Abstract:
A combination, which preferably includes at least a wheel supporting a transport caddy, an alpine snow ski removably disposed within said transport caddy and detachably secured to said transport caddy by a spring loaded mechanical latch, and an accessories support member detachably attached to said alpine snow ski and detachably securing a ski pole adjacent said alpine snow ski is disclosed. Preferably, the ski pole is secured to the transport caddy by steps that include at least: positioning a ski pole tip within the transport caddy; rotating a ski pole confinement member into non-adjacency with a ski pole retention portion of the accessories support member, sliding a shaft portion of the ski pole past a pole retention spring clip and into contact with the pole confinement member, and re-rotating the ski pole confinement member into pressing contact with the shaft thereby securing the shaft within the pole confinement member.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The claimed invention relates to the field of sports equipment transport apparatuses; more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to an apparatus for transporting snow ski equipment. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Transporting snow skis, poles, helmet, and goggles from a ski bus, train, or automobile to a ski lodge can be awkward, cumbersome, and potentially hazardous to the skier and to others that may happen to come in close proximity to the skier. Attempts in the prior art to address the problem include: an elastic ski covering having removable fasteners, which fails to provide a convenient compartment for safe storage of ski poles during transport; ski and pole cases that are large, bulky, and difficult to control; and attachable wheels, that require alterations to the skis to become functional. 
     Accordingly, there is a continuing need for improved devices and procedures for the transport of snow ski equipment. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with preferred embodiments, an apparatus is preferably provided with at least a wheel supporting a transport caddy, a spring loaded mechanical latch secured to the transport caddy, and an accessories support member disposed within the transport caddy and detachably secured to the transport caddy by the spring loaded mechanical latch. 
     Preferably, the transport caddy includes at least a primary confinement compartment supported by the wheel and within which the accessories support member is disposed. The transport caddy preferably further includes a secondary confinement compartment adjacent the primary confinement compartment, wherein the secondary confinement compartment is configured to accommodate said spring loaded mechanical latch. 
     In a preferred embodiment, a pair of alpine snow skis are positioned within the primary confinement compartment and the spring loaded mechanical latch is activated to secure the skis within the primary confinement compartment, the accessories support member is positioned adjacent a ski boot binding of one of the pair of skis, and detachably attached to the ski boot binding. With the accessories support member detachably attached to the ski binding, a tip of a ski pole is deposited within a secondary confinement compartment of said transport caddy, a ski pole confinement member of the accessories support member is rotated into non-adjacency with a ski pole retention portion of the accessories support member to provide access by the ski pole to the ski pole retention portion. 
     With the ski pole retention portion made accessible to the ski pole, a shaft portion of the ski pole is slid past a pole retention spring clip of the accessories support member and into contact with said pole confinement member, and upon re-rotation of the ski pole confinement member, the shaft of the ski pole is placed into pressing contact with the ski pole confinement member. 
     These and various other features and advantages which characterize the claimed invention will be apparent from reading the following detailed description and a review of the associated drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the novel sports equipment transport apparatus with snow ski equipment secured thereon. 
         FIG. 2  is a side elevational view of the novel sports equipment transport apparatus of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the novel sports equipment transport apparatus of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a partial cutaway, side elevational view of the novel sports equipment transport apparatus of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is a partial cutaway, perspective view of the novel sports equipment transport apparatus of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of an accessories support member of the novel sports equipment transport apparatus of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 7  is a bottom plan view of the accessories support member of  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 8  is an end elevational view of the accessories support member of  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 9  is a partial cutaway, side elevational view of the novel sports equipment transport apparatus of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 10  is a bottom perspective view of the accessories support member of  FIG. 6 , with a base plate removed for ease of viewing. 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view of the novel sports equipment transport apparatus of  FIG. 1  configured for storage. 
         FIG. 12  is a partial cutaway, side elevational view of the novel sports equipment transport apparatus of  FIG. 11 . 
         FIG. 13  is a flowchart of a method of using the novel sports equipment transport apparatus of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 14  is a plan view of a cable lock for use in securing an un-attended novel sports equipment transport apparatus of  FIG. 1  to a stationary structure. 
         FIG. 15  is a top perspective view of an alternate preferred embodiment of an accessories support member. 
         FIG. 16  is a bottom perspective view of the alternate preferred embodiment of the accessories support member of  FIG. 15 . 
         FIG. 17  is a bottom plan view of the alternate preferred embodiment of the accessories support member of  FIG. 15 . 
         FIG. 18  is a top plan view of an alternate preferred embodiment of a novel sports equipment transport apparatus of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference will now be made in detail to one or more examples of the invention depicted in the figures. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, and not meant as a limitation of the invention. For example, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment may be used with another embodiment to yield still a different embodiment. Other modifications and variations to the described embodiments are also contemplated and lie within the scope and spirit of the invention. 
     Referring to the drawings,  FIG. 1  shows a novel sports equipment transport apparatus (“transport”)  100 . The transport  100  has been found useful for manually transporting sports equipment, in particular for use in transporting snow ski equipment. The transport  100  maintains the ski equipment in an organized and transportable configuration, which allows the skier to easily transport the equipment from a car to, for example, a ski lodge, airline terminal, hotel, or home. To facilitate the organization and transport of the ski equipment, the transport  100  preferably provides at least one wheel  102 , and more preferably a second wheel  104 . The wheels  102  and  104  support a transport caddy  106 , which in turn supports a spring loaded mechanical latch  108  secured to the transport caddy. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the transport caddy provides a primary confinement compartment  110  configured to accept a pair of alpine snow skis (“skis”)  112 , and a secondary confinement compartment  114  configured to accept a pair of ski poles  116 . Each ski of the pair of skis  112  includes a ski boot binding  118  (also referred to herein as binding  118 ), which includes at least a toe confinement portion  120  and a brake portion  122 . In a preferred embodiment, the pair of skis  112  are positioned within the primary confinement compartment  110  such that the binding  118  of a first ski of the pair of skis  112  faces ground-wardly, while the binding  118  of a second ski of the pair of skis  112  faces sky-wardly. 
     In the preferred embodiment, the transport  100  further includes an accessories support member  124  supported by the sky-wardly facing binding  118 . Securing the accessories support member  124  to the sky-wardly facing binding  118  provides a number of advantages to users of the transport  100 . Those advantages result from the relationship between a length of the skis  112  and the height of the skier utilizing skis  112  of a particular length. Preferably, as the height of a skier increases, the length of the skis utilized by that skier increases, however the positional relationship of ski boot binding  118 , relative to the tip of the ski supporting the ski boot binding  118 , remains substantially constant. In addition to the substantially constant relationship between the positions of the binding relative to the ski tips, the ratio between the overall length of the skis  112  and the overall length of its accompanying pair of ski poles  116  also remains substantially constant. 
     By selecting the sky-wardly facing binding  118  as the mounting position for the accessories support member  124 , and securing the pair of ski poles  116  to the accessories support member  124 , the handle portions  126  of the pair of ski poles  116  are present to the skier at a natural and convenient height for use in towing the skis (provided the skis being towed are sized to the person towing the skis). It is also noted that by presenting both handle portions  126  to the skier at substantially a common height, but offset from one another, the handle portions are positioned for convenient use by the skier using either their right or left hand. 
     An additional advantage of preferably selecting the sky-wardly facing binding  118  as the mounting position for the accessories support member  124 , is that the load of the transport  100 , with the skis  112  and the pair of ski poles  116  secured thereto is substantially distributed for enhanced mobility. By preferentially depositing the pair of skis  112  within the primary confinement compartment  110  such that the bindings  118  and the pair of skis  112  respectively face ground-wardly and sky-wardly, the amount of flex engineered into each ski of the pair of skis provides a primary spring suspension between the wheels  102  and  104  and the handle portion  126 . By mounting the pair of ski poles  116  above the ski boot binding  118 , and parallel to the pair of skis  112 , a secondary spring suspension is provided between the wheels  102  and  104 . The result of the primary and secondary suspensions working in concert mitigates and dampens mechanical shocks encountered by the wheels  102  and  104  traversing uneven and disruptive surfaces. 
       FIG. 2  shows the transport caddy  106  preferably further includes a cable lock support member  128 , a brake assembly  130  disposed adjacent the wheel  104 , and that a mechanical lever  132 , which conforms to an interior contour  145  (of  FIG. 4 ) of the secondary confinement compartment  114 . While  FIG. 3  shows the transport caddy  106  provides a pair of ski pole tip apertures  134  and a plunger  136  of the spring loaded mechanical latch  108 . The plunger  136  provides a relief  138 , which is configured to accommodate securement of the accessories support member  124  (of  FIG. 1 ) within the primary confinement compartment  110 , when the primary confinement compartment is not in use for transporting the skis  112  (of  FIG. 1 ). The ski pole tip apertures  134  provide access by a tip  140  (of  FIG. 4 ) of each ski pole of the pair of ski poles  116  (of  FIG. 4 ). In a preferred embodiment, the transport caddy  106  is preferably formed from a polymer such as ABS, and the plunger is formed from a polymer such as Delron®, or Nylon®. 
     Continuing with  FIG. 4 , the cross-sectional view of the transport caddy  106  shows the spring loaded mechanical latch  108  preferably includes a shaft  142  provided by the mechanical lever  132 , the plunger  136  secured to said shaft  142 , a compressive spring (“spring”)  144  communicating with the plunger  136 , and the mechanical lever  132  in pressing contact with the interior contour  145  of the secondary confinement compartment  114 . The mechanical lever  132  communicates with and acts on the spring  144  when the mechanical lever  132  is in a closed position. The spring  144  develops a compressive force in response to the mechanical lever  132  being placed in the closed position, as shown by  FIG. 4 . The spring  144  transfers said compressive force to the plunger  136  to secure the skis  112  within the primary confinement compartment  110 , or to secure the accessories support member  124  within the primary confinement compartment  110  (as shown by  FIG. 11 ), when the transport caddy is not being used to transport skis  112 . 
     To gain an enhanced understanding of the accessories support member  124  shown by  FIGS. 5 through 8 , those figures should preferably be viewed in concert.  FIG. 5  provides an improved perspective of the relationship between the skis  112 , the ski poles  116 , the binding  118 , and the accessories support member  124 , while  FIG. 6  illustrates a first attachment member  146  supporting an accessories confinement assembly  148  (also referred to herein as a ski pole confinement assembly  148 ), a lockdown assembly  150  adjacent the accessories confinement assembly  148 , and a sizing assembly  152  adjacent the lockdown assembly  150 . The first attachment member  146  preferably includes a front confinement portion  154 , which cooperates with the toe confinement portion  120  of the binding  118  (of  FIG. 1 ), and a main body portion  156  to which the lockdown assembly  150  and the sizing assembly  152  are attached to. 
     The accessories confinement assembly  148  preferably includes at least a central support shaft  158  fixedly secured to the main body portion  156 , an accessories retention portion  160  (also referred to herein as a ski pole retention portion  160 ) adjacent the central support shaft  158  and attached to main body portion  156 , and an accessories confinement member  162  (also referred to herein as a ski pole confinement member  162 ) adjacent the accessories retention portion  160  and retained by the central support shaft  158  for rotation about the central support shaft  158 , as shown by the rotational vector  164 .  FIG. 7  shows the first attachment member  146  further includes a base  166  upon which the main body portion  156  and a front confinement portion  154  are secured, and a cable lock access aperture  168  for use in securing the transport  100  (of  FIG. 1 ) to a stationary object when the transport  100  is not in use for towing ski equipment. 
       FIG. 8  shows the accessories confinement assembly  148  further preferably includes a pair of pole retention spring clips  170 , which are used to promote the securement of the ski poles  116  (of  FIG. 5 ) within the accessories retention portion  160 , and a pair of pole confinement bumpers  172 , which maintain the ski poles  116  pressingly engaged against the interior wall of the accessories retention portion  160 . In a preferred embodiment the pole confinement bumpers  172  are produced from a flexible polymer that conforms to the shape of the ski poles  116  when securing the poles against the interior wall of the accessories retention portion  160 , and return to their original form when the pole confinement bumpers  172  are disengaged from securement of the poles. 
       FIG. 9  primarily shows a cross-sectional view of the interaction between the lockdown assembly  150  and the sizing assembly  152 . The sizing assembly  152  preferably includes a positioning member  174  in sliding contact with the first attachment member  146 , and an extension member  176  in sliding contact with the positioning member  174 , which supports a second attachment member  178 . The positioning member  174  further provides a retention portion  180 , which in a preferred embodiment takes on the configuration of a rack portion of a rack and pinon gear. 
     The lockdown assembly  150  preferably includes a cover portion  182  that communicates with a hinge member  184 , which rotates relative to the positioning member  174  as shown by the rotational vector  186 . The cover portion  182  provides a retention feature  188  that is configured to interact with the retention portion  180  of the sizing assembly  152 . When mounting the accessories support member  124  to the binding  118 , the retention feature  188  of the cover portion  182  is disengaged from the retention portion  180  of the positioning member  174 , by placing the cover portion  182  in an open position. With the cover portion  182  in an open position the accessories support member  124  is positioned to snugly fit within the binding  118 , and once in position, the cover portion  182  is placed in a closed position such that the retention feature  188  interacts with the retention portion  180  of the positioning member  174  to securely lock the access support member  124  within the binding  118 . 
       FIG. 10  provides a preferred viewing of the sizing assembly  152 , which includes the positioning member  174  that is preferably configured to slide within the main body portion  156  of the first attachment member  146 . In a preferred embodiment the sizing assembly  152  includes the extension member  176  that slides within the positioning member  174 . It will be noted that the extension member  176  provides a spring-loaded retention button  190  that interacts with the sizing apertures  192  provided by the positioning member  174 . 
     By positioning the retention button  190  within a selected one of the sizing apertures  192 , a gross sizing of the accessories support member  124  relative to a particular sizing of the binding  118  (of  FIG. 5 ) is attained. To ensure proper sizing of the accessories support member  124  relative to a particular sizing of the binding  118 , preferably a pair of tension springs  194  interact between the main body portion  156  and a pair of spring tabs  196  to adjust the overall size of the accessories support member  124  to precisely fit a particular sizing of the binding  118 . To accommodate stability of the accessories support member  124  relative to the binding  118 , the extension member  176  further provides a second attachment member  198 . The second attachment member  198  preferably interacts with the brake portion  122  of the binding  118  (a  FIG. 5 ). 
       FIGS. 11 and 12  each show the transport  100  configured for storage. As shown by  FIG. 11 , in a storage configuration the wheels  102  and  104  preferably continues to support the transport caddy  106 , however rather than the skis  112  (of  FIG. 1 ) being confined within the primary confinement compartment  110 , the accessories support member  124  is preferably confined within the primary confinement compartment  110 , and retained in position by the mechanical lever  132  (of the spring loaded mechanical latch  108 ) interacting with the transport caddy  106 .  FIG. 12  shows the interaction between the plunger  136  and the positioning member  174  that results in the confinement of the accessories support member  124  within the primary confinement compartment  110 . 
       FIG. 13  shows a method  300  of using an inventive sports equipment transport apparatus (such as  100 ) commencing at start step  302  and continuing at process step  304 . At process step  304 , a pair of skis (such as  112 ) are positioned within a primary confinement compartment (such as  110 ), and at process step  306 , a spring loaded mechanical latch (such as  108 ) is activated to secure the skis within the confinement compartment. 
     At process step  308 , an accessories support member (such as  124 ) is placed adjacent a ski boot binding (such as  118 ). At process step  310 , the accessories support member is attached to the ski boot binding. At process step  312 , each tip (such as  140 ) of a pair of ski poles (such as  116 ) are advanced through corresponding ski pole tip apertures (such as  134 ) to each position each tip of each ski pole within a secondary confinement compartment (such as  114 ). With the tips of the ski poles positioned within the secondary confinement compartment, a ski pole confinement member (such as  162 ) is rotated into non-adjacency with a ski pole retention portion (such as  160 ) at process step  314 . 
     At process step  316 , each shaft (such as  158 ) of each ski pole is slid into their respective positions within the ski pole retention portion. At process step  318 , the ski pole confinement member is re-rotated into pressing contact with the respective shaft portions of each ski pole, and the process concludes at end process step  320 . 
       FIG. 14  shows a cable lock  200  that has been found useful for security purposes, when the transport  100  is configured for storage, as shown by  FIG. 11 . When in use, the cable lock  200  mitigates against theft of the transport  100 , particularly when left unattended by the skier. When the cable lock  200  is not in use, the transport caddy  106  (of  FIG. 11 ) provides the cable lock support member  128 , which accommodates placement of the cable lock  200  on the transport caddy  106  as shown by  FIG. 2 . 
     The cable lock  200  provides a retention cable  202  that includes a lock interface  204 , a lock receptacle  206 , a spring activated recoil assembly  208  that features a recoil spring  210 , and a recoil button  212 , which when activated causes the recoil assembly  208  to retrieve the retention cable  202  from an uncoiled presentation to a recoiled presentation within the spring activated recoil assembly  208 . 
       FIG. 15  illustrates an alternate preferred embodiment of an accessories support member  214 . The accessories support member  214  includes an accessories retention portion  216  (also referred to herein as a ski pole retention portion  216 ) adjacent the central support shaft  158 , and features a hanging support portion  218 , which aids in the retention of the accessories support member  214  when hung on a ski rack. The accessories support member  214  further includes an expansion collet  220  that joins a positioning member  222 , in sliding contact with the first attachment member  146 , with an extension member  224 . By loosening an adjustment member  226  of the collet  220  relative to the retention jaw member  228 , the extension member  224  can be slid axially relative to the positioning member  222 . 
       FIG. 16  shows the positioning member  222  communicates with the pair of tension springs  194  that interact between the main body portion  156  and a pair of spring tabs  196  to adjust the overall size of the accessories support member  214  to precisely fit a particular sizing of the binding  118  (of  FIG. 5 ). While  FIG. 17  shows a base  230  upon which the main body portion  156  and a front confinement portion  154  are secured, and a cable lock access aperture  168  for use in securing the accessories support member  214  to a stationary object when not in use. 
       FIG. 18  shows that an alternate preferred embodiment transport caddy  232  provides a pair of ski pole tip apertures  134  and a plunger  136  of the spring loaded mechanical latch  108 . The plunger  136  provides a relief  138 , which is configured to accommodate securement of the accessories support member  224  (of  FIG. 15 ) within the primary confinement compartment  110 , when the primary confinement compartment is not in use for transporting skis  112  (of  FIG. 1 ). The ski pole tip apertures  134  provide access by a tip  140  (of  FIG. 4 ) of each ski pole of the pair of ski poles  116  (of  FIG. 4 ). In a preferred embodiment, the transport caddy  232  provides a first ski access aperture  234  configured to accommodate skis equal to and less than width  236 , and a second ski access aperture  238  configured to accommodate skis having a width greater than width  236 , and less than or equal to width  240 . The transport caddy  232  is preferably formed from a polymer such as ABS, and the plunger is formed from a polymer such as Delron®, or Nylon®. 
     It will be clear that the present invention is well adapted to attain the ends and advantages mentioned as well as those inherent therein. While presently preferred embodiments have been described for purposes of this disclosure, numerous changes may be made which will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art and which are encompassed by the appended claims. One such change contemplated by the present invention, is a mounting of the pair of wheels in an orientation rotated 90 degrees from the orientation of the pair of wheels depicted in  FIG. 1 . An orientation of the pair of wheels 90 degrees from the orientation of the pair of wheels as depicted in  FIG. 1 , would present to the skier an edge of the pair of skis rather than a face of the pair of skis.