Inventors:
Eric Todd Phipps - Colorado Springs CO
International Classification:
A63C9/08
Abstract:
A snowboard rider wears boots that fit into manually releasable bindings which are attached to the top surface of the snowboard, analogous to bindings on alpine skis. Generally, the snowboard bindings are aligned at approximately right angles to the longitudinal axis of the board, with one foot nearer to the front of the board, and the other foot nearer to the tail of the board. In a typical binding design, each boot is rigidly held in a fixed position with respect to the snowboard with no movement of the foot being possible absent corresponding movement of the snowboard. The snowboard binding described herein permits the rider to enjoy the flexibility of toe-to-heel movement, while providing for a simple method of restraining that method for terrains in which flexibility would be detrimental. Each binding consists of a footplate onto which the boot is strapped, a fulcrum attached to the bottom of the footplate, and a fulcrum receptacle mounted on top of the snowboard. When the fulcrum is a rigid half circle with the flat edge attached to the bottom of the footplate, a fulcrum pin is inserted through the fulcrum receptacle and through a hole formed in the fulcrum to hold the fulcrum in place with respect to the snowboard, while allowing toe-to-heel motion around the axis of the fulcrum.