TECHNICAL FIELD OVER THE INVENTION:

The present invention relates to a spring means for hauling elements, such as ropes, especially ropes for anchoring boats.

RELATED ART:

Elements which are exposed to tractive forces, such as ropes, chains, and pull-rods, are often equipped with a spring means to equalize the large forces which might occur if the element is exposed alternately to load removal and severe wrenching. Load removal which alternates with wrenching particularly occurs in moorings for boats and floating bridges due to movements of the water. If there is no elasticity in the force absorbing system, the wrenching can lead to forces so large that the mooring element, usually a rope or a chain, is torn or that its attachment iε torn off.

For this reason it iε common to equip such hauling elementε with a spring means. A number of such spring means are known. A common spring means comprises a screw spring, which, through links which overlap each other, absorbs the wrenching as compressive forceε. However, this kind needs a considerable amount of space, and also has a tendency to be noisy. Another known kind is in the shape of a rubber strap, which additionally has a safety device, due to the fact that the mooring line is wound about it at the same time as it is fastened to the outer ends of the strap. In this way it is possible to utilize the resilience of the rubber, while the unbroken rope ensures that the mooring does not break if the strap breaks due to material exhaustion. This device is handy to use, and has a small diameter, but its production costs are relatively high. There are also other kinds of such spring means, which

might have other disadvantages. A common problem is how to attach the hauling element to the spring means in a safe way which is also easy to handle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:

The present invention uses a tension screw spring for the spring function, an element which can be produced in special machines without any large tool costs. The particular characteristics of the invention, a tension screw with two different diameters, a large diameter at the intermediate section, and a smaller diameter at the two end-sections, the springing movement between the turns of the spring can be positioned to the intermediate section while the two end-sections, which due to their smaller diameter have a larger spring constant, are not affected. Due to this fact, they can be used as attachment points for the hauling element.

THE DRAWINGS: In the following, the invention will be shown in a number of embodiments which are shown in the Figures:

Fig. 1 a view of an embodiment of a spring element;

Fig. 2 a cross section of the spring means, which shows the attachment of the hauling element, a rope, to the ends of the spring element;

Fig. 3 a cross section of a detail of said attachment;

Fig. 4 a cross section of a second embodiment of said attachment, and

Fig. 5 an end view of this attachment.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS:

Fig. 1 shows how a main element of the spring means, from now on referred to as spring element 1, is made as a tightly wound screw spring with two diameters. The intermediate section 2 of the spring element has a considerably much larger diameter, here shown in double

size, compared to the end-section 3 at both ends, which both connect to the intermediate section via conically wound sections 4.

The spring wire of the windings of the spring element is assumed to have an even thickness, and is here shown with a circular cross-section although other cross-sections are not excluded. The material is assumed to preferably be hardened steel, either stainless or equipped with some sort of rust protection. In certain applications, however, other alternate materials can be used.

The spring element 1 is arranged to work as a draw spring. In case of tension load, it will stretch, since the wire turns will be bent out from each other, and the stretch which is achieved at a certain load depends on the so- called spring constant. The value of the spring constant in turn depends on material quality, the dimensions of the wire and the diameter. If all other conditions are equal, the stretch will increase at a certain load in proportion to the diameter of the spring.

This means that the stretch along the intermediate section 2 at a certain load will be larger than at the end-sections 3. In an embodiment for a certain maximum load, alternatively a maximal extended length, it is possible to position, by means of an adapted dimensioning, the entire stretching to the mid-section, possibly to some extent also to the conical sections, while the end-sections with the smallest diameters are not affected at all. The stretching can be affected not only by choice of material and dimensions, but also through pre-stressing of the spring during the winding. This means that the spring wire is curved in, towards the immediately preceding wire turn, which will cause the turns to contact each other with a certain initial force. This must first be overcome before

the spring begins to stretch. By pre-stressing, the stretch can thus be affected, and also adapted in different ways in different sections of the spring.

The purpose of having different stretch in different sections of the spring or, more precisely, of positioning the entire stretch within the intended maximum load to the mid-section without any stretch of the end-sections, is to enable these to be used as attachment points for the hauling element, usually a rope. Such use is hardly possible if these sections of the spring element were also to be exposed to stretch with the spring turns being separated from each other. Since the spring has been given a stable shape in these attachment sections, the spring turns can be used as a nut thread, or in some other way using attachment elements which are inserted into the end- sections. These can of course alternatively, or at the same time, be used as screw threads for elements which are attached on the outside of the end sections.

In the following, two embodiments of attachment elements will be described. Fig. 2 shows a central section of the spring means which has been shortened in order to save space. The spring element 1 can be seen with its mid- section 2 and the end-sections 3. The two attachment elements with the numeral 6 consist of an outer head 7, and a preferably slotted screw part 8, which is equipped with threads which have been adapted so that they can be screwed into the spring turns of the end-sections. A bore 9 extends through the element 6, which bore has been dimensioned to allow the hauling element to be drawn through it, here shown with a rope with the numeral 10. The bore 9 is conical, with an angle which is smaller than the friction angle, and which has its wider end at the end 11 of the element.

The rope 10, as shown, has end-sections which extend outwardly from the spring means and which are to be attached to the objects which are to be connected via the spring means; for example one end can be attached to a bridge and the other part to a boat which is to be moored. The two sections must thus be held in place by the spring means. However, the rope is also used as a stretch limiter for the spring means, so that it can not be deformed by overload and at the same time the rope provides a safety in case the spring element or the rope attachments break. Correctly adapted, the stretch limiter also ensures that the stretch is limited to the mid-section.

This is achieved by letting the rope extend through this spring means without interruption, but with an adapted extra length relative to the length of the spring means.

This extra length allows a preset stretch before the rope inside the means is stretched, but does not allow this stretch length to be exceeded. Correctly adapted, this stretch limiter also ensures that the stretch does not become so large that it is not confined to the mid-section.

Said extra length is shielded, for example from hooking, inside the spring element.

Holding of the rope in the attachment element 3 is achieved by stop elements 12. According to Fig. 3, these consist of short bodies with a star-shaped cross-section, with an amount of ribs and recesses respectively, which is equal to the amount of strands of the intended rope. During assembly of the stop element, the strands are separated and the stop element is inserted between them, as shown in Fig. 3. This gives such a large total cross-section where the stop element is, that the rope can not be pulled out through the bore 9. A lock which prevents the stop element from moving along the rope is achieved by the conical section 11, which presses the strands against the stop element and prevents

it from sliding. Since the bore 9 is conical with an angle which is smaller than the friction angle, the rope with the stop element does not strive to slide out of the bore towards its wider end. The relatively long cone makes it possible to use attachment elements of a preset dimension for ropes of different diameter. By slotting of the attachment element, this adaptation to alternative dimensions can be made even wider.

During assembly of the rope, it is first drawn through the spring element 1 with the attachment elements 6 screwed out. The rope extends through the spring element, and the two stop elements 12 are now inserted between the strands of the rope at a prescribed distance from each other, which distance is chosen so that said stretch limiter for the spring means reaches a suitable value. After this, the attachment elements 6 are slipped on to the rope, one from each side and are screwed into each end-section 3, with the rope with the assembled stop elements between them, as shown in Fig. 2.

Figs. 4 and 5 show a different embodiment of the attachment element. In this embodiment, the rope is held by the attachment element as such. The attachment element, here given the reference numeral 16, has a tube-shaped section 17 into which abut four flanges 18, provided with wedge- shaped threads. These threads overlap each other as shown in Fig. 5, so that only a narrow rhomboid-shaped throughbore 20 remains. These have a smaller cross-section than the intended rope, which must thus run in zigzag between the flanges 18 and, when stretched, the rope is pressed downwards towards the bottom of the threads. In this way the rope is secured against wrenching through the attachment element.

In order to attach the attachment element 16, this ought to be provided with an external thread. However, since the rope is held relatively firmly and can not twist, a screwing from both sides of the attachment element would cause a twisting of the rope, which could cause problems. For this reason, at the shown attachment elements, there is instead a snap attachment using protruding parts 21, which lean in such a way that they will spring inwards when the attachment elements are pressed into the end-section of the spring element, but will spring outwards between the wire turns with a transversal surface which makes it very difficult to pull the rope out. At its outermost end, the attachment element 16 has a head 22.

The invention is not limited to these two embodiments of attachment elements; other embodiments are possible which cooperate with the stable wound end-sections of the spring element. The shown attachment elements are adapted to be used together with a rope. If, however, it is desired to use other hauling elements such as a chain, or a stay, the attachment elements must be shaped for attachment to those kinds of hauling elements.

The spring element 1 can also have different embodiments. It can, for example, be sparsely wound to allow drainage of incoming water. It can also be equipped with some kind of housing, for example in rubber or plastic, and can be in the shape of a bellows.

It should be added that the thread, which the end-sections form, can be used in other ways than for the holding of the attachment organ of the hauling element. For example, several spring elements can be connected using a double- screw, if one wishes to have a longer spring length than can be offered by a device of a certain size. It is also possible to connect several spring elements in parallel,

using bridges equipped with screws, so that a higher spring resistance is obtained. If one wishes only a section of the hauling element which extends outwards from the spring means, its other end can be attached directly in, for example, a fixed structure using one of the end sections.