AU2007202072B1 - A winch assembly including a level wind arm - Google Patents

Description

09/05 '07 WED 17:02 FAX 61 8 82119433 Lesicar Perrin 1010 13872AU

ORIGINAL

Complete Specification Applicant: Title: Harry Xydias A winch assembly including a level wind arm LESICAR PERRIN, 49 Wright Street, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia Address for Service: The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to melus: COMS ID No: SBMI-07311937 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:51 Date 2007-05-09 09/05 '07 WED 17:02 FAX 61 8 82119433Leca Prinloi Leslcar Perrin [a oil A winch assembly including a level wind arm The present invention relates to a winch assembly and, in particular, to a winch assembly including a level wind arm that is biased against rope (or chain, cable or the like) extending o outwards from a winch drum, thereby ensuring level winding of the rope around the drum reel and not allowing accumulation at the centre or adjacent the side walls of the reel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION O It is to be understood that reference to a winch reel herein is the typically cylindrical portion of the winch drum assembly about which rope or other similar rope-like material is O wound. Further, although the present invention relates generally to boat winches, it should not be limited to such usage. for example, the winch assembly could equally well be used in other similar applications which require the level winding of a rope onto a winch reel. It is to be Still further understood that any use of the word "rope" herein may incorporate within its meaning, chains, wire, cord, cables and any other rope-like material which could be wound around the reel.

Winches are well kno-wn devices used on boats for raising and descending anchors. The anchor is connected to a rope or chain which is wound around a reel portion of a winch drum, which is typically powered by a motor for raising and/or deseending the anchor. The winch drum is usually positioned a short distance rearward from the front of the boat and the rope is guided by rollers typically positioned on the front deck.

A problem with existing boat winches is that during raising of the anchor, the rope does not level wind, that is, it tends to accumulate at the centre of the winch drum or climb up the opposed side walls of the drum. Accumulation of the rope may result in jerky movement during descent of the anchor, damage to the rope, and in some instances may even prevent the anchor from descending due to excessive tangling. In assemblies where the winch drum rotates through the reduction gearing of the motor, such jerky movements during descent may resualt in damage to the motor and other parts of the assembly.

In addition, there may be circumstances, particularly in winch drums with the capacity to free fall, in which proper contact between the rope and drum reel is not achieved, presenting a further situation for damage of the rope and snarling or tangling of the same.

COMS ID No: SBMI-0731 1937 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:51 Date 2007-05-09 29/11 '07 THUT 16:30 FAX 61 8 82119433Leca PernI16 Les1car Perrin [a 006 o It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome at least som'.e of the aforementioned problems or to provide the public with a useful alternative.

Z SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION ci The present inventor has found that if a slight load is placed on the rope a short distance in front of the drum, the cable is controllable and will be directed across the winch reel in a level manner, resulting in neat layers of rope rather than accumulation. In such circumstances, rather than extending tangentially from the drum reel to the first roller in a straight line, the rope is o caused to first extend downwards by pressure exerted by the load, and then upwards toward the first roller.

c i addition to ensuing Nhs directional movement, the present assembly also ensures proper contact between the rope and drum reel, If the rope is wound without such pressure being applied, it may not wind tightly about the reel.

Therefore in one -form of the invention there is proposed a winch assembly including: a reel rotatable about a central axis of rotation; a tether adapted to be wound about said reel when rotated in a first direction and unwound from said reel when rotated in the opposite direction, said tether including a portion that extends outwardly from said reel to a distal location under tension from a load; and a level wind arm being rotatably biased against the outwardly extending portion of tether at a point between said reel and said distal. location, such force facilitating level winding and unwinding of said tether about said reel.

Preferably said level wind arm is rotatable about an axis of rotation parallel with said central axis of rotation- In preference said level wind ann is disposed a short distance from the reel in a parallel relationship whereby said arm extends across the outwardly extending portion of tether.

Preferably said level wind arm is of substantially the same length as the length of the reel.

Preferably said reel includes a fixed f-rme, and said level wind arm is supported between two rotatably biased support anus located on either side of the reel and mounted to said frame.

COMS ID No: ARCS-170617 Received by IP Australia: Time 17:16 Date 2007-11-29 29/11 '07 THU 16:30 FAX 61 8 82119433LecrPeinI17 Lesicar Perrin [a 00t o Preferably said level wind arm includes a spindle that is rotatable about said arm and slideable there along, said spindle adapted to act as a guide to facilitate movement of said o outwardly extending portiounof tether in a direction both along and perpendicular to the axis of Z rotation.

In preference said reel is rotatable through operation of a drive means.

In preference said drive means is in the form of an electric motor capable of forwzl~d and 0 reverse drive.

Preferably said tether is a rope, chain, cable or similar material capable of withstanding o high tensile loads.

In a futher foan of the invention there is proposed a winch assembly for raising and lowering a boat anchor, said winch assembly including: a rotatable reel having a central axis of rotation; a predetermined length of tether including a first portion which is wound about said reel and a second portion extending outwardly therefrom to a distal. location, said second portion being tensioned by the weight of the attached anchor; and a level wind arm being rotatably biased against the second tether portion at a point between the reel and said distal location, such force facilitating level winding and unwinding of said tether about said reel.

In preference said level wind arm is rotatable about an axis parallel to said central axis of rotation.

Preferably said distal location is in the form a guide roller fixed to said boat, used to facilitate movement of said tether in a direction perpendicular to the reel central axis of rotation.

In preference said reel includes a fr-ame mounted beneath a deck of the boat and said guide roller is elevated with respect thereto, thereby causing said tether to extend tangentially upwardly and outwardly from the reel.

Preferably said level wind arm extends parallel to the central axis of rotation between two support arms rotatably mounted to the frame at longitudinal ends of the reel, said support arms being spring biased so that the level wind arm acts downwardly on said second tether portion.

COMS ID No: ARCS-170617 Received by IP Australia: Time 17:16 Date 2007-11-29 29/11 '07 THUL 16:30 FAX 61 8 82119433Leca PrinI10 Lesicar Perrin Z008 4 o in preference the reel is rotatable through operation of a drive means.

o Advantageously said drive means is an electric motor capable of forward and reverse Zdrive.

In preference said tether is a rope, chain, cable or similar material capable of withstanding a tensile load caused by the weight of said anchor.

o BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF TI-IF DRAWINGS 0 The accompanying drawings, which are ineorporated in and constitute a part of this o specification, illustrate an implementation of the invention and, together with the description, 0 serve to explain the advantages and principles of the invention. In the drawings: Figure I illustrates a top view of a boat including a winch assembly according to the present invention, mounted beneath the front deck of the boat; Figure 2 illustrates a ide view of the boat of Fikure 1 including a cut-away section exposing the winch assembly of the present invention; Figure 3 illustrates an enlarged side view of the front of the boat including the winch assembly and rollers used to guide the rope during raising and descent of the anchor; Figure 4 illustrates a top view of the winch assembly according to the present invention; and Figure 5 illustrates a side view of the winch assembly of Figure 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings.

Although the description includes exemplary embodiments, other embodiments are possible, and changes may be made to the embodiments described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings and the following description to refer to the same and like parts.

The present invention relates to a winch assembly 10 for preferred use on a boat 12. The winch assembly 10 includes a biased arm 14 that ensures level winding of rope 16 around the COMS ID No: ARCS-170617 Received by IP Australia: Time 17:16 Date 2007-11-29 09/05 '07 WED 17:04 FAX 61 8 82119433 Laia erniji Lesicar Perrin [a ois o reel 18 of a winch drum 20. The rope is wound around thie winch drum reel, and an anchor 22 is attached at a free end thereof Two guide rollers 24 and 26 are used to guide rope 16 extending between the winch drum 20 and the anchor 22. The biased aria 14 is used to exert a force on the rope between the winch drum 20 and the first guide roller 24 and thereby ensure level winding of the rope about the winch drum reel 18 during raising of the anchor 22.

Turning to Figures 1-3, the boat 12 includes a front deck 27, beneath which is mounted the assembly 10, and above which is mounted the two guide rollers 24 and 26 for guiding the anchor rope 16. The skilled addressee would realise that these components are common to existing assemblies. It is to be understood that. the winch assembly of the present invention need o 10 not be mounted below the deck 27, but may equally well be mounted above, or at least partially 0 above the deck 27. When mounted above deck, it is envisaged that the assembly would have an appropriate waterproof cover (not shown).

The winch assembly is most clearly shown in Figures 4-5, 1'he winch drum 20 is preferably supported horizontally above a mounting plate (not shown) which has two side walls 28 and 30 extending upwardly on opposed sides of the winch drum 20. Therefore, when viewing the assembly from the deck 27 looking down onto the assembly (as shown in Figure 4) it can be appreciated that the winch drum 20 is spaced closer to the side wall 28 on the left hand side to thereby allow space for a clutch mechanism 32 between the winch drum 20 and side wall 30. A motor 34, typically a DC motor, is mounted to the right hand side wall 30 on a right side thereof The way in which the motor 34, clutch mechanism 32 and winch drum 20 interact is the subject of a co-pending patent application owned by the applicanot and will therefore not be described in firther detail here.

The level wind arm. 14 is housed between the two side walls 28 and 30 located on either side of the winch dnrm 28. In particular, two mounting rods 36 and 38 are connected, preferably by a weld, to the walls 28 and 30 respectively, to which two forwardly extending arms 40 and 42 are pivotably attached. The two arms 40 and 42 are connected at their forward ends by a cross member 4 which extends substantially parallel to the axle 46 of the winch drum 20. The cross member 44 includes a spindle 48 connected thereto, having an outer annular groove $0 for accommodating the rope 16 which extends therebeneath.

In order to accommodate for different movements of the rope 16, the spindle 48 is moveable with respect to the cross member 44- In particular, the spindle 48 is rotatable to COMS ID No: SBMI-731 1937 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:51 Date 2007-05-09 09/05 '07 WED 17:04 FAX1 61 8 82119433 LscrPri 1 Lesicar PerrIn Z016 o 6 o accommodate forward and backward movement of the rope 16, and is also slideable along the cross memnber 44 to allow for back and forth movement of the rope as layers are wound onto or unwound from the winch drain ON The cross member 44 exerts a downward force on the rope 16 through use of a spring 52 which, in this embodiment, is shown attached to mounting rod 36. The present inventor has found that the rope 16 can be wound around the reel 18 in a level and controlled manner by o applying a downward force against the rope 16 a. short distance in front of the, winch drum Without such a mechanism in place, the rope 16 would extend tangentially from the drum directly to the guide roller 24 which results in accumulation of rope typically at the centre o 10 portion of the reel 18, as occurs commonly in some prior art assemblies.

Therefore, rather than extending directly to the guide roller 24, the rope 16 is pushed down by force exerted by arm 14 and subsequently extends up to the roller 24- With the biasing arm 14 acting against the rope 16 in relatively close proximity to the winch drum 20, it has been found that movement of the rope 16 is more controlled in that it moves back and forth from one side of the drum 20 to the other forming uniform layers across the reel 18. The spindle 48, being rotatable and slideably muoveable along the cross member 44, allows for such movement- It is to be understood that the guide roller 24 may also include a spindle that is slideable in a similar way to spindle 44.

The spring 52 should not be tensioned to a point where winding of the rope around the spindle 18 becomes difflicult, nor should it be tensioned too lightly in which case the mechanism becomes ineffective. As shown in Figure 5, the arm 14 should be biased to an extent whereby slight oscillation about pivot point 54 is allowed.

The axis 54 about which the arms 40 and 42 pivot is shown in Figures 4-5 as being a spaced apart distance to the axis 56 of rotation of the winch drum 20. It is to be understood that this is byway of exam-ple only and that the arms could equally well pivot about axis 5 0. The reason the pivot point of the arms 40 and 42 is positioned like so is that the winch assembly, shown is that which forms part of the applicant's co-pending application which requires sufficient space adjacent the winch axle for the clutch mechanism to operate.

It is to be further understood that although a "downward"' force is described above, this need not necessarily be the case. For example, the winch drum may be mounted above deck in a vertical configuration in which case the arn may need to be horizontally biased rather than COMS ID No: SBMI-07311937 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:51 Date 2007-05-09 09/05 '07 WED 17:04 FAX 01 8 82119433 LscrPri 1 Lesicar Perrin Z 017 o 7 o vertically. As long as a force is applied in a direction which substantially opposes the direction of rotation of the winch drum, then the configuration of the winch and the arrangement of the assembly is not important.

ON The advantages of the present invention should now be apparent. In exerting a force on the rope in close proximity to the winch drum, the rope is wound around the reel in a controlled c-i back and forth motion to thereby form neat layers without accumulation of rope in one area. This o not only allows the anchor to be lowered smoother and potentially at a fatster rate, but also reduces the risk of damage to the rope and damage to the winch assembly in general. It also provides the force re~quired to maintain proper contact between the rope and winch drum reel.

o 10 Further advantages and improvements may very well be made to the present invention without deviating from its scope. Although the invention has been shown and described in what is conceived to be the mast practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope and spirit of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices and apparatus.

in any claims that follow and in the summary of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprising" is used in the sense of "including", i.e. the features specified may be associated with further features in various embodiments of the invention.

COMS ID No: SBMI-07311937 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:51 Date 2007-05-09

Claims (11)

1. 2. A winch assembly as in claim I wherein said level wind arm is rotatable about an axis of rotation parallel with said central axis of rotation.
2. 3. A winch assembly as in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said level wind arm is disposed a short distance from the reel in a parallel relationship whereby said arm extends across the outwardly extending portion of tether.
3. 4. A winch assemnbly as in claim 4 wherein said level wind arm is of substantially the same length as the length of the reel. A winch assembly as in claim 3 or claim 4 wherein said reel includes a fixed flame, and said level wind arm is supported between two rotatably biased support am located on either side of the reel and mounted to said frame.
4. 6. A winch assembly as in any one of the above claims wherein said level wind arm includes a spindle that is rotatable about said arn and slicleable there along, said spindle adapted to act as a guide to facilitate movement of said outwardly extending portion of tether in a direction both along and perpendicular to the axis of rotation.
5. 7. 'A winch assembly a's in any one of the above claims wherein said reel is rotatable through operation of a drive means.
6. 8. A winch assembly as in claim 7 wherein said drive means is in the form of an electric motor capable of forward and reverse drive. COMS ID No: ARCS-170617 Received by IP Australia: Time 17:16 Date 2007-11-29 29/11 '07 THU 16:31 FAX 61 8 82119433 LscrPri 1 Lesicar Perrin (a Olo 9
7. 9. A winch assembly as in any one of the above claims wherein said tether is a rope, chain, cable or similar material capable of withstanding high tensile loads. Z 10. A winch assembly for raising and lowering a boat anchor, said winch assembly Cl including: S a rotatable reel having a central axis of rotation; Cl a predetermined length of tether including a first portion which is wound about said o reel and a second portion extending outwardly therefrom to a distal location, said o second portion being tensioned by the weight of the attached anchor; and a level wind arm being rotatably biased against the second tether portion at a point o between the reel and said distal location, such force facilitating level winding and Cl unwinding of said tether about said reel.
8. 11. A winch assembly as in claim 10 wherein said level wind arm is rotatable about an axis parallel to said central axis of rotation.
9. 12. A winch assembly as in claim 10 or claim 11 wherein said distal location is in the form a guide roller fixed to said boat, used to facilitate movement of said tether in a directioni perpendicular to thie reel central axis of rotation.
10. 13. A winch assembly as in claim 12 wherein said reel includes a frame mounted beneath a deck of the boat and said guide roller is elevated with respect thereto, thereby causing said tether to extend tangentially upwardly and outwardly from thie reel. 1 14. A winch assembly as in claim wherein said level wind armn extends parallel to the central axis of rotation between two support anns rotatably mounted to the frame at longitudinal ends of the reel, said support anus being spring biased so that the level wind anrn acts downwardly on said second tether portion. A winch assembly as in any one of claims 10-14 wherein reel is rotatable through operation of a drive means.
11. 16. A winch assembly as in claim 15 wherein said drive means is an electric motor capable of forward and reverse drive. COMS ID No: ARCS-i 70617 Received by IP Australia: Time 17:16 Date 2007-11-29 29/11 '07 THU 16:31 FAX 61 8 82119433 Lesicar Perrin i011 O 17. A winch assembly as in any one of claims 10-16 wherein said tether is a rope, chain, cable or similar material capable of withstanding a tensile load caused by the weight of O z said anchor. N, 18. A winch assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings. 0 0i (N- COMS ID No: ARCS-170617 Received by IP Australia: Time 17:16 Date 2007-11-29