Boat hatches with dual espagnolette bolts for hinging and locking

Claim 1

A four-sided hatch assembly for covering a hatch opening for boats and ships, comprising: a hatch cover having peripheral recesses along at least two opposite sides thereof; a hatch mounting including at least four upstanding apertured bolt receivers distributed about the periphery of said hatch opening, each of said apertures having an at least substantially closed periphery; two separately-operable espagnolette bolts housed one in each of said two hatch cover recesses and disposed parallel to one another, said espagnolette bolts both serving the dual functions of positively fastening said hatch cover to said hatch mounting and of hinging said hatch cover thereto, said espagnolette bolts each including a pair of arms, each arm having a remote free end selectively engageable with at least one of said bolt receiver apertures, the engaged arms being positively retained in their associated apertures when engaged therewith to permit pivotal movement of an engaged pair of arms of one espagnolette bolt in their associated apertures when the arms of the other espagnolette bolt are disengaged from their associated apertures but to substantially prevent relative displacement between said engaged arms and their associated bolt receivers in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the respective arms; and operating means coupled to said espagnolette bolts and operable from both inside and outside the hatch for extending or retracting said remote ends of each of said espagnolette bolts to selectively engage and disengage said arm ends from said bolt receiver apertures; said upstanding apertured bolt receivers being positioned to enter said hatch cover recesses to cooperate with said espagnolette bolts, and said apertured bolt receivers being upstanding an amount sufficient to permit substantially 180° movement of the hatch cover thereabout when the arm ends of an espagnolette bolt are engaged in their respective bolt receiver apertures; whereby a. when both espagnolette bolts are extended into their associated bolt receivers, said hatch cover is locked in a closed position, b. when a selected one only of said bolts is retracted from its associated bolt receivers, said hatch cover is pivotally and positively secured to said hatch mounting to be swung open about a hinge axis defined by the other espagnolette bolt, and c. when both of said espagnolette bolts are retracted from their bolt receivers, said hatch cover is freed for detachment from said hatch mounting.