EP1108452B1 - Interface device for engaging a boot to a snowboard - Google Patents

Abstract

The boot binding for a snowboard has a circular disc (7) fixed to the snowboard fitting into a circular housing (8) to connect the boot and board. The interior circular contour of the housing is offset to the exterior contour of the housing. The disc can have rectangular parallel slots (9) for fixing to the board with screws. The disc and housing can have interlocking teeth.

Description

The present invention relates to a binding device between a shoe binding and a gliding board, in particular a surfboard, comprising means for adjusting the position of the binding relative to the gliding board both in translation and in rotation.

As is stated in the patent FR 2,736,842, the positions adopted for the practice of surfing are very variable depending on the disciplines practiced, the level or habits of the user. As noted in this document, the feet may be more or less spaced from each other or more or less inclined relative to the longitudinal axis of the surf, the orientations of the feet being generally not parallel to each other. For more details, refer to this document. It is therefore important to be able to change the position of the bindings on the surf and the orientation of these bindings relative to the surf.

FR 2 736 842 proposes for this purpose an interface intended to be mounted between the surf and the binding, this interface comprising two rails, profiled in the form of slides, inserted longitudinally in the surf along its longitudinal axis and two plates provided with a slide that can move in the rails and can be oriented angularly about a vertical axis, rapid clamping means for immobilizing the plates on the surf. Each plate has four threaded holes for attaching the base of the shoe attachment, these four holes replacing the inserts that are found in standard boards. Such an interface has the advantage of a quick adjustment, but it requires a special board whose rigidity is increased by the insertion of the rails, the latter modifying in all cases the dynamic characteristics of the board. Such an interface also has a significant weight. Despite this, such an interface does not offer the possibility of adjusting the position of the fasteners by a displacement in the direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the board. However, such a setting said "front / rear" is increasingly requested by users.

Patent FR 2 755 025 also discloses a connection device between a gliding board and a shoe binding, this connecting device comprising a plate intended to be fixed by means of screws in the standard inserts (4 x 4). a surfboard, this plate having grooves parallel to the longitudinal axis of the board and having a T-shaped profile in which are mounted gibs for fixing the base of the shoe binding, adjustable type fastening around the a central disk in the example described. This construction has the advantage of adapting to any standard board, that is to say any board provided with inserts according to the usual standard 4 x 4, but it also does not allow to make a setting "before /back".

A connecting device allowing a "forward / backward" adjustment is described in the patent application JP 11-197287. The base of the binding is maintained by the stacking of a perforated disc, a plate provided with four oblong holes or notches and a rectangular plate holding the whole on the surfboard by four screws. To adjust the orientation of the fixture the stack is simply loosened. The intermediate plate can move in only one direction relative to the disk, along a graduated scale, but its oblong holes, oriented perpendicularly to its direction of movement, allow its displacement relative to the upper plate, allowing a "forward" adjustment. back". This construction is equivalent to a simplified construction simply using a perforated disk and a holding plate. In any case, a large space is needed, in the plane of the disk, between the inner edge of the disk and the plate which holds it, for the adjustment, and the disk is maintained, parallel to its plane, only by the frictional forces caused by tightening screws. These forces may be insufficient to retain fixation in case of sudden and relatively high forces exerted on the link, as occurs during the practice of surfing. In addition, given the efforts that the perforated disk must support, it can hardly be made of plastic.

In FR-A-2 669 237, a ring fixed on a gliding board retains by its inner contour an intermediate piece which supports a fixing. This intermediate piece comprises respectively with the attachment and the ring two eccentric and superposed outer circular contact surfaces, which allows the translation and rotation adjustment of the binding relative to the gliding board.

The object of the invention is to provide a connection device with a simple and compact multidirectional adjustment and ensuring a very secure hold of the boot binding in a plane parallel to the gliding board.

The connecting device according to the invention is characterized in that it consists of a circular disc intended to be fixed to the gliding board and coming to fit into a circular ring intended to maintain the attachment of the shoe, the inner circular contour of the ring in which the disc fits eccentrically relative to the outer contour of the ring.

The ring ensures a mechanical continuity between the base of the binding and the disc. This continuity and the relatively low eccentricity make it virtually impossible to move the fastener even if the fastening screws are loosened. The disk and the ring can be advantageously made of plastic, which reduces the weight relative to a metal execution.

The amplitude of adjustment in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the board is amply sufficient for the needs. Regarding the adjustment along the longitudinal axis of the board, its amplitude can be increased if necessary using a disc having parallel oblong holes for the passage of the fastening screws to the board.

Adjustment by the eccentric ring may be continuous, but in this case, one of the rotational interlockings between the disk and the ring or between the ring and the mounting base, will take place by simple friction. It is better to adopt a setting almost continuous by means of teeth, on the one hand, between the disk and the ring and, on the other hand, between the ring and the mounting base. Of course, one of the links could be provided by teeth and the other by friction.

• La figure 1 est une vue en perspective d'une embase de fixation de surf montée sur une planche de surf au moyen d'un dispositif selon l'invention.
• La figure 2 est une vue partielle en plan, de dessus, de la fixation représentée à la figure 1.
• La figure 3 est un éclaté du disque et de la bague.
• La figure 4 illustre la possibilité de réglage avant/arrière sur une planche de surf.
• La figure 5 illustre la possibilité de réglage selon l'axe longitudinal de la planche de surf.

The appended drawing represents, by way of example, an embodiment of the invention.

• Figure 1 is a perspective view of a surf mounting base mounted on a surfboard by means of a device according to the invention.
• FIG. 2 is a partial plan view, from above, of the attachment represented in FIG.
• Figure 3 is an exploded disk and ring.
• Figure 4 illustrates the possibility of setting forward / backward on a surfboard.
• Figure 5 illustrates the possibility of adjustment along the longitudinal axis of the surfboard.

The fastener partially shown in FIG. 1 comprises a flat base 1 having two substantially vertical side walls 2 and 3 and connected at the rear by a hoop 4. On the side walls 2 and 3, inside them, is articulated, in a known manner, a rear support piece 5 of rounded shape. Between the walls 2 and 3 further extend two straps not shown, provided with loops, for maintaining the shoe in the binding, in known manner.

The shoe binding is secured to a gliding board 6 by means of a connecting device consisting of a circular disc 7 and a ring 8. The disc 7 has four oblong holes 9 arranged in a square for fixing from disk 9 to plate 6, in this case a surfboard provided with threaded inserts also arranged in a square according to the usual 4 × 4 standard. The ring 8 is also circular and is engaged in a circular cutout 10 base 1.

The ring 8 has on about the upper half of its thickness, a circular inner contour 11 eccentric relative to its outer contour and this eccentricity is such that the inner and outer contours have a point of tangency A (Figure 2). On the remainder of its thickness the ring 8 has a cylindrical portion 12 concentric with the circle 11 but of smaller inside diameter, defining a cylindrical interlocking zone for a corresponding cylindrical portion 13 of the disc 7 (Figure 3). The wall 12 defines a first flat surface 14 at about mid-height of the ring 8. Above this span 14 extends a second surface 15 in which is formed a toothing 16. On the drawing there is a zone toothless 17 whose purpose is simply the thinning of the ring in this area. On the side, the ring 8 further has a notch 18 to facilitate the separation of the disc 7 and the 8. Outside, the ring 8 has, in the lower half of its height, a portion 19 of a diameter smaller than the outer contour of the ring and forming a fitting portion in the corresponding diameter of the cutout. the base 1. This last cut extends over about the lower half of the thickness of the base 1 by defining a toothed surface in which is engaged a toothing 20 of the ring 8 corresponding to the teeth of the base.

The disk 7 has, on its lower face, a toothing 21 coming to engage in the toothing 16 of the ring 8.

The oblong holes 9 of the disk 7 have a countersink 22 for supporting the heads of the screws for fixing the disk 7 to the gliding board. Two of the holes 9 visible in Figure 3 differ slightly from the holes 9 shown in Figure 2 in that they have two narrowing defining three discrete positions for the fixing screws.

The toothing 20, in cooperation with the toothing of the board 6, makes it possible to orient the shoe binding relative to the longitudinal axis of the board, in known manner.

The ring 8 makes it possible to move the attachment relative to the disk 7, that is to say to the plate 6, in almost all the directions, as this is illustrated by FIGS. 4 and 5.

In Figure 4 the fixings are oriented so that the surfer has the feet directed towards the top of the drawing. The left attachment occupies a position retracted at most relative to a median position, while the right attachment occupies a position advanced at the maximum relative to its median position. It is thus possible to perform a "forward / backward" adjustment.

In FIG. 5, fixing to the left, the ring 8 is placed in such a way that the fastener occupies its leftmost position relative to the disk 7, that is to say its most advanced position in the direction of the spatula. the board 6, while the right attachment occupies its rightmost position, that is to say, the most retracted towards the heel of the board. It is thus possible to adjust the spacing of the feet. The adjustment range of the fasteners in the longitudinal direction of the board 6 is increased by the oblong holes 9.

The materials used for shoe binding, the disc and the ring are generally plastics.

The teeth 16 and 21 could be replaced by simple rough surfaces or by an auxiliary friction ring.

Claims (4)

1. A device providing a connection between a boot binding and a snowboard comprising means for adjusting the position of the boot binding relative to the snowboard both in translation and rotation, the adusting means comprising an eccentric element, characterized in that it consists of a circular disk (7) intended to be fixed to the snowboard and fit into a circular ring (8) intended to hold the boot binding on the snowboard, the interior circular contour (11) of the ring into which the disk fits being eccentric relative to the exterior contour of the ring.
2. The assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the disk (7) has parallel oblong holes (9) for fixing the disk to the board by using screws.
3. The device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the disk (7) and the inner of the ring (8) has sets of teeth (21, 26) of mating profiles cooperating to secure the disk and the ring against relative rotation.
4. The assembly as claimed in one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the ring (8) has a set of teeth (20) cooperating with a set of teeth of the boot binding to hold the latter in terms of rotation relative to the ring.

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