WO1996015937A1

WO1996015937A1 - Sports craft

Info

Publication number: WO1996015937A1
Application number: PCT/AU1995/000770
Authority: WO
Inventors: Robin Alistair Mctavish; Douglas HOLLIDAY
Original assignee: Outer Reef Pty. Limited
Priority date: 1994-11-21
Filing date: 1995-11-21
Publication date: 1996-05-30
Also published as: AUPM959594A0

Abstract

A board-like sports craft (10) having a substantially rigid body (11) comprising a core (12) of foamed plastics material encased in a skin (13) comprising joined upper and lower skin members (14 and 15). A side member (20) formed of an impact absorbent material extends around the periphery of the body (11) and defines rails for the craft (10). The craft (10) may also include a deck (14) formed of an impact resistant material.

Description

SPORTS CRAFT Technical Field

This invention relates to sports craft, and in a particular aspect to personal use sports craft for use on water or in other applications, for example surf boards, sail boards, boogie boards, knee boards, body boards, surf skis, snow boards and other "board-like" craft. Background Art Commonly personal use board-like sports craft such as surf boards are constructed of a core of foamed plastics material which is encased in a hard skin of glass reinforced plastics. Surf boards of this construction have been known for many years, however, they do have a number of disadvantages. For example, surf boards of this construction, because of their hard outer skin and thus hard outer side edges or rails, often cause a danger in use resulting in possible cuts or bruises to the person using the board or to people in the vicinity of the user of the board. In addition, the hard outer skin can often be subject to damage from impact creating "dings" in the board. The construction of such surf boards, particularly the more modern surf boards, have become increasingly more lightweight with the result being that it is not uncommon for these boards to be completely shattered. A further disadvantage of the known surf boards is that wax is required to be provided to the skin to provide grip to the feet of the user. The use of wax in this manner is a time consuming and tedious operation. To overcome the above disadvantages, various different surf board constructions have been proposed including boards which have a decking of a soft material for increasing comfort to the user and in addition for providing improved grip. This then negates the need to use wax or other grip increasing substance. Generally, however, these boards have not been aesthetically pleasing nor have the necessary properties required for good surfing. They are therefore not attractive to surfers.

The present invention aims to provide an improved sports craft, in particular a personal use sports craft in the nature of a board, for example a surfboard, which overcomes or ameliorates on or more of the above disadvantages or at least provides and alternative to known board-like sports craft.

The present invention in a preferred aspect aims to provide a board-like sports craft which will have desired properties for use on water. The present invention in yet a further preferred aspect aims to provide a board¬ like sports craft which will be safe in use. The present invention in yet a further preferred aspect aims to provide a board-like sports craft which is aesthetically pleasing. The present invention in yet a further preferred aspect aims to provide a board-like sports craft which is at least comparable in cost to conventional board-like sports craft.

The present invention in yet a further preferred aspect aims to provide a method of construction a board¬ like sports craft.

The construction of the invention is particularly suitable for the manufacture of surf boards however it may be readily applied to other watercraft of a similar nature such as sail boards, boogie boards, knee boards, body boards, and surf skis as well as snow boards and thus the term board-like sports craft as used herein includes all such craft referred to above. Summary of the Invention The present invention thus provides in one aspect a board-like sports craft comprising a substantially rigid body, and impact absorbing side members extending substantially about the periphery of said body. The substantially rigid body may include a core of foamed or expanded plastics material and an outer skin which encases the foamed plastics material. The outer skin may comprise upper and lower skin members, the upper skin member defining the upper surface of the body. The upper and lower skin members may be interconnected to substantially encase the foamed plastics core. Preferably the upper and lower skin members are connected about their outer periphery The skin members may be joined to the foamed plastics core by adhesives.

For the purposes of interconnection, the upper and lower skin members may include outer peripheral flanges, the flanges of the respective skin members mating and being interconnected about the periphery of the foamed plastics core. The peripheral flanges are preferably interconnected by adhesives.

The joined flanges of the upper and lower skin members are covered b ' the impact absorbing side members which extend around t' a periphery of the rigid body. The impact absorbing side members thus define the "rails" of the craft. For location purposes, the impact absorbing side members preferably include a groove on their inner sides for receipt of the joined flanges of the skin members. The impact absorbing deck is applied to the upper surface of the first skin member. The impact absorbing deck may be suitably comprise a layer of impact resistant or cushioning material in the form of a sheet. The substantially rigid body may be provided with an impact absorbing deck which substantially covers the upper surface of the body.

The outer surface of the side members are preferably shaped to provide a smooth transition between the upper surface of the upper, skin member or associated deck and the lower surface of the lower skin member. Preferably, the upper surface of the side member is substantially coplanar with the upper surface of the deck. Preferably the lower surface of the side member is substantially coplanar with the lower surface of the lower skin member. The side members are preferably joined to the rigid body by means of adhesives.

One or more fin holding boxes or sockets may be incorporated into the board and for this purpose the foamed plastics core may be provided with one or more recesses for receipt of the fin holding boxes or sockets. The lower skin member may be formed with openings aligned with the recess or recesses in the core. The lower skin member may if desired define side walls for the fin holding boxes or sockets. Fins may be releasably attached in the fin holding boxes or sockets as is conventional.

In a further aspect, the present invention provides a method of manufacturing a board-like sports craft, said method including the steps of providing a substantially rigid body, and applying to said body, impact absorbing side members extending substantially about the periphery of said body.

In the method of construction, the rigid body is defined by a foamed plastics core which is encased in a skin which may be defined by upper and lower skin members. The foamed plastics core may be moulded, for example by injection into, and expansion within a mould, to form a required shape or may be cast, or shaped by hand. The skin members are suitably formed by a vacuum forming process, the formed skin members thereafter being adhered to both sides of the preformed foam core. The method of the invention may also include the step of applying an impact absorbing or cushioning deck to the upper surface of the body to substantially cover the upper surface.

The material for forming the deck may be provided in a sheet which is cut to the desired shape and adhered to the upper skin member. Thereafter the side members forming the rails are adhered to the periphery of the rigid body. The side members and decking member may be shaped to provided a smooth transition between the decking member and side members.

The material for forming the foamed plastics core may comprise any substantially rigid foam such as expanded polystyrene or expanded polyurethane. The material for forming the skin members may comprise thermoplastic sheeting such as A.B.S or A.S.A. The material for defining the decking member and side members may comprises a premoulded flexible foam such as E.V.A. or polypropylene. Brief Description of Drawings

In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention and wherein :-

Fig. 1 illustrates a surf board constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the surf board along line A-A of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view along line B-B of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view illustrating a further form of sports craft according to the invention;

Detailed Description of the Embodiment

Referring to the drawings and firstly to Figs.

1 to 3 , there is illustrated a surfboard 10 constructed in accordance with the present invention. Whilst the following description relates to a water craft in the nature of a surfboard, it will be appreciated that it may also apply to any other board-like sports craft. The surfboard 10 illustrated is of a generally known shape and configuration and includes a substantially rigid body 11 comprising a core 12 formed of a foamed plastics material.

The core 12 is encased in a skin 13 of semi-rigid plastics material which is defined by upper and lower skin members

14 and 15. The skin members 14 and 15 include peripheral flanges 17 and 18 respectively which mate with each other to encase the core 13.

The foamed plastics core 12 is initially shaped by moulding, casting or shaping to the required configuration and thickness. Similarly the skin members 14 and 15 are shaped in a mould such as by vacuum moulding sheets of thermoplastics material. The skin members 14 and 15 are then applied to opposite sides of the core 12 and adhered thereto by any suitably adhesive. Similarly, the flanges 17 and 18 are adhered together. This formes the substantially rigid body 11 of the surfboard 10.

After formation of the rigid body 11, a soft deck 19 formed of an impact resistant or cushioning material is applied to the upper side of the skin member 14 and adhered thereto. The deck 19 covers substantially all the upper surface of the upper skin member 14.

Side members 20 are then applied to the periphery of the rigid body 11. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the side members 20 have a curved outer surface 21 and form the rails of the surfboard 10. The inner side 22 of the side members 20 is provided with a groove 23 to receive the mating flanges 17 and 18 and positively locate the side members 20 on the body 11. The side members 20 are then adhered in position to the upper and lower skin members 17 and 18. The side members 20 may be defined by a single member extending around the periphery of the body

19 to be joined end to end or may be provided in sections.

As will be apparent, the upper surface of the side members 20 is coplanar with the upper surface of the deck 19. This provides a smooth transition between the deck 19 and side members 20. At the underside of the board 10, the lower surface of the side members 20 is substantially coplanar with the undersurface of the skin 13 defined by the lower skin member 15. The plastics lower surface of the skin member 15 is thus left exposed. This assists in reducing friction and water resistance in use.

The surfboard 10 also may include fins 24 projecting from the underside of the body 11. For this purpose and as shown in Fig. 3, the foam core 12 may be provided with longitudinal extending cavities 25 and the lower skin member 17 formed with openings 26 aligned with the cavities 25. In one arrangement, the lower skin member 17 is provided with upwardly projecting flanges 27 on opposite sides of the openings 26 which locate within a cavity 25 adjacent opposite side walls thereof. Fin boxes or sockets 28 of any form may be located within the cavities 25 to be held therein by adhesives. The fins 24 may then be readily attached to or detached from the fin boxes 28. Referring now to Fig. 4, there is illustrated an alternative construction of surfboard 30 according to the present invention in which like components to the surfboard of Fig. 3 have been given like materials. In this instance, however, the surfboard 30 does not include decking material 19 so that the upper skin member 14 is left exposed. The surfboard 30, however, retains the side members 20 which form the surfboard rails. In this case, however, the upper surface of the side members 20 is substantially coplanar with the upper surface of the skin member 14 to provide a smooth transition between the skin member 14 and side members 20. This construction may also be used for other forms of sports craft.

A surf board 10 constructed in the above described manner will prove durable and safe in use and will have substantially the same performance as conventional surf boards. In addition, where soft flexible material is used for the decking, sufficient grip will be provided without the need for wax or other retentions means as currently used in the art. As stated above the principles of construction may be applied to all forms of sports craft for use on water or other environments for example in the snow.

The material which forms the skin members 14 and 15 suitably comprises a thermoplastic sheet material which provides a smooth outer surface and finish where exposed. The material for the deck 14 and/or side members 20 may comprise any soft impact absorbing material such as a flexible foam, for example E.V.A. or polyethylene.

Whilst the above has been given by way of illustrative embodiment of the invention, all such modifications and variations thereto as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of the invention as herein defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A board-like sports craft comprising a substantially rigid body, and impact absorbing side members extending substantially about the periphery of said body.

2. A sports craft according to Claim 1 wherein said rigid body includes a core of foamed or expanded plastics material and an outer skin which encases said foamed or expanded plastics material.

3. A sports craft according to Claim 2 wherein said outer skin comprises upper and lower skin members.

4. A sports craft according to Claim 3 wherein said upper and lower skin members are interconnected to substantially encase said foamed plastics core.

5. A sports craft according to Claim 4 wherein said upper and lower skin members are connected about their outer periphery

6. A sports craft according to Claim 5 wherein said upper and lower skin members include outer peripheral flanges, the flanges of the respective skin members mating and being interconnected about the periphery of said foamed plastics core.

7. A sports craft according to Claim 6 wherein said joined flanges of said upper and lower skin members are covered by said impact absorbing side members which extend around the periphery of said body.

8. A sports craft according to Claim 7 wherein said impact absorbing side members include a groove on their inner side for receipt of said joined flanges of said skin members.

9. A board-like sports craft according to Claim 3 wherein said body has an upper surface and wherein an impact absorbing deck substantially covers said upper surface.

10. A sports craft according to Claim 9 wherein said outer surface of said side members is shaped to provide a smooth transition between the upper surface of said deck and the lower surface of said lower skin member.

11. A sports craft according to Claim 10 wherein said upper surface of said side member is substantially coplanar with the upper surface of said deck.

12. A sports craft according to Claim 11 wherein the lower surface of said side member is substantially coplanar with the lower surface of said lower skin member.

13. A method of manufacturing a board-like sports craft, said method including the steps of providing a substantially rigid body and applying to said body, impact absorbing side members extending substantially about the periphery of said body.

14. A method according to Claim 13 and further including the step of applying to the upper surface of said body, an impact absorbing deck to substantially cover said upper surface.

15. A method according to Claim 13 wherein said rigid body is defined by a foamed plastics core and wherein said core is encased in a semi-rigid skin.

16. A method according to Claim 15 wherein said skin is formed by joining upper and lower skin members.