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US 7,740,223 B2Granted
Mechanical climbing aid of the cam type
AssigneeMetolius Mountain Products, Inc.
InventorJohn E. Field, Jr.
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A climbing cam having opposed asymmetrically sized cam members to eliminate the interference that limits the expansion range of climbing aids of the cam type. An optional cam member provides an opposing force to assist in maintaining the placement of the cam in the rock.
Claims20
A climbing cam, comprising:
- at least first and second cam members mounted on an axle for rotation about an axis, said first cam member asymmetrically shaped relative to and larger than said second cam member and said second cam member defining a spindle near a base portion thereof;
- a trigger connected to each of said first and second cam members with a first wire having a first end attached to the trigger and a second end attached to the first of said cam members, and a second wire having a first end attached to said trigger and said second wire wound at least partially around and attached to said spindle.
A climbing cam for insertion in a crack in a rock, said crack defining first and second rock sides, comprising:
- at least two asymmetrically shaped cam members mounted on an axle for rotation in opposite directions, one of the at least two cam members being smaller in size than the other of the at least two cam members;
- a trigger connected to both of said cam members and operable to rotate said cam members in opposite directions;
- wherein, when said climbing cam is inserted in the crack in the rock and the larger of the at least two cam members is in contact with the first rock side, the smaller of said at least two cam members is capable of continued rotation by operation of said trigger such that said smaller cam member rotates past said larger cam member without making contact with the first rock side.
A climbing cam comprising:
- a first cam member mounted on an axle;
- a second cam member mounted on the axle,
- a third cam member mounted on the axle;
- a trigger connected to and operable to rotate all of the cam members, said trigger movable between a first position in which the cam members are in an expanded state and a second position in which the cam members are in a retracted state, wherein movement of the trigger from the second position toward the first position causes the first cam member to rotate in a first rotational direction and the second and third cam members to rotate in a second rotational direction opposite the first rotational direction;
- and
- wherein when the climbing cam is inserted into a rock crack having opposite sides and the trigger is in the first position, the first and third cam members engage the same side of the rock crack and the second cam member engages the opposite side of the rock crack.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.