US1190103A - Switch. - Google Patents

Description

J. RJBYRNEf SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 12, I913.

Patented July 4, 1916. I

Fig. 5. 24%,!

InQentcr: John F?.BT"HG ha I l Witness es His fit'tov-neg.

To all whom it may concern:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN B. iarmvn, or

COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

SWITCH.

Be it known,that I, JOHN R. 'BY NE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Schenectady, county of Schenectady, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Switches, of which the following isa specification.

The present invention relates to electric switchesfla-nd more. especially to switches operating to open and close an electric circuit with a snap action.

'lhe switches formerly in use in sockets for incandescent lamps were required to make and break currents of only an ampere or less and accordingly were able to-perform capable of successfuly closing and opening circuits carrying several amperes current;

It has long been recognized that on account.

of the necessarily small dimensions and consequent frailty of the parts of a switch located in a lamp socket thatxthe be capable of being freely turned in both directions. Moreover, a switch operable on a quarter turn possesses many advantages. over a switch requiring a half turn to operate it since there are many positions in.

which the switch cannot readily be given a half turn by the'hand. A .quarter turn switch possesses the added advantage that the handle or thumb piece automatically indicates the on and oil positions of the switch.

One object of my invention is to Provide an improved form of electric switch which shall operate with a snap action upon turn- I ing the actuating member aquarter turn in either direction, and which shall be strong and durable'when of small dimensions.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a. novel" form of stop for the switch,

which is certain in its action in arresting the rotation ofth'e swltch after 1t has accomplished a quarter turn movement in either Specification of Letters Patent.

switch should Patented Jul 4, 1916.

Application filed fiovenib'er 12, 1913. Serial No. 800,449.

direction and which is well adapted to stand the sudden impacts to which it is subjected Without prematurely wearing out.

For a fuller understanding of. my invention, reference may be had to the accom- SCHENEGTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 GENERAL ELECTRIC v panying drawings illustrating one embodiment thereof, in which- 1 Figure 1 is a longitudinal section, with tne lower half of the insulating base in elevation, of a lamp socket inwhich a switch embodying my invention is located;.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the lower part of the supporting base with the switch mounted on the base; Fig. 3 is a side'elevation of theswitch; Fig. 4: is a plan view of Fig. 3, but showing the operating handle angularly displaced with reference to the switch, thus placing the operating parts of the switch under tension; Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of the switch and the support for the same; Fig. 6 is a perspective view thereof with parts broken away; Fig. 7 is a plan View of an automobile lighting switch embodying my invention, and Fig. 8 is a section taken on the line 8-8, Fig. 7.

Referring to the drawings, and first to I Figs. l to 6, 1 is the lower half of a lamp socket supporting base made of any suitable insulating material, such as molded porcelain, and 2 is the upper half thereof. The lower half of the base is formed with a transverse recess 3, with which a recess 4 in the upper half registers, the two recesses forming housing for the operating parts of the switch. The supporting here is incloscd in a lamp socket shell 5 of usual construction provided with a cap 6. A base plate or yoke A, which is formed to fit in the bottom of the recess 3, is provided with up-turned ends 7 and 8 which constitute supporting brackets for the operating parts of the switch. The-bottom part of the base plate is also provided with upwardly and inwardly extending lugs 9 having notches 10 at theirends as indicated in Fig. 6. The up-turned end 8 of the base plate is also provided with inwardly turned lugs 8 which embrace and secure. inposition the ends of two fiat spaced springs 11, the oppositeends of which extend beneath the inturned ends of the brackets 9 and project outwardly across the notches 10, the springs extending substantially to the far edges of the brackets, The base plate. A is secured to the supporting base 1 by screws (not shown in the drawing). An actuator for producing a torque in the switch comprising an actuating spindle 13, is mounted in an opening in the bracket 8 of the base plate. An insulated handle 14 of the usual form is suitably secured to the outer end of the spindle 13, and the inner end is provided with laterally and forwardlyextending arms 15 and 16 parallel with the spindle itself and here shown as integral therewith. One end of a sleeve 17 embraces the inner end of the spindle 13, while its opposite end is mounted in the bracket 7. The sleeve is provided with a flange or collar 18 which engages the inner face of the bracket 7. A rotary switch member B comprises a contact plate 20 having forwardly projecting contact blades 20", a detent wheel 21, shown as of the star wheel type, a disk 22 provided with a rearwardly extending arm 23 and a plate 24: from which an annular piece 25 is stamped up, which constitutes a double cam facing the actuator or actuating spindle. The upper part of the cam ring 25 (as viewed in Fig. 6) is cut away at 25 to form a notch within which the arm 23 is received,

the two ends of the divided cam being seatedagainst shoulders 23 on the arm 23. The contact plate 20, detent wheel 21 and plates 22 and 24 are fixedly mounted upon a sleeve 26, which is in turn loosely mounted upon the sleeve 17 and provided with a. flange 27 engaging the plate 20, the end of the sleeve facing the actuator being slightly turned out to hold in position the members which are mounted thereon. A coil spring 28 surrounds the end of the sleeve 17 adjacent the actuating spindle 13, the ends of the spring being bent outwardly on opposite sides of the arms 16 and 23 and thus normally holding them in alinement; A collar 29 surrounding the sleeve 17 separates the spring 28 from the plate 24." A coil spring 30 surrounds the end of the sleeve 17 mounted in the bracket 7 and impels the member B toward the actuating spindle. Stationary binding terminals for the wires are indicated by the numerals 31 and 32, which are suitably connected to stationary contacts 33 and 34:.

The operation of my device is as follows: In the normal position of the operating parts of the switch, one of the detents of the wheel 21 is located between the spaced ends of the Hat springs 11 which prevent movement of the wheel and of the member B in either direction, and. the end of the arm 15 engages the lowest portion of the cam 25, that is, the portion of the cam adjacent to the plate 24:. Now, when'the actuator is turned in either direction, rotary movement of the member B is prevented and the arm. l6 moves away from the arm 23, thus wind-.

of the arm 15 rides up one side or the other of the cam 25, depending on the direction of movement of the actuator and moves the member 13' axially of the sleeve 17 against the spring 30 until the detent of the Wheel 21, which has been retained between the ends of the springs 11, is moved to the left sufliciently to clear the end of the engaging spring 11, at which time a quick rotary movement of the member B is produced and the contact blades 20 of the switch element 20 quickly separated from or brought into engagement with the stationary contacts 33 and 34 to break or .make the circuit. As soon as the detent is freed from one of the springs 11 and the member B begins to turn, the spring 30 forces member B toward the actuator so that the next detent of the wheel rides over and depresses the other of the springs 11 and is brought to a stop between the two springs after the switch has completed a movement of 90 degrees. Since the springs 11 are depressed by the detents riding over the surfaces of the springs, it will be apparent that there is little wear either upon the springs or the detent wheel itself, and since the longitudinal edges of the springs engage. the transverse shoulders of the detents upon arresting the movement of part 13, while the end edges of the springs in clearing the side shoulders of the detents control the release of the part B, it is readily seen that even though there should be more or less wear of the parts under the hammer blows incident to arrest of the switch movement, the shoulders which determine the release of the part B will be unaffected and accordingly so long as the springs and de tents properly function to arrest the rota-- table member B, the latter will be permanently locked and fully tensioned by the key before being released.

In Figs. 7 and 8 I have shown my inven tion embodied in an automobile lighting switch; the head, side and rear lights and the wiring thereto being arranged in a manner well understood in the art. The switch is here mounted on a base a secured to any desired support. A U-shaped plate 7) is secured to the base a, the outer-ends of the arms being bent inwardly. An angle plate 0 is secured to the forward ends of the two arms,the transverse part of the plate having a bearing for the spindle 13 as in Figs. 1 to 6, while the transverse part of the angle plate has its central portion cut away to form spring arms 11 with an opening (Z between them in which the detents of the wheel 21 are successively received.

While I have described my invention in connection with a quarter turn switch, it will be obvious that the angular displace ment necessary to complete a movement of the switch is determined by the distaiice apart of the detents on the wheel 21, the

by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. A snap switch mechanism comprising an axially movable rotary member includ' ing a switch element and detent means; stop means normally engaging said detent means so as to prevent rotation of said member a rotary actuator for said rotarymember; and means responsive to rotation of said actuator' in either direction for exerting tension onsaid rotary member and shifting said detent means axially to release-it from said stop means.

2. Asnap switch mechanism comprising a rotary'member including a contact plate and axially movable detent and cammeans; stop means normally engaging said detent means so as to prevent rotation of said member; a rotary actuator for said rotary member and means forming between said actuator andsaid member a yielding operating connection adapted to exert tension on the latter in response to rotation of the former in either direction; and means carried by said actuator for cooperating with said cam means to shift said detent means axially todisengage it from said stop means.

3. A snapswitch mechanism including an axially movable rotarymember comprising a contact plate, a detent wheel, and a double faced cam; means yieldingly resisting axial movements of said rotary member; means normally engagingsaid detent wheel to'preve'nt rotation thereof in either direction; a rotary actuator forsaid rotary member; means forming between said actuator and said rotary member ayielding operating connection adapted to exert-tension on the latter in response to rotation of the former in either direction; and means carried-by the actuatorfor engaging one or the other of the cam faces in accordance with the direction of rotation of the actuator to movethe rotary member axially and release the same from said'engaging means.

4. =A snap switch mechanism including an axially movable rotary member comprising a contact plate,'a star wheel, and a double cam; a spring opposing axial movement of said rotar member; stop means for prevent ing rotation of said rotary member comprising a pair of yielding members between which one ofthe detents of the star wheel is normally held; a rotary actuator for said rotary member facing said cam; means forming between said actuator and said rotary member a yielding operating connection adapted to exert tension on the latter in response to rotation of the former in I either direction; and an arm carried by said a rotary member including an axially -mov able detent wheel; means yieldingly resisting axial movement of said wheel; stop means for preventing rotation of said rotary member comprising a pair of fiat springs, be-' tween which the detents of said wheel are successively received, the uppersurfaces of said springs lying in the path of movement of. said detents; a rotary actuator forsaid rotary member comprising means for movactuator adapted on such rotation to cooping said detent wheel axially to release it yielding connection between said actuator and said rotary member adapted to exert tensionon the latter in response to rotation of the former. I

6. A snap switch mechanism comprising ,an axially movable rotary member including a detent wheel; means yieldingly resisting axial'movement of said rotary member; stop means for preventing rotation of said rotary member comprising a pair of flat springs with their upper surfaces within the path of movement of said wheel; means for exerting tension 'on said detent wheel and for simultaneously moving it axially against the resistance of said yielding means to free it from said springs, so that the detents of" said wheel may successively be brought to rest between said springs by depressing and passing over one of them and engaging another.

7. In a snap switch, a base plate having its ends upturned to constitute brackets, an actuating spindle mounted in one of the brackets,the inner end of which is formedwith a projection on either side of the spindie, a sleeve mounted in the other bracket and embracing said spindle, a rotary member loosely mounted on said sleeve and comprising a contact plate, a star wheel, a cam facfrom said stop means; and means forming'a ing the actuator, a tension spring surround- 1 ing the inner end of said sleeve and having its ends engaging opposite sides of one of said projections, the other projection engaging said cam, aspring for forcing said rotary member toward the actuator, and stop means for preventing rotation of said rotary member comprising a pair of yielding members between which one of the detents of the star wheel is normally located and from which said detent is released after a predes termined movement of said actuator.

8. In a lamp socket, the combination of a key rotatable in either direction, a rotary switch member mounted coaxially with the key, means to lock said rotary member against rotation, a spring connection between said key and said rotary member, and an operative connection between said key and said locking means whereby the rotary means; spring stop means carried by the socket structure normally engaging said detent means so as to prevent rotation of said.

rotary member; and yielding means responsive to rotation of saidke in either direction for exerting on sai rotary member tension tending to rotate it and for releasing the engagement of said detent means and said spring stop means so that said rotary member may rotate until arrested'by their rengagement.

In Witness whereof, I-have hereunto set my'hand this 10th day of November, 1913. 30

JOHN R. BYE-NE. Witnesses:

BENJAMIN B. HULL, Maneann'r E. WOOLLEY.

copies 0! this patent say In obtained for he cents essh, by addressing the "Commissioner of intents. Isshisrtu, I; 0."

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