Patent Publication Number: US-2005140101-A1

Title: Snow sled having steerable foot rudders

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/024,588, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      A wide variety of snow sleds have been designed that allow a person to steer the sled as it slides down a hill of snow. Such designs have focused on a steering mechanism located at the front of the sled that require the person to lie flat on their stomach. Such conventional designs are not suited for all children and adults: many children and adults do not feel comfortable lying on their stomach while sliding down a hill.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention is a snow sled for use by a rider to glide upon a snow surface. In one embodiment, the snow sled comprises a front portion and a rear portion. The front portion comprises a median portion and first and second rudder cavities each comprising a bottom wall having an upper surface adapted to receive the rider&#39;s foot and an lower surface adapted to slide upon the snow. The rear portion comprises a seat portion having a bottom wall having an upper surface adapted to receive the rider and a lower surface adapted to slide upon the snow. The lower surface of the first and second rudder cavities and the lower surface of the seat portion being in exclusive contact with the snow surface thereby providing a fast sled. The snow sled further comprises a plurality of first ribs extending substantially from the median portion to the first rudder cavity and a plurality of second ribs extending substantially from the median portion to the second rudder cavity to allow said first foot and second rudder cavities to be flexible relative to said median portion thereby allowing the rider to steer the sled by exerting a force to said first or second rudder cavities. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The following detailed description of the invention will be more fully understood with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the snow sled of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is top plan view of the snow sled;  
       FIG. 3  is a bottom plan view of the snow sled;  
       FIG. 4  is a side elevation view of the sled;  
       FIG. 5  is a front elevation view of the sled;  
       FIG. 6  is a rear elevation view of the sled;  
       FIG. 7  is a cross-section view taken along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 2 ;  
       FIG. 8  is a cross-section view taken along line  8 - 8  of  FIG. 2 ; and  
       FIGS. 9 and 10  are cut-away views showing the rib portions. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Referring to  FIGS. 1-6 , the present invention is a snow sled  10  for use by a rider (not shown) to slide upon a snow surface (not shown). In one embodiment, the snow sled  10  comprises a front portion  12  and a rear portion  14 . The front portion  12  comprises a median portion  16  and first and second foot rudder cavities  18  and  20 . Each of the foot rudder cavities  18  and  20  is formed with a bottom wall  22  and side walls  23 ′. The bottom wall  22  has an upper surface  24  that along with the inner surface of the side walls  23  are adapted to receive the rider&#39;s foot and a lower surface  26  adapted to slide upon the snow. The bottom wall  22  is formed with a plurality of channels or runners  25  protruding outward from the lower surface  26  to assist the sled in sliding upon the snow. In the front portion  12  of the sled  10 , the lower surface  26  (and runners  25 ) of the first and second rudder cavities  18  and  20  are in exclusive contact with the snow surface thereby providing a fast sled. The rear portion  14  comprises a seat portion  28  having a bottom wall  30  having an upper surface  32  adapted to receive the rider and a lower surface  34  adapted to slide upon the snow. In another embodiment, the rear portion  14  may further comprise first and second stationary runners  36  and  38  having a bottom wall  44  and a lower surface  47  adapted to slide upon the snow to add stability to the snow sled  10 . In the rear portion  14 , the lower surface  34  of the seat portion  28  and the lower surface  47  of the stationary rudders  36  and  38  are in exclusive contact with the snow surface thereby providing a fast sled.  
      The snow sled  10  further comprises a plurality of first ribs  40  extending substantially from the median portion  16  to the first foot rudder cavity  18  and a plurality of second ribs  42  extending substantially from the median portion  16  to the second foot rudder cavity  20 . As shown best by  FIGS. 9 and 10 , the ribs  40  and  42  are in the shape of a one-half cylinder with structural support members  44  spaced along the length of the ribs. The ribs  40  and  42  allow the first and second foot rudder cavities to be flexible relative to the median portion  16  thereby allowing the rider to steer the sled  10  by exerting a force by their foot to the first or second foot rudder cavities  18  or  20 . The snow sled  10  further comprises a pair of handles  50  formed at a median portion  52  of the sled  10  and adapted to be grasp by the rider&#39;s hands. The bottom wall  22  of the first and second rudder cavities  18  and  20  have a thickness of about 0.0625 to 0.125 inches. The bottom wall  30  of the seat portion  28  has a thickness of about 0.0625 to 0.125 inches. The overall height of the sled  10  is less then twelve (12) inches. The sled  10  is preferably made from a plastic material such as polyethylene and formed by an injection molding process.  
      The foregoing description is intended primarily for purposes of illustration. This invention may be embodied in other forms or carried out in other ways without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Modifications and variations still falling within the spirit or the scope of the invention will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art.