Telemark free heel touring-style ski binding

Abstract

A spring or alternative elastic, resilient, compressible media cassette for a touring-style ski binding, such as used in alpine touring or telemark skiing. The touring ski binding slip differential cassette provides the skier with variety of tuning options to manually adjust binding size, stiffness, and range of motion. Manual adjustment of binding size, stiffness, and range of motion enhances the touring ski binding ease of use, adjustability, and overall capabilities, further progressing the touring ski binding. In addition, the slip differential cassette provides the touring skier with cassette presets that match each skier to a predetermined binding size, stiffness, and range of motion based on skier weight and ability.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A free-heel ski binding, comprising:
 A singly or doubly open-ended cylinder, having a first end and a second end;   at least one spring device received within the cylinder and configured to be compressed; and   a cylinder nut or cap configured to attach to a portion of the first end of the singly or doubly open-ended cylinder and enable a modifiable binding stiffness, responsiveness, range of motion, and amount of free-heel extension by adjusting a compression applied to the spring and a length of the spring, up to and including maximal compression and minimal extension or length of the spring and minimal compression and maximal extension or length of the spring.   
     
     
         2 . A free-heel ski binding, comprising:
 a singly or doubly open-ended cylinder;   at least one spring device received within the cylinder and configured to be compressed;   a cylinder nut or cap configured to attach to an end of the singly or doubly open-ended cylinder and enable a modifiable binding stiffness, responsiveness, range of motion, and amount of free-heel extension by adjusting a compression applied to the spring and a distance the spring can be compressed, up to and including maximal compression and minimal extension of the spring and minimal compression and maximal extension of the spring.   
     
     
         3 . The free-heel ski binding of  claim 2 , wherein the cylinder is configured to connect to a binding heel-connector via a first connecting portion and to one of a binding heel-piece, ski, ski plate, and binding toe-piece via a second connecting portion, wherein the first and second connecting portions may be provided by one or more of a latch, tubing, solid-core wire, stranded wire, braided wire, cable, cord, and chain. 
     
     
         4 . The free-heel ski binding of  claim 2 , wherein the exterior surface of the cylinder cap is equipped to receive a tool interface. 
     
     
         5 . The free-heel ski binding of  claim 4 , wherein the exterior surface of the cylinder cap is equipped to receive a tool, including one or more of a hex tool, a wrench tool, a Philips head screwdriver, and a flat head screwdriver. 
     
     
         6 . The free-heel ski binding of  claim 2 , further including a preset gauge viewing panel, wherein the preset gauge viewing panel implements at least one of a window, ruled graphical measures, and color coded indicators of relative position. 
     
     
         7 . The free-heel ski binding of  claim 6 , wherein the preset gauge viewing panel comprises a window on the side of the cylinder configured to show the interior of the cylinder and respective positions of the at least one spring device, indicating a corresponding effective stiffness, a specific binding range of motion and an amount of free-heel extension enabled by the free-heel ski binding. 
     
     
         8 . The free-heel ski binding of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one spring device comprises a nested spring, composed of two or more springs, one set inside of another. 
     
     
         9 . The free-heel ski binding of  claim 8 , wherein the springs have one or more of different parameters and different spring constants, configured to produce a graduated or graded, staged stiffness and response action of the binding mechanism. 
     
     
         10 . The free-heel ski binding of  claim 2 , wherein the cassette nut portion has a portion of male threading configured to attach to a portion of female threading included along a portion of an interior surface of the first end of the singly or doubly open-ended cylinder and cassette cap has a portion of female threading configured to attach to a portion of male threading included along a portion of an exterior surface of the cylinder. 
     
     
         11 . The free-heel ski binding of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one spring device comprises a variable pitch spring, composed of a spring having one or more of a variable average distance between the active coils, a variable average coil diameter and a variable average spring gauge or thickness. 
     
     
         12 . A free-heel ski binding, comprising:
 A singly or doubly open-ended cassette cylinder;   at least one spring device received within the cassette cylinder and configured to be compressed;   a cassette cylinder nut or cap configured to attach to an end of the singly or doubly open-ended cassette cylinder and enable an adaptable binding stiffness, responsiveness, range of motion, and amount of free-heel extension by modifying a compression applied to the spring and a length of the spring, up to and including full compression and smallest extension or length of the spring and full release and greatest extension or length of the spring.   
     
     
         13 . The free-heel ski binding of  claim 12 , wherein the cylinder is configured to connect to a binding heel-connector via a first connecting portion and to one of a heel-piece, toe-piece, ski plate, and ski via a second connecting portion, wherein the first and second connecting portions are provided by one or more of a latch, tubing, solid-core wire, stranded wire, braided wire, cable, cord, and chain. 
     
     
         14 . The free-heel ski binding of  claim 13 , wherein the exterior surface of the cylinder cap is equipped to receive a tool interface. 
     
     
         15 . The free-heel ski binding of  claim 14 , wherein the exterior surface of the cylinder cap is equipped to receive a tool, including one or more of a hex tool, a wrench tool, a Philips head screwdriver, and a flat head screwdriver. 
     
     
         16 . The free-heel ski binding of  claim 13 , further including a preset gauge viewing panel, wherein the preset gauge viewing panel implements at least one of a window, ruled graphical measures, and color coded indicators of relative position. 
     
     
         17 . The free-heel ski binding of  claim 16 , wherein the preset gauge viewing panel comprises a window on the side of the cassette cylinder configured to show the interior of the cylinder and respective positions of the at least one spring device, indicating a corresponding effective stiffness, a specific binding range of motion and an amount of free-heel extension enabled by the free-heel ski binding. 
     
     
         18 . The free-heel ski binding of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one spring device comprises a nested spring, composed of two or more springs, one set inside of another. 
     
     
         19 . The free-heel ski binding of  claim 18 , wherein the springs have one or more of different parameters and different spring constants, configured to produce a graduated or graded, staged stiffness and response action of the binding mechanism. 
     
     
         20 . The free-heel ski binding of  claim 12 , wherein the cassette nut portion has a portion of male threading configured to attach to a portion of female threading included along a portion of an interior surface of the first end of the singly or doubly open-ended cylinder and cassette cap has a portion of female threading configured to attach to a portion of male threading included along a portion of an exterior surface of the cylinder. 
     
     
         21 . The free-heel ski binding of  claim 12 , wherein the at least one spring device comprises a variable pitch spring, composed of a spring having one or more of a variable average distance between the active coils, a variable average coil diameter and a variable average coil gauge or thickness.