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.

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.