| United States Patent | 3,719,369 |
| Savage | March 6, 1973 |
SNOW FLOTATION APRON FOR SKIMOBILES
Abstract
A generally rectangular apron of flexible material has pocket means at its forward end into which the toes of the skis of a snowmobile are adapted to be inserted. The length of the apron is substantially that of the skis and its width substantially larger than the distance from the outside edge of one ski to the outside edge of the other, the side edges of the apron being provided with eyelets so that, when the edges are turned up over the top of the ski edges and a flexible cord progressively laced across from one edge to the other through the eyelets, the apron is securely secured to the skis and provides lift from the snow between the skis.
| Inventors: | Savage; Phillip D. (Owls Head, NY) |
| Appl. No.: | 05/151,689 |
| Filed: | June 10, 1971 |
| Current U.S. Class: | 280/28 ; 180/182 |
| Current International Class: | B62M 27/00 (20060101); B62M 27/02 (20060101); B62d 009/04 () |
| Field of Search: | 280/28 180/5R |
| 3482849 | December 1969 | Puetz |
| 3563562 | February 1971 | Carlin |
Assistant Examiner: Song; Robert R.
I claim:
1. An accessory for skimobiles having a pair of skis for supporting its forward end, the accessory being adapted for increasing the support of its front end in deep snow, comprising: a sheet of strong, flexible and foldable material having pocket means at its forward ends into which the forward ends of the skis are engaged; the sheet being of substantially the same length as the skis, and being wider than the distance between the outer edges of the skis; the side edges of the sheet being adapted to be folded up over the ski outer edges; and means for securing the folded up sheet side edges to the skis.
2. The skimobile accessory as defined in claim 1 having a plurality of spaced lacing devices secured along each folded up sheet side edge, and resilient cord means for being progressively laced through the lacing devices from one sheet side edge to the other for securing the accessory to the skis.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to skimobiles and, more specifically to an accessory apron of flexible material adapted to be secured to the two skis for support of the skis by the snow therebetween.
Ski accessories in the past have comprised skis having a snow-contacting area larger than the skimobile skis which can be secured to the skimobile skis when the snow is soft and deep. Such accessory skis are large and cumbersome and cannot conveniently be carried on the skimobile for use in an emergency.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention contemplates an accessory for emergency use when the snow is soft and deep which can be quickly installed and can be compactly folded and stored in the skimobile when not in use. A generally rectangular apron or sheet of flexible and foldable material of substantially the length of the skis has a pocket or pockets at its forward end into which the forward ends or tips of the skis of the skimobile are adapted to fit. The apron has a width substantially wider than the distance from the outside edge of one ski to the outside edge of the other ski so that the skimobile may be positioned with its skis on the apron and the side edges of the apron folded up over the outside edges of the skis. The side edges of the apron are provided with a plurality of spaced eyelets, hooks or other lacing devices and an elastic, flexible cord is progressively laced across from side to side, like a shoe, to secure the apron on the skis. In deep snow, the apron supplies additional support to the skis through its contact with the snow between the skis and, in addition, packs this snow down so that the drive belt of the snowmobile may more easily ride up over the packed snow.
The apron is preferably made of a foldable, tough, fiber-reinforced, plastic resin material, such as "Herculite" or "Neoprene Nylon" or of canvas which is strong but still flexible enough to fold up into a compact bundle which can easily fit in a garment pocket or into a storage space in the skimobile so that it is always available in an emergency.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a plan view of an apron according to the invention; and
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a snowmobile equipped with the apron of FIG. 1.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In FIG. 1 an apron 10 made of flexible and foldable sheet material has its forward end 11 folded back and stitched at 12 to form pocket means into which the tips of the skis may be introduced. Separate pockets 13 may be provided by stitching at 14. The remainder 15 of the apron is provided along each side with a plurality of spaced eyelets 16, or other lacing devices, the overall length of apron 10 being substantially the length of the skimobile skis.
In FIG. 2, a skimobile 18 has a pair of leaf springs 19, each secured to a ski 20. The tips 21 of the skis are engaged in the pockets 13 of the apron 10. The portion 15 of the apron is wider than the distance between the outer edges of the skis so that an edge portion 22 at either side may be folded up, as shown, over the outer edges of the skis.
The spaced eyelets 16 are in the portions 22 and an elastic cord 23, such as nylon cord, is laced across between the edge portions 22, through the eyelets 16, progressively from front to rear, as shown, so as to secure apron 10 on the skis. The pockets 13 engaged with the upturned skitips 21 secure the apron firmly in the direction of travel and the cord lacing 23 secures the portion 15 firmly to the skis.
The flotation of the skis equipped with apron 10, discussed above, may decrease the pounds per square inch of the forward end of the skimobile in contact with the snow by as much as 50 percent compared to the snow contacting area of the skis without the apron.
The steering characteristics of the apron-equipped skimobile differs somewhat from that of a skimobile with the apron in that the apron-equipped skis tend to stay parallel to the vehicle body. This is unimportant in that, in deep snow, the skimobile is easily steered by a side to side shifting of weight.
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