Most people think of a pulley as something that is used to lift heavy objects, but pulleys can also be used for other purposes. But, There are many ways to use a pulley around the house.
A pulley is a simple machine that can be used to change the direction or magnitude of a force. It can be used to lift heavy objects, move furniture, or even open and close blinds.
In this blog post, we’ll explore some of the Un-Noticed Pulley Examples at Home which make our life easier.
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Pulley Examples Used at Home-
There are some pulley simple machine examples inside our home which unnoticed most of the time. Here, I am giving you 12 examples of the pulley which is usually used inside our home and they are-
- Adjustable Clothesline
- Hanging Light
- Sliding Door
- Elevators
- Cable Machine Exercise Equipment
- Fishing Rod
- Window Curtains
- Sliding Window
- Garage Door
- Window Blinds
- Dumbwaiter
- Sewing Machine
1. Adjustable Clothesline-
The average household does a lot of laundry. The typical clothesline is designed for maximum sun exposure and fast drying times. However, not everyone has the same needs.
An adjustable clothesline can be a great solution for those who want to save energy and money.
An adjustable clothesline can be a great solution for those who have limited space. By adjusting the height and width, you can maximize the amount of laundry that can be hung.
Now, the question is- How does it use a pulley and all?
So, When you set up your adjustable clothesline at your ceiling or your chosen place, you will have seen a pulley connected at the top of the hook with rope, going all along to your rotating lever to move your clothesline up and down.
When you rotate your lever, the initial force transfers into the rope which further rotates the pulley, and your clothesline comes down to hang your wet clothes or to take off your dried clothes and again visa-versa.
Sorry for the picture, I don’t have an exact image.
2. Hanging Light-
Hanging lights are a type of light fixture that is suspended from the ceiling by a cord, chain, or metal rod. They are often used in bedrooms, living rooms, dens, and other areas at your ceiling.
Hanging lights come in a variety of styles, including chandeliers, pendants, and lanterns with adjustable heights.
When you pull the light, it increases its length and comes near you due to the rope and pulley system.
Now, you may ask How does it work?
So, Here is your answer- When you apply initial force to the hanging light, it gets transferred into the rope attached to a pulley and extra rolled rope increases light length.
3. Sliding Door-
We all have sliding doors in our houses or if not, You have definitely seen a sliding door in your friend’s or relative house.
These doors look premium and most importantly, it doesn’t consume the valuable space in our homes. It opens horizontally just parallel to the wall when pushed or slide.
Did you notice that the arrangement or setup of the sliding door all depends on the pulley system?
Wheel and axle with pulley arrangement make the door slide. When you push or apply force to close or open the door, the initial force is gone to the wheel and the further wheel starts to rotate.
As all load of the door is situated at the axle and axle attached to the wheel, So when the pulley rotates, the door also starts to slide.
4. Elevators-
You may think, How can an elevator be part of our homes?
But here is the clue, If you live in those giant apartments and use an elevator to go to your home, opening just in front of your house’s main door.
Does this not serve as part of your house, saving your time and energy?
I hope, Now you will consider your apartment elevator as a part of your house.
All elevators are hanged through the rope and pulley system. There are multiple ranges of pulley systems provided in lifts or elevators to lift up and down the elevator car or carriage.
When an Electric motor applies the initial force to the worm wheel, this force is transferred to the pulley mechanism via an attached rope and further, your elevator takes you to your sweet home.
5. Cable Machine Exercise Equipment-
Are you one of those gym enthusiasts who installed a gym at your Home?
If so, Then you will definitely have installed a cable machine for providing muscular strength to your shoulder and Back.
But, Did you notice?
A pulley and rope mechanism is working behind this to provide your desired body shape. When you pull the handle of the cable machine, an attached rope to the handle goes to the counterweight via a pulley.
When you pull the handle, the generated force travels from the rope to the pulley and further this makes your TUG OF WAR with cable machine so flexible and easy.
6. Fishing Rod–
Are you one of those who loves to catch fish on your own with your fishing rod?
Then you will definitely be familiar with your fish reel. But, Have you noticed the pulley mechanism inside the fish reel?
When you catch a fish and the fish wants to run, how your fishing rod string automatically expands and when you rotate your fishing reel handle, the string comes back into your fish reel.
All systems of fishing reel work on the basis of the pulley system.
7. Automatic Window Curtains–
Automatic Window curtains are one of the common examples of pulley in our house as it also uses pulley and rope to move left and right or up and down with the help of a motor.
As you command for opening the curtains, the Motor starts to rotate with the attached pulley and rope mechanism to lift up and down your window curtain.
When the motor applies force on the attached pulley, It gets transferred to the rope and the attached curtain with the rope starts to slide on the provided path.
8. Sliding Window–
You might be using your sliding window daily for natural light and cross-ventilation etc. Here, I kindly want to inform you that you are using a perfect example of a pulley which is fitted beneath your window sliding door.
A wheel with a pulley mechanism and Axle makes this smooth sliding of your window door just like your normal sliding door as I covered above.
When you push or pull your window door, the applied force gets transferred to the pulley via axle and the pulley starts to circulate on its track and your window door starts to move.
9. Dog Runner–
Are you one of those dog lovers who does not want to tie your dog all the time but you do due to safety reasons?
So, I kindly inform you that This can be possible with a dog runner. A dog run is a pulley and rope-based mechanism which gives your dog some freedom to run within the line without worrying about his safety or getting lost in the meanwhile.
When you tie your dog in between the rope, A pulley system works to move your dog freely in between the rope from one end to another end.
This image will illustrate How-
10. Window Blinds–
Window blinds are one of the most used things which we use every day in our home. As Horizontal blinds are one of the most used and popular blinds around the world.
The blind slats are mostly made up of materials such as wood, Plastic, PVC etc. In the Blinds, Lift Strings are used to lift up and down the blind slats.
The whole mechanism of these window blinds is hidden up at the top of the headrail with Axle, Rope, and Wheel with Pulley.
Strings are attached to the pulley mechanism to make the window blind slats go up and down.
11. Dumb Waiter–
Are you living in a multi-storey building with a kitchen on another floor of your house?
Then this Dumbwaiter might be useful equipment for you to carry your just-ready food between the floors without using your stairs and also without carrying a load of the food.
This Dumbwaiter works just like an elevator, going up and down on the fixed path with the help of a rope and pulley system.
12. Sewing Machine–
Nowadays, Sewing machines are getting smarter and smarter day by day with many features and functions to make your sewing experience easier and more comfortable.
But…
Have you seen one of those old sewing machines which run with the help of the foot peddles?
The foot peddle is attached with a wheel pulley and rope mechanism to rotate the balance wheel and further making sewing experiance more comfortable and giving control over sewing speed.
Wrapping Up-
These were 12 Pulley Examples at Home which I discussed above with their mechanism behind them. I hope you would have liked being here.
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Here are some suggested Articles, You may further read-
Top 10 Double Pulley Examples With Explanation
Top 10 Fixed Pulley Examples in Everyday Life
Fixed Pulley: Definition, Types, Working, Advantages & More
Simple Machine: Definition, Types with Funny Home Examples
What are Compound Machines? Working, Uses and More
Abhishek Tiwary is a blogger by passion and a Quality Engineer by profession. He completed his B.Tech degree in the year 2017. Now working in a reputed firm. He loves to share his knowledge with others.
