Patent ID: 8596616
Filing Date: 2013-12-03
Classification: A63J,B66D

Abstract:
1. An improved motorized winch for raising and lowering an object with respect to a facility, comprising: an elongated tubular support enclosure having a longitudinal axis and having elongated connected top, bottom and side walls extending in the direction of the longitudinal axis and having means for mounting in a fixed position with respect to the facility, cable guiding means for receiving and guiding cables, said cable guiding means being mounted on and supported by the top or bottom wall of the tubular support enclosure, the supporting top or bottom wall having access openings for the passage of cables, winch-unit-bearing support means mounted inside of and to the tubular support enclosure, a winch unit having components and located inside and supported by the tubular support enclosure and having spaced portions rollably or slidably engaged and supported by the winch-unit-bearing support means for longitudinal movement by the winch unit within and relative to the tubular support enclosure, the winch unit comprising: an elongated drum having a longitudinal axis and having on its outside a helical groove configured to receive adjacent strands of a cable and mounted for rotation about and translation relative to its longitudinal axis on its support means inside the tubular support enclosure, one or more cables engaging the drum grooves and passing from the outside of the drum through the access openings in the supporting top or bottom wall to and over the cable guiding means to the object, each cable when wound up on the drum occupying an axially-extending section of the drum grooves having a given length, drive means for rotating the drum, the top, bottom, and side walls of the tubular support enclosure extending at least over the drum in the longitudinal direction, said drum, cables and cable guiding means being connected such that rotation of the drum causes each cable to wind or unwind on or off the drum grooves to move the object up or down with respect to the facility while simultaneously translating back and forth, parallel to its longitudinal axis, relative to the tubular support enclosure in synchronization with the rotation of the drum controlling the cable runs to their respective cable guiding means to achieve zero fleet angle while the drum is translated over the given length of the axially-extending section, the mounting of the winch components and the cable guiding means being confined within a right quadrangular prismatic volume defined by the tubular support enclosure side walls and straight prolonged imaginary extensions of the side walls such that plural winches can be mounted side-by-side without winch component interference, said tubular support enclosure having means providing access to the winch unit for maintenance and repairs.