GB2602386A

GB2602386A - Water sport board and anchor point for a water sport board

Info

Publication number: GB2602386A
Application number: GB2116194.8A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Seddon Joel
Original assignee: Bluefin Trading Ltd
Current assignee: Bluefin Trading Ltd
Priority date: 2021-11-10
Filing date: 2021-11-10
Publication date: 2022-06-29
Anticipated expiration: 2041-11-10
Also published as: GB2602386B

Abstract

A water sport board 50, particularly a SUP board, is disclosed comprising a body having a hull (50b, Fig 10) for facing the water in use and a deck 50a on the opposing side of the body. The board further comprises at least one outwardly facing retroreflective element 60. Also disclosed is an anchor point (100, Fig 2) for a SUP board with at least one retroreflective element (40, Fig 2) provided on the anchor point. The anchor point may further comprise a base portion (10, Fig 2) for mounting to a surface of a board and a body (20a-c, Fig 2) protruding from the base portion. The retroreflective element may be provided on a side wall of the body.

Description

WATER SPORT BOARD AND ANCHOR POINT FOR A WATER SPORT BOARD

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to boards for water sports such as surfboards paddleboards and an anchor point for a water sport board. In particular, embodiments relate to stand up paddle boards.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Stand up paddle boarding (SUP) is a type of water sport in which a boarder stands on a buoyant board and uses a paddle to propel themselves. SUP boards are generally relatively large (8 to 12 feet in length) to provide good stability and may use a rigid (for example with a foam core) or an inflatable structure (which may be referred to as an iSUP board). In recent years SUP has grown significantly with a variety of SUP based activities gaining popularity for example SUP surfing, SUP touring, SUP yoga and SUP fishing.

[0003] One of the attractions of SUP boards is that they are able to be used in a variety of conditions and locations -for example, on freshwater locations such as rivers, canals and lakes or saltwater locations including for example when surfing.

[0004] The popularity and versatility of SUP boarding inevitably brings SUP boarders into increased close proximity with other users of the waterways including ships and boats. At present there are minimal safety rules and regulations for the use of SUP boards in most parts of the world. There is therefore a need for SUP board arrangements that provide improved safety and, for example, which increase the safety of SUP boarders when operating close to other waterway users.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided water sport board, particularly a SUP board, comprising a body having a hull for facing the water in use and a deck on the opposing side of the body. The board further comprises at least one outwardly facing retroreflective element.

[0006] The applicant has recognised that providing an outwardly facing retroreflective element is beneficial in ensuring that a water sport board (such as a SUP board) can remain easily visible in poor light or dark conditions. This may, therefore, provide greatly improved 113 safety particularly when operating around other water users such as boats or ships. It may be appreciated that a retroreflective element can include a coating, paint, adhesive labels or fabric elements and may also include retroreflective lenses such as corner reflectors/prism reflectors or beads. A retroretlector reflects a large portion of a directed light beam back to its source and as such the inclusion of at least one retroreflective element ensures that a strong indication of the presence of the water sport board is provided.

[0007] In some embodiments the board comprises a side wall extending between the hull and deck and at least partially around the periphery of the body. The at least one outwardly facing retroreflective element comprises at least one retroreflective element on the side wall. [0008] The board may further comprise an anchor point comprising a base for 20 mounting to the deck of the board and a connector extending from the base. For example SUP boards are commonly provided with at least one anchor points as an attachment point for a leash and further anchor points may be provided for the attachment or retention of equipment during use of the board. In embodiments the anchor point may comprise at least one outwardly facing retroreflective element.

[0009] As anchor points may be readily connected to a board, such as a SUP board, by a user to meet their personal needs the provision of a retroreflective element as pan of an anchor point may provide a convenient means to provide a safety element which is retrofittable to a board For example, the retroreflective element may be integral to an anchor point.

[0010] As such, according to a further aspect of the invention there is provided an anchor point for a water sport board and in particular an anchor point for a SUP board. The anchor point may comprise a base portion for mounting to a surface of a board and a body protruding from the base portion. The anchor point may further comprise at least one retroreflective element [OW 1] The anchor point may comprise a moulded body. For example the body may be a moulded plastic body. The body may comprise a generally planar base and a bush protruding from the base. The connector may comprise a ring with at least a portion thereof received and supported in the bush to enable rotation of the ring relative to the base portion. The ring may be a loop of flexible wire, plastic, rope, or material or may be a rigid ring. In particular, the loop may be a D-ring.

[0012] The at least one outwardly facing retroreflective element may be disposed on an external surface of the bush. The at least one outwardly facing retroreflective element may be on a side wall of the moulded body.

[0013] In some embodiments the retroreflective element comprises at least one retroreflective bead or sphere. For example, one or more retroreflective beads or spheres may be embedded into a side wall of the body of the anchor point.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates an isometric view of a conventional anchoring system, [0015] FIG. 2 illustrates an isometric view of an anchor point in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention; [0016] FIG. 3 illustrates a side view of the anchor point of FIG. 2; [0017] FIG. 4 illustrates a front view of the anchor point of FIG. 2; [0018] FIG. 5 illustrates a rear view of the anchor point of FIG. 2; [0019] FIG. 6 illustrates an isometric view of an anchor point in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; [0020] FIG. 7 illustrates a side view of the anchor point of FIG. 6; [0021] FIG. 8 illustrates an isometric view of an anchor point in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; [0022] FIG. 9 illustrates an isometric view of a SUP board in accordance with embodiments; [0023] FIG. 10 illustrates a side view of the SUP board of FIG. 9; and [0024] FIG. 11 illustrates an isometric view of an anchor point in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0025] FIG. 1 illustrates an isometric view of a conventional anchor point for mounting on a SUP Board. The anchor point may for example be used as a connection point for a leash or may be used to attach a chord or net for retaining items on the deck of a SUP board. The anchor point may be attached to the deck of the SUP board for example by using an adhesive in any configuration desired by the user.

[0026] In order to improve safety for a SUP board user when operating in poorly lit condit ons or at night embod ments of the invention provide a SUP board and/or a anchor point for a SUP board including retroreflective elements. The provision of an anchor point including such a safety element is particularly useful as it can be used on both existing and new SUP boards.

[0027] The FIG 2 of the accompanying drawings illustrates an isometric view of an anchor point, hereinafter referred to as "anchor 100" FIG. FIG. 3 illustrates a side view of the anchor 100. FIG. 4 illustrates a front view of the anchor 100. FIG. 4 illustrates a front view of the anchor 100. The anchor 100 includes a base portion 10, a body 20 defining a bush, a D-ring 30 and at least one illuminating element 40.

[0028] The base portion 10 is securely mounted to an upper "deck" surface 50a of the SUP board 50, as seen in FIG. 9. The base portion 10 can be mounted on the surface 50a of the surfboard 50 by any convenient fixation means but may typically be attached using an adhesive.

The anchor 100 may include other attachment means or mounting attachments for mounting the base portion 10 of the anchor 100 to the surface 50a of the SUP board 50.

[0029] The body 20 protrudes from the base portion 10. Generally, the base portion 10 and the body 20 are integrally formed of plastic material by single step moulding process.

Alternatively, the base portion 10 and the body 20 are separate from each other and the body is mounted on the base portion 10. The body 20 includes strategically disposed ribs and cutouts for reinforcing and reducing the weight and material from the body 20. Such configuration of forming ribs enables withstanding high stresses by the body 20 to which the body 20 is subjected to via the D-ring 30 (for example due to tension in the leash or retaining straps attached thereto). In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the body 20 includes a pair of side walls 20a and 20b respectively and a pair of front and rear walls 20c and 20d respectively. The pair of side walls 20a and 20b includes corresponding aligned holes that define the bush to receive and support a straight portion 30a of the D-ring 30. It will be appreciated that the holes may form a through aperture or may be blind holes (and in the latter case the D-ring will be correspondingly incomplete). The pair of front and rear walls 20c and 20d is disposed on opposite sides of the straight portion 30a of the D-ring 30. The pair of front and rear walls 20c and 20d in conjunction with the pair of side walls 20a and 20b cover at least a portion of the straight portion 30a of the D-ring 30. The illuminating elements 40 are disposed on at least one of the side walls 20a and 20b, the front wall 20c and the rear wall 20d. By providing the illuminating elements on the anchor they can be positioned such that they are on a surface which extends upwardly from the deck of the board and which faces outwardly from the deck to provide a good range of angles from which they may be seen. This may, therefore, greatly increase the safety for a SUP boarder since a boat or the like will be able to notice the safety reflectors to identify the location of the board.

[0030] Referring to FIG. Ito 4 of the accompanying drawings, different views of the anchor 100 are illustrated showing a first way of providing at least one retroreflective element. In this embodiment the body 20 of the anchor 100 includes cavities or recesses 20e for receiving and securely holding the retroreflective elements 40 therein, The retroretlective elements 40 in this embodiment are reflective beads Such reflective beads may each be a transparent spherical (or generally spherical) element with a reflective real surface which provides backside reflection of incoming light. Such beads are commercially available and may, for example, be of the type used as reflective elements in road safety "cat's eye" devices. The retroreflective elements 40 may be securely held in the corresponding cavities 20e formed in the body 20 due to interference fit between the retroreflective elements 40 and the corresponding cavities 20e. FIG. 6 illustrates an isometric view of the anchor point 200 in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the anchor point 100 is configured with retroreflective element 40 in form of a panel. FIG. 7 illustrates a side view of the anchor point 100.

[0031] Another embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 5 to 8, in this embodiment the anchor point 200 includes the retroreflective element 140 in form of a panel or label that is connected to the body 20 of the anchor point 200. The element 140 may, for example, be a retroreflective material (which can for example include many reflective microspheres embedded in an ink or paint) on an adhesive backing. To provide an effective safety reflector it is desirable for the element 140 to extend onto at least one side wall of the body 120 (such that, in use it is on an upstanding surface). This can be readily achieved whist ensuring robust attachment of the element 140 to the body 20 by having a first portion of the element 140 attached to an upper surface of the base 10 and having a tongue of the element fold and adhere to the front side wall as shown by arrow B. As can be noted in the figure the D-ring 30 of the anchor may rotate in use as shown by arrow A but the position of the anchor can easily be selected to ensure that it is not significantly obstructing the element 140 during use.

[0032] Also disclosed is a SUP board 50 as shown in figure 9 and 10. The board has an upper surface or deck 50a and an opposing lower surface or hull 50b. A side edge 50c extends between and around the deck 50a and hull 50b around the full periphery of the board. The side 50c is generally perpendicular to the deck 50a (although it may be profiled and chamfered or tapered) and can be generally considered to be upstanding from the water during use. In embodiments of the invention the sides 50c may be provided with at least one (and typically a plurality as shown in the figure) of retroreflective elements 60. These elements face outwardly from the board and can provide highly enhanced visibility of the board in low lighting conditions. The board 50 may also include one or more anchors in accordance with embodiments.

[0033] Although the invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that various changes or modification may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. For example, Figure 11 shows a modified version of the anchor point 200'. This embodiment is similar to the embodiment of Figure 8 but includes a reflector 140' of reduced size. It can be noted that the reflector 140' extends along the front side wall of the anchor point and partially along the upper surface of the base Thus, the reflector 140' is both simple to mount to the anchor 200' and is also visible from a good range of positions/viewing angles. It will be appreciated that whilst a smaller reflector may reduce the available retro-retlective area it may also simplify installation and could, for example, be useful in providing an arrangement which could be readily retrofit to an existing anchor point so as to provide an achor point or water sport board in accordance with an embodiment.

Claims

C LA I NI S1 A water sport board comprising: a body having a hull for facing the water in use and a deck on the opposing side of the body and wherein the board further comprises at least one outwardly facing retroreflective element 2 A water sport board as claimed in claim 1, wherein the board is a SUP board 3 A water sport board as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the board comprises a side wall extending between the hull and deck and at least partially around the periphery of the body, and wherein the at least one outwardly facing retroreflective element comprises at least one retroreflective element on the side wall.4 A water-sport board as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein board further comprises an anchor point comprising a base for mounting to the deck of the board and a connector extending from the base, wherein the anchor point comprises at least one outwardly facing retroreflective element.A water sport board as claimed in claim 4, wherein the anchor point comprises a moulded body comprising a generally planar base and a bush protruding from the base, and wherein the connector comprises a ring with at least a portion thereof received and supported in the bush to enable rotation of the ring relative to the base portion.6 A water sport board as claimed in claim 5, wherein the at least one outwardly facing retroreflective element is disposed on an external surface of the bush.7 A water sport board as claimed in claim 5 or 6, wherein the at least one outwardly facing retroreflective element is on a side wall of the moulded body.8. An anchor point for a water sport board, the anchor point comprising: a base portion for mounting to a surface of a board; a body protruding from the base portion the anchor point further comprises at least one retroreflective element 9. An anchor point as claimed in claim 8, wherein the body defines a bush and the anchor point further comprises a ring with at least a portion thereof received and supported in the bush of the body.An anchor point as claimed in claim 8 or 9, wherein the at least one retroreflective element is provided on a side wall of the body.11 A water sport board as claimed in claim 7 or an anchor point as claimed in claim 10, wherein the retroretlective element comprises at least one retroreflective bead or sphere.