Pawl and ratchet construction for hand winch

The present invention is related to an improvement in a double-acting ratchet and pawl for controlling the operation of a hand winch. The pawl is pivotally mounted and engageable in two different positions with a driving gear which in turn is engaged with a driven gear operably connected to a winch reel. The improvement of this invention is primarily related to the pawl design and mounting and operation means therefor. With the design of the present invention, the pawl may be pivoted into any one of three principal locations corresponding to forward winch drive, reverse winch drive, and free-running winch drive. A latch plate holds the pawl fixedly in the desired position. A handle is provided for operating the pawl and a spring compressed against the handle operably holds the pawl against the latch plate. The pawl and the handle are pivotally connected on a shaft and mounted pivotally with respect to one another. A coiled spring connects the handle to the pawl for moving the...