Tower with Electric Actuators

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/840,084, filed Jun. 14, 2022, entitled “TOWER WITH ELECTRIC ACTUATORS,” which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/218,670 filed Jul. 6, 2021, entitled “Tower with Electric Actuators,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The present disclosure relates to towers for boats. More particularly, the disclosure relates to a foldable tower for boats that utilizes electronic actuators to fold the tower between lowered and elevated positions.

Improvement is desired in the provision of tops for boats. In particular, what is desired is a folding watersports tower incorporating a sun or other protective roof structure that is foldable by use of electronic actuators to provide different configurations while maintaining the sun cover or roof structure in a constant attitude.

In one aspect, the disclosure provides a foldable watersports tower for a boat. The tower includes a pair of legs pivotally mounted to the boat, each leg having an electronic leg actuator operable to pivot the leg between an upright orientation and a lower orientation; a cross-piece extending between the legs; a roof mount pivotally mounted to the legs; a roof mounted to the roof mount; and a roof frame actuator connected between portions of the cross-piece and portions of the roof mount.

One embodiment as shown and described herein includes a foldable watersports tower for a boat that includes a pair of legs configured to mount to the boat, at least one leg actuator operable to move the legs between a raised configuration and a lowered configuration, a cross-piece extending between the legs, a roof operably mounted to the legs, and a roof actuator operable to move the roof with respect to the pair of legs, wherein the at least one leg actuator and the roof actuator are configured such that the roof maintains a substantial contact attitude as the pair of legs are moved between the upright and the lowered configurations.

Another embodiment as shown and described herein may further or alternatively include a foldable watersports tower for a boat that includes a pair of legs configured to mount to the boat, at least one leg actuator operable to move the legs between a raised configuration and a lowered configuration, a cross-piece extending between the legs, a roof operably mounted to the legs and configured to store articles thereon, and a roof actuator operable to move the roof with respect to the pair of legs, wherein the roof actuator is configured to move the roof between a substantially horizontal orientation and a tilted orientation to allow access to the articles stored on the roof.

For purposes of description herein, the terms “upper,” “lower,” “right,” “left,” “rear,” “front,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in. However, it is to be understood that the invention may assume various alternative orientations, except where expressly specified to the contrary. It is also to be understood that the specific devices and processes illustrated in the attached drawings, and described in the following specification are simply exemplary embodiments of the inventive concepts defined in the appended claims. Hence, specific dimensions and other characteristics relating to the embodiments disclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting, unless the claims expressly state otherwise.

With reference to the drawings, there is shown a foldable watersports toweraccording to the disclosure that is mountable on a boat B having a windshield W. The toweris configured to serve as both a watersports tower and to provide a roof. The towerincludes a roof framefor supporting a Bimini cover or other sun cover as may be provided by fabric or panels onto the roof frame. The roof framemay also be configured to provide a cargo/storage rack.

The structural components of the towerare preferably made of metal, such as aluminum and tubular aluminum, and/or steel. Accessories, such as wakeboard racks and audio speakers may be attached to the tower.

The toweris advantageously configured to be folded between an erected orientation () and a stowed orientation () and to maintain the roof framesubstantially level in the erected orientation, the stowed orientation, and at all orientations therebetween.

The toweris also advantageously configured to include electrical leg actuators,, and an electrical roof frame actuator. The electrical actuators,may be substantially identical to one another. Each of the actuators-is preferably a linear actuator and includes an extending/retracting shaft, such as shafton actuatorand shafton actuator. The electrical actuators-enable power raising and lowering of the towerand advantageously eliminate the need for additional structural supports, such as aft trailing arms, and enable a simplified tower structure. In certain embodiments, the electronic actuators-work in unison to smoothly transition the tower and roof frame structures between the erected orientation and the stowed orientation. The actuators-are electrically connected to a power supply, such as a battery of the boat B, and to a controller so that the actuators-may be operated in unison.

The towerincludes a legpivotally mounted to a baseon one side of the boat B and a legpivotally mounted to a baseon an opposite side of the boat B. The electrical leg actuatoris located in the baseand the electrical leg actuatoris located in the base. The baseis mounted on one side of the boat B and the baseis mounted on an opposite side of the boat B. The actuators,located in the bases,are connected to the legs,to pivotally raise or lower the legs,relative to the bases,.

For example,shows the towerelevated with the legs,substantially upright relative to the bases,.shows the towerlowered with the legs,pivoted downward and forward from the upright position.

As shown in, the legis pivotally connected to the baseas by a pivot connection. A distal end of the shaftof the actuatoris connected to a lower proximal portion of the leg. Thus, as the shaftis extended, the legpivots forward and lowers. As the shaftretracts, the legpivots rearward and raises. The legis operatively connected to the baseand actuatorin the same manner. Thus, since the actuators,operate in unison, the legs,raise and lower in unison.

An elevated cross-pieceextends between the upper ends of the legs,in the manner of an arch. The cross-pieceis statically mounted to the upper ends of the legs,. A roof mountis pivotally mounted to the upper ends of the legs,at pivot connectionsand extends rearward of the cross-piece. The roof mount may include an upstanding tow point, along with a nautical illumination device, which may be included with the tow point. In other embodiments, a tow point may be included on the cross-piece. As shown, the roof mounthas lateral membersand cross-membersthat span between the lateral members. The lateral membersare configured for mounting at the pivot connectionsand for attachment of the roof framethereto.

The electrical roof frame actuatoris connected between portions of the cross-pieceand portions of the roof mount. For example, with reference to, the actuatoris mounted to the cross-pieceby a pivoting connectionproximate the middle of a rear edge of the cross-piece. The actuatoris mounted to the roof mountby a pivoting connectionproximate the middle of a forward edge of the roof mount. Thus, as the shaftis retracted, the roof mountpivots forward and raises. As the shaftextends, the roof mountpivots rearward and lowers. Thus, when the actuators-operate in unison, the legs,raise and lower in unison, with the roof mountalso raising and lowering in unison. That is, as the legs,raise, the roof mountraises. Likewise, as the legs,lower, the roof mountlowers.shows the roof mountraised andshows the roof mount lowered.

In certain embodiments, actuatormay operate independently of actuators,. For example, when the tower is in an erected orientation, the shaftof actuatormay be extended such that the roof mountpivots rearward and lowers the rear of the roof frame. Thus, a user may be provided easier access to the top of the roof frame, such as for cleaning or to retrieve items stored on top of the roof frame.

Another feature of the toweris the provision of an auxiliary roof frameslidingly integrated into the underside of the roof framefor simple and quick deployment and stowing. The auxiliary roof frameis manually operated and independent of the operation of the actuators-. The auxiliary roof frameis located to be just below the roof frame.

The auxiliary roof frameis shown retracted in, and extended in. A trackis rigidly attached to the roof mount. A slideis slidingly disposed within the trackand connected to the auxiliary roof frame. The trackincludes stops to limit travel of the slide. Also, latches, locks, or the like may be incorporated to secure the slideat a desired degree of extension or retraction. To extend the auxiliary roof frame, the slideis moved in a direction away from the roof mount. To retract the auxiliary frame, the slide is moved toward the roof mount.

The foregoing description of preferred embodiments for this disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiments are chosen and described in an effort to provide the best illustrations of the principles of the disclosure and its practical application, and to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the disclosure in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.