(12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2001/ A1

Transcription

1 US 20010O38536A1 (19) United States (12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2001/ A1 Wiggerman et al. (43) Pub. Date: Nov. 8, 2001 (54) COMBINATION MARINE ACCESSORY Related U.S. Application Data ASSEMBLY (63) Non-provisional of provisional application No. (76) Inventors: Ronald E. Wiggerman, McHenry, IL 60/180,736, filed on Feb. 7, (US); Rudolph P. Gueik, Frankfort, IL (US); Allan E. Boleslawski, Bear, DE Publication Classification (US) (51) Int. Cl.... B63B 45/02 Correspondence Address: (52) U.S. Cl /477; 362/240; 362/544 GARDNER, CARTON & DOUGLAS (57) ABSTRACT 321 N. CLARK STREET Disclosed is a combination marine accessory assembly for SUTE 3400 CHICAGO, IL (US) conveniently installing a plurality of marine accessories. The assembly contains, within a single housing, a plurality of marine accessories Such as lights and horns. The acces Sories are mounted within a Single housing, and the housing (21) Appl. No.: 09/777,511 is installed on the open deck of a boat. The housing of the invention further provides protection for the marine acces (22) Filed: Feb. 6, 2001 Sories.

2 Patent Application Publication Nov. 8, 2001 Sheet 1 of 2 US 2001/ A1

3 Patent Application Publication Nov. 8, 2001 Sheet 2 of 2 US 2001/ A1

4 US 2001/ A1 Nov. 8, 2001 COMBINATION MARINE ACCESSORY ASSEMBLY RELATED APPLICATION 0001) This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provi sional Application No. 60/180,736, filed on Feb. 7, FIELD OF THE INVENTION 0002 The present invention relates to marine accessory assemblies and, more Specifically, to an assembly that com bines a plurality of boating accessories Such as lights and horns in a single housing. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Pontoon boats, and other similar types of boats, are designed with an open deck where various accessories are mounted. These accessories include, but are not limited to, navigation lights, horns, and floodlights. The accessories are mounted to the left and right and sometimes in the middle of the open deck. The accessories are also mounted Separately, and are typically each installed in a housing that is then mounted onto the open deck. In addition, traditional boats may also have accessories installed on an open deck Because of the number of accessories installed onto the deck and their location it can take a considerable amount of time to install the accessories. In addition, because they are installed free-standing or in an open housing on a deck, the accessories can be easily damaged or dislocated during operation of the boat. Moreover, the position of the various accessories can vary from boat to boat making it difficult to locate the accessories and to Standardize them Thus, it would be advantageous to boaters to have a means of quickly installing boating accessories. It would also be advantageous to minimize accessory installation time by having a single assembly to install with a housing that can accommodate a plurality of boating accessories. It would also be advantageous to have an assembly with a housing that provides protection for marine accessories that are installed on an open deck. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to provide a means of quickly installing a plurality of marine accessories onto the deck of a marine craft. It is another object of the invention to have a Single assembly with one housing containing more than one marine accessory. It is yet another object of the invention to provide an assembly with a protective housing for a plurality of marine accessories that are installed onto the open deck of a boat The above and additional objects are realized in the present invention, which provides an assembly with a single housing for a plurality of marine accessories Such as lights and horns. The accessories are mounted within the housing, and the housing is installed onto the open deck of a boat. The housing of the invention further provides protection for the marine accessories. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which: 0009 FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the combi nation marine accessory assembly of the invention; and 0010 FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the combination marine accessory assembly of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 0011 While the invention is susceptible to various modi fications and alternative forms, certain preferred embodi ments are shown by way or example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that it is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms described, but to the contrary, the invention is intended to cover all modifications and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims The present invention relates to a marine accessory assembly or System that encases, in a Single housing, a plurality of marine accessories Such as but not limited to lights and horns. The invention farther provides protection for the lenses of the lights that may be installed into the housing of the invention Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, in one preferred embodiment having two lights and a horn, the assembly 10 includes an Outer housing 18 having a front face 24, a first Side 26 and a generally opposing Second Side 28, and having a plurality of openings 20, 22 on the front face 24. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a first opening 20 is positioned toward first Side 26 of the housing So that at least one navigation light 12 can be positioned So that the light is emitted from the side of the vessel as required by regulations. A Second opening 22 may be formed, for example, toward the center of the housings front face 24. This Second opening 22 may be fitted with, for example, a general illumination light 14 Such as but not limited to a floodlight. The general illumination light 14 is positioned within the opening 22 in housing 18 So that it can Shine in the direction desired by the craft operator. The housing 18 and general illumination light 14 can be designed So that the direction of the light beam can be modified. The housing openings 20, 22 may further contain one or more reflectors (not shown) that may aid in positioning the lights in the housing 18 of the invention. The assembly 10 is bolted to the deck of a boat by at least one bolt mount 30, as shown in FIG In another preferred embodiment, the assembly 10 of the invention may further include a horn 16, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. For instance, with reference to FIG. 1, the marine accessories in the housing 18 include a navigation light 12, a floodlight 14 and a horn 16, although other boating accessories generally located on an open deck may be used. In this preferred embodiment, an opening 32 for the horn 16 is located within the housing near the Second Side 28, although this opening may be located elsewhere in the housing 18 in a location Sufficiently large to accommodate the horn 16. The opening 32 for the horn 16 can be configured within the housing So that the Sound emitted by the horn 16 can be heard in multiple directions The shape of the housing is designed to coincide with the shape of the boat to which it is mounted. For pontoon boats, the housing has a slight J-shape (as illustrated

5 US 2001/ A1 Nov. 8, 2001 in FIGS. 1 and 2) to follow the contour of the boat's corners. For other boats, the shape of the housing and configuration of openings may be different. The housing can be attached to the front edge of the open deck or on top of the deck using bolt mounts The shape of the housing also takes into account the nature of lights and is designed to protect the lenses of the navigation light and the flood light through the optional recess 34 of the openings, as best illustrated in FIG. 2. Once mounted, the appliances Such as lights are recessed from the outer surface 36 of the housing, as best illustrated in FIG. 2. Protection of the internal electrical components from water is achieved by the formation of a closed structure between the mounted appliances and the housing Of course, other designs are possible that take into account the requirements for navigation and flood light visibility. For other boats, it is anticipated that the assembly of the invention will be formed in other shapes Thus, the assembly of the invention provides a convenient means of attaching multiple marine appliances Such as lights, horns and the like to the deck of a boat. The invention accomplishes this goal by providing a single housing into which a plurality of appliances are positioned, which housing is then attached to the boat deck. The housing offers an additional advantage of providing protection for the appliances through the use of recessed openings. What is claimed is: 1. A marine lighting assembly comprising: a housing mounted onto the open deck of a boat; a plurality of openings in the housing, and a plurality of marine appliances, wherein one appliance is mounted within each opening and further wherein the housing and the appliances form a closed Structure. 2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the appliances are lights, and the lights are positioned within the housing to emit light from the openings. 3. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the appliances are a lights and horns. 4. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the openings are recessed and the marine appliances are mounted in the openings to be recessed with respect to the Outer Surface of the housing. 5. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the housing has three openings and wherein the appliances are a flood light, a navigation light and a horn. 6. The assembly of claim 1 further comprising at least one boat mount. 7. The assembly of claim 5 wherein the housing is generally L-shaped and wherein the navigation light is positioned to emit light in a direction generally angular to the light emitted from the flood light. 8. The assembly of claim 5 wherein the openings may optionally contain at least one reflector. 9. A marine lighting System comprising: a housing mounted onto the open deck of a boat wherein the housing is generally a closed Structure; a first opening in the housing, a first marine light mounted into the housing positioned to emit light from the first opening; a Second opening in the housing, and a Second marine light mounted into the housing posi tioned to emit light from the Second opening, and wherein the first and Second marine lights generally Seal the first and Second openings to maintain a closed Structure. 10. The marine lighting system of claim 9 farther com prising a third opening in the housing and a marine horn mounted into the third opening, wherein the housing, the lights and the horn form a closed Structure. 11. A marine lighting assembly for use on a pontoon boat comprising: a generally L-shaped housing mounted onto the open deck of a boat; a plurality of recessed openings in the housing, and a plurality of marine appliances, and at least one bolt mount, wherein one appliance is mounted within each opening to form a closed and generally watertight Structure, and wherein the appliances are lights and a horn and the lights are positioned within the housing to emit light from the openings, and wherein the assembly is mounted to the deck of a boat with the bolt mounts. 12. The assembly of claim 11 wherein the lights are one navigation light and one flood light and wherein the navi gation light is positioned to emit light in a direction gener ally angular to the light emitted from the flood light.