Rope pulling device

A device for use in hand pulling of rope wherein the rope includes a fixed enlarged section such as a knot. The device has an elongated, graspable, rod-like body which has a transverse slot located at the approximate longitudinal mid-point of the body. The rope is to be slipped into the slot with the knot abutting against the inside surface of the body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1) Filed of the Invention 
The field of this invention relates to a device which is to be connectable 
to a rope which facilitates grasping of the rope to assist in rapid 
forceful pulling of the rope. 
2) Description of the Prior Art 
It is often necessary for humans to hold on to a rope and pull on it with a 
substantial amount of force in order to place a tensile loading on the 
rope. Sports such as sailing for example, utilize ropes in conjunction 
with the sails which are to be pulled in order to properly set the sail, 
raise the sail or like operations associated with the sail. Pulling 
directly on the rope by the hands of the human can cause injury to the 
hands. At the very least, the direct pulling of the rope by one's hands is 
not conducive to ease of operation. 
In the past, numerous devices have been constructed to pull ropes. These 
devices vary from simple, hand-held items to more complicated devices such 
as winches and windlasses. The fact that such devices within the prior art 
are complicated has resulted in such devices not experiencing widespread 
usage resulting in the individual pulling directly on the rope itself. 
The normal way for increasing tension in the hand pulling of a rope is to 
wrap the rope around the hand, pull the rope a short distance, unwrap the 
rope and move the hand forward on the rope, rewrap and repull and repeat 
until the required length of rope has been pulled. This wrapping and 
unwrapping slows down the rope pulling operation and can bruise the 
puller's hand. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The primary objective of the present invention is to construct a simple, 
hand-held rope puller that enables a person to pull a rope at a relatively 
high speed with substantially greater tension than would be possible with 
bare hands. 
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a device for hand 
gripping a rope which facilitates engagement and disengagement from the 
rope. 
Accordingly, the device of the present invention is to be used in manually 
exerting a tensile force on a rope which comprises an elongated handle 
adapted to fit in the palm of the user's hand. Formed within the handle is 
a transverse slot with this transverse slot located approximately at the 
longitudinal mid-point of the handle. The slot is to engage with the body 
of the rope and with there being a knot tied in the body of the rope. That 
knot is to abut against a bottom surface of the handle thereby fixing the 
rope to the handle. Where it is not feasible to have a knot present in the 
rope, the rope may be engaged in the slot of the grip and wrapped once (or 
twice) around the grip and the wrap held in place by compressing on the 
wrap with the hand of the user. One end of the slot is open to facilitate 
transverse entry and removal of the rope. The length of the slot is such 
that the longitudinal center axis of the rope would be located between the 
longitudinal center axis of the handle and the closed end of the slot so 
that the created torque of the tensile force would tend to keep the rope 
engaged with the handle. 
Another objective of the present invention is to construct a rope pulling 
device which is light in weight and thereby can be used by individuals of 
minimal strength such as children. 
Another objective of the present invention is to construct a rope pulling 
device which is of durable construction but yet relatively inexpensive 
thereby purchaseable by potential users at a relatively inexpensive price. 
Another objective of the present invention is to construct a rope pulling 
device which can be used equally by individuals that are either both right 
and left handed. 
Another advantage of the present invention is to construct a rope pulling 
device that can be used in conjunction with sailboats which permits 
trimming of the sail faster and with less effort. 
Another objective of the present invention is to construct a rope pulling 
device that when utilized in conjunction with sailboats enhances the 
effectiveness of a crew member regardless of their age, size or physical 
ability. 
Another object of the present invention is to utilize a rope pulling device 
in conjunction with sailboats which eliminates the commonly used manual 
rope wrapping arrangement which not only could cause the crew member's 
hands to be injured but could also cause the crew member's hands to become 
entangled and dragged from the deck of the boat into the water which could 
result in loss of life. 
Another objective of the present invention is to construct a rope pulling 
device which can be quickly and easily installed and quickly and easily 
released in conjunction with the rope.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SHOWN EMBODIMENT 
Referring particularly to the drawing there is shown a rope 10 which is 
deemed to be conventional and terminates in a knot 12. It is to be 
understood that it is not necessary for the rope 10 to terminate at the 
knot 12 and actually there may be located a series of knots on the rope 
10. However, in order to operate the rope pulling device of the present 
invention, there is required some form of a fixed enlargement on the body 
of the rope 10. A common form of such a fixed enlargement is a knot. 
The rope pulling device 14 of this invention comprises an elongated body 16 
which has a substantially hollow internal chamber 18. The body 16 will 
normally be constructed of a rigid moldable material such as plastic. The 
internal chamber 18 has an upstanding boss 20 located therein. The boss 20 
terminates in a planar interior surface 22. Located on each side of the 
boss 20 in between the longitudinal end of the body 16 is a strengthening 
rib 24. 
The exterior surface of the body 16 defines a convex top 26. The convex 
shape of the top 26 facilitates comfortable manual grasping of the rope 
pulling device 14 by a human. 
Connecting with the boss 20 is a transverse slot 28. Slot 28 is located 
substantially at the mid-point of the longitudinal length of the body 16. 
The slot 28 has an open outer end defined between sidewalls 30 and 32. The 
sidewalls 30 and 32 are tapered so that they are closer together at the 
portion of the body 16 that is furthest from the convex top 26. The reason 
for this is to provide a certain amount of snugness for the body of the 
rope 10 as it is slipped between the sidewalls 30 and 32 which will have a 
tendency to maintain engagement with the rope 10 in order to deter 
accidental dislodgement of the rope 10 from the rope pulling device 14. 
When the rope pulling device 14 is to be utilized, the longitudinal center 
axis 34 of the rope 10 is to be located between longitudinal center axis 
36 of the body 16 and the closed end 38 of the slot 28. Therefore, the 
tensile force applied on the rope 10 will have a tendency to create a 
slight torque tending to rotate the body 16 clockwise (FIG. 2) as is 
represented by arrow 40 in FIG. 1. This slight torque will therefore tend 
to maintain the established connection between the rope 10 and the body 16 
and will further tend to minimize the possibility of accidental 
dislodgement of the rope pulling device 14 when it is being used.