Abstract:
A bag for storing, carrying or holding on top of a vehicle a surfboard, wakeboard or snowboard that protects, stores, displays and travels all in one comprehensive product. The bag can be carried by handle or by an attachable shoulder strap. The bag can be displayed/stored on a wall, ceiling or garage rafters in both parallel or vertical positions using just two or all four straps. Due to its features, the bag is also capable of being strapped to the top of a vehicle (or in the bed of a truck) without any soft or hard racks being required on the vehicle or truck.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION 
     This invention relates to the storage, display, safe-keeping and transportation of a surfboard, and in particular to a unitary protective board cover, board wall/ceiling rack for storage/display purposes and vehicle rack. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A surfboard is made up of fiberglass and foam. It is a very fragile piece of equipment and can be damaged extremely easily. Fiberglass is sensitive to pressure, stress and heat. The fins on a surfboard are also very sensitive to stress and can snap with ease. A surfboard can range from 4 to 10 ft. long, and can be as wide as 22 to 36 inches. Some boards, mainly “Longboards” (8-10 ft. in length), can weigh up to 25 lbs. Most “Shortboards” (5-7 ft. in length) weigh less than 10 lbs. 
     A surfer has various needs for safekeeping the board during both storage and traveling. One product for storage and travel is the “Board bag”. There are many different types of “board bags”. The make up of a “Board bag” has been materials like cotton, padded nylon and hard, plastic travel cases. Some bags can be as simple as a cloth material that is pulled over the board to keep it clean. Board bags that are padded, heat resistant and have carrying provisions, like a handle or a shoulder strap, are very useful in transporting the board and protecting the board from sun damage, heat or pressure dings. Board bags range in size and material depending on the surfboard size and traveling needs. There are some board bags that have room for two boards, various zippers for storing other objects, and have hard covers for traveling by air. 
     When a surfer is traveling by car, the board can be stored on top of the car using a surfboard rack. There are various types of car racks, but the most common racks for cars are usually either “hard racks” (permanent metal racks) or “soft racks” (portable padded racks). The board racks work by strapping the board to the padded rack on top of the vehicle. 
     Another need when owning a surfboard is safely storing the board while idle. There are various ways to store a surfboard, but the most popular seems to be the wall rack. The wall rack is made up of two “L” shaped, padded arms that screw into the wall. The board is then placed on the arms of the wall rack and is held suspended off the ground. One major problem with the wall rack is that it sticks out from the wall (about three feet) and it does not necessarily keep the board clean or safe from damage. 
     In the past, all of these needs have been met by acquiring different products, one for storing the surfboard, one for carrying the surfboard and one for mounting the surfboard on the roof of a car. What is needed is an improved board bag, which incorporates a board bag, wall/ceiling rack and vehicle transportation rack all in one product. The present invention fulfills these needs and many others. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Briefly and in general terms the present invention provides a surfer with a protective board bag, a wall or ceiling storage/display rack and a car rack all in one product. The surfboard is placed into a protected, padded board bag by opening (typically unzipping) the side of the board bag, placing the board in the bag and closing (typically rezipping) the bag. The bag with the board inside can then be carried by a handle or by a padded shoulder strap. For the purpose of this invention the bag used to carry a surfboard will be called the “Pro Bag”. The Pro Bag has at least one zippered pocket that can store any unused components or accessories associated with the surfboard. 
     The Pro Bag can also be placed on the top of a vehicle with or without a roof rack and for traveling can be easily strapped down to the top of the vehicle with straps selectively placed (typically with clips or snaps) on the bag to hold the bag snugly against the vehicle roof in combination with “gutter units”. The “gutter units” are easily attached to the ends of the straps and are wedged into or attached to the car roof gutters. Once the “gutter units” are in place, the straps can be hooked on to corresponding D-rings near the middle of the board bag and then pulled taut to keep the bag tight against the top of the vehicle. The Pro Bag has a padded underside that acts as a buffer between the car and the board bag. Other surfboards can also be strapped to the vehicle by placing the board bag on top of the other surfboards and strapping them down tightly together. When the Pro Bag needs to be taken off the vehicle, the surfer can easily loosen and unhook the straps, remove these straps from the bag and put these straps in the at least one zippered pocket for storage. The user can then clip onto the Pro Bag a padded shoulder harness for use in carrying the Pro Bag with the surfboard in it while walking. 
     As a feature of this invention, the Pro Bag can also be clipped to the back of a pick-up truck. Most pickup trucks come with at least four D-Rings in the bed of the truck. The Pro Bag can be connected to each D-Ring via the straps and clips and can be harnessed down in the bed of the truck. The straps can also be attached around other surfboards and clipped together for traveling with various boards. 
     When the Pro Bag needs to be stored in a safe place, it can be attached to wall, ceiling or garage rafters via “wall units” and straps with clips (two straps or four straps depending on the style of display) to be displayed in a safe and protected manner. The wall units can work with only two straps or with all four straps according to the manner in which the board is displayed. Once a surfer comes home, he or she can easily unclip the shoulder harness and clip the Pro Bag containing the board to the wall units using the same straps as used to mount the Pro Bag on top of a vehicle and adjust the straps according to the most desired display. Whether on the wall above a bed or strapped tight to the ceiling of a garage, the Pro Bag will be protected while out of the way and yet displayed. 
     The surfer can position the Pro Bag flat against the wall in a parallel or vertical position. The bag can also be stored flat (i.e. parallel) or vertically (i.e. with the long axis of the stored surfboard parallel to the ceiling with the plane of the surfboard perpendicular to the ceiling) on the ceiling. Once the board is clipped to the wall units, it lays flat and is protected from dirt, dings and daily traffic. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a view of the Pro Bag with its components. 
     FIG. 2 presents a view of the Pro Bag with the shoulder strap component. 
     FIG. 3 is a view of the Pro Bag clipped onto a wall using only two wall units. 
     FIG. 4 is a view of the Pro Bag clipped onto the ceiling using all four wall units. 
     FIGS. 5A and 5B show the Pro Bag strapped to the top of a vehicle using the gutter units. 
     FIG. 6 presents an enlarged detail of the swivel clip. 
     FIG. 7 presents an enlarged detail of a “Gutter unit”. 
     FIG. 8 presents an enlarged detail of a “Wall unit”. 
     FIG. 9 presents an enlarged detail of a “D-ring”. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In the following description, which is illustrative only and not limiting, like reference numerals will be used to refer to like or corresponding elements in the different figures of the drawings. 
     Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the Pro Bag  1  with five main components: the webbing or straps  4 A to  4 D (typically but not necessarily nylon) and clips  6 A to  6 D and  6 A′ to  6 D′ (typically stainless steel; eight are shown in FIG. 1; see also FIG.  6 ), the “D-rings”  3 A to  3 D,  5 A to  5 D and  10 A to  10 D (see also FIG.  9 ), the “Wall Units”  8 A to  8 D (see also FIG.  8 ), the “Gutter Units”  13 A to  15 D (see also FIG.  7 ), and a padded shoulder strap  12  (see also FIG.  2 ). Strap  12  connects to loops  3 A and  3 B or to loops  3 C and  3 D using connecting straps  4 C and  4 D (FIG. 2) to allow the Pro Bag  1  to be easily carried on a person&#39;s shoulder. Attached to the ends of straps  4 A to  4 D are swivel clips  6 A to  6 D and  6 A′ to  6 D′ typically and preferably made of stainless steel, but any other suitable corrosion-resistant material can also be used, such as brass, bronze or plastic. A typical adjustable swivel clip  6  (as seen on both ends of each strap  4 A,  4 B,  4 C and  4 D) is designed to clip on to an appropriate one of the D-Rings  3 A to  3 D,  5 A to  5 D or  10 A to  10 D as required. Straps  4 A to  4 D can be adjusted to their desired lengths in a well-known manner by pulling on loose ends  4 A′ to  4 D′ which each pass through a locking buckles or mechanism of well-known design to hold taut straps  4 A to  4 D once adjusted but also to allow these straps to be loosened when necessary. 
     The Pro Bag  1  can be opened by a large zipper  14  (typically stainless steel but of any suitable material), for example, on the side of the bag and shown schematically in FIG.  1 . Other structures such as velcro, snaps, or buttons, for example, can also be used to close the bag, if desired. The components that are not being used can be stored in a large pocket  11  (typically zippered but capable of being closed using velcro, snaps or buttons, if desired) on top of the bag. 
     To carry the Pro Bag  1  using the shoulder strap  12  (FIG.  2 ), the nylon straps  4 C and  4 D (FIG. 2) are attached to D-rings  3 C and  3 D and then clipped on to the shoulder strap  12  by means of the stainless steel clips such as clip  6  (FIG.  6 ). The Pro Bag  1  can also be carried by hand using the handle  2 . The Pro Bag  1  is displayed/stored against the wall or ceiling by screwing the Wall Units  8 A to  8 D (FIG. 8) into the wall or ceiling and then by clipping two or four of the straps  4 A to  4 D to two (FIG. 3) or four (FIG. 4) swinging “U-rings”  9 A to  9 D rotatably mounted in wall units  8 A to  8 D (FIG. 8) depending on display and storage needs. 
     The next use is to strap the Pro Bag  1  onto the top of a vehicle  52  (FIG.  5 ). First, one would clip the straps  4 A to  4 D to the D-rings  10 A to  10 D on top of the Pro Bag using clips  6 A′ to  6 D′ and then attach the free-ended stainless steel clips  6 A to  6 D to each of the four gutter units  13 A to  13 D (FIG.  7 ). The gutter units  13 A to  13 D are designed to fit snug to or attached to the inside of a car door&#39;s gutter (FIG.  5 ). By adjusting the tension on straps  4 A to  4 D by pulling on ends  4 A′ to  4 D′, Pro Bag  1  can be held tightly against the roof of vehicle  52  allowing the surfboard or other object inside Pro Bag  1  to be safely transported while held snugly against the roof of the vehicle. The padded underside of the bag allows the bottom surface of the bag to conform to the vehicle&#39;s roof. This reduces drag and thus helps reduce the reduction in fuel economy caused by carrying an object on the roof of a vehicle. Note that in one embodiment D-rings  10 A to  10 D are mounted on the top surface of Pro Bag  1  offset by a few inches from the centerline  51  of the Pro Bag  1  as shown in FIG. 5 so as to press against the top surface of Pro Bag  1  and thus provide a downward force on Pro Bag  1  perpendicular to the vehicle roof  53  to hold Pro Bag  1  snugly against the vehicle roof  53 . D-rings  10 A to  10 D can be located on the top surface of Pro Bag  1  in any appropriate location which achieves this result. 
     FIG. 3 shows the Pro Bag  1  used to store the surfboard or other object against a wall using two wall units  8 A,  8 B. Straps  4 A and  4 B are connected between “U-rings”  9 A and  9 B rotatably mounted in wall units  8 A and  8 B and between D-Rings  5 A and  5 B placed on one edge of Pro Bag  1 . Thus, Pro Bag  1  hangs vertically from the wall taking minimum space. Because the Pro Bag  1  can still swing against the wall and thus possibly damage the object contained therein, additional wall units such as wall units  8 C and  8 D (FIG. 6) can also be used together with additional straps  4 C and  4 D to hold Pro Bag  1  in a relatively rigid position against the wall. This can be done by tightening ends  4 A′ to  4 D′ in a well-known manner to put straps  4 A,  4 B,  4 C and  4 D under tension thereby to prevent the Pro Bag  1  from moving out from the wall in any significant manner. Thus, FIGS. 3 and 6 show the Pro Bag hanging horizontally from the wall. 
     FIG. 4 shows the Pro Bag  1  mounting vertically on the wall with straps  4 A through  4 D connected to U-rings  9 A to  9 D contained in wall units  8 A through  8 D. This time the wall units however are mounted such that the Pro Bag  1  will hang vertically from the wall rather than horizontally. 
     FIGS. 5A and 5B show the Pro Bag  1  utilizing straps  4 A through  4 D connected between D-rings  10 A through  10 D and gutter units  13 A through  13 D for mounting of the Pro Bag  1  on the roof  53  of a vehicle. The advantages of the location of D-rings  10 A through  10 D have been described above. While preferably straps  4 A through  4 D are made of nylon, by making straps  4 A through  4 D of an elastic material, straps  4 A through  4 D can be tensioned to hold the Pro Bag  1  against the roof of the car with a reasonably large force. When the elastic straps  4 A to  4 D are under sufficient tension, any stretching of straps  4 A through  4 D will be minimal and will not result in Pro Bag  1  loosening significantly from its position pressing snugly against and in contact with the roof of vehicle  52 . 
     FIG. 6 shows the snap  6 A, a common type of snap commercially available, used with this invention. Other types of snaps or clips can also be used if appropriate. 
     FIG. 7 shows the gutter unit  13  for use in mounting the Pro Bag  1  on the roof of a vehicle. Gutter unit  13  is attached to the distal end of adjustable straps  4 A through  4 D thereby allowing straps  4 A through  4 D to mount to the roof of the vehicle. Note that if desired, wall units  8 A through  8 D can also be adapted so that gutter unit  13  can be used on the distal ends of straps  4 A through  4 D to mount the Pro Bag  1  against a wall, as shown schematically in FIG.  6 . 
     FIG. 8 shows the “U-ring”  9  rotatably mounted in wall unit  8 . Shown in FIG. 8 also are four wall units  8 A through  8 D placed so as to hold Pro Bag  1  against the wall in a vertical position as shown in FIG.  8 . 
     FIG. 9 similarly shows the structure of D-rings  3 A through  3 D,  5 A through  5 D and  10 A through  10 D. While D-rings  3 ,  5  and  10  are shown essentially as triangularly-shaped, other shapes such as partially circular or elliptical can be used if desired and the term “ring” as used herein is intended to refer to all of these shapes. Note however that use of a D-ring of triangular-shape allows a flat portion of the D-ring to be mounted or sewn to Pro Bag  1  in a solid way to prevent undue stress from occurring at the mounting structure. Thus in FIG. 9 the mounting structure  90  comprises a weather proof solid materials sewn around the bottom portion  91  of D-ring  3 ,  5  or  10 . Thus, the D-ring will be securely and stably mounted to the Pro Bag using this particular shape. 
     While various configurations of rings and support structures such as wall units have been shown, other shapes of these structures are appropriate for use with this invention. While this invention has been described as using straps made of nylon, other appropriate materials such as heavy canvas, rubberized cloth or any other appropriate material can be used if desired. 
     It will be apparent from the foregoing that while particular forms of the invention have been illustrated and described, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited except by the appended claims.