US3231911A - Water ski - Google Patents

Description

1, 1966 J. T. CLIFTON 3,231,911

WATER SKI Filed Feb. 1'7, 1964 INVENTOR. JOHN TE RRENCE CLIFTON ATTO RN EYS United States Patent 3,231,911 WATER SKI John T. Clifton, Agincourt, Ontario, Canada, assignor to Douglas G. Goldie & Associates Limited, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada, a company of Ontario Filed Feb. 17, 1964, Ser. No. 345,143 6 Claims. (Cl. 9-310) This invention relates to the manufacture of water skis, alriiid is particularly concerned with a hollow plastic water s The majority of water skis now available are made of wood, and are very often of laminated construction for greater strength. Due to their wooden construction, the known skis must be made quite long as to be sufficiently buoyant to support the weight of the user, particularly at slow speeds. The long length of the known skis increases their cost, as does the considerable hand labor required in their manufacture.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a water ski which can be manufactured at considerably less cost than the skis known heretofor.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a plastic water ski which can be manufactured by blow moulding as a hollow body having considerably greater buoyancy per unit length than the known ski constructions.

It is a further related object of the invention to provide a foot harness for a water ski having an improved adjustment for accommodating different size feet.

These and other objects of the invention will be more thoroughly understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof as read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings which illustrate this embodiment of the invention,

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a plastic water ski manufactured in accord with the invention, and showing the improved foot harness raised above its operative position for better clarity.

FIGURE 2 is an end view, partly in section, of the ski showing in FIGURE 1, and as taken along the line 22 of FIGURE 1, and FIGURE 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1, and showing the heel cup portion of the foot harness shown in FIGURE 1 in its operative position.

Referring to FIGURE 1, 10 generally indicates the Water ski manufactured in accord with this preferred embodiment of the invention. The ski is preferably formed of a mouldable plastic with rigid vinyl being a particularly good material. In accord with the invention, the ski can be blow moulded by heating a tube of plastic within an elongated blow mould and by forcing the heated plastic outwardly against the inside walls of the mould in a manner which is well known to those familiar with blow moulding practices. Following completion of the blow moulding step, the front and rear ends of the skis can be sealed together by heat sealing or with an appropriate adhesive.

The ski essentially comprises vertically spaced top and bottom walls 12 and 14 respectively. The spacing between these top and bottom walls means that the ski is a hollow body thereby possessing considerably bouyancy for its size. The top wall 12 is preferably formed with a plurality of transversely extending ribs 16, while the bottom wall 14 is preferably provided with at least one longitudinally extending rib 18, which extends inwardly of the hollow body. In the preferred and illustrated form of the invention, there are two of these longitudinally extending ribs 18, although it will be appreciated that one of three or more ribs could be used. The tops of these longitudinal ribs 18 are preferably positioned 3,231,911 Patented Feb. 1, 1966 either just below the undersurface of top wall 12, or in actual contact therewith. In either case, there is cooperation between the ribs and the top wall to give the ski considerably strength. Whether or not the tops of ribs 18 actually contact the undersurface of top wall 12 depends to some degree on the type of plastic employed in the construction of the ski. In the case of weaker materials, it may be necessary to decrease the height of ribs 18 as to avoid weakening the transverse strength of the bottom wall 14 to an unacceptable degree. In this case, cooperation between the tops of ribs 18 and the underside of top wall 12 does not take place until weight is applied to the top wall as the user stands on the ski whereby the top wall 12 sags downwardly somewhat as to contact the tops of ribs 18. In the case wherein stronger and more rigid plastics are employed, ribs 18 can be moulded of a height as to contact the undersurface of wall 12 without weight applied to top wall 12. The walls 12 and 14 are connected along the side edges thereof, preferably by means of integrally formed longitudinal ribs 21. These ribs serve the additional function of providing longitudinal rigidity to the ski, as well as additional buoyancy due to their hollow construction.

As can be seen in FIGURE 1 and FIGURE 2, a fin 22 is fixed to the undersurface of bottom wall 14 adjacent to the rear of the ski. This is a known expedient common to most water skis.

The improved foot harness in accord with this invention essentially consists of a toe holder 24 and an adjustable heel holder 26. These may be made of a number of different materials, but a preferred material is soft vinyl plastic. The toe holder 24 essentially consists of a transversely extending band which is folded back upon itself at either end as to provide two rod engaging loops. The heel holder essentially consists of a base 28, a heel cup 30, and a pair of rod engaging elements 32. At the rear of base 28, there is provided a downwardly projecting dog element 33, the purpose of which is described hereinafter.

To retain the above described toe and. heel holders on the top surface of the ski; there is provided a pair of longitudinally extending rods 34 of steel or the like, which are attached to the ski by means of apertured lugs 36, which are moulded integrally with the ski. The rods are held in these lugs by appropriate nuts 38. v

Beneath the heel holder 26, the upper surface of top wall 12 is provided with a plurality of transverse ratchet teeth 40, which are adapted to receive the dog element 33, as can best be seen in FIGURE 3. To move the heel holder 26 longitudinally of the ski, it is only require-d that the base plate be bent upwardly as to disengage dog element 33 from the ratchet teeth. In the normal course, the dog element 33 is biased downwardly into engagement with the ratchet teeth, due to the stiffness of the base plate, particularly in the region of the rod engaging element 32. This downward bias of the dog element as combined with the weight of the user on the base plate serve to retain the dog element in engagement with the ratchet teeth, while the ski is in use.

Due to the relatively simple moulding methods employed in the manufacture of the water ski in accord with this invention, it can be produced at considerably less cost than the water skis heretofore available. Further, the water ski in accord with this invention is considerably lighter than the known water skis, and are much more easily handled and transported.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A water ski comprising an elongate hollow plastic body having a spaced apart top and bottom walls joined together at the side margins of the body, said top wall having a plurality of transverse reinforcing ribs, said bottom Wall having at least one integral longitudinal reinforcing rib projecting inwardly of the body with the top of said longitudinal rib being positioned adjacent the undersurface of said top Wall.

2. A water ski as claimed in claim 1, in which the top of said longitudinal rib is positioned in contact with the undersurface of said top wall.

3. A water ski as claimed in claim 1, having two substantially parallel longitudinal ribs in said bottom wall, the tops of said longitudinal ribs being positioned in contact with the undersurface of said top wall.

4. A water ski as claimed in claim 1, having a hollow longitudinal reinforcing rib extending along each side margin of the body whereby to provide additional rigidity and buoyancy to said body.

5. A water ski formed of plastic by blow moulding, said water ski comprising an elongate hollow body being upturned at its forward end and having vertically spaced top and bottom walls joined together at the side edges of the body by integral longitudinal extending hollow reinforcing ribs, a plurality of transversely extending reinforcing ribs formed in said top wall, and a pair of laterally spaced longitudinally extending reinforcing ribs formed in said bottom wall, said longitudinal ribs projecting upwardly of said bottom wall, with the tops of said longitudinal ribs resting against the undersurface of said top wall whereby said top wall is reinforced against sagging.

6. A water ski having a foot harness comprising a pair of rod members fixed to lugs projecting upwardly from the top surface of the ski with the rods extending longitu-dinally of the ski adjacent the said edges thereof, a toe holder consisting of a flexible transversely extending band fixed at either end to said rods and shaped to receive and hold the forward portion of a foot against the top surface of the ski; a heel holder formed of stiff but resiliently flexible material and having a base, a heel cup projecting upwardly from the base and a pair of rod engaging elements fixed to the base and received on said rods for sliding movement thereon, a dog element projecting downwardly from said base, a plurality of ratchet teeth formed in the upper surface of said ski for receiving said dog element whereby the relative position between said toe holder and said heel holder may be adjusted by moving said heel holder relative to said ski by bending upwardly said base to permit re-positioning of said dog element in said ratchet teeth.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,531,946 11/1950 Parker 9--310 3,031,696 5/1962 Brabb 9310 3,103,672 9/1963 Lockwood 9310 MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner.

FERGUS S. MIDDLETON, Examiner,

Claims (1)

1. A WATER SKI COMPRISING AN ELONGATE HOLLOW PLASTIC BODY HAVING A SPACED APART TOP AND BOTTOM WALLS JOINED TOGETHER AT THE SIDE MARGINS OF THE BODY, SAID TOP WALL HAVING A PLURALITY OF TRANSVERSE REINFORCING RIBS, SAID BOTTOM WALL HAVING AT LEAST ONE INTEGRAL LONGITUDINAL REINFORCING RIB PROJECTING INWARDLY OF THE BODY WITH THE TOP OF SAID LONGITUDINAL RIB BEING POSITIONED ADJACENT THE UNDERSURFACE OF SAID TOP WALL.

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