초록 ▼

The invention relates to a safety binding for skiing, including a toe piece that includes a body mounted to slide vertically relative to a front mounting base connected to the ski and defining an upper stop for a boot; a device for adjusting the vertical position of the body, which can be manipulate

The invention relates to a safety binding for skiing, including a toe piece that includes a body mounted to slide vertically relative to a front mounting base connected to the ski and defining an upper stop for a boot; a device for adjusting the vertical position of the body, which can be manipulated by the skier in the area of the upper portion of the body; at least one lever pivotally mounted relative to the body about a substantially vertical axis between a retaining position and a release position of a boot; and a spring mounted transversely in the body and biasing the lever toward its boot-retaining position.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A safety binding for binding a boot to a ski, said binding comprising: a toe piece comprising: a front mounting base structured and arranged to be connected to the ski;a body defining an upper stop for the boot;a body-mounting structure for mounting the body for vertical sliding relative to the f

1. A safety binding for binding a boot to a ski, said binding comprising: a toe piece comprising: a front mounting base structured and arranged to be connected to the ski;a body defining an upper stop for the boot;a body-mounting structure for mounting the body for vertical sliding relative to the front mounting base;a vertical positioning device for adjusting a vertical position of the body, the device comprising a manipulatable structure positioned in an area of an upper portion of the body;at least one lever pivotally mounted relative to the body about a substantially vertical axis, between a boot-retaining position and a boot release position;a spring mounted transversely in the body and operably connected to the lever, biasing the lever toward the boot-retaining position of the lever. 2. A safety binding according to claim 1, further comprising: a lower boot support structured and arranged to support the boot and to cooperate with the upper stop of the body to provide vertical support to the boot;the body-mounting structure being structured and arranged to mount the body for sliding relative to the lower boot-support, thereby enabling an adjustment of a vertical position of the body and an adjustment of spacing between the upper stop and the lower boot support. 3. A safety binding according to claim 2, wherein: the adjustment of the vertical position of the body by the vertical positioning device selectively defines a spacing that is as small as substantially 19 mm and as large as substantially 30 mm between the upper stop and the lower support. 4. A safety binding according to claim 1, further comprising: a structure for facilitating use in downhill skiing, said downhill skiing structure comprising structure for fixing the front mounting base against movement relative to the ski. 5. A safety binding according to the claim 4, wherein: the front mounting base is structured and arranged to guide the body along its vertical sliding. 6. A safety binding according to claim 1, wherein: the manipulatable structure of the vertical positioning device is designed for manual adjustment by a user, with or without a tool, of the vertical position of the body, said vertical position defining a position of the upper stop of the body fixed without engagement of the boot with the upper stop. 7. A safety binding according to claim 6, wherein: the manipulatable structure comprises a threaded member having an exposed end designed to be manipulated by a user from above the body of the toe-piece with or without a tool. 8. A safety binding according to claim 7, wherein: the threaded member is a screw; andthe exposed end is a head of the screw designed for engagement with a screwdriver. 9. A safety binding according to claim 1, wherein: the spring is housed within the body of the toe piece and an entirety of the spring is movable selectively by a user by means of the manipulatable structure together with the body. 10. A safety binding according to claim 1, wherein: the spring is a helical compression spring having an axis extending transversely. 11. A safety binding according to claim 10, further comprising: a manually preload adjustment device designed to adjust a preload of the spring to define a binding release force to be applied by the boot against the at least one lever. 12. A safety binding according to claim 4, wherein: the downhill skiing structure that comprises structure for fixing the front mounting base against movement relative to the ski comprises a plurality of through openings in the front mounting base structured and arranged to receive screws for mounting the front mounting base to fix the front mounting base to the ski. 13. A safety binding comprising: a toe piece comprising: a front mounting base structured and arranged to be connected to the ski;a body defining an upper stop for the boot;a body-mounting structure for mounting the body for vertical sliding relative to the front mounting base;a vertical positioning device for adjusting a vertical position of the body, the device comprising a manipulatable structure positioned in an area of an upper portion of the body;at least one lever pivotally mounted relative to the body about a substantially vertical axis, between a boot-retaining position and a boot release position;a spring mounted transversely in the body and operably connected to the lever, biasing the lever toward the boot-retaining position of the lever;structure for facilitating use in ski touring, said ski touring structure comprising:a front baseplate structured and arranged to be fixed to the ski;a plate having a front end formed by the front mounting base is pivotally mounted relative to a front baseplate, adapted to be fixed to the ski, between an ascent position and a descent position, the body being mounted to slide vertically on the plate. 14. A safety binding according to claim 13, further comprising: a lower boot support structured and arranged to support the boot and to cooperate with the upper stop of the body to provide vertical support to the boot;the body-mounting structure being structured and arranged to mount the body for sliding relative to the lower boot-support, thereby enabling an adjustment of a vertical position of the body and an adjustment of spacing between the upper stop and the lower boot support;wherein the adjustment of the vertical position of the body by the vertical positioning device selectively defines a spacing that is less than 30 mm. 15. A safety binding according to claim 14, wherein: the adjustment of the vertical position of the body by the vertical positioning device selectively defines a spacing that is less than 28 mm. 16. A safety binding according to claim 14, wherein: the adjustment of the vertical position of the body by the vertical positioning device selectively defines a spacing that is less than 26 mm. 17. A safety binding according to claim 13, wherein: the vertical positioning device includes a screw and a threaded screw-receiving element fixed to the plate;the screw is pivotally mounted relative to the body and is threadedly engaged with the screw-receiving element.the manipulatable structure of the vertical positioning device comprises a head of the screw accessible at the upper portion of the body. 18. A safety binding according to claim 13, further comprising: a rear baseplate structured and arranged to be fixed to the ski; anda mechanism for alternatively fixing and releasing the rear baseplate and the rear portion of the plate. 19. A safety binding according to claim 18, further comprising: a heel piece mounted on the rear baseplate and structured and arranged to be fixed to the rear baseplate in a descent position. 20. A safety binding according to claim 13, wherein: pivoting movement of the plate relative to the front baseplate is greater than or equal to 80°. 21. A safety binding according to claim 13, wherein: pivoting movement of the plate relative to the front baseplate is greater than or equal to 85°. 22. A safety binding according to claim 13, wherein: pivoting movement of the plate relative to the front baseplate is greater than or equal to 90°. 23. A safety binding according to claim 13, wherein: the body has a lower portion having projecting portion;the front mounting base comprises a housing having a shape complementary to a shape of the projecting portion for guiding the body the vertical sliding relative to the front mounting base. 24. A safety binding comprising: a toe piece comprising: a front mounting base structured and arranged to be connected to the ski;a body defining an upper stop for the boot;a body-mounting structure for mounting the body for vertical sliding relative to the front mounting base;a vertical positioning device for adjusting a vertical position of the body, the device comprising a manipulatable structure positioned in an area of an upper portion of the body;at least one lever pivotally mounted relative to the body about a substantially vertical axis, between a boot-retaining position and a boot release position;a spring mounted transversely in the body and operably connected to the lever, biasing the lever toward the boot-retaining position of the lever;a structure for facilitating use in downhill skiing, said downhill skiing structure comprising structure for fixing the front mounting base against movement relative to the ski;the front mounting base being structured and arranged to guide the body along its vertical sliding;the body having a lower portion having a projecting portion;the front mounting base comprising a housing having a shape complementary to a shape of the projecting portion for guiding the body in the vertical sliding relative to the front mounting base. 25. A ski assembly comprising: a ski;a safety binding adapted to be attached to the ski, the safety binding comprising:a toe piece comprising: a front mounting base structured and arranged to be connected to the ski;a body defining an upper stop for the boot;a body-mounting structure for mounting the body for vertical sliding relative to the front mounting base;a vertical positioning device for adjusting a vertical position of the body, the device comprising a manipulatable structure positioned in an area of an upper portion of the body;at least one lever pivotally mounted relative to the body about a substantially vertical axis, between a boot-retaining position and a boot release position;a spring mounted transversely in the body and operably connected to the lever, biasing the lever toward the boot-retaining position of the lever.