Other

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

John M Madura

Christopher Aldrich Brown

A ski binding heel employs a low-mass, spring-loaded interface between the heel and/or toe release mechanisms of the heel and or toe pieces of the binding and the ski boot, i.e., fast-response heel and toe cups. The low mass or lightweight fast-response heel and toe cup interfaces follows the dynamics of the ski to retain the boot during events that could cause inadvertent release (IR) in a conventional release binding. A biased, or spring loaded member engages, the boot heel/toe for mitigating loads and for absorbing sub-injury loads and compensating for movement between the boot and ski. The spring loaded members are biased toward the boot heel and toe for absorbing loads and compensating for displacements that might otherwise result in an inadvertent release. The spring loaded toe/heel cups permit movements of the boot relative to the ski flexing and counter flexing that might have otherwise resulted in an IR.

Rapid response ski binding

A ski binding device having a plate adapted to engage the ski binding, in which the plate has a heel end and a toe end, and a heel absorption mechanism is adapted to absorb excessive lateral pivoting force from the heel of a ski boot. A restrictor biases the heel into engagement with a heel receptacle. A dual pivot engages the toe end of the plate for permitting both downward movement of the heel end and lateral movement of the heel end out of alignment with the ski. The lateral pivoting force corresponds to release of potentially harmful forces. The restrictor is responsive to upward force from the toe end, as results from disproportionate backweighting of a skier. The restrictor disengages the heel end from the heel receptacle based on a predetermined release force, and permit lateral outward displacement of the heel end upon disengagement of the heel.

Growing community of inventors

Hewitt, NJ, United States of America

John M Madura