Patents by Inventor John B. Fitzpatrick

John B. Fitzpatrick has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5529007
    Abstract: A sailboat without stays for the mast has automatic ballasting which uses a tilting main mast and a tilting pole that has weights traveling up it to counteract increasing wind force upon the sail. The mast and the pole tilt in opposite directions. Their angles are prescribed by a set of gears acting as a motion reversing means, so that as the wind force increases the tilt of the mast, the tops of the mast and pole separate. The weights move up the pole and away from the sailboat's centerline because they are attached to a line fixed to the top of the mast and directed down the pole by a pulley at the pole top. Therefore, as the mast and pole separate, the length of line hanging down the pole is shortened and the weights move up the tilted pole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 25, 1996
    Inventor: John B. Fitzpatrick