Patent ID: 7717402

Claim:
A sail managing winch for handling running rigging lines of a sailing yacht, which comprises (a) a winding drum rotatable about a winding axis for winding and storing a line, (b) a bi-directional power drive mechanism for controllably rotating said winding drum in line winding and unwinding directions, (c) a level-wind mechanism positioned closely adjacent to said winding drum and operated synchronously with rotations of said drum, (d) said level-wind mechanism including a line guide mechanism adapted to receive and confine said line under sail handling conditions and movable parallel to said winding axis to apply said line in uniform coils on said drum as said line is being retrieved and stored, (e) said line guide mechanism including means for imparting resistance to line approaching said drum, to facilitate uniform winding of coils thereon, and for exerting tension on line when said drum is operated in an unwinding direction to facilitate release of wound line from said drum, (f) said line guide mechanism comprising a rotatable line guide pulley having gripping engagement with said line, (g) said line guide pulley being operative to apply resistance to said line when said line is advancing toward said winding drum during winding operations, (h) said line guide mechanism further including drive means, operative in accordance with rotations of said drum in a line unwinding direction, for rotating said line guide pulley in a direction to apply tension to line being unwound from said drum, to assist in the release and clearance of line from said drum during line unwinding operations, (i) said line guide pulley being a two-part pulley comprised of axially relatively displaceable parts defining an annular groove of variable width arranged to receive and frictionally engage a line positioned between them, (j) said axially relatively displaceable parts being spring loaded in an axial direction to urge said parts in a closing direction to apply gripping pressure to a line positioned between said parts, and (k) a confinement roller mounted for rotation directly opposite said annular groove for retaining said line in said groove.