Three radially extending push rods (26, 28, 30) make contact with an undulating cam surface on the periphery of a cam (10). The push rods (26, 28, 30) are driven inwardly by electrical solenoids (94, 96, 98) or fluid motors (106, 108, 110). At the end of each step, one of the push rods (26, 28, 30) is fully extended and in contact with the bottom of a valley region of the cam surface. The second push rod is in a partially extended position against a sloping surface between a peak and a valley. The third push rod is in a partially extended position against an oppositely sloping surface between a peak and a valley. The push rods (26, 28, 30) are located within the center plane of a relatively thin cam. In other installations, they are spaced axially apart or both circumferentially and axially apart. A cam surface twists (FIG. 7) as it extends axially to, in that manner, provide different cam positions under each of three axially spaced apart push rods. A plurality of cams are connected together. Plural cams ( 172, 174, 176) with the same number of lobes are staggered in position. Or, the number of lobes can differ from cam to cam (FIGS. 10-14), to provide a variety of step size possibilities.
The invention relates to a hydraulic drive system comprising a plurality of hydraulically driven piston units with cam rollers, which are disposed to act against a wave-shaped cam profile of a cam curve element, so that linear movement of the cam rollers against the cam profile produces a relative driving movement between the cam element and the piston units. The characterizing feature of the invention is that the drive system is composed of separate, assembled cam curve element modules and separate assembled piston units.
A rotating device for a diesel motor comprises a unit having a plurality of pneumatic cylinders that can be brought into mating engagement with teeth on a flywheel of the motor. Each pneumatic cylinder, under the control of a control unit, is actuated and sequentially pushed into the teeth such that a counter-clockwise or clockwise rotation is possible.
A motor includes a plurality of linearly activated pistons, positioned radially around an axis, which are selectively and sequentially biased against on offset element to produce rotation of a rotatable element about the axis. The motor further includes an power source, which may be electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic and a structure for supporting the pistons, the offset element and the rotational element, and providing direction of a desired motion.
