Patent Grant
7992506
Kiteboarding (also known as kitesurfing) is the latest extreme sports craze. A kiteboarder (i.e., the human operator) is pulled on a board by a kite. The board can be specially designed for kiteboarding, or it can be another type of board or support, such as a snowboard, landboard, skates, iceboard, buggy, wake ski, etc. The kiteboarder usually wears a harness for transmitting the pull force of the kite to the body of the wearer. The harness is connected to the kite (also known as the sail) through appropriate rigging, such as a control bar. The kite can pull a kiteboarder over many different surfaces, including water, ice, snow and even terra firma, as well as into the air.
The harness usually includes a laterally elongated metal spreader bar attached at each end to a garment (i.e., a girdle or vest). A heavy-duty hook is rigidly attached to the spreader bar intermediate the ends of the bar. The hook extends outward from the harness near the pelvis for catching a “chicken loop” (also known as a “harness loop”) on the control bar.
While generally effective for transmitting the pull force of the kite throughout the body of the wearer, the harness tends to exert a constant twisting or torsion force upon the body of the wearer whenever the kiteboarder desires to ride at an angle relative to the direction of the pull force of the kite, and also tends to exert a “jerking” torsion force upon the body of the wearer whenever the kite makes a significant lateral shift relative to the wearer. Such torsion forces tend to prematurely fatigue the kiteboarder and reduce the kiteboarders overall enjoyment of the sport.
Numerous variations exist in the hardware used to attach kiteboard rigging to a kiteboard harness. Unfortunately, all suffer from certain shortcomings or limitations which adversely impact the performance or comfort of the harness. The purpose of the present invention is to overcome these and other shortcomings or limitations in the prior art.
A first aspect of the invention is a kiteboarding harness with a hook extending radially outward from the harness and slidably attached to the harness for lateral repositioning of the hook on the harness about the anteroposterior axis of a human wearing the harness.
A second aspect of the invention is a method of kiteboarding. The method includes the steps of (i) donning a kiteboarding harness with a hook extending radially outward from the harness and slidably attached to the harness for lateral repositioning of the hook on the harness about the anteroposterior axis of the human wearing the harness, (ii) attaching a kiteboarding kite to the hook, (iii) flying the kite while standing upon a board whereby the human wearing the harness and the board are pulled by the flying kite atop a supporting surface, and (iv) allowing the hook to be freely repositioned on the harness about the anteroposterior axis of the wearer under influence from the pull of the kite.
As utilized herein, including the claims, the term “rigging” refers to all components and elements connecting the harness 100 to the kite 10.
Kiteboarding requires a kite 10, rigging 20 and a harness 30 to controllably attach the kite 10 to the kiteboarder H, and a board 40 suitable for sliding, gliding or riding across a surface.
The invention is directed to a kiteboarding harness 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 (hereafter collectively referenced as 100) capable of significantly reducing or eliminating the exertion of twisting or torsion forces on the body of a wearer H about the anteroposterior axis AP.
While described in connection with kiteboarding, the invention is not limited to such use. The structure of the harness 100 may be useful for other purposes. Other uses might include, for example, as harnesses 100 in sail boarding, sailing, hang gliding and other activities where a harness 100 might be usable and beneficial. The invention should be understood to encompass these other uses, although not be discussed below.
A first embodiment of the harness 100 is shown in
The girdle 110 securely and comfortably attaches the hook 130 in proper position to a kiteboarder H. Girdles 110 are a conventional piece of kiteboarding equipment. The present invention can be employed with substantially any girdle 110. The invention can also be used with a vest (not shown). The girdle 110 can be made of many different materials. For example, portions of it can be made of nylon webbing with various kinds of reinforcement and padding as are known in the art.
The guide line 120 can be attached to the girdle 110 at the attachment points 120a and 120b by any suitable type and means of attachment, ranging from stitching to rivets.
The guide line 120 can be rigid or flexible. The guide line 120 can be a flexible member, such as rope, aircraft cable, webbing, strap, or belt, or a rigid member such as a bar or beam. For many applications, a braided rope made of synthetic materials such as polypropylene or polyester is preferred. Such material should be lightweight, durable, wear resistant and capable of handling high pull forces. Ropes used for climbing are suitable for use as the guide line 120. Other types of rope can also be used such as coated ropes (also known as “dry ropes”), ropes encased in flexible tubing and ropes made of natural fibers such as cotton or hemp. Other types of materials may also be suitably used, such as plastics, fiberglass, graphite, aluminum, stainless steel, titanium, etc.
As shown in
The guide line 120 can be of various cross-sectional shapes, diameters or dimensions depending on various factors. For many applications, round rope with a diameter of approximately 3-30 millimeters is suitable. Other diameters or other dimensions are also suitable.
The hook 130 can be configured and arranged to slide smoothly along the length of the guide line 120. A suitable hook 130 is a carabiner, such as depicted in
The harness 100 has many uses and offers several advantages. A first advantage is that the harness 100 provides a kiteboarder H with greater freedom of movement relative to prior art harnesses. While kiteboarding, the pull-force Q provided by the kite 10 can come from virtually any point above the surface on which the kiteboarder H is boarding. While kiteboarding, the kite 10 tends to change position frequently, resulting in frequent changes in the direction of the pull-force Q. In order to maximize distribution of the pull-force Q throughout the body of the kiteboarder H, the line of the pull-force Q should extend through or at least proximate the anteroposterior axis AP of the kiteboarder's body H. By allowing the hook 130 to reposition itself along the guide line 120, the harness 100 is cable of quickly adjusting with changes in the position of the pull-force Q so as to keep the direction of the pull-force Q in line with or at least proximate the anteroposterior axis AP of the kiteboarder's body H.
This advantage is especially beneficial when the direction of the pull-force Q changes so as to pull from a direction posterior HP to the wearer H. When this happens to a harness with a hook fixedly attached to the front of the harness, the rigging 20 (i.e., the chicken loop 23 and control bar 22) will wrap across the body of the kiteboarder H, causing discomfort, chafing and/or brusing.
A second advantage of the harness 100 is that the hook 130 can be biased and locked into a closed position so as to prevent accidental and unintended release of the rigging 20 while still permitting a quick release of the of rigging 20 by the wearer H should circumstances dictate.
A third advantage of the harness 100 is enhanced comfort. Traditional kiteboarding harnesses have a metal spreader bar across the front of the harness. These metal spreader bars are uncomfortable and can cause injury to the wearer H, especially during a fall or crash. In contrast, the guide line 120 can be constructed from a relatively soft and pliable material.
The guide line 120 can be attached to the girdle 110 so as to permit lateral Lat travel of the hook 130 along the guide line 120 through at least a 30° angle, preferably at least a 90° angle and most preferably at least a 180° angle relative to the anteroposterior AP axis.
The guide line 120 can be positioned and attached to a kiteboarder H in a myriad of ways. For example, the guide line 120 could be integrated into a pair of shorts (not shown), a belt (not shown), a vest (not shown) a body suit (not shown), etc. The guide line 120 could also conceivable be attached directly to the body of a kiteboarder H with an adhesive (not shown).
The guide line 120 can be attached substantially anywhere on the torso (not numbered) of a kiteboarder H from the chest (not shown) to the waist W based upon the desires and preferences of the kiteboarder H.
The guide line 120 can be fixedly attached (i.e., directly attached by stitching and/or rivets) or releasably attached (i.e., via a buckle, clip or carabiner) to the girdle 110.
Separate components can be employed to provide the sliding and hooking functions of the hook 130. For example, a closed ring (not shown) can slidably encircle the guide line 120 while a carabiner 130, hooked onto the closed ring, provides the hooking function. The hook 130 can be permanently attached to the guide line 120 or releasably attached to the guide line 120 (i.e., a mechanism on the hook 130 permitting detachment of the hook 130 from the guide line 120 or a mechanism on the guide line 120 for permitting detachment of the guide line 120 from the girdle 110 and thereby allowing the hook 130 to be slid off the end of the detached guide line 120.
The guide line 120 and hook 130 could be configured so as to allow them to be retrofit onto an existing harnesses.
The hook 130 could be configured and arranged to permit direct attachment of the hook 130 to a control bar 22 (i.e., a “built-in” chicken loop) or even directly to the flight lines 21.
The track 340 encircles the pelvis P and includes a C-shaped lateral channel 349. A head 336 is provided on the proximal end of the hook 130 for sliding engagement within the channel 349 in the track 340.
The track 340 can be made from any material capable of bearing the pull forces Q exerted by the kite 10. Preferred materials include metals, such as aluminum and steel, and plastics, such as polyurethane.
The third embodiment of the harness 300 provides several significant advantages. First, the harness 300 permits the hook 130 to slide completely around the pelvis P, thereby permitting a kiteboarder H to rotate 360° or more relative to the kite 10 without wrapping the rigging 20 (e.g., typically the chicken loop 23) around the body. This provides a kiteboarder H with a tremendous amount of freedom to rotate and to perform tricks or stunts.
Second, the mechanism for slidably connecting the hook 130 to the harness 300 can be constructed to allow the hook 130 to travel laterally Lat around the wearer H with little or no friction, thereby virtually eliminating the creation of torsion forces (i.e., forces tending to twist the body of the wearer H about the anteroposterior axis AP).
A universal joint 433 can be provided on the hook 130 between the hook portion 434 and the eyelets 431 and 432 for allowing the hook portion 434 to pivot or rotate relative to the eyelets 431 and 432 with minimal transmission of the pivoting or rotational forces to the eyelets 431 and 432. The universal joint 443 can be a ball and socket type joint or it can simply be constructed from a flexible material such as rubber or rope. The universal joint 433 can be biased (e.g., constructed from an elastic material) to return to its “home” position projecting radially outward from the girdle 110.
The fourth embodiment of the harness 400 provides several significant advantages. First, the strain exerted by the hook 130 on the guide lines 421 and 422 can be more evenly distributed.
Second, the dual points of attachment prevents the hook 130 from “sagging” downward, thereby facilitating hooking and unhooking of the chicken loop 23 onto the hooking portion 434 of the hook 130.
As with the third embodiment of the harness 300, a head 536 is provided on the proximal end of the hook 130 for sliding engagement against the backside (unnumbered) of the rails 541 and 542.
The third embodiment of the harness 300 provides several significant advantages. First, the track 540 is effective for distributing any pull force Q from the kite 10 to both sides of the pelvis P.
Second, the mechanism for slidably connecting the hook 130 to the harness 500 can be constructed to allow the hook 130 to travel laterally Lat around the wearer H with little or no friction, thereby virtually eliminating the creation of torsion forces (i.e., forces tending to twist the body of the wearer H about the anteroposterior axis AP).
Third, the track 540 can configured and arranged to mimic a conventional spreader bar so as to permit the track 540 to be retrofit onto an existing garment 110.
The embodiments or examples discussed above can be combined in various ways without departing from the invention. Moreover, the present invention should not be considered limited to the particular examples described above, but rather should be understood to cover all aspects of the invention as fairly set out in the claims arising from this application. For example, while suitable sizes, shapes, materials, configurations, fastener types and the like have been disclosed in the above discussion, it should be appreciated that these are provided by way of example and not of limitation as a number of other sizes, shapes, materials, configurations, fastener types, and so forth may be used without departing from the invention. Various modifications as well as numerous structures to which the present invention may be applicable will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art to which the present invention is directed upon review of the present specifications. The claims which arise from this application are intended to cover such modifications and structures.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/797,544, filed May 4, 2006.
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