Automation Transforming Skateboard Manufacturing Processes

Manufacturing emission free vehicles that can be operated without a top-hat (or cabin) or after the top-hat is attached and thus the skateboard can be controlled to route through assembly processes to finalize the vehicle top-hat build without or with a substantial reduction of equipment such as conveyors, automatic guided vehicles and other mechanical or electrical conveyance systems used for transporting skateboards or top-hats for assembly. The skateboard can be a battery powered self-contained skateboard with many electronic components including sensors, Lidar, Radar, GPS, Cameras, Ultra-sonic sensors, Potentiometers, locating/actuating sensors with their control units interfaced to central processor to establish communications.

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Motorized wheel assembly for light electric vehicles like skateboards that allows easy wheel replacement and reduces damage to wiring and components. The assembly features a quick-release mechanism for the wheel to be mounted onto an axle with a socket. The motor and wiring are housed inside the axle, hanger, and truck channels, providing protection.

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Automated method to accurately manufacture boards like skateboards and wakeboards from blanks with undefined shapes. The method involves scanning the blank with a vision system, calculating a milling path to shape the board, and using robots to mill the blank into a precise board body. The system can also use robots to print custom images on the boards.

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Skateboard deck construction method to improve strength, durability, and performance compared to standard decks. The method involves using composite layers, protective tipfills, and side edges. The composite layers are precut and inlayed into the tipfills and side edges to protect the composite. This prevents chipping and delamination. The tipfills and side edges are made of materials like plastic to further protect the inner layers. The composite layers, like carbon fiber, reduce weight while increasing strength. The composite inlay, tipfills, and side edges provide better protection and durability compared to just composite layers or just wood layers.

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A skateboard deck design that provides improved stiffness and flex characteristics in longboards compared to traditional wood or composite decks. The deck is made by injection molding a thermoplastic material reinforced with glass fiber. The deck has features like integrated truck mounting bases, a torsion member between the trucks, and longitudinal stiffening ribs. These features, along with the positive cambered shape, provide better stiffness and flattening under load compared to flat decks. The injection molding process allows controlled composition and processing to optimize material properties for skateboarding applications.

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Structural reinforcement device for skateboards that prevents deck cracks and failure when attaching trucks. The device is inserted between the truck baseplate and deck to increase contact area and spread load. It has a pattern of holes matching the truck bolt pattern. This prevents stress concentrations and cracks around the bolt holes when tightening the truck bolts. The device can be made of rigid material like metal or plastic. It extends beyond the truck baseplate edges to provide full coverage.

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Skateboard deck made from a single molded piece of heat-formable material like polycarbonate. The deck has compressive mounts that engage skateboard truck bolts without damaging the deck. The molded deck can have compound angles and shapes not possible with traditional wooden decks. It uses a separate compressive mount that surrounds the truck bolts instead of drilling into the deck. This prevents cracking and splitting when engaging the trucks. The molded deck can also have light transmission properties if made from clear material.

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Skateboard truck design to lower the center of gravity and improve ride quality while maintaining deck integrity. The trucks have a base plate that attaches to the bottom of the skateboard deck. Instead of extending through cutouts in the deck like traditional drop through trucks, the base plate stays inside the deck. The pivot cup of the truck protrudes through a small opening in the deck. This keeps the weight lower without the stress concentration risers of drop through trucks. The bushing inside the pivot cup reduces vibration transfer to the deck. The trucks also have a bushing inside the pivot cup that engages the hanger to reduce vibration transferred to the deck.

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Skateboard with a flexible core sandwiched between molded hard skin covers. The skateboard has a deck made of a flexible plywood core sandwiched between molded hard skin covers at the top and bottom. The molded covers provide a shaped surface with features like wheel wells and grip patterns, while the flexible core allows flex and concave curvature for improved control and comfort. The skateboard is made by molding the covers separately and then assembling them with adhesive onto the core.

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Skateboard deck construction that improves strength and durability in the areas most prone to breakage. The deck has a fiber-reinforced composite member with an ovoid shape that radiates outward from the truck mount zone and terminates between the truck mount and the deck edge. This member disperses impact forces and reinforces the deck in the vulnerable truck mount area. It can be inserted into aligned apertures between layers, or bonded directly to the bottom layer. The composite member is thicker than the deck layers around it to absorb impacts.

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Skateboard deck with reinforced region to prevent deck failure without exposing the reinforcement when the deck edges wear down. The deck has a layer spaced from the bottom surface with a fiber-reinforced material received in an opening. A protective side barrier forms a sidewall around the reinforced region. This provides a rupture-resistant skateboard deck where the reinforced region prevents common deck failure modes without exposing the reinforcement when the edges wear.

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Method to improve skateboard deck strength and durability without adding weight or sacrificing resonance. It involves inserting non-wood materials like carbon fiber, Kevlar, or metal alloys into the wood layers during deck manufacturing. This reinforces the deck internally without adding external thickness. The non-wood materials are placed strategically to target high-stress areas like near the wheel mounts. This prevents deck breakage from impacts without increasing weight.

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