Winch

In a winch comprising:

• a. a drum adapted to have a cable wound thereon,
• b. a first power transmitting means operatively connected to said drum,
• c. a driven cam member having an axially facing cam surface and having an operative connection to said first power transmitting means, said cam being rotatable in a first direction to cause said drum to turn so as to reel in cable, and rotatable in a second direction to cause said drum to pay out cable,
• d. a rotatably mounted second driving cam member having an axially facing second cam surface to engage said first cam surface, said second cam member being rotatable in a first direction to engage said first cam member in wedging engagement to urge said first and second cam members axially away from each other and to tend to drive said cam member in its first direction to reel in cable, and rotatable in a second direction to move away from wedging engagement to permit said first cam member to rotate in its second direction to pay out cable,
• e. second power transmitting means to transmit power from a power source to said second drive cam,
• f. a brake-clutch assembly comprising:
• 1. a rotatably mounted ratchet plate,
• 2. a first shoe mounted on one side of the ratchet plate and connected to the first driven cam so as to rotate therewith,
• 3. a second shoe mounted on the other side of the ratchet plate and connected to the second cam member so as to rotate therewith,
• g. said first and second shoes being connected to said first and second cam members to be movable toward each other and into frictional engagement with said ratchet plate by movement of the first and second cam members axially away from each other, and movable away from each other and out of frictional engagement with the ratchet plate by movement of the first and second cam members axially toward each other, whereby wedging engagement of the two cam members tends to move the shoes into engagement, and movement of the cam members out of wedging engagement permits the shoes to move up out of engagement,
• h. said winch being characterized in that:
• 1. when the winch is rotating in a direction to pay out cable at a constant speed by virtue of an exterior force acting on said drum, there are internal drag forces on the second drive cam including the drag of the second power transmitting means, the second shoe and the second cam member, which drag results in a first axially directed force component being created between the two cam members to urge said cam members away from each other and urge the shoes into engagement,
• 2.