The invention relates to accessories for use with aquatic floatation devices, and more particularly to a retractable handle assembly for mounting flush within an aquatic floatation device such as a surfboard, paddle board, wind-surfboard, and the like.
Surfboards have been widely available for many years, and more recently sailboards, paddle boards and related aquatic floatation devices have become increasingly popular. Surfboards exist in various sizes and shapes; for example, shortboards and longboards. Longboards are typically greater than 2.4 meters (8 feet) in length measured from nose to tail. In contrast, shortboards are typically less than 1.8 meters (6 feet) in length.
Because the center of gravity of a standing person above a paddle board is significantly expanded above the water line, paddle boards typically require an increase in one or more of length, width, and thickness of the board. The increased size results in at least two problems.
First, a wide board, especially one having a width greater than 50 centimeters (20 inches), is difficult to carry. Typical surfboards are usually carried underarm. This becomes impossible with large boards. One can be injured by overextending one's arm in an attempt to carry an oversized board.
Second, the added mass from increased bulk of oversized boards presents additional problems. For example, these boards often become too heavy for a person to carry under the arm, or even above the head when using two hands each grasping an opposite rail. Additionally, the sea often creates strong winds which are beneficial to sailing and other aquatic activities; however a rider carrying an oversized board can become injured from winds blowing against the board if the individual does not having a strong grasp of the board.
Without an appropriate grip of the board, the board can slip from the arm and become damaged from hitting the ground. Additionally, wind can force the board out from a weak grip and can cause damage to the board or injury to the person carrying the board.
There have been many attempts to improve the function of carrying oversized aquatic floatation devices such as longboards and paddle boards.
For example, Chock, Jr., U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010/0187274 discloses a wearable rack for carrying a stand-up surfboard, also referred to herein as a paddle board. One problem with this design includes having to leave the carrier at the beach when paddling out on the board. The carrier can therefore become easily picked up by the rise of tides and drift away, or be stolen. Additionally, if a rider were to take the carrier into the surf, the carrier might easily be lost or even become a hazard should the carry carrier strap wrap around a riders body. Whether left on shore or taken into the surf, the carrier described in this application is problematic for at least the reasons set forth above.
Another attempt to improve carrying of oversized surf boards includes the embodiments disclosed in Conroy, U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,551. This reference discloses a lightweight carrier made of PVC and foam, the carrier attaches to the board and a second attachment includes a handle for strapping on the board such that a user can pull the strapped handle and wheel the board to the surf. One problem with this carrier is that the wheels would be difficult to move through the sand at a beach. Additionally, there are several attachment components which can each become lost if left at the beach while the rider paddles out. Additionally, it would be inconvenient to haul the carrier into the surf.
It is also difficult to secure a recreational floatation board on top or against the side of a vehicle, or on a luggage rack due to the lack of grasping structure.
The principal and secondary objects of the invention are to provide an improved water craft carrying mechanism. These and other objects are achieved by a recreational floatation board having a retracting carrying handle packaged into a housing buried into a cavity formed into the board with an opening lying substantially flush with the top surface. The disclosed carrying handle may also be incorporated into other types of floatation devices such as canoes, kayaks and boat hulls.
Referring now to the drawing, there is shown in
As illustrated in
The housing 17 includes a quadrangular peripheral wall 23, a roof 24, and a bottom plate 25. The roof has an oblong aperture 26 through which the oblong member can be extracted.
The manual extraction is facilitated by a finger-inserting notch 27 in the periphery of the aperture. A bulging bead 28 is formed on the rim of the aperture and notch. The bead extends to a height H commensurate with the thickness of the skin 16. During the manufacture of the board, the housing is buried into a commensurately shaped cavity in the slab to the top of the roof, and the skin section covering the top surface is extended over the roof to the edge of the bead as illustrated in
The bottom plate 25 is bonded or snap-fitted, sonic welded or otherwise secured to the lower edge 29 of the wall 23 after the handle assembly has been inserted through the base of the housing. It is important to note that the handle assembly can be made symmetrically so that it can be inserted in a first orientation or rotated 180 degrees about a central axis parallel with an elongation axis of a shaft 19 and inserted. Such universality can reduce assembly costs. The wall tapers inwardly toward the bottom plate at dwell angle A of approximately 0.25 to 1 degree, and more preferably about 0.5 degree in order to facilitate extraction of the housing from its mold during manufacture. The bottom plate extends peripherally beyond the lower edge of the wall into a narrow ledge 30 which can carry an amount of adhesive for bonding the housing to the slab and can oppose extraction of the housing from the cavity. The edge 31 of the bottom plate can taper inwardly from the ledge to enhance penetration movement but resist extraction movement of the housing with respect to the slab.
As illustrated in
Two radial nibs 37,43 positioned at opposite ends of each shaft project into a small track 38 in the well 20 and frictionally contact an upper shelf 42 when the grasping member is either extracted completely from of pushed down into its well, and acts as immobilizing detents. The former action can also be achieved by slightly tapering the channels downwardly and outwardly to cause some friction against the wells and releasably immobilize the handle assembly in the extracted position.
The roof 24 is pierced with a series of bores 39 to facilitate evacuation of water, sand and debris that may accumulate inside the housing. In order to generate turbulence and maximize the expulsion of sand and debris when the handle assembly is pushed back into the housing, the shafts are preferably tubular and have a notched portion 40 at their base. During retraction of the handle, ambient water can be forced through notched portions to form a water jet to agitate the ambient water and thus suspend the sand and debris for evacuation. The notches in both shafts are oriented to oppose one another in order to maximize turbulence where the jets meet one another.
In addition, the wells 20 are structurally reinforced within the housing by a plural number of spaced apart gussets 60 connecting the wells to the peripheral wall 23 of the housing 17 to form a number of adjacent chambers 63 surrounding the area of the aperture 26. The gussets 60 can terminate a distance D1 above the bottom plate 25, and the wells 20 can terminate a distance
D2 above the bottom plate to create an expensive open space extending fully across the inner top surface 61 of the bottom plate to the inner surfaces of the peripheral wall 23. The distance D2 can be smaller than D1 to provide a bearing surface to the shafts during their entire range of motion between the extended and retracted positions. In this way, agitation can spread across the entire inner top surface 61 of the bottom plate to maintain suspension of debris until drained out. Repeated extension and retraction of the handle shafts 19 along the wells 20 cause a self-cleansing action for the interior of the housing. It's important to note that the gussets 60 can extend vertically to attach to the underside 62 of the roof 24 for added strength and stability, and to avoid interior voids which can be more costly to manufacture. At least one of the bores 39 is provided for fluid communication therethrough between each chamber 63 and the top of the roof 24 to facilitate drainage and air intake for each chamber.
In addition, and optionally, a portion of the outer surface of the oblong member 57 of the handle can be covered with a layer 58 of durable, resiliently compressible material such as a synthetic rubber-type material. The layer can be secondarily molded upon the member after the rigid part of the handle has been molded. The layer terminates at angled edges 59 so as not to cover the outer surface of the shafts 60,61 extending orthogonally downward from the opposite ends of the oblong member. This also allows the radial locking nibs 63 to remain unimpeded and thus free to detentedly engage the shelf in the housing track. The resilient material layer 58 allows for more comfortable extended duration grasping by a user while not interfering with the other functions of the retractable handle device.
The instant invention thus provides a convenient implement for holding and carrying a recreational or utilitarian floatation structure such as a canoe, kayak, surfboard, sailboard or paddle board. It can also be used for conveniently and securely fastening the structure to an automobile rack using straps, or bicycle rack using a cable or chain to avoid theft. The grasping handle is completely contained in the housing buried under the top surface of the structure, leaving no protruding part that could interfere with its normal use or operation. The grasping handle can be released from its secured stowed position and extracted into a stable functional position above the surface of the structure with an easy pull of a finger.
While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, modifications may be made and other embodiment may be devised without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/275,790 filed Oct. 18, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. ______, issued which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61394340 filed Oct. 18, 2010, U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61444065 filed Feb. 17, 2011, and U.S. Provisional Application 61468363 filed Mar. 28, 2011.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61444065 | Feb 2011 | US | |
61468363 | Mar 2011 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 13275790 | Oct 2011 | US |
Child | 14306881 | US |