Patent ID: 7810833

Claim:
A ski binding configured to be secured to a snow ski and to retain a ski boot having a heel, a toe, a sole, and a longitudinal boot axis extending between the heel and the toe, wherein the sole has a bottom facing toward the snow ski when the ski boot is retained in the ski binding and the ski binding is secured to the snow ski, wherein the snow ski has, when the ski boot is properly secured in the ski binding, a trailing end located rearward of the heel of the ski boot and a leading end located forward of the toe of the ski boot, the ski binding comprising: a heel unit that includes a releasing heel retainer having a retaining state and a released state, said releasing heel retainer configured to inhibit movement of the heel of the ski boot when in said retaining state, said heel retainer having an uplift release threshold between said retaining state and said release state; and an uplift-release-threshold compensator operatively configured to either, or both: increase, during skiing, said uplift release threshold in response to a bow-effect-loading vector that applies 1) a non-zero first component to the ski binding from the snow ski in a direction toward the trailing end of the snow ski and 2) a non-zero second component proximate the leading end of the snow ski that tends to pry the snow ski away from the heel of the ski boot; and decrease, during skiing, said uplift release threshold in response to a sub-near-point-loading vector that applies 1) a non-zero third component to the ski binding from the snow ski in a direction toward the leading end of the snow ski and 2) a non-zero fourth component proximate the toe of the ski boot that tends to pry the snow ski away from the heel of the ski boot.