Abstract:
Improvements in a sling carrier for skis, snowboard and boots to be able to carry the skies and or snowboard across the back of the wearer is disclosed. The ability to sling the equipment over the back of a user allows the user to have full mobility walk. A user can tighten the sling to adjust the location of the equipment in their back. Having the equipment supported on their back allows the user to walk in a more balanced stance and the user just needs to bend forward or backward to accommodate the load or the terrain. The carrier uses pockets for the equipment and for transportation of the carrier equipment. This also leave the hand of the user free while transporting equipment. The carrier uses Buckles that allow the user to just “squeeze” elements together to release the straps.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    Not Applicable 
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
       THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
       [0003]    Not Applicable 
       INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC 
       [0004]    Not Applicable 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0006]    This invention relates to improvements in a device to carrying elongated objects. More particularly, the present Sling Carrier for Skis, Snowboard and Boots creates a method to carry skis and/or snowboard with boots. The sling carrier provides full mobility for the person carrying the sporting equipment. 
         [0007]    2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98 
         [0008]    For many people that participate in outdoor winter sports, must carry their equipment from a car or ski rental location to the lift line. When a person carries the equipment to the lift the person carry the equipment and then place the equipment onto themselves for skiing or snowboarding. Most outdoor winter athletes either ski or snowboard, but some of these athletes perform both sports and must carry a large amount of equipment to the ski lift or to a place where instruction will take place. 
         [0009]    There are a number of different ways to carry ski and snowboard equipment. Without any external carrying equipment the person generally walks with the boots and carries the ski/snowboard and possibly poles. A second alternative was to have some sort of external device that allows a person to carry the ski or snowboard equipment. There are a large number of variation for carrying the equipment in one hand or on their body. A number of patents and or publications have been made to address these issues. Exemplary examples of patents and or publication that try to address this/these problem(s) are identified and discussed below. 
         [0010]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,587 issue to Gary L. Carpenter issued on Jan. 24, 1995 to Gary L. Carpenter discloses a Device for Carrying Elongated Ski Equipment. This patent has a pocket where the end of the skies are placed, and a strap connects from the pocket to an upper end of the skies. The strap is placed over a shoulder so the skies are slung from behind the person and under a shoulder to a position in front of the person. With this configuration the person can&#39;t bend down or forward without the skies touching the ground. The patent further does not allow the person to transport the ski boots with the skies because the ski boots will occupy an area of the person transporting the equipment. 
         [0011]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,672,495 issued on Jan. 6, 2004 discloses a Bifurcated Carrier Pack for Transporting Recreational Equipment. The patent allows the person to transport a snowboard across the back of the user. With this embodiment the person can bend over, but the orientation of the snowboard makes it difficult to move through a door, and the straps make transportation of the boots difficult. The equipment further does not allow for transportation of skies. 
         [0012]    U.S. Publication 2007/0210570 that was published on Sep. 13, 2007 for Jasper C. Erichsen discloses a Ski-Carrier. This publication is for an extendable belt mounted pocket. The pocket is secured onto a belt that holds the pants of a user. When a user wants to transport their skies they extend a pocket and slide the end of the skies into the pocket to support one end of the skies and holds the free end of the skies. Due to the orientation of the skies, the invention does not allow for transportation of the boots with the skies. 
         [0013]    U.S. Publication 2010/0206930 that was published on Aug. 19, 2010 for Andrew Jason Sims discloses a Ski and Snowboard Sling-belt. The belt slings the snowboard diagonally across the back of the user. While this patent allows for transportation of ski equipment it only allows for transportation of skies or a snowboard. After transportation the invention does not have a pocket or pouch to transport the carrier after use. 
         [0014]    What is needed is a transportation device for a skies and/or snowboard along with the poles and boots. The transportation mechanism should further provide a storage mechanism for the transportation equipment. This document provides a solution. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0015]    It is an object of the sling carrier for skis, snowboard and boots to be able to carry the skies and or snowboard across the back of the wearer. The ability to sling the equipment over the back of a user allows the user to have full mobility walk. A user can tighten the sling to adjust the location of the equipment in their back. Having the equipment supported on their back allows the user to walk in a more balanced stance and the user just needs to bend forward or backward to accommodate the load or the terrain. 
         [0016]    It is an object of the sling carrier for skis, snowboard and boots to include a pocket for transportation of the skies and or snowboard. It is also a function of the carrier for the pocket to be used to store the transportation equipment and therefore allow the user to easily transport the equipment after the skies and or snowboard have been transported. 
         [0017]    It is an object of the sling carrier for skis, snowboard and boots to be used transportation of all the unique ski equipment. Along with the skies, one embodiment includes transportation of the ski poles and the boots. All of these pieces of equipment are slung over the back of the user and essentially leaves the hands free for paying for lift tickets, food or other items. 
         [0018]    It is an object of the sling carrier for skis, snowboard and boots to be used transportation of all the unique snowboard equipment. Along with the snowboard, one embodiment includes transportation of the snowboard and the boots. All of these pieces of equipment are slung over the back of the user and essentially leaves the hands free for paying for lift tickets, food or other items. 
         [0019]    It is another object of the sling carrier for skis, snowboard and boots to be used for transportation of all the unique ski equipment for a person that both skies and snowboards. Along with the skies and snowboard this embodiment includes transportation of the ski, snowboard, poles and either sets of boots. All of these pieces of equipment are slung over the back of the user and essentially leaves the hands free for paying for lift tickets, food or other items. 
         [0020]    It is still another object of the sling carrier for skis, snowboard and boots to use adjustable buckles to connect straps together. Buckles allow the user to just “squeeze” elements together to release the straps. For connecting elements together the user just pushes the parts together. This is especially important when it is cold and the user&#39;s fingers and hands are cold. This is also superior to hook-and-loop fasteners that become brittle in cold weather. 
         [0021]    Various objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, along with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like components. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
         [0022]      FIG. 1  shows a sling carrier for skies with attached boots. 
           [0023]      FIG. 2  shows a view of the components used in the sling carrier for skies. 
           [0024]      FIG. 3  shows a view of the attachment of the ski poles. 
           [0025]      FIG. 4  shows the top of the skies being secured. 
           [0026]      FIG. 5  shows the bottom of the skies entering the pouch. 
           [0027]      FIG. 6  shows the top of the poles being secured to the skies. 
           [0028]      FIG. 7  shows the bottom of the poles being secured to the skies. 
           [0029]      FIG. 8  shows pouch being secured to the opposing side of the sling. 
           [0030]      FIG. 9  shows the pouch secured over a shoulder of a user. 
           [0031]      FIG. 10  shows a sling carrier with a snowboard and snowboard boots. 
           [0032]      FIG. 11  shows the components used in the sling carrier for a snowboard. 
           [0033]      FIG. 12  shows a snowboard being secured into the pouch and the sling. 
           [0034]      FIG. 13  shows the snowboard pouch being carried on the back of a user. 
           [0035]      FIG. 14  shows a sling carrier for skis, snowboard and boots. 
           [0036]      FIG. 15  shows the carrier without the ski equipment being carried as a backpack. 
           [0037]      FIG. 16  shows the components used to carry skies and a snowboard. 
           [0038]      FIG. 17  shows the snowboard in the pouch with the skies being inserted. 
           [0039]      FIG. 18  shows the top end of the poles being secured to the skies and snowboard. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0040]      FIG. 1  shows a sling carrier for skies with attached boots. In this figure the back of the user  39  is shown with the ski equipment slung over the back of the user in a diagonal orientation. In this orientation the user can bend forward and can walk with the weight of the equipment fairly evenly distributed on the user  39 . The ski boots  48  and  49  are secured in the ski bindings  47 , thereby no additional securing mechanism is required to retain the ski boots  48  and  49 . While the ski boots  48  and  49  are shown secured into the ski bindings, the user can wear the ski boots  48  and  49  as they transport the skies and ski poles slung over the back of the user. 
         [0041]    The curved end of the skies  42  and  43  are secured together with a upper ski strap  60  that both secures the skies  42  and  43  together and provides an upper connection for a front sling (not shown in this figure). The upper end of the poles  46  and  47  (obscured in this figure) are connected together with an upper pole strap  70  that is secured to a “D” ring (obscured in this figure) that is secured around the skis, in this case, skis  42  and  43 . The upper pole strap  70  is retained on the poles because the top of the ski poles include an enlarged top  44  to the hand grip portion of the pole(s). The flat under sides of the skies rest together and the bottom end of the ski poles are secured to the lower end of the skies  42  and  43  with a lower ski and pole strap  90 / 100 . The flat end of the skies  42  and  43  and secured into a pouch  80 . 
         [0042]      FIG. 2  shows a view of the components used in the sling carrier for skies. These are the components that are used to transport the skies, boots and pole. The lower ski and pole straps  90  and  100  and the pole strap  70  can be placed within the ski pouch  80  and all the components can be carried by the user as a complete unit. This will be shown and described in other figures herein. 
         [0043]    The sling strap  50  has a separable buckle  53  with a male and a female clasp that allows a user to separate the two parts,  51  and  52 , of the sling strap  50 . The separable buckle  53  further includes an adjustment mechanism to alter the overall length of the sling strap to fit the geometry of a user to adjust the location of the equipment on the back of a user. On the opposing sides of the buckle  53  there are separate lengths of straps  51  and  52 . Each of these lengths of straps terminate with operable clasps  54  and  55 . The clasps  54  and  55 , along with the buckle  53  are designed to allow an operator to connect and disconnect the components in freezing condition and with limited dexterity caused by gloves and or cold conditions. 
         [0044]    The upper ski strap  60  has a central male clasp  63  that mates or connects into a complimentary female clasp  65 . An “O” or “D” ring  64  is positioned between the male  63  and the female  65  clasps. The ring  64  allows for connection of one of the operable clasps  54  or  55  on the sling strap  50 . A free end  62  of the strap  61  allows for a user to grasp to tighten a grip on skies placed in the strap between the male  63  and the female  65  clasps. 
         [0045]    The pole strap  70  has two lengths of strap material  72  and  74  with an operable clasp  73  located at an equal distance between two separate rings  71  and  75 . In operation, a portion of the strap material,  72  or  74  is looped and passed through the respective ring  71  or  75  and the hand grip of the ski pole is passed through the loop. The loop is then tightened to secure the hand grip of the ski pole. 
         [0046]    The ski pouch  80  is essentially a pouch with an opening where the flat portion of the skies are placed to secure the flat end of the skies. The ski pouch  80  has a top flap that wraps around the opening to secure any contents within the pouch. The ski pouch  80  is shown with the lower ski strap components  90  and  100  secured to the ski pouch  80 . 
         [0047]    The lower pole strap components  90  and  100  are snapped  93  and  103  onto the ski pouch  80 . Lower pole strap component  90  has a snap  93  at a first end with a male clasp  94  and a free length of strap material  91  with a buckle  92 . A “D” ring  95  is secured to the front flap of the ski pouch  80 . The lower pole strap component  100  also snaps to the ski pouch  80  and has a female buckle  101 . 
         [0048]      FIG. 3  shows a view of the attachment of the ski poles  46  and  47 . The ski poles  46  and  47  are secured by using the pole strap  70  that has two lengths of strap material  72  and  74  with an operable clasp  73  located at an equal distance between two separate “D” ring  71  and  75 . To install the ski poles  46  and  47  onto the pole strap  70  a portion of the strap material,  72  or  74  is looped  76  and passed through the respective “D” ring  71  or  75  and the hand grip  44  or  45  of the ski pole is passed through the loop. The loop is then tightened to secure the hand grip  45  of the ski pole. 
         [0049]      FIG. 4  shows the top of the skies being secured. Because current skies  42  &amp;  43  are parabolic in shape, the upper ski strap  60  can be secured at a narrow portion of the skies  42  &amp;  43 . The free end  62  of the strap  60  can be pulled to tighten the strap  60  in the buckle  63  and then moved  86  up to the wider portion of the skies  42  &amp;  43  to increase the binding of the strap  60  on the skies  42  &amp;  43 . 
         [0050]      FIG. 5  shows the bottom of the skies  42  &amp;  43  entering  87  into the open  88  end of the pouch  80 . A backing lip  85  extends around the back of the pocket to provide a flat surface that sits on the flat surface of the ski. The end of the skies  42  &amp;  43  are then seated into the pocket  80 . The flap portion  85  of the pocket  80  is brought along the back side of the skies  42  &amp;  43 . The ski pouch  80  has a number of snaps  82 ,  83  and  84  for securing some of the straps, in particular the lower pole strap  90 / 100  that wraps around the pouch  80  and previously shown. 
         [0051]      FIG. 6  shows the top of the poles  46  and  47  being secured to the skies  42 . The ski poles  46  and  47  have hand grips  44  and  45  respectively where the upper pole strap  72  is secured. The clasp  73  in the center of the pole strap  72  is secured to the ring  64  on the upper ski strap  60  and then the upper pole strap  72  is brought between the curved tips of the skies for stability. The clasp  54  on the lower sling strap  52  is also connected to the ring  64  on the upper strap  60 . It is important for the ring  64  to be positioned at the side of the skies to allow the apparatus to be slung diagonally across the back of a user. 
         [0052]      FIG. 7  shows the bottom of the poles being secured to the skies. At this location the end of the ski poles  46  and  47  are shown secured to the bottom straight end of the skies  42 . The lower straps  90 / 100  secure all the skies and poles together to prevent undesirable movement while they are being transported. 
         [0053]      FIG. 8  shows pouch being secured to the opposing side of the sling strap  51 . The lower end  51  of the sling strap has a clasp  55  that connects to the “D” ring  87  on the flap  85  of the pouch  80 . The flat end of the skies  42  and  43  are shown in the pouch  80 . The snap  86  can be secured to one of the snaps  86  on the front of the pouch  80 . The ski poles  46  and  47  are shown secured to the skies  42  and  43  with the lower ski and pole strap  90 / 100  is wrapped around both the skies and both of the poles. Once both ends of the sling strap  50  have been secured with the clasp  54  in the “D” ring  64  (at the other end of strap  51 ) and the “D” ring  87  with clasp  55  of the ski pouch  80 , the user can place the sling  50  over their head and shoulder. Once the user is wearing the sling, the user can adjust the length of the sling  50  to set the preferred location of the sling on the user. To quickly remove the sling, a user can unbuckle the clasp or buckle  53  in the sling  50 . 
         [0054]      FIG. 9  shows the pouch  80  secured over a shoulder of a user  39 . When the pouch  80  is not being used to transport ski equipment, the remaining straps are placed into the pouch  80 . This view shows the clasp  53  of the sling  51  and  52 . The clasps  54  and  55  are secured to “D” ring on the back of the pouch  80 . The front flap  85  of the pouch  80  is brought over the pouch  80  where the “D” ring  87  is held by the straps. 
         [0055]      FIG. 10  shows a sling carrier with a snowboard  110  and snowboard boots  111  and  112 . The snowboard  110 , boots or boot bindings  111  and  112  are all carried on the back of the user  39  in a sling arrangement that allows the person  39  to easily walk and bend over because the equipment is distributed and balanced on the back of the user  39 . This further frees the hands of the user to pay for lift tickets or carry other items. The bottom of the snowboard  110  is held in a pocket  133  within a pouch  130 . The pouch  130  has a surrounding lip  134  with a raised front surface where the snowboard  110  fits inside of the pouch  130 . The front of the pouch  130  has some pockets with mechanical or magnetic snaps  135  and  136  for securing the pockets. A sling strap (not visible in this figure) connects from the pouch  130  to an upper strap  120 . 
         [0056]    The upper strap  120  wraps around the upper portion of the snowboard  110  to secure the snowboard  110 . The upper strap has a male  121  and a female  122  buckle portion secured on the strap  120 . The “O” ring  122  is placed in the center of the width of the snowboard. An end  123  of the strap  120  allows for tightening or loosening of the strap  120  on the snowboard  110 . 
         [0057]      FIG. 11  shows the components used in the sling carrier for a snowboard. The sling strap  50  has a separable buckle  53  with a male and a female clasp that allows a user to separate the two parts,  51  and  52 , of the sling strap  50 . The separable buckle  53  further includes an adjustment mechanism to alter the overall length of the sling strap to fit the geometry of a user to adjust the location of the equipment on the back of a user. An adjustable pad  56  is present on the strap  52  to provide a cushion and to distribute loads on the strap  50 . On the opposing sides of the buckle  53  there are separate lengths of straps  51  and  52 . Each of these lengths of straps terminate with operable clasps  54  and  55 . The clasps  54  and  55 , along with the buckle  53  are designed to allow an operator to connect and disconnect the components in freezing condition and with limited dexterity caused by gloves and or cold conditions. 
         [0058]    The pouch  130  is configured with a square or rounded bottom to accept either end of a snowboard. The pouch  130  has a front flap  132  that closes over a pocket opening  133  where an end of a snowboard is secured therein. The flap has a “D” ring at the front of the flap for securing one end  55  of the sling strap  50 . Mechanical or magnetic snaps  137  and  138  secure the flap  132  to the front of the pouch  130 . A plurality of “D” rings and clasps  127 ,  128  and  129  are located on the front and back of the pouch  130  for converting the pouch into a backpack for storage of the straps and or other personal items. 
         [0059]    An upper snowboard strap  120  is configured to wrap around the snowboard. The inside of the upper snowboard strap  120  is reinforced or backed with leather or other equivalent material to protect the strap material from being damaged from the hard sharp edges of the snowboard. This strap  120  has a male connector  121  and a female connector  125  at opposing ends. The tail  123  can be pulled to tighten the strap  120  on the snowboard. Between the male  121  and the female  125  connectors an “ 0 ” ring is located between the strap portions  122  and  124 . The “O” ring is used to connect to the other clasp  55  on the opposing end of the sling strap  50 . Two additional strap members  140  are used to transport the pouch  130  as a backpack. 
         [0060]    The strap members  140  are essentially the same. The straps  140  include clasps  141  and  147  on each end of the strap. The strap  140  has three section  142 ,  144  and  146 . Between section  144  and  146  a “D” ring  145  is located for securing the end of the strap  144 . An adjustable buckle  143  is located to adjust the overall length of the strap  140 . 
         [0061]      FIG. 12  shows a snowboard being secured into the pouch and the sling. First the upper strap is secured around the snowboard  110  and then buckle at the end of strap portions  122  and  124  is connected. The strap is tightened onto the snowboard  110  at a position above the top boot binding. 
         [0062]    When the top strap is attached, the “O” ring  123  is centered in the middle of the base width wise. Snowboards also have a parabolic shape. The method for attaching the top strap  122  is to clip it around the board just above the leading (top) binding, pull the adjuster strap down nice and snug making sure the “O”  123  is centered on the base, the strap is moved up until the strap reaches the widest part of the parabolic shape making a nice and tight strap on the snowboard. 
         [0063]    The bottom of the snowboard is slid into the pouch opening  139  to a position below the lower binding  111 . The top flap  132  is lifted to allow the clip  55  of the sling strap to connect to the “D” loop  126 . The other end of the sling strap  52  is then hooked  54  into the “O” ring  123  of the upper strap. The user can then enter into the sling strap and tighten the sling strap for the desired fit. When the board is being transported, the top strap will come into contact with the edges as it is positioned on the base. Those edges can be extremely sharp and would probably cut right through a standard nylon strap. As with the ski sling, the central buckle on the sling strap is disconnected to quickly exit from the snowboard sling carrier. 
         [0064]      FIG. 13  shows the snowboard pouch being carried on the back of a user. When the snowboard carrier is not being used to transport the snowboard the pouch  130  can be used as a backpack. The strap members  142  are connected to the “D” ring  129  at the top of the carrier and also connected to “D” rings  158  (obscured in this view) on the back of the carrier  130 . The straps  140  can then be adjusted to the desired fit based upon the desires of the user or the physical features of the user  39 . 
         [0065]      FIG. 14  shows a sling carrier for skis, snowboard and boots. In this embodiment a user  39  is able to carry all of the ski and snowboard equipment with a single sling carrier. The hands of the user remain free. The majority of the components have been shown and described in previous embodiments shown and described herein with the exception of the pouch  150 . The pouch has two pockets, a first pocket  151  where the snowboard  110  is inserted and a second pouch  153  where the flat ends of the skies are inserted, and the ends of the ski poles  46  and  47  are retained. The pocket  153  for the skies  42  &amp;  43  essentially folds out perpendicular to the pocket  51  that retains the snowboard  110 . A flap  152  covers the ski retaining pocket  153  when the pocket is not being used. 
         [0066]      FIG. 15  shows the carrier without the ski and snowboard equipment being carried as a backpack. This figure shows the other side of the flap  152  with storage pockets  154  and  155  for storage of the securing straps. The back of the flap  152  further includes a transparent window  156  for storage of a license, lift ticket etc. 
         [0067]    When the carrier  150  is not being used to transport the skies and or snowboard the pouch  150  can be used as a backpack. The strap members  142  are connected to the “D” ring  157  at the top of the carrier and also connected to “D” rings (obscured in this view) on the back of the carrier  150 . The straps can then be adjusted to the desired fit based upon the desires of the user or the physical features of the user  39 . 
         [0068]      FIG. 16  shows the components used to carry skies and a snowboard. The straps  50 ,  70 ,  120 ,  140  and  190  are essentially the same as previously described. Strap  50  includes a protective sleeve  57  to reduce abrasion of the clasp  54 . Strap  190  is essentially the same as strap  120  with a slight difference in the length of the strap and strap  120  further has an additional clip that is adjacent to the female part of the buckle. The clip is secured to the upper ski strap  190 . 
         [0069]    To assemble the skis within this storage version the curved ends of the skies are bound as previously described and the grip ends of the ski poles are bound as previously identified. 
         [0070]      FIG. 17  shows the snowboard in the pouch with the skies being inserted. The strap  120  is secured to the snowboard  110  as previously described. The snowboard  110  is inserted into the pocket  151  of the pouch  150 . An inner pocket  153  is exposed from the pouch  150  and the flat end of the skies are inserted into the inner pocket  153 . The skies  42  and  43  are elevated, essentially parallel to the snowboard  110 . 
         [0071]      FIG. 18  shows the top end of the poles being secured to the skies  42  &amp;  43  and snowboard  110 . In this figure the strap  70  that retains the ski poles  46  &amp;  47  are secured to the “D” ring of strap  190 . The “D” ring of strap  190  is connected to clip that is adjacent to the female buckle. The free end of the ski poles are the tucked into the pocket  153 . The sling strap  50  is secured to strap  120  and to the pouch  150  to allow a user to lift all the equipment onto their back for transportation. 
         [0072]    While specific materials of leather, nylon and “O” rings and buckles have been identified in the application, it should be obvious to one skilled in the art that future progression of the carriers can include alternative materials and construction that provide the same or superior functionality. 
         [0073]    Thus, specific embodiments of a sling carrier for skis, snowboard and boots has been disclosed. It should be apparent, however, to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims.