US2580077A - Racing game apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 25, 1951 Q L DEvlHLE 2,580,077

RACING GAME APPARATUS Filed June 18, 1948 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 ag j I 2 IN V EN TOR.

wmf/IW Dec. 25, 1951 I C, L, DEIHLE v 2,580,077

RACING GAME APPARATUS Dec. 25, 1951 c. l.. DEIHLE 2,580,077

RACING GAME APPARATUS Filed June 18, 1948 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VEN TOR.

as gaar@ Dec. 25, 1951 c. L. DEIHLE 2,580,077

RACING GAME APPARATUS Filed June 18, 1948 '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 De@ 25, 1951 c. l.. DEIHLE RACING IGAME APPARATUS 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 18, 1948 l I I I l Irl Dec. 25, 1951 c. DEIHLE RACING GAME APPARATUS Filed June 18, 1948 '7 Sheets-Sheet 7 INVENTOR. CZarZrssleihZe zlslnrngy `Patented Dec. 25,A 1195i RACING GAME APPARATUS Charlesv L. Deihle, Irondequoit, N. Y.; Catherine J. YDeihle executrix of s deceased aid Charles L. Deihle,

- yApplicatimJune 18, 194s, serial No. 33,911

` y 7 Claims. (01.273-86) Y1'v kThis invention relates to amusement devices and, more particularly, to devices of this character in Which a plurality of objects are individually movable in a manner affording a contest of speed, thus simulating a competitive race between the objects which may be made to represent animals or the like, on purpose of the invention being to provide a simpleand convenient device of this character which is pleas,- ing to operate and effective and reliablein its construction and functions.

Another object is the provision of a simple, manually operable device of this type, obviating the useofv power motors with their vattendant cost, Weight and encumbrance, thus` reducing the stresses on the partsv and their liability to breakage and so alording aV light,V portable mechanism which is* readily transported from place to place and installed in use.

Still a further object is the provision of a device having the above advantages with means affording certain automatic controls of the racing objects adding to the pleasure and convenience of operation of the parts.

To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvements and combinationsof parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at Ythe end of the specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an end elevation, partly in section, of

an amusement device embodying the present invention; l

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional plan view on the line 2 2 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 in a diagrammatic illustration of an automatic trip device and its electrical circuit forming part of the invention;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view of an automatic indicating means and its electrical circuit;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged end elevation of the operating board and its-parts as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional' elevation on the une s-s in Fig. 7;

Fig. 7 is Aan enlarged front elevation, partly in section, of the display board shownpin Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation on the line 8-8 in Fig. 7; Y Y

Fig. 9 is an enlarged elevation of driving means shown in Fig.- 1 with the parts in driving position;

Fig. 101s a sectional view on the line Ill- I0 in Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 9,` but showing some of the parts in released or idle'positiom' Fig. 12 is an enlarged sectional elevation on the liney |2-I2 in Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a view of some of the parts shown in Fig 12, but arranged in separated relation for better illustration;

Fig. 14 is a view similar to Fig. 13 butwith the parts in the relative positions which they occupy when in driving arrangement;

Fig. 15 is a sectional plan view on the line 15--15 in Fig. 12;

Fig. 16 is an enlarged sectional elevation on the line |6-l6.in Fig. 7, showing a belt tensioning means;

Fig. 17 is a front elevation of parts shown in Fig. 16 with the belts omitted;

Fig. 18 is a rear View of the parts shown in Fig. 17;

Fig. 19 is an enlarged sectional view on the line I9-I9 in Fig. 17;

Fig. 20 is a front elevation of one of the animated racing objects with adjacent portions of the display board;

Fig. 21 is a sectional elevation on the line 2I-2I in Fig. 20;

Fig. 22 is a sectional plan view on the line 22-22 in Fig. 20, and

Fig. 23 is a diagrammatic view showing the arrangement of the driving belt on its supporting pulleys. n

The preferred embodimentV of the invention herein disclosed by way of illustration, comprises a base indicatedl generally at B (Fig. l), in the form of a substantially rectangular framecomposed of a front beam 3l and a rear beam 32 connected by side rails 33. At the forward side of the base is an upstanding frame portion indicated generally at 34, composed of corner posts, asA 35, having their lower ends xed to the base and connected by rails, as 36 and 3l. This frame supports at its top a horizontal operating board 38, above which are a plurality of two or more operating handles, preferably in the form of rotatable Wheels 39 having knobs d by which they may be rotated to operate the machine as hereaiter described.

Fixed to the rear side of the base is an upright frame, kindicated generally at 4I, composed of vertical end posts l2 having their lower ends lixed to the base and connected by upper and lower rails, 43 and 44. The posts are braced by inclinedV struts, as 45, which preferably support a plurality of steps 46 for use by the operator in.

supplied by vertical guide rods 5l having their upper and lower ends supported in the brackets Y 41 and 48, respectively. Coiled about the lower end of each rod is a compression spring 52 for cushioning the descent of, the racing objects: 53V (Fig. each in the form of a metal plate having an outline representative, vin the present instance, of a climbing monkey with articulate limbs supported and actuated as hereafter described, there being oneA of these racing objects 53 to correspond withA each of the. operating handles 40 on the operating board. The players stand in front of the operating board 3.8 and each, by means of his handle llill, through mechanism presently to be described, moves the corresponding object 53 upwardly on the display board, the objects moving in parallelism with each other in a contest of speed to reach the top of the board. While but two such operating lhandles and objects are shown in the present instance,an'y convenient number of them may be provided and the objects. themselves, of course, may take. various forms other than that of climbing, monkeys as herein disclosed. n

The operating mechanism for each of the rac.- ing. objects preferably comprises upper and lower brackets, 54' and '55 (Fig. 5), fixed on and projecting rearwardly from the operating board, as shown. These brackets are. formed' with bearings rotatably supporting a vertical shaft 5.5, the upper endA of whichV projects upwardly Ythrough the operating board 38 and has fixed thereon the wheel 39, andhandle 4i! described above. The hub of the wheel, bearing against the upper face of bracket 54., supports thev shaft. against-vertical movement. Rotating freely Von each shaft 55 adjacent its lower end, are a. pair of grooved pulleysV 51 and 5,8, the upper pulley 51 being sup.- ported in place by a collar 59 fixed to. the shaft and the lower pulley 58 being supported by'clutch means hereafter. described. The upper pulley 51 is somewhat larger in diameter thanV the lower pulley so. that as both are rotated by the same shaft 56, the upper pulley has a greater peripheral speed.

Upper pulley 51' is releasably clutched to shaft 56 by means of a speed governor -comprising a headv 6D (Fig. 5)', fixed to the shaft 56. Pivoted oppositely on the head are depending arms Si which are pivotally connected by links. 6 2 with a lower head 63 sliding on shaft 56, as shown. Coiled tension springs 54, xed to arms 6I and to pins in the shaft 56, tend to swing the arms 6i downwardly and so lower the sliding head 63, but the lower ends of arms 6i carry weights 65 which tend, at high speeds, to swing the arms 5| upwardly and outwardly by centrifugal force so as to raise the lower sliding head 63, this device being in the nature of the known centrifugal governor mechanism, so that a more detailed description thereof is unnecessary.

Depending from the governor head $3 are pins 66 arranged, in the lower positions of the head 63, to engage pins 51 projecting upwardly from a plate 68 fixed on the upper lSide of the upper pulley 51 (Figs. 9 and 10). Plate 58 has a depending sleeve which forms the bearing hub of the pulley, as shown. It is apparent from this construction that while the operating handle 48 is rotated at moderate speeds, the governor head 63 remains sufficiently lowered so that its pins S5 engage pins 51 and rotate the pulley 51. At higher speeds,l however, the governor head is pulled upwardly, thereby disengaging the pins` and unclutching and releasing the pulley 51 for rotation relative to the shaft 55.

The lower pulley 58 has a plate 59 fixed to its upper side and formed with a hub or sleeve 10 depending through and below the pulley and serving as a bearing hub for rotatably supporting the pulleyon the drive shaft. The lower end 1l of sleeve 1U is formed with a plurality of notches 12 andprovides the upper face of a clutch for releasably clutching the pulley to thev drive shaft. The lower and cooperating clutch face is provided on the. upper end 13 of a sleeve 1.4 which is formed with a plurality o f upwardly projecting clutch teeth 15 for engagement in the notches 12 of the upper face. Sleeve 1.4 has a keyway 15' cut inwardly from its lower end and slidably embracing a key 11 xed to shaft 56. so that the sleeve is keyed to. rotate with but slide longitudinally on. the shaft. The sleeve is preferably mounted to slide on one or more telescoping inner sleeves. 18 and 19, with similar keyway slots for engagement with the key 11. These. inner sleeves, are for the purpose of conveniently increasing the diameter of the shaft and reducing the thickness and weight of the clutch sleevel 14.]

For clutching and unclutching the lower pulley 58the lower. end 8i! of clutch sleeve 14 projects into. proximity with the. upper surface of a lever 8lv having its inner end pivoted at 82 on bracket 55. of the operating board. Pivotally connected with opposite. sides of the lever are a pair of links v83 having their upper ends pivotally connected `with a, collar 84 slidably .engaging the outside of the clutch sleeve 14. Sleeve 14 has screw and12')'clutch(sleeve. 14 is in its lowered disengaged position. When lever 8l is raised, however. it` engages` the lower end of sleeve 14, sliding it upwardly until the clutch teeth 15 on its upper endv are engaged in the notches 12 of the clutch face of theA pulley 58, to clutch it onto the drive shaft 5E, the parts. being then in the position shown in Figs. 1, 9. and 1G.. As the lever is lowered, collar 84 strikes screws 85 to lower sleeve 1,4, and positively disengage the clutch parts to release pulley 58 for free rotation on the drive shaft, while supported on the upper end of one of the inner sleeves 18 or 19. A,

YLever 8l for thus actuating each lower drive pulley clutch is operated automatically by a device which Vis tripped` by the object winning the race as it reaches its uppermost position. For this purpose, each lever 8| has pivoted at 88 on its. outer end a link 81 (Figs. l and 5), the other end of which is pivoted at 88 to an arm 89 xed on a shaft 90 extending from end to end of the base and mounted to rock in bearings 9| on its end rails 33. Fixed to shaft 90, adjacent to Vone end of the operating board, is an arm- 92 having xed on its other end a lug `93, for engagement with the forward end of a latch or dog 94 pivoted at 95 on a bracket 96 on the adjacent post of the operating board. The rear end of the dog is pulled downwardly by a tension spring 91 against a stop pin 98, and this rear end of the dog is also pivoted to the plunger 99 of a solenoid 0 0 connected in circuit with a switch of the trip device operated by the winning object, as hereafter described.

It is evident that arm 92 may be latched in upright position by engagement with dog 94, as shown in Fig. 1, so as to rock the shaft 90 and raise each of the levers 8| to clutch the lower pulley 53 to the drive shaft. As any one of the racing objects first reaches the upper limit of movement, it closes its switch in the circuit of the trip device to energize the solenoid |00, swinging dog 94 to release arm 92 which is thrown forwardly by the weight of the parts until its bevelled free end strikes a stop bracket |02 on the frame of the operating board. This releasing movement is assisted by the weight also of an arm |03fixed on shaft 90 and serving also as means for manually rocking shaft 90 to latch arm 92 its upright position with the lower pulleys clutched to the drive shaft. For this purpose, arm |03 has fixed to its free lower end a cord |04 passing around pulleys on the operating board and provided at the rear side thereof with a knob |05 by means of a pull on which the operator may reset the apparatus for a contest.

The releasing solenoid |00 is connected in circuit (Figs. 3, '1 and 8) with any suitable source of power |06 and with a switch for each object having a lever |01 pivoted at |08 on a bracket |09 on the upper rail 43 of the display board, these switches being connected in parallel with the source of power, and the solenoid. Each switch is normally held open by a tension spring ||0 and the switch arm |01 lies in the path of a lug of insulating material xed on an upper cross arm of the corresponding object, as more fully hereafter described. As any racing object approaches the upper limit of its movement, its lug strikes and moves the corresponding switch arm |01 to close the switch, the winning object being the first to close the circuit through the solenoid to release the lower drive pulley and allow all of the objects to fall back to starting position for another race, as hereafter described. The winning object similarly engages and operates a second switch arm ||2 (Figs. 4 and '1), on the opposite side of its raceway, for closing the circuit of a lamp to indicate the particular object winning the race. Arm |2 is pivoted at ||3 on a bracket ||4 on the display board and is moved by the object to close switch contacts in a circuit including a suitable source of power ||5 and a lamp H6. A cord ||1 is provided in convenient position to be pulled by the operator, for reopening the switch for a subsequent contest.

Each racing object 53 is preferably mounted on a frame, indicated generally at |58 (Figs. 20`22), having an upper cross arm |S elongated to engage and koperate the above described switches and a lower cross arm |20, both 'slidably engaging the guide rods 5| on opposite sides of each raceway slot 50. Projecting forwardly 'from the top and bottom of the bodt'r portion of each frame 8, throughthe corresponding slot 50, are upper and lower posts |2| andy |22, to

Ythe forward ends of which the body portion 53 6 of the racing object is secured in front of the display board. This object body, in the present instance, is outlined to represent the gure of a monkey having an arm |23 pivoted on a post |24 projecting forwardly from the object body on which also a leg |25 is similarly pivoted. Each of these arm and leg parts is actuated by similar means so that adescription of such means for the leg will sumce for both. A pin |26 (Fig. 22) is fixed in the leg part and engaged in a slot |21 in an arm |28 pivoted at |29 on a rear plate |50 attached to the object body. Arm |28 has a slot |3| in which is engaged a pin |32 xed eccentrically in the forward end of a sleeve |33 fixed on a shaft |34 journalled in the body of the frame ||8 and extending through the rear side thereof where the shaft has fixed thereon a grooved pulley |35. The similar actuating means for the arm part of the object comprises a shaft |36, journalledin the object frame and having fixed thereon a "grooved pulley |31,

located above the pulley |35. It is evident from this construction that rotation of the pulleys |35 and |31 serves to swing the arm and leg parts of the object so as to simulate a climbing action as the pulleys are rotated and the object is raised and lowered by belt means which will now be described.

The means for raising and lowering each racing object comprises an endless exible belt member, indicated generally at |38, preferably made of a flexible cotton cord, which has been found most efficient for frictionally gripping the grooved pulleys with a minimum of tension. pulley friction and driving force. This'cord is arranged in loops passing around each of the pair of the driving pulleys and each of the pair of pulleys on each object, as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 23. That is, this cord has one loop |39 passing around the upper driving pulley 51. One side |40 of this loop passes around an idler pulley |4| on a tensioning device, hereafter described, at the bottom of the display board, and thence upwardly and around the lower pulley |35y of the object from which it passes around an idler pulley |42 and thence, as at |43, to the lower driving pulley 58. From the opposite side of this pulley, the cord passes, as at |44, around an idler pulley |45 and. thence upwardly and around an idler pulley |45 on a fixed trunnion at the top of the display board. From this idler pulley, the cord passes, as at |41, around the upper pulley |31 of the object and thence, as at |48, around a second idler pulley |49 on a trunnion xed at the top of the display board. From this idler pulley, it passes downwardly, as at |50, around an idler pulley |5| and back to the loop |35 engaged with the upper drive pulley 51.

The object pulleys are preferably of the same diameter, but the upper driving pulley 51 is larger in diameter than the lower driving pulley, so that in the rotation of these pulleys by the same driving shaft, the upper pulley has a greater peripheral speed. As a result, the reach |48 of the belt leading from the upper Vpulley |31 of the object is pulled upwardly at a higher rate of speed than the reach |41 of the belt leading to `the same pulley, since the reach |41 is supplied by the lower driving pulley rotating at a lower peripheral speed. This tends to pull the object upwardly, since the loop of the belt around the lower object pulley |35 is correspondingly payed out by a reach of the belt supplied by the faster upper pulley 51. Rotation of the operating wheel 39 or its handle 40 thusacts to raise the corresponding `object iup vits runway, accompanied 'by animated motion `of its articulate arm and 'leg parts, :so long as both of the driving l'pulleys .5? land are clutched to the .rotated driving shaft. .Gn the unclutching or release of either driving pulley, however, the cord is freed so 4that .the weight :of `.the object causes it to drop 'back 'along its raceway., las hereafter more fully =de scribed.

It has been found advantageous, :as stated, to make the :belt Ymember of "flexible .cotton cord material, but such material is .subject :to stretch ing `and shrinking under atmospheric changes, tending to Aeither `cause the :cord to .slip .on lthe pulleys or 'to become .so taut as to frictionally bind the .pulleys and particularly the driving pulleys even after release of 4the clutches. It 'has :been found that this .diniculty `can 'be overn come, however. by the provision :of .automatic tensioning devices in conjunction with the mountv ing of the idler `pulleys SM1, M2, m5 and -i'l at the bottom of .the ydisplay board. To 'this end, these pulleys are 'all rotatably mounted :on a shaft |52 (Figs. 1-6-19), fixed lin a 'bracket 153 projecting forwardly 'from -a slide 451i having f laterally extending rollers |555 engaged in vertical slots 5@ in the side 'bars 1'5"! o a frame fixed to the rear rail 32 of the base. The yside bars 45t are additionally `connected 'by `upper and lower cross bars 158 and 159 at the forward side of .the frame :so as 'to leave its rear side un obstructed. 'Slide .|54 is provided 4on its rear side with a chute |59a 'having an open top and adapted .to slidably receive a suitable number of weights ill for pressing the idler pulleys downwardly to tension the several loops of the belt which .also tend 'to distribute and equalize the tension as between the Adifferent loops in view of the endless nature 'of the'belt. *By this 'means the belt is automatically maintained with a uniform suitable tension 4for ygripping the several pulleys, but without an excessive degree of belt pull.

In operation, with the lever 92 latehed in position to raise all of the levers El clutch the lower pulleys 58 to their respective drive shafts, and with 'the objects "in their lower or starting position, the players :begin at a ygiven signal to rotate their respective handles 4B, each endeavoring to be the iirstto raise his object to the top of its raceway. When any ci the objects, however, is raised at :morethan a predetermined rate oi speed, the centrifugal governor opera-tes to unclutch the upper driving pulley 'from the drive shaft, with the Aresult that the weight of the object tends to impart to the belt a move'- ment in addition to that still imparted by the lower driving pulley, so that the -iree upper driving pulley 5l is turned ata less peripheral speed than the lower driving pulley 58, or is held stationary, or even reversed, depending upon Various conditions, such as weight and friction of the parts, which may be designed, however, vto control within limits the speed of descent ofthe object. When the speed or the operating handle is suliciently decreased to 'correct this 4diiliculty, the centrifugal vgovernor again'clutches the upper driving pulley E? `to the drive shaft andthe lrise ci the object is resumed. 'This unexpected and adverse result of excessive speed of yrotation of `the operating ,handle injects element of surprise which adds to the zest .of the competition 'and the amusement afforded 'by -the device.

As the leading object approaches the uppermost or winning position, it closes 'the switch ill() 'lever 191, thereby unla-tch-ing lever i'92, which, by its descent, releases rall of the'lower driving 'pulleys so that ai-ll 'of the objects automatically descend. A-t the ysame time, however, the Winning obi-ect also closes switch lever 1| I2 to light the signal lam-p and indicate the winner until lthe switch yis :opened by pulling cord H 1 to ready Ithe apparams -for another contest.

The display lboar-d is preferably painted with attractive jungle or other appropriate scenery and the apparatus ailiercls a highly pleasing game oi `skill embodied in a construction `which is relatively liglht and portable, as well as easy and-convenlien-'t to install `and operate.

It will thus vbe `rseen that the invention accomplishes its objects and while fit has been 'herein disclosed by reference lto the ldetails/of a preferred embodiment, it Iis to be understood that such disclosure i-s 'intended -i-n an illustrative, rather than a limiting sense, as it 'is contemplated that vvarious modifications in the construction and arrangement :of the parts will readily occur to those skilled in the art, within the spirit of the invention and the scope Aor the appended claims.

'I claim: Y

l. An amusement device comprising lupright guide mea-ns, an object Ymovable Aon said guide means in one direetionby gravity and provided with dri-ven pulleys, driving pulleys, supporting 4Ameans on which said driving pulleys are 'freely rotatable, continuous belt means having loop porltio-Irs enga-ging 'said 'driving and driven pulleys, respectively, manually operable means for ro- 'tating said 'driving pulleys at -di'ierent peripheral speeds, respectively, and Varying the length of lsaid loop eportions `Ato 'move said object -in the other direction, said manually operable means 4having a -releasa-'ole connection with one of said driving pulleys, speed governor means control-ling -sa'fld releasable connection, said driving Ameans having ya releasable clutch connection with the vother vof said driving pulleys, and a trip 4device actuated automatically by said object in the raised position thereof Afor positively releasing said vclutch lconnection from the other of said driving `pulleys *for grav-ity descent 'of lsaid object.

Y 2. An 4amusement Idevice ycomprising upwardly extending guide mea-ns, an object movable on said guide vmeans'in'one Adirection by gravi-ty and Yprm/idedwith `driven. pulleys, driving pulleys, su-pporting means on vwhich lsaid driving `pulleys are 'freely rotatable, an endless riexible cotton -cord :member arranged in -a series of loops each engaging one of said pulleys, driving means 'having releasable clutch connections with said driving l,pulleys for rotating 'the `saine at diierent peripheral speeds to vary 'the lengths 4of said loops `and rai-se said object, lsaid object being adapted for nievement by gravity to rotate said driving 'pulleys when said ydriving pulleys are releasedfby said clutch connections, and gravity actuated tensioning'devices engaging loops o'f said cord member for automatically maintaining a constant pull on and frictional resistance in .said pulleys under variations in the length of said cord member during variations in 4atmospheric conditions.

`3. A portable amusement device comprising a. base, an operating board at theirontofsaid base, a vertical display board .at the vrear .0f said base formed with a plurality of vhorizontally spaced, vertically extending slots, vertical guide Lmeans rearwardly of each slot, a ,frameslidable on each guide .means and .having supporting means eX- tentling Aforwardly 'through said slot and provided with pulleys rearwardly thereof, an object on said frame supporting means having articulate parts, actuating means connecting said pulleys through said slots with said articulate parts to effect articulate movement thereof, a pair of driving pulleys for each of said objects, a flexible belt member connecting said first mentioned pulleys and driving pulleys, driving means for each of said pairs of driving pulleys having a manually operable member located on said operating board, said pulleys being freely rotatable on said driving means, releasable clutch means connecting said driving means With each of said pulleys thereof, and means for automatically releasing said clutch means and said driving pulleys for rotation by said belt member to permit said object to descend by gravity.

4. An amusement device as specified in claim 3 comprising speed responsive means for releasing one of said clutch means, and means for releasing the other of said clutch means comprising a trip device actuated by the corresponding object in its uppermost position.

5. An amusement device comprising upright guide means, an object movably mounted on said guide means for descent by gravity and provided With pulleys, said object having articulate parts having actuating connections with said pulleys, driving pulleys, supporting means on which said driving pulleys are freely rotatable, an endless cord member looped about said first mentioned pulleys and said driving pulleys, manually operable means for rotating said driving pulleys at different peripheral speeds to vary the lengths of the looped portions of said cord member to raise said object, said manually operable means having a releasable connection with one of said driving pulleys, a speed governor controlling said releasable connection, releasable clutch means connecting said manual means with the other of said driving pulleys, and means actuated automatically by said object in the raised position thereof'for releasing said clutch means and said other pulley for rotation by said cord member to permit gravity descent of said object.

6. An amusement device comprising upright guide means, an object movably mounted on said guide means for descent by gravity and provided with articulate parts, driven pulleys on said object provided With eccentric actuating means, connections between said actuating means and said articulate parts for producing animated movements thereof, driving pulleys, a flexible belt member arranged in loops engaging said driven pulleys and driving pulleys, respectively, manually operable means for rotating said driving pulleys at dierent peripheral speeds, respectively, to vary the lengths of said loops and raise said object, and a releasable clutch connection between said manual means and one of said driving pulleys for releasing said driving pulley for reverse rotation by said belt member to permit gravity descent of said object.

7. An amusement device comprising upwardly extending guide means, an object movable on said guide means in one direction by gravity and provided With driven puiieys, driving pulleys, supporting means on which said driving pulleys are freely rotatable, iiexible belt means having loops engaging said driving and driven pulleys, respectively, driving means having releasable clutch connections With said driving pulleys for rotating the same at different peripheral speeds to vary the lengths of said loops and raise said object, said driving pulleys being rotatable by said belt means when said driving pulleys are released by said clutch connections to permit said object to fall by gravity, and adjustable tensioning means for said belt member for maintaining a uniform belt pull on and frictional resistance in said pulleys.

CHARLES L. DEH-ILE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 615,859 Kraber Dec. 13, 1898 1,267,608 Vaughan May 28, 1918 1,334,630 Owen Mar. 23, 1920 1,392,764 Higuchi Oct. 4, 1921 1,500,788 Anderson July 8, 1924 1,965,140 Fleak July 3, 1934 2,064,119 Irenius Dec. 15, 1936

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