# US 8,540,200 B2 · Soft padeye

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- Number: US 8,540,200 B2
- Document ID: US8540200B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 13/199,692
- Filed: 2011-09-07
- Published: 2012-03-08
- Granted: 2013-09-24
- Earliest claimed: 2010-09-07
- Applicants: John E. Franta
- Inventors: John E. Franta
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8540200B2

## CPC

- B63B 21/04: Fastening or guiding equipment for chains, ropes, hawsers, or the like {(means for fastening cables or ropes in general F16G11/00)}
- F16B 5/0692: {joining flexible sheets to other sheets or plates or to strips or bars (tent fastenings E04H15/64; coping elements for swimming pools with fixing means for sealing foil E04H4/142; greenhouses of flexible synthetic material A01G9/1407; end or aperture-closing arrangements or devices for sacks or bags B65D33/16)}
- B63B: SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; EQUIPMENT FOR SHIPPING (arrangements of vessel ventilation, heating, cooling, or air-conditioning B63J2/00; floating substructures as supports of dredgers or soil-shifting machines E02F9/06)
- F16B: DEVICES FOR FASTENING OR SECURING CONSTRUCTIONAL ELEMENTS OR MACHINE PARTS TOGETHER, e.g. NAILS, BOLTS, CIRCLIPS, CLAMPS, CLIPS OR WEDGES; JOINTS OR JOINTING (couplings for transmitting rotation F16D)

## Abstract

A soft padeye is shown and disclosed. The soft padeye has a spindle that runs through the deck of the ship or boat or other surface. The fastener is then screwed on the shaft and secured against the deck securing the fastener and the spindle to the deck. The spindle has a hole through it allowing the passage of a loop of line. The loop remains above deck while the two ends of the loop are fed through the shaft and tied in a knot that will not pull through the shaft. This allows the user to secure line or other hardware to the loop.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A device for securing line or rope to a flat surface, the device comprising:
a spindle, the spindle having a head, the head having a top and a bottom, the head connected to a threaded shaft, the head and spindle having a hole there through, the threaded shaft inserted through the flat surface;
a fastener, the fastener having a top and a bottom, the fastener having a threaded hole approximately in the center, a flat on the bottom, the fastener threaded to the shaft such that the bottom of the head and the top of the fastener is secured against the top and bottom of the flat surface;
a loop of rope, the loop having two ends, the ends of the loop inserted into the hole in the head and exiting the bottom of the shaft, the loop ends tied into a knot, the knot located exterior to the bottom of the shaft, the knot thereby preventing the loop from being pulled back into the bottom of the shaft; and
the loop of the rope extending from the top of head and above the flat surface for insertion of the line thereby securing the line to the device.

### Claim 2

A device for securing a line to a flat surface having a hole, the device comprising:
a spindle having a head and a shaft, the head having a top and a bottom and a hole through the center, the shaft having a top and a bottom, a hole through center and threads along the length;
the bottom of the head attached to the top of the shaft, the hole in the head concentric with the hole in the shaft;
a fastener, the fastener having a top and a bottom and a threaded hole, the threads of the fastener matching the threads of the shaft, a flat on the bottom of the fastener;
the shaft inserted through the hole in the flat surface, the fastener threaded onto the shaft and tightened thereby securing the bottom of the head to the top of the surface and the top of the fastener to the bottom of the surface;
a loop of line having two ends, the ends inserted into the hole in the head and the shaft exiting the bottom of the shaft, the ends tied into a knot whereby the knot cannot be pulled back into the shaft; and
the line inserted through the loop and thereby secured to the flat surface.

### Claim 3

A device for retaining a line to a surface having a hole, the device comprising:
a head having a top and a bottom, a hole, the hole located in the center of the head;
a shaft, the shaft having a top and a bottom, a hole, the hole located in the center of the shaft, threads along the length of the shaft;
the top of the shaft attached to the bottom of the head, the hole in the head and the hole in the shaft located concentric to one another;
a fastener, the fastener having a top and a bottom, a threaded hole, the threaded hole located approximately in the center of the fastener; a flat, the flat located on the bottom having the threaded hole located near the center;
a loop of line, the loop having two ends; and
whereby the bottom of the shaft is inserted into the hole in the surface, the fastener is threaded to the shaft securing the bottom of the head to the top of the surface and the top of the fastener to the bottom of the surface, the ends of the loop inserted into the head to exit the bottom of the shaft, the ends knotted such that the ends cannot be pulled into the bottom of the shaft, the line run through the loop and thereby secured to the surface.