Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02273702 1999-06-08
This invention relates to a multipurpose rope clamp
which may be fixed firmly to a support such as a boat hull
or a truck box, the rope clamp acting to clamp the rope
firmly in one position while allowing easy adjustment of the
rope to tighten it or loosen it, or unfixed (i.e. not
attached to a support) to suspend an article from a rail.
Such a rope clamp may be used where frequent
adjustments of the rope are required, for example for
suspension of a boat fender. Boat fenders are often
suspended from a horizontal rail of a boat to dangle against
the side of the boat so as to protect the side of the boat
from damage when approaching a dock or other structure. The
length of rope between the horizontal rail of the boat and
the fender is dependent upon the level of the dock or other
structure and may need adjustment for structures at
different levels. Moreover, the setting of such fenders
must frequently be readjusted since they are frequently
untied and brought inboard when not required for use.
Another example of a situation where easy adjustment of
the rope in the clamp is required with firm clamping of the
rope between adjustments, is for progressive tightening of a
tyer by means of a tie-down. Tie-downs frequently operate
by means of frictional clamping of webbing positioned in a
tortuous path so that, in one position, friction of the
webbing against itself prevents loosening of the tyer and,
in another position, the tyer may be tightened.
CA 02273702 1999-06-08
- 2 -
Various devices are available for winding webbing in a
tortuous path for use as tie-downs but all of those known to
the applicants require careful slotting of the webbing
through a buckle in a preset path. Some devices are
available as adjustable clamps for ropes. Exemplary of
adjustable rope clamps are those described in U.S. Patent
No. 5,339,498 issued to Llewellyn Parsons on August 23, 1994
and U.S. Patent No. 5,596,791 issued to Llewellyn Parsons on
January 28, 1997. Of these, U.S. Patent No. 5,339,498
describes a rope clamp in which the rope is looped around an
object and is allowed to pull freely through the clamp in
one direction but is held against movement in the other
direction. The rope clamp of U.S. Patent No. 5,596,791 is a
rail fender hanger which hangs loosely on a horizontal rail
to adjustably clamp a rope therein. More recently, Canadian
Patent Application No. 2,224,363 describes a rope clamp
which may be used as a tie down.
According to the present invention there is provided a
rope clamp comprising a back carrier plate for attachment to
an article and an integral parallel front tongue defining a
rope channel therebetween, inner faces of the front tongue
and the back plate being provided with converging clamping
ribs to narrow the rope channel towards a base thereof, the
back plate having an extension plate extending beyond said
base, the extension plate having rope guides to define a
rope entry path on side of the base and front tongue and a
rope exit path to the other side of the base and front
tongue, to guide the rope between the clamping ribs, the
CA 02273702 1999-06-08
- 3 -
guides being spaced from each other to allow manual
disengagement therefrom or engagement thereinto of a bight
of rope .
Attachment means are provided on the back plate to
attach the clamp to a surface of a support such as a boat
hull or deck or to the box of a trailer or, indeed to any
support. Attachment means for a rail may be screws or bolts
passing through apertures in the back carrier plate or
extension plate.
If the clamp is to be used to hang an article from a
rail, it is not necessary to utilize the attachment means at
attach the back plate to the support. It may hang freely
from the rail suspended by a bight of rope passing over the
rail. The clamp may hang on the rope itself due to its own
clamping action. Even in this instance a support may be
used if desired. In use the rope clamp should be located
above or below the rail over which the rope is to pass
before entry into the rope entry path. The rail may be of
any convenient section, e.g. square or round. Preferably
the clamp includes a further guide for rope upstream of the
rail. This further guide may be a tubular channel through
which rope passes freely, the channel running parallel to
said base.
Preferably the rope guides confine a bight of rope into
a U with the web of the U lying in the base of the rope
CA 02273702 1999-06-08
- 4 -
channel where the clamping ribs come together and the legs
of the U diverging from the web.
Each guide may be a lug projecting towards the base and
having its root on a line parallel, or approximately
parallel, to the base, the lug upstanding from the back
extension plate and bent over to confine the rope. The
distal end of each lug is free so that the bight of rope may
be tucked behind it.
Embodiments of the invention will now be described by
way of example with reference to the drawings in which:
Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a rope clamp
according to the invention with rope arranged therein;
Figure 2 is a rear view of the rope clamp of Figure 1;
Figure 3 shows a front view of the clamp of Figure 1
showing rope being inserted thereinto;
Figure 4 is a vertical transverse section through the
clamp of Figure 1 indicating rope therein;
Figure 5 illustrates a rope clamp according to the
invention used to hang on a rail;
Figure 6 illustrates a rope clamp according to the
invention in which no rail is involved;
Figure 7 illustrates a rope clamp according to the
invention being used as a fender hanger; and
Figure 8 illustrates the rope clamp of Figure 1 being
used as a tie-down.
CA 02273702 1999-06-08
- 5 -
The drawings show a rope clamp 110 comprising a back
plate 112 integrally molded with a front tongue 114 through
an integral portion 116. The front tongue 114 is spaced
from the back plate 112 by a distance corresponding roughly
to the diameter of a rope to be clamped in the clamp. Front
tongue 114 is generally parallel to back plate 112 at least
in so far as their outer surfaces are concerned. The inner
surfaces of front tongue 114 and back plate 112 are provided
with converging clamping ribs 118 which come together at
integral portion 116 in a V shape to form a rope gripping
channel. A rope 120 fits easily and loosely into the upper
open part of the V and may be clamped firmly by the lower
part of the V by the clamping ribs 118. Thus a rope
gripping channel 122 is formed between the front tongue 114
and the back plate 112 narrowed towards its base 124 by the
converging ribs 118. The base 124 lies along an edge of
integral portion 116.
The back plate 112 has extends beyond tongue 114 on
either side through portions 126.
Integral portion 116 extends away from base 124 of rope
channel 122 and away from back plate extension 113.
Integral portion 116 has a further tubular rope channel 125
through it running generally parallel with base 124.
Channel 125 guides rope to form it into a U-shape with tope
in gripping channel 122. Thus a bight of rope arranged in
the rope clamp 110 has one run in gripping channel 122
forming one leg of a U, and another run in tubular channel
CA 02273702 1999-06-08
- 6 -
125 forming another leg of the U and a further run of the
rope forming the web of the U. The web of the U may pass
over a hanging rail (see Figure 5 and 7) or pass directly
between channels 122 and 125 (see Figure 6).
Guide lugs 128 are upstanding from back plate 112 at
roots on a vertical line parallel with and forward from base
124. The guide lugs 128 bend over into a L shape to confine
the rope between each lug and the portion 126. The guide
lugs 128 form open rope entry and exit channels parallel
with an opposed to rope gripping channel 122 and are spaced
from front tongue 114 by a distance sufficient to allow
entry of a bight of rope therebetween for engagement or
disengagement of rope into clamp 110. The spacing distance
may approximately be the diameter of rope which is to be
used.
The actual three dimensional shape of rope clamp 110
may possibly be best seen from the perspective view of
Figure 1.
Figure 6 shows the rope clamp 110 attached to an
article 102 with its base vertical and with further rope
channel 125 also vertical. Attachment is by screws 138
Rope 120 is shown confined behind both L-shaped guide lugs
128 forming a U with the back plate 112. The rope is also
confined in rope gripping channel 122 clamped by converging
clamping ribs 118. Figure 5 shows a similar case where rail
130 is present. In the situation shown in Figure 5 the
CA 02273702 1999-06-08
_ 7 _
clamp 110 may be attached to a support or not at the user's
convenience.
In Figure 7, which shows the clamp 110 being used to
hang a fender 132 from a rail 130. Rope 120 from, say a
fender, rises to pass through guide channel 125 and thence
around rail 130 and finally passes downwardly though
clamping channel 122.
Figure 8 shows a similar rope clamp 110 to that of
Figure 6 but it is being used as a tie-down for a box 102 of
a trailer or truck. As illustrated the clamp 110 is
attached to the trailer or truck box 102 by means of bolts
or screws 138.
The manner of inserting the rope into clamped position
will now be described. An end of rope 120 is first threaded
through further rope guide channel 125 and, for example,
passed over rail 130 as seen in Figure 5. A bight of entry
rope 120 may then be inserted between the top guide lug 128A
and the extension plate 126 either freely or by biassing the
guide lugs slightly. It is then pulled or allowed to slip
back through channel 125 to adjust the finally desired
position of rope 20. When this is achieved, the end of rope
120 is inserted behind lower lug 128B with a bight of rope
104 lodged ready to enter clamping channel 122 (see Figure
3). The rope may now be clamped firmly by pulling on the
end of the rope. In this position the rope 120 is held
firmly by the clamping ribs 118.
