US1082694A

US1082694A - Electric switch.

Info

Publication number: US1082694A
Application number: US73414012A
Authority: US
Inventors: Edward A Halbleib
Original assignee: NORTH EAST ELECTRIC CO
Current assignee: NORTH EAST ELECTRIC Co
Priority date: 1912-11-29
Filing date: 1912-11-29
Publication date: 1913-12-30
Anticipated expiration: 1930-12-30

Description

E. A. HALBLEIB. ELECTRIC SWITCH. APPLIOATION FILED Nov. 29,'1912.

1,082,694. Patented Dec. 30, 41913.

Wmcegg 20 zo 3o Himvmlmm /AMC( a @M MA'.

vide the switch with contact-members so electric syst-em, each plug 'entre erre AENT omnes.

EDWARD A. IjALBLEIB, 0F ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO NORTH EAST ELECTRIC COMPANY, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK. i

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

Specification of I .etters Patent. Application led November 29, .1912.

i ,O82,694l. Patented Dec. 30, 19,13.

Serial No. 734,140.

ever, instead of being provided with partitions and-bearing-member's as in said patent, 'consists of a simple sheet-metal member of generallyrectangular a single piece of sheet-metal. This casing co'mprises aV fla-t front 7, iiat end-Walls 8 and 9, and flat upper and lower walls 10 and ll,` respectively. Around the entire periphery of the casing it is provided with a flange, having an outwardlyextending portion 12 and a rearwardly-extending portion 13. This flange or seat adapted to engage the margin of base-plate 6, and the iia'nge is drawn' c osely against the base-plate by means of bolts 14 passing through the casing and the base-plate and fixed by nuts 15. These bolts are also provided with threaded sions 16 and nuts 17, by may be secured to a dash-board or other surface.

'The switch-plugs, of which four are shownin the drawings, are arranged to slide vertically through alining perforations in the upper and lower walls 10 and 1l of the cas` ing. Each plug has a central metal rod 1S provided with buttons or heads '19 and 2O on its upper and lower end, respectively. Near its upper'portion each plug is provided with a bushing 21 of insulating-material, while below this bushing, and insulated from the rod 18, is a metal sleeve l22, constituting a contact-piece or conductor.

l1is'contactpiece is insulated, -`at its lower end, by a bushing` 23, and below this bushing is a metal portion 25 provided with upper a nd lower respectively. v shoulders or abutments, with the locking-plate.v

The locking-plate 28 consists ofan elongated sheet-metal member arranged horizontally a short distance above the lower wall 11 of the casing. Each plug ,an opening 29 in the locking-plate, and these openino's, as shown in Fig; 2, are of a substantiallyhey-hole shape, so that in one position of the. plate each plug may pass freely through the corresponding opening, while in the other position of the plate, as shown in Fig. 2, the plug is locked against longitudinal movement by the `engagement of its locking-abutments with the upper and lower vsurface of the plate adjacent the nar- IoW end ofthe opening 29.

To all 't0/tom it may concern.' y

Be it known that l, EDWARD A. HALBLEIB, a citizen of the United States, and resident-l of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Switches, of which the following is a speciication.

. This invention relatesyto electric switches, of the type disclosed in the patent granted to me No. 1,010,753, dated December 5, 1911, in which a series of switch-plugs are longitudinally movable through the walls of a casing, the casing inclosing contact-devices, coperating with the plugs, and lockingmechanism for locking the plugs in either their up 3er or lower positions.

@ne o ject of the present invention is to simplify the construction and facilitate the manufacture of switches of the type in question, and particularly to avoid the necessity of partitions or bearing-members in the casing to support the locking-plate which -coperates with theplugs. To this end T so form the locking-plate itself as to provide bearing-members, which engage the inner surfaces of the walls of thecasiug, and thus guide and support the locking-plate, andalso stiften it longitudinally.

Another object of the invention is to proconstructed and arranged that the switch may be used conveniently in a` three-wire being adapted to simultaneously connect or disconnect three fixed contact-members. To this end I employ the form and arrangement of contactdevices hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings :-Figure 1 is a front-elevation of a` switch embodying` the present invention', with the front-portion of the casing broken away to show the interior mechanism; Fig 2 is a section, lool:- ing downwardly, on the line 2-2 in Fig. 1; Fic'. 3 is a` section on the line 3-3 in Fig. 1, loollring from left to right; and Fig. ais a section on .the line Akt in Fig. 1, looking from right to left..

In general construction and arrangement the switch illustrated in the drawings is similar to that of my said patent. It is provided with a base plate 'of insulating material, which may be fastened against the surface upon which the switch is to bel mounted. The casing of the switch, howhese slots provide lockingwhich coperate form, drawn from rear-extenwhich the switch.

annular slots

26 and 27,.

passes through position within the Vplate longitudinally and support it against to receive the shank of a key 40. The wards on the locking-plate and torce the plate to hold the locking-plate in unlocked position.

Q noeaeea To support the locking-plate in operative easing, and to guide it in and restrict it to longitudinal horizontal either raised or lowered position the con tact-sleeves 22 are provided with grooves to engage the convex en s of the contactsprings, and the bushings 21 are similarly grooved. ln order that the switch may be used, as above stated,'in a three-wire system, a second pair of contact-springs 52 is arranged to coperatevwith each plug. The springs 52 are constantly in-engagement with ya smooth cylindrical portion ot1 the contactsleeve 22, whether the plug be in its upper or lower position. All of the springs 52 except those cooperating with the extreme right-hand plug, are connected with a coinmon conductor or bus-bar 51 at the back ot the base-plate, and this bus-bar may be connected, by means of a terminal 53, with the neutral conductor of the three-wire system. Accordingly, when any one of the plugs is raised it not only connects the conductors attached, respectively, to the springs 45, but it also connects both of these conductors with the neutral conductor, both branches of a three-wire circuit may be simultaneously connected withor disconnected from the neutral conductor and each other.

The right-hand switch-plug, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, .is not grooved, as this plug is designed Jfor temporary use to convey a heavy current, as, for example, in throwing an electric starting-apparatus into operation, and in the case of this plug both upper contact-springs may be connected to one conductor, and both lower contactsprings to another conductor, in the manner shown in Fig. 2.

The novel form of the locking-plate above described permits the use of the simple and inexpensive form of sheet -metal casing shown in the drawings, and thus simplies the switch and reduces the expense of its construction, while permitting its metal parts to be made almost entirely ot pressed or stamped sheet-metal.

lt will be understood tainparts of. the switch claims, in the spatial the drawings, this movements, the plate is provided with Alateral downwardly-extending flanges 30 which have bearing-extensions 31 attheir ends which rest upon the lower wall 11 of the casing. The flanges 30 serve to stiften the pressure exerted manually upon the switchplugs when they are locked -in position. To prevent he locking-plate Jfrom rising-with the plugs it has upwardly-

bent extremities

32 and 33, which project into engagement with the upper wall 10 ot the casing. These projections are laterally extended at points 34, so as to engage the front wall 7, and Jthe base-plate 6, and thus support the locking plate laterally. By its engagement with the casing-walls and the base-plate, as just described, the locking-'plate is restrained to ,longitudinal horizontal movement, and the

projections

32 and 33 also cooperate with the means for so moving the locking-plate. The projection 33 is engaged by a spring 35 which normally holds the locking-plate in its left-hand oroperative position. In this position the projection 32 rests against a U-shaped member 38, which is fastened within the lefthand end .of the casing by means of screws 37 passing through the. 4lower wall 1l and threaded into a block 36 which lies within the member 38. vThe member 3S and the front-wall 7 of the casing are provided with alining key-holes and with a rotatable cleft sleeve 39 adapted 41 of the key enter a vertical slot 42 in the block 36, and cooperate with wards 43 also formed in the block. When the key is inserted and is given a three-quarter turn to the right its wards engage the projection 32 the right, against the opposition of the spring 35, thus unlocking the switch-plugs. The rotation of the key is arrested by engagement with a flange 44 on the block 36, in a position in which it may be'left to that although cerare defined, in the relation illustrated in description is simply for Coperating with each switch-plug is a the sake of setting forth their relative arpair of contact-springs 45, each ot these rangement, as the switch may obviously be Springs being supported by a supplemental used in various other positions without spring 46. These springs are clamped in change in its'const-ruction and mode of 0pshallow slots inthe base-plate 6, by the heads 47 of studs 48 which pass through the base-plate Aand through binding-posts 49, 'so as to connect the springs electrically with terminals 50 adapted to vreceive electric conductors. 1vVhen the plugs are in depressed position the contact-springs 45 of each pair engage one of the insulating-bushings 21, but whenfany one of the 'plugs is raised the corresponding contact-springs engage the contact sleeve. 22 and are thus, electrically connected. To retain the plugs in eration.

,1. An electric switch having, in' combination, a casing provided with parallel upper and lower walls; a series of'switch-plugs movable vertically ythrough said walls and having locking-abutments; and lockingmechanisms for the plugs comprising a locking-plate having abutmentscoperating with the abutments on t-he plugsthe locking-plate being provided withlateral flanges, projecting into engagement with one wall 'oit and in this way y allel upper and lower walls, said walls having 'alining perforations; a series of switchplugs movable vertically through said perforations and provided wit-h locking-abutments; a locking-plate cooperating with said locking-abutments and provided with upward and downward projections, near its ends, which engage the upper and lower wa'lls of the casing so as to guide the plate for horizontal movement within the casing; contact devices cooperating with the plugs and located between the locking-plate and one wall of the casing; and means for moving the locking-plate, said means engaging one of aid projections thereon.

3. An electric switch having, in combination, a casing provided with parallel upper and lower walls; a seriesof switch-plugs movable vertically through said walls and having locking-abutments near their lower` ends; a locking-plate coperating with said abutments and locatednear t-he lower wall of the casing, flanges which stiften-the plate longitudinally and extend, near their ends into engagement with the lower wall of the casing,

said plate having lateral and upwardly-bent extremities which engage the upper wall, the front wall, and the rear wall of the casing, the plate being guided by said flanges and extremities to move horizontallylin the casing; means for so moving the plate to lock and unlock the plugs; and contact-devices coperating with the plugs and located within the vcasing above the locking-plate.

4.- An electric switch having, in combination, a casing provided with upper and lower walls; -a plurality of switch-plugs movable vertically through said walls and each provided with an elongated conducting-sleeve; two contact-.members coperating with each switch-plug, said members being insulated from each other and provided with separate terminals; and a third set of contact-members, which are insulated from the firstmentioned contact-members and constantly engagingfthe respective contact-sleeves, and are' interconnected and provided with a common terminal; the three contact-mem- 'bers at each switch-plug being simultaneously interconnected by the contact-sleeve when the switch-plug is moved to cause the contact-sleeve to engage the first-mentioned contact-members.

EDVARD A. HALBLEIB. Witnesses: v

y THOMAS L. LEE,

D. GURNEE.