Ski Boot Heel Binding

Abstract

A casing having a boot heel engaging means at its front end is pivoted to a connecting member which is mounted on a base. The connecting member comprises a transverse horizontal plane at its front end and a longitudinal bore which lower end is on the same level as the horizontal plane. Within the longitudinal bore a locking member is provided to be urged forwards which has at its front surface a dented portion to engage with a horizontal pin secured to the casing in the boot heel engaging position.

Description

This invention relates to a ski boot heel binding which can automatically engage the boot heel and release it as desired or when an abnormal severe thrust is applied to the boot heel, and more particularly to a ski boot heel binding wherein a locking member provided at its front end with a dented portion is normally urged forwards by a spring to engage the dented portion with a horizontal pin in a casing and to push down the ski boot heel by boot heel engaging means at the front end of the casing and, when an abnormal severe upward thrust is applied to the boot heel, the locking member is disengaged from the horizontal pin to displace the casing to the boot heel releasing position.

Generally, in order to insure stable boot heel engaging and disengaging operations of the bindings, it is desired that a locking member adapted to engage with a horizontal pin of the casing is provided with a dented portion which upper protruded end portion projects beyond a circular locus of the horizontal pin. However, an disadvantage has been experienced in that, when the binding is stepped in to engage the ski boot heel therein, the horizontal pin passing along the protruded end portion may pass beyond the dented portion of the locking member with the result that the dented portion may not catch the horizontal pin therein. Accordingly, to insure the positive engagement of the horizontal pin to the dented portion, the locking member has to have a bottom edge projected from the lower end of the dented portion or, alternatively, a locking arm to prevent the horizontal pin from passing beyond the dented portion of the locking member has to be provided in association with the downward movement of the casing.

But, such structure is complicated or does not satisfy the prescribed smooth engaging and disengaging operations of the locking member.

An object of the present invention is, therefor, to provide a ski boot heel binding of simple structure in which a horizontal pin secured to a casing is positively engaged with a dented portion of a locking member by stepping in the binding and the locking member is insured to positively smoothly move to the prescribed engaging and disengaging positions.

According to the present invention, a connecting member mounted on a base has a transverse horizontal flat plane formed at its front portion. A casing covers the connecting member to be partially rotatable about a pivot and secures a transverse horizontal pin which, in the boot heel engaging position, contacts to the transverse flat plane of the connecting member.

The connecting member is provided with a longitudinal horizontal bore which lower end is substantially on the same level as said transverse flat plane. A locking member and a spring for urging the locking member forwardly are provided within the bore. A plug for adjusting the spring pressure closes a rear opening of the bore. The locking member has, at its front lower portion, a dented portion which upper end is projected beyond a circular locus of the horizontal pin. In the boot heel engaging position, the horizontal pin is snugly engaged in the dented portion of the locking member.

In a downward movement of the casing, even when the transverse pin jumps down from the projected portion which is directly above the dented portion of the locking member, it is received on the transverse flat plane at the front end of the connecting member and cannot move down any more. Then, the locking member is advanced by the compression force of the spring to engage the horizontal pin with the dented portion thereof.

Since the transverse horizontal plane, on which the transverse pin contacts, and the lower end of the longitudinal horizontal bore, through which the locking member is guided, are formed on the same level, the horizontal pin on the horizontal transverse plane is to locate below the center line of the dynamic production of the spring. Therefor, when a longitudinal sectional view of the dented portion of the locking member is circular section, the downward pressure which will act on the horizontal pin is obtained through the circular section of the dented portion as a vertical component of the spring urging the locking member in the horizontal direction. This means that the pressure of the spring may not be especially strong.

The outer surface of the locking member snugly contacts to the inner surface of the bore in the connecting member, so that the sliding movement of the locking member is smooth irrespective of the shapes of the dented portion.

Preferably, each of the locking member and the horizontal bore has a circular sectioned shape. Such shape is easy to manufacture. Though the dented portion formed at the front lower end of such locking member will become to have a smaller surface which contacts to the horizontal pin, it will have no effect on the engaging and disengaging operations of the locking member.

The connecting member mounted on the base is urged forwards by another compression spring. Therefore, the boot heel engaging members connected to the casing, which is pivoted to the connecting member, urge the boot heel toward a toe fixture when the boot heel is engaged to them.

To restrict the back and forth movements of the locking member, the locking member is provided with an elongated hole through which a pin secures the locking member to the connecting member. An L-shaped lever for operating the backward movement of the locking member from the outside of the casing is also pivoted by the pin mentioned directly above.

For a better understanding of the present invention, a detailed explanation shall be made hereinafter with reference to a preferred embodiment shown in the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinally sectioned view showing a ski boot heel binding according to the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a transversely sectioned view taken along line II--II in FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing parts of the ski boot heel binding prior to its assembly.

Reference numeral 1 designates a base to be attached on the top surface of a ski by fixing holes 11 at front and rear ends thereof. The base 1 has guide flanges 12 at both sides thereof in which a box shaped connecting member 2 is slidably mounted by its lower flanges 13. The box shaped connecting member 2 is integrally formed by die casting of aluminum or by molding of hard synthetic resin. As is apparent from FIG. 1, the connecting member 2 has at its lower portion a partition wall 15 which separates a recess 14, U-shaped in transverse section, into two parts. A hook shaped metal plate 16 is inserted into the rear part of the recess 14 with a spring 3 interporsed therebetween. A screw 17 passes through the metal plate 16 and the spring and is threaded to a vertical flange 1' projected from said plate, so that the connecting member 2 is normally pushed forwards by the compression force of the spring 3.

The connecting member 2 is provided at its upper portion with a longitudinal horizontal bore 18 in which another spring 6 is compressed between a locking member 5 and a plug 19 to urge the locking member 5 forwards. The compression force of the spring 6 is adjustable by rotating the plug 19 threaded into the rear end of the bore 18. The front vertical surface of the recess 14 is projected beyond that of the longitudinal bore 18 and is defined therefrom by a horizontal transverse plane 3' which is on the same level as the lower end of the bore 18. This horizontal transverse plane receives a vertical pin 10 described hereinafter. The locking member 5 has a dented portion 4, which is circular in longitudinal section, formed at its front lower end portion. The locking member 5 is also provided therethrough with an elongated horizontal hole 20 through which a pin 21 passes to slidably secure the locking member to the connecting member 2. This pin 21 also passes through elongated holes 22 in the front end of an L-shaped unlocking lever 7.

At the lower right of the elongated hole 22 of the unlocking lever 7, holes 23 are fromed through which another pin 30 pivotally connects the unlocking lever to a transverse hole 24 of the connecting member 2. The unlocking lever 7 moves about the pin 30 along reduced planes 31 at both sides of the connecting member 2. When the rear concaved end 32 of the unlocking lever 7 is pushed down, for example, by a ski stock, the pin 21 connected to the front end of the unlocking lever 7 forces back the locking member 5 against the spring 6.

Covering over the connecting member 2 and the major parts of the unlocking lever 7 is a casing 9, which is partially rotatably connected to the connecting member 2 by a pin 35 passing through holes 33 and 34 of the casing and the connecting member, respectively. Springs 38 secured to the pin 35 serves to throw up the casing 9 when it is displaced to the boot heel disengaging position. The casing has reinforcing ribs on both side walls thereof and a boot heel receiving member 8 at the front surface thereof. Provided at the front surface of the boot heel receiving member 8 is a boot heel engaging member 36 which adjustably moves up and down by means of a screw 37 and notches.

The casing 9 has at its front portion the transverse horizontal pin 10 secured to the side walls thereof. In the boot heel engaging position shown in FIG. 1, the horizontal pin 10 is snugly fitted in and engaged with the dented portion 4 of the locking member 5.

Thus, the casing 9 cannot displace from the boot heel engaging position in normal skiing and firmly engages the boot heel by the boot heel engaging member 36. But, when an abnormal severe upward thrust is applied to the boot heel, the upward movement applied to the casing 9 through the boot heel engaging member 36 acts to rotate the horizontal pin 10 to the clockwise direction about the pin 35. Therefor, the horizontal pin 10 moving up along the circular section of the dented portion 4 of the locking member 5 forces back the locking member 5 against the spring and passes beyond protruded portion of the locking member which portion is directly above the dented portion thereof. Then the casing is displaced to the boot heel releasing position by means of the springs 38 secured to the pin 35. The same movement of the horizontal pin 10 can be achieved by pushing down the rear concaved portion 32 of the unlocking lever 32.

In order to engage the boot heel to the present binding, one may only to step in the boot heel receiving member 8 in the boot heel releasing position. At this time, the horizontal pin 10 moves down along the upper front surface of the locking member 5 and jumps down from its protruded portion to the horizontal transverse plane 3' at the front end of the connecting member 2. Immediately after the horizontal pin is received on the plane 3', the locking member 5 is pushed forwards to engage the horizontal pin 10 into the dented portion 4 of the locking member 5.

Though the preferable embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed above, many modifications and alternations may be made within the spirit of the present invention. For example, the horizontal pin 10 may be rotatably supported on the side walls of the casing or may mount a rotatable member about it.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A ski boot heel binding comprising, in combination,

a base (1) to be attached to a ski;

a connecting member (2) mounted on said base (1), said connecting member having a transverse horizontal flat plane (3') at its front end, and a longitudinal horizontal bore (18) which lower end is substantially on the same level as said flat plate (3');

a casing (9) covering over said connecting member (2) and pivoted thereto to be partially rotatable about a pin 35, said casing having boot heel engaging members (8)(36) at its front end and being adapted to engage or release the boot heel when pivoted about pin 35;

a horizontal pin (10) secured to the side walls of said casing adjacent the region of the bore (18) nearest engaging members (8) (36); and

a locking member (5) slidably provided within said bore (18) in said connecting member (2), said locking member having a dented portion (4) which upper end is projected beyond a circular locus of said horizontal pin (10), said locking member (5) being normally biased toward the engaging members (8) (36);

whereby, normally, said locking member (5) presses the upper side of said horizontal pin (10) by said dented portion (4) to press fit the lower end of said horizontal pin on said flat plane (3') of said connecting member (2), and, when an abnormal upward thrust is applied to the boot heel, said horizontal pin (10) is disengaged from said dented portion (4) to release the boot heel from said boot heel engaging members (8, 36).

2. A ski boot heel binding as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said locking member (5) and said bore (18) in said connecting member (2) has a circular sectioned shape

3. A ski boot heel binding as claimed in claim 1, wherein said connecting member (2) mounted upon said base (1) is normally urged forwards by a spring (3) and is movable to the lengthwise direction thereof.

4. A ski boot heel binding as claimed in claim 1, wherein said locking member (5) is provided with an elongated transverse hole (20) through which a pin (21) connects said locking member (5) to said connecting member (2).

5. A ski boot heel binding as claimed in claim 4, wherein said pin (21) also loosely passes through an elongated hole (22) provided through an end of a L-shaped unlocking lever (7) to pivot it to said connecting member, whereby said lever (7) can retract said locking member (5) against said spring (6) by lowering it.

6. A ski boot heel binding as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking member (5) is normally biased by means of a spring (6), one end of which acts on said locking member and the other end of which abuts a plug (19).

7. A ski boot heel binding as claimed in claim 6, wherein the plug (19) is adjustable to vary the biasing force developed by the spring (6).