Sensor-connected processor-controlled snow sport boot binding
AssigneeStop River Development LLC
InventorsGeorge Pantazelos, Joseph K. Lane, Michael Ryan Cameron
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Some aspects include a ski binding system using controllable electromagnets, alone or in combination with permanent magnets, as means of attaching or releasing a ski boot to a ski during use. Some aspects include a ski binding system using a controllable solenoid. In some aspects, microprocessor-based control releases binding electronically based on input from sensors located in binding, ski and/or boot, as well as in other equipment or clothing connected to them or to skier, or binding releases when a mechanical threshold is overcome. In some aspects, sensor data are recorded for analysis of system performance and for adjustment and improvement of system parameters based on data analytics.
Claims19
A processor-controlled snow sports binding system, comprising:
- a snow sport binding system that controllably releases a boot from a snow sport apparatus;
- the binding system comprising a pair of opposing clamps that have a first position which secures said boot to said snow sport apparatus and a second position which releases said boot from said snow sports apparatus, said binding system further comprising a mechanical linkage which controllably moves between a first position of the mechanical linkage causing said clamps to be in said first position thereof, securing said boot, and a second position of the mechanical linkage causing said clamps to be in a second position thereof, releasing said boot;
- one or more sensors that sense one or more physical conditions during said snow sports;
- a processor-based control system comprising a processor circuit configured and arranged to generate a control signal based at least on the received signals from the sensors, wherein said control signal causes the movement of said mechanical linkage so as to controllably move the opposing clamps from said first position to said second position of said clamps, thereby releasing said boot from said snow sport apparatus;
- and
- a linear actuator in mechanical communication with the mechanical linkage, the linear actuator having an extended state and a retracted state with respect to a first axis,
- wherein:
- the mechanical linkage includes one or more motion converters that cause the opposing clamps to transition between said first position of said clamps and said second position of said clamps in response to a movement of the linear actuator,
- said first position of said clamps and said second position of said clamps are aligned along a second axis that is orthogonal to the first axis, and
- the linear actuator is in electrical communication with the processor circuit to receive the control signal.
A method of operating a snow sports binding system that couples a boot worn by a user to a snow sport apparatus, comprising:
- sensing one or more conditions, using one or more sensors coupled to the user, a user's clothing, or a snow sports apparatus;
- communicating one or more signals from said one or more sensors to a processor;
- determining in said processor whether an injury to the user is likely to occur based on a model accounting for one or more of:
- a user's orientation, speed, heading, acceleration, relative position of the user's hip, legs, or other measured sensor readings corresponding to said signals;
- generating a control signal by said processor in response to a determined likelihood that an injury will occur to initiate a release of said boot from said snow sport apparatus;
- extending a linear actuator, in response to said control signal, from a retracted state to an extended state with respect to a first axis to move a mechanical linkage in said snow sports binding system from a first position of the mechanical linkage to a second position of the mechanical linkage;
- and
- translating a motion of the mechanical linkage with one or more motion converters to cause a pair of opposing clamps to be moved from a first position of said clamps to a second position of said clamps, releasing said boot from said snow sports apparatus,
- wherein said first position of said clamps and said second position of said clamps are aligned along a second axis that is orthogonal to the first axis.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.