US3600001A

US3600001A - Rotary ski sled

Info

Publication number: US3600001A
Application number: US834354A
Authority: US
Inventors: Patrick W Fisher; James A Fisher
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1969-06-18
Filing date: 1969-06-18
Publication date: 1971-08-17
Anticipated expiration: 1988-08-17

Abstract

The invention comprises a ski sled having a dishlike body member for a passenger to ride in which is rotatably mounted centrally upon a ski. The ski sled, adapted to be towed behind either a boat or snowmobile on water or snow respectively and has a brake mechanism to releasably lock the dishlike member to the ski, whereby when the brake mechanism is released as the sled is being towed the engagement of the dishlike body member with the towing surface will cause the dish member to rotate relative to the ski.

Description

United States Patent [72] Inventors Patrick W. F'sher 1,313,330 Grand Forks, N. Dak. 58201; 2,961,252 James A. Fisher. Larimore, N. Dak. 58251 3,220,744 [21] Appl. No. 834,354 3,335,440 [22] Filed June 18, 1969 3,379,454 [45] Patented Aug. 17, 1971 [54] ROTARY SKI SLED 3 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 280/24, 272/29, 272/32, 9/1 A [51] Int. Cl B621: 13/00 [50] Field ofSearch 280/12. 47.39, 79.1, 79.2, 87.01, 87.02, 87.03, 24; 272/34, 35, 37, 43, 45, 48; 9/1 .5

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,031,510 7/1912 Bail 272/32 Pocock 272/35 UX Enblom 280/47.39 Gomory et al. 280/87.0l X Beakbane 280/ 12 X Woodman 280/87.04

Primary Examiner- Benjamin Hersh Assistant Examiner-Winston H. Douglas Anomey- Robert E. Kleve ABSTRACT: The invention comprises a ski sled having a dishlike body member for a passenger to ride in which is rotatably mounted centrally upon a ski. The ski sled, adapted to be towed behind either a boat or snowmobile on water or snow respectively and has a brake mechanism to releasably lock the dishlike member to the ski, whereby when the brake mechanism is released as the sled is being towed the engagement of the dishlike body member with the towing surface will cause the dish member to rotate relative to the ski.

| E 3 k d I 37 36 L f I a 1 I l I 4' I" r PATENTEUAUEWB?! 3.600.001

' sum 2 [IF 2 L .l' .I II d! I, Patrick w. Fisher 8 James A. Fisher ATTORNEY FIG.6. B

ROTARY SKI SLED The invention relates to ski vehicles, more particularly, the invention relates to ski sleds to be towed upon water or snow.

It is an object of the invention to provide a novel single runnersled for towing on either water or snow, which will rotate as it is being towed to provide added excitement to the rider. 7

It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel dishlike body member rotatably mounted upon a single ski which dish member and ski may tip to one side or another with the functional engagement of the dish member with the towing surface causing the dish member to rotate.

It is another object of the invention to provide a sled having a novel dishlike body member rotatably mounted on-a ski with a brake mechanism for locking the dishlike member from rotation relative to the ski.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds and when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the novel rotating sled invention. v

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the rotating ski sled invention.

FIG-.3 is a cross-sectional view taken along .line 3-3 of FIG. I.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view similar to FIG. 1 of the brake mechanism and mounting connection below the dishlike body member and ski of the invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged crosssectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4, with the brakedrum cut away revealing the brake shoes and their operative mounting.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the side of the brake mechanism opposite FIG. 5, taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 4 with the brakedrum cut away illustrating the brake shoes and the cam activation mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 88 of FIG.

Briefly stated the invention comprises a ski sled having a dishlike'body member for carrying a passenger, a'ski disposed centrally beneath the body member, said dishlike body member being rotatably mounted to said ski, a brake mechanism for releasably locking said dish member to said ski for preventing the dishlike member from rotating relative to the ski.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, in FIG. 1, the ski sled invention 20 is illustrated having a dishlike body member 21 and a ski 22 rotatably mounted beneath the body member. A rope 23 is attached to the forward end 22' of the ski for towing the invention either on snow or water by a snowmobile or powerboat, respectively.

The dishlike body member has a hollow watertight construction. The dishlike body member is formed of an upper plastic half shell 26 and a lower plastic half shell 27. The upper plastic shell has the central annular recess portion 25 to provide room for a passenger to sit in. A crossbar 28 is fixed to the top of the upper plastic shell. The upper and

lower shells

26 and 27 are formed of plastic and are sealed together along their outer circumferential edge 28 to provide the airtight hollow construction. The central recessed portion 25 of the top half shell 26 has annular tapered inner sides 29 and a flat annular base 30 integrally molded together. The outer annular sides 31 of the plastic half shell are molded integrally to the upper annular edge 29' of the tapered sides of the recessed portion.

The lower annular plastic half shell 27 has eight identical sections 33 with their edges 33' and 33" converging together at a shallow angle to form eight projecting corners or lower ridges 34 extending radially outward and upward. The outer tapered annular portion 31 of the top half shell has eight sections 35 identical to each other with their edges 35' and 35" converging together at a shallow angle to form eight projecting upper comers or ridges 36 which extend radially outward and downward.

A cylindrical plastic sleeve 37 is fitted between the upper and

lower half shells

26 and 27 with its upper and lower edges sealed to the upper and

lower shells

26 and 27 respectively in water or airtight relation to thereby form an outer annular airtight compartment 38 so that the dishlike member 21 will float upon water, when the invention is used as a water sled.

The ski 22 has a steel cylindrical mounting post 39 fixed to the ski 22 and the mounting post 39 has two

collars

40 and 40", a brakedrum 41 fixed to the post immediately above the collar 40". The brake drum 41 has a flat annular disc portion 42 fixed to the collar 40" and a cylindrical upright wall portion 42' fixed to the disc portion 42.

The brake mechanism 38 is located in the center of the dish member 21 between the upper and

lower half shells

26 and 27 The dishlike body member 21 has a pair of

metal meta plates

43 and 44 which are fixed to the underside of the

half shells

26 and 27, respectively, by means of four bolts 45 which pass through the

metal plates

43 and 44 and

half shells

26 and 27, and through four meta] holes 46 which act as spacers. Threaded nuts 47 are threaded onto the lower ends of the bolts 45 to tighten the metal plates and upper and lower shells together in spaced fixed relation as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and The dishlike body member 21 also has a pair of

conventional brakeshoes

48 and 49 which are attached to the body member 21, by means of a pin 50 fixed to the upper shell 26 and upper plate 43 from which the pin extends down into the brakedrum, and the

brakeshoes

48 and 49 are pivotally mounted at their one ends 48" and 49" in overlapping relation to the pin 50. The pin 50 terminates short of engagement with the disc portion 42 of the brakedrum so as to be free of the brakedrum. A cam 52 is fixed to the lower end ofa pin 53, and the pin 53 extends upward through the metal plate 43 and upper half shell 26 and the pin 53 is rotatably mounted thereto. An arm 83 is fixed to the upper end 53' of the pin and a flexible steel wire 54 is attached to the outer end of the arm 83. The steel wire 54 extends from the arm 83 upward along inclined side 29 of the recessed portion 25 of the upper half shell and a handle 55 is fixed to the upper end of the steel wire. A flexible conventional metal sleeve 56 surrounds the wire 54 with the upper and lower ends 56' and 56" fixed to the half shell 26. A coil spring 58 has one end 58 attached to brakeshoe 48 and the other end attached to brakeshoe 49 and urge the brakeshoes toward one another.

The mounting post 39 has its upper end 39' rotatably seated in a collar 59. The collar 59 is fixed to the upper metal plate 43 and has a hollow bore 59' and provides a surface for the upper end of post 39' to rotate in. The upper surface 59" of the bore rests and rotates upon the top 39" of the post 39.

To operate the brake mechanism to lock the dish member 21 of the ski 22, the operator will pull the handle 55 which pulls the wire 54, thereby drawing the arm 83 counterclockwise when viewed from FIG. 8, from its position shown in dashed lines in FIG. 8, indicated by numeral 60 to its position shown in solid lines in FIG. 8. The movement of the arm 83 counterclockwise moves the cam 52 counterclockwise to its position shown in dashed lines in FIG. 8 and as shown in solid lines in FIG. 7. The cam 52 in pivoting counterclockwise will cause its outer ends to engage the outer ends 48" and 49" of the brakeshoes forcing the brakes apart and forcing their fabric

outer surfaces

64 and 65 against the inner surface 66 of the upright wall portion 42' with the frictional engagement of the

outer surfaces

64 and 65 of the brakeshoes against the inner surface 66 of the wall 42 locking the dish member 21- with respect to the ski 22.

Pushing the handle 55 in the opposite direction slides the wire 54 relative to sleeve 56, projecting the central wire 54 outward. The central wire 54 is relatively stiff so that, the pro.- jecting of the control wire 54 pushes the. arm 83 back to its position shown in dashed lines, thereby moving the cam 52 back to its inoperative position, which enables the

shoes

49 and 48 to shift toward one another under the urging of spring 58 to their position shown in dashed lines and designated by numeral 84. This action of the

shoes

48 and 49 in moving away from the sidewall 66, frees the drum-mounting post 39 and ski 22 relative to the dish member and the dish member may rotate relative to the ski member.

Also, when the

shoes

48 and 49 are in retracted position, shown in dashed lines, they may slide freely in the drum 41, and consequently, they will not prevent the dish member from rotating with respect to the ski.

When the dish member 21 rotates, its upper and lower half shells, and the upper and

lower plates

43 and 43, the collar 59 spacer tubes 46 and bolt 45, and the brakeshoes 47 and 48, cam 52, and pins 50 and 53, also rotate with the dish member, while the ski 22 and brakedrum 41 and post 39 which connect the two together as already described remain stationary.

OPERATION brakeshoes If the ski sled invention 20 is used on water, the relatively wide water ski 22 illustrated in the drawings (FIGS. 1 and 2) will be utilized. The hollow airtight construction of the dish member 21 will keep the sled invention afloat on the water and will have sufficient bouyancy to support a passenger in the dish member.

The ski sled invention will be towed by a power boat by the rope 23, and the water ski 22 will cause the dish member to raise off the water after the sled invention is being pulled at a relatively fast speed.

Since the dish member 21 rides on only a single ski, after it has been towed at a sufficiently fast rate of speed on the water to raise the dish member off the water, the dish member will tip to one side or the other of the ski. The frictional engagement of the projecting ribs 34 on the bottom halfshell 27, with the water will cause the dish member 21 to rotate on the ski, if the brakeshoes have been disengaged by the pushing of handle 55, and this action will create a novel and exciting ride. If the passenger desires to stop the rotation of the dish member, he will simply pull the handle 55 which reengages the brakeshows to the brakedrum locking the dish member 21 to the ski 22, again.

Similarly, the ski sled invention 20 may be towed on snow behind a snowmobile, by attaching the rope 23 to the rear of a snowmobile. When the invention 20 is used on snow, a shorter ski 22 will be utilized which has a shorter tail portion 22" than illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

As the ski sled invention 20 travels along on the snow, the

ski 22 will raise the dish member 21 off of the snow and it will tip to one side or the other of the ski and the frictional engagement of the projecting ribs 34 with the snow will similarly cause the dish member 21 to rotate on the ski 22 as the invention travels along the snow, if the brakeshoes have been disengaged.

SImilarly, if the passenger wishes to stop the rotation of the dish member relative to the ski, he will do so by pulling the handle 55, which engages the

brakeshoes

49 and 48, with the drum 41.

The ribs or pointed comers 34 of the dish member 21, by projecting into the water or snow, tend to assist in the rotating of the dish member relative to the ski, as the sled invention travels along the water or snow.

Thus it will be seen that a novel ski sled invention has been provided which may be used either on water or snow, and which will provide a novel rotating-type action to the dish member as the invention travels along the water or snow, by the engagement of the dish member with the water or snow. This action creates added excitement and enjoyment to the ride for a passenger in the dish member.

It will be obvious that various changes and departures may be made to the invention without departing from the spirit thereof and accordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited to that specifically described in the s ecifications or as illustrated in the drawings but only as set orth in the appended claims wherein:

What we claim is:

1. A ski sled for towing behind a power vehicle comprising a ski, a dish member rotatably mounted centrally to said ski, said dish member having a hollow recessed center portion for a passenger to ride therein, a brake mechanism for releasably engaging said dish member to said ski whereby when said ski sled is towed upon a towing surface, the frictional engagement of the outer surface of the dish member with the towing surface will cause the dish member to rotate relative to the ski.

2. A ski sled according to claim 1 wherein said brake mechanism comprises a pair of brakeshoes mounted to the dish member which engages the drum mounted to the ski for locking the dish member to the ski.

3. A ski sled according to claim 1 wherein said brake mechanism includes a handle-operated cable means having a handle mounted to the upper portion of the dish member and a cable connecting the handle to the brake mechanism whereby movement of the handle will move the cable and the cable movement operates the brake mechanism.