ADJUSTABLE SPORTS ROPE

Abstract

An adjustable sports rope comprised of a hollow base rope sheath and an adjustment rope. The hollow base rope sheath is a hollow sheath with at least two openings. The adjustment rope enters into the hollow base rope sheath through one of the at least two openings and exits the base rope sheath through another of the at least two openings. The one end of the hollow base rope sheath terminates at a tie point. The end of the adjustment rope disposed furthest from the hollow base rope sheath tie point is also a tie point. By creating a tensile force between the tie point of the hollow base rope sheath and the tie point of the adjustment rope, the hollow base rope sheath will tighten on the adjustment rope, holding the adjustment rope in place.

Claims

1. An adjustable sports rope comprising: a hollow base rope sheath having two ends, two openings, and a longitudinal length, at the first end, the hollow base rope sheath terminates in a tie point and at the second end, the hollow base rope sheath terminates in a service loop, wherein the first opening is disposed closest to the tie point and the second opening is disposed closest to the service loop; an adjustment rope having two ends, a longitudinal length, and a core, at the first end, the adjustment rope terminates in a tie point and at the second end, the adjustment rope terminates in a cylindrical grip, wherein the adjustment rope is size so as to be able to fit within the hollow base rope sheath; wherein the two openings in the hollow base rope sheath are so sized as to accept the adjustment rope; wherein the adjustable sports rope is configured so that the adjustment rope enters the hollow base rope sheath through the first opening and exits the hollow base rope sheath through a second opening; wherein the tie point of the hollow base rope sheath is disposed distally from the tie point of the adjustment rope; and wherein a tensile force between the tie point of the hollow base rope sheath and the tie point of the adjustment rope causes the hollow base rope sheath to tighten on the adjustment rope, capturing the adjustment rope.

2. The adjustable sports rope in claim 1, wherein the adjustment rope can be moved relative to the hollow base rope sheath by removing the tensile force between the tie point of the hollow base rope sheath and the tie point of the adjustment rope.

3. The adjustable sports rope in claim 2, wherein the adjustable sports rope is lengthened by grasping the hollow base rope sheath at the second opening and sliding the adjustment rope through the hollow base rope sheath.

4. The adjustable sports rope in claim 3, wherein the adjustable sports rope is shortened by grasping the hollow base rope sheath at the first opening and pulling the cylindrical grip of the adjustment rope.

5. The adjustable sports rope in claim 4, further comprising a retention clip having two holes, a first hole and a second hole, wherein the service loop of the hollow base rope sheath is attached to the retention clip at the first hole.

6. The adjustable sports rope in claim 5, wherein the adjustment rope passes through the second hole in the retention clip.

7. The adjustable sports rope in claim 6, wherein a tensile force between the tie point of the hollow base rope sheath and the tie point of the adjustment rope causes the retention clip to lock the adjustment rope.

8. The adjustable sports rope in claim 7, wherein the hollow base rope sheath is braided.

9. The adjustable sports rope in claim 7, wherein the hollow base rope sheath is double-braided.

10. The adjustable sports rope in claim 7, wherein the hollow base rope sheath is constructed from at least one of nylon, Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMwPE), polypropylene, and polyester.

11. The adjustable sports rope in claim 7, wherein the hollow base rope sheath is constructed from at least two of nylon, Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMwPE), polypropylene, and polyester.

12. The adjustable sports rope in claim 7, wherein the adjustment rope is braided.

13. The adjustable sports rope in claim 7, wherein the adjustment rope is double-braided.

14. The adjustable sports rope in claim 7, wherein the adjustment rope is twisted.

15. The adjustable sports rope in claim 7, wherein the adjustment rope is constructed from at least one of nylon, Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMwPE), polypropylene, and polyester.

16. The adjustable sports rope in claim 7, wherein the adjustment rope is constructed from at least two of nylon, Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMwPE), polypropylene, and polyester.

17. The adjustable sports rope in claim 7, wherein the clip is fabricated from zinc.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The present invention is illustrated with 5 drawings on 5 sheets.

[0017] FIG. 1 is an isolated top view of the tie-point end of the hollow base rope sheath and the cylindrical grip end of the adjustment rope.

[0018] FIG. 2 is an isolated top view of the adjustment rope emerging from the base rope.

[0019] FIG. 3 is an isolated top view of the clip-end of the base rope with the adjustment rope emerging from the base rope.

[0020] FIG. 4 is an isolated top view of the adjustment rope tie point.

[0021] FIG. 5 is a top view of the present invention with both the base rope and adjustment rope.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] The following descriptions are not meant to limit the invention, but rather to add to the summary of invention, and illustrate the present invention, an adjustable sports rope. The present invention is illustrated with a variety of drawings showing various possible embodiments.

[0023] FIG. 1 is an isolated top view of the present invention, an adjustable sports rope 1 that has compound construction. FIG. 5 is a top view of the entire invention. In this case, compound construction refers to the fact that there are two ropes, a hollow base rope sheath 10 and an adjustment rope 100 that comprise the adjustable sports rope 1. The hollow base rope sheath 10 has a longitudinal length 13. The hollow base rope sheath 10 has, as a first termination point, a tie point 11, and as a second termination point, a service loop 81. The tie point 11 and service loop 81 are disposed at opposites of the longitudinal length 13 from one another. The hollow base rope sheath 10 has an aglet 12 disposed adjacent to the tie point 11, to prevent the hollow base rope sheath 10 from weakening at the tie point 11. The hollow base rope sheath 10 also has an aglet 80 near the service loop 81. In the embodiment illustrated by these drawings, the hollow base rope sheath 10 has two openings 98, 60. One opening 98 is disposed closer to the tie point 11. The other opening 60 is disposed closer to the service loop 81.

[0024] The adjustment rope 100 has a longitudinal length 102. The adjustment rope 100 has, as a first termination point, a cylindrical grip 101, and as a second termination point, a tie point 111. The adjustment rope 100 has an aglet 112 disposed adjacent to the tie point 111, to prevent the adjustment rope 100 from weakening at the tie point 111. The adjustment rope 100 enters the hollow base rope sheath 10 at a first opening 98, which is disposed closer to the tie point 11 of the hollow base rope sheath 10 in this embodiment. The adjustment rope 100 exits the hollow base rope sheath 10 at a second opening 60, which is disposed closer to the service looper 81 in this embodiment

[0025] A clip 200 is attached to the hollow base rope sheath 10 by the service loop 81 in the hollow base rope sheath. The service loop 81 goes through a hole 202 in the clip 200, wraps around the clip and is spliced together 81. The adjustment rope goes through a hole 201 in the clip 200.

[0026] FIG. 2 shows a close-up isolation of the adjustment rope 100 entering the hollow base rope sheath 10 at the first opening 98. The hollow base rope sheath 10 has a plurality of fibers 99. In this illustration, the hollow base rope sheath 10 is single braided fibers 99. The adjustment rope 100 also has a plurality of fibers 199. In this illustration, the adjustment rope is single braided fibers 199. Water sport ropes (e.g., 1) can come twisted, braided, or double-braided fibers, although only single-braided fibers are shown in these drawings. The fibers 99, 199 can be made from nylon, Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMwPE), polypropylene, polyester, or a combination of the above. For sports such as wakeboarding, a fiber with much less give or stretch, such as UHMwPE, is preferable. For sports such as water-skiing, a rope that stretches or elongates is more practical.

[0027] FIG. 3 shows a close-up isolation of the adjustment rope 100 leaving the hollow base rope sheath 10 at the second opening 60. The hollow base rope sheath 10 fibers 99 and adjustment rope 100 fibers 199 are apparent. The aglet 80 disposed close to the service loop 81 is more easily visible in this view. The clip 200 is also more easily visible in this view. The clip 200 has two holes 201, 202. The service loop 81 captures the clip 200 at one hole 202. The adjustment rope 100 fits through the clip 200 at the other hole 201. The clip 200 has an edge 203 and an inflection point 204. The inflection point 204 allows the hole 201 to hit the adjustment rope 100 at a non-orthogonal angle, thereby helping to capture the adjustment rope 100. The clip 200 can be made of steel, aluminum, plastic, or zinc. The preferred material is zinc due to its stiffness and corrosion resistance.

[0028] FIG. 4 shows a close-up of the adjustment rope 100 tie point 111 termination end. The aglet 112 prevents the tie point 111 from weakening the adjustment rope 100. The adjustment rope 100 has external fibers 199. The adjustment rope can also be constructed with a core of different fibers in order to strike the right compromise between price, stiffness, and weight. Due to the practicalities of drawing an adjustment rope with a core is not shown.

[0029] FIG. 5 shows the complete adjustable sports rope 1. The adjustable sports rope 1 is configured so that the adjustment rope 100 enters the hollow base rope sheath 10 at a first opening 98 and exists the hollow base rope sheath 10 at a second opening 60. The first opening 98 of the hollow base rope sheath 10 is located nearer to the tie point 11 of the base rope sheath 10 than is the second opening 60 of the hollow base rope sheath 10. The second opening 60 of the hollow base rope sheath 10 is located nearer to the service loop 81 of the base rope sheath 10 than is the first opening 98 of the hollow base rope sheath 10. The adjustable sports rope 1 is configured so that tie point 11 of the hollow base rope sheath 10 is disposed distally from the tie point 111 of the adjustment rope 100.

[0030] Pulling on the tie point 11 of the hollow base rope sheath 10 relative to the tie point 111 of the adjustment rope 100 tightens the hollow base rope sheath 10 around the adjustment rope 100. In other words, a tensile force between the tie point 11 on the hollow base rope sheath 10 and the tie point 111 on the adjustment rope 100 will cause the hollow base rope sheath 10 to tighten on the adjustment rope 100, holding the adjustment rope 100 in place. The braided fibers 99 of the hollow base rope sheath 10 tighten on the adjustment rope 100 under a tensile force. Additionally, a tensile force between the tie point 11 on the hollow base rope sheath 10 and the tie point 111 on the adjustment rope 100 will cause the retention clip 200 to lock the adjustment rope 100 relative to the hollow base rope sheath 10.

[0031] The adjustment rope 100 can be moved with respect to the hollow base rope sheath 10 by removing the tensile force between the tie point 111 of the adjustment rope 100 and the tie point 11 of the hollow base rope sheath 10. By grasping the hollow base rope sheath 10 at one of the openings 98, 60, the adjustment rope 100 can be adjusted relative to the hollow base rope sheath 10. In order to lengthen the adjustable sports rope 1, the user would grasp the hollow base rope sheath 10 at the opening 60 disposed furthest from the tie point 11 of the hollow base rope sheath 10. This is near the service loop 81 of the base rope sheath 10 that connects to the retention clip 200. Alternately, the user could grasp the hollow base rope sheath 10 at the hollow base rope service loop 81 or the user could grasp the retention clip 200. The user would slide the adjustment rope 100 through the hollow base rope sheath 10, lengthening the adjustable sports rope. In order to shorten the length of the adjustable sports rope 1, the user would grasp the hollow base rope sheath 10 at the first opening 98 nearest the tie point 11 of the hollow base rope sheath 10 and grasp the cylindrical grip 101 of the adjustment rope 100. By pulling the cylindrical grip 101 of the adjustment rope 100, the adjustment rope 100 travels through the hollow base rope sheath 10 and the overall length between the hollow base rope sheath 10 tie point 11 and the adjustment rope 100 tie point 111 will be shortened.