Patent Publication Number: US-2007096948-A1

Title: Remote communication device for use with watercraft towing a secondary recreation apparatus priority

Description:
PRIORITY  
      This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60,732,259 filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Nov. 1, 2005, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates generally to a communication devices to be used with recreational vehicles, and in particular, to a communication system between a watercraft and a remote individual.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      In recent years, there has been a surge in the popularity of water skiing and other similar types of recreational activity. Laws require that there be a “spotter” in addition to a driver of a watercraft towing a remote individual, such as a skier, to provide communication between the watercraft and the remote individual being towed. However, there commonly is a problem with this communication due to a number of factors, including, but not limited to, noise produced by the motor of the towing watercraft as well as noise caused by the rush of water, thereby making it difficult for vocal communication to occur between the remote individual and the spotter on the watercraft. Therefore, several devices have been used for improving communication between the watercraft and the remote individual.  
      In the conventional art the device is generally located in the handle of the towrope for facilitating communication between the watercraft towing the remote individual and the remote individual, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,603,402. However, in the conventional art the remote individual is required to view colorcoded control buttons embedded or locatable under the surface of the tow bar handle for selection of a desired condition. Thus, it is difficult and sometimes dangerous for the remote individual while water skiing to communicate with the watercraft due to the necessity of viewing the buttons of the towrope handle for selection of a desired condition.  
      Therefore, there exists a need for a device which permits a remote individual to communicate with a watercraft towing the remote individual without having to view the buttons of the towrope handle for selection of a desired condition.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      It is therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a communication device that enables a remote individual to communicate with a watercraft towing the remote individual through actuation of a wireless signal for indicating to the watercraft the remote individual&#39;s desired condition by selection of one of a plurality of keys on a keypad without having to view the keypad for selecting the desired condition. The present invention enables a remote individual to notify the watercraft of the desired conditions, such as to go faster, to slow down, to stop, and to return to shore by selection of a key that projects above the keypad surface on a towrope handle for actuating wireless transmitter signals.  
      In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a communication device for communication between a watercraft towing a remote individual and the remote individual, including a transmitter unit for transmitting a wireless signal indicating the remote individual&#39;s desired condition to a receiver unit located on the watercraft towing the remote individual; and a keypad having a plurality of keys for providing tactile indication of a key which can transmit a signal indicative of the remote individual&#39;s desired condition. The remote individual&#39;s desired condition includes at least one of a faster, a slower, a return to shore and a stop condition.  
      In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided keys of a keypad that project out from the surface of a tow rope handle for permitting the remote individual to select the desired condition without having to view the same while being towed.  
      In yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication system to be used between a watercraft towing a remote individual and the remote individual, the communication system including a transmitter unit for transmitting a wireless signal indicating the remote individual&#39;s desired condition to the watercraft towing the remote individual; a key pad providing tactile indications of the remote individual&#39;s desired condition for actuating the transmitter and generating a wireless signal indicative of the desired condition; a receiver unit located on the watercraft towing the remote individual for receiving the remote individual&#39;s transmitted wireless signals; a display unit for displaying, on the watercraft towing the remote individual, corresponding lighted signals with associated sounds for indicating the remote individual&#39;s desired condition based on the received signals; and a speaker, on the watercraft towing the remote individual, for outputting the associated sound. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The above and other objects features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a pictorial view illustrating a communication system of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  illustrates a towrope handle showing keys of a keypad;  
       FIG. 3  illustrates a towrope handle showing keys with tactile indicators of a keypad selection of desired condition by a user;  
       FIG. 4  illustrates the towrope handle in a partial cut-away view, showing the various components therein; and  
       FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating the circuit of the communication system according to the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the annexed drawings. However, the invention can be embodied in different forms, and in the following description, a detailed description of well-known functions and constructions incorporated herein has been omitted since they are clearly understood in the art upon consideration of the present disclosure.  
       FIG. 1  is a pictorial view illustrating a communication system  10  of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 1 , shown is a watercraft  14  towing, via a towrope  16 , a remote individual  12  such as a water skier, wherein the remote individual  12  is holding onto a towrope handle  20  secured to the towrope  16 . A communication device  22 , as shown in  FIG. 1 , is located on the watercraft  14  towing the remote individual  12  and receives wireless signals transmitted from a transmitter located within the towrope handle  20  in response to the remote individual&#39;s actuation of a desired condition.  
       FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating the circuit of the communication system according to the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 5 , the communication device  22  includes a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) unit  24  that is operative with a wireless receiver unit  26 , which receives signals via antenna  28 . The LCD unit  24  includes corresponding indicators  60 , such as lights, for indicating the remote individual&#39;s desired condition that are actuated via a control unit  36 , which can be a microprocessor, via wireless transmitter signals from a transmitter unit  52  located in the towrope handle  20 . The wireless transmitter unit  52  signals are indicative of the remote individual&#39;s desired condition. The communication device  22 , as shown in  FIG. 5 , is preferably waterproof to prevent water infiltration as would any marine type electronic device.  
      The remote individual&#39;s towrope handle  20  is preferably cylindrically configured to which a towrope  16  is secured at both ends for towing the remote individual  12 . Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the towrope handle  20  is provided with a surface having a grip portion  8  that can be formed from non-slip material, such as rubber, which the remote individual can grasp while water skiing. The material is formed over the cylindrically shaped body member  6  that contains the various components of the towrope handle  20 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 4 , the towrope handle  20  has at least one open end  40 , which defines a battery compartment  42  contained in the interior of the body member  6 . A removable battery compartment cover  44  is formed as a screw type end cap with a gasket, for mounting to the open end  40  of the towrope handle  20  for accessing and installing one of a replaceable battery and a rechargeable battery pack  48 . The battery compartment cover  44  is water sealed when positioned over the open end  40  with sealingly engaging threads  46  of the towrope handle  20 .  
      The grip portion  8  includes a front grip portion  8   a  and a rear grip portion  8   b . Along the rear grip portion  8   b  is a keypad  50  preferably having four keys  50   a ,  50   b ,  50   c  and  50   d  that project out and above the surface of the key pad  50 , facing the remote individual  12 , for providing tactile indications of the remote individual&#39;s desired condition, such as to go faster, to go slower, return to shore and stop. The raised key allows the individual to “feel” for particular key, to transmit a signal indicative of his condition. The remote individual&#39;s selection of a desired condition by exertion of pressure on one of the four keys  50   a ,  50   b ,  50   c  and  50   d  actuates a transmitter unit  52 , which generates wireless signals indicative of the desired conditions of the remote individual. As illustrated keys  50   a  and  50   b  are configured as a down arrow to indicate go slower and an “X” to indicate stop, respectively, and are located leftmost of the key pad  50  for selection by the remote individual  12  with a simple movement of, for example, the left thumb. Keys  50   c  and  50   d  are configured as an up arrow to indicate go faster and a square symbol to indicate return to shore, respectively, and are located rightmost of the key pad  50  for selection by the remote individual  12  with a simple movement of, for example, the right thumb. Although four keys are shown, it is contemplated that any number of keys having tactile indicators may be provided.  
      The keys  50   a ,  50   b ,  50   c  and  50   d  project out from the surface of the key pad  50  to facilitate easy selection by the remote individual merely by feeling by way of touch for a desired condition without having to actually view keys  50   a ,  50   b ,  50   c  and  50   d  for selection. Thereby, the remote individual  12  can recognize the specific tactile indications of keys  50   a ,  50   b ,  50   c  and  50   d  by touch without having to ever view same while water skiing.  
      As shown in  FIG. 4 , the wireless transmitter  52  is sealed in the watertight compartment of the towrope handle  20  and is operatively connected to the battery mounted within the battery compartment  42 . The actuation of the keys  50   a ,  50   b ,  50   c  and  50   d  by exertion of pressure is for generating and transmitting wireless signals to communication device  22  to communicate the remote individual&#39;s desired condition. An antenna  54  is operatively connected to the transmitter unit  52 .  
      The communication device  22  is provided with a display unit  24  for indicating the remote individual&#39;s desired condition upon receipt of a transmitted signal. In the present invention, the display unit  24  is configured as a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and includes indicators  60 , such as icons  60   a ,  60   b ,  60   c  and  60   d  for indicating the condition of the remote individual. Icons  60   a ,  60   b ,  60   c  and  60   d  include an up arrow for go faster, an “X” for stop, a square symbol for return to shore and down arrow for go slower, respectively.  
      The indicators  60 , e.g., the icons  60   a ,  60   b ,  60   c  and  60   d  can be alternately constructed with LED&#39;s and can be color coded for easy recognition. For example, the down arrow icon  60   a  for slow down can be the color yellow and can light up when the remote individual actuates the corresponding key of the key pad  50  for selection of the desired condition. The “X” icon  60   b  for stop can be red, the square symbol icon  60   c  for return to shore can be blue and the up arrow icon  60   d  for go faster can be green. Further, each icon can blink a selected number of times to aid in capturing the attention of the operator  70  ( FIG. 1 ) of the watercraft and for permitting the operator to observe that a desired condition has changed.  
      In a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an alarm  62  that can correspondingly sound for a selected number of seconds for each icon, for indicating the remote individual&#39;s condition. Each icon  60   a ,  60   b ,  60   c  and  60   d  displayed on the display unit  24  can have its own distinctive tone or series of tones upon generation of an alarm. Coupled to the alarm  62  is a speaker  64  for outputting an alarm sound. The sounding of alarm  62  enables the operator of the watercraft to determine the remote individual&#39;s desired condition without having to actually view the display unit  24 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 5 , the communication device  22  includes a housing  2  which is preferably waterproof to prevent water infiltration as would any marine electronics device (e.g., radio, CB, etc.). The housing  2  supports the LCD display unit  24  with the various icons  60   a ,  60   b ,  60   c  and  60   d  for indicating the remote individual&#39;s desired condition. The wireless receiver unit  26  is connected to an antenna  28  for receiving wireless signals transmitted from the towrope handle  20  upon actuation of keys  50   a ,  50   b ,  50   c  and  50   d  of the key pad  50  for indicating the remote individual&#39;s desired condition. The housing  2  contains a control unit  36  connected to the wireless receiver  26  and the display unit  24  for generating the appropriate signal for controlling the display unit  24  for displaying the proper icons to indicate the remote individual&#39;s desired condition. Provided also is a series of programming buttons  66 , as shown, that are operatively connected to the control unit  36  for allowing the user to selectively program the display and the alarm for correspondingly displaying the different icons  60   a ,  60   b ,  60   c  and  60   d  and sounding the different audible alarms for indicating the remote individual&#39;s desired condition.  
      The present invention provides a means for communication to be used between a watercraft towing a remote individual and the remote individual. The communication system allows the remote individual, while being towed, to select without viewing the key pad located on the grip portion of the towrope handle one of four keys having tactile indications, such as an up arrow, a down arrow, an “X” and a square symbol, by feeling and exerting pressure for actuating the wireless transmitter located therein for transmitting wireless signals to a wireless receiver located in a communication device located on the watercraft for indicating the remote individual&#39;s desired condition, such as to go faster, slower, stop and return to shore. The four keys of the keypad project out and above the surface for easy selection by tactile feel to indicate the remote individual&#39;s desired condition without having to view same for selection.  
      While the present invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.