Ski brake

Abstract

A ski brake is attached to a ski to provide a controllable drag to the advance of a ski on a snow surface. A cable extending from a ski-pole mounted grip to the brake allows a skier to adjust the amount of drag. The position of the ski brake and thus the amount of drag can be controlled wirelessly as well.

1 . A ski brake for attachment to a ski comprising three portions, an attachment portion for attaching it to a ski, a movable portion for operation to provide the braking function and a control portion to enable a user to operate it., said attachment portion comprising a base for securing the movable member to the ski, said movable portion being mounted on said base and comprising an assembly for controllably engaging the snow on which the ski moves in a manner to apply drag on forward movement of the ski under user control, said control portion comprising an activator element coupled to said movable portion and responsive to a user command to cause the movable portion to move into engagement with the snow. 
   
   
       2 . A ski brake as in  claim 1  wherein said activator element comprises a cable connected to said movable portion at one end and connected to a hand grip at the other end in a manner to provide user control of the position of said movable portion. 
   
   
       3 . A ski brake as in  claim 1  wherein said movable portion is adapted to engage the snow at an angle to the plane of the ski. 
   
   
       4 . A ski brake as in  claim 1  wherein the control portion comprises a hand grip attached to a ski pole. 
   
   
       5 . A ski brake as in  claim 1  wherein said assembly for controllably engaging the snow comprises a brake pad. 
   
   
       6 . A ski brake as in  claim 1  wherein said movable portion comprises a pair of brake arm assemblies rotatably mounted on said base and being mounted to extend on each side of the ski, respectively and each brake arm having a portion for engaging the snow when the brake arm assemblies are rotated downwardly relative to the ski 
   
   
       7 . A ski brake as in  claim 1  wherein said base is mounted proximate the rear of the ski and the movable portion comprises a pair of brake arms a first one of which is mounted within the ski edges and a second one of which is mounted either outboard or inboard of the ski and further comprising a pad mounted across the ski axis on each of the brake arms so that upon rotation of the brake arms the pad will rotate downwardly into contact with the snow behind the ski to cause braking action upon the ski. 
   
   
       8 . A ski brake as in  claim 7  wherein the second brake arm is mounted inboard of the ski. 
   
   
       9 . A ski brake as in  claim 7  wherein the second brake arm is mounted outboard of the ski 
   
   
       10 . A ski brake comprising a base portion for attachment to a ski and a movable portion comprising a brake pad and is operative controllably to move the brake pad to a position beneath the lower surface of the ski. 
   
   
       11 . A ski brake assembly as in  claim 10  wherein the base includes first and second upstanding spaced apart support posts and the movable portion comprises a rotatable shaft extending between and through the posts the shaft including a lever arm extending radially therefrom and further comprising a control portion comprising a cable with a cable first end connected to the lever arm, and a cable second end being connected to a hand grip adapted to move the cable in a manner to rotate the shaft and further comprising a brake arm attached to the shaft in a manner to move with rotation of the shaft in a plane at an angle to the ski surface. 
   
   
       12 . The brake as in  claim 11  including a brake pad affixed to the end of the brake arm wherein the pad is configured to provide an increasing drag on forward movement as it is moved below a ski to which it is attached. 
   
   
       13 . The brake as in  claim 11  wherein the hand grip is connected to a ski pole. 
   
   
       14 . A ski brake as in  claim 10  wherein the base portion comprises first and second spaced apart upstanding posts and the movable portion comprises an shaft connected to the posts in a manner to permit rotation of the shaft about its axis wherein the shaft has first and second spaced apart brake arms connected thereto in a manner to permit the brake arms to be located in positions offset with respect to the posts. 
   
   
       15 . A ski brake for mounting on a ski comprising
 an attachment portion comprising a base adapted for attachment to the upper surface of a ski and a support portion;   a movable portion comprising a shaft rotatably fitted to the support portion and a pair of brake arms on the shaft and being spaced apart so as to have a portion that is rotatable with the shaft outside the edges of the ski from an upper ready position above the base and a lowered braking position below the base on each side of a ski; and   a control portion attached to the movable portion to enable controlled movement of the brake arms from the ready position to the braking position comprising a controlling element acting on the movable portion and an activating element for mounting on a ski pole available to be operated by the skier;   whereby the skier can, by activating the control portion cause the brake arms on either side of the ski to rotate into contact with the snow.   
   
   
       16 . A ski brake for mounting on a ski comprising:
 an attachment portion comprising a base attachable proximate the rear of a ski and having a support element on which to mount a movable portion;   a movable portion having a shaft rotatably mounted on the support element of the attachment portion comprising a first and second brake arm, the first brake arm being mounted on the shaft within side edges of the base and the second brake arm being mounted beyond one of the side edges of the base and a brake pad extending across the ski longitudinal axis attached to each of the brake arms so as to present a pad surface that is offset relative to the longitudinal axis of the ski and movable by rotation of the brake arms from an upper ready position above the base and a lowered braking position below the base; and   a control portion attached to the movable portion to enable controlled movement of the brake arms from the ready position to the braking position comprising a controlling element acting on the movable portion and an activating element for mounting on a ski pole available to be operated by the skier;   whereby the skier can, by activating the control portion cause the brake arms to rotate and the brake pad to rotate offset into contact with the snow.   
   
   
       17 . The ski brake of  claim 16  wherein the second brake arm is mounted outward to define an outwardly offset position of the brake pad. 
   
   
       18 . The ski brake of  claim 16  wherein the second brake arm is mounted inward to define an inwardly offset position of the brake pad. 
   
   
       19 . The ski brake of  claim 16  further comprising a second ski brake mountable on the other of a pair of skis in which the brake arms are mounted in a mirror image of those in  claim 16  thereby to provide a pair of ski brakes, one for each of a pair of skis. 
   
   
       20 . The ski brake of  claim 19  wherein the brake arms of the pair of ski brakes are mounted such that they both are mounted either outward to define an outwardly offset position of their respective brake pads or inward to define an inwardly offset position of their respective brake pads.