US20120181777A1

US20120181777A1 - Spoon skis and snowboards

Info

Publication number: US20120181777A1
Application number: US13/350,395
Authority: US
Inventors: Peter Turner; Stephan Drake
Original assignee: Drake Powderworks LLC
Current assignee: Drake Powderworks LLC
Priority date: 2011-01-13
Filing date: 2012-01-13
Publication date: 2012-07-19

Abstract

According to the invention, a ski is provided. The ski may be a longitudinal member having lengthwise edges, a convex base, and a first and second pair of undulations. Each lengthwise edge may have a sidecut portion, where the longitudinal member is thinner near a middle portion of the sidecut portion than at an end of the sidecut portion. The convex base, in an un-deformed state, may have lengthwise edges which are elevated compared to a bottom-most portion of the convex base. The first pair of undulations may be located at a first end of the sidecut portion, one undulation of the first pair per lengthwise edge. The second pair of undulations may be located at a second end of the sidecut portion, one undulation of the second pair per lengthwise edge. The undulations may be a downward depression of the base compared to proximate portions of the convex base.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 61/432,455 filed Jan. 13, 2011, entitled “SPOON SKIS AND SNOWBOARDS, ” the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, for all purposes, as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to skis and snowboards, in particular skis and snowboards designed to function in powder or soft snow. More specifically, the invention relates to shaped skis and snowboards which provide high performance on slopes with powdered snow accumulations, while still retaining the versatility to perform on harder and variable snow surfaces.
In deep, powdered snow, skis and snowboards with convex bases, as opposed to conventionally flat bases, provide more floatation, ease of turning, and the possibility of lower edge angles because the metal edge grabs less and is more difficult to engage. A lower edge angle and less edge engagement allows for higher ski angle for improved ski performance. Conversely, in hard snow conditions, convex base designs are unwieldy, uncontrollable, and unsafe, because of the low edge angle or lack of edge engagement with the snow until a high ski angle is achieved, and hence are not commercially viable because of the mixture of terrains often encountered by users. Convex based skis and snowboards are therefore rarely commercially manufactured, and when they are, they feature fairly minimal convexity, so the steel metal edge is relatively low off the snow surface and can be used for grip in harder snow. For example, convex bases are used to make snowboards feel looser so the edge does not catch when sliding, especially in a terrain park.
Powdered snow surfaces exhibit characteristics vastly different from hard surface snow. Powdered snow tends to have more liquid-type characteristics than hard surfaces, meaning that skis and snowboards will typically float across powdered snow, while also being subject to fluid-like drag forces. Additionally, turning in powder may be more difficult than on hard surfaces because of a lack of a defined cutting surface for the edge of the ski or snowboard. Thus, skis or snowboards that are designed specifically for powder snow are often inadequate for hard snow, and vice-versa.
Embodiments of the present invention solve the aforementioned issues and other problems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, a ski is provided. The ski may include a longitudinal member having lengthwise edges, a convex base, and a first and second pair of undulations. Each lengthwise edge may have a sidecut portion, where the longitudinal member is thinner near a middle portion of the sidecut portion than at an end of the sidecut portion. The convex base, in an un-deformed state, may have lengthwise edges which are elevated compared to a bottom-most portion of the convex base. The first pair of undulations may be located at a first end of the sidecut portion, one undulation of the first pair per lengthwise edge. The second pair of undulations may be located at a second end of the sidecut portion, one undulation of the second pair per lengthwise edge. The undulations may be a downward depression of the base compared to proximate portions of the convex base.
In another embodiment, a different ski may be provided. The ski may include a longitudinal member having lengthwise edges, a convex base, and a first and second pair of undulations. Each lengthwise edge may have a straight sidecut portion or a reverse sidecut portion, where the reverse sidecut is thicker near a middle portion of the reverse sidecut than at an end of the reverse sidecut. The convex base, in an un-deformed state, may have lengthwise edges which are elevated compared to a bottom-most portion of the convex base. The first pair of undulations may be located at a first end of the sidecut portion, one undulation of the first pair per lengthwise edge. The second pair of undulations may be located at a second end of the sidecut portion, one undulation of the second pair per lengthwise edge. The undulations may be a downward depression of the base compared to proximate portions of the convex base.
In another embodiment, a snowboard is provided. The snowboard may include a longitudinal member having lengthwise edges, a convex base, and a first and second pair of undulations. Each lengthwise edge may have a sidecut portion, where the longitudinal member is thinner near a middle portion of the sidecut portion than at an end of the sidecut portion. The convex base, in an un-deformed state, may have lengthwise edges which are elevated compared to a bottom-most portion of the convex base. The first pair of undulations may be located at a first end of the sidecut portion, one undulation of the first pair per lengthwise edge. The second pair of undulations may be located at a second end of the sidecut portion, one undulation of the second pair per lengthwise edge. The undulations may be a downward depression of the base compared to proximate portions of the convex base.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is described in conjunction with the appended figure:

FIG. 1 shows multiple views of one possible embodiment of the invention as it pertains to a 192 centimeter ski.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The ensuing description provides exemplary embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the disclosure. Rather, the ensuing description of the exemplary embodiments will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing one or more exemplary embodiments. It being understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. Specific details are given in the following description merely to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details.
Skis and snowboards of the instant invention may have a convex base/raised metal edge base combined with vertical undulations along the convex edge that dip downward toward the snow surface. Though skis will be referred to in the following description, all concepts herein may be equally applicable to snowboard designs.
The convex portions of a ski edge endow the ski with improved flotation and allow for lower-edge angles with higher ski angle and performance in powder snow. As the convexity of the ski base becomes more extreme, the less versatile and more dangerous the ski may become when it is ridden in harder snow, i.e. the user is no longer able to engage the metal edge at the convex portion to provide grip.
“Base Convexity” as discussed in this disclosure may be different than “camber” as is known in the art. With traditional camber, the center of the ski sits above the flat snow surface until the ski is depressed by user weight, when the metal edge then comes into contact with the flat/snow surface. Base convexity in contrast, causes the ski edge to sit above the snow surface, and is unaffected by the users weight. To further illustrate, a ski with base convexity has a centerline along the length of the ski which sits on a flat snow surface, and the edges of such ski may not touch the surface. This lack of contact of the edges with the snow surface is why radical convexity has not been used in commercial ski and snowboard design.
By combining a convex base with undulations along the ski's edge that dip downward toward the snow surface, small portions of edge contact become accessible to the skier, allowing the ski to grip in harder snow. The undulations essentially act like cleats for harder snow conditions. With the addition of improved edge grip for harder snow provided by undulations, the ski can still retain the radically improved powder performance incorporated by convex base/raised metal edge design.
Various embodiments of the invention include at least two vertical undulations along at least one, and sometimes two, raised convex base/raised metal edges of the ski. Some embodiments could include any number of these hard snow enhancing dipping undulations combined with a convex edge. For example, in one embodiment, there may be 3 undulations on each edge, each 10 cm length, and spaced so that two undulations match the sidecut of the ski (possibly at the ends of the sidecuts), while the third is placed underfoot for improved grip.
The metal edge on the undulations themselves could be of any length, ranging from about 1 centimeter to about 30 centimeters. When the ski sits on a flat surface the undulations can drop toward the surface, or sit above the surface, by about 1.5 centimeters or more. In other embodiments the undulations can drop toward the surface, or sit above the surface, by about 10 millimeters, about 5 millimeters, about 1 millimeter, or even about 0.5 millimeters. The undulations allow the ski or snowboard builder to vary the convexity of the base and hence the height of the metal edge above a flat surface.
Embodiments of the present invention may be used in conjunction with a ski or snowboard of any profile, including those with or without a rocker profile, with or without camber, and/or flat skis and snowboards.
Turning now to the FIG. 1, multiple views of a ski 100 embodiment of the invention as it pertains to skis is shown. Ski 100 shown in FIG. 1 is 192 cm in length, but may be other lengths in other embodiments.
In this embodiments, the ski length is about 1920 millimeters with a rocker profile (center of the ski is low, ends are high). The front undulations (one on each side of the ski) are centered about 650 millimeters from the front tip, and have a profile as shown in section C-C. The rear undulations (one on each side of the ski) are centered at about 560 millimeters from the tail tip, and have a profile as shown in section A-A. In different embodiments, undulations of type A-A or type C-C may be employed at different locations, in different numbers, and in different sizes than showed on the figure and as discussed above.
Ski 100 has a sidecut of about 710 millimeters in length, with the undulations centered at about the ends of the sidecut. The convexity of ski 100 near the center of the sidecut is shown in section B-B, and may or may not gradually flatten out towards the ends of ski 100.
In some embodiments, where a different length ski is provided, the sizes of the undulations and/or convexity may be same as shown in the figure for the 1920 millimeter ski, or may be proportionally adjusted (i.e., bigger skis have bigger undulations, while smaller skis have smaller undulations).
The invention has now been described in detail for the purposes of clarity and understanding.

Claims

1. A ski, wherein the ski comprises:

a longitudinal member having:

lengthwise edges, wherein each lengthwise edge has a sidecut portion, where the longitudinal member is thinner near a middle portion of the sidecut portion than at an end of the sidecut portion;

a convex base, wherein in an un-deformed state, the lengthwise edges are elevated compared to a bottom-most portion of the convex base;

a first pair of undulations located at a first end of the sidecut portion, one undulation of the first pair per lengthwise edge;

a second pair of undulations located at a second end of the sidecut portion, one undulation of the second pair per lengthwise edge; and

wherein the undulations comprise a downward depression of the base compared to proximate portions of the convex base.

2. The ski of claim 1, wherein the ski comprises a rocker profile ski.

3. The ski of claim 1, wherein the ski comprises a non-rocker profile ski.

4. The ski of claim 1, wherein the ski further comprises a third pair of undulations.

5. The ski of claim 4, wherein the ski further comprises a fourth pair of undulations.

6. The ski of claim 4, wherein the third pair of undulations is located at substantially the center of the sidecut section.

7. The ski of claim 1, wherein a section of at least one of the first pair of undulations or the second pair of undulations is flat on its underside.

8. The ski of claim 1, wherein a section of at least one of the first pair of undulations and/or the second pair of undulations is not flat on its underside.

9. The ski of claim 1, wherein there are a different number of undulations on one edge of the ski than on the other edge.

10. A ski, wherein the ski comprises:

a longitudinal member having:

lengthwise edges, wherein each lengthwise edge has a straight sidecut portion or a reverse sidecut portion, where the reverse sidecut is thicker near a middle portion of the reverse sidecut than at an end of the reverse sidecut;

11. The ski of claim 10, wherein the ski comprises a rocker profile ski or a cambered profile ski.

12. A snowboard, wherein the snowboard comprises:

a longitudinal member having:

13. The snowboard of claim 12, wherein the snowboard comprises a rocker profile snowboard.

14. The snowboard of claim 12, wherein the snowboard comprises a non-rocker profile snowboard.

15. The snowboard of claim 12, wherein the snowboard further comprises a third pair of undulations.

16. The snowboard of claim 15, wherein the snowboard further comprises a fourth pair of undulations.

17. The snowboard of claim 15, wherein the third pair of undulations is located at substantially the center of the sidecut section.

18. The snowboard of claim 12, wherein a section of at least one of the first pair of undulations or the second pair of undulations is flat on its underside.

19. The snowboard of claim 12, wherein a section of at least one of the first pair of undulations or the second pair of undulations is not flat on its underside.

20. The snowboard of claim 12, wherein instead of paired undulations, there are a different number of undulations on one edge of the snowboard than on the other edge.