SWIVEL BINDING MOUNTS FOR SLIDING BOARDS

BACKGROUND

The sports of snowkiting and kitesurfing have been increasingly popular in recent years, especially in regions where winds are abundant and where open spaces are available. As its name indicates, snowkiting is a sport practiced on snow or ice. When practicing snowkiting, the snowkiter stands on a snowboard-like sliding board, and is pulled across a snow covered field or a frozen water surface by a kite. Some techniques used to harness the wind with the kite are inspired from sailing. For instance, when it is desired to progress substantially against the wind, the snowkiter will tack, thus regularly switching his or her heading.

Many binding systems exist on traditional snowboards to independently adjust the angular orientation of the left and right foot of a user. However, once the desired orientation is set, the bindings are secured in place for use. Such preset angular binding orientation is typically for use in a predetermined direction. Although some freestyle snowboards can be used in both directions, the riders of such boards eventually revert back the predetermined direction to continue snowboarding. Typically, the angular orientation of the bindings (i.e. that of the toes of the user) is more pronounced towards the "front" direction, which gives the user better control on the board when going in that same direction.

When snowkiting, and more particularly when tacking, it is highly desirable that the board on which the snowkiter slides be equally usable in either direction. This is borne from the fact that tacking is a back and forth movement in which the heading is regularly changed. If a snowkiter uses a board in the "rear" direction for a prolonged period of time, stress may develop within user's knees due to the orientation of the bindings relative to the orientation of his or her body. The same problem can be experienced with kitesurfing. Kitesurfing is a water sport that also uses a kite and a sliding board that somewhat resembles a wakeboard. The sliding board and the bindings are adapted for use on water.

US Patent No. 6,491 ,310 discloses swiveling mounts for bindings which may freely change orientation during use. However, such swivel mounts are not completely satisfactory for use in snowkiting or kitesurfing. For instance, a user may experience

over rotation of the mounts, which may potentially cause intense stresses at the knees. Furthermore, when snowkiting or kitesurfing, a user will usually connect himself or herself to the kite to relieve the pulling stress from the arms. Hence, further stresses to the knees can occur if the user loses balance and is dragged by the kite. Room for improvements thus exists.

SUMMARY

The improvements include a swivel binding mount for a sliding board, the swivel binding mount comprising: a fixed member to be secured to the sliding board; a foot- receiving member to be pivotally connected to the sliding board by the fixed member, the foot-receiving member being pivotable with reference to a pivot axis; an adjustable angle restraining system provided between the foot-receiving member and the fixed member to limit pivoting of the foot-receiving member within a preselected range; and a friction generator at least partially provided between the foot-receiving member and the fixed member to create an adjustable friction force between them.

Further features and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in combination with the appended figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Fig. 1 is an upper exploded perspective view of an example of an improved swivel binding mount;

Fig. 2 is a bottom exploded perspective view of the swivel binding mount of Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 3 is a top and partially cut-away view of the swivel binding mount of Fig. 1 , showing the swivel binding mount without its upper plate and at a maximum position;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing the opposite maximum position of that example;

Fig. 5 is a bottom perspective view of an example of an alternative upper plate;

Fig. 6 is an upper perspective view of an example of a swivel binding mount having stoppers secured by removable fasteners;

Fig. 7 is an upper exploded perspective view of another example of an improved swivel binding mount;

Fig. 8 is an upper exploded perspective view of a further example of an improved swivel binding mount;

Fig. 9 is an upper exploded perspective view of another example of a swivel binding mount and the corresponding binding;

Fig. 10 is an upper perspective view of the swivel binding mount and the corresponding binding shown in Fig. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Figs. 1 and 2 are exploded perspective views of an example of a swivel binding mount 10 as improved. The swivel binding mount 10 is to be connected to a sliding board, for instance using screws (not shown). The illustrated example includes an upper plate 12, a friction ring 14, a foot-receiving member 16, low friction pads 18a, 18b, 18c and a bottom plate 20 over which the foot-receiving member 16 is mounted.

The foot-receiving member 16 is designed to receive additional binding elements (not shown) that will fit the need of the user to suitably retain his or her foot. If the swivel binding mount 10 is intended for snowkiting, the foot-receiving member 16 will be designed to retain a boot. The foot-receiving member 16 may even be flat at the top and only designed to receive additional binding elements thereon. These additional binding elements do not form part of the swivel binding mount 10 as described herein.

The foot-receiving member 16 includes a circular central opening 22. The center of the opening 22 defines the pivot axis 24 of the foot-receiving member 16. The upper plate 12 is configured and disposed to fit into the central opening 22.

The bottom plate 20 comprises an upwardly-projecting central portion 26 fitting into the central opening 22 of the foot-receiving member 16 once the parts are assembled. This upwardly-projecting portion 26 also supports the upper plate 12 thereon once the swivel binding mount 10 is fully assembled. Openings 28 are provided through the bottom plate 20 to match corresponding openings 30 made in

the upper plate 12 for the screws. The parts are designed so that once connected, the upper plate 12 and the bottom plate 20 define a fixed member and pivotally support the foot-receiving member 16 on the sliding board. The low friction pads 18a, 18b, 18c are made of a low-friction material, such as plastic. They are provided between the foot-receiving member 16 and the bottom plate 20 to facilitate the relative rotation of the parts. The low friction pads 18a, 18b, 18c, one being annular and the two others being arc-shaped, are maintained in corresponding recesses 32, 34, 36 provided underneath the foot-receiving member 16. Other arrangements are possible, including the use of rollers or the like.

The illustrated example features an adjustable friction generator including the friction ring 14 to be mounted in a circular channel 44 adjacent to the central opening 22 of the foot-receiving member 16. The friction created by the friction ring 14 is adjustable and allows the user to set the proper level of friction, as desired. More friction will require an increased force by the user's foot to pivot the foot-receiving member 16 with reference to the board. This will be more suitable for a hard surface. Less friction is usually required in powdered snow. The friction is adjustable using a set screw 46 provided in a hole made within the foot-receiving member 16. The hole includes a threaded insert 48 at the inlet of the passage for the screw 46. The free end of the screw 46 is designed to press on one of the ends of the friction ring 14 and move this end closer or away from the opposite end of the friction ring 14. An adjustment thumbscrew head 50 is provided for adjusting the friction without any special tool. The friction generator is also shown in Figs. 3 and 4 in a partial cut-away view.

The swivel binding mount 10 is provided with an adjustable angle restraining system. The angle restraining system is used to limit pivoting of the foot-receiving member 16 within a preselected range. It is provided between the foot receiving member 16 and the fixed member, which fixed member comprises, as aforesaid, the upper plate 12 and the bottom plate 20 in the example depicted in Figs. 1 and 2. Ideally, the pivoting of the foot-receiving member 16 should not be more than 135 degrees, and more ideally, not be more than 90 degrees.

The adjustable angle restraining system comprises at least one main stopper 60 radially projecting from the central portion 26 of the bottom plate 20. Two adjustable side stoppers 62, 64 are provided on the interior of the central opening 22 of the foot-

receiving member 16. Each side stopper 62, 64 comprises teeth 62a, 64a that can be positioned in one among a plurality of corresponding teeth 66 on the foot-receiving member 16. The system is designed so that once assembled, a user may set the position of the side stoppers 62, 64 by removing the upper plate 12 and changing the position of the side stoppers 62, 64.

Figs. 3 and 4 show the operation of the adjustable angle restraining system of the example depicted in Figs. 1 and 2. These two figures are shown with the upper plate 12 removed so as to show the position of the elements inside the swivel binding mount 10. As can be appreciated, the side stoppers 62, 64 cooperate with the main stopper 60 to limit the pivot angle in any of the directions.

It should be noted that although the adjustable angle restraining system shown in Figs. 1 to 4 has many advantages, variants of the system are also possible. For instance, as shown in Fig. 5, the central portion 26 can be provided under the upper plate 12 instead of being provided on the bottom plate 20. The main stopper 60 is then provided on the upper plate 12. In Fig. 6, the side stoppers 62, 64 are removably connected to the interior of the foot-receiving member 16 with the use of fasteners. In Fig. 7, the main stopper is in the form of an arc-shaped slot 70 and the side stoppers are in the form of screws 72, 74 selectively insertable in one of the holes 76 provided on the bottom plate 20. The pivot angle of the foot-receiving portion 16 is limited by the relative travel distance of the heads of the screws 72, 74 within the slot 70. The slot 70 can be covered by an arc-shaped cap 78.

Fig. 8 depicts another example of an adjustable angle restraining system. In this example, the upper plate 12 and bottom plate 20 are rigidly connected to each other and a friction pad 18 made of a low-friction material is set between them. The adjustable angle restraining system includes screws 80, 82 that can be inserted in one of the holes 84 on the bottom plate 20. The side of the foot-receiving member 16 engages the heads of the screws 80, 82 at the limit positions.

Figs. 9 and 10 depict another example of a swivel binding mount 10. The binding 100 to be attached on the foot-receiving member 16 is also shown in Figs. 9 and 10. This binding 100 comprises a foot strap 102 to be secured by rigid strips 104 and screws

106. A foot pad 108 is glued or otherwise connected to the foot-receiving member 16.

The swivel binding mount 10 comprises a ring shaped upper plate 12 to be connected to the bottom plate 20. The foot-receiving member 16 is configured and disposed to fit into a recess of the bottom plate 20. Once assembled, the swivel bounding mount 10 allows the foot-receiving member 16 to rotate with reference to the upper and bottom plates 12, 20.

In the illustrated example, the friction generator comprises a radially extending slot 110 made into the bottom plate 20. The two portions separated by the slot 110 are selectively brought together by a set screw 46, which screw 46 is configured and disposed to modify the internal surface of the bottom plate 20 circumferentially. The bottom plate 20 is attached to the sliding board using screws 112.

The adjustable angle restraining system in Figs. 9 and 10 include screws 114 that are positioned in two of the threaded holes 116 provided in the upper plate 12. The shank of the screws 114 will then be positioned to extend in the path of a stopper provided on the foot-receiving member 16.

It should be noted that many variants are possible to the various elements of the improved swivel binding mount. For instance, the position of the set screw for the friction generator can be modified. The use of a thumbscrew head is optional and one can provide a friction generator adjustable using a tool or only by removing the upper plate. The shape of the upper plate, the foot-receiving member, the bottom plate or any other illustrated element can be different than that shown in the enclosed figures. The use of low friction pads is optional, and so is the use of the bottom plate. One can devised the fixed member to include only the upper plate and the foot- receiving member will then simply slide on the upper surface of the sliding board. The friction ring can be replaced by another arrangement, such as a screw or a friction pad pushed by a screw against a surface of the fixed member. It is possible to invert the relative position of the main stopper and the side stoppers so as to provide the side stoppers on the fixed member instead of providing them on the foot- receiving member. Similarly, the main stopper can be removable while the side stoppers are fixed. More than one main stopper can be provided. Other variants can be devised as well. Also, the swivel binding mount is not limited to snowkiting or kitesurfing. It can be used in other sports.