Abstract:
Apparatus and methods for preventing overlap of coils on a cable of a rotatable winch drum have a rotatable roller which is mounted at a certain location with respect to the axis of rotation of the winch drum. The rotatable roller has an outer surface which is engageable with a side surface of the incoming coil of the cable as the incoming coil is being formed. The rotatable roller exerts a sufficient force through the roller and the body of the cable at the incoming coil to maintain the roller engaged portion of the incoming coil at the location of the rotatable roller and to shift all previously formed engaging adjacent coils of the cable sufficiently longitudinally on the surface of the winch drum in a direction along the axis of rotation of the winch drum so as to make room for the formation of the incoming coil directly on the surface of the winch drum. Forming the incoming coil directly on the surface of the winch drum in this way eliminates any crossing or overlapping of the incoming coil on the previously formed adjacent coils.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/162,844 filed Nov. 1, 1999 by Kent H. Johnson. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to winching apparatus and methods of the kind in which coils of a cable are formed on a rotatable winch. 
     As used in this application, the term “cable” includes both metal strand cable and rope of any dimension. 
     More particularly, this invention relates to winching devices with rotating drums (including capstans, catheads, nautical winches, utility winches, windlasses and self-tailing winches) which function with only a single layer of cable wrapped one or more times around the winch drum. Such winching devices are commonly used with rope in rigging procedures by arborists to trim and remove trees and by sailors to handle sails and other functions on ships. In both these cases, overlapping of turns of the rope on the drum of a winch is a common, well-known, and long-standing problem. Such overlapping of ropes not only can stop the useful operation of a winch but also can result in serious safety problems that often require time, additional equipment, and rigging expertise to resolve safely. Such required rigging expertise most often does not reside with the person normally assigned to routine operation of the winch. 
     There are two particular modes of operation of winching devices used by both arborists and sailors that often lead to rope overlaps on the winch drum. 
     One mode that results in rope overlap is during the normal application of the winching device to move the load attached to the winch rope, but the operator inadvertently fails to stop operating the winch even though the incoming rope coil climbs up and overlaps the adjacent coil. FIG.  1  and FIGS. 3-6 of the drawings and related text illustrate and discuss this mode. 
     The second operating mode which frequently results in rope overlaps is when rapid load reduction produces slack in the load rope between the winch and the load and the operator rapidly applies force to the tail end (operator-end) of the rope to remove the slack. In arborist applications, rapid removal of the slack can significantly reduce the fall distance of a severed tree segment and thereby reduce the shock loading of the winch and related rigging system when the falling segment is suddenly stopped by the winch. In sailing applications, rapid removal of the slack enables the winch operator to more quickly position the sail at a desired location, and thus to more quickly control the actions of the boat. FIGS. 2 and 18 of the drawings and related text of this application illustrate and discuss this second operating mode. 
     In some winching devices, fleeting (axial sliding) of cable along the winch drum is achieved by having the incoming load cable slide along a short helical ramp or other contoured ramp surfaces attached to the winch frame. The sliding of the load cable along a fleeting-force surface produces frictional heating of the fleeting-force surface and frictional heating and abrasion of the cable surface. The related frictional force significantly adds to the load-produced force on the winch drum, and thus the rotational torque required to turn the winch drum is significantly increased compared to low-friction fleeting techniques. Reduced torque requirements are generally important for powered winches, and are particularly important for manually operated winches. Also such sliding fleeting-force apparatus could become very complex if they were to be used with winch drums that are contoured axially, such as self-fleeting drums. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     The methods and apparatus of the present invention prevent overlap of coils of a cable on a rotatable winch. 
     The methods and apparatus of the present invention also reduces the torque force required to rotate the winch drum, as compared to the torque force required to rotate the winch drum of prior art methods and apparatus that use ramp-produced fleeting forces. 
     The methods and apparatus of the present invention incorporate a rotatable roller mounted at a position to engage a side surface of the incoming coil of the cable as the incoming coil is being formed. The roller engages the incoming coil with sufficient force to maintain the roller engaged portion of the incoming coil at the location of the rotatable roller and to shift (fleet) all previously formed and engaging, adjacent coils sufficiently longitudinally on the surface of the winch drum so as to make room for the formation of the incoming coil directly on the surface of the winch drum. This prevents any crossing or overlapping of the incoming coil onto the previously formed adjacent coils. Also, because the roller surface rotates as it engages the side surface of the incoming cable coil, a sliding frictional force between the roller surface and the engaged cable surface is eliminated or minimized. 
     In the present invention a rotatable winch has an outer, curved, peripheral surface for receiving an incoming portion of a cable and for permitting the formation of multiple adjacent coils on the winch surface during operation of the winch. The winch is rotatable in one direction to start the formation of an incoming, load bearing coil of cable on the winch. 
     It is a primary object of the present invention to use the rotatable roller in a way to move all of the coils of cable axially along the surface of the drum during operation of the winch apparatus without any overlapping of the incoming coil onto the previously formed adjacent coils of cable independent of the operational cable forces applied at either end of the engaged cable segment. 
     In the present invention, the rotatable roller is mounted at a certain location with respect to the axis of rotation of the winch. The outer surface of the rotatable roller engages a side surface of the incoming coil of the cable as the incoming coil is being formed on the rotating surface of the winch. 
     The rotatable roller exerts a sufficient force in an appropriate direction through the roller and the body of the cable of the incoming coil to maintain the roller-engaged portion of the incoming coil at the location of the rotatable roller and to shift all previously formed, engaging, adjacent coils of the cable sufficiently longitudinally on the surface of the winch so as to make room for the formation of the incoming coil directly on the surface of the winch. As a result, the incoming coil is prevented from crossing or overlapping the previously formed adjacent coils independent of the operational cable forces applied at either end of the cable segment engaged with the surface of the winch. 
     It is a further object of this invention to produce approximately zero sliding friction at the area of engagement of the roller surface with the cable. This minimizes roller surface heating and cable surface abrasion and heating. This also reduces the required winch torque as compared to the winch torque required to overcome large frictional forces that often occur in winches which produce cable fleeting by forcing the cable to slide along inclined ramps, screw-shaped segments, or other contoured segments to produce the required fleeting force. 
     It is a further object of this invention to enable embodiments of the apparatus to perform as effectively and efficiently with winch drum surfaces that are axially contoured (e.g., self fleeting surfaces) as it does on drum surfaces that have a constant radius axially (non self fleeting surface). 
     It is a further object in some embodiments of this invention that roller and selected structural elements can quickly and easily be detached from structural elements permanently attached to the winch frame and can be quickly reattached and accurately aligned with the drum surface by a self-aligning element of the apparatus. This feature enables the operator to efficiently remove and replace the roller unit if it becomes worn or damaged during its use or if the roller unit is not required for some functions of the winching device. 
     A further object of this invention is that a detachable roller unit be combined in some embodiments with other cable positioning elements such as fairlead cable guides to enable an operator to more safely control the tail end of the cable from a wide range of angles with respect to the axis of the winch drum. 
     Antioverlap apparatus and methods for winching devices which incorporate the features noted above and which are effective to function as described above comprise specific objects of this invention. 
     Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which by way of illustration, show preferred embodiments of the present invention and the principles thereof and what are now considered to be the best modes contemplated for applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING VIEWS 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a tree and an attached, manually-operated, ratcheting winch that incorporates a coil engaging roller mechanism constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The coil engaging roller mechanism itself is shown and described in more detail below. FIG. 1 illustrates a frequently used arborculture application of a winching device to lift tree limbs away from houses and other job-related obstructions. In FIG. 1, a tree limb is shown by solid lines in an initial position over the roof of a structure with a load rope leading from the winch drum through a pulley to the attachment point on the tree limb. The tree limb is notched with a saw near the tree stem by an arborist, and the winch drum is manually turned to lift the tree limb to the position indicated in phantom by the dotted lines. The use of the coil engaging roller mechanism of the present invention in this type of arborist procedure prevents overlapping of rope coils on the winch drum, both during rapid take up of slack in the load rope and during lifting of loads; and thus avoids related functional and safety problems that can occur with prior art winching devices. 
     FIG. 2 is a schematic side view, like FIG. 1, and schematically illustrates an arborist procedure for removing tree stem wood with the winching device of FIG.  1 . In FIG. 2, the load rope leading from the winch drum through the illustrated pulley is attached to the upper tree segment that is being removed. The winch is then used to remove slack from the load rope. The upper stem wood segment is then sawed off; and, as the stem wood falls, slack in the load rope develops (as illustrated by the dashed lines of the load rope). To remove this slack rope, and thus to limit the fall distance of the stem wood before the winch and the pulley halt its fall, the winch operator pulls rapidly on the exiting end (tail end) of the rope (as illustrated by the hand at the lower right part of FIG.  2 ). This pulling of the exiting end of the rope adds new coils of rope to the incoming end of the winch drum, as the incoming slack rope is wrapped around the drum. The present invention (as described in more detail below) prevents overlapping of the incoming rope coils onto the previously formed coils on the winch drum during this arborist procedure. 
     FIG. 3 is an isometric view which schematically illustrates coils on the drum of a prior-art, manually-operated winch. In FIG. 3 the coils are shown in the positions produced on the drum before an arborist begins to lift a tree limb (such as illustrated in FIG.  1 ). As the winch drum is turned, additional, incoming coils of rope are added near the load-end of the drum. At the same time, an approximate equal number of coils are removed from the exit end of the drum as the winch operator pulls on the exiting rope (as illustrated schematically by the hand at the bottom left part of FIG.  3 ). 
     FIG. 4 is an isometric view of the prior art winch shown in FIG. 3, but shows the position of rope coils produced on the winch drum after a few turns of the winch drum. The incoming, newly formed coils naturally “corkscrew” longitudinally inwardly as the winch drum is manually rotated in the clockwise direction indicated by the direction arrows in FIG.  3 . At a certain point the most recently formed coil, the rope coil “A” comes into contact with the base-end flange of the winch drum, and the other rope coils “B”, “C”, “D” and “E” are each in contact with their adjacent rope coils. 
     FIG. 5 is another isometric view of the prior art winch drum shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 5 shows the condition of the rope coils as the winch drum and coils shown in FIG. 4 are continued to be rotated in the clockwise direction indicated by the direction arrows in FIG.  5 . FIG. 5 shows that, when the winch drum illustrated in FIG. 4 is rotated approximately one additional turn, the rope coil “F” overlaps rope coils “A” and “B”, because there is no space on the incoming load-end of the drum surface for the coil “F” to form on the surface of the winch drum. Instead of being formed on the drum surface, the incoming coil “F” must form on top of the existing coils. The incoming coil “F” (as illustrated in FIG. 5) overlaps and crosses over the top of the coils “A” and “B”. In FIG. 5 the rope coil “E” of FIG. 4 has been rotated off the drum by one turn of the winch, as illustrated by the letter “E” in FIG.  5 . Overlapping of rope coils on winch drums can be a problem with prior-art winch devices used by arborists in tree trimming and removal procedures. The overlapping of rope coils can produce serious functional and safety problems. 
     FIG. 6 is a side elevation view (taken along the line and in the direction indicated by the arrows  6 — 6 ) of the winch device illustrated in FIG.  5 . FIG. 6 shows how the incoming coil “F” crosses over and overlaps the prior formed rope coils. 
     FIG. 7 is an isometric view showing a winching apparatus mounted on the trunk of a tree. The conformed frame apparatus for mounting the winch is disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,484,253 issued Jan. 16, 1996. This U.S. Pat. No. 5,484,253 is incorporated by reference in this application. The winching apparatus shown in FIG. 7 incorporates a coil engaging roller mechanism constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention (and described in more detail below). In FIG. 7 a roller system of the present invention is shown operatively positioned adjacent to the first rope coil being formed by the load rope entering the winch drum (the rope enters from the top part of FIG.  7 ). The right hand of the winch apparatus operator is indicated schematically by the hand (at the left side of FIG. 7) pulling on the rope as it exits the winch drum through a fairlead hook of the present invention. The winch drum is rotated manually by the handle shown at the open end of the winch drum. 
     FIG. 8 is an isometric view that illustrates one embodiment of this invention used for mounting the coil engaging roller in its operative position on the frame of the winching apparatus illustrated in FIG.  7 . 
     FIG. 9 is an isometric, exploded view showing component parts of mounting and positioning structures for mounting and positioning a coil engaging roller of the present invention. The mounting and positioning structure shown separately in FIG. 9 may be used for positioning the roller shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, but this structure may also be used for positioning a coil engaging roller in other winching apparatus. The angles φ and Ω are selected such that the axis of the threaded support shaft, when mounted on the winch apparatus, is approximately parallel to the axis of the winch drum. The angle θ is selected such that the axis of the roller unit approximately intersects the rotation axis of the winch drum, and the angle T is approximately 90 degrees. 
     FIG. 10 is an isometric view which schematically illustrates a winch apparatus having a coil engaging roller mechanism constructed in accordance with one embodiment of this invention and mounted on the winch apparatus. Five coils of rope are shown on the winch drum surface. The roller mechanism is engaged in contact with a side portion of the rope coil “A”, and the rope segment “F” is under the tension of a load force. A winch apparatus operator applying a pull on the rope exiting the winch drum is indicated schematically by the hand on the exiting rope segment. 
     FIG. 11 is an isometric view and illustrates the positions of rope coils after the winch drum illustrated in FIG. 10 has been turned by approximately one turn. A new coil “F” (corresponding to the rope segment “F” shown in FIG. 10) has been added to the winch drum as coils “A”, “B”, “C”, and “D” have been forced by the roller surface and the entering rope coil “F” to slide axially along the drum surface (by approximately one rope diameter) toward the rope exit position on the drum. The rope coil “E” (shown in FIG. 10) has exited the drum as the rope segment “E” after one turn of the drum as shown in FIG.  11 . 
     FIG. 12 is a side elevation taken along the line and in the direction indicated by the arrows  12 — 12  in FIG.  11 . FIG. 12 illustrates the interaction of the roller surface with the entering coil “F” and the interaction of the localized force transmitted through the coil “F” to the adjacent coils “A” and “D” as the roller rolls along the inner surface of the coil “F”. FIG. 12 indicates (in somewhat emphasized form) the localized roller surface compression force and the rope coil displacement effects on coils “F”, “A”, “B”, “C”, and “D” as entering coil “F” is forced by the rotating drum between the roller surface and rope coil “A”. 
     FIG. 13 is an isometric view like FIG. 7, but parts of FIG. 13 have been illustrated in phantom outline in order to show the underlying locations of the bearing assemblies and the ratchet gear assemblies of the apparatus illustrated in FIG.  7 . FIG. 14 also shows the rope coils as a phantom overlay on the winch drum. 
     FIG. 14 is a side elevation view in cross section through the winch shown in FIGS. 7 and 13. FIG. 14 shows schematically the locations of axial forces on the winch drum surface and the thrust bearing near the nose of the winch drum. The direction arrow through the rope coils near the roller unit of the present invention indicates the force on the coils exerted by the roller mechanism and also the displacement direction of the coils (as was illustrated in FIG.  12 ). This axial force on the rope coils at the surface of the roller unit is transferred to the winch drum by the frictional force existing between the inner surfaces of the rope coils and the outer surface of the winch drum. The axial forces on the drum produced by these frictional forces are transferred to the thrust bearing assembly (as indicated schematically by the two direction arrows on the inner surface of the drum). The axial thrust is taken by the thrust bearing (illustrated at the outer, left hand side as viewed in FIG. 14) of the winching apparatus. Other forms of thrust bearings may be used. For example, the thrust bearing may be one of those shown and/or described at pages 679-681 of the publication  McGraw - Hill encyclopedia of Science &amp; Technology , 7 th  Edition, copyright 1992 and published by McGraw-Hill, Inc. These pages 679-681 are incorporated by reference in the application. 
     FIG. 15 is a partial cross section of a portion of the roller assembly indicated by the arrows  15 — 15  in FIG.  14 . FIG. 15 illustrates the roller bearing assembly and adjacent mounting structure. 
     FIG. 16 is an isometric view illustrating a power-driven winch apparatus having a coil engaging roller mechanism constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The power-driven winch apparatus shown in FIG. 16 is useful for applications producing winch load forces extending to several tons. As illustrated in FIG. 16, three antioverlap units of the present invention are removably attached to the housing unit covering the winch gears and the winch drum support structure. The roller units are spaced axially, in a generally spiral pattern, to share the load forces required to continuously slide (fleet) the rope coils axially along the winch drum as the drum rotates. 
     FIG. 17 illustrates an adjustable structural gusset which may be used in one embodiment of the present invention to enable small adjustments of the winch apparatus by operators in the field for changes in rope diameter or compressibility. This adjustable gusset is particularly effective for multiple coil-engaging roller mechanisms, such as, for example, the FIG. 16 apparatus, when load forces are large and applications may require changes in the rope diameter or rope compressibility. 
     FIG. 18 is a schematic side elevation view, mostly in cross section, illustrating a manually-operated self-fleeting winch apparatus of the general kind commonly used on sailing vessels but having an additional, coil engaging roller mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention for preventing coil crossover or overlap. The winch drum surface is axially curved to enable a self fleeting of the rope coils on the drum; but overlapping of rope coils on prior-art winch apparatus is still a frequent problem when load forces on the winch are rapidly changing. This problem of overlapping of rope coils can be prevented by the incorporation of the coil engaging roller mechanism of the present invention as illustrated and described in more detail below. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     One preferred embodiment of the present invention  30  is shown schematically in FIG.  1  and FIG. 2 attached to a tree-mounted manually operated winch apparatus  32  of the type frequently used in the tree service industry by arborists to trim and remove trees. 
     In FIG. 1 the winch apparatus  32  is attached to the tree  31  and the load rope  34  is attached through the pulley  36  to the tree limb  38  that extends over the structure  42 . After the tree limb is notched by an arborist, the winch drum  44  is manually rotated clockwise to lift the tree limb  38  away from the structure  42  to a new position illustrated in the phantom sketch  40 . In this type of arborist operation without the present invention  30  attached, rope overlap on the drum  44  of winch apparatus  32  is a frequent problem for lifting a tree segment more than a few feet. (This problem is discussed in further detail in relation to FIGS.  3 - 6 ). However, facilitated by the present invention, rotation of the drum  44  adds new single-layer rope coils to the drum  4 , while coils of rope previously on the drum  44  exit from the drum  44 . Exiting of coils of rope from the drum  44  is facilitated by the present invention  30 , while coils of rope previously on the drum  44  exit from the drum  44 , facilitated by the winch apparatus operator pulling on the exiting rope as illustrated schematically by the hand  46 . After the limb  38  is lifted up and fully severed from the tree by the arborist, the limb  38  can be safely lowered to the ground away from the structure  42  by the operator  46  slowly releasing tension on the tail end of the rope  34  and thus allowing the load force on the rope  34  to pull rope off the stationary winch drum  44  and through the operator&#39;s hand  46  until the tree limb is on the ground. 
     In FIG. 2, the removal of a section of stem wood  48  is illustrated schematically being removed from the tree  31 . The load rope  34  is attached by an arborist through the pulley  36  to the stem-wood section  48  prior to sawing off the section  48 . After the section is sawed off and falls from the tree  31  as indicated by the phantom sketch  50 , slack develops in the load rope as indicated by the phantom sketch of the load rope  52 . To reduce the distance that the severed stem wood section  48  falls (and thus to minimize the high shock loading of the load rope  34 , the pulley  36 , the pulley attachment rope  54 , and the winch apparatus  32 ), the winch apparatus operator  46  pulls rapidly on the exiting load rope  34 . This action rotates the winch drum and keeps the slack in the rope to a minimum as the stem-wood segment  48  falls until it is stopped by the pulley  36  and the operator  46  using the winch apparatus  32 . The stem wood is then safely lowered to the ground as discussed for the tree limb  38  in FIG.  1 . 
     In the prior art method of rope slack removal by the winch operator  46  (taking of slack without the benefit of the present invention  30  attached to the winch apparatus  32 ) rope overlap on the winch drum is a common problem that can prevent lowering of the attached load. This problem is discussed further in relation to FIGS. 3-6 and FIG.  18 . 
     FIGS. 3,  4 ,  5  and  6  illustrate schematically the conditions for and the formation of overlapping rope coils on a winch drum of the ratcheting, unidirectional type commonly used in the tree service industry for tree trimming and removal. Such a device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,188 entitled  Tree Handling Device . This U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,188 is incorporated by reference in this application. 
     FIG. 3 is an isometric illustration of a manually-operated winch apparatus  56  with a winch drum  58  extending from a base  60 . The rope  66  is shown entering the drum at the top from the loaded end of the rope  66 , coiling five times around the drum  58 , and exiting the drum  58  into the operator&#39;s hand  68 . Rotation of drum handles  62  and  64  in the direction indicated by the arrows applies a force to the load end of the rope  66  as a result of the friction between the rope  66  and the surface of the drum  58 , as long as an operator, indicated schematically by the hand  68 , applies an adequate force to the exiting end of the rope  66 . As the drum  58  is rotated, coils of rope  66  are added to the winch drum section near the base  60 , and at the same time, an equal number of coils of rope  66  are removed from the drum  58  as the winch operator  68  continues to pull on the rope  66 . 
     The formation of the added coils from the incoming rope  66  on the inner end of the drum  58  and the corresponding removal of coils by the exiting of rope at the outer end of the drum makes the coils appear to be “corkscrewing” axially inwardly on the drum  58  as the drum is rotated in the clockwise direction indicated by the direction arrows in FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 4 illustrates the configuration of the coils of rope  66  on the winch drum  58  after the surface of the drum  58  adjacent to the base is covered by coils of rope labeled A, B, C, D, and E from rotation of the drum  58  as discussed for FIG.  3 . As shown, coil A is in contact with the base-end flange of the winch drum  58  and any further turning of the drum  58  forces the incoming rope  66  to begin overlapping the existing coils of rope  66  already on the drum  58 . 
     FIG. 5 illustrates that when the winch drum  58  in FIG. 4 is rotated approximately one turn, the newly added rope coil F overlaps portions of rope coils A and B. Rope coil E, as illustrated in FIG. 4, is rotated off the drum  58  by one turn of the drum  58 , as illustrated in FIG.  5 . Further turning of the drum will result in additional overlapping of coils of rope  66  and prevents the operation of the apparatus  56  in lowering loads attached to the load rope  66 . Further operation is prevented because the force of the overlapping coils on the underlying coils prevent the coils from unwrapping from the drum even though the operator applies no tension force on the exiting rope  66 . 
     FIG. 6 is a side view of a segment of the winch apparatus  56  as indicated by line segment  6 — 6  in FIG.  5  and provides more detail on the configuration of the overlapping rope coil F illustrated in FIG.  5 . 
     FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate one preferred embodiment of the present invention. The antioverlap apparatus indicated generally by the numeral  70  is attached to the structural frame of a winch apparatus  74  which is a type commonly used in the tree service industry and described in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,484,253 entitled  Conformed Frame Apparatus For Handling Loads Involved In Arbor Rigging Procedures . This U.S. Pat. No. 5,484,253 is incorporated by reference in this application. 
     In an isometric view, FIG. 7 shows the winch apparatus  74  mounted on a tree, with most of the tree shown broken away, for convenience in viewing in this schematic illustration. The winch drum  72  is manually rotated in one direction clockwise with a winch bar  76  and is constrained from rotating in the other direction by a ratcheting gear device (not shown). The load end of the rope  78  enters the winch apparatus from above, is coiled around the winch drum  72 , and exits the drum  72  through the fairlead hook  80  of the antioverlap apparatus  70 . The winch apparatus operator  82 , illustrated schematically by the hand, maintains a tension force on the exiting rope  78  during operation of the winch apparatus  74 . The rotatable roller  84  of the antioverlap apparatus  70  is positioned on the frame side of the entering load rope  78 . The outer surface of the roller  84  engages the side surface of the incoming coil of rope and exerts a sufficient force on the body of the incoming rope coil to shift all previously formed engaging, adjacent coils of rope along the surface of the drum  72  in a direction along the axis of rotation of the drum  72 . This axial shifting of the coils makes room for the formation of the incoming rope coil directly on the surface of the drum  72  and thereby avoids any crossing or overlapping of the incoming coil onto the previously formed adjacent coils. 
     As illustrated in FIG. 8, the gusset  88  is welded to the structural tubing  86  and to the roller shaft support tube  97  to strengthen the support structure of the antioverlap apparatus  70 . For further structural strength the gusset  88  (as seen in FIG. 7) contacts the frame of the winch apparatus  74  by the selection of the length of the tubing insert  90 . 
     The antioverlap apparatus  70  is attached to the frame of the winch apparatus by the mounting bracket  102  with two bolts  104  and  106 . The attachment tube  98  is welded at selected angles to the mounting brackets  102 . 
     The roller shaft tube  97  is threaded internally to accept the threaded roller shaft  92 . The spacing between the end of the roller  84  and the surface of the winch drum  72  (as seen in FIG. 7) is adjusted by screwing the roller shaft  92  into the roller shaft support tube  97  and then tightening the lock nuts  94  and  96  against the support tube  97 . 
     FIG. 9 is an exploded isometric view of the components of the antioverlap apparatus  70  illustrated in FIG. 7 and 8. The attachment tube  98  is welded to the frame attachment bracket  104  at angles φ and Ω such that the axis of the attachment rod  99 , when mounted on the winch apparatus  74  as illustrated in FIG. 7 and 8, is approximately parallel to the axis of the winch drum  72 . The letters V and H indicate the vertical and horizontal axes of the isometric drawing of FIG.  9 . 
     The axis of the roller shaft  92  is selected at an angle Θ such that when the antioverlap controller is mounted on a winch apparatus the axis of the roller shaft approximately intersects the axis of the winch drum  72  as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8. The angle T is selected such that the axis of the roller shaft  92  intersects the surface of the winch drum  72  at approximately 90° to the surface. 
     The angle β of the parallel end cuts on the tubing insert  90  and the adjacent angle cuts on the attachment tube  98  and the structural support tube  86  are the same and approximately 45° to the axis of the attachment rod  99  in this embodiment. This feature ensures automatic and precise realignment of the roller  84  relative to the winch drum  72  when the support tubing and attached components are removed and then later re-attached to the support tube  98  by the support rod  99  and the nut  100  as illustrated in FIG.  8 . 
     The angles of the fairlead hook  80  are selected, depending on the location of the roller  84  relative to the drum of the winch apparatus, for effective and safe control of the exiting rope by the winch apparatus operator. The fairlead hook  80  and the support rod  99  are welded to the structural support tube  86 . 
     FIGS. 10,  11  and  12  schematically illustrate the method of operation of an embodiment of the antioverlap apparatus  108  attached to a winch apparatus  107  to slide coils of rope axially along the surface of a winch drum to prevent overlapping of coils on the drum. 
     In FIG. 10, the load end of the rope  110  enters the winch apparatus  107  from above as indicated by rope segment F, and the rope  110  exits near the open end of the winch drum  112  into the hand  116  of the operator who keeps tension on the exiting rope. Rope coils A, B, C, D and E are shown in contact with adjacent coils, and coil A is in contact with the surface of the roller  114 . 
     After the winch drum  112 , as illustrated in FIG. 10, has been rotated clockwise by approximately one full turn, FIG. 11 illustrates the new rope configuration for the winch apparatus  107 . A new coil of rope F has been added to the drum  112  and coil E has exited the drum as illustrated in FIG.  11 . Rope coils A, B, C and D have been slid axially along the surface of the drum  112  by the proximately perpendicular surface force of the roller  114  rolling along and pushing locally on the entering rope coil F as it contacts the roller surface. Thus, a portion of the rotational force applied to the winch apparatus drum is transformed by the roller of the antioverlap apparatus  108  to a force on the rope coils approximately parallel to the axis and to the surface of the winch drum thereby sliding the rope coils axially along the drum. 
     Further detail of the method of operation of the roller  114  in interaction with the entering rope coil F is illustrated in FIG. 12 for the side view indicated by line segment  12 — 12  in FIG.  11 . As the rope segment of coil F, which is in contact with the surface of the drum  112 , approaches the location of contact with the surface of roller  114 , the rope segment is wedged between the rotating surface of the roller  114  and the surface of rope coil A, thereby forcing coil A and adjacent rope coils B, C, and D to incrementally slide axially over the surface of the drum  112 . The surface of the roller  114  rolls over the surface of coil F at its points of local contact and produces a similar axial displacement of coil F with approximately zero sliding friction between the roller surface and the rope surface. The axial sliding of the rope coils on the surface of the drum is indicated by the axially-directed arrow on the rope coils. 
     FIGS. 13,  14  and  15  illustrate how operational forces resulting from the attached antioverlap apparatus  126  are transferred via rope coils  122  to the inner structure of a winch apparatus  132 . FIG. 13 is an isometric view similar to FIG. 7, but parts of FIG. 13 have been illustrated in phantom outline to show underlying locations of bearing assemblies and ratchet gear assemblies of the apparatus illustrated in FIG.  7 . FIG. 14 also shows schematically the coils of rope  122  as a phantom overlap on the winch drum  120 . The roller  124  location of the antioverlap apparatus  126  is adjacent to the rope coil nearest to the frame attachment end of the winch axle  134 . The winch gear  128 , which is rigidly attached to the coupling block  140 , and the ratchet pawl  136  are shown adjacent to the vertical frame member  130 . The rear bearing  138  is mounted in the coupling block  140  that couples the winch gear  128  to the winch drum  120 . 
     FIG. 14 illustrates a side view of the winch drum  120  and axle  134  in a partial schematic cut away to illustrate the winch drum force on the nose thrust bearing  142  that results from the operation of the antioverlap apparatus  126  attached to the winch apparatus  132 , as seen in FIG.  13 . When the winch drum  120  is rotated, as discussed for FIG. 7, the surface of roller  124  applies an axial force on the coils of rope  122  as illustrated and discussed for FIG.  12 . As the coils of rope  122  slide axially as indicated by the arrow on the rope coils, the frictional forces between the inner surfaces of the winch coils and the outer surface of the wince drum produce an axially directed force on the outer surface of the winch drum  120 . This force is directly transferred by the internal structure of the drum to the nose thrust bearing  142 , as indicated by the two direction arrows acting on the thrust bearing  142  and shown between the inner surface of the winch drum and the outer surface of the shaft  134 . The operational axial forces on the thrust bearing  142  and on the surface of the roller  124  are approximately equal and are important factors in establishing the rotational torques required for winch apparatus  132 . 
     FIG. 15 illustrates, in partial cross section, a portion of the roller assembly as indicated in FIG. 14 by the arrows  15 — 15 . Because high fleeting forces can occur at the interface between the surface of roller  124  and the rope coils  122  during operation of the winch apparatus  132  illustrated in FIG. 13, low friction ball bearings are used in roller  124 . The support shaft  123  is threaded, and the spacing between roller  124  and the winch drum  120  is adjusted by screwing the shaft- 122  into or out of the structural support tube  127 . The lock nuts  125  are then securely tightened against the support tube  127  to prevent the support shaft  123  from rotating during operation of the winch apparatus  132  illustrated in FIG.  13 . 
     FIG. 16 is a schematic isometric view illustrating a power-driven winch apparatus  150  having coil engaging roller mechanisms  160 ,  162 , and  164  constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention and attached to the winch apparatus structure  150 . Power-driven winches are commonly used for utility line maintenance and installations for winch loads up to two tons and for nautical applications. 
     The load end of the load rope  159  approaches the winch drum  156  from above; and, after five coils on-the winch drum  156 , the tail end of the load rope  159  exits the drum through the fairlead hook  166  into the winch apparatus operator&#39;s hand  168 . The operator maintains a tension force on the exiting rope  159 . The rollers  170 ,  172 , and  174  are positioned axially in a spiral pattern around the drum  156 . Portions of the surface of the entering first coil of rope  159  remains in contact with the surfaces of rollers  170 ,  172  and  174  such that the force required to slide the coils of rope  159  axially along the surface of the winch is approximately shared equally by the rollers  170 ,  172  and  174  when the winch drum  156  is rotating. The axial positions of the rollers  170 ,  172  and  174  may be adjusted to achieve approximate equal load sharing by selection of the length of the tubing inserts  176 ,  177  and  178  and lengths of gussets  180 ,  182  and  184 . 
     FIG. 17 illustrates an embodiment of the antioverlap apparatus  188  in which the axial position of the structural gusset  190  with respect to the winch drum  196  and to the roller  198  may be easily adjusted to achieve firm contact with the frame  199  of the winch apparatus. See the discussion of FIG. 16 immediately above for discussion of the length of tubing inserts. After bolts  192  and  194  are loosened, the gusset  190  may be adjusted axially due to the slot in the gusset  190  and affixed in a new position by tightening bolts  192  and  194 . 
     The adjustable gusset  190  is particularly effective for use with multiple roller mechanisms as illustrated in FIG. 16 when small field adjustments may be required by winch operators to allow for changes in rope diameter or compressibility 
     FIG. 18 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention attached to a manually-operated, self-fleeting winch apparatus  200  of a type commonly used for controlling sails on sailing vessels. The surface of winch drum  204  is axially contoured to produce self fleeting of the coils of rope  206  axially along the drum. However, even with skilled operators of this type of self fleeting winches, overlapping of rope coils on self fleeting winch drums remains a common problem. Such overlapping can occur particularly when slack in the load rope develops between the winch and the load attach point and the operator pulls rapidly on the tail end of the rope to remove the slack. The overlapping of the coils can be prevented by use of the antioverlap apparatus  202 , as illustrated in FIG.  18 . 
     In FIG. 18, the position and the angle of the entrance rope  206  onto the winch drum  204  are established by the pulley apparatus  203 . Six coils of rope  206  are shown on the drum in a cut-away presentation, with the rope  206  exiting the drum through a guide hook  208  into the hand  210  of the winch apparatus  200  operator. The operator maintains a tension in the exiting rope  206 . 
     As the winch drum  204  is manually rotated clockwise by the operator, the surface of the roller  212  of the antioverlap apparatus  202  contacts a portion of the surface of the entering coil of rope  206  and thereby applies a fleeting force approximately parallel to the surface of the winch drum  202  at the approximate point of rolling contact of the rope  206  with the surface of the roller  212 . 
     By selection of the positions of the slotted attachment plate  217  and the support stand  219 , the axis of roller  212  is positioned to be approximately perpendicular to the winch drum surface and to approximately intersect the axis of the winch drum  204 . The roller shaft housing  215  is threaded internally such that the threaded roller shaft  211  is screwed into it and locked into position by the lock nut  213  to prevent rotation of the roller shaft  211  during operation of the winch apparatus  200 . The mounting plate  217  is welded to the roller shaft housing  215  and attached with bolts through two adjustment slots to the attachment stand  219 . The slotted mounting plate  217  provides for a selected range of rotation and translation of the axis of the roller  212 . This feature enables the positioning of the roller axis with respect to the surface and the axis of the winch drum  204 . The threaded roller shaft  211  enables the space between the winch drum  204  and the roller  212  to be adjusted during the initial installation of the antioverlap apparatus  202  with the winching device  200  and for subsequent operational wear on components such as bearings of the winch device  200 . 
     In FIG. 18 the antioverlap apparatus  202  is rigidly attached to the frame plate  214  of the winch apparatus  200 . The antioverlap apparatus  202  could be attached directly to the deck rather than to the frame plate  214 . 
     While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that these are capable of variation and modification, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.