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The Industrial Calendar of Events The Industrial Classifieds (8-20-96) Have you subscribed to SOL Groove? |
Ride Eye's Step-In Binding Patent |
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| Preston Bindings Company signed a letter agreement with Mark A. Raines
and Gregory A. Deeney, on January 24, 1996, to acquire a U.S. patent relating
to a step-in snowboard binding.
Those familiar with the Raines Binding remember a soft binding mounted on a plate which snaped into spring-loaded cam allowing the entire binding to be attached or removed from the board with the flick of the switch. Though the binding was not popular when it was released in This is not the binding Ride will be buying, according to Michal Hall, senior vice president of product developement at Ride. "The patent is stated in much more general terms," Hall says. "The plate can actually be built into the boot. So you're not going to two separate housings." The deal will close only after a due diligence and patent validity investigation by Ride. But Hall and Ride's President Tim Pogue believe this patent holds the key to a coming standard. "We feel it has the potential to become the universal step-in binding in the snowboard industry," Pogue says. But don't look for it soon. According to Hall this technology is being acquired for research and design work down the road. "You won't be seeing this in our booth at Vegas this year," Hall says. |
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