Joints and connections – Manually releaseable latch type – Having operating mechanism
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-23
2001-09-18
Kim, Harry C. (Department: 3629)
Joints and connections
Manually releaseable latch type
Having operating mechanism
C403S350000, C280S014230, C280S607000, C280S613000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06290423
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a selectively closable and releasable connecting device for connecting a sports shoe and an item of sports equipment, preferably a snowboard, having a baseplate which can be mounted fixedly on said item of sports equipment and on which the shoe sole can be supported and locked, the latter being provided, for this purpose, with lateral grooves for receiving locking elements of the device, two of which are provided rigidly on the baseplate lying diametrically opposite each other, with respect to a central pivot for the shoe.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
A multiplicity of connecting devices for snowboards and snowboard shoes are known either from practice or from the prior art on paper. For example, reference may be made to DE 94 13 356 U1.
The connecting devices proposed here have at least two holding elements for the shoe, which elements engage on the longitudinal sides of the shoe sole, and at least one fastening means which can be actuated counter to spring force and has an actuating part on which the shoe, when introduced into the device, acts counter to the spring force and in so doing brings the fastening means from an open position into a holding position.
In comparison with other known connecting devices for connecting a snowboard shoe and a snowboard, the abovementioned connecting devices have to be able to be of short design, with respect to their longitudinal extent, so that sharply truncated swings can be executed without any problem even with extremely narrow snowboards. Furthermore, manual closing of the connecting device after the shoe has been introduced is avoided.
In addition to various designs of connecting devices having a “step in” option, i.e. the transfer of the corresponding fastening means from its opening into its holding position by pressing the rear end of the shoe down onto the baseplate, a connecting device design is also shown in which the shoe is positioned on the baseplate obliquely with respect to the position of use and can be brought into its holding position by subsequent pivoting about a vertical axis.
As the shoe sole is lowered, it presses an actuating part, which protrudes with respect to the baseplate, down counter to the spring force and releases it at the end of the pivoting movement. The actuating part is pushed up again by the spring force and is then used as a fastening means. Two fixed cheeks, which lie diametrically opposite each other, with respect to the pivoting axis, are provided on the baseplate as further fastening means.
Like other known constructions having only two lateral locking elements which secure the shoe against lifting off from and being displaced on the baseplate, this construction has the disadvantage of an inadequate connection between the board and shoe, which does not permit the board to be precisely guided, in particular in extreme situations and on steep terrain, which makes the user uncertain and also puts him at risk.
In comparison with the “twist in” principle, the “step in” principle for closing the connecting device has the substantial disadvantage of the device having largely to be free of snow and ice before a shoe is introduced so that the necessary locking can take place.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Starting from the known, abovedescribed twist-in binding, the invention aims to provide a connecting device which optimally secures the shoe, in the position of use, on the item of sports equipment, with the result that the latter can readily be controlled and precisely steered by the user in all situations.
Starting from a connecting device of the generic type, this aim is achieved according to the invention in that the device has a further locking element for each side of the shoe sole, in that these further locking elements likewise lie diametrically opposite one another and are connected to the baseplate via a gear mechanism, in that as driving element of the gear mechanism there is provided at least one driver which protrudes with respect to the supporting surface of the baseplate, can be actuated by the shoe and is guided in an elongated hole, which is curved about the central pivot, in the baseplate, and in that the baseplate has, for the gear mechanism, a locking element which blocks the gear mechanism in the closed position. This construction thus provides a twist-in binding which in each case has two locking elements for both longitudinal sides of the shoe sole.
In order to design the connecting device such that it is as compact and lightweight as possible, the baseplate is expediently designed as a housing for the gear mechanism.
In a design refinement of the invention, the gear mechanism can have a toothed ring which can be pivoted about the central pivot and bears the two movable locking elements. As driver use can then be made of the spindle of a toothed wheel whose teeth mesh, on the one hand, with those of the toothed ring and, on the other hand, with an internal toothing fixed on the baseplate.
The spindle of the toothed wheel expediently tapers at its free end. In this case, it is then provided for direct engagement into a hole in the shoe sole. At its semicircle which is directed towards the ski tip, this hole can merge into a widening clearance in the shoe sole thereby enabling easy positioning of the shoe when it is placed onto the baseplate.
It is possible to avoid clearances in the tread of the shoe sole if the spindle of the toothed wheel bears a U-shaped step-on hoop, the spacing of the limbs of which corresponds to the width of the sole.
In place of a toothed ring in the gear mechanism, other constructions of the connecting device according to the invention provide a disc which can be rotated about the central pivot and on which the driver is provided. In a first design, the driver is in operative connection with one arm of a two-armed lever which is mounted pivotably about a vertical spindle in the baseplate. In this case, a ram is in each case coupled to the free ends of the two lever arms, and slideways for the rams are provided in the baseplate. The free ends of the rams form or bear the further locking elements according to the invention.
Another design envisages that the further locking elements are designed as rotary locks, are mounted on vertical spindles in the baseplate and are loaded in the opening direction by a spring, that on the outside the rotary locks bear a control curve which is acted upon by a roller, and that these rollers are mounted on spindles which are arranged parallel to the driver on the rotatable disc.
In this case, the rotary lock can be provided with an opening lug in place of the spring, or else additionally thereto, the control curve then extending to the end of the lug.
In all of the constructions mentioned two drivers are expediently provided, to be precise, such that the two lie in the vertical longitudinal central plane of the device, in the closed position of the device. This not only removes the risk of an element of the gear mechanism possibly jamming, but also gives a better actuating option by the shoe which, in the case of pins being directly used as drivers, then also has a second hole in the shoe sole.
A further construction of the connecting device according to the invention having two drivers envisages that each driver is in operative connection with a slide, that the slides are of identical design and are mounted in slideways of the baseplate, and that the free ends of the slides form or bear the further locking elements.
As locking element for blocking the gear mechanism in the closed position provision is made for a locking pin which can be displaced vertically in the baseplate, is loaded by a spring and can be latched, by its inner end, into a latching recess in the toothed ring or the disc of the gear mechanism. At its outer end, the locking pin is designed as an actuating handle or for the connection of such a handle.
It is likewise possible, as locking element for the gear mechanism, for use to be made of a spring-loaded locking pawl on the baseplate, for a locking tooth to be
Kim Harry C.
MS Trade Handels GmbH
Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP
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