Users of marine vessels frequently desire to ingress and egress their vessels in water, such as when visiting a beach, fishing, swimming, etc. Users of marine vessels typically ingress and egress their vessels in water by using a ladder. Ladders on marine vessels tend to be cumbersome, create safety hazards to users, are difficult to deploy and retract, and cane be left down which impedes movement of the small marine vessel. Moreover, users of recreational vessels usually manually anchor the vessel in water prior to egressing the vessel to ensure that the vessel does not float away while the users are away from the vessel. A present need exists for a ladder that can be deployed from a vessel and/or that may anchor the vessel in shallow water.
According to an implementation described herein, a deployable marine system for anchoring a vessel in a body of water and to enable a user to ingress into the vessel from the body of water or egress out of the vessel and into the body of water may include an anchor-ladder device and a deployment device. The anchor-ladder device may include a first member and one or more steps. The first member may include a first end and a second end opposite the first end, the second end being associated with an anchoring component that is connectable to a bottom of the body of water to anchor the vessel. The one or more steps may be attached to the first member and may be able to support the loads imparted by the user when ingressing into or egressing out of the vessel. The deployment device may be attached to the vessel and may be connected to the first member in proximity to the first end of the first member. The deployment device may be able to deploy the anchor-ladder device into the body of water or to retract the anchor-ladder device from the body of water.
According to another implementation described herein, an anchor-ladder device for anchoring a vessel in a body of water and to enable a user to ingress into the vessel from the body of water or egress out of the vessel and into the body of water, may include a member and one or more steps attached to the member and able to support the loads imparted by the user when ingressing into or egressing out of the vessel. The member may include a first end and a second end opposite the first end. The first end of the member may be connectable to a rod mechanism or a deployment device. The second end of the member may be associated with an anchoring component that is connectable to a bottom of the body of water to anchor the vessel. The member may further include a hollow channel and a rod that extends longitudinally through the hollow channel. The rod may further include a third end that is connectable to a deployment device or a rod mechanism and a fourth end connected to the anchoring component.
According to a further implementation described herein, an anchor-ladder device for anchoring a vessel in a body of water and to enable a user to ingress into the vessel from the body of water or egress out of the vessel and into the body of water, may include a first member having a first end and a second end opposite the first end, the second end being associated with an anchoring component that is connectable to a bottom of the body of water to anchor the vessel, the first end being connectable to a deployment device. The anchor-ladder device may further include a second member generally parallel with the first member. The anchor-ladder device may further include one or more steps pivotally connected to the first member and the second member, the one or more steps being able to support the loads imparted by the user when ingressing into or egressing out of the vessel.
An apparatus, system, method and/or technology, as described herein, may include a deployable marine system that may: (1) anchor a vessel in a body of water; (2) enable users to safely and comfortably ingress and egress the vessel; and (3) anchor the vessel in a body of water and simultaneously enable users to safely and comfortably ingress and egress the vessel. For example, the deployable marine system may include an anchor-ladder device that, when deployed in a manner described herein, anchors a vessel in a body of water. The anchor-ladder device may include one or more steps (described in greater detail below) to enable users to safely and comfortably ingress from the water to the vessel and/or egress from the vessel to the water. The anchor-ladder device may also, or alternatively, include an anchoring component to anchor the vessel to the bottom. The anchor-ladder device may include a collapsible ladder (e.g. retractable steps, expandable length, etc.), a conventional ladder, or any other style of device deployable to anchor a vessel and/or permit a user to ingress and/or egress a vessel. One or more deployable marine systems may be used on a vessel.
The deployable marine system may be automatically and/or manually deployed into the water and/or bottom, and/or retracted from the water and/or bottom. The deployable marine system may anchor the vessel by deploying the anchor-ladder device into the water and causing an anchoring component of the anchor-ladder device to make contact with, become embedded within, engage, and/or otherwise become connected to the bottom of the body of water. The anchoring component may also, or alternatively, be associated with an rod (e.g., a pin, spike, auger, and/or some other attachment device) that can be automatically and/or manually extended to make contact with, become embedded within, engage, and/or otherwise become connected to the bottom of a body of water to anchor the vessel. The components illustrated in
One or more marine deployable marine systems 105 may be mounted to vessel 100. While deployable marine system 105 is depicted in
Anchor-ladder device 110, to be described in greater detail in
Deployment device 120 may be attached to a vessel and may be connected (e.g. screw connection, brackets, pins, etc.) to one or more components of anchor ladder device 110. Deployment device 120 may be located partially inside of anchor-ladder device 110, such when deployment device is used to eoperate a component (e.g. a rod, a step, a ladder, etc.) associated with anchor ladder device 110. Deployment device 120 may include one or more components that enables anchor-ladder device 110 to be stored in a first position, as shown in
As shown in
Alternatively, as shown in
Member 405 may be formed from a material (e.g., a metal alloy, composite, polymer, wood, ceramic, fiberglass, etc.) of sufficient strength and rigidity to support the weight of users using member 405, as well as any static and/or dynamic loads (e.g., forces, torques, tensions, compressions, stresses, strains, etc.) imparted on member 405 by the deployment device 120 (e.g., when deploying anchor-ladder device 110 into or retracting anchor-latter device 110 from bottom 101), vessel 100 via deployment device 120 (e.g, when floating on the surface of body of water 102 in changing conditions such as changing tides, currents, rough water, etc.), users when ingressing to and/or egressing from vessel 100, and/or any additional components of the deployable marine system 105. Member 405 may also, or alternatively, be formed from a material (e.g., stainless steel, polymer, composite, ceramic, fiberglass, etc.) of sufficient corrosion resistance and toughness to withstand exposure to water, air, saltwater, cleaning solvents, etc. as well as abrasive materials. (e.g. shells, sand, grit etc.). Member 405 may be composed of one or more pieces. The types and shapes of member 405 are not intended to be limited to those shown in
Member 405 may have a first end and a second end opposite the first end. A deployment device (e.g. deployment device 120, vertical deployment device 220, rotatable deployment device 320, etc.) may connected (e.g. fasteners, welding, a track system, bracketry, etc.) to member in proximity to the first end. The second end may be connected to anchoring component 430. Member 405 may be connected to steps 410.
Step 410 may form rungs of a ladder and be made from a material (e.g., a metal alloy, composite, polymer, wood, ceramic, fiberglass, etc.) of sufficient strength and rigidity to support of the weight of the users ingressing and egressing the vessel 100 as well as any other static and/or dynamic loads (e.g. forces, torques tensions, compressions, etc.) imparted to the steps 410. Steps 410 may also be formed from a material (e.g., stainless steel, polymer, composite, ceramic, fiberglass, etc.) of sufficient corrosion resistance and toughness to withstand exposure to water, air, saltwater, cleaning solvents, etc. as well as abrasive materials (e.g. shells, sand, grit etc.). Steps 410 may be composed of one or more pieces. Step 410 may have a sufficient thickness and/or strength to enable a user to grip step 410 with a hand and/or step on step 410 with a foot and/or to withstand the weight of the user while ascending or descending anchor-ladder device 110. Step 410 may be formed with a cross section or shape (e.g. flat, curved, rounded, etc) to allow users to comfortably and safely climb on and/or ingress or egress vessel 100. The cross section and/or shape may vary along the length of step 410. Steps 410 may also include an anti-slip surface (e.g. textured paint, silica pebbles, etc.) so that users may safely traverse the steps 410.
Step 410 may include a first end and second end that is opposite the first end. The first end may be pivotably connected to member 405 by a pivot mechanism (e.g., hinge, bearing, pin, screw, etc.) (not shown). Pivot mechanism may enable step 410 to pivot from a first, open position, depicted in
As shown in
Anchoring component 430 may be configured to connect vessel 100 to bottom 101 to anchor vessel in the body of water. Anchoring component 430 may be formed from a material (e.g. a metal alloy, composite, polymer, wood, ceramic, fiberglass, etc.) of sufficient strength and rigidity to enable anchoring component 430 to anchor vessel 100 to bottom 101d of a body of water 102, and/or to support the weight of anchor-ladder device 110, the force imparted on the anchoring component 430 when it is in contact with the bottom 101 as well as any static and/or dynamic loads (e.g., forces, torques, tensions, compressions, stresses, strains, etc.) imparted on the anchoring component 430 by the deployment device 120, the vessel 100, etc. Anchoring component 430 may also be formed from a material (e.g. stainless steel, polymer, composite, fiberglass, etc.) of sufficient corrosion resistance and toughness to withstand operation in water, air, saltwater and the like as well as abrasive environments (e.g. shells, sand, grit etc.). Anchoring component 430 may, for example, be made of plastic, metal, acrylic, fiberglass, wood composite or a combination thereof. Anchoring component 430 may have a first end and a second end opposite the first end. Anchoring component 430 may be composed of one or more pieces. The second end of anchoring component 430 may be configured to be detachably mounted (e.g. screw-mounted, glued, press fit, pinned connection, etc.) to the member 405. The first end of anchoring component 430 may connect to the bottom 101 to anchor the vessel in the body of water.
The second end of the anchoring component 430 may be a pointed shape, such as the spike depicted in
Member 510 may be formed from a material or materials (e.g. a metal alloy, composite, polymer, wood, ceramic, fiberglass, etc.) of sufficient strength to support the weight of the extendable anchor-ladder 500, the forces imparted on the extendable anchor-ladder 500 when users ingress and egress a vessel 100, the force imparted on the extendable anchor-ladder 500 when it is in contact with the bottom 101 as well as any static and/or dynamic loads (e.g., forces, torques, tensions, compressions, etc.) imparted on member 510 by the deployment device 120, the vessel 100, the rod 530, the rod mechanism 540 and/or any other components of anchor ladder device 500. Member 510 may also be formed from a material (e.g. stainless steel, polymer, composite, fiberglass, etc.) of sufficient corrosion resistance and toughness to withstand operation in water, air, saltwater and in abrasive environments (e.g. sand, shells, grit, etc.). Member 510 may be composed of one or pieces. The types and shapes of member 510 are not intended to be limited to those shown in
Member 510 may have a first end and a second end opposite the first end. A deployment device (e.g. deployment device 120, vertical deployment device 220, rotatable deployment device 320, etc.) may connected (e.g. fasteners, welding, a track system, bracketry, etc.) to member 510 in proximity to the first end. The second end may be associated with anchoring component 530 as discussed further below. Member 405 may be connected to steps 410. As depicted in
Anchor-ladder device 500 may also include a rod 530. The rod may be formed from a material or materials (e.g. metal alloy, composite, polymer, wood, ceramic, fiberglass, etc.) of sufficient strength to support the weight of the extendable anchor-ladder 500, the forces imparted on the rod 530 when users ingress and egress the vessel 100, the force imparted on the rod by the bottom 101 as well as any static and/or dynamic loads (e.g., forces, torques, tensions, compressions, etc.) imparted on the rod 530 by the deployment device 120, the vessel 100, the anchoring component 550, and/or any other additional components of anchor-ladder device 500. Rod 530 may also be formed from a material or materials (e.g. stainless steel, polymer, composite, ceramic, fiberglass, etc.) of sufficient corrosion resistance and toughness to withstand operation in water, air, saltwater and abrasive environments (e.g. sand, shells, grit, etc.). Rod 530 may be composed of one or pieces and may have a circular cross section, as depicted in
Rod 530 may be associated with member 510 and may extend longitudinally through hollow channel 520. Rod 530 may have a third end and a fourth end opposite the third end. The third end of the rod 530 may be connectable (e.g. threaded, press fit, adhesive, fasteners, etc.) to a rod mechanism 540. Additionally, or alternatively, third end of rod 530 may be connected to deployment device, such as deployment device 120. In this configuration, deployment device may extend rod 530 through hollow channel 520 to extend anchoring component 550 below lower surface to enable anchor-ladder device 500 to anchor a vessel in deeper water than when rod 530 is not extended. Additionally, or alternatively, deployment device may retract rod 530 from an extended position to a retracted position. The fourth end of the rod may be connectable (e.g. threaded, press fit, adhesive, fasteners, etc.) to anchoring component 550. Rod 530 may be deployed by the rod mechanism 540 to connect to the bottom 101 to anchor the vessel. The rod may be retracted by the rod mechanism 540 to store rod 530 within hollow channel 520 when a user does not need to extend rod 530 to anchor the vessel.
Anchor-ladder device 500 may also include a rod mechanism 540 (e.g. a hydraulic actuator, pneumatic actuator, electric actuator, screw drive, etc.), which may receive power from the deployment device 120, may receive power from another source, or may be operated manually (e.g. hand crank, screw drive). The rod mechanism 540 may be operable to extend the rod 530 below a lower surface S of the member 510, as shown in
Anchor-ladder device 500 may also include anchoring component 550, which may be integral with, affixed to (e.g. welded, etc.) or detachably connected to (e.g. screw-mounted, press fit, etc.) the rod 530. Anchoring component 550 may facilitate anchoring the vessel 100 to the bottom 101. The anchoring component 550 may be formed from a material or materials (e.g. a metal alloy, composite, polymer, wood, ceramic, fiberglass, etc.) of sufficient strength to support the weight of the extendable anchor-ladder 500, the force imparted on the anchoring component 550 when it is in contact with the bottom 101 as well as any static and/or dynamic loads (e.g., forces, torques, tensions, compressions, etc.) imparted on the anchoring component 550 by the deployment device 120, the vessel 100 and/or any other additional components. Anchoring component 550 may also be formed from a material or materials (e.g. stainless steel, polymer, composite, ceramic, fiberglass, etc.) of sufficient corrosion resistance and toughness to withstand operation in water, air, saltwater and abrasive environments (e.g. sand, shells, grit, etc.). Anchoring component 550 may be composed of one or more pieces. The types and shapes of anchoring component 550 are not intended to be limited to those depicted in
Anchoring component 550 may have a first end and a second end opposite the first end. The anchoring component 550 may engage rod 530 at the first end and may be configured engage the bottom 101 proximate the second end. The second end of the anchoring component 550 may be pointed like spike as depicted in
Anchor-ladder device 600 may be connectable (e.g. mechanical fasteners, welding, track system etc.) to a deployment device 120, may be deployable to anchor a vessel 100 to a bottom 101 or for ingress or egress, and may be stowable/retractable above a the surface of a body of water 102. The foldable anchor-ladder 600 may be used in any anchor-ladder mechanism the anchor-ladder device 110 may be used, including in conjunction with the deployment device 120, depicted in
The first member 610 may be formed from a material or materials (e.g. a metal alloy, composite, polymer, wood, ceramic, fiberglass, etc.) of sufficient strength to support the weight of the foldable anchor-ladder 600, the forces imparted on the first member 610 when users ingress and egress the vessel 100, the force imparted on the first member 610 by the bottom 101 as well as any static and/or dynamic loads (e.g., forces, torques, tensions, compressions, etc.) imparted on the first member 610 by the steps 630, the deployment device 120, the vessel 100 and/or any other additional components. First member 610 may also be formed from a material of sufficient corrosion resistance and toughness to withstand operation in water, air, saltwater and abrasive environments (e.g. sand, shells, grit, etc.). First member 610 may be composed of one or pieces. The types and shapes of first member 610 are not intended to be limited to those depicted in
First member 610 may have a first end and a second end opposite the first end. First member may be connected to a deployment device 120 at or near the first end and may be connected to a anchoring component 660 at the second end. Anchoring component may connect to bottom 101 to anchor a vessel 100 and otherwise be identical to anchoring component 430. First member may pivotally connect by pivot mechanisms 670 (not shown) to steps 630 and may contain cavities 640, which may be configured to maintain steps 630, or portions thereof, within first member 610. Pivot mechanisms 670 may be operate the same as, and otherwise be equivalent to, pivot mechanisms.
Second member 620 may be formed from a material or materials (e.g. a metal alloy, composite, polymer, wood, ceramic, fiberglass, etc.) of sufficient strength to support the weight of the foldable anchor-ladder 600, the forces imparted on the second member 620 when users ingress and egress the vessel 100, the force imparted on the second member 620 by the bottom 101 as well as any static and/or dynamic loads (e.g., forces, torques, tensions, compressions, etc.) imparted on the second member 620 by the deployment device 120, the vessel 100 and/or any other additional components. Second member 620 may also be formed from a material or materials (e.g. stainless steel, polymer, composite, ceramic, fiberglass, etc.) of sufficient corrosion resistance and toughness to withstand operation in water, air, saltwater and abrasive environments (e.g. shells, sand, grit etc.). Second member 620 may be composed of one or more pieces.
Second member 620 and first member 610 may form the sides of a ladder. Second member 620 may be generally parallel to first member 610. Second member 620 may pivotally connect to steps 630 using pivot mechanisms 670. Users of a vessel may use grasp second member 620 when ingressing or egressing the vessel 100. Second member 620 may contain second member cavities 650, which may be configured to maintain steps 630, or portions thereof, within second member 620, such as when the foldable anchor-ladder 600 is closed, as shown in
Steps 630 may be used by a user to ingress and egress the vessel and may be formed from a material or materials (e.g. a metal alloy, composite, polymer, wood, ceramic, fiberglass, etc.) of sufficient strength to support the forces imparted on the steps 630 when users ingress and egress the vessel 100 as well as any static and/or dynamic loads (e.g., forces, torques, tensions, compressions, etc.) imparted on the steps 630 by the deployment device 120, the vessel 100 and/or any other additional components. Steps 630 may also be formed from a material or materials (e.g. stainless steel, polymer, composite, ceramic, fiberglass, etc.) of sufficient corrosion resistance and toughness withstand operation in water, air, saltwater and abrasive environments (e.g. sand, shell, grit, etc.). Steps 630 may be composed of one or more pieces. Steps 630 may also include an anti-slip surface (e.g. textured paint, silica pebbles, etc.) so that users may safely traverse the steps 630.
Steps 630 may connect the first member 610 to the second member 620. Steps 630 may be pivotally connected to the first member 610 and the second member 620, such as by using pivot mechanisms 670, to allow the foldable ladder-anchor 600 to be rotated into a closed position, as depicted in
Anchor-ladder device 700 may function similar to anchor-ladder device 500 except that anchor-ladder device 700 may include steps 720 that are rigidly connected to member 710 (e.g. formed as a part of member 710, welded to member 710, bolted to member 710, riveted to member 710, etc.). Steps 720 may provide a surface on which a user may step when ingressing and/or egressing a vessel. The steps 720 of anchor-ladder device 700 are not deployed but, rather, remain in a position that allows them to be used by a user to ingress a vessel and/or to egress a vessel without operating steps 720 to change the position and/or orientation of steps 720. While steps 720 are depicted to be generally triangularly shaped, steps 720 may be any shape (e.g, circular, square, oval, etc.). Further, steps 720 may include a group of handles 730-1 . . . 730-N (where N is greater than or equal to 1) (hereinafter “handle 730” or “handles 730”) which may correspond to an absence of material that provides a holding surface to a user when a user is ingressing a vessel and/or egressing a vessel. Additionally, or alternatively, steps 720 may be solid and/or may not contain handles 730. Steps 720 may protrude from the surface of member 710. Additionally, or alternatively, steps 720 may be contours on the surface of member 710.
While preferred embodiments have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will recognize that other changes and modifications may be made to the foregoing embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure provided herein. For example, specific shapes of various elements of the illustrated embodiments may be altered to suit particular applications. It is intended to claim all such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the disclosure herein and the equivalents.
The foregoing description provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementations to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the embodiments.
It will be apparent that the apparatus, devices, systems, methods, technologies and/or techniques, as described above, may be implemented in many different forms of hardware and/or materials in the implementations described herein and illustrated in the figures. The actual or specialized hardware and/or materials used to implement these the apparatus, devices, systems, methods, technologies and/or techniques is not limiting of the embodiments—it being understood that hardware and/or materials can be designed to implement the apparatus, devices, systems, methods, technologies and/or techniques based on the description herein.
It should be emphasized that the terms “comprises”/“comprising” when used in this specification are taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.
Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of the embodiments. In fact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claim listed below may directly depend on only one other claim, the disclosure of the embodiments includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set.
No element, act, or instruction used in the present application should be construed as critical or essential to the embodiments unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the article “a” and “an” are intended to include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with “one” or “more.” Where only one item is intended, the term “one” or similar language is used. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/299,729, filed Feb. 25, 2016, the entire contents of the provisional application being incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62299729 | Feb 2016 | US |