The present invention relates to devices for protecting surfboards from damage during transit and storage, and more particularly, to surfboard covers for protecting surfaces such as are found on the top, bottom and side rail sections of a surfboard.
For many years, surfing has been a well established recreational and sporting activity, and with the progression and increased popularity of the surfing sport, surfers have searched for better designed and constructed surfboards. As the surfing art has progressed, modern technology has produced smaller surfboards that offer greater maneuverability and performance capabilities. Traditional wood or plastic board construction has thus been supplanted by surfboards constructed of lighter and more durable composites, such as, for example, polyurethane or fiberglass.
However, the benefits derived from these lighter and more maneuverable surfboards can be quickly defeated when the surfaces of the board are dented, scratched or otherwise damaged. This is due, at least in part, to the fact that such damage can cause unwanted drag on the board in the water, which will degrade its maneuverability, balance and overall performance. Such damage will typically occur during the transportation of a surfer's board from a home or storage location to a surfing site. During such transport, when the board must be loaded into a vehicle storage compartment and carried therefrom to the water, the surfboard may be subjected to a myriad of impacts or scraped against any number of variously contoured surfaces. Therefore, it is advisable for a surfer to protect his or her surfboard during its transportation to a chosen surfing location. Also, it is especially beneficial to protect specific surfboard surfaces critical to the maneuverability and control of the board such as its side walls (known as “rails” in surfing parlance), its dorsal or top surface on which the surfer stands, and its ventral or bottom surface, which is in contact with the water.
To provide this protection, numerous surfboard covers and carrying cases have been proposed. Some early prior art devices embodied hardened cases for encircling the board similar to guitar cases, but such devices are heavy and awkward during transport, and cannot be collapsed into a smaller and less bulky form for storage when not in use. Other prior art devices have proposed a soft case constructed of fabric or a similar light material, but such a construction, while effective for withstanding minor impacts and scrapes, offers insufficient protection from typical impacts and scraping that must be absorbed during transport or when the surfer accidentally drops the board.
To address this need, various light weight surfboard protectors have been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,719,952 to Geronimo discloses shock absorbing covers, made of a neoprene or synthetic rubber foam sheet material, for individually covering and protecting the forward tip, the rear portion and the side rails of a typical board. However, devices such as this do not provide sufficient protection to the entirety of the top and bottom surfaces of a surfboard, and are unwieldy and awkward to store when not being used to protect it.
Other prior art devices have taught inflatable mats or tubes to protect various surfboard surfaces. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,677 to Moreno proposes a surfboard bag with a pneumatically inflated guard rail for encircling the circumference of the board's side rails. This guard rail comprises a middle tube and two shorter top and bottom tubes configured to collectively fit the edges of the side rails. However, such a device does not provide for the protection of the remaining surfaces of the board, such as the top and bottom surfaces, and the three tube construction of the guard rail may not be sufficient to prevent impact by an object that may penetrate between the tubes to damage the side rails.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,745 to Mechanic discloses a dual purpose surfboard bag that serves both as a sleeping cushion and a board surface protector. Top and bottom pads respectively cover the top and bottom surfaces of the surfboard, and removable and inflatable mats inside the pads protectively sandwich the surfboard while providing a sleeping surface for the surfer. While effective for its intended purpose, the inflatable mats of such a device do not afford adequate protection to all surfaces of the board, especially the side rails, and are not configured to be capable of communication with one another. Further, Mechanic teaches that inflatable mats are to be inserted and fastened into the pads, and that the pads and the mats cooperate to thereafter protect the top and bottom surfaces of the surfboard.
In our previously issued U.S. Pat. No. 7,017,747, we proposed cocoon style inflatable surfboard cover which was closed at the front end and along the opposite sides leaving an opening at the tail end for entry of the surfboard peak first. Devices of this type, while having utility such devices telescopical entry from the rear end of the cocoon style pose certain difficulties in inserting the surfboards. Also, if the interior walls experience any punctures or leaks it is difficult if not impossible to access any such leak for the purpose of patching or the like.
The challenge has been to provide a protective inflatable surfboard cover that is open on its interior for full access thereto but which will also, when closed, provide protection along the rails of the surfboards. It is this solution to which the present invention is directed.
It is this objective which the present invention is directed.
A pair of elongated top and bottom sections formed by a plurality of coextensive inflatable tubes, the sections being connected together along one side to form a hinge for opening the opposite sides along the longitudinal length of the cover. The tubes cooperate to form a nest in the bottom section for receipt of the bottom surface of a surfboard and inflatable rails are constructed to, when the cover section is closed, embrace the periphery of the board to cushion any impacts that might otherwise be applied to the edges of the board. Fasteners are disposed along the free sides of the sections and at the ends for holding the sections closed on a surfboard housed therein.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, the features of the invention.
Referring to
Accomplished surfers take great pride in the selection of high performance surfboards and often travel a great distances and sometimes to somewhat remote areas to have access to ideal surfing waves. Often times surfers travel in groups and each surfer will want to have a surfboard for exercising his or her surfing sport. The surfboard cover of the present invention is constructed to house one or more surfing boards and in the preferred embodiment is constructed to house the surfing boards 41 and 43 as shown in
Surfboards are typically formed at the fore peak with a narrowed fore section having a somewhat pointed end and the sides thereof curve rearwardly and outwardly to a wide mid ship section and then curve gradually rearwardly and inwardly toward one another to form a somewhat blunt aft end extending transversely (alhwartship). In the preferred embodiment, the surfboard cover of the present invention is constructed to simulate this configuration so that the inflated rail cushion tubes 35 and 37 curved inwardly in toward one another in the respective forward and rearward directions to fairly closely follow the contour of the surfboards to hold them in position and cooperate in providing protection to the edges of the surfboard.
In one preferred embodiment, the surfboard cover incorporates a dual-layered construction laminated to form outer and inner layers. The layers may be formed of any desirable material and are preferably formed from a non-permeable, flexible and durable yet lightweight material that will withstand exposure to the elements such as water and sunlight while also being resistant to tearing and puncturing or other damage that may otherwise occur during transport and storage.
The material may be constructed of a plastic vinyl, nylon, gortex, canvas or other materials well-known in the art which provide flexibility and compactness when deflated. The inner layer of the laminated construction may be of a less durable material but is air impermeable to cooperate in holding pressurized air.
As shown in
With continued referenced to
The sections 35 and 37 may include a covering layer 61 which may be formed medially in the area of the hinge 31 with a turn back 63 between the cushioning tubes 35 and 37 on the proximate sides of the respective sections to form the hinge line.
The respective loops 47 may be embedded on one side in the cover layer to receive the fastening straps 49 when the cover sections are closed on each other.
Referring to
With a continued reference to
Referring to
Mounted in corresponding longitudinally spaced relationship along the cushioning tube 37 on the distal side are a plurality of square rings 87 for receipt of the straps 81 so they may be folded back on themselves and secured in fastening relationship as shown in
Referring to
Thus, the partitioning insert 91 when inflated, may be inserted on top of the bottom surfboard 43 (
The surfboard cover device may include a handle 99 mounted along one side of the top or bottom sections for toting of the cover.
In operation, when it is desirable to carry a surfboard to a distant location, the user may utilize a foot or electric pneumatic pump to inflate the respective tubes 21, 23, 35, 37 and 93 through the respective inflation valves. It will be appreciated that in various different configuration, two or more tubes may be joined for communication of air there between so that multiple tubes are inflated simultaneously.
Then, with the cover device in the open position as shown in
In any event, once the straps 81 are secured, in the configuration shown, the insert 91 may be positioned over those straps and the surfboard 91 positioned thereover as shown in
Then, when the destination is reached, the fastener straps 49 may be quickly released and the top and bottom sections opened to the position shown in
It will also be appreciated that, should the protective cover incur a leak or puncture anywhere on the interior exterior surfaces thereof, ready access could be had to the puncture to effect sealing thereof so as to not unduly interfere with the serviceability and effectiveness of the surfboard cover device.
Referring to the embodiment of our invention shown in
In this configuration, we provide a robust plastic zipper, generally designated 125, with the opposite runs 127 and 129 thereof sewn to the peripheral edges of the separable peripheries of the sections 35 and 37 to provide for releasable closure of the cover.
From the foregoing it will be apparent that the pneumatic cover of the present invention provides a lightweight, convenient and effective means for housing a surfboard(s) for transporting thereof.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
3339607 | Howard | Sep 1967 | A |
3949879 | Peterson et al. | Apr 1976 | A |
4719952 | Geronimo | Jan 1988 | A |
4793535 | Johnson | Dec 1988 | A |
4801213 | Frey et al. | Jan 1989 | A |
4951818 | Johnson | Aug 1990 | A |
5033497 | Hernandez | Jul 1991 | A |
5094344 | Savage | Mar 1992 | A |
5174235 | Bamburak et al. | Sep 1992 | A |
5193677 | Moreno | Mar 1993 | A |
5217131 | Andrews | Jun 1993 | A |
5218718 | Chih | Jun 1993 | A |
D337432 | Caffiero | Jul 1993 | S |
6003745 | Mechanic | Dec 1999 | A |
6230951 | Anderson | May 2001 | B1 |
6247985 | Block et al. | Jun 2001 | B1 |
6334537 | Tepper | Jan 2002 | B1 |
6394865 | Arzadon | May 2002 | B1 |
6913803 | Peper | Jul 2005 | B2 |
7017747 | Kiger et al. | Mar 2006 | B2 |
20050284791 | Sadow | Dec 2005 | A1 |
20060016842 | Lu | Jan 2006 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
2389096 | Dec 2003 | GB |
6-144471 | May 1994 | JP |
WO 9309998 | May 1993 | WO |
Entry |
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International Search Report dated Jun. 29, 2009, pp. 1-2. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20090283436 A1 | Nov 2009 | US |