Patent ID: 6966563
Filing Date: 2005-11-22
Classification: A63C

Abstract:
1. In snowboarding equipment that includes a snowboard, two boots, one boot for each of two feet of a snowboarder, and two bindings, each binding designed to secure one boot to the snowboard, a safety device comprising: a binding support platform fashioned to enable fastening of both bindings, the bindings being fastened to the binding support platform rather than to the snowboard; and a platform retention assembly that is fashioned to be fastened to the snowboard; the platform retention assembly including a plurality of preloaded compliant members that form interfaces with contours on the binding support platform; said interfaces preventing the binding support platform from separating from the platform retention assembly except when a force or torque applied to the snowboard exceeds a set threshold; and the platform retention assembly including a plurality of firm features that contact firm mating features of the binding support platform, said plurality of firm features including all such firm features on the platform retention assembly that contact firm mating features of the binding support platform; said firm features and firm mating features being arranged such that the contacts between them that limit relative in-plane translation, when projected onto the plane of the snowboard, are all tangent about one mutual center point; and wherein all of the preloaded compliant members of said platform retention assembly are located in an inner region between the bindings, and wherein the binding support platform includes a surface that covers or partially covers the preloaded compliant members of the platform retention assembly.