EP0077793A1

EP0077793A1 - A locking device for a strap

Info

Publication number: EP0077793A1
Application number: EP19820901320
Authority: EP
Inventors: Lennart Lindblad
Original assignee: OLLINVENT LENNART LINDBLAD AB
Current assignee: OLLINVENT LENNART LINDBLAD AB
Priority date: 1981-04-29
Filing date: 1982-04-27
Publication date: 1983-05-04
Also published as: WO1982003838A1; GB2109453A; SE8102705L

Abstract

Dispositif de verrouillage d'une courroie comprenant le moins possible de pieces, fonctionnant d, une maniere fiable, simple et par consequent peu couteuse soit par rapport a la production de ces differentes pieces soit par rapport a leur assemblage. Le dispositif de verrouillage est destine notamment a etre utilise, par exemple, pour l'amarrage sur de charges au moyen d'un element d'amarrage, et se compose d'un bras de pivot de tension de la courroie qui est monte de maniere pivotante sur une partie de montage. Selon l'invention, la piece de montage (2) possede un bras de verrouillage (3a) qui s'etend le long du bras de pivot (1) lorsque celui-ci se trouve dans la position de verrouillage, et qui possede une butee de verrouillage (15a) pouvant etre deplacee transversalement par rapport au plan du pivot du bras de pivot, en relation a une butee de verrouillage correspondante (16) sur le bras de pivot.Device for locking a belt comprising as few parts as possible, operating in a reliable, simple and consequently inexpensive manner either in relation to the production of these different parts or in relation to their assembly. The locking device is intended in particular to be used, for example, for mooring to loads by means of a mooring element, and consists of a belt tension pivot arm which is mounted in a manner swivel on a mounting part. According to the invention, the mounting piece (2) has a locking arm (3a) which extends along the pivot arm (1) when the latter is in the locking position, and which has a stop. locking device (15a) which can be moved transversely with respect to the plane of the pivot of the pivot arm, in relation to a corresponding locking stop (16) on the pivot arm.

Description

A Locking Device for a Strap

The present invention relates to a locking device intended, for example, for use in connection with lashing down loads securely by means of a preferably strap-type lashing element, and consisting of a strap-tensioning pivot arm which is mounted pivotably in a mounting part. The main aim of the invention is to provide a reliably functioning strap-locking device of the kind indicated above which consists of as few parts as possible, while at the same time the parts appertaining to the locking device are simple to produce and to assemble.

This aim is achieved with a locking device constructed according to the invention which is primarily characterised in that the mounting part has a locking arm which extends along the pivot arm when the latter is in the locking position and which has a locking stop which can be moved transverse to the pivot plane of the pivot arm, relative to a corresponding locking stop on the pivot arm.

The invention is described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings, on which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a strap-locking device constructed according to the invention, in which, for the sake of clarity, the associated strap is not inserted,

Figure 2 is a perspective view corresponding to Figure 1, looking from another direction and showing the locking device with its component parts in the same relative positions as in Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section through the same strap-locking device with a strap which is to be tensioned threaded in it, the locking device being shown during a first tensioning phase,

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the same locking device shown in its locking position, and

Figure 5 is a perspective view corresponding to Figure 1 of another embodiment example of a locking device according to the invention.

The locking device shown in Figures 1 to 4 consists of two main parts, i.e. a pivot arm part which is designated 1 as a whole and a mounting part which is designated 2 as a whole and in which the pivot arm is pivotably mounted. The mounting part, which can be produced, for example, by bending an originally flat material, has two mutually parallel plate-type side cheeks 3, 4 which are connected to each other via one of their ends by means of a crossbar 5 which bridges the gap between them. From the crosspiece 5 the side cheek 3 extends freely. The pivot arm part 1, which can expediently be made of a cast part, has two mutually parallel side members 6, 7, the spacing between which is adapted so that the distance between their outer faces corresponds substantially to the distance between the inner faces of the side cheeks 3, 4 on the mounting part. The side members on the pivot arm part 1 are connected to each other by means of a number of bars bridging the gap between them, i.e. a crossbar 8, a deflection bar 9 and a connecting bar 10. The deflection bar 9 continues on the outside of the side members 6, 7 into mounting pins 11, 12, the length of which slightly exceeds the thickness of the side cheeks on the mounting part. The mounting pins 11, 12 have thickened non-circular end sections outside the side cheeks on the mounting part. The side cheeks on the mounting part have corresponding non-circular mounting holes which are dimensioned so that the mounting pins 12 are able to pass freely through the mounting holes when the pivot arm 1 is located in one pivot position and the side cheeks of the mounting part are pushed out opposite the pivot arm part, while this movement is prevented when the pivot arm is in other pivoting positions. The said non-circular shape is preferably such that the thickened end sections of the mounting pins engage round the outer edges of the mounting holes when the pivot arm is located in an active position, i.e. a position in which tensioning of the strap occurs. The connecting bar 10 is constructed as a channel, extending in the transverse direction of the pivot arm. The side cheek 4 terminates in the vicinity of the pivot hinge 12, while the side cheek 3 of the mounting part extends past this hinge along one side member of the pivot arm 1. 14 designates a stop lug projecting inwards from the side cheek which prevents the pivot arm part from pivoting further when it has been swung down into a position in which it extends parallel with the mounting part. The free end section 3a of the side cheek 3 has a cut-out 15 intended to accommodate a locking projection 16 arranged on the pivot arm when the pivot arm is in the swung down position resting against the stop lug. The upper edge 15a of the cut-out thus forms a locking stop which co-acts with the upper face of the locking projection 16. The side cheek is thus equipped with a locking stop and the pivot arm is equipped with a locking stop, i.e. the upper face of the locking projection 16 is regarded as the lastmentioned locking stop. Optionally, it is of course possible to reverse the positions of the cut-out and the locking projection, i.e. the locking projection may be located on the side cheek 3a of the mounting part and the cut-out 15 may be disposed in the side member 6 of the pivot arm. Furthermore, the lower face of the locking projection 16 is wedge-shaped, which means that the side cheek 3 of the mounting part is forced aside against the spring effect which is an inherent characteristic of its construction material, when the pivot arm 1 is swung down towards its locking position, i.e. clockwise as seen in Figure 1. When this snapping-in movement occurs, the locking stops on the locking projection 16 and the cut-out 15 are displaced until they overlap each other. The locking arm can be released by bending out.the side cheek 3 manually, away from the pivot arm. Figure 3 shows how two strap sections 17 and 19 respectively extend in toward the lock from two mutually opposite directions. The strap section 19 is laid in a loop around the crossbar 5 of the mounting part and is fixed on it by means of a seam 20 or the like. The other strap section 17 extends over the stop lug 14, continues past the deflection bar 9 and is laid in a loop around the crossbar 8 of the pivot arm. Both parts 17a and 17b of the loop are laid on the same side of the deflection bar 9. This means that pulling on the free part of the loop section 17b when the pivot arm is pivoted in the direction of the arrow A in Figure 3 results in the strap 17 running in towards the locking device 1, 2 in the direction of the arrow B so that it is tensioned, while the strap sections 17a, 17o slide relativ to each other and over the crossbar 8 and the deflectionbar 9. When the strap has been manually tensioned in this way, the pivot arm 1 can be pivoted towards the right, as seen in Figure 3, i.e. in the direction of the arrow C, down into its locking position shown in Figure 4, which results in a further tightening of the strap. During this tightening of the strap the two strap sections 17a and 17b start to press against each other and against the deflectio bar 9, which results in an increase in the friction to suc an extent that the two sections of the strap are not able to slide relative to each other. The strap section 17b is in fact held firmly clamped between the deflection bar 9 and the strap section 17a. In the extension of the groove 10a in the connecting bar 10 the side cheek 3 has another cut-out through which a sealing cord can be threaded. This type of sealing cord may be used on certain types of transporter, and is prescribed in such cases, for example, by the Customs authorities.

As can be seen clearly in Figure 3, the surfaces of the crossbar 8 and the deflection bar 9 against which the strap section 17b rests are substantially parallel with each other which means that they follow the lie of the strap section 17b. Although in the embodiment shown the mounting part 2 is bent out of an originally flat piece of sheet material in which the cut-outs 15 and 18 are made by stamping, the mounting part can of course also be made of another material. For example, it may be cast. It is not absolutely essential that the locking section 3a of the cheek 3 on the mounting part should be made in a single piece, but the important requirement is that its locking stop 15a should be attached so that it has a spring effect relative to the locking stop 16 on the pivot arm 1, so that the locking stop 15a can be moved aside against the spring effect, away from the pivot arm 1, in a direction transverse to the pivot plane of the latter. The locking stop 15a can thus be made of a separate element which is attached to the side cheek 3 so that it has a spring effect. However, the embodiment shown is very uncomplicated and easy to produce. The locking device really consists of very few parts in the embodiment shown, where use is made of the inherent springing capacity of the material from which the side cheek 3 is made.

The pivot am 1 and the mounting part 2 are expediently assembled together by displacing the two side cheeks 3, 4 of the mounting part away from each other in the vicinity of the mounting points, while the pivot arm is inserted between the side cheeks of the mounting part in a pivoting position which lies expediently towards the left of the pivoting position shown in Figure 3 and wherein, as stated above, the thickened end sections of the mounting pins 11, 12 are able to pass freely through the corresponding mounting holes in the side cheeks of the mounting part. After this, the side cheeks are allowed to return, preferably under the effect of their inherent springing capacity, into their positions adjacent to the pivot arm 1 wherein the pins 11, 12 project out through the side cheeks of the mounting part. When the pivot arm is moved in the direction of the arrow C in Figure 3 the thickened end sections of the mounting pins 11, 12 come into a position overlapping the side cheeks of the mounting part so that engagement between the mounting pins and these side cheeks is maintained even during strenuous loading of the mounting part and the pivot arm.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 5 the pivot arm is designated 21 as a whole, and the mounting part is designated 22 as a whole. The two side cheeks on the mounting part are designated 23 and 24 respectively. As in the previous embodiment example, the two side cheeks are inter- connected by means of a crossbar 25. The pivot arm 21 is equipped with a deflection bar 29 and a crossbar 28, but unlike the previous embodiment example it has only one side member 26, which is arranged adjacent to one side cheek 23 of the mounting part. Both the crossbar 28 and the deflection bar 29 extend freely towards the other side cheek 24 on the mounting part. As in the previous example, the deflection bar 29 is equipped at both of its ends with locking pins 32 which have thickened ends and which are securely held in the side cheeks of the mounting part in the same way as in the previous example. However, the side cheek 24 of the mounting part has an end edge 24a which is located along the movement curve which the opposing face 28a of the crossbar 28 carries out during the pivoting movement of the pivot arm, during the last phase of the locking of the strap. The free end section of the crossbar 28 has an overhang 28b which engages round the side cheek 24 in the locking position and thus prevents the free end of the side cheek 24 from being displaced away from the pivot arm when the locking device is loaded. At the same time, the end edge 24a forms a support for the free end of the crossbar 28 during such loading. 40 designates a hole stamped out in the locking part of the side cheek 23; by the dimensioning of this hole the spring effect of the side cheek section 23a can be determined as required. 30 designates a grip-rod which is intended to form a handle when the pivot arm is swung down towards its locking position. The strap sections introduced into the locking device are intended to be laid around the respective crossbars in the same way as in the previous embodiment example, so there is no need to describe this strap introduction in connection with this last-mentioned embodiment.

The invention is not .limited to the embodiments described above and shown on the drawings, but may be modified with regard to its details within the framework of the following Patent Claims without thereby exceeding the scope of the basic concept of the invention. Thus, it is not essential for one strap section to be laid around the crossbars on the pivot arm, but the invention may of course also be used with strap winches or straptensioning devices of another kind, wherein the pivot arm is only a component part of the force-transmitting system of the device which is connected directly to the respective sections of the strap.

Claims

P a t e n t C l a i m s

1. A locking device intended, for example, for use in connection with lashing down loads securely by means of a preferably strap-type lashing element (17, 19) and consisting of a strap-tensioning pivot arm (1; 21) which is mounted pivotably in a mounting part (2; 22), characterised in that the mounting part (2; 22) has a locking arm (3a; 23a) which extends along the pivot arm (1; 21) when the latter is in the locking position (Figure 4), and which has a locking stop (15a; 35a) which can be moved transverse to the pivot plane of the pivot arm, relative to a corresponding locking stop (16) on the pivot arm.

2. A locking device according to Patent Claim 1, characterised in that the mounting part (2; 22) has plate-shaped side cheeks (3, 4; 23, 24) which are held together by means of transverse bars (5, 8; 25, 28) and which extend along the pivot plane of the pivot arm (1; 21), and at least one (3; 23) of the side cheeks of the mounting part can be pushed aside against a spring effect, away from the pivot arm, laterally relative to the pivot plane thereof, the spring effect of the side cheek striving to press the latter towards the pivot arm so that locking stops (16, 15a; 16, 35a) disposed on the side cheek and on the pivot arm strive to take up a position in which they co-act and engage with each other.

3. A locking device according to Patent Claim 2, characterised in that the locking stops are formed by a projection (16) on the pivot arm (1; 21) and a cut-out (15a; 35a) in the corresponding side cheek (3; 23), or vice versa.

4. A locking device according to Patent Claim 2 or 3, characterised in that the said spring force is obtained by making use of the springing capacity of the material from which the side cheek (3; 23) is made.

5. A locking device according to any of the preceding Patent Claims, characterised in that a deflection bar (9; 29) is disposed on the pivot arm (1; 21), and that its end sections (11, 12; 32) preferably form pins extending through the side cheeks of the mounting part.

6. A locking device according to Patent Claim 5, characterised in that the side cheeks (3, 4; 23, 24) of the mounting part can be displaced away from each other against a spring effect, in the vicinity of the mounting of the pivot arm (1; 21).

7. A locking device according to Patent Claim 6, characterised in that the pins (11, 12; 32) for mounting the pivot arm have non-circular, thickened end sections which, when the pivot arm (1; 21) and the mounting part (2; 22) are assembled together, extend beyond the side cheeks of the mounting part, the side cheeks of the mounting part having mounting holes with dimensioning adapted so that the mounting pins are able to pass through freely in a first pivoting position of the pivot arm relative to the mounting part, while they are locked in a position introduced through the mounting holes when the pivot arm is in other pivoting positions, expediently the pivoting positions which the pivot arm occupies during use of the strap-locking device, and at least when the locking device is in the state wherein the strap involved is under tension.

8. A locking device according to any of the preceding Patent Claims, characterised in that the pivot arm (21) is located on one side in the vicinity of that first side cheek (23) of the mounting part (22) which is equipped with the locking stop (35a), and its crossbar (28) extends freely out from it towards the other side cheek (24) of the mounting part, the locking stop on the pivot arm being adapted to co-act and engage with the said first side cheek via the said locking stop.

9. A locking device according to Patent Claim 8, characterised in that the crossbar (28) extends across over the said other side cheek (24) of the mounting part, and this cheek has a supporting surface (24a) which coacts with the free end section of the crossbar on the side (28a) of the crossbar which faces towards the pivot centre of the pivot arm, i.e. the side of the crossbar which is turned in the direction which causes a traction force on the strap (17).

10. A locking device according to Patent Claim 9, characterised in that the supporting surface (24a) extends along the movement curve which the relevant face (28a) of the free end section of the crossbar (28) carries out, the end section having an overhang (28b) projecting towards the pivot centre, designed to prevent the corresponding side cheek (24) on the mounting part from being displaced away from the other side cheek in the tensioning state, when the pivot arm is in the pivoting position which corresponds to the state of the locking device when the strap is being tensioned.