US3258979A - Motion conversion mechanism - Google Patents

Description

July 5, 1966 w. ALSEPT MOTION CONVERSION MECHANISM Filed March 18, 1965 56 INVENTOR. 54 llIIllllllIIIIIIIIHIIMI W/SE 4L SEPT JIE 2 United States Patent 3,258,979 MOTION CGNVERSIGN MECHANISIVI Wise Alsept, 2733 Gladstone St., Dayton, Ohio Filed Mar. 18, 1965, Ser. No. 440,862 14 Claims. (Cl. 74-63) This invention relates to a motion conversion mechanism and more particularly to a mechanism for converting reciprocating motions to continuous rotary motion. However, the invention is not necessarily so limited.

An object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved device for converting between continuous rotary motion and reciprocating motions.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved motion conversion mechanism, adapted to utilize a force field, such as the earths gravitational field, in its operation and also adapted to operate in artificially produced force fields, such as magnetic fields, which may or may not be employed to supplement the earths gravitational field.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved motion conversion mechanism having the capacity for accumulating and storing substantial amounts of kinetic energy.

Other objects and advantages reside in the construction of parts, the combination thereof, the method of manufacture and the mode of operation, as will become more apparent from the following description.

In the drawing FIGURE 1 is a perspectiveview with a portion broken away illustrating one embodiment of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a front elevation view of the foregoing embodiment with a portion broken away, said view being drawn to a reduced scale.

The motion conversion device illustrated in the drawing comprises a circular plate which is supported for pivotal movements upon a suitable frame 12. The frame 12 includes spaced upright pedestals 14 which confront one another. The pedestals 14 have horizontally projecting flanges 16 at the upper ends thereof which are apertu red to receive stub shafts 18 and 20 projecting oppositely and horizontally from diametrically opposite sites in the periphery of the plate 10. The stub shafts 18 and 20 have freedom for rotational movement in the flanges 16. Accordingly the plate 10 has freedom for pivotal movement on the frame 12 about a horizontal axis defined by the stub shafts 18 and 20, said axis passing diametrically through the plate 18. Upon a full understanding of the present invention as revealed in the following description, it will be apparent that the foregoing supporting frame merely represents one of numerous supporting devices that can be employed. A simplified alternative support, not shown, can comprise rocker arms supporting the plate 10 in the manner of a rocking chair.

Pivotal movements of the plate 10 are controlled by an elongated drive or control rod 22 which is attached to the periphery of the plate 10 and which is substantially coplanar with the plate 10. As shown, the rod 22 is preferably coaxial with the perpendicular bisector. of the axis defined by the stub shafts 18 and 20. In the preferred embodiment, the weight of the rod 22 is counterbalanced by a diametrically opposite weight 23. The control rod 22 can also be tapered to reduce the amount of counterbalance needed.

To facilitate a reciprocal power input, the driving rod is slotted as shown at 25. As one example, the slot 25 can receive a crank member 27 mounted for rotation in a supporting pedestal 31 for input of a reciprocal motion. Where the power input is reciprocal to begin with, as with straight pull solenoid devices, the sliding connection in the slot 25 is desirable to relieve the rod 22 of axial loading.

3,258,979 Patented July 5, 1966 The plate 10 has a central aperture 24 which communicates between the upper and lower surfaces of the plate 10. Passing through the aperture '24 and inclined to the upper and lower surfaces of the plate 10 is a shaft 26. Fastened to the lower end of the shaft 26 is a roller element 28, or more specifically a spherical ball, which has a diametric bore 29 therein receiving the shaft 26. A dowel 30, passing diametrically through the ball 28 and the shaft 26 at a right angle to the bore 29, secures the ball 28 against sliding movement on the shaft 26.

A second roller element or ball 32 is mounted slidably on the shaft 26 above the plate 10 and in rolling contact with said upper surface. For this assembly, the ball 32 is provided with a diametric bore 33 which receives the shaft 26 with a slip fit. Axial movement of the ball 32 on the shaft 26 in the direction away from the ball 28 is restrained by a spring 34 spiraled about the shaft 26 and restricted against axial movement away from the ball 28 by means of a dowel 36. Washers 38 and 40 encircling the shaft 26 at the opposite ends of the spring 34 reduce friction between the ball 32 and the spring 34.

A weight 42, which for convenience is illustrated as a third ball, counterbalances the weight of the ball 28. Any suitable means, such as the dowel 44, is used to secure the weight 42 at a desired axial position on the shaft 26. In the preferred construction the weight of the ball 42 multipled by its moment arm (center-to-ccnter distance betwen the balls 32 and 42) only slightly exceeds the weight of the ball 28 multiplied by its moment arm (center-to-center distance between balls 32 and 28). Thus, the shaft 26 is analogous to a balancing beam having a fulcrum at the point of contact between the ball 32 and the plate 10, the weight 42 so counterbalancing the weight of the ball 28 that the ball 28 is biased into contact with the undersurface of the plate 10.

While it has been described that the weight 42 is preferably heavy enough to just overbalance the weight of the ball 28 about the fulcrum established by the ball 32, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this is not an essential requirement. A substantial balance of the weight 42 and the ball 28 about the ball 32 is preferred primarily for the reason that such balance minimizes any bias on the plate 10 tending to load the control rod 22.

Positioned within the aperture 24 and encircling the shaft 26 is an eyelet 46 having a depending shaft 48 which passes downwardly through the supporting frame 12. Surrounding the shaft 48 is a collar 50, which bears against a bearing 52 surrounding the shaft 48 and resting upon the supporting frame 12. The bearing 52 thus transfers the weight of the eyelet 46 and associated components to the frame 12.

Attached to the shaft 48 underneath the frame 12 is a gear 54 having a hub 56 encircling the shaft 48. A dowel 58 passing through the hub 56 and shaft 48 serves to transmit rotary motions of the shaft 48 to the gear 54. Legs 60 support the frame 12 above any suitable foundation at a sufficient height that the gear 54 may rotate freely.

The eyelet 46 having a driving connection with the gear 54 has been illustrated as a convenient means for extracting power from, or delivering power to, the motion conversion means. It will be recognized in the following description, however, that the eyelet 46 is not essential for certain operations of the apparatus although beneficial in cont-rolling certain motions that may be induced in the shaft 26. The eyelet is designed, however, for an optimum transfer of energy to the shaft 26 and optimum control over the movements of the shaft 26.

The operation of the device for the conversion of re ciprocating motions to continuous rotary motion is as follows. Assuming the plate 10 is positioned with its upper and lower surfaces in horizontal planes, neither of 3 the balls 28 and 32 has a tendency to roll on the plate 10. However, if the control rod is actuated so as to pivot the plate out of its horizontal position, and in such a direction as to lift the ball 32 against the force of gravity, the balls 28 and 32 will be induced to roll upon the lower and upper surfaces, respectively, of the plate 10. Thus, the ball 32 will tend to roll downwardly on the plate 10 and, because the balls 28 and 32 are interconnected through the shaft 26, the ball 28 will tend to roll upwardly on the underside of the plate 10. When the balls 28 and 32 are of equal diameter, this being a preferred construction of the present invention, the balls 28 and 32 will automatically roll in circular upper and lower orbits, each orbit having an axis at the mid point along the shaft 26 between the balls 28 and 32.

The reason the balls 28 and 32 tend to follow circular upper and lower orbits about a common central axis resides in the fact that these balls frictionally engage with the upper and lower surfaces of the plate 10 in substantial point contact and, as they roll on said surfaces, are also forced to spin about the axis of the shaft 26 by virtue of their connections therewith. This results in an orbital rolling movement of both balls about the approximate midpoint of the shaft portion extending therebetween. It is obvious, of course, that a similar rolling effect is achieved with simple rolling devices, such as Wheels. For reasons, which will become more apparent in the following description, it is preferred that the roller elements be spheres or the like so as to include a relatively large body portion responsive to the force field.

If, as the ball 32, rolling downwardly, approaches the lowest point in its orbit, the control rod 22 is actuated oppositely to raise the ball 32, again against the force of gravity, the ball 32 will receive sufiicient energy to continue its orbital rolling motion in the same direction. By properly timing upward and downward movements of the control rod 22, as by manual manipulation of the rod 22, or any suitable drive means, both balls 28 and 32 are caused to orbit about the center of the plate 10, the only requirement being that the reciprocation of the control rod 22 is timed so as to always add energy to the system by elevating the ball 32. As the orbiting speed builds up the transfer of energy to the system becomes very efiicient with the result that only a small shaft vibration is needed to sustain operation.

Substantial amounts of kinetic energy can be accumulated in the balls 28 and 32 and in the weight 42. A portion of this kinetic energy resides in the spin momentum of the balls 28 and 32. Another portion resides in the spin momentum of the weight 42, which is forced to spin about its own axis because of the fixed connections between the weight 42, ball 28 and shaft 26. A further portion of the kinetic energy of the rotating system resides in the orbital momenta of the weight 42, ball 32 and ball 28.

Recalling that the weight 42 and the ball 28 are approximately balanced, in the preferred construction, about the fulcrum determined by the point of contact between the ball 32 and the plate 10, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that substantial kinetic velocities can be generated in the foregoing elements with only minor forces applied to the control rod 22. Thus, the force required to pivot the control rod 22 is only that required to lift the combined Weight of the foregoing elements and the shaft 26 against the gravitational force. By employing a comparatively long control rod 22, the force required to lift this load against the force of gravity is obviously slight.

Operation of the subject motion conversion mechanism in reverse, as by supplying a rotary input through the gear 54, is as follows. When a low speed rotary motion is transmitted to the gear 54, the eyelet 46 is caused to rotate and drive the shaft 26 through a circular rotation concentric with the shaft 48. The Weight of the several balls on the shaft 26, applied to the plate 10 at the point of contact between the ball 32 and the plate 10, causes the plate 10 to tilt first in one direction and then in the opposite direction as the shaft 26 progresses through its circular motion. The reversing tilting motions of the plate 10 produce a reciprocating motion at the free end of the control rod 22.

At high rotary speeds, the centrifugal and gyroscopic forces acting on the balls 28 and 32, and on the weight 42 cause these elements to seek a planar orbit of rotation which is parallel to the plate 10. Thus the shaft 26 tends to circumscribe imaginary conical surfaces above and below the plate 10. As a result, the aforementioned reversing tilting motions of the plate 10 diminish and the plate becomes stabilized so as to resist pivoting movements of the control rod 22.

From the foregoing remarks it can be seen that the operation of the subject device is not reversible at high speeds. Thus, at high speeds, energy can be added to the rotating system by reciprocation of the control rod 22, but the energy of the rotating system is incapable of acting in reverse to reciprocate the control rod.

It will also be noted that, at high speeds, a force field is not needed to transfer energy to the rotating system by reciprocation of the control rod 22. Thus, the centrifugal and gyroscopic forces associated with the balls 28 and 32 and with the weight 42 establish a force condition within the rotating system to which energy may be added or from which energy may be extracted without the aid of an external force field.

It will occur to those skilled in the art that neither of the balls 28 and 32 has to be fastened to the shaft 26 for satisfactory operation of the subject motion conversion mechanism. To some it may appear on first thought that the ball 28 must be secured to the shaft 26 to prevent centrifugal forces from pulling the ball 28 off the shaft 26. However, the friction of engagement between the ball 28 and the plate 10 prevents this. Thus, as the several balls and shaft 26 rotate, a very substantial centrifugal force develops in the weight 42 and in the ball 28. The centrifugal force on the weight 42 is determined by the product of its mass and the square of its linear velocity divided by its distance from the orbital center. Similarly, the centrifugal force associated with the ball 28 is represented by the product of its mass and the square of its linear velocity divided by its distance from its orbital center. Although the mass of the ball 28, as shown, exceeds the mass of the weight 42, the centrifugal force associated with the Weight 42 can be greater than that associated with the ball 28 due to the squared linear velocity term in the centrifugal force formula. This being the case, it is possible to employ a separable mass in the weight 42 so arranged that a portion or all of the weight 42 can be removed after a sufficient orbital speed is reached.

The large centrifugal forces associated with the weight 42 and ball 28 cause the shaft 26 to seek a horizontal plane, except in certain circumstances to be later described. This tendency of the shaft 26 to seek a horizontal plane, results in an enhanced contact pressure between the ball 28 and the plate 10, and this enhanced contact pressure increases the frictional force between the ball 28 and the plate 18 sufiiciently that, in practice, the ball 28 is not permited to slide off the shaft 26 as one might first expect.

From the foregoing reasoning it will be recognized that the dowel 30, which fixes the ball 28 on the shaft 26, is not essential for retaining the ball 28 in its proper orbit. It is desirable, however, to secure the shaft 26 so that the shaft will not slide out of the balls 28 and 32 due to the centrifugal force on the weight 42. Even for this purpose, friction between the shaft 26 and the interior wall of the bores through the balls 28 and 32 will ordinarily hold the shaft 26 in place with the result that the dowel 38 is not always essential.

While the foregoing remarks show that the dowel 30 is not essential to proper operation of the subject motion conversion means it will be recognized that the dowel 30 is desirable as a safety precaution. Thus, while friction forces ordinarily will hold the assembly of shaft and balls together, these friction forces are also easily released if the synchronization betwen the pivotal movements of the rod 22 and rotary movements of the shaft and balls is disturbed in such fashion that the plate is moved away from contact with the balls 28 and 32.

The spring 34 is also not an essential element of the assembly. Thus the ball 32 can be pinned directly to the shaft 26 or in the alternative can be entirely free to slide on the shaft 26. In the latter event frictional forces between the ball 32 and the plate 10 will prevent sliding movement of this ball on the shaft 26. In the practice of the present invention, however, it is desirable to have the balls 28 and 32 orbit about an axis approximately coincident with the axis of the shaft 48. The provision of a sliding fit between the ball 32 and the shaft 26, resisted only by the spring 34, enables the ball 32 to slide short distances on the shaft 26 and thereby seek an orbit concentric with the shaft 48.

In the drawing, the balls 28 and 32 are shown as having bores passing diametrically therethrough to receive the shaft 26. It will be recognized, however, that these bores need not be diametric bores but, instead, can be eccentric. Thus, if both balls 28 and 32 are eccentrically bored to the same extent and off-set 180, the device will nevertheless operate substantially in the manner described. It will also occur to those skilled in the art that neither perfect parallelism. nor planarity in the upper and lower surfaces of the plate 10 is essential for operation of the apparatus shown in the manner described.

The preceding discussion of the operation of the present apparatus is applicable, in general, to operation of the apparatus with the shaft 26 occupying positions which are at a substantial angle to the axis of the force field acting on the apparatus. Specifically, the foregoing discussion described the operation encountered when the axis of the shaft 26 is more than 45 removed from the axis of the force field.

It was previously indicated that the kinetic energy associated with the shaft 26 and elements assembled thereon, during operation, resides partly in an orbital movement about the center of the plate 10 and partly in a spin rotation about the axis of the shaft 26. It is my experience that, when the shaft 26 is more than 45 removed from the axis of the force field, the centrifugal forces appear to predominate over the gyroscopic effect of the spin momentum. However, I have found that when the plate 10 is inclined sufficiently during operation of the subject apparatus to bring the axis of the shaft 26 to within 45 of the force field, the gyroscopic effect associated with the spin momentum appears to predominate with the result that the shaft 26 and elements assembled thereon seek an axis parallel to the axis of the force field in the manner of a spinning top.

In the apparatus disclosed, this spinning motion as a top is prevented by the eyelet 46, however, it is possible to reach an operating state wherein the shaft 26 at least for a limited time precesses about the axis of the force field without engaging either surface of the plate 10.

In the foregoing there has been described a motion conversion mechanism of unique construction and appearance. This mechanism has furthermore been described as operating in an environment wherein useful work has been done in converting between reciprocating and rotary motions. It will be recognized, however, that the present mechanism, due to its uniqueness of construction and flexibility of operation, has an important secondary value as an educational toy, such as for use in the instruction of students concerning centrifugal forces, gyroscopic forces and gravitation-a1 forces.

Those skilled in the art will also recognize that the present mechanism does not require a gravitational field for its operation. Thus, the ball 28 and the weight 42 can comprise ferromagnetic bodies which respond to a magnetic field directed perpendicular to the axis defined by the stub shafts 18 and 20, said field attracting the ferromagnetic elements downwardly, as viewed in FIG- URE 1. Using such magnetic field, the subject device may be operated away from any significant gravitational field.

The present structure can also be useful in converting the energy of a varying magnetic field to useful work. As one example, the control rod 22 can be biased to a horizorrtal position by springs not shown. If'a vertical magnetic field/f9 which the ball 28 and weight 42 respond is caused to iiise and fall in intensity, the-ball 32, which may or may not be ferromagnetic, will first be drawn downwardly by the field, then permitted to rise due to the action of the aforesaid biasing springs. As the ball 32 is drawn downwardly, a rotary motion is commenced which, by proper synchronization with the rising and falling magnetic field,can be perpetuated so as to extract energy from the magnetic field.

Although the preferred embodiment of the device has been described, it will be understood that within the purview of this invention various changes may be made in the form, details, proportion and arrangement of parts, the combination thereof and more of operation, which generally stated consist in a device capable of carrying out the objects set forth, as disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. Motion conversion apparatus for operation in a force field comprising, in combination, plate means having upper and lower surfaces and having a central aperture therethrough, means supporting said plate means for pivotal motion about an axis substantially parallel to said plate means and transverse to said force field, elongated shaft means extending through said aperture and having a longitudinal ,axis inclined to said surfaces, first roller means disposed on said shaft means at an intermediate position and having rolling contact with said upper surface of said plate means, second roller means disposed on said shaft means to one side of said intermediate position and adapted to have rolling contact with said lower surface of said plate means, said second roller means including a body portion responsive to said force field and attracted by said force field away from said lower surface, counterbalance means responsive to said force field and engaging said shaft means to the other side of said intermediate position, the attraction of said force field for said counterbalance means at least partially counterbalancing the attraction of said force field for said body portion of said second roller means, the construction and arrangement being such that pivotal movements of said plate means away from a plane transverse to said force field induce orbital rolling movement of said roller means about an axis perpendicular to said planar surfaces and passing through said central aperture, the centrifugal forces associated with said counterbalance means and said second roller means off-setting any failure of said counterbalance means to hold said second roller means in contact with said lower surface.

2. Motion conversion apparatus according to claim 1 including rotatable means positioned with-in the central aperture of said plate means and engaged with said shaft means for unison rotation therewith.

3. Motion conversion apparatus for operation in a force field comprising, in combination, plate means having parallel upper and lower surfaces and having a central aperture therethrough, means supporting said plate means for pivotal motion about an axis parallel to said planar surfaces and transverse to said force field, elongated shaft means exrtending through said aperture and having longitudinal axis inclined to said planar surfaces, first roller means disposed on said shaft means at an intermediate position and having rolling contact with said upper surface of said plate means, second roller means disposed on said shaft means to one side of said intermediate position and adapted to have rolling contact with said lower surface of said plate means, said second roller means including a body portion responsive to said force field and attracted by said force field away from said lower surface, counterbalance means responsive to said force field and engaging said shaft means to the other side of said intermediate position, the attraction of said force field for said counterbalance means overb alancing the attraction of said force field for said body portion of said second roller means whereby said force field holds said second roller means in contact with said lower surface of said plate means by causing pivotal movement of said shaft means about a fulrum established by contact between said first roller means and said upper surface, the construction and arrangement being such that pivotal movements of said plate means away from a plane transverse to said force field induce orbital rolling movements of said roller means about an axis perpendicular :to said planar surfaces and passing through said central aperture.

4. Motion conversion apparatus for operation in a force field comprising, in combination, plate means having parallel upper and lower surfaces and having a central aperture therethrough, means supporting said plate means for pivotal motion about an axis parallel to said planar surfaces and transverse to said force field, elongated shaft means extending through said aperture and having a longitudinal axis inclined to said planar surfaces, first roller means journalled on said shaft means for rotation about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of said shaft and at an intermediate position along the length of said shaft, said first roller means having roll-ing contact with said upper surface of said plate means, second roller means journalled on said shaft means for rotation about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of said shaft means and to one side of said intermediate position, said second roller means being adapted to have rolling contact with said lower surface of said plate means, said second roller means including a body portion responsive to said force field and attracted by said force field away from said lower surface, counterbalance means responsive to said force field and engaging said shaft means to the other side of said intermediate position, the attraction of said force field for said counterbalance means over balancing the attraction of said force field for said body portion of said second roller means whereby said force field holds said second roller means in contact with said lower surface of said plate means by causing pivotal movement of said shaft means about a fulcrum established by contact between said first roller means and said upper surface, the construction and arrangement being such that pivotal movements of said plate means away from a plane transverse to said force field induce orbital rolling movement of said roller means about an axis perpendicular to said planar surfaces and passing through said central aperture.

5. The motion conversion means according to claim 4 wherein said first and second 'roiler means each comprise a spherical body having a bore therethrough receiving said shaft means.

'6. The motion conversion mechanism according to claim 5 wherein said bores through said spherical bodies receiving said shaft means are diametric bores.

7. Motion conversion apparatus for operation in a force field comprising, in combination, plate means having parallel upper and lower surfaces and having a central aperture therethrough, means supporting said plate means for pivotal motion about an axis parallel to said planar surfaces and transverse to said force field, elongated shaft means extending through said aperture and having a longitudinal axis inclined to said planar surfaces, first roller means disposed on said shaft means at an intermediate position and having rolling contact with said upper surface of said plate means, second roller means fixed to said shaft means to one side of said intermediate position and adapted to have rolling contact with said lower surface of said plate means, said second roller means including a body portion responsive to said force field and attracted by said force field away from said lower surface, counterbalance means responsive to said force field and engaging said shaft means to the other side of said intermediate position, the attraction of said force field for said counterbalance means overbalancing the attraction of said force field for said body portion of said second roller means whereby said force field holds said second roller means in contact with said lower surface of said plate means by causing pivotal movement of said shaft means about a fulcrum established by cont-act between said first roller means and said upper surface, the construction and arrangement being such that pivotal movements of said plate means away from a plane transverse to said force field induce orbital rolling movement of said roller means about an axis perpendicular to said planar surfaces and passing through said central aperture.

8. The motion conversion apparatus of claim 7 wherein said shaft means is slidable axially through said first roller means.

9. The motion conversion apparatus of claim 8 including yielding means on said shaft means adapted to engage said first ro-ller means to limit the separation between said first and second roller means.

10. The motion conversion means of claim 7 where-in said counterbalance means is fixed against rotary movement relative to said shaft means.

11. Motion conversion apparatus for operation in a force field comprising, in combination, plate means having parallel upper and lower surfaces and having a central aperture therethrough, means supporting said plate means for pivotal motion about an axis parallel to said planar surfaces and transverse to said force field, elongated shaft means extending through said aperture and having a longitudinal axis incline-d to said planar surfaces, first roller means disposed on said shaft means in an intermediate position and having rolling contact with said upper surface of said place means, second rotller means disposed on said shaft means to one side of said intermediate position and adapted to have rolling contact with said lower surface of said plate means, said second roller means including a body portion responsive to said force field and attracted by said force field away from said lower surface, counterbalance means responsive to said force field and engaging said shaft means to the other side of said intermediate position, the attraction of said force field for said counterbalance means overbalancing the attraction of said force field for said body portion of said second roller means whereby said force field holds said second roller means in contact with said lower surface of said plate means by causing pivotal movement of said shaft means about a fulcrum established by contact between said first roller means and said upper surface, the construction and arrangement being such that pivotal movements of said plate means away from a plane transverse to said force field induce orbital rolling movement of said roller means about an axis perpendicular to said planar surfaces and passing through said central aperture, and rotatable means to rotate with said shaft means comprising a shaft supported for rotation by said support means about an axis passing through said aperture and means coupling said shaft with said shaft means.

12, The motion conversion apparatus of claim 11 including a drive means engaged with said plate means and adapted to pivot said plate means about said pivotal axls.

13. Motion conversion apparatus comprising, in combination, plate means having oppositely facing surfaces and having a central aperture passing through said oppositely facing surfaces, means supporting said plate means for pivotal motion about a pivotal axis substantially parallel to said plate means, elongated shaft means extending through said aperture and having a longitudinal axis inclined to said pivotal axis, first roller means disposed on said shaft means and having rolling contact with one of said oppositely facing surfaces, second roller means disposed on said :shafit means in spaced relation to said first roller means and having rolling contact with the other of said oppositely facing surfaces, and means to rotate said shaft means about a rotary axis substantially perpendicular to said pivotal axis and passing through said central aperture, the construction and arrangement being such that rotation of said shaft about 10 said rotary axis causes orbital rotation of said roller means on said oppositely facing surf-aces about said rotary axis.

14. Motion conversion apparatus according to claim 1 13 including rotatable means positioned within the central aperture of said plate means and engaged with said shaft means for unison rotation therewith.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1920 Nntt 74-63 6/1930 Bennett 74-63 FOREIGN PATENTS 164,918 11/1905 Germany.

FR-ED C. MATTERN, JR Primary Examiner.

5 D. H. THIEL, Assistant Examiner.

Claims (1)

13. MOTION CONVERSION APPARATUS COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, PLATE MEANS HAVING OPPOSITELY FACING SURFACES AND HAVING A CENTRAL APERTURE PASSING THROUGH SAID OPPOSITELY FACING SURFACES, MEANS SUPPORTING SAID PLATE MEANS FOR PIVOTAL MOTION ABOUT A PIVOTAL AXIS SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID PLATE MEANS, ELONGATED SHAFT MEANS EXTENDING THROUGH SAID APERTURE AND HAVING A LONGITUDINAL AXIS INCLINED TO SAID PIVOTAL AXIS, FIRST ROLLER MEANS DISPOSED ON SAID SHAFT MEANS AND HAVING ROLLING CONTACT WITH ONE OF SAID OPPOSITELY FACING SURFACES, SECOND ROLLER MEANS DISPOSED ON SAID SHAFT MEANS IN SPACED RELATION TO SAID FIRST ROLLER MEANS AND HAVING ROLLING CONTACT WITH THE OTHER OF SAID OPPOSITELY FACING SURFACES, AND MEANS TO ROTATE SAID SHAFT MEANS ABOUT A ROTARY AXIS SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR TO SAID PIVOTAL AXIS AND PASSING THROUGH SAID CENTRAL APERTURE, THE CONSTRUCTION AND ARRANGEMENT BEING SUCH THAT ROTATION OF SAID SHAFT ABOUT SAID ROTARY AXIS CAUSES ORBITAL ROTATION OF SAID ROLLER

Images