The invention relates to springs and related products, more particularly to drawbar spring assemblies.
An example of a conventional drawbar spring assembly 10 is shown in
Drawbar spring assemblies comprise multiple wire bars or “drawbars” 1a and 1b which are passed through a helical compression spring 3. When a load is applied to the assembly 10, the drawbars 1a and 1b extend away from each other along a longitudinal axis causing the spring 3 to compress. This gives the assembly 10 the property of an extension spring with the added benefit of a fixed stop (at compression of the spring 3 to “solid”, i.e., all coils of the spring touching) to prevent overstretching. When compared to prior extension springs, drawbar spring assemblies can withstand much greater loads without being damaged.
As shown in
A problem with conventional drawbar assemblies is that if a load is applied to the drawbar assembly that exceeds the load required to fully compress the spring 3, the assembly 10 will demonstrate additional deflection as the applied load is further increased. As the applied load increases even further, at some point the drawbars 1a and/or 1b will start to permanently deform or distort either by an elongation of the U-shaped securement end and/or by an unwinding of the hook ends 7. This condition is shown in
A similar deformation occurs in drawbar assemblies that are used for swimming pool covers, which is a very common usage for such assemblies. The conventional use of such assemblies in securing pool covers is discussed below.
As shown in
As shown in
The width of the square securement end 6″ is large enough to accommodate the width of the straps necessary to withstand the applied loads and attach to the pool cover.
The diameter of the round securement end 6″ of round-ended drawbar 200 is large enough to allow for an assembly tool 800 to be inserted to assist the user in stretching the drawbar assembly and sliding it over the anchor 380. As shown in
Once secured, the engagement is as shown in
While the strap more or less distributes the applied load evenly across the square-ended drawbar, the mounting anchor, which has a smaller diameter than the round-ended drawbar, creates a point load. This point load can cause the round-ended drawbar to deform (e.g., elongate, etc.) when overloaded, to an extent such that the installation tool can no longer be used because it would no longer fit.
An elongated round-ended drawbar 200′, with a distorted round end 27, is shown in
One way of preventing these failures, is to strengthen the drawbars. The most straightforward way to strengthen the drawbars is to increase the wire gauge from which they are formed. However, this solution increases the volume of material used with a corresponding increase in material cost. Additionally, forming the drawbars using larger dimensions results in a more-difficult manufacturing process, for example requiring larger machinery.
Although changing the material of the drawbars to a stronger alloy could also help resolve the issue, in some applications, for example when stainless steel has been selected because of its corrosion resistant properties, such stronger alloys may not be readily available.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for an improved drawbar assembly that provides additional protection against deforming under heavy loads, while also not adding to an increase in materials used in their formation.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, an improved drawbar assembly is disclosed. The assembly has a first continuous drawbar having an open end, a closed end, and an elongate body extending therebetween along an axis, and a spring anchor formed at the open end. The assembly further has a second continuous drawbar having an open end, a closed end, and an elongate body extending therebetween along the axis, and a spring anchor formed at the open end. The first and second drawbars are oriented with respect to each other such that at least a portion of each elongate body overlaps with the other along the axis and the open end of one drawbar is proximate the closed end of the other. A compression coil spring is positioned over the overlapping elongate body portions and is secured at each end by a respective spring anchor, wherein a region of at least one closed end is coined.
The improved drawbar assembly is particularly useful in connection with securing swimming pool covers over a swimming pool when the pool is not in use, such as in the off-season. For such use, a closed end of one of the drawbars is circular-shaped and dimensioned to secure to a pool cover anchor post of the type typically secured to a pool deck or patio. Coining is provided to the portion of the circular shape that contacts the anchor post. The closed end of the other drawbar is in a non-circular shape, such as a squared off shape to provide attachment to a pool cover strap. The spring anchors can also be coined to provide additional strength against unwanted distortion or deformation of the drawbars.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, namely a general use drawbar assembly for example as can be seen in
Coining is a form of precision stamping in which a workpiece is subjected to a sufficiently high stress to induce material flow on the surface of the material, which produces a flattened portion of the drawbar. The term comes from the initial use of the process: the manufacturing of coins.
The open ends of the drawbars terminate into curved hooked regions 103 which may also be coined. Such coining 103 makes the hooks more resistant to distortion of the type discussed above in relation to
This flattening of the material of the drawbars changes the cross-sectional dimension or “section modulus” in the coined region, making the drawbars more resistant to bending (distortion) in the direction of the loading. Section Modulus is a geometric property for a given cross-section used in the design of beams or flexural members.
Coining of the drawbar wire in a drawbar assembly 10′ on one or both ends yields the following benefits:
The coined drawbar end of
Coined drawbar hook ends or spring anchors, such as those provided with coining 103, will sustain heavy loads before deforming due to a stronger rectangular cross section (versus a round cross section). This strength also comes as:
The coined section of the U-shaped end of the drawbar may be more suitable for connection to mating parts, for example when the drawbar hooks into a groove, notch or some other similar shape.
It is less likely for the coined drawbars to fail due to poor selection or misuse, as it is less likely for the user to select the incorrect source or “grade” of drawbar assembly or improperly orient the drawbar assembly during installation because:
The above stampings can occur during coining, or afterwards.
The coined drawbar is relatively cost efficient, as less material is required to reach higher strength (as opposed to using a larger gauge wire):
In accordance with another embodiment a drawbar assembly configured for swimming pool cover securement is described. Here, coining is provided to solve the problems discussed above with regard to the use of conventional drawbar assemblies, namely, to hold a fabric safety-cover over a swimming pool, e.g., during off-season.
As was discussed above, when using a conventional pool drawbar assembly, the mounting anchor creates a point load, in particular, as can be seen in
The coining in the pool drawbar 650, however, provides a single point of contact with the anchor stud (shown as Z) in
Additional benefits of the invention for this application include:
The drawbar is less likely to “ride up” on the anchor or dislodge the anchor because:
This is a U.S. national stage of application No. PCT/US2019/049567, filed on Sep. 4, 2019. This application claims benefit to U.S. Provisional application 62/726,688, filed Sep. 4, 2018
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/US2019/049567 | 9/4/2019 | WO |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2020/051224 | 3/12/2020 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
1462932 | John | Jul 1923 | A |
1489321 | Henderson | Apr 1924 | A |
1523826 | Munro | Jan 1925 | A |
1583806 | Snyder | May 1926 | A |
1648104 | Bean | Nov 1927 | A |
2022106 | Cole | Nov 1935 | A |
2334936 | Kurzawa | Nov 1943 | A |
2461633 | Dorey | Feb 1949 | A |
2933311 | Spak | Apr 1960 | A |
3653652 | Lindberg | Apr 1972 | A |
5232207 | Champ et al. | Aug 1993 | A |
6260833 | Drager | Jul 2001 | B1 |
6419211 | Hvittfeldt | Jul 2002 | B1 |
8490987 | Narishima | Jul 2013 | B2 |
8740196 | Elrod | Jun 2014 | B2 |
10473175 | Wild | Nov 2019 | B1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
WO 0074612 | Dec 2000 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20210324931 A1 | Oct 2021 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
62726688 | Sep 2018 | US |