Patent Abstract:
A binding ( 2 ) which retains a boot ( 11 ) on a snowboard ( 1 ) includes a base member ( 4 ). Rear walls ( 8   a,    8   b ) and a rear arch ( 9 ) with a rear portion ( 21 ) of the base member support a heel of the boot. A front support piece ( 18 ) to which a toe strap ( 16 ) is pivotally mounted ( 24   a,    24   b ), is adjustably mounted to a front part ( 20 ) of the base member. The front support piece is longitudinally adjustable and a length of the toe strap is adjustable to enable the binding to receive boots of different length and style.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention concerns ski bindings, particularly bindings for snowboards. 
   For the practice of snowboarding, the skier uses ski boots with relatively supple or flexible bindings. Known bindings include a base plate and a back piece for receiving the boot. Moreover, the boots are supported by bindings. The sole of the boot is received directly on the base plate, as is shown, for example, in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/972,455, filed Oct. 5, 2001, or only on the front piece such as is described in European Patent No. EP1 053 769 A1. Of course, all boots are not the same length due to being different sizes, as well as due to being boots of different types and brands. Besides, the manufacturer&#39;s define their own shapes for the front of the boot. Previously, the position of the support and binding straps are not particularly adapted to the boot of the user. Consequently, this results in poor retention for certain boots which do not have the dimension or the optimal shape for the front support. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention resides in an improvement that permits a skier to have a front support ideal for his style of skiing and the chosen type of boot. It also permits optimal adjustment on the favorite mounting for snow and hill conditions so that one skis under excellent circumstances. 
   In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the binding is more of a type which supports and carries the boot and less of a means of retaining the front of the boot. The lower piece comprises a mechanical supporting piece in front of the toe of the boot. The front support piece and the front retaining means together form a front support and a retaining assembly. The front support piece is mounted by a movable retainer on the base plate which enables its longitudinal position to be adjusted with respect to the base plate. 
   According to a complimentary characteristic, the combination mechanical support and retainer is disposed in a longitudinal channel which extends toward the front and toward the rear on the front part of the base plate. 
   According to another characteristic, the front retaining means includes a semi-rigid strap which forms an adjustment means. 
   Additionally, the front support piece has the form of a transverse plate whose side edges are extended by two lateral or side front walls that extend upward. Each of the front side walls is intended to retain the front of the boot laterally and fix the ends of the front retaining means. 
   According to another characteristic, the ends of the front strap are pivotally mounted on the side front walls to pivot around a transverse front axis defined by two front lateral pivots. A support zone corresponds to a support surface of the front support piece and is disposed in front of a transverse vertical front plane passing through the pivot axis of the front retaining means. 
   In a preferred embodiment, the support surface of the front support piece is disposed under the horizontal plane that passes through the pivot axis of the front retaining means. 
   Moreover, the lower base also carries a rear retaining means that retains the boot at the level of the heel of the foot. 
   The front and rear retaining means are preferably a flexible strap made of plastic material. 
   Still further advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention may take form in various components and arrangements of components, and in various steps and arrangements of steps. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating a preferred embodiment and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. 
       FIG. 1  is a top view of a snowboard provided with two bindings for the user&#39;s boots; 
       FIG. 2  is a lateral side view of a binding in accordance with the present invention in combination with a boot; 
       FIG. 3  is a rear perspective view of the binding without the boot; 
       FIGS. 4 and 5  are side views of the binding with the front retainer and support assembly in two different positions of adjustment in length; 
       FIG. 6  is a transverse sectional view taken along section A—A at the middle of the stop of the front support; 
       FIG. 7  is a partial, longitudinal section view taken along section B—B at the level of the front support; 
       FIGS. 8 ,  9 ,  10 , and  11  are partial longitudinal section views through section B—B like  FIG. 7 , but illustrating four different embodiments; and, 
       FIG. 12  is a partial side sectional view of the front mechanical support illustrating another aspect. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   With reference to  FIG. 1 , a snowboard  1  is provided with two mountings  2   a ,  2   b  for retaining the boots of the user. The two bindings are mounted on the upper surface  3  of the snowboard  1  such that their general plane of symmetry P is at an angle relative to an axis XX′ of the snowboard. 
   Hereinafter in this application, each of the bindings  2   a ,  2   b  will be designated by the general reference numeral  2 , and it is to be understood that the description applies to both bindings. 
     FIG. 2  is a side view which shows a binding  2  in accordance with the invention that has a base piece or plate  4  that is supported horizontally from a front end  5  to a rear end  6  and is defined by a front part  20  and a rear part  21 . The lower base is mounted and fixed on the snowboard in a conventional fashion, for example, by a central piece  7  disposed in a central part  26  of the lower base  4 . This central piece is advantageously circular and is in the form of a disk to permit the user to continuously adjust an angular orientation of the base piece with respect to the longitudinal plane of symmetry X,X′ of the snowboard. 
   The rear part  21  of the lower base piece  4  is bordered laterally of each edge by a left lateral or side edge  8   a  and a right lateral or side edge  8   b . Each of the side edges includes a wall oriented vertically which is designed to limit lateral or sideways movement of the boot. 
   The two rear lateral edges  8   a ,  8   b  are connected at the rear with a rear arch  9  which carries a rear support piece  10  extending upward toward the top HA. The rear arch  9  serves as stop at the back for a boot  11 . 
   The user&#39;s boot  11  has a cuff  12  which is relatively flexible as compared to its lower shell or base part  13  which extends to a toe or front end  14  and a heel or rear end  15  which is mechanically supported near the rear AR against the rear arch  9 . The rear support piece  10  serves as a mechanical ankle support at the back for the cuff  10  of the boot  11 . 
   The boot  11 , in the illustrated embodiment, is retained on the base piece  4  by a front retaining means  16  which holds the toe  14  of the boot and by a rear retaining means  17  which holds the boot at the level of the heel of the foot. 
   The front retaining means  16  and the rear retaining means  17  are, in the illustrated embodiment, in the form of a semi-rigid or flexible strap  160 ,  170 , respectively. The straps, for example, are made of a plastic material and advantageously have an adjustment means  27  for adapting to the dimension and size of the boot. Of course, other means for retaining the boot, other than semi-rigid straps, are contemplated. 
   The ends  26   a ,  26   b  of the rear retaining means  17  are pivotally mounted on the arch  9  about a transverse rear axis T 1 , preferably by pivotal strap connections  28   a ,  28   b.    
   The boot is supported on the base  4  by means of two support pieces, a front support piece  18  for the front end  14  of the boot, and a heel support piece  19  for the rear end  15 . 
   The front retaining means  16  is connected to the front support piece for them to move together and relative to each other. For this reason, the front support piece  18  has the form of a transverse plate whose side edges are extended by two front lateral or side walls  22   a ,  22   b  which extend upward. 
   Each of the front side walls  22   a ,  22   b  laterally retains the front  14  of the boot. The ends  29   a ,  29   b  of the front retaining means  16  are attached to the front side walls. The ends  29   a ,  29   b  of the front strap  160  are pivotally mounted on these front side walls about a front transverse axis T 2  defined by two front side pivots  24   a ,  24   b.    
   Consequently, the front support piece and the front strap  16  form a front support and retaining assembly  30  which is movable on the base  4  to provide for positional adjustment relative to the base. 
   The user can choose the longitudinal position of the front support and retaining assembly  30  and thus of the front support piece  18  with the front retaining means  16  to a chosen position corresponding to the size of the boot and particularly of its front end. 
   The front support piece  18  includes a stop means which permits the user to fix the movable front assembly  30  in a chosen position. The stop means can be of any kind, for example, a central pin or bolt  25 . 
   The support zone Z ( FIG. 7 ) corresponding to the support surface  23  of the front support  18  is disposed in front of a transverse front vertical plane P 2  passing through the pivot axis T 2 , that is in the space E in front of the plane P 2 . It is preferable for the support not to be in a zone V situated to the rear of this plane. Preferably, the front support surface  23  is inclined to extend toward the front and toward the top, and is disposed under the horizontal plane H 2  which passes through the pivot axis T 2 . 
   Because of the independence of the front support and retaining assembly  30  from the rear retaining means  9 ,  10 ,  17 ,  19 , a distance L 1  between the front retaining means  16  and the rear retaining means is adjustable along with a distance L 2  between the front support  18  and the rear arch  9 . 
   The support surface  23  of the support piece  18  may be flat, such as illustrated in  FIG. 7 ; but, it can also have other shapes.  FIG. 8  illustrates another embodiment in which the support surface  23  has a contour which conforms with the shape of the front end  14  of the sole of the boot  11  in this support zone. 
     FIG. 9  illustrates another embodiment in which the front support includes an intermediate layer  31  of a deformable or compressible, resilient material, preferably a plastic material such as polyeurethane or the like, disposed under an upper layer  32  which is of a rigid material. 
   In the embodiment of  FIG. 10 , the intermediate layer  31  is formed of a deformable or resilient material and has projections  33   a ,  33   b  which extend upward through holes defined in the upper layer  32 . This provides a particularly soft support in order to assure the comfort of the snowboarder. 
   The upper layer of the support can also be of a deformable or resilient material as is illustrated in  FIG. 11 . 
     FIG. 12  shows an embodiment which includes a means for indicating that the proper longitudinal position adjustment has been achieved. This is achieved by the front support piece  18  having on its side wall a mark or indicia  34  which is intended to be brought into alignment with a second mark or indicia  35  on the boot. When the support mark  34  and the second mark  35  have been brought into alignment, as shown in the illustration, then the proper adjustment of the front support has been achieved. 
   The invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading and understanding the preceding detailed description. It is intended that the invention be construed as including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0