US3035282A

US3035282A - Boat wheel attachment

Info

Publication number: US3035282A
Application number: US98258A
Authority: US
Inventors: Herbert A Bemis
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1961-03-24
Filing date: 1961-03-24
Publication date: 1962-05-22
Anticipated expiration: 1979-05-22

Description

May 22, 1962 H. A. BEMIS BoAT WHEEL ATTACHMENT INVENTOR. HE'EB'E? '4- 5FM/J 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 24, 1961 May 22, 1962 H. A. BEMIS BOAT WHEEL ATTACHMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 24, 1961 INVENTOR.

m U M m 5 Q4 4 W W w m m United States Patent aessasz lBQAT WHEEL ATTACHMENT Herbert A. Bernis, 922 Albert St, Carlsbad, N. Mex. Filed Mm. 24, 1961, Ser. No. 9%,258 3 Claims. (Cl. 9--l) This invention relates to a novel and improved boat wheel attachment of the type wherein the wheels are adapted to be folded into the boat when not in use.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of a simpler, more practical and lighter weight attachment of the kind indicated, which is adapted to be quickly and easily installed and removed, and which is primarily designed to eliminate carrying or portaging of a boat and for moving a boat over short distances, rather service as an over-the-road trailer.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an attachment of the character indicated above which comprises a frame adapted to be supported on and releasably fixed to the opposed gunwales of a boat, wheel forks hinged on brackets so as to be swingable from vertical operative positions at the outer sides of the boat, to generally horizontal overlapped storage positions within the boat, and below its gunwales, and hand-operated bolts for securing the forks in operative positions and in storage positions.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an attachment of the character indicated above which is composed of a small number of uncomplex and easily assembled parts, and which can be made in rugged and serviceable forms at relatively low cost.

Other important objects and advantageous features of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein, for purposes of illustration only, a specific form of the invention is set forth in detail.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspsctive view, partly in cross section, showing an attachment of the invention installed on a boat, with the wheel forks locked in opera- Iive position;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical transverse section taken on the line 3--3 of FIGURE 1, a wheel fork bracket being shown in operative position in full lines and in storage position in phantom lines;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical transverse section, like -FIG- URE 2, but showing the wheel forks locked in storage positions within the boat; and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of FIG URE 1.

Referring in detail to the drawings, wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout the several views, the numeral generally designates a canoe whose hull includes a bottom wall 12, upstanding sideswalls 14 having gunwales 16 extending horizontally along their upper edges, and longitudinally spaced first and second horizontal thwarts l8 and 20, respectively, extending between the hull sidewalls l4, substantial on a level with the gunwales 16,

The illustrated attachment, generally designated 22, comprises a horizontal open frame 24 which is composed of similar but reversed parallel first and second angle

iron cross members

26 and 28, respectively, having horizontal flanges 30, which bear upon the upper surfaces of the first and

second thwarts

18 and 20, respectively, and pendant vertical flanges 32, which bear against the facing sides of the thwarts.

The frame 24 further comprises longitudinal side members, of open V-shaped shape, which are composed of first lengthwise adjustable elements 34 and second lengthwise adjustable elements 36. The first adjustable elements 34 comprise abbreviated angle iron sections 38 having horizontal flanges 4% and pendant vertical flanges 42, the vertical flanges 42 being at the laterally inward edges of the horizontal flanges 40. The abbreviated sections 38 are fixed, in suitable manner, as by means of welds 44, to the vertical flange 32 of the first cross members 26, at locations spaced inwardly from the outer ends of the member 26, at substantially forty-five degree angles.

The elements 34' further comprise angle iron sections 46 which are longer than the sections 38 and have horizontal flanges 48 overlying the horizontal flanges 4t}, and pendant vertical flanges 50 which bear against the laterally inward sides of the vertical flanges 42 of the abbreviated sections 38. The horizontal flanges 43 extend, at one end, beyond the vertical flanges 5th and bear upon the first cross member 26, and at their other ends beyond the other ends of the vertical flange 5t). Spaced bolts 52 traverse the vertical flanges 5t) and 42, and spaced bolts 54 traverse the

horizontal flanges

48 and 40.

The second frame side member elements 36 comprise components similar to those of the first elements 34, which are designated by similar, primed numerals, the abbreviated angle iron sections 38' being similarly fixed, at one end, to the second frame cross member 28. As shown in FIGURE 5, the second elements 36 are preferably somewhat longer than the first elements 34, to accommodate off-set wheel forks.

The adjacent ends of the horizontal flange 48 of the sections as and 46 of the

elements

34 and 36 are fixed upon the gunwales 16, by means of bolts 56 and 56', re spectively, extending through the gunwales, and the vertical flanges of the

sections

38 and 46 are joined together by intervening or connecting portions 58. One of the intervening portions 58, as shown in FIGURE 2, has a downward extension 60 which is provided with a centered opening 62 which is registered with the bore of a nut 64, fixed to the laterally outward side of the extension 60. The other intervening portion 58 is devoid of an extension.

Fixed on the upper edges of and extending laterally outwardly from the intervening portions 58 are horizontal support plates .66 in which are formed openings 68, centered at the outer ends of the plates 6-6, which are registered with the bores of nuts fixed to the undersides of the plates. Suitably fixed, as indicated at 72, to the laterally inward edges of the support plates 66, are pairs of longitudinally spaced hinge ears 74 between which and to which hinge pins 76 are fixed. Hinge bowls 78 are journalled on the hinge pins 76, between the cars 74, which are fixed on the laterally inward ends of flat inner arms 8% of L-shaped brackets 82, which have outer flat arms S4 disposed at right angles to the inner arms 80. As shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, the inner bracket arms 80 are horizontal and the outer arms 84 are vertical, in the operative positions of the brackets 82.

Wheel forks 86 have inner legs 88 fixed at their upper ends, in suitable manner to the laterally outward sides of the outer vertical bracket arms 84-, and outer legs 90, and suitable ground-engaging wheels 9'2 are disposed between the fork legs and are journalled on axles 94 extending between the lower ends of the fork legs.

The inner horizontal arms 89 of the brackets 82 are traversed by hand operated locking screws 96 having collars 9'3, the screws 96 being passed downwardly through openings '99 in line with the nuts 70 on the support plates 66 and threaded in the nuts 70, and are adapted to be turned down, by means of enlarged diameter heads 100 on their upper ends, so as to lock the arms 80 of the brackets 82 down upon the support plates 66, so as to lock the wheel forks 86 in their operative positions, wherein the wheels 92 are perpendicular to the ground G, and spaced from the outer sides of the canoe sidewalls 14, as shown in FIGURE 2. As shown in FIGURES 1 and 5, the wheel fork legs have lower end portions 102 which are offset rearwardly at a rearward and downward angle relative to the perpendicular, so that the wheels 92 trait properly, and so that, as shown in FIGURE 5, the wheels 92 are centered between the first and second

frame cross members

26 and 28, when folded to storage position within a boat, such as the canoe 10, given the extra lengths of the second elements 36 of the frame side members.

As shown in FIGURE 4, the inner arm 80 of the bracket 82 remote from the extension 6t), is slightly longer than the corresponding arm of the bracket adjacent to the extension 60, so that the wheel fork related to the remote bracket 82, when folded first into the canoe 10, upon withdrawal of the locking screw 96, from the related supporting plate 66, can be positioned at a downward angle wherein its wheel 92 rests upon the bottom wall 12 of the canoe 10. The other wheel fork is then folded into the canoe, upon removal of its locking screw 96 from the related supporting plate 66, so that its wheel 92 rests upon the outer arm 84- of the bracket of the firstfolded wheel fork, with the wheels 92 axially aligned with each other. One of the locking screws 96 is then threaded, in a laterally outward direction, through the opening 62 in the inner arm 80 of the related bracket 82 and through the nut 64 of the extension 60, whereby the upper wheel assembly is rigidly held down in its recumbent position, upon the lower wheel assembly. Where the wheels 92 are provided with pneumatic tires 104, the tire of the upper wheel assembly bears upon the outer arm 84 of the related bracket 82, and the tire of the lower wheel assembly bears upon the canoe bottom wall 12, so that when the screw 96 threaded into the extension 60 is properly tightened, the tires are under compression and a secure and non-rattling securement of the wheel assemblies is obtained.

It will be understood that the herein described attachment can be installed on boats other than canoes, and boats which do not have thwarts. In the latter case, the

cross members

26 and 28 would be secured directly to the boat hull sides.

Although there has been shown and described herein a preferred form of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not necessarily confined thereto, and that any change or changes in the structure of and in the relative arrangements of components thereof are contemplated as being within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a boat hull having a bottom wall,

upstanding sidewalls, gunwales extending along the upper edges of the sidewalls, and longitudinally spaced horizontal first and second thwarts extending between said sidewalls, an open frame having first and second cross members severally extending along and supportably engaged with'the first and second thwarts, said frame having longitudinal side members extending between and fixed to said first and second cross members, said side members being supportably engaged with related gunwales, brackets hinged on longitudinal horizontal axes on said side members, and wheel forks fixed to said brackets, and releasable means for locking the brackets to the side members in operative positions wherein the forks are located laterally outwardly of the hull sidewalls in vertical positions, said locking means being releasable to enable the wheel forks to be swung into the boat hull to storage positions, said frame side members having fixed horizontal support plates located intermediate their ends, said brackets being L-shaped and having inner normally horizontal arms and outer normally pendant vertical arms, said inner arms being hinged on the support plates and the wheel forks being fixed to the outer arms, said inner arms bearing upon the support plates in the operative positions of the brackets, said locking means comprising holes in the inner bracket arms alignable with nuts on said support plates, and removable locking screws threaded through the holes and the nuts, one of said frame side members having a downward extension having a nut thereon, a locking screw being adapted to be threaded through the hole in the inner arm of the bracket adjacent to said extension and through the nut on the extension for holding a wheel fork related to said adjacent bracket down upon the wheel fork related to the other bracket when the wheel forks are disposed within the boat hull in storage positions.

2. In combination, a boat hull having a bottom wall, upstanding sidewalls, gunwales extending along the upper edges of the sidewalls, and longitudinally spaced horizontal first and second thwarts extending between said sidewalls, an open frame having first and second cross members severally extending along and supportably engaged with the first and second thwarts, said frame having longitudinal side members extending between and fixed to said first and second cross members, said side members being supportably engaged with related gunwales, brackets hinged on longitudinal horizontal axes on said side members, and wheel forks fixed to said brackets, and releasable means for locking the brackets to the side members in operative positions wherein the forks are located laterally outwardly of the hull sidewalls in vertical positions, said locking means being releasable to enable the wheel forks to be swung into the boat hull to storage positions, said frame side members having fixed horizontal support plates located intermediate their ends, said brackets being L-shaped and having inner normally horizontal arms and outer normally pendant vertical arms, said inner arms being hinged on the support plates in the operative positions of the brackets, said locking means comprising holes in the inner bracket arms aligned with nuts on said support plates, and removable locking screws threaded through the holes and the nuts, one of said frame side members having a downward extension having a nut thereon, a locking screw being adapted to be threaded through the hole in the inner arm of the bracket adjacent to said extension and through the nut on the extension for holding a wheel fork related to said adjacent bracket down upon the wheel fork related to the other bracket when the wheel forks are disposed within the boat hull in storage positions, the forks being in overlapping relationship between the first and second frame cross members.

3. In combination, a boat hull having a bottom wall, upstanding sidewalls, gunwales extending along the upper edges of the sidewalls, and longitudinally spaced horizontal first and second thwarts extending between said sidewalls, an open frame having first and second cross members severally extending along and supportably engaged with the first and second thwarts, said frame having longitudinal side members extending between and fixed to said first and second cross members, said side members being supportably engaged with related gunwales, brackets hinged on longitudinal horizontal axes on said side members, and wheel forks fixed to said brackets, and releasable means for locking the brackets to the side members in operative positions wherein the forks are located laterally outwardly of the hull sidewalls in vertical positions, said locking means being releasable to enable the wheel forks to be swung into the boat hull to storage positions, said first and second cross members being angle irons having pendant vertical flanges bearing against the facing sides of said thwarts and horizontal flanges bearing upon the upper surfaces of the thwarts, said frame side members being V-shaped and comprising first and second elements fixed at related ends to said first and second cross members, connecting portions extending between said first and second elements, said brackets being hinged on said connecting portions, horizontal supporting plates fixed to said connecting portions and extending laterally outwardly therefrom, said brackets being L-shaped and having inner arms hinged to said supporting plates and outer 0 arms to which the wheel forks are fixed, said inner arms being adapted to rest upon said support plates in the operative positions of the brackets, and said releasable locking means acting between said inner bracket arms and said support plates and locking the inner bracket arms on the support plates, said brackets being dimensioned to locate the wheel forks in registered overlapping relationship between said first and second cross members when swung to storage positions Within the hull with said locking means released, said locking means being removable from a sup- 10 2929079 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Totten Mar. 22, 1960 Wagner Sept. 16, 1958