TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to improvements in and relating to power supply. In particular improvements in and relating to power supply for surfboards.

BACKGROUND ART

The recreational activities of surfing and paddle boarding require a person to use their arms to move the board through the water. Although, as detailed in the inventor’s US Patent. No. 10,266,239.

One important issue that still remained to be solved however was how to provide a retrofittable power source to the motorized fin which does not interfere with the user’s experience in using the board with, or without, the motor.

Another issue was to ensure the housing for the battery power supply for an electric fin motor is capable of being retrofittable and also designed to not interfere with a user’s control/steering of the board and in particular not create drag issues when a wave or water travels across the top surface (deck) of the board. Thus, control of the board when riding a wave, despite the motor and power supply, still feels to the user like a standard non-motorised board.

It is an object of the present invention to address the foregoing problems or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.

It is also an object of the present invention to help all surfers catch more waves - (but particularly those who are unfit, or otherwise lack the power) by accelerating the board to the speed of any given wave depending on the surf conditions or state of the surfer. Thus, it should be appreciated the present invention may have application to catching waves in a variety of surf conditions for all surfers and paddle boarders alike.

All references, including any patents or patent applications cited in this specification are hereby incorporated by reference. No admission is made that any reference constitutes prior art. The discussion of the references states what their authors assert, and the applicants reserve the right to challenge the accuracy and pertinency of the cited documents. It will be clearly understood that, although a number of prior art publications are referred to herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that any of these documents form part of the common general knowledge in the art, in New Zealand or in any other country.

Throughout this specification, the word "comprise", or variations thereof such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.

Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only.

DEFINITIONS

The terms ‘surfboard’ or ‘board’ as used herein refers to a buoyant board used for the recreational activities of surfing and paddle boarding.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a housing for a battery power supply, the housing configured to have a 3D profile which substantially resembles in overall shape and dimensions a tail pad deck grip for a surfboard. The housing comprises a base plate to be affixed to the top surface of the board, and a battery cartridge housing one or more batteries, the battery cartridge configured to releasably connect to the base plate. The base plate and the battery cartridge each form a portion of the top surface of the housing, and wherein the top surface of the housing has a plurality of indentations thereon to provide grip.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a housing for a battery power supply substantially as described above wherein the maximum height of the housing is substantially 10mm - 25mm.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a housing for a battery power supply substantially as described above wherein the maximum height of the housing is measured sans the height of any power plug cowling, on or near, the rear edge of the housing.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided a housing for a battery power supply substantially as described above wherein the top surface of the front and side edges of the housing are at least partially downwardly tapered when viewed in cross section.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention there is provided a housing for a battery power supply substantially as described above wherein the base plate is configured to be capable of functioning as a tail pad when the battery cartridge is absent therefrom.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention there is provided a housing for a battery power supply substantially as described above wherein the top surface of the base plate has a plurality of indentations thereon to help provide grip.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention there is provided a housing for a battery power supply substantially as described above wherein the housing includes a tilt sensor which automatically turns off the supply of power from the battery to the connected motor on the fin when the top deck of board is upside down or in vertical.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention there is provided a housing for a battery power supply substantially as described above wherein the housing includes an accelerometer sensor connected to a controller programmed to alter the amount of power supplied when activated by a user’s hand or foot.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention there is provided a kit of parts for attaching/retrofitting a battery to the rear of a surfboard comprising:

- a housing as described above in any one or more of the first to the eighth aspects of the present invention, and a double sided waterproof adhesive-sheet for removable affixing the housing to the top surface of a surfboard..

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a plan view (looking along a Z axis) of a housing for a power supply according to one preferred embodiment of a first aspect of the present invention;

Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view along a longitudinal (X) axis of the housing shown in Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 shows a side view along a transverse (Y) axis of the housing shown in Figures 1 and 2);

Figure 4 shows a top plan view of a surfboard which has a housing for a power supply according to one preferred embodiment of a sixth aspect of the present invention;

Figure 5 shows a side view of the surfboard shown in Figure 4;

Figure 6 shows the base plate of the housing shown in Figure 4;

Figure 7 shows a top perspective view of the battery cartridge shown in Figure 4;

Figure 8 shows a bottom perspective view of the battery cartridge shown in Figure 7;

Figure 9 shows a top perspective view of a housing for a power supply as shown in Figure

4;

Figure 10 shows a bottom perspective view of the housing shown in Figure 9; Figure 11 shows a top perspective view of a battery cartridge shown in Figure 1 illustrating the tread profile on the top surface thereof;

Figure 12 shows a top perspective view of the base plate of Figure 1 again illustrating the tread profile on the top surface thereof; and

Figure 13 shows a housing as shown in Figure 1 illustrating the tread profile.

BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

With respect to Figures 1 - 3 there is depicted a housing 1 for a battery power supply indicated by dotted lines 2.

The housing 1 is made from polyurethane foam and has downwardly tapered outer edges 3 and is three dimensionally profiled when viewed along the X, Y and Z axes, to resemble, both in terms of look and function, a tail pad for a surfboard (not shown).

The battery power supply has a power socket 4 for receiving a plug (not shown) for re-charging the batteries (not shown) of the power supply 2 in situ on the board.

With respect to Figures 4 - 10 there is shown a surfboard 400 having a housing 401 for a battery power supply wherein the housing 401 comprises two parts:

- a base plate 402 which is affixed to the top surface 403 of the board; and

- a battery cartridge 404 housing batteries in the form of five lithium polymer batteries (not shown) providing a power supply of 18.4V.

The housing 401 comprising the base plate 402 and battery cartridge 404 has a maximum height as indicated by double headed arrow X of 25mm sans the height of the power plug cowling 405. The housing is made from molded polyurethane foam.

The base plate 402 has a recess 406 into which the battery cartridge 404 is slid and then affixed thereto via thumb screws not shown) which pass through apertures 407 on connector tabs 408 on the battery cartridge 404 into threaded apertures 409 on the base plate 402.

The battery cartridge 404 has a molded outer body 700 having a flange 414 extending transversely from the bottom side edges of the battery cartridge 404. The underside 417 of the battery cartridge 404 is substantially flat.

In addition, the recess 406 also has an indent 412 in the front section of the walls of the recess 406 which receives a toe tab 413 on the battery cartridge which further helps retain the battery cartridge in the recess. The base plate 402 has a substantially continuous non-indented under surface 416 to which a double-sided 3M waterproof VHB adhesive sheets cut to shape (not shown) is used to affix to the top surface 403 of the surfboard 400 near the tail end thereof.

The power supply (not shown) has a number of components which control the supply of power from the batteries. In particular, the power supply has a programmable logic controller (controller) which is connected to a RFID sensor (not shown) and an electronic power switch (not shown).

The controller is programmed to turn on the power switch when:

- the RFID sensor detects an RFID signal, from a key worn or carried by a user; and

- the user activates a power button on the key; this then provides power from the battery to the motor (not shown).

In some embodiments if the power button is hit twice this increases the amount of power supplied to the motor.

In some embodiments if the power button is hit three times this turns the power supply to motor off.

Alternately, in some further embodiments there may be a separate power-off switch.

Conversely, if the RFID signal is lost, the controller is programmed to turn the power switch off and as a consequence, stop the motor.

The controller is also connected to a tilt sensor and programmed to the turn the power switch off when the board becomes oriented upside down or vertical.

The controller may also be connected to a current overload sensor and programmed to turn the power switch off when a current overload is detected by the sensor. This helps ensure the motor is protected when seaweed becomes tangled in the propeller.

In Figures 11 to 13 the housing 401 , base plate 402 and battery cartridge 404 are all shown having a surface profile which has a plurality of indentations formed by zig zag shaped grooves 1100 transversely spanning across the top surfaces of the battery cartridge 404 and base plate 402.

DETAILED DISCUSSION OF THE INVENTION INCLUDING SOME ALTERNATIVE NON¬

LIMITING WAYS OF IMPLEMENTING

The housing may be made from any waterproof moldable material capable of in-use functioning as a tail pad on a surfboard. Preferably, the material may be polyurethane foam.

The power supply may vary without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Preferably, the power supply may include at least one rechargeable battery which has at least one power out and recharge plug socket.

Preferably, the power supply may include five lithium polymer batteries which provide 18.4V.

The housing may in some embodiments be in the form of a molded product which has an internal cavity for housing at least flat battery the exterior of the housing having a substantially flat sheet like profile when view in transverse of longitudinal cross-section.

In preferred embodiments the housing may comprise two parts:

- a base plate which is affixed to the top surface of the board; and

- a battery cartridge configured to releasably connect to the base plate.

Preferably, the base plate may have a substantially thin and flat profile in transverse and longitudinal cross-section with a recess therein configured to receive the battery cartridge.

Preferably, the battery cartridge may have a profile, which:

- may be flat at least on the top surface thereof; and

- may have a thickness which is substantially the same as the depth of the recess in the base plate; to provide, in use, a substantially flush surface with the top surface of the base plate.

Preferably, the height of the battery cartridge may be substantially between 7mm - 22mm so as to match the depth of the recess in the base plate.

Preferably, the housing may be configured so the base plate may provide a side section on either side of a centrally located battery cartridge when view from above.

The invention may also be said broadly to consist in the parts, elements and features referred to or indicated in the specification of the application, individually or collectively, in any or all combinations of two or more of said parts, elements or features.

Aspects of the present invention have been described by way of example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be made thereto without departing from the scope thereof as defined in the appended claims.