US3659866A

US3659866A - Heel binding

Info

Publication number: US3659866A
Application number: US876788A
Authority: US
Inventors: Paul S Petersen
Original assignee: SPORTS Tech
Current assignee: SPORTS Tech; Sports Technology Inc
Priority date: 1969-11-14
Filing date: 1969-11-14
Publication date: 1972-05-02
Anticipated expiration: 1989-05-02
Also published as: JPS5218613B1; CA933200A; FR2069417A5; DE2054713A1

Abstract

A release heel binding for use with skis and ski boots which utilizes a torsion bar type means for restraining the boot, permitting some upward movement of the heel, and means for positively releasing the ski boot after the heel has lifted a predetermined amount. The unit is adjustable so that the necessary force required to release the boot can be changed to make the binding usable across a wide range of operating conditions. The torsion bars provide for high energy storage to return the binding when lower than release loads have been encountered. The unit can be reset either by stepping into the binding, or by a manual reset movement of a lever.

Description

United States Patent [15] 3,659,866 Petersen May 2, 1972 [54] HEEL BINDING Primary ExaminerBenjamin Hersh Assistant Examiner-Robert R. Song [72] Inventor. Paul S. Petersen, Minnetonka, Minn. An0mey Dugger, Peterson Johnson & westman [73] Assignee: Sports Technology, Inc., Edina, Minn.

57 ABSTRACT [22] Filed: Nov. 14, 1969 1 App]. No.: 876,788

15 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures 3 Sheets-Shani If)! 1!! I ll I I!!! will!!! I)!!! v III I! I If! if!!! 1114.

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Patented May 2, 1972 3,659,86

3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVEN'IOR. PAN/l 5. PETERSEN HEEL BINDING BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to heel bindings for use with skis and ski boots.

2. Prior Art The commercially available heel bindings on the market which provide for a release of the heel utilize compression springs for resisting movement of the heel and an overcenter toggle arrangement for release when the lifting force on the heel has exceeded a predetermined amount. The problem is that the amount of upward movement of the boot permitted is usually quite low. Compression springs require a great deal of space so the springs are kept short in bindings to keep them contact and therefore the spring movement cannot be very great. Where overcenter or near center linkage holding action is relied upon, the location of the pivot points for the release linkage has to be very precise or else the unit can lock in holding position and not release when desired.

It is desirable to permit the heel to lift off the ski under skiing conditions to absorb shock loads, and store energy during the lifting so that the unit will return the boot heel firmly against the ski when the high loads have been removed unless a full release force is reached. This permits a setting which will let the ski boot move up when high lift forces are encountered but will always control the boot and return it securely to the ski except under loads high enough for release.

Additionally, it is desired in many instances to hold the ski boot down under a resilient load or spring load onto the ski so that there is no looseness in the binding itself.

None of the prior art devices fulfill these requirements to the full extent necessary and still keep the cost down. Also, the use of the torsion bars in the present device in combination on a heel binding for skis presents a unique way of getting high energy storage to permit upward movement of the heel, and subsequent returning of the heel to its held position without full release.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a releasable heel binding utilizing torsion bars for holding the heel of a ski boot in place, and for energy storage when the boot raises under high loads. The binding is constructed so that the amount of force necessary to release the binding is adjustable. The release action is a positive mechanical release that physically moves levers into a released position after the heel has lifted a desired amount from the ski. The heel binding is made so that the heel is held securely without increase in forward pressure throughout a heel lift to one half to three quarters of an inch from the ski, and when released, the heel cup or holding member actually exerts an ejecting action on the boot to positively release the boot.

In addition, the unit is made of simple stamped or formed parts that do not require complex machining or casting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a top plan view of a heel binding made according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the device of FIG. 1 showing the unit in a full released position from upward force on the ski;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken as on line 4-4 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on substantially the same line as FIG. 4 but showing the unit in a fully released position at the point of release by the ski, and corresponding to the position of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken as on line 6-6 in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view showing the device after the unit has been released, or when the hand release lever has been moved to a manually released position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A release heel binding illustrated generally at 10 is mounted onto a mounting member 11 that is fastened to a ski 12 in a suitable manner. The mounting member 11 has upturned edges forming channel shaped tracks into which a main frame 13 is slidably mounted. The frame 13 can be adjusted in fore and aft positions, with a screw arrangement as shown, which also holds the binding in proper position. The frame is used for supporting the components of the assembly. The frame can be adjusted as desired and will be held in place.

The frame 13 is used for mounting a heel cup or heel holding member 14 of the heel binding. The heel cup 14 has a lip member 15 that engages the groove in the rear heel portion of the ski boot 16 in the usual manner. The heel cup as shown has a forward surface that inclines downwardly and rearwardly from this lip 15 so as to not interfere with the boot heel in normal skiing position.

The heel cup is held in place through the use of a pair of links and the links control the movement of the heel cup. There is a first, U-shaped upper link or lever 17. The upper link 17 has a top plate 18 and depending

legs

19,19. The

legs

19,19 extend outside of opposite uprightly extending support walls 22 of the frame 13. The link 17 is pivotally attached to these support walls with suitable pivot pins so that it pivots about an axis 23. The forward portions of the link 17 are pivotally mounted about a pin axis 24 to the upper part of the heel cup 14. The heel cup is also held in place with a pair of lower links or levers 25. The lower links 25, as shown, have offset rear portions, and the front portions are pivotally mounted at 26 to opposite sides of the lower part of the heel cup. The lower links 25 extend on the inside of the side walls 22 of the frame 13, and at the rearward ends of the links extend upwardly, and the rearward ends are pivotally mounted with a cross pin 27 to coupling links 28. The pin 27 for pivotally mounting the

links

25 and 28 together is slidably mounted in slots 29 defined in set portions of the

side walls

22,22 of the frame. The slots 29 are made in an indented part of the side walls so that they have an edge surface on which the pin 27 slides along the slots as the coupling links 28 and the lower links 25 are actuated. One cross pin 27 is used for joining the two sets of

links

28 and 25.

The coupling links 28 are each pivotally mounted at their opposite ends with pins 30 to the

side legs

31,31 of a U-shaped closing and release lever assembly 32. The lever 32 is pivoted to frame 13 as at 34 and is formed so that the legs 31 will fit outside of the side support walls 22 of the frame 13 when it is in its down position as shown in FIG. 4. The side support wall 22 is cut away to provide clearance for the pin connection between the coupling links 28 and the walls 31 of the closing and release lever. The pins 30, as shown, are at right angles to the plane of the coupling links 28 so that they can pivot freely. The pin connection to the slanting legs 31 of the coupling lever is made so that this can be done.

A pair of relatively light tension coil springs 33, 33 are positioned between the lower links 25 and the lever 32, to cause the lever to rotate about its pivot axis 34. The springs are connected to the lever 32 at position between the pivot axis 34 and the pins 30. The springs 33 are used for providing a force tending to put the lever towards its seated positioned as shown in FIG. 4 when resetting the lever, and also for holding the lever in up" position as shown in FIG. 7. The force from springs 33 goes overcenter to hole lever 32 up when it is fully raised.

The movement of the upper link 17 about its pivot 23, and consequently the movement of the heel cup 14 upwardly, is restained and controlled through the use of a torsion bar assembly illustrated generally at 38. The torsion bar assembly 38, as shown, is a rod bend into a U-shape. The bar assembly has a pair of

side legs

39,39 joined together adjacent the base end of the unit. The legs 39 each form a separate torsion bar member. At the forward end of the unit, each of the torsion bars 39 has an

actuating lever

40 and 41, respectively. The lever 40 is positioned ahead of the lever 41, and extends inwardly or in other words toward the opposite torsion bar 39 from the bar to which it is attached. The lever 41 is positioned to the rear of the lever 40 and extends toward the opposite torsion bar 39 from which it is attached. The torsion bars 39 are positioned adjacent the edges of the ski and the spring lever extend transversely across the ski to greatly conserve space. The outer ends of the

levers

40 and 41 are flattened, as shown, and a pair of tension links 42 and 43, respectively, are connected to the torsion bar levers 40 and 41. The tension links in turn are mounted over a hanger or control nut 44. The nut 44 is supported for sliding movement along the top wall 18 of the link 17. The top wall has a slot 45 defined therein, and the nut 44 has an upper section 46 that has wing-like projections on opposites sides of the slot 45 that ride against the top surface of the wall 18 and prevent the nut from passing down through this slot. The nut has a lower portion 47 below wall 18, and the lower portion 47 also has lateral

projections forming recesses

48,48 on opposite sides thereof into which the upper ends of tension links 42 and 43 can be hooked. An adjusting screw 50 is rotatably positioned through a rear wall 49 of link 17 and is threadably mounted through the lower portion 47 and the nut 44. The screw 50 is held from axial movement in the wall 49 and controls the movement of the nut back and forth in the slot 45 defined in the top wall 18 of the upper link 17. Thus, as the heel cup raises, the link 17 is lifted and the bars 39 are stressed in torsion.

The torsion bars 39 are elongated members than can absorb torsion stress. The rear ends of these bars are restrained by the frame and by the curved portion of the U. Individual elongated members could be used and restrained at the rear end of the bonding with suitable levers or lugs.

The movement of the nut 44 along the slot 45 determines the leverage of the link 17 acting on the torsion bars 39 when the heel 16 of the ski boot tends to lift in upward direction against the lip of the heel cup. The nut movement will in turn provide adjustability to adjust the force that is necessary to lift the heel cup so the heel binding can be used for children, juniors or adults.

The heel binding of the present invention is made so that it will tolerate shock loads. The torsion bars will store energy if the heel is lifted to return the heel to position flat against the top part of the ski when the load is reduced or removed. lt can be seen that as the heel tends to lift up, the heel cut will cause the upper link 17 to pivot about the pivot points 23 and 24 while the lower link 25 also pivots upwardly. The movement of the link 17 will cause the tension links 42 and 43 to lift the outer ends of

lever

40 and 41 upwardly and thereby cause torsion stress in the torsion bars or legs 39 of the torsion bar assembly 38. This creates a restraining force that is relatively high, without having a bulky compression or tension spring. The torsion bars can store large amounts of energy without requiring a large volume of space for movement.

Until the binding is tripped, it will cause the heel to be returned to the ski when the force tending to lift the heel has been removed. Thus shock loads in skiing will be accommodated by this heel binding without any difficulty. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the heel cup 14 will be permitted to pivot upwardly without tripping the binding until the upper edges of the lower links 25 lift the pins connecting the connecting link 28 to the closing and release lever 32 to an on center" position with pin 27 and pivot 34. This is shown in dotted lines in FIG. 4. Any movement of the heel cup upwardly to this position will be permitted and the binding will return if the load is removed. However, if the upward load is increased so that the torsion bars are stressed in torsion sufficiently high to permit further movement of the lower link 25 beyond this position, the upper edge of the lower link will lift pins 30 and lever 32 to a point where the axis of pin 30 goes past a line between the axis of pin 27 and pivot 34.

The force from the heel on lip 15 will be tending to pull link 25 forwardly. Thus the links 28 will be pushing forwardly on pins 30. As soon as pin 30 goes overcenter the force from links 28 will throw the lever 32 upwardly and pin 27 will be permitted to slide forwardly in slots 29. The force on lip 15 causes this action. The forward movement of links 25 thrusts the lower portions of the heel cup forwardly to position shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. The lower end of the heel cup moves forwardly to more or less eject the boot from the binding and fully release the skier in time to prevent any damage to the skiers leg.

As soon as the heel 16 is released, the torsion bars will snap the tension links and the

links

17 and 25 down to a position Where the links are in their at rest position, but the release lever 32 will remain up. The light springs 33 go overcenter to hold the release lever in its raised position. The position is shown in FIG. 7. This is the manually released position of lever 32 and the binding as well as the release position after the foot has been ejected. A small forwardly extending tab can be placed onto the bottom edge of the heel cup so that when the unit is to be reset, the heel of the boot can be stepped down against the tab and this will move the link 25 rearwardly so that the pin 27 will slide rearwardly in the slots 29 and link 28 will pull the lever 32 back downwardly. The springs 33 go overcenter again and exert enough force to flip the lever 32 down into its closed position so that an automatic step-in is provided.

The use of the torsion bars for a release heel ski binding permits storage of high energy levels in a compact space and finds wide usage in permitting this storage of energy. The travel of the torsion bar levers before release can be adjusted and the amount of energy stored can be adjusted. The movement of the nut 44 controls the amount of force that is necessary for releasing by changing the leverage on the upper link 17. The vertical distance of movement of the heel cup prior to release remains the same because this is determined by the position of the links and levers.

Operation is enchanced by the use of the torsion bars which can store a good deal of energy over a substantial distance of movement of the boot so that the ski boot heel can be permitted to lift without full release and return to a flat position on the ski as desired and also by the ability to change the leverage or mechanical advantage to a fixed force spring rather than changing the spring force to change the setting.

The heel cup, as shown in FIG. 5, can be made adjustable by utilizing a frame 52 that has the main portion of the cup mounted thereon and a screw 53 for adjusting it up and down to provide for different types of boots. The cup is made so with the upper link 17 and the lower link 25 operating the cup will follow a path which permits the heel of the boot to move up without exerting any substantial forward force on the boot. The heel cup does not move away from the boot heel either, so the boot will not be released prematurely. With proper adjustment, the initial lifting force of the heel can be a desired fraction of the full release force. There can be a preset downward force on the heel. The heel binding does have a positive release after the boot has moved upwardly. The

links

25 and 28 and lever 32 are positive actuators for the release mechanism. This is different than relying on conventional near center holding action of links. In the present device the positioning of the pivot points is not particularly critical for getting holding force. The links here are actually physically released by movement of one of the links itself so that if the locking pivot points are slightly shifted because of manufacturing variations, the danger of locking the binding in holding position is not present. The release is positive and related to movement of linkages restrained by the torsion springs, rather than being related to force exerted on the holding links. The amount of force necessary to trip here is determined only by the torsion bars and the setting of the leverage adjustment.

The binding unit also permits a lever action insertion of the foot, if the step-in action is not desired. The ability to close the lever from position as shown in FIG. 7 manually or with the tip of a ski pole is important because in some cases it is difficult to step into a binding, particularly in powder snow. The heel cup can be positioned so that even with step-in action, the heel cup will slightly tension the torsion bars when it is in its holding position. A low closing pressure on the lever 32 can produce a large clamping pressure at the heel cup because of the mechanical advantages involved. For example, when the lever 32 goes overcenter in a closed position, the mechanical advantage of this lever tending to raise the upper link slightly when the lip hits the heel is quite great. The springs 33 provide this force on lever 32.

As shown in FIG. 1, the top wall 18 can have suitable markings on it so the setting of the adjusting nut and thus the setting of the binding can be easily determined.

High energy storage is possible in a limited space with torsion bars. The bars can be stressed higher during operation than a coil spring due to the Wahl factor which limits operation stress in a coil spring. Energy storage, the important function in the present device, is a function of the square of the stress so higher stress levels give much higher energy storage. There is no large sweep volume necessary in actuating a torsion bar as the only moving part is the actuating lever. The torsion bars are also easy to attach to the movable portions of the binding. Torsion bars which are actuated in only one direction as here can be preset or prestressed in a known manner which allows them to operate at an apparent higher stress level resulting in further savings of weight and spring volume. Approximately one-third as such steel is required in a torsion bar as compared to a coil spring to obtain the same energy storage. A coil spring have the equivalent energy sotrage capacity to torsion bars 39 would be much too large to be generally considered for usage in a ski binding.

The ability to change the mechanical advantage of the linkage means that the adjustment does not require tightening or loosening the torsion bars. Thus the bars dont change in force range, but the leverage of the biasing force changes. The full torsion bar bias force is usable whether the unit is set for a child or adult, so the binding action is uniform across the range of movement of the heel cup but the actual force required to lift the cup changes in level.

The torsion bars are retained under shoulders at the edges of frame 13. These shoulders are cut away so they don t interfere with operation of

levers

40 and 41.

What is claimed is:

1. In a release binding for use between a ski boot and a ski, a frame, means for mounting said frame to a ski, boot retainer means adapted to engage a portion of a ski boot, means mounting said boot retainer means to said frame to permit movement of said boot retainer means relative to said ski to a boot releasing position, and means to resist movement of said boot retainer means toward boot releasing position comprising an elongated bar member mounted with respect to said frame and having a longitudinal axis extending in a first direction with respect to said ski, means restraining said bar member from rotating with respect to said frame, actuator means attached to said bar member at spaced location from said restraining means, and means coupling said actuator means and said boot retainer means whereby the actuator means is rotated about the longitudinal axial of said bar member and said bar member is stressed substantially only in torsion about said longitudinal axis when said boot retainer means moves toward boot releasing position relative to said ski.

2. In a release binding for use between a ski boot and a ski, a frame, means for mounting said frame to said ski, boot heel retainer means adapted to engage the heel portion of a ski boot, means mounting said boot heel retainer means to said frame to permit movement of said boot heel retainer means relative to said ski, said means mounting said boot retainer means comprising a first link means between said boot heel retainer means and said frame, said first link means being pivotally mounted to said frame about a generally horizontal axis and connected to said boot heel retainer so that upon upward movement of said boot heel retainer said first link means will pivot, and means to resist upward movement of said boot heel retainer means comprising an elongated bar member having a longitudinal axis extending in a first direction with respect to said ski, means to restrain said bar member from rotating with respect to said frame, and means between said first link means and said elongated bar member to cause said elongated bar member to be stressed in torsion to resist movement of said first link means and said boot heel retainer means with respect to said ski.

3. The combination as specified in claim 2 wherein said means between said link means and said elongated bar member includes adjustable means to permit changing the effective point of application of force from said elongated member on said link means with respect to the pivotal connection of said link means to said frame.

4. The combination as specified in claim 2 wherein said heel retainer is mounted to the frame with two link means, a second link means including actuator means, said actuator means being positioned so that upon movement of said heel retainer upwardly, portions of said second link means contacts said actuator means and causes a releasing action of said heel retainer with respect to the heel of a ski boot.

5. The combination as specified in claim 4 wherein said second link means includes a release lever, means acting between said actuator means and a portion of said release lever whereby said actuator means moves said release lever to release position after said second link means has moved a predetermined amount.

6. A ski boot binding for use between a ski boot and a ski comprising a frame, means for mounting said frame to a ski, boot retainer means, means mounting said boot retainer means on said frame so as to permit boot releasing movement of said boot retainer means relative to said ski, and spring means to resist movement of said boot retainer means relative to said ski comprising torsion bar means, said torsion bar means comprising at least one elongate member mounted on said binding and having a longitudinal axis extending in a first direction along said ski, lever means fixedly connected to said elongated member adjacent one end thereof and extending laterally therefrom, means acting between said binding and elongated member to restrain the opposite end of said elongated member from rotating about its longitudinal axis, and means acting between said lever and said boot retainer means whereby movement of said boot retainer means relative to the ski will cause said lever to stress said elongated member in tor sion about its longitudinal axis.

7. The combination as specified in claim 6 wherein linkage means are provided for mounting said boot retainer means to said frame, and wherein said means connecting said lever to said boot retainer means includes an adjustable member mounted on said linkage means, and means to move said adjustable member so as to change the effective leverage of the force exerted by said torsion bar means on said boot retainer means.

8. The binding as specified in claim 6 wherein said boot retainer means comprises a heel retainer movable upwardly from the ski to a release position, and linkage means mounting said heel retainer means to said frame including a link connected to the heel retainer and pivoted to said frame rearwardly of the heel retainer, and means coupling said lever means to said link whereby movement of said link about its pivot will move said lever means to change the torsional stress in said elongated member.

9. A heel binding for use between a ski boot and a ski comprising a frame, means for mounting said frame to a ski, heel retainer means mounted on said frame so as to permit upward movement of said heel retainer means relative to said ski, and torsion bar means to resist movement of said heel retainer means relative to said ski in upward direction, said torsion bar means comprising two elongated members mounted on said binding and extending generally in direction of the length of said ski, separate lever means fixedly connected to said elongated members adjacent first ends of said elongated members, said lever means of each elongated member extending transversely to the ski and to the elongated members, means to restrain second ends of said elongated members with respect to said ski, and means between said lever means and said heel retainer means whereby movement of said heel retainer means upwardly from the ski will cause said lever means to stress said elongated members in torsion.

10. The combination as specified in claim 9 wherein linkage means are provided for mounting said heel retainer means to said frame, and wherein said means connecting said levers to said heel retainer means includes an adjustable member mounted on said linkage means, and means to move said adjustable member so as to change the effective leverage of the force exerted by said torsion bar means on said heel retainer means.

11. The combination as specified in claim 10 wherein said linkage means includes a pivoting lever, said lever being pivoted to said heel retainer means and to said frame, and said adjustable means includes a nut threadably mounted onto a screw, said nut being movable along said linkage means between the pivots of said lever.

12. The combination as specified in claim 10 wherein said linkage means includes upper and lower links, said upper and lower links being pivotally mounted between the heel retainer means and the frame at opposite ends thereof, the pivot points of said upper and lower links being positioned so that as said heel retainer means moves upwardly toward a release position the heel retainer means does not substantially change the force on the ski boot held therein in direction along the longitudinal axis of the ski.

13. The heel binding of claim 9 wherein said elongated members are spaced apart in transverse direction and said lever means on one of said elongated members extends toward the other elongated member.

14. The heel binding of claim 13 wherein said elongated members are joined together at the ends thereof opposite said levers to form a U shaped structure.

15. The combination as specified in claim 9, and release means for said heel retainer means including linkage means mounting said heel retainer means to said frame and movable against the action of said torsion bar means, and a releasing element movable to position to release said release means after said heel retainer means has lifted a predetermined amount from said ski.

Claims

6. A ski boot binding for use between a ski boot and a ski comprising a frame, means for mounting said frame to a ski, boot retainer means, means mounting said boot retainer means on said frame so as to permit boot releasing movement of said boot retainer means relative to said ski, and spring means to resist movement of said boot retainer means relative to said ski comprising torsion bar means, said torsion bar means comprising at least one elongate member mounted on said binding and having a longitudinal axis extending in a first direction along said ski, lever means fixedly connected to said elongated member adjacent one end thereof and extending laterally therefrom, means acting between said binding and elongated member to restrain the opposite end of said elongated member from rotating about its longitudinal axis, and means acting between said lever and said boot retainer means whereby movement of said boot retainer means relative to the ski will cause said lever to stress said elongated member in torsion about its longitudinal axis.

14. The heel binding of claim 13 wherein said elongated members are joined together at the ends thereof opposite said levers to form a ''''U'''' shaped structure.