Retractable tow strap

Abstract

A retractable tow strap apparatus for towing a vehicle includes a protective casing and a reel including a hub. The tow strap apparatus further include a tow strap webbing for winding about the hub, means for attaching at least one end of the tow strap webbing to a vehicle to be towed, and means for biasing the reel to wind the tow strap onto the hub. When the tow strap is in a fully extended position, the tow strap apparatus is configured to transmit substantially all of a tension force applied by a towing vehicle to a towed vehicle through only the tow strap. In addition or alternatively, the means for biasing applies a biasing force to automatically wind the tow strap webbing onto the hub. In addition or alternatively, the tow strap webbing is non-disjoint and includes two ends that are each extendable from the casing.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention relates upon reading the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an example use for an example retractable tow strap apparatus in accordance with an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of the example tow strap apparatus in accordance with an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the tow strap apparatus of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 illustrates a partially exploded perspective view of the tow strap apparatus of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a sectional view of the tow strap apparatus along line 5-5 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 is similar to FIG. 5, but shows an example tow strap webbing being retracted within an example protective casing.

Claims

1. A retractable tow strap apparatus for towing a vehicle, comprising: a protective casing;a reel disposed within the casing and including a hub;a tow strap for winding about the hub between a fully extended position and a fully retracted position such that, in the fully retracted position, the tow strap is wound about the hub, the tow strap further including a tow strap webbing and means for attaching at least one end of the tow strap webbing to a vehicle to be towed; andmeans for biasing the reel to wind the tow strap onto the hub;wherein when the tow strap is in the fully extended position, the tow strap apparatus is configured to transmit substantially all of a tension force applied by a towing vehicle to a towed vehicle through only the tow strap.

2. The tow strap apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tension force applied by a towing vehicle to a towed vehicle is not exerted against either the casing or the reel.

3. The tow strap apparatus of claim 1, wherein the means for biasing applies a biasing force to the tow strap webbing and is configured to automatically wind the tow strap webbing onto the hub when the biasing force is greater than the oppositely directed tension force applied by a towing vehicle to a towed vehicle.

4. The tow strap apparatus of claim 3, wherein the means for biasing includes at least one spiral spring.

5. The tow strap apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tow strap webbing comprises a non-disjoint tow strap webbing having two ends that are each extendable from the casing.

6. The tow strap apparatus of claim 5, wherein the reel is configured to grasp a portion of the tow strap webbing at a location spaced a distance from the midpoint of the tow strap webbing along its longitudinal length such that, during winding and unwinding of the tow strap webbing about the reel, the ends of the tow strap webbing each extend a generally equal length from the casing.

7. The tow strap apparatus of claim 1, wherein the casing includes at least two opposing apertures extending therethrough and the hub includes an aperture extending therethrough, the apertures being configured to be generally co-planar with each other, and wherein in the fully extended position, the tow strap extends sequentially through one of the apertures of the protective casing, through aperture of the hub, and through the other aperture of the protective casing such that the tension force can be applied generally linearly along a longitudinal axis of the tow strap webbing.

8. The tow strap apparatus of claim 1, wherein the means for attaching includes a hook.

9. A retractable tow strap apparatus for towing a vehicle, comprising: a protective casing;a reel disposed within the casing and including a hub;a tow strap webbing for winding about the hub and having a sufficient strength for towing a vehicle;means for attaching at least one end of the tow strap webbing to a vehicle to be towed; andmeans for biasing the tow strap webbing to wind onto the hub by applying a biasing force to the tow strap webbing, the means for biasing being configured to automatically wind the tow strap webbing onto the hub when the biasing force is greater than an oppositely directed tension force applied by a towing vehicle to a towed vehicle.

10. The tow strap apparatus of claim 9, wherein the oppositely directed tension force applied by a towing vehicle to a towed vehicle is not exerted against either the casing or the reel.

11. The tow strap apparatus of claim 9, wherein the means for biasing includes at least one spiral spring.

12. The tow strap apparatus of claim 9, wherein the tow strap webbing comprises a non-disjoint tow strap webbing having two ends that are each extendable from the casing.

13. The tow strap apparatus of claim 12, wherein the reel is configured to grasp a portion of the tow strap webbing at a location spaced a distance from the midpoint of the tow strap webbing along its longitudinal length such that, during winding and unwinding of the tow strap webbing about the reel, the ends of the tow strap webbing each extend a generally equal length from the casing.

14. The tow strap apparatus of claim 9, wherein the casing includes at least two opposing apertures extending therethrough and the hub includes an aperture extending therethrough, wherein the apertures are configured to be generally co-planar with each other, and wherein in the fully extended position, the tow strap extends sequentially through one of the apertures of the protective casing, through aperture of the hub, and through the other aperture of the protective casing such that the tension force can be applied generally linearly along a longitudinal axis of the tow strap webbing.

15. The tow strap apparatus of claim 9, wherein the means for attaching includes a hook.

16. A retractable tow strap apparatus for towing a vehicle, comprising: a protective casing;a reel disposed within the casing and including a hub;a non-disjoint tow strap webbing for winding about the hub between a fully extended position and a fully retracted position and having a sufficient strength for towing a vehicle, wherein the tow strap webbing includes two ends that are each extendable from the casing;means for attaching at least one end of the tow strap webbing to a vehicle to be towed; andmeans for winding the tow strap webbing onto the hub, the means for winding being configured to rotationally couple the reel to the casing.

17. The tow strap apparatus of claim 16, wherein the means for biasing includes at least one spiral spring.

18. The tow strap apparatus of claim 16, wherein the reel is configured to grasp a portion of the tow strap webbing at a location spaced a distance from the midpoint of the tow strap webbing along its longitudinal length such that, during winding and unwinding of the tow strap webbing about the reel, the ends of the tow strap webbing each extend a generally equal length from the casing.

19. The tow strap apparatus of claim 16, wherein the casing includes at least two opposing apertures extending therethrough and the hub includes an aperture extending therethrough, wherein the apertures are configured to be generally co-planar with each other, and wherein in the fully extended position, the tow strap extends sequentially through one of the apertures of the protective casing, through aperture of the hub, and through the other aperture of the protective casing such that the tension force can be applied generally linearly along a longitudinal axis of the tow strap webbing.

20. The tow strap apparatus of claim 16, wherein the means for attaching includes a hook.

21. A retractable tow strap apparatus for towing a vehicle, comprising: a protective casing having at least two opposing apertures extending therethrough, wherein the at least two apertures are configured to be generally co-planar;a reel disposed within the casing and including a hub having an aperture extending therethrough, the aperture being configured to be generally co-planar with the at least two apertures of the protective casing;a tow strap webbing for winding about the hub between a fully extended position and a fully retracted position and having a sufficient strength for towing a vehicle, wherein in the fully extended position the tow strap extends sequentially through one of the apertures of the protective casing, through the aperture of the hub, and through the other aperture of the protective casing such that a tension force can be applied generally linearly along a longitudinal axis of the tow strap webbing;means for attaching at least one end of the tow strap webbing to a vehicle to be towed; andmeans for winding the tow strap webbing onto the hub, the means for winding being configured to rotationally couple the reel to the casing.

22. The tow strap apparatus of claim 21, wherein the tension force is not exerted against either the casing or the reel.

23. The tow strap apparatus of claim 21, wherein the means for biasing includes at least one spiral spring.

24. The tow strap apparatus of claim 21, wherein the reel is configured to grasp a portion of the tow strap webbing at a location spaced a distance from the midpoint of the tow strap webbing along its longitudinal length such that, during winding and unwinding of the tow strap webbing about the reel, the ends of the tow strap webbing each extend a generally equal length from the casing.

25. The tow strap apparatus of claim 21, wherein the means for attaching includes a hook.