FRONT JAW AND SAFETY SKI BINDING WITH A FRONT JAW

Abstract

A front jaw (1) of a safety ski binding with a base plate (3) and a housing (2) with a housing upper part (2a) as well as with sole holders (5) pivotable about bolts (6, 6′) forming vertically extending axes and having front and rear segments, the sole holders, at their front segments, receiving the bolts (6, 6′) in bores (5a, 5′a) and, at their rear segments, cooperating with the sole of an inserted ski boot. The sole holders (5), at their front segments, are mounted on the housing upper part (2a) in a ball-joint-like manner, so that they are movable upwards over their rear segments by tilting the bolts (6, 6′), wherein each bolt (6, 6′) projects through an elongated hole (11) extending in the ski longitudinal direction, formed in the base plate (3) and having front and rear ends (11a, 11b), and below the elongated hole (11), is pressed towards the front end (11a) of the elongated hole (11) under the action of a spring (14), wherein the rear end (11b) forms a stop limiting the extent of tilting the bolts (6, 6′).

Description

The invention relates to a front jaw of a safety ski binding with a base plate and a housing with a housing upper part and a housing front part as well as with two sole holders pivotable on the housing about bolts forming vertically extending axes and having front and rear segments, the sole holders receiving the bolts in bores and cooperating with a release mechanism arranged between them. The invention further relates to a safety ski binding with such a front jaw.

A front jaw of the type stated above is known from EP 3 095 492 A1. The release mechanism cooperating with the sole holders has a helical compression spring as a release spring extending in the ski transverse direction when the front jaw is assembled to the ski, which biases tension elements, of which the one tension element is arranged in an articulated manner on the one sole holder and the other tension element, on the other sole holder, such that pivoting the sole holders outwards causes a compression of the release spring. The two vertical axes of the sole holders are formed by bolts which, relative to the front jaw assembled to the ski, are arranged in front of the engagement locations of the tension elements. In other known embodiments of front jaws with release springs extending in the ski transverse direction, the sole holders cooperate with pressure elements which cause the release spring to compress when the sole holders are released or pivoted outwards.

Standardised ski boots (ISO 5355/ISO 23223) have soles with thicknesses which may deviate from the standardised thickness by up to +1.0 mm in the front portion. Different solutions have been proposed in order to adapt the sole holders of front jaws of safety ski bindings in this respect. In one of these known solutions, as known, for example, from EP 2 886 170 A1, a height-adjustable support arrangement is provided for the front part of the sole of the ski boot. This known support arrangement has a slide adjustable in the ski longitudinal direction and at the same time in the vertical direction and mounted on a base plate, the situation of which is adjustable by means of an adjusting spindle oriented in the ski longitudinal direction and extending at an acute angle to the ski longitudinal direction. Adaptation of the sole holders to a ski boot with a certain sole thickness therefore requires manual actuation of an adjusting spindle in order to adjust the support arrangement in the height direction relative to the sole holders.

It is an object of the present invention to ensure automatic adaptation of the sole holders to the sole thickness of the inserted ski boot in a particularly simple manner with a front jaw of the type stated above.

The stated object is attained according to the invention, in that the sole holders, at their front segments, are mounted on the housing upper part in a ball-joint-like manner, so that they are movable upwards over their rear segments by tilting the bolts, wherein each bolt projects through an elongated hole extending in the ski longitudinal direction, formed in the base plate and having front and rear ends, and below the elongated hole, is pressed towards the front end of the elongated hole under the action of a spring, wherein the rear end forms a stop limiting the extent of tilting the bolts.

By means of the invention, when inserting a ski boot with a sole whose thickness exceeds, for example, the height position of the sole holders present in the initial condition of the front jaw, the sole holders can be moved upwards over the ski boot sole, so that an insertion of this ski boot into the front jaw is possible without any prior separate manual adaptation. The hold-down force of the sole holders on the ski boot sole can be adjusted by corresponding selection of the springs biasing the bolts in the region of the base plate. In the case of a backward rotation fall, the mobility of the sole holders can additionally support a release. The invention also requires only a few components which are almost negligible in terms of weight and is particularly suitable for automatic adaptation to ski boot soles standardised in accordance with ISO 5355 and/or ISO 23223.

In a preferred embodiment, each sole holder has, for its ball-joint-like mounting, a protrusion designed in the shape of a spherical segment, in particular in the shape of a hemisphere, which engages an oppositely shaped recess on the bottom side of the housing upper part. In this way, the ball-joint-like mounting of the sole holders is designed in a particularly stable and expedient manner. In this embodiment, the bolts are received in blind bores of the sole holders, the protrusions are formed above the ends of the blind bores on the sole holders.

In a further advantageous embodiment, the ball-joint-like mounting of the sole holders is such that the bolts pass through bores in the sole holders and have heads designed in the shape of a spherical segment, in particular in the shape of a hemisphere, which each engage an oppositely shaped recess on the bottom side of the housing upper part.

As a result of the elongated holes in the base plate, the bolts can perform a tilting movement with respect to the elongated holes, wherein the springs biasing the bolts are intended to ensure an unhindered tilting movement. In this respect, it is advantageous if each bolt is biased by the spring via a pressing element.

In an advantageous embodiment, each pressing element is designed in a block-like manner and is provided, on its side facing the bolt, with a rounding partially encircling the respective bolt.

In a further embodiment ensuring functional reliability, each pressing element is embodied to be closed in a ring-like manner and surrounds the bolt with a free space present in front of the bolt-towards the front.

In a particularly space-saving and expedient design, the pressing elements and the springs biasing them are accommodated in a cavity of the base plate.

Further preferred embodiments relate to the springs cooperating with the pressing elements, which are in particular helical compression springs or elastomeric spring elements. Such springs remain fully functional even at low temperatures.

In a design of the front jaw with a housing upper part which at least partially covers the sole holders, a free space for the upward movement of the sole holders is left between the housing upper part and the sole holders.

According to a preferred embodiment, this free space is designed such that, when moving the sole holders upwards, the housing upper part forms a further stop limiting the extent of this movement.

Upward movements of the sole holders to a rather small extent are preferred for the remainder of the functionality of the front jaw, in particular with regard to reliable safety releases and good grip of the ski boot in the front jaw. The elongated holes in the base plate and the free space optionally present between the housing upper part and the sole holders are therefore advantageously embodied such that automatic adaptation of the sole holders to soles of ski boots with standardised sole thicknesses of 19.00 mm+/−1.00 mm, in particular with additional clearance for movement of up to 1.00 mm, is permitted.

The invention further relates to a safety ski binding with a heel jaw and a front jaw, wherein the latter is embodied according to one or more of claims 1 to 13.

Further features, advantages and details of the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the drawing, which represents exemplary embodiments. In the drawings,

FIG. 1 shows a front jaw of a safety ski binding in an oblique view from above,

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the front jaw,

FIG. 3 shows a section along the section plane identified in FIG. 2 as III-III,

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 show further embodiment variants based on sectional representations analogous to FIG. 3.

The front jaw 1 shown in the figures is provided for receiving and holding the front end of the sole of a ski boot, not shown, and is the front binding part of a safety ski binding having a second binding part, a heel jaw, which is not depicted. The double arrow SL drawn in FIG. 3, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, respectively, denotes the ski longitudinal direction present when the safety ski binding is assembled on a ski (not depicted). The double arrow denoted by Rt in FIG. 2 identifies the transverse direction or the ski transverse direction parallel to the top side of the ski. In the description and in the claims, indications such as “vertical” and “horizontal”, “top side”, “bottom side” and the like refer to the front jaw 1 positioned on the ski or a plane parallel to the top side of the ski not depicted, indications such as “front”, “rear” and the like refer to positions with respect to the tip of the ski and the end of the ski, respectively. Some constituent parts of the front jaw 1, which are shown but are not relevant for understanding the invention and can also be designed in other ways, are not specifically denoted and are not described.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the front jaw 1 has a housing 2 with a housing upper part 2a and a housing front part 2b as well as two sole holders 5 with front and rear segments. The housing upper part 2a extends in parallel or substantially in parallel to the top side of the ski, and the housing front part 2b extends vertically or substantially vertically to the top side of the ski. The housing 2 is fixedly connected to a base plate 3 by means of which the front jaw 1 is fastened to the ski in a manner not shown, in particular by means of screws. In an alternative embodiment, the base plate 3 is a part of the housing 2.

The two sole holders 5 are embodied with one arm and are pivotable outwards in the region of their front segments by means of one bolt 6 (FIG. 3, FIG. 4), 6′ (FIG. 5) each, which forms a respective axis extending in the vertical direction. The vertical direction is also understood to mean a deviation of up to 3º from the exact vertical. Each sole holder 5 has rear segments which are designed such that they span the front edge segment of the sole of a ski boot inserted into the front jaw 1 and from above and at the edge and preferably laterally abut the sole of the ski boot with guiding rollers 7 arranged in pairs as well as in a rotatable manner.

The constituent parts of a release mechanism, which is not the subject of the invention, are accommodated inside the housing 2. For example, the release mechanism has at least one helical compression spring, not shown, as a release spring, extending in the transverse direction Rt when the front jaw 1 is assembled, which is compressed via tension elements cooperating with the sole holders 5 when the sole holders 5 are pivoted laterally outwards. Such a release mechanism is the subject of EP 3 095 492 A1 and is described in detail in this publication. In an alternative embodiment, the helical compression spring cooperates with a pressure mechanism operatively connected to the sole holders 5.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the part of the base plate 3 beginning in the region below the rear segments of the sole holders 5 and extending further to the rear forms a standing plate which is provided with a sliding plate 8 movable in the transverse direction Rt.

In the embodiments shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the bolts 6 are each seated in a blind bore 5a of the sole holders 5 extending in the vertical direction. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the bolts 6′ pass through bores 5′a in the sole holders 5 extending in the vertical direction. Each bolt 6, 6′ has a lower end segment 6a (FIG. 3, FIG. 4), 6′a (FIG. 5) which passes through one respective elongated hole 11 extending in the ski longitudinal direction, formed in the base plate 3, extending in the ski longitudinal direction, having a front end 11a and a rear end 11b, and projects into one respective elongated cavity 13 formed on the bottom side of the base plate 3, likewise extending in the ski longitudinal direction. Within the respective cavity 13, each bolt 6, 6′ is under the action of a spring 14 inserted into the cavity 13 to the rear of the bolt 6, 6′, which in the embodiments depicted is a helical compression spring and which presses the respective bolt 6, 6′ towards the front end 11a of the elongated hole 11.

In the embodiments shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5, one respective pressing element 12 designed, for example, in a block-like manner, is inserted between the helical compression springs 14 and the bolts 6, 6′, the pressing element, on its side facing the bolt 6, 6′, having a rounding adapted to the bolt 6, 6′ and not visible in the figures, which partially encompasses the end segment 6a, 6′a of the bolt 6, 6′. In front of the end segment 6a, 6′a of each bolt 6, 6′, a free space remains in each cavity 13 for a tilting movement of the bolt 6, 6′.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the spring 14 presses against a pressing element 12′ embodied to be closed in a ring-like manner, which surrounds the end segment 6a of the bolt 6 with a free space in front of the bolt 6.

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 show embodiment variants in which above the ends of the blind bores 5a, on the top side of each sole holder 5, a protrusion 9 designed in the shape of a spherical segment, in particular in the shape of a hemisphere, is formed or attached, which engages an oppositely shaped recess 10 on the bottom side of the housing upper part 2a.

In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 5, the bolts 6′ passing through the sole holders 5 are provided, at their upper ends, with heads 9′ designed in the shape of a spherical segment, in particular in the shape of a hemisphere. Each head 9′ engages the oppositely shaped recess 10 on the bottom side of the housing upper part 2a.

The sole holders 5 are therefore movably mounted on the housing upper part 2a in all embodiment variants, so that a combined tilting/upward movement of the sole holders 5 and thus of the bolts 6, 6′ in the direction of the arrows K in FIGS. 3 to 5 is made possible. This movement is limited by the rear ends 11b of the elongated holes 11 as soon as the bolts 6, 6′ come to a rest here.

The distance h present in the vertical direction between the footprint location for the sole of a ski boot present on the sliding plate 8 and the contact locations of the ski boot sole on the sole holders 5 can therefore automatically adapt to the thickness of the sole when inserting the ski boot. In this context, the design is preferably such that the sole holders 5 automatically adapt at least to the usual standardised sole thicknesses of 19.00 mm+1.0 mm. An additional clearance for movement of approximately 1.00 mm is advantageous in order to compensate for any snow layers present. When inserting the ski boots, thicker ski boot soles move the sole holders 5 together with the release mechanism and the bolts 6, 6′ slightly upwards with respect to the housing upper part 2a which remains stationary, wherein, as mentioned, the rear ends 11b of the elongated holes 11 limit this movement.

In embodiments of the front jaw 1 in which the sole holders 5 are at least partially covered by the housing upper part 2a, a free space or gap is left between the bottom side of the housing upper part 2a and the top side of the sole holders 5, which allows the tilting/upward movement of the sole holders 5. This free space or gap can be embodied such that, when inserting a ski boot, the sole holders 5 additionally come to a rest against the bottom side of the housing upper part 2a when reaching the maximum movement path.

The springs 14 make sure that the sole holders 5 are returned to their initial situation when the ski boot is removed from the front jaw 1 or comes loose from the front jaw 1.

REFERENCE LIST

• • 1 . . . Front jaw
  • 2 . . . Housing
  • 2a . . . Housing upper part
  • 2b . . . Housing front part
  • 3 . . . Base plate
  • 5 . . . Sole holder
  • 5a . . . Blind bore
  • 5′a . . . Bore
  • 6, 6′ . . . Bolts
  • 6a, 6′a . . . Lower end segment
  • 7 . . . Guiding roller
  • 8 . . . Sliding plate
  • 9 . . . Protrusion
  • 9′ . . . Head
  • 10 . . . Recess
  • 11 . . . Elongated hole
  • 11a . . . Front end
  • 11b . . . Rear end
  • 12, 12′ . . . Pressing element
  • 13 . . . Cavity
  • 14 . . . Spring
  • Rt . . . Transverse direction
  • S . . . Ski longitudinal direction
  • K . . . Arrow

Claims

1. A front jaw of a safety ski binding with a base plate and a housing with a housing upper part as well as with sole holders pivotable about bolts forming vertically extending axes and having front and rear segments, the sole holders, at their front segments, receiving the bolts in bores and, at their rear segments, cooperating with the sole of an inserted ski boot,

characterised in that

the sole holders, at their front segments, are mounted on the housing upper part in a ball-joint-like manner, so that they are movable upwards over their rear segments by tilting the bolts, wherein each bolt projects through an elongated hole extending in the ski longitudinal direction, formed in the base plate and having front and rear ends, and below the elongated hole, is pressed towards the front end of the elongated hole under the action of a spring, wherein the rear end forms a stop limiting the extent of tilting the bolts.

2. The front jaw according to claim 1, characterised in that, for the ball-joint-like mounting, each sole holder has a protrusion designed in the shape of a spherical segment, in particular in the shape of a hemisphere, which engages an oppositely shaped recess on the bottom side of the housing upper part.

3. The front jaw according to claim 1, characterised in that the bolts are received in blind bores of the sole holders, wherein the protrusions are located above the ends of the blind bores.

4. The front jaw according to claim 1, characterised in that, for the ball-joint-like mounting of the sole holders, the bolts pass through bores in the sole holders and have heads designed in the shape of a spherical segment, in particular in the shape of a hemisphere, which each engage an oppositely shaped recess on the bottom side of the housing upper part.

5. The front jaw according to claim 1, characterised in that each bolt is biased by the spring via a pressing element.

6. The front jaw according to claim 5, characterised in that the pressing element is designed in a block-like manner.

7. The front jaw according to claim 5, characterised in that the pressing element, on its side facing the bolt, has a rounding partially encircling the bolt.

8. The front jaw according to claim 5, characterised in that the pressing element is embodied to be closed in a ring-like manner and surrounds the bolt with a free space towards the front.

9. The front jaw according to claim 5, characterised in that the pressing elements and the springs biasing them are accommodated in a cavity of the base plate.

10. The front jaw according to claims 5, characterised in that the springs which bias the pressing elements are helical compression springs or elastomeric spring elements.

11. The front jaw, in which the housing upper part at least partially covers the sole holders, according to claim 1, characterised in that a free space is present between the housing upper part and the sole holders.

12. The front jaw according to claim 11, characterised in that the free space is designed such that, when moving the sole holders upwards, the housing upper part forms a further stop limiting the extent of the movement.

13. The front jaw according to claim 1, characterised in that the elongated hole and the free space optionally present between the housing upper part and the sole holders are designed corresponding to automatic adaptation of the sole holders to soles of ski boots with standardised sole thicknesses of 19.00 mm+1.00 mm, in particular with additional clearance for movement of up to 1.00 mm.

14. A safety ski binding with a heel jaw and a front jaw which is embodied according to claim 1.