US1299602A - Service-switch. - Google Patents

Description

G. E. PALMER. sE'vlcE swncH.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 23 1913.. 1

Patented Ap1..8,1919.

ifr:art.ifinzi!!rlrrrldilliiiillfs:n6 lli b mmm@ ,aman

G. E. PALMER.

SERVICE SWITCH..

APPLICATION FlLED APR..,23, i913.

1,299,662. Patented Apr. 8,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED sTATSEs PATENT onirica GRANVILLE E. PALMER, or BRooKLINn MASSACHUSETTS.

SERVIGE-SWITCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 8, 1919.

Application filed April .23, 1913. Serial N o. 763,066.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, GRANVILLE E. PALMER, a citizen of the United States, and a resi-4 dent of Brookline, in the vcounty of Non folk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Service-Switches, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to service permitting a current consumer to reach the,

live contacts, thereby permittingthe opening of either. or both circuits at will and at the same time effectively preventing a customer from stealing current.

ln carrying out my invention, 1 provide the switch box with a cover which may be sealed byv a representative of the company furnishingthe electric current, and behind which are located the" live contacts to which the incoming` conductors are connected. The meter contacts are located in another portion of the box, in the rear of hinged doors which are provided with vfuses and movable contacts so arranged that, when the doors are closed, their contacts engage the corresponding stationary live and meter contacts, and

when they are opened, the circuits are broken by the separation of the movable contacts away from the stationary contacts. The doors are hinged on axes between their ends, so that', when they are opened, end portions of the doors swing into the box and interpose an effective barrier between the stationary contacts for the incoming `and outgoing conductors, and prevent access to the live contacts. lt is desirable that one side of the lighting system may be opened without disturbing the lights on the other side of the system, and it is also desirable, in cases of emergency, that by a single Inovement the entire service systems may be disconnected from the main distribution systems. Consequently I provide a combined door and movable switch carrier, for each side ofthe system, which door may be opened and closed independently of the others, and also a third intermediate door and switch carrier, for the neutral line, which, on.- being opened, opens withv it they other doors and switch carriers'.

On the accompanying'drawinga Figure 1 shows in front elevation a service switch box embodying my invention, the sealed cover being partially broken away.

Fig. 2 represents a longitudinal sectiong therethrough on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 represents a transverse section on the line 3 3` of Fig., 1.

Fig. 4f shows a side elevation and partial section of the box, and illustrates the doors as being closed wi-thout actually closing the circuits.

Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the switch as being opened.

Fig. 6 represents a section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 1 andlillustrates the broken-fuse detector.

The switch comprises a box or" casing which may be made of drawn or cast metal and which may be substantially oblong with the usual rear, side and end walls as indi'- cated at 11', 12, 12, 13 and 14; respectively. To the end walls 13 andlet, conduit terminals 15, 15 are secured by angular-headed bolts 16 and nuts 17. The heads of the 'bolts it in angular recesses in lugs formed on said conduit terminals, so Vthat the bolts cannot be unscrewed without opening the box to permit access to the nuts.

` The box is cellular. That is', it is formedV with three compartments separated from each otherv by the longitudinal, partition walls 18, 18, which extend from the end wall 13 to the end wall 14. At each end of each of the compartments there is an aperture 19 communicating with the conduit terminal 15 to receive a wire which is protected by the conduit.

At the opposite ends of the compartments, which are indicated at a, b and c, I secure to the bottom wall 11 the blocks 20, 21 of insulating material, on which are respectively mounted the live terminals 22 and contacts 23, and the service or meter terminals 24 and contacts 25. The blocks 20, 21 with the terminals and stationary contacts thereon are relatively remote, and those in one which contains the live terminals and contacts is a cover 26 having a 'flange along three edges to overlap the end wall 13 and side walls l2 and having an aperture to receive a staple 27 through which a seal shown conventionally at 28 may be passedto seal it in position. This cover remains in place at all times except when removed by a representative of the company furnishing the current in the performance of his duties of inspection.

The remaining front portion of the box is closed by a plurality of doors, which also serve as switch and fuse carriers. Such doors are indicated at 29, 30 and 31, and they lit over the three compartments a, Z) and c respectively7 as shown in Figs. and 3. Each door has outwardly projecting perforated ears or lugs 32 to receive a .transverse pintle 33, -the two outer doors being freely rotatable about said pintle and the intermediate door being secured thereto by'set screws 34.` The ends of the pintle project into apertures 331 formed in bracketsor lugs 332 projecting forwardly from the side walls of the box. Secured to the inner faces of and forming a part of the doors are the blocks 34, 35, 36 of insulating material, one end of each of which underlies the cover 26 when the doors are closed. 1t will'be observed that the pintle, or axis of oscillation of the doors, is located between the ends of the doors, so that when the latter are opened, the lower end of each door swings forwardly and upwardlv away from the box to' expose the compartment covered thereby, and the upper end of each door swings into the said compartment of the box and forms a barrier which completely cuts oli3 access to the live contact and terminal in such compartment.

1 mount on each door block a fuse of any suitable kind and switch members electrically connected therewith. As shown, the doors 29, 31, have flat strip fuses 37, and the door 30 has either a fuse or a flat conductor 33 between the switch members. i rlhe switch members are indicated Arespectively at 39 and 40, those at 39 projecting in parallelism with the doors and being' adapted to engage the live contacts 23, and those at 40 being perpendicular to the doors and adapted to engage the service or imeterv contacts 25. Each of the movable switch contacts consists of a spring clip adaptedto embrace the stationary member with which it makes electrical connection, as shown in Fig. 3. rThe two outer blocks 34 and 36`are grooved to receive and protect the fuses 37, and are themselves set between inwardly projecting Hanges 41 formed on the side edges of the doors 29,31.

By an examination of Figs. 2 and 5, it will be seen that, when the doors are opened, the upper ends of the doors (considering the blocks thereon as part of the doors) will swing clear of the blocks 20 and the bottom mageos wall ll, and willcome to a state of rest in contact with or very closely adjacent the blocks 21, the upper ends of which are beveled for this purpose, so that it will be impossible for an evil minded consumer to inn troduce wire past the doors into contact with the live terminals. In this last-mentioned position, the contacts 39 will engage the then dead or service contactsand the doors will be held open thereby. Thus the contacts 39 will swing through the arc of a circle without interruption, and at the ends of its movement will engage the two sets of contacts 23, 25, the latter serving' as means for holding the doors open.

The two outer doors 29, 3l, are provided on their straight side edges, from points adjacent the ears or lugs 32, with lateral raised flanges to overlap the side walls 12, l2 ofV the box, and to overlap the side edges of the door 30. As a result either of the doors 29 or 31 may be opened to open or interrupt one side of the three wire system without opening the other, and yet, by opening the middle door, the whole service system will be disconnected from the main distribution system, as the other two doors will be opened therewith. The two outer doors have knob handles 42, 42, and the middle door has a bar handle 43.

It is desirable for many reasons that eachl door shall be closed before the switch inembers carried thereby engage the stationary switch contacts. With that end in view, 1 arrange across the compartments at the lower end thereof a plate or bar 44, which forms a part of the box and which is overlapped by the free ends of the doors, when the latter are shut, and I form or provide each of the doors with a perpendicular beveled flange or guard 45. When a door is closed, as shown in dottedlines in Fig. 4, communication with the interior of the box is cut oli", and yet the contacts 39 and 40 are not in engagement with the stationary contacts 23 and 25. In order to engage the contacts, it is necessary to move the door still further toward parallelism with the back wall of the box, in which case the edge of the guard passes the edge of the front plate. The guardand the front plate perform still another function, to wit, that of stops for preventing the three switches from accidentally slamming' into closed position, when the three doors have been opened. 1t will be noted that the apertures 331 in the lugs 332 are vertically elongated (see Figs.

1, 4 and 5), and that, when the middle door is closed, the pintle' 33 occupies the upper ends of the apertures. iVhen the middle door 30 is opened, the pintle drops into the lower ends of the apertures, so that, when the door is swung downwardly, theend of the 'tlange or guard 45 will engage and rest against the'iunargin of the front face of the front plate 44 as shown in full lines in Fig. 4, in which position the movable contacts are out of engagement with the stationary contacts. The outer doors can close no farther on account of'their overlapping the middle door. In order to close the doors, they must be moved bodily upwardly and transversely of their axis of'movement so that the edge of the guard will pass theedge of the plate, after which the doors may be completely shut. The flange or guard is beveled, as shown in FigQ, and its beveled face engages the edge of the front plate and holds the pintle in the upper ends of the slots or apertures 331, when the outer doors are opened. The lower edge of the cover 26 ts under the pintle and is' locked in place thereby, but its lower end may be otherwise interlocked with the boX if desired.

It is very desirable that some means may ybe provided for testing the condition of the fuses 'without opening the doors, and thereby disconnecting the lighting system or any part thereof, or for determining which of the fuses has been blown. Hence I provide a broken-fuse detector which is shown in Figs. and 6. It consists of a pin 46 of any suitable non-conducting material which is placed loosely in an aperture formed in each of the doors which carries a fuse, and in an alined aperture in the block. On its outer projecting end it has a head'47 and on its inner end is has a broad flat head 48 which is interposed 'between the fuse 37 and the block, and is located between the ends of the fuse. The fuses are ductile, and are easily bent when broken, so that merely by pressing the pins inwardly, the condition of the fuses may be ascertained, for, if the fuseresists the movement of the pin, it is intact, whereas, if it is blown or broken, there will be no material resistance to the inward movement of the pin an'd the .latter will be forced into a position where the outer head engages the door, showing that the fuse is destroyed.

As a matter of detailed construction, I have formed the brackets or lugs 332 with stops 333 to lbeengaged by complemental stops 334 on the outer doors, and thereby limit the opening movement of the doors; and I form the insulating blocks 34, and 36, which form part of the doors, with slots 341 to permit the free ends of said blocks to pass the stationary contacts.

While I have explained in detail the construction of the service switch mechanism illustrated upon the drawing,it willbe understood that the invention is not limited to the details described nor to the particular embodiment selected 'for illustration.

I do no herein claim broadly any of the features of construction 'and arrangement illustrated in my application Serial. No. 786.960 for service switch mechanism (to which reference may be made for the advantages accruing from the employment of'a switch boX, in which the live contacts are sealed and yet in which the customer may replace a fuse or open the switch without breaking the seal), since the present invention provides certain hereinabove-noted improvements upon the mechanism therein illustrated and described,and it is these improvements which form the subject matter of the appended claims. The switch mechaiiisni herein illustrated and described, however, embodies many of ,'thevfeatur'es :of construction and arrangement which are claimed in said application. While I have shown and described the switch mechanism as 'being peculiarly applicable for three wire systems, it isapparent that the invention may be equally well embodied in any multi-polar switch mechanism for control- `ling a plurality of circuits.

While I have shown the two outer doors as overlapping the middle door, so that the middle door cannot be opened without also opening the other doors, and prefer such a construction and arrangement for reasons obvious to those skilled in the art, yet, so far as other features of the invention are concerned, it is apparent that the overlapping flanges may be omitted, thereby permit-ting each of the doors to be opened and closed independently of the others. As it is, the two outer doors are wholly independent of each other and of the middle door, so far as opening and closing them separately are concerned. Iff desired, the box could be formed without the middle compartmentpand the middle door, its switch, and the neutral contactscould be omitted, so that there would be but .two independent doors with their associated switches.

Having thus explained the nature of my said invention and described a way of making and using the same, although without attempting to set forth all of the forms in which it may be made or all of the modes of its use, what I claim is l. `A switch boX, a plurality of pairs of live contacts and meter contactstherein for a three-wire circuit, a plurality of doors, one for each pair of live and meter contacts, switch members on each door for completing a circuit between a pair of contacts, a pintle, means for so pivotally mounting each door independently of the other on said pintle that when it is opened it interposes a barriertothe corresponding live contact, said outer doors overlapping the middle door, whereby each outer door may be opened independently, but the opening of the middle door causes the opening of the outer doors. v

2. A switch box divided into .a plurality of parallel compartments, a pair of live and meter contacts in remote portions of each compartment, means covering the live contacts in said compartments, doors, of which one covers each compartment, switch members carried by .each door for engagement with the live and meter contacts in the corresponding compartment, a pintle secured to said box and on which each door is pivoted at points between its ends so that when vopened one end of the door swings into the rcorresponding compartment and interposes a barrier to prevent access to the live contacttherein, and flanges on each outer door overlapping the middle `door, whereby each outer door may be opened independently but the opening of the middle door causes the opening of the outer doors.

3. A triple pole switch box, three pairs of live and meter contacts therein, sealed means covering the live contacts, pendent parallel doors separately hinged to the box' between their ends with their upper ends extendingunder said sealed means,each covering one of the meter cont-acts, switch members carried by each door for engagement with the,corresponding live and meter contacts, and means constructed and arranged to permit each of the outer doors to be opened` 'and closed independently of the other doors, but to cause the simultaneous opening of the other doors when the middle door is opened.

4. A switch box, live contacts in one portion thereof for a three-wire system, corresponding meter contacts in another portion thereof, a sealed cover for that portion of the box containing the live contacts, partitions in said box between the pairs of contacts, a plurality of doors covering that portion of the box containing the meter contacts, one for each pair of contacts, switch members on each door vfor engaging a live and a corresponding meter Contact, a transverse pintle for the doors located between the. ends of the doors and adjacent the edge of the cover, portions of said doors underlying the cover when they are in closed position, and flanges on the outer doors overlapping the middle door.

5. A switch box, a, door, switch contact members on said door, a live contact in one portion of the box, and a meter contact in another portion of the box adapted to be engaged by the two contact members respectively, and means for so pivoting the door to said box to permit the membi which engages the live contact to be move from engagement therewith into engag ment with the meter contact and hold tl door open. v

6. A switch box, separated stationary co1 tacts therein, a door hinged to the box on transverse axis, switch members for engag ing said contacts and mounted on said dooi one of said switch members being mounte to move with the door into engagement wit both stationary contacts alternately.

7. A switch box designed to be arrange 'with its rear wall in vertical position, door hinged to the side walls of the box an movable about a horizontal axis to bring it free end forwardly and away from the boa switch members carried by the door an movable therewith, and separated station ary live and meter contacts in the box nor mally engaged by said members when sai( door is closed, said stationary contacts bein; located in the path of the live contact en gaging member to engage the latter, fric tionally, whereby said member will engage the meter contact when the door is opener and by its engagement therewith hold th d oor in open position.

S. A switch box, separated blocks of insulating material thereon, live and metel contacts mounted on said blocks respec tively, a cover closing that portion of the box containing the livle contact, a door, switch .members and an associated fuse on said door, means pivoting said door between its ends to said box and located between the said blocks so that when the door is opened one portion thereof is swung into thel box into engagement with the block carrying the meter contact to completely cut olf access to the live contact.

9. A switch box, separated stationary contacts therein, a cover, switch members thereon, a stop in the normal path of closing movement of the door, and means for loosely pivoting said door to said box, so that it may be moved bodily, be disengaged from the stop and be completely closed.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

GRANVILLE E. PALMER.

Witnesses:

MARCUS B. MAY, PETER W. PEZZETTI.

Images