DRUM DEVICE FOR ROPES

Abstract: Drum device for ropes, in particular on-board boats, comprising a number of drums (4, 5) mounted with parallel axes in a unit and adapted to be operated selectively, or in selective groups. The device comprises common drive means for the drums, for instance a hand crank (8) or an electric motor, or both, and the drive means may by means of selector means be coupled to a selected drum or group of drums. A selector (15) on or in said selector means can be shifted between positions for locking a drum against rotation, rotation of the drum by means of the drive means and release of the drum, respectively. Moreover, emergency release means (17, 18) may be provided for simultaneous release of several, possibly all, drums.

Description: Drum device for ropes The present invention relates to a drum device for ropes, in particular for use onboard boats, and in particular for sailing boats and yachts, but also for boats in which are ropes for other purposes than adjusting the spread of the sails, as for instance ropes for mooring, handling of cargo, fishing or anchoring. The invention is, however, in particular adapted for use on board somewhat larger sailing boats where the sail equipment makes it necessary to handle several ropes. It is usual that the crew onboard sailing boats handle such ropes, for instance sheets and halyards for the sails. On larger boats the ropes often are wound around winches which are mounted for rotation, for instance on the deck or at the heel of a mast, and the winches usu¬ ally comprise gears and a ratchet which prevents rotation in one direction, and the ropes are usually secured to suitable attachment devices on the deck or on a mast, or in or near the cockpit, between each time adjustment is necessary. Onboard such boats there will, consequently, be a larger or smaller numberof ropes which at least now and then need to be tightened or slackened, and there will be ropes extending along the deck and several rope ends which from economical and practical reasons must be handled by means of the same winch, on several locations onboard the boat, and partially out of reach from the helmsman's sea . Such a system of ropes, winches and attachment devices is difficult to handle for unskilled persons, and the ropes make an element of risk because the free ends of the ropes at the attachment devices may tangle, with undesired and dangerous consequences when one of the ropes is de¬ tached from its attachment device, both for the boat itself and people onboard, who may get the ropes wrapped around the feet, arms etc. f OM The object of the present invention is to achieve a drum device which makes it substantially simpler to handle all ropes onboard boats and which reduces the risk in connection therewith. In accordance with the invention this is achieved by means of a drum device as defined in the succeeding claims. The drum device according to the invention makes it possible to control all or a large number of ropes from one single location. An economical saving is achieved because only one gear is necessary in order to achieve the desired gear ratios for all the drums. Because the drum device permits adjustment of ropes without the necessity to catch the ropes by the hands, there may be used ropes which are thinner and cheaper than lines which are adapted to be firmly held by the hands. Each line is wound on a separate drum of the central unit, and the crew may choose which drum is to be actuated, in accordance with -what is to be adjusted. Thus, the drum device according to the invention com¬ prises a number of drums which are mounted for rotation in some kind of supporting device, for instance two parallel plates, the drums being journalled with one end of their shafts in each plate. The shafts are pre¬ ferably parallel, and are mutually spaced along one or more circles, preferably concentric. A selector arm is journalled in the center of the circle or circles, and comprises a driving mechanism which by choice may be coupled to any one of the drum shafts. More¬ over, the selector arm comprises a selector mechanism for selecting either uncoupling of the drum shaft, locking of the drum shaft or. coupling for driving the drum shaft. When coupled for driving the driving mechanism is in engagement with the shaft in question. A common drive shaft which is coaxial with the pivot axis of the selector arm is, by means of a suitable transmission, for instance toothed wheels and a transmission shaft, a toothed belt, a chain or similar in driving engagement with the drum shaft. The drive shaft may be operated manually, by means of a hand crank, or it may be coupled to an electric motor. It is also possible to arrange optional operation, i.e. the choice between hand crank operation and electrical operation, in a single device. This may be achieved when the drive shaft is axially shiftable, so that the shaft by being forced axially in the direction oppositely of the hand crank end is brought into engagement with anelectric motor, simultaneously with uncoupling of the hand crank, in order to prevent that the crank is rotated by the motor. In a position axially further out the drive shaft may be uncoupled from the motor, while the shaft in a position still further out is in drive connection with the hand crank. Moreover, it is possible to use the drive shaft in order to achieve different gear ratios between the electric motor and the drive shaft and between the hand crank and the drive shaft. When the drums are situated along more than one pitch circle pro¬ visions must be made in order to achieve that the selector arm can only be coupled to one drum at a time, provided that two or more drums are not to be oper¬ ated simultanously. Except from the latter the connections for the drums on the selector arm along two or more pitch circles must not simultaneously be situated each in line with a drum shaft. When the selector arm is straight, i.e. having its connections along the same radius, the drum shafts must be arranged in such a manner that two or more shafts are not situated along the same radius. The invention will hereinafter be explained more de¬ tailed by means of embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 shows a part of a device according to the invention, seen in an axial section through the axes of the drive shaft and one of the drum shafts. Fig. 2 shows how drums may be situated along two circles, in such a manner that none of the longitudinal axes of the drums positioned along one circle are on the same radius as any of the longitudinal axes of the drums positioned along the other circle. The embodiment shown is relatively complicated, as it comprises drums 3, 4 spaced along two concentric circles. All the drums can be operated by means of a common selector arm 13, said selector arm having means for being coupled to the drum shafts situated along both of the circles. In the following the mode of operation will be described only for a drum along the outermost circle, because the mode of operation will be the same for .a drum along the innermost circle. It is in the principle sufficient to provide drums only along one circle, but the embodiment shown also illustrates how the number of drums can be in¬ creased by arranging drums along two circles. There are no obstructions against arranging drums along three or more circles. Fig. 1 shows a housing having end plates 1 and 2, and the drums 3 and 4 are journalled in these end plates. The section shown goes through the axis of a drum 3 on the outermost circle. The drum 3 is mounted on a shaft 5. The shaft 5 is journalled for rotation in the plates 1 and 2, in bearings which are not shown. In the shown position the shaft 5 is locked against rotation, by a conical toothed wheel 20 on the shaft being in engagement with a matching toothed wheel rim 19 secured to the plate 2. Also the drive shaft 10 is journalled in the plates 1 and 2, in bearings which are not shown, and is equipped with a hand crank 8, preferably with a handle 9 which may be swung into the plane of the crank arm when the hand ' crank is not in use. The drive shaft 10 is, possibly through a gear train system which permits vari¬ able gear ratios, coupled to a toothed wheel 11a, which cooperates with a pinion lib at the end of a trans¬ mission shaft 14. The transmission shaft extends through almost the entire length of a selector arm 13 which is mounted for being pivoted about the drive shaft 10. The transmission shaft 14 has a pinion 12c at its other end, said pinion being in engagement with a toothed wheel 12b journalled in the selector arm 13. A toothed wheel 12a on the drum shaft 5 can, together with the drum shaft, be moved into and out of engagement with the toothed wheel 12b, as explained more detailed herein¬ after. A pinion 12d is mounted on the transmission shaft 14 closer to the drive shaft 10, in the vicinity of the circle along which the innermost drums 4 are spaced, and the pinion 12d is in engagement with a toothed wheel 12e • journalled in the selector arm. The drum shaft has a toothed wheel 12f, which corresponds to the toothed wheel 12a on the drum shaft 5. The selector arm 13 contains a selector lever 15. This lever can be operated from the outside of the selector arm 13. In the shown embodiment the selector lever is adapted to be shifted longitudinally of the selector arm. OMPI and is provided with a stepped portion 15a, 15b for each group of drum shafts, said stepped portions having bevelled transitions between the steps. Shifting of the selector lever causes axial movement of that drum shaft at which the selector arm is situated. When the selector lever 15 has been shifted as far as possible outwardly along the selector arm, the drum shaft has been moved as far as possible to the left, as seen from the side shown in Fig. 1. In this position the drum shaft 5 is un¬ coupled from the toothed wheel 12b, and the conical toothed wheel 20 is uncoupled from the toothed wheel rim 19, and simultaneously a toothed wheel rim 6a on the shaft 5 is uncoupled from a matching toothed wheel rim 6b on the inside of the drum 3, and the drum, thus, is released. Each drum is continuously biased towards the right by a spring 7, and the protruding end of the shaft is kept in engagement with one of the steps on the selector lever 15. When the selector lever is shifted in such a manner that the shaft 5 engages the middle step, the shaft is operationally coupled to the toothed wheel 12b, and simultaneously the conical toothed wheel 20 is uncoupled from the toothed wheel rim 19, while the toothed wheel rim 6a on the shaft 5 engages the toothed wheel rim 6b inside the drum 3, whereby said drum and the associated shaft are in an operational position and may be rotated by means of the hand crank 8, or by a motor. When the selector lever 15 is shifted in such a manner that the shaft 5 engages the radially innermost step, the drum 3 is still coupled to the shaft 5 by means of the toothed wheel rims 6a and 6b, and the drum is locked against rotation. In the embodiment shown this is achieved by means of a conical toothed wheel 20 on the shaft, said wheel cooperating with a matching toothed wheel rim 19 secured to the wall 2. In said released position of the drum shaft it is achieved OMP that the toothed wheel 12a may rotate freely relatively to the transmission from the hand cranK 8, while the wheel 12a is operationally coupled to ' the hand crank 8 when the selector lever is in its operational position. In order to avoid that the selector lever 15 may strike the end of the drum shaft from the side when the selector arm is pivoted to a selected drum there is provided a spring 16 which biases the selector lever towards its radially innermost position, corresponding to the locked position of the drum shaft 5. The spring force must be so adapted that the selector lever 15 is kept in all the other positions to which it is shifted, i.e. the spring 16 must not overcome the friction between the selector lever and the shaft end and guiding means for the selector lever in the selector arm 13, respec¬ tively. Thus, the selector arm 13 can be pivoted about the crank shaft 10 without being obstructed by the protruding ends of the drum shafts 5. In the selector arm are of course openings in those areas which are to pass the ends of the drum shafts. Thus, when one of the toothed wheels 12b or 12e have been brought into engagement with the toothed wheel on one of the drum shafts, the associated drum can be rotated by means of the hand crank 8, or by use of a motor. The transmission shaft 14 may be journalled in the selector arm 13, for instance in lugs 21. Moreover, the selector lever 15 may be journalled for longitudinal shifting along the transmission shaft 14. By use of the selector arm is selected which of the drums that is to be actuated, and by means of the selector lever is selected whether said drum is to be locked in one position, rotated by means of the hand crank or released for free rotation. The invention is, however, not limited to manual oper¬ ation of the drums by means of a hand crank. As pre¬ viously mentioned the hand crank may be replaced by or combined with an electric motor. The ropes which are to be handled by means of the device are entered between the plates 1 and 2 and wound on the drums 3 and 4. Fig. 2 shows diagrammatically how several drums may be situated between the plates 1 and 2 along two circles, and without two drums being situated along the same radius. Provided that the selector arm 13 is straight and concequently lies along a radius, it is precluded that both the toothed wheels 12b and 12e are simultane¬ ously brought into engagement with the toothed wheels at the ends of the drum shafts. If, on the contrary, it is desirable to operate two drums simultaneously, and in the same manner, the drums can be arranged in pairs along the same radius. The plates must be held in position relatively ' o each other, and it is near at hand to arrange the plates 1 and 2 as end walls of a housing which contains all the drums. Thus, a unit is provided which can be secured at a suitable location onboard a boat - for instance near the helmsman's seat - in order to permit operation of several ropes, preferably all, in one place. In one or more side walls of the housing are openings for the ropes, which may be guided to the drum device through tubes from those places where the ropes actuate sails, anchors, mooring means etc. The housing may be secured for instance to a bulk head, and the front plate 1 may be adapted to be removed for servicing of each drum without influencing the functioning of the other drums. It is to be noted that the mechanism for the drive transmission and the selection of functions may be otherwise than shown.. The drive transmission may for instance comprise an endless belt or an endless chain. The transfer of the rotational movement of the drive shaft to the drum shafts may be achieved by use of any kind of means within the scope of the invention. The drums can be used for winding or releasing ropes which actuate sails etc. giving a counter-force (for instance the wind force against sails, the weight of an anchor etc.), or for endless transmissions. The latter may be used for controlling remote drums when the rope length is too great to make it practical to wind the entire length in the drum device, and for con¬ trolling items which do not give any counter-force, as for instance the shifting of sheet vehicles along sheet rails under certain wind conditions. In order to avoid slippage in endless transmissions the drums used have helical grooves which contain the ropes almost com¬ pletely, and a pressure drum presses the ropes and secures them. This is shown in Fig. 2, in which pressure drums 25 cooperate with the rope drums 4. The drum device may further be equipped with emergency release means, for use in occations when there is no time for coupling the selector arm to one or more drum shafts in order to release the drum o drums. For instance when there is a danger of capsizing it may be opportune to slacken one or more sail sheets on a sailing boat very rapidly. For this purpose the device may be equipped with means for releasing several drums simultaneously and independently of the position of the selector arm and the setting of the selector lever. In fig. 1 is shown how this can be achieved, namely that each drum shaft (shown only on the drum shaft 5) is equipped with a disc 17 which is tapered in direction towards the plate 1 and that a wedge shaped element 18 is adapted to move the disc, and thereby the drum shaft 5, to the release position i.e. as far to the left (in Fig. 1) that the toothed wheel rim 19 and the toothed wheel 20 are uncoupled, simultaneously with the un¬ coupling of the toothed wheel rims 6a and 6b. Corre¬ sponding wedge shaped elements areprovided for all the drums which it is desired to be able to release by emergency, so that all the wedge shaped elements, or groups * , of such elements, can be operated simultaneously. This may be effected mechanically, or by means of electric power. There are also other possibilities than the use of wedge shaped elements. For instance electro magnets may be provided outside of the ends of the drum shafts, in order to attract the shafts. All the magnets, or a group of magnets, may then be actuated simultaneously, for instance by pushing an emergency knob. At the top of Fig. 1 is shown that the crank mechanism may comprise a gear box 22, for instance a planetary gear box, in order to permit the choice of gear ratio be¬ tween the crank shaft 10 and the toothed wheel 11a. In the embodiment shown the crank shaft 10 is directly coupled to the toothed wheel 11a through a toothed wheel 23 which is in engagement with a matching toothed wheel rim inside the hub 24. Thus, the gear ratio in the shown position of the crank shaft is 1 to 1. By shifting the crank shaft 10 to the left the toothed wheel 23 is un¬ coupled from the toothed wheel rim inside the hub 24, and simultaneously is effected a coupling of toothed O P IP wheels inside the gear box 22, and the gear ratio is changed. It is possible to provide toothed wheels for several gear ratios in the gear box 22. Moreover, a not shown electric motor may be provided which may be actuated by shifting the crank shaft 10 as far as possible to the left, and preferably the hand crank is released when said motor is actuated. The gear box 22 may be omitted, and if so the crank shaft 10 is permanently fastened to the hub 24.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. Drum device for ropes, in particular onboard boats, comprising a number of drums mounted in a central unit which is equipped with drive means for selective opera¬ tion of each drum or groups of drums, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the drums (3, 4) are spaced along at least one circle, and that selector means comprising means (11a, lib, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e, 14) for drive transmission from the drive means to any of the drums are journalled for being pivoted about the center of said circle or circles, in order to couple the drive transmission means to the desired shaft, whereby at least one end of each drum shaft protrudes from a wall (1) in said unit. 2. Device as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the selector means (13) comprise a selector (15). for the choice of either locking, actuation or release of a coupled shaft (5) . 3. Device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that each drum shaft (5) and each drum (3) are provided with means (6a, 6b) for being coupled to or uncoupled from said drive transmission means by axial displacement of the drum shaft. 4. Device as claimed in claims 2 or 3, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the selector (15) is adapted to shift the drum shafts (5) axially. 5. Device as claimed in claim 3 and 4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that said means comprise a toothed part (6a) on the drum shaft (5) and a toothed part (6b) inside the drum, said parts being adapted to be mutually coupled and uncoupled by axial shifting of the drum (3) . IP 6. Device as claimed in any of the claims 2 to 5, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the selector (15) has a stepped portion (15a, 15b) for each circle which the drums are spaced around, that the selector (15) is shiftable along the selector means (13) , that shifting of the selector causes axial displacement of a drum shaft (5) , and that a spring (7) is. adapted to bias the drum shaft against the stepped portion. 7. Device as claimed in any of the claims 1 to 6, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the drive transmission means are coupled to a shaft (10) which has its axis alongthe pivot axis of the selector means, and that a transmission shaft (14) extending lengthwise of the selector means and journalled in the selector means has pinions (lib, 12c, 12d) which are in permanent engagement with toothed wheels (12b, 12e) which are journalled in the selector means and have their axes of rotation parallel with the drum shafts, whereby toothed wheels (12a, 12f) secured to the drum shafts are adapted to-be coupled to and uncoupled from the toothed wheels journalled in the selector means by shifting of the selector (15) . 8. Device as claimed in any of the claims 1 to 7, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the drive trans¬ mission means comprise gear means (22) for the choice of gear ratio. 9. Device as claimed in any of the claims 1 to 8, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the drive trans¬ mission means are adapted to drive the drums in both directions of rotation. 10. Device as claimed in any of the claims 1 to 9, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that a releasable locking mechanism (19, 20) is provided to prevent rotation of each drum (3, 4) . 11. Device as claimed in any of the claims 1 to 10, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that it comprises emer¬ gency release means (17, 18) adapted to cause simultane¬ ous release of several drums. 12. Device as claimed in any of the claims 1 to 11, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the drums (3, 4) adapted for use in remote control of winches or other moving items outside of the device, by means of endless ropes, belts, chains or the like, have helical grooves for the endless ropes, belts, chains etc, and that press drums (25) are provided for pressing the ropes, belts, chains etc. into the grooves, in order to prevent slipping. O

Inventors: STAFF T
Applicants: STAFF ENTREPRISER AS, STAFF T
Application year: 1981
Main classification: B66D1
IPC codes: B66D1