Space saver compartments with mechanical crank device

[davidbdix]

Greetings. I am a woodworker, and i build lockboxes with hidden compartments and complicated homemade magnetic locks. On my current lockbox, i am trying to design a "box of compartments", 16 compartments to be precise. included is a quick top view (looking down) design. there are actually 15 compartments and one empty space (the empty space is same size as the other compartments). what i want to happen is by turning a 'hand crank' or some type of similar device, the compartment to the right of the open space moves to that open space. as the crank continues to turn, the next compartment moves over. (e.g. 12 moves to slot 11, then 10 moves to slot 11, and so on). there are a couple of issues i am facing. what kind of trigger mechanism can i use? as the hand crank turns and the first compartment moves into the open space, i need some type of trigger mechanism to "tell" the next compartment to move into the open space? another issue is how to get these compartments to turn the square corners. i thought about using a 'track' that makes turns, and each compartment would have 2 points that fit into the track. as the compartment moves into the corner, the point facing the movement direction would jump to the next track. I am stuck on this idea. i know there's a solution, but i can't see it right now.

 

[rinardman]

What is the purpose of this "box of compartments"? And, do you intend for the mechanism to be hidden?

The only solution I can see is to use round "boxes". That would eliminate the problem of turning corners, and you might be able to use chain & sprockets to move them around inside the box.

 

[davidbdix]

the purpose is to use as many compartments in one given space, and have them hidden, so only a couple are accessible at one time. the other purpose for the entire project is to use as many mechanical devices i can come up with and build them.

 

[rinardman]

the other purpose for the entire project is to use as many mechanical devices i can come up with and build them.

That's good, because I'm thinking it will take a lot of devices, almost clockworks complex, to make it work with the square boxes. Any idea of the final size of this project? Do you have the means to make gears?

 

[davidbdix]

yes, I've made gears with the bandsaw, but now have all the templates to make a complete wooden clock. the corners will probably be rounded over with the router to make the directional change in the corners easier.

 

[Kenneth Mann]

Can I suggest keeping it as simple as possible, and having the "boxes" not turn at all. Simply move each box in either an "X" direction or a "Y" direction as needed, much like the little plastic hand-held puzzle device that was once popular on the market. Then, something like a set of simple ratchets might be employed, to move boxes, in either one direction or the other. Each complete move would take about eight or nine steps. To reach the most "distant" box would take fifteen such moves, assuming every move was always in the same direction. (If bi-directional, it would only take half the number.) The trick would be to control the sequencing of such moves, if you want it to be all done automatically and not manually.

KM