Abstract Energy, from road bed jolts, expended against the wheels and axle or axle housing of either a self-propelled or a trailer vehicle so as to cause the axle to rise and fall is transmitted to a rotatable shaft through a reciprocatory-to-rotary motion transformer including elongated double rack housings containing compression springs engaging relatively-sliding shorter double racks which through their delayed actions due to their inertia and the time required for them to compress their respective springs cause the motion of the racks to lag behind the road-shock induced motions of their respective rack housings, whereupon the thus-compressed springs expand and push their respective racks into the end spaces so opened up within their respective housings, whereupon the thus-tardily moving racks belatedly rotate their respective pinions provided with oppositely-acting unidirectional clutches. The consequent intermittent rotation of the shaft is rendered continuous by a flywheel on the shaft. The rotation of the shaft drives an electric current generator, the electric current output from which is fed to storage batteries, either the propulsion batteries of an electric vehicle or auxiliary storage batteries to charge these batteries. Compression springs engaging the ends of the racks in addition to transmitting the road-shock-induced motions of the housings and axle to the clutches and shaft, also cushion the shocks which might otherwise damage the mechanism.
A road shock energy converter for charging storage batteries aboard a vehicle having a chassis with axles carrying ground wheels, said converter comprising an axle coupling adapted to be secured to one of the axles, a horizontal rotatable shaft adapted to be journalled in the vehicle chassis, a first upstanding reciprocatory-to-rotary motion transformer including an elongated rack housing operatively connected to said coupling, a rack shorter than said rack housing slidably mounted therein for reciprocation relatively thereto, a pinion meshing with said rack, a unidirectional clutch drivingly connecting said pinion to said shaft whereby said motion transformer is responsive to the intermittent and irregular rectilinear thrusts received thereby from pavement irregularities by way of said axle coupling to impart correspondingly intermittent and irregular and unidirectional torque thrusts to said shaft; said shaft being operatively connected to driven relationship to said clutch, a flywheel drivingly connected to said shaft for rotation unitarily therewith and thereby smoothing out the effects of said itermittent and irregular torque thrusts upon said shaft and consequently rendering more nearly regular and continuous the rotation of said shaft, and an electric current generator drivingly connected to said shaft and having current output conductors adapted to be electrically connected in recharging relationship to storage batteries of the same or accompanying vehicle.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
213 words
A road shock energy converter for charging storage batteries aboard a vehicle having a chassis with axles carrying ground wheels, said converter comprising an axle coupling adapted to be secured to one of the axles, a horizontal rotatable shaft adapted to be journalled in the vehicle chassis, a first upstanding reciprocatory-to-rotary motion transformer including an elongated rack housing operatively connected to said coupling, a rack shorter than said rack housing slidably mounted therein for reciprocation relatively thereto, a pinion meshing with said rack, a unidirectional clutch drivingly connecting said pinion to said shaft whereby said motion transformer is responsive to the intermittent and irregular rectilinear thrusts received thereby from pavement irregularities by way of said axle coupling to impart correspondingly intermittent and irregular and unidirectional torque thrusts to said shaft; said shaft being operatively connected to driven relationship to said clutch, a flywheel drivingly connected to said shaft for rotation unitarily therewith and thereby smoothing out the effects of said itermittent and irregular torque thrusts upon said shaft and consequently rendering more nearly regular and continuous the rotation of said shaft, and an electric current generator drivingly connected to said shaft and having current output conductors adapted to be electrically connected in recharging relationship to storage batteries of the same or accompanying vehicle.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
35 words
A road shock energy converter, according to claim 1, wherein a rack-stroke-cushioning spring is mounted in said housing between one end of said rack and the adjacent end of said housing in power-transmitting relationship therebetween.