Abstract:
An application for a boat tower load relief system includes a boat tower support post connected to a receptacle for the boat tower support post by a hinge. The boat tower load relief system includes a torsion spring with a first end, a first winding, a central bend, a second winding and a second end. The central bend pushes on a boat tower support post section of the hinge and the first end and the second end of the torsion spring push on a support plate which is attached to the receptacle for the boat tower post.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates to the field of fishing boats and more particularly to a load relief mechanism to facilitate the folding and restoring of a foldable fishing boat tower. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Many fishing boats have tower structures raising high above the boat deck to improve visibility into the water during the task of finding fish. Often, these towers raise 20 to 30 feet above the boat deck. When in use, these towers improve the distance vision and water depth vision of the operator. 
   When the boat is being trailered, these towers often cause problems due to their height. The height of the tower, boat and trailer often reach 20 to 40 feet, making it difficult or impossible to travel beneath power lines, bridges, etc. 
   To combat this problem, some boat manufacturers such as Gause Built Boats (www.gausebuiltboats.com) have made it so the top section of the tower folds, reducing the height of the boat on a trailer by six to 10 feet. Unfortunately, moving the top section of the tower into the folded position is awkward and often requires two strong people to make sure it doesn&#39;t drop suddenly. Likewise, restoring the top section of the tower to its operating position is even harder due to the weight of the top section of the tower. This task often requires at least two strong people to perform. Folding boat towers are well known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,413 to Jackson, et al., describes an apparatus for folding a boat tower. 
   What is needed is an apparatus that will reduce the work required to fold the tower as well as assist in restoring the tower to its upright position. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In one embodiment, a boat tower load relief system is disclosed including a resilient member for relieving a load from a folding boat tower, the folding boat tower having a tower support post connected to a receptacle for the tower support post by a hinge. The resilient member has a mechanism for pushing the support post of the folding boat tower towards an in-use position. The mechanism for pushing interfaces between the tower support post and the receptacle for the tower support post. 
   In another embodiment, a boat tower load relief system is disclosed including a boat tower support post connected to a receptacle for the boat tower support post by a hinge. The boat tower load relief system includes a torsion spring with a first end, a first winding, a central bend, a second winding and a second end. The central bend pushes on a boat tower support post section of the hinge and the first end and the second end of the torsion spring push on a support plate which is attached to the receptacle for the boat tower post. 
   In another embodiment, a boat tower load relief system is disclosed including a left boat tower support post connected to a left receptacle for the left boat tower support post by a left hinge and a right boat tower support post connected to a receptacle for the right boat tower support post by a right hinge. The boat tower load relief system includes a left torsion spring with a first end, a first winding, a central bend, a second winding and a second end. The central bend pushes on a left boat tower support post section of the left hinge and the first end and the second end of the left torsion spring push on a left support plate which is attached to the left receptacle for the left boat tower post. A first bobbin supports the first winding of the left torsion spring and a second bobbin supports the second winding of the left torsion spring and a left shaft passes through and supports the first bobbin, passes through the left hinge and passes through the second bobbin, forming a left hinge pin of the left hinge. A support bracket slideably interfaces the first end and the second end of the left torsion spring to the left receptacle for the left boat tower support post. For the right support post, there is a right torsion spring with a first end, a first winding, a central bend, a second winding and a second end. The central bend pushes on a right boat tower support post section of the right hinge and the first end and the second end of the right torsion spring push on a right support plate which is attached to the right receptacle for the right boat tower post. A first right bobbin supports the first winding of the right torsion spring, a second right bobbin supports the second winding of the right torsion spring and a right shaft passes through and supports the first right bobbin, passes through the right hinge and passes through the second right bobbin; forming a right hinge pin of the right hinge. A support bracket slideably interfaces the first end and the second end of the right torsion spring to the right receptacle for the right boat tower support post. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention can be best understood by those having ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an elevational view of a system of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates an elevational view of a system of the present invention with the tower support post folded. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates an exploded view of the present invention. 
       FIGS. 4-6  illustrates a plan view of the present invention installed on a boat tower at various degrees of folding. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Throughout the following detailed description, the same reference numerals refer to the same elements in all figures. 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , an elevational view of a system of the present invention is shown. The load relief system  10  includes a heavy-duty spring  12  that is loaded when the tower is folded and releases energy when the tower is restored to its in-use position. It is preferred that the heavy-duty spring  12  be a double-wound torsion spring. The double wound torsion spring has an end, a winding, a mid-loop, another winding and a second end. Other types and configurations of springs are anticipated. 
   In  FIG. 1 , the tower support post  50  is shown in its in-use position, mated with a tower support post receptacle  56  which is secured to the center console roof  60  (or boat hull, etc.) by fasteners such as screws  58 . Current art includes a hinge  52 / 54  for folding the tower support post  50 . One section of the hinge  52  is attached to the tower support post  50  by means known in the industry such as welding and the other section of the hinge  54  is attached to the tower support post receptacle  56 , also by means known in the industry such as welding. Instead of a simple hinge pin connecting the sections  52 / 54  of the hinge as previously known, the present invention replaces the hinge pin with a shaft  16  that is long enough to support the load relief spring assembly as will be shown in  FIG. 3 . The shaft  16  is held in place at each end with two nuts  18  (only one nut  18  is visible) or other fasteners as known in the industry such as cotter pins, etc. A center bend of the spring  12  is held against the top hinge section  52  by the load force on the spring. The ends of the spring  12  are held in position by a support plate  20  that is affixed to the tower support post receptor  56  by means known in the industry including welding, etc. Because the ends of the spring  12  retract slightly as the tower is folded, it is preferred that the ends of the spring  12  pass freely through the support plate  20  and that the spring  12  is long enough that the ends of the spring  12  extend far enough beyond the support plate  20 , so as to not fall out of the support plate  20  when the tower is folded. In some embodiments, the winding portion of the spring  12  is covered with a cover  14  for aesthetic and safety reasons. 
   Referring to  FIG. 2 , an elevational view of a system of the present invention with the tower support post folded is shown. The load relief system  10  includes a heavy-duty spring  12  that is shown loaded and the tower folded. The tower support post  50  is shown in its folded position, ready to mate with a tower support post receptacle  56  which is secured to the center console roof  60  (or boat hull, etc.) by fasteners such as screws  58 . In some embodiments of the tower support post system, a mating guide  57  is included to assure proper mating of the tower support post  50  with the tower support post receptacle  56  and to protect any electrical wires or other cables that pass within the tower support post  50 . Again, current art includes a hinge  52 / 54  for folding the tower support post  50 . One section of the hinge  52  is attached to the tower support post  50  by means known in the industry such as welding and the other section of the hinge  54  is attached to the tower support post receptacle  56 , also by means known in the industry such as welding. A shaft  16  passes through the load relief system  10  and is long enough to support the load relief spring assembly as will be shown in  FIG. 3 . The shaft  16  is held in place at each end with two nuts  18  (only one nut  18  is visible) or other fasteners as known in the industry such as cotter pins, etc. A center bend of the spring  12  is held against the top hinge section  52  by the load force on the spring. The ends of the spring  12  are held in position by a support plate  20  that is affixed to the tower support post receptor  56  by means known in the industry including welding, etc. Because the ends of the spring  12  retract slightly as the tower is folded, it is preferred that the ends of the spring  12  pass freely through the support plate  20  and that the spring  12  is long enough that the ends of the spring  12  extend far enough beyond the support plate  20 , so as to not fall out of the support plate  20  when the tower is folded. In some embodiments, the winding portion of the spring  12  is covered with a cover  14  for aesthetic and safety reasons. 
   Referring to  FIG. 3 , an exploded view of the present invention is shown. The load relief system  10  includes a heavy-duty spring  12  that is shown loaded and the tower folded. In the preferred embodiment, a bobbin  22  runs the length of the winding section of the spring  12  to force the spring  12  to wind evenly when it is compressed. Although the bobbin  22  is made from any resilient, hard material, it is preferred to use a sturdy, low-friction plastic such as nylon. The bobbins are held in place by a shaft and the shaft also serves as the hinge pin for the hinge  52 / 54 . 
   The tower support post  50  is shown in its folded position, ready to mate with a tower support post receptacle  56  which is secured to the center console roof  60  (or boat hull, etc.) by fasteners such as screws  58 . In some embodiments of the tower support post system, a mating guide  57  is included to assure proper mating of the tower support post  50  with the tower support post receptacle  56  and to protect any electrical wires or other cables that pass within the tower support post  50 . Again, current art includes a hinge  52 / 54  for folding the tower support post  50 . One section of the hinge  52  is attached to the tower support post  50  by means known in the industry such as welding and the other section of the hinge  54  is attached to the tower support post receptacle  56 , also by means known in the industry such as welding. In current art, one section of the hinge  54  has two prongs and the other section of the hinge  52  has a single prong. It is anticipated that other configurations are possible such as the two prong hinge section  54  attached to the tower support post  50 , both hinges sections having only one prong or both having multiple prongs. 
   A shaft  16  passes through the load relief system  10  and supports the load relief spring assembly including the bobbin  22  and the cover  14 . The shaft  16  is held in place at each end with two nuts  18  (only one nut  18  is visible) or other fasteners as known in the industry such as cotter pins, etc. In some embodiments, one end of the shaft is enlarged as the tightening end of a bolt or screw and only one fastener is needed. 
   A center bend of the spring  12  is held against the top hinge section  52  by the load force on the spring. The ends of the spring  12  are held in position by a support plate  20  that is affixed to the tower support post receptor  56  by means known in the industry including welding, etc. Because the ends of the spring  12  retract slightly as the tower is folded, it is preferred that the ends of the spring  12  pass freely (slideably) through the support plate  20  and that the spring  12  is long enough that the ends of the spring  12  extend far enough beyond the support plate  20 , so as to not fall out of the support plate  20  when the tower is folded. In some embodiments, the winding portions of the spring  12  are covered with covers  14  for aesthetic and safety reasons. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 4-6 , a plan view of the present invention installed on a boat tower at various degrees of folding is shown. It is preferred that a load relief system  10  of the present invention be mounted on both tower supports  50 .  FIG. 4  shows the tower in the in-use position. In this exemplary boat tower system, the tower folds forward as shown. In  FIG. 5 , the tower is shown partially folded. Before the present invention, it would be difficult for one person to maneuver the tower when it is in this transitional position, both keeping it from falling when folding the tower and pushing it up when restoring the tower to the in-use position.  FIG. 6  shows the tower in its completely folded position. The spring  12  is now fully loaded and will exert force to help restore the tower to the in-use position. 
   Equivalent elements can be substituted for the ones set forth above such that they perform in substantially the same manner in substantially the same way for achieving substantially the same result. 
   It is believed that the system and method of the present invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood by the foregoing description. It is also believed that it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the components thereof without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention or without sacrificing all of its material advantages. The form herein before described being merely exemplary and explanatory embodiment thereof. It is the intention of the following claims to encompass and include such changes.