GB2457687A

GB2457687A - Traction pads for wave riding boards

Info

Publication number: GB2457687A
Application number: GB0803158A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Vitor Emanuel Lopes Nascimento
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-02-20
Filing date: 2008-02-20
Publication date: 2009-08-26
Also published as: GB0803158D0; WO2009103989A2; WO2009103989A3

Abstract

A traction pad 14 for a wave riding board, such as a surfboard, 10 is equipped to provide illumination for a wave riding board to which it is fitted. The traction pad 14 may form a part of the original equipment of a wave riding board or be retrofitted and allows the provision of a wave riding board that can be seen at night.

Description

TRACTiON PADS FOR WAVE RIDING BOARDS

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to traction pads for wave riding boards including suriboards, long boards, sailboards, wind surfboards, kite suriboards, kneeboards, paddleboards and boogie boards.

Background to the Invention

Surfboards and similar such wave riding boards are typically constructed as a rigid foam core covered by a hard resin material reinforced with fibre or as a hollow structure made from a fibre-reinforced plastics material and internally reinforced by ribs or webs. The outer surface of the board is typically formed by a smooth resin layer. Thus, the deck (upper surface) of the wave riding board on which the rider stands has a smooth finish and will ordinarily be very slippery when the board is in the water. To combat this problem, riders often create a non-slip surface by rubbing a paraffin-type wax onto the board.

A known alternative, or addition, to waxing the board is to fit a traction pad to the deck. Traction pads are most usually applied at the rear of the deck to provide a good grip for the rider's rear foot, while the front section of the board is waxed. The improved grip provided by the traction pad makes it easier for the rider to steer the board while riding a wave. Sometimes, a second traction pad is provided at a forward position on the deck to provide a gripping surface for the rider's front foot.

Board riders, particularly surfers, generally practice their sport in daylight. This is particularly so for competitive surfing since visibility is required for judging and spectating.

US6 431 933 discloses an illuminated surfboard comprising a solid riding board, an electro-luminescent sheet positioned on the riding board and a translucent resin layer covering the electro-luminescent sheet.

I

US2005/0064774 discloses forming grooves in the solid riding board of a sports board, such as a surfboard, fitting an electro-luminescent wire in the grooves and providing a transparent or translucent protective layer over the board surface and electro-luminescent wires.

The known illuminated wave riding boards have lighting systems that are an integral part of the board structure and as such are not suitable for retrofitting to existing boards.

Summary of the Invention

The invention provides a wave riding board traction pad comprising at least one illumination device operable to provide illumination for a wave riding board to which the traction pad is fitted.

The invention also includes a wave riding board traction pad having a surface provided with grip formations that is sized to cover substantially all of a deck surface of a size of wave riding board the traction pad is to be used with and provided with illumination operable to illuminate a said wave riding board.

The invention also includes a wave riding board traction pad which traction board is equipped to provide illumination for a wave riding board to which the traction pad is fitted.

The invention also includes providing illumination on a wave riding board comprising fitting a wave riding board traction as defined in either of the last three preceding paragraphs to a wave riding board.

Brief Description of the Drawing

In order that the invention may be well understood, an embodiment thereof, which is given by way of example only, will now be described with reference to the drawing in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a surfboard provided with a traction pad.

Detailed Description of the Illustrated Embodiment

Referring to Figure 1, a wave riding board in the form of a surfboard 10 comprises a rigid foam core covered by a hard resin material reinforced with fibre or as a hollow structure made from a fibre-reinforced plastics material and internally reinforced by ribs or webs. The outer surface of the board is typically formed by a smooth resin layer. Optionally, the surfboard 10 has one or more stabilisers 12 projecting from its underside.

The surfboard 10 is provided with a traction pad 14 that is semi-permanently fixed to the deck (upper surface) 16 of the board. The traction pad 14 is fixed to the deck 16 by any suitable means such as, for example, a peel and stick adhesive. One adhesive known to be suitable for securing traction pads to surfboards is a pressure sensitive adhesive made by 3M.

The traction pad 14 is a flexible moulded plastics sheet-like member shaped to cover most of the deck 16 so as to provide the rider with a continuous gripping surface 18 covering substantially the entire deck. Thus, in plan the traction pad 14 has a shape corresponding substantially to the shape of the deck of the wave riding boards it is intended to be used on, but is slightly smaller in area.

Although the traction pad may be made from a material that inherently provides sufficient grip, the gripping surface 18 will usually be provided with surface formations (omitted from the drawing to allow other features to be more clearly illustrated) to provide an enhanced grip for the rider. The surface formations may comprise dimples, ribs and/or other protrusions that are an integral part of the moulding. The surface formations may vary in shape size and/or type at various locations along the length of the traction pad 14 so as to provide differing gripping properties tuned to provide better performance. In this context, better performance may include water runoff properties.

The traction pad 14 is moulded from a material that is at least translucent. In the illustrated embodiment, the traction pad is moulded from a material that is substantially transparent. Suitable materials include transparent EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate) and silicon rubber.

An illumination device 20 is provided in the underside (ie the base side of the traction pad that is opposite to the gripping surface 18) of the traction pad 14 such that when the traction pad is fitted to the deck of a wave riding board, it is trapped between the underside of the pad and the deck. The illumination device 20 comprises a plurality of LEDs 22 that are interconnected by wiring 24 to form a chain of LEDs. The LEDs 22 may be wired in series or parallel. Parallel wiring is preferred since this will allow the illumination device 20 to continue functioning even if some of the LEDs 22 fail.

The illumination device 20 may be moulded into the underside of the traction pad 14 so as to be completely enclosed by the pad. Alternatively, the traction pad 14 may be moulded so as to include a housing (typically a suitably shaped recess(es)) into which the illumination device can be fitted). In embodiments in which the illumination device 20 is to be fitted in a housing defined in the underside of the traction pad, the pad may be moulded with suitable push-fit retention members past which the illumination device can be push-fitted into the housing. It will be appreciated that as an alternative to push-fit retention members, any other suitable form of securement may be used to retain the illumination device in the traction pad.

The traction pad 14 is provided with a power source for powering the illumination device 20. The power source is in the form of a rechargeable power pack 26 moulded into an integral housing 28 located at the rear, or stern, end of the traction pad 14.

The housing 28 may be shaped such that it can serve as a brace for the rider's rear foot. The power pack 26 is rechargeable by inductive coupling (charging), a technology known to those skilled in the art of rechargeable power packs. An advantage of using inductive coupling is that the power pack 26 does not need to be accessible and so can be sealed into the traction pad in such a way that it is protected against water ingress and other environmental elements (for example, sand) that may be encountered when in use.

Control of the illumination device 20 is by way of a suitably located rocker or push switch 30. The switch 30 is encased within the traction pad in such a way as to be operable by pressing against the surface of the traction pad.

In use, a traction pad 14 that has a shape and size that is broadly similar to that of the deck 16 of the wave riding board 10 to which it is to be fitted is selected and the deck is cleaned to remove all traces of any waxes and other substances that might prevent the traction pad from properly adhering to the board. The protective peel-off layer is then removed to expose the adhesive on the underside of the pad, which is then pressed down onto the deck of the board. Once the traction pad is fitted to the wave riding board, in order to ensure that the pad has properly adhered to the board it may be necessary to leave the board for sometime before it is used. When the wave riding board is used, the illumination device 20 can be activated by means of the switch 30 and the power pack 26 can be recharged by bringing it into proximity with a suitable inductive coupling charging device.

As shown in Figure 1, the illumination device 20 comprises a chain of LEDs 22. It will be appreciated that more than one chain of LEDs may be provided and the multiple chains might comprise different coloured LEDs or, indeed, there may be different coloured LEDs within any one chain. An alternative would be to have one or more chains of miniature incandescent bulbs. Another alternative would be to use electro-luminescent light sources such as an electro-luminescent sheet incorporated in the traction pad or one or more Lytec � electro-luminescent wires housed in one or more grooves provided in the traction pad 14. The Lytec � electro-luminescent wire is described in US5 869 930 and is a flexible elongate filament of approximately 3mm diameter that emits light over its entire length when supplied with ac electrical power at one end. For light sources requiring an ac electrical supply, the power pack 26 would additionally comprise an inverter.

It will be appreciated that the illumination device may be controlled by means other than a rocker or push switch. For example, switching may be by way of a pair of exposed contacts that make (close) a circuit when the wave riding board is in water.

Alternatively, the traction pad may be provided with an attitude switch that operates to provide a connection between the power pack and illumination device when the wave riding board is in its normal use attitude with the deck facing upwards. In this case, the rider can turn off the illumination by simply inverting the wave riding board, such as would be done when fitting the board to a vehicle roof rack. Turning the wave riding board into its normal use attitude would cause the switch to close and the illumination device to illuminate the board. Yet another alternative would be to provide remote controlled switching operable, for example, by radio or infrared signals. In this case, a remote controller for controlling the switching could be provided on a wristband and may be equipped to serve as a timepiece (watch) optionally equipped to provide other functions incorporated in known timepieces.

Alternatively, the remote controller may be arranged such that it can be clipped to a waistband or the like.

It will be appreciated that the traction pad my incorporate a controller that when activated causes the illumination to flash, strobe or provide other lighting effects. For example, in cases in which the illumination device includes light sources able to provide different coloured illumination, the controller could be configured to cause the different colours to illuminate in sequence.

It will be appreciated that the illumination device(s) can be arranged in any convenient manner to provide the desired illumination of the wave riding board. For example, the illumination device(s) may be arranged so as to provide forwardly directed illumination in the manner of a vehicle headlight. In this case, the traction pad may be provided with a bulge at its forward end to house a forward facing source of illumination, such as an LED. It is envisaged that in embodiments provided with forward facing illumination this will be switchable separately of the main illumination.

It will be appreciated that as an alternative to providing the traction pad with a power source, the pad may be provided with electrical contacts for contacting electrical contacts linked to a power source provided on a wave riding board. Such a power source may be similar to the power sources disclosed in the Applicant's PCT It will be appreciated that the traction pad may incorporate a material(s) that makes it luminous. Alternatively, the traction pad may incorporate a material(s) that fluoresce in response to a radiation input from a source of suitable radiation that may be provided in the traction pad or as a separate unit.

It will be appreciated that the embodiments allow the possibility of night time recreational and competitive surfing by providing surfboards with illumination that enables spectators and judges to observe the performance of the rider despite the absence of daylight.

It will also be appreciated that the illumination provided by the traction pad provides a wave riding board having at least an illuminated deck surface that can provide a visual spectacle to observers and enhance enjoyment of the board rider.

It will be further appreciated that since the illumination device is provided in the traction pad, wave riding boards that do not include any illumination feature can be quickly and easily provided with illumination by retrofitting. It is, however, to be understood that while the traction pad may be a retrofit item, it can also form a part of the original equipment of a new wave riding board.

Claims

Claims 1. A wave riding board traction pad comprising at least one illumination device operable to provide illumination for a wave riding board to which the traction pad is fitted.
2. A wave riding board traction pad as claimed in claim 1, comprising a luminous material.
3. A wave riding board traction pad as claimed in claim 1 or 2, that is shaped and sized to provide cover at least 75% of a deck surface of a wave riding board the traction pad is designed to be used on.
4. A wave riding board traction pad as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the traction pad comprises a surface provided with grip formations.
5. A wave riding board traction pad as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising a body portion that is at least semi-translucent, said at least one illumination device being housed within said body portion.
6. A wave riding board traction pad as claimed in claim 5, wherein said at least one illumination device is received in a recess in a surface of the traction pad that, in use, lies on a deck surface of the wave riding board.
7. A wave riding board traction pad as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising a power source for powering said at least one illumination device.
8. A traction pad as claimed in claim 7, wherein said power source is rechargeable by inductive coupling.
9. A wave riding board traction pad as claimed in any one of claims I to 6, wherein said traction pad is provided with an electrical connection device for connecting said at least one illumination device with a power source provided on a wave riding board.
10. A wave riding board traction pad as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising switching for said at least one illumination device.
11. A wave riding board traction pad as claimed in claim 10, wherein said switching comprises remote controlled switching.
12. A wave riding board traction pad having a surface provided with grip formations that is sized to cover substantially all of a deck surface of a size of wave riding board the traction pad is to be used with and provided with illumination operable to illuminate a said wave riding board.
13. A wave riding board traction pad as claimed in claim 12, comprising a rechargeable power pack for said illumination, said power pack being connectable with a charging source by inductive coupling.
14. A wave riding board traction pad as claimed in claim 12 or 13, comprising a body portion that is at least translucent and wherein said illumination is provided in said body portion.
15. A wave riding board as claimed claim 12, 13 or 14, wherein said illumination comprises a plurality of LEDs coupled by wiring.
16. A wave riding board traction pad as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 15, comprising remote controlled switching for said illumination.
17. A wave riding board traction pad as claimed in claim 11 or 16 in combination with a remote control device for operating said remote controlled switching.
18. A wave riding board fitted with a wave riding board traction pad as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.
19. A method of providing illumination on a wave riding board comprising fitting a wave riding board traction pad as claimed in any one of claims I to 17 to a wave riding board.
20. A wave riding board traction pad substantially as herein described with reference to the drawing.
21. A wave riding board provided with a traction pad substantially as herein described with reference to the drawing.
22. A method of providing illumination on a wave riding board substantially as herein described with reference to the drawing.