1. An axle assembly for an in-line skate for retaining a wheel and a pair of bearings in a chassis of the in-line skate, comprising
an elongated spacer hub, for supporting a bearing at each end portion thereof;
an elongated male coupler, for bearing on a first side wall of the in-line skate chassis; and
an elongated female coupler, for bearing on an opposing second side wall of the in-line skate chassis; wherein
said male and female couplers are insertable inwardly through axle bores of the chassis then through opposite ends of said spacer hub to obtain an assembled condition in which the wheel and pair of bearings are retained in said chassis;
said male and female couplers are provided with means for interlocking with each other when in said assembled condition, to prevent outwardly movement of the couplers; and
said elongated spacer hub is provided with
support surfaces at each end for supporting said bearings,
spacing shoulders for limiting insertion of said spacer hub ends into said bearings,
a locking chamber, in which said coupler interlocking means are located when said axle assembly is assembled,
coupler shaft receiving cylinders extending from each spacer hub end and communicating with said locking chamber, and
locking arm entry grooves, extending lengthwise along sidewalls of each coupler shaft receiving cylinder, for aligning said male and female couplers during assembly.
2. The axle assembly as defined in claim 1, wherein said male coupler is insertable into either end of said elongated spacer hub and said female coupler is insertable into the remaining end.
3. The axle assembly as defined in claim 1, wherein
said elongated male coupler and said elongated female coupler are provided with opposing locking arms for interacting with said locking arm entry grooves for aligning said couplers with said spacer hub.
4. The axle assembly as defined in claim 3, wherein
said elongated female coupler is provided with interlocking grooves and interlocking groove extensions for interlocking with said opposing locking arms of said elongated male coupler.
5. The axle assembly as defined in claim 1, wherein said elongated male coupler and said elongated female coupler are each provided with a head for limiting the insertion of the coupler into the spacer hub, and wings for facilitating rotation of said couplers about a central longitudinal axis of each coupler, by a user during assembly.
6. The axle assembly as defined in claim 1, wherein said elongated spacer hub, said elongated male coupler, and said elongated female coupler are fabricated of a material selected from steel, stainless steel, aluminum, titanium, and magnesium.
7. An axle assembly for an in-line skate for retaining a wheel and a pair of bearings in a chassis of the in-line skate, comprising
an elongated spacer hub, for supporting a bearing at each end portion thereof,
an elongated male coupler, for bearing on a first side wall of the in-line skate chassis, and
an elongated female coupler, for bearing on an opposing second side wall of the in-line skate chassis, wherein
said elongated male and female couplers are insertable inwardly through axle bores of the chassis then through opposite ends of said spacer hub to obtain an assembled condition in which the wheel and pair of bearings are retained in said chassis by coupler interlocking means;
said spacer hub is provided with
support surfaces at each end for supporting said bearings,
spacing shoulders for limiting insertion of said spacer hub ends into said bearings,
a locking chamber, in which said coupler interlocking means are located when said axle assembly is assembled,
coupler shaft receiving cylinders extending from each spacer hub end and communicating with said locking chamber, and
locking arm entry grooves, extending lengthwise along sidewalls of each coupler shaft receiving cylinder, for aligning said male and female couplers during assembly;
said elongated male and female couplers are provided with opposing locking arms for interacting with said locking arm entry grooves for aligning said couplers with said spacer hub; and
said elongated female coupler is provided with interlocking grooves and interlocking groove extensions for interlocking with said opposing locking arms of said elongated male coupler when in said assembled condition, to prevent outwardly movement of the couplers.
8. An in-line skate having a skate boot, a skate chassis, and a plurality of bearings and wheels attached to said chassis by means of a plurality of axle assemblies, each axle assembly comprising,
an elongated spacer hub, for supporting a bearing at each end portion thereof;
an elongated male coupler, for bearing on a first side wall of the in-line skate chassis; and
an elongated female coupler, for bearing on an opposing second side wall of the in-line skate chassis; wherein
said male and female couplers are insertable inwardly through axle bores of the chassis then through opposite ends of said spacer hub to obtain an assembled condition in which the wheel and pair of bearings are retained in said chassis;
said male and female couplers are provided with means for interlocking with each other when in said assembled condition, to prevent outwardly movement of the couplers;
said spacer hub is provided with
support surfaces at each end for supporting said bearings,
spacing shoulders for limiting insertion of said spacer hub ends into said bearings,
a locking chamber, in which said coupler interlocking means are located when said axle assembly is assembled,
coupler shaft receiving cylinders extending from each spacer hub end and communicating with said locking chamber, and
locking arm entry grooves, extending lengthwise along sidewalls of each coupler shaft receiving cylinder, for aligning said male and female couplers during assembly;
said elongated male and female couplers are provided with opposing locking arms for interacting with said locking arm entry grooves for aligning said couplers with said spacer hub; and
said elongated female coupler is provided with interlocking grooves and interlocking groove extensions for interlocking with said opposing locking arms of said elongated male coupler when in said assembled condition, to prevent outwardly movement of the couplers.
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 controller for moving magnetic material, the controller comprising:
a first bridge rectifier;
a second bridge rectifier;
a reactance element;
a resistance element;
a first set of contactors capable of opening and closing a first circuit, the first circuit including the first bridge rectifier, the reactance element, and the resistance element; and,
a second set of contactors capable of opening and closing a second circuit, the second circuit including the second bridge rectifier.
2. The controller of claim 1 wherein the second circuit includes the reactance element.
3. The controller of claim 1 wherein the second circuit includes the resistance element.
4. The controller of claim 1 further comprising a second resistance element.
5. The controller of claim 4 wherein the second circuit includes the second resistance element.
6. The controller of claim 5 wherein the second circuit includes the second resistance element and the reactance element.
7. The controller of claim 1 further comprising at least one pair of contactors.
8. The controller of claim 7 wherein the at least one pair of contactors are capable of closing a third circuit, the third circuit including the reactance element.
9. The controller of claim 7 further comprising at least a second pair of contactors.
10. The controller of claim 9 wherein the second pair of contactors are capable of closing a fourth circuit, the fourth circuit including the reactance element.
11. The controller of claim 9 further comprising a second reactance element.
12. The controller of claim 11 wherein the second pair of contactors are capable of closing a fourth circuit, the fourth circuit including the second reactance element.
13. The controller of claim 1 wherein the reactance element is a control transformer.
14. The controller of claim 1 further comprising a transformer.
15. The controller of claim 1 further. comprising an inverter.
16. The controller of claim 1 further comprising a dual gated dual silicon controlled rectifier.
17. A system for moving magnetic material, the system comprising:
a power supply;
a generator having an armature coupled to a magnet capable of lifting, moving, and dropping magnetic material;
a first set of contactors, the first set of contactors being configured to open and close a first circuit between the power source and the generator coupled to the magnet to start and stop a lifting sequence, wherein the first circuit includes
a first bridge rectifier;
a reactance element; and,
a resistance element;
a second set of contactors, the second set of contactors, the second set of contactors being configured to open and close a second circuit between the power source and the generator coupled to the magnet to start and stop a dropping sequence, wherein the second circuit includes
a second bridge rectifier; and,
at least one pair of contactors, the at least one pair of contactors being configured to open and close a third circuit, the third circuit including the reactance element and the generator.
18. The system of claim 17 wherein the power supply is a DC power supply.
19. The system of claim 18 further comprising a DC-to-AC converter connected to the DC power supply in series.
20. The system of claim 19 further comprising a transformer wherein a primary winding of the transformer is connected to the output of the AC-to-DC converter.
21. The system of claim 17 wherein the second circuit includes the resistance element.
22. The system of claim 17 further comprising a second resistance element, wherein the second circuit includes the second resistance element.
23. The system of claim 17 wherein the second circuit includes the reactance element.
24. The system of claim 17 further comprising at least a second pair of contactors, the second pair of contactors being configured to open and close a fourth circuit.
25. The system of claim 24 further comprising a second reactance element.
26. The system of claim 25 wherein the second circuit includes the second reactance element.
27. The system of claim 25 wherein the fourth circuit includes the second reactance element.
28. The system of claim 17 wherein the discharge circuit further includes at least one of the first bridge rectifier and the second bridge rectifier.
29. The system of claim 17 wherein the reactance element is a control transformer.
30. The system of claim 17 further comprising a dual gated dual silicon controlled rectifier connected to at least one of the contactors forming the pair of contactors.
31. A method of moving magnetic material, the method comprising the steps of:
closing a first set of contactors to complete a first circuit between a power source and a generator having an armature coupled to a magnet capable of lifting, moving, and dropping magnetic material to lift magnetic material;
lifting the magnetic material;
opening the first set of contactors;
closing a second set of contactors to complete a second circuit between the power source and the generator couple to the magnet to drop the magnetic material;
dropping the magnetic material;
opening the second set of contactors;
closing a pair of contactors to complete a third circuit between the generator and a reactance element.
32. The method of claim 31 further comprising the step of providing DC voltage from the power source.
33. The method of claim 32 further comprising the step of converting the DC voltage to AC voltage.
34. The method of claim 33 further comprising the step of stepping the AC voltage up or down using a transformer.
35. A method of moving magnetic material, the method comprising the steps of:
closing a first set of contactors to complete a first circuit between a power source and a generator having an armature coupled to a magnet capable of lifting, moving, and dropping magnetic material to lift magnetic material;
lifting the magnetic material;
closing a pair of contactors to complete a third circuit between the generator and a reactance element;
opening the first set of contactors;
discharging any remaining power in the generator;
opening the pair of contactors;
closing a second set of contactors to complete a second circuit between the power source and the generator coupled to the magnet to drop the magnetic material;
dropping the magnetic material;
closing a second pair of contactors to complete a fourth circuit between the generator and the reactance element;
opening the second set of contactors;
discharging any remaining power in the generator; and,
opening the pair of contactors.
36. The method of claim 35 further comprising the step of providing DC voltage from the power source.
37. The method of claim 36 further comprising the step of converting the DC voltage to AC voltage.
38. The method of claim 37 further comprising the step of stepping the AC voltage up or down using a transformer.