Floating marker buoy
OwnerBrent Jacob Draperinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A marker buoy and marker buoy system for attaching to underwater objects and indicating a location above the object residing beneath the surface of the water. The marker buoy can include an upper body with a shaft rotatably mounted within and a lower body oriented centrally in relation to the upper body. A line for attachment to the underwater object is wound around a spool affixed which can be to the shaft, and the line can feed out of the marker buoy through an aperture located on the lower body. The shaft may be locked to prevent rotation utilizing a locking mechanism. Various fittings and mounts enable extra components to attach onto the marker buoy for additional features.
Claims20
A marker buoy comprising:
- an upper body having a longitudinal axis and an outer surface;
- a lower body that has a proximal end and a distal end having a line-feed aperture, the proximal end positioned at a center portion of the upper body and the lower body distal end extending away from the longitudinal axis;
- a rotatable shaft having a first end and a second end, the rotatable shaft positioned in the upper body and aligned with the longitudinal axis of the upper body;
- a spool positioned in the upper body and coupled to the shaft to rotate with the shaft;
- a fitting coupled to the first end of the shaft and positioned outside the upper body;
- a line wound onto the spool and extending through the proximal end of the lower body and the lower body distal end and out of the housing through the line-feed aperture;
- at least one mount coupled to the outer surface of the upper body;
- and
- a locking mechanism releasably coupled to the shaft for preventing the shaft from rotating.
A system for marking an underwater object comprising:
- means for removably attaching a buoyant housing to a target object under a surface of water;
- means for disabling a locking mechanism configured to the buoyant housing, wherein the locking mechanism is preventing rotation of a shaft configured to spin and deploy a line;
- and
- means for releasing the buoyant housing to float to the surface of water while remaining attached to the target object by way of the line.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.