Safety binding for a ski

A safety binding for releasably holding the toe of a skier's boot to the top of a ski having a longitudinally extending median plane, said binding comprising:

• a) a base adapted to be attached to the top of the ski;
• b) a body movably mounted on said base and having clamping means which overlie and clamp the toe of the boot to the ski when the body is in a clamped position and which are displaced from the toe of the boot when the body is in an unclamped position at which the toe of the boot is released from the ski;
• c) a pedal adapted to be movably mounted on the ski beneath the toe of the boot when the latter is clamped to the top the ski, and a bell crank pivotally mounted on the base including a pair of rigidly connected arms, one of which engages the pedal for pivoting the crank in one direction in response to downward pressure of the toe of the boot due to an incipient forward fall of the skier, and the other of which is a first linkage element;
• d) a second linkage element having an articulated connection to said first linkage element and having a connection to said body for moving the latter toward its unclamped position in response to said movement of said bell crank in said one direction;
• e) spring bias means;
• and
• f) coupling means for coupling said spring bias means to said first linkage element for urging said bell crank in a direction opposite to said one direction.

A safety binding for releasably holding the toe of a skier's boot to the top of a ski having a longitudinally extending median plane, said binding comprising:

• a) a base adapted to be attached to the top of the ski;
• b) a body mounted on said base for pivotal movement about a first axis perpendicular to said median plane;
• c) a pair of retention wings pivotal on said body about spaced axes that are parallel and symmetrically displaced with respect to said median plane, said body being pivotal between an operative position adjacent to the toe of the boot, and in an inoperative position remote from the toe, each of said wings being pivotal between an engaged position in which the wing overlies and engages the toe of the boot when the body is in its operative position, and a released position in which the wing is disengaged from the toe of the boot when the body is in its operative position;
• and
• d) actuation means constructed and arranged to effect movement of said body from its operative to its inoperative position in response to downward pivotal movement of the toe of the boot about an axis perpendicular to said median plane.

A safety binding for releasably holding the toe of a skier's boot to the top of a ski having a longitudinally extending median plane, said binding comprising:

• a) a base adapted to be attached to the top of the ski;
• b) clamping means mounted on said base for movement between a clamped position at which the toe of the boot is clamped to ski, and an unclamped position at which the toe of the boot is released from the ski;
• c) actuation means associated with the clamping means constructed and arranged for moving said clamping means from its clamped position toward its unclamped position in response to downward pivotal movement of the toe of the boot about an axis perpendicular to said median plane, said actuation means including a toe operated pedal mounted on said base for displacement in response to downward pressure of the toe of the boot due to an incipient forward fall of the skier, and linkage means having one end connected to said pedal and the other end connected to said clamping means, said linkage means including a first linkage element movable in response to said displacement of said pedal, and a second linkage element interconnecting said first linkage element with said clamping means for moving the latter toward its unclamped position in response to said movement of said first linkage element;
• d) wherein said first linkage element if pivotally mounted on said base and connected to said pedal such that said displacement of said pedal imparts pivotal movement to said first linkage element in one direction, and said second linkage element interconnecting the first linkage element to said clamping means is constructed and arranged to convert pivotal movement of said first linkage element in one direction to movement of said clamping means to said unclamped position;
• and
• e) wherein said second linkage element is pivotally connected to said clamping means.

A safety binding for releasably holding the toe of a skier's boot to the top of a ski having a longitudinal median plane, said binding comprising;

• a) a base;
• b) a body;
• c) clamping means pivotally mounted on said body for engaging and maintaining the toe of the boot clamped to the ski when the clamping means is in a clamped position;
• d) a pedal pivotal on said base and engageable by the toe of the boot when the latter is clamped to the shoe by the clamping means, and pivotal in response to downward pressure by the toe on the pedal associated with an incipient forward fall of the skier;
• e) a first linkage element movable on the base in one direction in response to pivotal movement of said pedal;
• and
• f) a second linkage element connecting said first linkage element to said clamping means for effecting pivotal movement to the latter away from its clamped position in response to movement of said first linkage element in said one direction;
• g) a movable force transmission element, a spring for biasing said force transmission element in on direction, and interconnection means between the first linkage element and said force transmission element for effecting movement of the latter against the bias of said spring in response to movement of said first linkage element in said one direction whereby downward pressure by the toe on the pedal is resisted by said spring;
• and
• h) wherein said body is pivotal on said base about an axis perpendicular to said median plane, and said second linkage element is constructed and arranged so that pivotal movement of the body in response to upward pressure by the toe on said clamping means associated with an incipient rearward fall of the skier imparts movement to said second linkage element which in turn imparts movement to said first linkage element in said one direction whereby pivotal movement of said body in response to upward pressure is resisted by said spring.