Patent Application
20250099830
The invention was made without government support.
The field of the invention is sporting equipment, specifically cornhole boards.
Cornhole is a popular game, dating back to the 1800s. It is also known as beanbag toss, bags, tailgate toss, sack toss, and bean sack. It is a popular lawn game and competitive sport. Two slanted cornhole boards with a six-inch diameter hole through the top surface, are placed approximately twenty-seven feet apart. Players stand at the side of one cornhole board and toss cornhole bags at the other cornhole board. Landing the cornhole bag on the cornhole board is worth 1 point. Getting the cornhole bag through the six-inch diameter is worth 3 points. The player who first reaches twenty-one points is the winner. Cornhole has set rules and equipment standards.
Cornhole has become increasingly popular in recent years, with regional and national cornhole tournaments being held and the cornhole world championship being broadcast on ESPN.
Cornhole equipment it bought by many casual players, and is not inexpensive. This equipment frequently gets left outside for extended periods of time, where it is subjected to all types of weather such as rain, heat, cold, humidity, snow and direct sunlight.
However, typical cornhole boards are made from materials such as wood and manufactured wood materials that make them prone to significant environmental damage and frequently warp or become damaged and degraded after only a season or two of use. This represents a significant waste of money as a warped or damaged cornhole board provides a less pleasurable experience, not to mention reduced aesthetic quality and value.
Metal cladding is used extensively in manufacturing and building. The cladding on the outsides may be, for example, aluminum, steel, copper, nickel, or an alloy. The interior may be a material such as polythene (also called polyethylene), polystyrene, polyurethane or another polymer. Typical aluminum clad panels consist of two pre-painted or textured aluminum sheets bonded to a solid polyethylene core.
This disclosure encompasses (1) a cornhole board, (2) a method for construction of a cornhole board, and (3) a method for use of a cornhole board. Specifically, the invention encompasses an all-weather cornhole board fabricated from an aluminum clad material employing exterior-grade aluminum. In a preferred embodiment the board is 12 mm thick and composed of two sheets of 6 mm aluminum clad material bonded together with an adhesive. This double-layer top makes these boards very much quieter and more vibration resistant than most other boards.
More specifically, the invention encompasses an all-weather cornhole board fabricated from an aluminum clad material employing exterior-grade aluminum, where the exterior surface of the aluminum is coated with a protective coating.
All publications, patent documents and other disclosures mentioned herein are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.
The embodiments disclosed in this specification are exemplary and do not limit the invention. Other embodiments can be utilized and changes can be made. As used in this specification, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, a reference to “a part” includes a plurality of such parts, and so forth. The term “comprises” and grammatical equivalents thereof are used in this specification to mean that, in addition to the features specifically identified, other features are optionally present. Where reference is made in this specification to a method comprising two or more defined steps, the defined steps can be carried out in any order or simultaneously (except where the context excludes that possibility), and the method can optionally include one or more other steps which are carried out before any of the defined steps, between two of the defined steps, or after all the defined steps (except where the context excludes that possibility). Where reference is made herein to “first” and “second” features, this is generally done for identification purposes; unless the context requires otherwise, the first and second features can be the same or different, and reference to a first feature does not mean that a second feature is necessarily present (though it may be present). Where reference is made herein to “a” or “an” feature, this includes the possibility that there are two or more such features. This specification incorporates by reference all documents referred to herein and all documents filed concurrently with this specification or filed previously in connection with this application, including but not limited to such documents which are open to public inspection with this specification.
This invention disclosed herein encompasses an all-weather cornhole board fabricated from an aluminum clad material employing exterior-grade coated aluminum. Various embodiments include (1) a cornhole board; (2) a method for construction of a cornhole board, and (3) a method for use of a cornhole board.
The invention encompasses an all-weather CORNHOLE BOARD fabricated from a material employing exterior-grade coated aluminum (Al). The material comprises a slanted board made from panels of an aluminum clad material (ACM). ACM is comprised of two thin outside layers of aluminum and a core. The core may be made of various materials such as, but not limited to, polyethylene, polystyrene, polypropylene, polyurethane, or other hydrocarbon polymer materials.
The material from which the board is made has certain characteristics. These characteristics include:
These characteristics apply to the board itself, but many of the characteristics apply independently to the core material and to the cladding material.
It will be apparent that the environmental resistance properties listed above are useful and desirable characteristics for a cornboard that is often left outside, exposed to the elements.
Additionally, and perhaps less intuitively both vibration (bounciness) and sound production (loudness) are well-known but highly undesirable characteristics of typical cornhole boards. Note: wood is a preferred material to build speaker cabinets and
In one embodiment the all-weather cornhole board of claim 2 made using no wood-derived components.
The present invention addresses all the above issues, creating a board that is resistant to environmental factors and maintains it's shape and structural integrity, and that is also sound-dampening (therefore quieter) and vibration-dampening (it produces less bounce/rebound).
Cladding used in the cornhole board of the invention is generally made of aluminum.
Aluminum clad panels are generally formed of a rigid, durable aluminum composite sheet consisting of two aluminum sheets with a certain minimum thickness that are bonded to a solid polyethylene or polyurethane (or similar) core. This composition provides a light-weight and weather-resistant structure with sound-dampening and vibration-dampening properties when used as a cornhole board. It is also easy to print onto using a method such as UV printing, screen printing, digital printing, sublimation printing.
The aluminum clad sheets of the invention are coated. The coating may be polyester coating or acrylic coating or a fluorocarbon or polyester. The thickness of the aluminum may be not be less than 0.1 mm, generally about 0.2 mm. For example it may be between 0.1 mm and 2 mm, 0.1 mm and 1 mm, or up to 1 mm, or up to 0.8, 0.6, 0.4, or 0.2 mm.
In a preferred embodiment the board is made from composite aluminum panels that are composed of two 0.30 mm aluminum sheets securely adhered to a polyethylene core.
One such type of panel that is commercially available is that made by Alupanel in the UK.
Aluminum clad panels can be cut and “V-grooved” to allow folding, and then folded such that each cornhole board is one continuous sheet of material as the exterior surface. In certain embodiments brackets or fasteners or rivets may be used to hold components together. In other embodiments, no brackets or fasteners or rivets of any kind are used and only glue (meaning any adhesive) is used to secure corners created using V grooves.
Aluminum clad material will not warp, split, splinter, rot, or delaminate, as opposed to wooden cornhole boards. Aluminum clad material is 100% structurally consistent. It always has the same shape, characteristics and it has almost no variation as opposed to wood, which often has internal voids and varied grain, thus affecting bounce and noise level. Aluminum clad material does not retain heat, and remains comfortable to touch even in 100+ Fahrenheit temperatures. Aluminum clad material provides a continuous printable surface on all sides prior to folding.
Aluminum clad material aids in vibration and sound dampening as opposed to plywood.
The properties of sound and vibration are related. Sound is the pressure waves that are generated by vibrating structures such as vocal cords; these pressure waves can also induce the vibration of structures, such as an eardrum. Hence, attempts to reduce noise are mostly related to the issues of vibration.
Vibration and sound dampening is provided due to the structural integrity of the board which acts as a damping member, essentially due to the rigidity of the aluminum cladding material. When struck by a corn bag, especially close to the centre of the board, a lighter board, or one made of a wooden material, will flex (deform) in the direction of the force applied, and then re-flex in the opposite direction, producing an oscillating effect with a diminishing sine-wave pattern until all kinetic energy is expended and the oscillations are completely spent. In the present invention, the board resists displacement and the vibrations are quickly dampened. The force generated by the mass is proportional to the acceleration (deceleration) of the mass. The displacement of the board is therefore proportional to the velocity and speed of the bag hitting the board. It is also inversely proportional to the mass of the board. So one way to reduce vibration is to make the board heavier. Another way is to make it stiffer. The board of the invention is very stiff and rigid due to the materials used and the box-like construction wherein the rectilinear sides act to transfer and resist the force of the bag hitting the board, and the force transferred to the interior of the board is absorbed and dampened by the polyurethane (or other polymer) material. When a typical corn bag (6″×6″, 1 lb) is thrown onto the boad of the invention from 27 ft, the sound is between 20-50 decibels. A typical wood board produces 60-85 decibels.
In one embodiment, the invention uses a 3M™ Damping Aluminum Foam Sheet designed to dampen vibration and reduce noise. Open cell polyurethane foam with an aluminum-urethane constraining layer absorbs panel vibration and dissipates it, thereby reducing noise production from the board. Any similar dampening sheet with an open cell polyurethane foam with an aluminum-urethane constraining layer may be used and it does not have to be sourced from this manufacturer.
In a preferred embodiment the of the board is 12 mm thick. This is accomplished by layering 2 sheets of 6 mm aluminum clad material together and bonding with an adhesive. This double-layer top makes these boards very much quieter and more vibration resistant than other/traditional boards. Thus, the bags do not bounce off of the board. If only one layer is used, the bags will bounce off of the board like a trampoline.
In other embodiments, two or more layers are used, and other materials may additionally be layered with the aluminum clad material.
In certain embodiments the top of the board may be from 7 mm to 30 mm thick, for example 9 mm to 20 mm, 10 mm to 15 mm, or 10 mm to 12 mm thick.
In certain embodiments the top of the board may be composed of (or may comprise) 2 layers of 6 mm aluminum clad material bonded together with an adhesive.
In certain embodiments the top of the board may be composed of (or may comprise) 2 layers of aluminum clad material bonded together with an adhesive wherein the thickness of each layer of aluminum clad material is 3 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm, 6 mm, 7 mm, or 8, 9 or 10 mm; or the thickness may be between 3 mm and 12 mm, 4 mm and 10 mm, 5 mm and 8 mm, or 6 mm and 7 mm.
In certain embodiments the top of the board may be composed of (or may comprise) 2, or, 3, 4, 5 or 6 layers of aluminum clad material bonded together with an adhesive.
In certain embodiments the layers are bonded together with an adhesive, and in others it may be fixed by another means, such as, but not limited to braising, welding, bolting, fastening or even simply laying layers on top of each other and sealing the edges.
In another embodiment lateral bracing is used under the top surface using angle or square tube aluminum.
In a preferred embodiment the boards of the invention are within size specifications outlined by “ACA” American Cornhole Association as follows:
In one embodiment the boards have folding legs. In another the boards have flared sides allowing the boards to stack.
In one typical embodiment the boards have V-grooves that allow for folding during manufacture. A router bit is used to cut a “V” shape into the material and then the sheet is folded on that line during manufacture, creating an extremely durable and very strong juncture with no need for an L-bracket.
The above embodiments are supported and expanded by, but not limited by the attached drawings.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63584628 | Sep 2023 | US |
