The present invention concerns devices for mounting the ski-bindings on the skis and in particular a device allowing the quick mounting and dismounting of the ski-bindings on the skis.

As it is known, a ski-binding for downhill skiing consists of a toe unit and a heel unit which are secured on the ski and spaced apart so as to retain the ski-boot therebetween. In order to transmit the action of the skier's leg to the ski and to withstand the stresses of the downhill run, said restraint must be rather strong and it is realized by means of self-tapping screws. This solution is technically very good and easy, but it implies that the connection between the ski and the ski-binding is permanent, since a repeated dismounting of the ski-binding is not possible without rapidly compromising the grip of the screws in the holes formed in the ski.

This type of permanent restraint involves a series of drawbacks which occur during the transport and storing of the skis. A first drawback comes from the fact that the skis can only be carried alone or at most in pairs by placing their running surfaces one against the other. In this way, each pair of skis has a length equal to that of the skis and a height equal to the double of the ski/ski-binding assembly. It is apparent that the resulting bulkiness is great, and it is particularly difficult to arrange several pairs of skis inside a car, especially if said car has just an opening in the rear seat to connect the trunk to the inside. In these instances, the only solution to transport more than one pair of skis consists in mounting a ski rack outside the car, with the well-known drawbacks deriving therefrom such as higher costs, drag, discomfort, etc.

This drawback coming from the bulkiness is present not only when you go to ski but every time it is necessary to put the skis inside the car, for example to take them to a specialized shop to have the ski-bindings checked after they have not been used for a long time. The storing at home or in the garage is also very onerous in terms of occupied space.

A further drawback stemming from the permanent mounting of the ski-binding on the ski is that replacing the ski-binding with another better ski-binding may require the formation of another series of fixing holes in the ski, thus weakening the structure thereof right in the central portion

subjected to the highest stresses, the same drawback may occur also in case the ski-boot size is changed and it becomes necessary to reposition the ski-binding because the change of length is greater than the limited adjusting capability of the ski-binding. Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a device for the quick mounting and dismounting of the ski-binding on the ski which overcomes the above-mentioned drawbacks.

This object is achieved by means of a device having the characteristics cited in claim 1. The device according to the present invention has a first significant advantage coming from the possibility of splitting a pair of ski/ski-binding assemblies into a first assembly having the length of the skis and a height equal to less than twice the height of one ski, and a second assembly having a length equal to that of the ski-bindings and a height just greater than twice the height of one ski-binding. These two assemblies are easily obtained by placing the two skis one on top of the other on the same side and by coupling the two ski-bindings one against the other, so as to transport the former separately from the latter.

In addition to the apparent advantage of a greater ease of transport, with the possibility of avoiding the use of racks outside the car, the separation of the ski-binding from the ski also allows to take the ski- bindings to be checked without having to take the skis too.

Another advantage of the present device stems from the fact that it is possible to replace the ski-bindings with other ski-bindings, either of the same length or of a significantly different length, with no need to make other holes in the skis, but simply by replacing the upper plate or by making new holes therein. This interchangeability of the plates also allows the use of a same pair of ski-bindings on different pairs of skis, according to the skier's desires, with no need to have a pair of ski-bindings on each pair of skis, with apparent economical advantages.

These and other advantages and characteristics of the device according to the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, reported as a non- limiting example, referring to the annexed drawings wherein: FiQ.1 is a plan view of a device according to the invention already assembled and mounted on a ski; and

Fiq.2 is a longitudinal sectional view along line A-A of fig.1, with two enlargements of the coupling portions of the two members making up the device.

Referring to said figures, there is seen that the device according to the present invention includes a lower plate 1 and an upper plate 2 releasably restrained thereto. The lower plate 1 is permanently secured on ski 3 by means of a plurality of screws 4, same as the toe unit and heel unit of the ski-binding are usually secured. The width of plates 1 and 2 is substantially equal to that of ski 3, while their length is such as to allow the mounting of a ski-binding for ski-boots of the largest size, with plate 1 slightly longer than plate 2.

Plate 1 is flat and has a series of lugs 5, substantially S-shaped, having a width smaller than plate 1 ; these lugs 5 are centered with respect to plate 1, arranged transverse to the longitudinal axis thereof and distributed along the latter. On the other hand, plate 2 has a series of full- width transverse lowerings, by lugs 5, of which the end ones 6 are substantially S-shaped whereas the inner ones 7 are substantially U- shaped. Lowerings 6 and 7 have a substantially rectangular opening 8 having a width equal to that of lugs 5, but the central lowering 7' which has only a support function. However, the central position of lugs 5 and of the corresponding openings 8 is not binding, in that they could also be off- centre in order to recognize the right ski plate from the left ski one.

As it is more clearly illustrated in the enlargements of fig.2, openings 8 have a length sufficient to allow the passage of lugs 5, so that plate 2 can be inserted vertically on plate 1. After said insertion, plate 2 is slided axially forward (leftwards in the figures) until the rear edge of openings 8 abuts against lugs 5, which have such a height that the upper ledge of their S-shape firmly retains plate 2. In this way, plate 2 is restrained to plate 1 both as the movements in the horizontal plane and the movements out of said plane are concerned. The above-described restraint between plates 1 and 2 can be very easily released by carrying out the reverse steps, i.e. by sliding backward plate 2 and by raising it vertically to disengage it through openings 8.

In order to prevent disengaging of plates 1 and 2 due to relative motion in operation caused by the forces transmitted by the ground and/or the skier, plate 1 is provided at the front with a further lug 9 located in the

portion projecting with respect to plate 2. Said lug 9 is absolutely similar to lugs 5 but facing the opposite direction, and it is engaged by a bolt 10, fixed on the forward end of plate 2, after the above-cited forward sliding has been carried out. In this way, it is sufficient to lock bolt 10 to prevent said plates from sliding one with respect to the other.

The depth of lowerings 6 and 7 of plate 2 is such as to leave enough room between plates 1 and 2 to receive the heads of the screws securing plate 1 on ski 3 even if they do not have a countersunk head. At the same time, said room is used to receive the heads of the screws securing, from below, the toe unit and the heel unit (not shown) making up the ski- binding, as well as the ski-stop if any, to plate 2. The fixing of the ski- binding by means of screws can be performed either by tapping the holes formed in plate 2 or by using lock nuts; the same fixing pattern may obviously be inverted by putting the screws over and the nuts under plate 2.

It should be noted that the depth of lowerings 6 and 7 is also sufficient to have lugs 5 below the upper surface of plate 2. In this way, plate 2 is totally available for positioning the ski-binding in any point, with the toe unit and/or heel unit which can even be mounted over lowerings 7 without affecting the correct operation of the device.

Furthermore, the presence of a rigid member such as plate 1 has the advantage of stiffening and reinforcing the central portion of ski 3, so that the number and position of the holes for fixing plate 1 are less critical. The thickness of the present device also allows to raise the point of application of the force transmitted by the skier's leg thus favouring a high angle of attack during the run. Both these effects favour the grip of the ski, particularly on hard snow and ice.

From the description above it is apparent that the device according to the present invention fully achieves the intended objects. In fact, a simple horizontal and vertical sliding movement is sufficient to engage or disengage the two plates 1 and 2. In this way, it is possible to separate the ski-binding secured on plate 2 from ski 3, to which only plate 1 having a very small height, about 7-8 mm, remains fixed. For safety purposes, bolt 10 may also be provided with a key, so as to prevent disengagement of plate 2 in case of an attempt of theft of the ski-bindings when the skis are unattended.

As far as the material of the members making up the present device is concerned, it is clear that said material must have an adequate mechanical strength in order to withstand the stresses transmitted by the ground and the skier, as well as high corrosion resistance characteristics. To this purpose, suitable metallic materials are stainless steel, high- strength aluminum and the like, which can be easily processed to obtain plates 1 and 2 by pressing and cutting. Alternatively, reinforced plastic materials can be used, which involve higher costs but permit the obtainment of lighter, more corrosion-resistant pieces with more complicated shapes obtained, for example, by injection moulding.

It is clear that the above-described and illustrated embodiment is just an example of a realization of the inventive concept contained in the device according to the present invention, and several modifications can easily be provided. A first series of modifications may concern the number and arrangement of the coupling means, i.e. lugs 5 and 9 and the corresponding lowerings 6 and 7 as well as bolt 10. The latter can be replaced by any equivalent mechanism, and it can be positioned also at the opposite end of the device and/or on plate 1 whenever the relevant locking lug 9 is on plate 2. More than one locking means may also be provided for greater safety.

Similarly, the orientation and shape of lugs 5 and 9 may be changed, as far as the easiness and solidity of the coupling are maintained. Also, the number and position of lowerings 7' having only a support function can be varied.