Slotted Connecting Rod Mechanism

There are many different ways to convert rotational motion to linear or linear-like motion.

A Diagram of the Slotted Connecting Rod mechanism (drawn by me using Paint)

I personally found the slotted connecting rod mechanism fascinating and most interesting because I saw a lot of potential from this mechanism. As the disk (in blue) spins, the small disk inside the slot (green) moves in an almost linear motion across the length of the slot, and as this happens, there is a brief pause in the motion of the arm (in gray). 

According to the website (http://kmoddl.library.cornell.edu/model.php?m=443&movie=show), this mechanism was used for brick production because the brief pause allowed the workers to place the brick mold and to take the finished brick from the machine.

I think this mechanism could be used to make more complex systems where there are multiple functions to be done or performed in a sequence or pattern. The brief pause would allow time for another function. For example, maybe one could create a mechanic model of a snail that uses this slotted connecting rod mechanism to move slowly, but when the system reaches the pause, there could be another mechanism that makes the snail raise its head or project its eyestalks.