WO1994014510A1

WO1994014510A1 - Front jaw for a ski binding

Info

Publication number: WO1994014510A1
Application number: PCT/EP1993/003600
Authority: WO
Inventors: Helmut Wladar; Karl Stritzl; Andreas Janisch; Hubert Würthner
Original assignee: HTM Sport- und Freizeitgeräte Aktiengesellschaft
Priority date: 1992-12-21
Filing date: 1993-12-17
Publication date: 1994-07-07
Also published as: EP0626875B1; DE59301112D1; EP0626875A1; JPH07500276A

Abstract

A front jaw (1) for a safety binding has a housing (2) with two one-armed sole holders (11a, 11b) swivellingly mounted on a substantially vertical bolt (3). A spring arranged in the housing (2) acts on said bolt, pulling forward the bolt (3) guided in a straight line substantially in the longitudinal mid-plane ( epsilon ) of the housing. Concave guiding surfaces (16a, 16b), seen from above, are provided on both sides of the longitudinal mid-place of the housing. The sole holders (11a, 11b) are supported each on their corresponding guiding surface (16a, 16b), rolling on a front roll (15a, 15b) mounted at their front side. In one embodiment, said guiding surface has two adjacent concave sections (116b1, 116b2) which form a point (S) towards the roll (115b).

Description

FRONT JAWS FOR A SECURITY OBLIGATION

The invention relates to a front jaw for a safety binding, with a housing, with two one-armed sole holders, which are pivotably mounted on a common bolt, on which bolt a spring arranged in the housing engages and loads it forward with tension, and with guide surfaces formed on both sides of the longitudinal center plane on the housing, on which the sole holders are guided so as to be supported during their pivoting movement such that essentially no additional thrust occurs on the ski boot in the direction of a heel holder from a predetermined pivoting angle.

Such a toe is known from DE-OS 3 720 440. The bolt, which is referred to as the pivot shaft, is tilted slightly forwards and the line of action of the release spring is also inclined, as a result of which a force component is determined which exerts a force pulling the sole holder downwards. However, this measure is associated with the disadvantage of inclined installation of both the bolt and the pull rod determining the line of action of the release spring in the housing.

In this known toe piece, an approximately semi-cylindrical vertical guide surface is also provided on the housing, on which the sole holders are mounted with an associated counter surface. The front of the ski boot is supported in this toe piece by a roller, which is arranged in the longitudinal direction of the ski behind the counter surface of each sole holder so that this roller moves only slightly in the longitudinal direction forwards from a certain swivel angle when the sole holder is swung out. A disadvantage of this toe piece, however, is that the above-described mounting of the sole holder on the housing causes friction losses when the side is triggered at the bearing point.

A front jaw of the type mentioned is also known from AT-PS 376 576. The guide surfaces are flat surfaces; seen from above, they appear as a straight line that converges towards the front. Each sole holder is provided with a convex counter surface which rolls on the associated guide surface when the sole holder is pivoted, the support point being pivoted of the sole holder moves outwards in the sense of opening the binding. This is intended to ensure that the perpendicular to the central longitudinal axis passing through the bolt in a horizontal plane also runs through the support point on the guide surface when a sole holder is pivoted. In this known toe piece, the spring becomes excessively effective when the sole holder is pivoted to a greater extent and the shoe is pushed backwards against the thrust spring of the ferrule holder, which adversely affects triggering.

Other similarly constructed front jaws either have two-armed sole holders mounted on fixed axles, e.g. the AT-PS 321 170 can be removed, or they have a single sole holder, in which case a spring-loaded tie rod acting on the one-piece sole holder must be guided with lateral play, which can be found in DE-OS-25 58 331.

It is an object of the invention to provide a toe piece in which a safe lateral release is ensured even if the heel holder does not cushion, which e.g. can be caused by ice or snow. Furthermore, the defined release characteristic of the toe piece should be influenced as little as possible by dirt, ice or snow.

This object can be achieved with a front jaw of the type mentioned, in which, according to the invention, the bolt is arranged essentially vertically, each sole holder is supported on its associated guide surface by means of a front roller mounted on its front side, and the guide surface has a concave curvature when viewed in plan view , wherein when pivoting the sole holder in the sense of an opening, the support point of the roller on the guide surface moves inwards.

Thanks to the invention, there is a simple construction which enables reliable release even when the heel holder is not functioning properly, in particular when it is blocked by snow or ice and does not yield resiliently when longitudinal thrust occurs. The triggering characteristic can be adapted to the respective binding type, such as child binding, adult binding, racing binding, etc., by a suitable choice of the curvature of the guide surface.

From a practical point of view, such a toe piece tends to produce a sufficiently steep release characteristic with a precisely defined release or restoring force and good centering of the sole holder. In a preferred embodiment variant, this requirement is met in that each guide surface has two sections with a concave curvature which adjoin one another to form a web tip facing the roll

Thanks to this measure, there is a simple construction in which the triggering characteristic can be adapted to the respective type of binding, such as child binding, adult binding, racing binding, etc., by a suitable choice of the curvature of the sections of the guide surface. Furthermore, the slope of the tripping characteristic, the tripping force curve and the centering force of such a front jaw can be predetermined by the position of the web tip.

Additional features of a toe piece according to the invention result from further dependent claims.

The invention together with further features and advantages is explained in more detail below on the basis of exemplary embodiments which are illustrated in the accompanying figures, which show:

1 is a partially sectioned plan view of an embodiment of a toe piece according to the invention,

2 shows the front jaws of FIG. 1 with the ski boot inserted in the driving position,

3 shows the toe piece according to FIG. 2 during a side release with the sole holders fully pivoted out.

Figure 4 is a partial view of another embodiment of a toe piece according to the invention.

For the time being, reference is made to FIGS. 1 to 3, in which an exemplary embodiment of a toe piece 1 according to the invention is shown, which has a housing 2 in which an essentially vertical pin 3 along suitable, only indicated guides 4 essentially in the longitudinal center plane ε of the toe piece is guided. The bolt 3 is loaded via a tension piece 5 by means of a spring 6 to the front with train. The bias of the spring 6, which is expediently designed as a compression spring, can be adjusted with the aid of a screw bolt 7 supported on the housing 1. This bolt 7 passes through front spring support plate 8, on which the tension piece 5 engages, as well as the spring 6 and cooperates with a bushing 9 of a rear spring support plate 10 provided with a threaded bore.

Two single-armed sole holders 11a, 11b are pivotally mounted on the bolt 3 with their inner ends. In a known manner, these sole holders are designed in such a way that they can support and hold down the standard sole 12s of a ski boot 12 indicated by a broken line. For support, there are two vertically mounted support rollers 13a, b, 14a, b mounted on the rear of each sole holder 1 la, b.

A roller 15a, b mounted on a substantially vertical axis is provided on the front of each sole holder 11a, b. Each sole holder 1 la, b is supported by its front roller 15a, b on a guide surface 16a, b. These guide surfaces 16a, b are formed on the housing 1 and - seen in plan view - have a concave curvature and an inner stop 17a, b for the roller 15a, b. In the present exemplary embodiment, the guide surfaces are designed with radii of curvature that decrease from the outside inwards. However, they can also be essentially straight cylindrical surfaces on which the front rollers 15 a, b of the sole holder 1 la, b can roll.

Fig. 1 shows the front jaw 1 in the unused position. Due to the pressure of the spring 6 on the front end of the pull piece 5, this pulls the bolt 3 all the way forward, the two sole holders 11a, b, resting against one another, determining the rest position of the toe piece 1. Instead, of course, a stop for the inward movement of the sole holders 11a, b can be provided at another suitable location. The front rollers 15 a, b are in their outermost position on the guide surfaces 16a, b.

After inserting a shoe 12 into the binding (see FIG. 2), the front area of the standard sole 12s is supported on the support rollers 13 a, b by the thrust applied by the spring of a heel holder (not shown); 14a, b, the outer support rollers 14a, b resting against the strongly curved corner roundings of the sole 12s and the inner support rollers 13a, b against the only slightly curved end edge of the sole 12s. The sole holders 11a, b are now somewhat spread apart, that is to say pivoted somewhat outward about the bolt 3, and the spring 6 is already more compressed with respect to its rest position. The front rollers 15a, b have migrated somewhat inwards on the guide surfaces 16a, b. 3 shows the front jaw 1 at the end of the triggering process in a position in which the shoe has already been pivoted so far (to the right) that the sole holders 11a, b have practically reached their maximum pivoting position to the outside and the front rollers 15a, b almost occupy its innermost position, which is limited by the stops 17a, b.

The curvature of the guide surfaces 16a, b seen in plan view is selected in this exemplary embodiment such that, from a predetermined pivoting angle of the sole holder 11a, b, there is essentially no additional thrust on the ski boot in the direction of the heel holder when the sole holder is pivoted outward. This means that the function of the heel holder has a negligible influence on the triggering process on the toe piece.

The most expedient form of the curvature of the guide surface can be determined most easily empirically and / or graphically in this exemplary embodiment. In practice, such a course of curvature has proven itself, in which the radius of curvature of the guide surfaces 16a, b decreases from the outside inwards, as is shown in the drawing. However, even in the case of a constant curvature, that is to say a function which is entirely satisfactory in most cases with circular-cylindrical guide surfaces.

FIG. 4 shows a further exemplary embodiment of a toe piece according to the invention, features which in part have already been described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 being provided with the same reference numerals, however, increased by one hundred.

The toe piece 101 according to the invention shown in FIG. 4 has a housing 102 in which an essentially vertical bolt 103 is guided along suitable guides 104 essentially in the longitudinal center plane ε of the toe piece. The bolt 103 is tensioned forward with a preselectable spring via a tension piece, not shown.

A single-armed sole holder 111b is pivotally mounted on the bolt 103 with its inner end symmetrical to the longitudinal center plane. In a known manner, these sole holders are designed such that they can support and hold down the standard sole of a ski boot. To support the ski boot, two vertically mounted support rollers 113b, 114b are mounted on the rear of each sole holder 11 lb. At the front of the sole holder 111b there is a roller 115b mounted on a substantially vertical axis. Each sole holder 111b is supported on a guide surface 116b by means of its front roller 115b. This guide surface 116b is formed on the housing 101 and, viewed in plan view, consists of two concavely curved sections 116bl, 116b2, which are connected to one another via a web tip S facing the roll, and an inner stop 117b for the roll 115b. The web tip S is preferably somewhat rounded in order to avoid mechanical impairments. The section 116b2 is formed in the present exemplary embodiment by a straight section 116b2g, which adjoins the web tip outwards at a certain angle with respect to a transverse axis δ, and a continuing concave section 116b2k.

The curvature of the sections l lόbl, 116b2, seen in plan view, or the position of the web tip is now selected so that during a triggering process the triggering force acting on the shoe tip initially rises sharply until the roller 115b has reached the web tip, the pivot point of this Roll on a normal lies on this web tip and thus the trigger point of the toe is reached. The roller 115b then moves inward along the first concave subsection 11bbl until the stop 117b is reached. With this rolling movement, no additional force is generated in the direction of the heel cheeks, as a result of which the release force remains essentially constant over the entire release area until the ski boot is released laterally.

The most expedient form of the curvature of the partial sections and the position of the web tip of the guide surface can also be determined empirically and / or graphically in the simplest manner in this exemplary embodiment. In practice, an embodiment has proven itself in which a straight section is provided towards the outside after the web tip.

It should also be noted in the context of this invention that there should be a reset or centering effect in the event of small pivoting movements of the sole or when the sole holder returns from the release position. The condition that essentially no additional thrust occurs on the ski boot in the direction of the heel holder should therefore only apply from a predetermined pivoting angle of the sole holder. Below this pivoting angle, an increase in the heel thrust when the toe of the shoe is deflected is quite desirable in order to provide centering. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the condition that essentially no additional thrust occurs on the ski boot in the direction of the heel holder should therefore only be met when the roller 15b has already moved inward via the web tip S. Before reaching the web tip, an increase in the heel thrust when the tip of the shoe is deflected is therefore quite desirable in order to obtain good centering. From this point of view it is easy to understand that the web tip makes an important contribution to an exact definition of both the triggering force and the centering force.

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS

1. front jaws (1; 101) for a safety binding, with a housing (2; 102), with two one-armed sole holders (11a, 11b; 111b), which are pivotably mounted on a bolt (3; 103), on this bolt a spring (6) arranged in the housing (2; 102) engages and loads it forward with tension, and with guide surfaces (16a, 16b; 116b) provided on both sides of the longitudinal median plane (ε) on which the Sole holders are guided during their pivoting movement so that there is essentially no additional thrust on the ski boot in the direction of a heel holder from a predetermined pivoting angle, characterized in that the bolt (3; 103) is arranged essentially vertically so that each sole holder (11a , 11b; 111b) is supported on its associated guide surface (16a, 16b; 116b) by means of a front roller (15a, 15b; 115b) mounted on its front side, and that the guide surface, in plan view seen, has a concave curvature, wherein when the sole holder is pivoted in the sense of an opening, the support point of the roller on the guide surface moves inwards.

2. front jaw according to claim 1, characterized in that the radius of curvature of the guide surface (16a, 16b) decreases from the outside inwards.

3. front jaw according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the guide surface (16a, 16b; 116b) has an inner stop (17a, 17b; 117b) for the roller (15a, 15b; 115b).

4. toe according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the sole holder (11a, 11b; 111b) on its rear side have vertically mounted support rollers (13a, 13b, 14a, 14b; 113b, 114b) for the shoe sole (12s) , wherein each sole holder (11a, 11b, 111b) has an inner and an outer support roller (13a, 13b, 14a, 14b; 113b, 114b) for the sole (12s) and - viewed in the longitudinal direction - the axis of the front roller (15a , 15b; 115b) of each sole holder between the axes of the support rollers (13a, 13b, 14a, 14b; 113b, 114b) of this sole holder.

5. front jaw according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that each guide surface (116b) has two sections (l lόbl, 116b2) with a concave curvature which adjoin one another to form a web tip (S) facing the roller (115b).

6. toe piece according to claim 5, characterized in that the web tip (S) is rounded.

7. front jaw according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the second, further outwardly lying portion (116b2) of the guide surface (116b) in plan view with a straight partial section (116b2g) adjoins the web tip (S), which then in a concave Section (116b2k) merges.