CA2145831A1 - Batteryless spring-powered portable cassette player - Google Patents
Batteryless spring-powered portable cassette playerInfo
- Publication number
- CA2145831A1 CA2145831A1 CA 2145831 CA2145831A CA2145831A1 CA 2145831 A1 CA2145831 A1 CA 2145831A1 CA 2145831 CA2145831 CA 2145831 CA 2145831 A CA2145831 A CA 2145831A CA 2145831 A1 CA2145831 A1 CA 2145831A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- gear
- drive shaft
- audio cassette
- spring
- cassette player
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Classifications
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- G—PHYSICS
- G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
- G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
- G11B15/00—Driving, starting or stopping record carriers of filamentary or web form; Driving both such record carriers and heads; Guiding such record carriers or containers therefor; Control thereof; Control of operating function
- G11B15/18—Driving; Starting; Stopping; Arrangements for control or regulation thereof
- G11B15/40—Driving record carriers otherwise than by electric motor
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
- G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
- G11B15/00—Driving, starting or stopping record carriers of filamentary or web form; Driving both such record carriers and heads; Guiding such record carriers or containers therefor; Control thereof; Control of operating function
- G11B15/02—Control of operating function, e.g. switching from recording to reproducing
- G11B15/10—Manually-operated control; Solenoid-operated control
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
- G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
- G11B15/00—Driving, starting or stopping record carriers of filamentary or web form; Driving both such record carriers and heads; Guiding such record carriers or containers therefor; Control thereof; Control of operating function
- G11B15/18—Driving; Starting; Stopping; Arrangements for control or regulation thereof
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
- H02K—DYNAMO-ELECTRIC MACHINES
- H02K7/00—Arrangements for handling mechanical energy structurally associated with dynamo-electric machines, e.g. structural association with mechanical driving motors or auxiliary dynamo-electric machines
- H02K7/18—Structural association of electric generators with mechanical driving motors, e.g. with turbines
- H02K7/1807—Rotary generators
- H02K7/1853—Rotary generators driven by intermittent forces
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Power Engineering (AREA)
- Connection Of Motors, Electrical Generators, Mechanical Devices, And The Like (AREA)
Abstract
A system is provided for simultaneously providing mechanical motion driven by a rotatable drive shaft, and for generating electrical voltage by electrical generating means having a rotor driven at a desired speed. The system includes, as an essential element, a prime mover comprising a windable driving spring, the spring including an inter-connecting drive train for separately drivably connecting the spring to the rotatable drive shaft and to the rotor of the electrical generating means. A speed governor is pro-vided for controlling unwinding of the spring so as to cause the spring to drive the rotatable drive shaft and the rotor of the electrical generating at their restive prede-termined desired speeds. In one embodiment of this inven-tion, the system is part of an audio cassette player. Such audio cassette player includes a conventional audio play-back head located in a signal pick-up station, a rotatable drive shaft for driving an audio cassette tape progres-sively through such signal pick-up station to permit the head to receive signals from the tape, and an amplifier electrically-connected to the head to receive signals from the head. The rotatable drive shaft of the system is the rotatable drive shaft for the driving of the audio cassette tape, and the electrical power is provided for the ampli-fier means.
Description
2I4~83 1 This invention relates to a system for the simul-taneous generation of mechanical motion and voltage. In one particular embodiment, it relates to portable audio cassette players.
In many parts of the world there are locations without electric power lines. This means that electrical devices need to be battery operated. Moreover, in many such regions, batteries can be difficult to obtain and may fur-thermore be relatively expensive.
In many instances travellers, who rely on batteries to power electrical devices, may be disappointed when the batteries run out. In Arctic regions, it is known that batteries lose power rapidly dependent on the temperature.
Loss of battery power for electrically-powered devices would be serious. In many other instances for emergency application, an electrical device may not be used fre-quently but it must be reliable when such use is essential.
Under such conditions, batteries must be checked periodi-cally to ensure that power is available as and when required.
Playback equipment for audio recordings is well known.
Earliest examples of audio players were phonographs for reproducing sound recorded as an unevenness in the surfaces of grooves formed upon records. These initially were cylindrical and later were made in a flat circular form.
In the use of a phonograph for playing flat records, for instance, a record is rotated upon a turntable beneath a tone arm which, in known manner, is caused to vibrate by `- 21458~1 its engagement with the uneven groove surface of the record. These vibrations are converted into electrical impulses corresponding to the vibrations and these impulses are transmitted to an amplifier which amplifies the impulses as sound. Originally, prime movers comprising manually windable driving springs were incorporated into phonographs for rotating turntables. Examples of such constructions are shown, for instance, in early Canadian Patent No. 222,126 granted in 1922, Canadian Patent No.
286,381 granted in 1929 and Canadian Patent No. 301,670 granted in 1930. In these patents, governors are described as being incorporated to ensure that the turntables are rotated at a controlled constant speed.
While mechanical prime movers were used for rotating turntables during early designs of phonographs and such prime movers were used over a lengthy period of years, the phonographs were, for all other purposes, operated by elec-trical power. As advancements were made in electrical engineering and new electrical devices were being developed and were being improved, after the 1920's, new designs of phonographs incorporated electrically powered driving means for rotating the turntables. As a result, from that particular time onwards all operations, including the driving of turntables, of phonographs have been operated by 2S electrical power.
More recently, audio cassette and then compact disc technology has been developed as other means of recording sound. Audio cassette players and compact disc players are operated completely by electrical power, as is only to be expected with present tec-hn;cal knowledge. Electrical power for this purpose is provided either from the general electrical power supply, or, in the case of portable audio cassette and compact disc players, from batteries.
There are problems, however, with present-day batter-ies which may detract, under certain conditions, from the appeal of audio cassette players and compact disc players.
For instance, in extremely cold weather conditions, batter-ies are known to lose power and this may result in a fail-ure in their operation. In addition, present-day batteries have a limited useful life under any temperature condition and replacement batteries may be difficult or even impos-sible to find in certain geographical regions.
Recognition of many of the above problems was provided in G.B. Patent Application No. GB 2,262,324 A, published 16.06.1993 in the name of T.G. Baylis. That publication provided an electrical generator for powering a radio which comprised a spring motor which was wound up by way of a key such that the subsequent rotation of a torque drum as the stressed spring unwound therefrom generates electrical power. The rotational speed of the drum was geared up by gear means and rotated the rotor of an electrical motor to generate an output voltage. The output voltage was regu-lated by way of a Zener diode and was fed to a radio by wayof a jack plug.
The present invention is concerned with devices which require both mechanical motion and electrical energy and 214S8~1 seeks to provide such a device, which, in use, will obviate the above problems.
Accordingly, it is an object of one aspect of this invention to provide a system for the simultaneous gener-ation of mechanical motion and electrical energy using asimple mechanical device.
An object of another aspect of this invention is to provide such a device which is equally operative in tropical regions and in Arctic regions.
An object of yet another aspect of this invention is to provide such a device which does not use batteries and thus is more economical to operate.
An object of still another aspect of this invention, is to provide such a device which, since it does not use batteries, obviates the problem of battery disposal, which can contaminate landfills if they are buried, or otherwise cause ecological problems.
A more particular object of the present invention is to provide an audio cassette or compact disc player which takes advantage of a system as previously indicated as being desirable.
By one broad aspect of this invention, a system is provided for the generation of mechanical motion driven by a rotatable drive shaft, and for generating a voltage out-2S put by electrical generating means having a rotor driven ata desired speed, the system including a prime mover com-prising: a windable driving spring means, the spring means including an interconnecting drive train for separately - 2145~
drivably connecting the spring means to the rotatable drive shaft and to the rotor of the electrical generating means;
and speed governing means for controlling the unwinding of the spring means so as to cause the spring means to drive the rotatable drive shaft and the rotor of the electrical generating means at the predetermined desired speeds.
By another broad aspect of the present invention, an audio cassette player is provided having the conventional rotatable drive shaft for driving an audio cassette tape progressively through a signal pick-up station to permit a playback head to receive signals from the tape and ampli-fying means electrically connected to the head to receive signals from the head. The essential element of the prime mover comprises a windable driving spring means drivably lS interconnected by a drive train both to the rotor of an electrical generating means having a rotor driven at a desired speed for providing electrical power to the amplification means and to the rotatable drive shaft. An essential speed governing means is provided for controlling the unwinding of the spring means so as to cause the spring means to drive the drive shaft and the rotor of the elec-trical generating means each at their own predetermined desired speeds.
In an audio cassette or compact disc player according to an aspect of the invention, the use of a battery together with its inherent problems, is completely avoided.
Instead of a battery, the windable driving spring means is provided which has a dual function in that it drives not - 21~831 only the rotatable drive shaft, but also the rotor of the electrical generating means which supplies the required electrical power to the amplification means.
The system of this invention is useful in many more embodiments than an audio cassette or compact disc player.
It may be used to generate and provide mechanical motion and/or generate electrical energy for many devices. Among them are radios, lamps, games, consoles, lap top computers, children's toys which now include both mechanical movement and generate sound, realistic dolls, etc. It also has utility in cases of power outages and for military communi-cation maintenance.
As noted above, the incorporation of an electrical generating means together with a mPch~n;cal prime mover in the form of a windable spring means avoids the necessity of providing electrical power from an outside source, i.e., by the use of a battery. This is of particular importance where the device is portable, although this advantage is seen as also to apply to non-portable devices, i.e., for use in remote areas. In addition, a portable device according to aspects of the invention may be used in cold temperature conditions without any deterioration in the capability in its operation. The prime mover in the form of the windable driving spring means is virtually unaffected by such conditions. Further, because the device according to aspects of the invention generates its own electrical power, any concern is avoided regarding the - 21~58~1 necessity of renewing the reserve of electrical power obtained from an outside source.
A portable device according to an aspect of the inven-tion is particularly useful in military circumstances as there is no requirement for an outside source of electrical power. In addition, a device according to an aspect of the invention may remain unused for extended periods and will be found to be in perfect operating condition when its use is next required.
In one variant of the audio cassette player of an aspect of the present invention, the interconnecting drive train is connected to drive the rotatable drive shaft at the desired speed to drive the cassette tape progressively through the pick-up, e.g., at 4.7S lineal cm/sec.
In another variant of the audio cassette player, the rotor of the generating means is adapted to be rotated at speeds sufficient to provide constant voltage of 1.5 +0.01 volts. Such audio cassette player also may include a Zener diode for fine tuning of the voltage supplied to the ampli-fying means.
In yet another variant of the audio cassette player, the interconnecting drive train comprises a gear train, the gear train having a driving section which is connected to the spring means and which is common for driving both the rotatable drive shaft and the rotor of the electrical gen-erating means, and two driven sections extending in paral-lel from the driving section, with one of the driven sec-tions drivably connected to the rotatable drive shaft and ._ the other driven section drivably connected to the rotor of the electrical generating means.
In still another variant of the audio cassette player, the electrical generating means comprises an alternator for producing alternating current and a rectifier which is electrically connected between the alternator and the amplifying means for converting the alternating current into direct current.
By yet another variant of the audio cassette player, a frame is provided comprising top and bottom planar plates which are held in required spaced-apart positions by four corner bolts and spacers received on the bolts and extend-ing between the plates. In a variation of such variant, a tape deck platform is disposed above the top plate, the platform being held spaced above the plate by spring-loaded corner posts which provide the platform with a required degree of resilient float, the platform thereby supporting a tape drive mechanism above its upper surface. By still another variation of such variant, the tape drive mechanism is driven by a drive shaft carrying a main drive gear which is rotatably received through the platform.
By yet a further variation of such variant, a magnetic playback head of the tape deck is electrically connected to an amplification circuit for amplifying the signal received from the head to an audible audio signal. By a further variation of such variant, such amplification circuit is provided with electrical power by an electrical generating means which comprises an alternator mounted within and - 21~58~1 depending from the top frame plate, the alternator being connected to the amplification circuit through an AC to DC
rectifier circuit.
By another variant of the audio cassette player, the drive shaft and the rotor shaft of the alternator are both driven by a single mechanical prime mover which comprises a windable driving spring means in the form of a spiral spring, such spring, together with an interconnecting drive train to the spindle and to the rotor of the alternator, being contained between upper and lower frame plates.
By yet another variant of the audio cassette player, the inner end of the spring means is secured to a winding shaft which is pivotally mounted between the upper and lower plates and extends above the upper plate, an upper end of the shaft having means to enable connection to manual winding means.
By yet another variant of the audio cassette player, the drive train is in the form of a gear train which has a driving section connected to the spring and which is common to both the rotatable drive shaft and to the alternator, such driving section comprising a main driving gear rotat-ably mounted upon a shaft beneath the spring means, a ratchet beneath the gear and secured to the shaft and a pawl mounted upon the gear and engaged with the ratchet, the ratchet and pawl allowing for winding of the spring in a clockwise direction with the gear stationery, the spring being permitted to unwind, thereby transmitting its drive to the gear through the ratchet and pawl.
- 21~5831 By a still further variant of the audio cassette player, in the driving section of the gear train, a gear drives a sprocket gear which is drivably connected to a shaft and to a larger diameter coaxial gear, such gear in turn driving a small diameter gear which is drivably con-nected to the shaft and to a larger diameter coaxial gear.
By a variation of this variant, the driving section con-nects with two driven sections of the gear train which operate in parallel; one driven section, which drives the rotatable drive shaft comprising a small diameter gear captive on shaft, the gear being in mesh with another gear, the shaft rotatably extending through the upper frame plate and projecting through the platform to provide, at its upper end, a capstan extending above the tape deck; a second driven section of the gear train which drives the alternator comprising a small diameter gear which drivably secured to the rotor of the alternator and in mesh with a larger diameter gear on shaft, the gear being driven by gear on shaft.
By a still further variant of the audio cassette player, the shaft is provided, between the upper plate and the platform, with a flywheel, the flywheel being adapted to resist any sudden acceleration or deceleration in rota-tional speed of the shaft to eliminate any distortion in the sound during playback of a tape, a pulley wheel dis-posed above the flywheel, the pulley wheel being secured to the shaft, and being drivably connected to a driven pulley . 2145~3 ~
wheel by a pulley belt, the driven pulley wheel being secured to the drive shaft.
The speed governing means may be any mechanical device which provides a control over the rate of rotation of a shaft. Among more common areas are the so-called "butter-fly" governor, the so-called "fly-ball" governor, the so-called "inertia or centrifugal inertia" governor, the so-called "pendulum" governor, the so-called "Porter"
governor, the so-called "Proell" governor, the so-called "Watt" governor, the so-called "shaft" governor, the so-called "spring-loaded" governor, or the so-called "Hartnell" governor. However, a preferred such speed governing means according to another variant of this invention comprises a fixed housing having an inner surface with an axis of generation and being in the form of a circle at any cross-sectional position taken normal to the axis of generation, a rotatable mass disposed within the housing and rotatably drivable by the driving spring means about an axis of rotation coincident with the axis of generation of the inner surface of the housing, the rotat-able mass comprising a body and a plurality of arms resil-iently flexibly connected at pivotal end regions to the body in spaced positions around the body for resilient pivotal movement of each arm outwardly from the body under 2S centrifugal force as the mass is rotated to cause the arms frictionally to engage the inner surface of the housing, with a resultant frictional drag increasing or decreasing appropriately dependent upon any tendency for rotational 21458~1 speed of the mass to increase or decrease so as to maintain a desired rotational speed of the mass consistent with the predetermined desired speeds of the drive shaft and of the electrical generating means. Preferably, the mass is formed as a single moulded member. Additionally, each arm is stiffer at positions along its length spaced from its pivotal end region than at its pivotal end region whereby resilient outwards pivoting movement of the arm occurs sub-stantially completely at the pivotal end region and the stiffness of the arm influences the degree of frictional pressure applied to the inner surface of the housing. Pre-ferably, each arm has an outer convex surface for engage-ment with the inner surface of the housing. Still more preferably, with the mass physically at rest, its peri-pheral surface is substantially circular when viewed in anaxial direction and the pivotal end region of each arm is defined between the peripheral surface of the mass and an inner concave surface which provides a progressive widening of the pivotal end region into the arm at one side of the pivotal end region and into the body on the other side of the pivotal end region to allow for stress distribution.
In another preferred speed governing means according to an aspect of the invention, the speed governing means includes a fixed housing with an inner surface having an axis of generation which is in the form of a circle at any cross-section normal to the axis of generation. In this preferred structure of speed governing means, a rotatable mass is disposed within the housing and is rotatably driv-"- 21458:~ ~
able by the driving spring about an axis of rotation coin-cident with the axis of generation of the inner surface of the housing. The rotatable mass has a body and a plurality of arms which are resiliently flexibly connected at pivotal end regions of the arms to the body in spaced positions around the body for pivotal movement of each arm outwards from the body under centrifugal force as the mass is rotated. This causes the arms frictionally to engage the inner surface of the housing and a resultant frictional drag increases or decreases appropriately upon any tendency for rotational speed of the mass to increase or decrease respectively. This action maintains a desired rotational speed of the mass which controls and is consistent with the predetermined desired speeds of each of the drive shaft and the rotor of the electrical generating means. The pre-ferred structure of the speed generating means is parti-cularly pertinent to an aspect of the present invention in that it may be made sufficiently small to be incorporated as part of a portable audio cassette player which, by its very nature, is required to be of as compact a construction as possible. By another variant of the audio cassette player, the mass of the speed governor means is fixed con-centrically to a rotatable shaft which is drivably inter-connected by gears of the interconnecting drive train to the spring means.
In more general terms, the system of broad aspects of the present invention may be used to power an electrical device, e.g., an audio cassette or compact disc player or 214~31 -a radio. As the power is generated mechanically from the spring motor, no electrical power from power lines is required for the operation of the device. Furthermore, the store of mechanical energy may be replenished by physical effort, that is, by rewinding the spring. There is no necessity to purchase batteries or other energy sources in order to keep the electrical device in working order.
Thus, the electrical device to be powered by system of aspects of the present invention may be any type of elec-trically-powered device currently available. Preferably, however, the electrical device is portable and is one which is unlikely to require substantial electrical power levels.
The prime mover, i.e., the spring, may comprise a logarithmic spring or a spring conforming to Hookes' Law, or a metal band spring arranged to deliver a substantially constant force. For example, the metal band spring may be pre-stressed band of steel.
Means to wind the spring, e.g., a wind-up key is pro-vided and is arranged to wind the metal band spring. This mechanical wind-up process stresses the spring and thus stores mechanical potential energy. The potential energy is thereafter released by the unwinding of the spring and this causes rotation of the rotor of the alternator which thereby generates electrical power. It also provides rotation to a shaft which provides mechanical motion.
Locking means is provided to enable the spring to be locked in its condition storing potential energy. It is an easy matter to wind up the spring motor again when it is 214~83 ~
required to power the electrical device. However, it is generally preferred to provide appropriate protection mPc-h~n;sms, e.g., appropriate stops, to prevent overwind or underwind of the spring.
The means to generate the electrical energy may be any type of electrical generator arranged to generate electri-city in response to rotation of its rotor. For example, the rotor may be permanent magnet rotor rotatable within a stator carrying one or more electrical coils. Alterna-tively, the rotor may carry the electrical coils, while the stator carries one or more permanent magnets. It is pre-ferred that it is arranged to be as compact and lightweight as possible. An alternator is preferred where the powered device is to be an audio cassette or compact disc player.
The gear means comprises a series of inter-engaging gears arranged to rotate the main drive shaft at a high speed of rotation. The gear means is designed to gear up the speed of rotation of the main drive shaft to an appro-priate speed. The gear means may be constructed in any appropriate manner. Preferably, the gear means comprises a series of inter-engaging gear wheels. The gear means should be arranged to have a low friction and it is also preferred that the gear means is lightweight.
The system thus includes a tensioned steel band spring to rotate a torque output shaft. When in its unstressed position, the spring is wound. This wind-up process thus stresses the spring such that mechanical potential energy `- 21458~1 is stored in the wound spring. The energy stored, and the torque generated thereby is subsequently delivered.
When the spring has been wound, it tries to unwind to release the stress to which it has been subjected, and in doing so rotates the main drive shaft. The main drive shaft is connected by a series of gears to the mechanical motion apparatus and the rotor of the electrical generator.
The gear means comprises a plurality of gear wheels which are intermeshed and which are arranged to gear up the rotation of the main output shaft.
In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of the inside structure of a portable audio cassette player of one embodiment of the invention with an outside cover removed;
Figure 2 is an elevational view of the player viewed from the direction of arrow II-II in Figure 1;
Figure 3 is an elevational view of the player viewed from the direction of arrows III-III in Figure 2;
Figure 4 is an underside view of the player viewed from the direction arrows IV-IV in Figure 2, with part of a frame of the audio cassette player removed for clarity;
Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of part of the audio cassette player taken along line V-V in Figure 3;
Figures 6 and 7 are cross-sectional views taken along lines VI-VI and VII-VII in Figure 4, respectively;
Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the governor part of the audio cassette player taken along line VIII-VIII in Figure 6; and Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 8 with the audio cassette player in operation.
As shown in Figures 1 - 7, a portable audio cassette player 10 comprises a frame comprising top and bottom planar plates 12 and 14, which are held in required spaced-apart positions by four corner bolts 16 and spacers 18 received on the bolts and extending between the plates 12 and 14. Above the plate 12 is disposed a tape deck, com-prising a tape deck platform 20 of known construction, the tape deck platform being shown in planar form. The platform 20 is held spaced above the plate 12 by spring-loaded corner posts 22 which provide the platform 20 with a required degree of resilient float for known reasons. The platform 20 supports a tape drive mechanism 23 above its upper surface (see Figure 1 particularly). The tape drive mechanism is of known construction and will not be further described except to indicate that the mechanism 23 is driven by a drive shaft 24 carrying a main drive gear 26 of mechanism 23 and rotatably received through the platform 20.
Also conventionally, the tape deck is provided with a magnetic playback head 28 which is disposed appropriately in a signal pick-up station at one side of the platform and of the frame plate 12 as shown, for instance, in Figures 1 and 3. In known manner for portable audio cassette players, the playback head 28 is electrically connected to a suitable amplification circuit (indicated diagrammati-` 21~S831 18cally as item 30 Figure 1) for amplifying the signal received from the head to an audible audio signal.
Still further, conventionally, the tape drive mecha-nism includes a "play" button 25 which moves plate 27 to engage into a "play" position, and a "stop" button 29.
Stop button 29 includes vertically-moveable pin 31 which can be inserted between the teeth of gear 65 mounted on shaft 68 to stop the movement of the tape.
By this structure, means are provided for: driving the tape at the standard speed in order for the electro-magnetic head to read the signal on the tape (equivalent to "play"); disengaging the electro-magnetic head and advanc-ing the tape at high speed (equivalent to "fast forward");
and disengaging the head while interrupting the drive train, so that the ribbon no longer advances (equivalent to "stop"). In addition the spring no longer rotates the rotatable drive shaft.
The amplification circuit 30 is provided with electri-cal power by an electrical generating means which comprises an alternator 32 mounted within and depending from the frame plate 12. The alternator is connected to the ampli-fication circuit 30 through an AC to DC rectifier circuit 34, also shown diagrammatically in Figure 1.
The drive shaft 24 and the rotor shaft of the alter-nator 32 are both driven by a single mechanical prime moverwhich comprises a windable driving spring means in the form of a spiral spring 36. This spring, together with an inter-connecting drive train to the spindle 26 and to the rotor 21~58:31 ._ of the alternator 32, is contained between the frame plates 12 and 14 as will now be described. In one specific embo-diment, the spiral spring 36 may be made from pre-stressed steel with a thickness of 0.61 mm, width 15.63 mm and a S length of 1250 mm. For winding purposes, an inner end of the spring 36 is secured to a winding shaft 38 (Figures 2, 4, 6 and 7) which is pivotally mounted between the plates 12 and 14 and extends above the plate 12. An upper end 40 of the shaft 38 is of square cross-section suitable for manual winding with a key 42 (in chain-dotted outline in Figure 2). An outer end 44 of the spring 36 is perma-nently secured around one of the corner spacers 18 extending between the plates 12 and 14.
The drive train is in the form of a gear train which lS has a driving section connected to the spring 36 and which is common to both the rotatable drive shaft 24 and to the alternator 32. This driving section comprises a main driving gear 46 which is rotatably mounted upon the shaft 38 beneath the spring 36 as shown in Figure 4. Beneath the gear 46 is disposed a ratchet 48 which is secured to the shaft 38 and a pawl 50, which is mounted upon the gear 46 and engaged with the ratchet 48. The ratchet 48 and pawl 50 allow for winding of the spring 36 in a clockwise direction (as viewed in Figure 4) with the gear 46 station-ary. The spring 36, however, cannot unwind (i.e. anti-clockwise) without transmitting its drive to the gear 46 through the ratchet and pawl. Means are provided in asso-21458~1 ciation with the spring to override the ratchet and pawl to permit unwinding of the spring.
It is intended that the drive shaft 24 and the alter-nator 32 both be driven at operational speeds far in excess of the unwinding speed of the spring 36. The gear train takes account of this requirement. The gear train is shown in Figures 6 and 7 in particular in which parts of the player unnecessary to this part of the description are not included for purposes of clarity.
In the driving section of the gear train, the gear 46 drives a sprocket gear 52, which is drivably connected to a shaft 54, and a larger diameter coaxial gear 56. The gear 56 in turn drives a small diameter gear 58, which is drivably connected to shaft 60, and a larger diameter coaxial gear 62. This completes the driving section of the gear train.
The driving section connects with two driven sections of the gear train which operate in parallel. One driven section, which drives the rotatable drive shaft 24 from the tape drive (Figure 6), comprises a small diameter gear 64 which is captive on shaft 66, the gear 64 being in mesh with the gear 62. The shaft 66 also drives gear 65 and rotatably extends through the upper frame plate 12 and projects through the platform 20 to provide at its upper end a capstan 68 extending above the tape deck. This capstan 68 (Figure 1) is of known construction and usage and co-operates with pinch roller 70 mounted on a pivotal arm 72 above the platform 20. The capstan 68 and the pinch 2145~31 roller 70 co-operate in known manner for driving a cassette tape forward at an industry st~n~rd speed of 4.75 cms per second.
As may be seen most clearly from Figure 6, the shaft 66 is provided between the plate 12 and the platform 20 with a flywheel 73. The flywheel 73 resists any sudden acceleration or deceleration in rotational speed of the shaft 66 to eliminate any distortion in the sound during playback of a tape. Immediately above the flywheel 73 is disposed a pulley wheel 74 which is secured to the shaft 66 (see also Figure 5). The pulley wheel 74 is drivably con-nected to a driven pulley wheel 76 by a pulley belt 78.
The driven pulley wheel 76 is secured to the drive shaft 24 thereby completing the driven section to the drive shaft 24.
A second driven section of the gear train which drives an electricity generator, i.e., an alternator 32 (Figure 7) comprises a small diameter gear 80 which is drivably secured to the rotor 8 5 of the alternator 32 and which is in mesh with a larger diameter gear 82 on shaft 84, the gear 82 being driven by gear 62 on shaft 60. The gear ratio between the spring 36 and the alternator 32 may generally be of the order of 1:1000.
A speed governing means 200 (as seen in Figs. 8 and 9) is provided for controlling unwinding of the spring 36 so as to ensure that the drive shaft 24 and the rotor 84 of the alternator 32 are each driven at their own predeter-mined desired speeds consistent with generally-recognized 21~5831 requirements. Particularly as shown by Figure 8, the speed governing means 200 comprises a rotatable mass 86 which is secured towards the lower end of a rotatable shaft 88 extending between top and bottom plates 12 and 14. The shaft 88 is rotatably driven by the spring 36 through a small diameter gear 90 which is mounted on the shaft, (Figure 6), the gear 90 being in mesh with a gear 92 which is secured to the shaft 66. The mass 86 acts as a fly wheel and comprises a main body 94 which is rotatable around the axis of shaft 88, and two arms 96 which are spaced apart on opposite sides of the body 94. The arms 96 are resiliently flexibly connected at pivoting end regions 110 to the body 94 and are integrally formed with the body from resilient rubber, e.g., by a moulding operation. In axial view, as shown in Figure 8, the mass 86 is of cir-cular configuration when stationery. In a stationery position, each arm is in a radially inner position to form, with the body, a slit 98 which lies along a chord of the circular section. Each slit 98 opens at the peripheral surface of the mass 86 at one end and terminates at the other or closed end in a circular through hole 100. The surface of hole 100 provides a concave surface at the pivotal end region of the respective arm so that there is a progressive widening of the pivotal end region around the surface of the hole both into the arm and into the body so as to allow for stress distribution during use. As may be seen, each slit 98 ensures that its arm 96 first increases in width as it extends from the pivotal end region, because 214 ~ 8 ~ 1 of the circular outside shape of the mass, and then decreases in width to a free end 102 of the arm. This shaping of the arm ensures that the arm is stiffer at positions along its length which are spaced from the pivotal end region.
The speed governing means also includes a stationery housing 104 which has an inner surface 106 of circular configuration and an axis of generation coincident with the axis of rotation of the shaft 88. The housing 104 is secured to the lower frame plate 14 (Figure 6). When stationary, the outer circumference 108 of mass 94 is out of contact with the inner circumference 106 of stationary housing 104.
In operation with an audio cassette tape 118 mounted upon the platform 20 in the tape deck, i.e. in the chain-dotted outlined position shown in Figure 1, the spring 36 is caused to impart its drive to the gear train. Through the gear train, the spring 36 drives both the rotor 86 of the alternator 32 and the drive shaft 24 and causes the speed governor mass 86 to rotate. The gear ratio between the spring 36 and the mass 86 may desirably be of the order of 1:4020. As the mass 86 is rotated, centrifugal force causes the arms 96 to be pivoted outwards about their pivotal end regions 110 thereby causing their engagement with the inner surface 106 of the housing 104. The arms are more rigid along their length than at their pivotal end regions 110 and apply frictional pressure against the inner surface of the housing. This produces a resultant fric-21~58~1 tional drag which increases or decreases appropriately as the arms tend to move further inwards or outward dependent upon the tendency for the rotational speed of the mass to increase or decrease. Thus the mass 86 is caused to slow down if it tends to rotate too fast or is allowed to speed up should there be a tendency for it to be rotating too slowly. As a result, the rotational speed of the mass 86 (and hence shaft 88) is maintained at its desired speed consistent with providing the predetermined desired speeds of each of the drive shaft 24 and the rotor 86 for the electrical generating means 32.
Hence the tape 118 is fed at its desired speed through the pick-up station to enable the playback head to receive magnetic signals from the tape and relay these signals to the amplification circuit 30. The alternator 32 provides electrical power, which may be e.g., of 1.5 volts output, through the rectifier circuit 34 to the amplification circuit 32 so that sound from the tape may be heard by the user through a pair of earphones. It should be noted that although the alternator 32 is driven by its own driven gear section and that the governing means is provided upon the other driven gear section for rotating the drive shaft 24, nevertheless the governor controls the driven speed of the shaft 86 of the alternator 32 as well as that of the drive shaft 24. As indicated, the voltage output from the alter-nator 32 is of the order of 1.5 volts. However, although this voltage is held constant by the effect of the speed governing means, nevertheless a Zener diode (not shown) may - 21~5831 be included in the circuit to provide fine tuning to the voltage.
As may be seen in the above embodiment, the portable audio cassette player is not dependent in use in any way S upon batteries. Instead, the audio cassette player is driven in its entirety by a mech~n;cal prime mover in the form of the spring 36. This spring 36 operates both the drive shaft 24 and also the rotor shaft 86 of the alter-nator 32 for generating the electrical power necessary for the amplification of the sound.
Thus, it is seen that the present invention provides many useful advantages in many parts of the world, while electrical radios and audio cassette or compact disc players are widespread, there is no central electrical power supply. Therefore, such devices are battery powered.
However, the batteries themselves are not always easily available, and even if they are, are generally very expensive compared with the local cost of living. For this reason, the owners generally operate their radios only infrequently so that they can save and conserve battery power. This is a disadvantage in a region where it would be advisable and advantageous for information could be made available much more readily to the local people.
The present invention thus provides a portable elec-trical audio cassette or compact disc player or radio whichcan be powered simply by winding it up, as was the case with clockwork clocks and watches. This means that no batteries have to be obtained.
-- 21~S831 Such devices, which do not require batteries, are also environmentally and economically advantageous, particularly in rural, poor communities. Presently, many poor economies spend a disproportionately large proportion of their resources on acquiring batteries for electrical devices.
Where the financial resources are not available, natural resources are utilised to fund the acquisition with conse-quent disadvantage to the present and future economy. Fur-thermore, there is a problem of disposal of the spent batteries which contaminate the land if they are buried and land which might have been utilized for agriculture becomes unavailable. All of these ecological problems are avoided by the use of wind-up devices provided by aspects of the present invention.
As discussed hereinabove, the electrical device powered by the stored mechanical energy may be a device other than an audio cassette, or compact disc player, or radio. The invention also has many other applications.
For example, travellers may find it more convenient to carry mechanically-powered electrical devices on their travels so that they are not let down if the battery runs out. Travellers will not then have to carry spare batteries or to try to find compatible replacements in a foreign country.
2S The invention is also particularly useful for emer-gency applications where an electrical device is not used frequently but must be available for use reliably. For example, if a battery-powered radio and/or transmitter is provided in a life-raft or life-boat, it is currently necessary to check the batteries frequency to ensure power is available as and when required. The wind-up device of aspects of the present invention has the advantage that, once it has been wound up, it reliably provides power.
Because of the avoidance of the use of batteries the audio cassette player (and any other such device) provide various advantages. For instance, such device may be used in extremes of cold weather without the temperatures affecting the performance of the spring. As there is no dependence upon the requirement for dry batteries, this causes no problem in isolated geographical regions. In addition, because no battery operation is required, the device may be left unused almost indefinitely with the assurance that it will operate in a positive fashion when next it is required for use. With all of the above advant-ages, the device of aspects of this invention is also suit-able for military applications.
In many parts of the world there are locations without electric power lines. This means that electrical devices need to be battery operated. Moreover, in many such regions, batteries can be difficult to obtain and may fur-thermore be relatively expensive.
In many instances travellers, who rely on batteries to power electrical devices, may be disappointed when the batteries run out. In Arctic regions, it is known that batteries lose power rapidly dependent on the temperature.
Loss of battery power for electrically-powered devices would be serious. In many other instances for emergency application, an electrical device may not be used fre-quently but it must be reliable when such use is essential.
Under such conditions, batteries must be checked periodi-cally to ensure that power is available as and when required.
Playback equipment for audio recordings is well known.
Earliest examples of audio players were phonographs for reproducing sound recorded as an unevenness in the surfaces of grooves formed upon records. These initially were cylindrical and later were made in a flat circular form.
In the use of a phonograph for playing flat records, for instance, a record is rotated upon a turntable beneath a tone arm which, in known manner, is caused to vibrate by `- 21458~1 its engagement with the uneven groove surface of the record. These vibrations are converted into electrical impulses corresponding to the vibrations and these impulses are transmitted to an amplifier which amplifies the impulses as sound. Originally, prime movers comprising manually windable driving springs were incorporated into phonographs for rotating turntables. Examples of such constructions are shown, for instance, in early Canadian Patent No. 222,126 granted in 1922, Canadian Patent No.
286,381 granted in 1929 and Canadian Patent No. 301,670 granted in 1930. In these patents, governors are described as being incorporated to ensure that the turntables are rotated at a controlled constant speed.
While mechanical prime movers were used for rotating turntables during early designs of phonographs and such prime movers were used over a lengthy period of years, the phonographs were, for all other purposes, operated by elec-trical power. As advancements were made in electrical engineering and new electrical devices were being developed and were being improved, after the 1920's, new designs of phonographs incorporated electrically powered driving means for rotating the turntables. As a result, from that particular time onwards all operations, including the driving of turntables, of phonographs have been operated by 2S electrical power.
More recently, audio cassette and then compact disc technology has been developed as other means of recording sound. Audio cassette players and compact disc players are operated completely by electrical power, as is only to be expected with present tec-hn;cal knowledge. Electrical power for this purpose is provided either from the general electrical power supply, or, in the case of portable audio cassette and compact disc players, from batteries.
There are problems, however, with present-day batter-ies which may detract, under certain conditions, from the appeal of audio cassette players and compact disc players.
For instance, in extremely cold weather conditions, batter-ies are known to lose power and this may result in a fail-ure in their operation. In addition, present-day batteries have a limited useful life under any temperature condition and replacement batteries may be difficult or even impos-sible to find in certain geographical regions.
Recognition of many of the above problems was provided in G.B. Patent Application No. GB 2,262,324 A, published 16.06.1993 in the name of T.G. Baylis. That publication provided an electrical generator for powering a radio which comprised a spring motor which was wound up by way of a key such that the subsequent rotation of a torque drum as the stressed spring unwound therefrom generates electrical power. The rotational speed of the drum was geared up by gear means and rotated the rotor of an electrical motor to generate an output voltage. The output voltage was regu-lated by way of a Zener diode and was fed to a radio by wayof a jack plug.
The present invention is concerned with devices which require both mechanical motion and electrical energy and 214S8~1 seeks to provide such a device, which, in use, will obviate the above problems.
Accordingly, it is an object of one aspect of this invention to provide a system for the simultaneous gener-ation of mechanical motion and electrical energy using asimple mechanical device.
An object of another aspect of this invention is to provide such a device which is equally operative in tropical regions and in Arctic regions.
An object of yet another aspect of this invention is to provide such a device which does not use batteries and thus is more economical to operate.
An object of still another aspect of this invention, is to provide such a device which, since it does not use batteries, obviates the problem of battery disposal, which can contaminate landfills if they are buried, or otherwise cause ecological problems.
A more particular object of the present invention is to provide an audio cassette or compact disc player which takes advantage of a system as previously indicated as being desirable.
By one broad aspect of this invention, a system is provided for the generation of mechanical motion driven by a rotatable drive shaft, and for generating a voltage out-2S put by electrical generating means having a rotor driven ata desired speed, the system including a prime mover com-prising: a windable driving spring means, the spring means including an interconnecting drive train for separately - 2145~
drivably connecting the spring means to the rotatable drive shaft and to the rotor of the electrical generating means;
and speed governing means for controlling the unwinding of the spring means so as to cause the spring means to drive the rotatable drive shaft and the rotor of the electrical generating means at the predetermined desired speeds.
By another broad aspect of the present invention, an audio cassette player is provided having the conventional rotatable drive shaft for driving an audio cassette tape progressively through a signal pick-up station to permit a playback head to receive signals from the tape and ampli-fying means electrically connected to the head to receive signals from the head. The essential element of the prime mover comprises a windable driving spring means drivably lS interconnected by a drive train both to the rotor of an electrical generating means having a rotor driven at a desired speed for providing electrical power to the amplification means and to the rotatable drive shaft. An essential speed governing means is provided for controlling the unwinding of the spring means so as to cause the spring means to drive the drive shaft and the rotor of the elec-trical generating means each at their own predetermined desired speeds.
In an audio cassette or compact disc player according to an aspect of the invention, the use of a battery together with its inherent problems, is completely avoided.
Instead of a battery, the windable driving spring means is provided which has a dual function in that it drives not - 21~831 only the rotatable drive shaft, but also the rotor of the electrical generating means which supplies the required electrical power to the amplification means.
The system of this invention is useful in many more embodiments than an audio cassette or compact disc player.
It may be used to generate and provide mechanical motion and/or generate electrical energy for many devices. Among them are radios, lamps, games, consoles, lap top computers, children's toys which now include both mechanical movement and generate sound, realistic dolls, etc. It also has utility in cases of power outages and for military communi-cation maintenance.
As noted above, the incorporation of an electrical generating means together with a mPch~n;cal prime mover in the form of a windable spring means avoids the necessity of providing electrical power from an outside source, i.e., by the use of a battery. This is of particular importance where the device is portable, although this advantage is seen as also to apply to non-portable devices, i.e., for use in remote areas. In addition, a portable device according to aspects of the invention may be used in cold temperature conditions without any deterioration in the capability in its operation. The prime mover in the form of the windable driving spring means is virtually unaffected by such conditions. Further, because the device according to aspects of the invention generates its own electrical power, any concern is avoided regarding the - 21~58~1 necessity of renewing the reserve of electrical power obtained from an outside source.
A portable device according to an aspect of the inven-tion is particularly useful in military circumstances as there is no requirement for an outside source of electrical power. In addition, a device according to an aspect of the invention may remain unused for extended periods and will be found to be in perfect operating condition when its use is next required.
In one variant of the audio cassette player of an aspect of the present invention, the interconnecting drive train is connected to drive the rotatable drive shaft at the desired speed to drive the cassette tape progressively through the pick-up, e.g., at 4.7S lineal cm/sec.
In another variant of the audio cassette player, the rotor of the generating means is adapted to be rotated at speeds sufficient to provide constant voltage of 1.5 +0.01 volts. Such audio cassette player also may include a Zener diode for fine tuning of the voltage supplied to the ampli-fying means.
In yet another variant of the audio cassette player, the interconnecting drive train comprises a gear train, the gear train having a driving section which is connected to the spring means and which is common for driving both the rotatable drive shaft and the rotor of the electrical gen-erating means, and two driven sections extending in paral-lel from the driving section, with one of the driven sec-tions drivably connected to the rotatable drive shaft and ._ the other driven section drivably connected to the rotor of the electrical generating means.
In still another variant of the audio cassette player, the electrical generating means comprises an alternator for producing alternating current and a rectifier which is electrically connected between the alternator and the amplifying means for converting the alternating current into direct current.
By yet another variant of the audio cassette player, a frame is provided comprising top and bottom planar plates which are held in required spaced-apart positions by four corner bolts and spacers received on the bolts and extend-ing between the plates. In a variation of such variant, a tape deck platform is disposed above the top plate, the platform being held spaced above the plate by spring-loaded corner posts which provide the platform with a required degree of resilient float, the platform thereby supporting a tape drive mechanism above its upper surface. By still another variation of such variant, the tape drive mechanism is driven by a drive shaft carrying a main drive gear which is rotatably received through the platform.
By yet a further variation of such variant, a magnetic playback head of the tape deck is electrically connected to an amplification circuit for amplifying the signal received from the head to an audible audio signal. By a further variation of such variant, such amplification circuit is provided with electrical power by an electrical generating means which comprises an alternator mounted within and - 21~58~1 depending from the top frame plate, the alternator being connected to the amplification circuit through an AC to DC
rectifier circuit.
By another variant of the audio cassette player, the drive shaft and the rotor shaft of the alternator are both driven by a single mechanical prime mover which comprises a windable driving spring means in the form of a spiral spring, such spring, together with an interconnecting drive train to the spindle and to the rotor of the alternator, being contained between upper and lower frame plates.
By yet another variant of the audio cassette player, the inner end of the spring means is secured to a winding shaft which is pivotally mounted between the upper and lower plates and extends above the upper plate, an upper end of the shaft having means to enable connection to manual winding means.
By yet another variant of the audio cassette player, the drive train is in the form of a gear train which has a driving section connected to the spring and which is common to both the rotatable drive shaft and to the alternator, such driving section comprising a main driving gear rotat-ably mounted upon a shaft beneath the spring means, a ratchet beneath the gear and secured to the shaft and a pawl mounted upon the gear and engaged with the ratchet, the ratchet and pawl allowing for winding of the spring in a clockwise direction with the gear stationery, the spring being permitted to unwind, thereby transmitting its drive to the gear through the ratchet and pawl.
- 21~5831 By a still further variant of the audio cassette player, in the driving section of the gear train, a gear drives a sprocket gear which is drivably connected to a shaft and to a larger diameter coaxial gear, such gear in turn driving a small diameter gear which is drivably con-nected to the shaft and to a larger diameter coaxial gear.
By a variation of this variant, the driving section con-nects with two driven sections of the gear train which operate in parallel; one driven section, which drives the rotatable drive shaft comprising a small diameter gear captive on shaft, the gear being in mesh with another gear, the shaft rotatably extending through the upper frame plate and projecting through the platform to provide, at its upper end, a capstan extending above the tape deck; a second driven section of the gear train which drives the alternator comprising a small diameter gear which drivably secured to the rotor of the alternator and in mesh with a larger diameter gear on shaft, the gear being driven by gear on shaft.
By a still further variant of the audio cassette player, the shaft is provided, between the upper plate and the platform, with a flywheel, the flywheel being adapted to resist any sudden acceleration or deceleration in rota-tional speed of the shaft to eliminate any distortion in the sound during playback of a tape, a pulley wheel dis-posed above the flywheel, the pulley wheel being secured to the shaft, and being drivably connected to a driven pulley . 2145~3 ~
wheel by a pulley belt, the driven pulley wheel being secured to the drive shaft.
The speed governing means may be any mechanical device which provides a control over the rate of rotation of a shaft. Among more common areas are the so-called "butter-fly" governor, the so-called "fly-ball" governor, the so-called "inertia or centrifugal inertia" governor, the so-called "pendulum" governor, the so-called "Porter"
governor, the so-called "Proell" governor, the so-called "Watt" governor, the so-called "shaft" governor, the so-called "spring-loaded" governor, or the so-called "Hartnell" governor. However, a preferred such speed governing means according to another variant of this invention comprises a fixed housing having an inner surface with an axis of generation and being in the form of a circle at any cross-sectional position taken normal to the axis of generation, a rotatable mass disposed within the housing and rotatably drivable by the driving spring means about an axis of rotation coincident with the axis of generation of the inner surface of the housing, the rotat-able mass comprising a body and a plurality of arms resil-iently flexibly connected at pivotal end regions to the body in spaced positions around the body for resilient pivotal movement of each arm outwardly from the body under 2S centrifugal force as the mass is rotated to cause the arms frictionally to engage the inner surface of the housing, with a resultant frictional drag increasing or decreasing appropriately dependent upon any tendency for rotational 21458~1 speed of the mass to increase or decrease so as to maintain a desired rotational speed of the mass consistent with the predetermined desired speeds of the drive shaft and of the electrical generating means. Preferably, the mass is formed as a single moulded member. Additionally, each arm is stiffer at positions along its length spaced from its pivotal end region than at its pivotal end region whereby resilient outwards pivoting movement of the arm occurs sub-stantially completely at the pivotal end region and the stiffness of the arm influences the degree of frictional pressure applied to the inner surface of the housing. Pre-ferably, each arm has an outer convex surface for engage-ment with the inner surface of the housing. Still more preferably, with the mass physically at rest, its peri-pheral surface is substantially circular when viewed in anaxial direction and the pivotal end region of each arm is defined between the peripheral surface of the mass and an inner concave surface which provides a progressive widening of the pivotal end region into the arm at one side of the pivotal end region and into the body on the other side of the pivotal end region to allow for stress distribution.
In another preferred speed governing means according to an aspect of the invention, the speed governing means includes a fixed housing with an inner surface having an axis of generation which is in the form of a circle at any cross-section normal to the axis of generation. In this preferred structure of speed governing means, a rotatable mass is disposed within the housing and is rotatably driv-"- 21458:~ ~
able by the driving spring about an axis of rotation coin-cident with the axis of generation of the inner surface of the housing. The rotatable mass has a body and a plurality of arms which are resiliently flexibly connected at pivotal end regions of the arms to the body in spaced positions around the body for pivotal movement of each arm outwards from the body under centrifugal force as the mass is rotated. This causes the arms frictionally to engage the inner surface of the housing and a resultant frictional drag increases or decreases appropriately upon any tendency for rotational speed of the mass to increase or decrease respectively. This action maintains a desired rotational speed of the mass which controls and is consistent with the predetermined desired speeds of each of the drive shaft and the rotor of the electrical generating means. The pre-ferred structure of the speed generating means is parti-cularly pertinent to an aspect of the present invention in that it may be made sufficiently small to be incorporated as part of a portable audio cassette player which, by its very nature, is required to be of as compact a construction as possible. By another variant of the audio cassette player, the mass of the speed governor means is fixed con-centrically to a rotatable shaft which is drivably inter-connected by gears of the interconnecting drive train to the spring means.
In more general terms, the system of broad aspects of the present invention may be used to power an electrical device, e.g., an audio cassette or compact disc player or 214~31 -a radio. As the power is generated mechanically from the spring motor, no electrical power from power lines is required for the operation of the device. Furthermore, the store of mechanical energy may be replenished by physical effort, that is, by rewinding the spring. There is no necessity to purchase batteries or other energy sources in order to keep the electrical device in working order.
Thus, the electrical device to be powered by system of aspects of the present invention may be any type of elec-trically-powered device currently available. Preferably, however, the electrical device is portable and is one which is unlikely to require substantial electrical power levels.
The prime mover, i.e., the spring, may comprise a logarithmic spring or a spring conforming to Hookes' Law, or a metal band spring arranged to deliver a substantially constant force. For example, the metal band spring may be pre-stressed band of steel.
Means to wind the spring, e.g., a wind-up key is pro-vided and is arranged to wind the metal band spring. This mechanical wind-up process stresses the spring and thus stores mechanical potential energy. The potential energy is thereafter released by the unwinding of the spring and this causes rotation of the rotor of the alternator which thereby generates electrical power. It also provides rotation to a shaft which provides mechanical motion.
Locking means is provided to enable the spring to be locked in its condition storing potential energy. It is an easy matter to wind up the spring motor again when it is 214~83 ~
required to power the electrical device. However, it is generally preferred to provide appropriate protection mPc-h~n;sms, e.g., appropriate stops, to prevent overwind or underwind of the spring.
The means to generate the electrical energy may be any type of electrical generator arranged to generate electri-city in response to rotation of its rotor. For example, the rotor may be permanent magnet rotor rotatable within a stator carrying one or more electrical coils. Alterna-tively, the rotor may carry the electrical coils, while the stator carries one or more permanent magnets. It is pre-ferred that it is arranged to be as compact and lightweight as possible. An alternator is preferred where the powered device is to be an audio cassette or compact disc player.
The gear means comprises a series of inter-engaging gears arranged to rotate the main drive shaft at a high speed of rotation. The gear means is designed to gear up the speed of rotation of the main drive shaft to an appro-priate speed. The gear means may be constructed in any appropriate manner. Preferably, the gear means comprises a series of inter-engaging gear wheels. The gear means should be arranged to have a low friction and it is also preferred that the gear means is lightweight.
The system thus includes a tensioned steel band spring to rotate a torque output shaft. When in its unstressed position, the spring is wound. This wind-up process thus stresses the spring such that mechanical potential energy `- 21458~1 is stored in the wound spring. The energy stored, and the torque generated thereby is subsequently delivered.
When the spring has been wound, it tries to unwind to release the stress to which it has been subjected, and in doing so rotates the main drive shaft. The main drive shaft is connected by a series of gears to the mechanical motion apparatus and the rotor of the electrical generator.
The gear means comprises a plurality of gear wheels which are intermeshed and which are arranged to gear up the rotation of the main output shaft.
In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of the inside structure of a portable audio cassette player of one embodiment of the invention with an outside cover removed;
Figure 2 is an elevational view of the player viewed from the direction of arrow II-II in Figure 1;
Figure 3 is an elevational view of the player viewed from the direction of arrows III-III in Figure 2;
Figure 4 is an underside view of the player viewed from the direction arrows IV-IV in Figure 2, with part of a frame of the audio cassette player removed for clarity;
Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of part of the audio cassette player taken along line V-V in Figure 3;
Figures 6 and 7 are cross-sectional views taken along lines VI-VI and VII-VII in Figure 4, respectively;
Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the governor part of the audio cassette player taken along line VIII-VIII in Figure 6; and Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 8 with the audio cassette player in operation.
As shown in Figures 1 - 7, a portable audio cassette player 10 comprises a frame comprising top and bottom planar plates 12 and 14, which are held in required spaced-apart positions by four corner bolts 16 and spacers 18 received on the bolts and extending between the plates 12 and 14. Above the plate 12 is disposed a tape deck, com-prising a tape deck platform 20 of known construction, the tape deck platform being shown in planar form. The platform 20 is held spaced above the plate 12 by spring-loaded corner posts 22 which provide the platform 20 with a required degree of resilient float for known reasons. The platform 20 supports a tape drive mechanism 23 above its upper surface (see Figure 1 particularly). The tape drive mechanism is of known construction and will not be further described except to indicate that the mechanism 23 is driven by a drive shaft 24 carrying a main drive gear 26 of mechanism 23 and rotatably received through the platform 20.
Also conventionally, the tape deck is provided with a magnetic playback head 28 which is disposed appropriately in a signal pick-up station at one side of the platform and of the frame plate 12 as shown, for instance, in Figures 1 and 3. In known manner for portable audio cassette players, the playback head 28 is electrically connected to a suitable amplification circuit (indicated diagrammati-` 21~S831 18cally as item 30 Figure 1) for amplifying the signal received from the head to an audible audio signal.
Still further, conventionally, the tape drive mecha-nism includes a "play" button 25 which moves plate 27 to engage into a "play" position, and a "stop" button 29.
Stop button 29 includes vertically-moveable pin 31 which can be inserted between the teeth of gear 65 mounted on shaft 68 to stop the movement of the tape.
By this structure, means are provided for: driving the tape at the standard speed in order for the electro-magnetic head to read the signal on the tape (equivalent to "play"); disengaging the electro-magnetic head and advanc-ing the tape at high speed (equivalent to "fast forward");
and disengaging the head while interrupting the drive train, so that the ribbon no longer advances (equivalent to "stop"). In addition the spring no longer rotates the rotatable drive shaft.
The amplification circuit 30 is provided with electri-cal power by an electrical generating means which comprises an alternator 32 mounted within and depending from the frame plate 12. The alternator is connected to the ampli-fication circuit 30 through an AC to DC rectifier circuit 34, also shown diagrammatically in Figure 1.
The drive shaft 24 and the rotor shaft of the alter-nator 32 are both driven by a single mechanical prime moverwhich comprises a windable driving spring means in the form of a spiral spring 36. This spring, together with an inter-connecting drive train to the spindle 26 and to the rotor 21~58:31 ._ of the alternator 32, is contained between the frame plates 12 and 14 as will now be described. In one specific embo-diment, the spiral spring 36 may be made from pre-stressed steel with a thickness of 0.61 mm, width 15.63 mm and a S length of 1250 mm. For winding purposes, an inner end of the spring 36 is secured to a winding shaft 38 (Figures 2, 4, 6 and 7) which is pivotally mounted between the plates 12 and 14 and extends above the plate 12. An upper end 40 of the shaft 38 is of square cross-section suitable for manual winding with a key 42 (in chain-dotted outline in Figure 2). An outer end 44 of the spring 36 is perma-nently secured around one of the corner spacers 18 extending between the plates 12 and 14.
The drive train is in the form of a gear train which lS has a driving section connected to the spring 36 and which is common to both the rotatable drive shaft 24 and to the alternator 32. This driving section comprises a main driving gear 46 which is rotatably mounted upon the shaft 38 beneath the spring 36 as shown in Figure 4. Beneath the gear 46 is disposed a ratchet 48 which is secured to the shaft 38 and a pawl 50, which is mounted upon the gear 46 and engaged with the ratchet 48. The ratchet 48 and pawl 50 allow for winding of the spring 36 in a clockwise direction (as viewed in Figure 4) with the gear 46 station-ary. The spring 36, however, cannot unwind (i.e. anti-clockwise) without transmitting its drive to the gear 46 through the ratchet and pawl. Means are provided in asso-21458~1 ciation with the spring to override the ratchet and pawl to permit unwinding of the spring.
It is intended that the drive shaft 24 and the alter-nator 32 both be driven at operational speeds far in excess of the unwinding speed of the spring 36. The gear train takes account of this requirement. The gear train is shown in Figures 6 and 7 in particular in which parts of the player unnecessary to this part of the description are not included for purposes of clarity.
In the driving section of the gear train, the gear 46 drives a sprocket gear 52, which is drivably connected to a shaft 54, and a larger diameter coaxial gear 56. The gear 56 in turn drives a small diameter gear 58, which is drivably connected to shaft 60, and a larger diameter coaxial gear 62. This completes the driving section of the gear train.
The driving section connects with two driven sections of the gear train which operate in parallel. One driven section, which drives the rotatable drive shaft 24 from the tape drive (Figure 6), comprises a small diameter gear 64 which is captive on shaft 66, the gear 64 being in mesh with the gear 62. The shaft 66 also drives gear 65 and rotatably extends through the upper frame plate 12 and projects through the platform 20 to provide at its upper end a capstan 68 extending above the tape deck. This capstan 68 (Figure 1) is of known construction and usage and co-operates with pinch roller 70 mounted on a pivotal arm 72 above the platform 20. The capstan 68 and the pinch 2145~31 roller 70 co-operate in known manner for driving a cassette tape forward at an industry st~n~rd speed of 4.75 cms per second.
As may be seen most clearly from Figure 6, the shaft 66 is provided between the plate 12 and the platform 20 with a flywheel 73. The flywheel 73 resists any sudden acceleration or deceleration in rotational speed of the shaft 66 to eliminate any distortion in the sound during playback of a tape. Immediately above the flywheel 73 is disposed a pulley wheel 74 which is secured to the shaft 66 (see also Figure 5). The pulley wheel 74 is drivably con-nected to a driven pulley wheel 76 by a pulley belt 78.
The driven pulley wheel 76 is secured to the drive shaft 24 thereby completing the driven section to the drive shaft 24.
A second driven section of the gear train which drives an electricity generator, i.e., an alternator 32 (Figure 7) comprises a small diameter gear 80 which is drivably secured to the rotor 8 5 of the alternator 32 and which is in mesh with a larger diameter gear 82 on shaft 84, the gear 82 being driven by gear 62 on shaft 60. The gear ratio between the spring 36 and the alternator 32 may generally be of the order of 1:1000.
A speed governing means 200 (as seen in Figs. 8 and 9) is provided for controlling unwinding of the spring 36 so as to ensure that the drive shaft 24 and the rotor 84 of the alternator 32 are each driven at their own predeter-mined desired speeds consistent with generally-recognized 21~5831 requirements. Particularly as shown by Figure 8, the speed governing means 200 comprises a rotatable mass 86 which is secured towards the lower end of a rotatable shaft 88 extending between top and bottom plates 12 and 14. The shaft 88 is rotatably driven by the spring 36 through a small diameter gear 90 which is mounted on the shaft, (Figure 6), the gear 90 being in mesh with a gear 92 which is secured to the shaft 66. The mass 86 acts as a fly wheel and comprises a main body 94 which is rotatable around the axis of shaft 88, and two arms 96 which are spaced apart on opposite sides of the body 94. The arms 96 are resiliently flexibly connected at pivoting end regions 110 to the body 94 and are integrally formed with the body from resilient rubber, e.g., by a moulding operation. In axial view, as shown in Figure 8, the mass 86 is of cir-cular configuration when stationery. In a stationery position, each arm is in a radially inner position to form, with the body, a slit 98 which lies along a chord of the circular section. Each slit 98 opens at the peripheral surface of the mass 86 at one end and terminates at the other or closed end in a circular through hole 100. The surface of hole 100 provides a concave surface at the pivotal end region of the respective arm so that there is a progressive widening of the pivotal end region around the surface of the hole both into the arm and into the body so as to allow for stress distribution during use. As may be seen, each slit 98 ensures that its arm 96 first increases in width as it extends from the pivotal end region, because 214 ~ 8 ~ 1 of the circular outside shape of the mass, and then decreases in width to a free end 102 of the arm. This shaping of the arm ensures that the arm is stiffer at positions along its length which are spaced from the pivotal end region.
The speed governing means also includes a stationery housing 104 which has an inner surface 106 of circular configuration and an axis of generation coincident with the axis of rotation of the shaft 88. The housing 104 is secured to the lower frame plate 14 (Figure 6). When stationary, the outer circumference 108 of mass 94 is out of contact with the inner circumference 106 of stationary housing 104.
In operation with an audio cassette tape 118 mounted upon the platform 20 in the tape deck, i.e. in the chain-dotted outlined position shown in Figure 1, the spring 36 is caused to impart its drive to the gear train. Through the gear train, the spring 36 drives both the rotor 86 of the alternator 32 and the drive shaft 24 and causes the speed governor mass 86 to rotate. The gear ratio between the spring 36 and the mass 86 may desirably be of the order of 1:4020. As the mass 86 is rotated, centrifugal force causes the arms 96 to be pivoted outwards about their pivotal end regions 110 thereby causing their engagement with the inner surface 106 of the housing 104. The arms are more rigid along their length than at their pivotal end regions 110 and apply frictional pressure against the inner surface of the housing. This produces a resultant fric-21~58~1 tional drag which increases or decreases appropriately as the arms tend to move further inwards or outward dependent upon the tendency for the rotational speed of the mass to increase or decrease. Thus the mass 86 is caused to slow down if it tends to rotate too fast or is allowed to speed up should there be a tendency for it to be rotating too slowly. As a result, the rotational speed of the mass 86 (and hence shaft 88) is maintained at its desired speed consistent with providing the predetermined desired speeds of each of the drive shaft 24 and the rotor 86 for the electrical generating means 32.
Hence the tape 118 is fed at its desired speed through the pick-up station to enable the playback head to receive magnetic signals from the tape and relay these signals to the amplification circuit 30. The alternator 32 provides electrical power, which may be e.g., of 1.5 volts output, through the rectifier circuit 34 to the amplification circuit 32 so that sound from the tape may be heard by the user through a pair of earphones. It should be noted that although the alternator 32 is driven by its own driven gear section and that the governing means is provided upon the other driven gear section for rotating the drive shaft 24, nevertheless the governor controls the driven speed of the shaft 86 of the alternator 32 as well as that of the drive shaft 24. As indicated, the voltage output from the alter-nator 32 is of the order of 1.5 volts. However, although this voltage is held constant by the effect of the speed governing means, nevertheless a Zener diode (not shown) may - 21~5831 be included in the circuit to provide fine tuning to the voltage.
As may be seen in the above embodiment, the portable audio cassette player is not dependent in use in any way S upon batteries. Instead, the audio cassette player is driven in its entirety by a mech~n;cal prime mover in the form of the spring 36. This spring 36 operates both the drive shaft 24 and also the rotor shaft 86 of the alter-nator 32 for generating the electrical power necessary for the amplification of the sound.
Thus, it is seen that the present invention provides many useful advantages in many parts of the world, while electrical radios and audio cassette or compact disc players are widespread, there is no central electrical power supply. Therefore, such devices are battery powered.
However, the batteries themselves are not always easily available, and even if they are, are generally very expensive compared with the local cost of living. For this reason, the owners generally operate their radios only infrequently so that they can save and conserve battery power. This is a disadvantage in a region where it would be advisable and advantageous for information could be made available much more readily to the local people.
The present invention thus provides a portable elec-trical audio cassette or compact disc player or radio whichcan be powered simply by winding it up, as was the case with clockwork clocks and watches. This means that no batteries have to be obtained.
-- 21~S831 Such devices, which do not require batteries, are also environmentally and economically advantageous, particularly in rural, poor communities. Presently, many poor economies spend a disproportionately large proportion of their resources on acquiring batteries for electrical devices.
Where the financial resources are not available, natural resources are utilised to fund the acquisition with conse-quent disadvantage to the present and future economy. Fur-thermore, there is a problem of disposal of the spent batteries which contaminate the land if they are buried and land which might have been utilized for agriculture becomes unavailable. All of these ecological problems are avoided by the use of wind-up devices provided by aspects of the present invention.
As discussed hereinabove, the electrical device powered by the stored mechanical energy may be a device other than an audio cassette, or compact disc player, or radio. The invention also has many other applications.
For example, travellers may find it more convenient to carry mechanically-powered electrical devices on their travels so that they are not let down if the battery runs out. Travellers will not then have to carry spare batteries or to try to find compatible replacements in a foreign country.
2S The invention is also particularly useful for emer-gency applications where an electrical device is not used frequently but must be available for use reliably. For example, if a battery-powered radio and/or transmitter is provided in a life-raft or life-boat, it is currently necessary to check the batteries frequency to ensure power is available as and when required. The wind-up device of aspects of the present invention has the advantage that, once it has been wound up, it reliably provides power.
Because of the avoidance of the use of batteries the audio cassette player (and any other such device) provide various advantages. For instance, such device may be used in extremes of cold weather without the temperatures affecting the performance of the spring. As there is no dependence upon the requirement for dry batteries, this causes no problem in isolated geographical regions. In addition, because no battery operation is required, the device may be left unused almost indefinitely with the assurance that it will operate in a positive fashion when next it is required for use. With all of the above advant-ages, the device of aspects of this invention is also suit-able for military applications.
Claims (27)
1. A system for simultaneously providing mechanical motion driven by a rotatable drive shaft, and for generat-ing a voltage output by electrical generating means having a rotor driven at a desired speed, said system including a prime mover comprising: a windable driving spring means, said spring means including an interconnecting drive train for separately drivably connecting said spring means to said rotatable drive shaft and to said rotor of said elec-trical generating means; and speed governing means for con-trolling unwinding of said spring means so as to cause said spring means to drive said rotatable drive shaft and said rotor of said electrical generating means at said predeter-mined desired speeds.
2. An audio cassette player comprising: an audio play-back head located in a signal pick-up station; a rotatable drive shaft for driving an audio cassette tape progressively through the pick-up station to permit the head to receive signals from the tape; amplifying means electrically-connected to the head to receive signals from the head; electrical generating means having a rotor driven at a desired speed and for providing electrical power to the amplifying means; and a prime mover comprising a wind-able driving spring means, said spring means including an interconnecting drive train for separately drivably con-necting said spring means to said rotatable drive shaft and to said electrical generating means, and speed governing means for controlling unwinding of the spring means so as to cause the spring means to drive the rotatable drive shaft and the rotor of the electrical generating means at predetermined desired speeds.
3. The audio cassette player according to Claim 2 which is portable.
4. The audio cassette player as claimed in claim 2 wherein said interconnecting drive train is connected to drive said rotatable drive shaft at the desired speed to drive said cassette tape progressively through said pick-up.
5. The audio cassette player as claimed in claim 4 wherein said speed of said rotatable drive shaft is suf-ficient to drive said cassette tape at a speed of 4.75 lineal cm per second.
6. The audio cassette player as claimed in claim 2 wherein said rotor of said generating means is adapted to be rotated at speeds sufficient to provide substantially constant required voltage.
7. A player according to Claim 2 wherein said inter-connecting drive train comprises: a gear train, said gear train having a driving section connected to said spring means and which is common for driving both said rotatable drive shaft and a rotor of said electrical generating means; and two driven sections extending in parallel from said driving section with one of said driven sections being drivably-connected to said rotatable drive shaft and the other said driven section being drivably-connected to said rotor of said electrical generating means.
8. A player according to Claim 2 wherein said elec-trical generating means comprises an alternator for pro-ducing alternating current, and a rectifier which is elec-trically-connected between said alternator and said ampli-fying means for converting said alternating current into direct current.
9. The audio cassette player as claimed in claim 2 including a frame comprising top and bottom planar plates which are held in required spaced-apart positions by four corner bolts and spacers received on said bolts and extend-ing between said plates.
10. The audio cassette player of claim 9 wherein said tape drive mechanism is driven by a drive shaft carrying a main drive gear which is rotatably received through said platform.
11. The audio cassette player of claim 9 wherein a tape deck platform is disposed above said top plate, said platform being held spaced above said plate by spring-loaded corner posts which provide said platform with a required degree of resilient float, said platform thereby supporting a tape drive mechanism above its upper surface.
12. The audio cassette player as claimed in claim 11 wherein said tape drive mechanism is driven by a drive shaft carrying a main drive gear which is rotatably received through the platform.
13. The audio cassette player of claim 10 wherein said magnetic playback head of said tape deck is electri-cally connected to an amplification circuit for amplifying the signal received from said magnetic playback head to an audible audio signal.
14. The audio cassette player of claim 13 wherein said amplification circuit is provided with electrical power by said electrical generating means, said electrical generating means comprising an alternator mounted within, and depending from, said top frame plate, said alternator being connected to said amplification circuit through an AC
to DC rectifier circuit.
to DC rectifier circuit.
15. The audio cassette player of claim 2 wherein said drive shaft and said rotor shaft of the alternator are each driven by a single mechanical prime mover which comprises a windable driving spring means in the form of a spiral spring, said spiral spring, together with an interconnect-ing drive train to said drive shaft and to said rotor of said alternator, being contained between said upper and lower frame plates.
16. The audio cassette player of claim 2 wherein said inner end of said spring means is secured to a winding shaft which is pivotally mounted between the upper and lower plates and extends above said upper plate, an upper end of said winding shaft being adapted to be associated with manual winding key means.
17. The audio cassette player of claim 2 wherein said drive train is in the form of a gear train which has a driving section connected to said spring means and which is common both to said rotatable drive shaft and to said alternator, said driving section comprising a main driving gear which is rotatably mounted upon a shaft beneath said spring means, a ratchet beneath said gear and secured to said shaft and a pawl mounted upon said gear and engaged with said ratchet, said ratchet and pawl thereby allowing for winding of said spring in a clockwise direction with said gear stationery, and permitting said spring, to unwind, thereby transmitting its drive to said gear through the ratchet and pawl.
18. The audio cassette player of claim 2 wherein, in said driving section of said gear train, a further gear drives a sprocket gear which is drivably connected to a shaft and to a larger diameter coaxial gear, said coaxial gear, in turn, driving a small diameter gear which is drivably connected to said shaft and to a larger diameter coaxial gear.
19. The audio cassette player of claim 2 wherein said driving section connects with two driven sections of said gear train, said two driven sections operating in parallel;
one driven section, which drives said rotatable drive shaft comprising a small diameter gear captive on said shaft, said gear being in mesh with a second gear, said shaft rotatably extending through said upper frame plate and projecting through said platform to provide, at its upper end, a capstan extending above said tape deck; and a second driven section which drives said alternator comprising a small diameter gear drivably secured to said rotor of said alternator and in mesh with a larger diameter gear on a second shaft, said gear being driven by a third gear on a third shaft.
one driven section, which drives said rotatable drive shaft comprising a small diameter gear captive on said shaft, said gear being in mesh with a second gear, said shaft rotatably extending through said upper frame plate and projecting through said platform to provide, at its upper end, a capstan extending above said tape deck; and a second driven section which drives said alternator comprising a small diameter gear drivably secured to said rotor of said alternator and in mesh with a larger diameter gear on a second shaft, said gear being driven by a third gear on a third shaft.
20. The audio cassette player of claim 2 wherein said rotatable drive shaft is provided, between said upper plate and said platform, with a flywheel, said flywheel being adapted to resist any sudden acceleration or deceleration in rotational speed of said rotatable drive shaft to elimi-nate any distortion in the sound during playback of a tape;
and including a pulley wheel disposed above said flywheel, said pulley wheel being secured to said rotatable drive shaft, and being drivably connected to a driven pulley wheel by a pulley belt, said driven pulley wheel being secured to said drive shaft.
and including a pulley wheel disposed above said flywheel, said pulley wheel being secured to said rotatable drive shaft, and being drivably connected to a driven pulley wheel by a pulley belt, said driven pulley wheel being secured to said drive shaft.
21. The audio cassette player according claim 2 including vertically-movable pin means, connected to a "stop" button on said tape drive mechanism to stop the rotation of a gear driving said tape drive, thereby stopping the lineal movement of said tape.
22. The audio cassette player according to Claim 2 wherein said speed governing means comprises a fixed hous-ing having an inner surface with an axis of generation and being in the form of a circle at any cross-sectional posi-tion taken normal to said axis of generation, a rotatable mass disposed within the housing and rotatably drivable by said driving spring means about an axis of rotation coinci-dent with the axis of generation of the inner surface of said housing, said rotatable mass comprising a body and a plurality of arms resiliently flexibly connected at pivotal end regions to said body in spaced positions around said body for resilient pivotal movement of each arm outwardly from said body under centrifugal force as said mass is rotated to cause the arms frictionally to engage the inner surface of said housing, with a resultant frictional drag increasing or decreasing appropriately dependent upon any tendency for rotational speed of said mass to increase or decrease, so as to maintain a desired rotational speed of said mass consistent with said predetermined desired speeds of said drive shaft and of said rotor of said electrical generating means.
23. An audio cassette player according to Claim 22 wherein the mass is formed as a single moulded member.
24. An audio cassette player according to Claim 23 wherein each arm is stiffer at positions along its length spaced from its pivotal end region than at its pivotal end region, whereby resilient outwards pivoting movement of each said arm occurs substantially completely at the pivotal end region, and whereby the stiffness of each said arm influences the degree of frictional pressure applied to said inner surface of said housing.
25. An audio cassette player according to Claim 24 wherein each said arm has an outer convex surface for engagement with said inner surface of said housing.
26. An audio cassette player according to claim 25 wherein, with said mass physically at rest, its peripheral surface is substantially circular when viewed in an axial direction, and wherein the pivotal end region of each said arm is defined between the peripheral surface of said mass and an inner concave surface which provides a progressive widening of said pivotal end region into each said arm at one side of said pivotal end region and into said body on a side of said pivotal end region to allow for stress distribution.
27. An audio cassette player according to Claim 26 wherein said mass is fixed concentrically to an auxiliary rotatable shaft which is drivably interconnected by gears of said interconnecting drive train to said spring means.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2145831 CA2145831A1 (en) | 1995-03-29 | 1995-03-29 | Batteryless spring-powered portable cassette player |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2145831 CA2145831A1 (en) | 1995-03-29 | 1995-03-29 | Batteryless spring-powered portable cassette player |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2145831A1 true CA2145831A1 (en) | 1996-09-30 |
Family
ID=4155527
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2145831 Abandoned CA2145831A1 (en) | 1995-03-29 | 1995-03-29 | Batteryless spring-powered portable cassette player |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2145831A1 (en) |
-
1995
- 1995-03-29 CA CA 2145831 patent/CA2145831A1/en not_active Abandoned
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| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FZDE | Dead |