Marine windshield and cockpit cover attachment system

A marine windshield and cockpit cover attachment system, utilizing a slot longitudinally extending along an elongated windshield frame, and where the windshield frame extends longitudinally around the edge of a windshield glass, where a series of plastic cover snap anchors are mounted within the slot. With the slot having inward facing lips, so that the anchors, having a pair of protruding tabs, are pressured onto the underside of the lips when a metal screw holding a plastic washer and a metal cover snap retainer, is inserted into the anchors so to clamp the anchors and cover snap retainers together on the slot lips, where the cover snap retainers are oriented in a forward and outward direction along the slot, and making no metal contact with the windshield frame. An alternate method included is a flexible anchor for attachment under a windshield lip of a hidden windshield lower frame.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a marine windshield and cockpit cover attachment system, and more specifically to a marine windshield cover attachment system utilizing lineal adjustable snaps, which are securely clamped along a groove or slot in either of the top and or the bottom of a windshield frame. The system includes an attachable and separable edge anchoring method, for attachment of a windshield and cockpit cover under a windshield bottom edge of a hidden windshield mounted lower frame.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A canvas type covering of a marine windshield and cockpit area is generally attached when the boat is not in use, either during storage or transportation, so as to protect the cockpit and commonly the windshield. A standardly accepted approach currently in use to attach a canvas or cover, employs a series of expanding fastener for fastening metal snaps within a groove along either the top and or the bottom of an extruded frame. One such method is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,388 issued to Vadney on Nov. 24, 1998, entitled, Clip Assembly; also as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,453,841 issued to Shearer, et al. on Sep. 24, 2002, entitled, Windshield Bottom Trim.

For many years it has been common to mount a boat cover to either the top frame, or the bottom frame of a boat windshield utilizing different types of fasteners for different types of boat covers. Inventor is aware of the following patents; U.S. Pat. No. 2,639,751 issued to Flaherty on May 26, 1953, entitled, Cover for Vehicles. And a Canadian Patent 685,026 issued to Dagenis, on Apr. 21, 1964, entitled, Windshield Rim Molding. The Canadian 062 patent shows a metal extrusion with a track or groove used for holding anchors and snaps, where the fastener anchor is adjustable along the groove and fixably tightened against elongated lips within the outer edges on the insides of the groove, by tightening a screw, where the screw holds a snap fastener.

One predominant example of boat cover windshield attachment from the later 1960's era and later is the Century Boats Company. Century used both types of covers, those that covered both the windshield and cockpit area and those that covered the cockpit area only, usually this type was from the top of the windshield. There are various publications which show top and bottom windshield frame covers and snaps from this era, such as the advertisement for a 1967 Century Resorter, shown on the copy provided (the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein). Other classic Century boat photos from this era are included, showing the covers in place.

As mentioned, some designs used an array of snaps on the top or the bottom of the outside of a windshield, as well an array of snaps on the inside bottom of the windshield was used. An example of this is an aluminum extrusion design dated March 1999, as was used by Pacific Coast Marine Windshields Inc (the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein). This extrusion is shown asFIG. 9marked as Prior Art.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,810,267 issued to Fussell et al. on May 14, 1974, entitled Boat Windshield Mounting Means, shows a windshield frame with a lineal groove on the lower outside of the front windshield. Although this patent does not disclose the use of snaps mounted on the bottom of the frame, the lineal groove in the lower windshield frame was readily adapted to mount such cover snaps as is shown herein asFIG. 8below marked as Prior Art. The most common type of snap fasteners used for this type of windshield frame in the era, are shown inFIG. 4andFIG. 3within U.S. Pat. No. 3,304,657 issued to Singleton on Feb. 21, 1967, entitled, Skiff Windshield for Boats, (filed on Sep. 29, 1964) or similarly as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,367,349 issued to O'link on Feb. 6, 1968, entitled, Boat Canopy Holding Means.

Also of interest, is U.S. Pat. No. 6,800,160 issued to Norman on Oct. 5, 2004, entitled Stress Free Mounting System for Sheet Material.

Inventor is also aware of U.S. Pat. No. 2,605,871, issued to Kress et al. On Aug. 15, 1952, entitled Fastening Device. This fastener is designed as an automotive molding attachment means, which uses a fixed fastener within a panel to attach a moulding having a track or slot, so as to be able to adjust the molding on the body panel.

Problems that arise with the expandable type of fastener as described in the Vadney U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,388 patent and again in the Shearer U.S. Pat. No. 6,453,841 patent, are that, over time or when heated by the sun or wet, the fastener becomes loose and can be easily misplaced along the groove, making cover attachment difficult. Also, this expandable type fastener cannot be retightened. Norman describes a solution to this problem in U.S. Pat. No. 6,800,160, where the screw threads are meant to cut through the plastic fastener into the aluminum extrusion on both the top and bottom windshield frame rails, but this may be subject to corrosion by galvanic action between the screw and the aluminum.

The fastener as described in Canadian patent 685,026, does not have the previously mentioned problem of galvanic action, with the plastic fastener within the channel alone contacting the frame rail, but the plastic fastener cannot be easily removed for replacement, if for instance the threads were stripped out of the fastener within the groove. The older established style snap clip, as is shown in Singleton U.S. Pat. No. 3,304,657 patent, cannot be fixed tightly and the metal-to-metal contact is prone to galvanic corrosion.

In another aspect of the current invention as described below, is adapted for attachment of a cover to the bottom edge of the windshield, which is suited for use to the invention as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/155,942 is specifically adapted for a windshield with a hidden mounting frame. Applicant is aware that several flexible catch systems that have been used, such as is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,122,394 issued to Brydon on Feb. 25, 1964, entitled Convertible To Interlock. Also as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,172,419 issued to Lewis on Mar. 9, 1965, entitled Canopy Lock for Boats. As well as U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,032 issued to Ellis, et al. on Jun. 1, 1993, entitled, Apparatus and Method for Rapidly Attaching a Boat Cover or Canopy to a Windshield.

Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provided a cover attachment fastener that can be tightened and if necessary retightened, without metal-to-metal contact.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cover attachment fastener that can be easily replaced without the need for any disassembly of the windshield frame.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a cover attachment fastener that is a single unit for easier installation.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a cover attachment fastener system for a windshield having a hidden lower mounting frame.

Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide a windshield and boat cover attachment system to suit existing manufactured covers.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a windshield cover attachment system that can be linearly adjustable, as may be required.

The marine windshield and boat cover attachment system of the present invention has other objects and features of advantage which will become apparent from and are set forth in more detail in, the accompanying drawings and following details.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The marine windshield and cockpit cover attachment system of the present invention is designed to fit onto the front of, either the top or the bottom of, a marine vessel windshield, and comprises briefly of an elongated windshield frame longitudinally extending around the edge of the windshield, and where the windshield frame has a top length and a bottom length, where the bottom length is mounted to a boat deck, and where the windshield frame has a forward and outward oriented slot longitudinally extending along the windshield frame, where the slot accepts a series of plastic cover snap anchors.

The forward oriented slots have inward facing lips on the slots outer edges, where each cover snap anchor attaches within the slot and may be adjusted linearly along the slot for matching to the boat cover's female snaps. These anchors have a central hole, where a screw holding a male cover snap retainer is threaded into, so the male retainer can be attached to the cover's female snap. The anchors are designed so that no metal-to-metal contact is made with the screw fastener and the windshield frame, while allowing the fastener to be tightened and retightened as required.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, the molded plastic anchor is wing-like, where the anchor wings or tabs, are inserted into the slot and rotated to extend under the slot lips. When the screw, holding the male snap retainer with a plastic washer thereunder as a unit, is tightened, the anchor is rotated and the screw clamps the tops of the tabs to the under edge of the slot lips and the washer to the outer edge of the slot, to fix the anchor and the snap retainer in a outward and forward orientation along said windshield frame and in the appropriate spot to coincide with the female snaps on the cover.

The anchor is caused to rotate, when the screw is turned to tighten, by the friction of the screw threads against the walls of the anchor's hole, thus causing the anchor tabs to come around and under the slot lips as the screw is tightened. The anchor may include one or more spring like extensions, where the extension when inserted into the slot spring out and cause the anchor to rotate into contact with the inner side of the slot, at which point when the screw, with washer and snap retainer is tightened together, the tabs come into contact under the slot lips. This spring like extension is designed so as to insure rotation of the anchor, such as may be needed if the threads on the anchor have been previously used and are loose.

As well the first embodiment of the present invention the snap retainer anchor includes an alternate spline on upper contact surface of tabs. Where the splines will fit into coinciding grooves under slot lips, so as to prevent counter rotation and ejection of anchor under extreme tension.

Further, the first and second embodiment of the present invention allows the anchor, the screw, the flat washer and male snap retainer to be sold and installed as a single unit.

In a second embodiment of the present invention the molded plastic anchors have a base with apposing vertical tabs, where the vertical anchor tabs, spring out into contact with the inner side of the slot after they are inserted into the slot and under the slot lips. When the screw holding the male snap retainer with plastic washer thereunder, is tightened, the screw pull the tabs up and the tabs clamp against the underside of the slot lips, with the washer clamping against the outer-edge of the slot, and so fixing the anchor with the snap retainer in a outward and forward orientation along the windshield frame. The anchor and fastener can be adjusted and tightened in any appropriate spot along the windshield frame to coincide with the female snaps on the boat cover.

In a third embodiment of the present invention a hidden windshield mounting system is installed on a boat deck, where the bottom windshield frame length is mountable to a boat deck rearward of the windshield. In this configuration, the windshield is positioned up a small distance, away from the boat deck, thereby forming a forward and outward oriented slot, longitudinally extending along the bottom of the windshield.

The slot below the windshield accepts a series of cover snap anchors, where these anchors are J-shaped to hook or attach under the bottom of the windshield glass. The anchors include on their upper section a male snap retainer for attachment to the female snaps of a common boat cover as above.

To attach these anchors, the anchors are pushed in under the bottom edge of the windshield glass unattached to the boat cover, or attached to the boat cover and then pushed under the bottom edge of the windshield glass.

These anchors may also include a second protruding tab, where the second tab is directed to the boat deck to assist in securing the anchors to the windshield bottom edge by their friction against the boat deck. The anchor second protruding tab has spring like qualities, wherein the second protruding tab holds the anchor against the windshield bottom. The second protruding tab may be made of two flexible materials molded into a single unitary member.

As well these anchors include a smooth surface under the male snap retainer to protect the lower front area of the windshield from being scratched, either when in use, or when being adjusted along the slot during attachment of the boat cover. Further, the anchors can be sewn onto the edge of a boat cover as opposed to using male and female snaps.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The marine windshield and cockpit cover attachment system of the present invention is generally referred to as10as shown in a perspective view inFIG. 1. The cover attachment system10includes an elongated windshield frame12, where windshield frame12consists of a bottom frame12aand top frame12band where windshield bottom frame12aand top frame12bextend longitudinally around the edge of the windshield glass14. Windshield bottom frame12ais mounted onto a boat deck16. Behind windshield14is a cockpit18.

As best shown in partial sectional viewFIG. 2a, bottom windshield frame12ahas a lower dual segmented chamfered surface13for mounting onto deck16with a windshield gasket20, where gasket20creates a seal between the bottom frame12aand boat deck16. Bottom windshield frame12a, which is mounted onto deck16using screws21, where screws21are covered by a lineal flexible screw cover21a, where lineal flexible screw cover21aextends along the outer length of lower windshield frame12a.

FIG. 2ashows how the bottom windshield frame12ais rigidly supported by lower segmented chamfered surface13afor mounting onto deck16and windshield gasket20in the forward windshield mounting area.

FIG. 2bshows how the bottom windshield frame12ais rigidly supported by lower segmented chamfered surface13bfor mounting onto deck16and windshield gasket20in the rearward windshield mounting area.

Windshield bottom frame12aand top frame12bhave forward and outward oriented slots22and24respectively, where slots22and24extend longitudinally along the windshield bottom frame12aand top frame12b. Slots22and24include inward facing lips26and28on the slots outer edges. Slots22and24accept a series of plastic cover snap anchors30, where each cover snap anchor30is inserted within the slots22and24and anchors30are adjusted linearly along slots22and24for tightening onto lips26and28, in a position to match the boat cover's female snaps (not shown).

In the first embodiment of the present invention as best shown in top viewFIG. 3a, bottom viewFIG. 3b, end viewFIG. 3cand side viewFIG. 3d, anchors30have a central hole30a, where a screw32holding a round male cover snap retainer32aas seen in sectional end viewFIG. 3e, with a plastic flat washer32bthereunder, are threaded therein hole30a. Anchors30include extending tabs30band30c, where when anchors30are inserted into slots22or24, anchors30are rotated so tabs30band30cextend under slot lips26and28as seen in end viewFIGS. 3eand3f. When screw32is tightened, screw32clamps the tops of the tabs30band30cto the inner edge of the slot lips26and28and washer32bis in turn clamped to the outer edges of slots26or28, thus fixing anchor30and the snap retainer32ain a outward and forward orientation along windshield frame12.

Anchor30may include one or more spring like projection34, where the projection34springs out when inserted into the slot22or24to insure anchor30is rotated into contact with the inner sides of the slot22or24as seen in end viewFIG. 3g. This insures that tabs30band30ccome under and contact under the slot lips26and28when screw32is tightened.

As best seen inFIG. 4aa close up end view of the first embodiment of the present invention, shows the snap retainer anchor30with alternate splines30dand30e, on upper contact surface of tabs30band30c. Where splines30dand30efit into grooves26aand28aunder slot lips26and28, so as to prevent counter rotation and ejection of anchor30under extreme tension.

FIG. 4cis a close up side view of the first embodiment of the invention showing the snap retainer anchor30, the screw32, the male snap retainer32aand the flat washer32bas a single insertable unit33. The single unit33makes stocking and sales easier, as well as for simpler installation.

In a second embodiment of the present invention as best shown in top viewFIG. 5a, bottom viewFIG. 5b, end viewFIG. 5cand side viewFIG. 5d, the anchors130have a central hole130a, where a screw132holding a male cover snap retainer132a, with a plastic washer132bthereunder, are threaded therein hole130a. Anchors130include opposing vertical extending tabs130b,130c,130dand130e, where when anchor130is inserted into slots22or24, tabs130band130cspring out and extend under slot lips26and28as seen in end viewFIGS. 4eand4f. When screw132is tightened, screw132clamps the tops of the tabs130b,130c,130dand130eto the inner edge of the slot lips26and28and washer132bis in turn clamped to the outer edges of slots26or28, thus fixing anchor130and the snap retainer132ain a outward and forward orientation along windshield frame12.

In a third embodiment of the present invention as best shown in partial sectional viewFIG. 6, a hidden windshield bottom frame212ais installed on boat deck216, where the bottom windshield frame212ais mountable to boat deck216rearward of the windshield214. In this configuration, the forward and outward oriented slot222extends longitudinally along the bottom edge214aof windshield214. Slot222may best be seen in a partial perspective view inFIG. 7.

Slot222below the windshield accepts a series of plastic cover snap anchors230, where anchors230are J-shaped to hook under the bottom of the windshield glass214a. Anchor230is shown with a soft molded extension230a. The round male snap retainer232aattaches by rivet232bon the anchor's230outward facing area, for attachment to the female snaps of a common boat cover (not shown). Alternately, anchors230could be sewn onto the edge of a boat cover. As well, the number of anchors230and the length of anchors230may vary depending on application.

As best seen in a partial sectional view inFIG. 8, a classic type of windshield and cockpit cover attachment system is marked as Prior Art, showing windshield314with bottom frame312awith anchor slot322and top frame312bwith anchor slot323. Attached on lower frame312ais snap clip333, where affixed to snap clip333is a male snap retainer333a. Inserted in upper frame slot323is snap retainer anchor330, where male snap retainer332ais mounted onto snap retainer anchor330using screw332.

As best seen in a partial sectional view inFIG. 9a windshield414with a bottom frame extrusion412ais attached to deck416, by screw421, which is covered by screw cover421a, also marked as Prior Art, which is a design from Pacific Coast Marine Windshield Inc. The bottom frame412ahas a rearward facing slot422, where a male snap retainer clip432attaches a male snap retainer432a.

It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto and their equivalents.