EP0749765B1 - Binding element for boots on skis - Google Patents

Abstract

The binding comprises a body (3) which can move along a runner (6). A lock is carried by the body for immobilising it in the runner. The lock is extended by a flexible operating part (14) which extends upwards on a part of the body height. The operating part has a T-shape with a central mounting surmounted by a transverse bar. The external face of the mounting has a ramp in its lower part, orientated such that a force applied on it has a component directed downwards. At the rear is a jaw (2) carried by the body, with a jaw opening lever (5) which moves between top and bottom positions. In the bottom position the lever lies along the body and its end extends beyond the body rear face.

Description

The invention relates to a shoe retaining element on a sliding board, including a ski. More specifically, the invention relates to the position adjustment device longitudinal of a retaining element on a ski.

It is known that a shoe is retained on a ski by a front retaining element and a rear retainer. Usually, each element has a jaw carried by. a body which is mobile under the effect of the shoe stresses against the restoring force a spring housed in the body.

The body of the rear element is, in known manner, movable along a slide, and a lock allows the body to be positioned in a precise position adapted to the length of the shoe. From this position defined by the lock, the body can still slide towards the rear, when the boot is engaged and during ski flexions, against the restoring force one or more springs called recoil springs It also happens that the retaining element front has a movable body along a slide.

For a rear retainer, the recoil spring (s) determine the thrust that the retaining element applies to the boot, the front element forming a fixed stop on the ski. The thrust depends on the longitudinal position of the body along the slide. A position rear element too far back gives too little thrust, resulting in loose support the boot in the retaining elements, great imprecision in the handling of the ski, and a high risk of untimely triggering by premature release of the shoe. A initial position of the rear element too advanced makes it difficult to put on. The push is too strong and disturbs the correct functioning of the retaining elements.

Adjustment of the longitudinal position of the retaining elements, in particular of the element rear, is an important operation on which the proper functioning of the elements depends. A some experience is necessary to perform this operation, because it must be checked that the thrust is within a correct value range. A ski specialist can do this operation without difficulty, but, as a rule, the ski user is not able to perform the adjustment itself, or to find a good adjustment after an accidental displacement of item.

Thus, with respect to the specialist, the lock which allows this longitudinal adjustment must be accessible and easy to maneuver. Once the lock is in the open position, the body of the element can be easily manipulated to bring it into a new position. This is particularly important for skis used for rental where adjustment is necessary for each new user.

With respect to the user, the lock must be well protected to prevent it from opening accidentally, for example, while skiing, following blows from from the other ski during a fall, or from the skis of other skiers in the queues to the lifts. It is also necessary to prevent the lock from accidentally opening during transport and handling of skis.

A lock, as described in German patent application DE 27 47 626 is easy to maneuver but poorly protected. Indeed, given its dimensions and its orientation, the long operating tab can be very easily lifted accidental, for example when handling skis.

A lock as described in patent applications DE 30 15 478, and FR 2 451 756 is better protected insofar as it offers little grip outside the body. However, the longitudinal adjustment requires the use of a tool. Its use for specialist is therefore not simple.

Similar locks are described in Austrian patents published under numbers AT 389 039 and AT 387 150. These locks housed in recesses at the base of the bodies are well protected but difficult to handle without the use of a tool.

A lock such as that described in patent application FR 2 672 506 offers a good compromise between good protection for the user and ease of operation for the specialist. In addition, the body is easy to move for the specialist. Indeed, by placing by example the thumb on the body of the element, and by raising the loop with the index finger, the specialist has a good grip for easily moving the body to its new position. Such a lock is however complex to carry out on a mechanical level, because it requires several pieces of link to access the lock itself.

A lock of the same type is described in the Austrian patent published under the number AT 2107/92.

An object of the invention is to improve the existing adjustment devices, and to achieve a longitudinal adjustment device which gives a very good compromise between the ease of manufacturing for the manufacturer, accessibility and ease of handling for the specialist, and protection against accidental opening for the user.

This object is achieved by the invention as defined in claim 1 in Annex.

Thus, the invention proposes to achieve this goal by extending the horizontal part of the latch by a flexible operating member extending along the rear face of the body the retaining element, and having the overall shape of a "T", including the branches of the bar horizontal top are intended to be lifted by two fingers of the hand.

According to a preferred embodiment, the operating member is produced in a flexible material.

According to another preferred embodiment, the base of the operating member has a ramp oriented from bottom to top and back to front.

The invention will be better understood by referring to the description below and to the drawings which are an integral part of it.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rear retaining element fitted with the longitudinal adjustment device of the invention.

Figure 2 shows in side view and in partial section the rear part of the element Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a front view of the actuator which equips the device Figures 1 and 2.

FIG. 1 represents a rear retaining element 1. In a known manner, the element has a jaw 2 carried by a body 3. The jaw is movable around an axis transverse carried by the body, and its movement is controlled by a spring housed in the body. The initial compression of the spring is adjustable by a plug 4 accessible on the rear face of the body. The plug is located about halfway up the body.

Also in known manner, the jaw has two stable equilibrium positions, one low shoe retention position, and a high shoe release position. The Figure 1 shows the retaining element with the jaw in the high position. A lever of heaving 5 allows the jaw to be brought up by a voluntary action. The lever 5 is articulated to the body in the vicinity of the axis of rotation of the jaw. According to Figure 1, when the jaw is in the high position, the release lever is lying on the back of the body. In this position, the rear end of the lever 5 extends a little beyond the body. This rear end preferably has a bowl 5a in which the end of the stick can be engaged, and a protruding rim 5b.

The body 3 is slidably mounted along a slide 6 which is intended to be secured to a ski.

The position of the body along the slide is defined by adjustment means longitudinal. According to Figure 1, the slide has an elevated central portion pierced with a plurality of orifices 8. The body 3 has in its lower part, on the rear, a lock 9 provided with teeth 10 which are intended to engage in one or more orifices neighboring the slide.

The lock 9 is slidably mounted inside the body, and a recoil spring 12 housed in the rear part of the body pushes the latch into abutment towards the rear of the body. The recoil spring 12 defines the thrust that the retaining element exerts on the shoe.

According to the illustrated embodiment, the recoil spring also ensures the return of the lock in its locked position, i.e. its low position where its teeth are engaged in holes. From this position, the lock can be raised until the teeth are free from the orifices of the slide. In this case, it is not intended that the upper position of the lock is a stable position. But, as will appear later, the invention could be applied to locks with two stable positions.

The latch has an operating tab 13 towards the rear. The rear end of the tongue is extended upwards by an operating member 14.

The actuator 14 extends upward along the rear face of the body. Seen from face, it generally has the shape of a "T", with a central upright 15 and a bar transverse upper 16. The organ is located substantially perpendicular to the rear end of the heaving lever, when the lever is lying alongside the body.

The operating member is intended to be used in the following manner. Generally, the adjustment in longitudinal position of the body is carried out while the jaw is in position open, and the release lever is in the supine position. In addition, for such an adjustment, the specialist is used to presenting the skis flat, facing him, with the spatula to his left, and the heel to his right.

It activates the lock by a natural movement by placing the thumb on the end of the lever 5 and engaging the index and middle fingers (or two other fingers of the hand) under the two branches of crossbar 16, then pulling upwards on the bar cross. The specialist can then very easily move the body while maintaining his upward traction force on the operating member, and by training the body in a longitudinal direction forwards or backwards by the grips it has at the level of the thumb and his other two fingers. In addition, the tip of the thumb is engaged in the bowl Sa, which which facilitates the movement of longitudinal drive. To re-lock the lock, it just release the operating member, and exert a slight push on the body towards front or back so that the latch teeth fall into holes in the slide.

If the lock is in two stable positions, the lock can be brought to the lower position very simple way by placing your thumb in the middle of the crossbar 16 and then exerting a push down on this bar. This movement is also achievable very natural.

The height dimension of the operating member is determined so that in position high of the lock, the crossbar does not come up against the rear end of the lever and let her stay underneath. The operating member has in its conditions a similar height half the height of the body.

In the illustrated embodiment, the member has a central clearance 17 in the middle of the crossbar 16. This clearance is provided so that the plug 4 remains accessible.

The upright 15 has a substantially rectangular section, the largest of which dimension corresponds substantially to the width of the lock.

The crossbar has an approximately circular section, at less at the end of its branches. The branches of the bar 16 extend from each side of the upright 15 over a distance corresponding approximately to half the width of the index or middle finger of a human being about 10 millimeters, and the branches are connected to the upright by a quarter-circle rib whose curvature is approximately that of the tip of the index or middle finger. These shapes and dimensions are intended to facilitate the grip of the operating member. But they are not limiting for the invention, and any other suitable shape or size is suitable.

Preferably, the operating member is flexible, that is to say it is produced by example in deformable plastic, or elastomer. The rigidity of the organ of maneuver is however sufficient for the operating member to stand on its own erected along the back of the body. As the lock itself is made of a material rigid in view of its function, the operating member is assembled to the bolt by any appropriate means. For example, as shown, the member 14 extends forward by a tab 19 which passes under the rear end of the lock, and which is assembled to this end for example by screws or rivets. Any other means of mechanical assembly, for example bonding or other is also suitable. If the lock is metallic and the operating member is made in a vulcanizable elastomer, the operating member can be produced by counter-molding on the end of the lock. The assembly occurs by itself with the vulcanization of the elastomer.

The flexibility of the operating member makes the device and the body of the element restraint less sensitive to shocks. In fact, in the event of impact, the operating member deforms and is pressed against the rear face of the body which it also protects. The operating device also absorbs each shock by its deformation.

Also preferably, the amount of the operating member has at its base a ramp inclined from bottom to top and back to front. Thanks to this ramp, the shocks applied to the base of the actuator produce in the lock a downward component. This component opposes the opening of the lock. In addition, the deformation of the organ of maneuver under the effect of the shock increases the slope of the ramp 20 in the direction where it prevents opening the lock.

The operating member which has just been described facilitates the operation of the lock. He makes it also safer insofar as the operation of the bolt and the longitudinal displacement of the bodies are easy and natural only if the ski is facing the manipulator, with the spatula left and heel on the right. In other cases, either the opening of the lock, or the moving the body requires significant voluntary effort.

In addition, advantageously, the latch does not lift easily unless the two branches of the crossbar 16 are stressed simultaneously. If one of the branches only is grasped, the operating member responds with a deformation in the advantageous case where it is flexible.

The device which has just been described can be produced in a very simple manner. It does require no particular arrangement of the body of the retaining element, apart from the bolt itself, more precisely the rear end of the lock.

For the user, the lock itself is well protected against openings accidental, notably because of its flexibility and the ramp it presents at the base of the amount.

Naturally, this description is given for information only and we could adopt other implementations of the invention without departing from the scope thereof. In particular, it goes without saying that the invention is not limited to a rear retaining element. She could also apply to a front retainer which would have a movable body along a slide. In this case, the device could be located on the front or on the side of the body.

Claims (7)

1. Element for retaining a shoe on a sliding board consisting of a mobile body (3) along a guide rail (6), a latch (9) carried by said body used to immobilize the body along the guide rail in a defined position, characterized by the fact that the latch is extended by an operating handle (14) that is flexible and extends upward along the rear face of the body over a height that is close to half the height of the body, and by the fact that the operating handle is "T" shaped, with a center post (15) topped by a transversal bar (16) where the height and length on each side of the post are such that it is possible to insert the fingers of a hand.
2. Element as set forth in claim 1, characterized by the fact that the external face of the post has on its lower part a ramp (20) turned in such a way that a force applied on the ramp has a component that is turned downward.
3. Element as set forth in claim 1, characterized by the fact that the transversal bar (16) has cylindrical revolution extremities.
4. Element as set forth in claim 1, characterized by the fact that the crosspiece is connected to the post by ribs in the shape of an arc of circle.
5. Element for retaining as set forth in claim 1 of the backward type, consisting of a jaw (2) carried by the body (3), a lever (5) for opening the mobile jaw between a high position and a low position where the lever lies along the body (3) and where its extremity extends beyond the rear face of the body, characterized by the fact that the operating lever extends upward roughly in line with the rear extremity of the opening lever when the latter is in the flat position.
6. Element as set forth in claim 5, characterized by the fact that the operating handle extends roughly over half the height of the rear face of the body (3).
7. Element as set forth in claim 6, characterized by the fact that the operating handle has a space (17) in the center part of the transversal bar (16).

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