WO2004060504A1

WO2004060504A1 - A binding for a snowboard

Info

Publication number: WO2004060504A1
Application number: PCT/SE2003/000014
Authority: WO
Original assignee: Af Trolle, Rikard
Priority date: 2003-01-07
Filing date: 2003-01-07
Publication date: 2004-07-22
Also published as: AU2003201939A1

Abstract

A binding (100) with a base plate (102) for attachment to a snowboard or the like has a flexibly stiff heel-holder (102) in an S-shaped loop and a flexibly stiff ankle-holder (103), transversally arranged across the base plate (101). The ankle-holder joins a first end of the base plate (101) and is free in a second end (110). The shoe is inserted into the binding (100) from the side with the free end (110) and initially with the rear end of the shoe (401). Then the foot is rotated into the binding (100), while the ankle-holder (103) elastically is displaced upwards. The rear end of the shoe (401) is fixed by the heel-holder (102) and the middle portion of the shoe is fixed by the ankle-holder (103), as the material of the binding strives to resume its originally shape.

Description

A binding for a snowboard

Technical field

The present invention relates to a binding for fastening a shoe to a snowboard or the like, comprising a base plate for attachment to a snowboard. The invention also relates to a method for fixation a shoe to such a binding.

Background of the invention

Snowboarding is a very popular winter sport as an alternative to skiing down hills, especially among youths and persons of lower middle age. At snowboarding a snowboard is used, whereas both feet are fastened to the snowboard by specific bindings, usually so-called buckle bindings. For this purpose specific snowboard shoes or -boots generally are required. An example of such a binding is described in US-A-6 206 403. There are several other documents concerning similar bindings, which essential comprise a base plate or a sole attached to the snowboard, a padded heel and two straps, to keep the snowboard boot in position in the binding. At snowboarding the user climbs into the binding from above with one foot, and by means of both hands one strap fastens the boot over the ankle and the other strap fastens the front part of the boot. The length of the straps can be adjusted; they have several transversal ribs that lock into a certain position by means of a buckle in the same way as a common ski boot.

One drawback of this type of binding is that both hands must be used to fastened the boot on the snowboard.

Another drawback is that specific snowboard boots generally must be used. A further drawback is that the binding comprises several pieces and is therefore rather expensive to produce. Snowskating, a new board sport that is less complicated to practice in relation to snowboarding is gaining ground. At snowskating a smaller snowboard is used, with or without bindings for fastening the shoes to the board. Snowskating is assumed to be an alternative to snowboarding when the external conditions are limited regarding e.g. low snow supply or bad access to pistes. Only a few cm of snow and a ramp, a small hill or a snowdrift are required to enjoy the sport. It is desirable to be able to use more simple bindings, which are less expensive to produce and which are easier than traditional buckle-bindings for fastening the shoes .

An additional desire is that any type of shoe could be used, such as a gym shoe, a sneaker, a street shoe or a common boot, and that the binding could be used without specifically adjusting it for every user.

Summary of the invention The purpose of the present invention is to remedy the drawbacks mentioned above, and to provide a binding to be attached to a snowboard or the like, and a method for easy fixation of a shoe in such a binding.

A more specific purpose of the present invention is to provide a binding which can be used with any kind of shoe and which not requires a specific adjustment for this shoe, or that the hands need to be utilised for fastening the shoe into the binding.

For obtaining said purposes the invention provides a binding comprising a base plate for attachment to a snowboard or the like, where the base plate includes an upwards and outwards directed heel-holder that forms an S- shaped loop, which joins the base plate at both ends thereof, and an ankle-holder transversally arranged over the base plate, which joins the base plate at one end and is free at the other end. The binding can be used together with any type of shoe inserted into the binding from the side where the ankle holder or -strap has its free end. The introduction starts by initially inserting the heel, then the front part of the shoe presses the ankle strap upwards and is rotated into the binding. The material of the binding strives to return to its original position, which is utilised for fixating the heel by the heel-holder and the foot by the ankle-holder, respectively. A prerequisite for a good fixation is the specific shapes of the holders.

Brief description of the drawings

The invention will be described in more detail below, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig 1 is a schematic view from above of the binding according to the invention,

Fig 2 is a schematic perspective view from the front of the binding shown in Fig 1,

Fig 3 is a schematic view of the binding in Fig 1 and Fig 2, illustrated from the insertion side,

Fig 4 is a schematic view of the binding in Fig 1-3, showing the method for fixation a shoe in the binding in three steps; A, B, and C, respectively, and

Fig 5 is a schematic side view of the binding according to Fig 1-3 showing ^• the different positions of the ankle-holder at step A, B and C, respectively, when using the method according to Fig 4.

Same details of the binding in Fig 1-5 are referred to with same numbering in the following description to increase the understanding of the invention and for the sake of clarity.

Detailed description of the invention

A binding 100 for attachment to a snowboard or the like according to the invention is schematically shown in Fig 1. The binding 100 comprises a base plate 101, a heel- holder 102 and an ankle-holder 103, which form an integrated unit. The base plate 101 has holes (not shown) arranged according to standard for attachment of the binding 100 to the snowboard or the like by for example screws .

The heel-holder 102 forms a flexibly rigid S-shaped loop, which extends upwards and outwards from the base plate 101 and joins a rear part of the base plate 101 with a first end 104 and into a supporting edge 201 of the base plate 101 with a second end 105. The material thickness of the heel-holder 102 varies; the material thickness of the heel-holder 102 is smaller in a first portion 106 and is larger in a second portion 107. The ankle-holder 103 is arranged transversally across the base plate 101 and has a first end joining the supporting edge 201 of the base plate 101 and has a free second end 110. The ankle-holder 103 varies in width and material thickness; part 108 of the ankle-holder 103 adjacent to the end arranged into the supporting edge 20 has the largest width and the largest material thickness, a part 109 adjacent to the free end 110 has the smallest width and the smallest material thickness, as illustrated in Fig 1 and 2. The ankle-holder 103 has a bent shape with a largest distance between the ankle-holder 103 and the base plate 101 about straight above a longitudinal axis of the base plate 101. Further, the ankle-holder 103 is sloping forward with a highest part 202 arranged towards the rear part of the base plate 101 and a lower part 203 arranged towards the front part of the base plate 101. The shape of the ankle-holder 103 is thus adapted to the outline of a shoe. The free end 110 of the ankle-holder 103 is bent so that it is directed outwards and upwards to simplify the insertion of a shoe into the binding 100, as shown in Fig 2. The binding 100, forming a unit, is preferably injection moulded in one piece in a flexible, polymeric material, for example polyethylene HD or the like, which can resist temperatures down to at least -15 °C without cracking. The material can also be a commercially available glass- or carbon fibre reinforced polymer giving a stronger material with increased strength. The binding 100 can also be injection moulded in two pieces to get a lower production cost. In this case, one of the pieces comprises the base plate 101 with the supporting edge 201 and the heel-holder 102, and the other piece comprises the ankle- holder 103, which after the injection moulding is fastened to the supporting edge 210 by fastening means 301, e.g. screws or rivets, as shown in Fig 3. The mould or the moulds, by which the injection moulding is performed for producing a binding 100 in one or two pieces, respectively, is/are constructed to provide the heel-holder 102 with an S-shaped loop, as mentioned above, and to give the ankle- holder its bent shape with the free end 110 directed upwards and outwards from the base plate 102. The shape of the ankle-holder 103 and the heel-holder 102, respectively, is essential for the function of the binding 100, which will be apparent from the continuing description below.

One of the advantages of the binding 100 according to the invention is that it can be used with different types of shoes, e.g. gym shoes, sneakers or boots, which makes specific shoes adapted for snowboarding or snow skating unnecessary. Another advantage is the simplicity at the fixation of the shoe into the binding 100, without needing to bend down the body to fasten the shoe by the hands. Yet another advantage is that the binding 100 is universal, meaning that it fits all shoe sizes and shapes of shoes. As described above, the varying material thickness in the different parts of the heel-holder 102 and the ankle-holder 103, respectively, results in obtaining a number of flex W

points in the material allowing the material to yield at certain stresses. However, the material strives to return to its original shape due to its memory, which is used in the present invention when fastening a shoe in a binding 100.

When the user is going to fix the shoes in the binding 100, the front foot is inserted initially and the rear foot is kept on the board to keep it in place. The front foot is inserted into the binding 100, attached to the snowboard or the like, from the side of the binding 100 where the ankle-holder 103 has its free end 110. The rear part of the shoe 401 is first inserted obliquely inwards and backward towards the heel-holder 102 according to the arrow D in Fig 4, corresponding to a position A for the binding 101 in Fig 4 and Fig 5. Then, the shoe is rotated against the ankle-holder 103, which is displaced upwards elastically by the force of the foot so that when the highest point of the shoe has been passed - Position B in Fig 4 and Fig 5, the ankle-holder 103 returns elastically towards its original position - position C in Fig 4 and Fig 5 - and surrounds the shoe due to the memory of the polymeric material of its original shape. At the same time the heel is rotated into the S-shaped loop according to the arrow E, while the heel-holder 102 increases the pressure on the heel in the rear part of the shoe 401. The supporting edge 201 supports the side of the foot when it is fixed into the binding 100. Note that position A and position C in Fig 5 mainly are the same. The heel-holder 102 and the ankle-holder 103 are manufactured in a material with a memory, which causes the heel-holder 102 to strive back to its original position. The moment into the S-shaped heel-holder 102 formed in this way causes the rear part of the shoe 401 to be fixed into the heel-holder 102. It is required that the width of the S-loop is smaller than the width across the heel of the rear part of the shoe 401, to 20

assure that the shoe is sufficiently fixed into the heel- holder 102. The shoe size and the strength of the user are to a certain extent dependent on each other, since a smaller shoe needs a smaller strength, i.e. force, to be locked into the binding 100. The binding is self adjusting; the more the binding 100 is pressed apart the larger the force on the shoe from both the heel-holder 102 and the ankle-holder 103 and the larger the shoe it can fasten. It is realised from the description that the S-shaped loop of the heel-holder 102 as well as the specific bent shape of the ankle-holder 103 together with the memory of the material are essential for the function of the binding 101. A further advantage of the invention is the non-existent maintenance and the low manufacturing costs at serial production.

The present invention has been described by reference to an illustrative embodiment at use with a snowboard or the like for exemplifying but not limiting purpose. A skilled man in the art easily realises that the binding 100 can be used with any type of board, for example a snowskateboard, which only requires a few cm of snow and a ramp or a small hill to be utilised with pleasure.

A modification of the invention could be to injection mould the binding 100 in several pieces, for example one base plate having a supporting edge, a heel-holder and an ankle-holder, which thereafter are fastened together.

Claims

Binding (100) for holding a shoe on a snowboard or the like, comprising a base plate (101) for attachment to the snowboard, a flexibly stiff heel-holder (102) and a flexibly stiff ankle- holder (103) , the heel-holder (101) , the ankle- holder (103) and the base plate (101) being formed as a unit, wherein the heel-holder (102) forms a loop protruding upwards and outwards from the rear end of the base plate (101), both ends (104,105) of the loop joins the base plate (101), the ankle- holder (103) arranged across the base plate (101) has a first end joining the base plate (101) and has a second end free (110), characterised in that the heel-holder (102) has a smaller width than the rear part of the shoe (401) and the shape of the loop is similar to an S-shape having a smaller material thickness in one part (106) of the heel- holder (102), which by one end (104) joins the base plate (101) , and having a larger material thickness in another part (107) of the heel-holder (102), which by the other end (105) joins the base plate (101); and the ankle-holder (103) has a varying width and material thickness, the end (108) arranged into the base plate (101) being wider and has a larger material thickness than the free end (110).

Binding (100) according to claim 1, characterised in that the ankle-holder (103) has a bent shape with a largest distance to the base plate (101) about straight above a longitudinal axis of the base plate 101 and is sloping forward with a W

highest part (202) against the rear part of the base plate 101 and a lower part (203) against the front part of the base plate (101) .

3. Binding (100) according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the free end (110) of the ankle-holder (103) is directed upwards and i outwards from the base plate (101) .

4. Binding (100) according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterised in that the binding (100) is injection moulded in one piece.

5. Binding according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterised in that the binding (100) is injection moulded in two pieces, where a first piece comprises the base plate (101) and the heel- holder (102) and a second piece comprises the ankle-holder (103) , which is fastened to the first piece by fastening means.

6. Binding (100) according to any of the claims 1-5, characterised in that the binding (100) is injection moulded in a flexible polymeric material, preferably with a memory.

7. Binding (100) according to claim 6, characterised in that glass- or carbon fibres reinforce the polymeric material.

8. Method for fastening a shoe in a binding according to claim 1-7, characterised in that the fastening can be done solely by the users foot in the binding (100) and with the hands of the user free by inserting the shoe into the binding (100) obliquely inwards and backwards from the side of the binding (100) where the ankle-holder (103) has a free end (110), initially with the rear part of the shoe (410), so that the ankle-holder (103) elastically is displaced to a highest point B, then the front part of the shoe (402) is inserted so that the rear end of the shoe (402) is fixed by the heel-holder (102), while the ankle-holder (103) elastically returns mainly to its original position fixing the middle part of the shoe.