EP1120138B1 - Snowboardbinding - Google Patents

Abstract

Highback for a snowboard binding intended to come into contact with the rear part of the user's boot in order to withstand the back thrusts thereof, having a median longitudinal plane of symmetry, which has a stiffer region located asymmetrically with regard to the median longitudinal plane of symmetry of the highback.

Description

Technical area

The invention relates to the field of snow sports, and more specifically to that of snowboarding also called snowboarding. It relates more particularly to a rear gutter for fixing snowboard optimized for the transmission of efforts.

Previous techniques

As we know, snowboarding can be practiced using different techniques that use either rigid shoes or soft-stemmed shoes. The invention relates to fasteners for securing soft shoes to the surfboard.

Such a fastener generally consists of a base, which is screwed onto the board, and on which the sole of the boot rests.

To allow the transmission of the supports to the rear, such a fastener also comprises a rear gutter, mounted on the base, either directly or through a rear arch passing behind the shoe.

In known manner, the channel is preferably pivotally mounted relative to the hoop or the base so as to be folded forward to limit the size of the fastener when it is not used. This gutter comes to a rear stop in its use position, since the purpose of the rear gutter is to provide backward support, particularly when the user makes turns on the rear edge, generally referred to as "backside" bends. ".

Indeed, the shoe used being flexible for comfort reasons, it tends to deform when the user exerts efforts to the rear and it is necessary that the attachment has a part receiving these efforts to transmit until direction of the rear edge.

Furthermore, it is known that the position of the user's feet on the surf is not exactly perpendicular to the median longitudinal plane of the board, but on the contrary slightly offset.

The front foot is generally oriented more towards the front of the board, while the rear foot can be either closer to the perpendicular, or slightly forward, or slightly backward.

This latter orientation is more generally adopted by users practicing surfing in the so-called "free style" technique. In this technique, the surfer performs many figures that cause him to move in both directions of the surf, which is why the surfing for this practice are symmetrical, that is to say they have two spatulas Similar.

As part of this practice, it is common for the surfer to jump. When receiving jumps, the surfer tilts forward or backward, and it is necessary that it is supported to cash this effort in the direction of travel or in the opposite direction. It is therefore conceivable that it is important for the attachment to provide support in the opposite direction to that of displacement.

To meet this requirement, it has already been proposed to adapt the existing fasteners, allowing the gutter to rotate around the axis of the leg, so as to bring it opposite the outer portion of the leg, corresponding therefore to a support located in the opposite direction to that of the displacement. This arrangement also has the advantage of releasing the inner part of the leg and facilitates the bending of the latter, especially when performing figures.

Unfortunately, existing gutters are not rigid enough to provide effective support, especially given the very intense impulses that are exercised in receiving jump.

Furthermore, it is conceivable that when the attachment is not perpendicular to the median longitudinal plane of the board, it is the outer area of the foot which is closest to the rear edge, and that the supports are not exercised. optimally.

Solutions have already been proposed that consist in configuring the gutter so that it has a portion with respect to the outer zone of the leg, so as to receive the forces exerted closer to the edge.

Such a solution is notably described in the document FR 2,769,239 .

The solution described in this document consists in giving the gutter an asymmetric geometry in which an outgrowth portion is formed on the outer side of the gutter, in the upper half of the latter. The purpose of such a geometry is to allow the recovery of forces exerted in the outer rear direction of the foot.

Such a solution nevertheless has many disadvantages.

Indeed, the protruding zone is an element whose weight is not negligible, and which adds to the rest of the fixation.

In addition, this protruding zone has a certain fragility since it is located in overflow of the body itself of the gutter.

More specifically, the junction zone between this protruding portion and the remainder of the gutter is flexible, and therefore does not allow the gutter to provide all the desired rigidity, except at the cost of an increase in thickness disproportionate, which results in disadvantages in terms of weight and manufacturing.

More generally, to obtain such a rigid enough gutter, it is necessary to use a material either much thicker or much stiffer, which makes the entire gutter heavy and rigid, while parts of the gutter do not need it.

The document EP-A-0 858 818 describes a gutter having a symmetrical structure. Asymmetric mechanical properties are obtained by partial filling with rubber, which breaks the shape symmetry of the assembly.

In other words, one of the problems that the invention proposes to solve is the optimization of the geometry and the architecture of the gutter, to combine at the same time the properties of necessary rigidity, optimal transmission of efforts while maintaining a certain ease of manufacture and the possibility of varying the stiffness of the gutter over its entire surface.

Another disadvantage of asymmetrical gutters as described in the aforementioned document lies in the fact that two molds are necessary to make gutters for the right and left feet.

Presentation of the invention

The invention therefore relates to a rear snowboard attachment gutter intended to come into contact with the rear part of the user's boot to support the supports, and having a median longitudinal symmetry plane.

The gutter according to the invention is characterized in that it comprises a zone of greater rigidity located asymmetrically with respect to its median longitudinal symmetry plane.

In other words, the gutter according to the invention is symmetrical in form, but its mechanical properties, including its rigidity, have an asymmetry.

In this way, the rigidity of the gutter is located only in the necessary places, which keeps the rest of the gutter flexibility that can be advantageous for comfort issues.

It is therefore not necessary to excessively increase either the thickness or the weight of the gutter to obtain the rigidity necessary for effective transmission of the supports.

Advantageously, the zone of greater rigidity is located on the outside of the foot, so as to optimize the supports.

Several embodiments can be adopted. Thus, in a first variant, the zone of greater rigidity of the gutter may be constituted by an element embedded inside the constituent material of the gutter.

This element can be either a glass fabric coated with a resin, a metal grid or any equivalent element.

In this case, only one mold is necessary to make both gutters to be mounted on left and right fasteners, which reduces manufacturing costs.

In another variant embodiment, the gutter can be made by multi-injection, one of the multi-injected zones then constituting the zone of greater rigidity.

The choice of plastics, and in particular the ratio of the relative stiffnesses of the two materials used, is optimized to obtain the best weight / rigidity compromise.

Advantageously, in practice, the area of greater rigidity can partially cross the median plane of symmetry of the gutter, especially at the upper edge of the gutter, to make this variation of rigidity progressive.

The gutter according to the invention can be mounted on fasteners, with or without the possibility of rotating it about a vertical axis.

Brief description of the figures

• La figure 1 est une vue schématique du dessus d'un surf sur lequel sont disposées deux fixations conformes à l'invention.
• La figure 2 est une vue schématique du dessus d'un surf sur lequel sont disposées deux fixations conformes à l'invention, dans une configuration de pratique de "free style".
• La figure 3 est une vue de côté d'une fixation conforme à l'invention.
• La figure 4 est une vue de derrière d'une gouttière réalisée conformément à l'invention.

The manner of carrying out the invention, as well as the advantages which result therefrom, will emerge from the description of the embodiments which follow, in support of the appended figures in which:

• The figure 1 is a schematic view of the top of a surf on which are arranged two fasteners according to the invention.
• The figure 2 is a schematic top view of a surf on which are arranged two fasteners according to the invention, in a practice configuration of "free style".
• The figure 3 is a side view of a fastener according to the invention.
• The figure 4 is a rear view of a gutter made according to the invention.

Way of realizing the invention

The invention relates to a snowboard binding which has a gutter whose essential characteristics is to present a symmetrical geometry while its mechanical properties and in particular its rigidity are distributed asymmetrically.

Generally speaking, as we see in figure 1 , a surf (1) has a median longitudinal plane (2), which is not necessarily a plane of symmetry, but which more generally defines the direction of movement.

In other words, the invention can adapt to different types of surf, whether the board is asymmetrical or not.

In known manner, such a surfboard (1) receives two fasteners (3, 4) which are arranged in the central zone of the board.

These fasteners (3, 4) generally have a median longitudinal plane (5, 6), which is not necessarily a plane of symmetry, but which defines the orientation of the foot.

Multiple practices have developed in which the orientation of the foot can adopt different angles with respect to the median longidutinal plane (2) of the board.

In general, the foot located on the side of the spatula (7) of the board, which corresponds to the front of the latter, has an orientation (5) directed towards the front.

The back foot can adopt different orientations. So in the variant illustrated in the figure 1 , the foot located on the heel side of the board, can be oriented towards the rear of the board, which corresponds to the position generally called "duck stance".

In other variants not shown, the rear foot can be oriented either almost perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (2) of the board, or else oriented in the same direction as the front foot, towards the front of the board. board.

The invention finds advantages in the various practices, and in particular in the position of "duck stance" used in "free style".

With regard to the first practice represented in figure 1 , the gutter presents its plan of symmetry confused with that of the fixation. It can be seen that the outer zones (8, 9) of the foot, situated to the left of the median longitudinal plane (5) of the fixation for the left foot, and to the right of the median plane (6) for the right foot, are the closer to the rear edge (10).

In order for the supports to be transmitted efficiently, and for edge capture to be optimal, it is preferable that the efforts exerted by the surfer be transmitted closer to this rear edge (10).

In another practice illustrated in the figure 2 the fasteners (3, 4) employed have a gutter (28, 29) which can be pivoted to the outside of the foot. This pivoting takes place around an axis corresponding to that of the leg. In this case, thanks to this pivoting of the gutter, the outer portion (31, 32) of the latter is in a position intended to oppose the forces exerted parallel to the median longitudinal plane (2) of the board following the direction of progression.

This configuration allows the surfer to receive a support allowing him to rebalance especially during the reception of jumps. These supports are present on the left and right feet.

Complementarily, the pivoting of the gutter (28, 29) to the outside of the foot frees the inner zone of the leg and thus allows the surfer to more easily orient his leg forward, which is ergonomic for the practice of "free style".

Thus according to the invention, the gutter (12) of the fastener (11) has a higher rigidity of the outer side.

More specifically, and as illustrated in figure 3 , a fastener (11) generally comprises a base (13) and a gutter (12) which is mounted generally pivoting on the rear portion of the base which may, by way of non-limiting example, be performed by a bow (15) passing through the back of the foot.

Of course, the invention is not limited to this kind of fasteners but covers any other kind of architecture, from the moment when the gutter (12) has an asymmetry of its mechanical properties while maintaining a geometric symmetry.

Thus, as illustrated in figure 3 , the base (13) of the binding has a lower face (16) intended to come into contact either directly or indirectly via an interface element, on the upper face of the board.

According to a feature of the invention, the gutter has a symmetry of geometry around a median longitudinal plane (20) itself perpendicular to the lower face (16) of the base (13).

According to another characteristic of the invention, and as illustrated in FIG. figure 4 , the gutter has a zone of greater rigidity arranged asymmetrically with respect to the plane of symmetry.

Multiple architectures can be adopted to give rigidity this asymmetric distribution and the invention is in no way limited to the form of zones of greater rigidity illustrated in FIG. figure 4 .

In this example, the zone of greater rigidity is essentially located in the upper part of the gutter (12), and very predominantly located on the outside of the plane of symmetry (20) of the gutter.

In a preferred form, the zone of greater rigidity (22) extends at least at the periphery (23) of the gutter (12), located in the upper and outer part of the latter.

In the form illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the figure 4 , this area (22) of greater rigidity covers most of the perimeter (23) of the gutter, from the top (24) thereof, to about halfway (25).

Such a zone (22) of high rigidity also extends towards the abutment (26) located at the rear of the gutter (12), in the longitudinal plane of symmetry (20), and which is intended to cooperate with the upper part of the arch (15) when the forces are exerted backwards by the surfer.

This extension (27) constitutes a mechanical connection which allows the good transmission of the supports from the top of the gutter (12) to the stop (20), and thus the hoop (15) of the binding.

Many manufacturing methods can be used to obtain such a gutter. Thus, a gutter can be made of a molded plastic having a modulus of elasticity in flexion of between 1000 and 3000 MPa.

In this case, the zone of greater rigidity (22) may be constituted by an additional element, forming an insert inside the gutter, which may consist either of a fiberglass cloth coated with a resin still a metal grid much stiffer than the rest of the gutter.

In the latter case, the same mold can be used for the realization of right or left fixing gutters, only the establishment of an insert inside the mold differing between the two sides.

The same type of insert can be used for the left and right fasteners, as it is placed inside the mold according to one or other of the orientations.

Gutters can also be made entirely of plastic, by a multi-injection technique.

In this case, the area of greater rigidity is made of a material different from the rest of the gutter, and which for example has a flexural modulus of elasticity between 6000 and 10 000 MPa, while the rest of the gutter present a modulus of elasticity in flexion between 1000 and 3000 MPa.

In this case, the area of greater rigidity can lead to the rear of the gutter so as to be apparent. It can also be embedded inside the material constituting the rest of the gutter.

• ◆ une rigidité importante localisée uniquement aux endroits nécessaires pour la bonne transmission des appuis le plus près des carres et à l'extérieur du pied pour les réceptions de sauts ;
• ◆ une relative souplesse du reste de la gouttière qui n'est pas destinée à transmettre les efforts, ce qui améliore le confort ;
• ◆ une compacité de la forme symétrique qui limite les risques de déformations, les dégradations et éventuellement les risques de cassure ;
• ◆ la possibilité d'employer un moule unique pour la réalisation des gouttières gauche et droite, dans le cas où la zone de forte rigidité est réalisée par un insert

It follows from the foregoing that a surfboard attachment equipped with a gutter according to the invention has multiple advantages and in particular:

• ◆ Significant rigidity located only at the locations necessary for the proper transmission of the supports closest to the edges and outside the foot for the jumps;
• ◆ a relative flexibility of the rest of the gutter which is not intended to transmit the forces, which improves the comfort;
• ◆ compactness of the symmetrical shape which limits the risk of deformation, damage and possibly the risk of breakage;
• ◆ the possibility of using a single mold for the realization of the left and right gutters, in the case where the zone of strong rigidity is carried out by an insert

Claims (10)

1. A highback (12) for a snowboard binding (11) intended to come into contact with the rear part of the user's boot in order to withstand the back thrusts thereof, having in its shape a median longitudinal (20) plane of symmetry, characterized in that it has a stiffer region located asymmetrically with regard to the median longitudinal (20) plane of symmetry of the highback (12).
2. The highback as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the stiffer region (22) consists of an element embedded inside the constituent material of the highback (12).
3. The highback as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the element is a resin-coated glass-fiber fabric.
4. The highback as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the element is a metal grid.
5. The highback as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the highback is produced by multi-injection, one of the multi-injected regions constituting the stiffer region.
6. The highback as claimed in one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the stiffer region (22) partially traverses the median plane of symmetry (20) of the highback (12).
7. The highback as claimed in one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the stiffer region is located on the outer side of the foot.
8. A snowboard. binding equipped with a highback as claimed in one of claims 1 to 7.
9. The snowboard binding as claimed in claim 8, which has a baseplate intended to be secured to the 30 board via its lower face, characterized in that the highback has the ability to pivot about an axis substantially perpendicular to the lower face of the baseplate.
10. A snowboard equipped with a binding as claimed in claim 8.

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