US 8,226,109 B2Granted

Splitboard bindings

OwnerWilliam J Ritterinventor

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Abstract

Splitboard boot bindings for backcountry splitboarding. Each of a pair of soft-boot bindings is provided with an integral boot binding lower that conjoins the two halves of a splitboard without the additional weight or height of an adaptor mounting plate, upper binding baseplate or “tray”, and extra fasteners of the prior art. The boot binding lower is formed as a modified sandwich box girder or modified monolithic box girder and provides improved torsional stiffness for splitboard riding. When subjected to a torque applied by the rider, the bottom mediolateral flanges of the box girders are configured to contactingly engage the top face of the splitboard, thereby dynamically coupling the rider's boot sole and the board via a single rigid structure. In a preferred embodiment, the web or “spacer” members are characterized by an aspect ratio or contour height that is varied from heel to toe.

Claims16

Dependent claims

A pair of splitboard boot bindings, each boot binding for securing a rider's boot to a splitboard, the splitboard having a pair of conjoinable ski members, the ski members when conjoined together defining a snowboard riding configuration and when used separately defining a ski touring configuration, each boot binding for engaging a snowboard mounting block assembly affixed crosswise to the top face of the splitboard in snowboard riding configuration and for engaging a ski mounting assembly affixed to one of the ski members in ski touring configuration, each boot binding of said pair comprising,

a box girder having a top plate member with a top surface, a bottom plate member with a bottom surface, a medial web member, a lateral web member, a heel end and a toe end;
wherein,
a) said top surface is proportioned for contactingly receiving an applied torque from the sole of the rider's boot, said box girder having means for detachably securing the rider's boot to said top surface;
b) said bottom plate member comprises parallel inside flange edges forming an underside channel for receiving and grippingly conjoining said box girder to the snowboard mounting block assembly affixed to a top face of the splitboard, and is proportioned with widened bottom outside mediolateral flange edges for dynamically transmitting torque from the sole of the rider's boot to the top face of the splitboard;
c) said medial and lateral web members underlie said top plate and join said top plate to said bottom plate, forming a rigid mechanical linkage therebetween;
d) said medial and lateral web members each comprise a transverse coaxial hole on a pivot axis proximate to said toe end, said transverse coaxial hole for receiving an insertable toe pivot pin;
and,
e) said medial and lateral web members have each a lateral face and a medial face dimensionally separated by a lateral-to-medial width, said lateral-to-medial width having a maximum proximate to said transverse coaxial pivot hole and tapered to a minimum posteriorly therefrom.

5 more elements

A combination of a splitboard and a pair of boot bindings, said splitboard comprising:

a) a pair of ski members, said ski members when joined together having a snowboard riding configuration and when used separately having a ski touring configuration;
b) a pair of snowboard mounting block assemblies for use in said snowboard riding configuration;
c) a pair of ski mounting assemblies for use in said ski touring configuration;
each boot binding of said pair of said combination comprising
a box girder having a top plate member with a top surface, a bottom plate member with a bottom surface, a medial web member, a lateral web member, a heel end and a toe end;
wherein
i) said top surface is proportioned for contactingly receiving an applied torque from the sole of a rider's boot, said top surface having means for securing the rider's boot to said top surface;
ii) said bottom plate member comprises parallel inside flange edges forming an underside channel for receiving and grippingly conjoining said box girder to a snowboard mounting block assembly affixed to the top face of the splitboard, and is proportioned with widened bottom outside mediolateral flange edges for dynamically transmitting said torque to said top face of said splitboard;
iii) said medial and lateral web members underlie said top plate and join said top plate to said bottom plate, forming a rigid mechanical linkage therebetween;
iv) said medial and lateral web members each comprise a transverse coaxial hole defined on a pivot axis proximate to said toe end, said transverse coaxial hole for receiving an insertable toe pivot pin;
v) said medial and lateral web members have each a lateral face and a medial face dimensionally separated by a lateral-to-medial width, said lateral-to-medial width having a maximum proximate to said transverse coaxial pivot hole and tapered to a minimum posteriorly therefrom.

8 more elements

A splitboard combination comprising:

a) a first ski member having at least one nonlinear longitudinal edge;
b) a second ski member having at least one nonlinear longitudinal edge;
c) conjoining apparatus for securing said first ski member to said second ski member to form a snowboard having nonlinear longitudinal edges;
d) a ski mounting assembly secured to said first ski member and a ski mounting assembly secured to said second ski member;
e) a first snowboard mounting block assembly positioned to extend a first boot binding between said first ski member and said second ski member, said first snowboard binding block assembly having at least one snowboard mounting block element secured to said first ski member and at least one snowboard mounting block element secured to said second ski member;
f) a second snowboard mounting block assembly positioned to extend a second boot binding between said first ski member and said second ski member, said second snowboard mounting block assembly having at least one snowboard mounting block element secured to said first ski member and at least one snowboard mounting block element secured to said second ski member;
wherein said first and second boot binding comprises each a box girder having a top plate member with a top surface, a bottom plate member with a bottom surface, a medial web member, a lateral web member, a heel end and a toe end;
wherein
i) said top surface is proportioned for contactingly receiving a torque from the sole of a rider's boot, said top surface having means for securing said boot to said top surface;
ii) said bottom plate member comprises parallel inside flange edges forming a channel for receiving and grippingly conjoining said box girder to a mounting block assembly affixed to a top face of a splitboard, and is proportioned with widened bottom outside mediolateral flange edges for dynamically transmitting said torque to said top face of said splitboard;
iii) said medial and lateral web members underlie said top plate and join said top plate to said bottom plate, forming a rigid mechanical therebetween;
iv) said medial and lateral web members each comprise a transverse coaxial hole on a pivot axis proximate to said toe end, said transverse coaxial hole for receiving an insertable toe pivot pin;
v) said medial and lateral web members have each a lateral face and a medial face dimensionally separated by a lateral-to-medial width, said width having a maximum proximate to said transverse coaxial pivot hole and tapered to a minimum posteriorly therefrom.

10 more elements

A method for promoting splitboarding to a rider, the rider having soft boots, which comprises

a) providing a splitboard to the rider, said splitboard comprising
i) a pair of conjoinable ski members, said ski members when conjoined together defining a snowboard riding configuration and when used separately defining a ski touring configuration;
ii) a pair of snowboard mounting block assemblies affixed crosswise to the top face of said splitboard, wherein said snowboard mounting block assemblies are each comprised of stiff but elastically deformable solid members having outside flanges disposed thereon for use in said snowboard riding configuration;
iii) a pair of ski mounting assemblies affixed to the top face of said ski members, wherein said ski mounting assemblies comprise each a toe pivot cradle and insertable toe pivot pin for use in said ski touring configuration;
b) providing a pair of boot bindings to the rider, each boot binding of said pair comprising a box girder having a top plate member with a top surface, a bottom plate member with a bottom surface, a medial web member, a lateral web member, a heel end and a toe end;
wherein,
i) said top surface is proportioned for contactingly receiving an applied torque from the sole of the rider's boot, said top surface having means for securing the rider's boot to said top surface;
ii) said bottom plate member comprises parallel inside flange edges forming an underside channel for receiving and flangedly interlocking said box girder to a snowboard mounting block assembly of said pair, and is proportioned with widened bottom outside mediolateral flange edges for dynamically transmitting an applied torque from the sole of the rider's boot to the top face of the splitboard;
iii) said medial and lateral web members underlie said top plate and join said top plate to said bottom plate, forming a rigid mechanical linkage therebetween;
iv) said medial and lateral web members each comprise a transverse coaxial hole defined on a pivot axis proximate to said toe end, said transverse coaxial hole for receiving said toe pivot pin;
v) said medial and lateral web members have each a lateral face and a medial face dimensionally separated by a lateral-to-medial width, said lateral-to-medial width of said web members having each a maximum proximate to said transverse coaxial pivot hole and tapered to a minimum posteriorly therefrom;
and,
c) affixing said boot bindings to said splitboard;
and
d) riding said splitboard.

12 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/483,152Filed 11 Jun 2009 · continuation in part
Priority: 17 Mar 2006
Published: US 2009/0250906 A18 Oct 2009
Granted: 24 Jul 2012
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

A63C 5/033
Mono skis; Snowboards: devices for enabling the use of a normal ski as mono-ski, e.g. platforms fixed on the ski for supporting the ski boots…
A63C 5/03
Skis or snowboards: mono skis; Snowboards
A63C 9/02
Ski bindings: non-self-releasing bindings with swivel sole-plate or swivel parts, i.e. Ellefsen-type
A63C 10/28
Snowboard bindings: characterised by auxiliary devices or arrangements on the bindings

Family

Application60/783,327Us provisional application · filed 17 Mar 2006
Application60/792,231Us provisional application · filed 14 Apr 2006
Application11/409,860Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 24 Apr 2006
US 2009/0250906 A1Pre-grant publication · published 8 Oct 2009
US 7,823,905 B2Parent of this continuation-in-part
US 2007/0216137 A1Published application
US 8,226,109 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.