Sail line stopper

A sail line stopper is provided for controlling the rate of movement of a sailing line prior to or subsequent to the locking of a line in a fixed position. The sail sheet stopper has a base with a channel formed therethrough. A plurality of closely spaced links are mounted for pivotal movement in the base and each of the links has an opening with the line openings forming a channel through which the line to be controlled is positioned. A handle is coupled to the links for controlling the pivotal movement of the links in the base. In a first position the handle aligns the openings allowing the line to move freely through the channel, and in a second position the openings are out of alignment thereby restricting the size of the channel through which the line moves to lock the line in the channel. Intermediate handle positions are provided which control the amount of pivot of the links between the first and second positions to control the size of the channel which permits movement of the line through the channel in accordance with the size of the channel. The channel can be opened regardless of the pressure on the line and the line may be selectively controlled depending on how much the handle is pivoted. In one embodiment the handle contains a pivotal link which may be positioned three ways to allow either of three sizes of line to be accommodated by the sail stopper, and in a second embodiment the handle moves an eccentric cam into a locking position which is retained therein by a spring until released. The sail stopper can be opened no matter what the pressure is on the line and the line can be controlled where it may be eased out slowly and locked in with no slack remaining when the line is locked in place. The sail stopper is used for controlling halyards or sheets in sailboat racing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to sail line stoppers for controlling sails, and 
more particularly to such line stoppers in which the line may be eased out 
slowly no matter what the load on the line is with no slack being placed 
on the line when it is finally locked in position. 
On sailing vessels lines are used to raise and control sails often under 
heavy load. The load on any given line may vary extensively and when the 
load increases the use of a winch becomes necessary to set the sail. To 
allow one winch to be used for several lines, of the same or varying 
sizes, a sheet or line stopper is provided for each line. When out of 
engagement the line stopper permits the line to run in both directions 
while in the engaged position the movement of the line is restricted or 
completely retarded. As the load increases, a winch is used to set the 
line in the desired position as control becomes difficult by hand. With 
presently available line stoppers, while the line may be taken off the 
winch and still held by the line stopper, it is extremely difficult or 
impossible to release the line without the use of a winch to hold the load 
while the line stopper is released. Furthermore, when the line is released 
by the line stopper and not being held on a winch, if the sail is under a 
load, the line will be released rapidly and the sail not held in position. 
In other words, setting the sail by slowly easing the line cannot be done 
by presently available line stoppers but only by winches. In sailboat 
racing, putting a line on a winch in order to effect adjustment is time 
consumming as well as tying up a winch which may be necessary for another 
control function. Furthermore, if the winch is utilized for setting a 
sail, individual winches would be required for each sail. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a new and 
improved sail line stopper which may be utilized in sailboat racing to 
save time in controlling the operations of sails of the racing boat. 
A further object of this invention is to provide a new and improved sail 
line stopper which eliminates the need of a winch for each line attached 
to a sail and permits the opening of the line stopper regardless of load. 
Still another object of this invention is to supply a new and improved sail 
line stopper which may be controllably released under high load and does 
not require a winch to do so and provides such control that no slack 
exists on the line when the stopper is again locked in position. 
Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved sail line 
stopper in which the locking mechanism may accommodate a limited range of 
line sizes. 
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and 
improved sheet or halyard stopper for controlling a line on a sailboat 
which is sturdy, easy to handle and operate, simple in construction, 
reduces the requirement for winches and saves time in controlling the 
sails of a racing sailboat. 
In carrying out this invention in one illustrative embodiment thereof, a 
sail line stopper is provided for controlling the rate of movement of a 
sail line prior to or subsequent to the locking of a line in a fixed 
position. The sail line stopper has a base with a channel formed therein 
through which a line to be controlled is positioned. A plurality of 
closely spaced links are mounted for pivotal movement in the base. Each of 
the links has an opening therein which form the channel through the base 
when the openings are aligned to provide an open channel for receiving the 
line to be controlled thereby. A handle is coupled to the links for 
controlling the pivoting of the links in the base such that when the 
handle is in a first position the openings of the links are aligned 
allowing the line to be moved freely through the channel formed by the 
openings. When the handle is in a second locking position, the openings 
are out of alignment restricting the size of the channel through which the 
line moves to lock the line in the channel. Intermediate handle positions 
are provided which control the amount of pivot of the links to control the 
size of the channel permitting of the line to move within the channel in 
accordance with the size of the channel. Thus, the rate of movement of the 
line may be controlled by the movement of the handle which pivots the 
links for controlling the size of the channel through which the line is 
positioned. In one embodiment, the links are intercoupled and pivoted in 
unison by an operating element pivoting between the handle and a common 
interconnecting element. In a second embodiment, an eccentric cam bears on 
and pivots the free end of the links. A spring is provided that stretches 
as the links are pivoted and returns them to their aligned position when 
the handle is released. Advantageously, in both embodiments the size of 
the channel in the base through which the line to be controlled extends is 
controlled by the pivotal action of the handle which pivots the links for 
controlling the size of the channel thereby controlling the permittable 
movement through the channel by the line. In this arrangement, the line 
can be eased out slowly without the use of a winch and then can be locked. 
The line stopper can be opened no matter what the pressure is on the line. 
Furthermore, no slack will occur in the line, when it is locked in after 
being eased out, when the line is under almost any kind of pressure. 
Running the line from the sail through the sail line stopper of this 
invention permits the trimming or setting of a sail without the use of a 
winch for that particular operation, freeing the winch for other functions 
.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, a sail line stopper, referred to generally 
with the reference character 10, has a base 12 with upstanding legs 14 and 
16 which are mounted on the base 12 by screws 18 thereby forming a 
U-shaped base. A plurality of links 20 are pivotally mounted on pivot pins 
22 in the base between the upstanding legs 14 and 16. The lower end of the 
links 20 have circular openings 24 therein for accommodating a line 25 
which is to be controlled by the line stopper 10. These openings 24 are 
chamferred in both sides to eliminate sharp edges when in a locked 
position as will be described so the line will not be abraded. The upper 
end of the links are interconnected by a coupling link 26 having an 
enlarged circular head 28 thereon to which a handle 30 is pivotally 
mounted on a pivot pin 32. The handle 30 as will best be seen in FIG. 2 is 
formed by two plates 34 and 36 which are separated by spacer 38 on one end 
thereof being open or hollow at 40 through the other end thereof which 
opening accommodates a triangular link 42 mounted for pivotal movement in 
the handle 30 by a pin 44 and mounted for pivotal movement in the base by 
a pin 46 positioned in the legs 14 and 16 of the base 12. As will best be 
seen in FIG. 3 a stop post 48 is mounted in the leg 14 of the base 12 for 
restricting the movement of the links 20 beyond the upright position as 
shown in FIG. 1. 
As will best be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the links 20 have downwardly 
extending slots 50 in the upper ends thereof accommodating the coupling 
linkage 26. The links 20 are pivotally mounted on the upper end thereof on 
pins 52 which extend through the slots 50 in the upper end of the links 
20. 
In operation as will be seen in FIG. 1 with the handle 30 elevated as 
shown, the openings 24 in the vertically oriented, closely spaced links 20 
are aligned with the openings 24 forming a channel through which the line 
25 which is desired to be controlled is inserted. Normally the handle is 
elevated to a position which vertically aligns the links 20 in the base 12 
so that the channel formed by the openings 24 is in its fully open 
position as illustrated in FIG. 1 so that the line 25 may be inserted 
therethrough. When the handle is moved downward, it is pivoted about pivot 
32 and the link 42 pivots about pivots 44 and 46 extending the link 42 up 
into the hollow 40 of the handle 30. The link 26 is pivoted by handle 30 
moves the links 40 in the position shown in FIG. 3 thereby restricting the 
channel formed by the openings 24 with all of the links pressuring the 
line which has been inserted therethrough locking the line 25 in the line 
stopper 20. The handle 30 may be elevated at any intermediate position 
between those shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 for selectively controlling the size 
of the channel formed by the openings 22 through the line stopper 10 which 
allows the line 25 to be selectively loosened depending on the size of the 
channel. The handle may always be raised fully or selectively regardless 
of the load that is on the line. Furthermore, once the handle has been 
raised and then lowered again in the position of FIG. 3, no slack occurs 
in the line 25 when it is under full or partial load. 
As will be seen in FIG. 5, the pivot link 42 has three separated openings 
54 which are separated by different distances 56, 58 and 60 with the 
openings 54 being of the size to accommodate the pivots 44 and 46. The 
distance between the pivots 44 and 46 determine the size of the line 25 
which may be accommodated in the channel formed by the openings 24 of the 
links 20. The manner the triangular pivot link 46 is positioned between 
the handle and the legs 14 and 16 will determine the size of the line 
which may be accommodated in the line stopper 10. Since three different 
distances 56, 58 and 60 are provided for, three different size lines may 
be accommodated in the line stopper 10 embodied in FIG. 1 simply by 
changing the position of the triangular link 42 in the line stopper 10. If 
only a single size line is desired to be accommodated or used in the 
stopper 10, a straight smaller link 64 having openings 54 therein to 
accommodate the pivot pins 44 and 46 separated by a distance 66 will 
accommodate one size of the line 25 in the line stopper. Accordingly, by 
changing the linkage, a single or a plurality of line sizes may be 
accommodated. As an example, typical line sizes might be 5/16, 3/8 and 
7/16 in which the channel formed by the openings 24 would be approximately 
1/64 of an inch larger than the largest size line to be accommodated. By 
providing a larger channel, 1/2, 9/16 and 5/8 inch lines may be 
accommodated with the triangular linkage 42. Of course, the single link 64 
may be used for one size line with the openings 24 being slightly larger 
than the size of the line which is to be accommodated by the line stopper. 
In the embodiment of FIGS. 7 through 10, the pivot actuating mechanism is 
provided by an eccentric cam formed by a cam 70 which is mounted 
off-center for pivotal movement about a pivot pin 72 mounted in the legs 
14 and 16 of the base of the line stopper. The cam 70 is operated by a 
solid handle 74. In this embodiment the upper end of the links 20 are not 
attached or intercoupled. It will be understood however, that a coupling 
could be used as in FIG. 1. A tension spring 76 is mounted on one end to a 
pin 78 positioned between the legs 14 and 16 of the base and on the other 
end to a post 80 mounted on the last link 20 of the group of links with 
the last link being sloped at 82 to allow it to pivot a given distance 
before it encounters a stop 84 positioned between the legs of the base of 
the line stopper 10. 
In operation of the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 7 through 10, when the 
handle 74 is in the down position as illustrated in FIG. 8, the openings 
24 in the links 20 are in alignment with the links 20 being in a closely 
spaced vertical position in the line stopper 10 forming a channel through 
which the line 25 which is to be controlled may be inserted. When the 
handle is raised or elevated as illustrated in FIG. 10, the eccentric cam 
70 pivots the first link 20 in the group about its pivot point 22 in the 
base with the upper end of the first link bearing on the second link in 
the group and so forth thereby pivoting the entire group of links which 
restricts the size of the channel formed by the openings 24 thereby 
locking the line 25 in the line stopper 10. The spring 76 is in full 
tension holding the handle in its elevated position which in effect is a 
locking position for the line stopper 10. The spring pin mount 78 also 
forms a stop for the handle 74 which prevents it from being elevated 
further than shown in its locking position. The handle may be lowered in 
numerous intermediate positions between the lowered position shown in FIG. 
8 and the elevated position shown in FIG. 9 which vary the size of the 
channel formed in the line stopper to govern the ease with which the line 
25 may be moved in the channel. Accordingly, a controllable release of the 
line is provided by the line stopper in a fashion similar to FIG. 1. 
FIG. 11 illustrates a plurality of line stoppers mounted on a sailboat 85 
for controlling a plurality of lines 86 running down a mast 88. It will be 
understood that other lines from different positions controlling different 
sails may be used. The free end of the lines 86 may be attached to a winch 
90 which may be used to overcome the force of gravity or the wind in 
raising or setting a sail. When the sail is hoisted or set, the lines 86 
may be removed from the winch 90 where such lines will be held in place by 
the line stopper 10 and free the winch for use on another sheet, line or 
halyard. In accordance with the present invention by merely operating the 
handle of the line stopper the lines 86 may be selectively loosened and 
then locked back in position without the use of a winch to control a heavy 
load. Furthermore, once the lines are loosened to be let out slightly 
under load to trim or set a sail, when the line stopper 10 is again locked 
no slack exists in the line controlled by the line stopper. 
Since other changes and modifications varied to fit particular operating 
requirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in the 
art, the invention is not considered limited to the examples chosen for 
purposes of illustration, and includes all changes and modifications which 
do not constitute a departure from the true spirit and scope of this 
invention as claimed in the following claims and equivalents thereto.