Adjustable pennant warning of downed water skiers

• US 4,122,796 A
• Filed: 03/11/1977
• Issued: 10/31/1978
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/1977
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kurt T. Pressler, Scott Cattell
• Original Assignee: Kurt T. Pressler, Scott Cattell
• Inventors: Pressler, Kurt T., Cattell, Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Yasich, Daniel M.
• Application Number:
  US05/776,790
• Time in Patent Office: 599 Days
• Field of Search: 116/124 R, 116/132 R, 116/134, 116/173, 116/35 R, 114/235 WS, 40/125 H, 40/125 J
• US Class Current: 116/277
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 5/02 using only mechanical transmission

Abstract

In order to satisfy safety regulations promulgated by the United States Coast Guard (USCG), the present invention provides a hand-powered, top-action pennant assembly permanently mounted to a stationary portion of a boat, such as a foredeck or the like, for allowing a warning pennant attached to a mast of the assembly to be relocated as required to satisfy U.S.C.G. safety regulations.

Claims

1. Warning pennant and support means for warning other boats or the like of an immobile water skier downed in water adjacent to a tow boat, comprising:

(a) a mast having a first end fixedly attached to said warning pennant and a second end opposite to said pennant;

(b) a base fixedly attached to a deck or the like of said tow boat but carrying cooperative rotatable cup means for receiving said second end of said mast, and disconnectably swivelable along an arc defined by;

(i) a horizontal flat stowage position wherein said mast and said pennant attached thereto are positioned adjacent to said deck or the like, substantially parallel therewith; and

(ii) an upright signal position in which said first end of said mast attached thereto is a maximum distance above said deck or the like whereby said pennant is afforded maximum viewability for warning other boats of said downed skier;

(c) said cooperative rotatable cup means also including a cylindrical swivel containing a slot at said one end to receive said mast and fitted with a bore at its opposite end defining an axis substantially normal to that of said slot;

pin means fixedly positioned within said bore of said swivel but having ends extending there-beyond and rotatably attaching to upright extending walls of said base; and

associated locking means located intermediate of said pin means and said bore for receiving said mast;

(d) said associated locking means includes first and second element means carried on said base and said rotatable cylindrical swivel respectively for releasably securing said base and swivel with respect to each other in stowage position (i) or signal position (ii);

(e) said first element means of said associated locking means includes a central opening within said cylindrical swivel, a compression spring positioned within said opening, and tensionable metallic spheres carried at opposite ends of said spring in sliding contact with upright walls of said base, said second element means including spaced recess means provided in upright walls of said base.

2. Warning pennant and support means of claim 1 in which said second element means of said associated locking means includes said recess mean being first and second pairs of recesses in said upright walls of said base, each pair being horizontally aligned substantially parallel to said axis of said pin means but defining a plane passing therethrough normal to that of said other pairs of recesses whereby said tensioned metallic spheres can be suquentially recessed therein whereby said positions (i) and (ii) are defined.