Ratchet-type buckle

WO 95/2033~ PCT/US95/01349 ' t~t ~82~15 ;

r'ATC}3ET-~YPE Bl;rrlrT.T~ _ 10 Field of the I~vention The present invention relates generally to a ratchet type buckle.

More specifically, the present invention relates to a snowboard binding ratchet-type buckle having a pivoting lever that i8 used to engage and adjust the tension of a strap, which lever may also be used to release t~e strap from its locked position.

B~ck~ro~d of ~hP Tnventio~ A recently popular sport, snowboarding presents operating conditions and physical demands to boot buckles that are not fl;R~im;l~r to other skiing-type sports.

In snowboarding, the operator stands with both feet on the snowboard, somewhat similar to a Slalom-type water ski.

Given the sophisticated structure of presently manufactured boots for ski-type sports and the operating conditions the boots are subject to, a reliable and tight ~r~nn~ct;on between the foot and ankle of the rider and the boot i8 required.

To A~cr~nlrl ;~h this often requires a complex mechanism and considerable strength on the part of the user to operate the buckle mechanism properly.

Many of the ~oregoing problems have been resolved by the provision of a ratchet-type buckle.

The ratchet-type buckle provides a large mechanical advantage to a user and permits incremental tightening of the boot in steps ~t~-rm; n~l by the dimensions of the ratcheting teeth.

Examples of these prior art types of ratcheting buckles are disclosed in U S.

Patent No 4,326,320 issued April 27! 1982 to Riedel ("Riedel"~, and U.S.

= Wo 9s/2033~ PCr/USs~/0l3~9 ;i 2 ~ ~ g 2 ~ 1 5 Pate~t No. 4,5~7,980 issued October 22, 1985 to Olivieri ( "Olivieri~ ) .

Notwithstanding the foregoing ratchet-type buckle arrangements, there are still maj or pro~lems involved.

The 5 straps of the ratchet - type buckle are typically tightened by pivoting a lever: about the axis of a pin .

In addition to the lever arm, an additional element, such as a pawl, must be used to prevent the strap from being pulled back in the non-tensioning direction, i.e., to place the strap in a one-way locked position.

In ratchet- type buckles, it is nF-r~ y to include a release m~rll~ln; ~m to release or unlock the pawl from the strap so that the strap can be pulled back in the non-tensioning direction However, it is just as important to ensure that the ratchet- type buckle does not permit inadvertent release of the 15 strap in the non- tensioning direction.

In the latch- type mechanism disclosed by Riedel, the tPnc;on;n~ lever 2 can easily be inadvertently pivoted to a position as shown in Fig. 7, thus causing an acr;~lont~l release of the rack l.

In the latch-type m~rl~ n; ~m of Olivieri, the inadvertent depression of portion 8b 20 of the pawl 8 will cause an ~rr~l,ont~l release of tie 18.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a ratchet-type buckle that permits incremental ratcheting of the strap in a tensioning direction while simult;3n~llcly preventing inadvertent release of the strap from the one-way 25 locked po9;t;on.

It is a further object to provide a lever which is a non- load bearing member when the strap is tightened It is an obj ect of the present invention to provide a ratchet - type buckle that re~[uires less parts and, thus, is smaller and easier to manufacture.

It is still a further object 30 of the present invention that the ratchet-type buckle arrangement be simple and cost effective to manufacture, yet reliable and ef f icient in use Wo 95/2033~ PcrluS95/01349 3 2 1 8 ~ Q ~ 5 Summary of the Invention In accordance with a preferred embodiment demonstrating further objects, feature8 and advantages of the invention, a ratchet - type buckling system includes a standard type buckle housing and a standard ty~pe strap having a rack of teeth on one surface. A pivotal spring-biased tab, functioning as a pawl, is part of a housing that slidingly receives the strap.

The springbiased tab pivots about a f irst axis to engage the teeth of the strap and prevent the strap from being unlocked or pulled back in the non- tensioning direction . A lever with teeth on one end is pivoted about a second axis to engage the teeth of the strap and feed the strap in the tensioning direction.

The lever ;nf~ flf~c a downwardly depending projection that is movable between a first position and a second position.

When the projection is in the first position, the downwardly fl~p~nfl;n~ projection does not come into contact with the spring-biased tab.

However, when the pro~ection is moved to the second position, and the lever arm is pivoted about the first axis, the projection engages with the spring-biased tab to move the tab' 8 pawl away from the strap.

The strap is now free to move in the non-tensioning direction.

Brlef DegcriDtion of the DF~W~ nl f~ The above and still further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of a specific tl;r- ~ thereof, egpecially when taken in conjunction with the ~c~ L~r~"ylng drawings wherein like reference numerals in the various f igures are llt; 1; 7~d to designate like components, and wherein;

Fig. l is a perspective view of a rider on a snowboard having a ratchet-type buckle arrangement according to the present invention;

~ig. 2 is a side view of a ratchet-type buckle arrangement ~ccorfl;n~ to the present invention;

Wo 95/2033~ PCr~595/01349 4 ~82~ ~5 Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a Sectl--nAl view taken along lines 4-4 of Fig. 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig . 5 is a top view of a ratchet- type buckle aLlal~y~ t according to the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 6-6 of Fig. 5 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 7 is a top view partially broken away of another embodiment of a ratchet-type buckle arrangement according to the present invention;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken along lines 8- 8 of Fig. 7 and looking the direction of the arrows; and Fig . 9 is a section view taken along lines 9 - 9 of Fig .

8 and looking in the direction of the arrows Detailed Descri tion of the Presently Preferred r P~.~.

Rmh~ ts Referrin~ to Fig. 1, a snowboard 10 of conventional construction and a snowboard ratchet- type buckling arrangement 12, according to the present invention, with a rider 14 having his/her feet engaged in the system, is illustrated.

The rider 14 is supported on the board 10 by securing his/her f oot and ankle within a boot 16.

The rider 14 can in~:L~ Ally tighten the strap of the boot by ratcheting a lever arm of the ratchet - type buckle all~lly~e:~lt.

Referring now to Fig. 2, the ratchet-type buckle arrangement includes a housing 18 and a strap 20 that is slidably received in the housing 18.

The strap 20 ;nrl~ a rack of teeth 22 disposed at a first end of the strap 20 on an upper surface of the strap 20; it being understood that relative orientation adjectives such as "upper", ~downwardly", etc are utilized herein to simplify the present description and are not 35 ~ ntPn~ to limit the orientation of the buckle assembly when Wo 95/2033~ . PcrluS9s/01349 r, 5 2 i 8 ~ 01~ mounted for use.

The strap lncludes a shoulder 21 adjacent to the rack of teeth 22.

A lever arm 24 is connected to the housing 18 by a pair of links or connecting arms 28.

The connecting arms 28 are 5 pivotally connected to the housing 18 by a pin 27 about a f irst axis 26.

The lever arm 24 is pivotally rrnnpctpd to the rnnn~rtln~ arms 28 by a pin 31 about a second axis 30.

Accordingly, the lever arm 24 is pivotally mounted to the housing 18 about both the first axis 26 and the second axis 30.

As 10 illustrated, the second axis 30 is spaced from the first axis 26.

A tab 32 (see Figs. 4 and 6) is pivotally mounted to the housing 18 by pin 27 about the first axis 26 and is disposed between the two rnnnPrt;n~ arms 28.

Tab 32 includes a pawl portion 34 at a first end thereof.

Additionally, the tab 32 15 includes a second end 33 disposed opposite to the pawl portion 34.

The tab 32 is biased by a spring 36 such that the pawl 34 is in engagement with the rack of teeth 22 disposed on the upper surface of the strap 20.

The spring biased pawl 34 allows the strap 20 to incrPmPntAl ly ratchet in a tensioning or first 20 direction, generally indicated by arrow A in Fig. 4, and prevents the ...~v~ of the st~ap 20 in the direction sUbstAnt;Ally opposite to the tensioning direction, generally indicated by arrow B in Fig. 6.

The lever arm 24 includes saw teeth 3 8 disposed at a 25 first end of the lever arm 24.

The saw teeth are disposed about the second axis 30 substAnt;Ally along a common radius from the second axis 3 0 .

The lever arm 24 ~urther includes a downwardly depending projection 40 as best seen in Figs. 5 and 6.

The projection 40 is longit~ ;nAl ly moveable, with respect to the 30 lever arm 24, between a first position, generally indicated at 42, and a second position, generally indicated at 44. A plate member 46 is integrally attached to the pro~ection 40 and is disposed on an upper surface of the lever arm 24.

The plate 46 may include a plurality of ribbed pro~ections 48 on its upper 35 surface to allow the operator to more easily adjust the position Wo 9s/2033~ i PCr/US95/01349 ;. 6 ~1~201~ ,, . ~.

of the projection 40 between the first positlon 42 and the second position 44.

The housing 18 is preferably attached to the boot 16 and may ~ lltinnA~1y be attached to the second end 50 of the 5 strap 20.

The housing include8 a downwardly depending projection 52 in the form of a rivet to allow the housing to be fixedly connected to the second end 50 of the strap 20.

Of course, the hou3ing 18 may be attached to the boot 16 in any manner known to those skilled in the art.

The operation of the ratchet-type buckle arrangement will be described below with reference to Figs. 2-6.

The 8trap 20 i9 placed within the housing 18 as shown in Fig. 2.

At this time, the downwardly depending projection 40 should be moved to be in the first position 42.

Typically, the strap 20 is fitted 15 loosely within the housing 18 and must be tightened by the user 80 that the foot and ankle will be adequately supported within the boot.

To ~ h this, the user pivots the lever 24 about its f ir8t axis 26 ~ntil the lever reache8 the position shown in solid lines in Fig. 4.

The user will then pivot the lever arm 24 20 about the second axis 30 to a position shown in phantom in Fig.

4.

This pivoting ,v, t causes the saw teeth 38 to engage with the rack teeth 2Z of the strap and, thus, incrPrn~nt~11y ratchet tightens the strap 20 in the direction indicated by arrow A in Fig. 4. A8 the lever arm 24 is rotated about the second axis 30 25 to tighten the 8trap 20, the pawl portion 34 of the tab 32 is ~nntln~ 1y gpring biased in congtant engagement with the rack teeth 22 of the 8trap 20 to prevent the strap from being inadvertently relec~sed during the ratcheting operation.

In this manner, the rider can ad~ust the strap to a desired tension by 30 pivoting the lever arm 24 about the second axis 30 as many times as are required.

It being understood that shoulder 21 on the strap 20 serves as a stop to prevent the strap from being tightened beyond a pr~ tF~ninPCl limit.

To unfasten the boot, the pawl 34 must be released from 35 the strap 20.

First, the position of the downwardly depending Wo 95/20334 PCT/US9~/01349 7 21g~0i~ projection 40 must be moved from the first position 42 to the second position 44, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

The user can simply achieve this by adjusting the position of the plate 46 on top of the lever arm 24.

Once the pro~ectipn 40 is in the second 5 position 44, the user can then pivot the lever arm 24 about the first axis 26.

The downwardly depending projection 40 will come into contact with the second end 33 of the tab 32. ~nnt;nllnllq rotation o~ the lever 24 about the first axis 26 will cause the pawl portion 34 of tab 32 to disengage from the rack teeth 22 10 (see Fig. 6).

The strap 20 is now free to move in either direction indicated by arrows A or B, and the rider can simply pull on the strap in the direction of arrow B, if necessary, to loosen the strap.

It will be appreciated that the ratchet- type buckle of 15 the present invention successfully prevents the strap 20 from being inadvertently released from the one-way locked position.

To release the strap 20 requires the occurrence of two distinct operations.

First, the projection 40 must be moved from the first position 42 to the second position 44.

Second, the lever 20 arm 24 must be rotated sufficiently to cause the pawl 34 to disengage f rom the rack teeth 22 .

The chances of both of these operations l~n;ntGntionally occurring simultaneously are extremely low .

Another ~mhofl;ml~nt of the present invention is shown in 25 Figs. 7-9.

Many of the components in this ~m~nrl;mc-nt are similar to those illustrated in Figs. 1-6.

Therefore, like reference numerals, in the 100 series, will be designated to indicate these like components.

For the sake of brevity, those c~ ~nn,~ntq which are structurally and functionally similar to the first '~orl1m~nt 30 will not be described further.

A lever arm 124 is connected to the housing 118 by a pair of links or connecting arms 128.

The connf~tin~ arms 128 are pivotally connected to the housing 118 by a pin 127 about a first axis 126.

The lever arm 124 is pivotally connected to the 3~ connecting arms 128 by a pin 131 about a second axis 130.

Wo 95/2033 I PC r~S95/01349 Accordingly, the lever arm 124 is pivotally mounted to the housing 118 about both the i~irst axis 126 and the second axis 130.

As illustrated, the second axis 130 is spaced from the first axis 126. The lever 124 has a window opening 160 through which the second end 133 of the tab 132 projects.

The tab 132 include3 a pawl portion 134 at a first end thereof.

The tab 132 is spring biaaed in a 3imilar manner as tab 32 such that pawl 134 flln~t;nn~ as does pawl 34.

Accordingly, the pawl 134 allows the strap 120 to inLL, ~lly ratchet in a tpnc;nn;ng direction and prevents the 1LI~JVI i of the strap 120 in the direction opposite too the tensioning direction.

To operate the ratchet- type buckle aL ~ t of this second embodiment, the strap 120 is placed within the housing 118 as shown in Pig. 8.

To tighten the straE) 120, the user pivots the lever 124 about its first axis 126 until the lever reaches a position similar to that shown in solid lines in Fig. 4.

The strap 120 is then tightened in a similar manner to the ti~htPn;ng of strap 20.

To unfasten the boot, the user can simply depress the second end 133 of the tab 132 which is protruding through the window opening of_lever 124.

This action will cause the tab 132 to pivot, in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 8, and cause the pawl portion 134 to rl;~n~ge from the teeth 122 of the strap 120.

The strap 120 is now free to move in either direction A or 3.

From the foregoing description, it will be appreciated that the present invention makes available, a compact, cost ef f icient ratchet - type bracket arrangement .

The ratchet - type bracket is designed to allow for bimple operation while preventing an inadvertent release of the strap from the one-way locked position.

Additionally, the lever is designed to be a non-load bearing member when the strap is tightened.

Thus, when in use, the lever will not put pressure on the base o~ the housing which could cause discomfort to the foot of the user Wo gs/2033~ . PcrluS9S/01349 g ~ t 8 2 0 1 ~ Having described the presently pre~erred exemplary embodiment of a new and improved ratchet-type bracket arrangement in acrrlrr~nrp with the present invention, it is believed that other modifications, variatiOnS and changes will be suggested to 5 those skilled in the art in view o~ the tP~rh;ngs set forth herein.

It is, therefore, to be understood that all such variations, modifications, and changes are believed to fall within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.