Self-tightening snow chain and methods of use

A device comprising:

• a housing having a stop and a set of housing teeth;
• a winding mechanism including a spool having a set of ratchet teeth and at least one catch, the winding mechanism located within the housing;
• and
• a cord operatively connected to the spool;
• wherein the winding mechanism has two positions that control the movement of the cord, the first position being a wind-up position where the cord is pulled into the housing and cannot be pulled outwardly from the housing, the second position being a wind-out position wherein the cord may be pulled outwardly from the housing;
• wherein if the cord is pulled outwardly from the housing and then released, while the winding mechanism is in the second position, the cord will retract into the housing until the catch contacts the stop;
• wherein the spool will rotate less than 360 degrees before the catch contacts the stop;
• wherein the stop is spring biased such that the stop will block one of the at least one catches when the ratchet teeth are disengaged with the housing teeth and the spool is rotating in a wind-up direction.

A self-tensioning snow chain for attachment to a wheel of a vehicle, the self-tensioning snow chain comprising:

• a snow chain for securing around the wheel;
• and
• a tensioning device connected to the snow chain, the tensioning device including:
• a housing including a top having a set of housing teeth;
• and a bottom;
• the housing defining at least one aperture;
• an actuating lever pivotally interconnected to the housing;
• a ratchet spool including:
• upper and under surfaces;
• a set of ratchet teeth on the upper surface, the ratchet teeth constructed and arranged to mate with the housing teeth;
• a cord;
• the cord being attached to the ratchet spool;
• a tension spring interconnected with the ratchet spool, the tension spring constructed and arranged to place a bias on the ratchet spool toward a wind-up direction;
• and
• a wave spring positioned between a top surface of the housing bottom and the under surface of the ratchet spool so as to bias the ratchet spool in the direction of the housing teeth;
• wherein the snow chain is interconnected with the tensioning device and the cord can be connected with the snow chain so that the tensioning device can secure the snow chain to the wheel;
• wherein the ratchet spool can be pushed in the direction away from the housing teeth with the actuating lever;
• wherein the actuating lever has an up position and a down position, the actuating lever having a cam that extends away from the point at which the actuating lever pivots with respect to the housing, wherein the cam holds the ratchet spool in a down position in which the ratchet teeth are disengaged from the housing teeth when the actuating lever is in an up position, and the ratchet spool is in an up position when the pivotal actuating lever is in a down position.

A tensioning device comprising:

• a housing including a top having a set of housing teeth;
• and a bottom;
• the housing defining at least one aperture;
• an actuating lever pivotally interconnected to the housing;
• a ratchet spool including:
• upper and under surfaces;
• a set of ratchet teeth on the upper surface, the ratchet teeth constructed and arranged to mate with the housing teeth;
• a cord;
• the cord being attached to the ratchet spool;
• a tension spring interconnected with the ratchet spool, the tension spring constructed and arranged to place a bias on the ratchet spool toward a wind-up direction;
• and
• a wave spring positioned between a top surface of the housing bottom and the under surface of the ratchet spool so as to bias the ratchet spool in the direction of the housing teeth;
• wherein the snow chain is interconnected with the tensioning device and the cord can be connected with the snow chain so that the tensioning device can secure the snow chain to the wheel;
• wherein the ratchet spool can be pushed in the direction away from the housing teeth with the actuating lever;
• wherein the actuating lever has an up position and a down position, the actuating lever having a cam that extends away from the point at which the actuating lever pivots with respect to the housing, wherein the cam holds the ratchet spool in a down position in which the ratchet teeth are disengaged from the housing teeth when the actuating lever is in an up position, and the ratchet spool is in an up position when the pivotal actuating lever is in a down position.