Abstract:
An apparatus storing gliding products on edge preserves camber by reducing load and creep in products such as skis and snowboards. The orientation also provides for storage in locations such as walls, rafters, and ceilings not otherwise readily available for storing such products to preserve camber.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/938,401, filed on May 16, 2007. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. The Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    This invention relates to storage apparatus and methods for sporting goods, and in particular, to storage devices for skis, snowboards and other cambered structural devices. 
         [0004]    2. The Background Art 
         [0005]    Sporting goods may be used extensively and even harshly during sporting activities, competitions and the like. Nevertheless, sporting goods are often placed in storage for extended periods of time. Storage presents at least two major concerns. Space is often limited for storage of sporting goods during off-season durations, and sporting goods may need periodic attention, maintenance, or other environmental protection in order to maintain them in good condition. 
         [0006]    What is needed is a simple, cost-effective, apparatus and method to resist the creep that tends to destroy camber in a gliding article of sporting goods. Meanwhile, such an apparatus and method should result in a compact storage of such an article. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    In accordance with the needs for preservation of the dimensions and structural integrity of a gliding article of sporting goods, an apparatus and method in accordance with the invention provide for storing a gliding article on edge during long periods of non-use to preserve camber. The storage system itself is quite compact, and, when fitted with skis or a snowboard, provides a compact profile for storage in locations that do not add to the footprint of storage space. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    The foregoing and other objects and features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are, therefore, not to be considered limiting of its scope, the invention will be described with additional specificity and detail through use of the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one embodiment of an apparatus in accordance with the invention; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a front view of an apparatus in accordance with the invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a rearview of the apparatus in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is an end view of the apparatus in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a top end view of the apparatus in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a left-side view of the apparatus in  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  is a right-side view of the apparatus in  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0016]    It will be readily understood that the components of the present invention, as generally described and illustrated in the drawings herein, could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following more detailed description of the embodiments of the system and method of the present invention, as represented in the drawings, is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, but is merely representative of various embodiments of the invention. The illustrated embodiments of the invention will be best understood by reference to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals throughout. 
         [0017]    Skis and snowboards operate on a combination of mechanical principles. A snowboard or ski has a shovel portion near the advancing or front end, and a tail portion at the opposite end. With snowboards, the tail and head may actually be identical or mirror images of one another. Between the head and tail is a waist, somewhat narrower than the head or tail. 
         [0018]    Thus, when a snowboard or ski is tipped toward one side or another, the tail and head will be first to cut into or otherwise engage the snow. The waist, being offset laterally (left to right, side to side), must actually sink, depress, or distort transversely (e.g. in the direction of a perpendicular to the broad surface or top of a board or ski), before it can engage the snow. 
         [0019]    Accordingly, the ski or snowboard will actually arc along its longitudal length by displacing more toward the center (longitudally speaking) than at the head and tail. Thus, skis and snowboards each form an arcuate apparatus during a turn by virtue of being tipped with respect to the underlying surface. 
         [0020]    As a glide surface (the lower surface of a ski or a snowboard) is flexed, it promptly recovers to be flexed again. The overall result is a rapid, dynamic flexing in a nominally upward and downward (with respect to the ski or snowboard if it were positioned on a flat, horizontal surface) in substantially equal amounts in both the up and down (transverse) directions. 
         [0021]    It has been discovered that over long periods of time, polymers may have a tendency to creep. That is, a material or an apparatus formed of a polymer material, when subjected to a comparatively moderate stress, much less than that required to permanently yield or deform the article, may actually relax and take on a certain amount of permanent distortion. This amount of permanent deformation or distortion is referred to as creep. 
         [0022]    One may set a ski or a snowboard on a table, with the gliding surface downward in a conventional position. At the waist of the article, the height of the gliding surface above the table is substantially displaced above the tip and tail, which will each be in contact with some contact line, with the table. As it applies to snowboards and skis, creep may occur in the camber of the article. Camber is that difference in the height of the lower surface of a ski or a snowboard above a horizontal plane on which the head and tail rest. 
         [0023]    What this camber provides is both gliding support, and turning ability. The skier, when accomplishing a turn, weights down (transversely) through the surface of the board or ski, depressing the waist, and thus forming an arcuate member of the ski or snowboard. Substantial loads amounting to greater than the full weight of a skier, can occur with the dynamics of a turn by a skier or snowboarder. 
         [0024]    However, upon storage, skis or boards may be left standing against a wall with the gliding surface in contact with the wall. Likewise, skis and snowboards may be stored in a horizontal attitude with their longitudal direction extending horizontally, and their lateral dimension along the gliding and top surfaces all extending also in a horizontal direction. 
         [0025]    Thus, the transverse direction (perpendicular to both the longitudal and lateral directions) is substantially vertical. The result is a modest, but persistent force applied against the camber of the gliding article (ski or snowboard) in the transverse direction. Whereas a ski run or snowboard run may last for several minutes in a cold environment, storage may last day and night for months in a comparatively hotter environment. 
         [0026]    Accordingly, it has been discovered that much of the loss of camber in a ski or snowboard is not the result of the substantially greater loads of turns, which loads and their corresponding distortions are often reversed as quickly as they are applied in the normal dynamics of operation. The load due to the weight of the article itself operates against, that is tends to reduce, the camber. That load is extremely persistent by comparison. 
         [0027]    It has been found that the long-term persistence of the application of load due to the weight of a gliding article (ski, snowboard, etc.) is actually a substantially damaging effect tending to reduce camber of a gliding article. 
         [0028]    In one embodiment of an apparatus and method in accordance with the invention, a bracket is formed to have a base portion extending (typically substantially linearly) in order to fit flat against a wall or other support structure. From the base, a support member extends away from the wall a distance sufficient to receive there against the vertical thickness (transverse dimension) of at least one end of a gliding article (e.g. ski, snowboard, etc.). 
         [0029]    A retainer extends substantially parallel, tending in a vertical direction, with respect to the base. The retainer need not be exactly parallel. However, it is contemplated that the retainer restrains a gliding article against sliding away from the base and the wall or other support structure. 
         [0030]    Accordingly, the base may also have an inner surface that is substantially flat, and oriented vertically as it secures to a wall, and an opposite or outer surface that is canted toward the wall as the top surface progresses from a lower position proximate the support to an upper position proximate the top of the base. 
         [0031]    In selected embodiments, a tether may extend from a location proximate the retainer to a location proximate the top end of the base. The tether may be connected from a position on or near the wall (or other support structure, a wall being but one example) to another position on or near the wall (or other support structure). It may extend from a location on the apparatus to another location on the apparatus, or the like. In certain embodiments, the tether may be elasticized or be formed of a material that has elastic properties. For example, bungee cords may serve to adapt to various widths (lateral dimensions) of a gliding apparatus (ski, snowboard, etc.). 
         [0032]    In alternative embodiments, the tether may be formed of a substantially non-extensible material, such as a nylon cord, lace, strap, bar, or the like. In one embodiment, the tether may be dispensed with in favor a clip, clamp, loop, hook, or the like, extending from a location near the upper end of the apparatus and connecting to an upper (in a stowed position) edge of the gliding apparatus (ski, snowboard, etc.) sufficiently to draw that upper edge toward the support structure and the base. 
         [0033]    In certain embodiments, the base itself may simply have an extension that can slide vertically to permit the gliding device to be positioned against the outer surface of the apparatus of the invention, and thereupon slide or otherwise move down to effectively catch the upper edge of the gliding apparatus. A latch, dog, tab, finger or other member may extend downward therefrom a modest distance selected to be sufficient to simply restrain the edge of the gliding apparatus to prevent or resist its motion away from the support structure and the base. 
         [0034]    A substantial benefit and structural mechanism for an apparatus in accordance with the invention is the structural shape to accommodate a gliding article on edge. By providing storage for a gliding article to rest on an edge, its transverse direction is rotated to be substantially vertical. The longitudal direction remains substantially horizontal. 
         [0035]    Thus, the effective section modulus (an engineering term of art used exactly as it is defined in engineering) is substantially increased with respect to the gravitational load of the weight of the gliding article. Moreover, the gravitational weight of the article is thus shifted away from the direction of the camber and thus cannot contribute substantially to creep that can destroy the camber. 
         [0036]    For example, the section modulus of a solid is directly proportional to the base or width perpendicular to the load and to the third power of depth measured in the direction of the load. Thus, the distance from the mechanical center or neutral axis of the article dramatically increases section modulus to a power of three. 
         [0037]    Section modulus is proportional to width along the neutral axis (perpendicular to both length and applied load). It is proportional to the third power of distance of the outermost fiber away from the neutral axis. Thus, for example, a snowboard having a thickness of about three-eighths to one-half inch would have a section modulus proportional to that three-eighths inch to the third power. By contrast, the same snowboard supported on its edge would have a section modulus proportional to the third power of its width across its surface, typically on the order of about 10 inches. 
         [0038]    Thus, one-half to the third power is one-eighth. Ten to the third power is one thousand (1000). Thus, a factor of one thousand (1000) to 0.215 divided by the width ratio is the ratio of the increase in section modulus effect due to the change in “depth.” 
         [0039]    For a ski, where the dimension in the transverse direction (across the ski), is not so large, but is rather on the order of a few inches, the effect is not so dramatic. Nevertheless, it is still substantial. 
         [0040]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-7  and specifically to  FIG. 1 , an apparatus in accordance with the invention may comprise a base  12  formed of any suitable material. The material may be formed as a solid, or may be formed to be lighter, such as using various reinforcing ribs, honeycomb shape, or other cross-sectional areas of a material to improve strength with respect to weight. 
         [0041]    In general, the apparatus  10  may have a base portion  12  or base  12  configured to secure to a support, such as a wall, a stud, or the like. In general, the apparatus  10  may have an upper or top end  13   a , and a lower or bottom end  13   b . In a typical configuration for installation, the top end  13   a  is positioned vertically above the bottom end  13   b.    
         [0042]    In addition to the base  12 , the apparatus  10  may include a support  14  shaped and sized to support an edge of a gliding article (e.g. ski, snowboard, or the like). In one configuration, two devices  10  or apparatus  10  may be positioned beside one another on a single wall, such that the support  14  of each supports a portion proximate either end or toward either end of the gliding article. 
         [0043]    Retainers  16 , or a single retainer  16 , may be formed to prevent the escape of an edge of a gliding article from the support  14 . In certain applications, the retainer  16  may be replaced or augmented by an elastic cord, a cable, or some other tether wrapped to secure the gliding article to the support  14 . In other embodiments, the retainer  16  may perform both functions. Likewise, rather than or in addition to receiving a tether, the base  12  may actually be tapered between the lower end  13   b  and the top end  13   a  in order to cant (e.g. tilt) the gliding article toward the support or wall proximate the upper end  13   a.    
         [0044]    A back or rear surface  18  of the base  12  may be formed to be substantially flat, or to conform at least a part of its envelope to a flat surface for mounting. In alternative embodiments, the rear surface  18  may actually be formed to the curvature of a supporting post, or some other characteristic shape of a support. In one presently contemplated embodiment, the rear surface  18  may simply be the perimeter of the base  12  in a single plane adapted to fit against the sheet rock or other supporting material of a wall or the like. 
         [0045]    Likewise, the upper surface  20  or outer surface  20  of the apparatus  10  may typically be flat to support a gliding article. Typically, the surface  20  may taper back toward the support or wall to which the apparatus  10  is secured. The taper of the upper surface  20  back toward the rear surface  18  as the apparatus  10  progresses toward the upper end  13   a  is not necessary if a tether is used or other mechanism to secure an upper edge and restrain its location to be proximate the upper end  13   a  of the apparatus  10 . 
         [0046]    In selected embodiments, an additional securement  22  may be provided near the upper end  13   a  of the base  12  to receive a loop, cord, or other tethering device (not shown). Suitable tethers may include rope, cord, laces, brackets, straps, hook-and-loop fastening mechanisms, bungee cords, and the like. 
         [0047]    Apertures  24  may be provided along the base  12  in order to receive fasteners suitable for securing the apparatus  10  to a wall or other support in the illustrated embodiment of  FIGS. 1-7 , countersunk apertures are shown such as would receive woodscrews. In alternative embodiments, other types of fastening mechanisms, fingers, latches, brackets, or the like, may substitute as fasteners to secure the base  12  to some support. For example, clamps such as hose clamps may be used to secure the apparatus  10  to a round pole. Similarly, nails be provided to secure the apparatus  10  to a wall or a stud. 
         [0048]    In general, the apertures  24  may extend along the base  12 , but are not necessarily as important at the lower end or toward the lower end  13   b , since the forces acting on the apparatus  10  by virtue of the presence of a gliding article (such as skis, snowboards, and the like) would not typically create a tendency of the lower end  13   b  to pull away from the support. 
         [0049]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , an aperture  26  may receive a tether such as a bungee cord or other fastening device to extend around a gliding article and to secure around the securement  22  near the top end  13   a  of the apparatus  10 . Such a tether may secure a snowboard, ski, or other gliding article in close proximity to the outer surface  20  of the apparatus  10 . 
         [0050]      FIG. 3  illustrates a configuration in which ribbed material is formed such as by casting or molding to strengthen the base  12  without undue weights.  FIGS. 4-7  illustrate the views of the embodiment of  FIGS. 1-3  as they may appear in one illustrated embodiment. 
         [0051]    The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its fundamental functions or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative, and not restrictive. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the illustrative embodiments are to be embraced within their scope.