The Burton Corporation

Edward Giard

Douglas Arthur Marsden

Benjamin Janes Beck

Christopher M Doyle

John Earle

David Gerard Harting

Christopher C Cunningham

Scott T Keller

G Scott Barbieri

Bryan S Davis

Kahlil Zaloom

Baron C Brandt

Hubert S Schaller

A highback is provided for controlling a gliding board, such as a snowboard, through leg movement of a rider. The highback is comprised of an upright support member to support a rear region of the rider's leg. The highback includes a textile-like material that extends across a portion of the support member to provide support for a portion of the rider's leg. The support member may have an opening therein with the textile-like material extending across the opening to assist in transmitting forces applied to that region of the support member as the rider presses against the highback during riding maneuvers. The textile-like material may help to distribute forces across a larger area of the rider's leg or boot so as to reduce pressure points against the rider's leg. The textile-like material may include one or more filaments, a fabric, or a fabric-like material that is coupled to the support member to support the rider's leg. The textile-like material may include a mesh fabric.

Highback with textile-like material for support

A braking feature is provided that can resist gliding board runaway, i.e., uncontrolled gliding without a rider, or other movement of a gliding board, e.g., a gliding device having no foot bindings. The braking feature may always be active to resist gliding board movement, and/or resist movement only when a rider is not supported on the gliding device. Activation of a braking feature may be delayed. The braking feature may be controlled based on a force urging a bottom surface of the gliding device into contact with the gliding surface, e.g., the braking feature may be deactivated if the weight of a rider is supported on the gliding device. A force that deactivates a braking feature may be made adjustable, e.g., to accommodate riders of different weights or to provide different braking feature responses.

Methods and apparatus for resisting gliding device runaway

Growing community of inventors

South Burlington, VT, United States of America

Edward Giard