Oarlock

Abstract

An oarlock that is designed to be used with an oar-right. It is an oarlock that has a pin for securing the oarlock in an oar holder or gunwale of a boat. A U-shaped bracket is attached to the pin. There is a formed piece that has a cylindrical upper portion and a lower squared portion that is secured to the U-shaped bracket. An oar fits into the cylindrical upper portion and the oar-right fits into the lower squared portion of the formed member. The U-shaped bracket can rotate on the pin, which means that the oarlock can rotate 360 degrees and the formed member is free to pivot between the arms of the U-shaped bracket. Because the formed piece is a closed member, the oar cannot come out of the oarlock no matter how much the oar maybe moved or jostled by rough water, nor can the oar rotate on its own axis.

Claims

1. An oarlock comprising: a) a pin that has a lower threaded portion; b) a U-shaped bracket, that has a base and has two spaced-apart arms that extend upwardly from the base; and c) a formed member, said formed member being a one-piece member having a curved upper portion, and a squared lower portion, said formed member being pivotably attached to the two spaced-apart arms of the U-shaped bracket.

2. The oarlock of claim 1 further comprising: a nut, attached to said lower threaded portion of said pin.

3. The oarlock of claim 1 wherein the base is rotatably attached to said pin.

4. The oarlock of claim 1 wherein the base of said U-shaped bracket is generally rectangular, having a first end and a second end.

5. The oarlock of claim 4 wherein one of said two spaced apart-arms is attached to the first end of the base of the U-shaped bracket and the other of said two spaced-apart arms is attached to the second end of said base of the U-shaped bracket.

6. The oarlock of claim 1 wherein the formed member is attached to said U-shaped bracket by pivot pins.

7. An oarlock for an oar, having a member having rectangular shank attached to the bottom of the oar, comprising: a) a pin that has a lower threaded portion; b) a U-shaped bracket, that has a base and has two spaced-apart arms that extend upwardly from the base; and c) a formed member, said formed member being a one-piece member having a curved upper portion, and a squared lower portion, said formed member being pivotably attached to the two spaced-apart arms of the U-shaped bracket, whereby said oar is positioned in said curved upper portion and said rectangular shank is positioned in said squared lower portion.

8. The oarlock of claim 7 further comprising: a nut, attached to said lower threaded portion of said pin.

9. The oarlock of claim 7 wherein the base is rotatably attached to said pin.

10. The oarlock of claim 7 wherein the base of said U-shaped bracket is generally rectangular, having a first end and a second end.

11. The oarlock of claim 10 wherein one of said two spaced apart-arms is attached to the first end of the base of the U-shaped bracket and the other of said two spaced-apart arms is attached to the second end of said base of the U-shaped bracket.

12. The oarlock of claim 7 wherein the formed member is attached to said U-shaped bracket by pivot pins.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a detail view of an oar holder mounted to a rail, an oarlock, an oar-right, and an oar as prior art.

(2) FIG. 2 is a front view of the oarlock of the instant invention.

(3) FIG. 3 is a side detail view of the oarlock mounted in an oar holder, which is attached to a rail.

(4) FIG. 4 is a detail view of an oar with an inverted oar-right attached.

(5) FIG. 5 is a detail view of an oar holder, which is attached to a rail, the instant invention, mounted in the oar holder, and an oar with an oar sleeve and the oar-right mounted in the oarlock.

(6) FIG. 6 is a is a detail view of an oar holder, which is attached to a rail, the instant invention, mounted in the oar holder, and an oar with an oar sleeve and the oar-right mounted in the oarlock, showing the formed member of the oarlock upside down.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(7) Referring now to the drawing figures and especially, FIGS. 2, and 3, as shown in FIG. 2, the oarlock 10 of the instant invention comprises a pin 11 that has a lower threaded portion 12 and a nut 13 that is used to secure the pin to an oar holder or gunwale. At the top of the pin is a U-shaped bracket 14 that has a base 14a that is attached to the pin 11. Note that the base 14a is designed to be rotatably attached to the pin by suitable fastener means. The U-shaped bracket 14 also has two arms 14b that extend upwardly from the base 14a. A formed member is attached to the arms 14a of the U-shaped bracket by pivot pins 16. Note that the formed member 15 has a curved upper portion 15a and a squared lower portion 15b.

(8) FIG. 3 is a side detail view of the oarlock 10 mounted in an oar holder 101, which is attached to a rail 100. Note that the oar holder 101 and the rail 100 are not part of the invention. The pin 11 of the oarlock 10 is shown in place within the oar holder 101. Note that the lower threaded portion 12 and a nut 13 are used to secure the pin to the oar holder, or gunwale. The rail is shown because it is used in river rafting boats of the type that run through white water. However, the device 10 can be used with any other oar mounting system.

(9) The U-shaped bracket 14 that has a base 14a and two arms 14b that extend upwardly from the base 14a is shown sitting above the oar holder 101. In this way, the oar holder 101 holds the oarlock 10 without impeding the function of the oarlock 10. The formed member 15 is attached to the arms 14a of the U-shaped bracket by pivot pins 16. Note that the curved upper portion 15a of the formed member 15 in the figure is angled and can pivot freely in the U-shaped bracket.

(10) FIG. 4 is a detail view of an oar 106 with an inverted oar-right 107 attached. This figure shows how the oar-right is positioned for use with the instant invention. Unlike the prior art use of the oar-right 107, which has the oar-right positioned atop the oar, here it is placed so that the rectangular shank or abutment 108 of the oar-right 107 is on the bottom of the oar 106. In this way, the squared lower portion 15b of the formed member 15 is aligned with the rectangular shank or abutment 108 of the oar-right 107.

(11) FIG. 5 is a detail view of an oar holder 101, which is attached to a rail 100, the instant invention 10, mounted in the oar holder 101, and an oar 106 with an oar sleeve 105 and the oar-right 107 mounted in the oarlock 10. This figure shows the entire assembly. Note that the oar 106 passes through the curved upper portion 15a of the formed member 15 while the rectangular shank 108 of the oar-right 107 is in the squared lower portion 15b of the formed member 15 (see also FIG. 6). The oar 106, when held in this manner is free to move up and down and left and right, but cannot turn on its axis, as the oar-right prevents the oar from turning in the formed member, which is the purpose of this oarlock design.

(12) FIG. 6 is a is a detail view of an oar holder 101, which is attached to a rail 100. The instant invention 10, is mounted in the oar holder 101, and an oar 106 with an oar sleeve 105 and the oar-right 107 is mounted in the oarlock. showing the formed member 15b of the oarlock upside down. In this view, the rectangular shank 108 of the oar-right 107 is clearly shown inside the squared lower portion 15b of the formed member 15, which, as noted above, prevents the rotation of the oar 106 on its axis.

(13) The present disclosure should not be construed in any limited sense other than that limited by the scope of the claims having regard to the teachings herein and the prior art being apparent with the preferred form of the invention disclosed herein and which reveals details of structure of a preferred form necessary for a better understanding of the invention and may be subject to change by skilled persons within the scope of the invention without departing from the concept thereof.