Winch strap anchor
AssigneeFulton Performance Products, Inc.
InventorEdward W. Ebey
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A winch strap anchor for securing the strap of a winch to the winch drum proximate the hub to maintain a low profile and eliminate crank force irregularities. The anchor is secured to the walls of the drum and is configured to lie against the winch hub thereby minimizing the eccentric winding of the strap onto the winch. The anchor includes a longitudinal slot for receiving the strap to secure the strap to the anchor. The anchor with the strap attached can be manually attached to the winch drum securing the strap.
Claims8
In a winch assembly for winding and unwinding a tie means to pull and deploy a structure, the winch assembly including a selectively rotatable winch drum having an axial hub and a pair of parallel drum walls, the improvement comprising:
- an anchor plate for fastening the tie means to the winch drum, said drum walls including aligned substantially V-shaped apertures with the apex proximate said axial hub, the ends of said anchor plate being inserted into said apertures to detachably mount said anchor plate to said winch drum whereby said anchor plate ends can travel along respective arms of the V-shaped apertures, said anchor plate lying in close proximity to the axial hub upon winding the tie means to facilitate substantially concentric winding of the tie means thereby reducing irregular cranking force of the winch assembly.
In a winch assembly for winding and unwinding a winch strap having an end loop, the winch assembly including a selectively rotatable winch drum having an axial hub and a pair of parallel drum walls, the improvement comprising:
- an anchor plate for securing the winch strap to the winch drum, the drum walls including V-shaped apertures for receiving the longitudinal remote ends of said anchor plate securing said anchor plate and attached strap to the winch drum, the apex of said apertures positioned at the axial hub, said V-shaped apertures of the drum walls being substantially larger than said plate ends such that said anchor plate may travel along respective arms of said V-shaped apertures upon complete unwinding of the tie means, said anchor plate having a longitudinal slot for securing the strap to said anchor plate and a transverse curvature conforming substantially to the curvature of the axial hub whereby said anchor plate lies in close proximity to the axial hub to facilitate substantially concentric winding of the strap thereby reducing irregular cranking force of the winch assembly.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.