Ships – Sail or control means therefor – Reefing and furling
Reexamination Certificate
2003-10-20
2004-08-03
Avila, Stephen (Department: 3617)
Ships
Sail or control means therefor
Reefing and furling
C114S108000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06769374
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The present invention pertains to sail management systems on sail-powered marine vessels and specifically to systems used in connection with guiding and hoisting or lowering a sail on a forestay, mast, or foremast using a pre-feeder or feeder with an adjustable opening.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Pre-feeder devices used with a forestay to hoist a jib sail on a sail-powered vessel are well known in the art. Representative patents describing such pre-feeders and sail management systems include U.S. Pat. No. 3,658,025 (to Hood et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,210 (to Davis); U.S. Pat. No. 3,948,200 (to Hood et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,005 (to Lagerquist); U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,216 (to Creer III et al.) and RE31,829 (to Stearn). These patents disclose various commonly used mechanical sail management systems available to competitive and leisure sail boaters. In particular, these patents disclose pre-feeders made from extruded, injection molded, die cut, stamped, or bent plastic, metal or a combination of plastic and metal. They are assembled to provide a fixed opening adaptable for loosely encircling the luff portion of a jib sail.
A jib sail is an essentially triangular-shaped sail, the three edges of which are typically referred to as the luff, leach, and foot. The luff is the forward or leading edge of the sail closest to the bow of the boat. The leach is the rearward or aft most portion of the sail. The foot is the bottom edge of the sail and generally runs parallel to the boat deck.
The luff portion of a sail consists of a bead made from plastic tube, boltrope, or other flexible, durable, and generally cylindrical or oval-shaped material that is typically sewn to the luff edge of the sail. This area may be reinforced with a polymeric tape or nylon fabric that is wrapped around and attached to the luff edge of the sail with adhesive or stitches (i.e., the “luff tape portion” of the sail). A halyard is attached to the upper head of the sail and is used to raise the sail.
A mast of a sailboat is attached approximately at the center of the boat and vertically extends in a substantially perpendicular direction relative to the plane of the boat deck. A forestay extends from the bow of the boat to the top of the mast (or foremast, if one is present). Its principal use is to support the mast (or foremast) and to hold the jib sail (also called a Genoa sail or headsail). The forestay may include a C-shaped or V-shaped groove running parallel to the longitudinal axis of the forestay. The groove includes a slot that is large enough to contain the plastic bead or boltrope of the luff-edge of the jib sail but has a slot opening that is small enough to prevent the plastic bead or boltrope from pulling free from the groove when the sail is hoisted.
The forestay may include a feeder at the base of the groove to facilitate feeding the luff into the groove, although often there is no feeder or other extending member near the groove opening. Because the jib sail is often folded in layers on the deck of the boat (or in a hold below deck in some boats), the luff needs to be pre-positioned generally parallel to the forestay before it enters the feeder (or directly into the groove opening in the case where there is no feeder) to prevent the luff from bunching at the feeder/groove opening or, worse, causing the jib sail to tear. This pre-positioning is accomplished by using a pre-feeder below the feeder (or below the groove opening where no feeder is used). The pre-feeder is usually tied to the bow of the boat or the bottom of the forestay below the groove using a rope or flexible attaching arm. This method of attaching allows the pre-feeder to move back and forth to accommodate the luff movement as it deploys from its folded position. The pre-feeder aligns the luff so that it enters the groove (or feeder) in a nearly parallel position relative to the groove on the forestay.
Similarly, the mast or foremast may include a feeder positioned just below the groove or track on the mast or foremast. The feeder is used for positioning the luff portion of a sail so that the sail enters the groove on the mast or foremast in nearly a parallel position in the same manner that the pre-feeder positions the jib sail with respect to the forestay.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,658,025 discloses a single cast or extruded plastic guide with two concave guide members forming a generally C-shaped enclosure for loosely encircling the luff portion of a jib sail. The extremities of the two guide members have a gap between them large enough to allow the luff tape portion of the jib sail to pass. The patent illustrates how the guide is attached to the lower portion of a forestay or the deck of a boat to position the pre-feeder below the opening of a grooved forestay feeder. The attaching device is a flexible link that includes a round eyelet on each end.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,216 discloses essentially a single metal rod formed into a V-shaped pre-feeder with plastic or metallic rollers connected to the ends of the two guide members. As with other pre-feeders, the V-shaped pre-feeder includes an opening or gap between the ends of the guide members, and between the rollers attached thereto, for loosely holding the luff between the members while allowing the sail luff tape portion to pass between. As illustrated in this patent, the pre-feeder is attached to a forestay using a rope securely looped around and knotted to the pre-feeder. Commercially available pre-feeders of this type may not have rollers and may have a support bar connecting the two members for dimensional rigidity (i.e., to resist torsional and bending forces).
U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,210 discloses a single, die cut, cast or extruded, pre-feeder attached to a forestay by a rope, the pre-feeder including a C-shaped yoke with two rounded sail-contact members forming a luff-holding opening. A gap is provided between the contact members for allowing the sail sheet to pass between. The disclosed device is intended to prevent a substantial amount of the sailcloth from gathering within the pre-feeder under various conditions.
Various methods of attaching a pre-feeder to a boat are also well known in the art. In addition to the attaching devices described above, U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,005 discloses a pre-feeder attached to a forestay below the forestay track feeder using a spherically-shaped retainer that encircles the forestay. The retainer includes two circular parts hinged on one end and connected together on the other end with a pin.
Similar to the above pre-feeders for use with forestays, feeder systems used to guide and hoist a mainsail (or foremast sail) are also well known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,090,461 (to Rusich) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,236,475 (to Merry) are exemplary of such feeders. U.S. Pat. No. 4,090,461 discloses a two-member feeder attached to a mast with each member being attached on opposite sides of a C-shaped grooved track parallel to the longitudinal axis of the mast, thereby forming a small gap between the ends of the two members. The gap provided by the two members is large enough for a sail to pass between them, but is smaller than the diameter of the plastic bead or boltrope that is integrated into the sail luff edge. The feeder is welded or bolted to the outside of the mast.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,236,475 discloses another two-member feeder attached to a mast with each member projecting away from the surface of the mast at an angle forming a triangular shape feeder. As illustrated in the patent, the tips of the two members form a gap that is large enough for the luff tape portion of the sail to pass between, but is smaller than the plastic bead or boltrope of the mainsail luff that is being fed into a groove on the mast. The feeder is attached to the outside of the mast using four metal screws.
One problem with these prior art fixed-opening sail pre-feeders and feeders is that in order to hoist a sail on a grooved track forestay, mast or foremast, the head of the sail containing the leading end of the luff must first be fed
Cudd, III G. Benjamin
Galindo Sonia
Avila Stephen
Maynard Jeffrey C.
Sailing Solutions, LLC
Stone Gregory M.
Whiteford Taylor & Preston LLP
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