Injection Molded Ski

Information

  • Patent Application
  • 20230293967
  • Publication Number
    20230293967
  • Date Filed
    March 15, 2023
    a year ago
  • Date Published
    September 21, 2023
    9 months ago
  • Inventors
    • Newcomb; John Fitzgerald (Nicasio, CA, US)
    • Lim; Miles Patrick (San Anselmo, CA, US)
  • Original Assignees
    • BananaBlades Corporation (Novato, CA, US)
Abstract
An injection-molded ski includes a ski body and two ski edges attached to opposite edge surfaces of the ski body. The ski body is formed from a uniform material and has top, bottom, and edge surfaces and a binding mounting platform. The binding mounting platform is formed on the top surface and receives a boot binding. The ski edges comprise an edge portion and securing features. In one embodiment, a ski is injection-molded using a molding material, such as glass-reinforced nylon or a combination of one or more suitable materials. A novel mold facilitates injection of molding material around and/or between the securing features thereby locking the edges in place when the molding material cools. Compared to conventional skis, the novel injection-molded ski has improved durability, flexibility, strength, and performance characteristics, reduced manufacturing complexity that avoids typical layup processes, and reduced susceptibility to failure due to moisture or wear.
Description
Claims
  • 1. An apparatus comprising: uniform material forming a body having top, bottom, and edge surfaces and a binding mounting platform formed on the top surface; andtwo edges, wherein each edge is attached to opposite edge surfaces of the body.
  • 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the uniform material comprises a glass-reinforced nylon material.
  • 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the glass-reinforced nylon material is injection-molded to form the body, and wherein the apparatus is a ski.
  • 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the edges are at least partially molded into the body.
  • 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the edges are attached to the edge surfaces to be coplanar with the bottom surface of the body.
  • 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the body is tapered from a center line to the edge surface, and wherein at the centerline the body has a thickness of 1.5 cm and an edge of the body has a thickness of 1 cm.
  • 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the body comprises a front end and a tail end, wherein the body is tapered from a center of the body down to the front end, and wherein the body is tapered from the center of the body down to the tail end.
  • 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the front end includes a tab, and wherein the body is tapered in a horizontal direction so that a width of a middle portion of the body is smaller than widths of front and tail ends.
  • 9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the front end has a width in the range of 8 cm to 22 cm and a thickness of 0.5 cm to 3 cm.
  • 10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the tail end has a width in the range of 5 cm to 20 cm and a thickness of 0.5 cm to 3 cm.
  • 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the body has a length of 20 to 200 cm.
  • 12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the platform has a platform length of 31.5 cm and a platform width of approximately 5 cm.
  • 13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each edge has a length of 40 to 70 cm.
  • 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a middle portion of the body has a width in a range of 7 to 15 cm and a thickness in a range of 0.5 to 4 cm.
  • 15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the binding platform comprises openings that accept mounting hardware to secure the boot binding.
  • 16. A method comprising: securing one or more edges in a first half of a mold, wherein the edges are secured against at least one surface of the first half of the mold;securing a second half of the mold to the first half of the mold to form a cavity; andinjecting material into the cavity to form a body, wherein at least a portion of the one or more edges is molded within the body.
  • 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the material comprises a glass-reinforced nylon material.
  • 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the glass-reinforced nylon material comprises a selected color characteristic, and wherein the method forms a ski or snowboard.
  • 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the selected color characteristic is a yellow color characteristic.
  • 20. The method of claim 16, wherein the one or more edges are molded within the body to be coplanar with a bottom surface of the body.
  • 21-28. (canceled)
Provisional Applications (1)
Number Date Country
63320093 Mar 2022 US