Abstract:
A releasable fastening assembly for attachment of a boot to a snowboard comprises a mounting member which, in use, is fixed to the snowboard, and a support member which is rotatable relative to the mounting member. First and second jaws are mounted on the support member for engagement with co-operating formations on the boot. Means are provided for releasably holding the support member in a selected one of a plurality of possible angular positions relative to the mounting member and for disengaging at least one of the jaws from the cooperating formations on the boot.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to releasable fastenings for attaching boots to snowboards. 
     Snowboards have been in use for a number of years and snowboarding has become a popular winter sports activity in those countries which have substantial snowfalls. With the increasing popularity of the sport there has come a desire for the user to be able to attach his or her boots to the board in a simple and effective manner. It is also desirable that attachment of the boots to the board and release of the boots from the board can be carried out in a very short time. 
     It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a fastening system which meets these desiderata. 
     Some snowboarders keep their feet (and thus their boots) at fixed orientations relative to the longitudinal axis of the board, whereas others prefer to have the possibility of adjusting the orientations of their boots about an axis normal to the upper surface of the board. 
     It is accordingly a further object of the present invention to provide a fastening system which includes means whereby a snowboarder can readily adjust the orientation of his or her boots. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a releasable fastening for attachment of a boot to a snowboard, said fastening comprising a mounting member which, in use, is fixedly attached to the snowboard, a support member which is rotatable relative to the mounting member, first and second jaws mounted on the support member and arranged for engagement with cooperating formations on the boot, means for releasably holding the support member in a selected one of a plurality of possible angular positions relative to the mounting member and means for disengaging at least one of said first and second jaws from the cooperating formations on the boot. 
     Said first and second jaws are preferably so arranged that the first jaw is arranged to engage a cooperating formation on the boot which is positioned adjacent the toe end of the boot while the second jaw is arranged to engage a cooperating formation on the boot positioned at or adjacent the heel end of the boot. The disengaging means preferably acts on the second jaw, i.e. that positioned at or adjacent the heel end of the boot. Said second jaw is preferably arranged for pivotal movement about an axis located beneath the portion of the second jaw which engages the cooperating formation on the boot. 
     The mounting member which is fixedly attached to the snowboard preferably comprises a disc having a circumferential step portion, which circumferential step portion cooperates with the adjacent surface of the snowboard to define a location recess for a complementary part of the support member. Said circumferential step portion of the mounting member is preferably formed to provide an array of outwardly extending teeth, with the angles between adjacent teeth defining the spacings between adjacent selectable positions of the support member relative to the mounting member. 
     The first jaw preferably includes a mounting for a spring-loaded index member which resiliently engages in the spaces between the teeth of the circumferential step portion to provide a resilient restraint to angular movement of the support member relative to the mounting member. 
     The second jaw is preferably arranged for movement about its axis upon actuation of a lever which also serves to effect operation of a locking member engageable with the teeth of the circumferential step portion of the mounting member. 
     Thus, according to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a releasable fastening for attachment of a boot to a snowboard, which fastening includes holding means for holding the boot in engagement with the snowboard, means permitting rotation of the boot retative to the snowboard when held in engagement with the snowboard and for locking the engaged boot in a selected angular position relative to the snowboard and a common operating member for effecting release of the holding means and the locking means. 
     The common operating member is preferably normally maintained in a position in which the holding means and the locking means are both operative. The common operating member is preferably movable from said “normal” position into a first release position in which one of said holding means and said locking means is released and into a second release position in which both said holding means and said locking means are released. 
     The common operating member is preferably biased by spring means into said first release position and is movable manually in one direction into said “normal” position and in the opposite direction into the second release position. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a plan view of a releasable fastening for attachment of a boot to a snowboard, 
     FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the fastening taken along the line A—A of FIG. 1, 
     FIG. 3 is a view showing certain parts of the fastening in the positions which they occupy when the fastening is in its “normal” or locked condition and the boot is held in engagement with the snowboard and cannot be rotated relative to the snowboard, 
     FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 but showing the relevant parts of the fastening in the first release position, in which the boot can be rotated relative to the snowboard but cannot be separated from the snowboard, 
     FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 but showing the relevant parts of the fastening in the second release position, in which the boot can be separated from the snowboard and/or rotated relative to the snowboard, 
     FIGS. 6 and 7 show the common operating member held in its “normal” or locking position, 
     FIGS. 8 and 9 show the common operating member when released for movement into the first release or the second release position, and 
     FIGS. 10,  11  and  12  are detail views showing three positions of a modified form of fastening. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     It will be appreciated that the fastening shown in FIG. 1 is one of two such fastenings located at spaced positions along the length of the snowboard, one for receiving the right boot of the snowboarder and the other for receiving the left boot of the snowboarder. Each boot includes a pair of transversely extending bars located in recesses in the underside of the boot, one bar being underneath the heel of the boot and the other bar being located towards the toe end of the boot. 
     The fastening includes a mounting member  10  in the form of a circular plate of, for example, stainless steel, aluminium or a suitable plastics material, which has a number of apertures  11  (as shown there are twelve apertures  11 ) for receiving screws or bolts (not shown) for attachment of the mounting member  10  to the snowboard  12 . The snowboard  12  will typically be provided with a number of inset internally threaded sockets (not shown) and the screws or bolts will engage the inset sockets. 
     The mounting member  10  has a circumferential step portion  13  which provides a plurality of outwardly directed angularly spaced teeth  14 . As shown, there are forty teeth  14  and the troughs between adjacent teeth  14  are of substantially the same angular extent as the teeth. The circumferential step portion  13  of the mounting member  10  cooperates with the snowboard  12  to position a support member  15  which is of somewhat lozenge-shape in plan view (as can be seen from FIG. 1) and has a central aperture which receives the central portion of the mounting member  10  so that the support member  15  is rotatable relative to the mounting member  10  and hence relative to the snowboard  12 . 
     A first jaw  16  projects upwardly from the support member  15  and is arranged for engagement with the bar adjacent the toe end of the boot of the user. Said first jaw  16  is a fixed jaw and, as shown in FIGS. 2 to  5 , it has a horizontally extending open mouth  17  to receive the bar of the boot. The jaw  16  includes a mounting for a spring  18  which acts on a detent  19  having a curvate presented face directed towards the teeth  14  of the mounting member  10 . The curvate face of the detent  19  will engage between a pair of adjacent teeth  14  and will provide a resilient restraint against rotation of the support member  15  relative to the mounting member  10 . If, however, the support member  15  is otherwise free to rotate relative to the mounting member  10 , the application of a torque above a predetermined minimum value to the support member  15  will serve to overcome the restraint afforded by the spring-loaded detent  19  and will effect rotation of the support member  15  relative to the mounting member  10 . 
     Although the detent  19  is shown combined with the jaw  16 , the detent could be mounted separately, anywhere around the circumference of the mounting member  10 . 
     A second jaw  20  is provided on the support member  15  and is positioned diametrically opposite the first jaw  16 . The second jaw  20  is a movable jaw and is arranged for spring-loaded pivotal movement about the axis of a shaft  21  relative to a fixed abutment member  22 . The second, movable jaw  20  has a horizontally directed mouth  23  to receive the bar beneath the heel of the boot of the user. The movable jaw  20  and the abutment member  22  have upwardly directed surfaces  24  and  25  which are inclined to the horizontal such that, when the user engages the bar adjacent the toe end of his boot with the fixed jaw  16  and then presses his or her heel downwardly, the bar beneath the heel of the boot will displace the second movable jaw  20  against the action of its spring-loading and will enter the mouth  23 . The boot will then be held securely in engagement with the support member  15  (and hence with the snowboard  12 ) by virtue of the engagement of the two bars with the two jaws  16  and  20 . 
     The shaft  21  is part of an operating lever  26  having a knob  27  at its free end. The part  28  of the operating lever  26  adjacent the knob  27  carries a spring-loaded sleeve  29  which is movable into and out of engagement with an up-standing boss  30  carried on the support member  15 . The boss  30  includes two spaced projections  31  and  32  which are spaced apart a distance such that the part  28  of the operating lever  26  can pass freely through them. The surfaces of the two projections  31  and  32  which face towards one another are provided at their lower ends with part-cylindrical rebates to receive a reduced diameter end portion  33  of the sleeve  29 . 
     Sleeve  29  is formed with a longitudinally extending slot  34  in which a pin  35  is received. The pin  35  passes through a bore in the part  28  of the operating lever  26 . A spring (not shown) contained within a recess  36  in the sleeve  29  acts between the pin  35  and the base of the recess  36 . The arrangement is such that the spring normally biases the sleeve  29  into the position shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 in which the reduced diameter end portion  33  of the sleeve  29  engages with the part-cylindrical rebates at the lower ends of the facing surfaces of the projections  31  and  32  to hold the sleeve  29  and thus the operating lever  26  against movement away from the support member  15 . 
     When the sleeve  29  is moved manually against the action of the spring so that the reduced diameter end portion  33  is moved clear of the part-cylindrical rebates, the operating lever  26  will then be free to move away from the support member  15 , as indicated in FIGS. 8 and 9. 
     The shaft  21  carries a pawl  37  part of which is shaped to fit between a pair of adjacent teeth  14  of the mounting member  10  so that, in the condition shown in FIGS. 1 to  3 , the support member  15  is held against rotation relative to the mounting member  10 . When the operating lever  26  is moved from the position shown in FIG. 3 into the position shown in FIG. 4, the pawl  37  will be moved clear of the teeth  14  and the support member  15  (and the boot) will be free to rotate relative to the snowboard  12 . If, therefore, the snowboarder wishes to adjust the inclination of his boot to the longitudinal axis of the snowboard  12 , he will pull the sleeve  29  from the position shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 into the position shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 allowing the operating lever  26  to move from the position shown in FIG. 3 into the position in FIG.  4 . The snowboarder wilt then turn his or her boot into the required new position, without detaching the boot from the snowboard, and will then press down on the knob  27  to return the operating lever  26  into the FIG. 3 position and move the pawl  37  back into its blocking position between a pair of the teeth  14  of the mounting member  10 . Adjustment of the inclination of each boot can thus be effected simply without need for removal of the boots from the snowboard  12 . 
     A spring  38  acts between the pawl  37  and the movable jaw  20  and, as can be seen from FIGS. 3 to  5 , the pawl  37  has an upper surface which includes two relatively inclined portions  39  and  40  which are alternatively engageable with the downwardly presented surface of the movable jaw  20 . 
     In the locked position, as shown in FIGS. 1 to  3 , portion  39  of the upper surface of the pawl  37  is in engagement with the downwardly presented surface of the movable jaw  20 . When the sleeve  29  is disengaged from the boss  30 , the operating lever  26  will be moved, under the action of the spring  38 , into the position shown in FIG. 4 in which portion  40  of the upper surface of the pawl  37  is in engagement with the downwardly presented surface of the movable jaw  20 . The jaw  20  has, however, not moved from its original position, in engagement with the abutment member  22  and the bar beneath the heel of the boot is held in the mouth  23  of the movable jaw  20 . 
     When the knob  27  is moved upwardly from the position shown in FIG. 4 into the position shown in FIG. 5, the operating lever  26  will turn through a further angle and the engagement of inclined portion  40  of the upwardly presented surface of the pawl  37  with the downwardly presented surface of the movable jaw  20  will cause the movable jaw  20  to be rotated from the position shown in FIG. 4 into the position shown in FIG.  5 . The gripping action on the bar beneath the heel of the boot will thus be released and the snowboarder will then be able to detach his boot from the snowboard  12 . 
     It is to be noted that, as the operating lever  26  moves from the position shown in FIG. 3 into the position shown in FIG. 4, the pawl  37  moves relative to the movable jaw  20  assisted by the action of the spring  38 . When the operating lever  26  is moved from the position shown in FIG. 4 into the position shown in FIG. 5, the movable jaw  20  and the pawl  37  move together about the axis of the shaft  21 , once more against the action of the spring  38 . 
     The logic of the system described above is such that, in the locked position shown in FIG. 3, the boot cannot be removed from the snowboard  12  and cannot be rotated relative to the snowboard  12 . In the first release position shown in FIG. 4, the boot can be rotated relative to the snowboard  12  but cannot be removed from the snowboard  12 . In the second release position shown in FIG. 5, the boot can be rotated relative to the snowboard  12  and can be removed from snowboard  12 . 
     In the modified form of fastening shown in FIGS. 10 to  12 , the same reference numerals are used to indicate components which correspond to the components of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to  9 . A different logic is employed with the embodiment of FIGS. 10 to  12 . Thus, FIG. 10 shows the locked position in which the boot cannot be removed from the snowboard  12  and cannot be rotated relative to the snowboard  12 . FIG. 11 shows the first release position in which the boot can be removed from the snowboard  12  but cannot be rotated relative to the snowboard  12 , and FIG. 12 shows the second release position in which the boot can be removed from the snowboard  12  and can be rotated relative to the snowboard  12 . 
     In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to  9 , the shaft  21  is keyed to the pawl  37  whereas, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 to  12 , the shaft  21  is keyed to the movable jaw  20 . As can be seen from FIGS. 10 to  12 , the profile of the pawl  37  of the embodiment of FIGS. 10 to  12  is changed as compared to that of the pawl  37  of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to  9  and the springing (not shown) is changed to provide the desired functions.