US2172977A

US2172977A - Push-on type handle

Info

Publication number: US2172977A
Application number: US168620A
Authority: US
Inventors: Donald G Kimball
Original assignee: General Electric Co
Current assignee: General Electric Co
Priority date: 1937-10-12
Filing date: 1937-10-12
Publication date: 1939-09-12
Anticipated expiration: 1956-09-12

Description

D. G. KIMBALL 2,172,977

PUSH-ON TYPE HANDLE Sept. 12, 1939.

Filed Oct. 12', 1957 Irfiventor": Donald G. Kimball b W 6 His Attorney.

Patented Sept. 12, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE PUSH-ON TYPE HANDLE Donald G. Kimball, Stratford, Com, assignor to General Electi-ic- ()ompany, a corporation of New York Application October 12, 1937, Serial No. 168,620

1 Claim. ((1287-53) cally, which may be assembled quickly and'easily upon a shaft without the use of tools, and which is held rigidly-mounted thereon without wobble 'or lateral side play.

Referring tothe drawing, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a plurality of handles mounted upon a piece of electrical apparatus; Fig. 2 is a viewin cross-section through the handle; Fig. 3 is an end view of theinterior of the handle, and Fig. 4 is an exploded view of the shaft and latchin means.

The handle It represents a suitable manipulat- .ing or control element for an instrument shaft and may be formed of molded composition. The handle takes the form of a hollow shell and has side walls Ill and ill which are flared outwardly at the center to provide for a web l which is placed centrally between thewalls and is adapted to mount the handle upon a shaft and at the same time insure a rigid. and sturdy construction. In the construction shown by Fig. 1 the handle is of generally oblong shape and is provided with decorative flutings ll upon the outside wall surfaces and a metallic insert I2 upon the outer end surface which gives the handle a pleasing appearance. The handle is mounted upon a heater, l3 which is illustrated merely as an' example of the type of apparatus to which the handle may be connected. The decorative metallic insert I2 is formed with extending ends I which are inserted through openings Hi formed in the handle [0 and then bentover the shoul-.

ders l5 which are formed on the inner surface -of the handle. By this construction the insert is held in position. It will be apparent that the insert may be omitted, if desired, and the handle formed entirely of composition material;

The heater or instrument l3 isprovided with a control shaft l6 which is of non-circular crosssection and which is adaptedto be inserted into a corresponding non-circular opening I! formed in the central web portion Ill of the handle. By making the shaft and opening non-circular a positely disposed bowed portions 2| close mating fit is obtained between the shaft and the handle, and accurate rotation of the shaft is insured upon rotation of the handle. Latching means for holding the shaft in the opening is provided in the form of a spring I! mounted upon the handle overlying the recess H. .The

spring is of substantially hairpin form and comprises a looped portion 20 together with opwhich are adapted to straddle the shaft and-be seated in recesses or grooves 22 formed upon opposite sides .of the shaft. A screw 23'passes through the loop and is threaded into a hole in an extension I8 depending from the web W. The screw is located immediately adjacent the opening l1 and hence secures the spring to the web in a position overlying the opening l1. The distance between the bowed portions 2| is made smaller than the diameter of the shaft I6 so that as the shaft is pushed into the opening, it will spring 20 the bowed portions apart as they straddle the shaft. When the shaft is fully seated in the opening-the bowed portions will snap back into normal position in the recesses 22.

In order to prevent the bowed portions of the spring from springing too far apart as the shaft is inserted between them, the tang ends 24 of the spring are bent over at 25 and inserted into a recess 26 formed in the web Ill. The recessis formed with vertical sides 21 which engage the spring tangs and prevent them from springing apart and, in addition, is formed 'with a .slot

'28'which receives the ends of the tangs. The

ends of the tangs grip the slot 28 under spring of the recess when the handle is pulled off. The loop and tang ends of the spring are fastened to the web at points closely adjacent the shaft by means of the recess 26 and screw 23, so that repeated insertion and retraction of the shaft in 40 the opening will not dislodge the spring. The recess 26 confines the tang ends ofthe spring and maintains the bowed portions 2| in position slightly covering the opening ll where they may be sprung apart upon insertion of the shaft is.

The handle is readily mounted upon and removed from a shaft and the spring latching means is effective to hold the handle securely upon the shaft and at the same time permit its quick removal. The latching structure is located within the interior of the handle and is completely hidden from view making possible a handle having a pleasing exterior design of decorative value. The handle may be assembled upon the shaft by a simple movement of the hand without handle under normal conditions of use, means attaching the bowed end of said spring to said handle, said handle being provided with a second recess, the tang ends of said bowed spring being bent over within said second-mentioned recess and i'rictionally engaging the walls of the same to prevent lateral displacement of said spring and to prevent separation of the bowed portions of said Spring.

DONALD G. KIMIBALL.