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crazy cam

Original Post
eli poss · · Durango, CO · Joined May 2014 · Points: 525

so i have been trying to research about the springs in SLCDs and i was looking at some of the patents when i came across i cam that i've never heard of or seen before. This patent was taken out by Greg Lowe. does anybody have any info on this device? was it ever produced commercially? if not, why?

nathanael · · Riverside, CA · Joined May 2011 · Points: 525

Looks like the predecessors to the OP Link Cam

ACR · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2011 · Points: 590

Eli,
In the 70s there were a lot of "proof of concept" patents and ideas floating around. The cam pictured was an early exercise in maintaining a constant cam angle through a greater expansion range. The math and engineering behind the unit are sound but any later production version would have likely been much different.
There were a lot of smart people developing ideas for active gear around the same time. Lowe was an early pioneer and many of his ideas were liberally "borrowed" or, as some say... " refined" by others into what we use today.
The latest cams owe a lot to Lowe, Jardine, Forrest, Waggoner, and others.

eli poss · · Durango, CO · Joined May 2014 · Points: 525

so it was kind of like how da vinci had schematics for thing that he didn't know how to build or couldn't build?

teece303 · · Highlands Ranch, CO · Joined Dec 2012 · Points: 596

This is always listed as the "almost first" SLCD, but it never had any commercial success and it was apparently really hard to use in practice.

Every history of camming devices I've read mentions the Lowe camming device, failure that it was.

bobbin · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2009 · Points: 0

The OP's post links to a Lowe patent from 1985 that is sort of a double double lobe cam.

The 1985 patent cites both the original Lowe patent and the Jardine Friend patent. The original Lowe patent that you are thinking of is (first camming device, but not fully practical) from 1973 for a single lobe cam and is here: google.com/patents/US3877679 . The Jardine Friend patent is here: google.com/patents/US4184657

ACR · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2011 · Points: 590

Yep. The same idea holds...
Many patents were taken out. Some were successful and some weren't but they were all part of the evolution of ideas. The link cam may trace its roots back to several cool ideas through the years.

There has always been some discussion about who was first with the original idea for cams. I think what was ultimately important (from the average gear buying climber) was "who gave us an affordable and practical model"

Cam development had some crazy "dead ends" and unique things that actually made it to production.
Jokers! Bivos! Crack Jumars, Kirks Kams.... to name a few. I'll post a few pictures when I get to my laptop.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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