This disclosure relates to appliances for docks and particularly to dock handrail and gate for helping passengers disembark or board their boats while at a dock.
Most docks today are not equipped with handrails. Even some docks are equipped with handrails or chains, they are often not user friendly, creating dangerous situations when passengers get on or off the boat.
This disclosures describes devices and systems that are intended to fill in a need in the docking industry and address at least some issues discussed above and/or other issues.
A dock handrail includes a base plate installable on a surface of a dock, a post extending from the base plate perpendicularly, and a rail extending from a top portion of the post perpendicular to the post, inclined downward at an angle inwardly towards the post, returning to the post and attaching to a bottom portion of the post. The dock handrail may also include a cap covering the top end of the post.
The dock handrail may include a hollow space and the dock handrail further includes: an inner tube disposed inside the hollow space of the post aligning with the center axis of the post; a horizontal member crossing the hollow space of the post horizontally and attaching to opposing walls of the post; and an inner sleeve coupled to the top end of the inner tube, wherein the inner sleeve includes multiple fingers and multiple seats formed between the fingers. In some scenarios, the inner sleeve has two or more pairs of seats, each pair having two seats opposing to each other. Each pair of seats is also configured to receive the horizontal member to lock the rail to a first position, and the inner sleeve is configured to allow the horizontal member to be lifted to disengage from the seats above the fingers to be able to rotate freely and to engage with a different pair of seats so that the rail is locked into a second different position.
The dock handrail may additionally include at least two inner rings wrapping around the inner tube and space apart, and one or more locking pins attaching to the post and extending into the hollow space between the two inner rings so that the post is prevented from being removed from the inner tube.
This disclosure is not limited to the particular systems, methodologies or protocols described, as these may vary. The terminology used in this description is for the purpose of describing the particular versions or embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope.
As used in this document, any word in singular form, along with the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the,” include the plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. All publications mentioned in this document are incorporated by reference. Nothing in this document is to be construed as an admission that the embodiments described in this document are not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention. As used herein, the term “comprising” means “including, but not limited to.”
With reference to
Base plate 105 may have different sizes to suit spatial limitation and different requirements. For example, the base plate for the handrail is 9″ by 9″ and has four mounting holes to allow for attachment to the dock in a fixed position using a variety of hardware. The base plate may be extended to a larger size to allow for better mechanical advantage to loading.
Post 102 may have various shapes and sizes. For example, the post may be a tube and hollow. It may also be of square shape (in cross section) and hollow as well. The height of the post can also vary in height depending on the application. The material of the handrail 100 may include, but is not limited to: polished stainless steel, anodized aluminum and powder coated aluminum.
The post 102 may include a cap 104 installable at the top of the post to prevent rain from coming into the post. The cap can be made of plastic or metal or other materials. The post 102 may also include at least one draining hole 106 at the bottom of the post where it is attached to the base plate. This hole drains any water that has accumulated inside the post, preventing moisture from building up inside the post.
With reference to
With reference to
The handrail further includes a horizontal member 116 that extends crossing the hollow space of the post 102 horizontally and fixedly attaching to opposing sides of outer shell/wall 110 of the post 102. The handrail also includes an inner sleeve 117 coupled to a top end of the inner tube 112, wherein the inner sleeve 117 is positioned to engage with the horizontal member 116 to allow the post to rotate about the center axis thereof. This is further explained with reference to
In
The outer shell/wall 110 is configured to freely rotate about its center axis and about the inner tube 112. In particular, the inner sleeve 117 is positioned to allow the horizontal member 116 to disengage from the at least one of the plurality of seats, via a lifting action of the post, so that the horizontal member 116 is pulled upwardly and above the multiple fingers, at which point the horizontal member 116 becomes rotatable about the center axis of the post to be able to re-engage with a different seat of the inner sleeve so that the rail is locked into a different position. This rotation is done by the user lifting the outer shell/wall 112 (together with the rail mounted thereto), rotating it to a desired position and releasing it down to lock in position.
The inner sleeve 117 may have various configurations. For example, the inner sleeve 117 may be formed directly on the edge of the top end of the inner tube 112 to have multiple fingers 114 and multiple seats 122-128. Alternatively, the inner sleeve 117 can be a separate component that is attached to the top end of the inner tube 112. The horizontal member 116 may be a rod that is installed on the outer shell/wall 110 of the post 102 post perpendicularly with respect to the center axis of the post 102. The rod may be a bolt 118 that goes through opposing walls of the outer shell/wall 110 and fixed to the outer shell via a nut 119.
With further reference to
The horizontal member 116 seats cross two opposing seats in the inner sleeve (122, 128). The user may lift (pull upward) the rail 103 and the outer shell of the post 102 so that the horizontal member 116 is moved upward and disengages from the seats 112, 128. The user may pull the post high enough such that the horizontal member 116 passes above the fingers 114. At that point, the user can then rotate the rail while being lifted, for example, 90 degrees, so that the horizontal member 116 is aligned with seats 124 and 126 in the inner sleeve. Then, the user may release the rail so the horizontal member 116 is dropped into the seats in the inner sleeve to lock the rail to the inner sleeve in a different position.
The user may lift the rail again and continue rotating 90 degrees so that the horizontal member is aligned with the same two seats 128, 122 in the initial position but with the horizontal member 116 rotated at completely 180 degrees from that initial position. In such a manner, the rail will turn 180 degrees from its initial position. The user may continue lifting and turning to achieve 270 degrees from the initial position or turning more to return the rail to the initial position. Alternatively, and/or additionally, the inner sleeve can have more or fewer fingers (and seats) to accommodate more or fewer positions.
The above described feature of changing positions of the rail makes the handrail applicable for various additional applications around the dock. For example, the user may rotate the rail so that the rail extends out beyond the edge of the dock (see
Returning to
With further reference to
The materials for the handrail may include, but is not limited to: polished stainless steel, anodized aluminum and powder coated aluminum. The base plate may be extended to a larger size to allow for better mechanical advantage to loading. The post outer shell/wall and the inner tube may also have various shapes and sizes. For example, both the outer shell/wall and the inner tube can be of tubular design such that an inner tube is disposed inside the outer shell tube.
The above-disclosed features and functions, as well as alternatives, may be combined into many other different systems or applications. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements may be made by those skilled in the art, each of which is also intended to be encompassed by the disclosed embodiments.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/395,867, filed Sep. 16, 2016, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62395867 | Sep 2016 | US |