Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
-
1171~3~37
This invention relates to a water ski, and in
particular to a water ski of the t~pe used to walk as opposed
to ski on water.
The present invention also relates to a ski pole
for use with a water ski of the type described above.
The patent art is replete with examples of water
skis of the type disclosed herein. Examples of such skis are
described in Canadian Patent No. 318,164 issued to L. Rohrmann
et al on December 22, 1931, and U.S. Patents Nos. 2,940,090,
issued to D. Fournier on June 14, 1960; 3.027,576, issued to
S.R. Fines on April 3, 1962; 3,112,504, issued to C.F. Carlton
on December 3, 1963; 3,134,114, issued to K.W. Stimm on May 26,
-- 1964; 3 747,236, issued to D.M. Sidlauskas on July 24, 1973;
3,750,203, issued to A-.P. Ceccata on August 7, 1973 and
3,761,980, issued to B.P. Silverstein on October 2, 1973.
Problems with many such skis are (i) a lack of
lateral stability, and (ii) unnecessary complexity. The
Carlton U.S. Patent ~lo. 3,112,504 solves the problem of
stability by coupling the skis. However, coupled skis would
require towing and could not be used for water walking. Others
of the patents propose the use of short, longitudinally extend-
ing keels or rudders and, in the case of the Silverstein U.S.
Patent No. 3,761,980, channels in the base of the skis. While
such features may achieve varying degrees of success, there
still exists a need for an uncomplicated, stable ski for use
~,~
,,
~1718~7
in so-called water walking.
There has occurred very little development of poles
for use with skis of the water walking type.
An object of the present invention is to provide
a relatively efficient ski pole for use with a water walking
type ski.
The invention will now be described in greater
detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which
illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention, and wherein:
Figure l is a plan view of a first embodiment of a
water ski for use in conjunction with the present invention;
Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the water ski
of Fig. l;
Figure 3 is a bottom view of the water ski of Figs. l
and 2;
Figure 4 is an end view of the water ski of Figs. l
to 3 from the front end (the right end of Figs. l to 3);
Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken generally
along line V-V of Fig. 2 showing one form of flipper for use
in the ski of Figs, l to 4;
Figure 6 is a perspective, sectional view of the
bottom of the ski of Figs. 1 to 4 illustrating the flipper of
Fig. 5;
Figures 7 and 8 are views similar to Figs. 5 and 6
showing a second form of flipper for use ln the ski of Figs. l
-- 2 --
1~7~;E3~r
to 4;
Figures 9 and 10 are views similar to Figs. 5 and 5
of a third form of flipper for use in the ski of Figs. 1 to 4;
Figure 11 is a plan view of a second embodiment of
a water ski for use with the present invention;
Figure 12 is a side elevation view of the water ski
of Fig. 11
Figure 13 is a bottom view of the water ski of Figs.
11 and 12;
Figure 14, which appears on the third sheet of
drawings, is a front end view of the water ski of Figs. 11 to
13 (from the right of Figs. 11 to 13);
Figure 15 is a side elevation view of a first embod-
iment of a water ski pole in accordance with the present inven-
tion;
Figure 16 is a front end view of the ski pole of
Fiy. 15;
Figure 17 is a side elevation view of the bottom end
of a second embodiment of the ski pole of the present invention;
and
Figure 18 is a rear end view of the bottom end of the
ski pole of Fig. 17.
With reference to Figs. 1 to 4 of the drawings, the
preferred water ski includes an elongated, hollow hull generally
indicated at 1. The hull 1 is defined by a slightly bowed top
11718~37
wall 2, side walls 3 and 4, a bottom wall 5 and a rear end
wall (not shown). The top wall 2 and the bottom wall 5 have
recentangular central portions 6 and 7, respectively, for~
wardly tapering front portions 8 and 9, and slightly rear-
wardly tapering rear portions 10 and 11, respectively. Of
course, the front and rear portions of the hull are the
leading and trailing ends, respectively of the ski in the
direction of travel thereof.
A generally elliptical opening 12 is provided in
the centre of the hull for receiving the foot of a skier.
The bottom of the recess beneath the opening 12 includes a
slightly raised foot receiving platform 13. The opening 12
is large enough to permit forward and rearward foot movement.
The top of the platform 13 is close to the bottom of the hull
1, so that the centre of gravity of the ski is low which
facilitates lateral balancing and improves the overall stabil-
ity of the ski. The sides of the opening 12 extend upwardly
above the top wall 2 defining a collar 14, which reduces that
amount of water splashing into the opening 12. The top edge
15 of the collar 14 is beaded, so that a waterproof cover (not
shown) can be mounted on the collar and attached to the users
leg for preventing the entry of water into the opening 12.
Generally, longitudinally extending, rectangular
keels 16 and 17 are provided at the front and rear end portions
9 and 11, respectively of the bottom wall 5 of the hull 1. The
'
1~71~387
keels 16 and 17 are inclined slightly, i.e. at a small angle
to a vertical plane through the longitudinal axis of the hull
for stabilizing the ski. Actually, the keels 16 and 17 are
designed to cause the ski to move slightly inwardly toward
the other ski when the ski is moving forwardly. Thus, the
skis are maintained close together for maximum comfort and
performance.
As best illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4 to 6, the side
walls 3 and 4 of the hull 1 in the central rectangular area
extend downwardly beyond the bo*tom wall 5 to define a pair
of longitudinally extending, parallel keels 18. The keels 18
lend stability to the skis by providing lateral resistance to
the water in use. The keels 18 also define a channel for a
plurality of flippers. One form of flipper 19 (Figs. 4 to 6)
includes a generally rectangular, bowed plate, the top corners
of which include pins 20 for pivotally mounting the flipper
between the keels 18. An arm 21 extends forwardly from the
body of the flipper for preventing rotation of the flipper 19
in the forward direction. When pressure is applied to the
20- front convex surface of the flipper 19/ e.g. when the ski is
being dragged forward in the water (in the direction of arrow
22 - Fig. 6), the flipper rotates in the direction of arrow 23.
When pressure is applied to the concave rear surface 24 (Fig.6)
of the flipper, e.g. during rearward movement of the ski, rota-
tion of the flipper 19 is prevented because the top edge 25 of
.,~. ;
1 lL7~
the arm 21 presses against the bottom wall 5 of the hull l.Thus, when using the ski to walk on water, during the thrust
or rearward movement of the ski, the flippers l9 remain in the
vertical position, and, during the forward or glide movement
of the ski, the flippers l9 rotate to a position parallel to
the bottom wall 5 of the hull l to provide minimum resistance
to the water.
Referring now to Figs. 7 and 8, a second form of
flipper 26 also includes a forwardly bowed rectangular plate.
Shoulders 27 at the lower corners of the flipper 26 carry pins
28. The pins 28 extend into inwardly extending flanges 29 on
the bottom ends of the keels 18 for pivotally supporting the
flipper 26 between the keels 18. In this case, an arm 30 is
provided on the rear surface 31 of the flipper 26. When the
ski is being slid forward in the direction of arrow 22, the
flipper 26 rotates downwardly in the direction of arrow 32 ,
around the axis defined by the pins 28 to a horizontal, minimum
drag position. The flanges 29 limit downward rotation of the
flipper 26. When pressure is applied to the rear surface 31
of the flipper during rearward movement of the ski, the top
edge 33 of the arm 30 is pressed against the bottom wall 5 of
the hull and thus remains in the vertical position.
A third form of flipper (Figs. 9 and lO) includes a
pair of gates 34 pivotally mounted for rotation around vertical
axis defined by pins 35 and 36, which project upwardly and
,~ ..,~
, . .
iJL71~
downwardly, respectively from the outer edges of the gates
34 into the bottom 5 of the hull and into inwardly extending
flanges 37 on the bottom ends of the keels 18. When the ski
is moved forwardly in the direction of the arrow 22, the gates
34 rotate in the direction of arrows 38 towards the keels 18,
i.e. towards the minimum resistance positions. Movement of
the gates 34 towards the keels 18 is limited by small lugs
39 (one shown) on the flanges 37. During rearward movement of
the ski, the gates 34 are forced forwardly against a lug 40
extending downwardly from the centre of the bottom wall 5 of
the hull 1. Thus, during thrust movement, the gates 34 are
maintained in the vertical, maximum resistance positions.
With reference of Figs. 11 to 14, a second embodi-
ment of the ski of the present invention includes a hull
generally indecated at 41 similar to the hull 1, except that
the front end portion 42 has a different taper from the front
end of the hull 1, and the rear end portion 43 does not taper
rearwardly. In the second, simpler form of ski, the rear
portion 43 of the hull 41 has the same rectangular cross-
sectional coniguration as the central portion of the hull.
The flippers are omitted, and the only thrust during rearward
movement of the ski is supplied by planar rear surface 44 of
the hull 41. For such purpose, the rear surface 44 of the hull
41 slopes downwardly and slightly rearwardly. When the ski is
moved rearwardly, the rear end of the hull 41 is forced into
.~.~ ~ .
li71~387
the water for maximum thrust. The rear surface 44 is also
at a small angle to a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal
axis of the hull 41 for helping the skier keep the skis
together while thrust is being applied.
In order to increase thrust, a f~ipper 45 is
pivotally mounted on the rear end of the hull 41. The
flipper 45 has a generally inverted L-shaped configuration,
and includes a pair of forwardly extending arms 46 for
pivotally connecting the flipper to the rear end of the hull
41. The flipper 45 functions in the same manner as the flippers
l9 and 26. During forward, gliding movement of the ski, the
flipper 45 rotates upwardly behind the hull 41 to a position
of minimum resistance. When pressure is exerted against the
rear end of the hull 41, i.e. when the ski is moved rearwardly,
the flipper 45 presses against a longitudinally extending,
small keel 47. In such position, the flipper 45 presents
maximum resistance to the water for maximum thrust. A screw
(not shown) can be provided in the keel 47, with the outer
end of the screw bearing against the flipper 45. The screw
can be used to adjust the angle of the flipper 45 ~ith respect
to vertical, thus controlling the thrust created by the flipper.
Three additional keels 48, 49 and 50 extend down-
wardly from the bottom wall of the front, central and rear
portions of the hull 41. The keels 48, 49 and 50 extend sub~
stantially longitudinally of the keel 41 at a small angle to
"
i
7~
a vertical plane extending through the longitudinal axis
of the hull 41. The keels 48, 49 and 50, like the keels 16
and 17 are angled inwardly, i.e. the ski illustrated in
Fig 11 to 14 is a right ski. The angled keels 48, 49 and
50 provide lateral resistance and push the skis together
duringforward movement which improves control and perfor-
mance. The ski of Figs. 11 to 14 also includes the top cen-
tral foot-receiving opening 12, the foot platform 13, the
splash collar 14 and the beaded edge 15 of the first embodiment
of the invention.
The skis described hereinbefore are formed of fibre-
glass and plactics to yield lightweight, sturdy structures.
It will be appreciated that the flipper 45 can be omitted,
but for greater thrust flippers of some type are preferred.
With reference to Figs. lS to 18, the ski pole of
the present invention includes an elongated shank or shaft
Sl. The shaft 51 includes a rectilinear upper end 52 and a
curved lower end 53. A handle defined by a hand grip is
adjustably mounted on the upper end 52 of the shaft 51, with
a safety strap 55. The handle 54 can be moved, i.e. the
position of the handle adjusted depending on the height and
arm length of the skier.
A pontoon 56 is integral with the bottom end 53
of the shaft 51. The pontoon 56 is generally conical with
a flat bottom surface 57. The free end surface (Fig. 18) 58
1171~387
of the pontoon 56 is planar and inclined slightly downwardly
and rearwardly with respect to the vertical when in use.
When in use, the pontoon 56 is substantially parallel to the
top surface of the water (Fig. 17). Because the bottom
surface 57 is flat and the pontoon is buoyant, when the pole is
moved forwardly, the pontoon 56 slides across the top surface
of the water. When rearward and downward pressure are applied
to the shaft 51, the surface 58 sinks into the water so that
thrust can be generated to facilitate forward movement of the
skier. When pressure on the shaft 51 is reduced, the pontoon
56 surfaces.
In order to increase thrust, a flipper 59 (Figs.
17 and 18) is provided on the rear, bottom end of the pontoon
56. The flipper 59 is similar in structure and operation to
the flipper 45. The flipper 59 has an inverted L-shaped
cross-sectional configuration, the longer arm 60 of the L
being vertically oriented when in use to produce thrust.
Arms 61 are provided on the ends of the flipper 59, so that
the flipper can be pivotally connected by pins 62 to the pon-
toon 56. A keel 63 with a set screw 64 extending outwardly
therefrom is provided on the bottom rear surface of the pon-
toon 56 for limiting forward movement of the arm 60 of the
flipper 59. During forward movement of the pontoon 56, the
flipper rotates upwardly to a position of minimum drag or
resistance to the water. When the pontoon 56 is moved rear-
-- 10 --
,,, ~*
.
:
li718~37
wardly, the flipper 59 rotates downwardly to the thrust
position (Figs. 17 and 18) in which the surface 58 and the
arm 60 provide a large surface area to the water for maxi-
mum thrust.
Thus, there has been described a relatively
simple, yet effective water walking ski and propulsion pole
combination. Tests have proven that the skis are comfortable,
and that speeds of five to six miles per hour can be main-
tained with a minimal amount of effort. The physlcal move-
ment is similar to that used in cross-country skiing.
-- 11 --
