Patent ID: 7644906

Claim:
An apparatus for winding an elongate strap onto a winch, the winch having a hub member to which may be coupled the strap winding apparatus and a reel element fixed to the hub member about which may be wound the elongate strap, the strap winding apparatus comprising: a protective housing; and a winding assembly at least partially retained within the housing, the winding assembly including: a coupling ring sized to fit over the hub member for selective mating therewith; and a spool assembly having a spool member mounted in surrounding relation with the coupling ring, a cord which may be wound about the spool member and which may be pulled to urge rotation of the spool member in a first direction, and a torsion spring member connected to the housing and the spool member; the torsion spring member being configured to store spring energy when the cord is pulled and the spool member rotates in the first direction, and to release spring energy to the spool member when the cord is released thereby urging the spool member to rotate in a second direction opposite to the first direction and causing the cord to be wound about the spool member; the coupling ring having an engagement member pivotally mounted thereto, the engagement member being engageable with both the hub member and the spool member so as to allow torque from the spool member to be transmitted to the hub member via the coupling ring such that when the cord is pulled and the spool member rotates in the first direction the hub member will also rotate thereby causing the elongate strap to be wound about the reel member.