Rotary drive mechanism for energizing toys, kinetic sculptures, or the like
US4637152A · kind A · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 11, 1983 |
| Grant date | Jan 20, 1987 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 11, 2003 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T74/18368
- WIPO fieldFurniture, games
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
A rotary drive mechanism for toys, kinetic sculptures, and the like, employs a pawl and ratchet mechanism to transmit driving torque between a driving wheel and a driven inertia wheel. The driving wheel may itself be driven by means of a drive string that may frictionally engage a circular drive surface to permit the driving wheel to be rotated independently with limited slippage between the string and the drive surface. A fixed and uniform amount of energy can be imparted to the driving wheel and the driven wheel through a spring that is connected to the drive string and preloaded by a predetermined amount. A second inertia wheel can be mounted coaxially of the one inertia wheel and both wheels may operate with random motion through an interference coupling. The pawl and ratchet mechanism in one embodiment forms an escapement to provide intermittent drive to the wheels. The inertia wheel is rotationally unbalanced with a weight offset from the axis of rotation.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.