Patent Abstract:
The personal watercraft lift attachable to a mooring piling  6  for raising and lowering a watercraft from the water is disclosed. The lift has a cradle  1  attached to a mast  2  secured between two brackets  26  and  30 . A lift cable  8  attaches the cradle  1  to a power unit  27  with motor  4 . Optional guard pipes  11  on the cradle are provided. The lift pivots approximately 180° to enable easy accessibility to a PWC for mounting, demounting storage and maintenance.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates to lifting devices for watercraft, more particularly, to a lift for personal watercraft that is pivotally attached to a mooring piling above the surface of the water which allows the watercraft to be lowered into the water for use and then raised from the water and pivoted onto a dock for mounting, demounting storage and servicing.  
         [0002]     All watercraft owners know it is desirable that watercraft be stored out of the water to prevent defiling by barnacles, algae, and other waterborn plants and animals, as such requires expensive and time-consuming periodic cleaning of the bottom surfaces of the watercraft. Although there are watercraft lifts available to raise and store watercraft out of the water, many such lifts are at least partially submerged in water, which leads to defiling of the lift by aquatic plants and animals and shortens the life of the lift. Also, many prior lifts only lift the watercraft out of the water, but do not store it in an easily accessible position for cleaning, maintenance, and mounting or demounting during use. Furthermore, many such lifts require that the watercraft be elevated out of the water by manual means. However, as personal watercrafts often weigh an excess of 750 pounds, it is difficult to lift them without motorized means.  
         [0003]     Thus, there is a need for a watercraft lift that will address the above problems.  
         [0004]     The relevant prior art includes the following references:  
                                       Patent No.               (U.S. unless stated otherwise)   Inventor   Issue/Publication Date                   5,749,313   Shackelford, Jr.   May 12, 1998       1,695,674   Wilson   Dec. 18, 1928       2,808,016   Jarnot   Oct. 01, 1957       2,990,803   Henderson   Jul. 04, 1961       2,979,014   Yordi   Apr. 11, 1961       3,060,885   Nolf   Oct. 30, 1962       3,177,839   Nolf   Apr. 13, 1965       3,830,452   Seay   Aug. 20, 1974       5,014,638   Ilves et al.   May 14, 1991       5,301,628   Daskalides   Apr. 12, 1994       GB 588,394   Lamb et al.   May 21, 1947                  
 
         [0005]     Of the above patents only the Shackelford Jr., patent provides some of the advantages of the present invention. However, the present invention, contrary to the Shackelford, Jr., patent differs as it utilizes two separate brackets rather than a tubular housing, has fewer moving parts and is motorized.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The primary object of the present invention is to provide a personal watercraft lift that enables a personal watercraft to be raised and lowered into the water easily and quickly.  
         [0007]     further object of the present invention is to provide a personal watercraft lift that allows personal watercraft to be stored out of the water.  
         [0008]     An even further object of the present invention is to provide a personal watercraft lift that provides easy accessibility to the personal watercraft for mounting and demounting during use and for maintenance purposes.  
         [0009]     Another object of the present invention is to provide a personal watercraft lift that has fewer moving parts than watercraft lifts in the prior art.  
         [0010]     An additional object of the present invention is to provide as a personal watercraft lift that is easy to install and maintain.  
         [0011]     Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such as a personal watercraft lift that is motorized.  
         [0012]     A further object of the present invention is to provide a more secure piling attachment means.  
         [0013]     The present invention fulfills the above and other objects by providing a personal watercraft lift for use with a mooring piling having a mounting bracket for attaching the lift to the mooring piling above the surface of the water to which mounting brackets are attached. Both brackets are connected by a front plate and together serve as a guide means for an elongate lift mast. The lower of the two brackets has a roller on the inner side abutting the mast and the upper bracket has a slide block on the outer side so as to also abut the mast to result in a rolling and sliding movement of the mast between them. To the lower end of the mast is attached a cradle. The cradle is also attached by a cable to a motorized means mounted to the front plate of the bracket which allows the lift to be raised and lowered. The lift may be rotated in a lifting position over the body of water or inward to a storage position out of the water, preferably over a dock. A locking pin on the top bracket may be used to secure the lift underneath the lifting or the storage position. The cradle may contain optional vertical upright guards to keep personal watercraft from hitting the cable or the mast as well as crossbars for preventing the personal watercraft lift from moving laterally when it is positioned on the cradle. Further, a more secure piling attachment of the lift is achieved by attachment bolts being angled through the piling.  
         [0014]     The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention should become even more readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description in conduction with the drawing wherein there is shown and described illustrative embodiments of the invention.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]     In the following detailed description, reference will be made to the attached drawings in which:  
         [0016]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the personal watercraft lift of the present invention when attached to a mooring piling as it would appear during use;  
         [0017]      FIG. 2  is a top view of the personal watercraft lift of the present invention during use showing a personal watercraft in broken lines in a lowered lifting position over water and a raised pivoted position over a dock and in a storage position;  
         [0018]      FIG. 3  is a side partial plan view of the personal watercraft lift of the present invention in a raid position;  
         [0019]      FIG. 4  is a front view of the watercraft lift with a cradle in a lowered position;  
         [0020]      FIG. 5  is a top view of a top partial plan view of the top mast guide bracket of the present invention; and  
         [0021]      FIG. 6  is a top partial plan view of the lower mast guide bracket with piling attachment method of the personal watercraft lift of the present invention. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0022]     For purposes of describing the preferred embodiment, the terminology used in reference to the numbered components in the drawings is as follows:  
                                       1.   PWC cradle       2.   mast       3.   mast holding cover       4.   motor       5.   piling bracket       6.   piling       7.   pivot pin       8.   lift cable       9.   cradle support rails       10.   cradle PWC support cross rails       11.   guard pipes       12. a, b   pivot brackets       13. a   piling attachment bolts       13. b   piling attachment nuts       14.   pivot head       15.   Ac power cord       16   mast cradle receiver       17   bunk board       18   large pulley       19   belt       20   small pulley       21   dock       22   PWC       23   roller       24   sliding block       25   pivot arrow       26   lower mast guide bracket       27   power unit       28   gear drive       29   pivot pin shaft       30   top mast guide bracket       31   pivot licking pin       32   gear shaft       33   bolt holes       34   top mast guide bracket retaining bolts       35   lower mast guide bracket retaining bolts       36   sliding block retaining pin       37   roller retaining pin       38   PWC lift position       39   PWC storage position       40   cable spool       41   side walls of top bracket       42   side walls of bottom bracket                  
 
         [0023]     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , the entire personal watercraft, PWC, lift of the present invention is shown attached to a mooring piling  6 . The PWC lift is attached to the mooring pilings  6  by a piling bracket  5  with bolts and nuts  13  that are long enough to pass through the piling  6 . The piling bracket  5  has two pivot brackets  12   a  and  12   b  holding a pivot pin  7  to which is mounted a pivot head  14 . In turn, attached to the pivot head  14  are two mast guide brackets, a lower bracket  26  and upper bracket  30  which are connected by a cover  3 . An elongate mast  2  , which is preferably made of a non-corrosive metal such as stainless steel or aluminum, is contained between the guide brackets  26  and  30  and cover  3 .  
         [0024]     A cradle  1  is attached at a lower end of the mast  2  by a cradle receiver  16 . The cradle  1  is designed to hold a PWC on support rails  9  which preferably have cross rails  10  for providing lateral support to a PWC when placed on the cradle  1 . Optional guide pipes  11  made of PVC or other flexible material are mounted on a bunk board  17  attached to proximate an inner end of the cradle  1  to prevent a PWC from hitting the mast  2  or lift cable  8 . The cradle  1  is attached to a winch unit  27  by a lift cable  8 . The power unit  27  is shown attached to a top portion of the cover  3  connecting the mast guide brackets  26  and  30 . The winch unit  2  may be manual or preferably motorized as shown, whereby a motor  4  turns a gear drive  28  to roll up or unroll the lift cable  8  to raise or lower the cradle  1 , respectively. The motor  4  is operatively connected to the gear drive  28  by a large pulley  18 , v-belt  19  and small pulley  20 . The motor  4  would be connected to a power source by an AC power cord  15 .  
         [0025]      FIG. 2  shows a top view of the PWC lift of the present invention with a PWC (in broken lines) in both a lowered lift position  38  and at a raised storage position  39  above a dock  21 . In the lowered lift position  38 , the PWC  22  rests on the cross rails  10  of the cradle support rails  9  of the cradle  1 . The cradle  1  would be lowered to the point where it would be just below the water so the PWC  22  could be driven onto the cross rails  10 , then raised and pivoted into a raised storage position  39  over a dock  21 . In the storage position  39 , a user would have easy access to the PWC  22  for mounting and dismounting during use or for cleaning and maintenance of the PWC.  
         [0026]     As further shown in  FIG. 2 , is the mast  2  is abuts a sliding block  24  in the top mast guide bracket  30  and a roller  23  in the lower mast guide bracket  26  (not shown in this  FIG. 2 , but see  FIG. 6 ). There is one or more top mast guide bracket retaining bolts  34  which further help retain the mast within the top mast bracket  30 . A lock pin  31  can be inserted through a hole in the top pivot bracket  12   a  to maintain the lift in the raised or storage positions,  38  and  39 , respectively.  
         [0027]     In  FIG. 3 , the PWC lift of the present invention is shown in a side elevation view wherein the cradle  1  is in a raised position with the mast  2  at its highest point in which the cradle receiver  16  abuts the lower mast guide bracket  26 . The raising of the cradle  1  is accomplished by activating the motor  4  by switch or remote means resulting in turning the small pulley  12 , the belt  19 , the large pulley  18  and gear drive  27  which rolls up the lift cable  8  onto a spool  40 . Once the cradle  1  is in the elevated position, the cradle  1  may by pivoted by around a pivot pin  7  held within pivot brackets,  12   a  and  12   b , until it is in the desired position.  
         [0028]      FIG. 4  shows the PWC lift of the present invention from a frontal view when in a lowered position. This view shows the components of the PWC lift as previously discussed, including the cradle  1 , formed by cradle support rails  9 , cross rails  10 , with optimal bunk boards  17 , and guide pipes  11  all attached at the bottom of the mast  2 . A lift cable  8  connects the cradle  1  to a cable spool  40  within the power unit  27 . The power unit  27  is attached to the top front of the front cover  3  and the motor  4  is mounted on the top of the front cover  3 . The power unit  27  contains a gear shaft  32  with cable spool  40 . The gear shaft  32  operatively engages the large pulley  18 , connected by v-belt  19  to the small pulley  20  on the motor  4 .  
         [0029]      FIGS. 5 and 6 , illustrate in more detail the components of the top and lower mast guide brackets  30  and  26 , respectively. The top mast guide bracket  30  shown in  FIG. 5  contains a sliding block  24  mounted between the side  41  by a retaining pin  36 . Behind the mast  2  are one or more retaining bolts  34  which secure the top bracket  30  around the pivot pin  7  in the pivot head  14 .  
         [0030]     In the lower mast guide bracket  26  shown in  FIG. 6 , the mast  2  abuts a roller of  23  mounted on a retaining pin  37  between side walls  42 . A retaining bolt  35  in front of the mast  2  holds the front plate  3  to the side walls  42 . The side walls  42  are secured to the lower bracket  26  by the rolling retaining pin  37  which also secures the lower mast guide bracket  26 .  
         [0031]     Finally, as shown in  FIG. 6 , a more secure piling attachment method is used for the mounting bracket  14 . This method consists of placing the mounting bracket attachment bolts  13   a  through the piling  6  at an angle crossing each other and securing them with bolts  13   b , rather than straight through the piling as in the prior art. This attachment method provides for a safer and stronger PWC lift.  
         [0032]     It is to be understood that while a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement of parts herein described and show. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention is not be considered limited to what is shown and described in the specification and drawings.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1