Abstract:
An illuminated sports board riser consists of a translucent material such as frosted clear acrylic or resin based material, one or more LED&#39;s, a power source, an electrical circuit consisting of an on-off switch to control the power between the LED&#39;s and an power source, and a resister to regulate voltage based on the voltage of the power source and the voltage of the LED.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    [0001]                                                           Number   Date   Inventors   U.S. Class                           4,997,196   March 1991   Wood   362/800           5,067,058   November 1991   Standley   362/190           5,119,277   June 1992   Copley et al.   280/87           5,292,141   March 1994   Ekedal et al.   280/87           6,431,733   August 2002   Seifert et al.   362/459                        
         STATEMENT REGARDING FED SPONSORED R&amp;D  
         [0002]    Not Applicable.  
         REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, OR A TABLE  
         [0003]    Not Applicable.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    This invention relates primarily to Ski&#39;s, Snowboard&#39;s, Snow Skate&#39;s, Skateboard&#39;s, along with other sport related boards.  
           [0005]    The following art defines the present state of this field:  
           [0006]    Wood, U.S. Pat. No. 4,997,196, specifies an illuminated skateboard that includes a string of LED&#39;s embedded in a groove located on the perimeter of the skateboard. The LED&#39;s are controlled by a micro controller mounted upon the bottom surface of the board.  
           [0007]    Ekedal et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,292,141, describes a skateboard that includes a rotate-able disk mounted upon the top surface of the skateboard&#39;s riding surface. It also describes a housing that is placed under the board and contains an illuminated enclosure forward of the front truck and rearward of the rear truck. Similar systems are taught in Copley et al., U.S. Pat No. 5,119,277, and Standley, U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,058.  
           [0008]    Seifert et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,431,733, describes an illuminated sports board that contains an electro-luminescent sheet mounted with-in the sports board. A micro controller mounted upon the top surface of the board controls the power to the electro-luminescent sheet. It describes the electro-luminescent sheet as being viewable from the top or bottom of the sports board.  
           [0009]    The prior art specifies skateboards and sports boards that include lights mounted upon the board either in a string, with-in a housing or a sports board in which the illumination is directed in only one or two directions. However, the prior art does not specify the construction of an illuminated translucent riser plate that is constructed with-in or as part of the sports board. Nor does the prior art specify the construction of an illuminated translucent riser plate that is constructed to be mounted between the sports board and the trucks or bindings. The prior art does not discuss Ski, Snowboard or Snow skate related bindings and brackets. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as described in the following summary.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    The present invention specifies an illuminated sports board riser. An illuminated sports board riser can be used for Ski&#39;s, Snowboard&#39;s, Snow Skate&#39;s, Skateboard&#39;s, along with other sport related boards. When related to Skis and snowboards the riser is typically placed under the binding. The riser can also be built into the Snowboard, Ski or binding. When related to a Snow Skate or Skateboard the riser would be located between the truck and the board. The illuminated riser consists of a translucent material such as frosted clear acrylic, one or more LED&#39;s, a power source, a on-off switch to control the power to the LED&#39;s and if needed a resister to control voltage.  
           [0011]    A primary objective of the present invention is to provide an illuminated riser having advantages not specified in prior art.  
           [0012]    Another objective is to provide an eye-catching decorative feature for sports boards and risers related to sports boards, useful for decoration, advertising and visual safety.  
           [0013]    Other features and advantages of the present invention will be specified further in the following detailed descriptions, when taken in context with the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings will, illustrate the principles of the invention, by way of example.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    The accompanying drawings illustrate the present invention. In which:  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1 is a exploded perspective view of a snowboard embodying the present invention;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a snowboard with a built-in riser embodying the present invention;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 3 is a top view of riser;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of riser;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 5 is a side elevation of a snowboard with built-in risers;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 6 is a side elevation of a binding embodying the present invention;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 7 is a side elevation of a skateboard embodying the present invention; 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0022]    The above described drawings figures illustrate the invention, an illuminated sports board riser  3 ,  6 ,  7 ,  12 , 14 ,  18  and  21  that is designed to be placed either between the sports board (i.e. skateboard, snow skate, snowboard, wakeboard, surfboard, or the like) and the sports board rider/bindings or the sports board and the surface the sports board is ridden upon as shown in FIG. 7. It includes a means to illuminate the material of the riser.  
         [0023]    As shown in FIGS. 1-7, the illuminated sports board riser includes a transparent/translucent plane  3 ,  6 ,  15 ,  18  and  21 that allows transmission of light to the outer surfaces of the riser from the light source  8  embedded in the transparent/translucent plane. In the case of a snowboard  2  the riser  3  is located between the snowboard  2  and the snowboard bindings  1 . In the case of a snowboard  5  with built-in risers  6  the riser is a part of the board and is typically molded into the board  5  and the bindings  4  are mounted on top of the risers  6 .  
         [0024]    Other components included within the illuminated sports board riser  3 ,  6 ,  7 ,  12 ,  14 ,  18  and  21  could include a light source  8  which is preferably an LED, a on/off switch  10 , a power source  11  and a electrical circuit  13  to connect the power source  11  to the on/off switch  10  and from the on/off switch  10  to the light source then from the light source  8  to the power source  11  to complete the electrical circuit  13 . Any or all of the mentioned components  8 ,  10 ,  11  or  13  could be located outside of the riser  3 ,  6 ,  7 ,  12 ,  14 ,  18  and  21  inside another body as long as a method to transmit light into the plane is devised thru reflection or projection from a light source. However the preferred method would contain all components with the riser  3 ,  6 ,  7 ,  12 ,  14 ,  18  and  21 .  
         [0025]    When the riser components  8 ,  10 ,  11  and  13  are embedded with-in the riser, the riser  3 ,  6 ,  7 ,  12 ,  14 ,  18  and  21 must be molded or tooled to accommodate any component  8 ,  10 ,  11  and  13  that is to be placed within the riser. After the components  8 ,  10 ,  11  and  13  are assembled and placed into the riser the components  8 ,  10  and  13  should be enclosed using a waterproof translucent/transparent material (i.e. resin, silicon sealant). The power source  11  should not be permanently enclosed unless there is a method provided to recharge it. The power source  11  should be shielded from the elements with via a sealable screw-on cap or an adhesive cover that prevent water or dust from entering the power source compartment. Those skilled in the art, can of course, select alternant and equivalent materials that are equally useful in the practice of this invention and such alternant materials should be considered within the scope of the claimed invention.  
         [0026]    The on/off switch  10  operates to control the power from the power source  11  to the light source  8 . The power source  11  is preferably a coin type battery which matches the power requirements of the light source. The power supplied by the power source  11  may be limited by a resistor or other method within the electrical circuit. Those skilled in the art can devise many versions or the electrical circuit  13  to control the light source  8 .  
         [0027]    As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 the riser  7  and  12  can incorporate an adjustable disc  9  to allow the riser to rotate as needed during the installation process to align with the binding or other device.  
         [0028]    In a first embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and  5  the illuminated sports board riser  3  includes a translucent/transparent plane. The translucent/transparent plane is preferably acrylic or thermo-molded plastic. The embodiment may also include all components  8 ,  10 ,  11  and  13 .  
         [0029]    In an alternate embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6 the illuminated sports board riser  18  is part of a binding and includes a translucent/transparent plane. The translucent/transparent plane is preferably acrylic or thermo-molded plastic. The embodiment may also include all components  8 ,  10 ,  11  and  13 .  
         [0030]    In a final embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7 the illuminated sports board riser  21  is mounted below the sports board  20  and includes a translucent/transparent plane. The translucent/transparent plane is preferably acrylic or thermo-molded plastic. The embodiment may also include all components  8 ,  10 ,  11  and  13 .  
         [0031]    The invention includes a method for manufacturing the illuminated sports board riser  3 ,  6 ,  7 ,  12 ,  14 ,  18  and  21  described above. First a transparent/translucent plane  7  and  12  is provided. The plane is molded or tooled to accommodate the components  8 ,  10 ,  11  and  13  of the riser  3 ,  6 ,  7 ,  12 ,  14 ,  18  and  21 . The light source  8 , on/off switch  10  and power source  11  are connected to the electrical circuit  13  as described: connect the positive connection of power source  11  to the on/off switch  10  and from the on/off switch  10  to the positive connection of the light source then from the negative connection of the light source  8  to the negative connection of power source  11  to complete the electrical circuit  13 . In the electrical circuit  13  the connections could be reversed; connect the negative connection of power source  11  to the on/off switch  10  and from the on/off switch  10  to the negative connection of the light source then from the positive connection of the light source  8  to the positive connection of power source  11  to complete the electrical circuit  13 . Once assembled the components  8 ,  10 ,  11  and  13  are placed into the transparent/translucent plane  7  and  12 . Finally the assembled components  8 ,  10  and  13  are sealed into the riser using a translucent/transparent material such as resin or silicon and the material is allowed to harden.  
         [0032]    While the invention has been described with reference to at least one preferred embodiment, it is to be clearly understood by those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited thereto. Rather, the scope of the invention is to be interpreted only in conjunction with the appended claims.