Land vehicles – Ski or skate appliance or attachment – Wind sail for propelling or braking skier or skater
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-13
2001-05-22
Hurley, Kevin (Department: 3619)
Land vehicles
Ski or skate appliance or attachment
Wind sail for propelling or braking skier or skater
Reexamination Certificate
active
06234530
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
While the present human body sail assembly is intended for use with in-line roller skates, it certainly has other uses, and the prior art of body sails exemplifies body sails with alternative intended applications, and these prior devices are typified in the following United States and foreign patents:
Invention
Patent No.
Issue Date
UNITED STATES PATENTS
Hardt
2,018,062
October 22, 1935
Goldberg
3,768,823
October 30, 1973
Alexander
4,738,460
April 19, 1988
Boyden
5,120,070
June 9, 1992
FOREIGN PATENTS
M. Hespel
French Patent No. 1,499,954
Sept. 25, 1967
The Alexander, U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,460, shows a rather complex body sail mechanism for a bicycle rider in which the angle of the back mounted sail is controlled by one of the bicyclist's hands on operating lever 32. In this mechanism it is difficult for the operator to hold the sail in any particular angular position with respect to the body.
In Alexander, the sail pivots generally vertically about the axis defined by pins 20, 22, and the arms 46 are driven by gears 44 which extend and retract the sail as the arms move from a vertical position to a horizontal position and then back again.
Alexander's system also includes a tube for reefing the mainsail, as well as a ratchet mechanism shown in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 that lock the sail in a predetermined reefed position.
It does not have any ratchet mechanism that controls movement of the entire sail about the axis defined by pins
20
,
22
, which is the location of the present ratchet mechanism.
The Boyden, U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,070, also shows a ratchet-type mechanism through the mainsail illustrated in FIG. 5 of his drawings, but the ratchet mechanism does not act directly on the mast and instead operates by holding main sheet 9 in position, which of course is nothing more than a sheet commonly found on sailboats.
The Goldberg, U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,823, shows a body-held sail for use by an ice skater, but it is not physically attached to the human body and only held by the user's shoulders and hands. It is somewhat relevant in that it shows a mechanism for stretching the body sail, but stretching is effected by pulling ribs 14
a
and 16 apart rather than by tensioning the ribs with a sail embedded line in a manner similar to the stringing motion in a recurve bow.
The French Brevet D'Invention No. 1,499,954, Delivre Sep. 25, 1967, discloses a body sail for a roller skater. The sail assembly swings by hand-held arms 39 and 40, and there does not appear to be any mechanical vertical pivot axis. The sail does include what appears to be lines along its upper periphery at 48 and 49 but does not clearly exert a tensioning force on ribs 43 and 46.
The Hardt, U.S. Pat. No. 2,018,062, discloses a body sail for a skater with particular emphasis on a mechanism for extending the sail by pivoting arms 9 outwardly from a vertically downward hanging collapsed position. The patent does not appear to be particularly pertinent otherwise.
In my U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,603, issued Feb. 3, 1998, I describe and claim a human body mounted sail assembly that includes a rotatable mast with upper and lower horizontal braces that swing with the mast. The sail is held taut by these braces which are placed in tension by the sail and a bow-like string at the sail leech. The mast, braces and sail assembly can be locked in any desired angular position relative to the human back by a pawl and ratchet mechanism on the base of the mast. The sail is collapsible using push-button quick release pivots at the inner ends of both the upper and lower braces.
While my prior design operates well and in fact is similar in basic design principles to my new, improved design described herein, it is a primary object of the present invention to improve the safety of my prior sail assembly, to reduce the manufacturing costs thereof, and to provide a much simpler sail assembly that is easier to manufacture and far simpler for the user to replace parts without the need for special tools or service centers.
It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to ameliorate the problems noted above in a human body mounted sail assembly and to provide one that is easier for the user to assemble and operate, one which collapses into a smaller envelope, and one that has enhanced safety features.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, an improved human body mounted sail assembly is provided including a flexible back contoured elastomeric base strapped to the user's back. Vertically spaced plastic mast pivot brackets are fixed to the base and rotatably support the mast, which includes a telescopic assembly designed to extend and contract with flexure of the sailor's back. A pair of booms or sail braces are pivoted to the ends of the mast to permit the sail to be collapsed. These sail braces are clamshelled to the mast in a way that permits the braces to disconnect for safety when the sailor falls, impacting the braces with sufficient force. The sail can be locked in any desired angular position by user operated interengaging frusto-conical gearing on the lower base bracket and the lower sail brace that automatically releases upon sufficient collision force. The mast assembly, the braces, and other parts are molded with high glass filled plastics to enhance the high strength and bendability of these parts for safety as well as durability.
All parts in the assembly are user replaceable to eliminate the need for either service centers or “ship in” manufacturer-provided service.
The assembly can be manufactured in multiple sizes for different torso sizes with changes only in the size of the mast, base and sail.
Also according to the present invention, the sail braces are removably mounted in pivot assemblies carried by the upper and lower ends of the mast. This enables the braces to be replaced or repaired, or the manufacturer can utilize different length braces; for example, 2 feet, 2½ feet, and 3 feet, to accommodate different size sails that in effect change the entire sail assembly to have a plurality of models to satisfy different user requirements.
Also, the upper and lower braces are identical extrusions to reduce costs and are “S” shaped in configuration with the upper brace being rotated about its axis 180 degrees from the lower brace to accommodate the narrower sail luff.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of brace pivot assemblies on the mast which have a heavier duty construction than in my U.S. Ser. No. 09/164,521. Toward this end, the mast carried portion of the pivot assembly is a large disc-like member with a central spheroidal member and a plurality of radial indexing bars. A socket member, which removably carries the brace, has spaced walls that engage the opposite sides of the disc member and have 180 degrees of contact therewith to increase the structural integrity of the pivot assembly while at the same time permitting the socket member to disengage from the disc upon a sufficient impact force.
Finally, the roach of the sail is provided with a bow-like string with eyelets that are cinched to the sail braces with elastomeric rings that prevent the eyelets and bow string from falling off the braces when the sail is collapsed.
While in the exemplary embodiment, there are provided two sail assemblies; i.e., two masts and two sails, it should be understood that the principles of the present invention apply to a single sail assembly. Other objects and advantages will appear more clearly from the following detailed description.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2018062 (1935-10-01), Hardt
patent: 4634136 (1987-01-01), Alexander
patent: 4669407 (1987-06-01), Cobb
patent: 4738460 (1988-04-01), Alexander
patent: 5071089 (1991-12-01), Fagan
patent: 5713603 (1998-02-01), Carter
Allen, Esq. Dillis V.
Hurley Kevin
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