US3820804A

US3820804A - Ski binding

Info

Publication number: US3820804A
Application number: US00272447A
Authority: US
Inventors: W Benner
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1971-07-17
Filing date: 1972-07-17
Publication date: 1974-06-28
Anticipated expiration: 1991-06-28
Also published as: CH559559A5; FR2146251A1; DE2135808A1; AT321168B

Abstract

A ski binding heel unit having a housing and a release lever pivotable relative to a ski base plate and each other. The release lever has an upwardly directed portion with a forwardly extending nose thereon engageable with a pair of faces on the housing. An adjustable compression spring between a rear housing wall and the upwardly directed portion urges the nose of the release lever into engagement with one of two abutment faces on the housing. A rearwardly extending portion is positioned beneath an opening in the housing for actuation of the ski binding.

Description

United States Patent 1191 App]. No.: 272,447

Foreign Application Priority Data Benner June 28, 1974 1 1 SKI BINDING 3,554,571 1/1971 Smolka 280/1 1.35 T 1 3,575,438 4/1971 Unger 1. 280/1 1135 T [76] Inventor: Wlllfgang Benn", 3,580,597 5/1971 Beyl 280/1 1.35 T

Landsiedlerstrasse, 71 84 Klrchberg/Jagsti Germany Primary Examiner-Robert R. Song [22] Filed: July 17, 1972 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Bacon & Thomas tion with a forwardly extending nose thereon engageable with a pair of faces on the housing. An adjustable compression spring between a rear housing wall and i the upwardly directed portion urges the nose of the release-lever into engagement with one of two abutment faces on the housing. A rearwardly extending portion-is positioned beneath an opening in the hous ing for actuation of the ski binding;

14 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures 7 SKI BINDING BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention.

The invention relates to ski bindings, and more particularly to spring loaded, quickly releasable ski bindings in which the heel unit is locked by stepping onto the ski and is released through the actuation of a spring feature a heavy steel construction with precision ma-v chined parts and complex and expensive adjustment mechanisms. These mechanisms also include spring loaded latch elements which are actuated by the boot as the skier steps onto the ski. The latch element is releasable by either the deliberate operation of a release element or under a predetermined stress onthe heel of theski boot, as in safetybindings.

' SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a primary object of the invention to provide a ski binding of the earlier mentioned type which is inexpensive and preferably manufactured of molded plastic elements, and which offers the same advantages as the known ski bindings. This is particularly true in regard to the convenient locking and release of the ski boot while providing a firm, safe connection between the boot and the ski. A further object is to provide easy adaptability of the ski binding as a safety ski binding for use on both junior skis and full-size skis.

The invention proposes to attain the above objects by using a ski binding where a pivotable, spring loaded latch is arranged inside a likewise pivotable housing of the heel unit. A horizontal nose on the vertical latch engages one of two saw-tooth abutments on the housing. A horizontal compression spring urges the latch against the abutments in such a way that theheel unit is locked in place as the housing is pivoted into the horizontal position. Release of the housing is obtained by depressing an offset lever portion of the latch against the spring pressure. It may also be obtained automatically at a predetermined opening pressure generated by the boots when the engaging parts between the latch and the housing have been positioned to operate as a safety release. The lever portion of the latch is preferably accessible from above through an opening in the housing so as to be operable by means of finger pressure or with a ski pole.

The solution provided by theinvention features a minimum of structural elements, most of which are preferably of plastic material and injection molded. The heel unit of the invention also features a single compression spring which performs a double function in that it provides the preload for the latch and also I produces the opening movement for the housing when the latch is released. This double action spring is also conveniently adjustable from the outside to obtain different locking and release characteristics. I

' One version of the invention provides alocking action between the latch and the housing which can only be released by a deliberate release movement on the latch lever. In a second version the locking elements are positioned to operate as an automatic release mechanism to serve as a safety binding which releases the ski boot-under a predetermined overload. In order to obtain this characteristic, the invention utilizes locking elements in which the abutment faces on the housing and/or the locking nose on the latch are rounded or arranged obliquely so as to provide a cam engagement, Y

the locking action of which is a direct function of the spring load applied to the latch. It is also possible to replace one of the two locking faces by a roller which is carried by a horizontal pin; It isfurtherpossible to provide the locking element on the housing as a separate structural part so that the housing is always the same injection molded part, regardless of the type of locking action provided by the locking elements. Such a special interchangeable locking element may be attached to the housing wall by either screws, pins, or bonding. Thus, the modification from one locking characteristic to another locking characteristic merely requires the replacement of interchangeablelocking plates on the housing and locking latches themselves. All other parts remain unchanged. A

Ina particularly simple embodiment of the invention the horizontal compression spring is so arranged that its rear end engages an integral protrusion on the rear wall of the housing and its forward end engages a centering recess on the vertical leg of the latch lever. However, in order to further simplify assembly of the unit and to provide adjustability of the locking and release actions, especially for the safety type binding, it is further proposed that the protrusion on the rear housing wall be replaced by an adjustable threaded pin which engages a threaded bore in the housing wall and which is long enough to provide any required adjustment.

A further preferred feature of the invention provides for a longitudinal adjustment of the heel unit relative to the toe unit of the ski. This is obtained by means of longitudinal lateral protrusions on the base plate of the housing. The housing is then adjustably clamped onto the ski by means of two clamping profiles which engage matching teeth on the housing protrusions. Adjustment is obtained by loosening the screws which retain the clamping profiles, whereby the latter can be lifted to release the toothed housing ledges permitting the heel unit to be adjusted toward or away from the toe unit. Retightening of the clamping screws gives the heel unit a firm longitudinal and vertical hold.

A further provision of the invention relates to the initial mounting of the heel unit on the ski which can be simplified by providing the two injection molded clamping profiles with exterior, transverse connecting yokes so that the two profiles form a one-piece molding. In this manner, the two profiles can be conveniently screwed onto the ski in the proper alignment and with the correct lateral distance, whereupon the connecting yokes are broken away from the clamping profiles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description following below,

when taken together with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, a preferred embodiment of the invention, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a toe unit as part of a ski binding embodied by the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the toe unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a heel unit as part of a ski binding embodiment by the invention;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the heel unit;

FIG. 5 is an elevational cross sectional view of the heel unit of FIGS. 3 and 4 taken along line AA of 7 FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a pre-assembly molding of the clamping profiles for the heel unit of the invention; and

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 8-13 of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, a toe unit 1 includes a hollow main body produced of injection molded plastic which has a central cavity 2 for weight saving and a pair of opposite lateral lugs 3 with bores 3' for screws attaching it to the ski. The toe unit further includes a recess 4 on its rear side which is traversed by a vertical threaded adjustment pin 5. The adjustment pin engages in a known manner a wing-shaped boot retaining cup 6 which can be adjusted vertically by rotating the pin and which is secured against rotation by its lateral engagement with the recess 4 inside the body 1. This toe unit is permanently mounted on the ski, adaptability to different boot sizes being provided by adjustments on the heel unit.

The heel unit as shown in FIGS. 3-5 includes a main housing 8 which contains in its forward portion the same boot retaining elements as in the toe unit, viz. a wing-shaped cup 9 engaging a lateral recess 10 and a threaded adjustment pin 11 for vertical adjustment to the thickness of the heel rim of the boot. Underneath the cup 9 a housing 12 includes a forwardly extending trip plate 13 which extends under the heel of the boot so that, when the skier steps into the ski binding, the housing is pivoted downwardly from its open position into its horizontal locking position. The housing 12 pivots around a horizontal pivoting pin 14 which is located near the lower rear end of the housing. Pin 14 is mounted on a bottom plate 15 which includes a pair of laterally spaced ears 16 holding pin 14. The bottom plate 15 further includes a second pair of ears 17 located forward of the ears 16 and holding a second pivoting pin 18 on which is pivotably mounted a latch 19. The latter consists of an upwardly extending portion in the form of a generally vertically arranged leg 20 which extends upwardly from pin 18 and an actuating arm 20 which extends rearwardly from the upper end of leg 20 so as to be accessible through an opening 20" in the upper wall of housing 12. The latch leg 20 further includes on its upper end a forwardly extending nose 21 which engages a latch element 22 on the housing 12. As can be seen in FIG. 5, the latch element is in the form of a latch plate 22 which is mounted on a forward transverse wall 29 of housing 12.

A biasing means in the form of a horizontally extending compression spring 23 urges the latch 19 into engagement with the latch plate 22 of housing 12. On its forward end, spring 23 engages a centering recess 23' in the vertical leg 20 of latch 19, thereby tending to pivot latch 19 in a counterclockwise direction. The rear end of spring 23 engages the rear wall of housing 12 from the inside via a centering pin 24 which may either be an integral part of the molded housing 12 or take the form of a threaded centering pin 25 (FIG. 5) which is adjustably mounted in a threaded bore in the rear wall of the housing. For a very large adjustment range on the compression spring, it is of course possible to use a threaded pin which is much longer than that shown in FIG. 5, especially when it is desired to adapt this ski binding as a safety ski binding.

In the preferred embodiment of FIG. 5, the latch element forms a plate 22 which has two abutment faces 26 and 27 located a distance above one another and linked by a cam shaped cam portion 28 so as to give the latch plate a saw-tooth shaped outline. In the normal locked position nose 21 of the latch 19 presses against the upper abutment face 26 of the latch plate, and this locked position is maintained by compression spring 23. The heel unit 8 is only then openable, i.e., pivotable upwardly, when latch 19 is forceably moved against the force of spring 23 by depressing the actuating arm 20 either with a finger or with the end of a ski pole. This causes latch 19 to move clockwise against spring 23, thereby releasing the nose 21 from theabutment face 26. As the compression spring 23 rests against the pivotable housing at a distance about its pivot pin 14, the spring 23 at all times exerts an upwardly directing pivoting movement on the housing. Thus, the release movement of latch 19 allows the housing 12 to pivot upwardly into the open position under the action of spring 23. This open position is determined by the nose 21 which catches the lower abutment face 27 of the latch plate. The housing is returned into its lower locked position by the action of the ski boot entering the binding and engaging trip plate 13, thereby causing the latch nose 21 to glide over cam 28 of the latch plate 22 until, in the lower end position, latch 19 snaps over the upper abutment face 26 to lock housing 12 of the heel unit'in position.

It is also possible to provide the latch element 22 as an integral part of the housing 12. The preferred embodiment, however, provides a separate latch plate 22 (as shown in FIG. 5) which may be attached to the housing by screws, rivets, or by bonding. This has an advantage in that the heel unit can easily and inexpensively be provided with the elements of a safety binding, when the latch plate 22 as shown is replaced by a different latch plate which, instead of having the saw tooth outline has rounded abutment portions or a different angle on its abutment faces, depending on the friction coefficient of the materials used. In this case it is also suggested to use a modified latch lever 19 the nose 21 of which either includes a roller on a horizontal pin or has an appropriately rounded or slanted outline. With a heel unit modified in the above manner it is possible for the latch to be opened by the ski boot, which when it exerts an upward pressure against cup 9 of the unit, causes the latch plate 22 to be snapped from under the nose (or roller) 21 of latch 19 by moving the latter against spring 23. The amount of force required to affect such a release can be adjusted by adjusting the preload condition on the compression spring 23. This adjustment is obtained on the threaded pin 25 which may include a dial or other visible reading marks on the housing 12 so as to allow a convenient setting of the critical release conditions. The earlier described snaplatch unit (shown in FIG. 5) can thus be quickly and expensively transformed into a safety binding by modifying three simple parts, viz. latch plate 22, latch lever 19, and a longer adjustment pin 25.

As can be-seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the base plate of the heel unit is laterally larger than the housing 12 itself. These lateral longitudinal protrusions on base plate 15 are engaged by matching longitudinal clamping profiles on either side of the housing which overlap the protrusions and thus press the base plate 15 against the ski. The mating faces of the base plate protrusions and of the clamping profiles further include matching transverse serrations to possibly prevent any longitudinal displacement of the heel unit relative to the clamping profiles 30. The teeth of the transverse serrations are approximately 1 mm deep. The two clamping profiles 30 are attached to the ski by means of several screws 31 (FIG. 4). Both the base plate 15 and the two clamping profiles 30 with their serrations are injection molded from plastic material.

An additional advantageous feature of the invention resides in the fact that the two clamping profiles 30 are injection molded as a single one-piece unit as shown in FIG. 6. This is done by adding to the ends of the two profiles connecting yokes 32 which hold the two profiles in proper alignment and in correct lateral spacing. This frame-like molding which can be slipped over the heel unit greatly simplifies the initial mounting of the unit on the ski by preventing any misalignment during the drilling of the holes for the screws 31. Once mounted, the connecting yokes 32 are simply broken off. This is simplified by providing weakening notches 32' between the ends of the clamping profiles 30 and arms 33 of the connecting yokes 32.

While one embodiment of the invention has been described, it will be understood that it is capable of manyfurther modifications and this application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptions of the invention following in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within knowledge or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains, and as may be applied to the essential features hereinbefore set forth and fall within the scope of the invention or the limits of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A ski binding heel unit comprising:

a. a base plate adapted to be secured to the ski,

b. upwardly extending front ear means and rear ear means on said base plate,

c. a housing pivotally connected to said rear ear means,

d. boot heel engaging means on said housing,

e. said housing being pivotally movable on said rear ear means for movement between an open, step-in position and a closed, retaining position,

f. said housing having a latch member thereon, said latch member including a pair of abutment faces thereon,

g. a release lever pivotally connected to said front ear means and including a rearwardly extending lever arm and a forwardly extending nose, said nose being engagable with said abutment faces, and

h. spring means positioned between said housing and said release lever for biasing said release lever into contact with said abutment faces and biasing said housing toward its open position.

2. A ski binding heel unit as'defined in claim 1 wherein said housing has an opening therein adjacent said rearwardly extending lever arm.

3. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1 wherein said two abutment faces'include a cam between them forming a saw tooth outline which engages said nose in the manner of a cam when the heel unit is lowered into its operating position.

4. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1 wherein an upper face of said abutment faces and said nose have a rounded configuration so as to form an overload release or safety release which is adjustable through adjustment of the preload of the biasing means.

5. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1 wherein an upper face of said abutment faces and said nose have a slanted configuration so as to form an overload release or safety release which is adjustable through adjustment of the preload of the biasing means.

6. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1 wherein said nose is in the form of a roller which rotates around a horizontal axis.

7. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1 8. A ski binding heel unit .as defined in claim 1 wherein said biasing means is in the form of a compression spring and rests with one end against a pin shaped protrusion on the rear wall of the housing and with its other end against said release lever and being centered in a centering recess in said upwardly extending portion.

9. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 8 wherein said centering pin is part of a threaded adjustment screw which engages a threaded bore in the rear wall of the housing.

10. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1 wherein said housing and said release lever are pivotable about a pair of pivoting pins, said pivot pins being retained in spaced upwardly extending ears.

11. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1 wherein said base plate includes a lateral protrusion on each side, the heel unit further including two clamping profiles which engage the lateral protrusions from above, thereby adjustably clamping the heel unit onto the ski, matching faces of the lateral protrusions and of the clamping profiles including matching transverse serrations.

12. A ski binding heel as defined in claim 11 wherein said two clamping profiles are a one-piece plastic molding prior to initial assembly, the ends of the profiles being linked by connecting yokes with weakening notches at the connecting points, so that the connect ing yokes can be broken off following assembly of the heel unit to the ski.

13. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1 wherein said housing includes on its forward side a trip plate which extends beyond said base plate so as to reach under the heel of the ski boot, the heel unit further including an adjustable heel retaining cup engaging the rim of the heel from above and a threaded adjustment pin for the vertical adjustment of said retaining cup.

14. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 13 wherein said housing, release lever, base plate, heel retaining cup, and serrated clamping profiles of the heel unit, as well as the entire toe unit are manufactured of plastic material.

Claims

1. A ski binding heel unit comprising: a. a base plate adapted to be secured to the ski, b. upwardly extending front ear means and rear ear means on said base plate, c. a housing pivotally connected to said rear ear means, d. boot heel engaging means on said housing, e. said housing being pivotally movable on said rear ear means for movement between an open, step-in position and a closed, retaining position, f. said housing having a latch member thereon, said latch member including a pair of abutment faces thereon, g. a release lever pivotally connected to said front ear means and including a rearwardly extending lever arm and a forwardly extending nose, said nose being engagable with said abutment faces, and h. spring means positioned between said housing and said release lever for biasing said release lever into contact with said abutment faces and biasing said housing toward its open position.

2. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1 wherein said housing has an opening therein adjacent said rearwardly extending lever arm.

3. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1 wherein said two abutment faces include a cam between them forming a saw tooth outline which engages said nose in the manner of a cam when the heel unit is lowered into its operating position.

7. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1 wherein said abutment faces form part of a plate which is attached to the rear side of a transverse housing wall.

8. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1 wherein said biasing means is in the form of a compression spring and rests with one end against a pin shaped protrusion on the rear wall of the housing and with its other end against said release lever and being centered in a centering recess in said upwardly extending portion.

12. A ski binding heel as defined in claim 11 wherein said two clamping profiles are a one-piece plastic molding prior to initial assembly, the ends of the profiles being linked by connecting yokes with weakening notches at the connecting points, so that the connecting yokes can be broken off following assembly of the heel unit to the ski.