Snowboard and method of construction
First Claim
1. A snowboard having a longitudinal axis, a shovel portion, a heel portion, and first and second longitudinal edges, the snowboard comprising:
- (a) a core;
(b) an upper structural layer disposed above said core;
(c) a top layer disposed above said upper structural layer;
(d) a plurality of fasteners secured through said upper structural layer within said core, said fasteners adapted for securing a first and a second binding on top of the snowboard generally along the longitudinal axis of the snowboard, said fasteners including forward fasteners for securing a forward binding and rearward fasteners for securing a rearward binding; and
(e) a first and a second torsional reinforcement element for reinforcing the snowboard shovel portion and heel portion, respectively, each torsional reinforcement element including an inner elongate leg portion extending below a respective binding along the longitudinal center axis of the snowboard above said core, each said reinforcement element further including an outer portion which includes a transverse head portion having a center section with a transverse axis extending primarily laterally across a major portion of a width of the snowboard and toward the first and second edges of the snowboard, thereby forming a T-shaped portion of the reinforcing element.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A snowboard having torsional reinforcement elements along portions of the board is provided. The snowboard includes a core, an upper structural layer disposed above the core, a top layer, two groups of binding fasteners, and torsional reinforcement elements in the forward and rearward portions of the board. The top layer is disposed above the upper structural layer. The fasteners are secured through the upper structural layer within the core. The fasteners are adapted for securing a binding to the snowboard generally along the longitudinal axis of the snowboard. The fasteners include forward fasteners for securing a forward binding and rearward fasteners for securing a rearward binding. A first torsional reinforcement element extends around the rearward fasteners along the longitudinal center axis of the snowboard above the core. The rearward reinforcement element includes a right leg extending from the rearward end of the fasteners toward the right heel contact point of the snowboard. A left leg is also provided that extends from the rearward end of the fasteners toward the left heel contact point of the snowboard. Likewise, the forward torsional reinforcement element includes a right leg and a left leg extending to the right shovel contact point and left shovel contact point, respectively. Thus, a forward fork and a rearward fork are provided, extending around the binding fasteners, and forking out to the heel and shovel contact points. A method of constructing the snowboard as described above is also provided.
42 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A snowboard having a longitudinal axis, a shovel portion, a heel portion, and first and second longitudinal edges, the snowboard comprising:
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(a) a core; (b) an upper structural layer disposed above said core; (c) a top layer disposed above said upper structural layer; (d) a plurality of fasteners secured through said upper structural layer within said core, said fasteners adapted for securing a first and a second binding on top of the snowboard generally along the longitudinal axis of the snowboard, said fasteners including forward fasteners for securing a forward binding and rearward fasteners for securing a rearward binding; and (e) a first and a second torsional reinforcement element for reinforcing the snowboard shovel portion and heel portion, respectively, each torsional reinforcement element including an inner elongate leg portion extending below a respective binding along the longitudinal center axis of the snowboard above said core, each said reinforcement element further including an outer portion which includes a transverse head portion having a center section with a transverse axis extending primarily laterally across a major portion of a width of the snowboard and toward the first and second edges of the snowboard, thereby forming a T-shaped portion of the reinforcing element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A snowboard having a longitudinal axis, a forward portion, a rearward portion, a shovel within the forward portion, a heel within the rearward portion, and right and left edges, the snowboard comprising:
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(a) a top layer; (b) a base below said top layer; (c) a core positioned between said top layer and base; (d) a plurality of fasteners secured between said top layer and said base, said fasteners adapted for securing a pair of snowboard bindings to the snowboard generally along the longitudinal axis of the snowboard, said fasteners being generally in two groups, a forward group and a rearward group; and (e) a first reinforcement element extending adjacent at least some of said fasteners in one of the forward and rearward positions of the snowboard, said reinforcement element including an inner elongate leg portion extending below a respective binding along the longitudinal center axis of the snowboard, said reinforcement element further including an outer portion which includes at least one transverse first leg having a center section with a transverse axis extending primarily laterally from the inner elongate leg portion across a major portion of the way toward a respective edge of the snowboard, thereby defining at least one side of a T-shaped portion of the reinforcing element. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A method of constructing a snowboard having a top layer, a base, a core between the top layer and the base, a plurality or binding fasteners within the core between the top and the base for securing a pair of bindings to the snowboard, and right and left edges on the sides of the base, the method comprising:
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(a) forming a reinforcing element into an elongate strip having an inner and an outer end, a right leg extending in one direction from the outer end of the strip, and a left leg extending from the outer end of the strip in an opposite direction from the right leg, the right and left leg cooperatively defining an outer portion including a transverse head portion having a center section with a transverse axis extending primarily laterally relative to the strip and sufficient to span a major portion of a width of the base between the right and left edges, thereby forming a T-shaped portion of the reinforcing element; and (b) placing the reinforcing element between the top layer of the snowboard and the core of the snowboard, with the elongate strip extending along a longitudinal axis of the snowboard and positioned below a respective binding, the right leg extending toward the right edge of the snowboard and the left leg extending toward the left edge. - View Dependent Claims (32)
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Specification