Abstract:
An apparatus and associated method relating to a tiller for steering a boat. The tiller has an elongated body proximally connected to a steering mechanism portion of the boat and cantilevered therefrom, terminating at a distal end that is ergonomically responsive to a sailor&#39;s manual steering of the boat. The tiller also has a navigational device mounted to the body and thereby operably presented to the sailor at a desired viewing angle to facilitate the sailor reading an output display of the navigational device while steering the boat.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of the earlier filing date of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/267,037. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The present embodiments relate generally to boats, and more particularly as discussed herein but without limitation to tillers used in boats such as sailboats and iceboats. Both sailboats and iceboats operate by harnessing wind and are thereby propelled upon the water or ice, respectively. A sailor steers both kinds of boats by controlling a tiller that is connected to a steering member, such as a rudder in a sailboat, or runners (sometimes called skates or skis) in an iceboat. In both cases the tiller is connected to a steering post which, in turn, is connected to the steering member. Typically, the tiller in a sailboat is situated between the sailor and the stern (rear end) of the sailboat. Typically, the tiller in an iceboat is situated between the sailor and the bow (front end) of an iceboat, although stern-steering iceboats exist as well. 
         [0003]    The sailor must have the necessary skills and ability to control a number of operational parameters to navigate a course at a desired direction and a desired speed. Some inherent characteristics of boating, such as in but not necessarily limited to competitive boating, subjects those skills and ability to heightened scrutiny, making it advantageous for the sailor to seek out and apply methodologies and technologies that aid in navigating the designated course. The ability to collect, store, and recall navigational information in a meaningful and useful way along the course is illustrative of the types of methodologies and technologies being pursued. It is to improvements in those methodologies and technologies that the claimed embodiments are directed. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    In some embodiments a tiller apparatus for steering a boat is provided. The tiller apparatus has an elongated body defining a first mounting configuration at a proximal end thereof that is sized to be operably attachable to a steering mechanism portion of the boat. The tiller apparatus also has a distal end that is configured to be ergonomically responsive to a sailor&#39;s manual steering of the boat. The tiller apparatus further has a second mounting configuration, medially disposed between the proximal and distal ends, that is sized to directly support a navigational device to aid the sailor in steering the boat along a desired course. 
         [0005]    In some embodiments a tiller is provided for steering a boat. The tiller has an elongated body proximally connected to a steering mechanism portion of the boat and cantilevered therefrom, terminating at a distal end that is ergonomically responsive to a sailor&#39;s manual steering of the boat. The tiller also has a navigational device mounted to the body and thereby operably presented to the sailor at a desired viewing angle to facilitate the sailor reading an output display of the navigational device while steering the boat. 
         [0006]    In some embodiments a method is provided that includes steps of obtaining a boat tiller having an elongated body; connecting a proximal end of the boat tiller to a steering mechanism portion of a boat; placing a navigational device in a recessed portion of a mounting configuration at an upstanding viewing angle that presents an output display of the navigational device to a sailor of the boat; and after the placing step, moving the mounting configuration from an unlatched position to a latched position to affix the navigational device to the boat tiller at the upstanding viewing angle. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is an isometric depiction of a portion of an iceboat that is constructed according to the present embodiments. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is an isometric depiction of a portion of a sailboat that is constructed according to the present embodiments. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged isometric depiction of the tiller in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  depicts a side view of the tiller of  FIG. 3 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional depiction taken along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 4 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  depicts a bottom view of the tiller of  FIG. 3 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  depicts a side view similar to  FIG. 3  but of a tiller that is constructed in accordance with alternative embodiments of the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 8  depicts a partial isometric view of another tiller that is constructed in accordance with alternative embodiments of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0015]      FIG. 1  is a partial, isometric depiction of an iceboat  100  that includes a steering post  102  that is, in turn, connected to front runners (not shown) which are steered to guide the iceboat  100 . A tiller  104  is connected to the steering post  102 . By rotating the tiller  104  about the steering post  102 , the steering post  102  rotates, which in turn rotates the front runner (not shown). Therefore, in use, rotating the tiller  104  around the steering post  102  steers the iceboat  100 . 
         [0016]      FIG. 2  similarly is a partial, isometric depiction of a sailboat  200  that includes a steering post  202  and a tiller  204  connected to the steering post  202 . Rotating the tiller  204  rotates the steering post  202 , which in turn rotates a rudder (not shown). Therefore, in use, rotating the tiller  204  steers the sailboat  200 . 
         [0017]      FIG. 3  is an isometric depiction of a tiller  300 . The tiller  300  has an elongated body  302  defining a mounting configuration at a proximal end thereof that is sized to be operably attachable to the steering mechanism of the boat, such as the steering post  102 . A distal end of the body  302  terminates in an arrangement designed to be ergonomically responsive to the sailor&#39;s hand in manually steering the tiller  300 . In these illustrative embodiments the distal end is configured to have a handle  308  defining a central opening (such as the D-shaped handle shown) through which the sailor can their gloved fingers to grip the tiller  300 . 
         [0018]    Another mounting configuration, medially disposed between the proximal and distal ends, is sized to directly support a navigational device (see below) to aid the sailor is steering the boat along a desired course. In the illustrative embodiments of  FIG. 3  the medial mounting configuration is a recessed portion  304  that is defined by a surface of the body  302 , although the claimed embodiments are not so limited. 
         [0019]    The medial mounting configuration also includes a retainer mechanism that is selectively moveable between an unlatched position, whereby the navigational device is removably insertable in the recessed portion  304 , and a latched position, whereby the navigational device is securely affixed to the body  302  in the recessed portion  304 . For example, in these illustrative embodiments the retainer mechanism is a retainer clip  310  that is selectively attachable to the body  302  via a removable and replaceable retainer clip fastener  312 . 
         [0020]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , the recessed portion  304  is a notch-like indent in the body  302 . The recessed portion  304  of the body  302  is shaped to allow for a navigational device (not shown) to be mounted to the body  302 . The navigational device is an information appliance that focuses on handling a particular type of information and related tasks. A navigational device can include, but is not limited to, global positioning systems (GPS), cell phones, smart phones, speedometers, altimeters, communications systems, etc. Navigational devices can record trip information, provide course tracking, perform data collection and storage, provide trip comparisons, allow communications between the sailor and others, etc. 
         [0021]    The navigational device can be mounted in the recessed portion  304  to allow the sailor to see an output display screen of the navigational device from the steering position. The shape of the recessed portion  304  can vary to accommodate different navigational devices. In other embodiments, the navigational device can be mounted to the body  302  by mounting the navigational device to a support structure ( FIG. 7 ) that is fastened to the body  302 . It is contemplated that the navigational device can be retained in the recessed portion  304  in any manner so long as the navigational device is mounted such that the sailor can collect data of view the output display on the navigational device. 
         [0022]    The retainer clip  310  is fastened to the body  302  by a retainer clip fastener  312 . The retainer clip  310  is positioned to secure the navigational device to the body  302  without obstructing the view of the output display screen of the navigational device. The retainer clip  310  secures the navigational device by holding the navigational device against the body  302  and can be rotated or moved in and out of a securing position. To accommodate different-sized navigational devices, the retainer clip  310  can be of any suitable configuration. 
         [0023]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , the handle  308  is located on a distal end of the body  302  of the tiller  300 . The opposite end of the body  302  is hollow to telescopingly engage the shaft  314 . That is, the shaft  314  can selectively slide within the body  302  to extend or shorten the span between the proximal and distal ends, or in other words to lengthen or shorten the effective length of the tiller  300 , allowing the sailor to adjust the position of the tiller and the navigational device based on an optimal alignment with her line of vision while steering the boat. The shaft  314  has an aperture  316  (shown as a slot in  FIG. 6 ) that receivingly engages a shaft fastener  318 . The aperture  316  does not necessarily extend the entire length of the shaft  314 . As a result, when the shaft fastener  318  extends into the aperture  316 , the shaft fastener  318  retains the shaft  314  from completely sliding out of the body  302 , thereby avoiding a separation of the body  302  and the shaft  314 . The shaft fastener  318  engages with a fastener receiver  320 , which is embedded in the body  302 . In use, the tiller  300  can be lengthened during low speed maneuvering and then shortened when up to speed. Alternatively, the shaft  314  can be affixed in the body  302  to provide a fixed, non-adjustable length. 
         [0024]    The body  302  can be of any desired material including but not limited to wood, metal, and plastic. Similarly, the shaft  314  can be of any desired material including but not limited to wood, metal, and plastic. The shaft  314  and the body  302  do not have to be the same material. 
         [0025]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , the recessed portion  304  is defined by a surface of the tiller  300  that supports the navigational device  305  in a plane that is non-parallel to a longitudinal axis of the tiller  300 . That presents the navigational device  305  to the sailor at an advantageous upstanding viewing angle α, which can be varied to accommodate different steering positions. The viewing angle can be selected to optimize the visibility of the output display of the navigational device  305  to the sailor. Varying the viewing angle a varies the shape of the recessed portion  304  in these illustrative embodiments. 
         [0026]    As shown in  FIG. 5 , the body  302  of the tiller  300  has an embedded fastener receiver  320  to receivingly engage the shaft fastener  318 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , the shaft  314  has an aperture  316  that receivingly engages the shaft fastener  318 . 
         [0027]      FIG. 7  depicts a side view of a tiller  700  that is constructed in accordance with alternative embodiments of the present invention. Instead of the body  302  defining the recessed portion  304 , in these embodiments the mounting configuration includes a mounting bracket  702  defining the recessed portion  304 . The mounting bracket  702  can be permanently affixed to the body  302 , such as by adhering it, or as in these illustrative embodiments it can be removably attached to the body  302  by a replaceable fastener  704 .  FIG. 8  depicts a partial isometric view similar to  FIG. 1  but of another tiller  800  that is constructed, more like  FIG. 7 , in accordance with alternative equivalent embodiments of the present invention. Like in  FIG. 7 , the medially disposed mounting configuration is attached to the body  302  instead of formed by it. Here, however, instead of a selectively movable retaining mechanism, the medially disposed mounting configuration is constructed of a mounting bracket that is shaped so that the navigational device is receivingly engaged into the recessed portion  304  in a close mating engagement and is thereby retained by the frictional engagement between the navigational device and the mounting bracket. 
         [0028]    It is to be understood that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of various embodiments of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of various embodiments of the invention, this detailed description is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of structure and arrangements of parts within the principles of the present invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed. For example, the particular elements may vary in type or arrangement without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
         [0029]    In addition, although the embodiment described herein are described in relation to a tiller for sailboats and iceboats, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the claimed subject matter is not so limited and various other systems can utilize that which is disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present invention.