CA2175094A1 - Core for a sailboard, surfboard or snowboard - Google Patents

Core for a sailboard, surfboard or snowboard

Info

Publication number
CA2175094A1
CA2175094A1 CA002175094A CA2175094A CA2175094A1 CA 2175094 A1 CA2175094 A1 CA 2175094A1 CA 002175094 A CA002175094 A CA 002175094A CA 2175094 A CA2175094 A CA 2175094A CA 2175094 A1 CA2175094 A1 CA 2175094A1
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
shell
frame
core
members
fibers
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
CA002175094A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Serge Daniel Michaud
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Priority to CA002175094A priority Critical patent/CA2175094A1/en
Publication of CA2175094A1 publication Critical patent/CA2175094A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B63SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
    • B63BSHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; EQUIPMENT FOR SHIPPING 
    • B63B32/00Water sports boards; Accessories therefor
    • B63B32/57Boards characterised by the material, e.g. laminated materials
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B63SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
    • B63BSHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; EQUIPMENT FOR SHIPPING 
    • B63B32/00Water sports boards; Accessories therefor
    • B63B32/59Boards characterised by their manufacturing process, e.g. moulded or 3D printed
    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63CSKATES; SKIS; ROLLER SKATES; DESIGN OR LAYOUT OF COURTS, RINKS OR THE LIKE
    • A63C5/00Skis or snowboards
    • A63C5/03Mono skis; Snowboards

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Ocean & Marine Engineering (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Laminated Bodies (AREA)

Abstract

A core for a sailboard, surfboard or snowboard made of a frame 10 inside a molded shell. The shell is made of two parts: the upper part of the core shell 12 and the underside of the core shell 14. The frame 10 and the shell are made as lightweight as possible by using one or several layers of man made composite material.
Each part of the shell is molded on a rigid plastic foam core shaped to the design of the board. The foam core is then measured to make the templates for the members of the frame. The frame members are cut out of sheets of composite material. The frame is assembled by cutting slots 34 & 36 into the frame members at each connection.
The frame 10 is glued into the upper part of the core shell 12 and both are glued on the underside 14 of the core shell. The board is then completed by the sandwich construction method or any other suitable construction method.

Description

Patent Application of Serge D. Michaud for CORE FOR A SAILBOARD, SURFBOARD OR SNOWBOARD

Background-Field of Invention This invention relates to sail~oards, surfboards and snowboards specifically to the core of such boards.

Background-Description of Prior Art The original WINDSURFFRa had a skin which was rotomolded of cross-linked polyethylene and then filled with expanding plastic foam. Nowadays most polyethylene boards are made of blow-molded polyethylene or polypropylene filled with expanding plastic foam. These boards are considered low-performance, because they are heavy and slow.

Fpoxy boards have a thin skin of a thermoplastic ~su~h as ASA~ over an assortment of materials including glass fiber,
2~ 7509~

carbon fiber, aramid fiber ~aromatic polyamide fiber~ ~trade name "Kevlar"~, honeycomb, PVC (polyvinyl chloride~ foam, epoxy resin, polyurethane resin etc., molded in an expensive steel mold over a core of ~PS {expanded polystyrene} foam. Most of these boards are lighter and stiffer than polyethylene boards and have a greater speed potential.

Sandwich construction consists of a sheet of P~C foam 1~8f~
to 1~4" thick sandwiched between layers of materials such as epoxy impregnated glass fiber, carkon fiber or aramid fiber over an ~PS core. Sandwich boards are the stiffest and lightest on the market and tend to hold their overall shape well.

The traditional surfboard construction method involves the shaping of a polyurethane foam blank an~ covering it with A
number of layers of glass fiber and polyester resin. This method requires highly skilled labour. The end result can ~e heavy and fragile.

All these different types ~f construction use the rigid plastic foam core as a filler which provides little structural strength. The skin of these boards can delaminate from the foam core when the bond between them fails, especially after heavy shocks ~like landing after a jump~ or when water gets in through small cracks or punctures and then expands when the board is left in the sun. Once the bottom of the board delaminates it loses its shape and its hydrodynamic qualities. The board then needs extensive repairs.

To alleviate the problems caused by the rigid plastic foam core [for example water absorbtion, low strength, delamination and shaping by costly skilled shapers~, some manufacturers have in the past constructed hollow boards.
Because of the expensive technology required by this type of construction, these were used mostly in Olympic type racing.
Nowadays some manufacturers are once again trying to manufacture such boards, and although the construction technique has improved~ the cost of these boards remains very high. Hollow boards and rigid plastic foam core boards ha~e little or no structural connection between the upper part of the board shell and the underside part of the board shell. Therefore both the top and bottom of these boards need to have the structural strength required to carry the sailor and resist the impact of the manoeuvres executed by the sailor. Board design is changing and improving very rapidly and hollow boards and epoxy boards molded in exFensi~e s~eel molds ~re unable to be adapted to even small changes. This lea~es the most advanced part of the market to the manufacturers using the sandwich method of 2 t 75094 construction.

A snowboard core is generally made of laninated wood or rigid plastic foam. The wood core is heavy and the foam core breaks up easily leading to the delamination of either the top structural layer or bottom structural layer of the snowboard.

Objects and Advantages Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the present in~ention are to provide a core for sailboards, surfboards and snowboards that:

~a~ structurally connects the upper part of the core shell, the frame and the underside of the core shell into a single unit having great strength and light weight ~b~ does not require the use of costly steel molds allowing it to be used by small manufacturers;

~c~ eliminates the foam core;

d~ permits to control the longitudinal and transversal stiffness of the board: e.g. permitting designers to make the back end of the board very stiff for speed and the front end softer for passage in choppy water;

(e~ provides a core to make such boards with two or more watertight compartments for the user's safety;

~f~ provides a core for sailboards and surfboards permitting easy installation of inserts for the maststep track, the fin box~ the footstraps and plugs for the removal of seepage water;

(g~ provides a core for snowboards permitting easy installation of inserts for the bindings.

Further objects and advantages are to provide a core which is:
simple; easy to make by small manufacturers; permits making the boards without costly steel molds; has a frame connectin~
all the elements together in a strong an~ lightweight structure and eliminates the foam core. ~liminating the foam core deals with problems such as: expensive labor; water absorbtion and delamination of the skin of the board.
Replacing the foam core with a frame also permits to control the longitudinal and transversal stiffness of the board as well as the provision of two or more watertight compartments.
The frame allows easy removal of any seepage water and easy installation of inserts. This type of board construction also permits easy location of any hull puncture, submerging the board will let a telltale stream of bubbles escape. Still further objects and ad~antages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings.

Drawing figures Fig 1 shows a core's frame.
Fig 2 shows a core's upper part of the core shell.
Fig 3 shows a core's underside of the core shell.
Fig 4 shows a large scale ~iew of the back-end of the frame with optional diagonal stiffening members.
Fig 5 shows the frame members connection cuts.

~escription-Figs. 1 to 5 A typical embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5. The core consists of a frame ~0 inside a molded shell made of two parts: the upper part of the core shell 12 and the underside of the core shell 14. A pre-molded shell is required as it is not possible to wet-wrap fiberglass or other composite material around the frame as it would sag between the frame members making it impossible to obtain a perf~c~ly ~hap~d core. If the glue technology impro~es and permits to obtain a strong enough joint at the connection of the upper part of the core shell and the underside of the core shell it will become possible to huild the shell and the skin as a single entity. The frame and the shell are made as lightweight as possible by using one or several layers of composite material. ~A composite material is a substance made up of a combination of two or more different materials and usually consists of synthetic fibers embedded within a matrix, a material that surrounds and is tightly bound to the fibers).
The composite material includes for the resin: epoxies, polyesters, vinyl esters and other similar resins; and for the fibers: glass, carbonr graphite, aramid ~aromatic polyamide, trade name Kevlar~, olefins and other similar fibers. These fibers being generally in the form of woven fabrics, woven roving, mats or combination mat. The frame and the shell can also be made of pre-preg material, i.e. material previously impregnated with resin that contains almost no volatiles and thus requires a high curing temperature attained only in an oven. Pre-preg is very strong and thus can be used to make a very light core. Pre-preg also permits to build the shell and the skin of the board as a single entity.

~ach part of the shell is molded on a rigid plastic foam core shaped to the design of the board. The shell parts are made of one or more layers of composite material. A number of molds of each part of the shell can be made at this point.
These molds are fragile and unstable and thus need to be restrained in much stiffer holding molds during construction to prevent warping. The stiffer holding molds, made of several layers of composite material, are molded on top of the shell molds, the shell molds being on top of the shaped rigid plastic foam core, and thus are a perfect fit. These holding molds can be re-used to make a number of cores. These holding molds can also be used to mold extra shells. The shaped rigid plastic foam core is then measured at the location of each frame member and a drawing of each is made. These drawings are then used to cut templates out of thin stiff material e.g.
plastic laminate. The templates are then used to cut the frame members out of sheets of one or several layers of composite material. These templates can be re-used to make as many frames as are desired. The shaped rigid plastic foam core can also be cut at the location of the frame members, longitudinal members center and port side only, (starboard side members are identical~ the shape of the cut can then be traced directly Qn the thin stiff material which is then cut to make the templates. The rigid foam core is then glued back together and cut at the locations of the transversal members, the shape of the cuts is then traced on the thin stiff material which is then cut to make the templates.

To assemble the frame the members ha~e to be slotted at the junction of the longitudinal members 16 and the transversal members 18. The longitudinal members 15 are slotted vertically from the top down to their mi~-point and t~le transversal members 18 from the ~ottom up to their mid-point or vice versa, so they can be inserted into each other. The slots 34 & ~6 are of the same width as tne thickness of the members. To stiffen the frame, diagonal stiffening members 20 made of a number of layers of man made composite material are added to the frame at the desired locations. To make the core safer for the user it will ~e made in two or more watertight compartments, by having a number of watertight transversal members 22, depending on the length of the board. To permit removal of seepage water from these compartments the transversal members, except the ones separating the watertight compartments, will have at their top, near each longitudinal member, a notch 24 to permit the passage of the water. The longitudinal members will have similar notches 24 at their very front and very back. For example, to remo~e the seepage water from the front compartment the board is turned upside-down and the back of the board is liftsd so the water can escape through the front plug. This seepage water removal system is also used, by leaving the plugs open, to equili~rate the air pressure inside the board, when not in use and sitting in the sun.

To assemble the core, the mold of the upper part of the core shell 12, in its holding mold, is turned upside down and the frame 10 is glued together and installed and glued inside; the glue to be a compound compatible with the composite material.

To further strengthen the glued joints, strips of one or more layers of composite material extending several centimeters on either side of the joint can be added, e.g. at a "T" joint the strip could extend 2 cm. from the joint down the vertical bar and ~ cm. away from the joint under the horizontal bar. At this point, blocking for the inserts for the mast-step track 28, the finbox 30 and the foot straps 32 is also glued-in.
The inserts for plugs 26 for the removal of seepage water are installed at this stage. For snowboards the inserts for the mounting of the bindings are installed at this stage. The upper part of the core shell 12 and the frame 10 are then glued on the underside of the core shell 14 in its holding mold, to complete the board's core.

Once the core is made the board is completed by using the sandwich construction method, the polyester construction method or any other suita~le type of construction.

Summary, Ramifications and Scope.

Accordingly, the reader will see that the core of a sailboard, surfboard or snowboard of this invention permits the construction of a light and very strong core. It also permits manufacturers to make a number of these cores having to shape only one blank rigid plastic foam. In addition it does not require an expensive steel mold. For safety it permits the 2~ 75094 core of sailboards and surfboards to have two or more waterproof compartments.

To strenghten the core, the longitudinal members can have extra layers of composite material added towards the back of the frame and the transversal members reinforced accordingly.

Further development of resin glue technology will permit molding the complete skin of the shell on the hard plastic foam core and then simply glueing the upper part of the core shell, the frame, and the underside of the core shell together in a single operation. This would be especially beneficial for pre-preg construction.

Another further development will permit using computer aided drafting to draw the shape of the core and frame members, and then using computer controlled cutting machine~ to shape the blank rigid plastic foam. Still further developments can use computer controlled lasers or water jets to cut the frame members.

Although the description above contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. For e~ample, the frame coul~ have a hexagonal or rounde~ alveoles 21 750~4 structure.

Thus the scope of the invention should h~ determined by the appended claims an~ their legal equivalents, rather than ~y the examples given.

Claims (14)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive proterty or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. In a sailboard, surfboard or snowboard having a skin over a rigid plastic foam core, the improvement wherein said rigid plastic foam core is replaced by a frame inside a shell.
. The frame of claim 1 wherein said frame is made of a number of longitudinal members and a number of transversal members.
3. The shell of claim 1 being molded in any number of parts.
4. The shell of claim 1 being molded in two parts: the upper part of the core shell and the underside of the core shell.
5. The frame and shell of claim 1 wherein said frame and said shell are made of a predetermined number of layers of composite material selected for the resin from the group comprising epoxies and polyesters and vinylesters and other similar resins; and for the fibers from the group comprising glass fibers and carbon fibers and graphite fibers and aramid fibers and olefin fibers and polyester fibers and other similar type of fibers.
6. The shell of claim 3 wherein said shell and the skin of the board are constructed as a single entity prior to gluing all the parts together.
7. The frame and shell of claim 5 being constructed by using the pre-preg construction technique.
8. The shell of claim 7 wherein said shell and the skin of the board are constructed as a single entity prior to gluing all the parts together.
9. The upper part of the core shell and the underside of the core shell of claim 4 being molded on a shaped rigid plastic foam core.
10. The frame of claim 5 wherein said longitudinal members and said tranversal members are being cut out of sheets of said composite material.
11. The frame members of claim 10 wherein the notches required for the removal of seepage water are cut out.
12. The frame members of claim 11 wherein slots are cut at each of said longitudinal members and said transversal members connections, said slots being cut halfway down into said longitudinal members and cut halfway up into said transversal members, said slots being of the same width as the frame members' thickness, said slots permitting said frame members to be inserted into each other.
13. The frame of claim 12 being assembled and glued together, and installed and glued into said upper part of the core shell.
14. The frame and upper part of the core shell of claim 13 being glued on said underside of the core shell to complete said core of the sailboard, surfboard or snowboard.
CA002175094A 1996-04-26 1996-04-26 Core for a sailboard, surfboard or snowboard Abandoned CA2175094A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA002175094A CA2175094A1 (en) 1996-04-26 1996-04-26 Core for a sailboard, surfboard or snowboard

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA002175094A CA2175094A1 (en) 1996-04-26 1996-04-26 Core for a sailboard, surfboard or snowboard

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA2175094A1 true CA2175094A1 (en) 1997-10-27

Family

ID=4158077

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA002175094A Abandoned CA2175094A1 (en) 1996-04-26 1996-04-26 Core for a sailboard, surfboard or snowboard

Country Status (1)

Country Link
CA (1) CA2175094A1 (en)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN102145737A (en) * 2010-02-10 2011-08-10 新记企业股份有限公司 Surfboard manufacturing process and surfboard product
GB2605361A (en) * 2021-03-18 2022-10-05 Exofuse Ltd Blank for a buoyant sports board
WO2022254324A1 (en) * 2021-05-31 2022-12-08 Varuna Lestari Bv Surfboard and method for manufacturing a surfboard

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN102145737A (en) * 2010-02-10 2011-08-10 新记企业股份有限公司 Surfboard manufacturing process and surfboard product
GB2605361A (en) * 2021-03-18 2022-10-05 Exofuse Ltd Blank for a buoyant sports board
WO2022254324A1 (en) * 2021-05-31 2022-12-08 Varuna Lestari Bv Surfboard and method for manufacturing a surfboard
BE1029460B1 (en) * 2021-05-31 2023-01-10 Varuna Lestari SURFBOARD AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING A SURFBOARD

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Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
FZDE Discontinued