Patent ID: 7410177

Claim:
A snowboard binding comprising: a base plate having a pair of sidewalls integral with said base plate and extending along medial and lateral sides of the base plate, and a central opening formed through said base plate; a substantially circular center locking plate positioned in said central opening of said base plate, said center plate securing said binding to a snowboard; a rotatable lever mounted to said medial side and on one of said pair of sidewalls, said lever being movable between a locked position and an unlocked position; a cable having a first end connected to said lever, and a second end connected to said base plate and extending around a periphery of said center plate, said cable being tightened against said center plate when said lever is rotated to said locked position to prevent rotation of the base plate, and said cable being loosened with respect to said center plate when said lever is moved to the unlocked position thereby enabling the base plate to be rotated about said center plate and placed in a desired angular orientation with respect to the snowboard; said lever having an axis of rotation extending substantially parallel to an upper surface of the snowboard wherein rotation of said lever in an upwards direction moves the lever to the unlocked position, and movement of said lever in a downward direction moves said lever toward the locked position wherein a greatest amount of force required to rotate the lever from the unlocked to the locked position occurs at an angular point between the locked and unlocked positions, and further wherein the cable rotates with the lever such that the cable moves from a first plane above the upper surface of the snowboard in the unlocked position to a second different plane between the first plane and the upper surface of the snowboard in the locked position; and said binding further includes (i) a pair of mounting supports spaced from one another and mounted to said sidewall on said medial side, (ii) an opening formed in said lever defining said axis of rotation, and (iii) a pin extending through said opening in said lever to secure said lever between said mounting supports, said lever being rotatable about said pin between the locked and unlocked positions.