Machine for lifting weights

The machine was probably designed for lifting weights or for moving a paddle boat trough the conversion of the alternating motion of the arm (backward and forward) into the continuous rotating motion of the central axis, to which the weight to be lifted or the paddles to be moved were attached.
Every time the machine moves (backward and forward), the pawls of the spring meshing with the inner rim of the corresponding toothed wheel move up a notch. When the arm is moved forward, one of the pawls sets a wheel in motion; when it is moved backward, another pawl engages the gearwheel and turns the shaft. The two wheels thus alternate in transmitting motion to the drum and hence to the horizontal shaft to which the weight to be lifted or the paddles to be turned are attached.