Patent Publication Number: US-2011053442-A1

Title: Water board

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to aquatic recreational devices, more specifically, to a water board for stable and controlled maneuvers simulating marine animal swimming characteristics while being towed. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Aquatic recreation is a favorite pastime for many, especially during the summer. It is a great way to cool down while enjoying the sun, the water and the scenery both above and below the water surface. Recreational devices such as boats, canoes, surfboards, body boards, water and jet skis facilitate much of these activities. While each provides its own brand of thrill and enjoyment for the user, many do not approach the elusive simulacrum of water creatures diving in and out of water and swimming in the depths, an experience that many would enjoy. 
     Some solutions have been proposed that simulate swimming characteristics of marine animals such as diving and surfacing while moving on the water. These devices include a planar board or water plane towed by a water vehicle. The user may manipulate the board to dive into and out of the water, and the user may perform some underwater maneuvers with the same. However, it seems that most of these solutions do not appear to be very stable nor do they appear to be easy to maneuver. Thus, it would be beneficial in the art to provide a water plane with stable riding characteristics while permitting easy maneuverability. 
     Thus, a water board solving the aforementioned problems is desired. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The water board includes a substantially planar board forming a pair of bat shaped wings adapted to be towed by a water vehicle. A pair of upstanding handles is disposed on the top surface of the planar board, which the user may grasp for towing the user and maneuvering the board. A pair of fins depends from the bottom surface of the planar board to stabilize and control maneuvering of the water board both above and below the water. A towing bracket with a towing ring is secured to the top surface of the planar board so that the board may be connected to the water vehicle via a towline. 
     These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an environmental, perspective view of a water board according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the water board according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of the water board according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a top view of the water board according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a bottom view of the water board according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a partial side view in section of an alternative embodiment of a water board according to the present invention having a different maneuvering system. 
     
    
    
     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention relates to a water board, generally referred to by reference number  10 , with stable and controlled maneuvering capabilities for an enjoyable simulated marine animal swimming experience. As shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , the water board  10  includes a substantially planar board shaped like the wings of a bat. The wingspan of the water board  10  accommodates a wide range of user sizes and provides more than adequate surface area for traversing water both on and below the surface of the water. The water board  10  is preferably made from a laminate of foam, resin and fiberglass layers, but other buoyant and waterproof materials, composites, laminates or combinations may be used to form the same. 
     The front of the water board  10  includes oppositely disposed chamfered edges  14  extending outwardly from the top and bottom surfaces  11 ,  12 . The chamfered edges  14  meet to form a relatively narrow or acute front, outer edge  13 . The front, outer edge  13  allows the water board  10  to cut into the water with ease when tilted downwardly for diving or tilted upwardly for surfacing. The rear of the water board  10  includes indentions or scalloped portions  15  which define the trapezoidal batwing shape and provides comfortable accommodations for the arms of the user P. Note  FIGS. 4 and 5 . 
     The water board  10  is adapted to be towed by a watercraft, and to facilitate this, the water board  10  includes a towing system  30 . Note  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  4 . The towing system  30  includes a towing bracket  31  disposed on the top surface  11  of the water board  10  with a loop through which a tow ring  32  may be attached. The towing bracket  31  may be secured to the water board  10  by fasteners  33  from the bottom surface  12 . A towline L connects at one to the tow ring  32  and the other end connects to the water vehicle. 
     As an alternative to the above, the towing bracket  31  may be configured such that the tow ring  32  would be disposed on the front, outer edge  13  or anywhere between the top surface  11  and the front, outer edge  13 . These locations are more preferable than near or on the bottom surface  12  because these other locations may hinder or cause unnecessary or undesirable drag when the user P desires to dive. In other words, if the towline L extends from below the front outer edge  13 , the user P would have to tilt the water board  10  against the force of the towline L in order to dive. On the other hand, it may be desirable to have a towing system  30  where the tow ring  32  is disposed below the front, outer edge  13  for easier upward tilting of the water board  10  due to the increased upward force from the towline L. 
     To stably control or maneuver the water board  10 , the water board  10  includes upstanding, spaced apart handles  20  disposed on the top surface  11  and at least a pair of spaced apart fins  21  depending from the bottom surface  12 . The user P hangs on the handles  20  so as to be dragged by the towing action from the water vehicle. The fins  21  ensure stable movement of the water board  10  in the water because they assist maintaining the water board  10  in the line of desired direction. As an alternative and to increase stability, the water board  10  may include additional fins  21  disposed along the bottom surface  12  and/or at or adjacent the outer lateral edges of the water board  10 . Thus, to steer or control the water board  10  in a stable manner, the user  10  tilts the water board downward to dive, upward to surface or rise in the water, left to bank left, right to bank right, rotate left about the towing point defined by the towing bracket  31  to turn left, or rotate right about the towing point defined by the towing bracket  31  to turn right. 
       FIG. 6  discloses a further alternative for stably controlling or maneuvering the water board  10 . In this embodiment, the control or maneuvering system  40  includes spaced apart handles  41  integral with fins with the handles  41  protruding through the top surface  11  and the fins depending from the bottom surface  12 . A ball joint  43  connects the handles  41  and fins  42  to the water board  10 . The ball joint  43  permits rotation of the handles  41  about the vertical axis as indicated by arrows  44  and about the horizontal axis (in and out of the view shown in  FIG. 6 ) as indicated by arrows  45 . The ball joint  43  may be biased to normally maintain the fins  42  in a straight orientation. 
     User manipulation of the handles  41  about either of the axes mentioned above steers the water board  10 . Thus, rotating the handles  41  in the direction  44  turns the water board  10  left or right. Tilting the handles  41  in the direction  45  banks the water board to the left or the right. Tilting the handles  44  either forward or backward against the top surface  11  causes the water board  10  to dive or rise respectively. As a further alternative, the bottom ends of the  42  may include horizontally disposed fins to assist diving or rising of the water board  10 . 
     The following describes how the water board  10  is used. Once the water board  10  is hitched to a water vehicle via the towline L, the user P grasps the handles  20  or  41  in preparation to be dragged with the water board  10 . As the water board  10  is traversing the water, the user P may tilt the water board  10  down via the handles  20  or  41  to dive into the depths. While gliding underwater, the user  10  manipulates the handles  20  or  41  in the manner described above to perform maneuvers similar to a fish or other marine animals. To rise in or out of the water, the user P tilts the handles  20  or  41  upward. Thus, it can be seen that the water board  10  provides a stable platform for experiencing the maneuvers of marine animals. 
     It is noted that the water board  10  encompasses a variety of alternatives. For example, the bracket towing system may be replaced with a plurality of reinforced tow holes formed near the front of the water board  10 . The towline L may be attached to these tow holes directly or through a system of intermediate tether lines to secure the water board  10  for towing. As another example, the handles  20  or  41  may include slip resistant covering for a secure grip. The handles  20  or  41  may also be curved and/or ergonomically formed with indentions that conform to the user&#39;s fingers. The shape of the fins  21  or  42  may range from triangular to curvilinear that permit good and stable slicing action through the water. The ball joint  43  may alternatively be constructed as a collapsible baffle or accordion that permit similar manipulation of the handles  41 . Moreover, the handles  41  and the fins  42  may be respectively linked so as to move together. Furthermore, the surface of the water board  10  may include a variety of patterns, colors, and/or indicia according to user desires. 
     It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.