WO1980000063A1

WO1980000063A1 - Slalom ski binding

Info

Publication number: WO1980000063A1
Application number: PCT/SE1979/000116
Authority: WO
Inventors: J Gustavsson
Original assignee: J Gustavsson
Priority date: 1978-06-19
Filing date: 1979-05-22
Publication date: 1980-01-24
Also published as: CA1134403A; ATA430179A; JPS6258748B2; DE2952860T1; EP0016777A1; AU4810179A; CH644026A5; SE409176B; JPS55500486A; AU528002B2; GB2038189B; EP0016777B1; GB2038189A; AT370001B; IT1117223B; SU1041018A3; DE2952860C2; IT7949426A0

Abstract

A safety binding (1) for downhill skiing comprising a toe connection means (5, 24) and a heel connection means (6) for cooperation with corresponding parts of a ski boot (3), in which the toe connection means comprising a rotatable roller (5) having a support web portion (16) and from the said web portion an upwardly diverging conical portion (17), which roller (5) and its shaft (12) are spring biassed and movable in the longitudinal direction of the ski (2). The heel connection means (6) comprises an U-formed clamp (26, 27) which is rotatably mounted about a vertical fixed pin (25) of the binding and which is formed with two parallel upright lock clamps (27) having recesses facing the front part of the binding and cooperating with side rollers (33) of the boot. The toe connection means (5, 24) and the heel connection means (6) are interconnected over a base plate (24) which is fixed mounted on the ski (2).

Description

Slalom ski binding.

The present invention generally relates to ski bindings, and more particularly the invention is directed to a type of slalom binding, so called _^release binding, which is formed with a toe fastening means and a heel fastening means which co-operate with the slalom boot in such a way, that the binding does not cause a release of the boot at normal skiing but oppositely causes a release of a boot from the binding at a relative force between the slalom boot and the binding exceding a predetermined force. It must be possible to obtain a release either in that the boot is subjected to a strong rotating movement in relation to the slalom binding or in that the boot is raised from the binding at the heel fastening means or possibly at the toe fastening means.

-Ski bindings of this type are well known in the art and the ski binding which is at present most commonly used comprises two separate parts, viz. a toe connection means and a heel connection means. The heel connection means is formed so that it may, by a special actuation, be fold up whereas the toe connection means com¬ prises a bracket which generally can be rotated .about a vertical shaft but which by an adjustable spring is kept in a predetemin^dλJS- ΛT central position. The slalom boot is clamped into such a binding in that the boot is put down on the binding. and the toe cup is moved into a position underneath the bracket at the toe connection means, whereup the heel connection means is treaded down so as to clamp the heel port of the boot to the ski or the binding.

It has proved hat the friction between the boot and the ski at rotation under load often is too high. so that the binding does not release sufficiently early, and to eliminate the said disadvantage an anti-friction plate has been mounted just behind the toe bracket at a bottom plate which is connected to the toe connection means. In this case it is important that the toe cup bracket is adjusted so that the slalom boot is kept pressed on-to the friction plate and so that the said pressure is such that the binding really releases if the boot is rotated vigorously in relation to the ski. A too strong pressin downwards of the boot may cause that the binding does not release and a too light clamping may cause that the binding releases at too low forces. Also the heal connection means must press the boot to the binding with such force that the binding releases when the boot is raised with an exactly predetermined force.

Ski binding of this type are disadvantageous in some respects. Both the toe connection means and the heel connection means must be adjusted very carefully depending on the weight of the skier, the skill ness of skiing, the condition of the ski path and many other factors. The adjustment must be made very exactly what is both a time consuming and an accuracy demanding work. It is also very important that the boot is completely clean at the bottom surface both when adjusting the binding and when skiing, since snow, ice, sand or any other materia at the bottom surface of the boot cause changes of the release values. Further the friction plate for the toe cup of the boot is worn by time, and the binding frequently must be readjusted. Since the binding is formed with two parts there is also a need for great accuracy when mounting the binding on the ski, and both rough adjustment and fine adjustment of the release forces must be made after the binding is mounted on the ski.

In order to eliminate some of the above mentioned disadvantages another type of ,ski binding has entered the market which is a so called plate binding in which the toe connection means and the heel connection means are mounted in a plate which is releasable and which can in turn be clamped to the ski by means of two fastening means, one for the front part of the plate and one for the rear part of the plate. and lifting forces, and at release the entire unit of boot and plate is released whereas on the contrary the fastening means remain on the ski.

Also in this type of ski binding there are two adjustment means for the plate, one for the front part of the plat'e and one for the rear part thereof. Also in this binding there is an anti-friction plate provided just behind the toe connection means mounted on the ski, and also in this case snow, ice, sand and other impurities may cause a false rotation release. Also in this case the toe connection means and the heal connection means are separated from each other and also in this case the adjustment must be made by means of two separate adjustment screws. Like in the previously discussed ski binding the toe connection means and the heel connection means move when the ski bows for instance at a pit or a hump, and there is a serious risk that the binding falsely releases at pits or humps of the slope.

Another type of ski binding, in which attempts have been made to eliminate further or other disadvantages comprises a plate, which is screwed to the underside of the boot and which co-operates with two side palls which are screw connected to the ski. Also this binding is sensitive to snow, ice or impurities under the boot or under the plate, impurities may easily enter the clamp mechanism for the side palls, and the side palls must for various reasons be very strongly clamped, and therefore it may be difficult to put on the boot including the attachment plate on the ski binding, especially for children.

Most of the previously known ski bindings also involve the dis¬ advantage that the boot always must enter the binding with the toe part first whereas it may see. natural to many people to clamp the binding with the heel part of the boot firstly put down on the ski or the bottom plate. In most of the previous slalom bindings the heel connection means is provided to clamp the boot at the rearmost part thereof, whereas for orthopedical reasons it is considered more suitable to provide the heel connection means so as to form substan¬ tially an elongation of the longitudinal direction of the fibula (the lower leg portion). In this case a rotation and a subsequent release follows substantially about the center of the leg rather than some distance behind the said center like in the previously known ski bindings.

Basis of the invention therefore is the problem to provide a safety ski binding for downhill skiing which provides α simple connection of the binding to the ski, provides α simple treading of the^' boot into the binding, is formed as an integral unit of toe connection means, heal connection means and intermediate plate, provides a good release depending on side forces, makes a release possible even in the direction upwards of the toe portion, allows a release upwards for the heel portion of the boot, which has one single adjustment means which is common for the entire ski binding, which keeps the boot safely and free from play, which may easily be moved to other skies, which is basicly unsensitive to snow, ice, dirt and impurities both as concerns the mechanism and present under the boots, in which the boot can very easily be treaded after the binding has released, which is completely unsensitive to bows of the ski at pits or humps etc., and which is completely maintenance-free.

Thus the invention relates to a safety ski binding for downhil skiing comprising a toe connection means and a heel connection means for co-operation with corresponding parts of a ski boot, and the invention is generally characterized in that the toe connection means comprises a rotatable roller which is spring biassed in the direction towards the heel connection means and which comprises a cylindrical shaft and from the said shaft and upwardly diverging conical portion.

The toe connection means and the heel connection means are interconnected by means of a binding plate, and the entire binding provides an integral unit which,as a unit_/can be mounted directly on the ski. The conical portion of the toe connection roller may be a biconic roller which in addition to a release both in the transvers direction and in the direction upwards of the toe part of the boot at super strong load also makes it possible to tread the boot into the binding by pressing the boot straight downwards by contacting the upper cone of the biconic roller. The heel connection means comprises a pair of clamps having grooves engaging the heel portion of the boot and which co-operate with rollers provided in the boot substantially on line with the fibula of the skier. The heel connection clamp is preferably rotatably mounted in the intermediate plate and it is suitably formed so that the boot can be mounted also in that the in that the boot does not directly contact the binding, plate but there is a small space between the binding plate and the boot what makes the ski bindings fairly unsensitive to snow, ice and impurities at the underside of the boot.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will be evident from the following detailed specification in which reference will be made to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings figure 1 diagrammatically and in a perspective view nearly from in front illustrates a ski binding according to the invention and the belonging boot; figure 2 diagrammatically and in a perspective view from behind shows the same ski binding but without the boot; figure 3 is a vertical cross section centrally through an embodi¬ ment of the ski binding and figure 4 illustrates the same ski binding from the above and in part diagrammatically.

With reference to the drawings there is shown a safety ski binding 1 for downhill skiing which is formed as an integral unit and adapted to be mounted on a ski 2 and for use together with a ski boot 3 having special fittings adapted to the binding. The binding generally comprises a base plate 4 which at its front end carries a toe connection means in a form of a conical or biconical roller 5 and which at the rear end carries a heel connection means 6 for the boot.

As best illustrated in figure 3 the base plate 4 is formed as a box which is at least partly hollow and which comprises a top plate 7 a bottom plate 8 and sides 9. The plates 7 and 8 may be of metal, for instance aluminium, which is suitably treated to act repellent to snow, ice and dirt etc. At the front end the base plate 4 carries the toe connection means 5 for the boot 3 and at the rear end the base plate carries the heel connection means 6 for the boot.3.

The toe connection means includes a slide 10 which is slidable in the longitudinal direction of the ski binding inside the base plate and it is guided by two longitudinally extending guide bars 11. In the slide 10 a pin screw 12 is mounted which extends up through a ongitudinal slot 13 of the top plate 7. The upper portion of the pin crew 12 carries the toe connection roller 5 on ball bearings 14 so hat the roller by the least possible friction can rotate about the in screw 12. The roller 5 is formed with a guiding base disc 15 contacting or provided adjacent the top plate 7, and from the bas disc 15 a short web portion extends upwards which runs into an up wardly diverging cone 17. The cone angle can^" be varied according the circumstances, but a suitable cone angle may be 45- . From the divergingcone 17 the roller is formed with an upwardly/converging second cone 18, so that the roller provides a bicone having a cone angle tip or narrow border surface 19. The cone surface 17 acts to enable a release by rotating the boot 3 upwards from the heel con¬ nection means and the cone surface 18 acts to enable a treading of the boot into a binding with the toe cup moved downwards over the cone surface 18. At the front short end the base plate 24 has a projecting screw support 20 which is fixed connected to the base plate, and through the said screw support a screw„21 extends,rear¬ wardly to a shoulder of the slide 10. The portion of the screw 20 facing the slide 10 is tapered at 22, and there is a shoulder between a narrow portion 22 and the white portion of the screw. On the narrow portion 22 of the screw a number of cup springs 23 are mounted and the said springs are clamped between the shoulder of the screw 21 and the slide 10. By adjusting the screw 21 it is consequently possible to provide a stronger or lighter clamp force for the boot. By further reducing or increasing the number of cup springs the binding can easily be adapted to different sizes of boots or to boots of different types.

For co-operation with the roller 5 the boot is provided wit a connection bar 24 at the toe cup thereof. The connection bar 24 screwed or in any other way stably mounted on the boot and it is bow formed or angularly formed. The angle and the length of the connection bar 24 is adapted to the intended effect. A short connec tion bar or a connection bar having a wide opening angle gives a quicker release than a long connection bar or a bar having a more narrow opening angle. By the bow form or angle form the boot gets a possibility to rotate some distance in relation to the roller 5 while the said roller 5 is pressed forwards against the action of the cup springs 23, and if the torque does not exceed the maximum torque for release the spring biassed roller 5 presses the boot bac to its initial position as soon as the torque or the rotation force ceases. Since the binding is completely symmetrical the boot may rotate in both directs with the same effect. At the rear end of the binding the top plate 7 and the bottom plate 8 projects some distance outside the base plate 4 and between the said projecting mounted about a vertical pin 25. The heel connection means or the heel clamp is formed by a bottom plate 26 which is rotatable ^'about the vertical pin 25 and which at each side of the binding carries an up¬ wardly projecting lock clamp 27. The lock clamps 27 can be screwed or mounted in any other way at the bottom plate 26 and at the front edges each lock clamp 27 is formed with a recess preferably in the form of three straight edges of which the bottom edge 28 extends parallelly to the base plate 4, the rear end 29 extends upwards at some angle rearwardly from the bottom edge 28 and the upper edge 30 extends forwards-upwards at some angle to the horisontal plane. Above the recesses the lock clamps provide a forwardly directed ear 31 the front edge 32 of which is directed upwards-rearwards at some angle to the horisontal plane. The angles of the upper edge 30 and the front edge 32 are determined according to the circumstances. The purpose of the upper edge 30 is to make a release possible by lifting the boot upwards with a force exceeding a predetermined maximum clamp force, and the purpose of the front edge 32 is to enable a threading of the boot straight downwards into the binding.

For co-operation with the lock clamps 27 the boot is provided with a roller 33 on boths sides thereof. The roller 33 is formed with a vertical or slightly conical flange 34 and a horisontal cylindric portion 35. The purpose of the flange 34 is to provide a guiding of the boot into exact position against the lock clamps 27, and the purpose of the horisontal cylindric portion 35 is to provide a locking of the boot in the lock clamps. Therefore the dimension of the hori¬ sontal portion 35 of the rollers 33 is adapted to the dimensions of the recess 28-30. It should be observed that the toe and heel clamps and the corresponding parts of the boot is preferably formed so that the boot is not in direct contact with the top plate 7 but a small space is present between the boot and the top plate to permit a slight amount of snow, ice or dirt on the boot without causing problems.

The binding can be mounted in any suitable way on the ski and in figure 3 is shown how the binding is mounted by means of screws 36 acting from underneath the ski. Preferably the rear portion of the binding is connected by means of two parallell screws whereas the front portion is connected by means of one single screw. In order to eliminate the risk of unintentional release in case of pits humps or similar the binding can be mounted on a slight distance above the upper surface of the ski, and for this purpose a space washer 37 to bow without inflicting the binding.

In the conventional way the binding^' can be provided with recesses for a catch strap -for instance in the form of a slot 38 provided in the portion of the bottom plate 8 projecting rearwardly or the binding can be provided with a stop means of a type known per se which releases and stops the ski as soon as the boot is re¬ moved upwards from the binding.

The binding according to the invention may as a complete be manufactured and adjusted in a factory together with a boot and the • is no need for a complicated mounting or adjusting. The only thing which possibly remains is the adjustment of the release force depen on special demands from the skier and this is made by one single adjustment means, viz. the screw 21. The boot can very simply be treaded into the binding either in that the toe connection bar 24 i introduced in the toe roller 5 whereupon the boot is treaded downwa with the heel portion, whereby the cylinder part 35 of the boot rol 33 slides along the front edge 32 of the lock clamp 27 and snaps in the recess 28-30, or in that the boot is mounted in the opposite wa viz. so that the heel portion is firstly moved into the lock clamps 27, whereupon the toe portion of the boot is treaded down over the biconical roller 5. Since there is no connection between the unders of the boot and the binding both ways of treading the boot into the binding are like easy, and in both ways the double cone roller is moved somewhat forwards against the action of the cup springs 23 until the toe or heel portion of the boot has snapped into its respective connection means.

It is to be understood that the above described embodiments of the invention which are illustrated in the drawings are only illuminating examples and that all kinds of modifications may be presented in the scope of the appended claims.

-O

Claims

C l a i m s

1. Safety binding for downhill skiing comprising a toe connection means and a heel connection means for co-operation with corresponding parts of a ski boot, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the toe con¬ nection means comprises a rotatable roller (5) having asupport web portion (16) and from the said web portion an upwardly diverging conical portion (17), which roller (5) and its shaft is movable in the longi¬ tudinal direction of the ski while being spring biassed.

2. Safety binding according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r¬ i z e d in that the heel connection means comprises a U-formed clamp (26, 27), which is rotatably mounted about a fixed pin (25) of the binding.

3. Safety binding according to claims 1 or 2, c h a r a c¬ t e r i z e d in that the toe connection means and the heel connection means are interconnected over a base plate (24) in which both the toe connection means and the heel connection means are mounted.

4. Safety binding according to claim 1, 2 or 3, ' c h a r a c- t e r i z e d in that the heel connection means or the heel clamp comprises two parallell and upwardly directed lock clamps (27) having recesses facing the front part of the binding, whereby the upper edge (30) of the said recess extends at some angle to the horisontal plane in order to enable a release upwards of the heel part of boot (3), and in that the lock clamp (27) has an entering edge (32) extending upwards-rearwards from the said upper edge (30) in order to enable a treading down of the ski boot into the binding from above the binding.

5. Safety binding according to claim 4, c h a r a c t e r¬ i z e d ^• in that the boot at a point substantially corresponding to a plane extending through the tibia of the skier has a connection roller (33) on each side, which rollers coact with the lock clamps (27) to clamp the boot in the binding.

6. ^'Safety binding according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r¬ i z e d in that the toe connection roller (5) is a biconic roller having a conical upper surface (18) allowing a treading of the boot into the binding from above and having a conical under surfa (17) allowing a release in the direction upwards of the boot.

7. Safety binding according to claim 6, c h a r a c t e i z e d in that the toe connection roller (5) is rotatably mounte about a vertical pin (12) which in turn is mounted in a slide (19 which is slidable in the longitudinal direction of the binding an which is spring biassed.

8. Safety binding according to claims 6 and 7, c h a r a t e r i z e d in that the slide (10) is slidably guided by two parallell guide bars (11), and in that the- spring actuation is pr by a screw (21) which is threaded at the front part of the binding and which has a shoulder, and in which a pressure spring means (2 is provided between the shoulder of the screw and the slide (10).

9. Safety binding according to claim 3, c h a r a c t e i z e in that the binding together with the base plate ,(4) is mounted at a slight distance above the ski (2).

10. Safety binding according to claim 3, c h a r a c t e i z e d in that the toe connection means and the heel connection means or the heel clamp are formed so that there is a slight spac between the under side of the boot (3) and the upper side (7) of the binding.