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US 11,325,620 B2Granted
Portable rope tow assembly
AssigneeTowpro Lifts, LLC
InventorsKyle Deane Roy, William W. Mayo
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A portable rope tow assembly is used to transport people, typically skiing or snowboarding, along snow covered ground and usually up hill. The assembly is extremely lightweight, portable and rapid to deploy. It uses a variable frequency drive to control an electric drive motor, and enables convenient variable speed and reverse direction operation.
Claims20
A portable rope tow assembly comprising:
- a looped continuous transport rope;
- a portable drive unit having an electric motor, an electric power converter comprising a variable frequency drive power controller, a pair of drive pulleys that are rotated by the electric motor and a pair of idler pulleys, wherein the transport rope passes around the drive pulleys and idler pulleys, and the drive unit is staked or tethered in place when the rope tow assembly is in use;
- a drive unit housing in which the electric motor, the drive pulleys and the idler pulleys are contained, said electric power converter being located outside of the drive unit housing;
- a return unit located at the opposite end of the loop of transport rope, said return unit including at least two laterally displaced pulleys in order to separate the uphill moving portion of the transport rope from the downward moving portion of the transport rope, wherein the return unit is staked or tethered in place when the rope tow assembly is in use;
- wherein the electric power converter has operator controls that are accessible outside of the drive unit housing and a detachable cable is configured to connect the electric power converter to the drive motor such that the electric power converter is detachable from the drive motor and from the portable drive unit;
- and
- wherein there is sufficient tension on the transport rope when the rope tow assembly is in use to enable the drive unit to reliably drive the transport rope.
4 more elements
A portable rope tow assembly comprising:
- a looped continuous transport rope;
- a portable drive unit having an electric motor, an electric power converter comprising a variable frequency drive power controller, a pair of drive pulleys that are rotated by the electric motor and a pair of idler pulleys, wherein the transport rope passes around the drive pulleys and idler pulleys, and the drive unit is staked or tethered in place when the rope tow assembly is in use;
- a return unit located at the opposite end of the loop of transport rope, said return unit including at least two laterally displaced pulleys in order to separate the uphill moving portion of the transport rope from the downward moving portion of the transport rope, wherein the return unit is staked or tethered in place when the rope tow assembly is in use;
- wherein there is sufficient tension on the transport rope when the rope tow assembly is in use to enable the drive unit to reliably drive the transport rope;
- and
- wherein each of the drive pulleys and the idler pulleys are aligned in a generally horizontal plane when the portable drive unit is set flat on a level surface.
3 more elements
A portable rope tow assembly comprising:
- a looped continuous transport rope;
- a portable drive unit having an electric motor, an electric power converter comprising a variable frequency drive power controller, a pair of drive pulleys that are rotated by the electric motor and a pair of idler pulleys, wherein the transport rope passes around the drive pulleys and idler pulleys, and the drive unit is staked or tethered in place when the rope tow assembly is in use;
- a return unit located at the opposite end of the loop of transport rope, said return unit including at least two laterally displaced pulleys in order to separate the uphill moving portion of the transport rope from the downward moving portion of the transport rope, wherein the return unit is staked or tethered in place when the rope tow assembly is in use;
- wherein there is sufficient tension on the transport rope when the rope tow assembly is in use to enable the drive unit to reliably drive the transport rope;
- and
- wherein the electric motor drives a pair of gear boxes which are each connected to one of the respective drive pulleys, and an output shaft of the electric motor is connected to the gear boxes with a belt drive.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.