Article storage structure for a small boat

Details Article storage structure for a small boat Article storage structure for a small boat

2002-08-30

2004-04-20

Morano, S. Joseph (Department: 3617)

Ships

Motorized self-propelled waterski or waterscooter-type vehicle

Having releasable hull compartment cover

Reexamination Certificate

active

06722301

ABSTRACT:

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 on Application No. 2001-269899, filed in Japan on Sep. 6, 2001, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an article storage structure for a small boat including a handle at a front portion of the hull, a display panel mounted forwardly of the handle, and an article storage box provided forwardly of the display panel.
2. Description of Background Art
A jet propulsion boat is a vessel provided with a jet pump mounted at a rear portion of the hull. The jet propulsion boat is propelled by sucking water from the vessel bottom by driving the jet pump with an engine, and splashing the sucked water rearward.
A jet propulsion boat is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.238693/2000 entitled “PERSONAL WATERCRAFT.” The jet propulsion boat of the above document will be described in detail referring to
FIG. 7
of the present invention, which is a principal portion of
FIG. 2
of the above document. It should be noted that reference numerals have been re-designated in FIG.
7
.
FIG. 7
is a cross sectional view showing a small boat provided with an article storage structure of the background art, in which a jet propulsion boat
100
includes a handle
102
disposed at a front portion
101
a
of the hull
101
. A speedometer
103
is disposed forwardly of the handle
102
. A dough box (article storage box) is
105
disposed forwardly of the speedometer
103
. A cover (lid)
106
covers the upper end opening
105
a
of the article storage box
105
. A hinge is provided at the front end
106
a
of the lid
106
for enabling the lid to be swung in the vertical direction. Furthermore, a locking member such as a latch is provided at the rear end
106
b
of the lid
106
for locking the lid
106
in the closed position.
According to the article storage box
105
, the upper end opening
105
a
of the article storage box
105
can be opened by releasing the locked state of the locking member, swinging the lid
106
about the hinge and lifting the lid
106
to the opened position. The upper opening
105
a
of the article storage box
105
can be closed by swinging the lid
106
about the hinge and moving the lid
106
downward to the closed position.
However, the upper end opening
105
a
of the article storage box
105
is substantially flush with the surface of the hull
101
. Accordingly, the lid for covering the upper opening
105
a
is elevated upward from the surface of the hull
101
. Therefore, in order for the operator to see adjacent the distal end
101
b
of the hull
101
, the operator must raise his/her body to elevate his/her eye line.
In addition, the lid
106
of the jet propulsion boat
100
must have an increased sealing property to prevent seawater from entering from the upper end opening
105
a
into the article storage box
105
. Therefore, the lid
106
must be a rigid, uncrushable structure. Accordingly, the lid
106
provides a relatively heavy load.
The disposition of such a heavy lid
106
elevated from the surface of the hull
101
has been providing an impedance to the lowering of the center of gravity of the jet propulsion boat
100
.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an article storage structure for a small boat in which the forward visibility of the small boat is more preferably secured and the center of gravity of the small boat can be lowered.
In order to solve the above problems of the background art, the present invention is directed to a small boat comprising a bar-type handle disposed on the centerline along the width of the hull, a display panel for displaying the gauges disposed forwardly of the handle, an article storage box disposed forwardly of the display panel, a lid covering the upper surface of the article storage box, a hinge provided at the front end of the lid, and a locking member provided at the rear end for locking the lid, wherein a downwardly recessed portion is provided forwardly of the display panel and rearwardly of the article storage box, and an engaging member to be engaged with the locking member is provided in the recessed portion.
The downwardly recessed portion is provided forwardly of the display panel and rearwardly of the article storage box, and the engaging member is provided in the recessed portion. Therefore, the lid of the article storage box can be moved downward in coordination with the engaging member, and thus the front visibility of the operator can be increased when compared with the background art.
In addition, the lid of the article storage box can be moved downward in coordination with the engaging member. Accordingly, the center of gravity of the small boat can be further lowered.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5076190 (1991-12-01), Iikawa
patent: 5619950 (1997-04-01), Ikeda
patent: 5894810 (1999-04-01), Orr
patent: 6062154 (2000-05-01), Ito
patent: 6112686 (2000-09-01), Tsumiyama et al.
patent: 6234546 (2001-05-01), Asakura et al.
patent: 6276290 (2001-08-01), Yamada et al.
patent: 6578508 (2003-06-01), Hattori et al.
patent: 2000-238693 (2000-09-01), None

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