Abstract:
A radio controlled snowboard system having a steerable snowboard and an erect figurine. The erect figurine is pivotally attachable to the steerable snowboard. The steerable snowboard includes a plurality of steering edges and a steering system configured to control the movement of the snowboard by relative weight transitions relative to one of the plurality of steering edges.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/889,271 filed Feb. 10, 2007. The disclosure of this Provisional patent application is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a small scale remote control snowboard system; more specifically to a model snowboard system suitable for a table top. 
         [0004]    2. Description of Background 
         [0005]    The sport of snowboarding has become increasingly popular as a recreational activity for persons of ordinary skill levels, and as a competitive sport for persons with extraordinary skill levels together with its attendant entertainment value for spectators. As a consequence, various types of similar toys such as toy skateboards have been proposed. Such skateboards range from simple wind-up toy skateboards with mounted figurines, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,819 issued to Oishi et al., to more advanced radio-controlled toy skateboards with figurines that can be controlled in some degree to portray body movement during skateboarding maneuvers and stunts. 
         [0006]    However, many remote controlled systems require complicated electronics and external power such as batteries and often do not replicate the natural control of a skateboard or snowboard. Thus, there exists a need for a remote controlled (RC) snowboard that closely replicates natural snowboard performance. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention a remote control snowboard system is provided. The snowboard system includes a snowboarder includes a snowboarder adapted to control a snowboard via remote control signals. 
         [0008]    In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention a radio controlled snowboard system having a steerable snowboard and an erect figurine is provided. The erect figurine is pivotally attachable to the steerable snowboard. The steerable snowboard includes a plurality of steering edges and a steering system configured to control the movement of the snowboard by relative weight transitions relative to one of the plurality of steering edges. The steering system also includes track or paddles for multiple terrains and weight tipping arbors. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  shows Remote Control (RC) Snowboarder system in accordance with the present invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  shows an end view of RC Snowboarder  9  in a back hand turn in accordance with the invention shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  shows an end view of RC Snowboarder  9  in a go straight position in accordance with the invention shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  shows an end view of RC Snowboarder  9  in a front hand turn in accordance with the invention shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  shows a direct end view of the snowboard  11  and track  20  only in accordance with the invention shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  shows a direct end view of the snowboard  11  only in accordance with the invention shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  shows a direct end view of the snowboard  11  and track  20  only in accordance with the invention shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  shows a technical side view of the board  11  in accordance with the invention shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 9  shows a technical side view of the board  11  in accordance with the invention shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 10  shows a technical side view of the board  11  in accordance with the invention shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 11  shows a pair of large in-line paddle wheels  21  in accordance with the invention shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0021]      FIG. 12  shows a paddle track  20  in accordance with the invention shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0022]      FIG. 13  shows a sideview of a pair of small in-line paddle wheels  22  in accordance with the invention shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0023]      FIG. 14  shows a sideview of the paddle track in accordance with the invention shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0024]      FIG. 15  shows a port side view of the RC snowboarder  9  and snowboard  11  leaned over in a front side turn in accordance with the invention shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0025]      FIG. 16  shows the RC snowboard&#39;s cover  12  in accordance with the invention shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0026]      FIG. 17  shows an overhead view of the RC snowboard with the cover  12  off in accordance with the invention shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0027]      FIG. 18  shows the running surface or underside of the snowboard  11  in accordance with the invention shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0028]      FIG. 19  shows the bottom running surface of the snowboard with the extreme width and depth paddle track  37  in accordance with the invention shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0029]      FIG. 20  shows an end view of the snowboard  11  heeled over on its port edge with the extra wide track  37  showing its large face value in accordance with the invention shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0030]      FIG. 21  shows an end view of the snowboard  11  going straight ahead in accordance with the invention shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0031]      FIG. 22  shows and end view of the snowboard  11  heeled over on its starboard edge with the extra wide track  37  showing its large square inch face value in accordance with the invention shown in  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0032]      FIG. 23  shows a full scale snowboarder on a full scale electric powered snowboard in accordance with the invention shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0033]    Although the present invention will be described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present invention could be embodied in many alternate forms of embodiments. All like components are labeled with the same identifying numbers. Small scale is defined as less than normal human size. Referring to  FIGS. 1-23 , a robotic figurine turns a motorized snowboard  11  just like a real snowboarder does, leaning the rider&#39;s weight over one side of the board or the other. The centered track  20  or paddle wheels  21  double as a tipping arbor on which the rider  9  can use as a control point to rotate weight shifts; left to right, or fore and aft. An adjustable flex pattern uses camber battens to create a unique, adjustable suspension for a snowboard with the combination of 3 parts; a rigid center frame  33 , a flexible snowboard  11  and camber battens fore and aft  28  and  27 . The weights and measures features on this RC snowboarder  9  locates the centered component weight on board the snowboard&#39;s frame  33 , and is combined with extra weight added to the rider&#39;s lower body  13 , which when combined with the rider&#39;s crouched stance provide the necessary amount of weight to press the edges  39  of the snowboard  11  to the surface without being top heavy. It will be appreciated that the dramatic side cut (hour glass outline shape) of the snowboard  11  works well with the high centered tipping arbor created by the rounded paddle track  20  or rounded paddle wheels  21  for different terrain conditions. The snowboard&#39;s frame  33  is adjustable to raise or lower the track  20  or paddle wheels  21  for different terrain conditions. Finally, snowboard components cover  23  that fastens to the board in the center but free-flexes from the center out to the ends is provided. 
       DETAILED DRAWING DESCRIPTIONS 
       [0034]      FIG. 1  shows RC Snowboarder figurine  9  in a backhand turn. The figurine upper body  10  is twisted toward the port side of the snowboard  11 , 12 ; as the lower body is leaned over the port side of the snowboard  11 ,  12  as well. The cover  12  is shown in place over the snowboard  11 . The flex pattern sub-frame  18  is visible resting atop the snowboard&#39;s sidewall color panel  19 . The lower body motor and gear set  14  or servo is seen on the forward starboard side of the snowboard  11 . The power arm  15  is seen fastened atop the servo  14  which connects up toward the lower body&#39;s  13  knee through an opening in the front leg. This arm clip  36  needs no fasteners and is allowed to free-float for ease of movement. The snowboarder&#39;s  9  boots  16  and hi-back bindings  17  are also visible. 
         [0035]      FIG. 2  shows an end view of RC Snowboarder  9  in a back hand turn. The figure upper body  10  is twisted toward the port or left side of the snowboard  11 ,  12 ; as the lower body  13  is leaned out over the port side of the snowboard  11 ,  12  as well. The snowboarder&#39;s lower body  13  carries substantial weight in order to press the snowboard edge  39  into the snow surface to initiate and carry thru a back hand turn. This view also shows the rear  16  lower body axle hole  38 . 
         [0036]      FIG. 3  shows an end view of RC Snowboarder  9  in a go straight position. The figurine upper body  10  and lower body  13  are both centered squarely over the snowboard facing straight forward. 
         [0037]      FIG. 4  shows an end view of RC Snowboarder  9  in a front hand turn. It will be appreciated that the upper body  10  is twisted toward the starboard or right side of the snowboard  11 ,  12  as the figurine lower body  13  is leaned out over the starboard side as well. The snowboarder&#39;s lower body  13  carries substantial weight in order to press the snowboard edge  39  into the snow surface to initiate and carry thru a front hand turn. 
         [0038]      FIG. 5  shows a direct end view of the snowboard  11  and track  20  only; while the snowboard is in a backhand turn. This figure demonstrates how the track  20  serves as a tipping arbor placed in the center of the board  11  making a pivot point to see-saw the snowboard from side to side, burying the port side while leaving the starboard side high and dry. At the same time the nose and tail of the snowboard  11  are lifted off the surface except where the edge touches the snow surface. 
         [0039]      FIG. 6  shows a direct end view of the snowboard  11  only. While the snowboard is in a neutral turn position. It will be appreciated that the track is not visible, this is because the built-in camber of the snowboard is forcing the nose and tail down to make surface contact allowing the snowboard to steer straight ahead when desired. 
         [0040]      FIG. 7  shows a direct end view of the snowboard  11  and track  20  only. While the snowboard is in a front hand turn. This also demonstrates how the track  20  serves as a tipping arbor placed in the center of the board  11  making a pivot point to see-saw the snowboard from side to side, burying the starboard side while leaving the port side high and dry. At the same time the nose and tail of the snowboard  11  are lifted off the surface except where the edge touches the snow surface. 
         [0041]      FIG. 8  shows a technical side view of the board  11 , cover  12 , and track  20  lifted off the surface to show how much camber is built into the flexible snowboard  11  and the flexible cover  12 . It will also be appreciated that the cover&#39;s sub-frame  18  and the snowboard&#39;s sidewall color strip  19  flex in sync with each other. 
         [0042]      FIG. 9  shows a technical side view of the board  11 , cover  12 , and track  20  placed on an even surface. Notice how the track paddles are advantageously touching the surface and also notice how the nose and tail of the snowboard  11  are pressed to the surface. 
         [0043]      FIG. 10  shows a technical side view of the board  11 , cover  12 , and track  20  placed on an un-even surface. Advantageously the snowboard  11  and sidewall color strip  19  and the cover  12  and flex pattern sub-frame  18  flex to follow the un-even surface. 
         [0044]      FIG. 11  shows a pair of large in-line paddle wheels  21 , also shown in  FIG. 15 , that work great on hard floors and carpets. The desired material would be hard plastic with rubber paddles. These wheels do not work well on snow surfaces. 
         [0045]      FIG. 12  shows a paddle track  20 . One material would be black rubber, however any suitable material may be used. 
         [0046]      FIG. 13  shows a sideview of a pair of small in-line paddle wheels  22 . The desired material would be hard plastic, however, any suitable material may be used These wheels will go well on carpet only but also double as gears for the paddle track  20 . 
         [0047]      FIG. 14  shows a sideview of the paddle track  20  connected to the small paddle wheels  22  acting as gears that are adapted to interlace with the paddle track  20 . 
         [0048]      FIG. 15  shows a port side view of the RC snowboarder  9  and snowboard  11  leaned over in a front side turn. It is shown with the cover  12  removed. It also has a see thru feature at the rider&#39;s waist and bottom. This motor and gear set  32  actuates the twisting upper body movement. The lower body movement is actuated by a slightly larger motor and gear set  14  positioned at the base of the rider&#39;s front foot. The power arm  15  extending from the top of the set box  14  extends up into the rider&#39;s front leg  36  where it clips on and is free floating. The upper and lower body movements are adapted to work in sync. It will be appreciated that the snowboard  11  needs considerable weight over the edges  FIG. 18-39  to carve and hold turns so weight is added to the lower body  13 . Still referring to  FIG. 15 , also shown are the frame  33  and the sub-frame  18 . The frame mounted sub-frame  18  holds up the starboard side of the cover  12 . It has a flex pattern (flexi ends with a more rigid center). The snowboard  11  exhibits similar function but in a novel manner. It uses a super flexible board  11  fastened in the middle of a centered rigid frame  33  with nose  28  and tail  27  camber battens extending from the frame connecting to the snowboard  11  near the widest parts of the nose and tail with adjustable stops  29 . It will be appreciated that this novel arrangement advantageously gives the RC snowboard  11  an adjustable flex pattern or in effect adjustable suspension. This is a break through design for any snowboard motorized or not, toy or full scale. These camber battens  28 ,  29  are shown in  FIG. 15  in the most rigid setting of the 3 settings shown (there could be more). The battens themselves are made of flexible material. They add torsional as well as longitudinal stability to the too-flexi snowboard  11 . The snowboard itself cannot function without the rigid frame  33  center and the stabilizing camber battens  28 ,  27 . In an alternative embodiment, the battens  28 ,  27  could be an integral part of the board  11 . The adjustable design with the camber battens  28 ,  27  is suitable for a snowboard with a motor  25  and other heavy components. It will be appreciated that a regular ski or snowboard has a flex pattern with a thick center and a thin nose and tail, much like the sidewall color strip  19 . The frame  33  on this design takes the place of the thick center, and the floppy board  11  attached at the center; propped up and stabilized by the camber battens takes the place of the slow taper of the standard flex pattern seen on skis and snowboards. It will also be noted that the battens  28 ,  27  can carry weight on their backs which gives the battens a second task, that of using all areas of the snowboard  11  to distribute the components; to keep the flat look of a board as much as possible. The flat battery pack  24  is carried on the front camber batten  28  while the tail batten  27  carries the speed control  26 . It&#39;s valuable to note that these two are free-flexing from the rigid center frame  33  allowing the snowboard  11  to flex the way it needs to. Also the component&#39;s weight over the lightly sprung battens add control and dampening to the RC snowboard&#39;s overall flex pattern. This flex pattern (which can be adjusted for different conditions) combined with the extreme sidecut viewed in  FIGS. 17 and 18  guarantees this board  11 ,  12 ,  28 ,  27  is going to turn quite well. Also shown in  FIG. 15  are the two gear sets. The drive gears  30  and the primary gears  31 . The primary gears  31  are sized according to the selected motor. The drive gears  30  as shown create direct drive from two wheels and can drive twin inline paddle wheels  21 , a belt track (see  FIGS. 17-20 ) or run extreme width and depth paddle track (see FIGS.  20 , 22 - 37 ). The aforementioned drive gears  30  could be wheel drive (not shown) and use pulleys and belts, or chains and sprockets (not shown). It will be appreciated that the novel features include the inline paddle wheels  21  and the low profile paddle track  20 , as well as the extreme width and depth paddle track  37 . It will be appreciated that the location of these features, e.g., they are positioned between the feet of a snowboarder, and the fact that the tracks or wheels are placed dead center of the length and width of a snowboard which allows the motorized snowboard to turn by pressing weight over one side of the board or the other, thus simulating real snowboard action; or in other words steering the snowboard by board side cut action. The wheels  21  or track  20  extending out from the bottom and being rounded on the edges doubles as a tipping arbor on which the rider  9  uses as a control point to rotate weight shifts left, right, fore and aft and also allows greater separation of space between the running surface and the unused edge while turning. This advantageously decreases the chance of hi-siding. Another advantage is that the tipping arbor requires less energy to weight one side or the other as well as one end or the other. This allows for more control which is much on a snowboard that is weighted down with motorized components. 
         [0049]      FIG. 16  shows the RC snowboard&#39;s cover  12 . It is thin and light and is shaped to mimic the side view shape of the snowboard  11  and sidewall color strip  19 . The cover&#39;s shape  12  is held together somewhat by the built-in port side sub-frame  23 . The starboard side sub-frame  18  is attached to the frame  33 . The cover  12  screws on to the edge of the starboard sub-frame  18  after it is put in place. The cover goes on with the rider  9  off; then gets screwed down with the rider being placed on top of it. The cover fits tightly around the paddle wheels  21  or track  20  area. Screws and a gasket (not shown) keep it waterproof. The rest of the cover flexes independently from the board  11  and camber battens  22 , 28 , so the outer board gasket (not shown) is thin, flexible and oversized to accommodate the independently moving parts. 
         [0050]      FIG. 17  shows an overhead view of the RC snowboard with the cover  12  off. It shows the frame  33  surrounding the motor  25 , the gear sets  30  and  31 , the track  20 , and the lower body servo  14 , the receiver  35 , and both rider foot mounts  34 . The frame attaches to all within its perimeter making for a heavy center piece. All other parts free-flex independently from the frame  33 .  FIG. 17  also shows how the camber battens  27 , 28  connect to the frame  33 . The frame gives the battens solid backing to prop up against. It will be appreciated how the other end of the camber battens  27 , 28  can be put into three different places called adjustment stops  29  which allow for 3 different flex tensions for different course conditions. Also shown in  FIG. 17  is how the starboard sub-frame  18  connects to the frame  33 . Another important advantage is that the frame  33  can be adjusted up or down where it attaches to the snowboard  11  with the aid of spacers (not shown) that can be taken out or put in to lower or raise the track  20  height. 
         [0051]      FIG. 18  shows the running surface or underside of the snowboard  11 . It also shows the outline shape of the snowboard revealing the dramatic side cut employed on this board. The hour glass shape helps ensure the board  11  will turn when leaned on. This drawing also shows the regular track  20  positioned dead center, fore and aft, side to side. The snowboard&#39;s edges  39  are also shown. These are metal edges similar to real snowboard and skis edges and are generally necessary to operate on ice. 
         [0052]      FIG. 19  shows the bottom running surface of the snowboard with the extreme width and depth paddle track  37 . This track is made to propel the snowboard  11  and rider  9  in deep snow conditions or grass and still double as a tipping arbor. This paddle is extra wide and extra deep offering two and a half times the paddle face over the regular track. 
         [0053]      FIG. 20  shows an end view of the snowboard  11  heeled over on its port edge with the extra wide track  37  showing its large face value. 
         [0054]      FIG. 21  shows an end view of the snowboard  11  going straight ahead. 
         [0055]      FIG. 22  shows and end view of the snowboard  11  heeled over on its starboard edge with the extra wide track  37  showing its large square inch face value 
         [0056]      FIG. 23  shows a full scale snowboarder on a full scale electric powered snowboard. All designs outlined in this patent application would apply to a full scale human ridden snowboard, minus the radio control equipment and the body movement servos. A major difference between a gas powered version and an electric powered version is that the gas motor is placed where the electric motor and the battery pack  24  is replaced with a gas tank (not shown). 
         [0057]    It should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative of the invention. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances which fall within the scope of the appended claims.