Abstract:
A snowboard tether for supporting a snowboard during a chair-lift ride and permitting the user to harness his or her back foot to the snowboard during the course of the chair-lift ride. A fastener attached to the snowboard allows the user to connect a strap to the fastener prior to sitting upon the chair-lift. The user may then attach the strap to the chair-lift, causing the strap to support the rear of the snowboard and permitting the user to exert downward force with his or her foot upon the rear binding of the snowboard. The fastener incorporates a storage container.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to the sport of snowboarding. More specifically, the invention relates to a snowboard tether for supporting the snowboard during a chair-lift ride and permitting the user to harness his or her back foot to the snowboard during the course of the chair-lift ride. 
     Winter sports facilities are witnessing a dramatic increase in participation in the sport of snowboarding. A snowboard is a surfboard-like runner that includes a substantially flat board with a slippery bottom surface. Unlike a surfboard, on a snowboard the user attaches his or her feet to bindings that are affixed to the upper surface of the board. 
     Snowboards are typically used at winter sports facilities, like ski resorts, that have traditionally catered to skiers. The most prevalent mechanism for transporting the skiers or snowboarders to a high elevation at the resorts is a chair-lift. This mechanism, originally designed for skiers, typically involves a succession of bench seats suspended from a cable and pulley system that transports the benches from a bottom point to an elevated point and back again. At the bottom point, the skiers wait in turn to use the chair-lift mechanism. As each bench reaches the bottom point and turns around the pulley to advance up to the elevated point, the bench is positioned relatively close to the ground, enabling a skier to sit onto the bench. When the bench reaches the skiers, the skiers sit upon the bench, which is then whisked up to the elevated point by the cable and pulley system. At the elevated point, the mechanism is designed such that the skiers&#39; skis make contact with the ground and they can alight from the bench by standing up and pushing away. 
     To use the chair-lift, a snowboarder must detach his or her back foot in order to position himself or herself in front of an advancing bench. The bottom point of the chair-lift is typically a flat surface requiring manual force to propel oneself In some cases, the bottom point can involve icy portions or inclines upon which a snowboarder needs to maintain a fixed position, for instance, while positioned in front of an advancing bench. In these circumstances, the snowboarder also needs a foot in contact with the ground to prevent the snowboard from sliding out of position. 
     Accordingly, a snowboarder must mount the chair-lift with only the front foot attached to the bindings on the snowboard and with the back foot dangling free. Because snowboards can weigh a substantial amount, considerable downward force is experienced by the front leg of the snowboarder. This weight causes stress and fatigue that reduces the snowboarder&#39;s endurance and ability to fully enjoy the sport. 
     Furthermore, at the elevated point of the chair-lift, the snowboarder must alight from the bench with only one foot attached to the snowboard. This necessitates the re-harnessing of the back foot to the binding before the snowboarder can resume snowboarding. This not only wastes time, but can cause congestion at the elevated point of the chair-lift as a number of snowboarders must stop their forward movement to re-harness their back feet. Congestion can lead to frustrations and collisions. 
     These problems could be alleviated by permitting a snowboarder to re-harness his or her back foot to the snowboard during the course of the chair-lift ride. Currently, a snowboarder is unable to re-harness his or her back foot because the center of gravity of the snowboard is between the front and back bindings on the snowboard. When the snowboarder&#39;s front foot is the only attachment point, the weight of the snowboard exerts a torsional force on the front foot forcing the rear portion of the snowboard downwards. To harness the back foot, a snowboarder is required to apply substantial force through his or her back foot onto the rear binding of the snowboard. Without additional support for the rear portion of the snowboard, the snowboard cannot absorb that substantial force. 
     If the snowboarder were to attempt to provide the necessary support to the rear of the snowboard manually by grasping the rear portion with one hand, there exists a substantial danger that the snowboarder would fall forward off the chair lift. Almost all chair lifts incorporate a safety bar which can be manually rotated from a position directly in front of the snowboarders on the bench to a position above the snowboarders&#39; heads. When in front of the snowboarders, the safety bar prevents the snowboarders from accidentally falling forward off the chair during the ride. However, the safety bar also prevents the snowboarders from leaning forward to grasp the rear portion of their snowboards. 
     A number of leash or tether devices have been developed over the years in connection with snowboards for the purpose of securing the snowboard to the user in the event they become separated during a fall. These devices have typically involved a leash attached to the snowboard and around the front leg of the user. The front leg serves as the leashing point in these devices because the front leg remains in the binding, whereas the back leg must be released from time to time to permit propulsion over flat ground. These devices are designed for use while riding the snowboard, necessitating an arrangement of the leash secure to the user&#39;s leg so as to prevent the leash cord from becoming entangled in tree branches or other protrusions during use of the snowboard. 
     These devices are inappropriate for use in supporting the snowboard to permit re-harnessing of the back foot because the leash or tether in these devices is attached at or near the front binding and does not prevent the torsional force exerted upon the front foot by the weight of the snowboard or the applied force of the back foot. Moreover, because the leash is intended for use while riding the snowboard, it must be tightly secured to the front leg of the snowboarder with a minimum of slack so as to prevent tangling or snagging of objects. Such an arrangement does not allow for translation of torsional forces through the leash to the chair-lift. 
     A number of these devices also involve an excessive number of components, rendering them expensive, cumbersome, unattractive and difficult to operate under winter conditions. 
     In order to permit a snowboarder to easily insert his or her back foot into the rear binding during a chair-lift ride, a device is needed that provides support for the rear portion of the snowboard such that the snowboarder is permitted to exert downward force upon the rear binding. Moreover, the device should provide support for the weight of the snowboard during the remainder of the chair-lift ride. 
     Such a device needs to be easily manipulated by a user wearing bulky handwear, such as thick mittens, and with a minimum of bending or effort. The device should be inexpensive and easy to assemble and attach to existing snowboards. The device needs to have a minimum number of parts, be easily operable and be easily carried when not in use. It also needs to be designed such that the snowboard retains its operating flexibility. 
     It would be advantageous if such a device could incorporate other useful functions. Space for mounting items on a snowboard is limited, so it is important to maximize the functions that can be incorporated into a single mounted piece. In particular, it would be useful if the device could also act as a carrying strap for the snowboard, as carrying a snowboard can be awkward and cumbersome. Carrying multiple snowboards is much easier if each snowboard has a carrying strap. 
     It would also be useful if the device could provide storage for items that a snowboarder would like to carry with him or her. When solid bulky items are carried in the snowboarder&#39;s clothing, they can cause injury when the snowboarder falls upon them. Therefore, it would be advantageous if the mounting piece incorporated a storage element. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The prevent invention provides a snowboard tether that supports the rear of the snowboard during the course of a chair-lift ride so as to enable a snowboarder to re-harness his or her back to the snowboard and to provide support for the weight of the board during the ride. Additionally, it operates as a carrying strap and provides storage for personal belongings. 
     The present invention comprises a fastener affixed to the upper face of the rear portion of the snowboard and a strap. The strap comprises a length of material with manually releasable attachment devices affixed to either end. One of the manually releasable attachment devices is for connection to the fastener and the other manually releasable attachment device is for securing the strap to the chair lift. Through the strap, the chair-lift then supports the rear of the snowboard allowing the snowboarder to exert downward force upon the rear binding with his or her back foot. 
     Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings which show preferred embodiments of the present invention, and in which: 
     FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a snowboard tether according to the present invention in use in conjunction with a snowboard and a chair-lift; 
     FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a strap according to the present invention; 
     FIG.  3 ( a ) shows a fragmentary perspective view of a fastener according to the present invention, affixed to a snowboard; 
     FIG.  3 ( b ) shows a cross-sectional view of a fastener according to the present invention, taken generally along the line b—b in FIG.  3 ( a ); 
     FIGS.  3 ( c ) and ( d ) show a fastener according to the present invention; 
     FIGS.  4 ( a ), ( b ) and ( c ) show side views of alternative embodiments of a manually releasable attachment device according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 5 shows a snowboard tether according to the present invention in use as a carrying strap; 
     FIGS.  6 ( a ), ( b ) and ( c ) show a top view, side view and front view, respectively, of a fastener according to the present invention that incorporates a storage element; and 
     FIG.  6 ( d ) shows an exploded perspective view depicting the assembly of the storage element shown in FIG.  6 ( a ). 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Reference is first made to FIG. 1 which shows, in perspective view, a snowboard tether  12  in use in conjunction with a snowboard  10  and a chair-lift  18 . The snowboard tether  12  comprises an inverted U-shaped fastener  20 , a length of non-elastic material  22 , a first hook  24  for engaging the fastener  20  and a second hook  26  for engaging the chair-lift  18 . 
     Attached to the snowboard  10  are a front foot binding  14 , a back foot binding  16  and the fastener  20 . The fastener  20  is located towards the rear of the snowboard  10 , behind the front and back foot bindings  14  and  16 . 
     The snowboard user mounts the chair-lift with his or her front foot harnessed to the snowboard  10  by the front foot binding  14  and his or her back foot unharnessed to the snowboard  10 . The snowboard user applies the snowboard tether  12  by engaging the first hook  24  with the fastener  20 . The snowboard user may engage the first hook  24  with the fastener  20  prior to mounting the chair-lift  18  or after mounting the chair-lift  18 . 
     After the snowboard user has mounted the chair-lift  18  and engaged the first hook  24  with the fastener  20 , the snowboard user engages the second hook  26  with the chair lift  18 , such that the snowboard tether  12  exerts an upward force upon the rear end of the snowboard  10 . Alternatively, a user may wrap the length of non-elastic material  22  around a fixed portion of the chair-lift  18  and engage the second hook  26  with the length of non-elastic material  22 , thereby securing the snowboard tether  12  to the chair-lift  18 . With the snowboard tether  12  in place, the snowboard user is able to apply downwards pressure with his or her back foot upon the back foot binding  16  because the snowboard is supported by the snowboard tether  12  and the snowboard user&#39;s front foot. 
     Prior to the end of the chair-lift ride, the snowboard user detaches the second hook  26  from the chair-lift  18 . The snowboard user may detach the first hook  24  from the fastener  20  prior to dismounting the chair-lift  18  or shortly thereafter. The first and second hooks  24  and  26  are manually releasable devices, meaning that the snowboard user can manually detach them from the snowboard and chair-lift, respectively, by hand without using any tools. 
     Reference is now made to FIG. 2 which shows a strap  21  comprising a length of substantially non-elastic material  22  (such as a nylon web), a first hook  24  attached to one end of the length of material  22  and a second hook  26  attached to the other end of the length of material  22 . 
     Reference is next made to FIGS.  3 ( a ) and ( b ), wherein an embodiment of the fastener  20  is depicted. The fastener  20  is affixed to the rear portion of the snowboard  10  with counter-sunk screws  28  that have been inserted from the underside of the board  10  through screw holes. An alternative for affixing the fastener  20  to the snowboard  10  is top mounted screws in conjunction with threaded inserts which are molded into the snowboard  10  during manufacture of the snowboard. Various other well-known fastening alternatives could be used for affixing the fastener  20  and will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Likewise, various alternative fasteners  20 , such as eye-bolts or t-slots, will be apparent to those skilled in the art. An eye-bolt is depicted in FIG.  3 ( c ) wherein the fastener  20  is comprised of an eye-bolt  30  and a nut  32 . A t-slot is depicted in FIG.  3 ( d ) wherein the fastener  20  is comprised of a t-shaped slot  34  of rigid material molded into the snowboard  10 . 
     Referring next to FIGS.  4 ( a ), ( b ) and ( c ), alternatives to the first and second hooks  24  and  26  are depicted. The first or second hook  24  or  26  could comprise a hinged clip  46 , including a rigid hook-shaped portion  36  and a hinged portion  38  biased to engage the hook-shaped portion  36 . The hinged portion  38  would normally be positioned in a closed position in contact with the hook-shaped portion  36 , but would be easily manually swung to an open position to allow the passage of objects through the gap between the hook-shaped portion  36  and the hinged portion  38 . 
     Alternatively, the first or second hook  24  or  26  could comprise a spring clip  48 , including a rigid hook-shaped hook-shaped portion  40  and a sliding portion  42  biased to engage the hook-shaped portion  40 . The sliding portion  42  would normally be positioned in a closed position in contact with the hook-shaped position  40 , but would be easily manually slid to an open position to allow the passage of objects through the gap between the hook-shaped portion  40  and the sliding portion  42 . The spring-biased closure portions  38 ,  42  of the clips  46 ,  48  prevent the clips from inadvertently becoming detached, but still allow easy tool-free manual release by the snowboarder. 
     A further alternative to the first hook  24  is a t-bar  50  formed of rigid material. The t-bar  50  is for use in connection with the t-shaped slot  34  or its equivalent. 
     Reference is now made to FIG. 5 which shows the snowboard tether  12  in use as a carrying strap. The first hook  24  is engaging the fastener  20  and the second hook  26  is engaging the front foot binding  14 . In this configuration, the length of substantially non-elastic material  22  acts as a carrying strap for the snowboard  10 . The second hook  26  could be adapted to engage any other appropriate portion of the snowboard  10 . Alternatively, an additional fastener similar to the fastener  20  could be mounted on the upper surface of the front portion of the snowboard  10  to allow for attachment of the second hook  26  when the snowboard tether  12  is in use as a carrying strap. 
     Reference is now made to FIGS.  6 ( a ) to ( d ) which show an embodiment of a fastener  80  that incorporates a storage feature. The fastener is comprised of a mounting piece  52 , mounting bolts  53 , an inverted U-shaped fastener loop  54 , support bars  56 , storage mounting plate  58 , storage rivets  60  and a storage container  64 . 
     The mounting piece  52  is a length of angle iron affixed to the snowboard  10  by way of the counter-sunk mounting bolts  53 . Welded to the mounting piece and extending upwards is the fastener loop  54 . The fastener loop  54  is for engaging the first hook  24 . The fastener  80  is preferably configured such that the first hook  24  engages the fastener loop  54  at a point along the longitudinal axis  55  parallel to the length of the snowboard  10  and passing through the back foot binding  16  at the point where the heel of the snowboard user is located. If the first hook  24  and the fastener  20  are engaged along that axis, the torsional force perpendicular to the axis of the board caused by the downward force of the snowboard user&#39;s back foot is minimized. As can be seen in FIG. 6 c , the fastener loop  54  is angled towards the heel side of the board so that the tether will support the board along axis  55 . Thus, the contact point between the fastener loop  34  and the tether is closer to the heel side of the board than the toe side. 
     The support bars  56  are lengths of angle iron mounted to the mounting piece  52  and shaved or configured such that they provide a clearance  66  between the support bars  56  and the snowboard  10 . This ensures that the snowboard  10  retains its operational flexibility. 
     The storage container  64  is mounted to the support bars  56  (which function as a support frame for the storage container) by way of the storage mounting plate  58  and the storage rivets  60 . The storage container  64  may be any container but is preferably a zippered nylon bag adapted to contain a beverage bottle. This allows the snowboard user to carry a water bottle on the snowboard  10 . 
     Various alternatives exist for incorporating a storage feature into the fastener  80  and will be within the understanding of those skilled in the art. 
     Advantageously, the snowboard tether  12  according to the present invention supports the rear of the snowboard during the course of a chair-lift ride so as to enable a snowboard user to re-harness his or her back foot to the snowboard and to provide support for the weight of the board during the ride. A further advantage of the snowboard tether  12  according to the present invention is its usefulness as a carrying strap. Additionally, the fastener  20  element according to the present invention provides storage for personal belongings. Although the tether  12  has been described above as being of non-elastic material, it will be appreciated that elastic material could also be used, although care would have to be taken by the user to avoid “snap back” accidents. 
     The tether strap and fastener of the present invention could be sold with an original snowboard with the fastener pre-mounted to the snowboard, or could be provided as an after-market product as a kit, including instructions for mounting the fastener to the snowboard using one or more of the methods noted above, or other alternative mounting methods. 
     The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. Certain adaptations and modifications of the invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the above-discussed embodiments are considered to be illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.