WO2003018461A1

WO2003018461A1 - Motor-driven winch

Info

Publication number: WO2003018461A1
Application number: PCT/CH2002/000457
Authority: WO
Inventors: Dominique Cornu
Original assignee: Aficor S.A.
Priority date: 2001-08-23
Filing date: 2002-08-23
Publication date: 2003-03-06
Also published as: CA2457875A1; FR2828876B1; EP1419100B1; CA2457875C; DE60231310D1; ATE423746T1; ES2322563T3; EP1419100A1; FR2828876A1

Abstract

The invention concerns a winch consisting of a support structure (11), a drum (12) whereon is wound a cable (13), means (14) for linking the drum to the support structure and means (15) for driving the drum. The drum (12) comprises a cylindrical central core (16) and two lateral cheek plates (17). The linking means (14) comprise an annular ball bearing (18) comprising an inner ring (18a) and an outer ring (18b), one of them being provided with teeth (19). The outer ring of the bearing is linked to one of the cheek plates (17). The inner ring is fixed to the support structure (11). The means driving (15) the winch consist of one or more motors (20) whereof the output shafts bear a toothed wheel (21) engaged with the teeth (19) of the linking means (14).

Description

MOTORIZED WINCH

Technical area

The present invention relates to a motorized winch comprising a carrying structure on which is mounted at least one cable winding drum consisting of a cylindrical central core and two lateral flanges integral and arranged on either side of this core central, and means for driving said cable winding drum in rotation.

Prior art

Almost all existing motorized winches are based on the same construction principle. They comprise a motor with an axis provided with a toothed wheel which drives a toothed wheel linked to the axis of a drum on which a cable is wound.

Due to the mode of this construction, in order to transmit the driving torque on the axis of the cable winding drum, it is necessary for the drum to have a relatively small internal diameter and, consequently, a relatively large width to allow the winding of a cable long enough to meet the requirements of professional uses.

This has various drawbacks. First of all, due to the width of the drum, the winch is relatively bulky, which can be inconvenient in certain applications in which the available space is limited.

In addition, due to the width of the drum, to obtain a correct winding of the cable, it is necessary to use guide means of relatively complicated construction. This results in greater complexity of the winch since it must then include a moving part whose movement must be controlled. The size of the winch is then considerably increased. In addition, even during the movement of the drum, the winch must withstand all the pulling force of the cable so that moving components such as bearings, slides, as well as the support of the winch must be particularly resistant.

Without guidance, the cable tends to accumulate in an area of the drum and not to distribute itself evenly, the turns overlapping in the same area and creating unevenly distributed tensions. Only a part of the cable can therefore be wound on the drum, the useful capacity of which is then much lower than its optimal capacity.

When the cable is not wound regularly, part of the cable can get caught between two adjacent turns of a previous turn. If this happens while the cable is under tension, it can be extremely difficult to unwind the cable, and it may be damaged.

To wind a sufficient length of cable, existing drums generally have an outside diameter, or diameter of side flanges, about twice as large as the inside diameter or diameter of the cylinder. This has different consequences. If the motor rotation speed is constant, the linear speed of the cable will be highly variable. In addition, the pulling force will not be the same when the drum is almost empty or when it is full. When the drum is practically empty, the cable is wound on a relatively small diameter, which creates a strong deformation and great stresses in this cable and, therefore, generates wear which decreases its service life.

The winch illustrated by European publication EP 0 733 577 A is known, for example. This winch for an elevator cable comprises a rotor driven by a motor whose output shaft carries a toothed pinion engaged with a toothed crown. It is obvious that the constraints imposed on the mechanisms of winches for lifts are very different from those of winches for vehicles. These winches are usually fitted with cable alignment systems, since space is not a problem or at least the obligation to reduce the size is not the same for an on-board winch mounted on a vehicle and a fixed winch for an elevator.

We also know the winch, object of international publication WO 01/44099 A, which comprises a cable winding drum, a central motor housed inside the drum and gears which ensure the coupling of the motor with the drum. This type of construction does not solve the specific problems of winches on vehicles, for example vehicles for logging.

The present invention proposes to overcome the drawbacks of motorized winches of the prior art by producing a space-saving winch, practical to use and particularly robust and reliable for professional use, in particular as an on-board winch mounted on vehicles of logging, boat trailers, four-wheel drive vehicles or the like.

Statement of the invention

These goals are achieved by a winch as defined in the preamble and characterized in that it comprises an annular bearing consisting of an inner ring and an outer ring defining the raceways of a set of running members, one of these crowns being provided with a toothing and coupled, on the one hand, to said drive means and, on the other hand, to said said winding drum, and the other of said inner or outer crowns of the bearing being rigidly fixed to said supporting structure.

According to a preferred embodiment, one of said inner or outer rings of the annular bearing is integral with one of the lateral flanges of the winding drum. However, it could also be integrated into one of the lateral flanges of the winding drum, the toothing then being formed at the periphery of this flange. Preferably, the means for driving the drum in rotation comprise at least one motor having an output shaft carrying a toothed wheel engaged with the teeth of the annular bearing.

According to an alternative embodiment making it possible to increase the hauling force of the winch, the drive means comprise several motors each having an output shaft carrying a toothed wheel engaged with the teeth of the annular bearing.

The supporting structure includes a flat support plate. According to a first embodiment, said motor is mounted on one side of said plate and said winding drum is mounted on the other side of this plate. According to a second embodiment, said motor and said winding drum are mounted on the same side of said plate.

For certain applications, the winch advantageously comprises means for fixing the supporting structure to a vehicle, these means being pivoting. These pivoting fixing means can cooperate with means for controlling the movement of the winding drum.

The winch may also include a cable position sensor during its winding, this sensor being arranged to cooperate with said means for controlling the movement of the winding drum.

According to a particular embodiment, the winch comprises at least one toothed wheel disposed between the toothed wheel mounted on the output shaft of the engine and the ring gear of the annular bearing.

For safety reasons, the winch may include a non-return device arranged inside the cylindrical central core of the winding drum. This non-return device can be a ratchet device, a disc brake or the like. According to another variant, the winch may also include means for assisting the unwinding of the cable.

For professional uses, it may be advantageous to have a doubled winch and, in this case, this winch may comprise two winding drums, each drum being integral with an annular bearing cooperating with rotation drive means said drums.

The two winding drums are preferably arranged symmetrically on either side of the support plate of the supporting structure.

To reduce the space requirement, the motor can be arranged inside the central cylindrical core of the winding drum.

To increase the traction forces, the toothed wheel carried by the output shaft of the motor can be engaged with the teeth of the annular bearing by means of a planetary reducer.

Said supporting structure advantageously comprises two support plates articulated by means of hinges, one of the plates carrying the functional elements of the winch and the other plate carrying a cable guide pulley and a ring, in order to make the winch portable.

Brief description of the drawings

The present invention and its advantages will be better understood with reference to the description of different embodiments of the invention and to the accompanying drawings, given by way of non-limiting examples, in which:

- Figure 1 is a schematic sectional view of a first embodiment of a motorized winch according to the invention; - Figure 2 shows schematically, a wall winch;

- Figure 3 illustrates a double motorized winch;

- Figure 4 is a front view of part of the winch according to the invention;

- Figure 5 illustrates a particular embodiment of the winch according to the invention;

FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C represent partial views of alternative embodiments of the winch according to the invention, and

- Figures 7A and 7B schematically show a construction of the winch according to the invention to make it portable. -

Best Ways to Carry Out the Invention

With reference to the figures, the winch 10 according to the present invention essentially comprises a supporting structure 11, a winding drum 12 on which a cable 13 is wound, connecting means 14 of the drum to the supporting structure and driving means 15 of the drum.

The winding drum 12 is formed of a central cylindrical core 16 and two lateral flanges 17 mounted integrally with the core, on either side of the latter. Unlike drums generally used, the cylindrical central core has a relatively large diameter compared to the diameter of the side flanges and a small width. Concretely, the cylindrical central core can have a diameter equivalent to two thirds of the diameter of the lateral flanges, for example 40 cm and 60 cm respectively, for a width of 10 to 15 cm. The connecting means 14 of the winding drum 12 and the supporting structure 11 comprise an annular bearing 18 consisting of an inner ring 18a, an outer ring 18b defining the raceways of a set of rolling members 18c, consisting of balls of rollers, needles or the like. As explained in more detail in the following description, the connection means 14 also constitute a part of the drive means 15 of the winding drum 12.

One of these crowns has a toothing 19. In the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, the toothing is on the outer crown 18b, while in the embodiments illustrated in FIG. 5, the toothing is found on the inner crown 18a. According to the first embodiment, the outer ring 18b of the annular bearing 18 is linked to one of the flanges 17 of the drum, for example by means of bolts. The inner ring 18a is fixed to the supporting structure 11, and in particular to a flat support plate 22 of this structure, also by means of bolts. In an alternative embodiment, not shown, one of said inner 18a or outer 18b rings can also be integrated into one of the lateral flanges 17 of the winding drum and, in this case, the toothing 19 is formed at the periphery of this lateral flange 17.

The winch drive means 15 comprise one or more motors 20, in particular hydraulic motors, having an output shaft carrying a toothed wheel 21. This toothed wheel is engaged with the teeth 19 of the connecting means 14 so that the rotation of the motor causes the rotation of the annular bearing 18, and more particularly of the inner or outer ring linked to the winding drum.

To increase the pulling force of the winch, it is possible to have several similar motors in contact with the toothing 19 of the bearing. annular. In this case, the traction force is multiplied by the number of motors.

The supporting structure 11 is formed mainly from the base plate 22 on which the motors are fixed directly and thanks to which it is possible to fix the winch to a vehicle (not shown) such as a forestry machine, for example. The winch also comprises a casing 23 illustrated in particular by FIG. 1, in which are arranged the annular bearing 18 and the toothed wheels 21 of the output shafts of the motors 20. In this way, the most fragile parts of the winch, namely the bearing and the gear wheels are protected from impact and dirt.

With particular reference to FIGS. 1 and 5, the winch 10 includes controls 24 for moving the winding drum 12, intended to guide the cable during its winding. This can be useful especially when the cable is pulled strongly to the side, during professional use of the logging type. In the embodiment according to FIG. 1, the winch is mounted on a vehicle by pivoting fixing means 25, constituted by one or more hinges, one part of which is secured to the support plate 22 and the other is secured to the vehicle. The supporting structure 11 is linked to a jack 26 which makes it possible to move the drum relative to the cable 13 during its winding. Such an embodiment is made possible by the fact that the width of the drum is only a few centimeters, unlike conventional drums in which the winding width is a few tens of centimeters. The movement of the drum can be controlled by a sensor 27 which detects the position of the cable relative to the supporting structure. This sensor can be formed by a fork linked for example to a potentiometer (not shown). When the potentiometer detects that the cable is pulled too far on one side, the jack 26 is pushed or retracted so as to place the cable in an adequate position. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, the means 24 for guiding the cable comprise three pulleys 37 arranged so as to form a baffle. These three pulleys can be driven by a motor (not shown). They are integral with a jack 38 arranged to move them, with the cable, along the drum. This allows the cable to be positioned optimally when it is wound up. When the pulleys are driven by a motor, they can provide assistance during its unwinding. During its winding, they can also generate a prestress which ensures tension on the cable and therefore optimal winding.

Figure 2 is a schematic view of a variant which allows for a wall winch. In this case, the motor or motors 20 are placed on the same side as the drum relative to the support plate 22. It is of course necessary to size the flanges of the drum so that they do not come into contact with the engine. It is also possible to add a toothed wheel 28 between the drive wheel 21 mounted on the output shaft of the engine and the toothing 19 of the annular bearing 18. This intermediate wheel 28 may or may not modify the reduction ratio between the motor and the annular bearing, as a function of the difference in the number of teeth of the two toothed wheels 21 and 28.

This embodiment makes it possible to have an extremely compact wall winch. It can be placed vertically against a partition or on the side of a vehicle or horizontally on a deck of this vehicle. In the case of a vehicle for which the winch is not always essential, it is possible to fix or remove it quickly, by lifting means. It can for example be fixed on the deck of a vehicle by means of only a few bolts.

FIG. 3 illustrates another embodiment comprising two identical or different winches, mounted symmetrically on the support plate 22 and each driven by one or more motors 20. This makes it possible to produce a particularly compact two-drum winch. The two winches can have drive means having separate or identical gear ratios.

The winch according to the invention may also include a non-return device 29, of the ratchet device type, as illustrated in detail in FIG. 4. The non-return device 29 could also be a disc brake or any other similar device. The interior of the cylindrical central core 16 of the drum 12 has asymmetrical teeth 30. The supporting structure 11 comprises a finger 31 mounted on a pivoting axis 32. In a first position of the finger, illustrated in broken lines in FIG. 4, this finger is never in contact with the asymmetrical teeth 30. In a second position, illustrated in solid lines in this same figure, it is in contact with these teeth in such a way that the drum 12 can rotate in a direction which allows '' wind the cable and which prevents the drum from turning in the opposite direction.

The flange 17 disposed towards the outside of the winding drum can be annular or closed by a central plate 33, as illustrated in FIG. 1, which prevents objects from being trapped in the drum. In this case, it is possible to let the pivot axis of the finger of the non-return device protrude from this closure plate, so as to be able to easily activate and deactivate said device.

To unwind the cable, the motors can be left to coast. A pull on this cable then causes the drum to rotate. It is also possible to provide process assistance. This assistance can be provided by means 34 for assisting the unwinding of the cable and be of the all-or-nothing or progressive type. To this end, these assistance means 34, as illustrated in FIG. 4, can be associated with a pivoting lever 35. When no traction is applied to the cable 13, the latter is not in contact with lever 35 because the cable hangs under the effect of its own weight under the drum 12. This corresponds to the position illustrated in broken lines. When a pull is applied to the cable, it stretches in the direction of the pull. In this case, it comes into contact with the lever 35 and lifts it slightly. This corresponds to the position illustrated in solid lines. This lifting is detected by a switch or potentiometer 36 which activates the motors 20 so as to unwind the cable. When the control is triggered by a switch, the unwinding speed is constant. When the command is made by means of a potentiometer, the unwinding speed can be adapted to the cable tension, therefore to the height of the lever.

FIG. 5 illustrates a particularly compact embodiment of the invention. Unlike the other illustrated embodiments, the toothing 19 is provided inside the drum. The outer ring 18b of the annulairelδ bearing is secured to the bearing structure 11 and the inner ring 18a is secured to the winding drum 12. The motor 20 is arranged in the volume available inside the drum. As in the previous embodiments, the winch 10 comprises an output shaft carrying a toothed wheel 21. The latter is engaged with the toothing 19 by means of a planetary reduction gear 39. This embodiment is particularly advantageous by the fact that the motor is arranged in the drum. It thus occupies a volume not used in the other embodiments. The winch obtained is very compact and can be used as a wall winch.

The partial view of FIG. 6A illustrates a construction in which the inner ring 18a of the bearing 18 is integrated into one of the flanges 17 of the winding drum 12. This construction makes it possible to spare the toothing 19 directly on the periphery of this flange. The diameter of the teeth can be increased, which makes it possible to obtain a high gear reduction. The outer ring 18b is fixed to the support plate 22 of the supporting structure. The variant according to FIG. 6B differs from that of FIG. 6A in that the flange 17 is provided at its periphery with a flange 17a which internally carries the toothing 19 and which has a smooth external surface allowing collaboration with a brake (not shown), which may be of the band type or any other known type. The support plate 22 carries the outer ring 18b and the drive motor 20, the output shaft of which carries the toothed wheel 21.

The variant according to FIG. 6C differs from the previous construction in that the toothed wheel 21, which is mounted on the output shaft of the drive motor 20, is engaged with a toothed wheel 21a of relatively large diameter which causes a pinion 21b meshing with the toothing 19. This embodiment makes it possible to reduce the drive speed of the drum. The toothed wheel 21a and the pinion 21b are mounted on the support plate 22 of the bearing structure.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are schematic views, respectively from the front and from below, of a portable embodiment of the winch of the invention. The supporting structure mainly comprises two support plates 22a and 22b, which can be part of a housing (not shown) and which are articulated by means of two hinges 22c arranged symmetrically. One of the support plates 22b carries the functional elements of the winch 10 proper and the other 22a carries a pulley 10a for guiding the cable as well as a ring 10b which makes it possible to fix the assembly by any hooking means, chain, cable, belt or similar to a sufficiently strong fixed or movable attachment point. The articulation of the two support plates allows the movement of the winch winding drum during operation, in particular a relative pivoting of the latter relative to the pulley 10a, to allow an orderly winding of the cable regardless of the position of the winch or load to be towed. The winch of the present invention has many advantages over the winches of the prior art. In particular, it is very compact, which allows it to be placed in places where other winches are too bulky.

The cylindrical central core 16 of the drum 12 has a large diameter compared to conventional winch drums. This implies that, on the one hand, the cable undergoes fewer stresses and that, on the other hand, a cable turn is longer. For the same length of the cable, fewer turns are needed, therefore less volume.

The width of the drum being particularly small compared to the drums of the prior art, the cable cannot be wound incorrectly, that is to say on one side of the drum. All the cable is usable, unlike what happens with other winches. As the winding is done regularly, the turns can practically not get caught in each other and the unwinding of the cable is thus facilitated.

The winch can be placed in almost any position, horizontally as well as vertically or at an angle. In all cases, the winding will be correct and the entire cable can be used.

The pulling force and the unwinding speed vary as a function of the winding state of the cable, that is to say of the diameter of the coil formed by the cable. Since this diameter varies relatively little between the fully wound state and the fully unwound state, this force and speed also vary relatively little. It is possible to use only a small number of layers of cable since the diameter is relatively large.

The fact that the contact between the toothed wheel of the motor and the annular bearing is located at the same distance from the center of the drum as the place where the cable is wound implies that the linear force of the motor is substantially equal to the force on the cable. This force is cumulative, which means that to double the cable pulling force, it is enough to double the number of motors. Similarly, to change the length of cable available, simply change the size of the flanges of the drum and wind the desired length of cable.

In an alternative embodiment, it is possible to use an annular bearing having an internal toothing. In this case, the inner ring is linked to the drum and the outer ring is linked to the supporting structure. It is certain that depending on the application, the cable could be replaced by a rope, chain, strap or strap.

Claims

claims

1. Motorized winch comprising a carrying structure (11) on which is mounted at least one winding drum (12) of a cable consisting of a cylindrical central core and two integral lateral flanges and arranged on either side of this central core, and means for driving said cable winding drum in rotation, characterized in that it comprises an annular bearing (18) consisting of an inner ring (18a) and an outer ring ( 18b) defining the raceways of a set of rolling members (18c), one of these rings being provided with teeth (19) and coupled, on the one hand, to said drive means (15 ) and, on the other hand, to said winding drum (12), and the other of said inner (18a) or outer (18b) crowns of the bearing (18) being rigidly fixed to said supporting structure (11).

2. Motorized winch according to claim 1, characterized in that one of said inner (18a) or outer (18b) crowns of the annular bearing (18) is integral with one of the lateral flanges (17) of the winding drum (12).

3. Motorized winch according to claim 1, characterized in that one of said inner (18a) or outer (18b) crowns of the annular bearing (18) is integrated into one of the lateral flanges (17) of the winding drum (12), and in that the teeth (19) are formed at the periphery of this lateral flange (17).

4. Motorized winch according to claim 1, characterized in that the drive means (15) for rotating the drum comprise at least one motor (20) having an output shaft carrying a toothed wheel (21) engaged with the teeth (19) of the annular bearing (18).

5. Motorized winch according to claim 4, characterized in that the drive means (15) comprise several motors (20) each having an output shaft carrying a toothed wheel (21) engaged with the teeth (19) of the bearing annular (18).

6. Motorized winch according to claim 1, characterized in that the supporting structure (11) comprises a support plate (22) planar.

7. Motorized winch according to claims 4 and 6, characterized in that said motor (20) is mounted on one side of said plate (22) and said winding drum (12) is mounted on the other side of said plate.

8. Motorized winch according to claims 4 and 6, characterized in that said motor (20) and said winding drum (12) are mounted on the same side of said plate (22).

9. Motorized winch according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises fixing means (25) of the supporting structure (11) on a vehicle, these means being pivoting.

10. Motorized winch according to claim 9, characterized in that the pivoting fixing means (25) are arranged to cooperate with control means (24) for the movement of the winding drum (12).

11. Motorized winch according to claim 10, characterized in that it comprises a sensor (27) for the position of the cable (13) during its winding, this sensor being arranged to cooperate with said control means (24) for the movement of the winding drum (12).

12. Motorized winch according to claim 4, characterized in that it comprises at least one toothed wheel (28) disposed between the toothed wheel (21) on the motor output shaft (20) and the toothing (19) of the annular bearing (18).

13. Motorized winch according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a non-return device (29) disposed inside the central cylindrical core (16) of the winding drum (12).

14. Motorized winch according to claim 13, characterized in that the non-return device (29) is a ratchet device.

15. Motorized winch according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises means (34) for assisting the unwinding of the cable.

16. Motorized winch according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises two winding drums (12), each drum being integral with an annular bearing (18) cooperating with means (15) for driving in rotation of said drums.

17. Motorized winch according to claim 16, characterized in that the two winding drums (12) are arranged symmetrically on either side of the support plate (22) of the supporting structure (11).

18. Motorized winch according to claim 4, characterized in that the motor (20) is arranged inside the central cylindrical core (16) of the winding drum (12).

19. Motorized winch according to claim 4, characterized in that the toothed wheel (21) carried by the motor output shaft (20) is engaged with the toothing (19) of the annular bearing (18) via a planetary reducer (39).

0. Motorized winch according to claim 1, characterized in that the carrying structure (11) comprises two support plates (22a, 22b) articulated by means of hinges (22c), one (22b) of the plates carrying the functional elements of the winch (10) and the other plate (22a) carrying a guide pulley (10a) of the cable and a ring (10b).