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US3760441A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Position indicating temporary buoy consisting of a telescopic collapsible pole

Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1972-12-06
•
Granted: 1973-09-25
•
Expires: 1992-12-06
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Abstract

Abstract A telescopic extensible pole to enable the pole to serve as a temporary buoy or marker, normally collapsed to about 4 feet for minimum space storage on a sailboat, and extensible to full length of about 18 feet to be thrown overboard to mark the location of a crew member, fallen overboard from a boat, so that the boat can return directly to the location to find and pick up the fallen crew member. The extensible pole, preferably of fibreglass telescoping sections, has an intermediate float ring, preferably light weight cork, a top pennant, and a weight at the bottom end of the pole, to hold the pole erect as a buoy when thrown into the water. The float ring is secured near the top of the outer cylindrical telescopic section to permit the lower part to be grasped by two hands to swing the collapsed pole, to generate a centrifugal force to centrifuge the telescoped sections to fully extended position against minimum friction between the sections, which is sufficient, however, to hold the sections in place against gravity, when the pole is in vertical position in the water.

Inventors

  • 👤 P Handelman

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-31 11:11
CPC Classifications
B; B63; B63C; B63C9/00; B63C9/08; B63C9/20

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 3
Claim 1
Independent Claim 341 words
A temporary emergency buoy, to be put into service quickly, in an emergency situation, to mark the location of a man overboard, as from a sailing vessel, said buoy comprising an elongated hollow outer tubular pole section, closed at its bottom end and open at its top end; a plurality of telescoping tubular sections of progressively graduated diameter fitted in said outer section to permit concentric telescopic collapse within said outer tubular pole section, and said tubular elements being capable of slidingly extending to essentially co-axial extended disposition out of said open end at the top of said outer pole section, with a pennant or flag at the outer end of the outermost tubular section; a weight secured to said outer section adjacent its bottom end; and a float element secured to and encircling said outer section at a region intermediate the two ends of said outer section, to divide the section length into an upper part and a lower part, with the lower part of appropriate length to permit human gripping of said lower part with both hands to manipulate and swing the entire pole with a whipping action to develop a centrifugal force sufficient to cause said telescoped inner sections to be expelled to their extended position, out of said outer section, to a length that will make said flag visible against a background of high waves, and the friction between said telescopic sections being sufficient to hold said extended sections against return to concentric telescoped position by an external unintended force, such as gravity; the length of said lower part of the Outer section below the float and the amount of the weight on the end of said outer section being such that their product as a moment force, below water and about the float as a pivot, will be sufficient to hold the extended pole substantially erect for remote visibility; said tubular elements being manually telescopable into said outer section so the entire buoy structure will occupy a minimum of space, as for disposition on a sail-boat.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 341 words
A temporary emergency buoy, to be put into service quickly, in an emergency situation, to mark the location of a man overboard, as from a sailing vessel, said buoy comprising an elongated hollow outer tubular pole section, closed at its bottom end and open at its top end; a plurality of telescoping tubular sections of progressively graduated diameter fitted in said outer section to permit concentric telescopic collapse within said outer tubular pole section, and said tubular elements being capable of slidingly extending to essentially co-axial extended disposition out of said open end at the top of said outer pole section, with a pennant or flag at the outer end of the outermost tubular section; a weight secured to said outer section adjacent its bottom end; and a float element secured to and encircling said outer section at a region intermediate the two ends of said outer section, to divide the section length into an upper part and a lower part, with the lower part of appropriate length to permit human gripping of said lower part with both hands to manipulate and swing the entire pole with a whipping action to develop a centrifugal force sufficient to cause said telescoped inner sections to be expelled to their extended position, out of said outer section, to a length that will make said flag visible against a background of high waves, and the friction between said telescopic sections being sufficient to hold said extended sections against return to concentric telescoped position by an external unintended force, such as gravity; the length of said lower part of the Outer section below the float and the amount of the weight on the end of said outer section being such that their product as a moment force, below water and about the float as a pivot, will be sufficient to hold the extended pole substantially erect for remote visibility; said tubular elements being manually telescopable into said outer section so the entire buoy structure will occupy a minimum of space, as for disposition on a sail-boat.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 46 words
A temporary emergency buoy, as in claim 1, in which said telescopic sections consist of a corrosion-resistant material in thin section for light weight, namely, fibre-glass mixture, and said float element consists of a light-weight body, namely, cork, with sufficient buoyancy to support said emergency buoy.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US1958535A Cited
US2593432A Cited
US3105459A Cited
US3280789A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1976-09-24 1977-03-26 1977-09-25 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1980-09-24 1981-03-26 1981-09-25 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 1984-09-24 1985-03-26 1985-09-25 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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