US3441286A

US3441286A - Ski release harness

Info

Publication number: US3441286A
Application number: US644388A
Authority: US
Inventors: Emmett A De Grood
Original assignee: EMMETT A DE GROOD
Current assignee: EMMETT A DE GROOD
Priority date: 1966-12-19
Filing date: 1967-06-07
Publication date: 1969-04-29
Anticipated expiration: 1986-04-29

Description

April 9, 1969 v E-ALDE 'GROOD 3,441,286

I SKI RELEASE HARNESS Sheet Filed June 7, 1967 April 29, 1 969 E A. DE enobo I 5x; RELEASE-HARNESS I Sheet 3 of 3 Filed June 7. 1967 Y United States Patent 3,441,286 SKI RELEASE HARNESS Emmett A. de Grood, 3920 35A Ave., Red Deer, Alberta, Canada Filed June 7, 1967, Ser. No. 644,388 Claims priority, application Canada, Dec. 19, 1966, 978,374 Int. Cl. A63c 9/00 US. Cl. 28011.35 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An apparatus mounted on the upper surface of a ski and comprising a toe harness and a heel harness for releasably securing both the toe and heel portions of a boot to the ski. The harness for both the foe and heel portions of a ski boot is adjustable for boots of various sizes as well as thickness of the boot soles and yet the harness is firmly fitted to the toe and the heel of the boot when in operation or use but will release the boot when the skier falls in any direction.

Field of the invention The present invention pertains to means or devices for securing or attaching a ski to a boot or shoe. The means or devices are referred to as a harness which is mounted on the upper face of a ski for engaging and clamping a boot or shoe to the ski. The harness which engages the toe portion of the boot or shoe as well as the harness engaging the heel portion will release the boot or shoe when the skier falls so as to avoid injury to the ankles and legs of the skier. Under normal conditions of usage the boot or shoe will be firmly engaged by both the toe and nesses employ spring and piston types of releasing mechanism for both the toe and heel portions of the ski boots heel harness to insure the proper retention of the boot or shoe upon the ski.

Prior art The prior art is replete with many types of ski releasing harnesses for the purpose of releasing the skiers boots from the skis in the event of a fall in the effort to avoid injury to the skier. Some of the prior ski releasing harnesses employ spring and piston types of releasing mechanism for both the toe and heel portions of the ski boots while other types of harness structures utilize ball and spring members.

Summary of the invention The present invention is directed to a safety releasing harness for a ski that has a separate toe harness and a separate heel harness which are easily adjustable and so designed as to firmly grip a ski boot. The ski releasing harness will readily release the boot of the skier when the skier falls in any direction.

Description of the drawings FIGURE 1 is a schematic view of a ski boot with the safety release harness of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic view of certain of the releasing features of the toe releasing harness;

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view of the ski boot toe piece;

FIGURE 4 is a side view of the toe releasing harness;

FIGURE 5 is a rear view of the toe releasing harness as shown in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of the toe releasing harness as shown in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 7 is a front view of the toe releasing harness as shown in FIGURE 4;

3,441,286 Patented Apr. 29, 1969 "ice Description of the preferred embodiments Referring to the drawings, particularly FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, a schematic view of the safety release harness for skiing is shown consisting of a ski boot 1 having a sole 2, a metal plate 3 attached by screws 4 or the like to the front edge of the boot sole 2, part of a ski 5, base plates 7 and 8 fastened by screws or the like to the ski 5, a toe releasing harness generally referred to as A, and a heel releasing harness generally referred to as B. FIGURE 1 shows the releasing harness in open position with the central aperture 9 of the metal plate 3 contacting the toe releasing harness A and the heel 10 of the ski boot 1 contacting the heel releasing harness B before being pressed down into the closed position.

. The heel releasing harness B shown in FIGURES 8 to 11 inclusive consists of the base plate 8 which is fastened by screws through the holes 11 to the ski. Vertically mounted

supports

12 and 13 are fixed to the base plate 8. A cylindrical member 14 is mounted on the top of and between the

supports

12 and 13, and a rotatable wheel 15 is mounted on an axle 62 between the supports .12 and 13. The rotatable wheel 15 is provided with two cup shaped lips 16 and 17. A spring 18 and ball member 19 is mounted between the upper parts of the

supports

12 and 13 and the ball 19 fits within the cup shaped lip 16 with a tension adjusting screw 20 mounted in the cylindrically shaped member 14 for adjusting the pressure of the ball 19 on the rotatable wheel 15. A vertical bracket 21 is fixed to the base plate 8, and a hollow cylindrical member 22 is fixed horizontally to the upper part of the bracket 21. A spring 23 and a ball member 24 is mounted in the hollow cylindrical member 22 and the ball 24 fits within the cup shaped lip 17 with a tension adjusting screw 25 mounted in the hollow member 22 for adjusting the pressure of the ball 24 on the rotatable wheel 15. A solid metal member 26 is fixed to the forward side of the rotatable wheel 15 and the forward end of the metal member 26 is internally screw threaded to receive an adjusting bolt 27. A heel holder is mounted on the outer end 28 of the metal member 26 and comprises two adjustable plates 29 and 30, the forward side of the plate 29 'being formed with serrations 31 which intermesh with serrations 32 formed on the rear side of the plate 30. The heel plate holder part 29 is fixed, for example, by welding to the outer end 28 of metal member 26, while the heel holding part 30 is provided with a slot 63 through which the adjusting bolt passes to lock the two parts 29 and 30 in proper position according to the ski boot heel thickness. The heel holder part 30 is U-shaped as shown in plan view in FIGURE 10 and in side view in FIGURE 8 to form a wraparound design to keep the ski boot from sliding sideways.

A step on plate 33 formed from a vertical stop part 34 and a horizontal heel part 35 is hinged at 36 to the lower side of the heel holder part 29 and fits in a slot 37 of the base plate 8. A strap holder 38 is pivotally connected to the upper parts of the

vertical supports

12 and 13 for connection to a strap wrapped around a ski boot.

The toe releasing harness A shown in FIGURES 4 to 7 inclusive consists of the base plate 7 which is fastened by screws 39 or the like to the ski as shown in FIGURE 6. Two vertically mounted

supports

40 and 41 are fixed to the rear end of the base plate 7, and their inner sides are formed with

circular ball recesses

42 and 43 between which a rotatable ball 44 is mounted. The upper ends 45 and 46 of the

supports

40 and 41 are bent towards one another and a vertical cylindrical member 47 is fastened, for example by welding, between the said upper ends 45 and 46. Two cup shaped lips 48 and 49 are formed at right angles to one another on the rotatable ball 44. A spring 50 and a ball 51, FIGURE 5, are fitted in the hollow cylindrical member 47 and the ball 51 fits in the cup shaped lip 48 and a tension adjusting screw 52 is mounted in the hollow member 47 for adjusting the pressure of the ball 51 against the rotatable ball 44. A bracket 53 is mounted vertically on the base plate 7 and a hollow cylindrical member 54 is fixed to the upper end of said bracket 53 as shown in FIGURE 4. A spring 55 and a ball 56 are fitted in the hollow member 54 and the ball 56 fits in the cup shaped lip 49 and a tension adjusting screw 57 is mounted in the hollow member 54. A toe point 58 is screwthreaded as shown in FIGURES 4 and 6. A screwthreaded opening 59 is tapped into the rear side of the rotatable ball 44 into which the toe point 58 is screwed. A lock nut 60 is provided for adjusting the toe point 58 so that it fits snug in the ski boot toe piece central aperture 9. As shown in FIGURE 2 the ball 44 has a side rotation of 180 degrees.

In the operation of the safety release harness the heel holder 30 is manually raised or rotated which causes the wheel to rotate about its axis 62 thus forcing the

balls

19 and 24 against their respective springs 18 and 23. The movement of the holder 30 and wheel 15 causes the step on plate 33 to be elevated or raised so as to place the heel releasing harness in an open or boot receiving position as shown in FIGURE 1. The toe of the ski boot is then mounted in the toe harness by placing the aperture 9 of the metal plate 3 upon the toe point 58 after which the heel of the boot is pressed downwardly upon the plate 33 forcing same down upon the ski so as to bring the upper rim or lip 61 of the heel holder 30 against the top of the sole of the ski boot for firmly securing the boot to the ski. When an upward pressure is initially applied to the heel holder 30 of the heel release harness the wheel 15 will rotate and the cup shaped lips are pressed against the

balls

19 and 24 pushing the balls against the spring tension members. Upon further rotation of the wheel 15 the

balls

19 and 24 are freed from the cup shaped lips which releases the harness from the boot. If a skier simply wishes to free himself from the harness, he can use the point of a ski pole between the wheel 15 and the heel holder 30 of the heel release harness and with a prying upward stroke of the pole the harness is released. After either the toe or heel release harness have released the spring tension controlled balls just clear the wheel or large ball so they can move freely. When the toe release harness releases sideways only one of the small balls which is in line with the toe point moves out of the cup shaped lip. On a 45 degree angle fall or a backward fall the two balls move out of their respective cup shaped lips, which gives the toe release harness separate adjustments.

The recesses in the vertical supports are slightly deeper than the diameter of the large ball which only touches on the outer edges of the recesses. The vertical supports are positioned on either side so as to give maximum flexibility to the large ball without being too loose so as to rattle.

I claim:

1. A harness for attaching a ski boot to a ski comprisiug a metal plate having an aperture therein secured to the toe portion of the boot, a member mounted on said ski for rotative movement with respect thereto, a holder for the heel of said boot adjustably connected to said member, said holder having a plate pivotally connected thereto and engaged by said boot for rotating said member and moving said holder into engagement with said boot, a second member mounted on said ski for rotative movement with respect thereto and spaced from said first member, an adjustable toe point mounted in said second member for movement towards or away from said second member, said toe point arranged to project into the aperture in said metal plate for retaining the boot upon said ski in conjunction with said holder.

2. A harness for attaching a ski boot to a ski as defined in claim 1 wherein said holder comprises two serrated parts arranged to fit together in adjustable positions with one of said parts being aflixed to said first member and the other part having a slot therein for the reception of a bolt to secure said parts in said adjustable positions.

3. A harness for attaching a ski boot to a ski as defined in claim 1 wherein said first member is mounted on an axle carried by a pair of vertical standards supported on said ski, a spring biased member carried by said standards for engaging said first member, a bracket supported on said ski and a spring biased member carried by said bracket for engaging said first member at a point diametrically opposite said holder.

4. A harness for attaching a ski boot to a ski as defined in claim 2 wherein said part afiixed to said first member has said plate pivotally connected thereto.

5. A harness for attaching a ski boot to a ski as defined in claim 3 wherein said spring biased member carried by said standards includes a cylindrical member afiixed to the upper part of said standards with a spring pressed ball positioned therein for engaging said first member and said bracket has a cylindrical member aflixed thereto with a spring pressed ball therein for engaging said first member and tension adjusting screws mounted in each of said cylindrical members.

6. A harness for attaching a ski boot to a ski as defined in claim 1 wherein said second member is mounted on an axle carried by a pair of vertical stands supported on said ski, a spring biased member carried by said standards for engaging said first member, a bracket supported on said ski, and a spring biased member carried by said bracket for engaging said first member at a point diametrically opposite said toe point.

7. A harness for attaching a ski boot to a ski as defined in claim 6 wherein said spring biased member carried by said standards includes a cylindrical member afiixed to the upper part of said standards with a spring pressed ball positioned therein for engaging said first member and said bracket has a cylindrical member alrixed thereto with a spring pressed ball therein for engaging said first member and tension adjusting screws mounted in each of said cylindrical members.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,224,786 12/1965 Tosalli 280l1.35 3,258,274 6/1966 Beecher 280-11.35 3,317,217 5/1967 Poiger 28011.35 3,333,859 8/1967 Smolka et a1 28011.35 3,343,846 9/1967 Toki 280-1135 BENJAMIN HERSH, Primary Examiner. L. D. MORRIS, JR., Assistant Examiner.