CA3032464A1 - Tossndock - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention is used to protect small water craft such as canoe's, Kayak's and motor driven Personal water Craft but not limited to from being scraped, bumped or striking a solid dock or mooring structure when parked or approaching the dock. This invention is designed not to be tied or affixed to any part of the water craft or dock area, unlike traditional protection devices which are permanently affixed to temporarily affixed tot he water craft or dock. This invention has a free standing weighted anchor portion that is pyramid in shape having four sides and a flat bottom. The anchor portion of this invention we will refer to here as the pouch, the pouch is partly filled with a gravel or sand layer approximately four inches deep but not limited to. In the pouch and on top of the sand or gravel area is a rubber flexible cone shape structure with a protruding coil spring exiting through the top of the rubber bladder, this coil enters into the bladder only at the very top portion. The invention has a elongated portion , referred to here as a rope extending through the bottom of the rubber bladder the larger end out through the narrow end, through a coil spring which is attached to the inside top portion of the rubber bladder and continuing through the arm or referred to here as the bumper ( protection portion ) of the invention. The invention is designed to be tossed into place while approaching a dock or solid mooring structure. The invention can be tossed onto the dock area when in close proximity of the dock or it can be tossed onto the floor of the small water craft with the bumper hanging over the edge of the craft or it can be tossed onto the side standing area of the personal water craft. The invention bumper, which hangs between the water craft and the dock or solid structure, consist of the rope portion covered by many polyethylene rings and a sleeve or jacket. The sleeve or jacket and pouch are made out of 1000 d cordura nylon which is abrasion resistant, mildew resistant and rot resistant. The bumper area of the invention has two knots on the rope passing through the bumper. One knot at each end. These two knots can be adjusted so the polyethylene rings can be forced closer together making the bumper more firm or they can be loosened allowing the rings to expand making them more pliable . The sleeve or jacket on that covers the pumper has two strings one at each end. These strings are tied tightly on the outside of end polyethylene ring at each end, between the ring and the rope knot. This prevents the holes of the polyethylene rings from expanding and slipping over the knot on the rope portion.

Description

Oct 9 2019 Description - 1 Tossndock Over the years, my sons and I have owned a number of small watercrafts, such as canoes, kayaks and motor propelled personal watercraft. We have always struggled to protect our watercraft from getting damaged when docking or mooring our watercraft. Watercraft in this context will refer to smaller water craft under sixteen feet but not limited to. A number of our watercraft did not have attachments affixed to the craft so you could attach a protective device such as a rubber bumper to prevent damage to the craft while docking or mooring at a dock.
When approaching a dock the traditional means of protecting the craft is to quickly tie or hang or affix some type of rubber bumper to the side of the craft on entry to the docking or mooring area. Most times this procedure is done while traveling on the water and approaching the dock or wharf area. Doing so, requires a great deal of focus and can be tricky at times depending on the traffic on the waterway and the calmness of the water surface.
Trying to tie a bumper to the side of our craft while traveling on the water has always been very tricky for me and at times even dangerous. If it is windy and the water way is rough or wavy this only adds to the struggle. Some times it is easier and much safer just to dock the water craft first and then attach the bumpers but usually this too is a struggle since you have to make sure you are not striking the dock while tying the bumpers to the dock or watercraft.

Description -2 Most small watercraft owners also do not like attaching anything permanent to their expensive watercraft for aesthetic reasons and many times the areas where they can attach a pumper is in an area where it does not do an adequate job of protecting the side of the watercraft.
Most all small watercraft owners very seldom travel with the bumpers attached because many times they fall off or they strike constantly against the sides of the watercraft making for a very annoying day on the water.
Fading of the painted area where a more permanent protective device is installed can also be an issue. If this happens it can be very pricey to have a paint touch up or even a more substantial paint job done to the faded area.
For this reason alone, many water craft owners prefer not to affix any permanent device that would interfere with the pristine appearance of the watercraft. Many of the rubber bumpers designed today are too large and cumbersome for smaller watercrafts such as canoes, kayaks and personal motorized water craft or PWC for short. Today, a personal water craft can run into the thousands of dollars to purchase and the traditional rubber bumpers as mentioned are not doing the best job in all areas of protecting the craft.

Description-3 The traditional rubber attached bumpers are usually one colour, white. This invention gives the water craft owner more freedom to match the colour of the water craft itself since the sleeve and jacket of the invention will come in many colours, making it more aesthetically appealing.
The invention, unlike any other invention, is tossed into place exactly where the water craft operator feels it will give his water craft the best protection while parked at the dock or approaching the dock . Tossndock is designed so that if it does fall the water craft or the dock and into the water it will not sink. It is designed so that the bumper area will remain floating above the waters surface.
The water craft user/operator has two choices when using this invention, the first is to toss the Tossndock invention into place on the dock or just leave the Tossndock invention on the side of the water craft, with the protective bumper area dangling over the side of the craft. The Tossndock invention has a weighted anchor end a flexible rubber bladder and coil spring and a bumper that make this invention like no other. It is easily stored away and very user friendly. The weighted end or anchor portion of the invention keeps the invention securely on the dock or boat area. The flexible rubber bladder and flexible coil spring allow the bumper to freely move up and down when pressure is applied to the surface of the bumper.

Description - 4 The length of the Tossndock invention bumper is over eighteen inches long and approximately three inches in diameter giving the side of the watercraft a large area of protection. A nylon rope, but not limited to nylon, passes through the polyethylene rings and is given extra firmness with the sleeve or jacket. The knots of the rope can be adjusted to squeeze the polyethylene rings together making it more firm or loosened to make the bumper feel less firm.
The Tossndock tool has a three quarter inch in diameter nylon rope passing through the floatable polyethylene rings, passing through the coil spring and attached to the top of a rubber flexible bladder and placed inside the pouch (the weighted pouch area which makes up the anchor). The bumper part of Tossndock is made of polyethylene foam allowing the bumper to remain light weight. The polyethylene foam is cut into approximately one inch thick pieces but not limited to this size and it is covered with a skirt or sleeve made of 1000d cordura nylon but not limited to. The polyethylene foam is circular in shape with a one inch hole in each piece. The rope is fitted through each piece and gives the Tossndock great strength for tossing. There are two knots in the rope areas of Tossndock, loosing or tightening these two knots can make the bump more firm or softer to touch. These knots also can be adjusted to move the bumper up or down the length of the rope.

Description-5 The sleeve goes over the polyethylene bumper which has a pull string at each end to keep the end piece of then circular polyethylene in front of the knot on the rope. The cover of the polyethylene bumper and rope area and the pouch that hold the rubber bladder and gravel are made out of 1000d cordura nylon but not limited to. Nylon is very abrasive resistant, mildew resistant and rot resistant.
The spring attached to the top of the rubber bladder of Tossndock is approximately 5 inches long but not limited to and is coated with a zinc compound to prevent corrosion or rusting. The coil spring is made of steel but not limited to and is very flexible allowing the Tossndock bumper to move up and down in a vertical movement with very little side-to-side pressure on the anchor part of the Tossndock invention. The total weight of the bumper area of Tossndock invention is only about eight ounces but not limited to, allowing it to dangle freely with no downward pressure. Tossndock is the invention, intended to improve safety, protection and ease of use while parking or docking of small watercraft.

Claims (4)

Claims - 1 A manually operable tool used to protect a small water craft from striking or rubbing against a solid surface when docking , parked or mooring against a solid surface such as a wharf or dock. Fig.1-1 shows the flexible coil spring that the nylon rope passes through. fig.1-2 shows the nylon rope passing through the coil spring. fig.1-3 shows the polyethylene rings covering the nylon rope that passes through it. These rings act as a bumper to protect the sides of the water craft while docking or attempting to dock at a wharf or dock.
Fig.-1-5 shows a sleeve or jacket that wraps around the polyethylene rings and the rope it is made out of 1000d Cordura nylon but not limited. The jacket or sleeve is abrasion resistant, mildew resistant and rot resistant.
Together with the poly rings and the rope they make up the protective bumper of Tossndock. Fig.1-4 shows a pull string which is at the end of the sleeve or jacket fig 1-5.
This string is tied in a knot around the inside of the larger rope knot located on the rope itself. Fig.2-8. This string fig

1-4 of the sleeve fig 1-5 is pulled tight around the poly rings fig 1-3 and is tied in a knot between the large rope knot fig 2-8 and the last poly ring fig 1-3. This larger knot on the rope acts to increase the tension on the poly rings making them more or less firm to touch. Or more or less firm when placed between the water craft and the slide wharf structure. Fig 3-12 shows the rubber bladder which is placed inside of the pouch fig 3-9. Fig.3-10 shows the coil spring located into the bladder fig. 3-12 and the rope

Fig.3 -15 passing through the spring fig 3-10 and into the rubber bladder fig 3 -12. The rubber bladder is a funnel shape or cone shape and acts as a support for the coil spring and is flexible to aid in the vertical movement of the bumper if it goes up or down. Fig.4-16 shows the rubber bladder placed inside of the pouch fig. 4-19. Fig 5-23 shows the pouch with the gravel or sand fig. 5-22 .

Which act as the anchor for the Tossndock tool. Fig 5-21 shows the pull string that closes the pouch and wraps around the top of the outside of the rubber bladder fig

4-1 6 . Fig 6- 24 shows a pretend dock with the Tossndock anchor portion sitting on the dock and the bumper or protective part of Tossndock hanging over the side of the dock. Fig. 7- 29 shows a small water craft enlarged on the water with the Tossndock tool fig 7-27 between the dock Fig.7-28 and the water craft fig 7- 29. Fig.8-31 shows a motorized personal water craft with the Tossndock tool fig.8-30 Enlarged and resting on the edge of the deck of the personal water craft as it slowly approaches the dock to park.