Patent Grant
9604826
The present disclosure relates to cable pulling devices such as a winch or hoist and more particularly to a low profile roller fairlead for a cable pulling device.
This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Fairleads are commonly used for guiding a cable or rope from a winch, hoist, or other pulling tool. Known fairleads include an opening through which the cable or rope is guided between a first opposing pair of rollers that are disposed above and below the opening, as well as a second opposing pair of rollers on each side of the opening for providing a rolling surface along which the cable can be pulled with little frictional resistance. Because of the stacking arrangement of the rollers, the fairlead assembly can have a fairly tall profile. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a lower profile fairlead that still maintains reduced friction on the cable or rope that is led therethrough.
This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.
A fairlead assembly includes a frame structure having an opening therein. A pair of horizontal rollers are disposed on opposite upper and lower sides of the opening. The frame structure includes a pair of opposed curved side surfaces disposed between and enveloping the end portions of the pair of rollers and defining a side bordering surface of the opening.
The frame can be cast as a unitary structure with the pair of rollers each rotatably supported by a support pin having opposite ends received in a first set of corresponding semi-cylindrical recesses in a surface of the cast frame. A clamp structure having a second set of corresponding semi-cylindrical recesses secure the support pins to the cast frame. The fairlead assembly has a low profile while using upper and lower horizontal rollers and curved side walls generally in a same plane as the horizontal rollers for guiding the winch cable.
According to a further alternative aspect of the present disclosure, the pair of rollers can include a support pin having opposite ends each received in an aperture within the frame. One or both ends of the support pins can include a recessed groove for receiving a C-clamp to secure the support pins to the frame.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.
Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
With reference to
The pair of rollers 16 are each rotatably mounted on a respective support pin 22 by a pair of journals 24 disposed on each end of the support pins 22. The journals 24 can be rotatably mounted on the support pins 22 and can be press fit into the ends of the rollers 16. The journals 24 can be provided with a serrated outer surface 24a and an end flange 24b that serves as a stop as the journal 24 is press fit into the end of the roller 16.
The ends 26 of the support pins 22 can each be received in a semi-cylindrical recess 28 that is formed into the cast frame 12 at each end. A pair of clamp members 30 are each provided with corresponding semi-cylindrical recesses 32 for securing the support pins 22 to the frame 12. The clamp members 30 are secured to the frame 12 by threaded fasteners 34 which are received in apertures 36 provided in the clamp member 30 and threaded apertures 38 provided in the frame member 12. The clamp members 30 are each provided with a curved surface 40 that is coincident with the opposed curved surfaces 18 of the frame 12 to provide a continuous curved surface from the inside around to the outside of the frame 12.
As best illustrated in
As illustrated in
It is noted that the frame 12 can be cast from iron, aluminum, or other metals, or from plastic or composite materials. The clamp members 30 can also be made of the same materials or different materials than the frame 12.
According to an alternative embodiment as illustrated in
With the low profile roller fairlead 10, 110 according to the principles of the present disclosure, the fairlead is made with a robust construction having a very low height profile and with no sharp edges that can fray a cable or rope that is directed therethrough.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/665,952, filed on Jun. 29, 2012. The entire disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference.
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| Entry |
|---|
| ISA United States Patent and Trademark Office, International Search Report and Written Opinion of PCT/US2014/11199, WIPO, May 7, 2014, 15 pages. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20140001428 A1 | Jan 2014 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61665952 | Jun 2012 | US |
