mounted on said binding at a position of existing mounting holes preformed in said binding.
first walls forming a preselected shaped slot whereby said front adaptive bracket may be mounted on said binding at a position of existing mounting holes preformed in said binding.
9. The arrangement defined in claim 1 wherein said rear clip further comprises:
a latch having a face of a preselected shape;
a latch support;
a spring having a first end and a second end, said latch being mounted to said first end of said spring and both latch and spring mounted within said latch support by attaching said second end of said spring to said latch support thereby allowing movement of said latch within said latch support and loading of said spring upon engagement of said closing lever with said face, said movement being in a direction to allow said closing lever to become engaged within said latch and retained therein by said spring loading; and, a rear adaptive bracket, which provides said mounting of said rear clip near the heel portion of said boot, mounted to said latch support whereby said latch mounted within said latch support may be positioned to be engagable by said closing lever and upon the condition of the user pressing on said face, said spring loaded latch moves to a position to release said closing lever from said latch.
a latch having a face of a preselected shape;
a latch support;
a spring having a first end and a second end, said latch being mounted to said first end of said spring and both latch and spring mounted within said latch support by attaching said second end of said spring to said latch support thereby allowing movement of said latch within said latch support and loading of said spring upon engagement of said closing lever with said face, said movement being in a direction to allow said closing lever to become engaged within said latch and retained therein by said spring loading; and, a rear adaptive bracket, which provides said mounting of said rear clip near the heel portion of said boot, mounted to said latch support whereby said latch mounted within said latch support may be positioned to be engagable by said closing lever and upon the condition of the user pressing on said face, said spring loaded latch moves to a position to release said closing lever from said latch.
10. The arrangement defined in claim 9 wherein said rear adaptive bracket further comprises:
first walls forming a slot whereby said rear adaptive bracket may be mounted on said binding at a position of existing mounting holes preformed in said binding.
first walls forming a slot whereby said rear adaptive bracket may be mounted on said binding at a position of existing mounting holes preformed in said binding.
11. The arrangement defined in claim 9 wherein said rear clip further comprises:
a safety lock rotatably mounted on said latch whereby, under the condition of said closing lever engaged within said latch, the user may rotate said safety lock to a position to secure said closing lever within said latch even upon movement of said face until said safety lock is rotated to a position which allows said closing lever to disengage from said latch upon the movement of said face by the user.
a safety lock rotatably mounted on said latch whereby, under the condition of said closing lever engaged within said latch, the user may rotate said safety lock to a position to secure said closing lever within said latch even upon movement of said face until said safety lock is rotated to a position which allows said closing lever to disengage from said latch upon the movement of said face by the user.
12. The arrangement defined in claim 1 wherein said binding is formed with mounting brackets upon which said front clip and said rear clip may be directly mounted without requiring special adaptive brackets.
13. The arrangement defined in claim 1 further comprising;
a protective pad of a preselected shape mounted on said snow gliding device at a position to protect the surface of said snow gliding device from contact with at least said spanning bar and said closing lever.
a protective pad of a preselected shape mounted on said snow gliding device at a position to protect the surface of said snow gliding device from contact with at least said spanning bar and said closing lever.
14. The arrangement defined in claim 9 further comprising:
a cable attached to said face and accessible to said user whereby exerting force on said cable remote from said face causes said latch to move within said latch support to a position whereby said closing lever is released from said latch.
a cable attached to said face and accessible to said user whereby exerting force on said cable remote from said face causes said latch to move within said latch support to a position whereby said closing lever is released from said latch.
15. The arrangement defined in claim 1 wherein said rear clip further comprises:
a latch having a face of a preselected shape;
a latch support;
a spring mounted within said latch support whereby said latch may be moved upon engagement of said closing lever and is urged to close over said closing lever allowing said closing lever to become engaged within said latch; and, a rear latch mounting bracket mountable to said latch support whereby said latch may be mounted to said binding in a position to be engagable by said closing lever after which, upon the condition of the user pressing on said face, said spring loaded latch moves to a position to release said closing lever from said latch.
a latch having a face of a preselected shape;
a latch support;
a spring mounted within said latch support whereby said latch may be moved upon engagement of said closing lever and is urged to close over said closing lever allowing said closing lever to become engaged within said latch; and, a rear latch mounting bracket mountable to said latch support whereby said latch may be mounted to said binding in a position to be engagable by said closing lever after which, upon the condition of the user pressing on said face, said spring loaded latch moves to a position to release said closing lever from said latch.
16. The arrangement defined in claim 15 wherein said rear latch support engages said rear bracket whereby said rear bracket may be non-rotatably mounted on said binding at a position of existing mounting holes preformed in said binding.
17. The arrangement defined in claim 15 wherein said binding is formed with mounting brackets upon which said front clip and said rear clip may be directly mounted without requiring special adaptive brackets.
18. The arrangement defined in claim 15 further comprising:
a cable attached to said face and accessible to said user whereby exerting force on said cable remote from said face causes said latch to move within said latch support to a position whereby said closing lever is released from said latch.
a cable attached to said face and accessible to said user whereby exerting force on said cable remote from said face causes said latch to move within said latch support to a position whereby said closing lever is released from said latch.
19. The arrangement defined in claim 1 wherein said front clip further comprises:
a niche bar support;
a niche bar mounted at a position within said support to accept said niche of said closing lever; and, a plurality of mounts whereby said niche bar support may be mounted to a preselected position on said binding
a niche bar support;
a niche bar mounted at a position within said support to accept said niche of said closing lever; and, a plurality of mounts whereby said niche bar support may be mounted to a preselected position on said binding
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US1019196P | 1996-01-18 | 1996-01-18 | |
| US60/010,191 | 1996-01-18 | ||
| PCT/US1997/000657 WO1997026052A1 (en) | 1996-01-18 | 1997-01-16 | Quick release binding |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2243565A1 CA2243565A1 (en) | 1997-07-24 |
| CA2243565C true CA2243565C (en) | 2002-08-20 |
Family
ID=21744412
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002243565A Expired - Fee Related CA2243565C (en) | 1996-01-18 | 1997-01-16 | Quick release binding |
Country Status (4)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| JP (1) | JP2000503232A (en) |
| AU (1) | AU1748497A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2243565C (en) |
| WO (1) | WO1997026052A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US7516976B2 (en) | 2005-08-29 | 2009-04-14 | The Burton Corporation | Strap for snowboard boots or bindings |
| US7306241B2 (en) | 2005-08-29 | 2007-12-11 | The Burton Corporation | Strap for snowboard boots or bindings |
| US7669880B2 (en) | 2005-08-29 | 2010-03-02 | The Burton Corporation | Strap for snowboard boots or bindings |
Family Cites Families (10)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3801119A (en) * | 1972-06-15 | 1974-04-02 | J Andre | Safety ski binding |
| CH614631A5 (en) * | 1976-02-25 | 1979-12-14 | Jean Roger Bataille | |
| US4367885A (en) * | 1980-04-11 | 1983-01-11 | Alpine Research, Inc. | Ski binding |
| FR2575929B1 (en) * | 1985-01-16 | 1987-04-30 | Plichon Claude | DEVICE FOR ATTACHING A SHOE TO A SKI |
| US4674766A (en) * | 1985-02-21 | 1987-06-23 | Alpine Research, Inc. | Alpine-touring ski binding |
| US5066036A (en) * | 1990-03-19 | 1991-11-19 | Broughton Timothy C | Ski binding |
| DE9217214U1 (en) * | 1992-12-16 | 1993-02-11 | Kisselmann, Claus, 8034 Germering, De | |
| US5362087A (en) * | 1993-08-12 | 1994-11-08 | Troy Agid | Snowboard binding release apparatus |
| US5520406A (en) * | 1994-08-18 | 1996-05-28 | Switch Manufacturing | Snowboard binding |
| US5609347A (en) * | 1995-05-17 | 1997-03-11 | Dressel; Donald | Snowboard bindings with release apparatus |
-
1997
- 1997-01-16 AU AU17484/97A patent/AU1748497A/en not_active Abandoned
- 1997-01-16 WO PCT/US1997/000657 patent/WO1997026052A1/en active Application Filing
- 1997-01-16 JP JP9526163A patent/JP2000503232A/en active Pending
- 1997-01-16 CA CA002243565A patent/CA2243565C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| WO1997026052A1 (en) | 1997-07-24 |
| CA2243565A1 (en) | 1997-07-24 |
| JP2000503232A (en) | 2000-03-21 |
| AU1748497A (en) | 1997-08-11 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| MKLA | Lapsed |