WAX SCRAPER FOR SURFBOARD

Abstract

A box-shaped collecting part 11 consists of a bottom plate, a top plate, a pair of side plates, and a rear plate. An inlet 11f, as an open face which intersects with a scraping direction and lies at the front in the scraping direction, is formed in the collecting part 11. A scraping blade 12, a guide protrusion 13a, and comb teeth 14 are integrally formed with the collecting part 11 at the inlet 11f. When the guide protrusion 13a is made in contact with a surface 22a of a wax layer 22, the scraping blade 12 is positioned at a predetermined angle with respect to the surface 22a. When a wax scraper 10 is moved in parallel with a surfboard 21, the scraping blade 12 scrapes the wax layer 22. Waste of wax 23 caused upon scraping the wax layer 22 is collected in the collecting part 11.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a wax scraper for surfboard for use in scraping off wax coated on a surfboard.

BACKGROUND ART

Surfing is one of typical marine sports. A surfer slides down upcoming waves in a posture of standing on a surfboard while keeping a balance. Wax is applied to all the points of the surfboard, with which the surfer contacts, such that the surfer does not slip on the surfboard. Additionally, for the purpose of increasing gripping power, the surfer sometimes makes lines on the surface of the wax coated on the surfboard, or makes the surface of the wax rough.

The wax is commercially available from some manufacturers. The wax corresponding to the level of water temperature is used so as to achieve suitable gripping power. Therefore, when he/she surfs for the first time in a day, or when the gripping power is decreased, he/she scrapes off old wax coated on the surfboard, and applies new optimum wax corresponding to the level of water temperature. At the time of scraping off the wax, a wax scraper is used.

Conventionally, the scraper for surfboard has a scraping blade for scraping off the wax, which is formed on a side of a plate member. Additionally, comb teeth for making lines on the surface of the wax or making the surface of the wax rough are integrally formed together in the scraper for surfboard (see Patent Document 1).

Further, wax is also applied to skis and snowboard, but the intended purpose of this wax is to make running surfaces of the skis and snowboard slide better. Therefore, the function of the wax for skis and snowboard is quite different from the function of the wax for surfboard as non-skid wax. The wax for skis and snowboard is applied to the running surface, and then scraped off from the running surface with use of a wax remover for skis, such that the thickness of the wax layer remained on the running surface becomes as thin as possible. As described in Patent Document 2, the wax remover for skis has a box shape with its upper portion opened, and consists of a main body having a bottom surface with a long hole, a scraping blade provided to the main body so as to protrude from the long hole, and a lid portion having a box shape so as to cover the upper portion of the main body.

PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS

Patent Documents

Patent Document 1: Japanese examined utility model application publication No. 6-11036

Patent Document 2: Japanese unexamined utility model application publication No. 5-11976

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

The wax scraper for surfboard described in Patent Document 1 has a problem, because waste of the removed wax falls and makes the surroundings dirty.

According to the wax remover for skis described in Patent Document 2, since the wax is thinly scraped off by the scraping blade and enters the main body through the long hole, the waste of wax does not fall in the vicinity. However, since the wax remover for skis has the long hole for receiving the waste of wax in the middle of the bottom surface of the main body with which the running surface of the skis contacts, it is necessary to provide the scraping blade and the main body separately from each other, such that the scraping blade slightly protrudes from the long hole. Additionally, since the wax remover for skis is configured to scrape off the wax such that the thin wax layer remains on the running surface, it is necessary to provide a sharp scraping blade and a blade mounting structure for controlling the protruding amount of the blade edge. Accordingly, since the configuration of the conventional wax remover for skis is complex and expensive due to the adjustment of the wax scraping amount, the conventional wax remover for skis is not suitable for use as the wax scraper for surfboard, because the wax scraper for surfboard only has to scrape off the wax.

Since the long hole for receiving the waste of wax is long and thin, and the lid portion is covered over the main body, it is not possible to see an inside of the main body through the long hole. Therefore, there arises a problem in that how much wax has been collected cannot be recognized. Additionally, there is inconvenience in that the lid portion must be detached from the main body to discharge the waste of wax.

In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a wax scraper for surfboard which has a simple structure and can be produced at a low cost.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wax scraper for surfboard in which how much wax has been collected can be known easily.

Means for Solving the Problems

To achieve the above object, a wax scraper for surfboard of the present invention includes a collecting part for collecting waste of wax and a scraping blade. The collecting part consists of a bottom plate, a top plate, a pair of side plates, and a rear plate. The collecting part has an inlet as an open face which intersects with a scraping direction and lies at the front in the scraping direction. The scraping blade is integrally formed with an edge of the bottom plate for constituting the inlet, and used to scrape a wax layer coated on a surfboard and feed the waste of scraped wax to the collecting part.

It is preferable that an openable lid is integrally formed with the top plate to allow a wax product for application to be contained in the collecting part.

It is preferable that, a guide projection having a positioning surface is formed at an edge of each of the pair of side plates for constituting the inlet, and when the positioning surface is made in contact with a surface of the wax layer, the scraping blade is kept at a predetermined angle with respect to the surface of the wax layer. Further, preferably, the scraping blade has an upper blade surface and a lower blade surface, and the lower blade surface is located on an extended line of the positioning surface. Note that an angle made between the upper and lower blade surfaces of the scraping blade is preferably in the range of 70° to 80°.

It is preferable that a plurality of comb teeth for making non-skid lines on the wax layer are integrally formed with an edge of the top plate for constituting the inlet. Further, the rear plate preferably has an arc-like curved surface. Furthermore, a cap is preferably provided to cover the inlet.

Effect of the Invention

The collecting part of the present invention consists of the bottom plate, the top plate, the pair of side plates, and the rear plate. The collecting part has the inlet as the open face which intersects with the scraping direction and lies at the front in the scraping direction. According to the present invention, since the scraping blade is integrally formed with the edge of the bottom plate for constituting the inlet, the structure of the collecting part is simple, and the collecting part can be produced at a low cost.

Further, according to the present invention, since the inlet as the open face of the collecting part is widely opened, how much waste of wax is collected can be easily known by looking into the inside of the collecting part through the inlet, and the waste of wax can be easily discarded through the inlet.

Since the openable lid is provided to the top plate, the collecting part can be used as the chamber for containing the wax product when the wax scraper is not used. Further, since the collecting part is exposed through the inlet by opening the openable lid, it is also possible to discard the waste of wax through the inlet. Furthermore, when part of or all of the components of the collecting part are made of transparent material, how much waste of wax is collected can be easily known.

Since the guide projection is provided to each of the pair of the side plates, the scraping blade can be kept at a predetermined angle with respect to the wax layer during the wax scraping operation, and it is possible to scrape the wax layer cleanly.

Since the comb teeth are formed at a position corresponding to the scraping blade, it is possible to easily make non-skid lines on the wax layer. Further, since the rear plate has an arc-like curved surface so as to be in contact with user' s hand more easily, the wax scraping operation can be readily performed. Furthermore, when the cap is provided to cover the inlet of the collecting part, it becomes possible to put the comb teeth out of the way.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wax scraper for surfboard of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the wax scraper as viewed from its bottom surface side.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the wax scraper.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the wax scraper in which a wax product for application is contained in a collecting part.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the wax scraper when an openable lid is opened.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the wax scraper at the time of scraping off wax.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the wax scraper at the time of making lines on a surface of the wax.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the wax scraper covered with a cap.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a wax scraper according to another embodiment, in which a protruding portion is formed at a rear side of the wax scraper.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a wax scraper 10 intended for surfboards includes a collecting part 11, a scraping blade 12, guide projections 13a and 13b, comb teeth 14, and an openable lid 15, which are integrally formed together. The wax scraper 10 is made of ABS resin, for example, through injection molding, and the respective components thereof are integrally formed together. Therefore, the wax scraper 10 can be produced at a low cost.

The collecting part 11 has a box shape including a bottom plate 11a, a top plate 11b, side plates 11c and 11d, and a rear plate 11e (see FIG. 3). Concretely, the collecting part 11 is a rectangular parallelepiped in which each of the side plates 11c and 11d is a trapezoid. The width of each of the side plates 11c and 11d is gradually increased from the side of the bottom plate 11a to the side of the top plate 11b. The collecting part 11 has an inlet 11f at the front side in a direction for scraping off the wax. Spirally-rolled waste of scraped used wax is collected through the inlet 11f into the collecting part 11. The waste of the wax has viscosity similar to that of rubber clay, and adhered to the inside of the collecting part 11.

As shown in FIG. 3, the scraping blade 12 is formed at the front edge of the bottom plate 11a, which is in contact with the inlet 11f, so as to be integral with the collecting part 11. The scraping blade 12 has a lower blade surface 12a and an upper blade surface 12b. An angle α made between the lower blade surface 12a and the upper blade surface 12b is preferably in the range of 70° to 80° for the purpose of scraping off the wax more easily.

The guide projection 13a is provided at the front edge of the side plate 11c, and the guide projection 13b is provided at the front edge of the side plate 11d. The guide projections 13a and 13b protrude forward with respect to the scraping blade 12. A positioning surface 16a is formed at the front portion of the guide projection 13a, and a positioning surface 16b is formed at the front portion of the guide projection 13b. Between the scraping blade 12 and an extended line of each of the positioning surfaces 16a and 16b is made a predetermined angle β. Thus, when the positioning surfaces 16a and 16b of the guide projections 13a and 13b are made in contact with a surface 22a of a wax layer 22 (see FIG. 6), the scraping blade 12 is kept with a predetermined angle β with respect to the surface 22a of the wax layer 22. It is to be noted that the angle β made between the scraping blade 12 and the extended line of each of the positioning surfaces 16a and 16b is preferably in the range of 40° to 50°.

The lower blade surface 12a of the scraping blade 12 is on the extended line of each of the positioning surfaces 16a and 16b of the guide projections 13a and 13b. Thus, when the positioning surfaces 16a and 16b are made in contact with the surface 22a of the wax layer 22, the lower blade surface 12a of the scraping blade 12 comes in contact with the surface 22a of the wax layer 22.

The comb teeth 14 are configured to make lines on the wax layer 22 for the purpose of increasing nonskid characteristics of a surfboard. A plurality of the comb teeth 14 are arranged at regular intervals at the front edge of the top plate 11b. The thickness of each of the comb teeth 14 is the same as that of the top plate 11b. Each of the comb teeth 14 has a width gradually becoming narrower toward the front side so as to be shaped as a triangle.

As shown in FIG. 4, the collecting part 11 can be used as a chamber for containing a wax product 20 when the wax scraper 10 is not used. An aperture 17 is formed in the top plate 11b to take out the wax product 20. The aperture 17 is normally covered with the openable lid 15. The size of the collecting part 11 is defined in accordance with the size of the wax product 20.

The openable lid 15 is integrally formed with the collecting part 11 with use of a thin hinge portion 18 formed at a side in contact with the aperture 17. The openable lid 15 is openable and closable between an opening position (see FIG. 5) for exposing the inside of the collecting part 11 through the aperture 17 and a closing position (see FIG. 1) for covering the aperture 17. Further, the openable lid 15 has engaging portions 19 formed at a side opposing to the hinge portion 18. The engaging portions 19 are engaged with a periphery of the aperture 17, so as to keep the openable lid 15 at the closing position. When a user inserts his/her fingernail into a dent 17a and lifts up the openable lid 15 from the closing position to the opening position, the engaging portions 19 are elastically deformed and get over the periphery of the aperture 17, and the engagement between the engaging portions 19 and the periphery of the aperture 17 is canceled. Thus, the openable lid 15 is allowed to open.

Next, by referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, an operation of the wax scraper 10 is explained. Before applying new wax to the surfboard, it is necessary to remove old wax therefrom. The wax product 20 is generally contained in the collecting part 11, and the openable lid 15 is opened so as to take out the wax product 20 through the aperture 17.

The wax removing operation is started after closing the openable lid 15. In the wax removing operation, the positioning surface 16a of the guide projection 13a and the positioning surface 16b of the guide projection 13b are made in contact with the surface 22a of the wax layer 22 coated on a surfboard 21, so as to position the scraping blade 12 at a predetermined angle with respect to the surface 22a. Then, the wax scraper 10 is moved in parallel with the surfboard 21, while the scraping blade 12 is pushed against the wax layer 22 such that the scraping blade 12 partially sinks in the wax layer 22. Thereby, the scraping blade 12 scrapes the wax layer 22. The scraped wax is spirally rolled, and collected as waste of wax 23 through the inlet 11f into the collecting part 11. Accordingly, the waste of wax 23 caused upon the wax scraping operation is readily collected without being splattered in the vicinity.

Since the inlet 11f is widely opened, how much waste of wax 23 is collected can be easily known by looking into the inside of the collecting part 11 through the inlet 11f. When an appropriate amount of the waste of wax 23 is accumulated in the collecting part 11, the openable lid 15 is opened and the waste of wax 23 is thrown away through the aperture 17 to a trash box. Since the user only has to discard the waste of wax 23 collected in the collecting part 11, the user does not get his/her hands dirty. Further, since the collecting part 11 is almost entirely exposed by opening the openable lid 15, it is possible to discard the waste of wax 23 and clean the inside of the collecting part 11 more easily.

After removing the old wax, the user rubs the wax product 20 against the surfboard 21 to make a new wax layer. The rest of the wax product 20 or unused purchased wax product 20 is put into the collecting part 11 through the aperture 17 after opening the openable lid 15. Once the wax product 20 is contained in the collecting part 11, the openable lid 15 is closed. Thereby, the wax product 20 is blocked by the base of the scraping blade 12, and does not get out of the collecting part 11 through the inlet 11f. Accordingly, it is possible to store the wax product 20 together with the wax scraper 10 without losing the wax product 20.

For the purpose of increasing nonskid characteristics of the surfboard 21 by making lines on the wax layer 22 coated on the surfboard 21, as shown in FIG. 7, the wax scraper 10 is moved in parallel with the surfboard 21 while the comb teeth 14 are pushed against the wax layer 22. Since the comb teeth 14 protrude forward with respect to the scraping blade 12 and the guide projections 13a and 13b, the scraping blade 12 and the guide projections 13a and 13b never scratch the wax layer 22 at the time of making lines on the wax layer 22 by the comb teeth 14.

Additionally, the wax scraper 10 may be provided with a cap for covering the inlet 11f so as to put the comb teeth 14 out of the way. In an example shown in FIG. 8, a box-shaped cap 24 is provided to cover the collecting part 11 from the side of the inlet 11f. In this case, the cap 24 can cover and protect not only the comb teeth 14 and the guide portions 13a and 13b but also the scraping blade 12.

Although the collecting part 11 has a box shape in which the top plate 11b is wider and longer than the bottom plate 11a and each of the side plates 11c and 11d is a trapezoid in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited thereto. The collecting part 11 may be in any shape as long as it can collect the waste of wax. For example, the collecting part 11 may be a rectangular parallelepiped, in which all of the top plate, bottom plate, side plates, and rear plate are rectangles. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 9, the rear plate may have an arc-like curved surface so as to form a protruding portion 25 protruding from the rear side of the collecting part 11. In this case, since the protruding portion 25 comes in contact with the user's hand at the time of scraping off the wax, it becomes easier to push the wax scraper 10.

In the case where the wax product 20 is not put into the collecting part 11, it is unnecessary to provide the aperture 17 of the top plate 11b and the openable lid 15. In this case, the waste of scraped wax 23 is taken out from the collecting part 11 through the inlet 11f with use of user's finger or a spatula.

Although ABS resin is taken as an example for the material of the wax scraper in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited thereto. The wax scraper may be made of other resins, or metal such as SUS. Additionally, transparent resin may be used to make the openable lid 15 or the whole collecting part 11 transparent, such that the inside of the collecting part 11 can be seen from outside.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS

• 10: WAX SCRAPER
• 11: COLLECTING PART
• 12: SCRAPING BLADE
• 13a, 13b: GUIDE PROJECTION
• 14: COMB TOOTH
• 15: OPENABLE LID
• 17: APERTURE
• 20: WAX PRODUCT
• 22: WAX LAYER
• 21: SURFBOARD
• 23: WASTE OF WAX
• 24: CAP

Claims

1-8. (canceled)

9. A wax scraper for surfboard comprising:

a collecting part having a box shape for collecting waste of scraped wax, said collecting part being composed of a bottom plate, a top plate, a pair of side plates, and a rear plate;

an inlet provided to said collecting part, said inlet being located in front of said rear plate in a wax scraping direction and intersecting with said wax scraping direction;

a scraping blade formed at an edge of said bottom plate constituting said inlet, for scraping a wax layer coated on a surfboard; and

a plurality of comb teeth arranged at an edge of said top plate constituting said inlet, for making non-skid lines on said wax layer.

10. A wax scraper for surfboard as defined in claim 9, further comprising an openable lid provided to said top plate to house a wax product in said collecting part.

11. A wax scraper for surfboard as defined in claim 10, in which said openable lid is integrally formed with said collecting part with use of plastic in a state that part of said openable lid serves as a hinge portion connected to said top plate.

12. A wax scraper for surfboard as defined in claim 10, in which said rear plate is curved in an arc-like manner.

13. A wax scraper for surfboard as defined in claim 10, in which said top plate is longer than said bottom plate in said wax scraping direction such that each of said side plates of said collecting part has an approximately trapezoidal shape.

14. A wax scraper for surfboard as defined in claim 10, further comprising a cap fit into said inlet.

15. A wax scraper for surfboard as defined in claim 10, further comprising:

a guide projection formed at an edge of each of said pair of side plates constituting said inlet; and

a positioning surface formed at said guide projection, said positioning surface being useful for keeping said scraping blade at a predetermined angle with respect to a surface of said wax layer when said positioning surface is made in contact with the surface of said wax layer.

16. A wax scraper for surfboard as defined in claim 15, in which said scraping blade has an upper blade surface and a lower blade surface, and said lower blade surface is located on an extended line of said positioning surface.

17. A wax scraper for surfboard as defined in claim 16, in which an angle made between said upper blade surface and said lower blade surface is in the range of 70° to 80°.