Patent Application
20050183652
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for attaching a canvas top to a header of a boat windshield.
Most boats are provided with a cover or a canopy to partially or fully enclose an open area such as the cockpit of the boat. Such covers are often attached at a front edge to the header of the windshield assembly. The most common fasteners used are a round metal snap with a male portion affixed to the boat and a cooperating female portion attached to the cover. These fasteners are a source of problems due to exposure of the male portions when the cover is not in use, ease of breakage, and misalignment due to stretching or shrinking of the cover.
It remains desirable to provide an apparatus for attaching a canvas system to a header of a boat windshield that allows for easy attachment and removal of the canvas system in a cost effective and efficient manner.
The present invention concerns an apparatus for enclosing an open area of a boat comprising: a canvas system including a fabric sheet having an edge formed thereon; a header extrusion mounted on an upper edge of a boat windshield, the header extrusion having a longitudinally extending and outwardly opening slot formed therein; and a plurality of fasteners attached to the fabric sheet at spaced apart locations, each fastener including a hook releasably engaged in the slot.
The fasteners can be attached to the fabric sheet by in situ molding in a corresponding aperture formed in fabric sheet. Alternatively, the fasteners include an outer portion and an inner portion adhered together, the outer portion having a recess formed therein and the inner portion having a pin extending therefrom through an aperture formed in the fabric sheet and into the recess.
In another embodiment, the fasteners are formed of an outer portion and an integral inner portion, the outer portion extending through an aperture formed in the fabric sheet being deformed after installation. Alternatively, the fasteners have a body with the hook extending therefrom and a flange extending outwardly from the body and being attached to the fabric sheet.
A strip can be attached to the edge of the fabric sheet with the fasteners being attached to the strip. The fasteners each include a sloped lower end on the hook for assisting entry into and exit from the slot. Preferably, the fastener is formed from a plastic material. Each fastener can have a body and a post connecting the body with the hook. A reinforcing strip can be attached to the fabric sheet at the edge.
The advantages of the attachment apparatus in accordance with the present invention include: the fastener will not corrode; the fastener will not mar or scratch the windshield header extrusion regardless of the number of times the fasteners are attached and detached from the extrusion; and there are no exposed fasteners on the header extrusion when the canvas is removed, advantageously providing a smooth and visually pleasing appearance. This attachment apparatus also can be used on the windshield bottom extrusion and elsewhere on the boat.
The above, as well as other advantages of the present invention, will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment when considered in the light of the accompanying drawings in which:
There is shown in
The header extrusion 13 is formed of a suitable material, typically an aluminum material, and includes a pair of spaced apart downwardly extending legs, an outer leg 14 and an inner leg 15, defining a channel 16 therebetween having an open bottom. An upper end of the channel 16 is closed by a hollow head or cap 17. The head 17 includes a bottom wall 17a that extends between the legs 14 and 15. Facing surfaces of the legs 14 and 15 have serrations 18 formed thereon extending generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of the extrusion 13. An upper edge 19 of the windshield glass 12 is received in a channel of a generally U-shaped gasket 20 formed of a suitable resilient or elastic material such as rubber, vinyl, or the like. Each side surface of the gasket has a plurality of ribs 21 formed thereon extending generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of the gasket. When the upper edge 19 of the windshield 12 is received in the gasket 20 and the gasket 20 is inserted into the channel 16, the ribs 21 engage adjacent ones of the serrations 18 to robustly retain the header extrusion 13 on the upper edge 19 of the windshield 12. When assembled together, the windshield glass 12, the header extrusion 13, and the gasket 20 form the windshield system.
The head 17 has a longitudinally extending, outwardly opening slot 22 formed in an outer side surface adjacent an upper end of the outer leg 14. The slot 22 is configured to releasably retain a fastener 23 which, as described below, can be inserted anywhere along the length of the slot 22. The fastener 23 represents one of a plurality of such fasteners attached to the fabric sheet 11 at spaced apart locations along an edge 11a. In order to prevent fraying of the edge 11a and strengthen the canvas system, a reinforcing strip 24 is folded over the edge 11a and attached to the fabric sheet 11 by any suitable means such as sewing or gluing. The strip 24 can be formed of the same material as the sheet 11, or any other suitable material. The fastener 23 is shown in
The fastener 23 is preferably formed of any suitable plastic material including, but not limited to nylon, polyacetal and Delrin (a registered trademark of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company) materials. The material must be somewhat resilient to permit a slight distortion during insertion into and removal from the slot 22, and strong enough to resist unintended disengagement from the slot 22 due to forces acting on the canvas system, for example wind and/or water. As shown in
The fastener 23 can be installed directly in the fabric sheet 11 or in a separate strip that is attached, such as by stitching or the like to the fabric sheet 11. There is shown in
A first alternate embodiment fastener 23a is shown in
A second alternate embodiment fastener 23b is shown in
A third alternative embodiment fastener 23c, similar to the fastener 23 of
A portion of the canvas 11 is shown in
When it is desired to detach the canvas system from the windshield system, the edge 11a at the reinforcing strip 24 is grasped and moved in a direction, indicated by an arrow 38, that is opposite to the direction of the engagement arrow 29. The force applied rotates the fastener 23 in a clockwise direction and remove the post 27 and the hook 28 from the slot 22 to release the canvas system from the windshield system. The sloped surface 28b on the hook 28 of the fasteners 23, 23a, 23b, and 23c assists in the removal from the slot 22 by providing a ramp surface that slides against the lower flange 22b. Similarly, the sloped surface 28b assists in the installation of the fasteners 23, 23a, 23b, and 23c into the slot 22 when the canvas system is being attached to the windshield system.
Advantages of the attachment apparatus 10 according to the present invention over prior art attachment systems include: that the fasteners 23, 23a, 23b and 23c will not corrode; the fasteners 23, 23a, 23b and 23c will not mar or scratch the header extrusion 13; the fasteners 23, 23a, 23b and 23c do not have to be aligned with complementary fasteners fixed on the header extrusion 13; and there are no exposed fasteners on the header extrusion 13 when the canvas system is removed. The attachment apparatus 10 also can be used on a windshield bottom extrusion (not shown) or any other extrusion on the boat that is provided with the slot 22. Furthermore, the slot 22 and the hook 28 could be rotated 180° and function in a similar manner.
In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, the present invention has been described in what is considered to represent its preferred embodiment. However, it should be noted that the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described without departing from its spirit or scope.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/514,705 filed Oct. 27, 2003.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60514705 | Oct 2003 | US |
