Patent Application
20080220672
The present invention relates generally to a mechanism whereby a locking force is provided to secure a fin, blade, or other device to another object, and more particularly to a spring-mediated locking device to secure a fin to a watercraft such as a surfboard, wakeboard, windsurfer, kite board, kneeboard, body board, or other related craft.
Users of watercraft boards generally only have two methods of securing fins to their board. In particular, the user has to use either a set of screws or a snap mechanism, to attach the fins. The screw method may be quite time consuming for the watercraft user to practice. Additionally, screw and snap mechanisms may necessitate the use of multiple moving parts, any of which might be subject to rusting, failure, and stress fatigue.
Typically, toe and heel locking mechanisms, as described in the art, have a fin with a front end that has a detent or other feature that toes into the front end of the fin box to lock it into position. At the rear of the fin is a latch, whereby a linear spring may be used to latch the rear of fin into the fin box. A coil at one end of the spring moves into a cavity location within the fin box. The tension in the spring holds the spring coil in the fin box rear detent in order for the fin to stay engaged and in position.
Toe and heel locking mechanisms are prone to failure, as the locking forces are horizontal to the bottom plane of the watercraft. Other toe and heel variations have locking mechanism without springs. Typically, a toe is locked into position using a T-slot, or other configuration. The fin typically has a forward pin, or other attachment piece, that is usually positioned at 90 degrees from the fin box. The pin moves downward into the capture slot and the fin is then pushed forward so that the toe of the fin is locked into position. Another detent at the rear of the fin, or another T-pin or like capture piece, moves downward into the fin box slot and is locked down by a vertically moving lever or a cylindrically positioned cam lever.
Typically, in the variations mentioned above, an end-user has to provide a counter force along the horizontal plane to disengage the locking mechanisms. The reason this is undesirable is that in many watercraft situations a user might encounter such horizontal forces from the environment, for example, the watercraft fins might be exposed to such horizontal forces from contact with kelp, rocks, ropes, wood, sand, other watercraft, etc., and such contact could trigger the unwanted partial or full release of a fin. Therefore, prior art fin attachment systems may be prone to both mechanical and common use failures, and also may be too complicated to allow an user to quickly and effectively change his or her fin choices to adapt to a given situation.
The present invention provides a user-friendly fin attachment mechanism for assorted watercraft that does not involve screws, snaps, and or heel and toe locking devices. According to various embodiments, the fin attachment may be based upon the concept of spring locking. Additionally, in various embodiments, the systems and methods described herein may be based on the concept of vertical, instead of horizontal, locking forces for fin attachment to watercraft. Generally, springs used in fin attachment devices are only utilized as horizontal force conductors to provide for the sliding of a fin part into a catch or snap mechanism.
In some embodiments, a spring in fin attachment system utilizes the spring force as the actual locking mechanism, wherein insertion and desertion forces are designed into the spring. In one embodiment, the spring may be designed so that the insertion force is less than the desertion force. In some embodiments, the fin box designs may not compromise the flow of water moving across the bottom of a watercraft. The fin box designs may be circular or box shaped, but one skilled in the art could envision many other shape variants.
Some example embodiments differ from previous designs in that they have almost no moving parts, and no levers or cams that may wear out. For example, in one embodiment, the only moving part is the action of the spring as it clamps around a circular gland located at the distal end of one or more pins extruded from the bottom of the fin. In some embodiments, the only potential for wear and tear issues might be with the circular canted spring located in the watercraft fin box. In some embodiments, such a spring may be easily removed and replaced within seconds.
One embodiment provides a new concept of vertical force locking versus the horizontal locking known in prior art systems. Generally, the potential of encountering a force that would push vertically against the fin while conducting watercraft related activities may be extremely low. Accordingly, in some cases, a fin of the invention might be less likely to be disconnected during such watercraft related activities.
Other features and aspects 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 in accordance with embodiments of the invention. The summary is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined solely by the claims attached hereto.
The present invention, in accordance with one or more various embodiments, is described in detail with reference to the following figures. The drawings are provided for purposes of illustration only and merely depict typical or example embodiments of the invention. These drawings are provided to facilitate the reader's understanding of the invention and shall not be considered limiting of the breadth, scope, or applicability of the invention. It should be noted that for clarity and ease of illustration these drawings are not necessarily made to scale.
Some of the figures included herein illustrate various embodiments of the invention from different viewing angles. Although the accompanying descriptive text may refer to such views as “top,” “bottom” or “side” views, such references are merely descriptive and do not imply or require that the invention be implemented or used in a particular spatial orientation unless explicitly stated otherwise.
These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which:
The present invention is directed toward fin attachment devices and methods based upon the concept of spring locking. In one embodiment, the fin attachment devices described herein may be based on the concept of vertical, instead of horizontal, locking forces for fin attachment to watercraft.
Before describing the invention in detail, it is useful to describe an example environment with which the invention can be implemented. One such example is that of a surfboard. A surfboard is a type of watercraft that is generally longer than it is wide. The board generally forms a buoyant deck that a surfer may stand on while surfing. It will be understood, however, that surfboards may also for used for paddling, e.g., while sitting, laying, etc. Additionally, other methods of propulsion may be attached to the surfboard, such as a sail, e.g., for windsurfing. Many modern surfboards may be made of polystyrene or polyurethane foam. The boards may be covered with one or more layers of fiberglass cloth and a resin such as polyester or epoxy resin.
Various embodiments of the fin attachment devices and methods disclosed herein may be used in conjunction with surfboards and other watercraft. In some embodiments, the fin attachment devices and methods disclosed herein are based upon the concept of spring locking. In some embodiments, the spring locking may be part of the surfboard. For example, in one embodiment, a canted spring might be part of a housing built into a surfboard. This housing might receive a shaft that may be held in place by the canted spring. In another embodiment, the canted spring might be part of the fin assembly. In various embodiments, the systems and methods described herein may be based on the concept of vertical, rather than of horizontal, locking forces for fin attachment to watercraft.
From time-to-time, the present invention is described herein in terms of these example environments. Description in terms of these environments is provided to allow the various features and embodiments of the invention to be portrayed in the context of an exemplary application. After reading this description, it will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art how the invention can be implemented in different and alternative environments. For example, in some embodiments, other types of watercraft, in addition to surfboards, might benefit from the systems and methods described herein.
The present invention is directed toward methods and systems for providing fin attachment devices and methods. The figures are for the purposes of illustrating a fin locking system for watercraft and not for the purposes of limiting the scope of the embodiments disclosed herein.
As discussed above,
Referring now to
The fin cavity 190 formed in the watercraft may be sized slightly smaller than the outer periphery of the wedge lip 182 but slightly larger than the outer periphery of the reduced size base 180, as shown in
Referring now to
As illustrated in
In some embodiments, the undercut grooves 278A, 278B, and 280 may be cut such that the groove is less than half of the thickness of a coil in the canted-coil spring 282. In some embodiments, the undercut grooves 278A, 278B, and 280 may be cut so that the total thickness of the grooves 278A and 280 or 278B and 280 are approximately the same as the thickness of a coil in the canted-coil spring 282. The dimensions might vary from implementation to implementation; however, these dimensions may be selected so that the canted-coil spring provides enough pressure to hold, for example, a fin attached to a watercraft.
A canted-coil spring 282 may be inserted into the second undercut groove 280. In some embodiments, a canted coil spring may be a round-wire spring with inclining (canted), elliptical coils that deflect independently when compressed. The entire spring responds whenever any portion of the coil is deflected, permitting uniform loading at each contact point. By way of example and not limitation, a canted-coil spring 282 sold under the trademark BALSEAL Engineering of Foothill Ranch, Calif. may be inserted into the second undercut groove 280.
In
In one embodiment, the canted spring 300 includes a housing 302. The canted-coil spring 300 may be selected to fit in a groove or channel in the housing 302. Additionally, the housing 302 may be configured to receive a shaft 304. In one embodiment, the post may be part of a fin. In another embodiment, the post may be configured to be attached to a fin. The shaft 304 might include a groove 306. When the shaft 304 is inserted in the fin box 302, canted-coil spring 300 may hold the shaft 304 in place by contacting the groove 306. The example illustrated in
The example embodiment of
Returning to
In another embodiment, the post(s) might be attached to a watercraft, while the receptacle that receives the posts might be part of or attached to the device to be attached to the watercraft. For example, in one embodiment, a watercraft might include a pair of posts inserted into receptacles in a fin securing the fin to the watercraft using the canted-coil springs. It will be understood that the receptacles in the fin may, in some cases be part of the fin, while in other embodiments, the receptacles might be a separate assembly attached to the fin.
The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein. Further, the various features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments.
While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not of limitation. Likewise, the various diagrams may depict an example architectural or other configuration for the invention, which is done to aid in understanding the features and functionality that can be included in the invention. The invention is not restricted to the illustrated example architectures or configurations, but the desired features can be implemented using a variety of alternative architectures and configurations. Indeed, it will be apparent to one of skill in the art how alternative functional, logical or physical partitioning and configurations can be implemented to implement the desired features of the present invention. In addition, a multitude of different constituent module names other than those depicted herein can be applied to the various partitions. Additionally, with regard to flow diagrams, operational descriptions and method claims, the order in which the steps are presented herein shall not mandate that various embodiments be implemented to perform the recited functionality in the same order unless the context dictates otherwise.
Although the invention is described above in terms of various exemplary embodiments and implementations, it should be understood that the various features, aspects and functionality described in one or more of the individual embodiments are not limited in their applicability to the particular embodiment with which they are described. These example embodiments may instead be applied, alone or in various combinations, to one or more of the other embodiments of the invention. This is true whether or not such embodiments are described and whether or not such features are presented as being a part of a described embodiment. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments.
Terms and phrases used in this document, and variations thereof, unless otherwise expressly stated, should be construed as open ended as opposed to limiting. As examples of the foregoing: the term “including” should be read as meaning “including, without limitation” or the like; the term “example” is used to provide exemplary instances of the item in discussion, not an exhaustive or limiting list thereof, the terms “a” or “an” should be read as meaning “at least one,” “one or more,” or the like; and adjectives such as “conventional,” “traditional,” “normal,” “standard,” “known” and terms of similar meaning should not be construed as limiting the item described to a given time period or to an item available as of a given time, but instead should be read to encompass conventional, traditional, normal, or standard technologies that may be available or known now or at any time in the future. Likewise, where this document refers to technologies that would be apparent or known to one of ordinary skill in the art, such technologies encompass those apparent or known to the skilled artisan now or at any time in the future.
A group of items linked with the conjunction “and” should not be read as requiring that each and every one of those items be present in the grouping, but rather should be read as “and/or” unless expressly stated otherwise. Similarly, a group of items linked with the conjunction “or” should not be read as requiring mutual exclusivity among that group, but rather should also be read as “and/or” unless expressly stated otherwise. Furthermore, although items, elements or components of the invention may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated to be within the scope thereof unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated.
The presence of broadening words and phrases such as “one or more,” “at least,” “but not limited to” or other like phrases in some instances shall not be read to mean that the narrower case is intended or required in instances where such broadening phrases may be absent. The use of the term “module” does not imply that the components or functionality described or claimed as part of the module are all configured in a common package. Indeed, any or all of the various components of a module, whether control logic or other components, can be combined in a single package or separately maintained and can further be distributed across multiple locations.
Additionally, the various embodiments set forth herein are described in terms of exemplary block diagrams, flow charts and other illustrations. As will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after reading this document, the illustrated embodiments and their various alternatives can be implemented without confinement to the illustrated examples. For example, block diagrams and their accompanying description should not be construed as mandating a particular architecture or configuration.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/655,651, filed on Jan. 19, 2007, which claims the benefit of Provisional Patent Application No. 60/760,855, filed on Jan. 20, 2006, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60760855 | Jan 2006 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 11655651 | Jan 2007 | US |
| Child | 11955295 | US |
