Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Structurally defined web or sheet – Including fastener for attaching to external surface
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-20
2002-08-27
Ahmad, Nasser (Department: 1772)
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Structurally defined web or sheet
Including fastener for attaching to external surface
C248S118000, C248S118100, C248S918000, C297S284100, C297S452200, C297S452200, C428S099000, C428S192000, C428S317100, C428S317300, C482S050000, C482S070000, C482S071000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06440526
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed towards a pad having an engagable surface and is especially directed towards a pad for use on watercraft or in wet areas.
The present invention will be described with particular reference to a pad for use on watercraft. It will be appreciated that the present invention has other applications and no limitation is intended thereby.
BACKGROUND ART
Watercraft such as surfboards generally have a smooth fiberglass surface. A wax coating may be applied to the surface to provide a non-slip coating. Foam pads which adhere to the surface of a surfboard and which provide a non-slip surface are also known. In recent years, the trend in surfing has been towards lighter and faster boards. These modifications have enabled surfers to launch their board from the wave and engage in “aerial maneuvers”. Control of the board during such maneuvers is important for execution of the maneuver and safety of both the rider and neighboring riders. However, when the board and rider are air borne, the riders rear foot inevitably separates from the board. This results in a significant loss of control. Wax and the known foam pads which are currently used to provide a non-slip surface provide little assistance to an air borne surfer in keeping contact with the board.
There have been a number of proposals which have attempted to overcome this problem. Surf boards having loops through which a surfer can insert his feet have been proposed. A disadvantage of the foot loops is that the rider cannot move his feet so as to satisfactorily control the board. Also it is difficult to paddle a board with the loops affixed thereto. Thus these modified boards are limited to being used for aerobatics and are not suitable for traditional surfing techniques.
It has also been proposed to attach complimentary portions of a hook and loop fastening system such as that sold under the trade name VELCRO to the surfboard and a riders boot. However, it has been observed that it is not possible to adhere VELCRO to a fiberglass surface so that it will stay attached to the board during use. In order to overcome this problem, it has been proposed to permanently attach VELCRO strips to a surfboard by incorporating the VELCRO into a fiberglass strip. However, this does not allow worn or damaged VELCRO to be replaced and necessitates purchase of a new board as the VELCRO wears out. A further difficulty of attaching VELCRO to a surfboard is that a rider is unable to adjust the position of his foot without completely disengaging the foot from the VELCRO surface. This makes it impossible to make the slight foot adjustments which are necessary when riding a surfboard.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to at least partially overcome at least one of the above disadvantages or provide the public wish a useful choice.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a first embodiment of the present invention there is provided a pad for use in combination with a garment having an outer surface and at least a part of said surface is engagable with a hook and loop type fastener, the pad having one or more zones of a hook and loop type fastener such that in use a person wearing the garment can control the extent of engagement between the outer surface and the pad by placing the garment on the pad at selected locations.
The term hook and loop type fastener as used in the present specification and claims refers to fasteners having a hook portion and a portion complimentary to the hook portion such that the two portions are engagable. The use of the term also includes those types of fasteners known as hook and hook fasteners in which there are opposing portions of interlockable hooks.
The pad of the present invention may be used for any application where it is desirable for a person's grip on a surface to be enhanced. For example, the pad can be in the form of a mat for placement on slippery surfaces such as wet floors and also snow and ice. The pad may also be adapted to be attached to the surface of articles such as surfboards, body boards, skateboards, jet skis, sailboards and yachts.
The pad of the present invention is for use in combination with a garment worn by a person to enable the person to grip or engage the pad. Typically the garment's outer surface has at least one complimentary portion of the hook and loop type fastener affixed thereto. The outer surface of the garment may be completely covered with the hook and loop type material or may have one or more sections of the hook and loon type material attached thereto. Alternatively the garment itself may be made from a looped fabric which car engage a corresponding hooked portion attached to the pad. Preferably however the looped portion is attached to the pad and the hooked portion is attached to the garment.
Any type of garment may be used in combination with the pad of the present invention and any part of a garment can be adapted for engagement with the pad. Typically the garment is a boot or sandal. Alternatively, the garment is a wetsuit or the like in which the hook and loop type fastener is affixed to the chest portion. Such a garment would be suitable for use with a surfboard or body board to facilitate grip when paddling or riding. The garment may be adapted to be fitted over an existing garment such as a boot.
The garment may also be a glove and may be used to assist in griping the handlebars of a jet ski or the tiller of a boat. For example, the handlebars may be covered with the hook portion of the hook and loop type fastener. A corresponding glove may be partially covered with the loop portion of the fastener. Preferably, the loop portion is attached to the fingers and lower palm portion of the glove but does not cover that part of the glove corresponding “to the base of the fingers”. This enables a user to adjust the position of the hand on the handle bar or other object without completely removing the hand therefrom. Complete disengagement from the handle bar is necessary if the glove is completely covered with the loop fastener. With the present glove a user can simply open the hand so as to disengage the fingers and palm from the handle bar, slide the hand over the handle to the desired position and reclose the fingers.
According to yet a further embodiment of the present invention there is provided a glove for use by a person to grip a cylindrical article covered with a hook and loop type fastener such as a handle bar, wherein the glove has an inner surface which is partially covered with a material complimentary to the hook and loop type fastener and has a zone which is not covered with the complimentary material such that in use when the user opens the hand, said zone can remain in contact with the article.
It will be appreciated that the glove of the present invention may be used in any application where it is desirable to facilitate the grip of a person's hand. The glove may be used to grip handles of tools such as hammers or devices such as rackets.
The pad of the present invention has one or more zones of a hook and loop type fastener such that in use a person can control the extent of engagement between the garment and the pad by selectively engaging different proportions of the fastener on the pad. The location of the one or more zones may be of any size, location or density depending upon the desired use of the pad, provided that selective placement of a garment onto the pad can change the extent of engagement between the pad and the garment. For example, in applications where it is desirable that there is a large amount of grip between the garment and pad such as on a surfboard for aerial maneuvers, the size of at least on zone preferably corresponds to the full size of the surface of the garment so as to provide the maximum engagable surface if desired. Alternatively in applications where such a degree of engagement is nor required, such as on the deck of a boat, the zones of hook and loop material may be substantially smaller. The pad surface may also have areas in which the distributio
Gamble Craig Steven John
Roche Andrew Glen
Ahmad Nasser
Shoemaker and Mattare
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