Cable guard for ratchet lever drum puller

Claim 1

In a ratchet lever drum puller of the type including an open housing, an open operating yoke, a drum having parallel flanges at both ends perpendicular to its central axis and rotatably mounted in the open housing, a ratchet wheel for operating the drum having teeth thereon, an operating pawl on the operating yoke for selectively engaging the ratchet wheel teeth, a holding pawl, a holding pawl shaft affixed to the open housing parallel with the drum axis, the improvement comprising in combination, a cable guide secured to the open housing, a cable guard having an overall substantially arcuate configuration and presenting a free cable end adjacent the front portion of the ratchet wheel and a cable guide engaging end at the opposed end of said cable guard, said cable guard being secured to said cable guide at said cable guide engaging end thereof, the central portion of said cable guard including a holding pawl mount carried on the holding pawl shaft and secured thereon such that said cable guard free end yieldable engages a cable as the same is wound about the drum thereby to assist in the level winding of the cable about the drum, and the cable guard engaging end having an inturned detent which engages a cable as the same is wound and unwound from the drum, said cable guard being pivotally secured to the holding pawl mounting shaft thereby to ensure constant engagement with a cable as the same is wound and unwound from the drum at both the cable guard free end and the cable guard engaging end.