Patent Abstract:
The present invention is directed to novel watercraft lift assemblies comprising, in certain embodiments, single motor and dual motor/winch assemblies secured to the dock-side portion of the support structure. The present invention does not require the use of top frames for carrying cable shafts necessary to lift the frame supporting the watercraft.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to novel watercraft lift assemblies comprising, in certain embodiments, single motor and dual motor/winch assemblies secured to the dock-side portion of the support structure. The present invention does not require the use of top frames for carrying cable shafts necessary to lift the frame supporting the watercraft. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a detailed, partially exploded view of the second pulley assembly connected to one of the transverse beams of the lifting frame. 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a motor/winch assembly illustrating an exemplary tie off of the first cable. 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the first pulley in combination with the first cable in the first and third embodiments of the present invention. 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the cable tie-off in combination with the first cable in the second embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIGS. 8A and 8B are enlarged views of the preferred cable terminal end tie offs in the present invention. 
     FIG. 9 is a enlarged view showing a portion of one of the transverse beams with a portion of the support frame secured thereon. 
     FIG. 10A is a perspective view of the motor/winch assembly of the present invention. 
     FIG. 10B is a perspective view of the spool bracket portion of the motor/winch assembly used in the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to the figures, the present invention comprises three different embodiments for the inventive watercraft lift assembly. The term “watercraft,” as used herein, refers to any vehicle designed for operation on any waterway and includes, but is not limited to, outboard motor boats, jet skis, inboard motor boats, pontoon boats, sailboats, jet boats, and the like. In addition, “waterway” includes any lake, river, ocean, gulf, and the like wherein a dock may be typically installed. 
     FIG. 1 illustrates the first embodiment of the invention which, for ease explanation, is referred herein as the “three-post/dual motor embodiment.” This embodiment comprises a support structure to which the motor/winch assemblies and terminal ends of the lifting cables are mounted or secured, respectively. Specifically, the support structure of the three-post/dual motor design illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises two vertical pilings  11  positioned on the proximal side P (i.e. dock side) of the watercraft (not shown). The vertical pilings are typically spaced about 7 feet to 12 feet from one another. A third vertical piling  12  is positioned on the distal side D of the watercraft (i.e. a distance away from the dock). As shown in FIG. 1, elongated transverse lifting beams  13  are positioned between the pilings by a pair of pulley assemblies and cables. 
     The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises a pair of motor/winch assemblies  14 , each of which is secured separately to one of the proximal pilings  11 . Each winch assembly  14  contains a rotatable spool  15  about which a length of lifting cable  20  is wound. In one embodiment, the spool is secured to a bracket piece  18  which in turn is secured to the motor assembly  17 . One end of the cable is secured to the spool while the other end is tied off near the top end  11   a  of the piling (not shown) or to the winch assembly, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. The cables may be stainless steel aircraft cable, nylon, or other types of cables or ropes known by those of ordinary skill in the art. The lifting cable  20  is further mounted onto a pulley wheel  30 , as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6. Preferably, about 12 feet to about 24 feet of cable are employed on this portion of the pulley assembly. The first pulley wheel  20  is mounted onto a bolt  21  which, in turn, is used to secure a pair of parallel pulley housing plates  22  to one another. The first pulley wheel  31  is clearly illustrated in FIG. 6, but is hidden from view by one of the parallel plates  22  in the remaining figures. In addition, only a small portion of parallel plates  22  are shown in FIG. 1; however, the plates are more clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 6. When the motor  14   b  is actuated to operate the winch  14 , the spool rotates to release or wind the lifting cable  20  along the pulley wheel  30 . It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that all of the pulley wheels employed in all of the embodiments of the present invention are conventional pulley wheels, each having a sufficiently wide groove  31  for maintaining the lifting cables as they move thereon (see FIG. 6, for example). 
     Also secured between the parallel plates  22  is a second pulley wheel  32  positioned subjacent to the first pulley wheel  30 . The second pulley wheel  32  is mounted to a second bolt  27  that also serves to secure the parallel plates  22  to one another, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. A second cable  33  is employed, wherein one end is secured to one of the vertical pilings  11  below the transverse lifting beams  13  (at  500 , for example) and the other end is secured near the top end  12   a  of the third vertical piling (at  500 , for example) as shown in FIG.  1 . The remaining length of cable is aligned, in succession, over the second pulley wheel  32 , beneath a third pulley wheel  34 , along the top surface of the transverse beam, and beneath a fourth pulley wheel  35  mounted to the distal end  13   a  of the transverse beam, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. A preferred length of this second cable is 26 feet to 36 feet, although the skilled artisan, will recognize that the length may be varied depending upon the size of the watercraft. Moreover, the third and fourth pulley wheels  34 , 35  are preferably mounted onto brackets  40  that are integral with opposing ends of the transverse beams  13 . Preferably, the latter pulley wheels  34 ,  35  are mounted within brackets  40  using hollow bolts  50  with zerk fittings. 
     When the motor/winch assembly in this embodiment is actuated via a single switch (not shown) to lift the transverse lifting beams  13 , the cable  20  pulls the plates  22  upward, thereby synchronistically raising the beams upward. Lowering the transverse beams operates in the same fashion. 
     FIG. 2 more clearly illustrates the pulley and cable components of the inventive lifting apparatus. Not shown in FIG. 1 but shown in FIG. 2 are a second pair of parallel plates  41 . The lower ends  22   a  of the first pair of parallel plates  22  are secured via a bolt  27 , as shown. The second pair of plates  41  provide for more stability during operation of the lift assembly. In addition, the lift assembly preferably includes a cable tunnel  60  configured to protect the second cable  33  from damage. A vertical stabilizing member  63  may also be secured to each of the transverse beams to minimize side-to-side movement of the boat hull. These features of the present invention are preferably present in all of the inventive embodiments illustrated and described herein. 
     FIG. 4 illustrates a second embodiment of the inventive lifting apparatus which, for ease of explanation, is referred to herein as the “three-post,/single motor design”  300 . In this embodiment, three vertical pilings  301  used for structural support are employed. Specifically, the three-post/single motor embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 comprises one vertical piling positioned on the dock-side or proximal side P of the water craft (not shown). Two other vertical pilings  302  are positioned a distance away from the dock, for example, and more particularly on the distal side D of the dock. These vertical pilings are typically spaced about 7 feet to 12 feet from one another. In this embodiment, the transverse lifting beams for carrying the watercraft are positioned between the pilings as shown in FIG.  4 . 
     A winch assembly  14  is mounted near the top end of the first vertical piling  301 . The winch assembly includes a pair of rotatable spools  141  and a motor  14   b  for turning the spools. A first cable  200  is wound about each of the spools  141 , with one end of the cable secured to the spool and the other end secured to a bolt  50  connecting the two parallel pulley plates  22 , as shown in FIGS. 4 and 7. Preferably, these cables are from about 12 feet to about 24 feet in length, depending upon the size of the watercraft intended to be lifted. 
     The three-post/single motor design  100  of the present invention further includes a pair of pulley assemblies, each of the pulley assemblies positioned on one side of the proximal vertical piling  301  as well as one of the transverse lifting beams  13 . More specifically, each of the pulley assemblies includes a pulley wheel  32  secured to the parallel plates by a bolt  50  connecting the two plates, as shown in FIG.  4 . The pulley wheel  32  is positioned subjacent to the upper bolt  50  connecting the parallel plates  22 . Each of the pulley assemblies further includes a second pulley wheel  34  positioned subjacent to the first pulley wheel  32  and mounted onto another bolt  50 . A third pulley wheel  35  is positioned on each of the transverse beams  13  near the distal vertical piling  302  and held therein by a bolt  50 , as shown in FIG.  2 . Preferably, the pulley wheels  34 , 35  positioned on the transverse lifting beams  13  are mounted within brackets  40  using hollow bolts with zerk fittings  52 , as described above for the first embodiment and illustrated in FIG.  2 . 
     The three post/single motor embodiment  100  of the present invention further includes a set of second cables  33 , with each cable having one end fixedly secured to one side of the proximal vertical piling  301  below the first end  13   b  of the transverse beam and the second end fixedly secured to and near the top end  302   a  of one of the distal side vertical pilings  302 , as shown in FIG.  4 . The remaining portion of each of the second cables is aligned, in succession, over the first pulley wheel  32 , beneath the second pulley wheel  34 , along the top surface of the transverse beam, and beneath the third pulley wheel  35  on the distal end  13   a  of the transverse beam. As shown in FIG. 2, the second and third pulley wheels  35 , 36  are mounted within brackets  40  using hollow bolts with zerk fittings  51 . Preferably, from about 26 feet to about 36 feet of cable  30  are used, depending upon the size of the watercraft intended to be lifted by the inventive lifting assembly. 
     When the motor/winch assembly in this embodiment is actuated via a single switch (not shown) to lift the transverse lifting beams  13 , the cable  200  pulls the plates upward, thereby synchronistically raising the transverse lifting beams  13 . Lowering the transverse beams operates in the same fashion. 
     FIG. 5 illustrates a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, which for ease of explanation is referred to herein as the “four post/dual motor” embodiment  200 , the support structure of the assembly includes a first pair of vertical pilings  211  positioned on the proximal side P (i.e. dock side) of the watercraft W and a second pair of vertical pilings  212  positioned on the distal side D of the watercraft W. This embodiment further includes a pair of transverse lifting beams  13 , which in combination with the other features of the invention, may be lowered or raised to accommodate a watercraft. Each of the two lifting beams  13  is positioned between adjacent distal and proximal pilings  211 , 212 , as shown in FIG.  5 . This embodiment includes a pair of winch/motor assemblies  14 , each of which is secured to one of the proximal pilings  212  near the top end  213   a  at  500 , as shown. Each of the winch/motor assemblies  14  includes a spool about which a cable  20  is wound. This first cable  20  is wound about each of the spools  15  (see FIG.  10 A), with the cable having one end fixedly secured to the spool and a second end fixedly secured to either piling of the first pair of vertical pilings  211  or a portion of the winch assembly on each of the first pair of proximal pilings  211 . The first cable  20  is mounted onto the first pulley wheel  34 , as also described above and illustrated for the first embodiment (i.e. see FIGS.  5 - 6 ), and serves to raise or lower the pulley wheel  30  via the motor/winch assembly  14 . The first pulley 
     A second pulley wheel  34  is housed between a second pair of parallel housing plates  41  and subjacent to the first pulley wheel. Preferably, the second pulley wheel  34  is rotatably mounted on a bolt  50  securing the two parallel plates  41  together. This cable  20  is movably mounted on the first pulley wheel  30  for longitudinal movement upon activation of the motor. 
     Each of the pulley assemblies further includes a third pulley wheel  34  positioned subjacent to the second pulley wheel  32  on the proximal end  13   a  of the lifting beam as well as a fourth pulley wheel  35  positioned on the distal end  13   b  of the lifting beam  13 . The third pulley wheel  34  is further rotatably mounted on a bolt  50  secured between the brackets. 
     The pulley assembly further includes a set of second cables  33 , each having a first end secured to one side of the proximal vertical piling  211  beneath the transverse beam and a second end secured to and near the top of one of the two distal pilings to which it is adjacent. The second cable  33  is further aligned, in succession, over the second pulley wheel  32 , beneath a beneath the third pulley wheel  34 , along the top surface of the beam, and beneath a fourth pulley wheel  35 , wherein the fourth pulley wheel is mounted to the distal end of each of the elongated beams. Preferably, the third and fourth pulley wheels  34 , 35  positioned on the lifting beams are mounted within brackets  41  using hollow bolts with zerk fittings  51 , as described above for the first and second embodiments illustrated herein. 
     To operate the lifting apparatus, two switches actuated to activate the motor and winches of the motor/winch assembly, thereby causing the first cable  20  to raise or lower the two lifting beams, synchronistically. 
     FIG. 5 illustrates a boat hull W (in phantom) positioned on the transverse lifting beams  13 . Preferably, the lifting beams are further connected to one another by a pair of cross beams  300  positioned on the top surface of the lifting beams  13 . Preferably, these cross beams  300  are covered with an artificial turf  301  or other suitable material to prevent slippage and scratching of the watercraft hull or bottom. As shown in FIG. 9, the cross beams may be secured to the transverse beams via an L-bracket  302 , for example. 
     The present invention is also directed to a novel device for safely securing the free end of the lifting cable  33  to the vertical piling. As shown in FIGS. 8A-8B, the cable  33  is aligned within a grooved wedge  400 . The wedge  400  is configured to fit within the slot  508  of a becket which has been bolted onto the vertical piling. FIG. 8B illustrates an L-shaped becket  500  secured to a vertical piling via bolts  502 . The upward force of the cable during operation of the lifting apparatus causes the wedge/cable combination to lock into the slot  50  within the becket, thereby minimizing any slippage of the cable during operation. 
     The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention are illustrative and explanatory thereof, and various changes in the size, shape, and materials, as well as in the details of the illustrated construction, may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5