Cover for port light

Disclosed is a locking and sealing arrangement for a port light wherein a cover member has a pair of grooves formed therein; a cover mounting member has a groove formed therein; one groove of the cover member contains an O-ring for forming a water tight seal with the cover mounting member; the other groove of the cover member is aligned with the groove of the cover mounting member so as to form a channel, when the cover member is in place; and an elongated, pliable locking member is inserted in the channel to create a locking engagement between the cover member and the cover mounting member.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is directed toward covers for port lights or windows 
of floating vessels. 
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
It is a common practice in the design of boats, ships and like floating 
vessels to have hinged, detachable covers for the windows or port lights 
of the vessel. Generally, a metal frame is securely mounted around the 
port light on the inside of the vessel's wall. A cover, normally 
comprising a glass plate with a metal rim, is hingedly connected along one 
side to the metal frame mounted around the port light. A rubber gasket 
lines the metal frame so that a water tight seal is created when the cover 
is pivoted shut; thereby compressing the gasket to cause a sealing 
relationship between the metal frame and the metal rim of the cover. Wing 
nuts are used to compress the gasket further and to maintain the sealing 
engagement. 
This prior art arrangement for covering and sealing a port light has 
several inherent disadvantages. First, due to the great stresses created 
by the previously described hinge assembly the frame around the port light 
must be made of an expensive, noncorrosive metal of substantial structural 
strength, such as brass, and cannot be made out of inexpensive materials, 
such as plastic. Secondly, the wing nuts provide sharp projections that 
have frequently resulted in serious injuries to persons on board, 
particularly in rough seas when one is likely to be thrown against the 
cover by the rocking of the boat. Third, the differential pressure of the 
hinge assembly can permanently deform the gasket to a greater extent 
adjacent the hinges than compared to portions of the gasket more remote to 
the hinges; thereby causing water leakage. Also, the metal rim of the 
cover normally has a relatively sharp flange portion disposed to engage 
the gasket; which also causes the rapid deterioration of the gasket. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is directed toward a locking and sealing arrangement 
for a port light of a floating vessel. The arrangement comprises a plastic 
cover member having formed therein a pair of spaced-apart, peripheral 
grooves, a first groove and a second groove. An O-ring is positioned in 
the second groove, so as to form a water-tight seal with a plastic cover 
mounting member. The cover mounting member has formed therein a third 
groove which is aligned with the second groove of the cover member to form 
a channel, when the cover member is in place. An elongated and pliable 
locking member is inserted through an access bore into the channel. The 
locking member spans the juncture of the cover member and cover mounting 
member, thereby providing a locking relationship therebetween. 
By virtue of this novel invention, a locking and sealing arrangement is 
created with stresses in the sealing engagement being minimized, thus 
allowing use of inexpensive materials, such as plastic, and preventing 
rapid gasket deterioration and deformation. Also, sharp projections are 
avoided. Hence, the above described problems of the prior art are 
overcome.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to the drawings, a locking and sealing arrangement 10 is shown 
for use with a window, or as referred to in the trade, a port light 12 of 
a floating vessel 14. The port light 12 can be any commonly found vessel 
opening, generally for viewing and/or ventilation, formed in a wall 14 or 
like structure of a boat, ship or like floating vessel. 
The arrangement 10 comprises a cover member 16, preferably having a pair of 
opposed flat sides 18 and 20 and an outwardly facing curved rim 22. 
Although the rim 22 of the illustrative embodiment is circular, the rim 22 
can assume a number of configurations, such as those representative of 
conventional port light configurations. One of the most common 
configurations is an essentially rectangular shape with rounded corners. 
As will become apparent hereinafter, corners of the rim 22, if any, must 
have some curvature; hence, the rim 22 can be described as being 
continuously curved, even though the degree of curvature might vary along 
the rim 22. Integrally formed in the rim 22 is a pair of spaced apart, 
peripheral grooves, first and second grooves 24 and 26, are shown with an 
arcuate cross-sectional configuration. Any configuration resulting in a 
groove is acceptable. The cover member 16 is preferably formed of plastic, 
and if used for viewing, a transparent plastic. 
A cover mounting member 28, preferably formed of plastic, is secured to the 
wall 14 in a conventional manner, such as, for example, by a plurality of 
bolts 30 and a water sealing adhesive. The cover mounting member 28 has an 
inwardly facing surface 32 which substantially has the same configuration 
and dimensions as the rim 22 of the cover member 16. More precisely, the 
surface 32 will have dimensional tolerances, slightly larger than the rim 
22, so as to allow the cover member 16 to slide into the cover mounting 
member 28, so that member 28 surrounds member 16. 
In the preferred embodiment, the inwardly facing surface 32 has a radius 
greater than the radius of the port light 12, so that a portion of the 
wall 14 defines a ledge 34. Since the ledge 34 does not provide any 
sealing, it does not have to completely encircle the port light 12, but it 
normally does. The inwardly facing surface 32 has a third groove 36 formed 
therein. When the cover member 16 is positioned inside the cover mounting 
member 28, with its flat surface 20 in abutting relationship with the 
ledge 34, the first groove 24 and the third groove 36 will be aligned with 
each other in opposing relationship. This alignment of the grooves 24 and 
26 defines a channel 38 which spans the juncture of the cover member 16 
and the cover mounting member 28. Preferably, but not necessarily, the 
grooves 24 and 26 have cross-sectional configurations of the same size and 
shape. An access bore 40 extends from the outer surface 42 of the cover 
mounting member 28 through the same and intersects the third groove 36, 
and therefore the channel 38, in a relatively tangential manner. 
A resilient gasket in the form of a rubber O-ring 44 is snapped into place 
in the second groove 26 of the rim 22 prior to the placement of the cover 
member 16 into the inner confines of the cover mounting member 28. The 
cover member 16 is then forced into the confines of the cover mounting 
member 28, until the flat surface 20 comes to rest against the ledge 34. 
The O-ring 44 becomes compressed as the rim 22 slides along the inwardly 
facing surface 32, so as to provide a water tight seal against moisture 
and water. At the same time, the first groove 24 and the third groove 36 
become aligned to define the channel 38. Generally, the second groove 26 
should be positioned to prevent water from reaching the first groove 24, 
consequently it is positioned adjacent the flat surface 20. 
A pliable, elongated locking member 46, whose diameter is approximately 
equal or slightly less than the dimensions of the channel 38, is threaded 
through the access bore 40 and is received by the channel 38. Preferably, 
the locking member 46 has high tensile and shear strength and one example 
would be a nylon monofilament or steel wire cable. However, although less 
desirable, even a rubber locking member can be adapted to work. The 
locking member 46 terminates in an enlarged or stop portion 48. When the 
locking member has been threaded to the extent that the enlarged portion 
48 is adjacent the cover mounting member 28, further threading is 
prevented. This is due to the enlarged portion 48 having greater 
dimensions than the cross-sectional dimensions of the access bore 40. In 
the preferred embodiment, the channel 38 extends around the entire 
circumference of the cover member 16. However, in most cases, it has been 
found that to provide sufficient locking engagement, the channel 38, and 
therefore the locking member 46, needs to extend around only a portion of 
the circumference, such as one-third of the distance. In such a case, the 
rim 22 needs to have a curved contour only for that portion having the 
channel 38. On the other hand, if extraordinary locking strength is 
required, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the channel 
38 can encircle at least portions of the rim more than once when the 
channel 38, and therefore the grooves 24 and 36, take a helical 
configuration. 
A pair of handles 50 and 52 are mounted on opposed sides of the cover 
member 16 to assist in removing the cover member 16 from its sealing 
engagement with the cover mounting member 28, after the locking member 46 
has been removed. 
Although particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and 
described here, there is no intention to thereby limit the invention to 
the details of such embodiments. On the contrary, the intention is to 
cover all modifications, alternatives, embodiments, usages and equivalents 
of the subject invention as fall within the spirit and scope of the 
invention, specification and the appended claims.