Motor-driven fairlead for assisting spooling or unspooling from a winch

Inventors: David R. Hall (Provo, UT); Daniel Madsen (Vineyard, UT); Jerome Miles (Spanish Fork, UT); Dustin Clouse (Springville, UT)

Assignee: Hall Labs LLC

B66D1/54 B66D1/36 B66D1/38 B66D1/505 G08B5/36 G08B21/182

View Patent ↗

Loading inventors, assignments & file history…

Monitor This Case

Get email alerts when status or documents change.

Order Certified Copies

Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.

Order via The Patent Place →

Pre-filled with this patent's details

Quick Facts

Patent No.: US 10,934,142
App. No.: 16/180,987
Granted: Mar 2, 2021
Kind: B2

External Links

USPTO Patent Center↗ Full Patent PDF↗

Abstract

A fairlead for use with a winch is disclosed. The fairlead is made up of a first and second roller, a motor, a sensor, and a controller. The rollers are adapted to aid in spooling or unspooling a line. The motor drives at least the first roller. The sensor determines whether a winch drum is spooling or unspooling a line. The controller is connected to the motor and communicates with the sensor. The sensor determines whether the winch drum is spooling or unspooling the line. The controller is configured to direct the motor so that the rollers assist in unspooling or spooling the line in coordination with the winch drum. In some embodiments, the fairlead is integrated into the winch.

Claims (35)

1. A fairlead for use with a winch comprising:

a first and second roller adapted to aid in spooling or unspooling a line; a motor for driving at least the first roller;

a sensor for determining the speed at which the rollers are rotating to aid in spooling or unspooling the line; a controller connected to the motor, and in communication with the sensor;

wherein, the sensor determines the speed at which the rollers are rotating to aid in spooling or unspooling the line;

wherein, the controller is configured to direct the motor so that at least the first roller rotates at a speed to keep tension on the line and assist in unspooling or spooling the line in coordination with the winch drum; and

wherein the fairlead is calibrated to the winch it is being used with; wherein the sensor is a current sensor.

2. The invention of claim 1 , wherein the motor drives both the first and the second roller.

3. The invention of claim 1 , wherein the current sensor determines whether the winch drum is spooling or unspooling the line based on the direction of the current.

4. The invention of claim 1 , wherein the controller is adapted to communicate with and receive commands from a remote-control device.

5. The invention of claim 4 , wherein the remote-control device is a personal communication device.

6. The invention of claim 1 , further comprising a guide mechanism to evenly coil the line onto the winch drum.

7. The invention of claim 1 , wherein the fairlead is attached to a winch frame.

8. A fairlead for attaching to a winch comprising: a first and second roller;

a motor for driving at least the first roller;

a sensor for determining the speed at which the rollers are rotating to aid in spooling or unspooling a line; a controller connected to the motor, and in communication with the sensor;

wherein, the rollers are adapted to help unspool a line off of and spool a line onto the winch drum;

wherein, the controller is configured to control the motor to drive at least the first roller in the direction so as to pull on the line as the line is unspooling from the winch drum and to disengage the rollers when the line is spooling onto the winch drum; and

wherein the fairlead is calibrated to the winch it is being used with wherein the sensor is a current sensor.

9. The invention of claim 8 , wherein the current sensor determines whether the winch drum is spooling or unspooling the line based on the direction of the current.

10. The invention of claim 8 , wherein the controller is adapted to communicate with and receive commands from a remote-control device.

11. The invention of claim 8 , further comprising bearings connected to the at least first roller, wherein the bearings are adapted to assist the at least one roller in maintaining tension on the line between the at least one roller and the winch drum.

12. The invention of claim 8 , wherein the fairlead is attached to the winch frame.

13. A winch comprising:

a winch motor;

a winch drum for spooling and unspooling a line; a fairlead comprising:

a first and second roller;

a fairlead motor for driving at least the first roller;

a sensor to determine the speed at which the rollers are rotating to aid in spooling or unspooling a line; a controller connected to the fairlead motor, and in communication with the sensor;

wherein, the sensor determines the speed at which the rollers are rotating to aid in spooling or unspooling the line

wherein, the controller is configured to direct the fairlead motor so that at least the first roller rotates at a speed to keep tension on the line and assist in unspooling or spooling the line in coordination with the winch drum; and

wherein the fairlead is calibrated to the winch it is being used with; wherein the sensor is a current sensor.

14. The invention of claim 13 , wherein the current sensor determines whether the winch drum is spooling or unspooling the line based on the direction of the current.

15. The invention of claim 14 , wherein the controller is configured to control the motor to drive at least the first roller in the direction so as to pull on the line as it is unspooling from the winch drum and to disengage the rollers when the line is spooling onto the winch drum.

16. The invention of claim 15 , further comprising bearings connected to the at least first roller, wherein the bearings are adapted to assist the at least one roller in maintaining tension on the line between the at least one roller and the winch drum.

17. The invention of claim 13 , wherein the controller is adapted to communicate with and receive commands from a remote-control device.