Patent Application
20200377003
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The invention relates to a strap winder lock for a ratchet cargo strap that stores the unused strap after securing the two ends of the ratchet cargo strap to two opposed attachment points on a vehicle, trailer or other transport and tightening the cargo strap to secure materials from shifting and locking it tightly.
The invention relates to a strap winder lock for ratchet cargo straps. Ratchet cargo straps are well known in the prior art for acting as a tie-down for cargo on a vehicle or transport.
The invention comprises a strap winder for a ratchet cargo strap having a rotating spool for receiving a strap and a winding arm and knob to rotate the spool and wind up a strap on the spool. The strap winder has a locking pin on the winding arm and knob to lock the spool from rotation to retain a stored strap on the spool. A plurality of locking apertures in the strap winder frame receives the locking pin to lock the arm and spool from rotation.
The locking pin is slidably mounted on the winding arm and knob to lock the spool from rotation to retain a stored strap on the spool in one of a plurality of locking apertures in the strap winder frame for receiving the locking pin to lock the arm and spool from rotation. A lock tab on the winding arm engages a lock on the knob when the locking pin is inserted into locking aperture.
An object to the invention is to provide a strap winder that can be locked to retain a cargo strap on the strap winder.
Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following drawings and detailed description of the preferred embodiment.
The above-listed and described drawing figures illustrate at least one of the preferred embodiments of the invention, which is further defined in detail in the following detailed description of the invention.
The present invention is a cargo strap winder 10 is shown in
A round aperture 15 is formed in the center of the side leg 11 as shown in
The strap-receiving spool includes an elongated arcuate-shaped spool portion 17 and an opposed elongated arcuate-shaped spool portion 18. The winding arm 19 is secured to the spool 16. A round knob support bushing 20 is secured to arm 19 perpendicular thereto. As shown in
The shaft 21 include a second smaller cylindrical portion 21b that is slightly smaller than the aperture 20b. This allows the smaller portion 21b to freely rotate in the aperture 20b. The length of the smaller cylindrical portion 21b is sufficient to allow the winding knob and cylindrical shaft to move toward and away from the leg 11. An aperture 11a in the leg 11, shown in
The spool 16 includes an elongated slot 23 for receiving the end of a strap if a standard cargo ratchet strap. Cargo ratchet straps come in various widths ranging from about 1 inch to 4 inches wide. The lengths of cargo ratchet straps may vary from about 10 feet to 60 feet. The size of the cargo strap winder 10 can vary according to the size of the cargo ratchet strap.
The cylindrical strap receiving spool 16 includes an elongated slot 24 in the arcuate shaped spool portion 18 for receiving a strap end. The spool portion 18 includes a flat surface 25 which comes in contact with the strap when it is inserted in the slot. The spool portion 17 includes a flat surface 27. The spool portion 18 includes a flat end surface 26 that is adjacent to and closely spaced to the rectangular side leg 13 to regain the strap on the spoon during winding and unwinding. The spool portion 17 includes a flat surface 27 that forms the slot 23 and comes in contact with the strap when it is inserted in the slot 23. A flat end surface 28 is formed on the spool portion 17 that is adjacent to and closely spaced to the rectangular side leg 13. The spacing of the ends 26 and 28 from the leg 13 helps retain a strap on the spool 16.
The winder base 12 includes a flat upper surface 29. The flat upper surface 29 includes an edge 30 and an opposed edge 31. The flat upper surface 29 also includes a side edge 32 and an opposed side edge 33. An upwardly extending connection tab 34 extends perpendicular to the flat surface 29 at the edge 30. The tap 34 includes a retaining tab 35 extending parallel to the flat surface 29 from the upwardly extending connection tab to form a hook portion for attaching to a cargo ratchet frame. A flat engaging surface 36 engages a cargo ratchet frame edge with the retaining tab holding it in place on the cargo ratchet frame edge.
As shown in
Threaded studs 46 and 47 are mounted in the engaging surface of the sliding fastener 39. The studs 46 and 47 extend through slots 53 and 54 in spring slide mount 49 as shown in
To attach the strap winding 10 to a ratchet cargo strap 57, the engaging surface 36 is hooked over one edge of the ratchet strap and the sliding fastener 39 is slid away from the engaging surface 36 against the force of the spring 51 until the engaging surfaces 43 and 45 can be hooked over a second opposed edge of the ratchet strap. Releasing the sliding fastener 39 releasably locks the strap winder 10 to the ratchet cargo strap 57.
To wind up the loose ratchet strap on to the spool 16 the end of the strap is inserted into the slot 23 and looped around and inserted in the slot 24. Winding the arm 19 with the knob 22 winds the excess strap around the spool 16 to store the unused strap, not shown, in the strap winder 10. The winder arm 19 can be locked from rotation by sliding the knob 22 and larger shaft portion 21c inward into the aperture 11a in leg 11. When it is desired to release the strap the knob 22 and shaft portion 21c are pulled out to release the shaft portion 21c from the locking aperture 11a.
Another embodiment of the cargo strap winder 10 is shown in
A round aperture 65 is formed in the center of the side leg 61 as shown in
A round knob support bushing 70 is secured to arm 69 perpendicular thereto. As shown in
The pin shaft 71 includes a second smaller cylindrical portion 71b that is slightly smaller than the aperture 70b. This allows the smaller portion 71b to slide and rotate in the aperture 70b. The length of the smaller cylindrical portion 71b is sufficient to allow the winding knob and cylindrical shaft to move toward and away from the leg 61. A plurality of apertures 61a are spaced peripherally about the leg 61, shown in
A rotating knob 72 is secured to the end of the smaller cylindrical portion 71c and includes a lock indicator 72a for aligning the knob 72 so it can be pushed in to secure the knob 72 to the cylindrical shaft portion 71c.
The knob support 70 includes a smaller diameter portion 73 as shown in
With the knob 72 secured to the shaft 71 as shown in
As shown in
In order to initially insert the pin 71 in the aperture 61a you much align the indicators 72a and 82. After insertion of the pin 71 in a aperture 61a, continued rotation of the knob 72 causes ramp to engage the locking tab 81 and the edge 86 to catch the tab 81 which when rotated to the point that the cut out lock 85a is engaged by the surface 83 of tab 81 which locks the knob in place and prevents further rotation and keeps the pin 71 in an aperture 61a. To release the knob 72 and pin 71 you push in the knob 71 and rotate it counterclockwise to allow knob 72 and ramp to be released from the tab 81 so the pin 71 is fully released and moved out of an aperture 61a so you can rotate the handle 69 and release or tighten the strap.
The above-listed sections and included information are not exhaustive and are only exemplary of the invention. The sections and included information in an embodiment may depend upon the implementation and the included devices and resources. Although a system and method according to the present invention have been described relating to the preferred embodiment, it is not intended to be limited to the specific form set forth herein, but, on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, as can be reasonably included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
