SKI BRAKES FOR INTERLOCKING SKIS

Abstract: Ski brakes (1, 2) useful in interlocking skis of a pair together comprising two shaped members (7, 8) having actuator (11, 12) and braking arm (13, 14) portions separated by an intermediate portion (9, 10). The members are rotatably mounted in a base plate (5, 6), the free ends of the actuator arm portions being axially aligned and connected by a coil spring (17), while the braking arms are provided with shoulders (18, 19) adapted to engage longitudinal edges (20, 21) of the skis. To accomplish interlocking, the running surfaces of skis provided with the brakes are brought together in a face-to-face relationship, causing the braking arms (13, 14) on one of the skis (3, 4) to overlie the braking arms on the other ski. This results in bringing the shoulders of the brake of the latter ski into engagement with longitudinal edges of the former ski, thereby locking the skis together.

Description: This invention relates to a pair of ski brakes and a pair of skis which ski brakes when mounted on the skis hold by means of braking arms the skis together when the running surfaces of the skis of said pair are brought into contact with each other wherein the braking arms of at least one brake are provided each on the inside with a shoulder for overlying edges of the respective other ski. From US-A-4,213,629 a ski brake mechanism is known having braking arms on which a provided structure for facilitating a connection of two skis together in a position wherein the running surfaces thereof engage one another at the tips and tails thereof. The structure on the arms of the ski brake is a projection which is received into a crevasse or notch on the opposite side thereof. In previously known interlocking braking structures, attempts have been made to provide ski brakes characterized in having a certain elasticity relative to the transverse movement of their braking arms with respect to the skis' longitudinal axis. However, this approach has had the disadvantage that the braking arms of the ski brakes on adjacent skis tend to abrade the skis' edges as the braking arms are moved from their standby position to their operative position, and vice versa. The resulting abrasion is naturally undesirable for a number of reasons, including the fact that the skis suffer damage as a consequence thereof. Another disadvantage of such an approach resides in the fact that the skis must be offset along their longitudinal axis to accommodate their interlocking, a disposition that interferes with the skis' encasement for storage, or for transportation. Ski brakes capable of interlocking skis are also known, for example, from US-A-4,062,553. Because the braking arms of such brakes desirably should not protrude from the sides of the skis during skiing, that is, their "overhang" should be minimized, and since the width of each ski of a pair is identical, a problem has heretofore existed as to how skis can be interlocked and held together with adequate reliability and without interference of their braking arms when the skis are placed next to each other. It is the object of the invention to provide an arrangement for holding skis together in pairs without objectionable offset along their longitudinal axis. This object is solved by a pair of ski brakes and a pair of skis according to the first part of the main claim which is modified according to the features of the characterizing part of the main claim. According to this inventive solution the shoulders of said braking arms of said one brakeable be held by said overlaying braking arms against the force of a spring in engagement with the edges of the ski which carries the other brake when the skis contact each other. In view of the preceding, therefore, it is a first aspect of this invention to hold skis together in interlocked pairs. A second aspect of this invention is to allow skis of a pair to be held together by means of their attached ski brakes. Another aspect of this invention is to allow skis arranged in pairs to be held together without additional components or cost. Yet another aspect of this invention is to hold skis of a pair together without damaging the edges thereof due to abrasion of the ski edges by the braking arms of the ski brakes. The foregoing and other aspects of the invention are provided by a ski brake that can cooperate with another such brake to interlock skis of a pair provided with such brakes comprising: two shaped members; spring means; and a base plate, wherein said shaped members include an actuator arm portion and a braking arm portion and are rotatably mounted in said base plate, the free ends of said actuator arm portions being connected by said spring means, and said braking arm portions being provided with engaging means adapted to lockingly engage skis, whereby when the running surfaces of the skis of said pair are brought into contact with each other, the braking arm portions of one of said ski brakes mounted on a first of said skis overlies the braking arm portions of another of said ski brakes mounted on a second of said skis, causing the engaging means of the ski brake on said second ski to lockingly engage the first ski. Brief Description of the Drawings The invention will be better understood when reference is had to the following drawings in which like-numbers refer to like-parts, and in which: FIG. 1 is a partial side elevation of two skis held together by the improved ski brakes of the invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-section of two skis held together by ski brakes of the invention, taken through the point of attachment of the ski brakes to the skis. Detailed Description of the Invention The interlocking of skis according to the invention is accomplished by providing the braking arms of the ski braking mechanisms at least on one of the skis with locking shoulders. During the interlocking action, the shoulders on the braking arms of the ski brake of one of the skis are brought into engaging contact with the edges of the other ski, interlocking the two skis together. In their interlocked position, the braking arms of the brake on a first of the skis overlie the braking arms of the brake on the second ski, forcing the braking arms of the second ski against the first ski in a position in which the shoulders on the braking arms of the second ski brake are brought into locking contact with the edges of the running surfaces of the first ski. In carrying out the interlocking procedure, described more fully in the following, the running surfaces of the skis are placed together so that the somewhat divergent braking arms of the ski brake that are not intended to interlock with a ski will overlie and press against the braking arms of the ski brake that is intended to interlock with a ski. This causes the shoulders of the latter braking arms to engage and press against the edges of the latter ski, holding the two skis securely together with no longitudinal offset. The interlocked condition described permits the skis to be readily transported or stored, for example, in carrying bags, boxes and the like, when the skis are not in use. The shoulders of the braking arms described are desirably fabricated at an oblique angle, relative to the longitudinal axis of the braking arms, so that the shoulders are positioned substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the ski when the braking arms are disposed in their active, or braking mode. This position allows the shoulders to be disposed substantially parallel to the edges of the adjacent ski, permitting the shoulders to engage the ski edges contiguously in the desired interlocking position. Figure 1 illustrates a partial side elevation of two skis that are held together by the ski brakes of the invention, while Figure 2 shows a cross-section of two skis held together by the ski brakes of the invention, the cross-section being taken through the point of attachment of the ski brakes to the skis. In the Figures, ski brakes 1 and 2 are mounted respectively on skis 3 and 4, by means of base plates 5 and 6, respectively. If desired, the base plates may also have ski binding parts attached thereto. Each of the ski brakes shown includes two shaped members, 7 and 8, disposed in a position exhibiting mirror image symmetry with respect to each other. The shaped members are typically fabricated from round wire or rods configured in the shape that can better be seen in Fig. 2. In effect, the shaped members 7 and 8 function as two-armed lever members, that revolve about their intermediate portions 9 and 10, respectively. Portions 11 and 12 of the shaped members comprise the actuating arms of the ski brakes, and portions 13 and 14 their braking arms. Each of the braking arms 13 and 14 is provided with a sheath, desirably fabricated from plastic, 15 and 16 respectively. The free ends of the actuating arms 11 and 12 are angled toward each other and interconnected by a coil spring 17. Each of the sheaths is provided with locking shoulders 18 and 19, for respectively engaging edges 20 and 21 of a ski. When the ski brakes 1 and 2 are in their operative braking position, the coil spring urges the free ends of the actuating arms 7 and 8 together, causing the braking arms 13 and 14 to diverge, as is shown with respect to the ski brake of the lower ski 4 of Fig. 2. When the brake is moved to its inactive, or standby position, the braking arms 13 and 14 are retracted toward each other against the force of the coil spring 17, the change being effected without contact between the braking arms and the sides of the skis. As shown in Fig. 2, the ski braking arms 13 and 14 of the upper ski brake 1 have been forced into an innermost position by the pressure of the overlying ski braking arms of the ski brake of ski 4, which are in their outermost position. In such innermost position, the shoulders 18 and 19 of ski brake 1 are brought into locking engagement, respectively with edges 20 and 21 of ski 4, securely holding the skis 3 and 4 to each other. When the ski brakes are in their operative braking position, the braking arms assume a position intermediate between the innermost and outermost positions described in connection with Fig. 2. In such intermediate position, sheaths 15 and 16 are urged apart by spring 17 so that shoulders 18 and 19 are disposed spaced from the edges of the ski, allowing the braking arms to be moved freely from their operative, braking position, to their standby position. In effecting interlocking of the skis, the running surfaces of the skis are placed face-to-face with each other, and the ski whose edges are to be engaged is moved slightly longitudinally relative to the other ski, in the direction of the front of the skis. The moved ski is then moved backward toward the rear of the skis, causing the braking arms of the moved ski to overlie the braking arms of the other, stationary ski. The force thus generated by the overlying braking arms on the braking arms of the stationary ski causes the shoulders 18 and 19 of the braking arms of the stationary ski to move to their innermost position, and to engage edges 20 and 21 of the moved ski, resulting in the skis being interlocked together. When the running surface of the skis are juxtaposed to each other in the position described, the camber of the skis will cause the running surfaces of the skis to be spaced apart adjacent to their ski brakes, as shown in Fig. 2. As a consequence, and although more than one shoulder can be provided in each of sheaths 15 and 16 in order to accommodate the interlocking of skis of different thickness, multiple shoulders are not necessary when the distance between the running surfaces of the skis can be sufficiently varied by forcing the skis together against their somewhat elastic camber. While the invention has been disclosed in relation to the locking engagement between the shoulders of the sheaths and the protruding steel edges 20 and 21, other edges can be used for the interlocking, for example, top edges provided in the skis, or the edges of a plate mounted on the skis.

Claims: A pair of ski brakes (1, 2) and a pair of skis (3, 4) which ski brakes (1, 2) when mounting on the skis (3, 4) hold by means of braking arms (13, 14) the skis (3, 4) together when the running surfaces of the skis (3, 4) of said pair are brought into contact with each other wherein the braking arms (13, 14) of at least one brake (1, 2) are provided each on the inside with a shoulder (18, 19) for overlying edges (21, 20) of the respective other ski (4, 3) characterized in that the braking arms (13, 14) of said one brake (1, 2) overlay the braking arms (14, 13) of the other brake (2, 1) when the skis (3, 4) contact each other, that the shoulders (18, 19) of said braking arms (13, 14) of said one brake (1, 2) will be held by said overlaying braking arms (14, 13) against the force of a spring (17) in engagement with the edges (21, 20) of the ski (4, 3) which carries the other brake (2, 1) when the skis (3, 4) contact each other whereby the spring (17) interconnects the braking arms (13,14). A pair of ski brakes (1, 2) and a pair of skis (3, 4) according to claim 1, characterized in that the should lens (18, 19) of the braking arms (13, 14) extend at an oblique angle to the longitudinal direction of the braking arms (13, 14). A pair of ski brakes (1, 2) and a pair of skis (3, 4) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the braking arms (13, 14) comprise two or more shoulders (18, 19).

Inventors: SEDLMAIR, GERHARD
Applicants: MARKER DEUTSCHLAND GMBH
Application year: 1990
Main classification: A63C7
IPC codes: A63C11, A63C7