US 5,451,070 AGranted

Treadle drive system with positive engagement clutch

OwnerStuart M. W. Lindsay, James H. Wagnerinventors

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Abstract

A treadle drive system operates comfortably in a standing or seated position with two toe or heel end pivoting treadles. A flexible drive line (chain, cable, belt, etc.) from each treadle drives a pair of forward biased driving rings (having sprockets, pulleys, belt wheels, etc.) concentrically encircling and driving a hollow drive cylinder. Concentrically encircling the cylinder, a driven ring in turn drives a rotating device. A positive engagement clutch between the hollow cylindrical hub and the driven ring allows the driven ring to be engaged or disengaged from the drive cylinder. Opposing holes transversely through the hollow drive cylinder engage pins on outer ends of a V-shaped spring. The pins are normally engaged in mating openings on an interior surface of the driven ring. A push-pull shaft with a cup having a rigid rim pushes against the sloping sides of the spring to disengage the pins from the driven shaft only. Pulling the shaft releases the spring reengaging the pins in the driven shaft. The treadle drive system may be positioned in any desired orientation to provide a human power source producing a variable rotary output for transportation, exercise, tools and instruments, generators, or any other application requiring a rotary motion.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A treadle drive system with a positive engagement clutch comprising:

a pair of treadles spaced apart in parallel with both treadles hinged at an end and equipped with a foot-resting area at a rearward end;
attached to an inside edge of each treadle anywhere along the treadle edge each of two ends of a drive line;
wherein the drive line extends from each treadle to drive each of two parallel rotating drive means, which drive means each engage a drive shaft and the drive means alternately rotate the drive shaft;
a third rotating drive means positioned in a disengageable rotational relation to the drive shaft, wherein the third rotating drive means drives an external rotating member;
a positive engagement clutch means which alternately engages and disengages the drive shaft with the third rotating drive means wherein the third rotating drive means comprises a driven ring encircling the drive shaft and the positive engagement clutch means comprises at least one solid member reversibly engaging and disengaging the driven ring and the drive shaft;
wherein the drive shaft comprises a hollow drive cylinder, and wherein the drive cylinder is provided with two opposing transverse holes through the drive cylinder and the driven rink is provided with at least one pair of mating opposing openings in an interior surface contacting the drive cylinder;
wherein the positive engagement clutch means comprises a spring loaded means to engage and disengage the solid member through the holes in the drive cylinder and the openings in the driven ring.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.