Although without this feature the mechanism will function properly, with it there can no longer be any debate. This feature that has appeared on past design publishings, but not on the Squidoo site, is the spring loaded push arm located in the weight ball's cradle.
When the empty cylinder rotates to horizontal on the right side, the push arm that was depressed by the weight of the ball while the cylinder was at the vertical position, can now, by it's compressed inner spring, push the ball away from the end of the cylinder toward the axis. The axis cradle, being magnetized, can hold the ball there.
This will remove much of the resistance force working against the rotation, even if the ball only rolls a short distance toward the center.
Another design for moving the ball is to have a spring board located at the side of the mechanism that the lower cylinder's unlocking mechanism's wheels contact as it rotates to horizontal. The wheels push in the board (compressing it's spring) and the board's spring pushes back enough (after horizintal has been reached) to push both the unlocking mechanism, and the ball, toward the center. The unlocking mechanism will stop, the ball will keep rolling toward the center.
This is not as good a design as the built-in push arm because it will add additional resistance to the rotation.
This is all of the design there is to publish.
Russell Lee
The passage was supposed to read "When the empty cylinder rotates to horizontal on the LEFT side...". Thank you, Russ
Quote from: Russell Lee on September 25, 2010, 11:38:28 AM
Although without this feature the mechanism will function properly, with it there can no longer be any debate. This feature that has appeared on past design publishings, but not on the Squidoo site, is the spring loaded push arm located in the weight ball's cradle.
When the empty cylinder rotates to horizontal on the right side, the push arm that was depressed by the weight of the ball while the cylinder was at the vertical position, can now, by it's compressed inner spring, push the ball away from the end of the cylinder toward the axis. The axis cradle, being magnetized, can hold the ball there.
This will remove much of the resistance force working against the rotation, even if the ball only rolls a short distance toward the center.
Another design for moving the ball is to have a spring board located at the side of the mechanism that the lower cylinder's unlocking mechanism's wheels contact as it rotates to horizontal. The wheels push in the board (compressing it's spring) and the board's spring pushes back enough (after horizintal has been reached) to push both the unlocking mechanism, and the ball, toward the center. The unlocking mechanism will stop, the ball will keep rolling toward the center.
This is not as good a design as the built-in push arm because it will add additional resistance to the rotation.
This is all of the design there is to publish.
Russell Lee