US1167038A - Circuit-controller switch and casing therefor. - Google Patents

Description

\/l G. APPLE.

CRCUT CONTROLLER SWITCH AND CASING THEHEFOR.

APPLCATIOQ HLD MAY' "x9, i914.

1167.,O88. Jau. 4, m16.

@MA/5%;- M m@ V. G, APPLE, @maw commis :su/NCH ,uw @Asme THEREFGR. MPLCATIN I'ILED MAY IS, E914. 1,167,038, yPatented Jan. 4, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

(ID TP l f *im @gid emph @49 I G APPLE; mecum' CONTROLLER swlTcH AND @Asma mmm.

l APPLICATION YILED MAY 1.9, 19M, 116e7038 Paten'ed Jan. 4, i916.

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therefor.

:More particularly my invention relates to a controller switch to be used on automo' UNITED sTATEs PATENT CEEICE.

viNcEN'r e. APPLE, or DAYTON,l oHIo, AssIGNoE To THE APPLE ELECTRIC COMPANY,

' or DAYTON, oHIo, A CORPORATION or omo.

CIRCUIT-CONTROLLER SWITCH AND CASING THEREFOR.

To aZZ whom t may concern.' Be it vknown that I, VINCENT G. APPLE, a

in Circuit-Controller the following is a specification. .This invention relates to improvements in circuit controller switches and casings biles for operating the circuit connections of an'engine starting system together with a 'switch for operating the automobile lights. l One of the objects of my invention is to `provide a switch of the general character i abovereferred to especially adapted to be used in connection with a single unit generator motor, and storage battery for starting an internal combustion engine and for subsequently arranging the circuits so that the dynamo will .be properly connected to charge the batteries when the engine becomes self propelling.

Another object of my invention is to provide a simple, sturdy and rugged casing for supporting and inclosing the switches and other apparatus.

' Further objects are to provide such a casing a part of which is readily separable to lpermit removal of the switch` parts for inspection or repair, andlocking means'to prevent unauthorized tampering with the apparatus and operation of the switches.

Other and further objects will appear, from the following specification and drawings wherein:

Figure l is a front elevation .of my improved controller with the hood removeds Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.. Fig. 3 is a plan View of my controller. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1. Fig.

'5 is a side elevation of my controller with arts broken awa Fig. 6 is a fragmentarv D 2D .l

(horizontal sectional View on line 6 6 of Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view on the line 7 7 of Fig. l. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a part of the controller locking mechanism. Fig. 9 is a perspective View of the lighting switch operating knob and controller key, and; Fig/10 il I Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 4, 1916.

Application filed May 19, 1914. Serial No. 839,579.

a fragmentary horizontal sectional view on line 10 10 of Fig. 4.l

In the drawings, the numeral indicates a vertically arranged base board or Wall having rearwardly extending side lips 21 and a forwardly extending shelf or bottom wall 22 at its lower end. This base part comprising the rear and bottom walls of the controller inclosing casing is formed of a hard, strong insulating material such as bakelite or the like and is adapted to be secured to a suitable support by screws or bolts taking through the holes 23. It has been found that bakelite is best adapted for this particular purpose as it is suiiiciently strong to carry the various parts of the Controller and is readily molded or formed in its proper shape.

The upper wall of the casing comprises an aluminum casting 24 secured to the base through the medium of the vertically ar ranged screws 25 taking through the horizontal bar 26 which in turn is secured to the rear of the base board 20 by the screws 27.

The general arrangement of the controller blades, the lighting circuit commutator, its brushes, etc. is similar to that Villustrated and described in my Patent No. 1,070,657 issued" August 19th, 1913 and entitled con- 'troller switch. In the present instance as in base portions ofthe brushes, 34, whereby a single screw as 37 taking through .the base of' each brush into the boardserves to hold the brushes securely in place and at the same time serve as abinding post for electrical connections atthe rear of the board.

The lower end of the lighting circuit commutator is boredjout as at 38 to receive a stub lshaft 39 whichv projects upwardly through an opening' 40 in the lower wall 22 of the casing and is secured in place by engagement or' the slotted plate 41 with the annular groove 42 near the lower end of the shaft. @ne end of the slotted plate 4l carries an upwardly projecting cylinder 43 which incloses a spring 44 which pressed forward a ball 45 v which engages in turn with a series oli grooves 46 arranged around. the periphery ot' a wheel 47 rigidly secured to the lower end oi' the commutator B. These grooves 46 are arranged so that the commutator positively snaps from one position to another thereby insuring its always stopping in a proper position. YVings 48 extend outwardly from the cylinder 43 and are provided with holes through which take the screws 49 engaging with the base or bottom wall 22 or the casing.

lt is evident from the above description that the lower end of the controller body as a whole mav be removed laterally from the casing when the upper end is disconnected. By removing the screws 49, the slotted plate 4l is slid ont of engagement with the annular groove 42 permitting the stub shaft 38 to be dropped down out of the way releasinnthe commutator B and permitting its lateral movement. rThe lower end of the stub shaft 38 is drilled and tapped asat 50 so that aV screw may be connected therewith to aid in assembling and dismounting the controller.

The upper end of the post A is Slotted to engage with the downwardly extendlng rib 5l on the lower end of the hollow cylinder This cylinder has a tubular, upwardly extending part of reduced diameter 53 which extends through an opening in the top wall 24 of the casing. A. tangential groove or slot is provided in the tubular extension 53 to engage with a tapered pin, 55 which extends through the hub 56 of a wing lshaped handle 57. Oscillation of thawing shaped handle 57 results in the oscillation of the switch carrying spindle A thereby placing the switch blades either in the running or the starting position. An annular flange 58 extends downward from-the top wall 24 ot' the casing and is hushed as at 59 to provide a bearing for the cylinder 52.

One side of the cylinder 52 is cut away as at 60 and provided with a depression 61 which is engaged by the plunger 62 slidin within the cylinder 63 and .pressed forwar under the influence of the spring 64 adjustableJ through the medium of the screw 65. The engagement ot the spring pressed plunger 62 normally holds the controller handle in a neutral or off position. noted from the sectional view shown in Fig. 6 that when the controller handle is oscillated to the starting position, the spring pressed plunger 62 will ride up on the acute angle 66 so that when the handle is released lt will be the tendency of the spring pressed plunger is to return the controller handle to neutral position. 4On the other hand the angle 67 is considerably less so that when the handle is oscillated into the running position the plunger does not cause the handle to return to neutral position. The cylinder 63 is inclosed within a downwardly extending projection 68 formed as a part of the top wall casting, extending radially from the annular llange 58.

The lighting switch is `operated through the medium of a removable knob 69 carrying an elongated key spindle 70 the lower end of which is flattened out as at 71 to engage with the slot 33 on the upper end of the commutator spindle 32. The shank 70 is of ay diameter somewhat less than the bore of the tubular projection 53 of the controller cylinder and when the shank 70 isinserted lin the bore of the controller operating mechanism it extends downward into engagement with the slot 33, thereby providing a handle through which the coinmutator tor the lighting circuit may be rotated into any desired position. Removal of the knob 69 obviously prevents operation of the lighting controller commutator.

In order that the removal of -the lighting circuit operating knob 69 may not only lock the lighting circuit in any desired position, but likewise lock the controller handle in' neutral position. thereby preventing unauthorized starting of the car, I have provided an interlocking mechanism whereby the 10@ lighting circuit. the starting motor circuit, and the removablehood otn the casing inclosing the switches and their kindred partsmay all be locked imposition by the removal i of the knob 69. Conversely the insertion of 105 the spindle 70 within the axial opening in the controller handle 'disables the locking mechanism and permits the operationof the lighting circuit controller, the starting motor controller as well as unlocking the catch 110 which secures the removable hood of the casing in position.

A radial hole 72 is drilled in the head 52 through to its central dpening. A similar hole 73 of the same diameter as the hole 72 115 is drilled radially in the flange 58 so as to register exactly with the opening 72 when the controller is in the neutral or oft position. Slidably positioned within these two alining openings are two short stubby 12o shafts 74 and 75 rounded oil' at their cona tacting ends and flattened as at 76 and 77 at their opposite ends.` The attened end 76 of the inner section 74 engages with the vertical slot 78 of the tubular part 79 which sur- 125 rounds the lighting circuit controlling shaft' 32, is carried by the spindle A, and extends upward within the tubular opening in the cylindrical head 52. p

A bell crank 80 pivoted at 81 upon the 13:3

lower face of the top wall 24 is shaped so that its shorter end 82 engages with the flattened out end 77 of the stub shaft 75. Its opposite end is hooked as at 83 to engage, when pressed outwardly by the spring 85, wit-h the pivotal latch 811 carried by the removable front wall 86 of the* casing and operated by the rotation of a. small handle or thumb nut 87. IWhen the longer end 83 of the bell crank 80 is pressed outwardly by the spring 85 the latch is locked from rotation and its engagement with the latch plate 8st carried by the upper wall 24 prevents removal of the front wall 86 of the casing'l Outward movement of the longer end 83 of the bell crank under the pressure of spring 85 vresults in an inward movement of the shorter end 82, pressing against the two alining stub shafts 74 and 75.

The length of the two stub shafts 74. and 75 is such that when the two are pressed inwardly by` the short end 82 ofthe bell crank the Vjuncture or connecting point of the two shafts is within the inner wall of the annular ange and the outer of the two shafts 75 serves as a loch between the parts 52 and 58 preventing rotation or os cillation of the controller switches. A pin 88 projecting radially from the cylindrical .head 52, engages the arcuate slot 89 in the flange 58 limits the oscillation of the controller spindle A between the starting position and the running7 position.

The key spindle 7 0 intermediate its ends is provided with an annular groove 90, of sufficient depth when in engagement with the flattened end 76 of the stub shaft 74, so that the outer end of shaft 7 4 is in line with the joint between the cylindrical head 52 and the inner wall of the bushing 59. Willen Vin this position it is obvious that the controller spindle A is free to rotate to start- `ing or running position, and since the stub shaft 75 is forced outwardly against the action of\the spring 85 the hook 83 upon the longer end of the bell crank 8O is moved inwardly, releasing the latch 84 so that the hood for the casing is readily removed. The latch 8e cooperating with the iinger 91 on the lower end of the hood which engages with the opening 92 in the lower wall of the .ting the dynamo into circuit with the storlage batteries at the time when the electromotive force, equals or exceeds,v that of the batteries. The second electro -rnagnet D serves, as a means for decreasing the electromotive force, at a given spoed of the dynamo, when the storage batteries have een partially or completely charged, thereby automatically decreasing the current supplied to the batteries when they no longer require the full current that can be produced by the dynamo.

The armature 93 of the relay C is connected through the medium of a spring Vvfinger 94, with an indicating device 95 carried by the top wallof the casing. This indicating device responds to movement ofthe armature 93, displaying the letters O F F when the dynamo is not in circuit with the batteries anl displaying the characters O N when the dynamo is in circuit. The face of the indicating device is positioned upon the top wall of the casing for ready inspection and is removable from the base of the casing together with the wall 24. As indicated in Fig. 2 the spring linger 94 engages with a downwardly extending lip 95, on the indicating device so that it is readily disengageablc for the removal of the top wall.

The two fuses 9G and 97 are carried' by the three pillars 98, 99, l00,.eXtending forward from the base 20. The connections for the various instrumentalities carried by the front wall extend rearwardly therethrough as indicated in the broken away part of Fig. 5 and the connections made between the various terminals at the rear face of the wall are protected by the sheet of insulating liber 101. The various binding posts as 102 extend through this sheet of fiber andthe nuts 103 serve to connect the lead wires at the rear face of the controller. XVhen the lighting switch and key 69 is in position the lock between the controller spindie A and annular flange 58 is disabled so that the controller may be rocked into starting position and then moved into running position. Obviously the rotation of the key 69 operates the lighting circuit commutator B and the casing cover lock operated by the bell crank is released.

` The removal of the key G9 when the controller is in neutral position permits the inward movement of the two stub shafts 74 and 75 under the action of the spring 85 securely locking the controller in neutral position and obviously preventing the operation of the lighting circuit controller B. At the same time the lock 83 engages with the casing lock 84 and prevents removal of. the casing cover. Since the annular groove 90 in spindle 70 of the lighting switch key 69 engages with the flattened end 76 of the stub shaft 7 4, it is obvious that the lighting key cannot be removed unless the controller spindle A is in neutral or olf position.

ll'ifhereas I have described and illustrated a particular embodiment of my invention, it is evident that various changes may be made in the structural details and general arrangement without departing from the spirit and scope thereofU IBL Having,I described my invention, what .l

claim is:

l. A controller, comprising a base part; a removable hood, there'lior; a. switch, therein; a second switch; a removable operating handle, therefor; means, for locking the first mentioned switch and hood; and means, operated by said removable handle for disabling,` said locking means.

2, A controller, comprising' a base part; a removable hood, therefor; a switch, therein; a secondl switch; a removable handle, there for; means, for locking the iirst mentioned switch to prevent its movement; and means, operated by the attachment of said removable handle for disabling .said lockingmeans. v

3. A controller, comprising,` a base part.; switch, carried by said base part; a second switch a removable handle, therefor; means, for locking the first mentioned switch to prevent its movement; and means, operated by the attachment of said removable handle to disable said locking means.

4. lhe combinatimi with a base part; of a controller, carried thereby; a second controller, concentric therewith; a spindle, for ope 'ating said second controller positioned concentrically within the .'rst mentioned controller; a handle, for operating the first mentioned controller; a removable handle, positioned concentrically within the first mentioned handle for operating said second controller; means, when the irst mentioned controller is in oii position for locking` the same against oscillation; and means, operated by said removable handle for dis,- ablinp; said locking means.

5. The combination with a` base part; of a menons removable hood, therefor; a controller drinn., carried thereby; a second. controller drinn, concentric therewith; a spindle, for operating said second controller drum positioned eoncentrically within the lirst mentioned controller dran-; a handle, for operating the rst mentioned controller drinn; a removable handle, positioned concentrically wit-liin the lirst mentioned handle for operating said second controller drinn; means, for locking the first mentioned controller drum against oscillation and said hood from removal; and means, operated by said removn able handle for disabling said locking means.

tl. ln a controller the combination of tivo switches, a removable handle 'for one and a loclr for the other, and means actuated by the attachment of said removable handle` for disabling said lock; f

7. In a controller the combination of two switches, a tubular operating` post for one and a post for the other positioned within the tubular post, a stationary member sur rounding a portion ot the tubular post and havinga radial opening adapted to register when bothswitches are in ott position with radial openings in bot-h switch posts, a removable handle 'for the inner post and locking means positioned within said radial openings and arranged to be disabled by the removable handle.

ln testimony whereof l hereunto set my hand in the presence ot' two subscribing witnesses.

VNCENT Gr. APPLE.

ln the presence of- E. V. MARTIN, ll. OCONNOR.

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