Safety Binding Shoe Holder with Damping Transmission
Solution Overview
Problem
Safety ski and snowboard bindings often experience false triggering due to short, hard impacts, leading to unintended release and falls, as existing damping devices may not effectively differentiate between impact types.
Innovation Solution
A shoe holding unit with a return spring and damping device connected via a transmission mechanism that amplifies small deflections into larger movements, allowing the damping device to absorb short, hard impacts while allowing the return spring to function normally during slower impacts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a damping device is added to absorb short hard impacts, then false triggering is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the damping device with the existing shoe holding unit and return spring mechanism into an integrated system. The damping device shares the same structural space and functional components with the return spring, merging multiple functions (damping and spring return) into a unified assembly rather than adding a completely separate system.
Solution Approach 2:
The transmission mechanism acts as an intermediary between the shoe holding element and the damping device. It translates and amplifies the deflection of the shoe holding element into larger movement at the damping device, enabling effective damping while maintaining a compact overall structure through mechanical advantage.
2Reliability
If a transmission mechanism is used to amplify deflection, then damping effectiveness increases, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The transmission mechanism is segmented into distinct functional components (levers, pivots, connecting elements) that can be independently analyzed and manufactured. This segmentation allows for optimized design of each component while maintaining the overall amplification function, reducing the complexity burden of the full system.
Solution Approach 2:
The transmission mechanism employs dynamic lever arms and pivoting elements that change their mechanical advantage based on the position and force applied. This dynamic behavior allows the system to automatically provide greater amplification when needed (during impacts) while maintaining simplicity during normal operation.
3Reliability
If the damping device is made more sensitive to detect short impacts, then false triggering is reduced, but the binding may become overly sensitive to normal movements
Solution Approach 1:
The damping device is designed with localized damping characteristics that specifically target short-duration impacts. The damping elements are positioned and dimensioned to provide high damping force only during rapid deflection events, while allowing slower, normal movements to pass through with minimal resistance, creating spatially and temporally differentiated response characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes its effective damping parameters based on the rate of deflection. During short, hard impacts, the transmission mechanism amplifies the deflection signal, causing the damping device to engage with high damping force. During slower, normal movements, the amplification is minimal and the damping device remains largely inactive, allowing the binding to respond naturally.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration reduces the risk of false triggering by effectively damping short, hard impacts and maintaining the binding's release functionality during slower impacts, ensuring the skier or snowboarder's safety.
Implementation Method 1
a damping device for absorbing short, hard impacts
Implementation Method 2
a return spring for the shoe holding element
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
The shoe holder (1) has short, hard impact shoe holding elements (2,3) having a return spring (4) respectively. A damping device is provided for receiving the short, hard impact shoe holding elements, and is connected with the shoe holding elements through a translation mechanism (9). The translation mechanism is provided to translate a small deflection of the shoe holding elements into a large deflection of the damping device. The damping device is provided with a damper (11) made of rubber.