Powered swim platform
AssigneeMalibu Boats, LLC
InventorsLyle Andrew Ramsdell, Nicolas Ballesteros Velasco
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A powered swim platform for improving accessibility to a swim deck of a water-sports boat or other watercraft. The powered swim platform includes a platform driven by an actuator. The actuator can rotate the platform between stowed and deployed configurations to assist a user in mounting or dismounting the swim deck of the water-sports boat or other watercraft.
Claims29
A swim deck positioned proximate a stern of a recreational boat, the swim deck comprising:
- a top surface including a horizontal portion;
- a bottom surface including a horizontal portion;
- a platform configured to move back and forth between a stowed position and a deployed position, a first portion of the platform located above the horizontal portion of the bottom surface of the swim deck in the stowed position, a second portion of the platform located below the horizontal portion of the top surface of the swim deck in the deployed position, wherein the first portion is opposite the second portion and wherein the first and second portions include grip material configured to impede a user from slipping;
- a gear assembly including gears, the gear assembly configured, when activated in a first direction, to move the platform between the stowed position and the deployed position, and the gear assembly configured, when activated in a second direction, to move the platform between the deployed position and the stowed position;
- a gear cover housing the gear assembly;
- a powered actuator operably linked to the gear assembly through the gear cover, the actuator configured to activate the gear assembly;
- a release mechanism configured to decouple the platform from the powered actuator to enable manual movement of the platform between the deployed and stowed positions;
- and
- at least one safety feature configured to provide at least one of an audio or visual alarm when the platform is not in the stowed position and the boat is at least one of ready for powered movement, moving under power, or moving under power above a predetermine speed.
A deployable platform of a swim deck positioned proximate a stern of a boat configured for recreation, the deployable platform comprising:
- a platform configured to move back and forth between a stowed position and a deployed position, a first portion of the platform located above a bottom surface of a swim deck in the stowed position, a second portion of the platform located below a top surface of the swim deck in the deployed position, wherein the first portion is opposite the second portion;
- and
- gears configured to move the platform between the stowed position and the deployed position or between the deployed position and the stowed position.
A boat configured for recreation, the boat comprising:
- a deployable platform of a swim deck positioned proximate a stern of the boat, the deployable platform comprising:
- a platform configured to move back and forth between a stowed position and a deployed position, a first portion of the platform located above a bottom surface of the swim deck in the stowed position, a second portion of the platform located below a top surface of the swim deck in the deployed position, wherein the first portion is opposite the second portion;
- and
- gears configured to move the platform between the stowed position and the deployed position or between the deployed position and the stowed position.
A method of improving ingress from water into a boat configured for recreation and egress from the boat into the water, the method comprising:
- moving a platform from a stowed position to a deployed position with gears, a first portion of the platform located above a bottom surface of a swim deck in the stowed position, a second portion of the platform located below a top surface of the swim deck in the deployed position, wherein the first portion is opposite the second portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.