Hinged deck cleat assembly
AssigneeC. Sherman Johnson Co., Inc.
InventorCurtiss S. Johnson, Jr.
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A hinged cleat assembly for the deck of boats and the like is comprised by a T-shaped cleat formed by a contoured rod with two opposed, U-shaped ears interconnected at a midpoint of the cleat and two stem sections connected with the ears. A base plate is connected to the depending ends of the stem sections by means of a hinge which allows the cleat to be folded from an operative, upright position to a folded position relative to the deck.
Claims9
A hinged cleat assembly for the deck of a boat or the like comprising:
- a base plate mountable on the deck surface of a boat;
- a cleat member formed by a rod contoured in the shape of a "T" with two opposed projecting ears extending in opposite directions away from a supporting stem intermediate the ears, the ears being interconnected in the intermediate region and each ear having the shape of an elongated "U" to define a central opening extending into the ear from the intermediate region and to attach to the cleat member a line in a conventional hitch, the ears being contoured at their interconnection in the intermediate region of the cleat member to form an outwardly facing depression on the exterior of the cleat member;
- and
- hinge means connecting the stem of the cleat member to the base plate for pivoting movement of the cleat member between an upright and a flattened position relative to the base plate.
In combination with the deck of a boat or the like, an improved deck cleat assembly comprising:
- a base member connected to the deck of the boat or the like for mounting the cleat assembly;
- a cleat having a T-shape with two opposed elongated U-shaped ears and a central stem portion depending from the ears;
- hinge means connecting the depending stem portion to the base member for pivotal movement of the cleat between an upright and a folded position relative to the deck;
- and
- a friction member positioned within the hinge means and resisting the pivotal movement of the cleat stem portion to hold the cleat in the upright position relative to the deck.
A hinged deck cleat assembly comprising:
- an open form cleat formed by an elongated contoured member in the shape of a T defining two opposed, symmetric, U-shaped ears each interconnected at the midportion of the cleat and with two stem sections each projecting in parallel relationship from the respective ears at the midportion, each of the opposed, U-shaped ears extending away from the other and from the two stem sections at the midportion of the cleat and being of sufficient extent that a line may be looped around each of the ears in crossing relationship at the midportion to attach the line to the cleat in a conventional hitch, the cleat having an inwardly extending, outwardly facing depression on the exterior of the midportion where the ears are interconnected to accommodate a line crossed in a hitch;
- a mounting member for connecting the assembly to a deck;
- and
- a hinge interconnecting the open form cleat with the mounting member for pivotal movement of the cleat between an upright and a folded position relative to the deck.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.