Land vehicles – Skates – Runner type
Patent
1989-08-31
1991-05-28
Mitchell, David M.
Land vehicles
Skates
Runner type
280 142, 441 65, 441 68, A63C 504
Patent
active
050187600
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention pertains to a snow surfboard.
A surfboard is a board having the general structure of a ski, i.e., comprising a ski tip, a runner zone and a tail, the base being delimited laterally on the lower surface of the surfboard by two metal edges. As on a ski, the dimension lines, i.e., the lateral curve of the edges can vary depending on the intended characteristics of the surfboard. When the edges are curved to produce a board narrower in the middle than at the ends, a surfboard is said to have an "hourglass" profile. The more pronounced the hourglass profile, the easier it is to initiate a turn. On the other hand, a less-pronounced hourglass makes it more difficult to initiate turns, but makes it easier to handle the surfboard on hard snow at high speeds.
Both of the user's feet are secured on the surfboard in a longitudinally offset position with respect to each other. If the feet were initially secured parallel to each other and perpendicular to the axis of the surfboard, both feet are now turned slightly forward and diverge forward in order to conform to the natural position of a person's legs. If this position improves comfort and maneuvering capabilities, it does present the problem, in a surfboard having a fairly pronounced hourglass shape, that the user's center of gravity moves in front of the most curved part of the dimension line when edging forward, or behind the most curved part of the dimension line when edging backward. Consequently, the edge in question does not grip the snow uniformly, since the tail is not sufficiently weighted down in the former case, and the ski tip is not sufficiently weighted down in the latter. This is why most surfboards have only a slight hourglass profile.
Another problem beginners face in surfing is in initiating turns. Indeed, because the edges are located beyond the ends of the user's feet, it takes a hard push to incline the surfboard greatly in order to edge.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention aims to correct these problems.
To this end, the surfboard of the present invention is of the type comprising an hourglass profile, i.e., having dimension lines curved inward in the runner zone, and wherein the bindings each form an angle with a line perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the surfboard. This surfboard is characterized in that both dimension lines are mutually offset longitudinally and are positioned such that the most curved point of each dimension line is on the axis of symmetry of the axes passing through the two bindings.
The result of this structure is that, regardless of whether the user pushes either of the edges forward or backward, his center of gravity moves through its maximum curve point, which gives the surfboard a perfect balance, so that the surfboard is not understood or oversteered.
Advantageously, the rear edge delimiting the tail is inclined with respect to the perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the surfboard, the longitudinal edge located on the side behind the bindings being longer than the longitudinal edge on the side in front of the bindings by a value equal to the offsetting of the dimension lines.
In addition to the functional characteristics resulting from this structure, it gives the surfboard a totally pleasant unique appearance.
In practice, the two dimension lines are longitudinally offset about 5 cm.
According to another characteristic of the invention, this surfboard comprises two pairs of edges, i.e., the traditional outside edges, and two other edges, each parallel to one of the outside edges, placed closer than the outside edges to the longitudinal axis of the surfboard, under the user's feet, the plane containing the inside edges being under the plane containing the outside edges.
The inside edges placed under the user's feet make it possible to rock and press on an edge more easily than traditionally, so that turns can be initiated quickly, and beginners can learn to surf more easily, without hindering the capability of easy sideslipping. Moreover, on packed snow, the
REFERENCES:
patent: 4305603 (1981-12-01), Muller et al.
patent: 4405139 (1983-09-01), Kawahard
patent: 4533150 (1985-08-01), Hardy
patent: 4915400 (1990-04-01), Chambers
Mar Michael
Mitchell David M.
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