MOORING DEVICE

Abstract

A mooring device including a canister, a spool having two side walls with notches around their perimeters, a mooring cable wrapped around the spool, a lid having a first piece and a second piece, and two rows of stops extending from the bottom surface of the lid. The two rows of stops engage the notches of the two side walls of the pool when the first piece of the lid is in the closed position. The stops are disengaged from the notches when the first piece of the lid is in the open position.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This non-provisional application claims priority to pending Patent Cooperation Treaty application No. PCT/US2014/031575 filed on 24 Mar. 2014 which claims priority to expired provisional application No. 61/806372 filed on 28 Mar. 2013, all of which are owned by the same inventor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a mooring device and, more specifically, to a mooring device attachable to a dock or pier.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Historically, mooring or docking a boat has involved tying mooring cables, such as ropes, around elongated cleats that are attached to the ends of a dock, pier, or slip. This prior art mooring process and equipment have several drawbacks. First, because the cleats are elevated from the dock, pier, or slip, the cleats pose a tripping hazard to those walking or working on the dock, pier, or slip. Second, the excess cable that extends from the knots tied to the cleats poses a tripping hazard and gives a cluttered appearance on the dock, pier, or slip. Third, since most boats do not have dedicated storage for mooring cables, the cables rest on the seats or on the floor of the boat when the boat is not docked. This also gives a cluttered appearance and can pose a tripping hazard. It, therefore, would be desirable to develop a mooring device that overcomes these drawbacks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a mooring device including a canister, a spool having two side walls with notches around their perimeter, a mooring cable wrapped around the spool, a lid having a first piece and a second piece, and two rows of stops extending from the bottom surface of the lid, The two rows of stops engage the notches of the two side walls of the spool when the first piece of the lid is in the closed position. The stops are disengaged from the notches when the first piece of the lid is in the open position.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims attached.

Numerous objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description of the presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiment of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Before explaining the current embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

One object of the present invention is to provide a mooring device that readily retracts a mooring line within it.

Another object is to provide such a mooring device that has a smooth top surface.

Another object is to provide such a mooring device that blends flush with adjacent decking.

These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty that characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated a preferred embodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In referring to the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the mooring device of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the mooring device of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the lid of the mooring device of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the mooring device of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of the lid of the mooring device of the present invention installed in the surface of a dock;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the mooring device of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the lid of the mooring device of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the spool of the mooring device of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the spool of the mooring device of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is an exploded view of the spool of the mooring device of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the spool and spring assembly of the mooring device of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a front cut-away view of the spool and the stops of the mooring device of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of two embodiments of the mooring device of the present invention attached to a dock;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the lid of the mooring device of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a side cut-away view of the spool and the lid of the mooring device of the present invention; and,

FIG. 16 is a side cut-away view of the spool and the lid of the mooring device of the present invention.

The same reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout the various figures.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention overcomes the prior art limitations by providing a mooring device for improving the appearance and operation of a container of lines, ropes, and cables upon a dock, a boat, and the like.

With reference to FIGS. 1-16, the preferred embodiments of the present invention are hereby described. The mooring device 10 includes a cylindrical canister 12, a lid 14, and a spool 16 with a mooring cable 1B (e.g. rope) wrapped around it. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, the canister 12 preferably has a flat bottom piece 20, a circular side wall 22 that extends vertically from the bottom piece, and a flange 24 around the opening at the top of the canister 12. The flange 24 rests on the top surface of a pier, dock, or slip 34 when the mooring device 10 is installed.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 7, 14, the lid 14 includes two pieces hinged together. The second piece 30 of the lid 14 is fixed in place while the first piece 28 opens and closes. Both pieces of the lid 14 are preferably semicircular shaped. Thus, each piece has a curved edge joined to a straight edge, the two pieces 28, 30 are connected to one another at their straight edges via complementary notches. As shown in FIG. 6, a rod 32 is tethered 5 through the complementary notches, which hinges the two pieces 28, 30 together. A series of fasteners 26, such as tamper-proof screws, are positioned around the curved edge of the second piece of the lid 14. These fasteners 26 extend through the second piece 30 of the lid 14 and connect the second piece 30 of the lid to the flange 24 of the canister 12. The fasteners 26 also extend through the flange 24.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 5, 13, the canister 12 is preferably attached to a dock, pier, or slip 34 such that the lid 14 is substantially flush with the top surface of the dock, pier, or slip 34. The flange 24 and the lid 14 are the only portions of the mooring device 10 that extend above the top surface of the dock, pier, or slip 34. The fasteners 26 that extend through the second piece 30 of the lid 14 and the flange 24 fix the mooring device 10 to the dock, pier, or slip 34. While the fasteners do not extend through the first piece 28 of the lid 14, the fasteners 26 do extend through the flange 24 under the first piece 28 of the lid and into the dock, pier, or slip 34 to further secure the mooring device 10 to the dock, pier, or slip 34. Thus, as shown in FIG. 13, the canister 12 is positioned below the surface of the dock, pier, or slip 34. The bottom piece of the canister 12 preferably includes a drain hole 36 for releasing any water that accumulates in the canister 12, which prevents corrosion and other damage to the internal components of the mooring device.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first piece 28 of the lid 14 can be locked using a lock assembly 38 and a key 40. The lock assembly 38 is a two-piece assembly of a type well-known to those skilled in the art. The lock assembly 38 extends through an opening in the first piece 28 of the lid 14. The lock assembly 38 prevents tampering with the components of the mooring device 10 when it is not in use. The first piece 28 of the lid 14 also includes an opening 42 for the mooring cable 18 to be pulled from the canister 12. The end of the mooring cable 18 includes a carabiner 44. The carabiner 44 serves as an efficient and more secure way to attached the mooring cable 18 to the boat as compared to the prior art method of tying knots. The second piece 30 of the lid 14 preferably includes a solar-powered LED light 68 as shown in FIG. 14 to aid in finding the mooring device 10 in the dark and to reduce the risk of tripping on the dock.

The spool 16 includes two side walls 46 connected by a shaft 48 as shown in FIGS. 8-10. The mooring cable 18 is wrapped around the shaft 48 of the spool 16 and can be wound mechanically or unwound manually from the spool 16. A carabiner 44 is attached to the mooring cable 1B on one end. The opposite end of the mooring cable 1B is attached to an attachment loop 66 on one of the side walls 46 of the spool 16. The outside surface of each of the side walls has an opening 50 for mounting the spool 16 in a c-bracket 52. The spool 16 rotates within the c-bracket 52. The c-bracket 52 also includes two openings. An arbor 54 is received through the two openings in the c-bracket 52 and the two openings 50 in the side walls 46 of the spool 16. Bearings preferably receive the arbor 54 on opposite sides of the c-bracket 52. The spool 16 is preferably spring loaded for automatic retraction of the mooring cable 18 when the locking mechanism is released. Arbor 54 is attached on one end through the center of a spring 56. A front spring plate 58 and a back spring plate 60 are positioned on either side of the spring 56. The arbor 54, front spring plate 58, and back spring plate 60 are secured by a bolt or similar fastening means. The c-bracket 52 is mounted to the bottom piece of the canister 12 by fasteners 26 as shown in FIG. 6. These fasteners preferably are nuts, bolts, and washers, but they may alternatively be any fasteners well-known to those skilled in art.

As shown in FIG. 12, the locking mechanism of the mooring device 10 utilizes the spool 16 and stops 62 that extend downwardly from the bottom surface of the lid 14. The perimeter of each of the side walls 46 of the spool 16 includes notches 64. There are preferably four stops 62: two stops aligned to engage the notches 64 on the first side wall 46 of the spool and two stops aligned to engage the notches 64 on the second side wall 46 of the spool. The spool is locked, and thus the length of mooring cable 10 is set, when the notches of the spool 16 and the stops 62 are engaged. As shown in FIG. 16, when the first piece 28 of the lid 14 is opened or raised, the stops 62 become disengaged with the notches 64 in the spool 16. The disengagement allows the length of the mooring cable 1B outside the canister 12 either to extend by a user pulling on the mooring cable 18 or to retract automatically as a result of the action of the spring 56. Once the mooring cable 18 is pulled or retracted to the appropriate length, the first piece 28 of the lid 14 can be closed. As shown in FIG. 15, the closing of the first piece 28 of the lid 14 causes the engagement of the stops 62 on the lid 14 and the closest notch 64 on the spool 16. Because the length of the mooring cable 18 can be controlled and the mooring cable 18 is attached to the boat via the carabiner 44, there is no excess mooring cable 18 to clutter either the boat or the dock. The carabiner 44 at the end of the mooring cable 18 can be clipped directly to the boat. As shown in FIG. 13, in an alternative embodiment, instead of being installed in the floor of a deck, pier, or slip, the mooring device 10 is attached to a post or elevated structure attached to the deck, pier, or slip via a bracket that is attached to the side wall 22 of the canister 12. While the side walls 46 of the spool extend perpendicular to the water surface in the first preferred embodiment, the side walls 46 of the spool extend parallel to the water surface in the second preferred embodiment.

From the aforementioned description, a mooring device has been described. The mooring device is uniquely capable of containing a line or cable in a compact space with a top surface flush to an adjacent dock or boat deck. Further, the mooring device may also have drainage holes therein. The mooring decorative cover device and its various components may be manufactured from many materials, including but not limited to, vinyl, polymers, such as nylon, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, high density polyethylene, polypropylene, ferrous and non-ferrous metal foils, their alloys, and composites.

Various aspects of the illustrative embodiments have been described using terms commonly employed by those skilled in the art to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced with only some of the described aspects. For purposes of explanation, specific numbers, materials and configurations have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the illustrative embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without the specific details. In other instances, well known features are omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the illustrative embodiments.

Various operations have been described as multiple discrete operations, in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the present invention, however, the order of description should not be construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent. In particular, these operations need not be performed in the order of presentation.

Moreover, in the specification and the following claims, the terms “first,” “second,” “third” and the like—when they appear—are used merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects.

The above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. For example, the above-described examples (or one or more aspects thereof) may be used in combination with each other. Other embodiments can be used, such as by one of ordinary skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The Abstract is provided to allow the reader to ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. Also, in the above Detailed Description, various features may be grouped together to streamline the disclosure. This should not be interpreted as intending that an unclaimed disclosed feature is essential to any claim. Rather, inventive subject matter may lie in less than all features of a particular disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment. The scope of the invention should be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. Therefore, the claims include such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A mooring device, comprising:

a canister;

a spool, comprising a first side wall and a second side wall, wherein a

shaft is joined between said first side wall and said second side wall, wherein

a perimeter of said first side wall comprises a plurality of notches and a perimeter of said second side wall comprises a plurality of notches;

a mooring cable wrapped around said spool and extending from said canister;

a lid, wherein said lid comprises a first piece and a second piece, wherein said first piece has an open position and a closed position, and a first row of a plurality of stops and a second row of a plurality of stops, wherein said first row of said plurality of stops extend from a bottom surface of said first piece of said lid and said second row of said plurality of stops extend from said bottom surface of said first piece of said lid; and,

wherein said first row of said plurality of stops engages said plurality of notches of said first side wall of said spool when said first piece of said lid is in said closed position, wherein said plurality of stops is disengaged from said plurality of notches of said first side wall of said spool when said first piece of said lid is in said open position.

2. The mooring device of claim 1, wherein said first piece of said lid and said second piece of said lid are hinged together.

3. The mooring device of claim 1, wherein said mooring device is adapted to mount to a dock, wherein said lid is flush with a top surface of said dock.

4. The mooring device of claim 1, wherein said spool is mounted in a bracket.

5. The mooring device of claim 4, wherein said bracket is mounted in said canister.

6. The mooring device of claim 1, wherein said first piece of said lid comprises a locking assembly.

7. The mooring device of claim 1, wherein a first end of said mooring cable is attached to said spool and a second end of said mooring cable is attached to a carabiner.

8. The mooring device of claim 1, wherein said spool is attached to a spring.

9. The mooring device of claim 1, wherein said canister comprises a drain hole.