Safety ski binding capable of releasing sideways

Claim 2

A safety ski binding for releasably securing a ski boot having a sole to a ski having an upwardly facing surface to which the binding is mounted, the binding comprising: a housing adapted to be mounted to the ski surface; a carrier including a laterally releasable sole hold-down member adjacent a first end of the carrier; horizontal pivot means operatively coupling the carrier to the housing and permitting relative pivotal movements between the carrier and the housing about an axis generally parallel to and spaced from the ski surface; a spring abutment piece; a spring-to-hold-down member coupler; and spring means comprising a coiled spring having a first operative end coupled by said spring-to-hold-down member coupler with the hold-down member, and a second operative end coupled by said spring abutment piece with the housing, so that spring means opposes the lateral release of the hold-down member by applying a corresponding spring force which acts between the hold-down member and the housing, the spring means being further arranged so that its force pivotally biases the carrier and the hold-down member about the horizontal pivot means in the direction of the ski surface, said spring-to-hold-down member coupler permitting the first end of said coiled spring to move with the carrier and the hold-down member when the carrier and the hold-down member pivot about the horizontal pivot means; whereby the spring means biases the hold-down member in the direction of the ski surface and thereby enables it to grasp ski boot soles of varying thicknesses in addition to yieldingly opposing the lateral release of the hold-down member.

Claim 3

A ski binding according to claim 1, wherein said coiled spring is disposed between and spaced from both the horizontal pivot means and the upwardly facing ski surface.

Claim 4

A ski binding according to claim 1, including means for adjusting the force generated by the spring means.

Claim 5

A ski binding according to claim 1, wherein the horizontal pivot means provides said sole hold-down member with a range of generally vertical movement relative to the ski surface in the range of about 2 mm to about 8 mm, accommodating thereby ski boot soles of varying thickness.

Claim 6

A ski binding according to claim 1, including: a sole plate adapted to be positioned between the upwardly facing ski surface and the ski boot sole, the plate being positioned so that the ski boot sole exerts a downwardly acting force onto the sole plate; and a release mechanism operatively coupled with the sole plate and the carrier and responsive to the magnitude of the downwardly acting force applied to the sole plate for adjusting the magnitude of the force with which the spring means biases tee hold-down member towards the ski surface as a function of the downwardly acting force applied to the sole plate.

Claim 7

A ski binding according to claim 5, wherein the downwardly acting force upon said sole plate required to release the binding lies between 100 N and 300 N.

Claim 8

A safety ski binding for releasably securing a ski boot having a sole to a ski having an upwardly facing surface to which the binding is mounted, the binding comprising: a housing adapted to be mounted to the ski surface; a carrier including a laterally releasable sole hold-down member adjacent a first end of the carrier; horizontal pivot means operatively coupling the carrier to the housing and permitting relative pivotal movements between the carrier and the housing about an axis generally parallel to and spaced from the ski surface; an abutment piece; a spring-to-hold-down member coupler; and spring means comprising a coiled spring having a first operative end coupled by said spring-to-hold-down member coupler with the hold-down member, and a second operative end coupled by said spring abutment piece with the housing, so that the spring means opposes the lateral release of the hold-down member by applying a corresponding spring force which acts between the hold-down member and the housing, the spring means being further arranged so that its force pivotally biases the carrier and the hold-down member about the horizontal pivot means in the direction of the ski surface, said spring-to-hold-down member coupler permitting the first end of said coiled spring to move with the carrier and the hold-down member when the carrier and the hold-down member pivot about the horizontal pivot means; and said coiled spring is inclined relative to the ski surface at an angle lying between 2° and 8°; whereby the spring means biases the hold-down member in the direction of the ski surface and thereby enables it to grasp ski boot soles of varying thicknesses in addition to yieldingly opposing the lateral release of the hold-down member.

Claim 9

A safety ski binding for releasably securing a ski boot having a sole to a ski having an upwardly facing surface to which the binding is mounted, the binding comprising: a housing adapted to be mounted to the ski surface; a carrier including a laterally releasable sole hold-down member adjacent a first end of the carrier; horizontal pivot means operatively coupling the carrier to the housing and permitting relative pivotal movements between the carrier and the housing about an axis generally parallel to and spaced from the ski surface; an abutment piece; a spring-to-hold-down member coupler; and spring means comprising a coiled spring having a first operative end coupled by said spring-to-hold-down member coupler with the hold-down member, and a second operative end coupled by said spring abutment piece with the housing, so that the spring means opposes the lateral release of the hold-down member by applying a corresponding spring force which acts between the hold-down member and the housing, the spring means being further arranged so that its force pivotally biases the carrier and the hold-down member about the horizontal pivot means in the direction of the ski surface, said spring-to-hold-down member coupler permitting the first end of said coiled spring to move with the carrier and the hold-down member when the carrier and the hold-down member pivot about the horizontal pivot means; and said coiled spring is inclined relative to the ski surface at an angle lying between 2° and 8°; whereby the spring means biases the hold-down member in the direction of the ski surface and thereby enables it to grasp ski boot soles of varying thicknesses in addition to yieldingly opposing the lateral release of the hold-down member.