MAGNETIC CLASP

Abstract

A bottle holder for a water sports board is disclosed. The bottle holder includes a female portion arranged for attachment to a water sports board, the female portion having sloped annular receiving surfaces surrounding a permanent magnet. A male portion is arranged to be fixed to a water bottle. The male portion has sloped annular projections arranged to engage with the female portions, enabling the bottle to be held in position by threaded engagement and by magnetic attraction simultaneously.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Australia Provisional Patent Application No. 2019901251, filed on Apr. 11, 2019 which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to magnetic clasps. The invention has been developed for use with water sports boards such as stand-up paddleboards, but is considered to have wider application.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Hydration is important in many sports. Where a participant is unable to stop a sporting activity in order to drink, provision must be made for a drink to be consumed during the activity. In cycling, for instance, a range of water bottle holders have been developed to enable a cyclist to stow water or other beverages on a bicycle frame for ready access.

In water sports, the provision of hydrating beverages is also important, but rather more difficult. In general, water sports boards have no provision for water bottles. It is known to attach water bottle holders to boards such as stand-up paddleboards by means of adhesive. Such water bottle holders extend out from a surface of the board, and are generally ‘cup’ shaped. While a water bottle can be stowed in such a holder, there is a significant risk of it falling out. Further, the bottle holder is both unsightly and a potential hazard to a user when not being used to hold a water bottle.

The present invention has been developed in light of these deficiencies in prior art water bottle holders for water sports boards.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a magnetic clasp, the magnetic clasp having a female portion including a generally circular receiving portion having at least one engaging portion located in an internal annulus, and a male portion having a complementary shaped mating portion having an annular or part-annular projection, at least one of the receiving portion and the mating portion including a permanent magnet and the other of the aperture and the mating portion having a ferromagnetic element within.

The ferromagnetic element may be a second permanent magnet.

Preferably the projection of the male portion is arranged to engage with the engaging portion of the female portion by rotation.

It is preferred that the projection of the male portion is variable in height around a circumference. Similarly it is preferred that the engaging portion of the female portion is variable in height around a circumference. In a most preferred embodiment the projections of the male portion is complementary to the engaging portion of the female portion.

The engaging portion of the female portion may include an extension portion which acts to form an internal thread.

The projection of the male portion may include outer wings which act to form an external thread.

The external thread of the male portion may be arranged to engage within the internal thread of the female portion.

It is preferred that the permanent magnet is aligned with a central axis of the male portion and/or the female portion.

In a preferred embodiment the magnetic clasp of the present invention is used to form a bottle holder for use in a water sports board, the bottle holder having a board portion which incorporates the female portion of the clasp and a bottle engaging portion which incorporates the male portion of the clasp.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

It will be convenient to further describe the invention with reference to preferred embodiments of the present invention. Other embodiments are possible, and consequently the particularity of the following discussion is not to be understood as superseding the generality of the preceding description of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective of a stand-up paddleboard having a bottle holder employing a magnetic clasp in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the bottle holder in the paddleboard of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an upper perspective of a female portion of the bottle holder of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the female portion of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the female portion of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6A is a cross sectional view through the female portion of FIG. 3, taken along line A-A of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6B is a cross sectional view through the female portion of FIG. 3, taken along line B-B of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a lower perspective of a male portion of the bottle holder of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a side view of the male portion of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a plan view from underneath of the male portion of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view through the male portion of FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the Figures, FIG. 1 shows a stand-up paddleboard 10 having a bottle holder 12 located within an upper surface thereof. The bottle holder 12 uses a magnetic clasp having two constituents: a female portion 20 which is fixed by suitable means (such as adhesive) into the upper surface of the paddleboard 10 and a male portion 50. The male portion 50 has an upper surface 52 which is, in use, adhered to a bottle such as a water bottle.

The female portion 20 is generally circular, with a generally annular outer rim 22 which tapers upwards towards the centre, and a generally cylindrical receiving portion 24 which extends inwardly of the female portion 20. The receiving portion 24 has a generally cylindrical side wall 26.

The receiving portion 24 has a circular base portion 28 centrally located; that is, co-axial with the receiving portion. The circular base portion 28 has a radius of about 55% to 60% that of the receiving portion 24. The circular base portion 28 has a height about 60% that of the outer rim 22; that is, there is a vertical space between the top of the side wall 26 and the level of the circular base portion 28 equal to about 40% of the height of the female portion 20.

There is an annulus 30 between the circular base portion 28 and the side wall 26. Two partially annular engaging portions 32 are located within the annulus 30. The partially annular engaging portions 32 each slope through 180° from a base position 34 which is at the bottom of the female portion 20 to an upper position 36 at the height of the circular base portion 28. The effect is to create a curving ramp. There is a step-change in height each 180° , representing shoulders 37.

An extension portion 38 extends a further 30° around the circumference of the side wall 26 from the upper position 36 of each partially annular engaging portion 32. The extension portion 38 is at a constant height, being the height of the circular base portion 28. The extension portion 38 has a width about 10% of the diameter of the side wall 26. As a result, a curved introductory space 40 is formed between each extension portion 38 and the circular base portion 28, with the introductory space positioned about the lowest part of the other partially annular engaging portion 32. The arrangement is such that the extension portion 38 and the lowest part of the other partially annular engaging portion 32 effectively create an internal thread.

The female portion 20 has a permanent magnet 42 encased within the circular base portion 28.

The male portion 50 has two parts: a bottle connection portion 54 and a mating portion 56. The bottle connection portion 54 has an outer surface which is the upper surface 52 of the male portion 50, and a generally flat, circular lower surface 58.

The mating portion 56 projects downwardly from the lower surface 58 of the bottle connection portion 54. The mating portion 56 has a generally cylindrical side wall 60. The side wall 60 encloses a circular housing 62, coaxial with the lower surface 58 and vertically spaced from it.

The side wall 60 is formed from two side wall portions 64, each of which extends through 180°. Each side wall portion 64 varies in depth around its circumference, from a high point 66 at the same height as the circular housing 62, to a low point 68 about twice the depth of the high point. The effect is to create a curving ramp which is complementary to the curving ramp of the partially annular engaging portions 32 of the female portion 20. There is a step-change in height each 180°, representing shoulders 69.

The mating portion 56 includes two outer wings 70. The outer wings 70 are located on an external side of each side wall portion 64, close to the low point 68. The outer wings 70 extend along about 30° circumference of the side wall 60, and are angled relative to the circumference so as to be parallel to the slope of the side wall portions 64.

The male portion 50 includes a permanent magnet 72 encased centrally within the circular housing 62.

The arrangement is such that the mating portion 56 of the male portion 50 is able to engage with the female portion 20. The male portion 50 is lowered into the female portion 20 until the low points 68 of the side wall portions 64 engage with the upper positions 36 of the partially annular engaging portions 32.

The permanent magnet 72 of the male portion 50 is attracted to the permanent magnet 42 of the female portion 20. The resulting magnetic attraction causes the male portion 50 to move axially into the female portion 20. The curving ramps of the partially annular engaging portions 32 and the side wall portions 64 interact to cause the male portion 50 to be rotated about its axis during this axial movement. During this rotation the outer wings 70 locate beneath the extension portions 38, and act as an external thread engaging with the effective internal thread of the female portion 20.

Rotation ends when the shoulders 69 of the male portion 50 engage with the shoulders 37 of the female portion 20.

The attraction of the permanent magnet 72 of the male portion 50 to the permanent magnet 42 of the female portion 20 maintains the male portion 50 (and any attached bottle) in a rigid position until required by a user.

Modifications and variations as would be apparent to a skilled addressee are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A magnetic clasp, the magnetic clasp comprising:

a female portion including a generally circular receiving portion comprising at least one engaging portion located in an internal annulus, the engaging portion of the female portion being variable in height around a circumference and

a male portion having a complementary shaped mating portion comprising an annular or part-annular projection which is variable in height around a circumference;

at least one of the receiving portion and the mating portion including a permanent magnet and the other of the aperture and the mating portion having a ferromagnetic element within.

2. A magnetic clasp as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ferromagnetic element is a second permanent magnet.

3. A magnetic clasp as claimed in claim 1, wherein the projection of the male portion is arranged to engage with the engaging portion of the female portion by rotation.

4. A magnetic clasp as claimed in claim 3, wherein the engaging portion of the female portion includes an extension portion which acts to form an internal thread.

5. A magnetic clasp as claimed in claim 4, wherein the projection of the male portion includes outer wings which act to form an external thread.

6. A magnetic clasp as claimed in claim 5, wherein the external thread of the male portion is arranged to engage within the internal thread of the female portion.

7. A magnetic clasp as claimed in claim 1, wherein the permanent magnet is aligned with a central axis of the magnetic clasp.

8. A bottle holder for use in a water sports board, the bottle holder comprising a board portion including a generally circular receiving portion comprising at least one engaging portion located in an internal annulus, the engaging portion of the board portion being variable in height around a circumference, and

a bottle portion having a complementary shaped mating portion comprising an annular or part-annular projection which is variable in height around a circumference;

at least one of the receiving portion and the mating portion including a permanent magnet and the other of the aperture and the mating portion having a ferromagnetic element within.