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US 4,023,502 AGranted
Portable ski tow apparatus
OwnerJohn William Elsinginventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Apparatus is disclosed for assisting skiers up ski slopes by means of an endless loop rope, comprising a first portable frame assembly having a rope drive wheel and drive sprocket, a motor drive source which is attachable to the first frame assembly, and a second portable frame assembly having a rotatable rope return pulley, where both frame assemblies have provision for anchoring to the ground and the second frame assembly has provision for spooling and carrying the endless loop rope.
Claims12
A portable rope tow apparatus for a ski slope, comprising:
- a. a power source frame assembly having a pair of spaced apart and connected A-frame members, and having a rotatable shaft journaled at the top of said A-frame members and extending outwardly beyond one of said A-frame members, said shaft having a rotatable drive connection affixed thereto and having a rope drive pulley affixed thereto at a position outwardly beyond one of said A-frame members;
- b. a power source and mounting base, including means for securing said mounting base to said A-frame members, said power source having a drive connection positionable beneath said shaft rotatable drive connection;
- c. an anchor arm attached to said power source frame assembly and having an anchor terminal in planar radial alignment with said rope drive pulley;
- d. a guide pulley extension arm attached to said power source frame assembly and elongated toward said ski slope, said arm having a first freely rotatable idler pulley attached thereto in planar radial alignment with said rope drive pulley;
- and
- e. a return rope guide pulley frame having legs and cross frame members, and having a freely rotatable return rope guide pulley attached to one of said cross frame members, and having an anchor terminal attached to one of said cross frame members, and having an anchor terminal attached adjacent said return rope pulley.
3 more elements
A rope tow apparatus for assisting skiers in climbing slopes, comprising;
- a. a first frame assembly having a pair of spaced apart A-frame members and a journaled shaft mounted therebetween and extending beyond at least one of said A-frame members, an anchor support member attached to one of said A-frame members and having a connection terminal, an idler pulley, and a rotatable guide pulley aligned with said idler pulley and having its center below said journaled shaft;
- b. a drive sprocket attached to said shaft;
- c. a rubber-rimmed drive wheel attached to said shaft at an alignment position along the extended portion of said shaft relative to said guide pulley and said idler pulley and said anchor support member, said drive wheel having a solid rubber circumference with a pair of circumferential spaced grooves therein;
- d. a motor drive source having a drive sprocket, and having a mounting base attached thereto, including means for attaching said mounting base intermediate said A-frame members with said respective sprockets in operative alignment;
- e. means for driving by interconnecting said drive sprocket attached to said shaft and said drive source drive sprocket;
- f. a second frame assembly having a rotatable rope pulley mounted thereon;
- and
- g. an endless loop rope extending around said rubberrimmed drive wheel and said rotatable rope pulley, and extending at least partially around said idler pulley.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.