Patent Publication Number: US-7717763-B2

Title: Water sports board with wave engager

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/650,761, filed on Feb. 7, 2005. 

   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates to personal water sports boards such as boogie boards and the like that are usually propelled by traveling with the flow of water in which they are used. 
   BACKGROUND 
   Personal water sports boards are floating boards upon which a rider travels on the water. The typical personal water sports board is not self-propelled. Rather, a rider positions themselves on top of the board and usually maneuvers the personal water sports board through a flow of water. 
   One known type of personal water sports board is commonly referred to as a “boogie board.” Riders position themselves face down on top of the boogie board so that their torso rests on the board with their arms and legs extending into the water. While riders of boogie boards routinely use their arms and legs to propel, maneuver and “steer” the board, the primary goal is to position the board in a flow of water, such as a wave along a shoreline or the like, and ride the flow of water while on the board. 
   Accordingly, it is desirable for the board to easily engage and be driven by this flow of water while still allowing the rider to propel, maneuver and steer the board as needed. 
   To date, efforts to improve a personal water sports board&#39;s operability have had limited success. Some improvements have focused on improving the materials used to form the board. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,228 to Richardson et al. discloses forming a water sports board with a low density, high strength elongated core surrounded by an outer layer formed of soft resilient non-permeable material. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,051 to Messer discloses mounting a traction pad on top of a wakeboard to improve the engagement between the rider and board. 
   More recently, some inventors have attempted to modify the overall shape of the board in an effort to improve its operating characteristics. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,935,909 to Mann discloses a gliding board having a curved lower surface defining an anticlastic shape to resemble the shape of a saddle. 
   Despite these improvements, none is directed to improving a personal water sports board&#39;s ability to better engage a driving flow of water in which it is being operated. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present is a personal water sports board that has a wave engager along a water-engaging surface. The wave engager allows substantially laminar water flow past it in a first direction, but operably engages the flow of water originating from an opposite second direction so as to drive the board in that opposite second direction. 
   In a disclosed embodiment, the board has a front side and a back side, and the wave engager is positioned so as to operably engage the flow of water traveling from the back side to the front side. Accordingly, when a rider directs the board toward a shoreline, waves will operably engage the wave engager thereby driving the board toward the shoreline without the wave engager substantially interfering with the forward movement of the board through the water. This driving action creates the desirable sensation of the wave “pushing” the board. 
   Wave engagers are preferably indentations and/or protrusions along a water engaging surface that define a wall. That wall is aligned substantially perpendicular to and positioned in the second flow of water. In one disclosed embodiment, a plurality of wave engagers are operably secured to the water sports board, and they are preferably aligned symmetrically along a longitudinal centerline of the board. In other disclosed embodiments, the wall height of the plurality of wave engagers is graduated so as to increase from back to front, and wave engagers are mounted to the sides of the board. 
   Other advantages and features of the present invention will become clear upon study of the following portion of this specification and drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a lower, isometric view of a personal water sports board having at least one wave engager thereon in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a partial cross-sectional view of the personal water sports board of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is an alternative possible cross-sectional view of a personal water sports board showing an exemplar first alternative possible wave engager shape. 
       FIG. 4  is a partial bottom view of a personal water sports board showing an exemplar second alternative possible wave engager shape. 
       FIG. 5  is a partial bottom view of a personal water sports board showing an exemplar third alternative possible wave engager shape. 
       FIG. 6  is a partial bottom view of a personal water sports board showing an exemplar fourth alternative possible wave engager shape. 
       FIG. 7  is a lower, isometric view of the personal water sports board of  FIG. 1  showing a fifth alternative possible wave engager shape thereon. 
       FIG. 8  is a lower, isometric view of the personal water sports board of  FIG. 1  with at least one wave engager thereon, and at least one wave engager operably secured to a side of the personal water sports board in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   A personal water sports board  10  with at least one wave engager ( 30   a - 30   f ,  90 ) operably secured to a water-engaging surface thereof is disclosed in  FIGS. 1-8 . 
   The personal water sports board  10  is formed of a floatable material and preferably substantially planer with a slightly curved front end portion to define a front end  14 , back end  16 , left side  18 , right side  20 , lower surface  22 , and upper surface  24 . The lower surface  22  is a water engaging surface and is substantially smooth so as to allow water to flow substantially smoothly thereunder in a first direction (shown as arrow  42 ,  FIG. 2 )) when the board  10  moves in a forward direction shown as arrow  40  ( FIG. 2 ). Preferably, the board  10  is also symmetrical about a longitudinal centerline  80   
   Preferably, wave engagers  30   a - f  are positioned along the lower surface  22  so as to operably engage the flow of water from the opposite second direction, shown as arrow  44  ( FIG. 2 ) without substantially interfering with the first flow of water in the first direction, shown as arrow  42  ( FIG. 2 ). 
   Exemplar wave engager structures offering this property are shown in  FIGS. 1-8 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a first preferred wave engager  30   a  structure is disclosed. In this disclosed embodiment, the wave engagers  30   a  are indentations in the lower surface  22  of the board  10 . The indentation are shaped to define a substantially planar front wall  60  having a defined height  61  ( FIG. 2 ), left and right side walls ( 31   b ,  31   a , respectively), and an upwardly sloping upper surface  62  ( FIG. 2 ) that extends between the lower surface  22  to the top of the wall  60  as shown. 
   Preferably, at least a portion of the wall  60  is aligned substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline  80  of the board  10 . The wall portion  60  defines a flowing side, wherein water traveling in a first direction  42  ( FIG. 2 ) substantially flows by said wall  60 ; and, an engaging side, wherein water traveling in an opposite second direction  44  ( FIG. 2 ) engages said substantially perpendicular wall. Accordingly, water flowing in the direction of arrow  44  ( FIG. 2 ), such as when a user has the board  10  pointed toward a shoreline and a wave breaks from behind the board  10 , operably engages the wall  60  and thereby urges the board  10  forward in the direction of arrow  40  ( FIG. 2 ). 
   The lower surface of the wall  60  and the opposite end of the indentation are aligned along the lower surface  22  of the board  10  as shown. Accordingly, water flowing in the direction of arrow  42  ( FIG. 2 ) flows substantially freely past the wall portion  60 . 
   Preferably, a plurality of wave engagers  30   a  are provided on the lower surface  22  of the board, positioned in a symmetrical manner about the longitudinal centerline  80  of the board. As shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  7  and  8 , each of the plurality of wave engagers is positioned so as to be independent of any other of said plurality of wave engagers. That is, other than the lower surface  22  itself in which the wave engagers are formed, there are no structures or deformities or indentations in the lower surface  22  formed between the wave engagers to enable the flow of water from one wave engager to another. Water entering a wave engager  30   a  is engaged in one direction to urge the board  10  forward. It is inherent in this structure of the wave engager  30   a  that any water that will exit the wave engager must first exit the wave engager and travel over the lower surface  22  as there are no indentations or structures in lower surface  22  that connect one wave engager to another. This prevents the water held in one wave engager from moving to another wave engager other than over lower surface  22 . 
   More preferably, the defined height of the wave engager walls  60  decreases from the front side  14  to back side  16  of the board. Accordingly, wave engagers  30   a  positioned toward the front side  14  of the board  10  will have higher walls  60  than those positioned toward the back side  16 . 
   Referring to  FIG. 3 , an alternative possible wave engager  30   b  structure is disclosed. In order to reduce undue repetition like elements between the embodiments have like element numbers. In this second disclosed embodiment, the wave engagers  30   b  are protrusions extending from the lower surface  22  of the board  10  as shown. The protrusions  50  are shaped to define a substantially planar wall  60  having a defined height  61 , left and right side walls, and an upwardly sloping upper surface  62  that extends between the lower surface  22  to the top of the wall  60  as shown. 
   Preferably, at least a portion of the wall  60  is aligned substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline  80  of the board. Accordingly, water flowing in the direction of arrow  44  ( FIG. 3 ), such as when a user has the board  10  pointed toward a shoreline and a wave breaks from behind the board, operably engages the wall  60 , thereby urging the board  10  forward in the direction of arrow  40  ( FIG. 4 ). More preferably, instead of the wall  60  being a vertically aligned plane, it is curved to form a substantially c-shaped portion as shown, to enhance engagement of the water flowing in the second direction  44  ( FIG. 3 ). 
   Preferably, a plurality of wave engagers  30   b  of the second disclosed embodiment are provided on the lower surface  22  of the board, positioned in a symmetrical manner about the longitudinal centerline  80  of the board. 
   Referring to.  FIGS. 4-6 , exemplar alternative possible wave engager shapes are disclosed. In  FIG. 4 , the side walls  31   a ,  31   b  define a substantially rectangular shaped wave engager  30   c . In  FIG. 5 , the side walls  31   a ,  31   b  are substantially curved toward each other from the wall  60  to form the wave engager  30   d . In  FIG. 6 , the wave engager  30   e  is substantially teardrop shaped. 
   Referring to  FIG. 7 , a plurality of wave engagers  30   f , each extending substantially along the width of the board  10  and straddling the longitudinal centerline  80  of the board, is disclosed. Preferably, the wave engagers  30   f  are aligned so that their respective walls  60  are positioned substantially parallel with each other. 
   Referring to  FIG. 8 , a personal water sports board  10 ′ having a plurality of wave engagers  90  mounted on the left and right sides  18 ,  20  of the board  10 ′ is disclosed. The side mounted wave engagers  90  have no side walls. Rather, they are open at the top and bottom as shown. The walls  60  are aligned substantially vertically and perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline  80  of the board  10 ′. 
   Having described preferred embodiments of the present invention; its use is relatively simple. A rider mounts the personal water sports board  10 ,  10 ′ and positions the board so that the longitudinal centerline  80  is aligned substantially parallel to the flow of water with the front end furthest downstream. In this configuration, the board will move easily forward with the flow of water pushing against the walls of the wave engagers further assisting forward movement of the rider and board. A rider may also propel and maneuver the board using conventional methods such as by lying on the board and using their arms and feet. 
   Moreover, the wave engagers  30   a - f  can also be used to propel the board. Since the wave engagers  30   a - f  operably engage water in one direction, a user can grasp the left and right sides  18 ,  20  of the board and move the board forward and backward along the water&#39;s surface. The board moves freely forward, but the wave engagers  30   a - f  engage the water when the board is pulled backwards. It can be appreciated that by repeatedly moving the board forward and backwards along its longitudinal centerline  80 , the board  10  and its rider will be propelled forward, even in still water. 
   In view of the wide variety of embodiments to which the principles of the invention can be applied, it should be apparent that the detailed embodiments are illustrative only and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention. For example, the size, shape, specific combination, and orientation of wave engagers  30   a - f ,  90  on a board  10 ,  10 ′ can be adjusted as needed to optimize performance for a particular task. Moreover, the height of the walls  60  can vary between wave engagers on a board. Moreover, the board  10 ,  10 ′ can include traditional structures such as fins and the like, without compromising the effectiveness of the wave engagers  30   a - f ,  90 . Also the disclosed flows of water can also be viewed on a relative basis with respect to the personal water sports board. Rather, the claimed invention includes all such modifications as may come within the scope of the following claims and equivalents thereto.