EP0653036A1

EP0653036A1 - Hand-operated signal generator

Info

Publication number: EP0653036A1
Application number: EP93915671A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Günter ZEILER
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1992-07-28
Filing date: 1993-07-28
Publication date: 1995-05-17
Also published as: AU4558693A; DE9304922U1; WO1994002776A1

Abstract

A hand-operated signal generator has an optic and/or acoustic signal emitter. The signal generator has an alternating voltage generator with a rotary part and a manual drive for the alternating voltage generator. The signal emitter is powered by and is connected to the alternating voltage generator.

Description

MANUAL SIGNAL GENERATOR

The invention relates to a manually operated signal generator.

Conventional signal lights are either provided with a battery or with an accumulator, which serve to supply the optical signal transmitter. The optical signal transmitter is usually equipped with a flash effect, for which an interrupter circuit in the circuit of the signal transmitter or a motor-driven rotating reflector is provided.

If the signal transmitters and flashlights described above are used, previous use or prolonged storage may mean that they are insufficiently charged or not charged at all at the decisive point in time, as a result of which they cannot be used.

Flashlights are also in use, those with a generator circuit of the type described above and one by hand actuatable push button are provided for the drive. They are used in the dark and have a lighting effect only in one direction, which is disadvantageous for use as a warning signal generator.

The same applies to battery or battery-powered acoustic signal transmitters. Furthermore, acoustic signal transmitters are known which are equipped with a crank drive. As a result, they are only suitable to a limited extent for use in different locations.

There are also known motor or hand-operated siren in which a perforated disc or an impeller rotates at about 3 to 5 kHz in a housing.

The invention has for its object to provide a hand-operated signal generator which is easy and handy to use and which is always ready for use even after long periods of non-use.

This object is achieved according to the invention in a manually operated signal generator with the features of claim 1. Advantageous developments of the signal generator according to the invention are the subject of the subclaims.

A hand-operated signal generator according to the invention thus comprises an AC voltage generator with a rotatable part, a manual drive being provided for the AC voltage generator. A signal generator is fed by the AC voltage generator and is connected to it. The lack of a battery and an accumulator have the further advantage that less waste has to be eliminated, which makes the signal generator according to the invention very environmentally friendly. The provision of a manual drive and an AC voltage generator eliminates the need to provide a battery or an accumulator for actuating the signal transmitter. Accordingly, there is no hazardous waste. As is known, the AC voltage generator as such is always functional, and this also applies to the manual drive, so that the signal generator according to the invention is always ready for use. Since no high drive energies are to be applied for the AC voltage generator, the manual drive can be designed relatively easily. This ensures that the signal generator is easy to handle.

The signal generator according to the invention can be an optical and / or acoustic signal generator. It can advantageously be provided that the optical and acoustic signal transmitter are operated together. In particular, a beep or siren tone can be provided as the signal tone for the acoustic signal transmitter.

For operation as an acoustic signal generator, air chambers are preferably provided on the outside of the rotatable part of the AC voltage generator, preferably in an outer plastic ring, and air slots are located opposite them in the housing. Similar to the well-known motor siren, for example, the air chambers fill with air during rotation and due to their shape. This can escape again through the air slots, which results in periodic air movement. As a result, a howling tone is generated depending on the number, distribution and shape of the chambers or slots and on the speed. As a result of the manual drive in the signal generator according to the invention, the speed changes and accordingly the howling tone becomes constantly higher and lower. When the manual drive is activated quickly, the howling tone can become very high. The acoustic signal transmitter can also be an electronic signal transmitter, such as a piezo module with a melody transmitter etc., which is connected to the AC voltage generator by appropriate means and, if necessary, via a rectifier.

In a preferred exemplary embodiment of the signal generator according to the invention with an optical signal transmitter, the latter has a light source and a reflector which is mounted on the rotatable part of the AC voltage generator at a distance outside the light source and can be rotated about the same. The rotating reflector creates a flash effect like the sparkle lights of police vehicles. The light source is advantageously surrounded by a transparent cover, which can be colored for different purposes, whereby different signal effects can be achieved.

The manual drive of the signal generator according to the invention can advantageously comprise a flywheel on which the rotatable part of the AC voltage generator is mounted. The flywheel is appropriately balanced for smooth running so that a good follow-up function is achieved. Because of the short-running delay caused in this way, the manual drive does not have to be operated non-stop and the user tired less quickly.

The manual drive expediently comprises a toothed rack which is fixedly connected to a movable handle and a toothed wheel gear which is in engagement with the toothed rack. This drive is extremely simple and user-friendly.

It has proven to be expedient to design the gear transmission with a reduction ratio of approximately 1: 5. To make operation easier, the handle and the toothed rack are advantageously pretensioned by a return spring. The handle therefore only needs to be actuated in one direction and is moved back into the starting position by the return spring.

In a preferred embodiment of the signal generator according to the invention, the flywheel has tooth-like recesses on one side and the gearwheel gear comprises an armature disk provided with movable toothed levers. The shape of the recesses and toothed lever is selected such that when the armature disc rotates in the drive direction, the toothed lever engages and drives the corresponding recesses in the flywheel. When the armature disk rotates in the opposite direction, the toothed levers then slide like ratchets along the recesses. This configuration enables particularly good power transmission, so that the drive handle can be actuated particularly easily and quickly. This in turn results in a particularly rapid rotation of the flywheel disc and thus a sufficiently large force field for the generator.

The rotatable part of the alternating voltage generator is advantageously a disk-shaped permanent magnet, which can be glued, for example, into the flywheel. A permanent magnet is assigned to the permanent magnet, with which the light source is electrically connected via ferromagnetic sheets. When the permanent magnet rotates, a low voltage is thus induced in the electrical coil, which supplies the current for the light source, for example an incandescent lamp or halogen lamp. Different voltages can of course be realized.

A parabolic reflector is advantageously used as the reflector. The AC voltage generator and the manual drive are preferably mounted on a common axis. As a result, the construction of the AC voltage generator according to the invention is characterized by a few parts, as a result of which the device costs are reduced. The alternating voltage generator and the manual drive are expediently enclosed in a plastic housing, the housing comprising a drive handle part.

The invention is further described on the basis of a preferred exemplary embodiment and the drawing, which serve only for explanation. The invention is not limited to this specifically described exemplary embodiment and also not to the combinations of features in the dependent claims.

The drawing shows:

1 is a partial sectional view of a signal generator according to the invention with an optical signal transmitter, two variants of an acoustic signal transmitter being shown schematically at the same time,

Fig. 2 is a partial sectional top view of the flywheel illustrating the kinematic drive chain, and

FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of the signal transmitter from FIG. 1, seen approximately from the left in FIG. 1, the housing being omitted.

The structure of the signal generator according to the invention is first explained with reference to FIG. 1.

A rigid axle 4 is fastened in a plate 2 by means of a bush 6. A handle 8 is movable around a Axis 10 mounted and can be moved back and forth in the direction of the double arrow 12 between the actuation position shown in solid lines in FIG. 3 and the rest position shown in dashed lines in FIG. 3. To return the handle to the rest position, a return spring 14 designed as a helical spring is provided, one leg 16 of which rests on a bar serving as an abutment or on a projection 18 of the handle. The other leg 20 of the return spring 14 is supported on a rod 22. The handle 8 serves as a drive for the signal generator, which is explained in more detail below.

The parts so far are housed in a common housing 82 which is made of plastic. The handle 8 forms the drive handle part of the housing. The above-mentioned plate 2, in which the rigid axle 4 is anchored, is preferably in engagement with the housing 82, but the fit has been selected for installation.

With the housing 82 is an arm 26 made of plastic, which carries a bearing cap 28. A bearing shaft 30 is seated in the bearing attachment 28, on which a smaller gear 32 and a larger gear 34 are secured by a disk 36. The designation small and large in the gear 32 and 34 is intended here to mean that the diameter of the gear 34 is larger than the diameter of the gear 32.

The movable handle 8 ends in a fork shape at the end opposite the actuating part, as shown in FIG. 2. One part of the fork is formed by a toothed rack or internal toothing 38 and the other by a guide arm 39 which is smooth on the inside. The toothed rack or internal toothing 38 of the handle 8 engages with a gearwheel 40 mounted on the rigid axis 4. The diameter of the gear 40 corresponds approximately to the diameter of the gear 32. A gear is rigidly coupled to the gear 40 further gear 42, also mounted on the rigid axle 4. The gear 42 has a larger diameter than the gear 40 and is in engagement with the gear 32. The gearwheel 34 rigidly coupled to the gearwheel 32 is in turn in engagement with a further gearwheel 44 which is also mounted on the rigid axle 4. Overall, the transmission consisting of the gears 40, 42, 32, 34, 44 achieves a ratio of 1: 5. An armature disk 46, which is approximately diamond-shaped and made of plastic, is firmly connected to the gear 44. At the more distant ends, toothed levers 48 are rotatably supported on the side opposite the gear. The toothed levers 48 engage in tooth-like recesses 50 on the inside of a flywheel 52 made of die-cast aluminum. By actuating the handle 8 in the direction of the double arrow 12 inwards, the flywheel 42 is driven via the gear 32 to 44 in the direction of the arrows 54. By releasing the pressure on the handle 8, it is pushed back outwards by the action of the return spring 14, as a result of which the toothed levers 48 are guided out of the recesses 50 and run back. The flywheel 52 can continue to rotate in the direction of the arrows 54. The flywheel 52 can be rotated quickly by rhythmically pressing the handle 8.

The flywheel 52 consists of a relatively thin middle plate 56 and an annular outer part 58. A permanent magnet 60 is glued to the middle plate 56, which has a central recess and is arranged peripherally at a distance from the annular outer part 58 of the flywheel 52. Above the permanent magnet 60, an electrical coil 62, wound on a plastic basket, is fastened to the rigid axis 4 as an AC voltage generator. The rotating magnetic field of the permanent magnet 60 is guided into the interior of the coil 62 via basket-shaped, ferromagnetic sheets 63. By the rotating field of the permanent magnet 60 is a Alternating field is generated in the coil 62 and thereby induces an alternating voltage.

Connected to the coil 62 is a socket 64 to which the connections of the coil 62 are soldered directly. An incandescent lamp 68 is screwed into the socket 64. The filament of the incandescent lamp is designed in such a way that it absorbs overvoltages caused by rotations of the flywheel 52 too quickly and thus induced voltages which are too high and mechanical vibrations. Instead of a screw connection, a bayonet connection of the incandescent lamp or a corresponding illuminant can also be provided. On the ring-shaped outer part 58 of the flywheel 52 there is a pressed-in ring 70, provided with a central recess for the socket 64, which e.g. is glued or stuck. The ring 70 is thus rotatable with the flywheel 52. A reflector 74 is also attached to the ring 70 by means of a holder 76. The reflector is arranged at a distance from the incandescent lamp 68 and is parabolic. The ring 70 carries a counterweight made of die-cast aluminum 72 in relation to the reflector 74 in order to balance the rotating part, including the outer part 58, the ring 70 and the reflector 74. The reflector is made of chromed plastic material. The reflector and the incandescent lamp are surrounded by a transparent cover 78 made of plastic, which is anchored in the housing 82.

As mentioned, when the flywheel 52 rotates, the incandescent lamp 68 lights up due to the induced voltage. The reflector 74 also rotates. Since the reflector 74 is arranged outside the incandescent lamp, on the one hand it covers the incandescent lamp on one side, ie to the rear, and causes an increased light emission to the front. In this way, a flashing light effect is achieved by the rotating reflector, which delivers a particularly good optical signal effect. For electrical supply from the AC generator, this module can also contain a rectifier.

The drawing also schematically illustrates the alternative or additional installation of an acoustic signal transmitter. For a variant of this, a plastic ring 80 sits on the outer part 58 of the flywheel 52, which e.g. is pressed or glued. In the plastic ring 80, a number of air chambers 81 are cut out at fixed intervals. At the level of the air chambers 81 there are air slots 83 in the housing 82. When the flywheel 52 rotates, the air chambers 81, which are arranged obliquely in the direction of rotation, fill with air. This then escapes cyclically through the air slots 83, producing a howling tone.

An electronic component can also be provided as an acoustic signal transmitter, preferably when combined with an optical signal transmitter. An assembly point for such an acoustic signal transmitter in the form of a piezo module is shown at 90 in FIG. 1. This model can additionally contain a rectifier for the electrical supply from the AC voltage generator.

Claims

Expectations

1. A manually operated signal generator comprising an AC voltage generator (60, 62) with a rotatable part (60), a manual drive (8, 32 to 48, 52) for the AC voltage generator (60, 62) and one of the AC voltage generator (60, 62) fed and connected to this signal generator (68; 81, 83) with rotating part (74; 81).

2. Signal generator according to claim 1, characterized in that the signal transmitter has an optical signal transmitter (68) with a light source and one on the rotatable part (60) of the AC voltage generator at a distance outside the light source (68) and around the light source is rotatable reflector (74).

3. Signal generator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the signal generator is an acoustic signal generator which emits in particular a beep or siren sound.

4. Signal generator according to one of claims 1 to 3, da¬ by g e k e n n z e i c h n e t that the manual drive comprises a flywheel (52) on which the rotatable part (60) of the AC voltage generator is mounted.

5. Signal generator according to claim 3 or 4, characterized ge ¬ indicates that periodically air chambers (81) are provided for operation as an acoustic signal generator outside on the rotatable part (60) of the AC voltage generator and opposite in the housing (82) Louvers (83) are provided.

6. signal generator according to claim 5, characterized g e k e n n ¬ z e i c h n e t that radially outside on the flywheel (52) sits a plastic ring (80), in which the air chambers (81) are embedded.

7. signal generator according to any one of claims 3 to 6, da¬ by g e k e n n z e i c h n e t that the acoustic signal generator is an electronic signal generator.

8. Signal generator according to one of claims 2 to 7, by means of a joint actuation of the optical and acoustic signal generator is provided.

9. Signal generator according to one of claims 1 to 8, da¬ characterized in that the manual drive with a movable handle (8) fixedly connected to the rack (68) and with the rack engaging standing gear transmission (32 to 48) .

10. Signal generator according to claim 9, characterized g e k e n n ¬ z e i c h n e t that the gear transmission (32 to 48) has a reduction ratio of about 1: 5.

11. Signal generator according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the handle and the toothed rack (38) are biased by a return spring (14).

12. Signal generator according to one of claims 4 to 11, da¬ characterized in that the flywheel (52) on the inside has tooth-like recesses (50) and the gear mechanism (32 to 44) one with movable toothed levers (48) provided armature plate (46), the shape of the recesses (50) and toothed lever (48) is selected so that the toothed lever (48) when the armature plate (46) rotates in the drive direction in each case in a corresponding manner. engaging the corresponding recesses in the flywheel and driving the flywheel (52) and sliding the recesses (50) along like a ratchet when the armature disc (46) rotates in the opposite direction.

13. Signal generator according to claim 2 and one of claims 4, 7 to 12, characterized in that the rotatable part (60) of the AC voltage generator is a schei¬ ben-shaped permanent magnet to which an immovable coil (62) with ferromagnetic sheets (63) is assigned with which the light source (68) is electrically connected.

14. Signal generator according to claim 2 and one of claims 4, 7 to 13, characterized in that the light source is arranged immovably and is an incandescent lamp (68) or halogen lamp.

15. Signal generator according to one of claims 1 to 14, so that the alternating voltage generator (60, 62) and the manual drive (8, 32 to 48, 52) are mounted on a common rigid axis (4).

16. Signal generator according to claim 2 and one of claims 4, 8 to 15, characterized in that the reflector is a parabolic reflector (74).

17. Signal generator according to claim 2 and one of claims 8 to 16, characterized in that the light source is surrounded by a transparent cover (78).

18. Signal generator according to claim 17, characterized ge ¬ indicates that the transparent cover is colored.

19. Signal generator according to one of claims 1 to 18, da¬ characterized in that the alternating voltage generator (60, 62) and the manual drive (8, 32 to 48, 52) are enclosed by a plastic housing (24), the housing includes a drive handle portion.

20. Signal generator according to one of claims 7 to 19, so that the electronic signal generator comprises a rectifier.