Patent Publication Number: US-6036218-A

Title: Snow board tip protector

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates generally to snow boards and snow skis, and more particularly to a tip protection apparatus for the ends of the snow boards or skis. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Modern snow skis and snow boards are typically made of laminations of different layers of materials to provide the desired performance characteristics. These layers may include metal, wood, plastic, fiberglass, and/or graphite materials bonded together to form a single ski or snow board structure. Often, when a rider hits a rock or a tree with the board or ski, the tip is the first thing that gets damaged. On a snow board, the potential for damage is double as there are two tips on the board. Both tips of the board are generally narrower in thickness and prone to being the impact points with rocks and trees. When the board tips are hit, the tip bends and the thin top lamination tends to begin to delaminate or peel up. 
     One solution to this problem is to provide a removable rubber bumper or &#34;nose guards&#34; that are adhesively fastened to the board and fit over the snow board tips to prevent such damage to the actual laminated tips. These nose guards are elongated sleeves with a channel therein to receive the edge of the board and the guard sleeve extends around the tip of the snow board. However, these bumpers add to the bulk of the board tip and can adversely affect performance during various trick maneuvers with the board. 
     Accordingly, there is a need for a ski and snow board tip protector that reduces the potential for tip delaminations without reducing board performance and without substantially changing the board tip profile. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The primary object of the invention is to provide a tip protector for a snow board or ski which reduces the likelihood of delaminations of the tips of the board or ski. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide a snow board tip protector that is integrated into the overall snow board design during manufacture. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide a tip protector that strengthens the tip portion of the snow board or ski without substantially changing the board weight or performance characteristics. 
     A tip protector in accordance with the present invention basically comprises a strip layer of reinforcing material such as a metal integrated into the top surface layer of the tip portion of the snow board. This strip layer extends laterally around the tip of the top surface and preferably does not extend over the end edges of the laminated layers of the tip portion of the snow board. The metal layer is pressed into the top finish layer of the board and is bonded to the top layer with a suitable adhesive. A preferred embodiment of the tip protector is a strip of burnished aluminum bonded to the top layer of the tip portion of the snow board. 
     Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein a particular embodiment of the invention is disclosed as an illustrative example. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a snow board having the tip protector in accordance with the present invention installed on the opposite end portions of the board. 
     FIG. 2 is a partial enlarged view of one of the tip portions of the snow board shown in FIG. 1. 
     FIG. 3 is a plan view of the snow board shown in FIG. 1. 
     FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the tip portion of the snow board shown in FIG. 3 taken along the line 4--4. 
     FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the sectional view of the tip portion shown in FIG. 4. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to the drawings, a snow board 10 incorporating a tip protector 12 in accordance with the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 through 5. The snow board 10 is representative of a ski apparatus on which the tip protector 12 may be applied. The tip protector 12 may be also advantageously applied to other types of skis such as mono-skis and pairs of skis that are composed of laminate composite layers of materials. 
     The typical snow board 10 is a generally flat, elongated board with upwardly curved tip portions 11. The board 10 is built up of multiple layers comprising a base layer 14 of plastic such as &#34;P-Tex&#34;, a main body 16 comprised of a series of alternating epoxy laminate layers of materials such as precure glass sheets and fiberglass cloth over a light weight core material such as wood (not shown). A final top layer 18 of precure glass or epoxy covers the entire upper surface structure. The layers 14, 16, and 18 are preferably epoxied and/or thermally cured and bonded together to form a rigid, longitudinally flexible, board structure. 
     A metal edge 20 is embedded into the bottom or base layer 14 which preferably extends completely around the perimeter of the base layer 14 of the board 10. As can readily be seen from FIGS. 4 and 5, this metal edge has an &#34;L&#34; shaped cross section with the long leg sandwiched between the base layer 14 and adjacent layers 16. This metal edge 20 is critical to the carving performance of the board 10 and may extend only along the parallel sides of the board 10 or, as shown, extend entirely around the board tips 11 as well. 
     The tip protector 12 is embedded in and bonded to the top layer 18 of the tip portion 11 of the snow board 10. The tip protector 12 is preferably an arcuate strip of sheet aluminum and is preferably less than about one inch wide and more preferably about 5/8 inches wide, although other thicknesses and strip widths may be employed as well as other surface shapes. The outer edge 24 of the tip protector 12 preferably is aligned with the end edge 22 of each of the laminated layers 14, 16 and 18, as is shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 5, although it could optionally be extended over the edges of the tip portion 11 down to the metal edge 20. 
     It has been found that when the board 10 does not have the tip protector 12, the top layer 18 tends to begin to delaminate and begins to peel back from the underlying layers 16 when the tip portion 11 is impacted, for example, as when a rider hits a tree with the board. However, with the tip protector 12 incorporated into the top layer around the tip portion 11, the energy of impact is uniformly dissipated over the tip portion surface rather than being concentrated along the interface between the top layer 18 and underlying layer 16. Consequently, this simple addition to the end portions of a snow board or other ski device, substantially reduces the likelihood of tip delaminations occurring. 
     The tip protector 12 is preferably uniform in thickness, preferably less than about 0.025 inches, and may extend in width entirely across the tip portion 11. In addition, the tip protector may have any aesthetically pleasing outline such as a rounded arcuate shape as illustrated, or a decorative design shape. In a typical application, where the tip portion of the snow board is approximately 3/16 inch thick, the tip protector is preferably about 0.015 inch thick. Other thicknesses may be used, however, but thicker protectors add weight to the board 10. It is desirable to minimize the weight of the board without sacrificing performance. Therefore the weight of the tip protector should be minimized and therefore thicker tip protectors 12 are less desirable. The tip protector 12 on the snow board 10 preferably has an arcuate outer edge 24 matching the curvature of the board tip and a generally parallel inner edge 26 which are joined by rounded ends 28. Rounded ends 28 are preferred as sharp corners may tend to create stress concentrators under impact loads. 
     The present invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described above. Many changes, alternatives, variations, and equivalents to the various structures shown and described will be apparent to one skilled in the art. For example, the protector may have a different shape than the arcuate or crescent shape that is shown or it may have a different thickness or width. The protector 12 may incorporate a decorative design along its inboard edge and/or in its upper surface and it may also extend over the outer edge 22 of the board 10. The top layer 18 may be thick or thin and the inboard edge 26 and outboard edge 24 of the protector 12 may have different curvatures. The protector 12 may be made of any flexible, stress spreading material such as a ductile metal or plastic material as well as composite materials. 
     Accordingly, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiment illustrated but is intended to cover all such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and broad scope of the invention as defined by the following claims. All patents, patent applications, and printed publications referred to herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.