Abstract:
A boat canopy mounting system having a front mounting assembly and a rear mounting assembly. The mounting system is able to secure boat canopies and other tops or sunshades to boat towers. The mounting system is further able to be employed on boat towers of varying configurations without any modifications. To accomplish this feature, the rear mounting assembly may include a plurality of clamp mounting locations such that an installer may selectively choose the clamp mounting locations to accommodate boat towers of varying design.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/348,023, filed Feb. 6, 2006 now abandoned, entitled CLAMP ASSEMBLY FOR MOUNTING A BOAT CANOPY, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
   STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
   Not Applicable. 

   BACKGROUND 
   1. The Field of the Invention 
   The present disclosure relates generally to mounting systems for canopies, biminis, sunshades and tops for boats and other vehicles. 
   2. Description of Related Art 
   In order to create a shelter on a boat, most consumers purchase a bimini top and mount it to the gunwales of the boat. U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,139 to King 1996 shows a typical bimini top used for ski boats. A bimini top is a form of a sunshade with 2 to 4 inverted U-shaped bows held together with hinges to create a collapsible frame work that supports material for shelter. 
   In the past most, ski ropes have been typically attached to the transom of the boat or to a ski pylori located in the center of the boat. The rope has been generally located about one to two feet above the water surface while pulling a skier. With the popularity of wake boarding and the desire to enhance water sports performance, boat manufactures now mount a metal framework, called a tower, to the gunwales of the boat. The tower extends upwards at an angle to create a mounting point for the rope that is relatively centered over the boat and that is about six to eight feet above the water surface thus enhancing an upward pull for the person being towed. U.S. Pat. Des. 409,972 to Todd 1999 shows a typical tower used for towing water sports activities. The framework of a typical tower consequently interferes with the framework of a traditional bimini top thus rendering it useless. Further, because of the different designs of boat towers, it is difficult to utilize the same mounting hardware on each installation. It would therefore be an improvement over the previously available mounting systems to provide a system for mounting boat canopies to towers that is able to accommodate towers of varying design. 
   The features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the disclosure without undue experimentation. The features and advantages of the disclosure may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent from a consideration of the subsequent detailed description presented in connection with the accompanying drawings in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a boat with a tower having a canopy mounted using a front mounting assembly and a rear mounting assembly in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a close-up of the rear mounting assembly shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a side view of a mounting plate of the rear mounting assembly; 
       FIG. 4  is a side view of a clamp for use with the rear mounting assembly; 
       FIG. 5  is a top view of the clamp depicted in  FIG. 4 ; 
       FIG. 6  is a bottom view of the clamp depicted in  FIG. 4 ; 
       FIG. 7  illustrates two clamps of the type shown in  FIG. 4  mounted to the mounting plate shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
       FIG. 8  is an exploded view of a clamp and mounting plate; 
       FIG. 9  is an alternative embodiment of a mounting plate; 
       FIG. 10  is a side view of a fork clamp; 
       FIG. 11  is a top view of the fork clamp shown in  FIG. 10 ; 
       FIG. 12  is another side view of the fork clamp shown in  FIG. 10 ; and 
       FIG. 13  is an exploded view of the front mounting assembly shown in  FIG. 1 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles in accordance with the disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, and any additional applications of the principles of the disclosure as illustrated herein, which would normally occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the disclosure claimed. 
   The framework of a boat wakeboard tower interferes with the framework of a traditional boat canopy, thus rendering the two essentially incompatible. The present invention solves this problem by creating a canopy or top, such as a folding canopy top (FCT), mounted to the boat tower by the novel apparatus defined herein. One previous way to fasten a canopy to the tower was to drill holes through the frame of the tower and the framework of the canopy and then use bolts and removable pins to hold the canopy in place. This approach has several disadvantages. First, the structural integrity of the tower and canopy framework is severely compromised by drilling holes in them. Canopies mounted in this manner are also difficult for consumers and professionals to install. Further, it is difficult to drill and align holes so that the canopy functions and fits properly. Second, there is no adjustment once the holes have been drilled. Third, the thin wall tubing of the tower allows the holes to wear down from the vibration of the boat and any pins or fasteners can eventually fall out or become loose. Next, the bolting method does not have the ability to provide the proper structural strength when filling the gap between the two frameworks. Fifth, it is impossible to remove the canopy from the tower without permanent holes/damage to the tower. Finally, the overall appearance of the craftsmanship looks substandard. The present invention eliminates the short comings of the prior art described above. 
     FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of a boat  10  with a tower  12  mounted thereon in the conventional fashion.  FIG. 1  further shows a boat canopy  14  secured to the boat tower  12  with round clamps  16 A- 16 D, fork clamps  18 A and  18 B, and a pair of mounting plates  20 A and  20 B. The mounting plates  20 A and  20 B are each secured on opposing sides of the tower  12  to the trailing posts of the tower  12  by the round clamps  16 A- 16 D as shown in  FIG. 1 . The fork clamps  18 A and  18 B are each secured on opposing sides of the tower  12  to the leading posts of the tower  12  as is also shown in  FIG. 1 . A framework  22  of the boat canopy  14  is in turn secured to the mounting plates  20 A and  20 B and the fork clamps  18 A and  18 B in a fashion that will be described hereinafter. As observed in  FIG. 1 , the boat canopy  14  is mounted above the tower  12  in a substantially horizontal position. 
     FIG. 2  illustrates a perspective view of the round clamps  16 A and  16 C secured to the mounting plate  20 A, which operate collectively to secure the framework  22  of the boat canopy  14  to a trailing post of the tower framework  12 . As observed in  FIG. 2 , the mounting plate  20 A is substantially triangular in shape, and comprises a top edge  20 A- 1 , a leading edge  20 A- 2 , and a bottom edge  20 A- 3 . Disposed adjacent to the top edge  20 A- 1  are two offset rows of mounting holes  24  extending horizontally across the mounting plate  20 A. The round clamp  16 C is secured to one of the mounting holes  24 . The round clamp  16 A is secured to the mounting plate  20 A proximate the junction of the leading edge  20 A- 2  and the bottom edge  20 A- 3 . Both of the round clamps  16 A and  16 C are clamped onto the trailing post of the boat tower  12 . Clamps  23 A and  23 B, secure the framework of the boat canopy  14  to the mounting plate  20 A. 
     FIG. 3  illustrates a side view of the mounting plate  20 A. The mounting holes  24  are arranged in a manner to allow various mounting positions for the round clamp  16 C. The various mounting positions allow the mounting plate  20 A to universally fit a wide range of boat towers  12  of different designs. A mounting hole  25 A is located proximate the junction of the top edge  20 A- 1  and the leading edge  20 A- 2 . A mounting hole  25 B is located proximate the junction of the top edge  20 A- 1  and the bottom edge  20 A- 3 . A mounting hole  25 C is located proximate the junction of the leading edge  20 A- 2  and the bottom edge  20 A- 3 . The mounting holes  25 A and  25 B facilitate securing the clamps  23 A and  23 B, respectively, to the mounting plate  20 A and the mounting hole  25 C facilitates securing the round clamp  16 A to the mounting plate  20 A as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     FIG. 4  illustrates a side view of the round clamp  16 A with a plate mounting hole  26 , plate mounting base  28  and clamp mounting holes  30 A and  30 B. As can be observed in  FIG. 4 , the round clamp  16 A is substantially circular in shape when viewed from the side. The round clamp  16 A further comprises an inner surface  27  adapted to engage a post on the boat tower  12 . The round clamp  28  includes an outer surface  29 . As can be observed in  FIG. 4 , the round clamp  16 A is formed from two semi-circular pieces  16 A- 1  and  16 A- 2 . The clamp mounting holes  30 A and  30 B extend from the outer surface  29  on the piece  16 A- 2  and into the piece  16 A- 1 . The clamp mounting holes  30 A and  30 B may include counter-bores as shown in  FIG. 4  to allow a fastener, such as a screw or a bolt, to sit flush with or below the outer surface  29  when it is installed into one of the mounting holes  30 A and  30 B. The plate mounting hole  26 , located in the plate mounting base  28 , extends from the outer surface  29  to the inner surface  27  of the round clamp  16 A. In particular, both the plate mounting hole  26  and the plate mounting base  28  are disposed on the piece  16 A- 1 . 
     FIG. 5  illustrates a top view of the round clamp  16 A. The plate mounting hole  26  is located at approximately the center of the plate mounting base  28 . As can be observed in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the plate mounting base  28 ; 
     FIG. 6  illustrates a bottom view of the piece  16 A- 2  of the round clamp  16 A. The clamp mounting holes  30 A and  30 B are located at opposing ends of the piece  16 A- 2 . 
     FIG. 7  illustrates a side view of the mounting plate  20 A and shows some of the features of the present invention. The round clamp  16 C is mountable in any of the mounting holes  24 . The round clamp  16 C is shown mounted in one of the mounting holes  24 . In addition, a second round clamp  16 C is shown in phantom lines to illustrate that the positioning of the round clamp  16 C is adjustable via the mounting holes  24  to thereby accommodate boat towers  12  of varying designs. Further, as shown in  FIG. 7 , the round clamp  16 C is selectively rotatable in the mounting holes  24  as demonstrated by the arrows  100 , to thereby accommodate boat towers  12  of varying designs. The arrows  100  illustrate and represent the rotational movement of the round clamp  16 C in the mounting holes  24 . The round clamp  16 A is shown mounted in the hole  25 C (see  FIG. 3 ). The round clamp  16 A is selectively rotatable in the mounting hole  25 C as demonstrated by the arrows  102 , to thereby accommodate boat towers  12  of varying designs. 
     FIG. 8  illustrates an exploded view of the mounting plate  20 A and the round clamp  16 A, as they are assembled together. The round clamp  16 A is secured with a fastening device  32 C, such as a bolt, to the mounting plate  20 A. The fastening device  32 C passes through the hole  25 C in the mounting plate  20 A to thereby engage an inner surface of the plate mounting hole  26 . In one embodiment, the engagement between the fastening device  32 C and the inner surface of the plate mounting hole  26  is a threaded engagement. The two semi-circular pieces  16 A- 1  and  16 A- 2  of the round clamp  16 A are secured together by fastening devices  32 A and  32 B, which may be bolts. The fastening devices  32 A and  32 B may engage inner surfaces of the clamp mounting holes  30 B and  30 A, respectively. The engagement between the fastening devices  32 A and  32 B with the inner surfaces of the clamp mounting holes  30 B and  30 A, respectively, may be by threaded engagement. A washer  33  may also be used between the fastener  32 C and the mounting plate  20 A as shown in  FIG. 8 . 
     FIG. 9  illustrates a side view of an alternative embodiment of a mounting plate  104 . In this embodiment, the mounting holes  106  are shown in a single straight row. 
   It will be appreciated that the design of the mounting plate  20 B and round clamps  16 B and  16 D may be the same as described above. 
     FIG. 10  illustrates a side view of the fork clamp  18 A. The fork clamp  18 A is comprised of two semi-circular pieces  18 A- 1  and  18 A- 2 . The fork clamp  18 A further comprises an inner surface  50  and an outer surface  52 . The inner surface  50  of the fork clamp  18 A is adapted to engage a post of the boat tower  12 . Holes  34 A and  34 B extend from the outer surface  52  of the piece  18 A- 1  and into the piece  18 A- 2 . The holes  34 A and  34 B may include counter-bores as shown in  FIG. 10  to allow fasteners, such as screws or bolts, to sit flush with or below the outer surface  52  when they are installed into the holes  34 A and  34 B. The fork clamp  18 A further comprises two members  41 A and  41 B that define a slot  40 . The members  41 A and  41 B extend outwardly and parallel from the piece  18 A- 2 . A hole  46  extends through each of the extended members  41 A and  41 B. The hole  46  is adapted to receive a fastening device  38 , such as a pin. When installed into the hole  46 , the fastening device  38  extends through the slot  40  as shown in  FIG. 10 . A lanyard  36  is used to retain the fastening device  38  in proximity to the fork clamp  18 A. One end of the lanyard  36  is attached to the fastening device  38  while the other end is secured to piece  18 A- 1  via a small tab secured by a fastener  42 . 
     FIG. 11  illustrates a top view of the fork clamp  18 A. Fastening holes  34 A and  34 B are disposed on opposing ends of piece  18 A- 1 . The small tab is fastened to the clamp  18 A with the fastener  42 . 
     FIG. 12  illustrates an end view of the fork clamp  18 A. The slot  40  is defined by members  41 A and  41 B. The hole  46  extends through members  41 A and  41 B. 
     FIG. 13  illustrates an exploded view of the fork clamp  18 A. Fasteners  44 A and  44 B are inserted through holes  34 A and  34 B, respectively, to thereby engage an inner surface of holes  34 A and  34 B, in the piece  18 A- 2 . The engagement between the fasteners  44 A and  44 B with the inner surfaces of the holes  34 A and  34 B, respectively, may be by threaded engagement. A support  48  may be disposed between the framework  22  of the top  14  and the fork clamp  18 A. A tab  54  disposed on the end of the support  48  may be inserted into the slot  40 . The tab  54  may include a hole  56  that aligns with hole  46 , when the tab  54  is installed in slot  40 . With the tab  54  installed into the slot  40 , the fastening device  38  can be inserted through the holes  46  and  56  to thereby secure the tab  54  and the support  48  to the fork clamp  18 A. The support  48  may pivot forwards and backwards as shown by the arrows  58  in  FIG. 13 . The top of the support  48  is secured to the framework  22  of the boat canopy  14  via a clamp  60 . Clamp  60  is in turn secured to a tab  62  extending from the top of the support  48  by a fastener  64 . 
   It should be noted that as used herein and in the claims which appear below, that the term “boat canopy” refers to boat canopies, bimini tops, sunshades and any other tops designed to protect the occupants of a boat from inclement weather and the sun. 
   In the foregoing Detailed Description, various features of the present disclosure are grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed disclosure requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description of the Disclosure by this reference, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of the present disclosure. 
   It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the present disclosure. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims are intended to cover such modifications and arrangements. Thus, while the present disclosure has been shown in the drawings and described above with particularity and detail, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications, including, but not limited to, variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use may be made without departing from the principles and concepts set forth herein.