Ships – Chock or lashing
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-05
2001-11-27
Swinehart, Ed (Department: 3617)
Ships
Chock or lashing
Reexamination Certificate
active
06321678
ABSTRACT:
This invention relates to an inflatable dingy chock, and/or a method of supporting/mounting a dingy on a boat using at least one inflatable dingy chock.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Cabin cruisers, yachts, and similar boats often have a dingy mounted thereon. A dingy is typically from about 5-14 feet in length, and may be inflatable. Alternatively, other dingies may be made of fiberglass, metal, or any other suitable material. Dingies are typically mounted on either the deck or swim platform of such boats. Dingies are often used as emergency life rafts/boats, or alternatively to enable boaters to anchor a distance from shore in their large boat and move ashore on their dingy.
In order to secure a dingy on a deck or platform of a boat, dingy “chocks” are typically provided. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,096, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference, discloses a dingy mounted on the deck of a boat via a plurality of dingy chocks. In this regard, reference is made to
FIG. 1
of the instant application. As shown in prior art
FIG. 1
, dingy
2
is mounted on deck
1
of a boat by way of four dingy chocks
3
. Chocks
3
are typically of fiberglass, wood, or other solid material. Other dingy mounting systems are also known (e.g., where chocks are mounted on the swim platform of a boat).
Unfortunately, in many prior art applications, dingy chocks are semi-permanently mounted to the deck or swim platform of a boat. Thus, when the dingy is taken off of the chocks for use, the chocks often remain on the deck or platform thereby creating a significant obstruction to free use of the same. In scenarios where solid dingy chocks may be removed from the deck or platform, such chocks typically take up substantially amounts of space and are difficult to store in a convenient manner. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, space is very valuable on a boat.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that there exists a need for an improved dingy chock(s) for supporting a dingy on the deck or platform of a boat.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of this invention is to provide an inflatable dingy chock(s).
Another object of this invention is to provide a dingy chock(s) which may be selectively inflated and/or deflated. When inflated, the chock may be mounted on a deck or platform of a boat in order to support a corresponding dingy. When the dingy is removed for use, the chock(s) may be deflated and easily stored in a convenient manner.
Certain embodiments of this invention fulfill one or more of the above-listed objects and/or needs by providing a structure for supporting a dingy on a boat, the structure comprising:
at least one inflatable dingy chock which is selectively inflatable and selectively deflatable, wherein said chock is adapted to be mounted on a deck or platform of the boat.
Other embodiments of this invention fulfill one or more of the above listed needs and/or objects by providing a method of supporting a dingy on a surface of a boat, the method comprising:
providing a dingy to be supported;
providing a boat;
inflating at least one dingy chock;
mounting the dingy chock on the surface of the boat; and
mounting the dingy on at least an upper surface of the inflated chock so that the chock helps support the dingy on the boat.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1321746 (1919-11-01), Hunkeler
patent: 2962732 (1960-12-01), Marz
patent: 3721096 (1973-03-01), Deckert, Jr. et al.
patent: 4243239 (1981-01-01), Whitney
patent: 4495880 (1985-01-01), Maniscalco et al.
patent: 4895096 (1990-01-01), Goodwin et al.
patent: 5222454 (1993-06-01), Meyer
patent: 5884885 (1999-03-01), Schmidt, Jr.
Nixon & Vanderhye P.C.
Swinehart Ed
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