Abstract:
A water board for use by a child or young person for play in the water includes a board-mounted spray mechanism manually-operable for enabling the rider to selectively spray metered amounts of water outwardly from a barrel mounted on the spray mechanism.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/544,786, filed Feb. 13, 2004, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to children&#39;s toys, and more particularly to a novel board, similar in size to a kickboard for use in a swimming pool or lake, which is provided with a manually-operable spray mechanism. The board can be used by a child or young person for paddling around in the water, and the board-mounted spray mechanism is manually-operable for enabling the rider to selectively spray metered amounts of water outwardly from a barrel mounted on the spray mechanism. The spraying action enables the child paddling around on the board to play with other children, by spraying them with water thereby to enhance play value of a kickboard. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0003]      FIG. 1A  is a perspective view, showing a child using the board of the present invention to spray water from a nozzle or barrel mounted on front of the board;  
         [0004]      FIG. 1B  is a perspective view of the board of the present invention;  
         [0005]      FIG. 1C  is a view taken along lines C-C of  FIG. 1B ;  
         [0006]      FIG. 2  is a top plan view of the board of the present invention;  
         [0007]      FIG. 3  is a bottom plan view of the board of the present invention;  
         [0008]      FIG. 4  is a bottom view, with portions of the spray assembly and pump mechanism cut away; and  
         [0009]      FIG. 5  is an enlarged view of the barrel. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0010]     As shown in  FIG. 1A , a paddle or kickboard is generally indicated at  10 , shown with a young person riding the board in water, and pulling or actuating triggers for ejecting water spray, generally indicated at S, originating from water drawn from a pool in which the child is paddling. As shown in  FIG. 1B , board  10  is shown without the child riding, and features of the board are as follows. The board includes a top surface  12  spaced apart from a bottom surface  13  (see  FIG. 3 ), so that the bulk of the board, formed of molded plastic material, is essentially hollow between its top and bottom surfaces. The board includes spaced-apart, laterally positioned openings  14 ,  16  formed within the board which enable mounting of pivotal handles or triggers, a left one being shown at  18  and a right one being shown at  20 . The triggers are deployed by actuating valves to permit water to be drawn from the pool, or lake as the case may be, and ejected or sprayed under pressure from a barrel, such as indicated at  22 . As shown in  FIG. 1B , barrel  22  is pivotally mounted within a dome-like structure  24  which is in turn mounted on an upper plate  26 . Positioned on the bottom of the board is a lower plate which is connected to the upper plate, and both the plates provide a mounting for a pump assembly as will be described. The pump assembly is mounted within a cavity formed between the top and bottom surfaces.  
         [0011]     As shown in  FIG. 3 , a bottom plate is shown at  28 , and as shown in  FIG. 4 , with bottom plate  28  removed, and with parts sectioned away, details of a spraying mechanism can be appreciated. Specifically, a spray/pump assembly is generally indicated at  30 , and includes a cylinder  32  (shown in cross section) in which is mounted a piston  34  normally biased by a compression spring  36  into the retracted position shown in  FIG. 4 . Extending from the upper portion of cylinder  32  are water inlet and outlet chambers, indicated at  38 ,  40 , respectively. Mounted within inlet chamber  38  is a spring-biased one-way valve  42 , for permitting entry of water into the cylinder. Mounted within outlet chamber  40  is a spring-biased one-way valve  44  for permitting water to be propelled outwardly therefrom upon extension of piston  34  into cylinder  32 .  
         [0012]     It will be noted that an elongate, flexible tube or hose, indicated at  46  (see also  FIG. 3 ) extends alongside the bottom of the board, and is provided with an opening  46   a  so that water may be drawn from the pool and directed toward inlet chamber  38  upon retraction of piston  34 , relative to the cylinder. Extending from outlet chamber  44  is a tube  48  which extends through a bracket  50  and is connected to barrel  22 . As can be seen, bracket  50  is secured by fasteners, such as indicated at  52 , to the bottom portion of dome  24 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , barrel  22  includes ears, such as indicated at  22   a  and  22   b  which are mounted within portions of the dome, on the underside thereof, so that barrel  22  may be pivoted to a desired angular position, relative to the board, as shown in  FIG. 1B .  
         [0013]     As shown in  FIG. 4 , piston  34  is normally retracted or biased rearwardly by spring  36 , and triggers  18  and  20  are pivotally mounted so that when they are pulled rearwardly, they engage and actuate piston  34  to extend into the cylinder so that it compresses spring  36  and forces water from the interior of chamber  32  so that it compresses the spring of outlet valve  40  and ejects or propels water through tube  40  and barrel  22  for outward spraying. The construction of each of the triggers is essentially the same, and a description of trigger  18  will be set forth. As shown in  FIG. 1B , trigger  18  includes a planar top surface  18  which transitions forwardly to a curved, forward edge  18   b  to a planar bottom surface  18   c.  The space between surfaces  18   a,    18   b  is sufficient to permit the trigger to be shifted rectilinearly over an extension or guide  52 , having upper and lower surfaces dimensioned so that when trigger  18  is retracted, it will slide over the guide smoothly and will prevent the trigger from wobbling. As shown in  FIG. 4 , trigger  18  is pivotally connected to plate  26  so as to rotate about a vertical axis A, which, when the trigger is pulled rearwardly, i.e., to the right as shown in  FIG. 4 , a lug  19 , which normally engages the bottom of piston  34 , will direct piston  34  to the left to cause the ejection of water. The construction of trigger  20  is similar to that of trigger  18 , and trigger  20  also pivots, about vertical axis B, and slides over a guide, and is provided with a lug  21  which is positioned on the opposite side of lug  19 , so that when both triggers are pulled, they both exert a force against piston  34 .  
         [0014]     It will be noted from a viewing of  FIG. 1B , that thumb grips for the left and right hand are shown at  27 ,  29 , respectively, so that when a rider grips the handles, the thumbs may be placed against the thumb grips to provide support when the triggers are pulled against the force exerted by compression spring  36 . It will also be noted that a pair of spaced-apart apertures  31 ,  33  are positioned rearwardly of extensions or grips  27 ,  29 , and an open area, provided as a recess generally indicated at  35 , is formed in a rear portion of the board. Openings  31 ,  33  and the recess are provided to facilitate nesting of a pair of boards to facilitate compact shipment. More specifically, if another board, substantially identical to board  10  shown in  FIG. 1B , is mounted so that its top surface faces downwardly, to orient its dome and trigger to be positioned within recess area  35 , then the finger grips will be insertable into apertures  31 ,  33 . Similarly, dome  24  and trigger  22  of the board shown in  FIG. 1B , will be nested within the rear recess of the board positioned on top. The net result is a low profile two-board arrangement which facilitates shipping.  
       Operation of the Spray Mechanism During Play  
       [0015]     When it is desired to play with the board in a body of water, such as a pool or lake, a child or young person merely mounts onto the board as one would do any conventional paddleboard or kickboard, i.e., with a portion of the upper torso positioned against the upper surface of the board, and the trunk and legs trailing behind to enable kicking. The young person grips triggers  18  and  20 , with the left and right hands, respectively, and the thumbs may be placed against the thumb grips. Then, by paddling around, either or both of the triggers may be pulled or retracted, so that piston  34  is extended inwardly so that its head  35  presses against spring  36  to force or propel water from inside the cylinder through chamber  40 , outwardly through tube  48  and for propulsion through barrel  22 . When hand pressure on the triggers is relaxed, the triggers are permitted to move forwardly, by action of compression spring  36 , and water is drawn through opening  46   a  and through tubes  46  and  46   b  against the spring action of inlet valve  42  so that the interior of cylinder  32  is filled with water. Again, by actuating one or both of the triggers, spring action may be selectively provided by the young person paddling around on the board. The simplicity of the trigger action, with rotation around axes A and B, enables the young rider to rapidly deploy and release the triggers to propel or eject water from cylinder  32  and to refill it quickly. Depending upon how quickly the triggers are actuated, water can be propelled and sprayed rapidly, providing significant play value.  
         [0016]     As mentioned previously, barrel  22 , provided with the ears such as shown at  22   a,    22   b  in  FIG. 5 , may be selectively positioned for providing a desired angle, relative to the planar, upper surface of board  10 . Thus, a child may preselect how far in the air the spray is to be directed, i.e., to playmates which are close or further away in the pool or other body of water. The spray which is ejected from barrel  22 , by selective and repeated action of the triggers when pulled or deployed, is one which is not harmful to children and which provides amusing play value; target children can seek to escape from the spray, while the child with the board paddles around in mock pursuit. Likewise, a group of children may be provided with the boards and have simulated battles, provided by spraying water on one another.