The Swinging Gym - model for an effective gravity wheel?

[Harvey]

Thanks David,

I'll check into that when I get back.

[Matos de Matos]

Hi David,

You partially have it correct on the right half of the rotation, but the left side is way off.

The reason for staying close to the arc perimeter on the way up, as well as on the way down, is to provide leverage and inertial thrust.

That would be too difficult, and too dangerous, for a Swinging Gym rider, so at about 10 o'clock the rider instead begins moving quickly towards the right side of the cage, making it to the middle by 11 o'clock, and fully to the right by 12 o'clock. This is the precise method used by any experienced rider to rotate the Swinging Gym. And, being an experienced rider myself, I assure you that this works quite well. Therefore, any proposals for mimicking the necessary human movements should provide not only for up and down weight shifting, but also shifting along a horizontal plane from cage side to side at the correct timing points.

Rick

Hi Rick:

In fact double fulcrums increase the radius substantially, compared with a single fulcrum.
I am assuming that your purpose is to mechanical mimic the swinging gym.
If we have an acrobatic and fast rider, I think the next picture shows your experience.



Ideally, in my opinion would be like this.



If my opinion is right, the rider stays all the time on the right side of the cage, clock wise rotation and on the left if reversed.
I centered the cage, and limited the movement to up and down.
Thank you
David

[rickoff]

If we have an acrobatic and fast rider, I think the next picture shows your experience.

[ATTACH]6100[/ATTACH]

Actually, no. This is not what I described. I thought I had explained it clearly, but I guess not. Your attachment shows the rider standing at full height at the bottom, and that is just the opposite of what I stated. When I get back home probably next Tuesday) I will make a drawing clearly showing the rider positions.

Ideally, in my opinion would be like this.

[ATTACH]6101[/ATTACH]

If my opinion is right, the rider stays all the time on the right side of the cage

I spent the entire summer of 1958, with a friend, perfecting the best means of rotating the Swinging Gym. It was our favorite ride at the amusement park, and we went on it several times every day, all summer long. It was a matter of trial and error, and believe me we tried everything conceivable to improve on rotational speed. We did try working the cage from just one side, as you suggest, but found it way more difficult and much less productive than when shifting from side to side. We became so adept at it that the ride operator began allowing us to ride for free, since he realized it was the best way possible to promote the ride to other people, and in the end he made a lot of money off of our efforts. This is kind of like riding a bike, in that once you get it right you never forget the method. I've shared what I learned from actual and considerable experience, regarding the Swinging Gym, and you can certainly disregard that knowledge if you feel it doesn't make sense to you. That's fine by me, but you will have a really tough time trying to convince me that the method which I have described is faulty.

Oh, and why is it that you say your country will not let you do any prototypes? Is prototype building illegal there?

Best regards,

Rick

[Matos de Matos]

Oh, and why is it that you say your country will not let you do any prototypes? Is prototype building illegal there?

Best regards,

Rick

I live in Luanda, angola, Southern Africa, and we lack everything.
Even if i find some parts, imported, there is no good machine shops or even skilled mechanists.
One 1.5 L botled water costs almost 2 USD and is imported.
David

[broli]

Very informative thread. I have simulated some of Matos de Matos illustrations and they can spin. Even the standard pendulum rule, ie standing at 6 and crouching at 12 can make it spin.

I'm not sure what rickoff is proposing but I believe he's suggesting to use an additional dimensions namely left and right movement on top of up and down?

I could simulate them all next to each other to see which is most effective.

[Matos de Matos]

Your attachment shows the rider standing at full height at the bottom, and that is just the opposite of what I stated. When I get back home probably next Tuesday) I will make a drawing clearly showing the rider positions.

Best regards,

Rick

I draw it simple, but you are right, it should go like anelipse up towards the left, in the direction of centrifugal force and up.

Hi Broli

You are simulation with what tool?
Can you simulate my last thread:
http://www.energeticforum.com/renewa...how-i-see.html
Thanks
David

[rickoff]

Hi folks,

I spotted a possible opportunity to take some video of a Swinging Gym at the Bangor, Maine fairgrounds last week. It's a large annual fair where they have many amusement rides that could be seen from the highway as I was passing by on the way to my cottage. Hoping that they might have the Swinging Gym setup there, and having my video camera with me, I diverted course to the main entrance. Upon walking in at the main gate, I was surprised to learn that they were asking $10 simply for admittance. In earlier years I cannot remember paying a fee to get in, and only had to pay for the rides or games that I participated in. I explained that I was only there to take some video of the Swinging Gym, if they happened to have one, and that it would only take me a few minutes. I also told them that I wouldn't mind paying the $10 ticket price if I could be assured that they did have a Swinging Gym, but that I would not pay otherwise. After some haggling, and a call from them to the ride operators, they could not determine whether or not they had a Swinging Gym, so agreed to let me in for a few minutes to have a look. Unfortunately, although they did have several rotational rides set up, no Swinging Gym was to be found. I'll keep looking for one at some of the other fairs that I run across, and hopefully will find one in operation. It may be, though, as I stated earlier, that the Swinging Gym has been discontinued due to concerns over lawsuits filed by persons injured while using the apparatus incorrectly, and perhaps they have actually been banned in certain areas or states for that reason. So, back to the drawing board for the time being. I am working on some drawings that will illustrate the actual human movements used for both rocking and rotating the Swinging Gym, and will post those as soon as they are ready.

Best 2 all,

Rick

[rickoff]

Swinging Gym Startup

Before the Swinging Gym can be rotated, a start-up sequence must be performed by the operator to increasingly swing the cage higher and higher until it is possible to go over the top dead center, or 0 degree mark. Thus, the operator must alternately swing the cage left and right by the method explained herein. Please refer to the following image:




Explanation of diagrams:

Figure 1: Before entering the Swinging Gym cage, the cage is at rest centered over the 180 degree mark, as shown by the dotted cage outline. Upon entering the cage, the human operator moves to the right side of cage, as shown in diagram a. Due to imbalance, the cage moves to the left to restore balance. Due to momentum, the cage will actually swing past the position of true balance before stopping, and will then reverse direction of swing. The objective is for the operator to move as quickly as possible to the other side of the cage just prior to swing reversal.

Figure 2: Diagram b shows that the operator has suddenly moved to the left side of the cage to shift weight. The cage has reversed direction, and is moving to the right. Diagram c shows the operator extending an arm in anticipation of a move towards the right side of cage as the cage nears its extent of movement. For safety reasons, it is always imperative that at least one hand is grasping a side bar firmly.

Figure 3: In diagram d, the operator has made a quick move to the right side of cage to shift weight. As the cage swings left, the operator stoops down and pulls on the right side bar while beginning to reach for the left sidebar. In diagram e,the operator moves to center of cage, has knees bent, is pulling on the right side bar, and pushing up on the left sidebar as the cage reaches the 180 degree mark. This additional effort increases the speed and momentum of the cage swing. As the cage continues swinging left past 180 degrees, diagram f shows the operator moving towards the left side of cage and standing taller while continuing to push against the side bar.

Figure 4: At the full extent of leftward swing, the operator is standing full height at the left side of cage in diagram g, and cage swing reverses towards the right. In diagram h, the operator begins to stoop lower, pulls on the left side bar, and begins reaching for the right sidebar. Diagram i shows the operator half way through a weight shift and pulling down on the left side bar while pushing up on the right side bar. In diagram j, the operator continues moving to the right side of cage while standing taller and pushing up on the right side bar. Diagram k

My next post will show how the operator continues movement past 270 degrees, and over the top to begin full and continuing rotations.

[rickoff]

Swinging Gym rotation

My previous post showed how a human operator starts up the Swinging Gym by swinging the cage from side to side while increasingly swinging higher. To achieve rotation, and continue rotation, the human operator moves as shown and explained herein. Please refer to the following diagram, and keep in mind that there is actually only one cage involved, but that the diagram shows positions of that cage in twelve 30 degree increments:



Explanation of diagrams:

Upon reaching the 90 degree arc position, the operator turns to place his or her back firmly against the right side of cage. This positions the operator's weight for the maximum leverage avantage possible, while also preparing the operator for rapid movement towards the opposite side of cage. As the cage swings downward from the 90 degree position, the operator begins stooping lower in the cage by bending knees as shown at the 120 degree position, which places the weight concentration closer to the outer perimeter of the cage swing arc. At the 150 degree position, the operator continues to stoop lower and pulls on the cage's right side bar while advancing towards the middle of cage. At 180 degrees, the operator is centered in the cage and stooped to lowest position while pulling down on the right side bar and pushing up on the left side bar. The movements between 150, 180, and 210 degree positions are naturally more fluid than shown by the diagrams, with the operator continually leaning and moving leftward. At 210 and 240 degrees the operator is at the left side of cage and extending the knees to stand taller. At 270 degrees, the operator turns to face the opposite side of cage, placing his or her weight firmly against the left side of cage to attain a positioning of weight distributed at the outside perimeter of the swing arc. Whether the cage swings further upward, or begins swinging downward at this point, the operator is in the best position to retain or increase momentum. If the swing arc reached 90 degrees on the right side, then it should go higher than 270 degrees on the left side, so let's say the cage is now at the 300 degree position and moving towards 330 degrees. At this height, remaining at the left side of the cage becomes a liability, so he or she must begin quickly moving to the right side in order to maintain forward momentum for as long as possible. If the cage should stop, and reverse direction before reaching 360 degrees, the operator must quickly return to the left side of cage. Those who do make it to the top find that the cage will slow to nearly a dead stop as it approaches 360 degrees, and that only by throwing the body weight hard against the right side of the cage are they able to get over the top and rotate downwards. As soon as the top is cleared, the operator should turn to place his or her back against the right side of cage, and maintain a full upright position. It would be even more advantageous at the 0, 30, and 60 degree positions to jump up, grab the top of the cage, and hoist the body upwards as high as possible to get closer to the arc perimeter, but this would be too dangerous to attempt. Furthermore, once over the top, it takes less effort to maintain rotation than it did to reach the top the first time around. The operator continues a clockwise rotation by means of the body movements shown at each successive 30 degree diagram, and increases speed of rotation by exerting more emphasis on pulling down and pushing up the cage sides while stooping and extending the body.

As mentioned earlier, one can feel quite physically exhausted through the efforts it takes just to reach the top, but once over the top it is relatively easy to maintain rotation if the body movements are applied correctly. While the Swinging Gym is purposely constructed to give the operator a tough workout, it could just as well be made to ease the burden of the operator by affixing heavier counterweights on the suspension arms, or lengthening the extensions of the counterweights. For example, the cage alone, even though counterweighted somewhat, has enough weight to easily return it to bottom dead center (180 degrees) with no operator aboard. Let's say that the cage weight, minus the counterweights, is perhaps 50 pounds. If a 150 pound adult operator enters the cage, he or she must not only lift their own weight, but the extra 50 pounds as well, for a total of 200 pounds, and that requires considerable exertion. If the counterweights were increased to the point where the operator only had to lift 50 pounds, for example, the effort required by the operator would be just 1/4 of the previous amount. Reducing the effort required further below 50 pounds of lift would have a drawback, though, in that loss of weight induced momentum would make it difficult to achieve rotations capable of performing any useful work.

Hopefully, these last two posts will make it easier for all readers to visualize the methods of swinging and rotating the Swinging Gym, and to understand the human movements necessary. One could attempt to build a full size, or scaled down, version of the Swinging Gym and rig an apparatus to mimick the human movements of weight shifting, but there is another way to accomplish weight shifting on the up and down sides of rotation that would be much simpler to facilitate, and I will talk about that in my next post while explaining how and why the Swinging Gym may well be the ideal model for a self running gravity mill if adapted properly.

Best 2 all,

Rick