US2978224A - Winch - Google Patents

Description

April 4, 1961 T. l. MOSELEY ET AL 2,978,224

WINCH Filed April 50, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 M Ma m 00:. 5 MM? N 0 F m w m m W M my Z Y m B r G P April 4, 1961 T. 1. MOSELEY ET AL 2,978,224

WINCH 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 30,. 1956 INVENTORS l'dMl/Mfi'd/V 1. M05545) JEiUJ dam/6025M:

April 1951 T. l. MOSELEY ET AL 2,978,224

WINCH Filed April 50, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 p l 1961 T. l. MOSELEY ETAL 2,978,224

WINCH 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April :50, 1956 Ill United States Patent C WINCH Tomlinson I. Moseley and Jesus Guang'orena, Atherton, Calif assignors, by mesne assignments, to liarlent Company, Belmont, Califi, a corporation of California Filed Apr. 30, 1956, Ser. No. 581,411

Claims. (Cl. 254-186) The invention herein disclosed relates to new and useful improvements in winches, and the inventlon may be particularly employed, though its use is not so limited,

aboard asailing ship as a running backstay take-up and the like, wherein a cable is wound around the drum located at deck level in an exposed position.

The invention has two hand-powered winding devices: a hand crank for a fast wind, and a ratcheted crank for a slow, powerful wind. This ratcheted crank, when properly manipulated by the operator, instantly releases the drum for letting out the cable, or allows the main cable drum ratchet to be walked down, enabling the operator to slacken a cable when it is set up too tight. When correctly positioned, this lever also resets the main ratchet for normal windup after a previous release. The invention also incorporates an inertia-operated brake to limit the rate of cable let out immediately after release when the acceleration rate can be very high due to the highly elastic type of load created by the combined forces acting upon the ships mast.

It is an object of this invention to provide a winch having a first hand crank for a fast wind of the cable drum, a second ratchet crank for providing a slow, powerful wind of the cable drum.

It is a further object to provide a dual drive winch with an inertia-operated brake for limiting the free running rotation of the cable drum during a cable release operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a manually operable power drive for a winch capable of taking up cable in small increments, and further operable to either release the cable drum for free running cable release or to release the cable drum for incremental cable letout.

A yet further object of this invention is to provide a winch incorporating a manually operable power drive crank and a cooperating cam surface on the winch whereby on different positions of the crank in relation to the cam surface, the crank may be held out of driving engagement with the cable drum.

Another object of the invention is to provide a winch with a dog holding the cable drum from releasing its load, and a manually operable power crank adapted upon rotation to engage the dog and allow it to release the cable drum, while another operation of the crank may return the dog to cable drum holding position.

A further important object is to provide a novel means for releasing a ratchet dog held under compression by a ratchet.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dog assembly to 'hold a ratchet from moving in one direction, whereby the dog assembly is pivoted intermediate its ends to enable the dog to collapse out of engagement with the ratchet when the dog assembly pivot is moved. Other objects and advantages of the inventionwill be apparent during the course of the following description. i In thelaccompanying drawings forming a part of this ice description, and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a winch embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the same with portions being shown in section;

Fig. 3 is a central vertical longitudinal sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a partial vertical transverse sectional view of the device as shown in Fig. 4 showing the relationship of the elements in a step-by-step backolf of the winch;

'Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse'sectional view taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken on line 7-7 of Fig. 3 .and illustrating the centrifugal brake mechanism; and

Fig. 8 is a partial longitudinal sectional view taken on line 88 of Fig. 4.

In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention, reference numeral 1 designates the base frame of the winch. Carried on the upper end portion of the base frame 1 are bearing supports 2 and 3.v Journaled for rotation in the right hand bearing 2 is the drum support 4, while the drum support 6 is mounted for rotative movement in the left hand bearing 3. Attached by suitable means such as screws 7 and 8 to the drum support is the cable drum 9.

The cable drum 9 is directly coupled to the manually operable crank assembly shown at the right of Fig. 3. This crank 11 is attached to the drum support hub 12 by means of a square insert 13 mating with a similar shaped recess in the hub 12. The insert 13 is slotted, as at 14,. so that it can be expanded by means of the wedge-shaped screw 16. In this way, the handle 11 is firmly attached" to the drum support hub 12 so that it will be free of lost.

motion and have no tendency to vibrate loose.

The drum support 4 is formed with a bearing 17 to support for rotative movement shaft 18, the other end of shaft 18 being journaled in sleeve 19, and secured against, rotation by splines 20 to cam plate 21, which is located by pins 22 and secured by bolts 23 to the left hand bear ing 3 of base frame 1.

Mounted on the shaft 18, intermediate the ends there of, is a pinion gear 25 positioned to mesh with spur gears 26 and 27 mounted on axles 28 and 29 journaled in the:

end flanges 24 and 30 of sleeve 19.

The spur gears are meshed with an internal ring gear 32, fastened against rotation by suitable splines (not.

shown) to the inner wall of the cable drum 9, and againstv longitudinal movement therealong by dowel pins 33. By means of the gear ratio employed in the particular em-- bodiment shown, a rotation of the shaft 18 through an angle of 45 degrees will produce a rotation of the cable drum 9 equivalent to one tooth of the internal ring. gear 32.

much higher speed of rotation.

To avoid excessive rates of playing out the cable during a cable release function,and especially to avoid lash and snarling of the cable through coasting of the drum, a contrifugal brake system is provided as shown in Figs. 3 and 7. A brake mounting plate 35 is fastened to the shaft 18 intermediate its ends. Brake shoes 36 and 37 are con-- nected by means of pins 38 and 39 to the brake mounting;

plate 35. Tension springs 41 and 42 bias the brake shoes inwardly out of contact with the cable drum 9. As the shaft 18 turns, the weight 43 attached to brake shoe 37 will pivot outwardly about pin 39 and cause the brake shoe 37 to move against the bias of spring 41 to contact the cable drum 9. The lip 44 of the weight 43 will cause the brake shoe 36 to move outwardly against the bias of spring 42 to also contact the cable drum 9.

Since the brake assembly is mounted on the shaft 18, it rotates at a much higher speed than does the cable drum 9, and thus produces a maximum centrifugal force. The brake is particularly sensitive to acceleration due to the effect of weight 43 so that braking action is most effective at the instant of release while still allowing the cable to be played out at a satisfactorily high rate.

The manner in which the shaft 18 is utilized to operate the cable drum 9 will now be described. With particular reference to Figs. 3 and 4, the left end 'of the shaft 18 is provided with a ratchet sleeve 46 secured to the shaft 18 by means of a pin 47. The ratchet sleeve 46 is provided with ratchet teeth 48, and surrounding the ratchet teeth 48 in coaxial relation thereto, is the dog-carrying assembly 49. This latter assembly is provided with cover plates 50 and 51, the cover plate 50 engaging a sleeve 52 mounted for rotation on stationary sleeve 19.

Carried within this assembly is a dog 53, biased by spring 54 into engagement with the ratchet-teeth 48. Mounted on the dog-carrying assembly is a manually operable crank lever 56. A push button 57 (Figure 2) is disposed in the end of crank 56 so that when the push button is pushed into the handle, shaft 58 will move inwardly to move the rack 59 to the right as viewed in Fig. 4. This rack movement will be transmitted through the pinion gear 61 to the tangential finger 62 received within therecess 63 of dog 53 to move the dog out of engage- 'ment with the ratchet teeth 48.

The cover plate 50 is provided with an opening 65 to accommodate a finger extension 66 mounted on the dog 53, as best shown in Fig. 8. The finger 66 is adapted to engage particular areas of the stationary cam surface 21 affixed to the frame 1 as the dog-carrying assembly 49 is rotated by crank 56. As the crank is rotated in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 4, the dog as sembly 49 will rotate the shaft 18 as long as the dog 53 is engaged with the ratchet teeth 48. Such rotation of the crank will be permitted until the dog finger 66 abuts up against the stop member 68 (Figure mounted on camsurface 2 1, preventing further rotation of the shaft 18 by the crank 56. If the shaft 18 is now held against reverse rotation, the crank 56 may be returned to its original position, with the dog 53 riding over the ratchet teeth 48 in its reverse path.

In the description which follows, the directions of rotation of rotatable parts of the winch are described as clockwise and counterclockwise with reference to Figures 2, 4 and 5, and this definition of rotation is intended whenever these terms are used herein.

The crank 56 may be moved beyond the limit position imposed by stop member 68 by depressing the push button 57 to raise the dog and its finger 66 above the stop member 68. After the dog 53 moves past the stop member 68, the push button 57 may be released. The cam surface 69 will now engage the dog finger 66 and prevent engagement of the ratchet teeth 48 by the dog 53. The

.4 member 21, and the dog 53 will be forced out of engagement with the ratchet teeth 48.

A second dog assembly, indicated generally at 72 in Figure 4, is employed to prevent the clockwise rotation of the cable drum 9, this being the direction of tension of the cable held by the winch. A ratchet 73, having ratchet teeth 74, is formed in the internal surface of drum cable flange 75. The dog assembly 72 is mounted for pivotal movement on shaft 77 journaled in the base frame 1, and comprises a first dog element 78 pivotally connected by pin 79 to a second dog element 80, the latter having an end portion adapted to fit within the ratchet teeth 74. A

stop member 68 also prevents reverse rotation of the spring 82 is employed to bias the two dog elements in an in-line relation so that the force imposed by the ratchet 73 is directed through the pivot pin 79 to the shaft 77. An ear 83 of the second dog element butts against the dog hub 34 to limit the movement of the'dog element 80 with respect to the dog element 78 imposed by the bias of the spring 82, so that the ratchet-engaging end of the dog element 80, the pivot pin 79, and the center of the shaft 77 are in an in-line relation. Mounted on the other end of thedog assembly shaft 77 is the three-lobe assembly 86 shown in phantom in Fig. 4. The dog-carrying assembly cover plate 50 has a projection 87 extending laterally from the cover plate and adapted'to engage lobe 88 of the three-lobe assembly after the crank 56 has been rotated past the stop 68. The engagement of the cover plate projection 87 with the lobe 88 forces the shaft 77 to turn in a counterclockwise direction, in turn moving the first dog element 78 to turn in a counterclockwise direction. This movement of the dog element causes the pivot pin 78 to move from an in-line relation with the dog elements, and the force imposed by the ratchet 73 will cause the dog assembly 72 to collapse about the pivot pin 79, and thus move the dog assembly out of engagement with the ratchet 73.

An over-center spring means 90 secured to frame 1 by a shaft 91 is provided to hold the released dog assembly 72 out of engagement with the ratchet teeth 74. This spring means 90 is pivoted to the first dog element 78 by a pivot pin 92, and as may be appreciated by an inspection of Fig. 4, as long as the pivot pin is positioned below a line drawn from the center of the dog assembly shaft 77 and the center of the spring means shaft 91, the spring means 90 will force the dog assembly into engagement with the ratchet 73. As the lobe 88 is moved by the projection 87, the pivot pin 92 will move above the center line of shaft 77 and 91, and the spring means 90 will hold the dog assembly out of engagement with the ratchet 73.

As the three-lobe assembly 86 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction, lobe 93 moves into a position whereby as the crank 56 is rotated back to its original position, the projection 87 will engage the lobe 93 and cause the lobe to move in a clockwise direction. This movement will again be transmitted to the over-center pivot pin 92 and will move this pin below the center line of shaft 77 and 91, causing the spring means 90 to force the dog.

assembly 72 into engagement with the ratchet 73.

A second projection 94 is formed on, and in the same plane as, cover 'plate'50. On rotation of the crank 56, this projection 94 will not engage lobe 88, and consequently cannot operate to disengage the dog assembly 72 from the ratchet 73. However, if it be assumed that the projection 94 has been moved to a position as shown in Fig. 5, and the lobe 93 has been moved to a position as shown in that figure, a counterclockwise rotation of the projection 94 will cause this projection to engage lobe 93, causing the dog assembly to engage the ratchet 73.

A rubber bumper 96 is afiixed to the dog-carrying assembly to engage the base frame 1 at 97 to limit the clockwise rotation of the crank 56.

Cable guides 98 and 99 are provided on the base frame to cooperate with the cable drum flanges to prevent the .cable from working under theflangesduring operation of the-1 ch.

As is customary, the cable drum 9 is'rprovided with a spiral groove 101to receive the cable so that-the cable may wind up smoothly on the drum. A groove 102 is formed in the drum support 4 to receive the end of the cable 105, and set screw 106 will snub the cable in the groove. The cable 105 will-pass through an opening (not shown) in the cable drum 9 so that it may be re.- cleiyed in the cable drum spiralgroove 101.

The winch operates in the following manner. A cable is ,attached to the cable'drum 9 by inserting the cable into :the groove -102 and fastening it in that position .byiset screw 106. The crank 11 then rotates the drum to :take up the cable slack. After the slack has been taken the crank 56 is employed to continue the tension- .ing of the cable. The crank 56 is moved from its stowed position extending down from shaft 18as viewed in Figure 2, in which the dog 53 is out of engagement with ratchet v48, 'to an approximately horizontal position, as shown in'Fig. .4.' The dog finger 66 will now be released from engagement with cam surface 70, and dog 53 will .-be forced by spring 54 into engagement with the ratchet 48. Further clockwise movement of crank 56 will produce a clockwise movement of shaft 18, and a consequent counterclockwise rotation of cable drum 9, through the gear'assembly 25, 26, 27, and 32. The ratchet teeth 73 of the cable drum will ride under the dog assembly 72 during the rotation of the cable drum.

The crank may be turned until the dog finger '66 butts against the stop member 68. The dog'assembly 72 will hold the cable drum from rotation under the cable ten.- sion, and the crank 56 is returned to its original position, with the dog 53 riding over the ratchet teeth 48.

The foregoing operation is repeated until the cable drum has been rotated toa desired position, and the cable is under a desired tension.

The cable drum may now be released from its loaded positioncto a free running release or to a step-bytstep release.

If it is desired to permit the cable drum to discharge the cable freely, the push button 57 on the crank 56 is depressed, causing the dog 53 to be disengaged from the ratchet teeth 48 The crank 56 may then be rotated in a clockwise .direction'so that/the dog finger 66 passes over the stop 6.8.. Further rotation of the crank 56 causes the projection 87 to engage the ,dog assembly lobe 88 to collapse the dog element. 80 out of engagement with the ratchet teeth '73. so .that. the cable drum 9 is now free to rotate under thetension of the cable. The team fa e n ag the dog finge 66 to prevent e sse s me t o he: d .53 with. the r c et As maybe appreciated from the foregoing, the collapsing action of the dog assembly 72 requires considerably less force than if the dog assembly were a unitary element and were' for ced'out (if its frictional engagement with the ratchet teeth 74.

Excessive speeds of rotation of the cable drum in the free running position areprevented by the centrifugal brake shoes 36 and 37 mounted on shaft 18.

In order to stop'the free'running drum, the crank 56 is returned 'to its original position from the now full clockwise position. The projection 87 now engages the dog assembly lobe 93 forcing the over-center spring means 90 to return the dog assembly 72 back into engagement with the drum ratchet 73 to stop the rotative move-- ment of the cable drum 9.

If it is desired to back the winch off an amount corresponding to one ratchet tooth 73, the push button 57 is depressed to disengage dog 53 from ratchet 48. The crank 56 is then rotated in a clockwise direction until the projection 94 assumes a position beyond that shown in Fig. 5. The push button 57 is released, and the dog 53 re-engages the ratchet 48. Further clockwise rotation ofthe .crank 56 rotates the shaft 18 and cable'drurn 9 so that thecompressive force is removed from thedog assembly 72. The three-lobe assembly 86 is then turned manually by hand tomove the dog assembly from engagement with ratchet teeth 73. The crank 56 is then returned .in :a counterclockwise direction until the projection 94 engages the lobe 913, as shown in ,Fig. ,5. Further rotation of the crank 56 causes the projection .94 to force the -1ob e,9,3 to move in a clockwise direction, inturn causing the over-center spring means to return the dog assembly 72 into engagement with the next ratchet tooth. The crank 56 is then rotated further in the counterclockwise direction until the dog assembly 72 engages the root of the ratchet tooth. By this operation, the cable drum has been backed off a distance correspondingtoone ratchet too h 74- "The preceding operation is repeated until the cable drum has been backed off a desired amount.

It is understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the scope of our invention, or the scope of theattached l ims.

Having thus described the invention, we claim:

.1. A winch comprising a frame, a shaft mounted for rotation on said frame, a drum mounted for rotation on said frame in coaxial relation to said shaft, gear means connecting said shaft and said drum whereby rotation of said shaft will cause said drum to rotate, a manually operable crank mounted for rotation on said shaft, 3. first ratchet mounted on said shaft, a first dog carried by said crank and engaged with said first ratchet to allowoperation of said crank in one direction to cause said shaft to rotate, a second ratchet mounted on said drum, a second dog mounted on said frame and engaged with said second ratchet to prevent rotation of said drum in one direction, a first lobe on said second dog, means including a first projection carried by said crank to engage said :lobe upon rotation of said crank to cause said second dog to move out of engagement with said second ratchet, means including a second lobe on said second dogoengageable by said first crank projection to return the second dog into engagement with said second ratchet, and means including a second projection on said crank to engagethe said second lobe but not the said first lobe upon rotation of said crank.

2. A winch comprising a frame, a shaft mounted for rotation on said frame, a drum mounted for rotation on said frame in .coaxialrelation to said shaft, gear means connecting said shaft and said drum whereby rotation of said shaft will cause said drum to rotate, a manually operable crank mounted for rotation on said shaft, a first ratchet mounted on said shaft, a first dog carried by said crank and engaged with said first ratchet to allow operation of said crank in one direction to cause said shaft to rotate, a second ratchet mounted on said drum, a second dog assembly mounted on said frame and engaged with said second ratchet to prevent rotation of said ,drum'in one direction, said second dog comprising two elements subs,tantially in an in-line relation with each other and pivotally connected intermediate the ends of said second dog assembly, and means carried by said crank to move the pivotal connection of said second dog assembly so that the said second dog elements are out of the in-line position so that the second dog assembly may collapse out of engagement with said second ratchet.

3. In a device as set forth in claim 2, further including an over-center spring means to hold said second dog assembly out of engagement with said second ratchet as said pivoted connection of said second dog assembly is moved from its in-line position.

4. In a device as set forth in claim 2, further including a centrifugal brake means carried by said shaft to en'- 7 gage said drum to prevent execessivc speeds of rotation of said shaft when said second dog assembly is removed from engagement with said second'ratchet.

5. A winch comprising a frame, a shaft mounted for rotation on said frame, a drum mounted for rotation on said frame in coaxial relation to said shaft, gear means connecting said shaft and said drum whereby rotation of said shaft will cause said drum to rotate, a manually operable crank mounted for rotation on said shaft, a first ratchet mounted on said shaft, a first dog carried by said crank and engaged with said first ratchet to allow operation of said crank in one direction to cause said shaft to rotate, a second ratchet mounted on said drum, a second dog mounted on said frame and engaged with said second ratchet to prevent rotation of said drum in one direction, a cam surface mounted on said frame, a finger carried by said first dog in contact with said cam surface as the crank is rotated, and a projection on said cam surface engageable by said finger to hold the first dog in a disengaged relation to said first ratchet.

6. A winch comprising a frame, a shaft mounted for rotation on said frame, a cable drum mounted for rotation on said frame in coaxial relation to said shaft, gear means connecting said shaft and said drum whereby rotation of said shaft will cause said drum to rotate, a crank mounted for rotation coaxially to said shaft, a first ratchet mounted on said shaft, a first dog carried by said crank, a spring biasing said first dog into engagement with said first ratchet to allow rotation of said crank in one direction to cause rotation of said shaft in one direction, a second ratchet mounted on said drum, second dog means mounted on said frame and engaged with said second ratchet to prevent rotation of said drum in a direction opposite to that produced by said one direction of rotation of said shaft, means on said crank engageable with said second dog to release said second dog from engagement with said second ratchet, and means mounted on said frame and carried by said crank for holding said first dog out of engagement with said first ratchet when said last named means on said crank engages said second dog. 1

7. In a device as set forth in claim 6 further including a centrifugal brake means carried by said shaft to engage said drum to prevent excessive speeds of rotation of said shaft when said second dog is removed from engagement with said second ratchet.

8. A winch comprising a frame, a shaft mounted for rotation on said frame, a cable drum mounted for rotation on said frame in coaxial relation to said shaft, gear means connecting said shaft and said drum whereby rotation of said shaft will cause said drum to rotate, a crank mounted for rotation coaxially to said shaft, a first ratchet mounted on said shaft, a first dog carried by said crank, a spring biasing said first dog into engagement with said first ratchet to allow rotation of said crank in one direction to cause rotation of said shaft in one direction, a second ratchet mounted on said drum, jsecond clog means mounted on said frame and engaged with said second ratchet to prevent rotation of said drum in a direction opposite to that produced by said one direction of rotation of said shaft, manually operable means .to move said second dog out of rotation preventing engagement with said second ratchet when said first dog is in shaft rotation causing engagement with said first ratchet, and means on said crank engageable with said second dog upon rotation of said crank in a direction opposite to said one direction thereof to move said second dog back into engagement with said second ratchet.

9. A winch comprising a frame, a shaft mounted for rotation on said frame, a cable drum mounted for rotation on said frame in coaxial relation to said shaft, gear means connecting said shaft and said drum whereby rotation of said shaft will cause said drum to rotate, a crank mounted for rotation coaxially to said shaft, a first ratchet mounted on said shaft, a first dog carried by said crank, a spring biasing said first dog into engagement with said first ratchet to allow rotation of said crank in one direction to cause rotation of said shaft in one direction, a second ratchet mounted on said drum, second dog means mounted on said frame and engaged with said second ratchet to prevent rotation of said drum in a direction opposite to that produced by said one direction of rotation of said shaft, means on said crank engageable with said second dog to release said second dog from engagement with said second ratchet, means mounted on said frame and carried by said crank for holding said first dog out of engagement with said first ratchet when said last named means on said crank engages said second dog, manually operable means to move said second dog out of rotation preventing engagement with said second ratchet when said first dog is in shaft rotation causing engagement with said first ratchet, and means on said crank engageable with said second dog upon rotation of said crank in a direction opposite to said one direction thereof to move said second dog back into engagement with said second ratchet.

10. In a device as set forth in claim 9 further including a centrifugal brake means carried by said shaft to engage said drum to prevent excessive speeds of rotation of said shaft when said second dog is removed from engagement with said second ratchet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 37,098 Judd Dec. 9, 1862 100,594 Brown Mar. 8, 1870 673,103 Williamson et a1. Apr. 30, 1901 745,013 Heisey Nov. 24, 1903 817,637 Gaston Apr. 10, 1906 1,084,511 Watt Jan. 13, 1914 1,457,778 Lang June 5, 1923 1,477,529 Allbin Dec. 18, 1923 1,781,480 Sirmans Nov. 11, 1930 2,427,877 Prince Sept. 23, 1947 2,430,340 Johnson Nov. 4, 1947 2,467,574 Williams Apr. 19, 1949 2,710,168 Robertson June 7, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 731,352 Great Britain June 8, 1955

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