Idling device for lever hoist

Abstract

An idling device is able to bring a lever hoist into an idling condition including a change gear provided on driving member threadedly engaged on a driving shaft for driving a sheave for winding-up a chain or rope for a load, an operating lever rockably driven by a hand, winding-up and winding-off driving pawls engageable with teeth of the change gear and changeable for hoisting or lowering the load, and a braking assembly for preventing the change gear from being driven by the gravitational force of the load and adapted to be clamped and released by rotative movement of the driving member relative to the driving shaft. According to the invention, the idling device comprises an anchoring member fixed at one end of the driving shaft, a manually operatable knob rotatably and axially slidably fitted on the driving shaft between the anchoring member and the driving member for manually driving the driving member from a brake clamping position to a brake releasing position, and anchor operating member fitted in an aperture formed in the knob and radially slidable therein toward and away from the anchoring member to clamp and release the knob relative to the driving shaft, thus enabling the lever hoist braking assembly to be maintained in the released condition and to be changed from the released condition into the clamped condition.