Board, watercraft or other vehicle body

Abstract

A board suitable for riding a wave is described. The board includes interconnected deck and bottom reinforcing zones.

Claims

1. A board or watercraft which includes: one or more deck reinforcing zones disposed in or on a deck, and one or more bottom reinforcing zones disposed in or on a bottom face, the deck reinforcing zone and bottom reinforcing zones including one or more elements of reinforcing material disposed on or in a face of the deck and bottom, wherein the deck reinforcing zone and the bottom reinforcing zones are interconnected by an interconnecting reinforcing element extending through the board or watercraft or vessel between the deck and the bottom, and wherein at a selected point between tail and nose, an aperture is provided between the deck and the bottom, to allow the interconnecting reinforcing material to extend from one face to another.

2. The board or watercraft in accordance with claim 1 wherein the one or more elements of reinforcing material are connected together by the interconnecting reinforcing element.

3. The board or watercraft in accordance with claim 1 wherein the one or more reinforcing zones are disposed on the midline of the board.

4. The board or watercraft in accordance with claim 1 wherein the one or more reinforcing zones are disposed distal the midline of the board.

5. The board or watercraft in accordance with claim 1 wherein one reinforcing zone is disposed on the midline, and an interconnected reinforcing zone is disposed on an opposite face distal the midline of the board.

6. The board or watercraft in accordance with claim 1 wherein the blank and/or the reinforcing material is covered by a resin layer and/or a glass fabric layer for supplementary structural support.

7. The board or watercraft in accordance with claim 1 wherein the reinforcing material is rods or rovings, straps, battens.

8. The board or watercraft in accordance with claim 1 wherein reinforcing material is in the form of webbing or tape elements.

9. The board or watercraft in accordance with claim 1 wherein the elements of reinforcing material are integral with the interconnecting reinforcing element.

10. The board or watercraft in accordance with claim 9 wherein the tape element is carbon fibre webbing or tape.

11. The board or watercraft in accordance with claim 1 wherein the aperture extends generally at an acute angle, from the deck to the bottom face to reduce stresses on the reinforcing element or blank.

12. The board or watercraft in accordance with claim 1 wherein the aperture extends through the board on a curved path.

13. The board or watercraft in accordance with claim 1 wherein the reinforcing element extends from the tail region of the board to the nose region of the board along a curved path.

14. The board or watercraft in accordance with claim 1 wherein the board includes one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, or ten reinforcing elements which may be laterally spaced-apart across the board.

15. The board or watercraft in accordance with claim 1 wherein the reinforcing tape elements are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90 or 100 mm wide.

16. The board or watercraft in accordance with claim 1 wherein one reinforcing element extends from deck to bottom, while other reinforcing elements may extend from bottom to deck in the same board region, providing a sandwich effect where there are one or more deck reinforcing zones and one or more bottom reinforcing zones in the same board region.

17. The board or watercraft in accordance with claim 1 further including two or more reinforcing elements, joined together at the nose and/or the tail.

18. A method of manufacture of a board or watercraft, the method including the steps of: providing a board blank; cutting an aperture between a deck and a bottom face; threading a reinforcing element through the aperture; fastening the reinforcing element to, or in, the deck and bottom face.

19. A method of manufacture of a board or watercraft, the board or watercraft having a deck and a bottom, the method including the steps of: printing a reinforcing element onto a board blank, the reinforcing element extending from the deck of the board to the bottom of the board.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In order to enable a clearer understanding, a preferred embodiment of the technology will now be further explained and illustrated by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a board from above which has reinforcing zones on the deck at the tail region and a reinforcing region on the main bottom portion including the nose region;

(3) FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the board of FIG. 1 from underneath;

(4) FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the board of FIG. 1 with a detail section view for additional clarity of the aperture and the injection of the reinforcing element into and through the board from one side to the other (deck to bottom);

(5) FIG. 4 is an isometric view of the board shown from the deck, with a reinforcing tape disposed on a centreline of the board, but passing through an aperture between deck and bottom, the aperture being angled, and at an intermediate point from tail to nose;

(6) FIG. 5 shows two isometric views, which are top isometric views, where there is a sandwich reinforcing arrangement structure; and

(7) FIG. 6 shows a tail deck reinforcing region provided by a tape curving around the tail rail, and then extending through the blank to the bottom, the tape then curving asymptotically toward the midline at the nose.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EXAMPLE EMBODIMENT

(8) Referring to the drawings there is shown a board suitable for riding a wave generally indicated at 10. The board 10 has a blank 11, a deck 12, a bottom face 14, a tail 16, and a nose 18 and rails 13, 15. There is a resin/glass weave layer 17 for structural support and sealing for the blank 11.

(9) The board 10 includes a deck reinforcing zone 20 and a bottom reinforcing zone 30, interconnected with one another by interconnecting reinforcing elements 40.

(10) The interconnecting reinforcing elements 40 extend through the board 10 through aperture 50 to connect the deck reinforcing zone 20 and the bottom reinforcing zone 30, and transfer the forces therebetween.

(11) The deck reinforcing zone 20 could also be considered a tail reinforcing zone 22 and the bottom reinforcing zone 30 could also be considered a nose reinforcing zone 32.

(12) The arrangement of the embodiment shown is such that the reinforcing zones 20, 22, 30, 32 comprise a broad area of the deck or bottom surface, distal the midline of the board.

(13) The interconnecting reinforcing material 40 is the same reinforcing material 24, 34 that provides reinforcing to the board in the reinforcing zones 20, 30. In the embodiments shown that material 40 is a reinforcing tape.

(14) In one embodiment of the technology the reinforcing zones 20, 30 are disposed on a broad area over a portion of the board 10. The reinforcing zone 20, 30 is facilitated by reinforcing material 24 (deck, port), 34 (bottom, starboard) disposed on or adjacent their respective surfaces.

(15) The reinforcing material 24, 34 is covered by the resin and glass fabric layer 17 for supplementary structural support.

(16) The reinforcing material 24, 34, 40 is in the form of webbing or tape elements, and in the embodiment shown, they are carbon fibre webbing or tapes.

(17) At a selected point between tail and nose, an aperture 50 is provided between the deck and the bottom, to allow interconnecting reinforcing material to extend from one face or side to another. In the embodiment shown, the aperture 50 is disposed at a position adjacent the fins. That is, the arrangement in that embodiment is such that the reinforcing elements on the tail reinforcing zone 22 are disposed only on the tail region 16. In that embodiment the reinforcing element 24, 34 turns to extend from the deck to the bottom through the angled aperture 50 from one side to the other (deck to bottom) just outside the tail region 16, the latter being where one foot of the rider stands in a normal riding position. The aperture 50 is straight.

(18) The reinforcing element 24, 34 takes a curved path along the blank 11, following a similar pathway as that of the rail 13, 15, and is spaced a distance therefrom.

(19) In the embodiment shown, there is a single reinforcing element 24 being its port side and 34 being its starboard side, is provided, either integral or connected (joined) at the nose end.

(20) It can be seen that a single reinforcing element is provided in the drawings, (either integral or in pieces, connected together), the reinforcing element having one end being disposed on the deck in a left corner near the tail, the reinforcing element extending along a curved pathway along the port side rail 13 of the board, spaced a selected distance from the midline and from the port side rail 13, extending through angled aperture 50, from deck to bottom, and thence towards the nose region 18, and then returning along a similar path along the starboard side rail 15.

(21) The reinforcing element forms a reinforcing zone by having two spaced reinforcing tape element portions 24, 34 spaced apart from one another and adjacent or a little spaced from, the rails 13, 15.

(22) The reinforcing elements may be spaced from the midline of the blank but also spaced from the rail, depending on the amount of twist and resistance to twist required. The reinforcing elements may also be spaced from the nose, depending on the amount of resistance to bending forces required from the board. The reinforcing elements may be spaced from the midline of the blank.

(23) An alternative embodiment is shown in FIG. 4 where the reinforcing element 24 is not spaced from the milline of the blank, but is disposed along the centreline of the blank. Apart from that distinction, the tape and interconnecting reinforcing elements are the same as those shown in the other embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3. That is, the reinforcing tape element 24 extends from a deck reinforcing zone 20 at the tail (tail reinforcing zone 22), along the deck from the tail, through the aperture 50 and along the bottom surface to the nose.

(24) Further alternative embodiments are shown in FIGS. 5a, 5b and 6.

(25) First, FIG. 5a shows a sandwich reinforcing arrangement where, in the tail region, a tail reinforcing zone is provided by a reinforcing tape element portion 124 disposed on the deck surface, around the tail rail, and a reinforcing tape element portion 224 disposed on the bottom face near the tail.

(26) Tape element portion 124 then extends through two apertures 150, 152, disposed adjacent the rail, near the tail, in the blank, and through to the bottom face, and forward to the nose region, where they join on the midline.

(27) Tape element portion 126 extends from the tail region on the bottom surface midline, through the apertures 150, 152 in the board to the deck, and then extends along the midline to the forward region.

(28) The arrangement provides additional stiffness, since there is a sandwich arrangement, wherein two tape elements are disposed on opposed sides substantially along the whole length of the board.

(29) The arrangement in FIG. 5b is essentially a mirror image of FIG. 5a, where the deck reinforcing tape element 224 is disposed on the bottom, and vice versa.

(30) In FIG. 6, a tail reinforcing region is shown, essentially as in FIG. 5a, the difference being that the tape element 324 extends through the deck to the bottom surface in two places near the tail rails, and then asymptotically extends toward the midline along to the forward region. There is no second tape element in FIG. 6.

(31) Construction

(32) To construct the reinforced board, there are similar steps taken to those of conventional boards, apart from the aperture 50, which is formed by cutting or slicing, or by, as mentioned above, assembly of blocks or pieces of the blank.

(33) A slot 50 is cut into the board at an acute angle.

(34) The slot could be cut into the board by a laser or other cutting tool. In one embodiment of the technology, the slot is cut by a blade (not shown) which is mounted in a jig or a fixture, so that the blade can cut a slot in the blank.

(35) The reinforcing tape element 24 is laid on the deck or bottom face, pressed through with a blade (not shown). The blade again mounts in the jig or fixture so that it presses through the board into the aperture 50 at substantially the same angle as the aperture, and then emerges on the other side to be laid on that other, opposite face. Then, as in the known manner, a resin-injected weave is laid on the blank, or as otherwise known to seal the board and protect it from damage, and provide a certain membrane strength to the blank.

(36) The reinforcing element, and indeed the entire board, may be printed on the board, by a 3-D printer, either so that the reinforcing element solidifies onto a third reinforcing element, and sets, or the entire reinforcing element is printed onto the surface, injected (or printed) through the aperture and then cured or allowed to set in place on the board. This allows a greater flexibility of construction techniques and types and shapes of reinforcing material.

(37) The blank itself may be printed by a 3D printer, with one head or machine, while the reinforcing element itself may be printed with another printer or head.

(38) Modifications and improvements to the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Such modifications and improvements are intended to be within the scope of this invention.