Patent Publication Number: US-2006000407-A1

Title: Under-gunnel locker door

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      This invention relates to the field of doors for lockers found on boats and in particular to a rail-mounted roll-top locker door for mounting under the gunnel of a boat.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      In many vessels it is advantageous to close storage areas with doors so as to constrain the items being stored in the event of rough weather, and also to conceal from view what might otherwise be unsightly. For example, in a boat adapted for fishing, it is useful to store the fishing rods along the sidewall of the boat hull underneath the corresponding gunnel. However conventional doors which swing outwardly on hinges are problematic because the doors intrude into the interior space of the boat and in a cluttered boat may often be blocked from opening.  
      In the prior art, applicant is unaware of the use of articulated doors, which may be described as so-called roll-top doors adept for use in boats by taking advantage of the normally unused or inefficiently used spaced directly underneath the gunnel of the boat. Applicant is however aware of prior art which discloses the use of articulated doors or flexible covers for selectively closing containers such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,061,227 which issued Dec. 6, 1977 to Olbres for A Shock and Heat Resistant Storage Unit, U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,664 which issued Dec. 23, 1986 to Magro for An Insulated Roll-Up Door, U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,632 which issued Aug. 8, 1989 to Kreuze et al. for A Storage Compartment, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,746 which issued Nov. 24, 1992 to Teigen for A Polymeric Articulate Beverage Body Door. Other examples of the use of sliding or retractable articulated doors may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,872,652; 4,889,381; 4,979,553; and 6,499,785.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention is a rollup door which slides in the illustrated embodiment upwardly along a track. The track is arcuate so as to extend a distance equal to the height of the door. The track is curved up underneath the gunnel where the space in a boat is often wasted or often only used as a conduit for running electrical wiring. The tracks are formed as an opposed facing pair so as to support the door as it slides up and along the track to open access into the storage locker formed between the door when in its closed position and the side wall of the boat hull.  
      In summary, the present invention may be characterized as a gunnel locker door system for mounting under a boat gunnel. The locker door is mounted in a gunnel cavity defined by and under the boat gunnel, wherein the gunnel cavity has a gunnel height, and a gunnel width between an interior sidewall of the gunnel and a corresponding sidewall of the boat hull. The gunnel locker door system includes a parallel, spaced-apart pair of rails lying in corresponding parallel vertical planes, the rails supporting an articulated door having horizontal slats pivotally mounted to one another. The door is supported in sliding engagement between the pair of rails for sliding between a closed position wherein the door is substantially vertical so as to close-off a locker aperture defined between the pair of rails, and an open position wherein the door is translated on the pair of rails so as to both stow the door hidden underneath the boat gunnel, and so as to expose the locker aperture for use of the locker. Each rail has an upper portion mountable underneath the boat gunnel. The upper portion is sufficiently long so as to hold in the sliding engagement generally the entire height of the door when in the open position.  
      The upper portion of each rail may be advantageously curved in a loop so as to define a vertex of the loop. A distal end of the upper portion extends downwardly from the vertex. The loop extends a height not exceeding the gunnel height. The distal end, when the rail is mounted closely adjacent under the gunnel, extends from the vertex so as to be adjacent the corresponding sidewall of the boat hull. The length of the upper portion is such that, when stowed in the loop, the length of the upper portion does not exceed the width of the boat gunnel. The distal end of the upper portion may be longer than an intermediate segment of the upper portion which extends from the vertex to a lower vertical portion of the rail adjacent the locker aperture. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a cross sectional view along line  1 - 1  in  FIG. 3 .  
       FIG. 2  is, in perspective view, the starboard gunnel locker according to the present invention with the articulated door in the closed position.  
       FIG. 3  is, in perspective view, the port gunnel locker according to the present invention with the articulated door in the open position.  
       FIG. 4  is, in side elevation view, the left hand rail of the gunnel locker according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 5  is, in side elevation view, the right hand rail of the gunnel locker according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 6  is, in front elevation view, the rail of  FIG. 5 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION  
      As seen in the accompanying figures wherein like reference numerals denote corresponding parts in each view, a pair of opposed facing curved rails  12  and  14  mounted in parallel vertical planes underneath a boat gunnel  16  so as to support therebetween a sliding articulated door  18 . Articulated door  18  includes a closely adjacent array of horizontal slats  18   a,  pivotally mounted to one another so that when door  18  is raised or lowered in direction A slats  18   a  slide in the tracks defined by the rail channels of rails  12  and  14 . Thus articulated door  18  may be lowered into a vertically planar closed position as seen in  FIGS. 1 and 2  so as to close locker aperture  20  from view or access, and the open position of  FIG. 3  wherein the locker aperture  20  is unobstructed for ease of access into the interior cavity  22  of the locker defined by gunnel  16 , boat hull sidewall  24 , articulated door  18  when in its closed position, and, optionally, a floor member  26 .  
      Each of rails  12  and  14  has an upper curve linear portion, respectively upper portions  12   a  and  14   a,  and contiguous linear lower portions, respectively lower portions  12   b  and  14   b.  The length of upper portions  12   a  and  14   a  are sufficiently long to contain a significant portion of the height h of door  18 , or the entire height of door  18  so as to fully expose locker aperture  20 . The upper portions  12   a  and  14   a  of the rails extend upwardly under the gunnel upper surface  16   a  and behind the gunnel interior sidewall  16   b  so as to hidden from view the exception possibly of the distal ends of upper portions  12   a  and  14   a  which are disposed rearwardly and downwardly into cavity  22  so as to accommodate the required length of the rails. Advantageously, the distal end of upper portions  12   a  and  14   a  are sufficiently long so as to retain more than half of the height of articulated door  18  beneath the vertices  12   c  and  14   c  respectively of the rails so that door  18  when raised into its open position remains raised by the weight of the door pulling downwardly in direction B along the distal ends  12   d  and  14   d  respectively of the rails under the influence of gravity. The opposite ends of the rails may be capped by end caps  28   a  and  28   b  as seen in  FIGS. 4 and 5 .  
      In use, rails  12  and  14  may be rigidly mounted underneath gunnels  16  on both the port and starboard sides of the boat for example directly behind captains chairs  30  and forward of the transom locker  32 . In the embodiment illustrated, clips  34  are mounted on suitable support members  36  so as to be held rigidly against hull sidewalls  24 . Clips  34  may be used to securely hold fishing rods or like elongate objects securely until needed. The illustration of clips  34  is not intended to be limiting as locker cavity  22  may contain many other items which may be conveniently stowed within the space under gunnel  16 .  
      In some boat designs, because the space under gunnels  16  is typically left empty, it is common to run electrical wiring underneath the gunnels. In such instances, the electrical wires may be formed into a bundle  36  and run along the length of the gunnels underneath the loop formed in the rails at vertices  12   c  and  14   c  so as to not interfere with the sliding of door  18  along rails  12  and  14 . A handle  38  may be provided for ease of grasping by a user so as to slide articulated door  18  upwardly or downwardly in direction A. A selectively latchable lock  40  may also be provided so as to lock articulated door  18  in the closed position.  
      In alternative embodiments, the operation of the articulated door may be motorized, for example, an electric motor, which may be remotely activated by push-button or turn-key controls, to raise or lower the door. In further alternative embodiments, it is intended to be within the scope of the present invention that mounting positions in a boat similar to the convenient space under a gunnel be used to mount the rails to form a locker.  
      As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing disclosure, many alterations and modifications are possible in the practice of this invention without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be construed in accordance with the substance defined by the following claims.