US1665021A - Automatic electric switch for cable-carrying drums - Google Patents

Description

April 3, 1928.

J. H. COHEN AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC SWITGH-FOR CABLE CARRYING DRUMS Filed Nov. 13. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet April 3, 1928.

J. H. COHEN v AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC SWITCH FOR CABLE CARRYING DRUMS Filed Nov. 5. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 um E w 5 ,0 l

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C yX-hiernaar Patented prp,Y 1928; lf y TES",

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EonoABLE-Cenrne nnuiusi 'K A switches for[cable-carryingdrums, lof that l general type "employed in connection with clgarfllght'ers7 for use on motorjvehiclesfor y any other place, or forotherfdevieeswhieh i h wlt-hparts inelevatioin'but withlthenut and Vare sup liedwithan eleetriccurrentthrough a tlexib e'carrier carried-uponaselfwinding drum 'org reel' through: parts of: which thev nll'electrical current passed.` e The present inventiomhas for its objects y famongv otherslto providea simple-,"eiiieient, `and dependable devieefo thisln'ature, capa-v y ble ofgeneral use7V not liable to" get out ofV order, embodying in its'mavkeup aminimum `number-of parte consistent withpositive and reliable results,"capable vkof`prg'jduotion at Vsmall cosh-fand readily-assembled. f

Other lobjec'lts andl advantages Aof lthe invention will` hereinafter appear) and the Y novel e 'featuresthereof'willbe particularlyjpointed .out inthe app'endedf-claims.l i

, *j .Broadly` "considered;4 y ,the invention Y eInf bodies a spring drumwi'th Vcord or cable l attached theretotobe Woundfthereon or unwound therefrom,'- said cable fs'ervin'g as" a` currentr conducting 'lwire or f-Irieans, iand'` the y drumcar'ried by a revolublef'sorewsthreaded member `which constitutes; a' helical' cam] andk with which eoacts anon-(rotatable member, as a nut, this'enonerotatablefiiieinberL flexibly carrying a" current-carrying membercontrolled in its movements vby the movement :of tlien'ut toward and'from thedrum andserv'- i ing in conjunction withl the drumA as a conf tact-member by makinglabfrush-like engagement with the adjacent face off the drumffto make any electrical conneotionlwith acurre'nt- `r carrying''portion ofithedrumrso astov close i0 the oircuitl The degreetowhichfthe'cable "must A1 be 'drawn out tolelosefthefeircuitinay be varied as circuinstsuic'esnuayzrequireandAV mayV be predetermined by the pitch andv fine-p' ness "of 1the threads'on 'the nuten'd itsoov-r operating member movable 'with the drum. (i

f `The invention; hereinbeforebriefiy stated. is capable Jo'f'embodiment `in ia' Variety 'of forms,v a 'number only"ofwhiehf-` are herein y illustratd, but which serveto show several practical :embodiments `*of the invention. f {The inventiongfinfsuch preferred forms,fis clearly:v illustrated'jf "fthei aeeomparly/ing, drawings, .which7 with the numerals ot ref` erenee ,marked'thereom 'form a part of this .Specfeetiee and 'in WhfhV `l i le' is eSubstantially@wel Section i u elevation.

Figure l, looking vin Athe"directionof the arrow.

Figure 3 Vis an `enlarged sectional detail the 'parts carried thereby shownin different positions. f y e Figure @Lis a detail sectiontaken parallel `ith the axis of the drum, 'showing a modi ytied form. v I Y FigureV 5 lisa section onthe line 5-"5" ofV Figure 4, lookingin they Vdireetion'r of the `Figiire `6 isa lView similarto Figure t,-

showinjg anothen'iorm of embodiment oi the l invention. 4 f y v Y Figure 7 is a; perspeotiveview of thecontact-oarryingfnut removed and" with the contact member'omitted.""

I -Like numeralsof referenceindicate like parts throughout thefseveralviews.y fs

Referring to the4 drawings, f Y kl design etes a suitable.' casing jojr housing within'whichisyrotatably mountedthe drum or re'e1 and ingjwhichl are locatedlthe other partsv ofthedeviee except the 'currentconsuming vdevice 2,'show'n` conventionallyy in Figure 2; and which'may be a oigan-lighter such asis usually employed inthis classfofV devices, or itflmayv be lalainpfthe "cord, or cable 3 confneoted'with the-element in the 1 usual way being extended throughan open Figure 2 is a section as lon the line2-2 of,

wkemgmuy mengt the devies' with pari-s;

passed `throughV the socket or bushing 5 clamped tothe member 6` which may be the dash orwother portion ofpa motor-vehicle, V

(and 8 designatingthe "nutsupon the screwthreaded member 5L 'for vlany obvious purpose.

-, The ydrum or' reel* eonstructon preferably f includes two metallic ldiscs or head vflanges 9 and l0 tiXedly mounted upon ahubdl, the' insulating vcollar 12g and the twofdisos in# sulated fromfeachotherby the bre or other disc 131 surrounding" the hub., and," rupon 1 which is wound the wire or oable', asseenin '7105s' j Figure l. 'The hub llhasacollar 14' fitted y within an axialopening' in thel disc orhead disc 9 beinginsulatedrom the hub byfan y v ,Y

r1`he dise or member 10 is provided with an annular flange 18 within which is housed the spring 19, see Figure l, one end of said spring being iixed in any Well-known Way to said rlange,rand the other end aiiixed, as at 20, to the bolt or the like 2l mounted at one end in the hub 11, and the other end carrying a screw 22 mounted in a bearing 23 in one wall of the housing l, as seen in Figure l. Other means, however, of mounting this end of the hub may be resorted to, and any suitable means may be employed for atta-ching this end ot the spring.

The screw-threaded member mounted in a suitable bearing 27 on the wall 28 of: the housing, its other end beingl rigid with the hub l1, so as to rotate with the drum.

29 is a member having an axial opening 3() internally threaded, as at 3l, see Figure 7, tor cooperation with the threaded member This member 29 is non-rotatable but is mounted for movement toward and away from tle disc or drum flange 9, and, in the present instance, is guided in such movements by the guide members 32 extended loosely through the openings 33 in the ears 3d of the nut 29, see Figuresl l and 3.

35 is a member of metal secured to the i face of the nut 29 by any suitable means,

such as 36, see Figure l, and lto this member 35 is soldered or otherwise al'lixed one end ot' a coiled spring 37, the other end of which is soldered or otherwise ai'hxed to the member 38, from which extend parallel with the member 25, or substantially so, a plurality oi contacts 39, the number of Which may be varied, as found most expedient, and which are 'designed for Contact with the dise 9 under predetermined conditions, as will soon be explained. Y

40 are binding posts equipped with nuts and of usual form supported in the housing l, as seen i-n Figures l and 2.

41 is a Wire leading Yfrom a battery and connected up with one of the binding posts` +10, as seen in Figures l and 3. 42 is a Wire connected with the other binding post and leading to ground.

43 is a Wire leading from the binding post connected to battery and the other end ot this wire is connected with the metal member 235 carried by the traveling nut 29.

'The opera-tion Will-l be clear from the :foregoing description when taken in connection With the annexed drawings. Briefly stated, it is as follows -Normally the cable or Wire 3 is Wound upon the drum. `Wl1en the member 2 is grasped to pull the cable out, the drum is revolved against the tension ot its spring. Normally the contactpoints 39. are out of contact with the adjacent 'face or flange of the drum, as seen in Figure 1, the spring 37 beingexpanded, as shown, and the circuit Ais broken. The cable yis pulled out a foot, more or less, as may be previously determined, before Contact is made to coinplete the circuit. By this means I provide for positive assurance that the current will be shut oit until the cable has been drawn out a certa-in distance and also make sure that the current will Anot be lett on in case the member 2 is not 'fully returned to its normal position. As the cable is further drawn out the Contact members 39 are moved into engagement with the adjacent lace o'l the member 9 and the circuit is completed, and the member 2 `is energized. lt is vlo be noted that the disposition ot the spring, the

nut and the contacts is such that as the nut is advanced by reason ot the rotation ot' the drum the contacts are first iorced into engagement with the disc 9 under relatively light tension, but as the nut is t'urther moved the tension of the spring increases, and by Vthis means even when the part-s ha ve been in long continued use and become Worn there will be positive contact. Figure 3 shows the position of' the parts when the contacts have been forced against the member 9 by the movement of the nut through the rotation of the drum. The make vand break positive, and possibility of shortcircuiting is avoided; the action is of necessity positive and the same in every instance being Controlled positively by the rotation ot' the drum, either when the cable is wound or beingunwound. The positive action is not ,dependable upon the spring. As the ment ber 2 is released, the cable is Wound upon the drum and the nut is moved in the opposite direction through positive connection with the screw member 25 and the contacts are moved out of engagement with the member 9, as will be readily understood.

It will be noticed that the construction is such that the lcontact nut and the parts 'carried thereby remain practically dormant, after the circuit is broken, during the rewind of the drum, tor as soon as the member 2 is returned to its normal position the contacts are moved out of engagement with the inember 9, and thu-s remain inactive until the member 2 is again pulled out sullitiently to bring the said contacts into contact with the member 9 to complete the circuit and energize the member 2.

It may sometimes be lound desirable to lprovide means for guiding the member lf which carries the contacts 39. ln such case I may provide such member 38 with libre or other insulating guide members 4l. as seen in Figure 3, these members having openings for the free ,passage ol the guide rods 32.

The cable `has one strand soldered or other The bolt 2l serves as a fixed shaft it'or the 15 ends ofthe spring remaining in Contactl With drum and also as a means Wherebytheend ofthespringmaybe'aflixed imposition. Y 'Figure 2l `showsfa different form/of embodiment of the invention', but involving the l same generic. features.. :disc 45 ofthe 'drum'.fisprovided uponits face adjacent ,the contact-carrying nut :With

In" this form the a plateor. disc 46V of' insulating material.

i i' :The-hub is vinsulatedfrom the 'disc 4 5 'by suitable Ainsulation 148 and further from Vthe* disc 4 5 byfthe insulating collar VK49,50 being binding post, Whilej62 is a Wire leading f le n engage the insulating member 46,'as indii' afmetal collar bearing *against` the collar 49 and Y k51 being.` the memberl holding' `the said collarririplace. 52 is the'screvv shaft carry` `ingf,thejdrum and the gend of thisfhas `a bearingfinithe'ivall'of the housing, as seen at 54.. `55and ar'e the binding 4posts for the connection of the wires the same asin the form shown in Figures l and 3.l 57; and 58 are guiderods*carriedfby the/Wall of the housing and freely slidable'through open-` ings flinthenut 60.` i p 6l is awire leading," from battery te the fromV the outer binding post 56 to ground.y

63 is a Wire leading from the binding post 554 to the .metal springmembert Which is secured to theV face of the nut-60, as seen `in l'Figure 4L at 65. This spring` i`s` arched, as

shoWn,`its ends being designed to'normally cated by full lines' Figure e y c lIt is to be understood that the parts are connectedgup the'l same? as in Figures l, 2A

and 3, the cable'being Wound upon the drum,

y which isspringactuated as before, and the.' d nut lcontrolled in its 4movements by the revolution of the drum. Normally 'the ends of the,`

,spring 6ft are. in engagement with thevginsulating member 46, as shown by full lines in Figure14,the other parts-being in the position shown by full lines inthe said Figure 4. Now, kwhen thernember 2 is pulled upon,

the cable will be drawn out from thefreel,

and the reel or drum thereby revolved, Vthe the saidinsulating member until there has been afoot more or lessas may bev previouslyv determined, drawn out.l During ,this time, olf-course, tlieccurr'ent is shut off,the circuit `being broken.V As more of the cable pulled out, the nut ismovedlurther to#` Ward the adjacent flange ,ofthe drum or reel and the spring 64 is caused to spread so that its ends will be moved out of Contact with thetinsulating dise and Will then engage the metal portion of thedrum flange or disc andthe circuit Will be completed and the member2 energized; As the drum 're-` Winds, the nut isvmoved in the opposite di-` rection Vand the spring returns to itsnormal position, `with its ends Vin contact with thev insulating disc and the current 1s shut off.

i 4ture; isf quitesmler to, that just described In the form shown in Figure 6, ythe struc.

flangey has :suchqends normally out of contacttherewitlufas seeny in-said Figure 6, so that under normali conditionsthe circuit is broken. The spring 1s arched as: beforefand is attached to the nut by 'any suitable means,

Willbelbrought up` againstthe disc by the movement of' thenutand the circuitv closed and the member 2 energized. On the rewind,-thenut moves "away from the drum as atf.` Asthe cable is drawn out, it movesl the predetermined distance Without the' ends of the spring contacting with the drum disc. V'Afterjthe cable has been pulled out the preso y determined distance, vthe.` ends of the spring disc Aand the spring leaves the latter and shuts off the current/,The spring is connected .with the binding lpost by Wire'i69, the

binding .posts being `connected with battery y l yand ground as in the otherl forms.

Modii'cations inV detail, proportion andl relativejarrangernent of parts may be resorted to Without departing from `the spirit."

of the invention advantages.,V Y y l lVhat is olaimedfas new is z- 1.-A"take.up device for ycurrent-carrying ,or` sacrificing any of itsl cables, comprisingV a current carrier take-upvv drum on Which the cable isv Wound and to which the cable is electrically connected, the drum having a` Contact memberforming a of the drum and adapted tofcarry current and movable towardv and from the drum in a direction parallel to the axis `thereof through .therotation of the Vdrum 'to elec.-

ytrically engage and ldisengage thesaid contact member which ormsa necessary structuralpart of the'drum. v

2. A take-up' devicefor current-carrying cables, comprising adrum casing yprovided necessary structural lpart of it; and aco operating contact member disposed axially' with acover plate; a take-up drum mounted inthe casing; a currentcarrying contact inembernlovable axlallyof the drum into` electrical 1 engagement y-therewith5 a i rotary threaded element rotatable with the drum;

anon-rotating threaded element cooperat-y "ingwith said rotary elementV to cause theV Contact lto move ,intoengagement With the drum when-the drum 1s rotated' to unwind the lcable",therefrom; and means for anchor-` ing lsaid non-rotating threaded ,element on said cover `plate against turningmovement. i

3. A talze-up device for4 current-'carryingr tables comprising a drum` casing provided with acoverplate a take-up drum mounted electrical en.gfigeueatv therewith ;V e i rotary in the `casing;v a V4current-carrying contactv member movable axially ofthe drum into; um d sut..

E' threaded element rotatable with the drum;

- a non-rotating threaded element cooperating.)r

' the drum when the drum is rotated to unwind the cable therefrom, the non-rotating threaded element being, adjustable With rela# tion to the rotating threaded element so as to vary the extent oi2 movement of the drum which is necessary to bring the contact into engagement with the drum; and means on the cover plateof the casing' for anchoring the non-rotating threaded element against turningl movement.

4. In a device of the character described, a cable-reel, two members., one a nut and the other a screw associated with said reel, the nut and sere-W beingl one rotatable with respect to the other', means for rotating the rotatable one ot' said members as the cable reel rotates so that, as a result of the screwthreaded engagement of the one member With theother, bodilyv movement of one of the memberstoivard the reel is effected, a current carrying Contact on the movable member adapted to make electrical engagement with a Contact on the reel when moved bodily toward the reel; and non-currcnt carrying means vfor holding the member which does not rotate against rotation.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature.

JOSEPH H. COI-IEN.

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