SAFE TENDER LIFT
The invention comprises of a tenderlift (1) for watercraft with a high safety standard, such as the safe picking up of the tender (7) by means of guide sticks (9a, b), curved elements (9c), deadrise elements (10), tender locking (11) as well as for an easier positioning of the tender on the platform (8) with an integrated revolving plate (12) which) can be accordingly turned by coercion adjustment or by means of an operating cylinder (19). In addition the swivel arms (3a, b) are concealed, so that no gap (3c) can occur and no bruising of limbs or other means can occur. When the tenderlift (1) goes down, the integrated ladder (25), lying under the platform (8), automatically extends with the stroke (H), which has release elements (28) on the pivot bearing (27)
The invention is based on a tender lift for watercraft, which serves as a lifting platform for persons, but especially as a lift for tenders and similar enabling them to be taken up, to be parked and to be locked, according to a high safety standard, which also includes the lifting mechanism and the connecting stair, according to the generic name of the first claim.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONHeight adjustable carrier platforms are being used more and more to collect tender boats, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,157,596, GB 2319014, DE 199 63 057 C1, or WO 03/106254 A1, but also for the convenient boarding and deboarding of bathing guests and divers. Besides this, height adjustable carrier platforms are also being used for commercial purposes, as for e.g. in rescue operations.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe invention involves that, at the transom of a watercraft, a height adjustable platform is fixed, which, at the same time, can be a swim platform and a tender platform with the aim being the controlled pick up of tenders and similar and which places these in a space-saving manner on the platform or in an adjacent garage and fixes these in a manner fit for travelling on the sea. Furthermore the mechanism is designed in such a way that the swivel arms safely avoid cutting and bruising. So as not to use the lift continually when this is in the down position, for e.g. to bring something quickly on board or to cast off, there is a simple, integrated and in case of overload releasable connecting stair available so that one can move quickly and easily from the watercraft to the platform and vice versa.
The pickup of a tender boat or jetski, here called in the abbreviated form tender, is not easy to accomplish in choppy sea as the yacht has a different rolling and pitching movement compared to the small tender. For this reason means have been provided so that the tender driver can take course to the lifting platform in a simple way and can drive onto it in a concentrated manner and will be automatically stopped at the right place, so that the driver then only has to give the order for the platform to be lifted, and while doing so, respectively time delayed, the tender brings itself into position so as to be parked in a space saving manner on the yacht deck or on the platform in the home position. The safe lifting of the tender is guaranteed by already placing it in an appropriate clasp so that the tender cannot slip off the lifting platform in heavy seas. The positioning, the securing and finally the locking of the lifting platform with the tender is executed without the help of third parties; as in this regard this is a further precautionary measure as people on the lifting platform trying to turn and rig the tender are risk factors especially on leisure craft yachts as often no professional crew is on board.
As far as the invention is concerned this is dealt with by the features of the first claim
Core of the invention is a lift, fixed to the transom of a watercraft, which serves as a bathing and tender platform and which guarantees a high safety standard with regard to reliable and space-saving picking up of a tender without the assistance of third parties, as well as having a built in safety mechanism to avoid cutting and bruising, as well as having a smart, self-unfolding ladder integrated between the watercraft's transom and the lift
Further advantageous features of the invention are listed in the subclaims.
Various exemplary aspects of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings, wherein
It shows
Only essential elements of the invention are schematically shown to facilitate immediate understanding.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTSThe guiding sticks 9a, b and the deadrise elements 10 are fixed on a revolving plate 12, which with the tender 7 fixed onto it, can be pivoted by 90 degrees by the corresponding mean, so that the tender 7 is finally held on the transom 2 crosswise to the driving direction of the yacht.
The rotation of the tender on the revolving plate is carried out either synchronously with the lifting of the tenderlift 1, or coercion controlled or by means of a cylinder and a controller or independently from lift stroke H of the tenderlift 1 controlled by means of corresponding electronics.
Of course the invention is not only applicable on shown and described examples.
DRAWING LIST
- 1 tenderlift
- 2 transom
- 2a transom support
- 3a, 3b swivel arms
- 3c gap
- 4 support
- 4a rounding
- 5 lift cylinde
- 5a casing
- 6 technical mean
- 7 tender
- 8 platform
- 9a, 9b guiding stick
- 9c curved element
- 10 deadrise element
- 11 tender locking
- 12 revolving plate
- 13 hinge
- 14 hatch mean
- 15 pivot bearing
- 16 bracket
- 17 rod
- 18 cam
- 19 operating cylinder
- 20 controller
- 21 rail mean
- 22 gliding element
- 23 rail set
- 24 rail locking
- 25 connecting ladder
- 26 guide tube
- 27 pivot bearing
- 28 release element
- H lift stroke
- T rotations
- a gap stroke
- R rod stroke
- Z rod
Claims
1. Tenderlift for watercrafts characterized in that the tenderlift has a platform, which positions and holds a tender in position by means of deadrise elements, guide sticks, curved element, tender locking or/and has a revolving plate or/and interlocking swivel arms with at least a U profile or/and a connecting ladder.
2. Tenderlift according to claim 1 characterized in that the guide sticks, deadrise elements and tender locking are fixed on the revolving plate.
3. Tenderlift according to claim 2 characterized in that the two guide sticks stand nearer to each other than the two guide sticks.
4. Tenderlift according to claim 1 characterized in that the tender locking is carried out by means of latch lock or manually or power operated.
5. Tenderlift according claim 1 characterized in that hinges on the guide sticks, the deadrise elements and the tender locking allow these parts to plunge under the hatch means so that on the platform with the integrated revolving plate a smooth as possible surface is created.
6. Tenderlift according to claim 1 characterized in that hinged rod is fixed to one of the swivel arms and cam, resulting in a coercion rotation of the revolving plate whilst the lift stroke of the tenderlift is in operation.
7. Tenderlift according to claim 1 characterized in that instead of rod an operating cylinder comes into effect, which via a programmable controller that the revolving plate is rotated accordingly via the operating cylinder.
8. Tenderlift according to claim 1 characterized in that the cam is placed outside the centre of the revolving plate.
9. Tenderlift according to claim 1 characterized in that on the revolving plate, the platform or and/on the transom support a rail set is placed on which a movable rail mean with gliding elements is laid and which can be shifted manually or by power and can be locked by means of a rail locking device.
10. Tenderlift according to claim 1 characterized in that on the rail mean guide sticks with curved element, deadrise elements and tender locking are mounted.
11. Tenderlift according to claim 1 characterized in that the swivel arms which form a parallelogram, at least one swivel arm has a U shape, the other swivel arm lies aligned or partly nested in the other swivel arm and so that the varying gap when moving the lift stroke does not exceed the value and the U shape increases the stability of a swivel arm, as well.
12. Tenderlift according to claim 1 characterized in that a casing or and roundings on the supports or/and lift cylinders and or overlapping the flanks of the swivel arms reduce or eliminate the cutting and bruising risks.
13. Tenderlift according to claim 1 characterized in that on the transom there is a connecting ladder, which is connected to the platform, on the one hand by means of a pivot bearing on the transom and on the other hand by a pivot bearing on the guide tube which is fixed on the platform and that the pivot bearing is releasable by means of release elements.
14. Tenderlift according to claim 1 characterized in that the swivel arms can be of steel or/and aluminium or and composite material.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 10, 2010
Publication Date: Jun 7, 2012
Inventor: Peter A. Mueller (Gattikon)
Application Number: 13/138,609
International Classification: B63B 27/14 (20060101);