Patents by Inventor Randall L. Sparks

Randall L. Sparks has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5197354
    Abstract: An intermittent drive mechanism is provided for intermittently driving an output shaft with an input shaft that has an axis that intersects the axis of the output shaft at an angle. A driving element on the input shaft couples with a driven element on the output shaft through pairs of corresponding accelerating and decelerating pin and slot combinations which engage each other intermittently at the surface of an imaginary sphere which is centered at the intersection point of the shafts. Embodiments are provided both with and without intermittent driving gears on the elements to maintain the output shaft rotation at constant maximum velocity through a predetermined arc. The slots are curved, preferably in circular arcs, so as to optimize acceleration and the rate of change of acceleration (jerk), particularly as the output shaft approaches and leaves the point of maximum angular velocity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 1992
    Date of Patent: March 30, 1993
    Assignee: Leggett & Platt Incorporated
    Inventors: Henry G. Mohr, Randall L. Sparks