1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices for carrying objects such as surfboards, standup paddleboards (SUP), snow board, snow skies, and the like.
2. Background
The following is a tabulation of some prior art the presently appears relevant:
Carrying an article like a surfboard or stand up paddleboard (SUP) to and from the water has always been a problem since the inception of surfing. Surfboard designers design surfboards to facilitate their functionality while in the water. The width of a surfboard or SUP contributes to its floating capability and thus its performance. As the width of the board increases to improve performance, it becomes more difficult to carry. In some cases, people's arms are just not long enough to carrier the surfboard or SUP. As result, many individuals have made attempts to solve this problem of carrying a surfboard to the water. These include the Sling for Surfboard (U.S. Pat. No. 3,777,007), Surfboard Carrier (U.S. Pat. No. 3,591,063), Foldable protective cover and carrier for sports equipment (U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,380), Carrying harness for surfboards and the like (U.S. Pat. No. 4,804,025), Surfboard carry case (U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,344), Sailboard carrying apparatus (U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,989), Surfboard or sailboard carrier (U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,551), System transport of machine water sport as, for example the windsurfing (U.S. Pat. No. 2,490,597), Transport protection for surfing equipment (U.S. Pat. No. 3,225,842), Carrying harness for rectangular or oval body and accessories (U.S. Pat. No. 8,501,194), Board sling (20050236450) and Devices and Methods for Carrying and Storing a Surfboard (20080057805).
All the above designs have had some deficiency in their approach. Two of the above patents U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,591,063 and 5,823,551 each require the use of at least one hand, thereby limiting the user's ability to carry other important equipment such as a wetsuit, cooler, towel, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,777,007, PCT 8501194 and PCT 20080057805 each consist of two straps and some initial setup adjustments prior to use for the size of the surfboard and size of the user. A new setup would be required for a different user or a different size surfboard. This increases the time to utilize the device and discourages its use.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,483,380, 4,724,989 and 4,804,025 each utilize bars or rods in their approach. This complicates the assembly, has multiple parts and when not in use these bars and rods require additional area when transporting and storing them.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,344, PCT 20050236450, German Pat. No. 3225842 and France Pat. No. 2490597 are carrier style bags or blankets. The bag/blanket approach requires enough material to cover the surfboard which increases the cost to manufacture, store and ship.
Besides the deficiencies as described above, all of these solutions miss the one key element of the problem: a user needs to carry surfboards “from” the waters edge. The ocean is a dynamic environment such that the entry and exit point of the water may not be the same. The ocean's longshore currents (side currents) could move the user hundreds of yards down the shore from where they entered. Therefore, what is needed is an apparatus that can go with the user into the water and be readily available for use upon exit.
In accordance with one embodiment, a sports equipment carrier which can be worn comprises a fixed loop, a buckle that can slide along the fixed loop and a strap element extending past the fixed loop attachment point. The strap element, working with the buckle creates a secondary adjustable loop having a user-defined size. The user can carry a surfboard or other object by using the fixed loop over a shoulder and the secondary adjustable loop around the surfboard. When not utilized as a carrier, the device can be worn, such as a belt. To use as a belt, the user keeps the fixed loop compressed together, wraps the carrier around his/her waist, through the buckle and then attaches it back onto itself.
Accordingly several advantages of one or more aspects are as follows: 1) the single strap carrier solution is very simple which makes it convenient and easy to use, 2) the weight of the object being carried causes the secondary adjustable loop to auto-tighten ensuring that the surfboard or other object is securely held in place allowing hands free operation, 3) the adjustability of the secondary loop allows a single embodiment to wrap many sizes surfboards or other objects and adjusts from a child size to a grown male adult, 4) the carrier can be made from a soft material that will not damage the surfboard, 5) the single strap carrier design conveniently converts to a belt that allows it to travel with the user, 6) when it is not utilized to carry a surfboard or worn as a belt it can be folded together to reduce its size for convenient storage and 7) the single strap carrier embodiment also makes it less expensive to manufacture. These and other benefits for one or more aspects will become apparent from consideration of the following description and accompanying drawings.
I have included seven drawing sheets consisting of seventeen figures.
The dashed lines of the individual and surfboard shown in
One embodiment of the sports equipment carrier which can be worn is shown in
The sports equipment carrier can be used to carry a surfboard or other object (SUP, snow board, snow skies, sports equipment bags, mountain bicycles, firewood, lumber, etc.) by wrapping it around the lengthwise center of the surfboard, or object, at roughly the center of mass. To utilize the carrier, the user can lay the carrier with the hook surface of the tongue 28 facing the ground. Slide the buckle 22 to approximately the center fold-over point of the fixed loop 24 leaving it easily accessible when the surfboard is in place. Lay the surfboard onto the carrier so its approximate center of mass is on top of the carrier and the length of the surfboard is perpendicular to the length of the carrier (see
While an embodiment(s) of the sports equipment carrier has distinct advantages over one or more aspects of prior art in that it is quick to install (approximately 15 seconds), its auto-tightening (holding the surfboard in place), and easily adjustable for many sizes (in seconds), it also has the distinct advantage over prior art for its ability to convert into a belt and travel with the user.
This belt is accomplished by putting the carrier in a full-length position and sliding the buckle 22 to the end which is approximately the center fold-over point of the fixed loop 24. The user shall position the carrier around the waist of his/her body with the buckle 22 in one hand the tongue 28 in the other with both the hook and loop surfaces facing away from the body. Take the tongue 28 of the strap element 20 and wrap it around the waist and feed it through the buckle 22 and fold it back onto the attachment-surface 30 forming a belt held in place by the hook/loop type attachment (see
Another embodiment(s) of sports equipment carrier can be made for users whose waist size is proportionally smaller with respect to the width of the surfboard. For this embodiment the user makes a smaller belt by first folding the carrier back on itself. To do this a hook length-reducer 32 and a loop length-reducer 34 are added to the carrier. The loop reducer 34 is not required if the attachment-surface 30 extends the entire length of the sports equipment carrier as shown in
The hook length-reducer 32 can be made from a hook fastener with a length of 6.35 cm (2.5″). Position the hook reducer 32 so that when the hook/loop connection is made the folded carrier length becomes the same length as the attachment-surface 30 as described above (for example 1.1 m (44″)). When a folded carrier has an attachment-surface 30 length of 1.1 m (44″) the carrier will accommodate a waist size from 1.1 m (44″) down to half that length or 0.55 m (22″). Attach the hook reducer 32 on the same side of the webbing as the junction point 26. In this embodiment, attach hook reducer 32 with the hook surface facing in towards the webbing (the reason for this will soon become evident). In addition, attach only a portion (approximately 20%) of the hook material (approximately 1.27 cm (0.5″)) to the webbing leaving the majority of the hook surface (5.08 cm (2″)) available to fold up and mate with the loop.
Attaching the hook surface facing the webbing has two advantages. The first advantage is that the smooth side, and not the hook surface, is exposed to surface wax when wrapping and carrying a surfboard. This prevents wax build up on the hook surface interfering with it ability to function as loop fastener receiver. The second advantage increases the structural strength of the hook and loop connection. The ocean can be a turbulent environment with many forces acting at many angles. With the hook facing the webbing it takes more perpendicular force upon the strap element 20 to break the hook/loop connection and thus there is a lower probably the ocean will break their attachment apart resulting in the loss of the belt.
As described above the attachment-surface 30 or loop reducer 34 can be connected to the hook reducer 32 (see
These are not the only embodiments of my invention. Alternatively:
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/140,382, filed on 30 Mar. 2015 entitled “Surfboard Sling which can be worn while surfing” pursuant to 35 USC 119, which application is incorporated fully herein by reference.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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3777007 | Gould et al. | Dec 1973 | A |
3920166 | Hogensen, Jr. | Nov 1975 | A |
3947927 | Rosenthal | Apr 1976 | A |
4483380 | Beran | Nov 1984 | A |
4724989 | Silberberg | Feb 1988 | A |
4804025 | Bear | Feb 1989 | A |
5094344 | Savage | Mar 1992 | A |
5110023 | Colin | May 1992 | A |
D390001 | Lovelady et al. | Feb 1998 | S |
5823551 | Conroy | Oct 1998 | A |
D657553 | Benson | Apr 2012 | S |
D703950 | Vitale | May 2014 | S |
20040056060 | Iannini et al. | Mar 2004 | A1 |
20050236450 | Iannini | Oct 2005 | A1 |
20080057805 | Alexander | Mar 2008 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
3225842 | Feb 1984 | DE |
2490597 | Mar 1982 | FR |
8501194 | Mar 1985 | WO |
9501112 | Jan 1995 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20160286940 A1 | Oct 2016 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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62140382 | Mar 2015 | US |