Wire tightening device

A wire tightening device particularly for use with barbed wire fences, with a link formed from a cylindrical rod and having one end portion bent at substantially 60.degree. relative to the main body portion and another end portion bent substantially 90.degree. relative to the main body portion and substantially 90.degree. counter clockwise from the plane containing the bend of the first end portion and also having a further bend of 20.degree. in this end portion in the same plane as and 90.degree. clockwise to, the 90.degree. bend of this end portion; a first handle formed from a cylindrical rod and having one end ending in a truncated right cylindrical portion with a hole extending through the intersection of the truncated surface and the cylindrical surface and through the axis of the rod, through which hole the one end of the link can be removably inserted; a second, L-shaped handle formed from a rectangular bar with a hole defined in the foot portion and another hole defined in the leg portion adjacent the foot portion so that the link may be removably inserted in either hole so that when the two handles are in place the link may be rotated about the wire so as to cause the wire to be wrapped thereupon.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to wire tightening devices, and more particularly, 
to a wire tightening device in which a member remains captive by the wire. 
2. Prior Art 
Many ways have been proposed for tightening wire, particularly for 
tightening barbed wire used to enclose large areas of pasture land for 
cattle and the like. Some of these devices require very expensive and 
complicated tools which are utilized to take up the slack in the wire so 
that a clamp of some sort can be applied to the wire to maintain the wire 
taut once the tools are removed. Other such devices utilized for 
tightening wire have relatively complicated and expensive link members 
which are left on the wire once it has been tightened. 
Because such prior art devices require the use of these expensive tools to 
apply the link members or for actually tightening the wire, they are not 
practical for persons who only wish to tighten a small expanse of wire 
since they are not cost effective. Also, because, as mentioned above, many 
of the link members themselves are very expensive, the use of large 
numbers of links for tightening wire between adjacent fence posts over 
large areas of land is likewise prohibitive. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides an uncomplicated and relatively inexpensive 
means of tightening wire, particularly barbed wire and other such wire 
used to fence in large ranges of land. 
The present invention basically comprises a link member with one end 
portion bent at substantially 60.degree. relative to the main body portion 
thereof and another end portion which is bent at substantially 90.degree. 
relative to the main body portion and substantially 90.degree. counter 
clockwise from the plane containing the first bend, and a further bend in 
this same other end portion of substantially 20.degree. in the same plane 
as, and 90.degree. clockwise to, the 90.degree. bend of this end portion; 
a first handle with a hole defined through one end portion thereof with a 
diameter sufficient to permit one end portion of the link member to be 
inserted therein and extend through the first handle so as to be removably 
disposed thereon; and a second handle having an L-shaped end portion with 
a hole defined in the foot portion thereof and having a diameter 
sufficient to permit the other end portion of the link member to be 
inserted therein and extend through the foot portion so as to be removably 
disposable thereon. 
It is further preferable to have the link member formed from a circular rod 
of a greater diameter than the wire which is to be tightened and of 
sufficient strength to permit the member to retain its form while the wire 
is being drawn taut by wrapping around the link member as the handles are 
rotated to thus rotate the link member. It is also preferable to have the 
first mentioned handle formed from a cylindrical rod and with an end 
portion which is formed into a truncated right cylindrical portion with 
the hole passing through the junction of the truncated surface and the 
cylindrical surface at an oblique angle to the axis of the rod and through 
the axis of the rod. This construction is of assistance in the tightening 
operation in that it permits the link to be rotated about the barbed wire 
by the second handle without interference between the end portion of the 
first handle and the wire or the link member. 
The second mentioned handle also preferably has a second hole formed in the 
leg portion thereof adjacent the foot portion so that if the wire to be 
tightened is in a difficult-to-get-at place it is possible to move the 
tool into a different position by removing it from the link and placing 
the other hole on the link and continuing to rotate the link. The second 
handle is also preferably formed of flat bar-stock of rectangular 
cross-section. 
Once the link has been entwined in the wire due to the rotation of the 
second handle, and the wire has been tightened in this manner, the first 
handle is moved towards the second handle to bend the link over the wire, 
thus, locking it in position so that the wire cannot unwrap and there is 
no back up from the desired tautness. The handles can then be removed from 
the link member and the 90.degree. bend in the link member and the bend 
put into it after the wire is taut will prevent the wire from unwrapping.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
The link member 10, illustrated in FIGS. 3 through 6, is preferably formed 
from a piece of cylindrical steel rod of sufficient strength to permit the 
wire which is to be tightened, to be wrapped about the link member without 
the link member deforming during the wrapping operation. Prior to the link 
member 10 being engaged with the wire it is formed with a plurality of 
bends. A first end portion 12 of the link member 10 is bent at 60.degree. 
relative to the main body portion 14. Another end portion 16 is bent at 
90.degree. relative to the main body portion 14 and in a plane 90.degree. 
counter clockwise from the plane containing the end portion bent at 
60.degree.. The other end portion 16 is again bent at 20.degree. at its 
outermost end portion 18; the 20.degree. being measured from the plane 
containing and 90.degree. clockwise to, the end portion 16 other than the 
portion 18. This is to hold the second handle member, described below, on 
the link member 10 as it is rotated about the wire. Putting the concave 
portion of the bend against the force exerted by the second handle member 
prevents the second handle member from slipping off the link member. This 
bending operation is preferably done on a mass production basis so that 
the links are readily available for use at the time the wire is to be 
tightened. 
Although the exact angle at which the link is bent is not particularly 
important, the basic shape and position of the angles on each end of the 
link is important and should be maintained at the approximate angles 
mentioned. 
The first handle member 20, illustrated in FIG. 2, is also preferably 
formed from cylindrical steel rod, but of a greater diameter than the 
steel rod from which the link member 10 is formed so as to provide 
additional strength for applying leverage during the winding operation as 
will be discussed more fully below. One end portion 22 of the first handle 
member 20 preferably ends in a truncated right cylindrical portion with a 
hole 24 extending therethrough and passing through the juncture of the 
truncated surface 26 and the cylindrical surface 28 at an angle oblique to 
the axis of the second handle member 20 and through the axis and out of 
the opposite side of the first handle member. The truncated surface 26 
also preferably makes an angle of 45.degree. with the axis of the handle 
member 20. 
Again, although the angle of the hole 24 relative to the axis of the first 
handle member 20 is not particularly critical, it should be maintained at 
a slightly oblique angle from the axis of the first handle 20 in order to 
insure a proper grip by the handle member on the link member during the 
tightening operation so that the handle member will not slip from the link 
member. 
The second handle member 30, illustrated in FIG. 1, is preferably of an 
L-shaped configuration with a foot portion 32 and leg portion 34, and is 
preferably formed from flat steel bar stock. A hole 36 is formed in the 
foot portion 32 and a further hole 38 is formed in the leg portion 34 
adjacent the foot portion. Both holes 36 and 38 are drilled through the 
respective portions of the second handle member 30, perpendicular to the 
planes containing the respective portions. The holes 36 and 38 are of 
sufficient diameter to permit the end portion 16 of link member 10 to be 
inserted in either hole depending upon which position the second handle 
member 30 is to be placed in during use. 
When the preferred embodiment according to the present invention is 
utilized for tightening of barbed wire or the like, it has been found 
advantageous to form the link member 10 from 3/16ths bar stock 
approximately 3 inches long. The first end portion 12 is bent so that it 
is approximately a quarter of an inch in length and the second end portion 
16 is bent so that it is approximately 11/16ths of an inch long and the 
20.degree. bend is then made at approximately a half inch from the main 
body portion 14 of the link member so that the ends of the outmost end 
portion 18 of end portion 16 is approximately 3/16ths of an inch long. The 
first handle member 20 is preferably formed of half-inch circular steel 
rod and the hole 24 is preferably 7/32nds of an inch in diameter and the 
rod should be approximately 12 inches in length. The second handle member 
30 is preferably formed from 3/16ths of an inch flat steel bar stock of 1 
inch width, with the foot portion 32 approximately an inch and a half in 
length and a leg portion 34 approximately 7 inches in length with the 
holes 36 and 38 being 7/32nds in diameter. 
In use, the link is placed upon the barbed wire as illustrated in FIGS. 4 
through 6 with the first handle member 20 positioned on the end portion 12 
of the link member 10 and the second handle member 30 positioned on the 
end portion 16 of the link member. The handle member 30 is then rotated 
while handle member 20 is held in a stationary position, so as to cause 
the barbed wire to wrap about the link member 10 thus, shortening the 
length of barbed wire between two adjacent posts and as a result, causing 
the barbed wire to tighten. 
If the link member 10 is to be placed on a piece of wire in a position in 
which the handle member 30 cannot be rotated in a circular path without 
encountering an obstruction, the handle member 30 has been provided with a 
second hole 38 so that the handle member 30 may be repositioned on the end 
portion 16 of link member 10 when the obstacle is encountered and thus 
permit the link member 10 to be rotated under such conditions. This 
permits the link member 10 to be placed on the barbed wire when, for 
example, there is another string of barbed wire immediately adjacent the 
one being tightened. With the dimensions of the embodiment referred to 
above, this permits a wire to be tightened with another wire at least as 
close as 2 inches to the wire being tightened. 
Once the wire has been tightened to the desired degree, the handle member 
20 is moved towards the handle member 30 to bend the end portion 12 of 
link member 10 over the wire, thus, locking it in position so that the 
wire cannot unwrap and there is no back-up from the desired tautness. To 
remove the handle members from the link member the first handle member 20 
is rotated so that the angle of the link member is in the same position it 
was in when inserted into the first handle member 20 so that the handle 
member can be easily removed from the link member. The second handle 
member 30 can be removed from the link member 10 without rotating it. 
Although the preferred embodiment has been referred to and illustrated as 
being used for tightening barbed wire, naturally, many other types of 
wire, such as woven wire or brace wire, can also be tightened in the 
manner discussed above. 
Further, with the dimensions of the link referred to above, it has been 
shown that any degree of looseness from 0 to 3 inches in a wire may be 
removed by using this link and wrapping the barbed wire approximately 6 
times around the link. Naturally, if additional slack must be removed from 
a wire between two adjacent fence posts, additional links may be used. 
Also, the link is preferably made from galvanized steel so as to prevent 
rust an increase the life of the link. 
Although the foregoing description illustrates the preferred embodiment of 
the present invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that 
variations are possible. All such variations as would be obvious to one 
skilled in this art are intended to be included within the invention as 
defined by the following claims.