Ships – Boats – boat component – or attachment
Patent
1992-04-24
1995-03-21
Avila, Stephen P.
Ships
Boats, boat component, or attachment
254295, 254297, B63B 1700
Patent
active
053986377
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a winch, such as used on an ocean going yacht or other vessel.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The winch of my invention results from my objective of providing an improved design of winch. The advantages of the specific embodiment described below are set out at the end of its description.
In the description that follows, the term "cable" will be used to denote all types of ropes, lines, cables and the like which may be hauled in by a winch. Similarly the term "ratchet" will be used to denote any one-way drive mechanism, whether it includes one pawl only or more usually several pawls or indeed if it is a pawl-less drive such as a one-way roller bearing.
THE INVENTION
A winch in accordance with my invention comprises area of the winch drum for transferring cable loads directly from the winch drum to the bollard; drive member and an output drive member, the winch drum at the distal end of the bollard; and
The bollard will normally be formed in metal. It may be adapted to be fixed to a structure, for instance a hull. Alternatively, the bollard may be integrally formed with a hull structure, conveniently the hull's deck. In which case it can be constructed of the hull structure material, conveniently fibre reinforced plastics. If the bollard portion of the structure is constructed sufficiently accurately, the drum bearings may run directly on it. Alternatively, it may have a separately applied sleeve for the bearings to run on.
Whilst the drum may be permanently drivingly connected by the output drive connection to the output drive member of the gear assembly--with a ratchet within the gear assembly permitting free-running of the winch--the drive connection is preferably a ratchet connection. Another preferred feature of the drum is that it has a separable drum member, secured as by set screws to a hub member, which latter carries the ratchet connection. It is envisaged that the input drive connection may be provided centrally of the hub member for manual operation of the winch by a handle there connected; or alternatively the input drive connection may be provided in a position such as internally of the bollard for drive from a remote drive such as an electric or hydraulic motor or again a manually operated pedestal. Where a motor is employed, it may conveniently be housed within the bollard.
A dog clutch may be provided for selectively driving the drum directly--as opposed to through the gear assembly--for initial take up of cable slack.
The gearbox may be a conventional spur gearbox or any other speed reduction mechanism. However I prefer to employ an epicyclic gear assembly. In a simple form, the gear assembly may comprise a single epicyclic gear train providing either direct drive or a single speed reduction drive, the epicyclic train including: and arranged to transmit drive to the winch drum via the one-way drive connection, to the bollard, the carrier being arranged to be held stationary with respect to the bollard when the gear assembly is transmitting reduced speed drive, and drive to the planet wheel(s) when the assembly is transmitting reduced speed drive, winch drum directly or to the carrier or to the annular gear for transmitting the direct drive from the input drive member. A further one-way drive connection may be provided between the assembly annular gear and the bollard, or between winch drum and the bollard, for taking the permanent-cable load.
In the preferred embodiment, the gear assembly is a double epicyclic train gear assembly, providing two or possibly three reduction ratios. Conveniently the epicyclic trains are stacked directly on top of each other, with the two sun wheels on a common shaft, the two annular gears coaxial and the two sets of planet wheels on a common carrier. In the preferred embodiment, respective planet wheels of the two trains are on common carrier shafts. However this feature is optional and the planet wheels of one train may be on one set of carrier shafts and the planet wheels of the other train on anoth
REFERENCES:
patent: 2363093 (1944-11-01), Sprake
patent: 3145974 (1964-08-01), Short
patent: 3270705 (1966-09-01), Roeggen
patent: 3670589 (1972-06-01), Carter
patent: 3682442 (1972-08-01), Baldwin
patent: 4086868 (1978-05-01), Lutters
patent: 4111397 (1978-09-01), Bonassi
patent: 4353319 (1982-10-01), Ash
patent: 4627374 (1986-12-01), Wright
Avila Stephen P.
Lewmar Marine Ltd.
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