The present invention relates to ski bindings which in one form comprise an adapter for converting downhill skis f cross-country use.

BACKGROUND ART

A range of ski styles is currently available, namely downhill, touring and langlauf skis. The use of these skis requires a variety of shoe types adapted to the particular fittings of each type of ski. Thus, for downhill skiing a heavy, extremely rigid boot is attached to a downhill ski by any one of a number of proven safety release bindings which are adjustable to the various snow conditions that may be encountered and the user's body weight. It is a fundamental principle of such boot/binding/ski combinations that the use foot is securely but comfortably locked within the boot and that the ski be responsive to weight transfer of the user in relation thereto.

The second alternative provides for the use of skins wh are applied to the base of the ski when it is decided to tou Such skins are adapted to be secured to the base of the ski to enable the skin to grip the snow and provide for uphill walking. A number of alternative bindings are available but the principle common to all of said bindings is that they ar permanently affixed to the ski at or in the region of the to They all pivot from the front of the toe for uphill touring and lock flat for downhill skiing. The relatively primitive safety mechanisms available in such touring bindings are not recommended for downhill skiing activities,

The third common method of skiing is to cross-country s or langlauf. These skis are quite different to downhill or touring skis and are extremely narrow and light. Such skis are designed for use with a lightweight specialised shoe or boot by means of a toe clamp about which the user's shoe may pivot by means of a flexible sole.

Equipment requirements for these three facets of skiin are mutually incompatible and although one or two composite bindings are available, it is found they are inadequate because of their lack of safety in downhill skiing and the position of the pivot point in touring or langlaufing activities. Further, such bindings are generally not remov able from the ski and are securely fixed to the ski runner.

It is an object of this invention to overcome or ameliorate the shortcomings referred to above in a simple but effective way, by the provision of means which enable a ski to be applied to either downhill, touring or langlauf use. This is achieved the the provision of a mechanism to allow the foot to pivot about the ski in a manner suited to a walking gait when touring or langlaufing.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION According to the present invention there is provided a ski binding comprising: a base adapted to be fastened to a ski by securing sai base into known heel and toe safety release bindings, said base forming suppor ^' means for a footplate, a footplate mounted on said base and rotatable about said base in a substantially transverse axis in relation to said base plate, and boot securing means mounted on said footplate, characterised in that the axis of rotation of said foo plate is substantially intermediate the ends of said footpl

In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, base may form a bridge above said ski to support said footp

In a further variation, the base is adjustable for len to adapt to variously spaced heel and toe downhill safety release bindings. In a further preferred embodiment, the base may break open under stress situations,

In yet a further preferred embodiment, the bindings provided on the footplate may be either langlauf bindgins touring bindings, or alternatively may be heel and toe bindings adapted for use with downhill boots.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

A number of preferred embodiments of the present inve will now be described with reference to the accompanying d ings in which:-

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one form of the binding at rest.

Fig. 2 illustrates the binding in a pivotted position Fig. 3 illustrates the binding in a release position. Fig. 4 illustrates the binding of Fig. 1 but adjusted fit a longer boot Fig. 5 is a side elevation of an alternative form of binding at rest, and Fig. 6 illustrates the binding of Fig. 5 in a pivotte position,

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The invention is in one form an adapter binding which easily adjusted to fit any size boot and which fits into a downhill bindings. In use, and on reaching his downhill destination, the skier may remove the bindings the subject the invention from a rucksack, clip them into the downhill bindings, attach skins, mount the footplate and secure the downhill boots thereto prior to moving off for a destinatio which may be cross-country or uphill. On arrival at the uphill destination, the binding the subject of my invention may be quickly detached from the ski by releasing the downh binding in the normal manner and stowing same together with the skins in the rucksack prior to commencement of downhill run.

In one form, the invention includes an adjustable bas plate with a built-in release mechanism forming a bridge between the fore and aft bindings. The said release mecha has been found desirable as. in stress situations, the permanently fixed downhill safety bindings may not release adequately in every circumstance. Specifically, sudden st that may be. imposed for example in downhill skiing cause t safety release bindings to operate normally however in tou conditions, the application of pressure tends to be slower the binding may not adequately release in all instances.

Accordingly, the invention provides in one version an extr release mechanism in the base plate to ensure injury is.av

It has been found that when using the binding in a to or langlaufing situation, the provision of the hinged mean of the footplate laterally and adjacent the ball of the fo provides a comfortable and natural walking gait.

Referring now to the figures, Fig. 1 illustrates a sk to which are affixed conventional toe and heel safety rele bindings 11 and 12 respectively. The base the subject of invention comprises toe portion -13 and heel portion 14 res tively. These portions are held together by safety releas means 15 whose operation is more clearly shown in Fig. 3. The two portions of the base 13 and 14 are normally releas clipped together, although should the skier fall awkwardly the safety release means 15 breaks open as may the downhil safety release bindings 11 and 12.

The base forms a bridge adjustable in length as shown Fig. 4. A footplate 16 is secured to the toe portion 13 a has a toe end 17 and a heel end 18. The footplate 16 is pivotally attached to the toe portion 13 of the base about pivot pin 19 intermediately positioned between ends 17 and and preferably directly under the ball of the user's foot housed in boot 20. The boot is firmly secured on the foot

by appropriate toe and heel bindings 21 and 22 respectivel the heel binding 22 forming an over-centre clamp which in this form does not release in emergency situations.

In the embodiment shown, the footplate 16 is supporte on the base by the pivot 19 and rear support means 23 asso with the heel binding 22.

Reference is made to Fig. 4 to demonstrate the positi of the rear support means 23 when used in relation to a lo boot. Fig. 4 also demonstrates the extensible nature of t base in which the portions 13 and 14 may be adjusted ^' and r secured one in relation to the other. The rear support me 23 are adjustable along the length of this footplate for varying boot sizes.

It is a feature of the present invention that the piv point 19 is disposed intermediate of the toe and heel bind 11 and 12 and that the base form a bridge to allow rotatio of the boot forwardly and downwardly behind the toe bindin to facilitate a normal walking gait as best shown in Fig. This arrangement keeps the centre of gravity of the skier down and thus provides increased stability over other appa previously known.

Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate a variation of the invention wherein a double link arrangement is shown and which allows footplate to pivot around the base. In this arrangement, extensible base 24 may be clipped into toe and heel binding and 12 by means of lugs 25 and ^' 26 as before. The base is p vided with two pivot points 27 and 28 to which are attached swing arms 29, 30 pivotally attaching the footplate 31 to t base 24. In this embodiment, the pivotting action is somew different to the device disclosed in Figs. 1 to 4 and also safety release mechanism is not built into the base. An ad tage of this embodiment is that a greater pivot angle may b

achieved, thus reducing the risk of injury should the ski come to a sudden stop. Further, the profile is lower and hence the ski is easier to control. In this embodiment, the method of fitting boots to the top plate corresponds t the methods disclosed in Figs. 1 to 4.

The arrangements shown in the figures are intended fo touring ^" use, however if desired the apparatus may be appli for downhill use. It has been found that in composite bin according to prior art, a de-stabilising effect can arise to the unexpected assumption of the pivotted touring condi of the binding during a downhill run. In the present situ however it is a simple matter to provide an extra tie-down clip to hold the footplate firmly in the downhill position When touring freedom is desired, the tie-down may be remov The preferred procedure however, is to remove the binding subject of this invention when downhill running is desired to affix the boot to the skis in the customary manner.

It is to be appreciated that whilst my invention has described with reference to the accompanying description a drawings, other embodiments are possible without departure from the spirit of this disclosure.