Pawl catch device for two reciprocally-rotating parts, for example for an awning. The first part has a spring-loaded pawl with a tongue to engage with teeth on a toothed sector provided on the second part. The second part also comprises a shaft about which the first part rotates. The teeth on the toothed sector are disposed at successively increasing distances from the shaft, and the pawl is adapted to catch automatically in any of a plurality of angular positions, such that when the two parts are rotated back toward the starting position, the tongue passes clear of the top of that tooth with which it has just been engaged. The pawl is held by spring force against the teeth in each of the catch positions.

The present invention relates to a pawl catch device for two 
reciprocally-rotating parts, for example, for use with an awning, one part 
having a spring-loaded pawl whose tongue engages with ratchet teeth on a 
toothed sector provided on the second part, said second part also 
comprising a shaft on which the first part rotates. 
Catches of the above type are used in a number of applications, for 
example, for regulating the support rods of an awning relative to the wall 
mounting, for adjusting the angle of the reclining back of a garden chair 
or lounge, or for regulating the flap on a simple air valve. 
The disadvantage of previous pawl catches of this type is that it has not 
been possible to bring the part which has been locked relative to the 
other part by means of the pawl back to its starting position without 
first rotating it completely past the toothed sector, so that the pawl 
tongue disengages. This disadvantage is particularly manifest where 
repeated adjustments of one part relative to the other are required or 
desirable. This is the case, for example, for garden chairs and especially 
for chaise longues, recliners or camping beds. On a conventional camping 
bed or recliner, one cannot adjust the back from a sitting position to a 
reclining position without first pivoting the back forward almost 
completely down to the seat. This is troublesome, since one must rise from 
the lounge in order to perform the movement. Conventional awning mountings 
also have this drawback. 
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a pawl catch device 
which avoids the above drawback, where from any catch position one is able 
to bring one part to its starting position without first having to rotate 
the first part so far, relative to the second part, that the pawl is 
guided past the last tooth on the toothed sector, and from there, back to 
the initial position. 
This is achieved according to the invention with an improved pawl catch 
device of the type described introductorily, the device being 
characterized in that the teeth on the toothed sector are disposed at 
successively increasing distances from the shaft, in that the pawl is 
adapted to catch automatically in any of a plurality of angular positions, 
such that when the two parts are rotated back toward the starting 
position, the tongue on the pawl passes clear of the top of the tooth with 
which it has just been engaged, and in that the pawl, in a manner known 
per se, is held by spring force against the teeth in each catch position. 
A preferred embodiment of the pawl catch of the invention is characterized 
in that a plurality of radially-extending notches are disposed at an 
angular distance from the tongue of the pawl, these notches being adapted 
to engage with an auxiliary pawl which also is pivoted on the first 
rotatable part and is spring-loaded in a central direction toward the 
notches, said auxiliary pawl in the starting position holding the pawl 
tongue by spring force against the first tooth on the toothed sector, but 
with further rotation of the two rotatable parts, the tongue of the pawl 
will impinge on the next tooth and the pawl will be pivoted, such that the 
auxiliary pawl will click into the next notch on the pawl, and thus the 
pawl will be held in an angular position whereby a reversal of the 
direction of rotation for the two parts will cause the tongue to bypass 
the top of the first tooth, but if the initial direction of rotation 
continues, the tongue will be held by spring force against the next tooth. 
A practical embodiment of the auxiliary pawl has the form of a two-armed 
lever rotatable about a shaft, one arm being adapted to engage with the 
notches on the pawl, and the other arm being connected by a radial tension 
spring to a point on the first rotatable part.

The two parts which are to be rotated relative to one another are in this 
case a support arm 1, of which only a small section is shown, and a 
bearing housing or mounting 2 which is adapted to be fastened onto a wall. 
A forked extension 3 is attached to the end of the arm 1, said forked 
extension rotating about a shaft 4 on the mounting 2. A toothed sector 5, 
made of plastic, for example, is also fastened to the mounting 2. The 
toothed sector has three ratchet teeth, 6, 7 and 8, which, in the order 
mentioned, are disposed at successively increasing distances from the 
shaft 4. Supported between the legs of the fork 3 is a pawl 9 which pivots 
about a shaft 10 and has a catch tongue 11. On the end opposite its tongue 
11, the pawl has an extension 12 with a plurality of notches 13 which are 
directed away from the center of rotation 10 of the pawl. In connection 
with the extension 12, an auxiliary pawl 14 is provided, having a detent 
arm 14' cooperating with the notches 13 and an oppositely-directed arm 
14". A tension spring 15 is attached to the arm 14", the other end of the 
spring being fastened to the stem 16 of the fork. 
When the pawl is in the position shown in FIG. 1, the detent arm 14' on the 
auxiliary pawl 14 is in contact with the upper edge of the extension 12 on 
the pawl 9 and has pressed the pawl tongue 11 into engagement in back of 
the first tooth 6 on the toothed sector 5. Then, when the arm 1 is rotated 
in the direction of the arrow P, the tongue 11 on the pawl 9 will be 
pressed further in a clockwise direction because the tooth 7 lies at a 
greater distance from the center of rotating 4 than the tooth 6, and the 
detent 14' on the auxiliary pawl will click into the first of the notches 
13 on the extension 12 of the pawl 9. The pawl 9 will thus be locked into 
an angular position, such that the outer end of its tongue 11 will bypass 
the outer edge of the tooth 6 should the arm be rotated in the reverse 
direction of the arrow P (FIG. 2). However, if the arm 1 is pivoted 
further in the direction of the arrow P, the spring effect of the spring 
15 will force the tongue 11 to click into place in back of the tooth 7 
(FIG. 3). The same thing will occur if the arm 1 is guided even further in 
the direction of the arrow P. The tongue 11 will then come up against the 
outer surface of the tooth 8 and will be caused to rotate further in a 
clockwise direction, such that the detent arm 14' on the auxiliary pawl 14 
will jump into the next notch 13 on the pawl extension 12, and the outer 
end of the tongue 11 would then be clear of the top of the tooth 7 if the 
arm 1 were rotated in the reverse direction of the arrow P. If the arm 1 
has been rotated so far that the tongue 11 has clicked into place in back 
of the tooth 8, the arm 1 can be rotated back by first pivoting the arm in 
the direction of the arrow P, such that the detent arm 14' on the 
auxiliary pawl engages with the last of the notches 13. This forces the 
pawl 9 to turn in a clockwise direction, such that the outermost end of 
the tongue 11 will pass clear of the top of the tooth 8 when the arm 1 is 
rotated in the reverse direction of the arrow P. When the arm has been 
rotated down as far as it can go in the reverse direction of the arrow P, 
the tongue 11 on the pawl 9 will come up against a projection 17 which 
forces the pawl 9 to pivot in a counterclockwise direction, and the 
auxiliary pawl 14 will then flip up to assume the position shown in FIG. 
1. The tongue 11 can then be guided into engagement with any of the teeth 
6, 7, 8 through a new movement of the arm 1 in the direction of the arrow 
P. 
In the example discussed above, the invention has been described in 
connection with its application as a mounting for an awning, but the pawl 
catch device of the invention can be used equally well for various other 
purposes, for example, for adjusting the reclining angles on a chaise 
longue, recliner, camping bed or the like. The number of teeth and the 
angle of the toothed sector can be changed, such that the angle of 
deflection for the two adjustable parts can be increased.