Manually driven winch

The present invention relates to a manually driven winch, preferably intended as a sheet winch on sailboats, with which sheeting can be performed with the required mechanical advantage between the ingoing and the outgoing parts of the sheet, by imparting to the outgoing portion of the sheet a reciprocal pumping movement, which is used to drive the winch drum.

The present invention relates to a manually driven winch, preferably 
intended for use as a sheet winch on sailboats. 
In recent years sheet winches have developed into two dominant types, on 
the one hand those with a single winding drum, and those provided above 
the winding drum with a slot rotating with the drum in which slot the line 
can be jammed so that it is always held under tension around the winding 
drum. This latter type is usually called "selftailing". 
Both of these types of winches are usually provided with a spindle in the 
upper end of which there is a socket into which a winch handle or crank 
can be inserted for driving the winch. The crank can be quickly removed to 
be moved between the two sides of the boat for tacking. A winch of the 
latter type is revealed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,968,953. 
Winches provided with winch handles of this type have several advantages. 
They are easily placed and they can be made with several gear speeds 
between the winch handle and drum, the shifting of the gearing being 
accomplished by reversing the rotational direction of the winch handle. 
However, these known winches also have several disadvantages. Because the 
winch handle has a length of about 20 cm, it is usually removed from the 
winch when the sheet is wrapped around the winch drum. The winch handle 
must also be removed when the sheet is removed from the winch when coming 
about. It is therefore common to use the same winch handle for both sheet 
winches, moving it from the lee winch to the windward winch after the 
windward winch has been prepared for use after coming about by winding the 
sheet the required number of times around the drum. 
When sailing to windward and in tight situations this procedure often 
results in losing the winch handle overboard or fouling the sheet in the 
winch handle. 
Due to the fact that the sheet is wound around the drum the required number 
of turns before the winch handle is inserted, and thus even before the 
initial step of pulling in the sheet by hand, using the winch only as a 
ratchet, it is not uncommon that the turns around the drum will overlap so 
that one portion is locked by the ingoing portion, rendering the winch 
unusable. In heavy weather, when there is great tension in the sheet, 
dangerous situations can occur since such "running hitches" usually take 
some time to undo. 
The purpose of the present invention is to achieve a winch which has the 
same advantages as those mentioned above, but in which the required 
mechanical advantage can be achieved without a winch handle. Instead, the 
outgoing line from the winch is used as a power means. By imparting a 
reciprocal pumping movement to the line the winch operator can drive the 
winch drum intermittently. 
A number of advantages are achieved with this construction: 
There are no projecting parts which sheets and other lines can be fouled 
on. 
The placement of the winch is freer, since there is no winch handle which 
must swing clear of all stays and manropes. 
When coming about, both winches can be used at the same time, which is 
important if the boat does not come through the eye of the wind and falls 
back so that the lee winch must again be used even after sheeting has 
already been prepared for the windward winch. 
During the first stage of sheeting, one or two turns can be taken around 
the drum and later be supplemented with the required number, thus 
eliminating the risk of the line becoming jammed. 
In racing and sailing in narrow waters with frequent changes of heading, 
the helmsman can sit on the windward cockpit coaming and at the same time 
steer and handle the sheet since it is possible to ease and pull in the 
sheet with the outgoing line in one hand regardless of the distance to the 
winch.

The winch according to FIGS. 1-6 consists of a frame 1 on which a winch 
drum 2 is mounted with needle bearings 10. A disc-shaped support means 3 
is also mounted on the frame by means of a spindle 11, with which the 
support means 3 is non-rotatably joined. Above the support means there is 
an additional drum 8 freely rotatably journalled on the spindle 11. 
A pulley 4 is freely rotatably mounted on the periphery of the support 
means. The pulley is recessed into a cavity in the outer portion 12 of the 
support means, said portion serving as a flange for the drums 2 and 8 and 
which separates them from each other. The drum 8 is also made with a 
flange, and the lower portion of the winch drum 2 forms both a flange and 
a gear housing. 
The lower portion of the winch drum as shown in FIG. 3 is provided on its 
inside with a gear ring 7 which engages an intermediate gear 6 mounted on 
a shaft 13 in the frame. A gear 5 is mounted at the lower end of the 
spindle 11 and engages the intermediate gear 6. A ratchet catch 15 
arranged on the spindle engages a toothed ring 16 on the inside of the 
gear 5 and drives said gear when the spindle is rotated counter-clockwise. 
Two additional ratchet catches 17 and 18 are arranged in the frame and 
they engage the teeth on the gear 6 blocking the gear and thereby the 
winch drum against counter-clockwise rotation. 
All of the ratchet catches in the winch are of known types and are biassed 
toward the catch position by a spring (not shown). 
As can be seen in FIG. 4, in the plane immediately above gear 5, the 
spindle is provided with a gear ring 19 of smaller diameter than the gear 
5 and which engages a toothed rim 20 arranged on a plate-shaped carrier 21 
mounted on the shaft 13 and guided between the frame and the gear 6. The 
gear 5 was omitted from this Figure for the sake of clarity. 
The toothed rim 20 and the plate 21 form a circle sector of about 
90.degree.. The toothed rim 20 has stop heels 22 and 23 at its ends for 
abutting against the teeth of the gear ring 19 and thus limiting the 
rotation of the toothed rim 20 and the spindle. 
The rotation of the spindle, and thereby that of the support means 3 and 
the pulley 4, is limited in this manner to about 270.degree.. 
The toothed rim 20 is provided at one end with a ratchet catch 24 which 
engages the upper plane of the gear 6 and is turned clockwise as a result 
of the spindle being turned counter-clockwise. 
A disc 25 is attached to the bottom of the spindle by a screw 26. The disc 
is rotatable in relation to this spindle with frictional resistance and is 
provided with a tongue 27. 
The ratchet catch 15 is provided with a pin 28 which extends into a cavity 
29 in the disc 25. The bottom plate of the frame is made with two stop 
projections 30 and 31 being separated by an angle somewhat greater than 
90.degree.. The projections are designed to be an abutment for the tongue 
27 when the spindle is turned to its end positions. This results in a 
rotation of a few degrees of the disc in relation to the spindle when the 
spindle is turned the whole way from one end position to the other. 
This turning of the disc 25 in relation to the spindle brings the ratchet 
catch 15 out of the catch position. The friction between the disc and the 
spindle should be great enough to hold the catch in this position 
overcoming the force of the spring. 
At the upper end of the spindle, in addition to the support means, it is 
also non-rotatably joined to a bearing body 32 and a holder 33. The holder 
33 is axially joined to the spindle by means of a screw 34 and is arranged 
to press the support means 3 and the bearing body 32 axially against an 
abutment 35 on the spindle. A torsionally rigid connection between the 
spindle and the bearing body, the support means and the holder is achieved 
by means of a locking pin 36 arranged in grooves in the respective parts. 
A torsion spring 37 is mounted between the bearing body 32 and the frame. 
It is intended to urge the support means clockwise towards one of its end 
positions, namely the one shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4. 
The supporting means flange portion 12 next to the pulley 4 is made as a 
jam cleat 9 of a type which is known per se which consists of a slot with 
wedge-shaped grooves. 
The embodiment described above functions during a sheeting operation in the 
following manner: 
The winch is in the starting position shown in FIG. 1, where 38 designates 
the port side cockpit coaming, 39 designates the sheet and 40 the hand of 
the person handling the sheet. The pulley essentially faces directly into 
the cockpit and, in the end position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, is under the 
influence of the torsion spring. 
After the sheet has been wound the required number of turns clockwise 
around the winch drum, the person handling the sheet takes in as much as 
he is able by pulling the outgoing line of the sheet. When the pulling 
force in the sheet has increased so that he is no longer able to overcome 
it, he wraps the outgoing line over the pulley and then three quarters of 
a turn counter-clockwise around the upper free running drum. The friction 
of the sheet against the winch drum and the ratchet catches 17 and 18 
prevent the sheet from running out from the winch provided one maintains a 
slight tension in the outgoing line. 
By pulling the outgoing line it is now possible using less force to pull 
the pulley counter-clockwise around the axis of the winch and thus turn 
the winch drum clockwise via the reversing and reduction gearing comprised 
by the gears. 
If the person handling the sheet rotates the pulley, and thus the support 
means, in this manner the entire or a portion of the possible turning 
angle of 270.degree. to the other end position, he has performed something 
which we will call a pump stroke in the following. In a complete pump 
stroke he pulls in the sheet a length which correspond to 270/360 of the 
circumference of the upper drum plus 270/360 of the circumference of the 
winch drum plus the length pulled in through the rotation of the winch 
drum. When he then eases up on the sheet and allows the return spring to 
turn the support means with the pulley back, he allows the same length to 
be wound out again under the drums except for the portion which was pulled 
in by the turning of the winch drum, since the drum is stationary during 
the return movement. 
By repeated reciprocal pumping strokes it is in principle possible to 
intermittently pull in an unlimited length of sheet. This is done as 
follows: During the first pumping stroke the upper gearing is engaged 
since the disc 25 has moved the ratchet catch out of the engaged position 
by the tongue 27 abutting against the projection 30. In this position the 
torque is transmitted from the pulley and the support means via the 
spindle and the upper gear ring 19 to the toothed rim 20 and on via the 
ratchet catch 24 to the intermediate gear 6 and via the inner gear ring 7 
to the winch drum. By virtue of the fact that the diameter of the gear 
ring 19 is substantially less than that of the toothed rim 20, the 
reduction is high and therefore there is a high mechanical advantage but 
at the same time a low rotational speed of the winch drum with this gear 
speed. In order to obtain a smaller reduction, and thus a higher 
rotational speed of the winch drum, during the initial pumping strokes, 
the person pulling in the sheet engages the lower gearing by pulling the 
spindle to its other end position whereby the rotation of the tongue 27 is 
stopped by the projection 31 just before the rotation of the spindle is 
stopped by the heel 22 on the toothed rim 20. This produces a relative 
rotation of the disc 25 in relation to the spindle thus moving the catch 
15 into the blocking position with the aid of its spring. 
During the return portion of the first pumping stroke the winch drum is 
stationary due to the ratchet catches 17 and 18 while the spindle, the 
support means and the pulley are moved by the spring 37 to the first end 
position. The torque which the spring can apply to the support means must 
be great enough to produce the return movement without the person holding 
the sheet having to ease it so much that the sheet begins to slide on the 
winch drum. 
Before the first end position has been reached, the person handling the 
sheet begins the second pumping stroke with the lower gearing remaining 
engaged. Since the diameter of the gear 5 is greater than that of gear 6, 
a relatively low gear ratio, and thus a smaller mechanical advantage, is 
obtained but at the same time the winch drum is turned more rapidly. When 
this gear is engaged the torque is transmitted from the spindle via the 
catch 15, the gears 5 and 6, and the inner gear ring 7 to the winch drum. 
Since the toothed rim 20 is turned more slowly than the gears 6, the catch 
24 will "coast" in the same manner as it and catch 15 do during the return 
movement of the spindle. 
With the lower gearing engaged, the person handling the sheet carries out 
pumping strokes, without striking the first end position, until the 
pulling force in the sheet is so great that he is no longer able to turn 
the support means. 
In order to engage the upper gearing again, which has a higher gear ratio 
and thus provides an increased mechanical advantage, the support means is 
allowed to go all the way back to its first end position, the starting 
position. The tongue 27 strikes against the stop projection 30 and the 
ratchet catch 15 is moved out of engagement. 
As long as one avoids allowing the support means to go all the way to its 
second end position, the upper gearing will be engaged. 
When the sheet has been pulled in sufficiently, the support means is 
allowed to return to the starting position by easing the outgoing line, 
which is then wedged tightly in the jam cleat 9. 
It is apparent that with the embodiment of the winch described above, 
foresail sheets in recreational boats of varying sizes can be handled 
simply and easily. By selecting suitable diameter ratios of the gears in 
the gear arrangements, it is possible to obtain the same mechanical 
advantages as those in known types of sheet winches of comparable size. 
The mechanical advantage can also be varied within certain limits by 
varying the ratio between the diameters of the drum 8 and the winch drum. 
The angle in the vertical plane of the axis of rotation of the pulley must 
be adapted thereto. The maximum length of the pumping stroke can also be 
varied in this manner. Because the rotational axis of the pulley is 
located at a distance from the winch axis which exceeds the radius of the 
pulley, this relieves the oblique forces on the pulley and makes possible 
a low height of the upper portion of the winch. 
By selecting the maximum turning angle of the support means to be 
270.degree. and by placing the jam cleat and the pulley next to each 
other, with the orientation of the jam cleat essentially parallel to the 
axis of the pulley one achieves both convenient handling when looping the 
sheet over the pulley and the upper drum as well as convenient blocking of 
the sheet. 
The fact that the torsion spring 37 is mounted between the bearing body 32 
and the frame and the fact that the support means and the drum 8 can be 
removed after the holder 33 has been taken off make it possible to remove 
the winch drum and thus screw the frame securely to its base without 
having to release the tension in the torsion spring. 
FIG. 7 shows a horizontal section through the gear housing of a one-speed 
embodiment of the invention in which a spindle 38 is securely joined to a 
spiro-shaped gear 39 which engages an identical gear 40 mounted on an 
intermediate shaft 41. On the same shaft, in a plane beneath the gear 40, 
a cylindrical gear 42 is mounted which engages the winch drum 43. A 
ratchet catch 44 mounted on the frame 45 prevents the gear 42, and thus 
the winch drum, from turning counter-clockwise. A catch (not shown) is 
arranged between gears 40 and 42 in such a manner that the gear 40 drives 
the gear 42 when rotated clockwise. 
The position shown is the starting position for a pumping stroke in which 
the mechanical advantage increases depending on the position of the 
spindle. 
In this embodiment as well, the turning of the spindle is limited to 
270.degree.. If in the first stage of pulling in the sheet, a low gear 
ratio is desired, and thereby a rapid turning of the winch drum, the first 
pumping stroke is taken all the way out and then a relatively short 
reciprocal pumping movement is performed in the vicinity of the second end 
position of the spindle. As the pulling force of the sheet increases, one 
approaches the first end position of the spindle with the pumping movement 
until the spindle reaches the end in this position. A short pumping 
movement in this portion of the maximum pumping stroke provides a high 
mechanical advantage. 
This latter embodiment is especially suitable for small winches with 
moderate gear reduction requirement since it is of simple construction and 
thus inexpensive to manufacture. 
Additional embodiments are conceivable within the scope of the accompanying 
claims. The reversing gear can of course be made with one speed with 
cylindrical gears. Also the return spring can be replaced or be 
supplemented with a gearing arrangement between the spindle and the winch 
drum with a very high gear ratio, in which the torque on the winch drum is 
used to move the spindle to its starting position. A small portion of each 
pumping stroke is lost in this case, however, by the winch drum being 
turned back somewhat during the return of the spindle. 
The driving connection between the spindle and the winch drum need not be a 
gear mechanism but can be various types of cam/roller means or lever 
mechanisms. 
The invention is of course not limited to sheet winches but also comprises 
other types of winches, where the inventive principle imparts advantages. 
According to a further proposed embodiment (not shown), instead of being 
arranged between the support means and the winch drum, the driving 
connection can be coupled between the additional drum and the winch drum. 
In this case the additional drum must be made so that sufficient friction 
can be achieved against the line portion which runs around the drum so 
that a pulling force in the outgoing line is transformed into a torque on 
the additional drum, sufficiently large to drive the winch drum.