Buoys – rafts – and aquatic devices – Water skimming or walking device
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-25
2001-04-10
Swinehart, Ed (Department: 3617)
Buoys, rafts, and aquatic devices
Water skimming or walking device
Reexamination Certificate
active
06213831
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to water sports, and more particularly to apparatus that enables a person to hydroplane across the water without using skis or a board.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of equipment have been developed to enable people to use lakes and rivers for recreational purposes. For example, outboard and inboard motor boats are well known and in widespread use. Water skiing, in which a motor boat pulls a person wearing water skis, has been popular for a long time. Sailboats, canoes, and rowboats have also been used for pleasure for many years.
Recently, new types of water sports have become common. One example is sail boarding. In that sport, a person stands on a buoyant board, which supports a mast, boom, and sail. By maneuvering the mast and boom, the person can move across the water under wind power.
Another recent development in water sports is kite boarding. In that sport, a person stands on a buoyant board. He holds the power and control lines of an air foil or similar wing-like kite with his hands. The force of the wind on the kite is sufficient to pull the person across the water on the board.
Despite the thrills that can be obtained from sail boarding and kite boarding, they nevertheless have disadvantages. To kite board, for example, a person must be able to control both the kite and the board simultaneously. Gaining proficiency in that sport requires not only long hours of practice, but also great strength and athletic ability. Not all persons who would like to kite board are able to do so with reasonable proficiency. Nevertheless, those persons often desire to participate in a sport that combines the challenges of kite flying with the aesthetic appeal of moving across the water.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, a new water sport of body hulling has been developed in which a person is pulled across the water without using mechanical power or boards. This is accomplished by apparatus that includes a sturdy body hull worn by the person, and a tow harness wrapped behind his body and connected to a kite.
The body hull preferably is made with semi-rigid flotation material. It has a front panel and a back panel, which are joined along shoulder regions that are separated by a head opening. The back panel extends to approximately the small of the person's back. The front panel is longer, extending to approximately the person's thighs. The inside surfaces of both panels are smooth and continuous, thereby presenting a comfortable fit to the person's torso. The panels are releasably connectable along their side edges, as by buckles, under the person's arms.
According to one aspect of the invention, the front panel is rectangular in shape. The panel outside surface has a skiff-like hullform that is smooth and generally flat. Preferably, the skiff-like hullform has a profile that is slightly convex about a longitudinal axis parallel to the front panel side edges.
To participate in the new water sport of body hulling, the person first releases the buckles. He puts the body hull over his head and then reconnects the buckles. The person places the tow harness behind his shoulders and under his arms. The free ends of the tow harness are attached to the kite control bar or handles. The person launches the kite, controls it to remain at the neutral zone, and enters the water. By controlling the kite lines, the kite can develop enough force to pull the person across the water. At low speeds, the body hull front panel rides on the water surface. As the speed increases, the body hull front panel hydroplanes across the water. Hydroplaning is achieved efficiently even in light winds because of the large rectangular area of the front panel. Although the body hull is not intended or designed to be a life saving device, its flotation is more than adequate to assure that the person's head is always well above the water surface. The inherent upward angle of the pulling force produced by the kite lines on the kite bar or handles further contributes to keeping the person's head out of the water. Consequently, there is but minimal risk that the person will submerge when hydroplaning. Most of the pulling force developed by the kite is transferred through the tow harness to the person's shoulders. Consequently, his arms are not required to transmit the entire kite force to the rest of his body. His arms and hands are thus free to control the kite.
In a modified embodiment of the invention, the body hull front panel has a pentagon shape. Parallel portions of the front panel side edges extend from the shoulders to approximately the hips of the person wearing the body hull. Tapered portions of the side edges extend downwardly from the hips and intersect a short bottom edge that is approximately at the level of the person's thighs.
The outside surface of the modified front panel is generally flat along the parallel side edges and adjacent the shoulder regions and head opening. The outside surface has an elongated hullform resembling a shallow vee that is centered along the front panel longitudinal axis. The shallow vee hullform extends between the front panel bottom edge and the flat area adjacent the neck opening. The hullform blends smoothly along transition regions into the flat areas adjacent the parallel side edges. The hullform fills substantially the entire width of the front panel front surface between the tapered side edges. The inside surface of the front panel is generally parallel to the outside surface flat areas. That construction gives the inside surface a relatively flat and smooth surface for the comfort of the person wearing the body hull. The shallow vee hullform is particularly suited for winds that are stronger than those with which the body hull with the skiff-like hullform would be used. Tapering the front panel side edges removes surface area that is not needed to achieve hydroplaning with higher wind speeds.
For even stronger winds, another alternate body hull is used. The front panel of the high-wind body hull is pentagon in shape, having parallel side edges and tapered side edges that intersect a short bottom edge. The front panel outside surface has two relatively flat areas along the parallel side edges. The outside surface also has an elongated relatively deep vee hullform centered along a first longitudinal axis of the front panel. The deep vee hullform blends smoothly at transition regions into the front panel flat areas, but the hullform fills the front panel between the tapered side edges. The inside surface of the front panel is generally parallel to a second longitudinal axis that intersects the first longitudinal axis at a shallow angle. The inside surface is relatively flat and smooth so as to be comfortable to the person's chest and abdomen. The relatively deep vee hullform helps the front panel penetrate the waves that are invariably present on the water on windy days.
The method and apparatus of the invention, using a body hull with a smooth front panel, thus enables a person to hydroplane across the water in a thrilling manner in a new sport of body hulling. The force with which the kite pulls the person is applied mostly to his shoulders, thus leaving his hands free to control the kite.
Other advantages, benefits, and features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the detailed description of the invention.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1510532 (1924-10-01), Zorn
patent: 5013271 (1991-05-01), Bartlett
patent: 5173068 (1992-12-01), Dunn et al.
patent: 5569057 (1996-10-01), Barsdorf et al.
Cayen Donald
Swinehart Ed
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