Heavy duty ratchet

摘要

A ratchet includes a spool rotatably disposed within a housing and supporting a cord having opposed cord sections extending from the housing. Tension to one cord section is initially applied by pulling on the other cord section. To increase the tension, a tool is engaged with the spool to apply a further force to increase the tension on the one cord section. In another embodiment, a cord enters the housing and into the center of a hollow shaft supporting a spool and drawn through the hollow shaft to establish an initial degree of tension on the section of the cord entering the housing. A lever cooperating with the spool turns the spool to wrap the cord about the spool and increase the tension on the cord. In a third embodiment, a cord enters a housing and extends about a spool supported within the housing and thereafter exits the housing. A pivotable lever incrementally rotates the spool to increase the tension on the cord entering the housing. To further increase the tension on the spool, a wrench or the like may engage the shaft supporting the spool in any of the ratchets described.

主权项

1. A ratchet, said ratchet comprising:
(a) a spool having a pair of wheels non-rotatably secured to one another and defining a channel therebetween for supporting a section of a cord extending partially within said channel, said spool including a hub extending from each wheel of said pair of wheels; (b) a housing including opposed sides, each side of said opposed sides including an opening for rotatably supporting one of said hubs; (c) an opening disposed in said housing for accommodating passage of said cord; (d) a multi-faceted passageway disposed in each of said hubs for receiving a tool to cause rotation of said spool and a metal insert disposed adjacent the sides of each of said passageways to serve as bearing surfaces upon insertion of the tool into either of said passageways; and (e) a spring loaded pawl biased in one direction for engaging at least one of said wheels to prevent rotation of said spool in one direction, said pawl being moveable in another direction to disengage from said wheel and permit rotation of said spool in either direction.