US3106181A - Anchor well - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 8, 1963 E. J. DARE 3,106,181

' ANCHOR WELL Filed July 17, 1962 Illl I lmiii" mm".

United States Patent Ofifice Patented Oct. 8, 1963 3,196,181 ANCHOR WELL Earl .1. Dare, Stuart, Fla, assignor to Colombian Bronze Corporation, Freeport, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed July 17, 1%2, Ser. No. 210,432 4 Claims. (Cl. 11421 3) This invention relates broadly to the nautical field, and in its more specific aspects it relates to the provision of means on a vessel for storing an anchor when it is not in use; and the nature and objects of the invention will be readily recognized and understood by those skilled in the art to which it relates in the light of the following explanation and detailed description of the accompanying drawings illustrating what I at present believe to be the preferred embodiment or mechanical expressions of my invention from among various other forms, arrangements, combinations and constructions of which the invention is capable within the spirit and scope thereof.

It is conventional practice on many marine vessels to merely leave the anchor on the deck of the vessel when not in use, and if necessary to secure it in place on the deck in some makeshift manner, so that it will be made fast in the event of rough weather and consequent rolling of the vessel.

It will be appreciated by anyone familiar with marine vessels that this conventional manner of taking care of the anchor when it is on the vessel and not in use is subject to many disadvantages, some of which are suflicient- 1y serious to endanger the well-being not only of persons aboard the vessel, but also the safety of the vessel itself.

In the first place, with the anchor resting on and lashed to the deck, it will be recognized that it constitutes a real hazard to the passengers and crew, for it is in the open where it may easily be tripped over and/or fallen upon, and if it breaks loose, it can cause injuries to passengers and crew as well as damage to the vessel and equipment thereon.

With the anchor supported on the deck of a vessel it is necessary touse rope pipe and anchor chocks so that the anchor is not at all times ready for quick use, since the anchor must be released from these mounting means before it can be let go into the water.

Anchors which are mounted on the deck also provide a snare in which lines, mops and the like will catch and become entangled. They take up space which could be used for sunning and other shipboard pastimes, and in other ways the deck mounting of anchors is not desirable.

I have devised a unique well in which a vessels anchor is stored when it is not in use and in developing this anchor well it has been one of my objects to overcome and eliminate the objectionable features mentioned above, and others, and to provide certain positive advantages resulting from my construction and design of anchor well.

This invention involves a housing for the anchor which is formed in the deck of the vessel and extends therebelow, the anchor being supported in this well by a unique and ingenious arrangement.

Not only does my construction provide a support or suspension means for the anchor, but it also provides means to prevent relative movement between components of the anchor which movement would cause undesirable noises and possible damage to the anchor. This lastnarned means is automatically operative upon insertion of the anchor into its housed position within the anchor well.

This anchor well which I have evolved puts the anchor off the deck and thereby eliminates the dangers and inconveniences pointed out above which are inherent in the deck storage of anchors.

The construction and arrangement of this anchor well expedites and makes the act of anchor storage easy, and the anchor is always ready for use merely by raising the anchor from the well. The necessity for anchor chocks, ropes, etc., for securing the anchor in place is eliminated, thereby greatly reducing the time required for storing the anchor and for removing it from the well.

The anchor well which I have devised is easily and inexpensively installed in vessels; requiresno upkeep; and functions not solely as an anchor storage means, but also as a ventilating means for the forepeak and the rope locker of the vessel.

With the foregoing general objects, features and results in View, as well as certain others which will be apparent from the following explanation, the invention consists in certain novel features in design, construction, mounting and combination of elements, as will be more fully and particularly referred to and specified hereinafter.

Referringto the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of the anchor well, with an anchor housed therein.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the anchor well.

FIG. 3 is a view taken on line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a view taken on line 44 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the anchor well.

The accompanying drawings are illustrative of my anchor well which is designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 1, and comprises a generally rectangular frame consisting of side walls 3' connected by end walls 5 providing a generally rigid structure. I provide a continuous flange 7 which extends outwardly from the side walls 3' and end walls 5 of the frame. The flange, 'as will be explained, functions as a mounting flange, and is preferably formed on the side and'end walls adjacent to but downwardly spaced from the top edges 9 0f the side and' A link 17 is pivotally fixed at one end to an end wall. 5 as at 19, and at its other end is pivotally connected, as

at 21, to a similar link 23' which is pivotally fixed as at 25 to the depending skirt 15 of cover 11. The pair of links act as a locking hinge to hold the cover in open position when the links are aligned as shown in FIG. 5 of the drawings. Any suitable type of means may be employed for holding the cover in closed position, such for instance, as the hasp arrangement 24.

At each corner of the frame I provide supporting brackets 27 which extend diagonally across said corners. The brackets are fixed in any suitable manner to the bottom -or lower edges of the side and end walls 3 and 5, respectively, and extend therebetween. While I have shown the brackets 27 formed in generally triangular configuration, it is to be understood that they may take other shapes and still fall within the spirit and scope of my invention. However, the brackets must be spacedly arranged to provide an unobstructed area within the frame for projec tion of the supported anchor therethrough.

Fixed to and extending from-each end wall is a straplike element 29, the lower ends of which are connected by means of a strap or 'bar 31, which I shall term a shank support. Consideration of the drawings, and particularly FIGS. 4 and 5 thereof, clearly shows that elements 29 and the shank support bar 31 are removed to one side of the center longitudinal axis of the frame.

Thus the bar 311 is closer to one side wall 3 than to the other side wall.

The anchor well unit which I have just described is preferably formed of metal of any suitable kind to provide a substantially rigid unit capable of performing the functions about to be described.

The anchor well is mounted in the deck of a vessel preferably in the bow portion thereof, the deck 33 being cut away to provide an opening only slightly larger than the external dimensions of the frame composed of the side and end walls .3 and 5, respectively, so that the anchor well may be inserted in the opening formed in the deck. When the unit is inserted in the said opening, the continuous mounting flange will rest on the deck and support the anchor well unit in proper position. The unit isfixed to the deck by means of screws or bolts 35 which extend through the flange and into the deck.

With the anchor =Well mounted in the deck of the vessel with the flange 7 screwed, bolted or otherwise securely fastened to the deck, it will be seen that the shank support bar 31 will be extended into the forepeak or other part of the vessel below the deck, and with the cover 11 opened such part of the vessel will be ventilated, and with the cover closed the opening in the deck will be closed.

In FIG. 1 of the drawings I disclose an anchor designated generally by the numeral 35, supported in the well in stored position completely and fully removed from the undesirable on deck position.

As an example of one type of anchor, from among many types, which may be stored in the well, I have shown an anchor having a rectangular box or frame 37, between the ends of which a rod 39 fixedly extends. A shank 41 is pivotally fixed to and extends from the rod 39, an anchor chain or rope 43 being connected to the end of the shank. A pair of fiukes 45 are fixed to rod 39 and extend therefrom, the shank 41 being movable between and relative to the fixed flukes.

The anchor is inserted into the well until the box 37 of the anchor rests on the supporting brackets 27 of the frame of the anchor well with the fiukes and shank extended into theforepeak or other interior area of the vessel. As the anchor is inserted into the anchor well, the shank 41 will follow the chain or anchor line 43 to an oil-center position so that the shank support bar or rod 31 will extend between the shank and the flukes, separating them and lifting the shank to prevent its movement relative to the flukes, thereby eliminating the possibility of rattling and the like. With the anchor stored, as described, the cover may be closed and secured by means of the fastening device 24.

The frame of the well unit is shaped to conform With 4. the box or head portion of the anchor and is made slightly larger than the box so that it may be inserted therein. It is to be understood that the configuration of the well frame is not necessarily as shown in the drawings, but takes a shape complementary to the shape of the box or other means by which the anchor is supported in the well.

It will now be appreciated that the anchor well which I have evolved attains the many advantages set forth above, and others, all of which endow the invention with useful and desirable characteristics.

I claim:

1. An anchor well adapted to be mounted within an opening in the deck of a vessel, comprising a frame composed of side and end Walls, means projecting rigidly from said frame and adapted to be fixed to the deck adjacent the opening therein for securing said anchor well in position, a plurality of separate spaced apart anchor supporting brackets fixed to said side and end Walls, and a bar for supporting the shank connected to and extending between said end walls in position below said end Walls.

2. An anchor well in accordance with claim 1 wherein said bar extends between said end walls on a line removed from a center line extended between said end walls.

3. An anchor well in accordance with claim 2, wherein said shank support means comprises a bar fixed to and depending from each end wall and a further bar fixed to and extending between the lower ends of the bars which are fixed to the end walls.

4. An anchor well adapted to be mounted within an opening in the deck of a vessel, comprising a frame of substantially rectangular shape, means projecting rigidly from said frame and adapted to be fixed to the deck adjacent the opening therein for securing said anchor well in position, a separate bracket fixed to and extended across each corner of the frame adjacent the lower end thereof, said brackets providing a support for the anchor and being separate and spaced apart leaving a space therebetween for receiving the shank and flukes of the anchor, and closure meanshingedly mounted on said first named means for closing the opening in the deck and covering the anchor well.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 556,892 Landsta Mar. 24, 1896 954,882 Powell Apr. 12, 1910 2,242,635 Whittelsey May 20, 941 2,506,893 Rogers May 9, 1950 3,019,757 Bailey Feb. 6, 1962

Claims (1)

1. AN ANCHOR WELL ADAPTED TO BE MOUNTED WITHIN AN OPENING IN THE DECK OF A VESSEL, COMPRISING A FRAME COMPOSED OF SIDE AND END WALLS, MEANS PROJECTING RIGIDLY FROM SAID FRAME AND ADAPTED TO BE FIXED TO THE DECK ADJACENT THE OPENING THEREIN FOR SECURING SAID ANCHOR WELL IN POSITION, A PLURALITY OF SEPARATE SPACED APART ANCHOR SUPPORTING BRACKEST FIXED TO SAID SIDE AND END WALLS, AND A BAR FOR SUPPORTING THE SHANK CONNECTED TO AND EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID END WALLS IN POSITION BELOW SAID END WALLS.

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