Recreational snowboard
US6345834B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 27, 1997 |
| Grant date | Feb 12, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 27, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA63B2208/12
- WIPO fieldFurniture, games
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
A recreational board such as a snowboard incorporates strain transducers to damp a plate resonance of the board. The strain transducers are preferably located around a peripheral region to capture strain energy affecting control edges, for example steering control edges at the front and/or rear of the board. Electrical energy from the transducers is shunted to damp a targeted resonance. In a preferred embodiment the strain transducers cover a region of the snowboard adjacent one surface and extending along the forward periphery, preferably at both inside and outside edges, and are shunted with a resonant shunt tuned to a torsional or torsion-like mode of the board that is excited during steering maneuvers. The transducers may be fabricated as preassembled sheets or may be formed in the snowboard during the assembly process using sheets of piezoceramic material, or using piezo fiber or other composite constructions. The strain material may be positioned to preferentially shift or damp one resonance mode, and/or it may be arranged to exert a directional effect or anisotropic control authority. A passively operated embodiment employs a simple resistive shunt to enhance control of stra…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.