Shape-adjustable mold, skin and interior-core structures for custom board production

• US 20050184432A1
• Filed: 03/24/2005
• Published: 08/25/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kirby J. Mead
• Original Assignee: Kirby J. Mead
• Inventors: Mead, Kirby J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,963,815 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 264/272.150
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 33/307 Mould plates mounted on frames; Mounting the mould plates; Frame constructions therefor shaping plates for making moulds B29C33/3842; thin walled moulds B29C33/0011
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 33/308 Adjustable moulds for injection moulding B29C45/376
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/02 by heating, with or without pressure
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/636 using a support which remains in the joined object
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/71 characterised by the composition of the plastics material of the parts to be joined welding bar compositions B29C65/125
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/723 being multi-layered B29C66/7292, B29C66/72941 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/7254 honeycomb structures
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/727 being porous, e.g. foam
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/73921 characterised by the materials of both parts being thermoplastics
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 70/302 Details of the edges of fibre composites, e.g. edge finishing or means to avoid delamination
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 70/885 with incorporated metallic wires, nets, films or plates as lost heating elements B29C35/0272, B29C61/0625
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2023/12 PP, i.e. polypropylene
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2033/12 Polymers of methacrylic acid esters, e.g. PMMA, i.e. polymethylmethacrylate
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2055/02 ABS polymers, i.e. acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene polymers
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2069/00 Use of PC, i.e. polycarbonates or derivatives thereof, as moulding material
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2075/00 Use of PU, i.e. polyureas or polyurethanes or derivatives thereof, as moulding material
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/5272 Surf boards
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 32/40 Twintip boards; Wakeboards; Surfboards; Windsurfing boards; Paddle boards, e.g. SUP boards; Accessories specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 32/57 Boards characterised by the material, e.g. laminated materials
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 5/24 made predominantly of plastics surf boards B63B32/57
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 73/50 : characterised by forming methods, e.g. manufacturing of curved blocks
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 73/72 : characterised by plastic moulding, e.g. injection moulding, extrusion moulding or blow moulding
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 73/74 : characterised by lamination of materials

Abstract

A mold and construction method for forming aquatic sports boards is provided. The method and molds provide skin and interior core structures made shape-adjustable by a pre-molded perimeter rail. Division(s) in the structural exterior skin allow the skin core to be trimmed and bonded to a variety of convex, shape-defining core structures to produce a plurality of different shapes. A reusable shape-defining mold allows the board structure to be modified in shape. The mold is reversible and male/female configurations produce convex, shape-defining board substrates for a wide array of custom designs.

Claims

1. An aquatic sports board having broad generally planar top and bottom surfaces and curved edge portions comprising:

a structural exterior skin covering the surface of the board and defining an interior, said structural exterior skin being formed with a layer of thermoformed plastic, with said layer of thermoformed plastic covering a board substrate, and further with a division in the board substrate creating right and left sides;

said layer of thermoformed plastic being further characterized by having a single continuous surface on both sides of the point of greatest breadth of the board and through the area of sharpest curvature of the board surface, thereby forming a perimeter rail intermediately connecting the top and bottom surfaces of the board.

2. The board of claim 1, wherein

said thermoformed layer forms a skin core, said skin core serving as a substrate within said structural exterior skin.

3. The board of claim 2, wherein

said skin core forms a continuous shell in the shape of one side of the board, and the shell is made shape-adjustable by a division at the longitudinal centerline of the board.

4. The board of claim 2, wherein

said skin core forms a continuous shell in the shape of one side of the board, and the continuous shell is made shape-adjustable by divisions on both sides of said perimeter rail.

5. The board of claim 2, wherein

said skin core forms a continuous shell in the shape of one side of the board, the continuous surface of the shell on one side including said perimeter rail, and the shell is made shape-adjustable by a division on one side of said perimeter rail.

6. The board of claim 2, wherein

said skin core forms a continuous shell having the shape of one side of the board, the final shape of the shell being determined by a substrate of the board'"'"'s interior core, said substrate of the interior core being selected from the group comprising:

low-density plastic foam, partially hollow chambered foam, a plurality of shear webs, a plurality of skin supporting struts, a longitudinal shear web, a longitudinal spar, and a bonding/reinforcing flange, or a combination thereof.

7. The board of claim 6, wherein

said layer of thermoformed plastic forms the outermost layer.

8. A mold system for fabricating an aquatic sports board comprising:

a shape-defining mold including a first shape-defining component adapted to define the shape of a board substrate, said board substrate being removable from said shape-defining mold subsequent to formation, the surface of said shape-defining mold further characterized as having the capacity to produce a plurality of different board shapes.

9. The mold system of claim 8, wherein

the surface of said shape-defining mold is adapted to receive a second shape-defining component, said second component being adapted to produce a plurality of different board curvatures.

10. The mold system of claim 8, wherein

said shape-defining mold comprises a plurality of shape-defining subparts, and the subparts each correspond to a particular area of the aquatic sports board structure selected from the group comprising:

a bottom, a deck, a perimeter rail;

a longitudinal spar, a shear web, a thickness spacer, bottom channels, a bottom concave portion, a nose concave portion, a nose and a tail.

11. The mold system of claim 8 and further comprising:

a second shape-defining component having a concave surface conformable to a board substrate without altering the shape thereof.

12. The mold system of claim 11, wherein

said shape-defining mold is formed material selected from the group comprising:

fiber-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced tooling plastic, metal, elastomeric rubber, thermoformed plastic, and plastic foam and combinations thereof.

13. The mold system of claim 11, wherein

at least one part of the mold system is formed of material adapted to become part of the finished board.

14. The mold system of claim 13, wherein

the mold is adapted to be referenced to an external positioning structure, such that surfaces of the shape-defining mold are provided with the capacity to be moved, then fixed and set, so as to modify parameters of the design of the aquatic sports board.

15. The mold system of claim 13, wherein

said external positioning structure defines the longitudinal profile of the board and becomes part of the finished board structure, and comprises elements selected from the group consisting of:

a shear web, an upper spar cap, a lower spar cap, a longitudinal reinforcing flange, and a bonding/reinforcing flange, and combinations thereof.

16. A mold system for fabricating an aquatic sports board having an exterior skin formed with at least one layer of thermoformed plastic, with the thermoformed layer characterized as having a continuous surface on both sides of the point of greatest breadth and through the area of sharpest curvature, and having a perimeter rail connecting the broad, generally planar top and bottom surfaces of the board, the mold system comprising:

a first shape-defining mold component for defining the shape of the board layer, with said shape-defining mold having a continuous surface on both sides of the point of greatest breadth and through the area of sharpest curvature, thereby forming a shape-defining surface corresponding to the perimeter rail, with the surface of the shape-defining mold being further characterized by having the capacity to produce a plurality of different board shapes.

17. The mold system of claim 16, wherein

the configuration of said shape-defining mold is concave and is made shape-adjustable by a division at the longitudinal centerline.

18. The mold system of claim 16, wherein

the lengthwise curvature of said shape-defining mold is determined by a longitudinal reinforcing structure that becomes part of the finished board.

19. The mold system of claim 16, wherein

said shape-defining mold is constructed from plastic foam, and the shape-defining surface of the foam is determined by removing foam by methods selected from the group comprising:

hand-shaping, hand-sanding, hot-wire cutting, computer numerically controlled hot-wire cutting, and using a computer numerically controlled milling machine.

20. The mold system of claim 16, wherein at least a portion of said shape-defining mold is a shape-defining substrate that becomes part of the finished board.