EP0080060B1 - Heel binding - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a heel hold-down device for a sole holder which can be swiveled about a transverse axis and a vertical axis and which is held in its normal position holding the shoe by and only yielding after overcoming predetermined height or lateral release forces, each consisting of a detent element and a counter detent the effective release force resulting from the simultaneous occurrence of height and side release forces decreases with increasing change in the direction of loading from the vertical to a predetermined limit, the two latching elements being provided separately on a pivotable lever, and which are effective against the height release force Locking element with a counter-locking provided on the rear area of the sole holder forms the first locking, and the locking element effective against the side release forces with a further counter-locking provided on a component fixable with the ski forms the second locking detent forms and wherein the lever is mounted on a holding axis running parallel to the transverse axis of the sole holder, which in turn is arranged in a support body which is pivotable about a pivot pin forming the vertical axis and anchored in a base plate of the binding, possibly against the force of a return field and which lever has a support surface for a release spring on its side facing away from the latching element provided for the height release.

AT-A-294 645 describes a safety binding of the type mentioned at the outset, which can be used both as a toe piece and as a heel hold-down device. It is disadvantageous here that a transverse movement of the binding not only triggers the transverse latching device, but also the lifting latching device at the same time. This is disadvantageous in the case of using this known ski binding as a heel hold-down device, because a heel hold-down device should be insensitive to purely lateral forces in order to ensure reliable ski guidance.

A similar heel hold-down device has become known from DE-A-18 06 780. In this case, both latching devices for the height and side release forces are formed by a common latching member and by a latch carrier which interacts with it and is effective both for the height and for the sideways release. The ratchet carrier has decisive control surfaces for the height and sideways release. A disadvantage of this known embodiment is that both the latching element and the latch carrier are responsible for two triggering devices. From this it follows that compromises have to be accepted - especially due to structural conditions. Practical experience shows that such compromises have not been satisfactory for the actual solution and that a control cam has been created for a product for side release that is actually marketed, which is provided between the base plate and the housing of the ski binding. This embodiment in turn has the disadvantage that snow, ice or the like can accumulate between the base plate and the housing, as a result of which the triggering processes can become uncontrollable.

From AT-A-338 151 (Fig. 6) it is also known to arrange a pivotally mounted lever between the two latching elements, this lever being acted upon on its rear side by a spring-loaded slide and with its area facing the sole hold-down device the latter in Holds position. The sole holding-down device is swiveled up about an axis running transversely to the longitudinal direction of the ski, which is arranged above the slide, approximately at the level of the support surface of the sole holding-down device. The vertical axis, about which the sole hold-down device can be pivoted under lateral loads, is formed by two semi-axles or stub axles, which in turn are mounted on the lever or on the pivotable sole hold-down device mounted on the transverse axis. The result of this is that, when lateral forces occur, the transverse axis is ultimately also subjected to shear forces which have to be absorbed by the two bearings of this axis, as a result of which this axis can be easily worn out in these areas. This would then lead to an undesirable wobble of the entire sole hold-down.

In AT-A-305 843 it has been proposed to create the second latching between the sole holder and an approximately cam-shaped latching element arranged on the ski. Although this embodiment has proven itself in practice, it is perceived as a disadvantage that getting into the released binding requires some skill in difficult terrain conditions.

From AT-A-327 759 it is already known to mount the release spring in the release lever by means of a spring cage and thus to create a unit which can be pivoted about a common pivot axis. However, this solution only enables the heel holder to be swiveled up, but not released in the direction of forces which act diagonally in the room and cause rotary falls.

DE-A-28 38 904 finally describes a solution which has essentially arisen from the addition of the two last-mentioned solutions and which also has their disadvantages. The known designs also have the disadvantage that with increasing lateral triggering, the holder in the horizontal plane becomes increasingly sensitive to wobbling, which means that the ski guidance, if there is still no triggering, can become inexact.

The object of the invention is to remedy this situation and to design a heel hold-down device of the type mentioned at the outset such that the lever is to be securely supported in each of its positions on the counter-latch provided on the ski-fixed component.

According to the invention, the object is achieved in that the component which can be fixed on the ski has a retaining bolt which extends in the longitudinal direction of the ski, optionally with a roller, which Holding bolt is attached to at least one abutment formed from a bent-up part of the base plate, at bearing points or to a separate binding-resistant abutment and either the holding bolt itself or the roller forms the counter-latching of the second latching, that a control curve forming the latching element of the second latching is provided on the lever is which control curve, as is known per se, extends essentially transversely to the longitudinal axis of the ski and, in order to prevent release in the case of purely lateral forces, a locking pan for receiving the associated counter-locking of the second locking and then connecting this locking pan to the two side edges of the ski has running curve sections for a diagonal release.

The measure according to the invention ensures that the lever is supported in any of its positions on the component which can be fixed on the ski essentially without play, so that on the one hand the forces acting on the lever can be non-positively borne by the component which can be fixed on the ski and on the other hand the triggering process by Choice of the corresponding surfaces of the component fixable on the ski and the lever can be determined. This gives the designer a greater choice in determining the triggering process than was the case with known designs. Furthermore, the sole hold-down is centered in the entire elastic range and held in the middle position for getting in.

A particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention consists in that the longitudinal axis of the retaining bolt is inclined towards the top of the ski at an acute angle (β), this angle (β) being open towards the tip of the ski, and that the roller provided on the retaining bolt is either as is known per se, cylindrical or frustoconical, the outer surface of the roller as a control surface for the control cam in any position of the lever forms at least a linear, preferably a flat, support. This measure enables the designer to determine the control of the triggering of the dangerous lintels in accordance with the respective requirements.

A further development of this inventive idea is that the control curve of the lever has an inclination, the angle of which is equal to the angle of the cone from which the frustoconical roller is formed, and that this roller in the direction towards the lever by a spring, e.g. is acted upon by a helical spring surrounding the retaining bolt. This measure ensures a surface-like support between the cam and roller in every position of the lever, which reduces the surface pressure and thus the resulting friction.

Another idea of the invention is characterized in that the lever is formed in two parts, the one lever part, which is articulated on the holding axis, resting on the sole holder, the latching element (nose) and the other lever part, which is pivotable relative to the first lever part, the latching element ( Control curve) of the second catch. Due to the split design of the lever, its pivoting capacity is increased, which means that the designer has greater scope for determining the control of the triggering process. Furthermore, the angle of the lever can be chosen more optimally than with a one-piece lever.

According to an advantageous embodiment of this inventive concept, the first lever part has a recess in which the second lever part is pivotally mounted about the pivot axis of the first lever part, the second lever part being resiliently supported relative to the first lever part by means of a spring, preferably an adjustable helical compression spring. This measure allows undesirable high frictional forces, which should arise between the roller and the cam, to be absorbed by the additional spring. Even bumps on the ground, which transmit brief impacts from the ski to the ski binding, can be absorbed in this way without initiating an undesired triggering process. The adjustability of the strength of a spring by means of an adjusting screw is well known per se. It is used to adjust the spring strength to the respective requirements, which are required, for example, by the skill of the skier or by the ground conditions.

According to the invention, a modification of the split design of the lever consists in the fact that the second lever part with its control curve is seated comprehensively on the retaining bolt or on the roller from above, and that this control curve, viewed in elevation, runs obliquely towards the retaining bolt is configured so that the second lever part can be pivoted together with the first lever part in the vertical plane, the control cam rolling along the retaining bolt. In this case, too, the pivoting capacity of the common lever is increased, with the construction of the first lever part being considerably simplified compared to the previous designs. The two-part design of the lever is well balanced by the larger choice in terms of determining the triggering process.

• die Fig. 1 bis 4 ein erstes Ausführungsbeispiel der erfindungsgemässen Sicherheitsbindung, wobei die Fig. 1 ein Längsschnitt entlang der Linie I-I der Fig. 2, die Fig. 2 eine Draufsicht zu Fig. 1, ohne Auslösehebei und Auslösefeder, beide in der Abfahrtsstellung, die Fig. 3 ein Längsschnitt entlang der Linie 111-111 der Fig. 4, und die Fig. 4 eine Draufsicht zu Fig. 3 während eines Auslösevorganges sind, wobei hier als Gegenraste eine zylinderförmige Rolle an einem in einer Parallelebene zur Skioberseite liegenden Bolzen dient, die Fig. 5 bis 8 je ein weiteres Ausführungsbeispiel gemäss der Erfindung, ähnlich der Fig. 1, jedoch beschränkt auf die Darstellung der zweiten Verrastung des Hebels, wobei gemäss Fig. 5 der Bolzen mit einer zylinderförmigen Rolle schräg zur Skioberseite verläuft, gemäss Fig. 6 an schräg zur Skioberseite verlaufenden Bolzen als Gegenraste eine kegelstumpfförmige Rolle vorgesehen ist, gemäss den Fig. 7 und 8 der Hebel zweiteilig ausgebildet ist und in Fig. 7 der zweite Hebelteil mit seiner Steuerkurve auf dem Boden aufsitzt, in Fig. 8 hingegen die Verrastung ähnlich der Ausgestaltung der Fig. 1 ist. Die Fig. 1 a ist ein Schnitt entlang der Linie la-la der Fig. 1, unter Weglassen des Sohlenniederhalters und des Auslösehebels samt Auslösefeder und die Fig. 5a ein ähnlicher Schnitt entlang der Linie Va-Va der Fig. 5. In den Fig. 1 und 2 ist ein in seiner Gesamtheit mit 1 bezeichneter Fersenhalter erkennbar.

Further features, advantages and details of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawing, which shows several embodiments. Here show:

• 1 to 4 a first embodiment of the safety binding according to the invention, FIG. 1 being a longitudinal section along the line II of FIG. 2, FIG. 2 being a top view of FIG. 1, without release lever and release spring, both in the departure position, 3 is a longitudinal section along the line 111-111 of FIG. 4, and FIG. 4 is a plan view of FIG. 3 during a triggering process, a cylindrical roller on a bolt lying in a plane parallel to the upper side of the ski serving as counter-detent here 5 to 8 each show a further exemplary embodiment according to the invention, similar to FIG. 1, but limited to the representation of the second latching of the lever, wherein according to FIG. 5 the bolt 6 with a cylindrical roller obliquely to the top of the ski, a truncated cone-shaped roller is provided as a counter-catch on bolts running obliquely to the top of the ski, according to FIGS. 7 and 8 the lever is formed in two parts and in FIG. 7 the second lever part with its control curve sits on the floor, in Fig. 8, however, the latching is similar to the embodiment of Fig. 1. 1 a is a section along the line la-la of FIG. 1, with the sole holding-down device and the release lever including the release spring omitted, and FIG. 5 a shows a similar section along the line Va-Va of FIG. 5. In FIGS 1 and 2 a heel holder designated in its entirety with 1 can be seen.

The heel holder 1 is held against lifting off from the top of the ski 2 in a known manner by means of a base plate 4 along a guide rail 3, which in turn is fastened on the top of a ski 2 in a known manner, for example by screws, not shown. In order to adapt to ski boots of different lengths, the heel holder 1 can be displaced relative to the guide rail 3 in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the ski 2 by means of the base plate 4 and secured in a manner known per se in the desired positions, i.e. be releasably fixed. The manner of the length adjustment and the releasable fixation form no object of the present invention.

In the base plate 4, a vertical axis designed as a pivot pin 5 is riveted, about which a support body 6 of the heel holder 1 is pivotably mounted in the horizontal plane, preferably against the force of a return spring 5a. The use of the Räckholfeder 5a ensures that the heel retainer 1 in its central position after an at least partial pivoting release in the horizontal plane, i.e. in the downhill position, is automatically reset.

The support body 6 has on its upper region a swivel axis 7, which extends transversely to the longitudinal axis of the ski and parallel to the upper side of the ski 2, for example and as is known per se formed by two axle journals 7a, 7b (see FIGS. 2 and 2), around which a sole holder 8 is pivotally mounted, as well as a further holding axis 9, which runs parallel to the pivot axis 7 and is arranged approximately in the central region of the supporting body 6, about which a lever 10 is pivotably mounted. A release lever 23 is also mounted on the axle journals 7a, 7b (see only FIG. 1), in which a release spring 13 acting on the lever 10 is accommodated. The arrangement of such a spring in a release lever is known per se and is therefore not an object of the present invention. The setting of the effective force of the trigger spring 13 takes place in a known manner by means of an adjusting screw 15. The trigger spring 13 is with one of its end regions on the inner wall of the adjusting screw 15 acting as a spring abutment 14 and with its other end region with the interposition of a slide 11 which is in one Spring cage 21 is guided, supported on the lever 10.

The lever 10 is, as is known per se, designed as a latching support for two latching elements, which cooperate with a counter latching to form two latches, one of which is effective against the height release forces and the other against the side release forces. A nose 10a of the lever 10 serves as a latching element against the pivoting upward, which is supported in an engaging manner from behind on a counter latching 8a of the sole holder 8 (see in particular FIG. 3). The locking element effective against pivoting in the horizontal plane is formed by a control cam 12 of the lever 10, which is to be described in more detail and which is supported on a control surface 17 of a component 16 which can be fixed on the ski and is also to be described and acts as counter-locking.

The component 16 which can be fixed on the ski is formed in the present case by a retaining bolt 18 riveted in an abutment 4a and by a roller 19 which is rotatably arranged on the latter and secured in the longitudinal direction of the retaining bolt 18, optionally with the interposition of a washer 20. The control surface 17 is formed on the outer surface of the roller 19, which is cylindrical in this embodiment.

The abutment 4a is punched out of the material of the base plate 4, then bent up. The abutment 4a passes through a recess 6a of the support body 6. Since the support body 6 is held in its assembled position by a bent-back guide edge 4b of the base plate 4, the recess 6a of the support body 6 is of a sufficient size to be able to mount the support body 6 . During assembly, therefore, the recess 6a of the support body 6 is first placed on the abutment 4a, then the front edge 6b of the support body 6 is guided under the leading edge 4a of the base plate 4, the support body 6 is pressed forward and then the position of the support body 6 on the base plate 4 fixed by means of the pivot pin 5.

The control cam 12 provided on the lever 10 has a shape known per se. This shape is best seen in Fig. 1 a. It can be seen that in the downward position of the heel holder 1, the roller 19 lies in a locking pan 12a of the control cam 12, which ensures a wobble-free holding in the downward position of the heel holder 1. Following the locking pan 12a, curve sections 12b ₁ , 12b ₂ can be seen on both sides, which point in the direction of the two side edges of the ski 2 and, in accordance with their shape, bring about the prescribed diagonal control in the event of a sudden fall. This procedure will be discussed in more detail later.

As a comparison of FIGS. 1 and 2 with FIGS. 3 and 4 shows, on the occasion of a pivoting of the supporting body 6 around the pivot 5 and simultaneous pivoting up of the sole holder 8, the above-described configuration of the component 16 and the control cam 12 ensures that the lever 10 is supported in each of its positions on the component 16 and also the sole holder 8 is held by the spring-loaded lever 10 until it is released, so that the sole holder 8 or the heel holder 1 does not wobble either in the downward position or during a start Triggering process occurs until the limit of elasticity is reached.

In order to always keep the heel holder 1 ready for entry after an arbitrary or involuntary triggering process, an opening spring 22 is provided, which is designed, for example, as a leg spring arranged on the pivot axis 7.

The operation of the heel holder 1 is as follows. 1 and 2, a ski shoe, not shown, is pressed by the heel holder 1 in a known manner against a toe, the heel of this ski shoe being held between the spur 8b and the hold-down 8c of the sole holder in the usual way. If forces are now acting on the ski boot in the vertical plane, the heel of the shoe presses against the hold-down device 8c, as indicated by the arrow Pf, whereupon the sole holder 8 presses the lever 10 against the force of the release spring 13 to pivot about the holding axis 9 . At the same time, the control cam 12 of the lever 10 slides along the control surface 17 of the component 16 towards the top of the ski 2 until the nose 10a of the lever 10 is in engagement with the counter detent 8a of the sole holder 8. This position is not illustrated in the drawing; the support of the nose 10a of the lever 10 on the counter detent 8a of the sole holder 8 can, however, be inferred from the principle according to FIG. 3. If the force Pf loading the ski shoe stops acting until there is engagement between the lever 10 and the sole holder 8 in the manner described above, the release spring 13 presses the lever 10 and thus the sole holder 8 against the heel in the direction of the top of the shoe Skis 2 down and the skier remains in the binding. However, if the force Pf continues to be effective, the locking between the nose 10a of the lever 10 and the counter-locking 8a of the sole holder 8 is released, the sole holder 8 then swings freely or is supported by the opening spring 22, which releases the ski boot becomes.

If forces act on the heel holder 1 simultaneously in the vertical and in the horizontal plane, which are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 as Pf _i and Pf ₂ , the resulting forces not only cause the lever 10 to pivot about its holding axis 9 As previously described, the support body 6 is also pivoted about the pivot pin 5. In the illustration according to FIGS. 3 and 4, this pivoting, viewed in the direction of departure, took place to the left. 3 and 4 show, as previously mentioned, a position in which the sole holder 8 is still pivoted back into its position according to FIGS. 1 and 2 when the forces loading the ski shoe are stopped. Analogously, the support body 6 is also pivoted back into the position which corresponds to the departure position.

To arbitrarily get out or open the sole holder 8, the release lever 23 is actuated. For this purpose, the release lever 23 can either be depressed or pulled up according to the double arrow Pf _f . Devices of this type, which make it possible to trigger both lift and pressure, are known per se and do not form the subject of the present invention. It is also known to design the release lever for receiving the end of a ski pole or a lanyard.

In the following exemplary embodiments according to FIGS. 5 to 8, those components which are identical to those already described have been given the same reference numerals; Components that are identical in their function, but different in their design, have been identified with one or more dashes (', "," etc.). Since the mode of operation of this configuration is essentially the same as that already described, only the components connected to the lever and its second latching have been drawn and described. The individual figures represent this part of the ski binding only in a section similar to FIG. 1.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 5, the structure of the heel holder 1 'with regard to the arrangement of its base plate 4', on the guide rail 3 fastened on the upper side of the ski 2, corresponds to the solution already described. Here, too, the pivot pin 5 is provided in the base plate 4 ', on which only an indicated support body 6 is pivotally mounted. The support body 6 is also acted upon by the return spring 5a. The lever 10 'is pivotable about the holding axis 9; the control curve 12 'on the lever 10' runs in the direction towards the top of the ski at an angle (β) which is still to be described. The component 16 'which can be fastened to the ski is fastened in the present case to an abutment 4'a which passes through the recess 6a of the support body 6 at an incline upwards. That end of the abutment 4'a, which carries the component 16 ', therefore deviates from the plane normal to the base plate 4' and to the longitudinal axis of the ski 2 by an angle (a). Thus, the longitudinal axis of the retaining bolt 18 forms an angle (β) with the top of the base plate 4 '. Due to the geometric design, theoretically a is equal to β; in practice, however, deviations can arise. The roller 19 'is also cylindrical in shape here, its control surface 17', which is shown in section by two boundary lines, also enclosing the angle β with the top of the base plate 4 '. As a result of this configuration, the base plane of the control cam 12 'of the lever 10' also extends at an angle to the top of the base plate 4 '. It should be noted that, in different positions of the lever 10 ', different areas of the control cam 12' must rest on the control surface 17 'of the roller 19'. For this reason, the two curve sections 12'b ₁ , 12'b ₂ and, analogously, also the latching pan 12'a run along an inclined plane, which is indicated in FIG. 5a, which corresponds analogously to FIG. 1. This configuration of the second latching ensures that in any position of the lever 10 'between the control cam 12' and the control surface 17 'of the component 16', a support is provided which takes place along a surface section. This is favorable in order to avoid a high surface pressure, which generates undesirable frictional forces, such as those that occur with a line support. The somewhat more complicated design of this type of locking and the associated higher manufacturing costs are offset by the better friction.

The operation of this heel holder 1 'should also be familiar to the person skilled in the art on the basis of the first exemplary embodiment without further explanations. For this reason, an illustration for a triggering process according to FIGS. 3 and 4 is dispensed with.

Reference is made to the disclosure according to FIGS. 1 to 4 and the associated description. The embodiment according to FIG. 6 is similar to that according to FIG. 5, with the difference that a truncated ball-shaped roller 19 "is arranged on the holding bolt 18" of the component 16 "and is acted upon by a compression spring 24 in the direction of the lever 10" is. This configuration of the component 16 "ensures that the lever 10" is supported on the roller 19 "in any position of the lever 10" along a surface, similar to the embodiment according to FIG. 5, but with the control surface 12 "of the lever 10" can be manufactured on the basis of this control surface 12 "parallel top design. This allows for a simpler manufacture than in the previously described embodiment.

The mode of operation and all other instructions which have been made in connection with the embodiment according to FIG. 5 also apply to this exemplary embodiment.

7 and 8, the levers 10 '"and 10 ^{lv are} each designed in two parts. It is common to these two exemplary embodiments that the two lever parts 10"' c and 10 "'d are also designed to be pivotable relative to one another The first two lever parts 10 "'c, 10 ^lv c are pivotally mounted on the holding axis 9 as before. However, the further configuration of the two divided levers 10 ″, 10 ^lv is different, so that the two exemplary embodiments are described separately below.

7, the first lever part 10 "'c is acted upon by the release spring 13 with the interposition of the second lever part 10"' d. For this purpose, the first lever part 10 "'c has a recess 10"' e on its area facing the release spring 13 and the second lever part 10 "'d has a nose 10"' f. Recess 10 "'e and nose 10"' f are in engagement with each other in every position of the heel holder 1 "'.

In this exemplary embodiment, the component 16 '"is formed by bent bearing points 4"' a of the base plate 4 "'as a holder for the retaining bolt 18'". In this case, the holding bolt 18 '' passes through the two bearing points 4 '' a of the base plate 4 "', so that its longitudinal axis runs essentially parallel to the upper side of the base plate 4"'. A cylindrical roller 19 '' can be seen here, on the control surface 17 '' of which the second lever part 10 "'d rests from above by means of a control curve 12"'. Since the second lever part 10 "'d has to perform a pivoting movement together with the first lever part 10"' c in the vertical plane, the shape of the control curve 12 "" is similar to the shape of the control curve 12 'according to FIG. 5, with the difference that here the control curve 12 "'has to perform the pivoting movement opposite to the control curve 12' according to FIG. 5. In any case, it should also be ensured here that the support along a surface section between the second lever part 10" 'd of the lever 10 "'and the control surface 17"' of the roller 19 "'. The two bearing points 4 "'a are punched out of the base plate 4"' with mutually offset layouts and then bent up. As a result, the punched-out length of the base plate 4 "'visible in the drawing is sufficient to create both bearing points 4"' a a. Such a measure is known to the person skilled in the art, so that it should be understandable without further explanation.

In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 8, the first lever part 10 ^lv c has a recess 10 ^lv e into which a region of the second lever part 10 ^lv d projects. The second lever part 10 ^lv d has a special shape, which can be seen in FIG. 8, and essentially consists of the area 10 ^lv f of the second lever part 10 ^lv d located in the recess 10 ^lv e as one the swivel axis 9 of the swivel body is configured, which, connected via a connecting piece 10 ^lv g, carries the extension 10 ^lv h carrying the control cam 12. The control curve 12 and the component 16 correspond to the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 4, so that a description of this area is unnecessary.

The second lever part 10 ^lv d is supported relative to the first lever part 10 ^lv c with the interposition of a compression spring 24 '. The compression spring 24 'can be changed in its pretension by means of an adjusting screw 25. The adjusting screw 25 serves as a type of spring plate for the one end of the compression spring 24 ', the other end of this compression spring 24' resting in a recess of the second lever part 10 ^lv d, which is not specifically indicated. By adjusting the force of the compression spring 24 ', the preload between the two lever parts 10 ^lv c and 10 ^lv d can be set. As a result of this measure, minor impacts which are transmitted from the descent through the ski to the heel holder 1 ^lv are absorbed to a certain extent, so that no undesired triggering processes are initiated. Thus, the roller 19 remains in the locking pan serving as a lock (not shown separately here) of the control cam 12.

The mode of operation and all other instructions which have been made in connection with the embodiment according to FIG. 5 also apply to the two exemplary embodiments according to FIGS. 7 and 8.

The invention is not restricted to the exemplary embodiment shown. There are further modifications without leaving the scope of protection. For example, the release spring can also be mounted directly in the release lever without the interposition of a cylinder-like spring cage, in which case the release lever then has corresponding recesses for slidingly guiding the slide. It is also conceivable to combine the catches mentioned, for example a frustoconical roller on a par to store all bolts that run to the top of the ski.

Furthermore, the abutment of the component can be produced as a separate component, which is then on the base plate of the heel holder e.g. is attached or welded by means of rivets. While such a measure is more labor-intensive than a punching process described above, it may be advantageous if, for example, the base plate is not to be weakened. The type of attachment of such a component should be familiar to those skilled in the art without further explanation.

The retaining bolt can also be arranged in the component which can be fixed on the ski without the interposition of a separate washer. In this case, the disk-like structure is formed in one piece with the bolt. But you can also support the riveted head of the bolt for the purpose of a larger edition with the interposition of a washer on the named component or design the head itself larger than shown in the drawing.

The binding designed according to the invention has the common advantage in all embodiments that the catches are largely protected from environmental influences.

Claims (6)

1. A heel clamp comprising a sole retainer (8) mounted for pivotal movement about a transverse axis (7) and a vertical axis (5) and retained in its normal position for retaining the boot by locking means each consisting of a locking element and an engagement portion and adapted to be released by vertical or lateral release forces, respectively, exceeding a predetermined value, and in which the effective release force resulting from the simultaneous occurrence of vertical and lateral release forces decreases to a pre-established limit with increasing departure of the direction of the load from the vertical, the two locking elements being provided at spaced locations on a pivotable lever (10, 10', 10", 10"', 10^lv), the locking element acting against the vertical release force cooperating with an engagement portion (8a) provided at the rear of said sole retainer (8) to form the first locking means, the locking member (12) acting against the lateral release forces cooperating with a further engagement portion (19) provided on a structural member (16, 16', 16", 16"') adapted to be fixedly connected to the ski (2) to form the second locking means, said lever (10, 10', 10", 10"', 10^lv) being mounted on a retainer axle (9) extending parallel to the transverse axis (7) of the sole retainer (8) and itself disposed in a carrier body (6) mounted for pivotal movement, possibly against the biasing force of a return spring (5a) about a mounting pin (5) secured to a base plate (4, 4') of the binding and forming said vertical axis, the side of said lever (10, 10', 10", 10"', 10^lv) facing away from the vertical release locking element being formed with a support surface for a release spring (13), characterized in that the structural member (16, 16', 16", 16"') to be fixedly connected to the ski (2) comprises a retainer bolt (18, 18', 18", 18"') extending in the longitudinal direction of the ski and possibly carrying a roller (19, 19', 19", 19"'), said retainer bolt (18, 18', 18", 18"') being secured to at least one counterbearing (4a, 4'a, 4" a) formed by an upwards bent portion of the base plate (4, 4'), to bearing portions or to any separate counterbearing fixedly connected to the bending, either said retainer bolt (18, 18', 18", 18"') itself or said roller (19, 19', 19", 19"') forming said engagement portion of said second locking means, and in that said lever ( 10, 10', 10", 10"', 10^lv) is formed with a cam surface portion (12, 12', 12", 12"') forming the locking element of said second locking means, said cam surface portion extending, as per se known, substantially transversely of the longitudinal axis of the ski and comprising an engagement recess (12a, 12'a) for receiving the associated engagement member of the second locking means so as to prevent a release operation from occurring as a result of purely laterally acting forces, and proceeding from said engagement recess, curved sections (12b₁, 12b₂; 12'bi, 12'b₂) for a diagonal release operation, each said curved section extending towards the lateral edges of the ski (2).

2. A heel clamp according to claim 1, characterized in that the longitudinal axis of said retainer bolt (18) is inclined towards the top of the ski at an acute angle (ß), said angle (ß) being open towards the tip of the ski, and in that the roller carried by the retainer bolt (18', 18") is either cylindrical (19'), as per se known, or of frustoconical configuration (19"), the circumferential surface of said roller (19', 19") forming at least a linear, preferably a surface-type support acting as a follower surface (17', 17") for said cam surface portion (12', 12") in each position of said lever (10', 10") (figs. 3 and 6).

3. A heel clamp according to claim 2, characterized in that said cam surface portion (12") of said lever (10") is inclined at an angle corresponding to the angle of the conus of which said frusto-conical roller (19") is formed, and in that said roller (19") is biased in a direction towards said lever (10") by a spring, for instance by a coiled spring (24) surrounding said retainer bolt (18) (fig. 6).

4. A heel clamp according to claim 1, characterized in that said lever (10"', 10^lv) is formed of two sections, one lever portion (10"'c; 10^lvc) being pivoted to said retainer axle (9) and carrying the locking element (lug 8a) of the first locking means in engagement with the sole retainer (8), the other lever portion (10"'d; 10^lvd) being pivotable relative to said first lever portion (10"'c, 10^lvc) and carrying the locking element (cam surface portion 12"'; 12) of the second locking means.

5. A heel clamp according to claim 4, characterized in that said first lever portion (10^lvc) is formed with a recess (10^lve) in which said second lever portion (10^lvd) is mounted for pivotal movement about the pivot axis (9) of said first lever portion (10^lvc), said second lever portion (10^lvd) being resiliently supported relative to said first lever portion (10^lvc) by means of a spring, preferably an adjustable coil spring (24') (fig. 8).

6. A heel clamp according to claim 4, characterized in that the cam surface portion (12"') of said second lever portion (10"'d) engages said retainer bolt (18), or said roller (19"') so as to straddle it from above, and in that said cam surface portion (12"'), as viewed in elevation, is formed to extend obliquely towards said retainer bolt (18), so that said second lever portion (10"'d) is adapted to be pivoted in the vertical plane together with the first lever portion (10"') with said cam surface portion (12"') in rolling engagement along said retainer bolt (18) or said roller (19"'), respectively (fig. 7).

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