US3175265A

US3175265A - Tow rope connector

Info

Publication number: US3175265A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1965-03-30
Anticipated expiration: 1982-03-30

Description

March 1965 A. M. GUNDERSON 3,175,265

TOW ROPE CONNECTOR Filed March 5, 1962 mun/r02 /7 flRf/IURM6UNDER50N United States Patent 3,175,265 TOW ROPE CGNNECTOR Arthur M. Gunderson, Lincoln, Nehru, assignor to T he Eastririge Company, Inc., Lincoln, Nehru, a corporation of Nebraska Filed Mar. 5, 1962, Ser. No. 172%55 8 Claims. (c1. 24-201 This invention relates to a device for connecting the ends of a pair of tow ropes together, and more particularly relates to such a connector which will release the tow ropes from each other under conditions of excess tension.

It is oftentimes desirable to tow a water vehicle behind a boat. The vehicle might be of the type used for sport and would carry a person. Of course in other situations, the vehicle being towed might be for other purposes. In any event, it is desirable to permit release of the water vehicle being towed if the water vehicle should encounter an obstruction in the water, and it is preferable that the release be effected in such a manner that no manual operation is necessary to ell'ect the release, and fnrtherr' c in such a that the tow rope will not be broken. Releasable connectors have been known in the past, but the known connectors have been unduly complicated and difilcult to operate to the extent that they have been extremely impractical for use with small water sport vehicles to be towed behind a boat. Furthermore the lfltOWll connectors have been unduly extensive and have been of such a nature that complete release at a predetermined tension is not obtained.

With these comments in mind it is to the elimination of these and other disadvantages to which the present invention is directed, along with the inclusion therein of other novel and desirable features.

An obiect of my invention is to provide a new improved tow rope connector of simple and inexpensive construction and operation.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel tow rope connector which releases one tow rope from another under conditions of a predetermined excess ten sion on the tow ropes.

Still another object of my invention is the provision of an improved and novel tow rope connector which will release under conditions of excess tension applied by the tow ropes without damaging any of the parts of the connector so that the connector can be readily assembled again and re-used.

A still further object of my invention is the provision of an improved tow rope connector which will release a pair of interconnected tow ropes under conditions of excess tension and which is extremely simple in its assembly and will thereby permit quick and easy reassembly by a person of minimum skill or manual dexterity.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawing-i wherein like reference characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic sketch showin a typical usage of the tow rope connector;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section view through the connector and taken on a plane along the edges of one of th shell halves;

FIG. 3 is a. longitudinal sectional view of the corn nector taken on a plane as indicated at 33 in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a transverse section view taken on a plane as indicated at 4-4 in FIG. 2.

One form of the present invention is shown in the drawings and is described herein. The connector is indicated in general by numeral 10, and as seen in FIG. 1,

which illustrates a typical usage of the connector, secures a tow rope 11 to tow ropes 12 of a water sport vehicle 13 of the type incorporating a pair of ski-like runners 14 secured together by an arch-shaped saddle 15 upon which a arson will sit.

The connector 10 comprises a pair of substantially

identical shell halves

16 and 17 which have forward body portions which are of generally semi-cylindrical shape and having matching and abutting edges 16:: and 170 so that the assembled shell halves cooperatively define a hollov. housing indicated in general by numeral 18 which a generally cylindrical interior chamber 19. The "ng and cooperating

rear end portions

20 and 21 of halves l6 and 17 respectively define a rearwardting tongue which has an enlarged tow ropereceding aperture 22 therein for connecting the tow rope 2 thereto. The

rear portions

26 and 21 of the shell halves are provided with matching and cooperating recesses 23 and lugs 24 received in the recesses 23 so as to maintain the shell halves in predetermined position with respect to each other and prevent moving of the shell halves with r :t to each other along the abutting edges 16a and 1.7a.

well

halves

16 and 17 have forward edges 25 and 2?: respectively defining a tow rope-receiving opening 27 through which the tow rope 11 will normally extend. The front portions of the shell halves are provided with substantially semi-annular rearwardiy facing shoulder surfaces or

abutment portions

28 and 29 which cooperatively define an annular rearwardly facing, but forlv'"" l}' converging shoulder. The shell halves are also d with inwardly protruding peripheral ribs 30 and 31 which lie in a common plane to define an inwardly protruding ring spaced rearwardly from the

shoulders

23 and 29.

A generally cylindrical insert member 32 is confined within the chamber 19 and the rear portion 33 of the exterior periphery of the insert member engages the in terior periphery of the shell halves in substantially stationary condition. The forward portion 34 of the exterior periphery of insert member 32 is reduced in size as com pared to the rear portion 33 thereof, and a forwardly facing annular ledge 35 is defined between the front and rear portions 53 and 34.

The front end of the insert member 32 is provided with an annular tapered or generally conical shoulder or abutment portion 36 which converges in a forward direction and has a contour substantially identical to the shape of the

shoulders

28 and 29 on the shell halves. When the connector it? is initially assembled, the ledge 35 on the insert member normally engages the ribs 36 and 31 of the shell halves to maintain the shoulder 36 of the insert member in slightly spaced relation with the

shoulders

28 and 29 of the shell halves.

A sleeve 37 is slidably mounted on the exterior periph cry of the assembled

shell halves

16 and 17 to normally prevent spreading of the shell halves with respect to each other. The shell halves have a rearwardly facing obstruction or shoulder 38 to properly position the sleeve 37 and to prevent the sleeve from sliding off the front of the shell halves. The exterior periphery of the sleeve 37 may have a pair of cars 39 thereon having apertures 40 to receive a cord which may be tied to the tow rope 12 so that when the connector is dis-assembled, the sleeve 37 will be readily available at the shell halves.

It should be note at this point that the

shell halves

16 and 17 and the sleeve 37 are constructed of polyethylene plastic material which is resiliently yieldable in nature and may be deformed to a considerable degree without permanent damage. This material from which the shell halves and sleeve is formed, is relatively stiff so as to normally maintain its desired shape, but it is yieldable under conditions of substantial pressure or force. The insert member 32 is also of molded plastic material, but is harder and less resilient than the shell halves and sleeve.

In. the operation of the present invention, the tow rope 12 is connected with the shell halves by being looped through the aperture 22 and the tow rope 11 is connected to the insert member 32 by being extended through the front aperture 32a thereof, and a knot 11a is formed so that the tow rope 11 will be secured and will not slip forwardly through the hole 32a. Initially, the connector 10 will be in the position shown in FIG. 2 wherein the

shoulders

36, 29 and 28 are in slightly spaced relation. As soon as tension is applied on the tow ropes, the insert member 32 moves forwardly slightly until the shoulder 36 engages the

shoulders

28 and 29, and as this initial slight movement occurs, the ledge 35 of the insert member will pass over the ribs 30 and 31 so as to slightly bulge the

shell halves

16 and 17 and produce a tight frictional relation between the shell halves l6 and 17 and the confining M sleeve 37 so as to prevent any movement of the sleeve. Normally the shoulder 36 will engage the

shoulders

28 and 29 while the vehicle 13 is being towed through the water by a boat pulling on the tow rope 11. In the event that the vehicle 13 encounters an obstruction in the Water or is slowed down by some means, the tension on the tow ropes 11 and 12 increases materially and the pressure exerted by the shoulder 36 against the

shoulders

28 and 29 likewise increases materially. When the tension on the tow ropes becomes excessive, the tapered shape of the cooperating

shoulders

28, 29 and 36, together with the resiliently yieldable nature of the shell halves and sleeve, will cause the shell halves to spread apart at their front ends so that the insert member 32 will slip out the front openings of the housing. and the tow ropes 11 and 12 are thereby disconnected. The disconnection will occur quickly and will occur at substantially the same tension applied on the tow ropes each time the connector is released.

After the insert member has been removed endwise by the tow rope 11 due to the excessive tension, the connector may be readily and easily re-assembled and put back into operating condition.

In re-assembling the connector, the sleeve 37 will first be slipped rearwardly towards the tow rope 12. The

shell halves

16 and 17 are then slipped apart by removing the lugs 24 from the recesses 23. The insert member 32 may then be laid into one of the shell halves in the fashion shown in FIG. 2 with the tow rope 11 extending forwardly therefrom. The other shell half will then be applied in matching similar position with respect to the insert member 32 and so that the lugs 24 may be projected into the recesses 23. When the shell halves have been assembled, the sleeve 37 is slipped forwardly to a position against the obstruction or annular shoulder 38 so that the front of the sleeve is positioned just slightly forwardly of the

shoulders

36, 28 and 29. The connector is thereby ready for subsequent usage again, and as hereinbefore described, as soon as the tension is applied on the tow ropes, the insert element 32 will move forwardly slightly from the position shown in FIG. 2 to the position shown in FIG. 3 so that the shell halves are caused to bulge slightly to produce the tight frictional relation with the sleeve 37.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various parts without departing from the scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A connector for securing the ends of a pair of tow ropes together and for releasing the ropes under excessive tension,

comprising a pair of substantially identical shell halves constructed of stiff but resiliently yieldable material, said shell halves having matching and abutting edges and cooperatively defining a hollow housing with an open tow rope-receiving front end and a rear end with means for attaching one of the tow ropes thereto,

yieldable means engaging said shell halves and normally holding the shell halves together, and yielding to permit forcible parting of said shell halves adjacent the front end of the housing,

and an insert confined within the hollow housing and having means for attaching the other tow rope thereto,

said shell halves and said insert having cooperating abut ment portions respectively facing rearwardly and forwardly in confronting relation with each other, one of said abutment portions having a tapered shape converging in a forward direction and engaging the other of said abutment portions to normally prevent movement and removal of the insert in a forward direction, and to also effect, in response to excessive tension applied to the rear end of the housing and to said insert which causes forward movement of the insert in the housing and said yieldable means, a wedging action between said abutment portions and a corresponding application of transversely directed forces against the insert and housing and said yieldable means for causing deformation thereof and causing parting of said shell halves and forward removal of the insert.

2. The invention set forth in claim 1 wherein the forwardly facing abutment portion of the insert is annular and tapered in a forward and inward direction, said insert producing said wedging action when urged forwardly under excessive tension to produce application of trans versely directed forces against the insert and housing for causing deformation thereof and forward removal of the insert from the housing.

3. A connector for securing the ends of a pair of ropes together for releasing the ropes under excessive tension,

comprising a pair of substantially identical shell halves constructed of stiff but resiliently yieldable material, said shell halves having matching and abutting edges and cooperatively defining a hollow housing with an open tow rope-receiving front end and a rear end with means for attaching one of the tow ropes thereto, a clamping sleeve of stiff but resiliently yieldable material engaging said shell halves and encompassing the exterior of the housing adjacent said front end to normally hold the shell halves together,

and an insert confined within the hollow housing and having a rope-receiving aperture extending longitudinally therethrough and aligned with the open tow rope-receiving front end of the housing, the longitudinal aperture of said insert having an enlarged rear portion and a reduced forward portion to accommodate the knotted end of a tow rope inserted therethrough,

said shell halves and said insert having cooperating abutment portions respectively facing rearwardly and forwardly in confronting relation with each other, the abutment portion of said insert consisting in a generally annular front face tapering and converging inwardly in a forward direction in a generally conically shaped contour and normally engaging the rearwardly facing abutment portion of the shell halves to prevent movement and removal of the insert in a forward direction and also to effect a wedging action on the shell halves and a corresponding application of transversely directed forces against the insert and housing and sleeve and causing deformation thereof and forward removal of the insert when excessive tension is applied on said ropes.

4. The invention set forth in claim 3 wherein the abutment portions on the shell halves and insert are substantially identically shaped for producing said wedging action when excessive tension is applied to the ropes.

5. A connector for securing the end of a pair of tow ropes together and for releasing the ropes under excessive tension,

comprising a pair of substantially identical and symmetrical shell halves constructed of stiff but resiliently yieldable material, said shell halves having matching and abutting edges and defining an elongate hollow housing with an open tow rope-receiving front end and a rear end with means for attaching one of the tow ropes thereto, said shell halves having rearwardly facing obstructions on the exterior thereof adjacent the front end,

a clamping sleeve of stiff but resiliently yieldable material engaging the shell halves and encompassing the exterior of the housing in tight fitting, but slidable relation to normally hold the shell halves together, said sleeve bearing forwardly against said rearwardly facing obstructions of the shell halves and being prevented thereby from moving over the front end of the housing, said sleeve being slideable rearwardly along the housing,

and an insert confined within the hollow housing and having means for attaching the other of the tow ropes thereto,

the shell halves and the insert having cooperating abutment portions respectively facing rearwardly and forwardly in confronting relation with each other, one of said abutment portions having a tapered shape converging in a forward direction and engaging the other of said abutment portions to normally prevent movement and removal of the insert in a forward direction, and to also effect a wedging action between said abutment portions and a corresponding application of transversely directed forces against the insert and housing for causing deformation thereof and of said sleeve and forward removal of the insert when excessive tension is applied by said ropes against the housing and insert.

6. The connector of claim 5, wherein said rearwardly facing obstructions comprise rearwardly facing shoulders on the exterior of the shell halves and engaging said sleeve, the exterior configuration of said housing being substantially cylindrical and corresponding with the shape of the sleeve to permit sliding movement of the sleeve therealong.

7. The invention set forth in claim 6 wherein said shoulders are disposed slightly forwardly of said abutment portions, said sleeves engaging said shoulders to confine the shell halves and restrict spreading thereof at the abutment portions to normally prevent endwisc removal of the insert from the housing, and to necessitate deformation of the sleeve when the shell halve are spread apart under influence of excessive tension applied by the tow ropes.

8. A connector for securing the ends of a pair of tow ropes together and for releasing the rope under conditions of excessive tension,

comprising a pair of substantially identical shell halves constructed of stiff but resiliently yieldable material, said shell halves having matching and abutting edges and defining an elongate hollow housing with an open tow rope-receiving front end and a rear end with means for attaching one of the tow ropes thereto, a clamping sleeve of stiff hut resiliently yieldable material engaging the shell halves and encompassing the exterior of the housing adjacent the front end thereof to normally hold the shell halves together,

and an insert confined within the hollow housing and having means for attaching the other tow ropes thereto,

the shell halves and insert having cooperating abutment portions respectively facing rearwardly and forwardly and confronting relation with each other, one of said abutment portions having a tapered shape converging in a forward direction and engaging the other of said abutment portions to normally prevent movement and removal of the insert in a forward direction, and to also effect a Wedging action between said abutment portions and a corresponding application of transversely directed forces against the insert and housing to cause deformation thereof and of said sleeve and forward removal of the insert from the housing when excessive tension is applied by said tow ropes,

said hollow housing and said insert respectively having interior and exterior peripheries concentric of each other, one of said peripheries having a ledge thereon and the other of said peripheries having a rib thereon for engaging the ledge and normally preventing said abutment portions from engaging each other, but causing bulging of the housing into tight frictional gripping relation with the sleeve to restrict longitudinal movement of the sleeve with respect to the housing when the insert is moved Within the housing under normal tension on the ropes.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,869,278 Cook Jan. 20, 1959 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No 3 1 7S 265 March 30 1965 Arthur M. Gunderson It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 4 line 20, strike out "and said yieldable means".

Signed and sealed this 17th day of August 1965.

(SEAL) Allcst:

ERNEST W. SWIDER EDWARD J. BRENNER Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

Claims

1. A CONNECTOR FOR SECURING THE ENDS OF A PAIR OF TOW ROPES TOGETHER AND FOR RELEASING THE ROPES UNDER EXCESSIVE TENSION, COMPRISING A PAIR OF SUBSTANTIALLY IDENTICAL SHELL HALVES CONSTRUCTED OF STIFF BUT RESILIENTLY YIELDABLE MATERIAL, SAID SHELL HALVES HAVING MATCHING AND ABUTTING EDGES AND COOPERATIVELY DEFINING A HOLLOW HOUSING WITH AN OPEN TOW ROPE-RECEIVING FRONT END AND A REAR END WITH MEANS FOR ATTACHING ONE OF THE TOW ROPES THERETO, YIELDABLE MEANS ENGAGING SAID SHELL HALVES AND NORMALLY HOLDING THE SHELL HALVES TOGETHER, AND YIELDING TO PERMIT FORCIBLE PARTING OF SAID SHELL HALVES ADJACENT THE FRONT END OF THE HOUSING, AND AN INSERT CONFINED WITHIN THE HOLLOW HOUSING AND HAVING MEANS FOR ATTACHING THE OTHER TOW ROPE THERETO, SAID SHELL HALVES AND SAID INSERT HAVING COOPERATING ABUTMENT PORTIONS RESPECTIVELY FACING REARWARDLY AND FORWARDLY IN CONFRONTING RELATION WITH EACH OTHER, ONE OF SAID ABUTMENT PORTIONS HAVING A TAPERED SHAPE CONVERGING IN A FORWARD DIRECTION AND ENGAGING THE OTHER OF SAID ABUTMENT PORTIONS TO NORMALLY PRVENT MOVEMENT OF SAID REMOVAL OF THE INSERT IN A FORWARD DIRECTION, AND TO ALSO EFFECT, IN RESPONSE TO EXCESSIVE TENSION APPLIED TO THE REAR END OF THE HOUSING AND TO SAID INSERT WHICH CAUSES FORWARD MOVEMENT OF THE INSERT IN THE HOUSING AND SAID YIELDABLE MEANS, A WEDGING ACTION BETWEEN SAID ABUTMENT PORTIONS AND A CORRESPONDING APPLICATION OF TRANSVERSELY DIRECTED FORCES AGAINST THE INSERT AND HOUSING AND SAID YIELDABLE MEANS FOR CAUSING DEFORMATION THEREOF AND CAUSING PARTING OF SAID SHELL HALVES AND FORWARD REMOVAL OF THE INSERT.