Famous Patents
Pong, the Atari creation that launched the computer game craze, came with these instructions: "Avoid missing ball for high score."
PatentStorm News
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8056884 | Cordless hoist A portable hoist assembly having a housing. The housing has a recoil spring secured thereto wherein the recoil spring is secured to a cable spool such that constant tension is provided on the cable spool. The cable spool contains a cable that is secured thereto and ... | 11/15/2011 |
| 7562862 | Tensioning assembly A tensioning assembly comprising a housing having a first sidewall and a second sidewall, and a ratchet mechanism disposed between the first sidewall and the second sidewall. The ratchet mechanism includes a tension release assembly biased in a first direction for l... | 07/21/2009 |
| 7543800 | Single stack manual marine winch A manual marine winch includes a winch line including a wire rope, a pair of spaced side plates, a rotating spool assembly supported between the side plates and including a drum, wherein the drum defines a wire rope stacking space on the drum for storing a single st... | 06/09/2009 |
| 7370843 | Retractable load support system A retractable load support system for effectively lifting a load in a controlled manner. The retractable load support system includes a frame, a gerotor attached to a main shaft within said frame, a first spool attached to the gerotor, a biasing device connected to ... | 05/13/2008 |
| 7303183 | Safety brake mechanism for a winding drum and method for grinding a safety brake The invention concerns a safety brake mechanism for the winding drum (8) of a hoisting machine that can be driven via a motor (4) with lifting gearbox (3), which is substantially braked to a standstill without jerking when the lowering speed is ... | 12/04/2007 |
| 7226040 | Power supply winch system The power supply winch system comprises a generally inverted L-shaped supportive frame and a winch attached to the supportive frame. The supportive frame comprises a horizontal member and a vertical member that are pivotally attached to one another at one end. The h... | 06/05/2007 |
| 7159852 | Manual marine winch internal gearing A manual swivel winch of the present invention includes internal drum gearing. The winch has a pair of spaced side plates, a rotating drum supported between the side plates, an internal drum gear coaxially mounted with the rotating drum, and a pinion drive gear enga... | 01/09/2007 |
| 7128307 | Manual marine winch with compound handle A manual swivel winch includes safe loading mechanism. The winch has a pair of spaced side plates, a rotating drum supported between the side plates, a drum gear coaxially mounted with the rotating drum, a pinion drive gear engaging and rotating the drum gear, and a... | 10/31/2006 |
| 7073779 | Winch assembly A winch assembly is provided for use with a tire carrier having a mounting plate. The winch assembly includes a spool, a torque limiter and a housing. The housing has a closed end and an open end. The open end is adapted to be fixedly secured to the mounting plate t... | 07/11/2006 |
| 7066450 | WYSE mid-span winch kit A portable mounting system for a winch, which enables a standard winch to function to pull two objects closer together, without requiring the winch to be mounted to a vehicle. ... | 06/27/2006 |
| 7007964 | Motorcycle lift bar and method A two-wheeled vehicle uprighting device having a support bar with a stabilizing base on one end and a ratcheting mechanism on another end, and a lifting strap with a first end adapted for attachment to a lower portion of the two-wheeled vehicle and a second end for ... | 03/07/2006 |
| 7007927 | Arborist limb lowering method An apparatus for the controlled lowering to the ground of a cut portion of a tree includes a rope and an anchor having an arrangement of guiding protuberances., each guiding protuberance including a bearing surface frictionally engaging and redirecting the rope with... | 03/07/2006 |
| 6938881 | Manual marine winch with lead in webbing strap A manual marine winch includes a housing, a rotating drum in the housing, a drum rotating and holding mechanism, and a winch line having a lead in end formed by a webbing strap. The webbing strap can include an integral safety indicator such as load indicating indic... | 09/06/2005 |
| 6808164 | Rope tensioning device A rope tensioning device includes a support base, a handle, a connecting post, two fixing plates, two ratchet wheels, two locking blocks, two shafts, a snap ring, two elastic members, two insertion pins, a bolt, a nut, and a fixing pin. Thus, the rope tensioning dev... | 10/26/2004 |
| 6726182 | Manual winch with dual locking dogs A manual winch with dual locking dogs is designed to be easily retrofitted into existing winches. The design of the winch includes a housing supporting a rotatable drum upon which the cable is reeved. A pair of gears are attached to the drum with locking dogs that m... | 04/27/2004 |
| 6644630 | Brake mechanism for winch assembly A winch assembly including a brake mechanism. The winch assembly may include a winch housing and a shaft extending through the winch housing. The brake mechanism of the winch assembly may include a ratchet coupled to the shaft and including a plurality of... | 11/11/2003 |
| 6572083 | Winch with safe load release system A manual winch includes a housing supporting a rotatable reel, a ratchet assembly coupled to the reel movable between an engaged and disengaged position, and a load releasing system for moving the ratchet assembly system to a disengaged position. The ratc... | 06/03/2003 |
| 6494435 | Spring-loaded safety winch for load restraint system In a load tie-down system that incorporates a wind-down winch for securing and tensioning a hold-down member, the improvement consists of incorporating a tensioning spring that maintains a resilient loading upon the drum of the winch, such that in the eve... | 12/17/2002 |
| 6431103 | Winch A motor winch, which is suitable as a sheet or halyard winch (11) for sailing yachts, etc., has an integrated electric or hydraulic drive. The motor (52) is integrated into the winch in such a way that it is located within the winch body and in particular... | 08/13/2002 |
| 6406001 | Chain lever hoist For providing a chain lever hoist that can ensure a stable free rotation operation over a long term with a simple design, improvement is made in the chain lever hoist wherein an engaging pawl is switched to a neutral position, at which the engaging pawl i... | 06/18/2002 |
| 6152426 | Extensible boom An extensible boom or strut has a telescoping action easily adjusted for appropriate length, and further is capable of attachment to a fixed point such as on a ceiling or wall at one end, and a lighting fixture or such at the other end. A torque tube is e... | 11/28/2000 |
| 6116580 | Reversible winch ratchet mechanism A mechanical winch includes a ratchet lever having a single pawl which may be positioned in either one of two orientations in order to preclude clockwise or counterclockwise movement of the winch, drum or reel. In each orientation, the ratchet lever may a... | 09/12/2000 |
| 6050305 | Locking mechanism for a rotary electric loom shedding actuator A locking mechanism for a rotary electric actuator for the formation of a shed on a loom wherein the actuator includes a driving rotor for rotating a device for winding and unwinding a harness thread and wherein the actuator includes a locking plate drive... | 04/18/2000 |
| 5921529 | High line pull winch assembly A hydraulic winch which is capable of generating significant amounts of torque and providing very high line pull even after a significant amount of cable is wrapped onto its spool. The winch spool is also capable of carrying a large amount of thick cable.... | 07/13/1999 |
| 5575457 | Structure for controlling braking action of a mechanical brake of a lever type hoist and traction machine In a lever type hoist an operation handle (18) is provided between a stopper (17) provided at the axial end portion of a driving shaft (5) and a driving member (8) screwed on the driving shaft (5) so as to be movable in the axial direction but non-rotatab... | 11/19/1996 |
| 5458318 | Drum brake A safety mechanism for preventing a cable drum to rotate with overspeed has parallel ratchet wheels which encircle a brake drum. At a periphery of the ratchet wheels are stopping slots wherein a latching pawl is inserted when an overspeed is detected. The... | 10/17/1995 |
| 5368280 | Tire lifting device A take-up reel suitable for taking up cable as a coil. The reel includes a pair of plates and a central raised hub carrying an outer peripheral surface about which a cable may be wound. The central hub may be formed from one of the plates and may also car... | 11/29/1994 |
| 5316266 | Strap extender and tensioning system A strap extending and tensioning system includes a strap winding mechanism to wind a predetermined length of strap on itself. A clevis slip hook is included for coupling to a rear end of a tow truck or the like. A strap tightener allowing the strap to be ... | 05/31/1994 |
| 5290014 | Compact tire lift unit A housing is formed by a plastic shroud between two metal mounting brackets, and a drive shaft is rotably supported by the brackets. A spool is mounted on the shaft for rotation and is formed by first and second powdered metal plate members which define a... | 03/01/1994 |
| 5287950 | Fall-arrest apparatus with constant winch braking A fall-arrest apparatus comprises a drum (1) which holds a cable (3) for attachment to a load and has a brake (7-11, 13-15) which automatically stops the drum if it exceeds a certain unwinding speed. The apparatus incorporates a winch mechanism (16-20) by... | 02/22/1994 |
| 5217208 | Constant tension winch having an anti-theft mechanism Methods and apparatus for maintaining a restraining device placed over a load in constant tension as the load shifts during transit are disclosed. The present invention provides a winch having two ratchets, the first of which provides the initial tension ... | 06/08/1993 |
| 5176365 | Vault door opener A vault door opener for opening a vault door wherein the vault door is disposed near a grating. The vault door opener comprises a stand with a winch connected to one end of the stand. Means are connected to the opposite end of the stand for removably conn... | 01/05/1993 |
| 5125628 | Sheave and cable assembly for a tire lift/carrier winch The sheave and cable assembly includes a center sheave plate having an arcuate, cable-wrapping track and an exterior shoulder truncating the cable-wrapping track to accommodate a cable end fitting that is supported between adjacent sheave side plates for ... | 06/30/1992 |
| 5046704 | Method and apparatus improvements in oyster and shrimp winches Improvements in marine winching apparatus and method for use in conjunction with oyster dredging, shrimping, and similar activities in the fishing industry with regard to two, four, and five drum winches as used in the fishing and marine industries. The i... | 09/10/1991 |
| 5004177 | Apparatus for blocking a winch An apparatus for blocking a winch is disclosed. A winch reel is mounted between two opposed sideplates which are joined to form a frame. The winch reel includes a plurality of blocking pins extending substantially parallel to the central axis of the reel ... | 04/02/1991 |
| 4795136 | Apparatus for erecting forms A form erection hoist for use with concrete building forms or panels has a support which engages the top or an intermediate rib of an erected form. A column is rigidly attached to the support and extends above and below it. A support for a central and an ... | 01/03/1989 |
| 4771987 | Winch for loading and unloading small craft on trailers The present invention relates to a winch and a boat trailer equipped therewith. The winch has a retaining line reel for retaining a boat loaded onto the trailer in a secure position thereon. The winch also has a drum or capstan on the same axle with the r... | 09/20/1988 |
| 4770394 | Pulley hoists Pulley hoists are disclosed which provide moving anchor hooks that are suspended by two "pulls" of rope, and which may be fabricated by a single part. Anchor hooks are also disclosed which have multiple, independently movable hook portions so that certain... | 09/13/1988 |
| 4735448 | Manually operated winch bumper A manually operated winch bumper is mountable to the rear of a vehicle. A winch drum is rotatably carried by the bumper and provided with a pair of coaxial shafts projecting in opposite directions from the winch to the ends of the bumper. The winch can be... | 04/05/1988 |
| 4723757 | Ratchet-wheel-pawl assembly and release means for portable winch A portable winch incorporating at one end a mechanism for providing its suspension from a stabilized support, said frame member having a cable winding drum provided therein, and a handle lever operatively associated with the drum and disposing a ratchet p... | 02/09/1988 |
