Patent Publication Number: US-11390205-B2

Title: Trailer and boat covering combination system

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
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     INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM 
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     STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     The disclosure relates to boat covering device and more particularly pertains to a new boat covering device for facilitating the positioning of a covering onto a boat which can be accomplished quickly and easily by a single person. 
     (2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98 
     The prior art relates to boat coverings that are used for protecting a boat from the elements and damage during traveling. Such coverings may include devices to assist a person in placing the coverings on a boat. However, these devices are not easily movable relative to a trailer and therefore do not provide an effective means for protecting a boat with a cover. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a trailer including a frame having a front end, a first lateral member and a second lateral member. A plurality of wheels is rotatably attached to and extends downwardly from the frame. A pair of supports is attached to the trailer such that each of the first and second lateral members has one of the supports attached thereto. A spindle is attached to and extends between the supports. The supports are pivotable forwardly and rearwardly relative to the trailer such that the spindle is movable over the trailer. The supports are biased toward an upright position. A covering is positioned on the spindle and is unwound off of the spindle to cover a boat positioned on the trailer. The covering is wound back onto the spindle to store the covering on the spindle. 
     In another embodiment, a trailer includes a frame that has a front end, a first lateral member and a second lateral member. A plurality of wheels is rotatably attached to and extends downwardly from the frame. A pair of supports is attached to the trailer such that each of the first and second lateral members has one of the supports attached thereto. The supports are movable laterally away from or toward the trailer. A spindle is attached to and extends between the supports. The supports are pivotable forwardly and rearwardly relative to the trailer such that the spindle is movable over the trailer. The spindle has an adjustable length. A covering is positioned on the spindle and is configured to be unwound from the spindle to cover a boat positioned on the trailer. The covering is wound back onto the spindle to store the covering on the spindle. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
     The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
       The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a top isometric view of a trailer and boat covering combination system according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a top view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the disclosure taken along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is a front isometric view of a support linkage of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 6  is a rear isometric view of the support linkage of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 7  is a side view of the support linkage of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 8  is a side view of the support linkage of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 9  is a side view of the support linkage of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  10 - 10  of  FIG. 8  of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  11 - 11  of  FIG. 9  of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to  FIGS. 1 through 11  thereof, a new boat covering device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral  10  will be described. 
     As best illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 11 , the trailer and boat covering combination system  10  generally comprises, as shown in  FIG. 1 , a trailer  12  that includes a frame  14  having a front end  16 , a first lateral member  18  and a second lateral member  20 . A plurality of wheels  22  is rotatably attached to and extends downwardly from the frame  14 . The trailer  12  will most often comprise a conventional boat trailer and therefore the front end  16  will typically include a tongue for engaging a trailer hitch and a jack for supporting the front end  16 . The wheels  22  may include brakes and bunks or rollers for holding a boat  24  that may be mounted on top of the trailer  12 , while a bow stop and winch are positioned adjacent to the front end  16  for engaging the bow of the boat  24 . 
     A pair of supports  26  is attached to the trailer  12  such that each of the first  18  and second  20  lateral members has one of the supports  26  attached thereto. The supports  26  are positioned in a central area spaced from the front end  16  and a rear end  28  of the trailer  12  and are located outside of an area bounded by the frame  14 . The supports  26  are pivotable with respect to the trailer  12  such that they can tilt rearwardly and forwardly relative to the trailer  12  and relative to an upward position generally extending upwardly from the trailer  12 . A spindle  30  is attached to and extends between the supports  26  and holds a covering  32  that can be unwound from the spindle  30  to cover the boat  24  as the spindle  30  travels over the boat  24 . The covering  32  may then be wound back onto the spindle  30  as the covering  32  is removed from the boat  24 . 
     The supports  26  may further be laterally movable with respect to the trailer  12  such that that the supports  26 , when positioned completely forward or rearward, may be moved inwardly toward the trailer  12 . Boat trailers  12  and boats  24  are typically sized such that their width does not exceed a maximum allowed size for a public roadway. In order for the supports  26  to clear the sides of a boat  24 , the supports  26  must be positioned laterally outside of this width while moving across the rear and central areas of the boat  24 . Once the supports  26  extend completely forward or rearward, the supports  26  can be slid laterally inward to decrease the width that the supports  26  add to the overall structure of the trailer  12 . 
     The supports  26  may further be laterally movable with respect to the trailer  12  such that that the supports  26 , when positioned completely forward or rearward, may be moved inwardly toward the trailer  12 . Boat trailers  12  and boats  24  are typically sized such their width does not exceed a maximum allowed size for a public roadway. In order for the supports  26  to clear the sides of a boat  24 , the supports  26  must be positioned laterally outside of this width while moving across the rear and central areas of the boat  24 . Once the supports  26  extend completely forward or rearward, the supports  26  can be slid laterally inward to decrease the width that the supports  26  add to the overall structure of the trailer  12 . 
     In one embodiment, each of the supports  26  includes an axle  34  that is rotatably coupled to the frame  12 . The axle  34  has an exterior end  36  with respect to the frame  12 . The axle  34  may be laterally movable with respect to the frame  12 , for reasons indicated above, such that a distance between the exterior end  36  and the frame  12  is selectively alterable. As can be seen in the Figures, the axle  34  may be rotatably extended through a mount  38  attached to the frame  12  and be extendable into a sleeve  40 . The sleeve  40  may extend between the first  18  and second  20  lateral members or may comprise a housing for receiving the axle  34  wherein each of the first  18  and second  20  lateral members includes one of the housings. 
     The supports  26  each comprise a post  42  that has a lower end  44  and an upper end  46 . The lower end  44  is attached to the axle  34  such that the post  42  extends upwardly from the axle  34 . The post  42  is pivotable from the upward position to a forward position and pivotable from the upward position to a rearward position. An urging member  48 , such as a spring, may engage the axle  34  to urge the axle  34  inwardly toward the trailer  12 . If the urging member  48  is utilized, a cam  50  may be mounted on the trailer  12  such that the post  42  moves along the cam  50  as the spindle  30  is moved back and forth over the trailer  12 . Thus, when the post  42  is tilted forward, the cam  50  allows the post  42  to move inwardly toward the frame  12 . While the cam  50  of  FIG. 6  only allows the posts  42  to move inward laterally when tilted forward, the cam  50  may be reversed or allow for lateral movement of the posts  42  at both the forward and rearward positions. The post  42  will typically include one or more bends or curves to allow the posts  42  to further facilitate clearance of the sides of the boat.  FIGS. 10 and 11  include an embodiment wherein the urging member  48  is a spring abutted against a stop on the axle  34 . If the system  10  includes a single axle  34  for both supports  26 , the axle may be telescopic to allow for length adjustments as the posts  42  move relative to the trailer  12 . 
     A biasing assembly  52  is attached to the post  42  and biases the post  42  toward the upward position to facilitate movement of the post  42  from the forward and rearward positions to the upright position. In one embodiment, the biasing assembly  52  comprises a bracket  54  that is mounted on the post  42 . A spring  56  has an anchored end  58  attached to the trailer  12  or other fixed point that remains in a fixed position during the movement of the post. A second end  60  of the spring  56  is attached to the bracket  54 . The spring  56  urges the post  42  toward the upright position as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . The second end  60  is movable between a pair of stops  62  on the bracket  54  and the stops may be adjustable to allow a user to adjust an upward position arc length that is not affected by the spring  56 . Because each of the supports  26  includes a biasing assembly  52 , the stops  62  define a free area of pivoting within the upright position to prevent the springs  56  from interfering with the movement from an upright position to either forward or rearward positions. This would otherwise be a concern as the user of the system  10  will only be gripping one of the posts  42  and the other post  42  and its attached spring  56  could counter the movements the user is attempting to effect. 
     The spindle  30  is attached to the post of each of the supports  26  adjacent to a respective upper end  46  of the posts  42 . To allow for the posts  42  to move laterally inward relative to the posts  42 , the spindle  30  will have an adjustable length. This may be accomplished with, for example, a telescopic spindle  30 . The spindle  30  may be rotatably coupled to the posts  42  or a cylinder  64 , that is rotatable, may be mounted on the spindle  30  and thereafter the covering  32  on the cylinder  64 . The spindle  30  may also be coupled to the posts  42  with a rotatable gear that can be engaged with an electric or pneumatic tool for rotating the spindle  30  or cylinder  64  and winding the covering  32  onto the spindle  30  or cylinder. However, an electric motor coupled to the spindle  30  may also be utilized. The covering  32  itself is of a flexible material that is conventional for covering and protecting a boat  24 . The covering  34  may therefore include a canvas material or plastic material. 
     In use, the trailer  12  is used in a conventional manner to hold and transport the boat  24 . When a user of the system  10  wishes to cover the boat  24 , the supports  26  are moved from the forward position as shown in  FIG. 2  to the rearward position (shown in phantom in  FIG. 2 ) as the covering  32  is unwound from the spindle  30 . It should be understood that the opposite direction may be utilized wherein the covering  32  is unwound from the rearward position to the forward position and thus the terms “forward position” and “rearward position” may be interchangeable. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 6 , when the supports  32  are positioned forward, the posts  42  are moved inward laterally to reduce the width of the system  10  as it is driven on a road. As mentioned, other embodiments may allow the posts  42  to move inwardly when the posts are moved to the rearward position. Regardless of the orientation of the embodiments, an opposite action with the supports  26  is taken to wind the covering  32  back onto the spindle  30 . Once the covering  32  is placed on the spindle  30 , the supports  26  can be moved as needed to allow movement of the boat onto and off of the trailer as well as to move the posts  42  laterally with respect to the trailer  12 . 
     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.