Land vehicles – Skates – Shoe attaching means
Reexamination Certificate
1998-10-02
2001-04-24
Vanaman, Frank (Department: 3611)
Land vehicles
Skates
Shoe attaching means
C280S634000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06220619
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a device for holding a boot on a gliding board, for example a ski, comprising a body which is mounted so as to slide on a rail, a lock which is articulated to said body and immobilizes this body on the rail, the lock and the rail being, for this purpose, provided with mutual attachment means along the central region of the rail, which means consist, on the one hand, of teeth and, on the other hand, of recesses in which the teeth are engaged, the lock being provided with an unlocking lever extending above the rail, in the direction of the outside of the body, this lever making it possible to manually release the lock from the rail by engaging a finger under the lever.
PRIOR ART
A device of this type is known from German utility model 295 20 845. The teeth of the lock engage in a rack on the rail, and the lever of the lock extends substantially above the rail so as to make it possible to disengage the lock from the rack by lifting the lever without the aid of a tool. The lever extends between two parallel side walls of the body, which are intended to protect the lock against unintentional unlocking due to an impact on its lever, for example the impact when the skis are loaded on a gondola lift. Safety of the lock therefore requires a particular binding body.
Another device of the same type is disclosed by French patent 2 735 699. In this device, the teeth of the lock engage in holes formed in a raised central zone of the rail, and the lever of the lock is provided with a T-shaped operating component fitted to it. This operating component may advantageously be actuated by putting two fingers under the bar of the T and pressing with the thumb on the body of the binding or the boot release lever, but it is exposed to impacts and therefore runs the risk of unlocking accidentally.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a lock which has its own safety means so that it can be used in existing binding bodies.
To this end, the holding device according to the invention is one wherein said lever is provided with two lateral flanges extending downward, as far as the rail, on each side of the central region of the rail.
The unlocking lever may be a separate part from the lock, or may be integral with the lock.
Seen from the rear, the unlocking lever therefore has an inverted-U profile forming a recess in which a finger can be placed with ease in order to lift the lever, this profile being, however, narrow enough to prevent unintentional unlocking. The protective effect may further be enhanced by inclining the lateral faces of the unlocking lever and the outer edge of the flanges of the profile. This type of inclination has the advantage that, in the event of an impact, forces are generated that tend to press the lock against the rail.
In view of the dimensional tolerances which are accepted in the manufacture of ski binding components and are needed for manufacture at a reasonable cost, the lock will inevitably have some degree of play in the rail. In downhill skiing, this play will result in slight displacements, accompanied by noise, which may create a feeling of instability. The lock according to the invention makes it possible to reduce or even eliminate this play. To be precise, if the unlocking lever is integral with the lock, or if it is mounted without play on the lock, and if it is assumed that the transverse play between the flanges of the lever of the lock and the rail is equal to or less than the play involved in their mutual attachment, the lateral flanges of the unlocking lever being located at a distance from the zone where the lock is attached to the rail, in the longitudinal direction of the rail, they have the effect of substantially reducing or even eliminating the play in the mutual attachment. This can be demonstrated geometrically by means of two right-angled triangles in which the vertex lying at the lower end of the hypotenuse coincides with the articulation of the lock, and the short side opposite this vertex represents the play which is assumed to be the same for the attachment and for the flanges. If this short side is moved away from the opposite vertex, it is seen that the play in the attachment of the lock is greatly reduced. This play may even be eliminated completely by using a rail which has a raised central region and by giving the flanges of the lever of the lock an inclination such that the flanges diverge and bear against the sides of the raised region of the rail. In practise, as a result of stamping, the profile of the raised region of the rail will be trapezoidal.
According to another embodiment, the rail has two longitudinal grooves placed on each side of the central region, and the flanges of the lever of the lock are parallel and engaged in said grooves, the width of the grooves being substantially equal to the thickness of the flanges of the lock.
In this case, play is inevitable for the flanges in the grooves, but as explained above, this play, of the same order as the play in the attachment, has the effect of reducing the play in the attachment.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the articulation of the lock in the body of the holding device is provided by two lateral tabs of the lock, by which the lock is held and articulated on the body.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, in which the holding device comprises a return spring bearing on an upwardly bent end of the lock, this bent end itself has a bend approximately halfway up so that the return spring bears essentially against a face inclined toward the lever of the lock so as to create a couple pressing the lock against the rail in the attachment zone.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3975033 (1976-08-01), Lill et al.
patent: 4157193 (1979-06-01), Beyl
patent: 4524990 (1985-06-01), Syoboda et al.
patent: 4589674 (1986-05-01), Krob et al.
patent: 5044654 (1991-09-01), Meyer
patent: 5209516 (1993-05-01), Arduin et al.
patent: 5318321 (1994-06-01), Dogat et al.
patent: 5628526 (1997-05-01), Zotter et al.
patent: 5813690 (1998-09-01), Dogat
patent: 5913532 (1999-06-01), Viodet et al.
patent: 276180 (1969-02-01), None
patent: 3122468 (1982-04-01), None
patent: 3924939 (1990-05-01), None
Copy of French Search Report listing references.
Bardin Roland
Mandon Florence
Pitney Hardin Kipp & Szuch LLP
Skis Rossignol S.A.
Vanaman Frank
LandOfFree
Device for holding a boot on a gliding board, in particular... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Device for holding a boot on a gliding board, in particular..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Device for holding a boot on a gliding board, in particular... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2439708