Patent Application
20090107383
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The present invention applies to thru-hull fittings or specifically a seacock which is below the normal waterline of a marine vessel to prevent water intrusion by the application of an externally (water-side) applied plug device.
Related art consist primarily of circular plugs that are designed for a perfectly round hole. These plugs can be applied either internally or externally as the thru-hull is not equipped with an isolation valve for their intended above waterline use. Examples of circular plugs are taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,390,007 and 1,446,812 while a screw-type permanent plug is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,547. Non plugging, but protective caps are taught in U.S. Pat. No. 7,210,423.
Marine vessels have below water line penetrations, called seacocks or thru hull penetrations that allow for the flow of seawater from outside of the hull to the inside of the hull. These fittings normally have an isolation valve on the inside of the vessel and then are connected to various types of pipes and/or hoses to direct water for myriad uses such as engine cooling and head flushing. The seacock external fitting is circular in nature but typically has two 180° apart and raised sections (called fins in this work) that allow for a special tool to hold the fixture secure while assembling the complete device, typically with a threaded nut on the interior of the hull. These raised sections or fins make the hole unsuitable for normal round plugs because these two fins prevent the smooth and continuous formation of a watertight seal.
The round hull drain plugs are ubiquitous in the marine industry provide a smooth circular, typically rubber, gasket material that works well with correspondingly smooth circular thru hull fittings. These do not work in typical seacock fittings and as such maintenance of the internal valves, piping and associated hoses require the haul out of marine vessels to a dry dock or other such out of water configuration. This haul out is costly and can only be accomplished at special facilities for vessels that are not normally transported on trailers. This invention would typically apply to power boats of greater than 10 meters in length and nearly all fixed-keel sailboats.
The seacock external plug of the present invention provides for the novel ability to plug a thru-hull opening from the external or waterside of the fitting to allow for maintenance of the internal valves, piping and/or hoses while maintaining the marine vessel waterborne. The present invention does not modify or improve prior art for their intended purpose, however, similar attributes of the circular drain plug system as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,390,007 are used a small component of this invention in an entirely novel manner, specifically as a locking mechanism and not as a drain plug proper.
The figures shown depict only exemplary configurations that may be employed for the present invention. Those skilled in the art will recognize variations to the figures presented herein. The features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when read with the accompanying drawings in which:
With reference to the figures, exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described. Before proceeding to a detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention and alternate embodiments, several general comments should be made about the applicability and the scope of the present invention. The scope of the invention disclosed is applicable to a plurality of uses, such as but not limited to other devices where a plug is required for an irregular shaped inner area of a hole. Thus even though embodiments are described specifically to marine vessel hulls, the present invention is applicable to other uses or applications.
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