Claims
- 1. A boat canopy retaining assembly for retaining a boat canopy to the windshield of a boat, the retaining assembly comprising:
- a header for attachment to the top edge of a boat windshield, the header including a pair of legs extending therefrom, the legs being adapted to grip the boat windshield, the header having at least one channel with a restricted opening defined by a locking tab having a free end partially closing the channel, the locking tab has an inner wall which is inclined at an acute angle with respect to the longitudinal centerline of the header and which slopes away from the free end of the locking tab to define an internal cavity having a reduced diameter opening;
- a resilient canopy locking member for attachment to a boat canopy, the canopy locking member including at least one resilient locking flange for insertion into the restricted opening, the locking flange having a body portion ending in a locking finger protruding outwardly from the body portion, the locking finger being angled with respect to the body portion at an acute included angle to mate with the inner wall of the locking tab and to extend into the cavity when the locking flange is inserted into the restricted opening;
- whereby a boat canopy can be repeatedly connected to and disconnected from the windshield by forcing the locking flange into the channel of the header and the locking finger into the cavity by positioning the locking flange adjacent the channel and thereafter pressing against the locking member to force the flange into the channel and the locking finger into the cavity, the locking member being removable from the channel by pulling the locking member away from the header to disengage the flange from the channel and the locking finger from the cavity.
- 2. The boat canopy retaining assembly of claim 1, further including a windshield upon which the header is mounted and a boat canopy upon which the locking member is mounted.
- 3. A boat canopy retaining assembly for retaining a boat canopy to the windshield of a boat, the retaining assembly comprising:
- a header for attachment to the top edge of a boat windshield, the header including a pair of legs extending therefrom, the legs being adapted to grip the boat windshield, and at least one channel having a restricted opening defined by a locking tab partially closing the channel;
- a resilient canopy locking member for attachment to a boat canopy, the canopy locking member including at least one resilient locking flange for insertion into the restricted opening, the locking flange having a body portion ending in a locking finger protruding outwardly from the body portion, the locking finger being angled with respect to the body portion at an acute included angle to define a generally arrow-like shape to facilitate insertion of the locking flange into the restricted opening, the locking finger and body portion having an overall width which is normally greater than the width of the restricted opening, the locking finger being flexible such that it can bend with respect to the body portion as the locking flange is inserted into the restricted opening;
- whereby a boat canopy can be repeatedly connected to and disconnected from the windshield by forcing the locking flange into the channel of the header by positioning the locking flanges adjacent to the channel and thereafter pressing against the locking member to force the flanges into the channel, the locking member being removable from the channel by pulling the locking member away from the header to disengage the flange from the channel.
- 4. The boat canopy retaining assembly of claim 3, wherein the locking tab has a tree end partially closing the channel and an inner wall which is inclined at an acute angle with respect to the longitudinal centerline of the header and which slopes away from the free end of the locking tab to define an internal cavity having a reduced diameter opening.
- 5. The boat canopy retaining assembly of claim 4 wherein the locking finger mates with the inner wall of the locking tab and extends into the cavity when the locking flange is inserted into the restricted opening.
- 6. The boat canopy retaining assembly of claim 3, further including a windshield upon which the header is mounted and a boat canopy upon which the locking member is mounted.
Parent Case Info
This is a continuation of applications Ser. No. 08/213,992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,327 filed on Mar. 14, 1994, which is a file wrapper continuation of Ser. No. 07/914,247 filed on Jul. 15, 1992, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (34)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
1092452 |
Nov 1964 |
GBX |
Continuations (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
213992 |
Mar 1994 |
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Parent |
914247 |
Jul 1992 |
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