Patent Application
20180072389
N/A
Wakesurfing is a sport in which an individual rides the wake of a boat without being directly pulled by the boat. Most boats do not naturally produce a wake that is suitable (e.g., large enough and/or with a smooth enough face) for surfing. Therefore, a number of different devices and techniques have been created to modify the wake that is produced by a boat. For example, ballast (or weight) may be added to one side of the boat to cause it to ride lower in the water. Although reasonably effective, weighting the boat in this manner is dangerous since the boat will be much more likely to take on water or even capsize. It can also be difficult to drive a boat while it is listed to one side. Additionally, when using ballast, switching which side the surfer will ride on can be a very tedious process since the ballast will need to be emptied from the one side and then filled on the other.
To address the downsides of using ballast to produce a suitable wake, some wake enhancing devices have been created. These wake enhancers are typically in the form of a device that attaches to one side of the boat towards the stern. Although the exact mechanism by which such devices enhance the wake is beyond the scope of this specification, suffice it to say that such devices alter the flow of water around one side of the boat thereby enhancing the wake on the opposite side of the boat.
There are a number of downsides to the various wake enhancing devices currently available. For example, it can be difficult to secure these devices to the boat—especially in a manner that may not require permanent alteration/damage to the boat.
The present invention extends to a wake enhancer that is configured to be quickly and easily coupled to and decoupled from a boat even when the boat is in water and without requiring any modification/alteration to the boat. In this way, the wake enhancer of the present invention can be coupled to a desired side of the boat in any suitable location or orientation.
In one embodiment, a wake enhancer can include: a base having a front end and a rear end; an arm extending outwardly and rearwardly from the base, the arm forming a forward facing surface for diverting the flow of water when the wake enhancer is coupled to a boat; opposing sidewalls that extend between the base and the arm to provide support to the arm, the opposing sidewalls being positioned towards the front end of the base; and one or more suction cup assemblies that are secured to the base and configured to couple the wake enhancer to a hull of a boat.
In another embodiment, the wake enhancer can include: a base having a front end and a rear end; an arm extending outwardly and rearwardly from the base, the arm forming a forward facing surface for diverting the flow of water when the wake enhancer is coupled to a boat; opposing sidewalls that extend between the base and the arm to provide support to the arm; and one or more suction cup assemblies, each suction cup assembly comprising: a suction cup positioned below the base; a handle extending through the base; and an engagement lever positioned above the base, the engagement lever configured to pivot with respect to the handle between and engaged and a disengaged position.
In another embodiment, the wake enhancer can include: a base having a front end and a rear end; an arm extending outwardly and rearwardly from the base, the arm forming a forward facing surface for diverting the flow of water when the wake enhancer is coupled to a boat; opposing sidewalls that extend between the base and the arm to provide support to the arm, the opposing sidewalls having recessed ends; and one or more suction cup assemblies, at least one of the suction cup assemblies being positioned rearwardly from the recessed ends, each suction cup assembly comprising: a suction cup positioned below the base; a handle extending through the base; and an engagement lever positioned above the base, the engagement lever configured to pivot with respect to the handle between and engaged and a disengaged position.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter.
Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:
Base 101 can extend between a front end 100a and a rear end 100b of wake enhancer 100. In this context, “front” refers to the fact that wake enhancer 100 is intended to be coupled to a boat with front end 100a facing the front of the boat. Arm 102 emanates from base 101 at front end 100a such that arm 102 forms a forward facing surface that extends outwardly from the boat's hull in a rearward direction when wake enhancer 100 is coupled to the hull. Wake enhancer 100 is intended to be coupled to the hull below the water surface so that arm 102 diverts the flow of water outwardly as the boat moves forward. As best seen in
Sidewalls 103a, 103b extend between base 101 and arm 102 along the frontward region of base 101. In other words, sidewalls 103a, 103b extend in a lengthwise direction from front end 100a to approximately a midpoint between front end 100a and rear end 100b thereby forming side openings into the interior space between base 101 and arm 102. In this embodiment, sidewalls 103a, 103b include recessed (or inwardly curved) ends 103a1, 103b1 respectively. Recessed ends 103a1, 103b1 provide additional access into the interior of wake enhancer 100 without overly compromising the structural reinforcement that sidewalls 103a, 103b provide to arm 102. In some embodiments, base 101, arm 102, and sidewalls 103a, 103b can be molded as an integral structure to thereby enhance the structural integrity of wake enhancer 100.
As is best seen in
First opening 101a extends lengthwise along a longitudinal axis of base 101 and serves as an opening through which handles and engagement levers of suction cup assemblies 151, 152 extend. First opening 101a is positioned towards rear end 100b so that suction cup assemblies 151, 152 will also be positioned towards rear end 100b. In this way, when water applies an inward force on arm 102 (e.g., an inward force perpendicular to arm 102), the inward force will be directed towards suction cup assemblies 151, 152 thereby reinforcing the coupling of wake enhancer 100 to the boat. In contrast, if suction cup assemblies 151, 152 were instead positioned towards front end 100a (or even in front of arm 102), the torsional force caused by the water may create a pivoting force at rear end 100b that may work against the suction force. Accordingly, it is preferable to position suction cup assemblies 151, 152 below the center of pressure from arm 102, normal to base 101, and towards rear end 100b.
Arm 102 is angled relative to the direction of water flow in such a way as to induce an inward force against suction cup assemblies 151, 152 that couple the device to the hull as mentioned above. Angling arm 102 in this manner minimizes the amount of torsional force that would otherwise be created if arm 102 were instead oriented perpendicular or nearly perpendicular to the direction of water flow (as well as to the hull). Accordingly, the orientation of arm 102 enhances the coupling between suction cup assemblies 151, 152 and the hull.
As best shown in
Handle 151b/152b extends upwardly from suction cup 151a/152a (or from the housing when one is employed) and remains stationary with respect to base 101. In contrast, as represented by the arrow in
First opening 101a is sized and configured to accommodate two suction cup assemblies. However, this need not be the case. In some embodiments, a wake enhancer may only include a single suction cup assembly or may include more than two suction cup assemblies. In any case, it may be desirable to include at least two suction cup assemblies to prevent wake enhancer 100 from rotating once secured to the hull. More specifically, if wake enhancer 100 only included a single suction cup assembly, it would be more likely to rotate around this single point of coupling. In contrast, with two points of coupling, it will be unlikely that wake enhancer 100 would rotate.
As may be best seen in
Another benefit of forming sidewalls 103a, 103b with recessed ends 103a1, 103b1 is that it reduces the surface area of sidewalls 103a, 103b against which water may apply a force. More specifically, in some cases, wake enhancer 100 may be coupled to the boat at an angle relative to the water plane (i.e., so that sidewalls 103a, 103b are not parallel to the direction of water flow). In these cases, the reduced surface area of sidewalls 103a, 103b can minimize the amount of force that is applied against the sidewall which in turn should minimize any impact the angled orientation may have on the performance of wake enhancer 100.
As is shown in
In any case, by forming a channel within arm 202, wake enhancer 200 can more efficiently direct the flow of water outwardly away from the boat. Another benefit of arm 202 is that the channel allows fine tuning of a wake. More specifically, because of the channel, water will be more effectively diverted along arm 202. Therefore, by orienting wake enhancer 200 at an angle with respect to the water plane, the direction of water flow with respect to the boat and therefore the direction of force applied to the boat, can be fine-tuned without changing the relative position of wake enhancer 200 on the boat.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description.
