IMPROVED PADEYE AND METHOD OF MOUNTING

Cross-reference to Related Application

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 61/039,378, filed on March 25, 2008.

Background

Padeyes are often used on boats or other transportation and recreational vehicles to provide a conveniently located lashing or mounting point. When padeyes are mounted in a location where it is desirable when the padeye is not in use, or where it is desirable to have the ability for the bail or loop of the padeye to align itself with the force being placed upon it, it is known to provide such padeyes with folding bails. Examples of such padeyes with folding bails may be found in U.S. Patents Nos. D314,133 and D347,163.

These conventional folding padeyes have certain drawbacks to their usage. Improvements to conventional padeyes are desirable.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the description, illustrate several aspects of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. A brief description of the drawings is as follows:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a folding padeye according to the present disclosure mounted to a portion of a deck.

FIG. 2 is a second perspective view of the padeye of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a side view of the padeye of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the padeye of FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a gasket mounted between the padeye and the deck of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the gasket of FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a top view of the gasket of FIG. 5.

Detailed Description Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary aspects of the present invention which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

By way of a first non- limiting example of drawbacks to conventional folding padeyes, these padeyes may not have any resistance to movement of the bail.

While this makes the bail easy to grasp, extend and retract, it may also permit vibration in the surface to which the padeye is attached to cause the bail to bounce and buzz. Such unconstrained movement may be especially undesirable when the padeyes are used on a vehicle or boat with an internal combustion engine. Vibrations from the engine may be transferred to the surface to which the padeye is mounted, such as the deck of a sailboat, and cause an annoying vibration of the bail against the deck.

By way of a second non- limiting example, if a padeye is being mounted to a surface in a location not adjacent to an opening or an edge of the surface, conventional

padeyes require two persons to tighten bolts to fasten the padeye. As an example, to mount a padeye to the deck of a boat, a first person needs to be on the opposite side of the deck to apply torque to a fastener extending through the deck and through the padeye. A second person needs to be on the deck adjacent the padeye to apply torque to the opposite end of the fastener.

By way of a third non-limiting example of a drawback to conventional padeyes, mounting padeyes to the deck of a boat may expose the padeyes to being temporarily submerged or subjected to spray. If the padeye is mounted to the deck by fasteners extended through the deck, it is desirable to have a seal under the padeye to prevent water from migrating into or below the deck via the fastener openings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a padeye 10 according to the present disclosure addresses at least these drawbacks and provides improvements over conventional padeyes. Padeye 10 includes a movable or folding bail 12 extending at least partially through a body 14. Padeye 10 is mounted to a first side 16 of a deck 18. A plurality of fasteners 22 extend from body 14 through deck 18 beyond a second opposite side 20. Each fastener 22 includes an outer threaded end about which may be received a nut 23. A backing plate 24 may be provided to distribute force from nuts 23 to second side 20 of deck 18 to secure padeye 10 to deck 18.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, fasteners 22 may be blind fasteners, meaning that heads of the fasteners do not extend through body 14 and are not visible from first side 16 of deck 18. Referring now also to FIG. 4, as seen in cross-section, each fasteners 22 may also include an inner threaded end 25 which is received within a boss 28 having threaded openings. Bosses 28 may extend from body 14 at least partially through a depth

of deck 18. The amount that bosses 28 extend from body 14 may be determined based on the required engagement between fasteners 22 and body 14 required to withstand the tension for which padeye 10 is rated. Alternatively, the extension may be based on a desired lateral force resistance as the bosses extend within opening 26 of deck 18. Referring now to FIG. 3, a gasket 30 may be positioned between body 14 and first surface 16 of deck 18. Bosses 28 may extend through openings in gasket 30. Gasket 30 may provide a water tight seal between body 14 and deck 18 to prevent from migrating through openings 26 and entering deck 18 or reaching second surface 20. Use of gasket 30 closely sized to the shape of body 14 and including openings for fasteners and/or bosses to extend through reduces or eliminates the need for any sort of sealing material such as caulk or similar materials to be inserted in the same position. Reduction or removal of the need to for separate sealant materials may aid installation and maintenance efforts with respect padeye 10.

Bail 12 extends within an lateral opening 32 in body 14 and is free to move within that opening by pivoting about a longitudinal axis of the opening. To prevent unwanted rattling or vibration of bail 12 within opening 32, gasket 30 may include a raised central portion or rib 34 positioned to correspond to opening 32. Rib 34 may preferably be sized to engage bail 12 and provide some dampening or resistance to movement of the bail. Rib 34 and gasket 30 are preferably made of a resilient deformable material that can both provide a seal with deck 18 and dampen vibration of bail 12 without impeding free movement of bail 12 for the desired purposes of padeye 10.

FIGS. 5 to 7 show gasket 30 and rib 34 with openings 36 to receive fasteners and/or bosses 28. Rib 34 may include a concave shape or saddle 38 preformed

to receive and at least partially conform with the shape of bail 12 passing through opening 32. Alternatively, rib 34 may be squared off, convex, or some other shape as viewed from the side in FIG. 6.

It is anticipated that a padeye according to the present disclosure may include several put not all of the features described above. For example, a gasket such as gasket 30 may be included within conventional padeyes to provide a desired level of dampening of vibration of the bail and sealing between padeye and deck, where the padeye includes conventional fasteners extending through the body of the padeye. Alternatively, a padeye might include a flat gasket without the raised rib to place additional pressure and dampening of the bail. The improved sealing and at some dampening would still be provided in such an embodiment.

Other examples, embodiments, adaptations and usages are within the scope of the present disclosure. No claim or limitation is made regarding the particular material from which any of the components above is made. While the invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific embodiments set forth above. Thus, it is recognized that those skilled in the art will appreciate that certain substitutions, alterations, modifications, and omissions may be made without departing from the spirit or intent of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description is meant to be exemplary only, the invention is to be taken as including all reasonable equivalents to the subject matter of the invention, and should not limit the scope of the invention set forth in the following claims.