Rope holding device

Claim 1

A rope holding device including generally L-shaped bracket means having first and second legs; a solid cylindrical-shaped cam formed of resilient material and having a pair of spaced flat, circular end surfaces and a smooth, cylindrical side camming surface extending between said end surfaces; pin means extending perpendicularly through the cam end surfaces and eccentrically pivotally mounting the cam on the bracket means first leg, said camming surface being adapted to clamp a rope against the second leg of the bracket means upon rotation of the cam; the cylindrical camming surface having a width greater than the diameter of a rope being clamped, with groove means and spaced ridge means being formed in the cylindrical camming surface due to the resiliency of the cam when said cam clamps a rope against the second leg of the bracket means to prevent sidewise disengagement of the rope from the cam; rod means embedded in the cam and extending radially outwardly from the cylindrical camming surface; the rod means being resiliently mounted on the cam and having limited movement in the axial and circumferential directions with respect to the cam due to the resiliency of the cam; and elongated notch means formed in the bracket means second leg with said rod means being engageable with the notch means to hold the cam in rope clamping position and to permit limited rotation of the cam in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions without the rOd means being disengaged from the notch means.