Other

Country Home Products, Inc.

James H Wagner

Stuart Lindsay

Inserted in a hollow drive cylinder, a simple push-pull shaft is connected to a cup, open at one end and having a rigid rim and a transverse rod across the open end of the cup. Captured between the transverse rod and the closed end of the cup is a V-shaped spring. Two hardened steel pins on the outside ends of the V-shaped spring inserted through holes in a drive cylinder are inserted into and retracted out of engagement with openings on an interior surface of a concentrically encircling drive ring in response to expansions and compressions of the spring caused by the rim of the cup moved by the push-pull shaft. The push-pull shaft is moved by a push-pull knob outside the cylinder or cable activating knob remote therefrom. The rigid rim of the cup pushes on the sloping sides of the spring to compress the spring which then disengages the pins from the drive ring. Pulling back on the push-pull shaft withdraws the cup and releases the sides of the spring to allow the spring to expand and the the pins to engage the drive ring. The drive cylinder may drive the drive ring or the drive ring may drive the drive cylinder. A pair of concentric cylinders may also mutually drive each other.

Positive engagement spring clutch for concentric rotating drives

A treadle drive system operates comfortably in a standing or seated position with two toe or heel end pivoting treadles. A flexible drive line (chain, cable, belt, etc.) from each treadle drives a pair of forward biased driving rings (having sprockets, pulleys, belt wheels, etc.) concentrically encircling and driving a hollow drive cylinder. Concentrically encircling the cylinder, a driven ring in turn drives a rotating device. A positive engagement clutch between the hollow cylindrical hub and the driven ring allows the driven ring to be engaged or disengaged from the drive cylinder. Opposing holes transversely through the hollow drive cylinder engage pins on outer ends of a V-shaped spring. The pins are normally engaged in mating openings on an interior surface of the driven ring. A push-pull shaft with a cup having a rigid rim pushes against the sloping sides of the spring to disengage the pins from the driven shaft only. Pulling the shaft releases the spring reengaging the pins in the driven shaft. The treadle drive system may be positioned in any desired orientation to provide a human power source producing a variable rotary output for transportation, exercise, tools and instruments, generators, or any other application requiring a rotary motion.

Treadle drive system with positive engagement clutch

A device that prevents wrapping of long strands of fibrous material around an exposed rotating shaft has a stationary flange fixed to the chassis or bearing housing for the shaft and a rotating flange fixed to the shaft. The flanges are positioned to pass one another during each revolution of the shaft. When the flanges are nearest to one another, a loop of vegetation forms tightly around the flanges. Continued rotation of the shaft then stretches and tears the loop apart. This loop forming and tearing is repeated for each revolution of the shaft to effectively prevent fibrous material from wrapping around the shaft.

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Essex Junction, VT, United States of America

James H Wagner