Collapsible surfboard case

Abstract

A collapsible protective case for surfboards having a rigid, impact-resistant outer surface, the case including a housing and a plurality of adjoining nested sections that are selectively configurable between a collapsed, fully nested position and an extended position, the housing and including a space configured to accommodate, in the extended position, fins disposed on a rear portion of the surfboard.

Claims

1. A protective case for a surfboard comprising: a housing having a top wall, a bottom wall, and first and second sidewalls joining the top wall to the bottom wall, the top, bottom and first and second sidewalls defining a rear opening and a front opening; an outermost section slidably disposed within the housing to transition between a collapsed configuration, wherein the outermost section is fully nested within the housing, and an extended configuration, wherein the outermost section extends through the front opening, the outermost section having a front wall that extends upwards to define a reduced area frontal opening; and a plurality of nested sections slidably arranged within the outermost section to transition from a collapsed configuration, wherein the plurality nested sections fully nest within the outermost section, to an extended configuration, wherein the plurality of nested sections extend longitudinally through the reduced area frontal opening and interengage to define an elongated volume sufficient to accommodate all but a rear portion of a surfboard when the surfboard is inserted through the rear opening; wherein the front wall of the outermost section defines a space within the outermost section and the housing, when the outermost section and plurality of nested sections each are in the extended configuration, sufficient to accommodate fins disposed on the rear portion of the surfboard.

2. The protective case of claim 1, wherein at least some of the plurality of nested sections are tapered.

3. The protective case of claim 1, further comprising a rear cap configured to be removably coupled to the housing to cover the rear opening.

4. The protective case of claim 1, further comprising at least one latch configured to removably couple the rear cap to the housing.

5. The protective case of claim 1, further comprising a front cap configured to retain the outermost section and the plurality of nested sections within the housing when the case is in the collapsed configuration.

6. The protective case of claim 1, further comprising a carrying handle coupled to the housing.

7. The protective case of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises an impact-resistant material.

8. The protective case of claim 7, wherein each of the outermost section and the plurality of nested sections comprises an impact-resistant material.

9. The protective case of claim 8, impact-resistant material comprises a multilayer polycarbonate material.

10. The protective case of claim 1, further comprising at least one foam block disposed in the housing to cushion a surfboard when inserted into the case when the case is in the extended configuration.

11. A protective case for a surfboard comprising: a housing having a top wall, a bottom wall, and first and second sidewalls joining the top wall to the bottom wall, the top, bottom and first and second sidewalls defining a rear opening and a front opening, the housing having a depth of about 12 inches between the front opening and the rear opening; an outermost section slidably disposed within the housing to transition between a collapsed configuration, wherein the outermost section is fully nested within the housing, and an extended configuration, wherein the outermost section extends through the front opening, the outermost section having a front wall that extends upwards to define a reduced area frontal opening; and a plurality of nested sections slidably arranged to transition from a collapsed configuration, wherein the plurality nested sections are fully nested within the outermost section, to an extended configuration, wherein the plurality of nested sections extend longitudinally from the outermost section and interengage to define an elongated volume sufficient to accommodate a front portion of a surfboard when the surfboard is inserted through the rear opening; wherein the front wall defines a space within the outermost section and the housing, when each of the outermost section and the plurality of nested sections are in the extended configuration, sufficient to accommodate fins disposed on a rear portion of the surfboard.

12. The protective case of claim 11, wherein at least some of the plurality of nested sections are tapered.

13. The protective case of claim 11, further comprising a rear cap configured to be removably coupled to the housing to cover the rear opening.

14. The protective case of claim 11, further comprising at least one latch configured to removably couple the rear cap to the housing.

15. The protective case of claim 11, further comprising a front cap configured to retain the outermost section and the plurality of nested sections within the housing when the case is in the collapsed configuration.

16. The protective case of claim 11, further comprising a carrying handle coupled to the housing.

17. The protective case of claim 11, wherein the housing comprises an impact-resistant material.

18. The protective case of claim 17, wherein each of the outermost section and the plurality of nested sections comprises an impact-resistant material.

19. The protective case of claim 18, impact-resistant material comprises a multilayer polycarbonate material.

20. The protective case of claim 11, further comprising at least one foam block disposed in the housing to cushion a surfboard when inserted into the case when the case is in the extended configuration.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIGS. 1A, 1B and IC are, respectively, a rear perspective view, plan view and elevation view of a surfboard case in an extended mode according to one embodiment of the present invention.

(2) FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C are, respectively, exploded rear perspective view, exploded plan view and exploded elevation view of the surfboard case of FIG. 1.

(3) FIGS. 3A and 3B are, respectively, a plan view and side elevation view showing a conventional surfboard disposed with then surfboard case of FIGS. 1 and 2.

(4) FIG. 4 is a perspective rear view of the surfboard case of FIGS. 1 and 2, in the collapsed mode, with the front and rear end caps displaced laterally.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(5) Referring now to FIGS. 1A to 1C and 2A to 2C, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is described. The present invention provides a protective case for surfboards, which is configured to be used in a fully deployed mode for completely protectively containing a surfboard, and to be alternatively collapsed to a storage mode when not in use, i.e., when the surfboard is not stored therewithin. More particularly, the present invention includes a collapsible protective case for surfboards with a housing constructed of an impact-resistant material outer surface, such as multilayer polycarbonate, which is both lightweight and rigid, especially when the plurality of adjoining sections are transitioned to an expanded transport configuration.

(6) Preferably, the rigid, impact-resistance outer surface is formed from a hard plastic or composite material that is sufficiently thick to prevent puncture or tearing, resist pressure, flexing or deformation, such that the surfboard contained completely within the housing is protected from any external forces.

(7) Referring to FIGS. 1A-1C, case 100 comprises housing 101 and illustratively includes plurality of sections 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 106 and 108 configured to nest within adjoining sections. Section 102, the outermost section, is configured to nest fully within housing 101. As will be generally understood for telescoping sections, the sections include features that interengage with adjoining proximal and distal sections when case 100 is in the extended configuration. More specifically, referring to FIGS. 2A to 2C, each of sections 102-108 has an enlarged feature, e.g., 102a, 103a, 104a, 105a, 106a, 107a, 108a, at its proximal edge that engages a corresponding lip, e.g., 101b, 102b, 103b, 104b, 105b, 106b, and 107b disposed on the distal edge of the proximal adjoining section, such that the enlarged features interengage the lips of the proximal adjoining section when the case is in its extended configuration. In an alternative embodiment, and as will be apparent to one of skill in the art of telescopic designs, the enlarged features and lips may be transposed between housing 101 and adjoining sections 102-107.

(8) Section 108 has no lip at its distal edge because the innermost nesting section 108 forms a closed nose cone. As also depicted in FIG. 1A and FIGS. 2A to 2C, the top, bottom, and sidewalls of housing 101 form rear opening 109 through which a surfboard may be inserted into case 100 when in the extended configuration. Rear end cap 110 may be removably fastened to the proximal end of housing 101 to cover rear opening 109 using latching mechanism 111, e.g., buckle, hook and pile strap, etc.

(9) In accordance with one aspect of the invention, distal portion of outermost section 102 includes upward ramping front wall 112 along its distal edge, which defines a reduced frontal opening area in outermost section 102 through which adjoining section 103 extends when the case is in its extended configuration. Upward ramping wall 112 creates sufficient volume within outermost section 102 so that, together with the volume within housing 101, outermost section 102 and housing 101 can accommodate fins extending from the underside of the rear portion of a surfboard to fully enclose and protect the fins during transport.

(10) As illustrated in the figures, at least sections 105, 106, 107 and 108, which cover a forward portion of the surfboard, may be laterally and vertically tapered to approximate the contours of popular surfboard shapes.

(11) Referring now to FIGS. 3A and 3B, housing 101 and plurality of nested sections 102-108 of case 100 are shown as wireframe outlines in the extended configuration with an exemplary surfboard 200 disposed within case 100. As described above, distal sections of the case, e.g., sections 105 to 108 approximately conform to the lateral and vertical shape of surfboard 200 to prevent the surfboard from sideways or vertical movement within the case, while the space created by outermost section 102 and housing 101 provides sufficient height to accommodate the fins 201 of the surfboard without crushing or bending. Additionally, foam block 113 may be provided in within section 108 to engage the forward end of surfboard 200 to prevent damage to the nose of the surfboard. Removable foam blocks (not shown) may be inserted between the rear underside of surfboard 200 and the bottom surface of housing 101 to cushion fins 201. Additional removable foam blocks (not shown) may be inserted between the rear topside of surfboard 200 and the top wall of housing 101 to prevent vertical movement of the rear portion of the surfboard during transport.

(12) Referring now to FIG. 4, case 100 is described in a collapsed configuration. In the collapsed configuration, each of sections 102 to 108 fully nests within the proximal adjoining section, i.e., section 108 nests within section 107, section 107 nests within section 106, section 106 nests within section 105, section 105 nests within section 104, section 104 nests within section 103, section 103 nests within section 102, and section 102 nests within housing 101. As shown in FIG. 4, upwardly ramped wall 112 of section 102 causes section 103 to nest at a position spaced apart from the bottom wall of section 102 by a distance D, which spacing provides the additional volume in section 102 and housing 101 to accommodate surfboard fins 201 when the case is transitioned to the extended configuration. Also shown in FIG. 4 is optional handle 114, which may be coupled to housing 101 to facilitate carrying of the case when not in use, i.e., in the collapsed configuration.

(13) Still referring to FIG. 4, rear cap 110 and front cap 115 are described. As discussed above, rear cap 110 may be fastened to over rear opening 109 to fully enclose a surfboard when the case is in the extended configuration to retain the surfboard within the case. Rear end cap 110 may be fastened over rear opening 109 and front cap 115 also may be fastened to front of housing 101 to retain nested sections 102-108 within the housing when it is not in use.

(14) Optionally, a detachable carrying strap may be fastened to the exterior of case 100, using suitable fasteners, not shown, when case 100 is in the extended configuration to facilitate carrying of the case when in use. Preferably, housing 101 has a depth from front to rear of about 12 inches, a height from top to bottom of about 9 inches, and a width from side to side of about 24 inches.

(15) Certain modifications and improvements will occur to those skilled in the art upon reading the foregoing description. For example, the depth of housing 101 may be increased, e.g., from 12 inches to 18 inches or more, so that the housing provides the volume necessary to accommodate the surfboard fins. In this case, ramp 112 of outermost section 102 may be incorporated directly into the forward wall of the housing 101, and proximal 102a and distal edge 102b of outermost section 102 are configured similarly to that of the other sections. The above mentioned examples are provided to serve the purpose of clarifying the aspects of the invention and it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that they do not serve to limit the scope of the invention.