Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~3~ 9(~
WIN~H
Technical Field
The present invention relates to winches for
winding and un~inding working lines about an outer
surface.
Back~round Art
Hand operated winches of the type used for
handling working lines on marine ~raft are generally known
in various types. Some of these winches are provided with
relatively similar structure and mechanisms and others are
somewhat complex. In either case, the objective i5 to tie
a working line about a convenient surface where the line
will be kept out o~ reach and in a convenient compact
location for the next use.
In general, it is desirable to wind the line
about the ~torage surface as ~uic~ly as possible and with
the option of changing the ratio of the turns provided
manually on the handle relative to the turns of the actual
drum on which the lines are wound. For example, in some
application~, it is often required to wind a line more
quickly in one circumstance than in another, and in some
instances, unwinding a line quickly is just as important
as the actual winding procedure. In this respect, winch~s
presently available have incorporated numerous complex
devices and features which seek to accomplish these ends,
with the result that such winches are relatively costly to
manufacture and often do not provide a sturdy fault-free
structure capable of use for extended periods without
breakage or jamming o~ one part or another.
U.S. Patent No. 3,642,253 relates to a sealed
silent winch which includes a combination of silent one-
3~
130~
--2--
way sprag clutches as opposed to the con~entional pawl
escapements used for braking the winch. In this regard,
th~ sprag clutches include a plurality of relatively
irregularly shaped "sprags" which are positioned within a
cage so as to be retained for jamming ~ngagement between
two working surface~ spaced ~part sufficient that rotation
of one race relative to the other crealtes engaging contact
which results in torque transmission t:hrough the races.
U.5. Patent No. 3,618~89~ relates to ratchet
winches which utilize combinations of gearing and ratchet
wheels to effect line winding and back check of the drum.
U.S. Patent No. 3,712,431 discloses a torque
device for winches al50 utilizing a combination of sprag
clutches utilizing sprag elements carried by retainers,
t5 springs and relatively complicated combinations thereof to
ef~eat winding and back stop action.
U.S. Patent No. 4,234,166 discloses a winch
which utilizes clutch mechanisms capable of engage~ent and
disengagement for winding lines and webbing.
U.S. Patent No. 3,817,494 relates to a drum
drive which utilizes a fiber drive unit which includes
fibrous surfaces movable into and out of drive engagement
positions for effecting driving rotation of a drum while
providing the capability for disengagement for rotation in
the unwinding direction.
Lastly, U.S. Patent No. 3,557,925 discloses a
one-way clutch mechanism which transmits torque from one
hyperboloidal surf~ce to another by way of a plurality of
conical rollers jamming between the surfaces. In this
clutch, however, the end rollers become engaged with a
portion of one of the races, and can produce
discontinuities in the clutch action while damaging the
race engaged by ~he rollers a~ the races rotate. This
patent does not contemplate any type of winch utilizin~
such clutches.
~3~
--3
In general, it will be appreciated that while
such mechanisms represent certain advances in the art,
they nevertheless include relatively complex mechanisms
and structures to effect winding, unwinding and back-
checking of a drum for line winding. Further, adding such~trUctures as gears and related mechanisms to produce
certain gear ratios further complicates these winches.
Moreover, in particular, it will be appreciated that while
sprag clutches are to a certain extent effective winding
and free-wheeling devices, they suffer from several
disadvantages, most notable of which include spr~g-
breakage and the requixement for conventional roller or
ball bearings to be utilized therewith for providing
antifriction bearing support. The breakage problem stems
~rom the fact that the sprag elements consistently eny~qe
along their same contact portions and often are
discontinuously lodged into torque transmitting
engagement. I have invented a winch which is relatively
less complex than those of the prior art and provides
clutch transmission of torque for line winding utilizing a
combination of one-way clutches which provide back-stop
action without the need for separate antifriction bearings
or complex mechani~ms.
Summary of the Invention
A winch which comprises base member adapted for
mounting to a support surface, a stationary shaft
upstanding ~rom the base member, a drum co-axial with the
shaft and including an inner surface portion spaced from
3~ the shaft and an outer ~urface ~or holdinq working lines,
first one-way clutch means operative within the space
between an upper portion o~ the drum and an upper portion
of the shaft, the one-way clutch means having an inner
race defining a working surface, an outer race working
36
~3Q~
--4
surface defined by an upper inner portion of the drum, and
roller means positioned between the race surfaces to
effect torque transmission in a first direction from the
inner race to the drum while the roller means provide
anti-friction ~earing support in the opposite direction,
and second one-way clutch means defined between the lower
inner portion of the drum and the stationary shaft, the
outer portion of the shaft defining an inner race clutch
working surface and the inner opposed portion of the drum
defining an outer race clutch working surfa~e, ro~ler
means disposed there~etween and arranged to provide
clutching engagement between the surfaces in a direction
opposite the working direction of the first clutch means-.
to thereby provide back-check action for rotational
positions of the winch as a working line is wound
thereabout.
In a preferred embodiment, a deck winch is
dl6closed which comprises ba~e member adapted for mounting
to a support surface, a stationary shaft upstanding from
the base member, a drum co-axial with the shaft and
including an inner surface portion spaced from the ~haft
and an outer surface for holding working lines, first
one-way clutch positioned in the space between an upper
portion of the drum and an upper portion of the shaft, the
one-way clutch having an inner race having means for
rotation thereof, the inner race further having an inner
race working surface spaced from an outer race working
surface defined by a corresponding opposed inner portion
of the drum, roller means disposed between the working
sur~aces of the races, the working surfaces of the races
being so configured and the roller means being configured
and oriented to ePfect clutch engagement between the inner
and the outer race when the inner race is rotated in a
first direction and reIative freewheeling rotation when
the inner race is rotated in the opposite direction, the
~3~3~:~S~
-5-
roller means providlng antifriction bearing support
between the races, such that rotation of the inner race in
the first direction cau~es corresponding rotation of the
drum for winding a working line about the outer ~urface
thereof, and second one-way clutch defined between the
lower inner portion of the drum and the stationary shaft,
the outer portion of the shaft defini.ng a clwtch inner
race working surface and the inner opposed portion of the
drum spaced therefrom de~ining an outer race clutch
working ~ur~ace, roller means disposed therebetween, the
configurations of the working sur~aces and relative
configuration and orientation of the roller means being
such as to effect clutch engagement of the surfaces and
the roller ~eans in the direction opposite the direction
of clutch engagement of the first mentioned one-way clutch
while providing freewheeling antifriction roller support
in the opposite direction thereby to effect braking forces
between the drum and the stationary shaft to provide
back-check action ~or the drum as the drum i5 rotated in
the first line winding dlrection.
In the deck winch according to the present
invention the working ~ur~aces of the inner and outer
races of the second one-way clutch are hyperboloidal
surfaces through every point on which two straight line
generators may be drawn so as to lie wholly in the
surfaces. The roller means comprises a plurality of
generally elongated rollers disposed between the inner and
outer races of the second one-way clutch. Further, means
is provided to selectively increase the space between the
inner and outer races of the second one-way clutch to
3~ thereby effectively eliminate the clutch engagement forces
developed therebetween in the working direction of the
inner and outer races 80 as to cause the outer race to
freewheel in both directions with respect to the outer
race.
~L3~ 3~
~6-
In th~ deck winch according to the present
invention working surfaces of the inner and outer races of
the first one-way clutch are hyperboloidal surfaces
through every point on which two straight line generators
may be drawn so as to lie wholly in the sur~aces. The
roller means of the ~irst clutch means comprises a
plurality o~ generally elongated rollers disposed between
the inner and outer races of ~he first one-way clutch
means. Further, roller support means is positioned
beneath the rollers of the second one-way cl~ltch means and
supporting the rollers against the downward force
components caused by the jamming action between the clutch
race surfaces and the rsllers.
The deck winch according to th0 present
invention further comprises roller support maans
positioned above the rollers of the first one-way clutch
and supporting the rollers against the downward force
components caused by the jamming action between the clutch
race surfaces and the rollers. The deck winch according
to claim 9 wherein the roller support means positioned
below the rollers of the second one-way clutch comprises a
ring member positioned for slidable engagement betwPen the
rum and the inner shaft ring member.
The roller support means positioned beneath the
rollers of the first one-way clutch preferably comprises a
ring member positioned between the drum and the inner race
of the first one-way clutch, but may also be any other
means interpositioned b~tween the rollers and the inner
race to slidably support the rollers thereon. The ring
member positioned below the rollers of the one-way clutch
is preferably fabricated of a self-lubricat~ng resilientl~
compressible material such as NYLATRON brand material.
NYL~TRON is a highly lubricated material ~ormed of nylon
and molybdenum disu~phide marketed by Polymer Corporation,
Reading, Pennsylvania. Also, other materials contemplated
~3~59(~
--7--
are bearing bronze, polye-thylene, polypropylene, even a
form of NYLATRON* which includes nylon and teflon (for
lubricating). In some instances, nylon has been found to
have sufficient resilience, compressibility and lub-
S ricity.
The support means may be slidable or it may be
fixed to a race, provided it provides a sufficiently
slidable surface interposed between the rollers and the
race. In addition, the support means may be in the form
of a NYLATRON (or other) ring member; however, the means
interposed between the rollers and the race may also be
in the form of NYLAI'RON roller tips.
The rollers of the first one-way clutch comprise
a plurality of generally elongated rollers of circular
cross-sectional configuratlon and each preferably having
arcuately shaped end portions.
The NYLATRON ring positioned below the rollers of
the second one-way clutch includes in one embodiment a
plurality of spaced arcuate cavities configured and
dimensioned for nestled reception of the respective end
portions of each the rollers of the second one-way clutch
to maintain a predetermined spacing of the rollers during
operational engagement of the rollers with the clutch
working surfaces.
The NYLATRON ring positioned below the rollers of
the first one-way clutch preferably includes a plurality
of spaced arcuate cavities for nestled reception of the
respective end portions of each the rollers of the first
one-way clutch thereby maintaining a predetermined spac-
ing of the rollers during operational engagement of the
rollers with the clutch working surfaces. Further, the
inner race of the first one-way clutch comprises means
* Trademark
~3~ S~
--8--
for rotating the inner race to effect working engagement
between the roller~ of the one-way clutch and the clutch
working surfaces. In addition, the means for rotation of
the inner race of the first one-way clutch comprises a
drive aperture dimensioned and configured for reception of
a drive tool for rotation of the inner race. Preferably,
the aperture in the inner race is a multi-sided drive
aperture having a square or hexagon shaped aperture.
In the preferred embodiment of the present
invention the inner and outer race surfaces of the second
one-way clutch are generally conical hyperboloidal
surfaces having their larger dia~eters at the lower ends
thereof and the mean~ for selectively increasing the space
between the worki~g surfaces of the second one-way clutch
means compri~es means for lifting the drum vertically a
predetermined dimension to efPectively increa~e the space
between the inner and outer races of the second one-way
clutch. Further, the means for lifting the drum of the
second one-way clutch comprises a cam member positioned
~etween the drum and a lower support surface and rotatable
to a vertical position of greater height dimension than
the vertical height dimension corresponding to the first
mentioned position, the cam member being positioned so as
to engage and lift the drum upwardly with respect to the
inner race of the second one-way clutch. Also, a locking
~5 nut is threadedly engaged with the upper portion of the
drum and positioned between the upper portion of the drum
and the upper portion of the inner race of the first one-
way clutch, the locking nut being configur~d and
dimensioned to retain the components of the winch in
assembled relation.
~5
~3~ S~C~
Br.ief Description of the Drawlngs
Preferred embodiments of the inven~ion will be
described with reference to the drawings whereino
FIG. 1 is a perspective view with parts
separated for illustration purposes, o~ the winch
accordinq to my invention:
FIG. 2 is a top view of the winch of my
invention with a handle shown in phantom lines;
FI~. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along
lines 3-3 of FIG. 2 illustrating the assembled componc~lts
of the winch o~ FIG. 2 as well as the features for
disassembling same;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an alternate
embodiment of the winch which includes a feature which
provides selective conversion of the lower one-way clutch
to a two-way freewheeling clutch;
FIG. 4a ~s a cross-sectional view taken along
lines 4a 4a of FIG. 4 illustrating the feature which
selectively converts the lower one-way clutch to a two-way
freewheeling clutch, but in the one-way clutch position;
FIG 5 is a cross-sectional view of the winch of
FIG. 4 with the lower clutch in the two-way freewheeling
condition; and
FIG. 5a is a cross-sectional view taken along
lines 5a-5a illustrating the clutch of FIG. 4 in a two-way
freewheeling condition.
Detailed Description o~ the Preferred Embodiments
Referring to the drawings, the winch of th~
present invention is illustrated in perspective view, with
parts separated for convenience of illustration. The
winch 10 is deæcribed as follows.
~3~:1C~591~
--10--
Winch 10 includes stationary base plate 12 having
central shaft 14 upstanding from the upper surface as
shown. A drum 16 has an outer configuration capable of
receiving working lines wound thereabout and is
positioned on the base 12 for rotation by a handle 18
shown in phantom lines in the FIGS. The ratchet-free
combination, drum rotation and back check operation of my
winch will now be described.
Referring once again to FIG. 1, there is shown
two-one-way roller-hyperboloidal surface type clutches
shown at 20 for the upper, and 22 for the lower clutch.
These improved clutches are constructed to provide
surface-to-roller-to surface engagement in one direction
and freewheeling motion between inner and outer races ln
the other direction. Thus, a combination of such
clutches having a common axis of ro-tation as shown in
FIG. 1 is provided.
In particular, as described and claimed in my
aforementioned pending application, these clutches are
provided with inner race and outer race generally
conical hyperboloidal surfaces through every point of
which respective straight line generators may be drawn.
The rollers ~ which may be cylindrical or conical shaped
- are configured and dimensioned such that they assume an
angle relative to the straight line generators of the
surfaces to effect jamming or grabbing action to provide
one-way clutch rotational engagement forces transmitted
via the rollers from the inner race to the outer race. 30 Uniquely, these rollers also provide antifriction bearing
support between the inner and outer races so as to effect
smooth
~3~ 5~3
and silent operation. Since the rollers are continuously
rotating during operation of the winch, their effective
contact surfaces are constantly ch~nging so that excessive
wear on any one portion o~ the rollers does not prevent a
breakage problem due to stress concentration, fatigue or
the like.
In this environment, the upper clutch 20 is
arranged to provide surface-to-roller-to-surface
engagement in the direction desired to wind a line about
the working surface 17 of drum 16 and antifriction bearing
support and freewheeling mOtiQn in the opposite direction;
roller or ball-type antifriction bearings are not needed.
The lower clutch 22 on the other hand is arranged to
provide surface-to-roller-to-surface engagement - or in
this case, braking - in the direction opposite the
direction of line winding in order to maintain any winding
input which may have been made to the line.
Referring once again to the drawings, it will be
seen that clutch 20 is comprised of inner race 21 having
as part oP the upper portion thereof a drive portion 19
adapted for reception of a suitable drive tool such as a
special handle 18 or drive wrench (not shown). The inner
race 21 of clutch 20 haR formed thereon a conical
hyperboloidal surface ~4 - referred to as the clutch inner
race working surface - while correspondin~ opposed outer
cvnical hyperboloidal surfaca 26 is defined by the upper
inner portion of drum 16. The ~urPace-~ of upper clutch 20
are oriented with their greater diameters at the lower
portion and their smaller diameters at the upper portion.
A plurality of thru~t transmitting rollers 28 are
positioned between the working surfaces. In the case of
upper clutch 20 the confronting surfaces 24 and 26 make
thrust transmitting contact with the roller~ 28 to rotate
the drum in the direction in which it is desired to tie a
line onto drum 16, while the rollers of the lower clutch
s~
-12-
22 are arranged to provide "reverse thrust transmitting
contact" - in this case, "braking contact" - in the
opposite direction so as to provide ~ack-check action to
maintain the position of the drum as the line i5 tied
thereabout~
As illustrated, the conical hyperboloidal
surfaces of the lower clutch 22 are positioned in th~
reverse position of those of the upper clutch 20. The
fact that the lower clutch 22 freewheels in the direction
opposite the direction of line reeling permits the drum t~
be rotated freely in that direction but the braking action
o~ lower clutch 22 maintains that position so as to
prevent the line from unwinding. The rollers 28, which
are preferably constructed of a satisfactory bearing steel
material, actually provide anti~riction bearing support,
thus conveniently dispensing with the need for roller or
ball bearings to prov~de smooth, silent rotation of the
drum; all without the need ~or special antifriction
bearings, complex ratchets or the like. In addition, the
rollers are preferably cylindrical and of circular cross-
sectional configuration, but may well be conically shaped,if desired. Their ~nd portions are preferably arcuate as
shown.
Lower clutch.22 operates on the same structure
and principle as upper clutch 20, with inner conical
hyperboloidal sur~ace 30, outer conical hyperboloidal
sur~ace 34 and "braking" rollers 34 positioned
therebetween. In thi ca~e, however, it will be seen that
the rollers are angularly oriented oppo#ite the rollers of
upper clutch 20 as viewed in t~e same plane; thust their
rotational direction of jamming - or 6urface-tQ-roller-
to-surface contact, is opposite that of upper clutch 20.
Turning now to the aotual structure of the winch
as viewed in FIG. 1 in conjunction with FIG. 3, stationary
base plate 12 has an annular stepped portion 16 vn which
~L3V~
-13-
is positioned an annular ring 36 - preferably of a self-
lubricating material such as NYLA~RON - which acts as a
slide bearing between stepped portion 16 and rollers 34
and which supports the rollers as they rotate about their
own axes and about th~ axis of th~ winch. This ring being
self-lu~ricating actually is ~ree to slid~bly rotate with
respect to the outer drum and the stepped portion 16
defined by the base 12 and shaft 14 thereby preventing the
inherent downward force component acting on the rollers 34
when loaded frGm causing the rollers to engage and mar the
surface of stepped portion 13. The NYLATRON ring
preferably includes a plurality of cup-shaped arc~late
indentations - or cut-out portions - as shown in cross-
section in FIG. 3, to receive each of the rollers 34 in
nestled relation while maintaining appropriate roller-to-
roller spacing. Alternatively, where the rollers may have
other end configurations - such as flat as oppo~ed to
arcuate - the NYLATRON ring may be appropriately
configured to support the rollers 34. A NYLATRON ring 40
: is positioned atop the rollers 2~ of upper clutch 20 to
support the xollers against the inherent upward force
components created by inter-engagement between the rollers
and the confronting surfaces 24 and 26. ~imilarly, a
NYLATRON ring 42 is positioned between upper clutch 20 and
lower clutch 22 and acts as a bearing between the central
shaft 14 and the drum 16, while supporting the upper
rollers 28 and the lower rollerB 34: however, since the
rollers are oriented at opposite angles and tend to
respectively move in directions opposite each other and
away from NYLATRON ring 42, no nestling or cradling cup-
shaped indentations are required in this ring.
Turning further to the drawings, a flange 44 ispositioned at the low~r portion of the winch about the
base 12 and is threadedly secured by threads 46 engaged
with corrssponding threads provided on the inner part of
~3~ 5~
-14-
the drum as shown. A locking collar 48 is positioned atop
flange 44 with self-lubricating NYLATRON discs 50 and 52
respectively positioned between locking collar 48 and
Plange 44 and between locking collar 48 and drum 16 as
shown. Flange 44 is fastened to drum 16 by a suitable
fastener, preferably set screw 72 shown in FIG. 3 which is
inserted and fastened through aperture 54 in locking
collar 48. Similarly, locking collar 48 is secured to
base plate 12 by press ~itted dowel 56. The entire
assembly is secured together by lo~k nut 58 which is
threadedly engaged to the upper part of drum 16 between
the drum and the upper drive portion of inner race 21 of
upper clutch 20 so as to provide pre-selected downward
compressive pre-load forces on the components including
upper inner race 21, NYLATRON ring 40, upper rollers 28,
NYLATRON ring 42, lower rollers 34, NYLATRON ring 36 and
base plate 16.
The method of a~sembly of the lower components
of the winch will now be described. Referring to FIGS. 1
and 3 base plate l2 is provided with a radial aperture 60
which opens into aperture 62 large enough to receive dowel
56 during disassembly. Vertical aperture 64 extends
upwardly into base plate in a direction perpendicular to
aperture 60 and parallel to the axis of the winch. Flange
44 is similarly provided with aperture 66 which aperture
in combination with aperture 64 in base plate 12 provides
a unique visual alignment feature with which the
componen~s are maintained in alignment during assembly as
will be described further. ~ocking collar 48 is provided
with a radial aperture 68 ~or r~ception of press-fitted
lvcking dowel 56 which extends into aperture 60 of base
plate 12 to retain locking collar 48 in the correct
po5ition with respect to base plate 12 as shown. Flange
44 also contains threaded aperture 72 intended to be
positioned in registry with corresponding threaded
~3~ 5~C~
-15-
aperture 74 provided in the lower part of ~rum 16 for
reception of set screw 76 as shown clearly in FIG. 3.
Beyinning with base plate 12 as shown in FIG. 1,
flange 44 is positioned around shaft 14 while aperture 66
is temporarily held in alignment with corresponding
aperture 64 in the base plate either by a dowel or a tool
such as a screw driver. This step is followed by
positioning NYhATRON ring 50 on flange 48 and then
positioning locking collar 48 over the NYLATRON ring 50.
0 ~owel ~6 is press-fitted into registered openings 68 in
locking collar 48 and 60 in base plate 12 to retain those
two members in relative position. Thereafter, NYLATRON
ring 52 is placed in position atop locking collar ~ an~
drum 16 is dropped into position and threads 78 are
threadedly engaged by matching threads 46 on the ~l~nge
44, all while flange 44 is being retained in relative
rotational position with base plate 12 by the dowel or
other temporary tool inserted into aperture 64 and aligned
aperture 66 as shown. It will become readily clear that
upon rotating drum 16 such that threads 78 of the drum
advance with the correspondlng threads of the flange 44,
the flange will be lifted up into position as shown to
retain the flange 48 in a fixed position. When the drum
is finally threadedly engaged into the flange 44, the drum
is rotated to the nearest position consistent with
sufficient tightening to maintain apertures 72 and 74
visually in alignment. Thereafter, a tool such as a screw
driver is inserted into aperture 54 so as to threadedly
advance ~et screw 76 in position to retain the flange 44
in a fixed and locked position with respect to the drum
16. At this point, the dowel or tool which is temporarily
securing flange 44 iTl position over base plate 12 to
maintain apertures 64 and 66 in registry is T10 longer
needed and is thu~ removed. Clearly, it can be seen that
~3~
-16~
the weight of the drum i8 now being supported equally
b~tween rollers 34 and locking collar 48.
After completing the aforementioned procedure,
NYLATRON ring 42 is dropped into position about shaft 14,
followed by positioning of inner hyperboloidal race 21
with rollers 28 temporarily held in position by a suitable
heavy lubricating grease and topped by NYLATRON ring 40.
After insertion of the inner race 21 in position, the
locking ring 58 is threadedly inserted through engagement
f threads 80. Disassembly of the winch is provided by
following the aforementioned procedure in reverse order.
It should be noted that removal of dowel 70 is effected by
driving the dowel inwardly until it falls out of its
apertures 68 and 60 ultimately to drop out of aperture 62
for retrieval.
It can be seen that the winch as described in
FIGS. 1 and 3 is contemplated to be driven by a su1table
tool such as ~ standard winch handle 18 having a drive end
portion 19 inserted into a correspondingly shaped openin~
provided in the center of the inner race 21 of upper
clutch 20. Such drive may be square shaped or hexagonal
or any suitable drive shape as may be desired.
Optionally, the winch will function in a ~irst pre-
selected direction corresponding to the drive direction of
upper clutch 20 which transmits rotary motion from handle
l~ through drive l9 to inner race 21 of upper clutch 20
and thereby to drum 16 via inner hyperboloidal conical
~urface 24, outer hyperboloidal conical sur~ace 26 and
drive rollers 28 therebetween. As the line is being wound
about the outer working surface 17 of dr~m 16, the
~ rotational position thereby achieved by the drum is
maintai~ed by the back-check action of Iower clutch 22
which i arranged to have its workinq - or braking -
direction opposite the working direction of upper clutch
20. Thus, as the handle is rotated in full turns or
~3~1~590
-17-
incremental turns as desired, the first direction will be
the winding d.irection and the handle may be freewheeled
opposite the working direction while the position of the
line wound about the working surface 17 of drum 16 is thus
retained. According to this embodiment, unwinding of the
line must be accomplished manually because this embodiment
of the winch does not provide for reverse freewheeling as
will ~e provided in the embodiment iLlustrated in FIGS. 4
and 5 and described hereinbelow.
Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, there is
illustrated an embodiment of the present winch which
incorporates a unique feature which facilitates convenient
conversion of the wlnch from a first driving mode as
described hereinabove to a mo~e in which the ~peration~l
drum may be made to freewheel in two directions, a feature
which will facilitate unwinding of a line from the drum in
a manner similar to that which is used to wind the line
about the drum. In addition, the winch illustrated .in
FIGS. 4 and 5 includes an alternate drive arrangement from
the standard drive arrangement shown in the embodiment of
FIG. 3. The drive arrangement shown in FIGS. 4 and 5
includes a fixed square or other rectangular pin provided
at the top of central shaft 14 to receive a specific type
of handle, the functional aspects which may include dual
inner or outer sleeves, the inner sleeve being retained in
fixed position by th2 square drive end of the shaft and
the outer sleeve being arranged to rotate about the inner
~ sleeve and having an outer configuration corresponding to
a drive opening provided within the inner race of the
upper clutch.
Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, in combination
with FIGS. 4a and Sa, respectively, the feature which
facilitates the conversion of the winch to a two-way
frsewheeling winch includes the provision of ~eans to lift
the drum 16 and the flanqe 44 therewith a minor amount -
~3V~
-18-
say approximately .5 mil - so as to disengage the engaging
surfaces between the rollers 34 and the hyperboloidal
~urfaces 30 and 32 as illustrated in FIG. 5. Once this
disengagement is made, the braking action of the lower
clutch is essentially disabled and unwinding of the line
positioned about the workin~ surface of the drum 16 can be
readily accomplished. It should be noted that this
capability is peculiarly facilitated by the working
principles of the conical hyperbGloidal clutch forming
part of the present invention.
The actual feature which provides for lifting of
the drum 16 will now be described with reference to FIGS.
4 and 5. A handle 82 which includes a crank portion 84
extends through an aperture 86 provided in locking collar
48 and this handle is secured to cam member 88 for
transmitting rotational torque to the cam via key 90
provided in a suitable key way in the cam 88 as shown
clearly in FIGS. 4, 4a, 5 and 5a. In the first positlon
which is shown in FIG. 4a, the cam 88 is oriented such
that the vertical distance "X" between NYLATRON ring 52
and the top surface of base plate 12 is at its minimum.
Upon rotation o~ the crank 84 an amount suitable to rotate
cam 88 from the position shown in FIG. 4a to the position
shown in FIG. 5a the drum 16 is lifted upward~y by the
forces provided by the cam 88 and the NYLATRON ring 52
thus inactivating the braking action between the
hyperboloidal surfaces 30 and 32 and the rollers 34 of the
roller clutch 22 thereby permitting the drum 16 to
freewheel in what is normally the braking direction.
Thus, any line wound about the drum may thereby be
selectively quickly unwoundb Similarly, the crank handle
: 84 may be used to rotate cam 88 back to the posi~ion shown
in FIG. 4a t~us returning the lower clutch 22 to the
braking - or line winding - direction. The relative
orientation of the crank may be manufactured such that it
~3()~59(~
--19--
is in the vertical position during winding or unwinding.
This aspect is merely a matter of design choice which may
be changed from winch to winch.
Referring now to the upper drive end of the winch
shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, this winch may include the same
square shaped opening shown in embodiment of FIG. 3.
However, alternately as shown in the arrangement of FIGS.
4 and 5, the central shaft 14 is arranged to include an
extension having a square cross-section and intended for
use with a suitable handle which includes a drive
mechanism having an outer rotatable sleeve 94 which has
an outer drive confi.guration corresponding to the drive
opening of the inner race of upper clutch 20 at the top
of the winch. ~ sleeve 96 is fixed by the square end 92
of shaft 14. This handle and drive mechanism provides a
multiplicity of torque values and mechanical advantages
which advantageously provides a multiplicity of "gear
ratios" for the present winch, without the need for
actual gears, ratchets or the like. However, it should
be clear that it is contemplated within the scope of the
presen-t invention to include a multiplicity of drive
arrangements at the top end of -the winch and such drive
arrangements may assume a plurality of shapes and con-
figurations.
In all other structural respects the components
and the method of assembly and disassembly of the winch
shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 are the same as the winch shown in
FIG. 3 with the exception that the assembly of the handle
82 and the cam 88 must be accomplished within the
assembly procedure preceding the positioning of locking
ring 48 atop flange 44. In particular, cam 88 is placed
in
,~
~3(~1~59~
-20-
position within a suitable aperture provided in locking
collar 48 prior to positioning the locking collar over the
base of the winch. Thereafter, handle 82 is inserted into
the generally circular opening 81 of cam 88 and may be
6 arranged to provide a slight press-fit or no press-fit, a
matter of selection. Key 90 is thereafter inserted into
the suitable keyway ~y slots provided in both handle 82
and cam 88 which are maintained in registry for reception
of the key. The key is preferably press-fit into the key
1~ way and may be tapped lightly using a small tool and
hammer. Thereafter, the assembly procedure of the
components with respect to locking collar 48 will follow
the procedure previously described.
2~
