US3471161A

US3471161A - Ski binding

Info

Publication number: US3471161A
Application number: US716103A
Authority: US
Inventors: Mitchell H Cubberley
Original assignee: MITCHELL H CUBBERLEY
Current assignee: MITCHELL H CUBBERLEY
Priority date: 1968-03-26
Filing date: 1968-03-26
Publication date: 1969-10-07
Anticipated expiration: 1986-10-07

Description

Oct. 7, 1969 M. H. CUBBERLEY 3,471,161

SKI BINDING Filed March 26. 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 v 1W5 *T R. FIG. 3 MITCHELL H. CUBB 'RL EY ATTORNEYS Oct. 7, 1969 M. H. CUBBERLEY 3,471,161

SKI BINDING Filed March 26. 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet INVESTOR MITCHELL H. CUEEERLE Wa W ATTORNEYS United States Patent ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE improved binding forresiliently but securely binding the heel ofa skiers boot to a ski during normal skiing use and forreleasing the skiers boot in response to an abnermally strong prolonged pull caused by a fall orfother mishap, is provided with a stifi leaf spring underlying the skiers bootheel and releasable boot heel engaging means for securing said means to the ski. The leaf spring flexes in response to the shocks ofnormal skiing use and in responseto an abnormally strong prolonged pull before release of the skiers boot, thusprovviding a resilient attachment means for theboot heel engaging means, whereby the release means can be set to release at a relatively low release force, without sacrificing security of attachment, for normal use, consequently increasing the safety of the binding in the event of an accident.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION' This invention relates to an improved binding for releasably attaching the heel of a skiers boot to a ski and,

'more particularly, to a binding of this type which is sufli- ,ciently resilient to avoid unnecessarily releasing the skiin response to the sudden shocks encountered in normal 'or high speed skiing, but which is adapted .to release the ski in response to a steady strong pull exerted on the binding as a result of a fall or other serious mishap.

Many skiers prefer to use long thong ski bindings in which a strap or long thong attached directly to the ski is wrapped around the skiers boot to hold down the heel of theboot firmly against the top of the ski. Direct attachment of the skiers boot in this manner gives the skier excellent control, but fails to provide quick automatic release of the ski in the event of a fall. Consequently, use of such a binding is hazardous, although previously common among expert skiers willing to forego safety to obtain the advantages of a. secure heel attachment.

In recent years, however, .it has been recognized that although it is. essential for good control ofthe ski to have a secure heel binding, common sense dictates that the heel binding be automatically releasable in response Claims conditions if a relatively strong pull is required for release.

One such resilient, automatically releasable ski binding is described and claimed by Mitchell H. Cubberley US. Patent 3,272,524, issued Sept. 13, 1966. In. this binding a separable heel binding structure having a leaf spring projecting rearwardly therefrom is secured to the skiers boot by means of a long thong. The separable heel binding structure is releasably mounted on the ski, with the spring under tension, between an anchoring block and a latching assembly engaging the tensioned spring. This binding provides resilience to absorb the shocks of normal skiing. However, under the influence of a prolonged strong, pull, the spring is disengaged 'from the latch means and the heel bindingstructure is separated from the means attaching it to the ski, thus releasing the ski from. the skiers boot and leaving the separable heel binding attached to the boot.

It is a primary object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a resilient, but automatically releasable heel binding which is permanently attached to the ski, i.e. which does not separate from the ski on release of the skiers boot.

It is another object of the invention to provide means adapted to resiliently mount any automatically releasable boot heel binding on a ski to provide increased safety by permitting the binding to be set for release at relatively low release force without sacrificing the security of the binding in use under normal or higher speed skiing conditions. I

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION I leaf spring means may take the form of a generally to an abnormally strong prolonged pull in the event of a fall in which the lever action of the ski would be likely to cause serious injury to theskier, e.g. by fracturing the bones in the skiers leg. For this reason, automatically releasable ski bindings have come into Widespread use. More recently, it has become generally accepted in the ski industry that a certain amount of resilience in the binding, prior to automatic release, materially enhances the safety of automatically releasable bindings, particularly for high speed skiing where greater shocks are encountered than in normal skiing use. The reason for this is that resilience in the binding prior to release tends to prevent unnecessary release by sudden shocks,

.thus permitting the binding to be set to release at a lower release force in response to a prolonged pull. The lower the force or pull required for automatic release, the less likely it is that this forbe' will exceed the breaking strain of the skiersleg an the safer the binding. This is particularly important in falls occurring at relatively slow speeds, since release may not occur under these flat leaf spring member, preferably having a forward planar portion substantially coextensive with the ski body, and a rearward portion which, in the unmounted spring, is upwardly ofiset, and which optionally may also be inwardly tapered. The boot heel engaging means is fixedly mounted on the leaf spring member and is preferably,

'but not necessarily integral therewith. Any suitable means may be employed for permanently mounting the leaf spring member on the ski body. The term permanently mounting is not intended to mean that the leaf spring member once mounted on the ski, cannot be removed, but only that the leaf spring member remains fixed to the ski during use and is normally removed only for adjustment of its position on the ski, maintenance or replacement, or for maintenance of the ski to which it is attached. The leaf spring member is attached to the ski at points adjacent its ends in such a way as to allow the spring member to flex freely intermediate its ends during use. The forward end of the leaf spring member is'fixed to the top of the ski body in such a way as to prevent movement of the spring member forwardly or rearwardly with respect to the ski, without preventing upward flexing movement of the rearward portion of the spring. The rearward end of the leaf spring member is fixed to the ski body in spaced relationship to facilitate flexing of the leaf spring member and provision is made to accommodatethe variation in the length of the spring member as it flexes.

- 3 BREIF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a ski equipped with a novel ski boot heel binding of this invention, including a leaf spring member, and showing in independent boot toe retaining device; a ski boot being shown engaged by the toe binding and just priod to engagment by the heel binding;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the heel binding of FIG. 1 drawn on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the heel binding, drawn on an enlarged scale, and showing the binding engaging the heel of a boot;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the heel binding showing the binding just prior to automatic release or the heel of a boot in response to a strong prolonged upward pull on the boot; 7

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of an alternate means for attaching the forward end of the leaf spring member to a ski body; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of still another means for attaching the forward end of the leaf spring member to a ski body.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The invention will now be described in greater detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to designate like parts.

Referring to the drawings and, more particularly to FIG. 1, a ski body 10 has mounted thereon an automatically releasable toe binding assembly A, and an automatically releasable boot heel engaging assembly B. A skiers boot C is provided with a toe plate 11 and a heel plate 12. In FIG. 1 the toe plate 11 of the boot C is in operative engagement with the toe binding assembly A. The heel plate 12 on boot C is shown about to be engaged by the boot heel engaging assembly B as the skier steps into the ski bindings to put on the ski. The boot heel engaging assembly B is fixedly mounted on a leaf spring member S of the invention, which in turn is mounted on the ski body 10. The illustrated toe binding assembly A, boot heal engaging assembly B and the toe and heel plates 11 and 12, respectively form no part of the present invention per se, since any suitable automatically releasable toe and heel binding assemblies may be used in conjunction with the resilient leaf spring members and mounting means of the invention.

The leaf spring member S may be of any suitable design adapted to be mounted on a ski body at its ends so as to leave the central portion of the spring member free to flex in order to provide a resilient mounting for a boot heel engaging means B. In the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, the leaf spring member S is a generally fiat, stiff spring member, having a forward planar portion 13 coextensive. with the underlying portion of the ski body 10. The rearward portion 14 of the leaf spring member is preferably elevated somewhat above the body of the ski to provide a resilient cushioning effect under the skiers heel and also to facilitate upward flexing of the' spring member in response to an upward pull exerted by the skier. The elevation of the rearward portion 14 of the leaf spring may be accomplished by any suitable means, the simplest expedient being to permanently bend or deform the spring member to provide an offset 15 intermediate the ends of the member. The offset 15 is preferably located at approximately the rear edge of the heel of the skiers boot as best seen in FIG. 3 of the drawings. The rearward portion 14 of the leaf spring is tapered inwardly at each side as shown at 16 in FIG. 2 in order to reduce the width of the spring. In this way the rearward portion of the spring is rendered less stilf and more resilient than the wider forward portion 13, thus providing increased flexibility where it is most needed. The rearward portion of the spring can also be reduced in thick- 4 ness for this purpose, if desired. The springmember S can be made of any suitable spring metal and is designed to have a stiffness suitable to provide the desired resilience under the shocks and upwardly acting pulling forces encounted in normal or high speed skiing. The weight and skill of the skier and the type of skiing all have an aifect on the magnitude of the pulling forces exerted on the spring member. However, while a lighter spring could be used for light weight skiers and a heavier spring for heavier skiers, in practiceit is found-thata spring suitable for use by a skier of 150-175 lbs. is also suitable for 100 lb. to 225 lb. skiers, adjustment for proper release force being made in the boot heel engaging means.

The forward portion 13 of the spring member S is fastened to the ski body 10 by any suitable means adjacent its forward edge 17. For example,'the forward portion of the spring may be fastened directly to the ski body by means of flat headed screws 18 extending through countersunk bore holes in the spring member into the body of the ski as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The screws 18 have flat heads the lower surfaces of which are beveled, normally at 82, in conventional screws. The flat heads of the screws 18 are accommodated in countersunk portions of the bore holes in the portion 13 of the spring so that the heads of the screws are flush with the upper surface of the spring. The countersunk portions of the bore holes are drilled at a angle to the plane of portion 14 so that the screw heads, by virtue of the 82 beveled portions, can rock in the countersunk portions to facilitate lifting and flexing of the rearward portion 14 of the spring. The screws 18 not only securely fix the forward end of the portion 13 of the spring to the ski, but prevent movement of the spring along the ski either forwardly or rearwardly.

An alternate means of anchoring the forward portion of the spring is shown in FIG. 5 wherein a box-like means 19 having a mounting flange 20 is screwed or otherwise fastened to the ski body. The forward edge 17 of the forward portion 13 of the spring is inserted into the opening of the member 19 wherein it has a snug sliding fit. In this way the forward end of the spring is also anchored to the ski and prevented from moving forward toward the toe of the ski. This anchoring means permits removal of the spring member for maintenance or replacement without unscrewing the' forward anchormg means.

Still another means of anchoring the forward portion of the spring member is shown in FIG. 6 wherein the portion 13 of the spring member is provided with a hinge 21 having a mounting flange 22 screwed or otherwise suitably fastened to the ski body 10. In this embodiment it is possible to release the rearward edge of the spring member S and swing the spring upwardly in order to provide access to the upper surface of the ski body for maintenance or removal of snow, ice, grit or other foreign matter without unscrewing the forward anchoring means.

The end of the rearward portion 14 of the spring member S can also be anchored to the ski body by any suitable means adapted to confine the spring member between the forward and rearward anchoring means and permit free flexing movement of the spring. Inasmuch as the chord between the ends of the flexed spring becomes shorter as the spring is bowed and resumes its normal length when the spring is relaxed, it is necessary that provision be made to accommodate this variation in the length of the chord.

This may be done at either the forward or rearward anchoring means. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, provision for such variations is made in the rearward anchoring means, which'comprises a pair of elongated slots 23 in the rearward portion14 of the spring S. The slots 23 may open through the rearward edge 24 of the rearward portion 14 of spring S as shown in FIG. 2 or they may be closed on all sides by the metal of the spring, although elongated in the direction of the long axis of the ski and spring. ROund headed screws 25 or other suitable fastening means, screwed into .the operating lever 41 are the body or otherwise fastened to the ski, extend through the slots 23. The heads of the screws are spaced from the ski a suitable distance to tension the spring by bending it somewhat; the offset portion or a portion of the spring nearer the forward end thereof servingas a fulcrum or point of contact with the ski. The tension thus induced in the spring S positively retains the spring in operative position between the forward and rearward anchoring means and provides the desired cushioning effect under the skiers heel. Having now described the novel resilient leaf -spring structures of the present invention, typical automatically releasable toe and boot heel engaging means useful-in conjunction with the structure of the invention will be described for illustrative purposes. 8

While. any conventional automatically releasable boot toe binding capable of releasing the toe of the: skir's boot in response to lateral, upward or twisting forces on the toe of the boot may be employed, a particularly suitable binding of this type is illustrated in FIG. 1. This releasable boot toe attachment means is disclosed in detail in Mitchell H. Cubberley US. Patent 2,616,714.Ag ain' re ferring to the drawings such a boot toe attachment means A generally comprises a toe plate 11 which is afixed to the boot sole at the toe, said toe plate having a forwardly projecting portion anda holding means which is cooperative with the toe place. The holding means comprises a latching stud 27 and a spring activated thrust means 28, with a pivotal joint 29 connecting said latching 'stud and thrust means in end to end relation. These parts are supported by'upstanding end plates 30and 31 of base 32, the latter being secured to the ski body by screws or other suitable fastening means. The rear free end of the latching stud 27 engages in the seating notch of the toe plate 11'. The-latching stud 27 is-provided with a radically extending fulcrum flange 33 adapted to normally bear flatly against a face of the end plate 31 of the fixed base 32 under the pressure of the spring actuated thrust means 28. Peripheral portions of the fulcrum flange 33 provide fulcrum points about which the latching stud 27 can pivot relative to said end plate 31 when the latching stud is subjected to transverselyapplied or uplifting force suflicient to overpower the counter-force of the thrust means 28, to disengage the latching stud '27 from the seating notch of the boot toe plate 11 with the boot toe releasing effect, all as more particularly set forth in the aforesaid prior Patent No. 2,616,714.

The boot heel engaging assembly B, may be anysuitable conventional heel binding capable of automatically releasing the heel of a skiers boot in response to strong, prolongated lifting or upward twisting forces such as would be encountered in a fall or other mishap. A particularly suitable device of this type is disclosed in detail in C. G. Blackwell, In; US. Patent-3,007,707 and illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the drawings. This boot heel engaging means included a threaded bolt-like element 34 mounted loosely within an oversized opening provided in the upturned rear support member 35 of a base plate 36 which is brazed or otherwiseattached to the rearward portions-14-of the spring member S, or made integral therewith. A. nut 37 is threaded onto the shank of boltlike element 34 and provides an adjustable stop for the front end of compression spring 38, the rear end of which abuts the upturned portion 35 of the base plate 36, and biases element 34forwardly. The front end of thebolt-like .element 34 includes a transversely extending pin 39-pro- 'jecting on opposite sides thereof which is pivotally connectedwithin the curled end portions provided along the rear edge of rearwardly extending boot portions 40 of operating lever 41. The side margins of the base or boot of bent downwardly to form a pair of transversely spaced ears 42 that are mounted on a pivot pin 43 connected between upturned ears positioned on the side edges of the base plate 32.'Thus, operating lever 41 is mounted on a pin 43 for pivotal movement in- 26 which is indented by a seating notch,

a substantially vertical plane between the disengaged unlocked position shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, and the engaged or locked position shown in FIG. 3.

An examination of FIG. 1 will reveal that pin 43 defines a fixed axis of pivotation, the upturned rear support member 35 of base plate 36 defines a fixed fulcrum about which bolt 34 pivots in a substantially vertical plane, and pin 39 comprises a pivotal connection located therebetween which is movable from a position underneath a line interconnecting the fixed pivot axis and fulcrum and a position above that line. Thus, compression spring 38 biases the operating lever 41 into either its locked or unlocked positions depending upon whether the movable pivot axis defined by pin 39 is located above or below the line interconnecting the fixed pivot axis and fulcrum. Furthermore, when the operating lever 41 is shifted between its locked and unlocked positions, movable pivot axis 39 swings about the fixed pivot axis as a center forcing the bolt 34 to move rearwardly axially compressing spring 38 between nut 37 and the upturned support 35. Nut 27 is, of course, used to adjust the pre-load compression on spring 38, thus varying the force holding the operating lever in either locked or unlocked position. The heel plate 12 has an upturned rear portion 45 that includes a pair of notches (not shOWn) located on opposite sides thereof-in position to be engaged by the inturned flanges 46 (see FIG. 2) located on the top edge of downturned ears 42 that depend from the side margins of the base of operating lever 41 when the latte-r is locked or engaged position.

The boot heel engaging assembly also includes a bootpressure actuated tripping or trigger mechanism that has been broadly designated by numeral 47, and which is operative to shift lever 41 from inoperative generally horizontal into operative, generally'vertical position. The trigger mechanism 47 as best seen in FIG. 2 comprises the transverse pin 43 of the boot heel engaging assembly B and intermediate the ends thereof, a pair of trigger elements 49 mounted on pin 43 for rockable movement at opposite sides of the sides edges of upturned portion 50 of the base 32. The trigger elements 49 include a portion projecting forwardly from pin 43 and underlying the heel plate 12 on the boot C and a portion extending rearwardly in position to underlie that portion of the base 51 of the operating lever 41 (FIG. 3) located to the rear of pin 43.

When the operating lever 41 is in inoperative position, the base 51 thereof presses down on the rear end of the trigger elements 49 raising the front ends thereof upwardly off the base 36. When it is desired to lock the boot into the binding, it is only necessary to position the .toe plate 11 in the toe binding assembly A and press the heel plate 12 down onto the trigger elements 49 as seen in FIG. 1, whereupon, these trigger elements will rock on pin 43 camming the operating lever 41 into locked position by pressing upwardly on the base 51 thereof behind its fixed axis of pivotation. In the locked position wherein the lever 41 is substantially vertical, the-front ends of the trigger elements 49 move out of the way between the heel supporting bosses 52 of base 36.

From the above it will be seen that a strong prolonged pull exerted in a generally upward direction by the ski boot will cause the heel plate 12 to exert upward pressure on the transversely spaced ears 42 holding the boot heel down under the tension in the spring 38. The downward travel of the base portion 51 of the operating lever 41 on the pivotal movement is limited by the boss 53 on base 36, so that the lever 41 and associated parts are under positive tension of the spring 38 evenv in inoperative position.

7 ing unit B releases the skiers boot only in response to an abnormally strong prolonged pull suflicient to rotate the cars 42, pivotal connection and bolt 34 to release position, as shown in FIG. 4.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the boot heel engaging assembly B should be designed and adjusted to permit release of the heel of a skiers boot under the influence of a force less than that which would cause serious injury to the skiers leg by bone' fracture or otherwise. The magnitude of the maximum permissable release force will, of course, depend upon the physique of the individual skier using the binding; a lesser force being required for safety if the binding is to be used by a skier of light build, but a greater release force, providing more secure attachment, being permissible for a heavier or stronger skier.

The preferred embodiment of the new heel binding units comprises a generally flat leaf spring S composed of %2 inch spring steel having an offset 15 of inch at the center thereof, as measured by laying the unconfined spring on a fiat surface. When mounted on a ski body as shown, the forward anchoring means holds the forward end of the spring S firmly against the ski and the rearward fastening means holds the rearward end of the spring in spaced relation to the top of the ski. The rearward fastening means is adjusted so that the space between the rearward end of the spring and the ski is less than about inch, if the upper surface of the ski is flat. This distance will vary, of course, from one make of ski to'another, since the upper surfaces of skis are generally tapered, and the degree of taper differs between manufacturers. The purpose of adjusting the rear fastening means in this way is to induce tension in the spring and straighten the upwardly ofi'set rearward portion of the spring to bring it into a plane roughly parallel with the running or under surface of the ski. Inducing -a preload in the spring in this way provides a solid base for the skiers heel in normal skiing use to facilitate edging, which requires such solid contact of the skiers boot with the ski. As can be seen in FIG. 3, such a solid base is provided when the spring S is flat on the ski in the area under the skiers heel. Although any suitable pre-load may be used it is preferred to adjust the rearward fastening means to provide a tension in the spring S of about 50 lbs. Such a pro-load provides a solid heel base for normal skiing, but also provides the requiredresilient cushion under the skiers heel to absorb shocks when jumping moguls.

The boot heel engaging assembly B, when set for an average 150 lb. skier snaps open at an upward release force equivalent to the skiers weight, i.e. about 150 lbs.

The leaf spring S yields sufiiciently at thi load (an upward force of 150 lbs.) to permit the skiers heel to move upward about 7 inch before release takes place. Inasmuch as the boot heel engaging assembly B also yields about inch before release, the total resilience prior to release is about Vs inch, in the case of a 150 lb. skier at a 150 lb. set release force.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the bindings described herein offer a wide variety of settings to suit the needs of individual skiers and types of skiing. For example, the force required to release the boot from the boot heel engaging assembly B can be increased or decreased by adjusting the nut 37 to alter the tension in the spring 38 to obtain a safe setting for a skier of virtually any weight and physical build. Also the adjustable fastening means for the leaf spring, whether the rearward means as shown or the forward means if the positions are reversed, can be tightened or loosened to provide any desired positive tension or pre-load in the spring S up to 50 lbs., 100 lbs., or more, to provide a cushion of the desired resilience.

It is to be understood that while the invention has been described in conjunction with particular embodiments shown in the drawings, that these are only illustrative 8 of many other embodiments which will now be apparent to those skilled in the art, and therefore the particular embodiments shown and described are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is: V V

1. In a ski binding which comprises boot heel engaging means for holding a skiers boot heel securely ina predetermined position on a ski undernormal skiing conditions and for automatically releasing said boot in response to an abnormally strong steady pull, the improvement which comprises'z leaf spring means, said boot heel engaging means being securely fastened to said leaf spring means, and including means to hold the heel of a skiers boot down to prevent lifting of said heel with respect to said leaf spring under normal skiing conditions and means for'permanently fastening said leaf spring means to a ski with said leaf spring means underlying said'boot heel engaging means and overlying said predetermined position, the portion of said spring means above said predetermined position underlying the heel of a skiers boot an'dvfiexing to provide resilience under normal skiing conditions and in response to an abnormally strong steady pull prior to release of a skiers boot from said boot heel engaging means.

, 2. A ski binding according to claim 1, wherein the leafspring means is an elongated spring member having a planar forward portion adapted to lie fiat on'the top of a ski over said predetermined position and a rearward portion offset upwardly from the planar portion of said spring member, whereby said rearward portion is spaced from the top of a ski when mounted thereon, said boot heel engaging means being fastened to said rearward portion of said leaf spring member.

3. A ski binding according to claim 2, wherein the means for permanently fastening said elongated leaf spring member to a ski comprises means for anchoring the forward end of the forward portion of said spring member to a ski to prevent movement ofsaid forward portion of the spring member toward the forward end of the ski, and means for anchoring the rearward end of the rearward portion of said spring member in vertically spaced relation to said ski and permitting slight relative movement of the rear end of said rearward portion of said spring member with respect to and along the length of the ski to compensate for variation in the length of said spring member as it flexes. j

4. A ski binding according to claim 3, wherein vsaid means for anchoringthe forward end of said springmember comprises at least two bore holes extending through they forward portion of said spring member adjacent the forward end thereof, and at least two screws each extend ing through one of said bore holesand into said ski, and said means for anchoring the rearward end of said spring member comprises slots elongated in the direction of the ski, and fastening means extending through said slots and fastened to said ski, said slots permitting said slight movement of the rear end of said spring member along the length of the ski as said spring member flexes.

5. A ski binding according to claim 4, wherein the bore holes through the forward portion of the spring member are countersunk from the top of the spring member at a angle thereto, :said screws have flat heads with beveled lower surfaces, the flat surfaces of said screw heads being flush with the top'of said spring member, and wherein said beveled surfaces of the screw heads permit slight rocking movement between said screw heads and the forward portion of the spring member dueto incomplete contact between the countersunk portions thereof and the beveled surfaces of the screw heads, thus facilitating flexing of said spring member.

6. A ski binding according to claim 3, wherein the means for anchoring the forward end of said spring member to a ski, comprises means to be permanently fastened to said ski and including means for receiving said forward end of the spring member in sliding contact therewith and preventing forward movement of said spring member relative to said ski.

7. A ski binding according to claim 3, wherein the means for anchoring the forward end of said spring member comprises means to be permanently fastened to said ski and means hingedly connecting said spring member to said means to be permanently fastened to the ski.

8. A ski binding according to claim 2, wherein said planar forward portion of said spring member is substantially coextensive with the portion of a ski on which it is to be mounted and said rearward portion is tapered inwardly from the edges of the ski to reduce the width and increase the flexibility of said rearward portion of the spring member with respect to the forward portion thereof.

9. A ski binding according to claim 8, wherein the reduction in width and increase in the flexibility of the rearward portion of the spring member with respect to the forward portion thereof, is positioned rearwardly of said boot heel engaging means.

10. A ski binding according to claim 2, fastened to a ski body, said means for fastening said spring member to said ski body holding the forward end of said spring memberagainst said ski body, and holding the rearward end.

of said spring member in vertically spaced relation to said ski body, the spacing between the rearward end of the spring member and the ski body being less than said offset, whereby said spring member is mounted on said ski body under tension.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS LEO FRIAGLIA, Primary Examiner JOHN A. PEKAR, Assistant Examiner