US3240473A

US3240473A - Load binding device comprising winch means and equalizer means

Info

Publication number: US3240473A
Application number: US403112A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ralph J Coffey; Alfred M Roberts
Original assignee: American Chain and Cable Co Inc
Current assignee: FKI Industries Inc
Priority date: 1964-10-12
Filing date: 1964-10-12
Publication date: 1966-03-15
Anticipated expiration: 1983-03-15

Description

March 15, 1966 R. .1. COFFEY ETAL 3,240,473

LOAD BINDING DEVICE COMPRISING WINCH MEANS AND EQUALIZER MEANS Filed 001.. 12, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS RALPH J COFFEY ALFRED M. ROBERTS ATTO RNEYS March 15, 1966 R. .1. COFFEY ET 3,240,473

LOAD BINDING DEVICE COMPRISIN INCH MEANS AND EQUALIZER MEANS Filed Oct. 12, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3

RA 3'. COFFEY BY AL D M. ROBERTS Z 6, mm

ATTORN EYS United States Patent LOAD BINDING DEVICE COMPRISING WINCH MEANS AND EQUALIZER MEANS Ralph J. Coffey and Alfred M. Roberts, York, Pa. (both American Chain & Cable Co., Inc., 230 Park Ave, New York, N.Y.)

Filed Oct. 12, 1964, Ser. No. 403,112 8 Claims. (Cl. 254-161) This invention relates to binding devices for securing loads to a support and, more particularly, to a binding device having a novel winch arrangement for controlling the wind-up of a cable which secures the load.

In the transportation and storage of many containers and bulk goods, the load rests on and is lashed by cables to various forms of support, such as flat-bed trucks, pallets, railway flat cars and so on. It is often necessary to insure that the cables are initially tightened to a particular preload in a manner such that they cannot later loosen and allow the load to shift. Binding by means of cables is also common in other fields, as for example in millwrighting, rigging of structural steel and machinery handling, and in oil well, maritime, mining and military operations. In many instances this is a procedure which must be repeated often, as in the loading and unloading of trucks, and therefore it should not demand great effort and time. Since various turnbuckle and toggle arrangements and the like presently used to tighten load-binding cables do not satisfy all these requirements, the present invention has as its object the provision of a compact binding device which can be readily operated at an accessible location on the load support to lash cables securely over the load in a controlled manner such that the load is not crushed and the lashing is not broken or stretched excessively. It is especially adapted for us ewith flat-bed trucks because of the ease by which it can apply and release the cables and be stored with the truckers other hand tools when not in use.

Broadly stated, the binding device of the invention for securing a load to a support on which the load is to rest comprises a body and means for attaching the body to the support. Extending through the :body is a shaft on which a rotatable winch member is concentrically mounted. The Winch member is formed with a pair of circumferential helical grooves of opposite hand at its respective end portions and with a circumferential gear between the grooves. A pair of cables are secured at one end in the respective grooves and are adapted to be wound up in the grooves when the winch member is rotated. Means are provided for holding the cables with respect to the support at their ends remote from the winch member to tighten the cables in securing relation to the load when the winch member is rotated. Rotatably mounted in the body is a drive gear in meshing engagement with the circumferential gear on the winch member. Means are included for rotating the winch member through the drive gear.

One important feature of this device is the winch member formed with a pair of circumferential helical grooves of opposite hand at its respective end portions and with the circumferential gear between the grooves. An advantage of great significance which is possesses is that it winds up two runs of a cable instead of one and allows the use of smaller diameter cable for exerting a given binding force, and this in turn permits a reduction in the diameter of the Winch member which is the primary factor in the size and cost of the entire device. No asymmetrical bending moments are exacted on the shaft supporting the winch member because the drive gear acts at the center of the winch member and the cable can 3,246,473 Patented Mar. 15, 1966 "ice apply equal forces to each side of and equidistant from that center. Also, this is achieved without wrapping one convolution of the cables over the next when they are wound up, which otherwise imposes unnecessary stresses on the cables, because the turns of the wound cables are directed by the grooves alongside one another in a single layer. Yet even with this feature the assembly is no larger or heavier than most of the other small devices with which it may :be stored in the tool compartment of the truck when not in use.

A preferred embodiment of the binding device is de scribed hereinbelow with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein FIG. 1 is an elevation of a fiat bed truck supporting a load which is secured by means of the new device;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary section of the body of the device and its associated parts;

FIG. 3 is a section partly broken away and taken along the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 3A is a fragmentary extension of FIG. 3 showing the pulley means for equalizing the load on the winch member;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section partly broken away taken along the line 44 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary section taken along the line 66 of FIG. 2.

The flatbed 10 of the truck shown in FIG. 1 has brackets 11 and 12 secured to its opposite edges to receive lashing means which secures a load 13 to the bed 10. Releasably attached to the bracket 11 is a substantially hollow body 15 from which a flange 16 extends as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6. The flange 16 is adapted to several modes of attachment. For example, weldable steel inserts 17 are aflixed in respective holes 18 to provide elements by which the flange 16 (which may be of low-cost relatively non-weldable pearlitic malleable iron) can be welded in operating position. Ears 19 formed with a hole 20 permit the flange to be rotatably pinned about one axis, and a hole 21 permits it to be pinned in the alternative about a perpendicular axis.

One end of the body 15 is closed by an integral east end wall 23 and the other by a cap 24. Concentric holes are formed in the center of the end wall 23 and cap 24 of the body 15 and a bolt shaft 25 extends through them. in fixed relation to the body by means of a head 27 and nut 28 on opposite ends of the shaft. A substantially cylindrical winch member 29 is formed with a central hole through which the shaft 25 extends closely but in a freely rotatable manner. On one end portion of the winch member 29 is a helical groove 30 of substantially semi-circular cross section and short pitch, and on the other end of the winch member 29 is another groove 31 which is similar to the groove 30 in all respects except that it is opposite in hand. Between the

helical grooves

30 and 31 is a circumferential worm gear 32 formed integrally about the center of the winch member 29. To provide the highest possible strength for a given size of the worm gear 32, its teeth are cut integrally in part of an enlarged portion of the winch member 29 and the sides 33 of that enlarged portion are left intact to reinforce the ends of the teeth of the gear 32. Ordinary worm gear teeth would be entirely upstanding and would not be nearly as strong as those shown in FIG. 3 which are supported by the sides 33 of the winch member enlarged portion.

A stranded cable 34 by which term is meant wire rope chain, fibrous rope, wire, or any other suitable line extends at its opposite ends through a longitudinal slot 35 formed in the body 15 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 on the side of the body nearest the load 13 when the body is mounted on the bracket 11 of the truck. One end of the cable 33 extends tangentially into the end of the groove 30 remote from the circumferential worm gear 32 and it is securely anchored in a reliable manner, as for example by being zinc-potted in a socket 36 at the end of the groove 30 and clamped in place by one or more set screws 37. The other end of the stranded cable 33 extends through the slot 35 into the end of the other groove 31 in thesame tangential relation with respect to the winch member 29 as the first-mentioned end of the cable. This end of the cable is also anchored in place by suitable means, such as in a socket 38 and one or more set screws 39. As described above it is helpful to prebend and enclose in ferrules the extremities of the cable 33 which are anchored in these sockets. Also, the interior of the hollow body should be sized to prevent the cable 33 from escaping its grooves but must not bind the cable so that it would buckle when being extended. The completed sub-assembly of the winch member 29 and cable 34 may be slipped into the body 15 and held in place by the cap 24 with the cable 34 passing through the slot 35.

In this preferred embodiment of the invention, means are also provided to prevent over-travel of the winch member 29 in either direction. Formed in the facedoff end of the winch member 29 opposed to the cap 24 is a straight slot 40 of semi-circular cross section shown in FIGS.- 3 and 4. It is disposed radially with respect to the winch member axis. In the opposed inner face of the cap 24 a spiral groove 41 of similar cross section is formed and where the two grooves cross one another they define a space of circular cross section in which is located a ball 42. When the winch member 29 is turned in a clockwise direction as shown in FIG. 4 to unwind the cable 34, over-travel is prevented when the ball 42 is carried by the spiral slot 41 to the outer end of the straight slot 40. When the winch member 29 turns counterclockwise in FIG. 4 to wind up the cable 34, over-travel is similarly prevented when the ball 42 reaches the inner end of the slot 40.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the cable 33 runs over a pulley 43 in a block 44 which is spaced from the body 15- before the cable is taken up. The block 44 is formed with a hole 45 to receive a clevis or hook assembly (indicated generally as 46 in FIG. 1) at the end of a lashing 47 extending over the load 13 on the truck. The lashing 43 is attachable to the remote bracket 12 by means of another hook assembly 48 as shown in FIG. 1. It is the function of the block 44 to equalize the forces exerted by the two ends of the cable 33 on the winch member 29 when the load 13 is secured as described below.

Projecting from one side of the body 15 is a rectangular hollow portion 49 of the body in which a longitudinal worm gear 50 is rotatably mounted in meshing engagement with the circumferential worm gear 32 about an axis perpendicular to that of the circumferential worm gear. A cylindrical end portion 51 extending from the longitudinal worm gear 50 is journalled in a corresponding bore in the body 15, and the opposite end portion extending from the longitudinal worm gear 46 is covered by a sealing stop-disc 52 which is held by a pin 53 in the body. A square shaft 54 extends from the cylindrical portion 51 of the longitudinal worm gear 50 exteriorly with respect to the body 15 to receive a removable hand or power crank 55 as shown in FIG. 1 by which the longitudinal worm gear 50 may be rotated.

In use, the binding device of the invention may have its body 15 attached to the bracket 11 by a suitable pin inserted through the hole 20. Because of its compact and somewhat elongated shape shown in FIG. 2, the device may be mounted and operated in rather confined spaces. The lashing 47 may be of a length about a half a foot or so longer than necessary to be cast over the load 13 and to have its hook fitting 48 attached to the bracket 12 on the opposite side of the truck bed 10. The other hook fitting 46 is attached to the block 44 when the lashing 47 is loose. The crank 55 is then attached to the Square shaft 54 and thelongitudinal worm gear 50 is rotated in a clockwise direction as shown in FIG. 3. This causes the winch member 29 to be rotated in a clockwise direction as shown in FIG. 2, and with considerable mechanical advantage it winds the ends of the cable 33 in the

respective grooves

30 and 31 progressively toward one another and the center of the winch member. The bending moments exerted in this manner on the shaft 25 by the supporting end wall 23 and cap 24 of the body, the longitudinal worm gear 50 and the two ends of the cable 33 are perfectly symmetrical about a transverse axis midway between the ends of the shaft 25 as it appears in FIG. 3. Consequently, many stresses are relieved from the device which otherwise might appreciably shorten its operating life. Also, one convolution after another of the ends of the cable 33 are laid in the

respective grooves

30 and 31 without changing this optimum balance of bending moments and without subjecting one another to compressive fatigue as they would if they overlaid one another.

When the lashing 47 is tightened securely down onto the load 13, the crank 55 is removed and the operation is completed. In most instances, the meshing engagement between the longitudinal and circumferential worm gears 50 and 32 is self-locking, but it is quite advantageous to supplement this by forming the inner surface of the hollow body portion 49 such that it engages a great part of the helical crown of the longitudinal worm gear 50 in a tight but sliding frictional fit. This insures that the cable 33 does not loosen under severe vibrations or other extraordinary operating conditions. Unloading is carried out simply by rotating the crank 55 so that it turns the longitudinal worm gear 50 in counterclockwise direction as shown in FIG. 3, thereby unwinding the cable 33 and permitting the hook fitting 48 to be det-ached from the bracket 12 on the other side of the truck bed 10. The body 15 may then be removed from the brakcet 11 and together with its cable, block and crank, it may be stored in the tool compartment of the truck until required for further use.

Though the following claims define the invention in its use as a load binder, it is to be understood that they are intended to cover any other appropriate use where tension is to be applied and maintained on a line.

We claim:

1. A device for tensioning cab-1e means with respect to a support comprising a body, means for attaching said body to said support, a shaft extending through said body, a rotatable winch member concentrically mounted on said shaft and formed with a pair of circumferential helical grooves of opposite hand at its respective end portions and with a circumferential gear between said grooves, said cable means being secured in the respective grooves and adapted to be wound up in said grooves when said winch member is rotated, a drive gear rotatably mounted in said body in meshing engagement with said circumferential gear on the winch member, and means for rotating said winch member through said drive gear.

2. A binding device according to claim 1 wherein said cable means are secured in the ends of the respective grooves remote from said circumferential gear, and said means for rotating said winch member are adapted to rotate it in a direction causing said cable means to be wound up in said grooves toward the circumferential gear.

3. A binding device according to claim 1 wherein said cable means comprises a single cable secured at its opposite ends in said respective grooves.

4. A binding device for securing a load to a support on which the load is to rest comprising a hollow body, means for releasably attaching said body to said support, a fixed shaft extending through said body, a substantially cylindrical winch member rotatably mounted concentrically on said shaft within said body and formed with a pair of circumferential helical grooves of substantially semi-circular cross section and opposite hand at its respective end portions and with a circumferential worm gear between said grooves at the center of said winch member, a cable secured at its opposite ends in the ends of the respective grooves remote from said circumferential gear and adapted to be wound up in said grooves toward the circumferential gear when said winch member is rotated, a pulley and block through which said cable extends for holding said cable with respect to said support in securing relation to said load when said winch member is rotated, and for equalizing the forces on the ends of the cable, a longitudinal worm gear rotatably mounted in said body in meshing engagement with said circumferential worm gear about an axis perpendicular to that of said circumferential worm gear, said longitudinal worm gear being in frictional sliding engagement with said body about part of its circumference, and means exterior to said body for rotating said winch member through said longitudinal worm gear.

5. A device for tensioning cable means with respect to a support comprising a body, means for attaching said body to said support, a shaft extending through said body, a rotatable winch member concentrically mounted on said shaft and formed with a pair of circumferential helical grooves of opposite hand at its respective end portions and with a circumferential worm gear between said grooves, said cable means being secured in the respective grooves and adapted to be wound up in said grooves when said winch member is rotated, a longitudinal worm drive gear rotatably mounted in said body about an axis transverse to that of said circumferential worm gear and d in meshing engagement with said circumferential worm gear on the winch member, and means for rotating said winch member through said drive gear.

6. A binding device according to claim 5 wherein said longitudinal worm gear is in sliding engagement with said body about part of its circumference.

7. A binding device according to claim 5 which includes a pulley and block through which said cable means extends, said block equalizing the forces on the ends of the cable means when said cable is tightened in securing relation to the load.

8. A binding device according to claim 5 which includes a first slot formed in one end of the winch member radially with respect to the winch member axis, a second slot formed spirally with respect to the Winch member axis in a surface of the body opposed to the first slot, said second slot crossing said firs-t slot, and a ball located in and movable with the intersection of said slots, whereby overtravel of the winch member is prevented when the ball reaches one end of one of the slots.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,828,290 10/1931 Moon 254-161 X 1,984,604 12/1934 Stahl 254184 2,370,834 3/1945 Ball 254l84 3,032,308 5/1961 Hansen 254184 X 3,101,927 8/1963 Gray 254-161 3,162,921 12/1964 Cheris 24-274 FOREIGN PATENTS 191,527 1/1923 Great Britain.

0 WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

MILTON S. MEHR, Examiner.

Claims

1. A DEVICE FOR TENSIONING CABLE MEANS WITH RESPECT TO A SUPPORT COMPRISING A BODY, MEANS FOR ATTACHING SAID BODY TO SAID SUPPORT, A SHAFT EXTENDING THROUGH SAID BODY, A ROTATABLE WINCH MEMBER CONCENTRICALLY MOUNTED ON SAID SHAFT AND FORMED WITH A PAIR OF CIRCUMFERENTIAL HELICAL GROOVES OF OPPOSITE HAND AT ITS RESPECTIVE END PORTIONS AND WITH A CIRCUMFERENTIAL GEAR BETWEEN SAID GROOVES, SAID CABLE MEANS BEING SECURED IN THE RESPECTIVE GROOVES AND ADAPTED TO BE WOUND UP IN SAID GROOVES WHEN SAID WINCH MEMBER IS ROTATED, A DRIVE GEAR ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN SAID BODY IN MESHING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID CIRCUMFERENTIAL GEAR ON THE WINCH MEMBER, AND MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID WINCH MEMBER THROUGH SAID DRIVE GEAR.