US 12,268,904 B2
Braking mechanisms
Christopher James Allington, Leeston (NZ); Andrew Karl Diehl, Christchurch (NZ); and Bruce John Robertson, Christchurch (NZ)
Assigned to EDDY CURRENT LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, Wellington (NZ)
Filed by Eddy Current Limited Partnership, Wellington (NZ)
Filed on Nov. 21, 2019, as Appl. No. 16/691,509.
Application 16/691,509 is a continuation of application No. 15/586,111, filed on May 3, 2017, granted, now 10,065,054.
Application 15/586,111 is a continuation of application No. 14/464,255, filed on Aug. 20, 2014, granted, now 10,518,115.
Application 14/464,255 is a continuation of application No. 13/255,625, granted, now 8,851,235, issued on Oct. 7, 2014, previously published as PCT/NZ2010/000011, filed on Jan. 29, 2010.
Claims priority of application No. 575464 (NZ), filed on Mar. 10, 2009.
Prior Publication US 2020/0155874 A1, May 21, 2020
Int. Cl. H02K 7/104 (2006.01); A62B 1/08 (2006.01); A62B 1/10 (2006.01); A63B 69/00 (2006.01); F16D 59/00 (2006.01); H02K 7/116 (2006.01); H02K 49/04 (2006.01); H02K 49/10 (2006.01); H02K 7/12 (2006.01); H02K 16/00 (2006.01)
CPC A62B 1/08 (2013.01) [A62B 1/10 (2013.01); A63B 69/0048 (2013.01); F16D 59/00 (2013.01); H02K 7/104 (2013.01); H02K 7/116 (2013.01); H02K 49/04 (2013.01); H02K 49/046 (2013.01); H02K 49/10 (2013.01); H02K 7/12 (2013.01); H02K 16/005 (2013.01); H02K 2213/09 (2013.01)] 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A line dispensing device comprising:
an eddy-current braking mechanism comprising:
a rotor, rotatable about a rotor axis;
at least two arms coupled with the rotor, the at least two arms configured to emit a permanent magnetic field;
at least one electrically conductive member aligned coaxially with the rotor; and
at least two biasing devices attached to the rotor, the at least two biasing devices being configured to provide a bias opposing the outward or inward radial movement of respective ones of the at least two arms;
wherein the at least two arms coupled with the rotor move relative to the rotor axis in a radial direction when the rotor rotates around the rotor axis to thereby adjust the amount of overlap between the at least two arms and the at least one electrically conductive member in an axial direction;
wherein the at least two biasing devices constrain a pivoting range of the at least two arms between a maximum area of overlap with the at least one electrically conductive member and a minimum area of overlap with the at least one electrically conductive member; and
wherein a rear of each of the at least two arms abuts with a front of another one of the at least two arms when the rotor is stationary; and
a spool of line, the eddy-current braking mechanism being coupled to the spool of line for rotation therewith.