Snowboard binding system

A binding assembly to hold a boot in an operational position on the surface of a snowboard, comprising:

• a boot plate attached to a sole of a snowboard boot, said boot plate having two locking recesses, each said locking recess substantially adjacent to an opposite side of the boot;
• attachment housing means operationally fixed to said snowboard for releasably binding to said boot plate so that the boot and the snowboard are in a first mode fixedly bound together during operation and in a second mode detached from one another, wherein said attachment housing means includes a bottom plate attached to said surface of said snowboard and opposing spaced apart boot plate retaining members attached to said bottom plate and projecting away from said surface of said snowboard, said boot retaining members having at least one tongue for mating with said locking recesses for fixedly attaching said attachment housing means;
• wherein at least one of said tongues is moveable in a planar direction substantially parallel to the snowboard surface so that a snowboarder's weight applied to mating said locking recesses with said tongues is sufficient for binding said boot to said snowboard.

A snowboarding boot plate comprising:

• a substantially rigid plate securable to a snowboard boot, said plate having a top and bottom and first and second sides, at least one of said first and second sides having a receptacle capable of receiving an engaging member of a snowboard binding.

A snowboard binding system, comprising:

• (a) a boot engaging plate having means for attaching said engaging plate to a snowboard, said engaging plate having movable engaging members positioned on opposing sides of a snowboard boot and at least one positioning key to insure proper positioning of said boot with said binding;
• and
• (b) a retraction mechanism operably associated with at least one of said engaging members, said mechanism being movable between a first engaging position and a second disengaging position.

A binding assembly to hold a boot in an operational position on the surface of a snowboard, comprising:

• a boot plate attached to a sole of a snowboard boot, said boot plate having two locking recesses, each said locking recess substantially adjacent to an opposite side of the boot;
• attachment housing means operationally fixed to said snowboard for releasably binding to said boot plate so that the boot and the snowboard are in a first mode fixedly bound together during operation and in a second mode detached from one another, wherein said attachment housing means includes a bottom plate attached to said surface of said snowboard and opposing spaced apart boot plate retaining members attached to said bottom plate and projecting away from said surface of said snowboard, said boot retaining members having at least one tongue for mating with said locking recesses for fixedly attaching said attachment housing means, said attachment housing means including a manually manipulatable retraction means for urging said at least one tongue away from said locking recesses so that the boot disengages from the snowboard;
• wherein at least one of said tongues is movable in a planar direction substantially parallel to the snowboard surface so that a snowboarder's weight applied to mating said locking recesses with said tongues is sufficient for binding said boot to said snowboard.

A snowboarding boot plate comprising:

• a substantially rigid plate securable to a snowboard boot, said plate having a top and bottom and first and second sides, at least one of said first and second sides having a receptacle capable of receiving an engaging member of a snowboard binding, said plate having positioning keys to insure proper positioning of said plate with said binding.

A boot plate having opposing engaging members capable of contacting protrusions positioned on the surface of a snowboard, whereby engagement of said engaging members with said protrusions secures said boot to said snowboard.

A snowboard boot comprising an upper calf member adjustably attached to a boot frame allowing both axial and rotational movement generally corresponding to the angular movement of a snowboarder's ankle, said boot having an inner structure having a one-piece plastic inner boot support substantially following the exterior contours of a foot portion of said boot, said inner structure having an ankle cut-out permitting lateral flex of a snowboarder's ankle;

• and
• a strap operatively attached to said inner structure to fix a forward lean configuration.