Retractable Boat Trailer Cover with Roller Tracks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional boat covers are cumbersome and difficult to install, remove, and store, especially on pontoon boat trailers, which lack suitable attachment points, making it dangerous to snap multiple fasteners at elevated heights and not suitable for long-distance travel.
Innovation Solution
A retractable trailer cover system with U-shaped ribs, flexible cover material, and sliding tracks with wheels, allowing for easy mounting and retractable design to cover and uncover a boat on a trailer, including a method of retrofitting existing trailers with mounting brackets and tracks for secure attachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional snap-on boat covers are used on pontoon boat trailers, then the boat can be protected from the environment, but the installation and removal process becomes dangerous and cumbersome due to the need to snap multiple fasteners at elevated heights
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional snap-fastening mechanical system with a roller-based system that moves along tracks. Instead of manually snapping 60-90 fasteners at elevated heights, the cover is secured by rollers that engage with track structures mounted on the trailer, allowing installation and removal from ground level while maintaining secure attachment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces tracks and rollers as intermediary elements between the cover and the trailer. The tracks are mounted to the trailer frame and provide guided pathways for the rollers, which carry the cover. This intermediary system eliminates the need for direct snap-fastening to the boat while maintaining secure attachment.
2Reliability
If traditional snap-on boat covers are used on pontoon boat trailers, then the boat can be covered, but the process becomes tedious and time-consuming due to the large number of snaps that must be attached
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the time-consuming snap-fastening process with a roller-on-track system. The rollers move along predetermined track paths and can be secured or released in a single operation, reducing installation time from potentially an hour or more to just a few minutes while maintaining secure attachment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the attachment system into discrete track segments and roller units. The tracks are mounted at multiple locations along the trailer, and rollers can be independently positioned and secured. This segmentation allows for modular installation and quick adjustment without requiring the sequential attachment of numerous individual snaps.
3Reliability
If a hard enclosure trailer is used, then the boat is protected, but access to the boat is limited to only the rear access door
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a dynamic cover system that can be selectively opened or closed along the tracks. Unlike a fixed hard enclosure, the roller-based cover can be positioned at different locations along the track, allowing access from multiple points on the trailer while maintaining protection when closed. This provides both security and flexible access.
Data Source
AI summary
A retractable trailer cover adapted for mounting to an existing boat trailer and a method for retrofitting the trailer cover to the boat trailer. The trailer cover includes multiple ribs extending from one side to the other, a flexible cover material, two elongated tracks, and multiple wheels received within the tracks. The ribs are affixed to the wheels so as to be slidably mounted to the tracks. Mounting brackets can be spaced along each of the trailer cover sides, and the tracks can be affixed to the mounting brackets. To mount the trailer cover to the boat trailer, the mounting brackets can be attached to a frame of the boat trailer. The trailer cover can selectively be expanded and retracted to cover and uncover an associated boat and boat trailer and may be used with new or used trailers.