Abstract:
A fairlead and cam cleat assembly for a sailing vessel is provided, in which the fairlead at the entrance of the cam cleat is of inverted U-shape, allowing a line passing through the cam clear to be bent at severe angles relative to center line or normal entrance of the line into the cam cleat.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In general, a “fairlead” is a device used on a sailing vessel to lead and position the running rigging, for example, the lines which are used to control the position and shape of a sail. Fairleads are employed, to prevent excessive binding, friction, and/or chafe on the line that controls the running rigging. 
     A “cam cleat” is a device widely used on sailing crafts, as well as in other applications requiring a releasable stop. The device generally comprises a base and a pair of cam-shaped toothed jaws or pawls pivotally mounted on the base and movable toward and away from each other, which provides a spacing between the jaws that is variable relative to the center line of the pawls to receive a downward and rearward pulling of the line by the free end to insert the line between the pawls in a locking relationship. The jaws have inwardly facing serrated surfaces and are spring loaded toward a closed position, such that a portion of line inserted from the top of the pawls will be secured toward a closed position. To release the line, the line is pulled up and out of engagement with the pawls. One type of cam cleat currently on the market is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,486, incorporated herein by reference. The pawls rotate around a fixed axis and bearing means, such as a sleeve, ball bearings or roller bearings may be provided to reduce internal friction and to improve performance in terms of insertion and removal of the line in a cleating and uncleating operation. 
     A cam cleat fairlead currently on the market and sold by Harken, Inc. of Pewaukee, Wis., is shown in FIG.  1 . Fairleads such as these may be used at the entry or the exit of the cam cleat to allow the line to maintain alignment between the center line between the pawls of the cleat when the line is disengaged and then engaged again. If the line is not brought into alignment with the pawls, the cam cleat will not operate. 
     As generally shown in FIG. 1, the prior art conventional assembly comprises a pair of jaws or pawls  10  and  12  pivotally mounted on a base  14 . The fairlead comprises a strap, generally shown at  16 , mounted above the cam cleat and this strap is designed to retain a line  18  between the jaws or pawls  10  and  12  after the line has been released. In order to allow the line to be released by pulling upwardly, the upper portion of strap  16  includes an upper generally V-shaped notch  20 , extending on an angle to vertical, with a pair of spaced vertical bearing tubes or elements  22  and  24  for guiding the line. When this device is positioned at the exit side of the cleat, the free end of the line may be bent at an angle of up to 45 degrees relative to the center line of the cleat, but beyond such angle, as shown in FIG. 1, the line tends to become blocked or hung up by the upper part of notch  20 , thus preventing reengagement of the line. This lessens versatility of the cleat and fairlead assembly in terms of where it can be positioned on the sailing vessel in an operative position, and also imposes constraints on the position of the person attempting to cleat the line, since the person may be moving to different positions on the sailing vessel and pulling on the line at an extreme angle. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a fairlead for a cam cleat, with the fairlead having improvements to allow engagement of the line into the cleat, in situations where the free end of the line being hauled at an angle of more than 45 and preferably more than 90 degrees relative to the centerline between the pawls of the cleat. 
     The assembly of the present invention comprises a base unit or member for mounting a cam cleat as well as a fairlead near the exit of the cleat. The fairlead comprises a top and an inverted U-shaped tubular or inwardly facing curved member mounted in a fixed position between the top and the base. The inverted U-member or bail extends above the top of the pawls of the cleat to allow the line to be released. Also, the legs of the U-shaped member, which are secured from the base generally vertically and parallel to the top, have a width which is only slightly larger than the largest diameter line that the cam cleat can accept. It will be understood that cam cleats are provided in different sizes and have published specifications of the largest diameter line the cleat will accept. For example, the cleat might be designed to accept a line having a range of diameters of, for example, 3-10 millimeters, so the spacing between the legs of the fairlead would be in excess of 10 millimeters, for example, 11-14 millimeters. The spacing in the upper loop of the bail or inverted U-shaped member would provide even additional clearance to allow release of the line when released from the cleat. 
     The assembly of fairlead/cam cleat greatly improves the versatility of the assembly in comparison with the prior art, especially in terms of allowing the person or sailor to engage the cleat at extreme angles regardless of the person or sailor. Also, due to the extreme angle engagement feature, the position or location of the cam and fairlead assembly is versatile and is not limited by prior art constraints. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a prior art cam cleat and fairlead combination. 
     FIG. 2 is a top view of the cam cleat and fairlead assembly of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a rear end view of the assembly shown in FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 4 is a side view of the assembly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the combination shown in FIGS. 2-4, additionally illustrating entry of a line, through the fairlead. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     FIGS. 2,  3 ,  4  and  5  illustrate elements of the present invention and the combination of elements and the assembly. As shown, the assembly comprises a base unit  50  which is capable to be secured to a fixed part of a sailing vessel, such as a deck or mast (not show). The base  50  may contain recesses or adaptations to facilitate installation of a conventional cam cleat, generally shown at  52 . Preferably, the base  50  also includes a portion for supporting the fairlead, of the present invention, which is generally indicated at  54 . The cam cleat  52  and the fairlead  54  may be separately mounted, with the proviso that the alignment shown in the drawings generally prevails. 
     The cam cleat  52  is conventional in nature, having a pair of opposed spring loaded pawls  56  rotatable about respective posts  58 , providing an open and closed position about a centerline  60 . The cleat has an entrance side  62  in which the pawls are spaced, and an exit side  64  in which the pawls are narrowly spaced or closed. A line  66  is pulled rearwardly and downwardly from the entrance  62  toward the exit  64  along the centerline  60  to secure the line from forces toward or against the entrance. The line is released by upward tugging out of engagement with the pawls. 
     The fairlead  54  comprises a top or cap portion  68 , which, as shown, has a pair of portions  70  with vertical apertures for securement by a threaded fastener  72  through the pivot axis of each pawl and into or through the base for securement, as a unitized assembly. The cap or top  68  forms an enclosure above and around the cam cleat. 
     At the rear end of the top  68 , an inverted U-shaped member  74  having substantially parallel vertical legs  73  and  75 , extends from securement at the base  50  to the top unit  68 , with the top unit preferably covering the member  74  to prevent snagging by extraneous lines or interference with other objects. Thus, the upper portion of member  74 , namely, the loop  76  portion, as shown, may be received in a recess  78  in the top  68 . 
     The dimensions of the inverted U-shaped member or bail  74  is very important to the present invention. As discussed hereinbefore, all cam cleats are designed to accept, secure, and release lines having a specified range of diameters. A large size cleat, for example, will not adequately grip lines of fine diameter. Most importantly, for the purposes of the present invention, the maximum diameter of line that the cam cleat can accommodate is important. 
     With regard to the inverted U-shaped member or bail, the overall inner dimensions should be slightly larger than the maximum diameter of line than the cam cleat will accept. The maximum diameter of line is determined not only by the size of the cam cleat, but also by the maximum size of the pawls of the cleat when in a fully open or receiving position. The cleats have internal stops which absolutely prevent outer or separation rotation for accepting a line, and if this limit is exceeded, the cleat is inoperable. 
     FIG. 5 shows the present invention in operation, in which the line is being pulled around the bail at an extreme angle. The line will not bind, and especially of the bail is constructed of stainless steel or other material having a smooth surface, such as stainless steel rod or the equivalent having a low friction bearing surface for the line.