A binding is used to couple or retain a user's foot to a particular object. Bindings are commonly used in athletic activities that incorporate an underfoot platform. These activities include skiing, snowboarding, surfing, wakeboarding, kiteboarding, skateboarding, etc. Various features and systems are incorporated into bindings depending on the particular activity for which they are primarily designed. These features may include states of operation, releasable responses, switching mechanisms, and various response characteristics. States of operation refer to a feature in which a binding may be configured to switch between different functions and/or states of operation that provide independent characteristics. For example, an Alpine Touring binding includes a free pivoting tour state and a restrained locked ski state. Releasable responses refer to various releasable mechanisms incorporated on a binding. For example, a releasable system may be incorporated on a ski binding to automatically disengage a boot from a ski in response to a particular force. Switching mechanisms refer to systems that switch or control the characteristics of a binding. For example, a switching device may be configured to enable a user to increase biasing forces or switch between states of operation. Response characteristics refer to any type of response or transfer of forces from a user's foot to the platform upon which it is bound.
Ski bindings in particular are designed to retain a user's boot to a ski in an optimal skiing position. The optimal position depends on the user and the particular subset of skiing in which they are engaged. Downhill skiing requires that a user's boot be retained to a ski at both the toe and heel. Whereas, Telemark and Cross-country skiing require only a portion of the boot to be coupled to the ski thereby allowing the boot to rotate or pivot with respect to the ski. Other activities such as Alpine Touring or Randonee skiing require a binding that can switch between two states of operation to accommodate both uphill and downhill travel. The uphill state must allow the boot to pivot with respect to the ski while the downhill state preferably retains the boot to the ski at both the toe and heel.
In addition to Alpine Touring, other types of skiing such as Telemark skiing may involve both uphill and downhill travel. The optimal binding characteristics for uphill and downhill travel are dramatically different from one another. Conventional Telemark bindings have generally compromised performance characteristics for uphill travel to provide an optimized binding for downhill travel. A few Telemark bindings have attempted to provide optimal characteristics for both uphill and downhill travel but include inefficient or cumbersome switching mechanisms. Therefore, there is a need in the industry for a skiing binding system that allows for optimal performance in multiple states of operation and includes an efficient and reliable switching mechanism for switching between the states.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds