US 5,299,823 AGranted

Snow board binding and method

OwnerJohn Glaserinventor

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Abstract

A snowboard binding assembly comprising a fixed jaw to engage one side of a boot, and a slide jaw assembly to engage an opposite of the boot. An operating lever positions a slide jaw housing in a locking mode where the slide jaw assembly is fixed in locking engagement with the boot, an intermediate step-in position where the slide jaw housing can move laterally to a release position, and a disengaging position where the slide jaw housing is either positively moved to the release position or can readily be moved to the release position in opposition to the spring. In one preferred embodiment, a locking finger is mounted to a rotatable shaft connected to the positioning lever, and a cam finger causing movement of the slide jaw housing is mounted to the cam member.

Claims34

Dependent claims

A binding assembly adapted to hold a person's boot in an operating location on a snow board or the like and to permit release of said boot, said binding assembly having a retaining position and a release position, said binding assembly having three operating modes, namely:

a. a first locking operating mode where said boot is fixedly held in said operating location by the binding in its retaining position;
b. a second intermediate operating mode where movement of said assembly from the retaining position to the release position is yieldingly resisted in a manner to permit movement of said boot into the operating location of the binding assembly and into retaining engagement therewith;
c. a third release operating mode where said assembly is either at, or easily movable to, said release position to permit easy removal of said boot from said operating location,
said binding assembly comprising:
a. a base mounting means;
b. a jaw means that is mounted to said base mounting assembly so as to be movable between a boot retaining position engaging said boot at said operating location and a boot release position spaced from said boot retaining position;
c. a locking means having a locking position where said locking means is in operative locking engagement between said jaw means and said base mounting means to prevent movement of said jaw means from said boot retaining position to said boot release position and a lock release position where said locking means is out of said operative locking engagement;
d. spring means to urge said jaw means toward said retaining position;
and
e. selectively operable positioning and control means operably engaging said locking means and movable between first, second and third control mode positions to place said assembly in said first, second and third operating modes, respectively, as follows:
i. in said first control mode position to place said locking means in said locking position to prevent movement of said jaw means from said boot retaining position;
ii. in said second control mode position to place said locking means in said lock release position and to permit said spring means to urge said jaw means to said boot retaining position;
iii. in said third control mode position to limit the effect of the spring means to either move said jaw means to the boot release position or to at least partly limit effect of said spring means so that said jaw means can, with less resisting force from said spring means, move to said boot release position.

10 more elements

A binding assembly adapted to hold a person's boot in an operating location on a snowboard or the like and to permit release of said boot, said binding assembly comprising:

a. a base mounting plate means;
b. a jaw means mounted on one side of said plate means to engage one side of said boot;
c. a jaw assembly mounted to an opposite side of said plate means for engaging an opposite side of said boot, said jaw assembly comprising:
i. a jaw housing adapted to engage an opposite side of said boot and mounted to said plate means for movement between a retaining position, in which the jaw housing engages the opposite side of the boot, and a release position;
iii. a locking finger means movably mounted to one of said jaw housing and said plate means for movement into and out of locking engagement with the other of said jaw housing and plate means;
and
iii. a manually operable position lever operatively engaging said locking finger means so that movement of said lever moves said locking finger means into and out of said locking engagement, thereby permitting said jaw to be moved between said retaining and release positions.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

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Abstract

a. a first locking operating mode where said boot is fixedly held in said operating location by the binding in its retaining position;
b. a second intermediate operating mode where movement of said assembly from the retaining position to the release position is yieldingly resisted in a manner to permit movement of said boot into the operating location of the binding assembly and into retaining engagement therewith;
c. a third release operating mode where said assembly is either at, or easily movable to, said release position to permit easy removal of said boot from said operating location,
said binding assembly comprising:
a. a base mounting means;
b. a jaw means that is mounted to said base mounting assembly so as to be movable between a boot retaining position engaging said boot at said operating location and a boot release position spaced from said boot retaining position;
c. a locking means having a locking position where said locking means is in operative locking engagement between said jaw means and said base mounting means to prevent movement of said jaw means from said boot retaining position to said boot release position and a lock release position where said locking means is out of said operative locking engagement;
d. spring means to urge said jaw means toward said retaining position;
and
e. selectively operable positioning and control means operably engaging said locking means and movable between first, second and third control mode positions to place said assembly in said first, second and third operating modes, respectively, as follows:
i. in said first control mode position to place said locking means in said locking position to prevent movement of said jaw means from said boot retaining position;
ii. in said second control mode position to place said locking means in said lock release position and to permit said spring means to urge said jaw means to said boot retaining position;
iii. in said third control mode position to limit the effect of the spring means to either move said jaw means to the boot release position or to at least partly limit effect of said spring means so that said jaw means can, with less resisting force from said spring means, move to said boot release position.

10 more elements