Ski boot fixation device

Claim 2

Ski boot fixation device comprising a support fixable onto a ski defining a plane of reference, a member pivoted at least indirectly on the support about at least two axes comprising an axis vertical to said plane and an axis horizontal to said plane, means on the member for positionally maintaining at least a part of a ski boot relative to said ski when the member is in an operative position, means for releasably holding the member in operative position including a pair of cooperating pieces, one of which is on the member and the other of which is at least indirectly on the support, a spring urging together said pieces when the member is in the operative position, means for adjusting the bearing pressure of said pieces and thereby determining the limiting stresses on the member necessary to release the member from the operative position by pivoting about said vertical or said horizontal axis, and means for maintaining the releasing effort constant in a horizontal direction regardless of the stress exerted upon said member in a vertical direction.

Claim 3

A device according to claim 1, wherein one of said cooperating pieces is a hollow and the other a projection removably engageable in the hollow, the hollow being symmetrical about a median plane through said vertical axis and defining two halves of the hollow, each half hollow having a shape generated by displacement of a generatrix along a given profile in the median plane.

Claim 4

A device according to claim 2, wherein the generatrix remains at a constant angle to the median plane during displacement along the profile.

Claim 5

A device according to claim 2, wherein the angle between the generatrix and the median plane varies according to the position of the generatrix along the profile.

Claim 6

A device according to claim 2, wherein the generatrix is a straight line.

Claim 7

A device according to claim 2, wherein the generatrix is a curved line.

Claim 8

A device according to claim 2, wherein the profile is V-shaped.

Claim 9

A device according to claim 2, wherein the generatrix intersects the surface of the piece including the hollow at a constant angle during displacement along the profile.

Claim 10

A device according to claim 1, wherein the member is pivoted about a ball fixed to the support, a first planar surface on the ball forming one of the cooperating pieces, a spring-urged piston having a second planar surface forming the other of the cooperating pieces, the planar surfaces being applied together in a resting position of the member, one of the planar surfaces having a bevel forming a contact edge between said pieces upon vertical displacement of the member, the length of the bevel and hence the contact edge being less than the maximum horizontal edge of contact between the first and second planar surfaces when applied together in the resting position of the member.

Claim 11

A device according to claim 9, wherein the bevel is curved so as to form a contact edge the length of which progressively decreases with increased vertical displacement of the member.

Claim 12

A device according to claim 1, comprising a shaft supporting the member, a plate on the shaft having a bearing surface forming one of the cooperating pieces, a cooperating surface on the support forming the other of the cooperating pieces, and a spring acting on the shaft to apply the bearing surface on the cooperating surface and tending to maintain the shaft along a defined axis, wherein the shaft is oscillable from said axis in all directions by pivoting about points determined by the points of contact of the bearing surface on the cooperating surface, and the plate is shaped so that the horizontal separation of the lateral points of contact of the bearing surface on the cooperating surface from the line of action of the spring decreases with raising of the member.

Claim 13

A device according to claim 1, comprising means causing said pieces to bear against one another at a constant pressure for any setting of said adjusting means independent of said vertical displacemenT of the member.

Claim 14

A device according to claim 12, wherein one of the pieces is mounted on a lever pivotally mounted on the support about a second horizontal axis, the spring acting on the lever to urge the other piece against the one piece along a line of action, said vertical displacement of the member causing the lever to pivot to compress the spring and to increase the lever arm of the line of action of the other piece about the second horizontal axis.

Claim 15

A device according to claim 12, wherein one of the pieces is mounted on a lever pivotally mounted on the support about a second horizontal axis, the spring being pivotally mounted on the support and on the lever to urge the lever with a variable force along a variable first line of action depending upon the magnitude of said vertical displacement of the member, the other piece acting on the one piece along a second line of action such that the product of the force of the spring and separation of the first line of action about the second axis divided by the separation of the second line of action from the second axis remains constant during said vertical displacement of the member.

Claim 16

A device according to claim 12, wherein one of the pieces is a first ball urged against the other piece by a second ball, the spring urging the second ball along a line of action non-axial to the first ball, said vertical displacement of the member urging the first ball towards the line of action of the spring.

Claim 17

In a ski boot (1) binding device of the kind including a base (5) fastened to the upper face of a ski (2), a member (3) pivotally connected to the base (5) for pivoting at least in a plane parallel to the upper face of the ski about a vertical axis (8) and in a plane perpendicular to the upper face of the ski about a horizontal axis (6), and means cooperating for releasably holding said member (3) in operative position, one such means being provided on said base (5) and the other means being provided on said member (3), the means on said member being a hollow (14) and the means on said base being a projection (9) urged by means of a spring (11) into said hollow (14), and means for adjusting the bearing pressure of said spring (11), the improvement wherein said hollow (14) is shaped so that the maximum stress required to be exerted on said spring (11) to release said member (3) from its operative position when said member (3) is pivoted in a plane parallel to the upper face of the ski, remains unchanged in case said member (3) is simultaneously pivoted in a plane perpendicular to the upper face of the ski.

Claim 18

In a ski boot (1) binding device of the kind including a base (5) fastened to the upper face of a ski (2), a member (3) pivotally connected to the base (5) for pivoting at least in a plane parallel to the upper face of the ski about a vertical axis (8) and in a plane perpendicular to the upper face of the ski about a horizontal axis (6), and means cooperating for releasably holding said member (3) in operative position, one such means being provided on said base (5) and the other means being provided on said member (3), the means on said member being a hollow (14) and the means on said base being a projection (9) urged by means of a spring (11) into said hollow (14), and means for adjusting the bearing pressure of said spring (11), the improvement wherein said hollow (14) is shaped so that the maximum stress required to be exerted on said spring (11) to release said member (3) from its operative position when said member (3) is pivoted in a plane parallel to the upper face of the ski, remains unchanged in case said member (3) is simultaneously pivoted in a plane perpendicular to the upper face of the ski.

Claim 19

Device according to claim 16 wherein the surface of said hollow (14) is shaped in its vertical direction so that an increased stress is exerted on said spring (11) when said member (3) is pivoted vertically upwards and wherein the length of the profile along which said projection (9) has to travel horizontally to apply to said spring (11) the on pressure required for releasing said member (3) when the latter is pivoted either to the right or to the left, is progressively reduced in accordance with the increased pressure exerted member (3), said spring (11) during said simultaneous vertical displacement of said member (3), the angle (X) of the horizontal profile with a vertical median plane (P) of said hollow (14) remaining unchanged.

Claim 20

Device according to claim 16 wherein the surface of said hollow (14) is shaped in its vertical direction so that an increased stress is exerted on said spring (11) when said member (3) is pivoted vertically upwards and wherein the angle (X) which a vertical median plane (P) of said hollow (14), forms with the horizontal profile along which said projection (9) has to travel horizontally to apply to said spring (11) the maximum pressure required for releasing said member (3) when the latter is pivoted either to the right or to the left, is progressively increased in accordance with the increased pressure exerted on said spring (11) during such simultaneous vertical displacement of said member (3), the length of the profile itself remaining unchanged.

Claim 21

Device according to claim 16 wherein the surface of said hollow (14) has an outwardly curved profile in both vertical and horizontal directions, the curves compensating each other so that in the outer areas, left or right, of the horizontal profile, the maximum pressure, which said projection (9) has to apply to said spring (11) for releasing said member (3), remains unchanged whatever the simultaneous upwards displacement of said member (3) may be.