CAPSTAN COMPRISING MEANS OF ASSESSING THE TENSION OF A LINE WRAPPED AROUND IT AND MEANS OF AUTOMATICALLY SELECTING AT LEAST ONE SPEED ACCORDING TO SAID TENSION

摘要

Capstan (10) intended to be secured to a sailing craft in order to tension a line attached to a sail, said capstan (10) comprising a fixed base (11) housing a shaft (14) and a gearbox, a barrel (12) around which said line can be wound, said barrel (12) being mounted such that it is capable of rotating in just one direction around said base (11) and connected to said shaft (14) via said gearbox, the rotation of said shaft (14) being accompanied by rotating of said barrel (12) about said base (11). The capstan comprises means of assessing the tension in said line and means of selecting at least one speed when said tension exceeds a predetermined threshold, said gearbox comprising an interior annulus (23), said annulus (23) being mounted such that it can rotate inside said barrel (12) against the effect of means that apply a friction and/or elastic return force (30, 34) to said annulus (23) so that it can turn in relation to said barrel (12) when said tension is above said threshold.