Claims
- 1. A reeling apparatus comprising:
- a spool;
- a housing, said spool being rotatably connected to said housing;
- a tow line dispensably stored in windings about said spool;
- a line guide attached to said housing, said line guide extending along and being spaced from said central portion of said spool, said tow line being extended from said spool over said line guide; and
- at least one standoff bar attached to said housing, said standoff bar extending along and being spaced from said Central portion of said spool, said tow line being extended over said standoff bar prior to being extended over said line guide to reduce the pull-off angle of the tow line from the spool.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said standoff bar is rotatably connected to said housing.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said standoff bar defines an arcuately contoured outer surface over which the tow line is extended and drawn.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said standoff bar has a semi-circular cross-sectional configuration.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said outer surface includes a low-friction coating applied thereto.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 1 comprising a pair of standoff bars attached to said housing, said tow line being extended from said spool over each of said standoff bars in succession prior to being extended over said line guide.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said standoff bars are rotatably connected to said housing.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said standoff bars each define an arcuately contoured outer surface over which the tow line is extended and drawn.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein each of said standoff bars has a semi-circular cross-sectional configuration.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the outer surface of each of said standoff bars includes a low-friction coating applied thereto.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said standoff bar is pivotally connected to said housing and adapted to pivot toward said spool as the tow line is dispensed therefrom.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said standoff bar defines an arcuately contoured outer surface over which the tow line is extended and drawn.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said outer surface includes a low-friction coating applied thereto.
- 14. A reeling apparatus comprising:
- a spool; a housing, said spool being rotatably connected to said housing;
- a tow line dispensably stored in windings about said spool;
- a line guide attached to said housing and including a rotatable pulley, said tow line being extended from said spool over said pulley; and
- at least one standoff bar attached to said housing, said tow line being extended over said standoff bar prior to being extended over said pulley to reduce the pull-off angle of the tow line from the spool.
- 15. A reeling apparatus comprising:
- a spool;
- housing, said spool being rotatably connected to said housing;
- a tow line dispensably stored in windings about said spool;
- a line guide attached to solid housing, said tow line being extended from said spool over said line guide; and
- at least one standoff bar attached to said housing, said tow line being extended over said standoff bar prior to being extended over said line guide;
- said standoff bar being oriented between the line guide and the spool such that the pull-off angle of the tow line from the spool relative to the standoff bar is less than the pull-off angle of the tow line from the spool relative to the line guide as the tow line is being unwound from said spool.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/213,907,filed Mar. 14, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,411.
US Referenced Citations (34)
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
213907 |
Mar 1994 |
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