US3504923A

US3504923A - Device for use with skis

Info

Publication number: US3504923A
Application number: US719973A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ludwig Berchtold
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Marker International Co
Priority date: 1967-04-20
Filing date: 1968-04-09
Publication date: 1970-04-07
Anticipated expiration: 1987-04-07
Also published as: AT280865B; DE1578723A1

Description

April 7, 1970 L. BERCHTOLD 3,504,923

DEVICEFOR USE WITH SKIS Filed April 9, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 7, 1970 BERCHTOLD DEVICE FOR USE WITH SKIS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 9, 1968 April 7; 1970 L. BERCHTOLD $5 DEVICE FOR USE WITH SKIS I Filed April 9, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig. 6

United States Patent ()fice 3,504,923 Patented Apr. 7, 1970 DEVICE FOR USE WITH SKIS Ludwig Berchtold, Krailling, Bavaria, Germany, assignor to Hannes Marker, Germisch-Partenkirchen, Germany Filed Apr. 9, 1968, Ser. No. 719,973 Claims priority, applicatign 1(:firmany, Apr. 20, 1967, 2

Int. Cl. A63c 9/084, 9/083 US. Cl. 280-1135 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a device for use with skis comprising a safety binding, e.g., in the form of an automatic heel-releasing device, and a retaining belt, which is secured to the ski. It is an object of the invention so to improve a device of this kind that the retaining belt does not only perform its normal function to prevent a loss of the ski when the binding has been opened but can serve additionally as an ankle bandage. This is accomplished according to the invention in that a holding device which is mounted on the ski serves to tension a portion of that part of the retaining belt which extends between the boot and the fixing means and the belt-holding element of said holding means releases the retaining belt and permits said retaining belt portion to relax in responseto an opening of the safety binding. When a safety binding, such as an automatic heel-releasing device, is ready for skiing use, a firm connection is thus ensured between said heelreleasing device and the skiing boot whereas the opening of the binding results in a release of the belt to such an extent that it acts no longer as a bandage but only as a retaining belt and is held only by its second, direct connection to the heel holder on the ski. A reverse portion of the belt is provided between means for directly anchoring the belt and the tension-resisting fixing means for the belt, which means is released in response to an opening of the binding, so that the belt can slip out when the holding device has been opened and the opening of the safety binding will not be adversely aifected.

The tension-resisting fixing means must be adapted to be engaged quickly and easily when the heel holder on the ski is open and ready to he stepped in and when the heel holder on the ski is closed and ready for skiing use. In a development of the invention, the holding element consists of a bolt, which is loaded by a spring and is adapted to be inserted through a'hole in the retaining belt into a passage defined by a channel member, which is secured to the ski, preferably to the housing of the safety binding, the retaining belt being threaded through said channel member, which forms preferably the anchoring means for the retaining belt, the end of the retaining belt being secured to the channel member by a rivet or being adapted to bear against the channel member by an enlargement, which is secured to the end of the retaining belt. The housing is pivoted to a bearing bracket, which is secured to the ski.

The invention will now be described with reference to embodiments shown by way of example on the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section,

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line IIII in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1 but shows the safety binding half open,

FIG. 4 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1 but shows the safety binding fully open,

FIG. 5 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing another embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 6 is a side elevational showing a modification of the embodiments of the invention shown in FIGS. 1-4 and FIG. 5, respectively, and

FIG. 7 shows the embodiment of FIG. 6 with the open binding.

FIGS. 1 to 7 show three different embodiments of fixing means for retaining belts. The fixing means are illustrated in connection with so-called automatic heel-releasing devices. The latter are shown in simplified representations showing only the functionally essential parts.

In a first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 a bearing bracket 2 for a housing 4 is secured to a ski 1. The housing 4 is pivoted by a pivot pin 5 to the bearing bracket 2 and is provided with a channel member 6. A belt 12 is threaded through the passage defined by the channel member 6. The housing 4 is formed with a bore 7. A holding element consisting of a bolt 8 extends through the bore 7 into the passage defined by the channel member 6 and is secured to a leaf. spring 9. The latter is fixed to the housing 4 by a rivet 10. At that end which is remote from the fixing point to the housing 4, the leaf spring 9 is angled twice to form a slider 11, which is Z-shaped in cross-section. A hook 3 of a releasable coupling engages the free flange of the slider 11. The coupling releasably connects the ski 1 to the bolt 8, which is slidably mounted in the housing 4 of the safety binding. The hook protrudes from the ski 1 approximately at right angles to the bearing surface of the bearing bracket 2. A retaining belt 12 is secured to the channel member 6 by a rivet 13 and forms a loop behind the bolt 8. The bolt 8 extends through a hole 14 of the retaining belt to hold the same against tension as long as the safety binding is closed.

During the releasing operation, the heel of the skiing boot acts in the direction of the arrow P on the heel holding-down member 15 of the housing 4 to swing the housing 4 away from the bearing surface of the ski. As the slider 11 protruding from the bolt 8 is interlocked with the hook 3, the slider and with it the bolt '8 are initially held back and the channel member 6 is withdrawn from the bolt 8 so that the latter releases the retaining belt 12, which can be pulled through the channel member 6 to an extent which corresponds to the length of the loop.

As the releasing operation is continued, the hook 3 and slider 11 disengage and the leaf spring 9 pushes the bolt 8 back into the passage defined by the channel member 6. If the hole 14 of the retaining belt 12 is not yet in registry with the bore in the housing 4, it will be sufiicient to pull at the loop end until this registry has been established so that the bolt 8 can fall in. This may be effected when the heel holder has already been opened.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment which is similar to that of FIGS. 1 to 3. A hearing bracket 17 is secured to a ski 16 and a housing 18 is pivoted by a pin 19 to the bearing bracket 17. A retaining belt 40 is threaded through a channel member 20. The channel member 20 and a guide bushing 21 for the holding bolt 22 are secured to the housing 18. The bolt 22 extends through a helical compression spring 23, which bears at one end on a spring abutment connected to the bolt 22 and at the other end on an inturned rim 25 of the guide bushing 21 so that the spring urges the bolt 22 upwardly, A flange 26 is secured to the bolt 22 and interlocks with a hook 27 of a coupling for releasably connecting the bolt 22 to the ski 16. A leaf spring connects the hook 27 to the bearing bracket 17 of the housing 18.

The mode of operation is the same as that explained in conjunction with the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 4.

According to FIGS. 6 and 7, a bearing bracket 30 for a housing 31 of an automatic heel-releasing device is secured to a ski 29. The housing 31 is pivoted to the bearing bracket 30 by a pin 32 and forms a unit with the channel member 33, through which a retaining belt is threaded. A guide housing 34 for a bolt 35 and a compression spring 36 are secured to the bearing bracket 30. The compression spring 36 bears at one end on a flange 37 of the bolt 35 and at the other end on an inturned rim of the guide housing 34. The bolt 35 is held in the housing 34 against the force of the compression spring by a pin 38 so that the bolt can be displaced only in a downward direction from the position shown in FIG. 6. The upper end of bolt 35 extends through bore 39 in the housing 31 into the passage defined by the channel member 33. A retaining belt 40 has a hole for the bolt 35 and is provided with an enlarged end portion 41 so that the belt 40 cannot escape through the channel member 33 even when the bolt 35 has left the hole in the belt. A stop 42 is engageable with the channel member 33 in a position in which the hole in the belt 40 is in registry with the hole 39 in the housing 31.

During the releasing operation, the heel of the skiing boot acts on the heel holding-down member 44 in the direction of arrow R and swings the housing 31 upwardly (FIG. 7). The bolt 35 leaves the channel member 33 to release the retaining belt, which can slip out until the enlarged portion 41 engages the channel member. In this embodiment, the retaining belt can be fixed to resist tension only when the heel holder on the ski is in condition ready for use. Unless the hole in the retaining belt 40 is incidentally in registry with the bore 39 of the housing 31, the bolt 35 is depressed by a distance a. The bolt 35 can fall in as soon as the retaining belt 40 has been pulled rearwardly (to the right in the drawing) to the limit defined by the stop 42.

The bore 43 in the top of the channel member 33 serves for checking the falling-in of the bolt 35.

The bolt may be provided with a conspicuous color on its top end face.

What is claimed is:

1. In a combination of a retaining belt and a ski binding having an automatic heel-releasing device with the belt preventing total disconnection of the ski boot upon actuation of the heel-releasing device, the rear end of said retaining belt attached to the ski binding, the front end of said belt adapted to be connected to the ski boot, a portion of said retaining belt adjacent the front end thereof lockable to the binding, said heel-releasing device including means for locking said retaining belt via said lockable portion when the heel-releasing device is closed and releasing said lockable portion responsive to opening of said heel-releasing device, the improvement comprising spring means biasing said means for locking said retaining belt to the locked position and means to effect release of said locking means from said retaining belt when said heel-releasing device is opened.

2. The improvement of claim 1 wherein said means to effect release of said locking means is a hook means.

3. The improvement of claim 1 wherein said spring means is in the form of a leaf spring.

4. The improvement of claim 1 wherein said spring means is in the form of a coil spring.

5. The improvement of claim 4 wherein said means for locking the retaining belt comprises a pin slidably mounted in a housing of the safety binding and wherein said spring surrounds said pin.

6. The improvement of claim 5 wherein said housing is rigidly secured with respect to the ski.

7. The improvement of claim 1 wherein said means for locking said retaining belt and said spring means are mounted on the fixed part of said heel-releasing device.

8. The improvement of claim 1 wherein said means for locking the retaining belt comprises a pin slidably mounted in a housing of the safety binding and wherein said means to effect release of said locking means comprises a hook fixedly mounted with respect to the ski, which hook is adapted to hold said pin in a fixed position relative to said ski until the release of said locking means is effected.

9. The improvement of claim 8 wherein said spring means is in the form of a leaf spring, wherein said pin is mounted on said leaf spring and wherein said hook is adapted to engage the end of the leaf spring adjacent the pm.

10. The improvement of claim 1 wherein said means for locking the retaining belt comprises a pin slidably mounted in a housing of the safety ski binding, wherein said means to effect release of said locking means comprises a hook mounted on a leaf spring, the free end of which is mounted on the bearing bracket of said ski binding, and wherein said hook is adapted to hold said pin in a fixed position relative to said ski until the release of said locking means is effected.

11. The improvement of claim 1 wherein said retaining belt has a hole therein, wherein said means for locking the retaining belt comprises a pin slidably mounted in a housing of the safety binding, said pin being adapted to engage said hole, wherein said retaining belt is provided with stop means to limit its movement relative to said pin, wherein said binding is rovided with a channel member, and wherein said stop means is positioned so that the pin is in alignment with the hole when said stop means abuts said channel member.

12. The improvement of claim 1 wherein a window is provided for inspecting the position of said means for locking the retaining belt.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,259,701 10/1941 Legros 28011.35 2,610,068 9/1952 Majneri 280-1135 3,186,727 6/1965 Hatlapa 280-l1.35

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,337,872 8/1963 France. 1,482,109 4/1967 France.

179,790 1/ 1936 Switzerland.

OTHER REFERENCES Weberling, German application Ser. No. 1,182,562, printed Nov. 26, 1964.

LEO FRIAGLIA, Primary Examiner MILTON L. SMITH, Assistant Examiner