Ships – Boats – boat component – or attachment – With wheeled buoyant landing or launching aid
Reexamination Certificate
2001-11-21
2004-12-07
Basinger, Sherman (Department: 3617)
Ships
Boats, boat component, or attachment
With wheeled buoyant landing or launching aid
C280S414100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06827033
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a trailer for transporting a vessel.
2. Background Art
A trailer intended to create a slipway is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,286,346. This trailer comprises a wheel axle frame and a boat supporting frame which is connected to a rear side of the wheel axle frame so as to be hingeable, but not slidable or mobile. An end of the boat supporting frame remote from the wheel axle frame is provided with a telescopically slidable frame extension piece. At the end of this frame extension piece, floats are mounted. Placed on the boat supporting frame is a movable keel table on which the vessel rests. To launch the vessel, the telescopic extension frame is slid out first. Subsequently, the mobile keel table is gradually moved backwards. After some time, the boat supporting frame tilts until the floats float in the water. The keel table is then moved further backwards over the boat supporting frame and the frame extension piece, so that the stern of the vessel comes to float in the water. To launch the vessel further, the floating bodies are emptied so that the boat supporting frame can tilt even further until the boat is completely in the water. An advantage of this trailer is that it enables bridging a difference in height between the water surface and the land surface on which the trailer is situated. A drawback of this trailer is that the tilting occur very suddenly when the keel table is moved backwards and will further end very abruptly when the floats touch the water. This sudden tilting is dangerous to bystanders. The abrupt ending of the tilting can lead to damage to the vessel and the trailer. Another drawback of this trailer is further that it is not designed to pull a vessel situated in the water out of the water. The fact is that this publication is silent as to how the vessel can be brought from the water onto the keel table of the trailer. Furthermore, the use of a telescopic extension mechanism is disadvantageous because it is a relatively weak mechanism, which is therefore hardly capable of supporting the weight of the vessel. This drawback is partly compensated by designing the keel table relatively long, which is also necessary to stably support the whole boat. As a result of this considerable length of the keel table, the effective length of the boat supporting frame over which the keel table can be moved is, however, limited. Moreover, the effective length of the slipway is limited because for launching this whole, relatively long table needs to be brought under the floating level of the vessel. Furthermore, this publication does not indicate a provision stabilizing the vessel sidewards in the case of a part of the vessel already being in a floating position. It is to be noted that by the term slipway is meant the way over which a vessel can be set into the water and can be pulled out of the water.
German patent 529,516 discloses a trailer comprising a relatively long wheel axle frame comprising guides and a keel support movably arranged thereon. Placed on the keel support is a movable stem support. In use, the wheel axle frame is arranged on the shore in an inclined position, such that it forms an artificial slipway. Subsequently, the keel support is moved with the vessel to the water by moving the keel support over the wheel axle frame, during which the keel support slides out of the wheel axle frame. The stem support movable over the keel support only serves to move the boat over the keel support to the water over half a boat length. A drawback of this trailer is that only a slipway of a relatively small length can be supplied therewith. This length comprises at most three quarters of the boat length when the keel table is in the extreme position. Another drawback is that the trailer can only be used when the wheel axle frame, in the tilted position, rests the shore bottom. Because the trailer is not provided with floats, it is not suitable for use on any quay.
British patent 372,172 discloses a trailer provided with a wheel axle frame to which a boat supporting frame is connected so as to be hingeable, but not slidable or mobile. In use, an artificial slipway can be obtained with thin trailer through the hinging of the boat supporting frame relative to the wheel axle frame. A drawback of this equipment is that the length of the thus obtained slipway is at most half a boat length. Therefore, this trailer can only be used in a limited number of situations. Moreover, the position of the wheels of the trailer is such that, in use, only half of the boat supporting frame can extend from the wheel axle frame to the water. Therefore, this trailer can only used if the distance between the ground level on which the trailer is situated and the water surface of the launching water is very small. Since, moreover, floating bodies are lacking, launching is only possible on so-called stationary slipways especially arranged in the shore.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,140,003 discloses a trailer for moving a vessel provided with a telescopically slidable wheel axle frame. Mounted on the telescopically slidable part of the wheel axle frame are fixed keel supports on which the boat can rest with its keel. The known trailer will have to be of relatively heavy design because both the fixed and the slidable part of the wheel axle frame must be able to support the full weight of the vessel. Another drawback of this trailer is that a vessel cannot be set into relatively deep water therewith, because during the loading and unloading of a vessel the end of the boat supporting frame needs support from a fixed bottom and is not provided with floats
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to remove the above drawbacks. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a trailer suitable and intended for being towed by a passenger car, s.u.v. or the like, by means of which a vessel can be set into the water and can be pulled out of the water without using a slipway especially constructed for the purpose, which trailer tan be used to bridge different, relatively great distances and/or differences in height between the shore or quay and the water surface. Here, the trailer must also be able to be of light design, but has great stiffness,
To this end, the trailer according to the invention is characterized by the features according to claim 1.
The rigid boat supporting frame is, in use, moved with a vessel along the guide elements from the wheel axle frame to the water to set the vessel into the water, or moved in reverse direction to pull the vessel out of the water. Because the boat supporting frame is of rigid design and is connected with the wheel axle frame, the guide elements can be of light design. The fact is that the risk of the guide elements bending too much is very low, because a substantial part of the weight of the vessel is transferred by the rigid boat supporting frame to the wheel ale frame and because the guide elements are clamped by guide means connected wit the rigid boat supporting frame, which guide means are connected with the boat supporting frame in different positions of the boat supporting frame. Therefore, the parts of the guide elements extending along the boat supporting frame will hardly, if at all, bend. In use, the major part of the boat supporting frame can extend from the wheel axle frame to the water, so that a very long, but yet very rigid slipway of at least one boat length, preferably almost the whole trailer length, is obtained therewith. This is advantageous if a relatively great launching height and/or launching distance need to be bridged. Furthermore, with this trailer a vessel with a relatively great draught, such as, a sailing boat with a fixed keel, can be simply launched without the keel making contact with a shore surface and/or the fixed bottom under the water. Since the trailer according to the invention is equipped with a separate hull support and stem or stern support, these can have a relatively short length, while yet a stable support of the vessel i
Basinger Sherman
Varnum Riddering Schmidt Howlett LLP
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