REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority of U.S. provisional patent application Serial No. 63/278,593, entitled Tensioning Device Having a Driven Member and a Threaded Collar Coupled Thereto, filed November 12, 2021 and hereby incorporates this application by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The apparatus and methods described below generally relate to a tensioning device that can be coupled with opposing ends of a lashing member. The tensioning device is operable to adjust the tension on the lashing member.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Conventional tensioning devices, such as come-a-longs and turn buckles, are oftentimes too bulky and cumbersome for use in confined areas, such as when lashing a tree stand or securing a load to a vehicle. In addition, tension imparted by the tensioning device is difficult to control and can oftentimes result in significant overtightening or under tightening.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] Various embodiments will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims and accompanying drawings wherein:

[0005] FIG. 1 is an isometric view depicting a tensioning device with a driven member shown in a retracted position, in accordance with one embodiment;

[0006] FIG. 2 is an exploded isometric view of the tensioning device of FIG. 1;

[0007] FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the tensioning device taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1; and [0008] FIG. 4 is cross sectional view of the tensioning device of FIG. 3, but with the driven member shown in an extended position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0009] Embodiments are hereinafter described in detail in connection with the views and examples of FIGS. 1-4, wherein like numbers indicate the same or corresponding elements throughout the views. FIG. 1 illustrates a tensioning device 10 that includes a housing 12, a drive member 14 and a driven member 16. A hook 18 can be coupled with the driven member 16 and a hook 20 can be coupled with the housing 12. The hooks 18, 20 can cooperate to facilitate attachment of the tensioning device 10 to a lashing member (e.g., a strap, a rope, a cable, a chain) (not shown). As will be described in further detail below, the drive member 14 can be selectively rotated to extend and retract the driven member 16 in order to vary tension on the lashing member.

[0010] Referring now to FIG. 2, the housing 12 can include a main body 22 and an interface collar 24 that is coupled to a proximal end 26 of the main body 22. The hook 20 can be coupled with the interface collar 24 by a link 28. A clutch assembly 30 can be associated with the drive member 14 and disposed at the proximal end 26 of the main body 22. The drive member 14 and the clutch assembly 30 can be housed in the interface collar 24. The driven member 16 can be disposed at a distal end 32 (FIG. 1) of the housing 12. An end cap 34 can be secured to the distal end 32 of the housing 12 and the driven member 16 can extend through the end cap 34. The end cap 34 can be threaded onto the housing 12 or via any of a variety of suitable alternative securement methods (e.g., welding, adhesive, press-fit).

[0011] The main body 22 can define an interior 36. An inner sleeve 38 can be disposed within the interior 36 and rotatably coupled with the housing 12. In one embodiment, a pair of roller bearings 40 can be interposed between the main body 22 and the inner sleeve 38 to journal the inner sleeve 38 relative to the main body 22. It is to be appreciated that the inner sleeve 38 can be rotatably coupled with the housing 12 in any of a variety of suitable alternative arrangements. [0012] The drive member 14 and the clutch assembly 30 can cooperate to facilitate rotation of the inner sleeve 38 with respect to the housing 12. As will be described in further detail below, rotation of the inner sleeve 38 can cause the driven member 16 to either extend or retract relative to the housing 12 (depending on the direction of rotation) in order to change the tension on an associated lashing member. The clutch assembly 30 can facilitate selective operable coupling between the drive member 14 and the inner sleeve 38. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the clutch assembly 30 can include a clutch spring 42 sandwiched between a pair of clutch pins 44. The clutch spring 42 and the clutch pins 44 can be disposed in a notch 46 defined by the drive member 14. A clutch body 48 can extend into and can be coupled with the proximal end 26 of the main body 22. In one embodiment, the inner sleeve 38 can include an internal annular shoulder 50 (FIG. 3) and the clutch body 48 can include an external annular shoulder 52 (FIG. 3). The internal and external annular shoulders 50, 52 can interface with each other, as illustrated in FIG. 3, to rigidly couple the main body 22 and the clutch body 48 together. It is to be appreciated that the main body 22 and the clutch body 48 can be coupled together in any of a variety of suitable alternative arrangements, such as, for example, via welding or formed together as a unitary one piece construction.

[0013] The drive member 14 can be disposed within the clutch body 48 such that the clutch body 48 surrounds the clutch spring 42 and the clutch pins 44. The clutch pins 44 can each reside in one of a plurality of interior slots 54 defined by the clutch body 48. During rotation of the drive member 14, the clutch pins 44 can extend into the interior slots 54 to couple the drive member 14 to the inner sleeve 38 (via the clutch assembly 30) such that the drive member 14 and the inner sleeve 38 rotate together. Once the torque applied to the drive member 14 exceeds a predefined threshold, the clutch pins 44 can slip out of the interior slots 54 which can decouple the drive member 14 from the clutch body 48 and the inner sleeve 38 (e.g., clutch out) and can provide audible and/or tactile feedback to a user. It is to be appreciated that the predefined threshold torque can be a function of the spring constant of the clutch spring 42, the configuration of the clutch pins 44, and/or the configuration of the interior slots 54. It is to also be appreciated that when the drive member 14 is rotated in a direction that retracts the driven member, the tension applied to the lashing member can be proportional to the torque applied to the drive member 14 (e.g., input torque). As such, the clutch assembly 30 can be tuned to clutch out when the tension on the lashing member reaches a predefined tension. [0014] The drive member 14 can have a head 56 that is shaped to enable a tool to be mechanically mated to the drive member 14. In one embodiment, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the head 56 can be hexagonal shaped to allow for selective interaction with a wrench or socket that can be used to rotate the drive member 14. However, it is to be appreciated that the drive member 14 can be configured to mate with any of a variety of suitable alternative tools, such as an Allen bit, a Torx bit, or pliers, for example.

[0015] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the drive member 14 and the clutch assembly 30 can be disposed in the interface collar 24. The interface collar 24 can accordingly surround the driven member 16 and the clutch assembly 30 to effectively protect the driven member 16 and the clutch assembly 30. The interface collar 24 include an annular shoulder 58 that extends into the main body 22 of the housing 12 to facilitate rigid coupling therebetween. The interface collar 24 can also include a rib member 60 that extends between the main body 22 and the clutch body 48. It is to be appreciated that the interface collar 24 can be coupled with the main body 22 in any of a variety of suitable alternative arrangements, such as, for example, via welding or formed together as a unitary one piece construction.

[0016] Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the driven member 16 can include a shaft 62 that includes a proximal end 64 and a distal end 66. A ring member 68 can be coupled with the distal end 66 of the shaft 62 and the hook 18 can be coupled with the ring member 68 via a link 70. In one embodiment, the shaft 62 and the ring member 68 can be formed together in a one-piece construction (e.g., through forging) but in other embodiments, the shaft 62 and the ring member 68 can be separate components that are fastened together (e.g., through welding or with fasteners). It is to be appreciated that, although a ring member and hook are illustrated and described, any of a variety of suitable alternative attachment features can be provided to facilitate attachment of the driven member 16 to a lashing member, such as, for example, a bolt or a cleat, and/or at other locations on the driven member 16.

[0017] A threaded collar 72 can be coupled with the proximal end 64 of the shaft 62 by a nut 74. The proximal end 64 of the shaft 62 can have a threaded stem 76 that accommodates the nut 74. It is to be appreciated that the threaded collar 72 can be coupled with the shaft through any of a variety of suitable alternative coupling arrangements, such as, for example, via a fastener, welding, or formation together with the shaft 62 as a unitary one-piece construction (e.g., via a molding process).

[0018] Referring to FIG. 2, the end cap 34 can include a guide portion 78 that defines a passageway 80 through which the main body 22 of the driven member 16 extends. A gasket 82 can be provided at the interface between the main body 22 of the driven member 16 and the guide portion 78 to provide an effective seal therebetween for restricting contaminants from being introduced into the housing 12 between the driven member 16 and the guide portion 78. In some embodiments, an O-ring, a bushing, or other suitable sealing arrangement (not shown) can be provided between the end cap 34 and the housing 12 for restricting contaminants from being introduced into the housing 12 between the housing 12 and the end cap 34.

[0019] The main body 22 of the driven member 16 and the passageway 80 can each have complimentary non-circular cross-sectional shapes (taken at a cross-section that is orthogonal to the centerline Cl) such that the guide portion 78 mates with the main body 22 to prevent rotation of the driven member 16. In one embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 2, each of the main body 22 of the driven member 16 and the passageway 80 can have a hexagonal cross-sectional shape. It is to be appreciated, however, that the main body 22 of the driven member 16 and the passageway 80 can have other non-circular cross sectional shapes, including other polygonal shapes, which facilitate mated interaction between the main body 22 of the driven member 16 and the guide portion 78 to prevent rotation of the driven member 16. It is also to be appreciated that the guide portion 78 can be any of a variety of suitable alternative arrangements for preventing rotation of the driven member 16 and can be coupled with the housing in any of a variety of suitable alternative arrangements. For example, a guide portion can be separate from an end cap (e.g., 34) and disposed entirely within a housing (e.g., 12).

[0020] Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, the threaded collar 72 can be disposed within the interior 36 of the inner sleeve 38. The inner sleeve 38 can include a threaded interior surface 84 and an end portion 86 that is disposed adjacent the threaded interior surface 84 and interfaces with the end cap 34. The end portion 86 can extend from the threaded interior surface 84 through the end of the inner sleeve 38 and can include a non-threaded interior surface 88 (e.g., a substantially smooth surface). A spring washer 90 can be disposed within the end portion 86. [0021] The threaded collar 72 can be selectively threadably coupled with the threaded interior surface 84. When the threaded collar 72 is threadably coupled with the threaded interior surface 84 and the inner sleeve 38 is rotated (e.g., via rotation of the drive member 14), the threaded collar 72 can be translated relative to the inner sleeve 38. The end cap 34 can prevent rotation of the driven member 16 during such rotation of the inner sleeve 38 to facilitate linear movement (e.g., translation) of the driven member 16 along a centerline Cl relative to the inner sleeve 38 and the housing 12 between a retracted position (shown in FIG. 3) and an extended position (shown in FIG. 4). As such, when the drive member 14 and the inner sleeve 38 are rotated, the driven member 16 can be extended or retracted depending on the rotational direction of the drive member 14 and the inner sleeve 38. In one embodiment, rotation of the drive member 14 and the inner sleeve 38 in the clockwise and counterclockwise direction can cause the driven member 16 to retract and extend, respectively.

[0022] When the driven member 16 is in the extended position, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the threaded collar 72 can be disposed within the end portion 86. The end portion 86 can have an internal diameter that is greater than the outer diameter of the threaded collar 72 such that the threaded collar 72 is disengaged from the inner sleeve 38 when the driven member 16 is in the extended position. As such, when the driven member 16 reaches the extended position and is further rotated in the extending direction (e.g., counterclockwise), the inner sleeve 38 can rotate relative to the threaded collar 72 without causing further translation of the threaded collar 72 towards the end cap 34. The driven member 16 can therefore be continuously rotated in the extending direction (e.g., counterclockwise) without causing the threaded collar 72 to translate beyond a point that might otherwise cause damage to the tensioning device 10. It is to be appreciated that, although a non-threaded interior surface 88 is illustrated for the end portion 86, any of a variety of suitable alternative surfaces can be provided at the end portion 86.

[0023] When the driven member 16 is in the extended position (FIG. 4), the threaded collar 72 can contact the spring washer 90 which can be configured to urge the threaded collar 72 towards the retracted position. When the driven member 16 is in the extended position and the inner sleeve 38 is then rotated in the retracting direction (e.g., clockwise), the threaded collar 72 can reengage the threaded interior surface 84 to allow such rotation to translate the driven member 16 and the threaded collar 72 towards the retracted position. [0024] Use of the tensioning device 10 will now be discussed. Each of the hooks 18, 20 can be attached to opposing ends of a lashing member (not shown). The drive member 14 can then be rotated in a clockwise direction which can retract the driven member 16 towards the retracted position to pull the ends of the lashing member together thereby increasing the tension thereon the lashing member. Once the tension on the lashing member reaches a particular tension, the clutch assembly 30 can facilitate decoupling of the drive member 14 from the inner sleeve 38 (e.g., clutch out) to prevent further tension from being applied to the lashing member. It is to be appreciated that the maximum tension permitted by the clutch assembly 30 can be a function of the design of the clutch assembly 30 and can be either preset or variable (e.g., by a user). To release the tension on the lashing strap, the drive member 14 can be rotated in the counterclockwise direction to move the driven member 16 towards the extended position.

[0025] It is to be appreciated that the tensioning device 10 can be a linear tensioning device that applies tension to a lashing strap in a linear direction (e.g., along the same axis of rotation of the drive member 14) as opposed to transversely, such as when using a ratchet strap that applies tension in a direction that is perpendicular to an axis of rotation of a drive member. Various examples of a linear tensioning device are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,073,187; 9,108,309; 10,920,852 and U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2021/0164540A1, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their respective entireties.

[0026] It is to be appreciated that the tensioning device 10 can be equipped with any of a variety of sensors or monitoring devices that facilitate monitoring of an operational parameter of the tensioning device, such as, for example, a strain gage, an accelerometer, a GPS device, or an encoder. These sensors or monitoring devices can communicate with a remote computing device (e.g., a smartphone, a personal computer, a laptop, or a tablet) wirelessly (e.g., via Bluetooth) or through a wired connection, as provided as part of an internet of things (loT) system.

[0027] The foregoing description of embodiments and examples has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting to the forms described. Numerous modifications are possible in light of the above teachings. Some of those modifications have been discussed and others will be understood by those skilled in the art. The embodiments were chosen and described for illustration of various embodiments. The scope is, of course, not limited to the examples or embodiments set forth herein, but can be employed in any number of applications and equivalent devices by those of ordinary skill in the art. Rather, it is hereby intended that the scope be defined by the claims appended hereto. Also, for any methods claimed and/or described, regardless of whether the method is described in conjunction with a flow diagram, it should be understood that unless otherwise specified or required by context, any explicit or implicit ordering of steps performed in the execution of a method does not imply that those steps must be performed in the order presented and may be performed in a different order or in parallel.