Rotatable Sports-Board Binding Adapter with Low-Friction Pucks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional sports-board bindings orient feet perpendicularly to the travel direction, causing discomfort and safety issues during various activities, such as uphill snowboarding and chairlift mounting, and can lead to ankle or knee injuries due to improper foot positioning.
Innovation Solution
A rotatable sports-board binding adapter that allows users to adjust the angle of their feet relative to the sports board, using a base plate with lock holes and a rotatable plate connected via low-friction pucks to prevent surface galling and facilitate easy rotation, with optional safety screws to limit rotation range for safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional bindings are used with fixed perpendicular foot orientation, then the binding structure is simple and stable, but user comfort and safety are reduced during various activities
Solution Approach 1:
The binding adapter incorporates a rotatable plate that can rotate relative to the base plate, allowing the foot orientation to be dynamically adjusted between fixed perpendicular position and various angled positions. This dynamic mechanism enables users to change foot orientation based on activity requirements while maintaining structural integrity through the locking mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The binding system is divided into separate functional components: a base plate for mounting to the sports board, a rotatable plate for angle adjustment, and a locking mechanism for position fixation. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently while working together to provide adjustable foot orientation.
2Adaptability or versatility
If foot orientation is made adjustable to improve comfort, then adaptability to different activities increases, but the risk of improper positioning and injury increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism provides tactile and positional feedback to the user, confirming when the rotatable plate is locked at a specific angle. This feedback ensures that the foot is securely positioned at the intended orientation, preventing accidental displacement and ensuring proper positioning for safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism is designed to engage at predetermined angles before the user completes the rotation, ensuring that the foot is secured at safe, pre-calculated positions. This preliminary locking action prevents improper positioning by restricting rotation to only those angles that are deemed safe and appropriate.
3Ease of operation
If low-friction pucks are used to enable rotation, then ease of rotation is improved, but surface galling and wear occur between plates
Solution Approach 1:
Low-friction pucks are placed between the base plate and rotatable plate to serve as an intermediary element. These pucks reduce direct metal-to-metal contact, enabling smooth rotation while minimizing surface galling and wear. The pucks act as a protective layer that facilitates movement without causing damage to the underlying plates.
Solution Approach 2:
The friction parameter between the plates is changed by introducing low-friction material (pucks) into the contact interface. This parameter change reduces the coefficient of friction, enabling easier rotation while the pucks themselves are designed to be replaceable when worn, maintaining long-term reliability.
4Adaptability or versatility
If rotatable binding adapter is used to allow foot angle adjustment, then versatility across terrains is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rotatable binding adapter serves multiple functions: it provides the base mounting interface, enables angle adjustment, locks positions, and allows rotation. By combining these functions into a single integrated adapter mechanism, the design achieves terrain adaptability without requiring multiple separate components, thus limiting the increase in overall device complexity.
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
Enables comfortable and safe use of sports boards across different terrains and orientations, reducing the risk of injury and improving mounting and dismounting on chairlifts by allowing adjustable foot positions without compromising the binding's stability or durability.
Implementation Method 1
low-friction pucks prevent the rotatable plate and base plate from directly contacting each other, which could result in galling of surfaces or other damage. At the same time, low-friction pucks allow the rotatable and base plates to easily rotate with respect to each other.
Data Source
AI summary
A rotatable sports-board binding adapter mounts to a sports board and allows a user to adjust an angle of one foot relative to the sports board. The adapter includes a base plate forming a series of lock holes and at least one pocket that accommodates a low-friction puck. A rotatable plate connects to the base plate and includes a locking mechanism that can engage with any one of the lock holes to prevent rotation of the rotatable plate. When the low-friction puck is inserted into the pocket, the puck is translatable so that it contacts the rotatable plate, advantageously preventing the rotatable plate and base plate from directly contacting each other while providing a low-friction surface that enables the rotatable plate to easily rotate with respect to the base plate. As the low-friction puck wears, it may be additionally translated, or replaced with a new puck.