Winding – tensioning – or guiding – Reeling device – With spring motor
Reexamination Certificate
1998-10-26
2001-04-10
Jillions, John M. (Department: 3653)
Winding, tensioning, or guiding
Reeling device
With spring motor
C242S385400, C152S219000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06213421
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
a) Field of the Invention
Clamping lock for an antiskid chain with a housing to which is fitted an actuating lever having a catch position in which a clamping rope which can be pulled through a housing opening into the housing for purposes of clamping can be locked against its clamping direction and having a second position in which it can be released from this locking.
b) Description of the Related Art
Such clamping locks are used in antiskid chains in order to prevent the clamping member which can be formed of a length of chain or, e.g., a flexible wire, from running back in an undesirable manner opposite to the clamping direction when clamping the chain netting after mounting and, accordingly, to ensure that the displacements of the clamping rope caused in the pulling or tightening direction cannot be canceled, i.e., to ensure that the clamping rope is held in the clamping position that has been achieved.
In known clamping locks, the clamping rope is guided through the clamping lock and along a deflecting element that is arranged inside the housing of the clamping lock, whereupon it exits again from the housing of the clamping lock and can be grasped by the user in order to exert the desired pulling action. When the chain netting is clamped, the portion of the clamping rope hanging out of the housing on the pull-out side is then suitably hooked into the outer side chain (usually with the intermediary of an elastically stretchable link at the end of the clamping rope) or elsewhere in the chain netting on the side of the chain external to the vehicle.
A clamping lock of this type is known from EP-B-0 385 057. In this case, an actuating lever is provided at the housing and is pretensioned in a catch position by means of a spring and has a catch nose by which it engages in the catch position in a link of the clamping member formed as a length of chain, wherein the latter is locked in position against the clamping direction and is released in a positive-locking manner when the clamping member is moved in the clamping direction due to the special configuration of the catch nose. This enables a movement of the clamping member through the clamping lock in the pulling direction, while an automatic locking is effected opposite to the pulling direction. However, the user can cancel the locking when desired by pressing on the actuating lever and can accordingly make it possible for the clamping member to run freely through the clamping lock, e.g., in order to cancel the clamping of the chain netting when removing the chain.
In another known clamping lock (DE-A-40 39 665) which is likewise constructed in the manner mentioned above, the clamping rope can be introduced into the housing laterally via an insertion slot extending along the entire height of the housing of the clamping lock, which facilitates insertion of the clamping rope into the housing, while the clamping of the chain netting is carried out in the same manner as that of the known clamping lock described above.
In clamping locks of this type, the clamping force must be applied manually to the clamping member by the user who must pull with suitable force in the clamping direction on the end of the clamping rope running out of the housing until achieving the desired clamped position of the chain netting on the wheel. The end of the clamping rope hanging out on the pulling side must then be fastened in a suitable manner on the outside of the chain netting, likewise accompanied by tension, so that a clamped fit is finally achieved overall. In this way, the user can initially achieve a tight fit of the chain while clamping it to the wheel, but when the vehicle is moved, the occurring forces cause the chain to settle on the circumference of the wheel so that the applied tension is reduced and it becomes necessary to tighten the clamping rope again after traveling a certain distance. Only in this way can the chain be prevented from assuming a loose fit on the wheel with all of the consequent disadvantages (such as inadequate effect, loud chain noise during driving, risk of damage to the chain or to other parts of the vehicle by loose chain components) in spite of an initial firm clamping due to the settling movements of the chain itself.
OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
On this basis, the primary object of the invention is to propose a clamping lock which considerably facilitates mounting and in which it is even possible to dispense with subsequent repeated clamping of the chain after driving an initial distance.
According to the invention, this object is met in a clamping lock of the type mentioned above in that the clamping rope is connected inside the housing of the clamping lock to a winding device which is pretensioned in the wind-up direction.
In the clamping lock according to the invention, the clamping rope is no longer guided through the housing, as is the case in clamping locks according to the prior art, so that the user may grip it at its other portion running out of the housing for purposes of clamping. Rather, in the invention, the clamping rope is connected within the housing of the clamping lock to a winding device which is pretensioned in the wind-up direction. Since the winding up of the clamping rope acts in the direction in which the clamping rope is pulled into the clamping lock (and accordingly in the clamping direction of the clamping rope), the clamping rope is continuously pretensioned in the clamping direction (wind-up direction) in the clamping lock according to the invention. Accordingly, it is not necessary for the user to pull on one end of the clamping rope to achieve the desired clamping. Rather, it is sufficient that the clamping lock with its housing is fastened at an appropriate location of the chain netting on the outside of the wheel, so that the clamping rope is pulled out of the housing for purposes of mounting (by moving the actuating lever into its second position in which a locking action is no longer exerted on the clamping rope) only until its free end, which is correspondingly provided with a fastening hook or some other fastening device, can be hooked in at another provided location of the chain mesh on the outside of the wheel. When this is carried out, it is only necessary to move the actuating lever into its catch position (which is advantageously carried out in a very simple manner in that the actuating lever is already basically pretensioned in the direction in which it occupies its catch position, so that it always automatically occupies its catch position when it is not pushed into another position manually). In this catch position, the clamping rope is pulled in the clamping direction with a desired pretensioning by the pretensioning action of the wind-up device, so that the desired snug fit of the chain comes about without further effort on the part of the user. When the vehicle is moved subsequently, the clamping rope is always clamped automatically due to the persisting pretensioning in the wind-up direction when the chain netting settles somewhat on the wheel and a relaxation of tension would otherwise occur. This ensures that the clamping rope is always clamped in the desired manner without requiring additional further subsequent clamping and the entire chain netting is accordingly always held in its tightly clamped position on the wheel.
Since, in order to clamp the chain netting, the clamping rope need only be pulled out of the housing until hooking in at the location on the chain netting provided for this purpose, wherein it is subsequently only necessary for the actuating lever to be moved (preferably automatically) into its catch position, the action required for this purpose on the part of the user is very substantially simplified and considerably faster than in known clamping locks in which the subsequent clamping process also requires additional clamping of the clamping rope by the user. The use of the clamping lock according to the invention in an antiskid chain accordingly represents a substantial advance with respect to an especia
Contiweiss Weissenfela GmbH & Co. KG
Jillions John M.
Smith LLP Reed
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