US 5,001,942 AGranted

Cable operating apparatus including a pocketed pawl

AssigneeOrscheln Co.

InventorBilly G. Boyer

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Abstract

Cable operating apparatus includes an automatic cable slack removing arrangement, characterized in that the cable tension-adjusting pawl is mounted both for pivotal movement between engaged and disengaged positions relative to the tension-adjusting ratchet, and for lateral movement between nested and extended positions relative to a pocket defined within the operating handle to which the pawl is connected. A cable-tension pawl spring biases the pawl toward the engaged and extended positions, so that when the pawl is engaged with the cable-tension ratchet, the cable tension will bias the ratchet in a direction to displace the pawl to its nested position in frictional engagement with the bottom wall of the pocket, whereby the pawl is more positively maintained in the ratchet-engaged condition. The pawl includes a lateral tab that engages a ramp on the main ratchet when the handle is in the cable-released position, thereby to disengage the cable-tension pawl from its ratchet and thus activate the automatic cable slack removing device.

Cable tensioning apparatus of the type including cable-slack eliminating means, comprising:

(a) a main ratchet member adapted for connection with a fixed support, said ratchet member including a plurality of main ratchet teeth;
(b) handle means pivotally connected with said main ratchet member for movement between cable-tensioned and cable-released positions;
(c) a main pawl member pivotally connected with said handle means for releasable engagement with said main ratchet teeth;
(d) a cable-tensioning ratchet connected with said handle means for angular movement about the pivot axis of said handle means, said cable-tensioning ratchet being adapted for connection with the cable, said cable-tensioning ratchet having cable-tensioning teeth;
(e) main adjusting spring means rotatably biasing said cable-tensioning ratchet in the slack-eliminating direction relative to said handle means;
(f) means for releasably connecting said cable-tensioning ratchet with said handle means, including:
(1) a cable-tensioning pawl;
(2) means connecting said cable-tensioning pawl with said handle means both for pivotal movement about an axis parallel with the axis of rotation of said cable-tensioning ratchet, and for longitudinal axial displacement in a direction normal to said pawl pivot axis between extended and nested positions relative to the said handle means;
(3) pawl spring means biasing said cable-tensioning pawl pivotally toward engagement with said cable-tensioning ratchet;
(g) means operable when said handle means is in the cable released position for disengaging said cable tensioning pawl from said cable-tensioning ratchet, thereby to release said cable-tensioning ratchet for rotation by said main spring means to eliminate slack from the cable;
and
(h) means operable when said cable-tensioning pawl is in engagement with said cable-tensioning pawl for resisting pivotal movement of said pawl away from said cable-tensioning ratchet, said pivotal movement resisting means including a pocket defined within said handle means for receiving in frictional engagement one end of said pawl when said pawl is in said nested position.

9 more elements

Abstract

Claims9