SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR A PADDLE BOARD HANDLE

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/716,133, entitled “PADDLE BOARD HANDLE,” filed on Nov. 4, 2024, which is specifically incorporated by reference for all it discloses and teaches.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to handles for watercraft and, more specifically, to a handle for a paddleboard.

BACKGROUND OF CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE DISCLOSURE

Paddle boarding and/or stand-up paddle boarding is an effective and enjoyable workout to improve overall fitness. The participant lies or kneels on the paddle board and propels themselves through the water by making a swimming motion with their arms while lying or kneeling on the paddle board. In stand-up paddle boarding, the participant stands upright on the paddle board, and propels the paddle board through the water using a paddle. In both paddle boarding and stand-up paddle boarding, the participants must maintain their balance to remain on the paddle board. However, many participants with young children need to bring their children with them as they paddle board. The young children may not be able to maintain their balance on the paddle board without assistance. Additionally, some participants may have trouble keeping their balance on the paddle board.

Accordingly, there is a need for a paddle board handle that enables a participant or young children to maintain their balance on the paddle board.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME ASPECTS OF THE DISCLOSURE

One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a paddle board handle including base assembly configured to be placed on a top surface of a paddle board and a handle assembly extending from the base. The handle assembly and the base assembly are configured to stabilize a person on the paddle board.

Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a paddle board system including a paddle board and a paddle board handle. The paddle board handle is positioned on a top surface of the paddle board and attached to the paddled board by at least one strap. The paddle board handle includes a base assembly configured to be placed on the top surface of the paddle board and a handle assembly extending from the base. The handle assembly and the base assembly are configured to stabilize a person on the paddle board.

Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a method of assembling a paddle board system. The method includes providing two base rails, two crossbars, and two supports.

The method also includes assembling a base assembly by attaching the two base rails to one of the two crossbars. The method further includes assembling a handle assembly by attaching the two supports to one of the two crossbars. The method also includes attaching the handle assembly to the base assembly.

Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a method of disassembling a paddle board system including a paddle board handle and a paddle board. The method includes unclipping a base assembly of the paddle board handle from a handle assembly of the paddle board handle. The base assembly includes two base rails and a first crossbar. The handle assembly includes two supports and a second crossbar. The method also includes disassembling the base assembly by unhooking the two base rails from the first crossbar. The method further includes disassembling the handle assembly by unhooking the two supports from the second crossbar.

There are other novel aspects and features of this disclosure. They will become apparent as this specification proceeds. Accordingly, this brief summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. The summary and the background are not intended to identify key concepts or essential aspects of the disclosed subject matter, nor should they be used to constrict or limit the scope of the claims. For example, the scope of the claims should not be limited based on whether the recited subject matter includes any or all aspects noted in the summary and/or addresses any of the issues noted in the background.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the embodiments may be realized by reference to the following drawings. In the appended figures, similar components or features may have the same reference label.

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an example paddle board system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a paddle board handle of the paddle board system illustrated in FIG. 1 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates another perspective view of a base assembly of the paddle board handle illustrated in FIG. 2 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates another perspective view of a handle assembly of the paddle board handle illustrated in FIG. 2 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a front perspective view of the base rails of the base assembly illustrated in FIG. 3 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a front perspective view of the crossbar of the base assembly illustrated in FIG. 3 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a side perspective view of the crossbar of the base assembly illustrated in FIG. 3 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates a front perspective view of the supports the handle assembly illustrated in FIG. 4 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates a flow diagram of a method of assembling the paddle board system illustrated in FIG. 1 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flow diagram of a method of disassembling the paddle board system illustrated in FIG. 1 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

While the embodiments described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. However, the exemplary embodiments described herein are not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the instant disclosure covers all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The systems and methods disclosed herein relate to, among other things, a paddle board system including a paddle board handle. The paddle board handle includes a base assembly and a handle assembly extending from the base assembly. The paddle board system may further include at least one strap configured to be attached to the handle assembly and the paddle board to secure the paddle board handle to the paddle board during use. The base assembly is configured to be placed on the surface of the paddle board to stabilize the paddle board handle and the strap secures the paddle board handle to the paddle board. During operation of paddle board system, the paddle board handle is placed on the surface of the paddle board, and the strap is attached to the paddle board and the paddle board handle to stabilize the paddle board handle on the paddle board. The user then stands on the paddle board and holds onto the paddle board handle to maintain their balance on the paddle board. Accordingly, the paddle board system enables people with balance issues to use the paddle board or children to accompany others on the paddle board by providing a handle to stabilize the user while on the paddle board.

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a paddle board system 100 including a paddle board 102 and a paddle board handle 104 strapped to the paddle board 102 with at least one strap 106. FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of the paddle board handle 102. As shown in FIG. 1, the paddle board system 100 includes the paddle board 102 and the paddle board handle 104 strapped to the paddle board 102 with at least one strap 106. In the illustrated embodiment, the paddle board handle 104 is strapped to the paddle board 102 with two straps 106. In alternative embodiments, the paddle board handle 104 is strapped to the paddle board 102 with any number of straps 106 that enable the paddle board system 100 to operate as described herein. During operation of paddle board system 100, the paddle board handle 104 is placed on a top surface 108 of the paddle board 102, and the at least one strap 106 is attached to the paddle board 102 and the paddle board handle 104 to stabilize the paddle board handle 104 on the paddle board 102. The user then stands on the paddle board 102 and holds onto the paddle board handle 104 to maintain their balance on the paddle board 102 without assistance. Accordingly, the paddle board system 100 enables people with balance issues to use the paddle board 102 or children to accompany others on the paddle board 102 by providing a handle to stabilize the user while on the paddle board 102.

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of a base assembly 110 of the paddle board handle 104, and FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of a handle assembly 112 of the paddle board handle 104. The base assembly 110 is configured to stabilize the paddle board handle 104 on the paddle board 102, and the handle assembly 112 is attached to the base assembly 110 and is configured to be held onto by a user to stabilize the user on the paddle board 102. More specifically, the base assembly 110 is placed in a horizontal configuration on the paddle board 102 relative to the top surface 108 of the paddle board 102, and the handle assembly 112 extends vertically from the base assembly 110 and the top surface 108 of the paddle board 102 to provide a handle for the user to grasp.

The paddle board handle 104 includes at least one base rail 114, at least one crossbar 116, and at least one support 118. In the illustrated embodiment, the paddle board handle 104 includes two base rails 114, two crossbars 116, and two supports 118. In alternative embodiments, the paddle board handle 104 may include any number of base rails 114, crossbars 116, and supports 118 that enable the paddle board system 100 to operate as described herein. The base assembly 110 includes at least one base rail 114 and at least one crossbar 116, and the handle assembly 112 includes at least one support 118 and at least one crossbar 116. In the illustrated embodiment, the base assembly 110 includes two base rails 114 and one crossbar 116, and the handle assembly 112 includes two supports 118 and one crossbar 116. Specifically, in the illustrated embodiments, the base rails 114 are connected to each other by the crossbar 116 to form the base assembly 110, and two supports 118 are connected to each other by the crossbar 116 to form the handle assembly 112. In alternative embodiments, the base assembly 110 and the handle assembly 112 may include any number of base rails 114, crossbars 116, and supports 118 that enable the paddle board system 100 to operate as described herein.

FIG. 5 illustrates a front perspective view of the two base rails 114, FIG. 6 illustrates a front perspective view of the crossbar 116, and FIG. 7 illustrates a side perspective view of the crossbar 116. As shown in FIG. 5, the two base rails 114 include a first side base rail (or right side base rail) 120 and a second side base rail (or left side base rail) 122. Each of the base rails 120 and 122 include a tube or cylinder 124 including a first end 126, a second end 128, and a connector 130 positioned in a center portion 132 of the tube 124. Each of the base rails 120 and 122 also include a cap 134 positioned in the first end 126 of the tube 124 and a hook 136 positioned in the second end 128 of the tube 124. The base rails 120 and 122 are substantially similar to each other except the hooks 136 are oriented in different directions. The connector 130 is configured to receive, connect, and support the two supports 118.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the crossbar 116 includes a tube or cylinder 138 including a first end 140 and a second end 142. The crossbar 116 also includes two corner pieces 144 positioned in the first end 140 and the second end 142 of the tube 138. The two corner pieces 144 make a 90° turn and are configured to attach the tube 138 to the base rails 120 and 122 or the supports 118. Specifically, in the illustrated embodiments, the two corner pieces 144 each define a slot 146 and a bar 148 positioned within the slot 146. The slot 146 is configured to receive the hook 136 of the base rails 120 and 122, and the hook 136 of the base rails 120 and 122 is configured to hook onto the bar 148 to removably attach the base rails 120 and 122 to the two corner pieces 144. The two crossbars 116 are substantially similar to each other such that the two crossbars 116 may be used interchangeably in the base assembly 110 and the handle assembly 112.

FIG. 8 illustrates a front perspective view of the two supports 118. The two supports 118 each include a tube or cylinder 150 including a first end 152, a second end 154, a clip 156 positioned in the first end 152, a hook 158 positioned in the second end 154, and a strap slot 160 defined within the tube 150. The hook 158 of the two supports 118 is configured to hook onto the bar 148 to removably attach the two supports 118 to the two corner pieces 144. The clip 156 includes a button spring clip. In alternative embodiments, the clip 156 may be any type of clip that enables the supports 118 to operate as described herein. The clip 156 is configured to be inserted into the connector 130 such that the connector 130 receives, connects, and supports the two supports 118 in a vertical orientation. Additionally, the two supports 118 are configured to be connected to the crossbar 116 such that the crossbar 116 is oriented horizontally between the two supports 118 to define a handle that the user can grasp during use to stabilize the user on the paddle board 102. The strap slot 160 is configured to receive the at least one strap 106 to attach and stabilize the paddle board handle 104 on the paddle board 102.

During assembly, the base assembly 110 is assembled by connecting the two base rails 114 to a first crossbar 116. Specifically, the hook 136 of the first side base rail 120 is hooked onto the bar 148 of one of the two corner pieces 144, and the hook 136 of the second side base rail 122 is hooked onto the bar 148 of one of the two corner pieces 144. The handle assembly 112 is assembled by connecting the two supports 118 to a second crossbar 116. Specifically, the hook 158 of one of the two supports 118 is hooked onto the bar 148 of one of the two corner pieces 144, and the hook 158 of one of the two supports 118 is hooked onto the bar 148 of one of the two corner pieces 144. The base assembly 110 is attached to the handle assembly 112 by inserting the clip 156 of the two supports 118 into the connectors 130 of the two base rails 114. After assembly, the paddle board handle 104 is attached to the paddle board 102. Specifically, in the illustrated embodiment, the paddle board handle 104 is placed on the top surface 108 of the paddle board 102, and two straps 106 are attached to the paddle board 102 and the paddle board handle 104 to stabilize the paddle board handle 104 on the paddle board 102. Specifically, the two straps 106 are inserted into the strap slots 160 of the two supports 118 and attached to connectors on the paddle board 102 to stabilize the paddle board handle 104 on the paddle board 102. The user then stands on the paddle board 102 and holds onto the crossbar 116 to maintain their balance on the paddle board 102 without assistance. Accordingly, the paddle board system 100 enables people with balance issues to use the paddle board 102 or children to accompany others on the paddle board 102 by providing a handle to stabilize the user while on the paddle board 102.

Dring disassembly, the paddle board handle 104 is removed from the paddle board 102 by removing the two straps 106 from the connectors on the paddle board 102 and the strap slots 160 of the two supports 118. The handle assembly 112 is removed from the base assembly 110 by unclipping the clips 156 of the two supports 118 from the connectors 130 of the two base rails 114. The base assembly 110 is disassembled by unhooking the hooks 136 of the first and second side base rail 120 and 122 from the bars 148 of the two corner pieces 144. Similarly, the handle assembly 112 is disassembled by unhooking the hooks 158 of the two supports 118 from the bars 148 of the two corner pieces 144. The two base rails 114, two crossbars 116, two supports 118, and two straps 106 are then stored in the disassembled configuration.

In alternative embodiments, the base assembly 110 and the handle assembly 112 may not be configured to be disassembled. Specifically, in some embodiments, the hooks 136 and 158 may each include a notch 162 that clamps and maintains the hooks 136 and 158 on the bars 148 such that the base assembly 110 and the handle assembly 112 remain assembled. In this embodiment, the paddle board handle 104 is disassembled by removing the base assembly 110 from the handle assembly 112 and maintaining the base assembly 110 and the handle assembly 112 in the assembled configuration. The base assembly 110 and the handle assembly 112 are stored in the assembled configuration.

FIG. 9 illustrates a flow diagram of a method 900 of assembling a paddle board system. The method 900 includes providing 902 two base rails, two crossbars, and two supports. The method 900 also includes assembling 904 a base assembly by attaching the two base rails to one of the two crossbars. The method 900 further includes assembling 906 a handle assembly by attaching the two supports to one of the two crossbars. The method 900 also includes attaching 908 the handle assembly to the base assembly.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flow diagram of a method 1000 of disassembling a paddle board system including a paddle board handle and a paddle board. The method 1000 includes unclipping 1002 a base assembly of the paddle board handle from a handle assembly of the paddle board handle. The base assembly includes two base rails and a first crossbar. The handle assembly includes two supports and a second crossbar. The method 1000 also includes disassembling 1004 the base assembly by unhooking the two base rails from the first crossbar. The method 1000 further includes disassembling 1006 the handle assembly by unhooking the two supports from the second crossbar.

The systems and methods disclosed herein relate to, among other things, a paddle board system including a paddle board handle. The paddle board handle includes a base assembly and a handle assembly extending from the base assembly. The paddle board system may further include at least one strap configured to be attached to the handle assembly and the paddle board to secure the paddle board handle to the paddle board during use. The base assembly is configured to be placed on the surface of the paddle board to stabilize the paddle board handle and the strap secures the paddle board handle to the paddle board. During operation of the paddle board system, the paddle board handle is placed on the surface of the paddle board, and the strap is attached to the paddle board and the paddle board handle to stabilize the paddle board handle on the paddle board. The user then stands on the paddle board and holds onto the paddle board handle to maintain their balance on the paddle board. Accordingly, the paddle board system enables people with balance issues to use the paddle board or children to accompany others on the paddle board by providing a handle to stabilize the user while on the paddle board.

The description set forth herein, in connection with the appended drawings, describes example configurations and does not represent all the examples that may be implemented or that are within the scope of the claims. The term “exemplary” used herein means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration,” and not “preferred” or “advantageous over other examples.” The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques. These techniques, however, may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

In the appended figures, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If just the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label.

The description herein is provided to enable a person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Terminology and Interpretative Conventions

Any methods described in the claims or specification should not be interpreted to require the steps to be performed in a specific order unless stated otherwise. Also, the methods should be interpreted to provide support to perform the recited steps in any order unless stated otherwise.

Spatial or directional terms, such as “left,” “right,” “front,” “back,” and the like, relate to the subject matter as it is shown in the drawings. However, it is to be understood that the described subject matter may assume various alternative orientations and, accordingly, such terms are not to be considered as limiting.

Articles such as “the,” “a,” and “an” can connote the singular or plural. Also, the word “or” when used without a preceding “either” (or other similar language indicating that “or” is unequivocally meant to be exclusive—e.g., only one of x or y, etc.) shall be interpreted to be inclusive (e.g., “x or y” means one or both x or y).

The term “and/or” shall also be interpreted to be inclusive (e.g., “x and/or y” means one or both x or y). In situations where “and/or” or “or” are used as a conjunction for a group of three or more items, the group should be interpreted to include one item alone, all the items together, or any combination or number of the items.

The terms have, having, include, and including should be interpreted to be synonymous with the terms comprise and comprising. The use of these terms should also be understood as disclosing and providing support for narrower alternative embodiments where these terms are replaced by “consisting” or “consisting essentially of.”

Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers or expressions, such as those expressing dimensions, physical characteristics, and the like, used in the specification (other than the claims) are understood to be modified in all instances by the term “approximately.” At the very least, and not as an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine of equivalents to the claims, each numerical parameter recited in the specification or claims which is modified by the term “approximately” should be construed in light of the number of recited significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques.

All disclosed ranges are to be understood to encompass and provide support for claims that recite any and all subranges or any and all individual values subsumed by each range. For example, a stated range of 1 to 10 should be considered to include and provide support for claims that recite any and all subranges or individual values that are between and/or inclusive of the minimum value of 1 and the maximum value of 10; that is, all subranges beginning with a minimum value of 1 or more and ending with a maximum value of 10 or less (e.g., 5.5 to 10, 2.34 to 3.56, and so forth) or any values from 1 to 10 (e.g., 3, 5.8, 9.9994, and so forth).

All disclosed numerical values are to be understood as being variable from 0-100% in either direction and thus provide support for claims that recite such values or any and all ranges or subranges that can be formed by such values. For example, a stated numerical value of 8 should be understood to vary from 0 to 16 (100% in either direction) and provide support for claims that recite the range itself (e.g., 0 to 16), any subrange within the range (e.g., 2 to 12.5) or any individual value within that range (e.g., 15.2).

The terms recited in the claims should be given their ordinary and customary meaning as determined by reference to relevant entries in widely used general dictionaries and/or relevant technical dictionaries, commonly understood meanings by those in the art, etc., with the understanding that the broadest meaning imparted by any one or combination of these sources should be given to the claim terms (e.g., two or more relevant dictionary entries should be combined to provide the broadest meaning of the combination of entries, etc.) subject only to the following exceptions: (a) if a term is used in a manner that is more expansive than its ordinary and customary meaning, the term should be given its ordinary and customary meaning plus the additional expansive meaning, or (b) if a term has been explicitly defined to have a different meaning by reciting the term followed by the phrase “as used in this document shall mean” or similar language (e.g., “this term means,” “this term is defined as,” “for the purposes of this disclosure this term shall mean,” etc.). References to specific examples, use of “i.e.,” use of the word “invention,” etc., are not meant to invoke exception (b) or otherwise restrict the scope of the recited claim terms. Other than situations where exception (b) applies, nothing contained in this document should be considered a disclaimer or disavowal of claim scope.

The subject matter recited in the claims is not coextensive with and should not be interpreted to be coextensive with any embodiment, feature, or combination of features described or illustrated in this document. This is true even if only a single embodiment of the feature or combination of features is illustrated and described in this document.