Fire escape – ladder – or scaffold – Wall- or floor-attached – Single pole or strand
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-17
2001-10-23
Chin-Shue, Alvin (Department: 3634)
Fire escape, ladder, or scaffold
Wall- or floor-attached
Single pole or strand
C182S093000, C114S090000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06305497
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There are many times when one needs to perform some maintenance, normal or otherwise on the mast of a sailing craft. One traditional way of providing such access is to permanently mount steps to the mast. Such is shown by Jones, U.S. Pat. No. 186,424. Numerous disadvantages to this access is seen as chaffing of sails, snagging of halyards and adding additional wind resistance. Other means consist of using a boatswain's chair which requires additional help to raise the individual and is less than ideal in times of inclement weather as the boatswain chair can swing away form the mast during times the boat is rolling or pitching. There are some mast ladders which utilize the halyard to raise them but they are cumbersome, do not provide a sturdy climbing structure and in some cases require a substantial amount of storage for the mast ladder when not in use. Such is the Sailboat Mast Ladder, U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,726 which is a nylon strapping sewn together forming the foot loops and straight sections of the ladder and is stored as a complete unit which takes up precious space on a sailing craft. Although the halyard is used sometimes to raise a mast ladder, there are times when the halyard is not available and in such cases, there were no easy means to raise a ladder or get to the upper portion of the mast. There are numerous other pole climbing devices such as shown in Brookes et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,714 which is a multi-section ladder but does not provide the needed requirements as set forth for a sailing craft. The device is cumbersome and consumes a substantial amount of space. Norton, U.S. Pat. No. 4,263,983 is a bulky and cumbersome device for use on a sailing craft. Sides et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,598 which is a single pole hunting stand is basically unworkable on a sailing craft. It requires guy wires to support and is an unacceptable means of scaling a sailing craft's mast. Skyba, U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,954 again is a cumbersome device which although provides a useful tool for scaling trees, poles and the like from the ground where the device does not have any storage restrictions, but becomes unacceptable for use on a sailing craft. Zorn, U.S. Pat. No. 3,930,562 provides a removal step climbing assembly which allows one to climb the mast, however, one must insert the steps as one climbs and then remove them as one descends from the mast. Although it does work, it is certainly more dangerous having to install and remove the steps as one ascends and descends the mast. In Evans, U.S. Pat. No. 4,258,828, a folding ladder is shown which folds into the mast. Although it does provide that the steps are out of the way when not in use, they are still affixed to the mast and is a complex system for installation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is directed to a sailing craft mast ladder for use with a sailing craft that has a mast with a mast sail slide which extends along the length of the mast. The mast ladder has minimal parts. The top step is engaged with the sail slide and is connected to a universal step by a connecting rod. Each universal step is engaged with the sail slide and is connected to the previous universal step by a connecting rod and the halyard slide is engaged upside down in the sail slide and connected by a connecting rod and the mast ladder rests on the halyard slide. The top step, each universal step and the halyard slide fit into and slide in the mast slide providing a sturdy platform to climb and work.
It is a primary advantage of the within invention to eliminate many of the problems associated with permanent mast ladders and boatswain's chairs. The invention is assembled on the mast only when needed and eliminates the problems with the permanently mounted steps and does not subject the worker to the swinging problems of the boatswain's chair.
A key feature of the within invention is the use of the connecting rod which provides a uniform space between each step and is compact and stored easily. Additionally, a specific feature of the within invention is the universal step which keeps the requirement for many different parts limited. The universal step forms its portion of the mast ladder merely by inserting the universal step into the mast slide for the left side or for the right side depending which step is needed next.
An additional advantage of the within invention is that the sailing craft does not require any modifications to utilize the within invention. The mast slide which is used for raising and lowering the sails is utilized for raising the mast ladder.
Many time the halyard may come loose or unavailable and additional key feature of the within invention is that the halyard is not needed to assist in raising the mast ladder. The mast ladder rests on the halyard slide in the inverted position providing support for the mast ladder and individual using the device.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following description in which the preferred embodiment has been set forth in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 826863 (1906-07-01), Lynch
patent: 4069892 (1978-01-01), Lynn
patent: 4577726 (1986-03-01), Wheeler
patent: 4607725 (1986-08-01), Brinkmann
patent: 4844207 (1989-07-01), Andrews
patent: 6076634 (2000-06-01), Simon
patent: 48492 (1953-09-01), None
Chin-Shue Alvin
Johnston, II H. Kenneth
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