Other

Ewald F Kerkhoff

Kenneth L Green

David B Call

A controlled weight-lowering device is presented which allows an individual to descend from a building at a predetermined rate of descent. The device can be permanently attached to the building or it can be portable. The device has an outer bracket which is securely attached to the inside of the building. Rotating about a shaft attached to the bracket is a cylindrical winding drum. The drum has a rope wound around it that is attached to a harness. The individual puts on the harness he desires to descend. Inside the winding drum is an inner gear pump and valve mechanism which is surrounded by an oil reservoir. Oil is allowed to go into the gear set chamber and circulates past the gears. The rate of flow of the oil out of the gear set chamber is regulated by a spring biased tapered piston. As the strength of the spring biasing is set on the piston, the rate of flow of oil within the gear set chamber is regulated. Because the gear set is connected to the cylindrical axis of the winding drum, controlling the rate of flow of oil, which controls the rate of rotation of the gears, also controls the rate of rotation of the drum.

Controlled weight-lowering device

The meshing gear teeth comprise cylindrical profile teeth on a gear or rack and circular arc profile teeth on the other gear or pinion. Each cylindrical profile tooth is preferably mounted for free rotation about the cylindrical axis of the tooth. Driving engagement of the gears rotates the contacting cylindrical teeth, thereby providing rolling contact between the meshing gear teeth. At any instant, at least two cylindrical teeth on one gear are in engagement with one tooth on the other gear. With the motion of the meshing gears, the cylindrical profile teeth rotate into and out of the roots of the other gear without loss of rolling contact from entrance to exit. The constant contact and multi tooth engagement prevents backlash relative movement between the gears.

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Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America

Ewald F Kerkhoff