Woodhead Industries, Inc.

Aero-motive Manufacturing Company

Maurice C Evans

Michael J Peterson

Hose reel

An elongated housing in the general shape of an inverted &ldquo;U&rdquo; having a lengthwise slot in a lower portion which includes six inner elongated conductor strips. Disposed within the housing and extending through the lower slot is a trolley with four sets of three conductive contact brushes each in linear alignment, with each set of three conductive contact brushes engaging one of four input power conductor strips. The trolley includes two additional brushes each in contact with a respective control conductor strip in the housing. The trolley is coupled to and controls the operation of a mobile machine such as used in automatic storage/retrieval systems. Springs urge the conductive contact brushes into intimate contact with a conductor strip, while support wheels on the trolley engage a lower, inner portion of the elongated housing for distributing the load and providing smooth passage over expansion joints or through transfer guides. Upper guide wheels on the trolley engage an upper, inner portion of the housing to prevent lifting of the trolley during acceleration, while side guide wheels prevent trolley misalignment, reduce wear between the trolley and the housing, and ensure even contact brush pressure distribution. Each set of three contact brushes is connected to a common copper bus bar which terminates in a junction box mounted on the bottom of the trolley, providing one connection point for one single conductor wire per conductor strip.

Multi-conductor power bar system and trolley therefor

A grounding cable reel for grounding a vehicle of the type used to service electrical power lines includes a reel assembly incorporating a conductive slip ring capable of conducting very large, short term ground fault loads, i.e., on the order of 20,000 amps. A first cable connected at one end to the vehicle's frame is coupled at its second end to a copper rod which extends through a hollow shaft which supports the reel such as for mounting to the vehicle. The copper rod is coupled to a conductive inner hub of the slip ring which is mounted to an end of the hollow support shaft. Rotationally coupled to the inner hub is an outer conductive swivel to which a first end of a second cable is coupled, while the second end of the second cable may be coupled to a grounding post or other grounded object. The second cable is disposed about the reel which is coupled to the outer swivel and rotates therewith. A louvered circular conductive strip is disposed intermediate and in contact with the inner hub and the outer swivel for providing electrical continuity in the slip ring. The inner hub and outer swivel are preferably comprised of brass for conducting large currents and for serving as a heat sink, while the contact strip allows for rotation of the outer swivel on the inner hub and electrical current conduction therebetween and is preferably comprised of a silver alloy.

Grounding cable reel for vehicle

A tool balancer for manufacturing/assembly work has a swing arm mounted to an upright standard or column. A bracket mounts an articulating arm to the distal end of the swing arm. A tool holder is mounted to the distal end of the articulating arm. An adjusting saddle received on the articulating arm has a tooth which couples to one of a series of adjusting apertures on the articulating arm. Tension springs are connected between the bracket and the adjusting saddle to bias the articulating arm upward to offset the weight of a tool and to maintain the adjusting saddle in locking engagement with the articulating arm at the desired adjustment.

Tension adjusting mechanism for tool balancer

A conveyor trolley for transporting articles along an elongated supporting rail and embodying dielectric supporting and retaining wheels and bumpers constituted and arranged so as to effectively electrically insulate the trolley and the article to be transported from such a rail and from members, such as other trolleys or stop members, on said rail.

Growing community of inventors

Portage, MI, United States of America

Maurice C Evans