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:
- a first cam mounted on an axle;
- a second cam mounted on the axle,
- a third cam and a fourth cam mounted on the axle between the first and second cams;
- a fifth cam mounted on the axle between the third and fourth cams;
- a trigger connected to:
- the first and third cams with a first wire;
- the second and fourth cams with a second wire;
- and the fifth cam with a third wire.
A climbing cam having multiple cams movable between a retracted state for insertion into a rock crack, and an expanded state where the multiple cams engage the sides of the rock crack, comprising:
- a first pair of cams mounted on an axle and configured for engaging a first side of a rock crack in the expanded state;
- a second pair of cams mounted on the axle and configured for engaging a second side of the rock crack in the expanded state;
- said first and second pairs of cams configured for preventing removal of said climbing cam from said rock crack in the expanded;
- and
- at least one additional cam mounted on the axle and configured for preventing insertion of said climbing cam into said rock crack in the expanded state.
In a climbing cam having plural cams rotatably mounted on an axle and movable between a retracted position so that the climbing cam may be inserted into a rock crack and an expanded position wherein at least one of the plural cams engages a first side of the rock crack and at least one of the plural cams engages an opposite side of the rock crack to prevent the climbing cam from being removed from the rock crack, the improvement comprising,
- a locking cam mounted on the axle and movable between a retracted position so that the climbing cam may be inserted into a rock crack and an expanded position wherein the locking cam engages one side of the rock crack to lock the climbing cam in the rock crack to minimize movement of the climbing cam, wherein said locking cam expands in a direction different from all other cams.
The climbing cam according to clam 19 in which every cam defines a cam angle, and wherein the cam angle of the locking cam is greater than the cam angle of the other cams.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.