Suspension Attachment

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention refers to a suspension attachment for suspending objects to elongated units preferably for suspending boat accessories to pulpit tubes of boats.

2. Background Art

Suspension attachments for suspending various objects for example boat accessories to elongated units such as pulpit tubes of boats need to be simple and sturdy, should permit suspension of various kinds of objects, be able to securely hold the objects when travelling in high sea and should permit locking of the objects to prevent unauthorized removal in case the objects are valuable.

The object of the invention has been to provide a suspension attachment which is simple and sturdy, which provides safe suspension of various types of objects and also provides a locking for preventing their removal.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a suspension attachment according to the invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates the suspension attachment of FIG. 1 on a larger scale.

FIG. 3 illustrates a section through the suspension attachment according to FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a suspension attachment according to the invention provided with a special suspension means.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a suspension attachment according to the invention at a mast top arrangement.

FIG. 6 illustrates a section VI--VI through the suspension attachment according to FIG. 5, and

FIG. 7 is a sectional side view of the suspension attachment according to FIG. 5.

The suspension attachment illustrated in the drawings is specifically intended for suspension and locking of objects such as boat accessories to elongated units in the shape of stern pulpit tubes 3 on boats, for example sailing boats. Referring to FIG. 3, the suspension attachment 1 comprises a holder in the shape of a block 4 from plastic material, which has a slot 5 which extends from one edge 6 of the block 4 towards the opposite edge 7 thereof and ends somewhat inside this edge 7. The slot 5 widens into a hole 8 for receiving the stern pulpit tube 3 and the hole passes through the block 4. The hole 8 is closer to edge 7 than edge 6. The elastic properties of the plastic material makes it possible to open the block 4 by bending apart the parts 9, 10 thereof such that the block 4 may be brought over the stern pulpit tube 3 for instance from above until it extends through the hole 8.

Referring to FIG. 2, the block 4 is locked to the stern pulpit tube 3 by means of locking elements such as two screws 11, 12 and corresponding nuts 13, 14. The screws 11, 12 are provided in through holes 11a, 12a adjacent to the edge 6 such that they will be located at a relatively large distance from the pulpit tube 3. The diameter of the hole 8 in an unexpanded state is preferably smaller than the outer diameter of the pulpit tube 3. Thus, the parts 9, 10 of the block 4 will be clamped to the pulpit tube with a rather large force when the screw joints 11, 13 and 12, 14 are tightened. The larger the distance between the pulpit tube 3 and the screw joints 11, 13 and 12, 14 is the larger this clamping force will be.

As shown in FIG. 3, the heads 15 of the screws 11, 12 are provided with internal key handles 15a and the nuts 13, 14 are located in suitable recesses 16 in the block 4, said recesses being only a little bit wider than the nuts 13, 14, which makes it impossible to reach them to turn them by means of a tool. The screws 11, 12 are further so located that it is not possible to reach the screw heads 15 since the latter are hidden behind carrying yokes 17, 18 at the outboard motor 2. This means that it is not possible to reach the key handles 15a and this in addition to the location of the nuts 13, 14 in narrow recesses 16 ensures that the screw joints 11, 13 and 12, 14 cannot be unfastened when the outboard motor 2 is suspended upon the support surfaces 19, 20, 21 of the block 4. In the illustrated outboard motor 2 the carrying yokes 17, 18 are further extended so deep behind the block 4 that they cover the nuts 13, 14.

The outboard motor 2 is locked in this position to the block 4 by means of a wire 22 as shown in FIG. 1. The wire extends through a hole 23 in the block 4 and the parts 24, 25 thereof which extend in opposite directions from the block 4 form two locking means, which can be tied around the outboard motor 2 such that they together form a loop 26 around the motor. In order to lock this loop 26 the locking means 24, 25 can be locked to each other when the locking yoke of a padlock 27 is threaded through end loops 28, 29 of locking means 24, 25.

It is advisable that this loop 26 also passes around the stern pulpit tube 3. To accomplish this, the part 24 of the wire is pulled beyond the rear pulpit tube 3 on one side thereof (see the position 24a of the wire part 24 illustrated in dash and dot lines in FIG. 2), while the part 25 of the wire 22 is pulled beyond the stern pulpit tube 3 on the other side of the latter (see the position 25a of the part 25 of the wire 22 illustrated in dash and dot lines in FIG. 2).

One of the parts 24 or 25 of the wire 22 or both parts 24, 25 can be laid in loops around the stern pulpit tube 3 (FIG. 1 illustrates how the part 24 of the wire is laid in a loop 24b around the stern pulpit tube 3). The wire 22 can of course also be arranged differently than the illustrated embodiments. The arrangement of the wire 22 will depend upon the length of the wire, upon the object to be secured, and upon the way in which the padlock 27 or the like is applied.

As shown in FIG. 1, the outboard motor 2 is suspended in block 4 by bringing the carrying yokes 17, 18 thereof over the holder 4 and letting it go downwards as long as possible. The carrying yokes 17, 18 are secured to the block 4 by means of the tightening screws 30 as shown in FIG. 3. Then locking is carried out by means of the wire 22. If it is instead desired to suspend objects without use of carrying yokes and the like, which fit the block 4, the latter can be provided, as shown in FIG. 4, using a suspension means 31. The U-shaped part 37 of the suspension means 31 is threaded down over the block 4 until it contacts the support surfaces 19, 20, 21 of the block 4.

The suspension means 31 is provided with an upwardly extending suspension part 32, in which different kinds 33 of objects can be suspended, whereupon they might be locked by means of the wire 22. The suspension means 31 can be made from a resilient material and be so dimensioned that it remains on the block 4 by clamping action. To ensure that the suspension means 31 is securedly fixed to the block 4, the suspension means may have a projecting locking portion 34, which engages a corresponding recess 35 in the block 4 when the suspension means 31 is threaded down over the same. The suspension means 31 further can be secured to the block 4 by means of a number of screws 38, 39.

The suspension attachment now described and illustrated in the drawings may be varied within the scope of the following claims. As an alternative, it may be mentioned that the holder 4 can consist of two separate parts, which are clamped against the tube 3 instead of a unit in the shape of a block. The holder 4 can have one, two, three or another number of support surfaces for suspending objects 2 and/or 31. The holder 4 can be secured to the tube 3 by means of one, two, or three or any other number of locking elements 11, 12 or in some other manner. If the locking element consists of screws 11, 12 the latter can be shaped and located in another manner than described, for example above as well as below the pulpit tube 3. If a block is used as holder 4, it can be made from another material than plastic, and if it comprises two parts 9, 10 pivotally with respect to each other, these parts can alternatively be connected to each other by means of separate hinge-like means. The locking means 22 can consist of a part which can be laid in a loop around the object 2 and can be locked to the holder 4 or a part which extends through the holder 4 in accordance with the illustrated embodiment. Likewise, the locking means may comprise two separate parts which extend from two opposite sides of the holder or it can consist of another number of parts. The locking means 22 can consist of a chain or some other suitable means other than a wire, and it can be locked in another way than by means of padlock. One or several objects 2,31 can be suspended directly from the holder 4 and if the object is in the shape of suspension means 31, the latter can be of different types depending upon what kind of objects are to be carried. The holder can be secured to other types of elongated elements than rear pulpit tubes on boats and other kinds of objects, preferably boat accessories can be suspended and if necessary locked by means of the locking device. The holder 4 can also have a transverse, blind hole 60, which permits the holder being pushed over the end of a preferably upwardly directed bar (not shown). Instead of extending through a hole 23 in the holder 4, the wire 22 or the corresponding locking unit can be located between the parts 9, 10 of the holder 4 so that the wire 22 or the corresponding locking unit need not be integral with the holder 4 but is removable therefrom. The parts 9, 10 can have recesses 36 to receive the wire 22 or the corresponding locking unit such that the latter does not impede the securing of the holder 4. Locking of the suspension means 31 to the holder 4 can be achieved by means of friction engagement between said parts and/or by snapping the suspension means 31 to the holder 4.

In FIG. 5 a mast top arrangement is illustrated where four holders 4 are used as joints capable of being tightened so as to permit elongated elements 3 in the shape of four uniform frame pieces 40-43 to be secured to the holders 4 and in relation to each other by tightening of locking elements 11 and 12. In this case, there are two pairs of locking elements 11 and 12, i.e. one pair provided at one side of the hole 8 and the other pair at the other side thereof. Two of the holders are pushed upon anchoring means 44 and 45 from above and secured to the latter by tightening the locking elements 11 and 12. Between the anchoring means 44 and 45, the closed frame (comprised of the frame pieces 40-43) is secured to a mast 46 of a ship, for instance by means of screw joints 47 or the like. The holders are provided suspension means 31 for various boat accessories, such as a position light 48, a wind anemometer 49, a wind direction indicator 50, and an antenna 51 which is intended to be secured to the mast top. The frame pieces 40-43 preferably consists of uniform corner pieces and the anchoring members 44, 45 are also preferably uniform.

As shown in FIG. 6, the hole 60 of the holder 4 has recesses 52, 53. These recesses allow an object to be passed along wire 22 upon which the holder 4 is threaded. Also, the wire 22 can be used to lock an object to the holder 4.