CA2369780C

CA2369780C - Rope tensioner

Info

Publication number: CA2369780C
Application number: CA 2369780
Authority: CA
Inventors: Sherman Allen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-01-31
Filing date: 2002-01-31
Publication date: 2010-03-30
Anticipated expiration: 2022-01-31
Also published as: CA2369780A1

Abstract

A device for taking up slack in, and tensioning, a rope strung between its ends, having a pair of rods each configured in a generally U-shape and welded together at the middle of the U's with the both U's in the same plane, each rod having a short arm and a long arm, the short arms being aligned and the long arms being aligned, and a hook at the end of, and at right angles to, the long arms.

Description

ROPE TENSIONER
FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to a rope tensioner which can be used for taking up the slack and tensioning a flexible rope which is strung between two substantially immovable structures.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In situations where one has a single length of rope secured between two distant structures, it is often advantageous to be able to take up the slack in the rope and place it under tension.

The rope can be unfastened at one end and refastened to tension the rope, however, such a procedure is usually unsatisfactory as the rope is usually not tensioned sufficiently. This procedure is also impractical as it may not be convenient or safe to unfasten one end of the rope.
It would therefore be advantageous to have a device for taking up the slack in a rope which is strung between two structures and also tensioning the rope which does not involve unfastening either end of the rope.

The applicant's prior United States patent number DES 390,098 issued on February 3rd, 1998 discloses a rope tightener which consists of two metal rods each bent into an L-shaped configuration, two flat metal clips secured respectively to the long ends of the rods and a disk secured to, and holding together, the short ends of the rods. There are therefore five separate pieces of metal utilized in the design of this United States patent. These pieces of metal are made from three different sizes of metal stock which require three different machining processes for manufacture, and all five parts have to be welded together to make a complete structure.

The present invention as will be further detailed in this application is made from only two metal rods each bent into an identical configuration, both metal rods being welded together to form the completed device.

Canadian patent number 958,874 issued on December 10, 1974 to Charles Alfano discloses a rope tensioner which in its simplest form is made from a single piece of molded plastic and is of a very light construction being made for use with light cord in a nautical environment. As well as being a different construction to the present invention, it also does not have the structural integrity to be suitable for use in tensioning a rope.

SUNIIKARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of this invention toprovide a device for taking up the slack and tensioning a length of rope which is secured by its ends between two distant structures. This tensioning does not involve unfastening the rope.

Accordingly the device of this invention is for taking up slack in, and tensioning, a rope strung between its ends and having a pair of rods each configured in a generally U-shape and welded together at the middle of the U
with both rods being such that their U shapes are in the same plane. Each rod has a short arm and a long arm, the short arms being aligned and the long arms being aligned, and each long arm having a hook at the end of it which is at right angles to the respective long arm.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the rope tensioner of this invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the rope tensioner of this invention showing the tensioner straddling a rope prior to tensioning, and Figure 3 is a perspective view of the rope tensioner of this invention after the rope of figure 2 has been tensioned and secured.

Referring to Figure 1, the rope tensioner consists of two bent rods 1 and 2 which are welded together by welding 3. Each rod has a short arm 4 and a long arm 5 with a generally U-shaped connection 6 between them. Connection 6 consists of a right angled portion 7 and an inclined portion 8. At the end of each long arm 5 a hook 9 is formed substantially at right angles to the plane in which arms 4 and 5 are situated. Although the hooks 9 are shown with their openings facing an anti-clockwise direction of rotation about welded region 3, their configuration could be 180 degrees different from the shown position. Referring specifically to Figure 2 the tensioner of Figure 1 is shown straddling a rope 10 which is between inclined portions 8.

It will now be noted that if arms 4 are rotated by an operator in a clockwise direction, as shown by the arrow 11, the rope 10 will be pulled around the parts 7 and tensioned. Finally, the tension is slightly relaxed so that arms 4 rotate in a counter-clockwise condition until hooks 9 are engaged upon the rope 10. This final position is shown in Figure 3.

It will thus be seen that a rope tensioner has been disclosed which possesses the following features:

It is simple to operate it requires a minimum of material to construct this being two metal rods both metal rods are bent into identical configurations so involving only one manufacturing process the assembly merely involves welding two parts together the tensioner can be manufactured and assembled very quickly so that expense involved in manufacturing is very minimal the tensioner is streamlined and not bulky and is therefore very easily packaged and shipped.

A minor addition to the tensioner could be, for instance, a flexible strip of metal or plastic fitted to the free end of each hook, and almost bridging the opening of the hook, so that the hook could not slip from a rope if the rope became slack. Such a strip, if metal, could be welded to each hook or, if metal or plastic, could be secured by a clip gripping the hook. Other types of retainer could be secured to the free end of each hook if found to be necessary for the retention of the tensioner upon a rope.

It will be understood that, although only one embodiment of the invention has been described in detail, a person skilled in the art could make modifications and variations without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A device for taking up slack, and tensioning, a rope strung between its ends, comprising:
a pair of identically configured rods, each rod being of a generally U-shape with a short arm and a long arm, the connected end of the short arm being rounded and the connected end of the long arm being angled towards the middle region of the U, a hook at the free end of said long arm, said hook being at right angles to the plane of the U, the pair of rods being welded together along the middle region of the U, so that said short arms are aligned and said long arms are aligned and all four arms are in the same plane.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein a V-shape is formed between the connected ends of said long arms.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein said hooks are configured such that they are open from a clockwise direction in a plane at right angles to the plane through said short and long arms.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein said hooks are configured such that they are open from an anti-clockwise direction in a plane at right angles to the plane through said short and long arms.

5. The device of claims 3 or 4 wherein the hooks are formed in a U-shape.