Spring loaded, trigger activated reel device for managing a rope or other line

Abstract

A reel device for storing towing rope or line such as used in water skiing and like activities. A spring-loaded reel is contained in a ventilated housing. A short bridle line with a clip is carried on the reel for leading the tow rope into the housing. When an end of the tow line is attached to the clip and a trigger is pulled, the reel turns under action of the springs, winding the bridle and tow rope onto the reel. Most water in the line is squeezed out in the coiling process; the remainder is air dried through ventilation holes in the housing and reel sides. For use of the tow rope, the rope is pulled from the reel against the action of the springs, winding them back up. The tow rope is detached from the bridle line and affixed to the boat or other vehicle for use in pulling a skier through the water, or the like.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to reel devices used to wind, store, and let out detachable lengths of ropes and lines such as waterskiing ropes on boats.

BACKGROUND OF THE ART

Tow ropes for waterskiing and like sports, and for utilitarian uses as between vehicles, need to be managed to avoid their tangling, getting lost, wrapping about unintended objects, and like problems. Manual and other reels, including motorized reels as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,219, have been proposed and built to accomplish such management, but each has had problems or is unduly complex and expensive for its intended purpose.

Other reels as for restraining pets, as for dog leashes, are made integral with the leash and so are built to be relatively strong to resist the forces applied to the line or leash. Such reels are not suited, without adaptation, to hold great lengths of rope, up to 90 feet, coiled and ready for use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of this invention to provide a reel device for storing, ready for use, a waterskiing or like tow rope that is simple, reliable, lightweight, and easy to use.

The reel device is made chiefly of plastic so as to be light in weight and resilient. It comprises a housing for containing moving parts including a rotatable drum, a pair of coil springs that are pre-tensioned for retracting a length of rope, as up to 90 feet, into the housing and about the rotatable drum within the device, and a brake device that when released, as by a trigger assembly, allows rotation of the drum to coil the rope quickly into the housing. The reel is preferably detached from the tow rope during use of the rope, which is attached to the boat or other vehicle, so that loads of a skier or other towed item are not carried by the reel itself. If less than all the tow rope is to be used for towing, a cleat or the like attached to the boat or vehicle body may connect to a midpart of the tow rope to take the load of the towed object, while the reel remains connected to the rope.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded, rear perspective view of the component parts of a preferred form of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the reel with the tow rope coiled inside the reel and the tow rope handle connected to a fitting on the reel, for storage; and

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the reel with the tow rope uncoiled from the reel and ready for use, the eyelet end free for connection to the boat or other vehicle and the handle free for grasping by a water skier.

THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A reel device 10 for managing a rope or other line 12 is spring-loaded and is activated for coiling the rope or line 12 within the device 10 by a trigger 14. As shown in FIG. 1, the device 10 comprises first and second housing halves 20, 22, which are generally cylindrical in form and ventilated by numerous holes 24 through the outer parts for air drying the tow rope 12 when it is wet. The housing half 20 is formed with an upstanding axle 26 extending into the interior of the housing along the axis of the housing 20, 22.

A first reel half 30 is formed with a central opening 32 sized to ride upon the axle 26 and with a cylindrical surface 34 spaced outwardly from and about the axis and opening 32. A side portion 36 of the reel half 30 is perforated about its outer part as at 38 but is solid in the center part, as at 40. The perforations 38 cooperate with the holes 24 in the housing half 20 for air drying a wet tow rope wrapped on the surface 34. A ratchet surface, not shown but described below with respect to the other half of the reel, is also formed on the side of the side portion 36. A short bridle 50 is affixed at one of its ends to the outer surface 34 as at an eyelet 52, and the other end carries a snap hook or like device 54 for releasably connecting one end of the tow rope 12, as in FIG. 3, to the reel. Alternatively, the one end can be formed to pass through the surface 34 and to connect to or about another member surrounding the axle, as described below.

The space inwardly of the surface 34 in the first reel half 30 is fitted with two upstanding studs 60. Over each stud is placed two outer washers 62, a coil spring 64 with a tail 66, and two more, inner washers 68. The tails 66 of the springs 64 engage about the axle 26, or into slots formed in the axle 26 upon assembly of the unit; they may be fastened with pins as shown if desired. The spring 64 coils when the reel half 30 is rotated in one direction about the axle 26 in the housing half 20 and uncoils when the reel half is rotated in the opposite direction. Using two springs on two studs is desirable for redundancy and space saving, but other spring configurations may be used.

A second reel half 70 is formed to cooperate with the first reel half 30. A cylindrical surface 72 is formed to cooperate with surface 34 of the first reel half and to interfit with it at its edge. An inner wall 74 closes the space within the surface 34 of the first reel half 30 and over the springs 64 and washers 68; the two reel halves are fastened together by screws 76 engaging from the wall 74 and into studs 60 of the first reel half 30. An outer side wall 78 of the second reel half 70 is formed with perforations 80, like the perforations 38 in the side wall 36 of the first reel half 30, for aiding drying of wet rope wrapped on the reel surfaces 34, 72.

A central hub 82 of the second reel half 70 extends from the inner wall 74 on the axis of the axle 26, opening 32, and surface 34 of the first reel half, and surface 72 of the second reel half. This hub journals on an axle, not shown, formed on the second housing half 22 along that axis, similarly to axle 26 of the first housing half 20. A desirable form of the invention omits the eyelet 52 on the surface 34 of the first reel half and passes the bridle through an aperture in the surface 72 to attach by a loop or other means to the hub 82.

Formed around the outer periphery of the side wall 78 of the second reel half 70 is a toothed ratchet arrangement 90, which cooperates with the trigger assembly 14. The first reel half 30 has a similar ratchet arrangement, not shown. The ratchet arrangement 90 has sloping surfaces 92 facing in the clockwise direction of FIG. 1 and radial stop surfaces 94 facing in the counterclockwise direction. The trigger assembly 14 has, at each side thereof, a latch 96 with surfaces 98 formed to engage the stop surfaces 94 of the ratchet arrangement 90 and slide surfaces 100 formed to ride over the sloping surfaces 92, depending on the direction of rotation of the reel halves 30, 70. A coiled spring 102 mounted in handle portions 104, 104 of the housing halves 20, 22 urges the trigger 14 and latches 96 downwardly into engagement with the ratchet arrangement 90 on each of the reel halves 30, 70. The trigger 14 when pulled upwardly into the handles 104 releases the stop surfaces 94 of the latch 96 from the stop surfaces 94 in the ratchet arrangements, allowing the coil springs 64, 64 to drive the reel halves 30, 70 in a direction to wrap the tow line 12 on the surfaces 34, 72. The tow line 12 can be withdrawn from the housing 20, 22 by pulling on it with sufficient force to overcome the forces of springs 64 acting through tails 66 on the axle 26; in this case the trigger 14 and latches 96 will ratchet over the sloping surfaces 92, emitting some noise but keeping the rope extended as desired as the stop surfaces 94, 98 engage one another on each of the reel halves.

Formed in the periphery of the housing sides 20, 22 are three openings, 110 at the bottom, 112 at the rear or left side in FIG. 1, and 114 at the front or right side in FIG. 1. The bottom and rear ones of the windows are covered with clear, perforated panels 116 and 118 respectively, while the front window 114, through which the tow rope 12 passes, remains open.

The two halves of the housing 20, 22 are held together by screws and nuts as shown, as is well known in the art. At the upper part of the front and back of the unit, however, the screws pass through hollow tubes 120 to form cleats for affixing the bridle clip 52 and/or the tow rope handle 122 during use or during storage, respectively, as in FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 2 shows the reel assembly 10 in a storage configuration, where the tow rope 12 is wound up entirely on the reel, on surfaces 72 and 34. The force of springs 64, 64 keeps the reel tight against the stops 94 in the latching arrangement. The bit of extra line 12 shown could be taken up by simply pulling on the trigger 14 to allow the reel to turn further. The tow ripe handle 122 is conveniently tied to one of the cleats formed by tube 120, by means of a Velcro® strap or the like 124.

When the tow rope is to be used, as in FIG. 3, the handle 122 is detached from the cleat and the strap is replaced there or to the rear of the housing 10. Without manipulating the trigger 14, the rope 12 is pulled from the reel 10, against the forces of the springs 64, winding them up, and the rope is played out to a water skier so far as the rope goes. When the bridle 50 is exposed, the rope 12 is detached from the hook 54 and the end of rope 12 is then attached to a strong part of the boat, typically a central ski pylon (not shown). The hook 54 is conveniently attached to the cleat formed by tube 120, so that accidental activation of the trigger 14 does not spin the reel and unwind the springs 64, 64. The rope 12 should not remain attached to the reel 10 during use of the rope to tow a skier, as the reel structure is not designed to take the towing forces imposed on the rope 12. However, if only part of the rope 12 is to be played out for use, the rope may remain attached to the bridle 50 and hook 54 so long as an intermediate point on the tow rope 12 is securely attached to the boat, as by a cleat or though a jam or cam cleat, sufficient to take the full load of the skier without slipping.

For first use, the reel assembly 10 is made and delivered with its springs 64 fully coiled and ready to receive a line. Up to 90 feet of tow rope is attached at one end, opposite the handle 122, to the snap hook 54. The trigger 14 is depressed and the reel rotates, pulling the rope 12 into the housing 20, 22. When nearly fully wrapped into the housing, the tow handle 122 is affixed to the cleat on the housing for neat storage. For use in towing a water skier, the handle 122 is detached from the housing and the rope is pulled out against the spring tension, as above. When the rope is to be retracted and stored, the end is reconnected to the hook 54 on the bridle 50, and the trigger 14 is pulled to release the reel under the force and action of the two springs. If the line is wet from being in the water, excess water drips from the line as it is coiled; remaining water evaporates through the holes 38, 24 and 80, 24; via perforated plates 116, 118; and via open window 114.

Many variations may be made in the invention as shown and its manner of use, without departing from the principles of the invention as described herein and/or as claimed as our invention. Minor variations will not avoid the use of the invention.

Claims

1. A reel assembly for storing and then releasing for use a tow rope, the rope selectively carrying a load along its length during use out of the reel assembly and being wound on the reel while not in use, the assembly comprising:

a housing;

a reel mounted rotatably in the housing about an axis therein;

at least one spring mounted to act between the housing and the reel to rotate the reel in a first direction about the axis for a desired number of rotations;

a trigger and a latch controlled by the trigger, both mounted in the housing and selectively engaging the reel with the latch in a first position of the trigger to stop rotation of the reel in said first direction and to allow said rotation in said first direction in a second, actuated position of the trigger and latch; and

a connection member engaged at or adjacent one side or end with the reel and free at another side or end to selectively engage and disengage with one end of said tow rope, as for a water skier or other item,

whereby the tow rope is substantially fully collected for storage on the reel by the action of the spring in the housing when the rope is connected to the connection member and the trigger and latch are then actuated.

2. The reel assembly defined in claim 1, wherein the latch is configured to allow rotation of the reel in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, without actuation of the trigger and upon application of a suitable force to the rope on the reel that is sufficient to overcome the opposing spring force applied on the reel, for removing the tow rope from the reel and to wind the spring for later use in retracting the tow rope.

3. The reel assembly defined in claim 1, wherein the connection member is a short length of rope with one end engaging the reel and with a hook at an end opposite the one end, whereby the tow rope can be readily connected to the hook for storage and disconnected from it for use in towing with the full length of the rope.