Toepiece for cross-country skiing

Claim 1

A toepiece for fixing the toe of a boot to a ski, comprising: a. a base plate to be fixed to the upper horizontal surface of the ski, b. a vertical pin extending upwardly from the base plate to engage an aperture in a bottom surface of the toe of the boot, c. a lip movable between a first upper position and a second lower position where it engages an upper surface of the toe of the boot, the lip holding the toe of the boot on the base plate while in the second position, and not interfering with the boot in the first position, d. a lip carrier having a first end that carries the lip, and a second end, the lip carrier being pivotally mounted between its first and second ends to the base plate on a horizontal axis lateral to the ski, e. binding means for causing the lip to engage and disengage the boot by controlling the distance between the second end of the lip carrier and the base plate, and thereby moving the lip between its first position and its second position, the binding means including a closing lever pivotally mounted to the second end of the lip carrier, the closing lever having a first arm which is positioned between the second end of the lip carrier and the base plate, and a second arm, the movement of the second arm being limited from an open, generally vertical position which causes the lip to be in its first position free of the boot and causes upward force on the lip to be ineffective in moving the lip from its second lower position to its first upper position, to a closed generally horizontal position directed rearwardly from the pivot with the carrier, which causes the lip to be in its second position in contact with the boot and, during that movement, the first arm moving from a first position on one side of the vertical plane including the axis between the closing lever and the lip carrier, to a second position on the other side of the plane, thereby forming an over-center mechanism which forces the lip against the toe of the boot, the closing lever being in the form of a cover which encloses a portion of the base plate and lip carrier when the second arm is in its closed position, the closing lever including a top plate, a front plate and two side plates arranged so that when the second arm is in its closed position the top lies horizontal and above the axis between the lip carrier and the base plate, the front plate extends downwardly from the forward edge of the top plate and the side plates extend downwardly from the side edges of the top plate laterally outward of the laterally outward edges of the base plate, and f. a spring means to bias the lip toward its first upper position and thereby bias the first arm of the closing lever into contact with the base plate, the spring means including a U-shaped spring which passes around the axis between the lip carrier and the base plate and which contacts the lip carrier and the base plate.