Patent Publication Number: US-6334799-B1

Title: Body board

Description:
This invention relates to body surfing, and in particular to a two part body surfing board having an upper planar section shaped to conform to an upper torso of a rider, connected by a rope type hinge to a lower section having a shape that conforms to the waist, trunk, and upper thigh areas, with a waist strap and thigh straps for holding the two part board against the rider. 
     BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART 
     Body surfing is a well known recreational sport where one rides waves facedown on their stomachs over various distances. Body surfing generally refers to swimming with a wave as the wave breaks and propels the swimmer toward shore. However, merely riding facedown on one&#39;s stomach can create problems such as exposing the body surfer to cuts, abrasions and injury to the exposed face, shoulders, chest, stomach, waist and upper thigh regions. 
     Over the years various types of devices have been proposed for the body surfer. See for example U.S. Pat. Nos.: 5,116,269 and 5,224,890 to Moran; 5,603,645 to Saccomanno; and 5,658,179 to Glydon et al. However, these boards are restricted to one piece boards that do not protect all the exposed body areas of the rider such as the rider&#39;s waist and thigh areas. Additionally, these boards can easily pull away from the rider during the wave ride, exposing the surfer&#39;s face, shoulders, chest, stomach and waist areas to injury. Furthermore, these boards must be separately carried by the rider when not in use taking up at least one of the rider&#39;s free hands in order to carry the board when entering and leaving the water. 
     Additional proposals have included attaching some mounting straps to the body surfing boards. See for example, U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,803,652 to Uyehara; and 5,569,057 to Barsdorf et al. However, these devices generally require neck type straps that can inhibit the rider&#39;s flexibility when riding the waves, and can cause the rider&#39;s head to be aimed downward exposing the head to harm during a ride. Additionally, the sole neck strap of Uyehara &#39;652 can potentially strangle a rider if the board becomes shifted sideways during a ride. Additionally, the multiple and elaborate straps and buckles of Barsdorf &#39;057 would be time consuming and difficult to completely secure during a ride, and even more difficult, and uncomfortable to remove. Still furthermore, neither of these devices adequately protects the waist and upper thigh regions of the rider during a ride. Additionally, the elaborate straps in these devices would make the strapped on boards difficult to wear by the rider when the rider is both entering and leaving the water. 
     Still furthermore, none of the referenced patents allow for any flexibility and maneuverability of the board during a ride that would allow the board to bend and flex. 
     The inventors are aware of other types of devices. See for example, U.S. Pat. Nos.: 1,552,603 to Float; 1,843,617 to Marshall; 2,623,574 to Damsch; 3,123,845 to Girden; 5,476,403 to Hsia; and 5,618,051 to Kobylenski et al. Again, none of these cited patents overcomes all of the problems with the prior art described above. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The first objective of the present invention is to provide a body surfing board that protects the rider&#39;s shoulders, chest, stomach, waist and upper thighs during a ride. 
     The second object of this invention is to provide a body surfing board having straps for securing the board to the waist and upper thighs of the rider that keeps the board from shifting during the ride. 
     The third object of this invention is to provide a body surfing board that is both bendable and flexible to the rider. 
     The fourth object of this invention is to provide a body surfing board that can be safely and easily worn by the rider when entering and leaving the water. 
     The fifth object of this invention is to provide a body surfing board that can be folded when not being used. 
     The sixth object of this invention is to provide a lightweight and easy to carry buoyant body surfing board. 
     A preferred embodiment of the body surfing device includes an upper board being positioned below shoulders, chest and stomach of a rider, connected by a flexible hinge to a lower board being positioned below a waist and upper thigh regions of the rider, wherein the hinge allows the upper board to flex and bend relative to the lower board, and allows greater maneuverability when riding a wave. The lower board can be attached to the rider by a releasable waist strap and releasable upper thigh straps. The front edge, side edges and rear edge of the two board device can include angled edges, each having an inwardly upper angle of approximately 45 degrees and an inwardly lower angle of approximately 45 degrees. Additionally, all the exterior edges of the upper and lower board can be generally smooth and blunted so as not to injure the rider. 
     The upper board can have an indented and rounded upper end for being positioned under a neck of the rider, and outwardly expanding sides for being positioned under protruding elbows of the rider. 
     The hinge can be a rope type cord interlaced between the upper board and the lower board, or other types of flexing hinge materials, and the like. The upper board can be approximately 1¾ inches, which can be thicker than the lower board, which can be approximately 1¼ inches. 
     The upper and lower boards can be formed from layered materials such as plastic foams, polyurethane materials and the like, having flexible outer surfaces. The lower board can include a top edge for being positioned under the waist having a smaller width than the width of dual protruding bottom edges for being positioned under the upper thighs of the rider. 
     The lower board attachment straps can allow the device to be worn in a folded position on when the rider is walking into or out of the water, and allows the rider to have free use of their hands when not being used. 
     Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment which is illustrated schematically in the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
     FIG. 1 is a top view of the novel two board body surfing device invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a front view of the body surfing device of FIG. 1 along arrow A. 
     FIG. 3 is a side view of the device of FIG. 1 along arrow B. 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the device of FIG. 1 attached to a rider. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Before explaining the disclosed embodiment of the present invention in detail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the particular arrangement shown since the invention is capable of other embodiments. Also, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. 
     FIG. 1 is a top view of the body surfing device invention  1  including an upper board  100  attached to a lower board  200  by a hinge  300 . FIG. 2 is a front view of the body surfing device  1  of FIG. 1 along arrow A. FIG. 3 is a side view of the device  1  of FIG. 1 along arrow B. Referring to FIGS. 1-3, upper board  100  includes a top edge  110  having an inwardly rounded concave indentation  115  for fitting under a neck portion of a rider. On both sides of the upper board  100  are left upper side edge  140 , right upper side edge  120 , each expanding outward, and each having a small inward concave edges  141 ,  121 , and peak extending convex side portions  145 ,  125 , the latter for fitting under side protruding elbows of the rider(for example, when the rider&#39;s elbows are bent). From elbow edges  145 ,  125 , the upper board width has a narrowing portion with convex edges  148 ,  128  to bottom substantially planar edge  130  which is intended to fit underneath the waist of the rider. 
     The upper board  100  can be layered to include three layers  150 ,  160 ,  170  that each can include outer layers  150 ,  170  having a flexible foam material sandwiched about a more rigid layer  160 . The layers  150 ,  160 ,  170  can be formed from buoyant materials such as but not limited to polypropylene, polyurethane, and the like. The top layer  150  can include an indented surface  155  to better allow the upper board  100  to stay underneath the chest of the rider. The upper board can also be preformed from a single layer of material. The front tip end  116 , and side edges  126 ,  146  of the upper board can have angled edges with an upward inward angle of approximately 45 degrees and a bottom inward angle of approximately 45 degrees to better allow the device more maneuverability as the board passes through the water during a wave ride. The upper board  100  can be thicker than the lower board  200 , where the upper board can have a thickness of up to approximately 1¼ inches, and the lower board can have a thickness of approximately 1¼ inches. 
     The upper board bottom edge  130  can flexibly attach to the top edge  210  of the lower board  200  by interlacing a rope type cord  300  back and forth between a row of through-holes  301  in the upper board, and a row of through-holes  302  in the lower board  200 . The rows of through-holes  301 ,  302  can be parallel to one another. The hinge  300  can be a cord such as but not limited to a nylon rope, a cotton rope, and the like. Alternatively, the hinge  300  can be a material such as a single flap, or plural flaps, other known hinges, and the like, that are fastened to the upper board and the lower board, by being sewn, woven, and by other known fastening techniques, and the like. 
     The lower board  200  includes a top edge  210  that can fit under the waist of the rider, and outwardly expanding convex left and right sides  240 ,  220 , that expand outward to corners  245 ,  225  that would reach over the upper left and right thigh regions of the rider. Convex bottom edges  246 ,  226 , each include inward indentations  248 ,  228  for fitting underneath the crotch area of the rider. The lower board  200  can include a top flexible material layer  260 (similar to layer  160 ) over a more rigid material layer  270 (similar to layer  170 ). Alternatively, the lower board  200  can be formed from the same three material layers as that as the upper board  100 . The upper surface of the lower board  200  can also include some body indentations for forming a better fit with the rider. Lower board  200  can include the similar angled side edges and rear angled edge as the tip and side angled edges of upper board  100 . 
     Referring to FIG. 1, lower board  200  can include size adjustable fastening straps  410 ,  420 ,  440  that can be affixed to the lower board  200  by known techniques, such as but not limited to being sewn thereon, snapped thereon, passes through openings in the board, and the like. Strap  410  has ends affixed to the waist area of lower board  200  so that the waist of the rider can be restrained during a wave ride, by a removable fastener  415 , such as hook and loop fasteners, snaps, buckles, and the like. A left thigh restraint strap  440  having ends affixed to the left thigh region of the lower board  200 , can include a removable fastener  445 (similar to fastener  415 ) for restraining the left thigh of the rider. A right thigh restraint strap  420  having ends affixed to the right thigh region of the lower board  200 , can include a removable fastener  425 (similar to fasteners  415 ,  445 ) for restraining the right thigh of the rider. The restraining straps  410 ,  420 ,  440  allow the upper board to fold over in the direction of arrow F, relative to pivot point hinge  300 , when the straps  410 ,  420 ,  440  are attached to the rider, and the rider is walking into or leaving from the water. 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the device  1  of FIG. 1 attached to a rider  500  riding a wave  600 . The rider&#39;s head  525  can be held above the upper board  100 , by the rider  500  holding side edges of the upper board  100  by their left and right hands  522 ,  526 . Flexible hinge  300  allows for enhanced flexibility and maneuverability of the rider  500  riding the rising and dropping wave  600 . A portion of the lower torso can be attached to the device  1  by the waist strap  410 , left upper thigh strap region  440 , and right upper thigh region strap  420 . The rider&#39;s left and right legs  562 ,  564  are unencumbered by the device  1 , and can further propel the rider by kicking, and maneuvering the rider  500 . The upper board  100  and lower board  200  can further protect the rider  500  from getting injured by protecting the chest, shoulders, stomach, waist and upper thigh regions of the rider  500  which are the most exposed areas to possible injury by an irregular shoreline surface  610 , such as rocks, shells, debris, and the like. 
     While the invention has been described, disclosed, illustrated and shown in various terms of certain embodiments or modifications which it has presumed in practice, the scope of the invention is not intended to be, nor should it be deemed to be, limited thereby and such other modifications or embodiments as may be suggested by the teachings herein are particularly reserved especially as they fall within the breadth and scope of the claims here appended.