The present invention relates generally to cleats having a retracted, folded or depressed inoperative position and which are capable of being raised to an upright operative position. More particularly, the present invention relates to a cleat that is easily folded to be flush with the surface of its base in the inoperative position and easily raised and secured to the operative position.
Cleats having a depressed inoperative position which can be moved to an operative position are well known in the art. Such cleats are generally shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,125,779, 5,535,694, and 5,301,627, all to Czipri. Folding cleats have been particularly described in and shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,478 to Kafka et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,438,944 to Burke.
Various such prior art devices initially appear to be flush with the outer surface of a boat on which they are mounted. However, the majority of the device is actually concealed underneath the device surface. Such devices, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,478 to Kafka require extensive holes are cut in the sides of boats on which they are installed. Moreover, the amount of subsurface room that such devices occupy may typically be put to better use. It is therefore desirable to have a folding boat cleat that occupies a minimum amount of interior or subsurface space.
Other folding cleats, such as those shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,438,944 to Burke require a user to manually lift the boat cleat from its space and maintain it in an upright or operative position during use. However, securing a boat typically requires two hands and therefore it is desirable to have a cleat which may be maintained in the operative position without any assistance from the user.
It is therefore a primary feature of the present invention to overcome the problems in the prior art.
It is a further feature of the present invention to provide a foldable boat cleat that takes up a minimum of interior space.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a foldable boat cleat that is easily operated and secured by a user.
A still further feature of the present invention is the provision of a foldable boat cleat that may be secured in the operative position without any additional effort from the user.
These, as well as other features, objects, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following specification and claims.
The present invention generally comprises a folding boat cleat including a base which is secured to a boat, the base including a gap to accommodate a cleat head which is rotatably secured at one end to the base, a spring which biases the cleat head in an upward or operative position, and a slider which is secured to the base wherein the slider includes a latch portion that engages the cleat head wherein the cleat head is in a folded position. The slider is preferably spring loaded with a torsion coil spring and includes a thumb portion. The cleat head preferably includes a plurality of legs. To activate the cleat, the user simply pulls back on the slider thus releasing the cleat head which is subsequently biased to the operative position by the torsion coil spring. Preferably, the torsion coil spring is secured to the cleat head on one or more of the legs.
The present invention will be described as it applies to its preferred embodiment. It is not intended that the present invention be limited to the described embodiment. It is intended that the invention cover all modifications and alternatives which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention. Now, referring to the drawings,
As is shown in
However, before the base plate 34 is secured, the cleat head 20 and legs 22, which includes a plurality of cylindrical tabs 46 defining a rotational axis, are rotatably positioned within the base 12 by inserting the tabs 46 into the slots 24 of the base 12. Preferably, the slots 24 allow the cleat head 20 to rotate about the axis of the tabs 46.
Opposite the tabs 46 are spring slotted cylindrical ends 38. A plurality of end springs 26 include a cross piece that fits within the slot of the ends 38 and an opposite end piece with abuts against the edge of slot 24 in base 12. The spring 26 is positioned on the cylindrical end 38 such that the spring forces act to raise cleat head 20 into an upright or operable position as is shown in
A general description of the present invention as well as a preferred embodiment to the present invention has been set forth above. Those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains will recognize and e able to practice additional variations in the methods and systems described which fall within the teachings of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications and additions are deemed to be within the scope of the invention which is to be limited only by the claims appended hereto.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2339034 | Siska | Jan 1944 | A |
4270478 | Kafka et al. | Jun 1981 | A |
4354445 | Kafka et al. | Oct 1982 | A |
4964355 | Milewski | Oct 1990 | A |
5301627 | Czipri | Apr 1994 | A |
5438944 | Burke | Aug 1995 | A |
5535694 | Czipri | Jul 1996 | A |
5983820 | Whitley | Nov 1999 | A |
D430099 | Sobey | Aug 2000 | S |
6125779 | Czipri | Oct 2000 | A |
6234101 | Czipri | May 2001 | B1 |
D458891 | Whitley | Jun 2002 | S |
6533512 | Lin | Mar 2003 | B1 |
6588355 | Whitley, II et al. | Jul 2003 | B1 |