US2301537A - Direction indicator - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 10, 1942. P. P. GUTIERREZ 2,301,537

DIRECTION INDICATOR Filed Nov. l, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l 16 f5 I3 j 17- Z Il!" 24 22 19 2018* INVENTOR @Ezz GUTJELPEZ ATTORNEY Nov. 10, 1942. P, P GUTlERREZ I 2,301,537

DIRECTION INDICATOR Filed Nov. l, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheetl 2 INVENTOR @75,2 P G'UTJEXMZ AT'TORNEY Patented Nov. 1o, 1942 UNITED STATES PATNT OFFICE DIRECTION INDICATOR Peter P. Gutierrez, Watsonville, Calif.

Application November l, 1939, Serial No. 302,349

(Ci. 'i4- 502) i Ciainis.

My invention relates to improvements in a direction indicator, and it consists of the combinations, constructions and arrangements hereinafter described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a direction indicator in which an arrow or direction indicating member is swingable into three different positions for indicating stop, left turn and right turn. The arrow is actuated by a mechanism which in turn is operate-d by the longitudinal movement of a flexible shaft. The shaft extends from the arrow operating mechanism to a control knob placed on the instrument board oi the automobile and within easy reach oi the driver. Means is associated with the knob for limiting its longitudinal movement when the knob is pulled directly rearwardly and the amount of this movement is suiicient to swing the arrow into the Stop position. When the driver wishes to indicate that he is about to make a leit turn, he can rotate the knob to the left and then pull it rearwardly. The means associated with the iiexible shaft will permit it to be moved longitudinally to a greater extent and this will swing the arrow into a horizontal position for indicating left turn.

When itis desired to indicate a right turn, the knob is iirst rotated to the right from its neutral position and then pulled rearwardly to a distance greater than that required to indicate a left turn. The arrow is therefore swung into a substantially upright position to designate right turn. rihe tendency of the iiexible shaft to rotate to normal position, will cause the knob to always swing the arrow into the Stop position when the knob is simply pulled rearwardly.

I also provide a novel means for automatically illuminating the arrow so that the device can be seen at night and this means consists of a swi Ych which will automatically close when the arrow starts to swing. I further provide novel locking means for holding the arrow in inoperative position and thus prevent persons tampering with it.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the device will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of the device, a portion of the arrow being broken away;

Figure 2 is a section substantially along the line 2-2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is an enlarged section of a portion of the device illustrating the arrow locking mechanism;

Figure 4 is a rear elevation with the cover on the arrow support removed;

Figure 5 is a top plan View with the top of thel support in section, and the ligure also shows a plan View of the control knob 'and associate echanism; and

Figure 6 is a front elevation of the control knob.

In carrying out my invention, I provide a support indicated generally at A and this support is secured to the side of an automobile indicated by the broken lines at l, preferably adjacent to the door of the drivers seat. The support A eX- tends upwardly and outwardly at a slight angle as shown at 2 and its upper end houses a mechanism at 3 for moving a signal arm B. The support may be of `any shape desired in order to present a pleasing appearance.

The signal arm or direction indicating member B is pivotally secured to the support A in a manner presently to be described. The arm itself is in the shape of an arrow, see Figure 1, and Figure 2 shows the iront and back sides of the arrow provided with openings which are covered with colored glass d. The side walls of the arrow are lined with a reflecting material 5 which is preferably corrugated in order to project light rays from a lamp E in all directions and thus uniformly illuminate the glass windows 4. The side wall reflecting members 5 also actas spacers for holding the glasses l against the iront and rear walls of the signal arm. A special cover glass 'l is placed in the wall opposite the lamp 6 and this glass may be removed when the lamp burns out for permitting a new lamp to take its place.

I will now describe the particular means for pivotally connecting the arm B to the support A. In Figure 2 I show the support A with a hub 8 and this hub rotatably receives a stub shaft 9. The shaft 9 has a shoulder HJ rotatably bearing against the rim of the hub and the hub extends through an opening I l formed in the rear wall i of the direction indicating member B. The portion of the shaft projecting into the member B is threaded and receives a nut I3 which is used for clamping the arm to the shoulder or flange Ill.

The portion of the stub shaft projecting into the support A is reduced as at i4 and the reduced portion is threaded. A washer I5 is placed on the reduced portion and bears against the inner end of the hub 8. A segmental gear I9 is also placed on the reduced portion lil and bears against the washer i5. A nut l1 locks the parts in place. A pin I8 is passed through aligned openings in the gear, washer and shaft for con# stituting a locking key between these parts for causing them to rotate as a unit.

It might be Well to describe the construction of the lamp-supporting socket before setting forth the means for operating the signal. The shaft 9 carries a socket I9 and this socket has an insulating portion 29 extending through the reduced portion I3. One lamp terminal 2l is embedded in the insulating portion and is in electrical connection with a spring-pressed terminal pin 22. This pin 22 bears against the base terminal of the lamp 3. The side wall i9 of the socket contacts with the side of the lamp base and grounds the current to the metal part of the device and in this way an electrical connection is made back to the source of current.

A wire 23 leads from the source of current, not shown, to a spring switch arm 24. This arm normally contacts with the end of the terminal 2i and closes the circuit to the lamp. When the signal arm B is in inoperative position, the switch arm 24 is held away from the terminal 2| by a button 25 that contacts with the underside of the switch arm 24 and lifts it clear of the terminal 2| thus breaking the circuit to the lamp. rThe button is mounted on the gear l5. It will be seen that as soon as the direction indicating member B is swung into operative position by the gear l in a manner hereinafter described, the insulating button will ride free of the switch arm 24 and will permit it to close the circuit to the lamp 5. The arm 24 is supported by an insulating block 23.

The means for swinging the signal arm B into the three different positions indicated as Stop, Left, and Right in Figure 4 is clearly shown in this ligure and in Figures 5 and 6. The mutilated gear I3 meshes with a rack 21 which is U- shaped in cross section as shown in Figure 5. The gear rides in the rack groove and the rack has its teeth cut in the curved portion for meshing with the teeth of the gear I3. The lower end of the rack 21 moves in a guide 28 and has a ilexible shaft 29 connected thereto by a screw 39. The shaft 29 slides in a flexible housing 3l and the end of the housing is received in a block 32 and is adjustably held in place by a set screw 33. It is possible to make adjustments between the ilexible shaft and the signal arm B by moving the rack 21 with respect to the shaft 29 and tightening the screw 39, and also by moving the ilexible housing 3l in the block 32 and tightening the screw 33. In this way, the signal arm B can be adjusted to accurately stop at the three direction indicating positions shown by the broken lines in Figure 4. The flexible housing 3i with its shaft 29, extends through an opening 34 in the support A.

I provide novel means for moving the shaft 29 longitudinally in the flexible housing 3l, and thus actuating the signal arm B. This means is se- 1 cured to the instrument board 35, see Figures 5 and 6, of the automobile. The free end of the flexible housing 3| is secured to a rigid housing or casing 33 and the flexible shaft 29 is secured to a rod 31 slidably mounted in the casing. A control knob 38 is rigidly attached to the free end of the rod 31 and may be manipulated by the driver of the automobile for actuating the signal. Although I have shown the control knob mounted on the dashbo-ard 35, it is obvious that the control device may be placed at any other convenient position in the automobile. The flexible housing 3l can extend from the signal to the control knob without the necessity oi' boring special openings in the car body for receiving the housing. Care should be taken that the flexible housing be bent so that only gradual curves will be formed in the housing. This will aid in the easy operation of the device.

The rigid housing or casing 33 has novel means for limiting the movement of the rod 31 so that the operator can give only three separate and distinct longitudinal movements to the flexible shaft 29. These three different movements are suilicient to cause the direction indicating member B to swing into the three diiierent angular positions shown in Figure 4. I have also provided novel means for requiring the operatorto turn the knob 39 either to the right or to the left prior to pulling the knob if he wishes to give a Right turn or a Left turn signal.

When the knob 38 is pulled rearwardly without being rotated either to the left or to the right, a pin 39 carried by the rod 31 and riding in a slot 45 in the housing 36, will strike a stop 4l forming a portion of the slot i9 and thus prevent further longitudinal movement. This movement, however, is sui'licient to swing the arm B into a Stop position. After the Stop signal has been made, the operator can push the knob 38 back into its original position and this will swing the arm B back into inoperative position. It should be noted that when the arm B is swung, the insulating button 25 will permit the switch arm 24 to close the circuit to the lamp S and thus illuminate the arm.

If the driver wishes to make a left turn, he iirst rotates the knob 38 to the left, (counter-clockwise when looking at Figure 6), and this will move the pin 39 against the side 43a of the slot 49. The knob 38 is now pulled rearwardly until it reaches the broken line position marked Left in Figure 5. At this point, the pin 39, which previously has entered a branch slot d2, will reach the end of the slot and then When the knob is released, the tendency of the wire 29 and rod 31 to twist back into normal position, will Vcause the pin 39 to enter a recess 42a. The additional movement imparted to the shaft or wire 29 will swing the arm B into the horizontal position shown in Figure 4 and indicate Left turn. The operator in releasing the device, merely turns the knob 38 slightly to the left to free the pin 39 from the recess 42a and then moves the knob back into neutral position. Y

Almost the same procedure is followed when the driver wishes to indicate a right turn. The knob 38 is rotated to the right rather than to the left and this will bring the pin 39 against the side 4319 of the slot 43. The knob 33 is now moved rearwardly and the pin will travel in a second branch slot 43. The slot i3` is longer than the slot 32 and the knob 38 can therefore be pulled to the dotted line position indicated by the word Right in Figure 5. At this position, the pin 39 will reach the end of the slot 43 and then when the knob 38 is freed, the tendency of the rod 31 is to twist back to normal position and this will move the pin into the recess 43a. This will hold the arm B at the angle indicated by the broken line designated by the word Right, in Figure 4. The lamp 6 will be illuminated for this position as well as the Left turn and Stop positions. The arm B is freed when the knob 38 is turned slightly to the right for disengaging the pin 39 from its recess 43a. The knob is then moved back into normal position and this will move the arm B downwardly into inoperative position. I have found that there is sufficient friction between the flexible shaft 29 and the housing 3| to hold the arm B in any position into which it is moved; however, the recesses 42a and 43a, provide a positive stop for the arm B and will hold the pin 39 against accidental return movement.

The housing 36 is rigidly secured to the instru- 1 ment board 35 by nuts 36a and 36h.

In Figure 3 I show a simple means for locking the arm B against accidental swinging motion when the device is in inoperative position. This will also prevent anyone from grasping the arm and trying to swing it. An L-shaped bolt 44 is carried by the lower end of the rack 21 and enters an opening 45 in the bearing 8 when the arm B is swung into inoperative position. 'I'he end of the bolt 44 is long enough to also enter a bore I 46 formed in the shaft 9 and in this way, the shaft is held against rotation. The signal arm B is rigidly secured to the shaft and therefore this arm will also be held against rotation. The

bolt 44 will be freed from the shaft 9 by the initial l.

longitudinal movement of the iiexible shaft 29 and this bolt freeing movement will occur before the gear I6 starts to rotate the arm B. It is obvious that the arm B may be provided with any other type of automatic lock desired.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood.

During the description of the various parts, I

have also set forth the operation and therefore Iy it need not be mentioned in detail. One novelty of the invention lies in the fact that the control or pull knob 38 is pulled directly rearwardly for indicating Stop or is rst rotated either to the left or to the right before it is pulled, in accordance with the wishes of the driver to indicate either a Left turn or a Right turn. This right or left turning movement of the knob by the operator, is a natural one because when he wishes to turn left, he will naturally turn the knob 38 to the left and vice versa. The control device for the arm B is extremely simple and takes up little room on the instrument board. It also provides novel means for holding the signal arm in any one of three desired positions.

The switch mechanism for the light is automatic and therefore the signal device can be seen at night as well as in the day.

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, it should be understood that varii ous changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

l. In a direction indicating signal, a flexible shaft, a housing for one end of the shaft and having a U-shaped slot with one arm of the U, longer than the other, a pin on the shaft and slidable in the slot, and a knob connected to the shaft and being rotatable for aligning the pin with the desired slot arm and then being adapted to pull the pin into the slot arm, the pin limiting the longitudinal movement of the shaft, the top of the slot base limiting the movement of the when the knob is pulled without first being rotated.

2. In a direction indicating signal, a flexible shaft, three spaced stops for limiting the longitudinal movement of the shaft to three different lengths, said stops being angularly spaced one from another with the stop limiting the shaft to the shortest movement being positioned between the other two stops, a pin carried by the shaft and a knob for moving the shaft and pin, said knob being turnable for aligning the pin with any one of the three stops, thereby predetermining the length of longitudinal movement to be imparted to the shaft.

3. In a direction indicating signal, a housing carrying a flexible shaft, a pin carried by the shaft, said housing having a slot for slidably receiving the pin and two branch slots spaced from each other for providing a pin stop therebetween, the branch slots being of different lengths and both longer than the pin stop disposed therebetween, a knob for moving the shaft longitudinally until the pin strikes the central stop, said knob being initially rotatable in either direction for directing the pin into the desired branch slot and permitting the pin and shaft to move farther when the knob is moved longitudinally.

4. In a direction indicating signal, a housing carrying a fiexible shaft, a pin carried by the shaft, said housing having a slot for slidably receiving the pin and two branch slots spaced from each other for providing a pin stop therebetween, the branch slots being of different lengths and both longer than the pin stop disposed therebetween, a knob for moving the shaft longitudinally until the pin strikes the central stop, said knob being initially rotatable in either direction for directing the pin into the desired branch slot and permitting the pin and shaft to move farther when the knob is moved longitudinally, the ends of the branch slots having recesses for receiving the pin and preventing the accidental return movement of the shaft and pin.

PETER P. GU'IIERREZ.

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