The dog creeps out of his kennel. Wags his tail....

[axel]

A possible manifestation of what is meant.
Imagine a small weight, suspended by a string, winding upwards on a hub. When it reaches the top and falls forward in the direction of the winding, it swings back and forth as it is again wound back up.
Repeat.

[gravitationallychallenged]

I've thought along similar lines. It would work similar to a venetian blind mounted from the top of a window.

[Tarsier79]

And what advantage would that have?

[gravitationallychallenged]

One advantage would be that the weight could move in a straight line from the center of of the wheel to the rim instead of swinging like a pendulum. There would be less space required inside the wheel for each mechanism.

[Oystein]

After researching the same phrase/quote, and by applying Bessler's information..I ended up with another answer:
In my opinion, That phrase possibly refers to this mechanical setup, resembling a dog, stretching his chain..

"The dog creeps out of his kennel
just as far as his chain will stretch."


Best
ØR[/b]

[Oystein]

Deleted..Double post..

[gravityman52]

When power is produced by a short falling weight, and this power would of great benefit to the unit as a whole causing another sort of action, this type of arrangement would allow the push in one direction to be instantly directed in the opposite direction... very clever