Standup paddle board chair and conversion kit

Abstract

A convertible chair for a standup paddle board includes a seat portion having a first fabric structure defining a seat of the convertible chair and a pair of seat portion wings extending away from the seat. The seat portion further includes a first pair of structural members embedded in the first fabric structure and cooperating to define a boundary of the seat. The seat portion further incudes a hinge assembly embedded in the first fabric structure and fixed to each structural member of the first pair of structural members. The convertible chair further includes a back portion having a second fabric structure defining a back of the convertible chair and a pair of back portion wings extending away from the back. The back portion further includes a second pair of structural members embedded in the second fabric structure and cooperating to define a boundary of the back.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A convertible chair for a standup paddle board, the convertible chair comprising:
 a seat portion comprising
 a first fabric structure defining a seat of the convertible chair and a pair of seat portion wings extending away from the seat, 
 a first pair of structural members embedded in the first fabric structure and cooperating to define a boundary of the seat, and 
 a hinge assembly embedded in the first fabric structure and fixed to each structural member of the first pair of structural members; and 
   a back portion comprising
 a second fabric structure defining a back of the convertible chair and a pair of back portion wings extending away from the back, and 
 a second pair of structural members embedded in the second fabric structure and cooperating to define a boundary of the back, 
   wherein, the seat portion and the back portion are moveably coupled along the first fabric structure and the second fabric structure, and   wherein,
 in a first open configuration, the pair of seat portion wings is removably coupled to pair of back portion wings, and the hinge assembly defines a rigid bridge between the first pair of structural members that is configured to maintain the convertible chair in the first open configuration when the seat is occupied by a rider, and 
 in a second stowed configuration, the hinge assembly is foldable to collapse the convertible chair along longitudinal axis of the convertible chair when unoccupied by the rider. 
   
     
     
         2 . The convertible chair of  claim 1 , wherein the hinge assembly comprises
 a first hinge portion,   a second hinge portion, and   a pin, wherein the first and second hinge portions are pivotally coupled to one another about the pin, and wherein the first and second hinge portions are configured to have a 180° range of motion or less about the pin.   
     
     
         3 . The convertible chair of  claim 2 , wherein
 the first hinge portion comprises
 a first leaf, 
 a first hinge feature arranged at a first end of the first leaf, and 
 a first sheath arranged at a second end of the first leaf opposite the first end, and 
   the second hinge portion comprises
 a second leaf, 
 a second hinge feature arranged at a first end of the second leaf, and 
 a second sheath arranged at a second end of the second leaf opposite the first end. 
   
     
     
         4 . The convertible chair of  claim 3 , wherein
 the first sheath is fixed to a first structural member of the first pair of structural members, and   the second sheath is fixed to a second structural member of the second pair of structural members.   
     
     
         5 . The convertible chair of  claim 4 , wherein each of the first sheath and the second sheath includes a slotted feature configured to receive a respective structural member of the first pair of structural members. 
     
     
         6 . The convertible chair of  claim 3 , wherein each of the first hinge feature and the second hinge feature includes a stop configured to prevent the hinge assembly from having a range of motion of greater than 180°. 
     
     
         7 . The convertible chair of  claim 6 , wherein the range of motion extends from the rigid bridge along a path extending away from a rider receiving region of the convertible chair. 
     
     
         8 . The convertible chair of  claim 1 , wherein
 the hinge assembly has a hinge assembly width dimension that runs parallel with a rotational axis of the hinge assembly,   the first fabric structure has a first fabric structure width dimension that run parallel with the first pair of structural members, and   the hinge assembly width dimension is less than half of the first fabric structure dimension.   
     
     
         9 . The convertible chair of  claim 1 , wherein
 the first pair of structural members are arranged embedded within the first fabric structure and parallel to one another, the first pair of structural members remaining parallel to one another in each of the first open configuration and the second stowed configuration,   the second pair of structural members are arranged embedded within the second fabric structure and parallel to one another, the second pair of structural members remaining parallel to one another in each of the first open configuration and the second stowed configuration,   in the first open configuration, the first pair of structural members are arranged transverse to the second pair of structural members, and   in the second stowed configuration, the first pair of structural members are arranged parallel to the second pair of structural members.   
     
     
         10 . The convertible chair of  claim 1 , wherein the first pair of structural members and the second pair of structural members are each formed from a material having a rigidity greater than a rigidity of either the first fabric structure or the second fabric structure. 
     
     
         11 . The convertible chair of  claim 1 , further comprising
 a pair of first fasteners, each fastener of the pair of first fasteners attached to a respective seat portion wing of the pair of seat portion wings,   a pair of second fasteners, each fastener of the pair of second fasteners attached to a respective back portion wing of the pair of back portion wings, and   in the open configuration, the pair of seat portion wings is removably coupled with the pair of back portion wings via a removable coupling of corresponding first and second fasteners of the first and second pair of fasteners.   
     
     
         12 . The convertible chair of  claim 11 , wherein each of the corresponding first and second fasteners define a buckle having a side-release feature that is configured to release the corresponding first and second fasteners upon depression. 
     
     
         13 . The convertible chair of  claim 1 , wherein the convertible chair is configured to transition between the first open configuration and the second stowed configuration by
 first folding the first fabric structure and the second fabric structure toward one another about a seam joining the first fabric structure and the second fabric structure, and   subsequent to the first folding, second folding the first and second fabric structures together in half and along a 180° limited range of motion of the hinge assembly.   
     
     
         14 . A standup paddle board conversion system, the system comprising
 the convertible chair of  claim 1 ; and   convertible paddle assembly comprising
 a main paddle structure, 
 a T-handle structure removably couplable to the main paddle structure, and 
 a secondary paddle structure removably couplable with the main paddle structure, 
   wherein, in the second stowed configuration, the secondary paddle structure is held within and substantially concealed by the first and second fabric structures.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the secondary paddle structure comprises
 a secondary paddle, and   an attachment fitting integrally connected to the secondary paddle.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the secondary paddle structure defines a receiving slot configured to receive between 4 inches and 6 inches of an end of the main paddle structure. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the convertible paddle assembly is configured to transition between
 a SUP configuration in which the T-handle is removably coupled to main paddle structure and the secondary paddle structure is held within the convertible chair, and   a kayak configuration in which the T-handle is removed from the main paddle structure and the secondary paddle is removably coupled to the main paddle structure.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein
 the system further comprises a standup paddle board having a netted cargo hold arranged on a top surface of the standup paddle board, and   the convertible chair is stowable within the netted cargo hold in the second stowed configuration.   
     
     
         19 . A method of converting a standup paddle board, the method comprising
 providing the system of claim  18 , the system having the convertible chair stowed within the netted cargo hold and the secondary paddle structure held therein, and the T-handle structure being coupled to an end of the main paddle structure;   removing the convertible chair from the netted cargo hold;   removing the secondary paddle structure from the convertible chair;   replacing the T-handle structure with the secondary paddle structure;   unfolding the convertible chair;   placing the convertible chair on a portion of the top surface of the standup paddle board; and   causing the rider to occupy the seat of the convertible chair.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the unfolding comprises
 first unfolding the first and second fabric structures along a 180° limited range of motion of the hinge assembly, and   subsequent to the first unfolding, second unfolding the first fabric structure and the second fabric structure away from one another about a seam joining the first fabric structure and the second fabric structure.