Hydraulic and earth engineering – Marine structure or fabrication thereof – Structure protection
Reexamination Certificate
2002-08-30
2004-08-31
Will, Thomas B. (Department: 3671)
Hydraulic and earth engineering
Marine structure or fabrication thereof
Structure protection
C114S219000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06783303
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a resilient marine fender for protecting a boat or other marine vessel or craft from damage resulting from impact against a marine structure such as a boat dock, pier or like marine structure and in particular to a device for securing inflatable boat fenders to a dock or pier so that the fenders do not move away from the dock or pier and thereby prevent contact of the boat with the dock or pier.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The purpose of a boat fender or bumper is to protect the stem, transom, hull, gunwale or bonding flange of a boat from being damaged when moored to a fixed or floating dock, slip, pier, piling or similar structure. As used herein, “fender” means a device which hangs over a stem or fantail or a gunwale, while “bumper” means a device, similar to a car bumper, attached to a gunwale, hull, stem or fantail or, in this case, the present invention refers to a system for attaching a boat fender to a dock or piling thereby converting it into what is being called a dock bumper.
Pleasure boating has long been a popular outdoor activity. The boats, ranging from racers to sail boats to yachts, may be moored at various marine docks owned by restaurants, seaside resorts, as well as public and private marinas.
Even though it is common for a pleasure boat to incorporate a rub-rail about the top edge of the hull and about the perimeter of the deck, the rub-rail is not designed to take the full impact of many bumps encountered against dock posts. Consequently, the dock posts need to have a protective bumper or cushion to protect the boat in conjunction with the rub-rail.
Many bumper systems have been developed. Rubber pads that are secured by screws, stakes or nails are often ripped from their fastened position because of the high stresses exerted on the rubber pads around the nail or screw head.
Fenders have been developed that are mounted on the boat. The disadvantage of these portable systems is twofold. Firstly, in order to be effective, the fender has to be correctly positioned on the boat such that the dock post hits the boat at the section protected by the fender. It is not an easy task to predict where to correctly place the bumper on the boat since water conditions are in constant change. Secondly, the boat fender must be transported with the boat during its entire voyage as unnecessary and unused cargo.
In previous methods of positioning and securing fenders in place to pilings and dock structures, the fenders are attached with lines to the vessel or the dock structure which allow movement of the fenders which, in turn, often allow contact between the boat and the dock or pier.
Packaging, cushions, carpeting and even corrugated cardboard have been strapped to dock posts with duct tape in attempts to provide protection to a moored boat. These temporary solutions, however, rapidly degrade and quickly become unsightly.
A fender or bumper also protects the mooring structure from being damaged by the boat. A moored boat does not remain stationary but floats up and down and back and forth in the water while banging, bumping and rubbing up against the mooring structure. As the amplitude and frequency of the waves increase, the pitching and rolling of the boat intensifies, increasing the likelihood that the boat will be damaged. Consequently, many recreational boaters consider fenders or bumpers to be necessary accessories.
A type of boat fender in wide use is in the form of a cylindrical, elongated tube, rounded at both ends and filled either with air or a cellular foam inner core to cushion and absorb the shock of the boat bumping and banging against the mooring structure. Typically, the fender has a nylon cord at its upper end which is tied to a cleat on the gunwale. The fender simply hangs down from the gunwale to protect the hull, or hangs over the stem to protect the transom. The disadvantage of this type of fender occurs when a boat is moored at a dock. As the boat pitches and rolls, the fender does not stay in place but is turned sideways or lifted up by the waves onto the deck, allowing the boat to go under the dock where it can suffer serious damage.
While many attempts have been made to provide a solution to the problem of protecting a boat while docking and while being moored or tied to the dock, none provide a readily available, easy-to-apply system which prevents movement of a boat fender or docking structure bumper.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,471, issued May 28, 1991 to William E. Stevens, claims a resilient marine fender for protecting a boat from damage resulting from impact against a boat dock, piling or other marine structure includes a fender body having an elongate bumper portion on one side of sufficient resiliency to cushion normal impact of the boat and mounting surface on the opposite side thereof of sufficiently frictional character with respect to the piling for generally non-slipping engagement therewith. Selectively engagable and disengagable strap means at the lateral sides of the fender body encircle the pilling for selectively securing the fender body to the piling such that the mounting surface is held in frictional facing contact against the piling. A number of elongate bumper portions can be disposed in side-by-side relation to one another on the fender body and a plurality of strap assemblies can be provided.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,257, issued Sep. 28, 1982 to Louis S. Brown, Jr., describes a marine fender having high energy absorption capacity, low reaction force, a smooth exterior surface and no extensive exterior support structure to preclude snagging and reduce maintenance is provided. The fender comprises a resilient core having a cylindrical central portion tapering at each end to a truncated cone-shaped end portion, a fitting at each end of the core disposed coaxially with an axial bore in the core, flexible strength member in the axial bore interconnecting the fittings and providing means for adjustably biasing the fittings toward each other, and a flexible elastomeric skin enclosing the core and substantial portions of each fitting to protect the core from wear and abrasion and to distribute impact loads evenly over the core and fittings.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,074, issued Aug. 1, 2000 to Jay A. Reinhardt, is a bumper for a boat dock is provided which is durable, resilient and visible at night. The bumper is constructed of an expanded polymer such as polyethylene or polypropylene. The bumper is preferably made of translucent polyethylene foam with a density of between 2 and 4 pounds per cubic foot. When polyethylene foam is subjected to impact, it absorbs the force of the impact and returns to its original shape. The present invention includes a light for illumination of the bumper itself or illumination of an area immediately adjacent the bumper. A slot in the bumper is provided for accepting the illumination source. If the bumper is translucent, as with white polyethylene foam, the illumination source may be inserted into the back of the bumper such that light is emitted through the front of the bumper. If the bumper is opaque, the illumination source may be inserted into a slot in the bottom of the bumper so that the light is emitted from the bottom of the bumper. The illumination source may be controlled by a radio frequency switch or by a timer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,760, issued Oct. 23, 1990 to Thomas J. Hartman, shows a bumper guard for protecting a boat at a dock includes a longitudinal body composed of molded urethane, a fastener extending through at least one opening formed in the body for fastening the body to a dock, and a reinforcing disk molded into the body at the location of each opening. The reinforcing disk is engagable by the fastener to prevent the fastener from pulling through the opening during fastening of the body to the dock.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,975,916, issued Aug. 24, 1976 to Bert E. Watson, discloses a pier bumper assembly intended particularly for marine application, for protecting dock pilings and dolphins from impact and chafing
Dunlap James T.
Mayo Tara L.
Meeker Donald W.
Will Thomas B.
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