1. A carriage-on-base system, the carriage configured to support an item to be winched along the base, the carriage having a plurality of depending housings, and a plurality of sliders fixed in respective housings, the base having rails engaged by the sliders with lower surface profiles of the sliders matched to upper surface profile of the rails which the sliders engage, the profiles of the rails and the sliders at the engagement thereof preventing movement of the carriage relative to the rails other than sliding movement of the carriage along the rails, each of the sliders being a section of an extrusion, each section being fixed in the respective housing thereof solely by bounding parts of the housing.
2. A system as claimed in claim 1, the sliders made of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE).
3. The system as claimed in claim 1, the carriage having four sliders disposed in a rectangular array, the rails being two parallel rails with one pair of sliders in sliding engagement with one of the rails and the other pair of sliders in sliding engagement with the other rail.
4. The system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising end caps at the ends of each housing to hold the respective slider within the housing.
5. The system as claimed in claim 1, the housings having mounting structures projecting upwardly therefrom, the mounting structures having bunks attached thereto for supporting and guiding a load to be winched along the base.
6. The system as claimed in claim 5, the bunks being rigid extruded aluminum structures, a bearing surface of the structures being covered with a compressible material for protecting a lower surface of a load to be supported by the carriage.
7. The system as claimed in claim 1, the rails being of I-beam form, the upright of the I-beam being hollow, a tongue member fixed in an open end of at least one of the I-beam rails and having a projecting tongue for fixture within an open end of another I-beam to make a concatenated rail system.
8. The system as claimed in claim 1, the carriage having an anchor point at each of the front and rear ends thereof for attachment thereto of retrieve and launch cables.
9. A carriage-on-base system, the carriage configured to support an item to be winched along the base, the carriage having a plurality of depending housings, and a plurality of sliders fixed in respective housings, the base having rails engaged by the sliders with lower surface profiles of the sliders matched to upper surface profile of the rails, the profiles of the rails and the sliders at the engagement thereof preventing movement of the carriage relative to the rails other than sliding movement of the carriage along the rails, the housings having mounting structures projecting upwardly therefrom, the carriage being of generally V-form cross section, the mounting structures having first and second bunks attached thereto for supporting and guiding a load to be winched along the base, the first and second bunks located at respective extremities of the V, the carriage having supporting struts extending inwardly and downwardly from the housings to a central spine member of the carriage.
10. The system as claimed in claim 9, the spine member being hollow and accommodating a winch cable.
11. A carriage-on-base system, the carriage configured to support an item to be winched along the base, the carriage having a plurality of depending housings, and a plurality of sliders fixed in respective housings, the base having rails engaged by the sliders with lower surface profiles of the sliders matched to upper surface profile of the rails which the sliders engage, the profiles of the rails and the sliders at the engagement of the sliders with the rails preventing movement of the carriage relative to the rails other than sliding movement of the carriage along the rails, the sliders made of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), the rails being of I-beam form, the upright of the I-beam being hollow, a tongue member fixed in the open end of at least one of the I-beam rails and having a projecting tongue for fixture within the open end of another I-beam to make a concatenated rail system, the base having a plurality of legs, the legs having feet at lower ends thereof and mounts at upper ends thereof connecting the legs to lower faces of the I-beam rails, the legs being telescopic to enable leg length adjustment.
12. A carriage-on-base system, the carriage configured to support an item to be winched along the base, the carriage having a plurality of depending housings, and a plurality of sliders fixed in respective housings, the base having rails engaged by the sliders with lower surface profiles of the sliders matched to upper surface profile of the rails which sliders engage, the profiles of the rails and the sliders at the engagement of the sliders with the rails preventing movement of the carriage relative to the rails other than sliding movement of the carriage along the rails, the carriage having an anchor point at each of the front and rear ends thereof for attachment thereto of retrieve and launch cables, further comprising a winch mounted on the base having the retrieve cable wound thereon in a first direction and the launch cable wound thereon in a second direction opposite to the first direction, the retrieve cable extending from the winch to the anchor point at a front end of the carriage, the launch cable extending from the winch to a guiding sheave on the base, from the guiding sheave to a second sheave near a rear end of the base and back from the second sheave to the anchor point at a rear end of the carriage.
13. The system as claimed in claim 12, further comprising a spring mechanism between the base and a mounting for the second sheave for maintaining the launch cable taut.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A disposable blade support assembly for a power operated rotary knife, the disposable blade support assembly comprising:
a) a blade housing portion including an annular ring and an annular groove in a bottom surface of the annular ring;
b) an annular rotary knife blade supported for rotation within the annular groove of the blade housing portion, the annular rotary knife blade having first and second axially spaced apart ends and an annular body extending therebetween, the annular body including an annular body support section adjacent the first end, the annular body support section defining a plurality of gear teeth at the first end, the annular body further including an annular blade section adjacent the second end, the annular blade section defining a cutting edge at the second end; and
c) a retainer securing and rotatably supporting the annular body support section of the annular rotary knife blade within the annular groove, the retainer affixed within the annular groove and including an upper wall, a first plurality of tabs and a second plurality of tabs, wherein the first plurality of tabs extend from the upper wall and have an interference fit with a wall of the annular groove to permanently affix the retainer within the annular groove and further wherein the second plurality of tabs extend from the upper wall and define a bearing race to rotatably support the annular body of the annular rotary knife blade.
2. The disposable blade support assembly of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of tabs have the interference fit with a radially outer wall of the annular groove.
3. The disposable blade support assembly of claim 1, wherein the second plurality of tabs each includes first and second portions forming a generally L-shaped radially inwardly facing bearing race.
4. A disposable blade support assembly for a power operated rotary knife, the disposable blade support assembly comprising:
a) a blade housing portion including an annular ring and an annular groove in a bottom surface of the annular ring;
b) an annular rotary knife blade supported for rotation within the annular groove of the blade housing portion, the annular rotary knife blade having first and second axially spaced apart ends and an annular body extending therebetween, the annular body including an annular body support section adjacent the first end, the annular body support section defining a plurality of gear teeth at the first end, the annular body further including an annular blade section adjacent the second end, the annular blade section defining a cutting edge at the second end; and
c) a retainer securing and rotatably supporting the annular body support section of the annular rotary knife blade within the annular groove, the retainer affixed within the annular groove and including an upper wall, a first plurality of tabs and a second plurality of tabs, wherein the first plurality of tabs contact a wall of the annular groove to permanently affix the retainer within the annular groove and further wherein the second plurality of tabs define a bearing race to rotatably support the annular body of the annular rotary knife blade.
5. The disposable blade support assembly of claim 4, wherein the first plurality of tabs have an interference fit with a radially outer wall of the annular groove.
6. The disposable blade support assembly of claim 4, wherein the second plurality of tabs each includes first and second portions forming a generally L-shaped radially inwardly facing bearing race.
7. The disposable blade support assembly of claim 4, wherein the first plurality of tabs extend from the upper wall of the retainer.
8. The disposable blade support assembly of claim 7, wherein the first plurality of tabs have an interference fit with a radially outer wall of the annular groove.
9. The disposable blade support assembly of claim 4, wherein the second plurality of tabs extend from the upper wall of the retainer.
10. The disposable blade support assembly of claim 9, wherein the second plurality of tabs each includes first and second portions forming a generally L-shaped radially inwardly facing bearing race.
11. A disposable blade support assembly for a power operated rotary knife including a handle assembly including an elongated handle defining a longitudinal throughbore and an interface element at a distal end of the handle assembly along a longitudinal axis of the handle assembly, the disposable blade support assembly comprising:
a) a head portion;
b) a blade housing portion extending from a distal end of the head portion, the blade housing portion including an annular ring and defining an annular groove in a bottom surface of the annular ring;
c) an annular rotary knife blade permanently supported for rotation within the annular groove of the blade housing portion, the annular rotary knife blade having first and second axially spaced apart ends and an annular body extending therebetween, the annular body including an annular body support section adjacent the first end, the annular body support section defining a plurality of gear teeth at the first end, the annular body further including an annular blade section adjacent the second end, the annular blade section defining a cutting edge at the second end;
d) a drive gear mechanism rotatably supported within the head portion and including a plurality of gear teeth that mesh with the plurality of gear teeth of the annular body support section to rotate the annular rotary knife blade; and
e) a retainer structure including a retainer rotatably supporting the annular body support section of the annular rotary knife blade within the annular groove, the retainer permanently affixed within the annular groove,
wherein the retainer includes an upper wall, a first plurality of tabs and a second plurality of tabs, wherein the first plurality of tabs extend from the upper wall and contact a wall of the annular groove to affix the retainer within the annular groove and wherein the second plurality of tabs extend from the upper wall and define a bearing race to rotatable support the annular body support section of the annular rotary knife blade.
12. The disposable blade support assembly of claim 11 further including an interface structure disposed at a proximal end of the blade support assembly, the interface structure engaging the interface element of the handle assembly to releasably attach the blade support assembly to the handle assembly.
13. The disposable blade support assembly of claim 12, wherein the interface structure includes a socket disposed at a proximal end of the blade support assembly, the socket releasably receiving the interface element of the handle assembly to releasably attach the blade support assembly to the handle assembly.
14. The disposable blade support assembly of claim 11, wherein the first plurality of tabs of the retainer extend radially outwardly and downwardly from the upper wall, the second plurality of tabs extend radially outwardly and downwardly from the upper wall and have an interference fit with the wall of the annular groove, and the second plurality of tabs each has first and second portions forming a generally L-shaped radially inwardly facing bearing, the generally L-shaped radially inwardly facing bearing defines the bearing race to rotatably support the annular body support section of the blade.
15. The disposable blade support assembly of claim 14, wherein for each of the second plurality of tabs, the first portion extends axially downwardly along a radially outer surface of the annular body support section of the annular rotary knife blade and the second portion extends radially inwardly along a lower surface of the annular body support section of the annular rotary knife blade.
16. The disposable blade support assembly of claim 11, wherein the drive gear mechanism includes a cylindrically-shaped pinion gear supported for rotation in an interior region in the head portion, the plurality of gear teeth of the drive gear mechanism comprising axially extending teeth defined at a first end of the pinion gear, the drive gear mechanism further including a drive shaft extending from the pinion gear into the longitudinal throughbore of the handle assembly.
17. The disposable blade support assembly of claim 16, wherein the drive mechanism further includes retaining ring adjacent a second end of the pinion gear, the retaining ring including a plurality of radially outward extending tabs that bear against an interior wall of the head portion defining the head portion interior region to secure the pinion gear within the interior region.
18. The disposable blade support assembly of claim 16, wherein the drive shaft extends proximally from the pinion gear beyond the proximal end of the disposable blade support assembly and wherein a ring-shaped bushing is disposed within an opening defined by the interface element, the bushing including a central opening sized to receive the drive shaft and rotatably supporting the drive shaft and the pinion gear for rotation within the head portion.
19. The disposable blade support assembly of claim 11, wherein the head portion and the blade housing portion comprise a unitary, one-piece structure.
20. The disposable blade support assembly of claim 11, wherein the first plurality of tabs have an interference fit with a radially outer wail of the annular groove.