Line holder

A line holder is provided which permits using one hand to selectively engage and disengage a line as it is unwound from a reel. A line lock in the form of a hook assembly is secured to the reel so that angular movement of the reel to first and second positions selectively engages the hook assembly with the line to prevent uncoiling the line and selectively moving the reel to the second and first positions releases the hooked line to permit uncoiling the line. A base is provided for mooring the line to a fixed position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Lines are in common usage which are made of numerous materials, including 
natural materials such as cotton and wool and synthetic materials such as 
nylon and steel. Where the line usage includes a person holding a line in 
tension there have been numerous devices constructed to store the line and 
to facilitate holding the line in tension by means of holding a 
comfortable handgrip. 
Some devices such as Kuncz U.S. Pat. No. 3,901,458, a U.S. patent issued 
Aug. 26, 1975, provide a handgrip and serve solely to store lines. 
Some devices such as Powell, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 250,746, a U.S. design 
patent issued Jan. 9, 1979, and Latimer No. 447,636, a British patent 
issued June 18, 1936 provide apparatus for both storing a line and 
maintaining a line in tension but they do not permit simple one-handed 
operation by which a line in storage on the device can be selectively 
released as it is being pulled off the storage reel. 
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide apparatus for 
storing a line and selectively adjusting the line extending from the 
apparatus while the line is in tension. 
It is a further object of this invention to provide a line handle which 
stores the line and while being held by one hand selectively engages and 
disengages the line so as to adjust the amount of line being pulled from 
the handle. 
It is a further object of this invention to provide a line handle which 
stores a line, permits one-handed selective engaging and disengaging of 
the line to adjust the length of the line extending from the handle and 
which permits mooring the line to a fixed place while maintaining the line 
in tension. 
The foregoing and other objects of the invention will become apparent from 
the accompanying drawings and descriptions. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
This invention is of a unique line handle which incorporates a handgrip and 
line reel in a single unit. Two hooks axially mounted on the reel 
selectively engage and disengage the line as it is pulled off the reel. 
The line handle may be controlled with a single hand. After removing the 
hooks the handle can be secured to a rigidly mounted base to moor the line 
.

A line handle 10 embodying the principles of the subject invention is 
illustrated in FIG. 1. The line handle 10 in large part is compromised of 
a single unit which includes a handgrip 12, a reel 14, and a line lock 
support 16 which supports a hook assembly 18. The handgrip 12, reel 14, 
and line lock support 16 may all be formed of a single piece of material 
or a combination of natural or synthetic materials. In some applications, 
particularly when used in sailing, it is desirable that the line handle 10 
be made of a buoyant material which floats. Depending upon the 
application, it may be desired to make the line handle 10 out of laminated 
wood, a single piece of wood, nylon, aluminum, or two pieces of plastic 
which may be made into a single piece such as through vibration welding 
where surfaces join. 
As shown in FIG. 1, the hook assembly 18 in the preferred embodiment is 
formed of a sturdy metal which resists rusting, such as galvanized steel 
or stainless steel, and is secured to the line lock support 16 by means of 
a bolt 20 extending through a mounting hole 22 and a washer 24 where it is 
secured by a wing nut 26. The line lock support 16 includes a saddle 28 
into which the hook assembly 18 is mounted and held a predetermined 
distance in front of the reel 14. 
The portion of the reel 14 closest to the hook assembly 18 includes two 
line guide flanges 30 and 31 best illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 also 
illustrates how the hook assembly 18 includes a first hook 32 and a second 
hook 34 formed of a single rod in the shape of a "S" with the respective 
ends 36 and 37 in a different plane than the center 38 of the hook 
assembly 18 which is bolted to the saddle 28, which as shown in FIG. 2 has 
a square cross-section. 
For reasons which will later become apparent, the reel 14 includes knobs 40 
and 41, valleys 42 and 43, and inclined surfaces 44 and 45 which in the 
illustrated embodiment are at approximately a 45.degree. angle to the reel 
axis 46 shown as the centerline through bolt 20. The line lock support 16 
also includes mounting holes 48 and 49. 
As shown in FIG. 3, a line 50 is installed on line handle 10 by tying one 
end 51 of the line 50 around knob 41. The line 50 is then wound on coil 52 
around the reel 14, which cradles the coil 52 in the valleys 42 and 43 
between the knobs 40 and 41 and the inclined surfaces 44 and 45. The other 
end 53 in FIG. 3 extends to the right in FIG. 3 as if under a tensile 
force. The end 53 of the line 50 passes between the reel 14 and hook 
assembly 18 and passes through the hook 32 as shown in FIG. 5. Persons 
versed in the art will appreciate that holding handgrip 12 to pull against 
the tensile force in line 50 pulls line 50 in FIG. 3 tighter against 
inclined surface 45. It is thus apparent that no matter how hard line 50 
is pulled the hook assembly 18 serves to lock the line and prevent 
uncoiling the line. 
As shown in FIG. 4 the ends 36 and 37 of the hook assembly 18 are inclined 
at substantially a 45.degree. angle to the plane in which the center 38 of 
the hook assembly 18 is located. It is thus apparent that if the line 
handle 10 is turned sideways a predetermined angle so the line 50 does not 
extend through the hook 32, which is illustrated in dashed lines in FIG. 
4, and if the line handle 10 is then tilted so the line 50 comes out from 
between the hook assembly 18 and reel 14 as illustrated in dashed lines in 
FIG. 3, the line can be released from the hook assembly 18 so it is free 
to be pulled axially from the reel 14 substantially parallel to the reel 
axis 46. 
For purposes of illustration an arrow is depicted in FIG. 4 showing the 
direction in which the line handle 10 is to be moved relative to the line 
50 in order to remove the line 50 from within the hook 32 by grasping the 
handgrip 12 so as to angularly change the position of the reel axis 46. 
Similarly, an arrow is illustrated in FIG. 3 to show the angular movement 
of the line handle 10 which is required to remove the line 50 from between 
the hook assembly 18 and the reel 14. 
When line 50 is in tension and not engaged by one of the hooks 32 or 34 it 
uncoils from the reel 14 by being pulled substantially parallel to the 
reel axis 46. 
By using a single hand on the handgrip 12 a person can selectively engage 
and disengage the line 50 and the hook assembly 18, which serves as a line 
lock to keep the line 50 locked in a position. To lock the line the 
operator while grasping handgrip 12 tilts the reel 14 in the angular 
direction illustrated in FIG. 3 by the arrow so as to hold the line 50 
against inclined surface 45 and position line 50 between hook assembly 18 
and the reel 14. By angularly moving reel 14 to this first position the 
line 50 is stopped from uncoiling. However, in the first position it is 
held solely against the inclined surface 45 and if the operator angularly 
returned reel 14 to the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 3 line 50 
would continue to uncoil. Therefore once the operator has stopped 
uncoiling line 50 by angularly tilting reel 14 in the direction 
illustrated by the arrow in FIG. 3 to the first position the operator then 
angularly moves the reel 14 to the second position illustrated by the 
arrow in FIG. 4 so the line 50 passes between the hook assembly 18 and the 
reel 14 and is adjacent the saddle 28 of the line lock support 16. The 
operator then tilts reel 14 to the position illustrated in FIG. 3 by 
moving it in the direction opposite the arrow in FIG. 3 and tilts reel 14 
angularly in the direction opposite the arrow in FIG. 4 so the line 50 is 
engaged by hook 32 as illustrated in solid lines in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5. 
As persons versed in the art will appreciate hooks 32 and 34 curve in the 
same direction relative to bolt 20. Therefore the operator can engage line 
50 when the free end 53 of line 50 is pulled against inclined surface 45 
or an additional 1/2 of a coil of line 50 can be removed from reel 14 so 
the free end 53 is pulled against inclined surface 44 and line 50 is 
engaged by hook 34 instead of hook 32. 
Line guide flanges 30 and 31 are provided so that when line 50 is pulled 
axially off reel 14 it does not accidentally engage one of the hooks 32 or 
34. Line guide flanges 30 and 31 guide the uncoiling line 50 outward away 
from hooks 32 and 34 when it is allowed to freely unwind. 
As shown in FIG. 6 the line lock support 16 has a relatively deep notch 54 
in the saddle 28 so as to prevent hook assembly 18 rotating in the saddle 
28 even though a rotational force is applied on the hook assembly 18 by 
the line 50 tending to rotate hook assembly 18 about bolt 20. 
As shown in FIG. 7, a base 56 is provided to use line handle 10 as a 
mooring by removing hook assembly 18 and inserting saddle 28 through a 
hole 58 in the base 56. Mounting holes 60 and 61 are provided in the base 
56 to a line with mounting holes 48 and 49 in the reel 14 so that the reel 
14 can be bolted to base 56. Base 56 has sidewalls 62 and 63 perpendicular 
to a floor 64 so that the sidewalls 62 and 63 hold reel 14 so the reel 
axis 46 is perpendicular to floor 64. As shown in FIG. 7, sidewalls 62 and 
63 do not extend the full length of the base 56 to provide room for line 
guide flanges 30 and 31. It is thus apparent that line handle 10 can be 
used to moor line 50 to a fixed position by securing base 56 to that fixed 
position and attaching reel 14 to the base 56. 
Persons versed in the art will appreciate that various modifications may be 
made of the subject apparatus without departing from the spirit of the 
invention. One such modification would be the reversal of the direction in 
which hooks 32 and 34 extend from bolt 20 and placement of line guide 
flanges 30 and 31 on opposite sides of reel 14 so as to permit winding 
line 50 around reel 14 in the opposite direction from that illustrated.