Abstract:
A detachable sailboat anchor light and hoist structure comprises a body, a lamp mounted in an upper portion of the body so as to be visible at all points around the circumference of the body, a connector for connecting a halyard for the mast to the light such that the light is elevated to a position above the top of the mast when the light is oriented vertically and raised to the top of the mast, and a mechanism for maintaining vertical orientation of the light when the light is raised to the top of the mast. The light can be raised with the halyard to the top of the mast and can be lowered either by pulling an electrical cord interconnecting the light with the electrical system of the sailboat or by attaching a down haul to the light.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Maritime regulations require that sailboats of a certain size display an anchor light above the highest point on the sailboat mast when the sailboat is anchored in a non-designated mooring area. The light must be visible at all points around the mast. Usually these regulations are complied with by mounting a fixed light at the top of the mast and interconnecting the light with the sailboat electrical system with an electrical cord that extends downwardly through the hollow interior of the sailboat mast. Permanent lights are somewhat expensive and expensive to install. Moreover, when periodic maintenance of the light is required, it is necessary to climb the mast or tip the boat on its side so that the top of the mast is accessible. Because of the expense and inconvenience of a permanently installed light, there are more than a few sailboats that do not comply with this regulation. 
   The object of the present invention is to provide a relatively inexpensive, portable light that can be raised to the top of a mast when desired and removed from the mast when not in use. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   A portable anchor light comprises a body, a lamp mounted in an upper portion of the body so as to be visible at all points around the circumference of the body, a connector for connecting a halyard for the mast to the light such that the lamp is positioned above the top of the mast when the light is oriented vertically and raised to the top of the mast, and a mechanism for maintaining vertical orientation of the light when the light is raised to the top of the mast. 
   The light can be raised with the halyard to the top of the mast when desired and can be lowered either by pulling an electrical cord interconnecting the light with the electrical system of the sailboat or by attaching a down haul to the light. 
   A number of methods can be used to maintain the light in vertical orientation. An effective and simple way and the preferred way is to attach the halyard to a lower end of the light, run the halyard upwardly along the light, and attach the halyard to the side of the light by one or more releasable straps. The highest strap is positioned sufficiently below the top of the light so that the lamp extends above the top of the mast when the light is fully raised by the halyard. 
   These and other features, objects, and benefits of the invention will be recognized by one having ordinary skill in the art and by those who practice the invention, from the specification, the claims, and the drawing figures. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic perspective view showing a first embodiment of the present invention mounted on a sailboat mast. 
       FIG. 2  is a fragmentary perspective view showing the light of  FIG. 1  mounted at the top of the mast. 
       FIG. 3  is a top view of the light of FIG.  2 . 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of a light of the present invention mounted of the top of a mast. 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing a third embodiment of the present invention mounted at the top of a mast. 
       FIG. 6  is a sectional view taken along lines  6 — 6  of FIG.  5 . 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention mounted at the top of the mast. 
       FIG. 8  is a sectional view taken along lines  8 — 8  of FIG.  7 . 
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention mounted at the top of a mast. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Referring to the drawings, a first embodiment  10  of a light constructed in accordance with the present invention is shown mounted on a sailboat  12  in FIG.  1 . Sailboat  12  included a hull  14  and a mast  16  extending upwardly from the hull. These elements are shown schematically. A block or pulley  18  is mounted on an axle  19  in a fitting  21  at the top of the mast, and a line  20 , called a halyard, extends over the block for the purpose of raising the sail of the sailboat. One end of the halyard includes a clip or shackle  22  for attaching the halyard to a sail for raising the sail up the mast. The opposite end  24  of the halyard is manipulated by a sailor to raise the sail up the mast. The other end of the halyard is secured to the mast by a cleat  26  or other fastener. These elements are all conventional. 
   Light  10  of the present invention includes an elongated tubular body or tube  30  with upper end cap  32  and lower end cap  34  mounted on opposite upper and lower ends of the tube. The tube can be conventional PVC tubing of the type used for plumbing and electrical applications. A lamp  36  is mounted in upper end cap  32  and shines outwardly through a transparent or translucent dome  38 . The lamp is visible from all points around the light when the light is maintained in a vertical orientation as shown in the drawings. 
   Lamp  36  desirably is connected to a source of electrical power by means of an electrical cord  40  that extends from the light downwardly through lower end cap  34  to a connector such as a plug  42  (FIG.  1 ), which is connected to an electrical socket  44  in the sailboat. The cord is clamped to lower end cap  34  by a strain relief connector or fitting  46  attached to an opening in lower end cap  34 . Connector  46  clamps electrical cord  40  to the end cap  34  so that the downward weight of the cord and any downward pulling of the cord is resisted by fitting  46  and is not transmitted to the lamp itself, which could break the electrical circuit. 
   In the embodiment of  FIGS. 1-3 , the clip  22  on the end of the halyard is clipped around cord  40  at the lower end of the light. The halyard then runs upwardly along the side of body  30  and then over block  18  and downwardly to end  24 . The halyard is maintained in a position on the side of body  30  by at least one and preferably two spaced straps  52  and  54  that encircle the body. Straps  52  and  54  are attached to the body by rivets  56  and  58  or other suitable fasteners. Desirably, the straps have, open, overlapping ends such as ends  60  and  62 , as shown in FIG.  3 . The overlapping ends preferably are attached together by a hook and loop fastener or other suitable fastening means to provide a strap that can be fastened in a loop and released when desired. Desirably, the straps are wrapped around halyard  20  and lock it in place on the side of the body  30  of the light. 
   As shown in  FIG. 2 , the highest strap  52  is positioned below lamp  36  at the upper end of the light a sufficient distance that when the halyard is raised as far as it will go (which is when the strap  52  is raised to the point of contact with block  18 ) lamp  36  will protrude above the top of the mast so as to be visible from a 360 degree angle around the mast. 
   The halyard will hold the lamp tightly to the side of the mast at the point of attachment of strap  52 . The vertical orientation of the light, with the lamp at the upper end of the light, is maintained by the weight of the electrical cord  40  as it hangs downwardly from a lower end of the lamp to the deck of the sailboat. A size 18, two conductor, SJO portable cord can be used the electrical cord. This has sufficient weight to anchor the lower end of the light in a vertical orientation but does not weigh so much so that the cable is cumbersome. The use of two straps holds the light vertical and provides a safety feature to make sure that the light remains attached to the halyard at the side of the light body. 
   While the foregoing is the preferred method for attaching the halyard to the light, other methods can also be used. Other examples of attachment mechanisms are shown in  FIGS. 4-9 . For purposes of illustration, common elements of the figures are identified with the same numerals. 
   Light  70  of  FIG. 4  is the same as light  10  of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , with the exception that the light is attached to the halyard by means of an eye bolt  76  bolted to the side of the tube or other fastening device (which also could be the strap of FIG.  1 ). The electrical cord  74  holds the lamp in vertical orientation. 
   In  FIG. 5 , light  80  is attached to clip  22  on halyard  20  in the same manner as  FIG. 4  (by an eye bolt,  82  or other clip). In this figure, however, the light is maintained in vertical orientation at least partially by a somewhat different mounting mechanism. In many sailboats, the sail is raised on the mast by means of a grooved external track  86 , which is usually attached to the side of a mast by means of a slot  88  that extends the length of the mast. A plate  90  typically is positioned inside the slot, and the track is bolted to the plate by means of a bolt  92 . This is conventional. Typically, a car  94  having wheels  96  mounted on opposite ends thereof is mounted on the track, with the wheels running on opposite sides of the track. The sail of the boat is attached to such cars and raised and lowered in the track. In order to raise the light of  FIGS. 5 and 6 , cars  94  (which may be one or more) are attached to the sides of body  98  of the light. Such attachment may be by a bolt  100  that extends through the side of the body of the light. By mounting the light on cars that are positively retained in the track on the sailboat mast, the vertical orientation and upward position of the lamp can be maintained 
   Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.  7 . This embodiment takes advantage of the grooved longitudinal slot in the sailboat mast, which is sometimes used for purposes of raising and lowering the sail. In this embodiment, light  110 , having body  112 , includes a T-shaped mounting member  114  bolted or otherwise fastened in the side of the body. The head  116  of the T-shaped member fits inside of the slot  118  in the mast, with a narrower neck  120  fitting through slot  118  in the mast. The T-shaped member thus holds the body of the light to the side of the mast while at the same time permitting the light to be raised and lowered along the side of the mast. One or two or more (if desired) T-shaped members  114  can be used in this construction. Another T-shaped member  114 ′ (shown in phantom in  FIG. 7 ) can be attached to the cord or a line extending downwardly from the lower end of the light. 
   Without the weight of the electrical cord, other means are necessary to hold the lamp in the proper vertical orientation. Weight of the batteries tends to do this. In addition, the use of more than one spaced T-shaped member or attachment means for attaching the light to the mast will maintain vertical orientation. This embodiment could be operated by an electrical cord as in the previous embodiments. When the batteries are used, it is necessary to employ a down haul  124  attached to an eye bolt  126  or other fastener at the bottom of the light. The down haul is a line that permits the sailor to pull the light down on the mast when it is desired to lower and remove the light. 
   Still another embodiment  130  of the light of the present invention is shown in FIG.  9 . In this embodiment, body  132  of the light is attached to clip  22  of halyard by an eye bolt  134  as described above. Or it could be attached to cable  136  at the bottom of the light, as described in FIG.  1 . In this embodiment, a strap  138  attached to the body of the light by a rivet or other fastener  140  has open overlapping ends which are attached together by hook and loop fasteners, as shown in FIG.  1 . In this embodiment, however, strap  138  is long enough so that it can encircle the entire mast, thus loosely holding the lower end of the light to the mast as it is raised and lowered. This construction only works on masts that do not have spreaders or other obstructive elements along the mast. 
   In addition to the foregoing, it is contemplated that different light shapes and different mechanisms for maintaining the orientation of the light can be employed. The main feature of all such attachment mechanisms, however, is that the lamp itself should be positioned high enough on the mast so that the lamp is visible from a 360 degree angle around the mast and that the light is not obscured at some point by the side of the mast. The embodiment of  FIGS. 1-3  is the preferred embodiment of the present invention because of simplicity and demonstrated effectiveness. 
   In order to lower the light from the top of the mast, it is usual to pull downwardly on the electrical cord attaching the light to the mast. A separate down haul attached to the lower end of the light also could be employed. The weight of the light itself will induce lowering of the light, but a positive means for lowering the light is preferable. 
   It should be understood that the foregoing is merely exemplary of the present invention and that various changes in the arrangements and details of construction of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.