Freely rotatable binding for board sports with internal resilience and safety lock

摘要

A binding for a snowboard or wakeboard is rotatable in a horizontal plane along the board, during use. Preferably, the binding is biased to a preset or original or home position. The biasing force is adjustable and generally is set in a range that allows movement during actual use of the board, requiring more than casual effort to change the angle but less than extreme effort to change the angle. In one embodiment, there are two arcuate channels in the bottom of a binding plate. In each channel there is a spring assembly having a central block fixed to a circular bottom plate. The block has a spring on each side, which springs are also in the channel. As a user rotates his foot in the binding, the binding plate rotates on the circular bottom plate, compressing the one of the springs in each channel. In a most preferred embodiment, there is a top circular plate above the binding plate, and the binding plate has a circular seat for an annular L-section bushing which seats in the seat, and mates with the top circular plate. This L-section bushing is preferably plastic, and serves multiple purposes. It not only protects against metal to metal contact where the top circular plate is metal, but also seals the assembly against snow, ice and water, even if the top circular plate is made of plastic. Further, the L-section bushing removes or limits play between the top circular plate and the binding plate, which can affect performance especially responsiveness of the board. In another embodiment, a Y-shaped channel having a single spring positioned therein is used instead of a second set of springs.