Vertical Sliding Ski Binding Toe Piece for Boot Adaptability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current ski bindings face challenges in accommodating boots with varying front protuberance thicknesses, leading to suboptimal guidance and compatibility issues between ski touring and downhill skiing, and lack a unified design for economies of scale in manufacturing.
Innovation Solution
A safety binding with a toe piece that slides vertically, adjustable to accommodate different boot thicknesses, featuring a spring-loaded mechanism for shoe release and a pivotally mounted plate for enhanced rotational capability, allowing for adjustable spacing between support components to optimize ski control and compatibility with various boot types.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the body of the toe piece is mounted to slide vertically with respect to the plate to accommodate different boot thicknesses, then the adaptability to various boot standards is improved, but the device complexity increases due to the sliding mechanism and adjustment screw
Solution Approach 1:
The body of the toe piece is made movable relative to the plate through a vertical sliding mechanism, allowing dynamic adjustment of the spacing between the upper stop and lower support. This enables the binding to adapt to different boot thicknesses while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure by using guided linear motion rather than complex mechanisms.
2Ease of operation
If the support of the plate is positioned at a distance of 40 mm from the ski surface to promote forward pivoting, then the tilting capacity in ascent position is improved, but the ski guidance and control during descent deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The plate is designed to pivot forward relative to the ski during ascent, providing adequate tilting capacity for climbing. The adjustable body positioning allows optimization of the support distance to balance between forward pivoting capability and ski guidance control during descent, adapting to different operational phases.
3Productivity
If a single binding design is used for both ski touring and downhill skiing, then the manufacturing efficiency is improved through economies of scale, but the ease of operation for specific disciplines may deteriorate due to compromised design optimizations
Solution Approach 1:
The binding is designed with a universal base structure that can serve both ski touring and downhill skiing applications. The adjustable body mechanism and pivotable plate provide the necessary adaptability to meet the requirements of different disciplines while maintaining a unified design for manufacturing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The binding is divided into functional modules: a universal base structure for manufacturing efficiency, and adjustable components (body, plate, stops) that can be configured for specific discipline requirements. This segmentation allows a single design to serve multiple purposes without compromising performance in either discipline.
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
The solution ensures optimal guidance and control during both ascent and descent, supports various boot standards, and allows for shared components across different skiing disciplines, enhancing user safety and manufacturing efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a spring mounted transversely in the body and urging the lever towards its shoe holding position
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 4~5
AI summary
The binding has a front stop (7) comprising a body mounted to slide vertically relative to a front base (300) connected to a ski. The body defines an upper stop i.e. edge (761) for the boot. A screw (501) adjusts a vertical position of the body, where the screw is operable by user at the level of upper part of the body. A lever is pivotally mounted relative to the body about a vertical axis between a boot-retaining position and a boot release position. A helical compression spring (726) is transversely mounted in the body, and biases the lever toward the boot-retaining position.