US2231387A - Electric switch - Google Patents

Description

Feb. ll, 1941. D. R. JONES ELECTRIC SWITCH Filed Jan. 1l, 1957 6' INVENTOR wwvafz j?. IEM

i BY va Patented Feb. 11, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRIC SWITCH pany, Detroit, Mich.,

Ware

a corporation of Dela- Application January 11, 1937, Serial No. 119,934

6 Claims.

The invention relates to electric switches and involves an improved form of foot operated switch for controlling a plurality of electric circuits, such as those employed with the headlights of automobiles.

Various forms of circuit control devices have heretofore been utilized to enable the driver of an automobile to switch from one lighting circuit to another in order to provide what has been commonly referred to as bright and dim lights, but now more appropriately designated high beam and low beam lights. Such circuit control means have been either manually or foot actuated. While the switches heretofore used for this purpose have operated satisfactorily to shift from one lighting circuit to another, no satisfactory means has heretofore been devised whereby the circuit condition of a foot controlled switch is readily apparent to the driver of the automobile without the use of indicator means separate from the switching device itself.

The principal object of the present invention, therefore, is the provision, in a foot operated switch for controlling the electrical circuits of the headlights of an automobile, of indicator means which is so constructed that the condition of the headlight circuits is readily apparent to the driver by the mere engagement of the foot with the actuator by means of which the switch is operated. With the form of the invention disclosed herein, the control switch is secured to the under side of the footboard of the automobile, with an operating member extending upwardly through a suitable opening in the footboard. The switch proper and its actuating parts are so constructed that the operating member projects to a substantial distance above the upper surface of the footboard when the switch is in one circuit v,ntrolling position, moves downwardly into a position slightly above the upper surface of the footboard when the switch is actuated by the foot of the driver to move it into the other circuit controlling position, and is retained in an intermediate position, with the latter circuit closed, upon the removal of the foot from the operating member.

The preferred arrangement is one in which the pedal or other member with which the foot of the driver engages is in its uppermost position when the circuit for the high beam lights is on, and must be pushed downwardly by the foot into a position substantially flush with the footboard to switch from the high beam to the low beam lights. Following this foot operation, the pedal is auto matically returned to an intermediate position,

the low beam lights remaining on until the next subsequent actuation of the device by the foot to permit the switch to be moved automatically from the low beam position to the high beam position.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed description, taken with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the switch in one circuit closing position, with a part of the switch case broken away to show the interior structure;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional View of the switch in another circuit closing position, with the terminal head omitted;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the retainer plate for the switch actuator rod;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the movable contact and its carrier;

Fig. 8 is a perspective View of the rotary stop member;

Fig. 9 is a perspective View of the switch actuator rod, with a part broken out, and;

Fig. 10 is a reduced View showing the manner 9 in which the switch is positioned with respect to the footboard of an automobile.

As disclosed herein, the switch elements are encased within a housing I which is preferably diecast, although it may be stamped from sheet metal or formed in any other suitable manner. At its upper edge the housing I is provided with a pair of oppositely extending ears 2, having openings 3 therethrough to receive suitable bolts for securing the housing to the footboard 4. Spacer members of the necessary thickness may be inserted between the ears 2 and the footboard 4 in order to locate the upwardly projecting foot engaging member 5 in a suitable position with respect to the upper surface of the footboard 4.

The housing l is formed with an opening 6 in one side thereof, and this opening is closed by means of a terminal head l made of insulating material. The terminal head l is supported upon a seat B provided on the housing around the edge of the opening 6, and is held in position thereon by staking the edge of the opening at suitable points, as shown at 9. The outer face of the terminal head I has three terminals Ill, I I and I2 secured thereon, and these terminals are electrically connected through the head to corresponding xed contacts I3, I4, l5, respectively, which are preferably arranged in such a manner as to be equally spaced around a central point coinciding with the axis of the oscillating contact hereinaiter described. The structure of the switch is such that the contact terminal I0 is intended to be connected to a source of electricity, and the contact terminals Il and I2 are intended to control the circuits for the high beam and low beam lights respectively.

A pivot pin it, preferably cast integrally with the face I'I oi the housing, extends transversely Within the housing and supports the movable parts of the switch structure. A contact carrier I3, made of insulating material, is supported upon the pivot I5 in such a manner as to oscillate thereon from one circuit closing position to the other. A fan shaped bridging member I9 is supported on the outer face of the contact carrier I3 in such a manner as to oscillate therewith. The width of the sector 2G of the bridging member is such as to bridge both contacts I4 and I5 when the switch is moved from one circuit controlling position to the other so as to prevent the headlights from being totally extinguished when shifting from one circuit to the other. The small sector of the bridging member is of such a width that it is always in engagement with the xed contact notwithstanding the movement of the bridging member from one circuit controlling position to the other.

The sector 251i is referably provided with a depression 22 for engagement with contact I4 and a depression 23 for engagement with the contact I5. The sector 2i is likewise provided with two spaced depressions 24., one or" which is in engagement with fixed contact I3 in each circuit closing position. A rib 25 extending radially between the depressions 2li and sloping toward each cooperates with fixed contact I3 for the purpose of throwing the bridging member I9 into one or the other of the circuit closing positions, to thereby insure that the bridging member does not remain in a position where both circuits are energized. A depression 22 formed in the carrier i3 cooperates with contact i4 in positioning the bridging member i9 when the latter is in the low beam position, and a depression 23 in carrier I8 likewise cooperates with contact i5 in the high beam position.

The contact carrier lil is oscillated from one circuit closing position to the other by means of an actuator rod 26 extending through an opening 2 in the upper wall of the housing I and reciprocating in, a guideway 2S formed in the face I'I of the housing. The actuator rod 28 extends upwardly through a spring barrel 29 preferably formed integrally with the housing I. A foot engaging member in the form of a cap 3G is slidably mounted upon the spring barrel 29. The outer end of the actuator rod 2G is secured to the closed end of the cap by means of prongs 3l which are inserted through openings the end of the cap and bent over as shown in Fig. 2. A compression spring surrounds the actuator rod in the spring barrel 29, one end engaging with the upper wall of the housing I and the other end engaging with the closed outer end of the cap 3D. With this structure it will be apparent that the actuator rod 2t be moved inwardly by engagement of the foot of the driver with the outer end of the cap 30, and that the compression spring 32 tends to move the cap and the actuator rod outwardly.

The inner end of the actuator rod 25 is bent transversely to provide a finger 33 which engages between two spaced projections 34 on the contact carrier I8 in order to oscillate the carrier and the bridging member I9 supported thereon. 1t will be noted that the projections 34 are substantially spaced from each other in order to provide a lost motion connection between the actuator rod and the carrier. With this structure a substantial movement of the actuator rod in both directions is made possible without movement of the bridging member I9 from one circuit closing position to the other.

In the structure heretofore described it will be noted that, when the actuator 2G is in its uppermost position under the influence of the spring 32, as indicated at a in Fig. 10, the bridging member I9 is in a position to bridge the contacts I3 and I4 between the supply terminal In and the high beam terminal II, and when the actuator 28 is moved downwardly to the limit of its movement by the foot of the driver, as indicated at b in Fig. 10, the bridging member i9 is in a position to bridge the contacts I3 and I5 of the supply terminal IIJ and the low beam terminal I2. The present improvement provides means for retaining the bridging member I9 in a position to bridge the contacts of the supply terminal I6 and the low beam terminal I2, with the foot actuated member 3B in a position intermediate the upper and lower limits of its movement, as indicated at c in Fig. 10. This means comprises a ratchet structure in the form of a rotary stop device 35 supported on the pivot I6 adjacent the wall Il of the housing, provided with a plurality of long teeth 36 and short teeth 3l alternately arranged around the edge thereof. As shown herein, the ratchet 35 has three long tee-th and three short teeth. A coiled compression spring 3S supported on the pivot I5 between the ratchet 35 and the contact carrier i8 serves to resist movement of these elements towards each other.

Cooperating with the ratchet 35 is a iixed stop element 39, which is preferably formed integrally on the wall I1 of the housing and is so constructed as to permit rotation of the ratchet in one direction and to engage with each of the teeth in succession to prevent reverse rotation thereof. A pawl 4D in the form of a lug punched outwardly from the actuator rod 26 is so positioned as to engage with each of the teeth 35, 3l in succession so as to rotate the ratchet step by step upon each complete inward movement of the actuator rod. The inclined surface of this pawl permits it to pass the teeth upon the upward movement of the actuator rod under the inliuence of the spring 32, the ratchet moving axially on the pivot i@ to permit it to pass freely by the teeth.

It will be noted that the nger 33 which actuates the contact carrier I3 is so positioned as to pass freely by the ends of the short teeth 3l and to engage with the ends of the long teeth 3B upon the upward movement of the actuator rod 25. As shown in Fig, 2, this engagement of the finger 33 with a long tooth, together with the engagement of one of the teeth, preferably a long one, with the xed stop 39, operates to hold the foot engaging member 30 in a position midway of the limits of its movement by the spring 32. By reason of the lost motion connection between the actuator rod and the contact carrier, the contact carrier is held in a position wherein the bridging member is in lowbeam circuit position and will remain in this position until the next subsequent downward movement of the actuator rod by the foot of the driver. In the subsequent foot actuation, the ratchet will be advanced one step into a position where the long tooth is out of the path of the iinger 33, thus permitting the spring 32 to move the actuator to the upper limit of its movement, and thus throw the switch into the high beam position.

In assembling the parts of the device, the inner end of the actuator rod 26 is inserted through the barrel 29 into the opening 21 in the wall of the housing i, this opening being of such size and shape as to permit the passage of the finger 33 and the pawl 4Q, as shown in Fig. 4. A retainer plate 42 is then inserted through the open side of the housing into a guideway 43. A notch 44 in the retainer plate serves to permit the pawl 4D to move back and forth through the opening 21, but upward movement of the actuator is limited by engagement of finger 33 with the retainer plate as shown in Fig. 1.

It is believed that the function and operation of the various elements of the device will be apparent from the above structural description. While a certain arrangement of the elements, as well as a certain form of these elements, has been disclosed herein, it is to be understood that these forms and their arrangement are intended for illustrative purposes only, and that such changes are contemplated in the invention as come within the scope of the appended claims. It is to be understood further that, while the switch has been disclosed in a form adapted for foot operation and for controlling the electrical circuits of headlights, it is equally useful when actuated in a different manner and when used for controlling other electrical circuits.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A switch actuating device comprising a xed pivot, a rotary stop element freely movable on said pivot and having long and short teeth alternately arranged around the margin thereof, a fixed stop element engaging with each of said teeth to prevent reverse rotation of said rotary stop element after rotation in one direction, an actuator engaging with each of said teeth in succession to rotate said rotatory stop element step by step upon movement of said actuator in one direction, and means on said actuator for engaging with each of said l'ong teeth in succession to restrain said actuator against movement in the opposite direction.

2. A switch `actuating device comprising a fixed pivot, a rotary stop element freely movable on said pivot and having long and short teeth alternately arranged around the margin thereof, detent means engaging with each of said teeth in succession to prevent reverse rotation of said rotary stop element after rotation in one direction, an actuator having means thereon for .engaging with each of said teeth in succession to rotate said rotary stop element step by step upon movement of said actuator in one direction, and means on said actuator for engaging with each of said long teeth in succession to restrain said actuator against movement in the opposite direction.

3. A switch actuating device comprising a fixed pivot, a rotary member loosely mounted on said pivot and having long and short teeth alternately arranged around the margin thereof, a stop element positioned to engage with said teeth in succession to permit rotation of said member in one direction and to prevent rotation in the reverse direction, an actuator having means thereon for engaging with each of said teeth in succession upon movement of said actuator in one direction, a contact carrier supported on said pivot for oscillatory movement into different circuit closing positions, and means on said actuator for oscillating said contact carrier upon movement of said actuator and for engagement with each of said long teeth in succession to restrain said actuator against movement in one direction until completion of a movement in the opposite direction.

4. A circuit controlling switch comprising a housing, a pivot extending transversely therein, a contact carrier supported on said pivot for oscillatory movement into different circuit closing positions, a ratchet on said pivot, a compression spring on said pivot between said contact carrier and said ratchet, means for limiting axial movement of said carrier and said ratchet away from each other under the influence of said spring, an actuator extending through the wall of said housing and operable from the exterior of said housing to rotate said ratchet step by step in one direction, cooperating means on said actuator and said carrier for moving said carrier into a different circuit closing position at the limit of the movement of said actuator in opposite directions, and cooperating means on said housing and said actuator whereby said ratchet serves to retain said actuator in an intermediate posiition against movement in one direction until compietion of its movement in the opposite direction.

5. A foot controlled electric switch comprising a housing, a pivot extending transversely therein, a contact carrier supported on said pivot for oscillatory movement into two circuit closing positions, a rotary stop element on said pivot, resilient means on said pivot tending to move said carrier and said stop element away from each other, means for limiting axial movement of said carrier and said stop element away from each other under the iniuence of said resilient means, an actuator rod extending through the wall of said housing, means on the inner end of said rod to rotate `said stop element step by step in one direction upon inward movement of said rod, foot-engaging means on the outer end of said rod for actuating said rod inwardly, a spring for actuating said rod outwardly, a lost-motion connection between the inner end of said rod and said carrier, and cooperating means on said housing and said rod whereby said stop element serves to limit the alternate movements of said rod by said spring.

6. In a switch structure, a housing having a switch case at one end thereof and a spring barrel at the other end, a common wall between said case and said barrel and having an opening extending therethrough, switch mechanism in said case, an actuating rod in said barrel and having one end extending through said opening into said case, a spring in said barrel for urging said rod outwardly, a guide-way in said wall adjacent said opening, a retainer plate positioned in said guideway, and means on the inner end of said rod for actuating said switch mechanism upon movement of said rod and for engagement with said retainer plate to limit the outward movement of said rod.

DONOVAN R. JONES.

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