SLIDER WITH FOAM RAILS

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a slider, and more particularly to a

slider that can function as a surfboard, a bodyboard, a floating board, a skiing

board, a sliding board or the like.

2. Description of the Related Art

A conventional slider comprises a main body made of a

polyethylene foam material, and a plurality of handgrips mounted on a

periphery of the main body to facilitate a user holding the slider. However, the

main body made of a polyethylene foam material reflects greater costs in

material and trimming.

For reducing the cost, another conventional slider comprises a main

body made of a polystyrene foam material, which reflects reduced costs in

material and trimming because the polystyrene foam material is easily to be

molded into particular shapes. However, the main body made of polystyrene

foam material is easily worn out and broken; therefore, a wearable plastic

plate attached on the bottom of the main body is necessary for strengthening

the durability of the slider. In addition, the main body made of a polystyrene

foam material is difficult and incompatible bonded to the plastic plate without

adhesives. Therefore, the slider made of polystyrene foam material and having

a strong structure is in great demand.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a slider

having a predetermined shape of a foam board that is easily molded.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a slider,

wherein the foam board is integrally formed of a polystyrene foam material,

so that the shape of the foam board is formed easily and conveniently, thereby

saving the manufacturing time and decreasing costs of fabrication.

A further objective of the present invention is to provide a slider,

wherein a top layer and a bottom layer are respectively heat bonded to a top

face, a bottom face and edges of the foam board of the slider by interface

coatings, which have characteristics for heat bonding the polystyrene foam

board to polyethylene materials without adhesives, such as polyethylene foam

skins and polyethylene plates/films. Therefore, the bottom layer, such as a

plastic laminate composed of a polyethylene foam skin and a plate, could be

heat bonded to the bottom face of the foam board, and the top layer, such as a

plastic laminate composed of a polyethylene foam skin and films, could be

heat bonded to the top face and the edges of the foam board without adhesives.

More particularly, the top face of the foam board has a riding portion

and the bottom face of the foam board has a rail portion opposite to the riding

portion. The rail portion of the bottom face of the foam board has a plurality of

foam rails internally protruded therefrom and the foam rails are parallel with

each other.

In addition, the top layer of the slider comprises an interface coating,

a polyethylene foam skin, and a laminated film. The interface coating of the

top layer has a bottom face heat bonded to the top face and the edges of the

foam board. The polyethylene foam skin of the top layer has a bottom face

heat bonded to a top face of the interface coating of the top layer, and the

laminated film of the top layer is heat bonded to a top face of the polyethylene

foam skin of the top layer completely. Preferably, the laminated film of the top

layer is a colored/patterned film.

The bottom layer of the slider comprises an interface coating and a

plastic plate. The interface coating of the bottom layer has a top face heat

bonded to the bottom face of the foam board and the plastic plate of the bottom

layer is heat bonded to a bottom face of the interface coating of the bottom

layer completely, whereby the bottom face of the foam board and the foam

rails of the rail portion of the bottom face of the foam board are covered by the

bottom layer. Accordingly, the bottom layer has a plurality of recessed joints

respectively by heat bonding to the foam rails of the rail portion of the bottom

face of the foam board. Therefore, the foam rails of the slider are provided for

guiding a sliding direction to a user.

Because the polystyrene foam material could be easily molded into

varied shapes, the costs and the time are saved during manufacturing.

Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will

become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with

appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a slider in accordance with a first

embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is bottom perspective view of the slider as shown in Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 3 is a partially cut-away perspective view of the slider as shown

in Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 4 is a plan cross-sectional view of the slider as shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a partially cut-away perspective view of a slider in

accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a plan cross-sectional view of the slider as shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a partially cut-away perspective view of a slider in

accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 8 is a plan cross-sectional view of the slider as shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a partially cut-away perspective view of a slider in

accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 10 is a partially cut-away perspective view of a slider in

accordance with a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 11 is a plan cross-sectional view of the slider as shown in Fig.

10;

Fig. 12 is a partially cut-away perspective view of a slider in

accordance with a sixth embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 13 is a plan cross-sectional view of the slider as shown in Fig.

12;

Fig. 14 is a partially cut-away perspective view of a slider in

accordance with a seventh embodiment of the present invention; and

Fig. 15 is a plan cross-sectional view of the slider as shown in Fig.

14.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the drawings and initially to Figs. 1-4, a slider ^U A" in

accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention comprises a foam

board I ₅ a top layer 2, and a bottom layer 3.

The foam board 1 of the slider "A" is made of a foam material,

preferable made of polystyrene (PS) foam material and is formed to a

predetermined shape by molds. The foam board 1 has a top face 10, a bottom

face 11 located opposite to the top face 10, and edges 12 located between the

top face 10 and the bottom face 11. The top face 10 of the foam board 1 has a

riding portion 100 and the bottom face 11 of the foam board 1 has a rail

portion 101 opposite to the riding portion 100. Furthermore, the bottom face

11 of the foam board 1 has a front end 121 and a rear end 122 located opposite

to the front end 121. In addition, the rail portion 101 of the bottom face 11 of

the foam board 1 has a plurality of foam rails 13 internally protruded

therefrom and the foam rails 13 are parallel with each other. Therefore, the

foam rails 13 of the slider "A" are provided for guiding a sliding direction to a

user.

The top layer 2 of the slider "A" comprises an interface coating 20

and a laminated film 21. The interface coating 20 of the top layer 2 has a

bottom face heat bonded to the top face 10 and the edges 12 of the foam board

1. The laminated film 21 of the top layer 2 has a bottom face heat bonded to a

top face of the interface coating 20 of the top layer 2 completely. Preferably,

the laminated film 21 of the top layer 2 is a patterned/colored polyethylene

film.

The bottom layer 3 of the slider "A" comprises an interface coating

30 and a plastic plate 31. The interface coating 30 of the bottom layer 3 has a

top face heat bonded to the bottom face 11 of the foam board 1. The plastic

plate 31 of the bottom layer 3 is heat bonded to a bottom face of the interface

coating 30 of the bottom layer 3 completely, whereby the bottom face 11 of the

foam board 1 and the foam rails 13 of the rail portion 101 of the bottom face 11

of the foam board 1 are covered by the bottom layer 3 accordingly. Preferably,

the plastic plate 31 of the bottom layer 3 is a wearable patterned/colored

polyethylene plate.

Because the foam rails 13 of the rail portion 101 of the bottom face

11 of the foam board 1 are covered by the bottom layer 3, the bottom layer 3 is

correspondingly formed a plurality of recessed joints 32. Furthermore, it is

known that polystyrene materials are incompatible with polyethylene

materials; therefore, the top layer 2 and the bottom layer 3 made of

polyethylene materials are difficult to heat bond to the polystyrene foam board

1 of the slider "A". In the present invention, because the interface coatings 20,

30 of the top layer 2 and the bottom layer 3 have characteristics provided for

thermal fusing the polystyrene materials and the polyethylene materials, the

top layer 2 and the bottom layer 3 can be heat bonded to the polystyrene foam

board 1 without adhesives by the interface coatings 20, 30.

In addition, a plurality of handgrips 5 are mounted on and located at

two opposite sides of the slider "A" to facilitate a user holding the slider "A".

Figs. 5 and 6 show a second embodiment of the present invention

that comprises a foam board 1 a, a top layer 2a and a bottom layer 3 a. Similarly

to the first embodiment, the foam board Ia of the second embodiment is a

polystyrene foam board, the same as the foam board 1 of the first embodiment

and the bottom layer 3 a of the second embodiment is the same as the bottom

layer 3 of the first embodiment. Therefore, detailed descriptions of the foam

board 1 a and the bottom layer 3 a of the second embodiment are omitted.

Differently to the first embodiment, the top layer 2a of the second

embodiment comprises an interface coating 20a, a polyethylene foam skin 22

and a laminated film 21a. The interface coating 20a of the top layer 2a has a

bottom face heat bonded to the top face and the edges of the foam board Ia.

The polyethylene foam skin 22 of the top layer 2a has a bottom face heat

bonded to a top face of the interface coating 20a of the top layer 2a completely.

In addition, the laminated film 21a of the top layer 2a is heat bonded to a top

face of the polyethylene foam skin 22 of the top layer 2a completely.

Preferably, the polyethylene foam skin 22 of the top layer 2a has a

density ranged from 1.5 PCF to 10 PCF and the laminated film 21a of the top

layer 2a is a patterned/colored polyethylene film.

Figs. 7 and 8 show a third embodiment of the present invention. The

third embodiment comprises a foam board Ib, a top layer 2b and a bottom

layer 3b. Similarly to the first embodiment, the foam board Ib of the third

embodiment is a polystyrene foam board, the same as the foam board 1 of the

first embodiment and the top layer 2b of the third embodiment is the same as

the top layer 2 of the first embodiment. Therefore, detailed descriptions of the

foam board Ib and the top layer 2b of the third embodiment are omitted.

Differently to the first embodiment, the bottom layer 3b of the third

embodiment comprises an interface coating 30b, a polyethylene foam skin 33,

a laminated film 34 and a plastic plate 31b. The interface coating 30b of the

bottom layer 3b has a top face heat bonded to the bottom face of the foam

board Ib. The polyethylene foam skin 33 has a top face heat bonded to a

bottom face of the interface coating 30b of the bottom layer 3b completely.

The laminated film 34 has a top face heat bonded to a bottom face of the

polyethylene foam skin 33 of the bottom layer 3b completely. Furthermore,

the plastic plate 3 Ib is heat bonded to a bottom face of the laminated film 34

of the bottom layer 3b, so that the bottom face lib of the foam board Ib and

the foam rails 13b of the rail portion of the bottom face of the foam board Ib

are covered by the bottom layer 3b.

Preferably, the polyethylene foam skin 33 of the bottom layer 3b has

a density ranged from 1.5 PCF to 10 PCF, the laminated film 34 of the bottom

layer 3b is a patterned/colored polyethylene film, and the plastic plate 3 Ib of

the bottom layer 3b is a wearable plate. In addition, because the foam rails 13b

of the rail portion of the bottom face of the foam board Ib are covered by the

bottom layer 3b, the polyethylene foam skin 33, the laminated film 34 and the

plastic plate 31 b the bottom layer 3b are correspondingly formed a plurality of

recessed joints 32a, 32b, 32c.

Fig. 9 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The

fourth embodiment includes a foam board 1 c, a top layer 2c and a bottom layer

3c. The foam board 1 c of the fourth embodiment is the same as the foam board

1 of the first embodiment. Furthermore, the top layer 2c of the fourth

embodiment is the same as the top layer 2a of the second embodiment and the

bottom layer 3c is the same as the bottom layer 3b of the third embodiment.

Therefore, the fourth embodiment of the present invention is basically a

combined application of the second and third embodiments.

Figs. 10-11 show a fifth embodiment of the present invention. The

fifth embodiment comprises a foam board Id, a top layer 2d and a bottom

layer 3d. Similarly to the foregoing embodiments, the foam board Id is a

polystyrene foam board and has a plurality of foam rails 13d internally

protruded from a rail portion of a bottom face 11 d of the foam board 1 d.

Similarly to the second embodiment, the top layer 2d, the top layer

2a of the fifth embodiment comprises an interface coating 2Od, a polyethylene

foam skin 22d and a laminated film 21 d. Furthermore, compared to the second

embodiment, the laminated film 2 Id of the top layer 2d in the fifth

embodiment comprises an inner film 210, an outer film 211, and a pattern 212.

The inner film 210 of the laminated film 21 d has a top face and a bottom face

provided for heat bonding to the top face of the polyethylene foam skin 22d

completely. The outer film 211 of the laminated film 21 d has a bottom face

provided for forming the pattern 212 thereon and heat bonding to the top face

of the inner film 210 of the laminated film 21d. As a result, the pattern 212 of

the laminated film 21 d is formed between the inner film 210 and the outer film

211, and the pattern 212 is visible from outside of top layer 2d. Preferably, the

outer film 211 of the laminated film 21d has a thickness greater than a

thickness of the inner film 210 of the laminated film 2 Id, such as a thickness

from 0.02 mm to 0.15 mm for the outer film 211 and a thickness from 0.01 mm

to 0.15 mm for the inner film 210.

Similarly to the first embodiment, the bottom layer 3d of the fifth

embodiment comprises an interface coating 30d and a plastic plate 3 Id. The

interface coating 3Od of the bottom layer 3d has a top face heat bonded to the

bottom face Hd of the foam board Id. The plastic plate 3 Id of the bottom

layer 3d is heat bonded to a bottom face of the interface coating 3Od of the

bottom layer 3d completely so that the bottom face 1 Id of the foam board Id

and the foam rails 13d of the rail portion of the bottom face Hd of the foam

board 1 d are covered by the bottom layer 3d accordingly.

Figs. 12-13 show a sixth embodiment of the present invention. The

sixth embodiment comprises a foam board Ie, a top layer 2e and a bottom

layer 3e. Similarly to the foregoing embodiments, the foam board Ie is a

polystyrene foam board and has a plurality of foam rails 13e internally

protruded from a rail portion of a bottom face l ie of the foam board Ie. In

addition, the top layer 2e of the sixth embodiment is the same as the top layer

2d of the fifth embodiment and comprises an interface coating 2Oe, a

polyethylene foam skin 22e and a laminated film 21 e. The laminated film 21 e

of the top layer 2e also comprises an inner film 210, an outer film 211, and a

pattern 212.

In the sixth embodiment, the bottom layer 3e comprises an interface

coating 3Oe, a polyethylene foam skin 33e and a plastic plate 3 Ie. The

interface coating 3Oe of the bottom layer 3e has a top face heat bonded to the

bottom face lie of the foam board Ie. The polyethylene foam skin 33e has a

top face heat bonded to a bottom face of the interface coating 3Oe of the

bottom layer 3e completely. Furthermore, the plastic plate 3 Ie is heat bonded

to a bottom face of the polyethylene foam skin 33 e of the bottom layer 3e

completely, so mat the bottom face lie of the foam board 1 e and the foam rails

13e of the rail portion of the bottom face lie of the foam board Ie are covered

by the bottom layer 3e.

Preferably, the polyethylene foam skin 33e of the bottom layer 3e

has a density ranged from 1.5 PCF to 10 PCF and the plastic plate 3 Ie of the

bottom layer 3e is a wearable plate.

Figs. 14-15 show a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

The seventh embodiment comprises a foam board If, a top layer 2f and a

bottom layer 3f. Similarly to the foregoing embodiments, the foam board 1 f is

a polystyrene foam board and has a plurality of foam rails 13f internally

protruded from a rail portion of a bottom face Hf of the foam board If. In

addition, the top layer 2f of the seventh embodiment is the same as the top

layer 2d of the fifth embodiment and comprises an interface coating 2Of ₅ a

polyethylene foam skin 22f and a laminated film 2 If. The laminated film 2 If

of the top layer 2f also comprises an inner film 210, an outer film 211, and a

pattern 212.

In the seventh embodiment, the bottom layer 3f comprises an

interface coating 30f, a polyethylene foam skin 33f, a laminated film 34f, and

a plastic plate 3 If. The interface coating 3Of of the bottom layer 3f has a top

face heat bonded to the bottom face Hf of the foam board If. The

polyethylene foam skin 33f has a top face heat bonded to a bottom face of the

interface coating 30f of the bottom layer 3f completely. The laminated film

34f of the bottom layer 3f has a top face heat bonded to a bottom face of the

polyethylene foam skin 33f of the bottom layer 3f and the plastic plate 31 f is

heat bonded to a bottom face of the laminated film 34f of the bottom layer 3f

completely, so that the bottom face Hf of the foam board 1 f and the foam rails

13f of the rail portion of the bottom face 1 If of the foam board If are covered

by the bottom layer 3f.

Furthermore, the laminated film 34f of the bottom layer 3f

comprises an inner film 340, an outer film 341, and a pattern 342. The inner

film 340 of the laminated film 34f of the bottom layer 3f has a top face

provided for heat bonding to the bottom face of the polyethylene foam skin

33f of the bottom layer 3f. The outer film 341 of the laminated film 34f of the

bottom layer 3f has a top face provided for forming the pattern 342 of the

laminated film 34f of the bottom layer 3f thereon and heat bonding to a bottom

face of the inner film 340 of the laminated film 34f of the bottom layer 3f, and

has a bottom face provided for heat bonding to the plastic plate 3 If of the

bottom layer 3f. Therefore, the pattern 342 of the laminated film 34f of the

bottom layer 3f is formed between the inner film 340 and the outer film 341,

and the pattern 342 of the laminated film 34f is visible from outside of the

bottom layer 3f.

According to the foregoing embodiments of the present invention,

the foam board made of the polystyrene foam material is easily to be formed

and molded directly that saves the manufacturing time and the costs of

fabrication. Furthermore, the interface coatings of the top layer and the bottom

layer have characteristics for bonding the polyethylene materials to the

polystyrene foam materials without adhesives; therefore, the top layer and the

bottom layer could be heat bonded to the polystyrene foam board by the

interface coatings.

In addition, the foam board of the present invention could be a single

layer foam board or a multi-layered foam board. Also, the top layer could be a

patterned laminate of films and foam skin with the interface coating, or a

patterned single film or a foam skin with the interface coating. The bottom

layer could be a patterned film and foam skin with the interface coating and

the plastic plate or a patterned single film or foam skin with the interface

coating and the plastic plate.

Therefore, the slider with the foam rails provides a direction locating

effect when the foam rails are placed into snow, sand and the like, so that the

slider is moved forward linearly and stably by guidance of the foam rails to

prevent the slider from swerving, so as to facilitate the user in controlling the

slider and to protect the user's safety. Further, the slider has patterns visible

from outside, thereby enhancing the outer appearance of the slider.

Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred

embodiment(s) as mentioned above, it is to be understood that many other

possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the

scope of the present invention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended

claim or claims will cover such modifications and variations that fall within

the true scope of the invention.