US2371267A - Control means - Google Patents

Description

March 13, 1945.- B. A. SCHWARZ 2,371,267

' CONTROL MEANS Filed April 1, 1938 2 SheetsSheet l Zinventor v I Q Jg \J M y W I Gttorucgs March 13, 1945.

Filed April 1, 1938 B. A. SCHWARZ CONTROL MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 13, 1945' UNlTED States Patent? orrics CONTROL MEANS Bertram A. Schwarz, Kokomo, Ind; assignor to General Motors ,Uorporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application April 1, 1938, Serial No. 199,541

Claims This invention relates to control means and more specifically to means for controlling theoperation of a rotatin part for indexing it to certain angular positions.

In the use of rotating means, it is often necessary or essential to set such means at a plurality of angular positions for different operation of the device of which the rotating shaft is a part. One example of this may be cited as that of a radio receiving set in which by turning the shaft carrying or directly connected to the tuning condensers, various stations may be tuned in for reception. For illustration. of this type of construction will be shown, although it is to be understood that my invention may be applied for indexing any desired rotating shaft.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide indexing means for setting a rotating shaft to any one of a series of angular positions.

It is a further objectof my invention to provide indexing means which is simple and rugged and easily applied.

With these and other objects in view, the construction of my invention will be best understood by reference to the following specification and claims, the material of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which: 7

Figure l is a front plan view of a radio with my invention applied thereto.

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged front'vieW similar to panel Figure 1, parts being broken away and shown in shown. On this panel is mounted a loud speaker d, an indicating tuning dial 6 and a manual knob 8 for ordinarily operating the dial.

Above the dial there are provided a plurality of push buttons such as I0 which may have indicia thereon indicating what particular station would be obtained if the button were depressed. These buttons are mounted in openings provided in the member 2 by flanging the adjacent material are directed downwardly and whose purpose and utility will be more clearly defined as the specification proceeds. Both the top and bottom plates it carry parallel shafts 18, the ends of which are encased in suitable bearings 20 formed of the ends of the plate and upon each of these shafts it there are provided a plurality of spaced rollers 22 said rollers being provided in pairs'which are in vertical alignment.

Secured'between the top and bottom plate or brackets I l-there is provided a substantially cylindrical spacing and supportin member 24, one being positioned adjacent either end of the assembly and being secured to the two plates by machine screws 28 extending through the plate and into the threaded ends of the spacing members 24. Ask; more clearly shown in Figure 2, theupper screw 26 has between it and the plate I4 a spring washer 23 to bias the plate downwardly for a purpose which will later become clear. The central part of; each of these spacing members is provided with a horizontal opening 21 through which extends a rotatable shaft 28, the two spacing members acting as bearings for the two opposite ends of the shaft.

Frictionally secured to rotate with the shaft at spaced intervals and cooperating and in alignment with the pairs of rollers, are a series of pinions 30, said frictional engagement being assisted by spring washers such as 3! and to the end of the shaft extending from the assembly, which in 'Figure 3 vis the left-hand end, there is rigidly secured a gear wheel 32. Any other suitable means for securing the pinion to the shaft but being releasable for relative motion during setting may be employed, such as a common lock bar with threaded means to press the whole assembly of pinions together, or the use of set screw collars, or threaded chucks fastened to the individual pinions, and it is therefore desired that applicant be not limited to his specific showing in this instance.

Parallel with and spaced from the shaft 28 is supported a counter-shaft 34 by suitable supporting means and carried thereon is a gear 36 adapted to mesh with the gear 32 and to be driven thereby. The other end of the shaft 34 has secured thereto a beveled gear 38 which meshes with a mating beveled gear 40 mounted on a third shaft 42 at right angles to the shaft 34 and ro tatably carried by a mounting bracket 44 secured to and depending from the lower plate M. This shaft 42 extends into and is rigidly secured to an shaft 60 is axially movable in the sleeved opening and is biased to its outer position by a leaf spring 62, one end of which is rigidly fastened to the pin 54 and the other end forces the shaft out. This maintains the gears 56 and 52 normally, out of engagement but if desired the operator can manually force this shaft inwardly and this intermeshing will allow a manual tuning of the dial and set since the opposite end of the shaft' 34 is directly connected to the tuning shaft of the radio set.

Returning now to the construction for the automatic tuning, a rack such as '64 is provided above the pinion 30 and adapted to engage the same so that any longitudinal movement thereof will cause the pinion to rotate, said rack being supported so that it will ride over the rollers 22 in eachinstance and being guidedby thedepending portion IS inasmuch as it extends between the two sides thereof foreaoh operating button. There is also provided below each pinion a second rack 56 which also engages a pinion and is in the same vertical alignment with the pinion rollers and first rack. It is obvious that since the upper plate I4 is spring biased that it will tend to hold the racks in close contact with the pinion but will allow movement in case of binding of the teeth.

In front of, or to the left as shown in Figure 2, there is applied to the rear portion of the pin or stub shaft 68 carrying the button, H! a T-shaped plate l which is adapted to contact with the outer which the inner end ofithe shaft may project, said washer having pressed against its'inner; surface a helical coiled compression spring '16,- the opposite end of which presses against the'inner surface of the T-shaped memberv I0 tospring bias this member in its outward position.

Therefore, assuming that the racks'are in" the position shown in Figure 2, when-pressure is applied to the knob ID the upper portion of the T will force the rack 64 toward the rear which will. cause the pinion 30.to rotate andat the same time cause the rack 66-to-move to the front until it contacts the lower end of -theT which will give us our'defined index point. jThisposition is best .shown in Figure'4 and as soon;as thispoint-has beenreached the button l0 may of course be released'and the racks will remain in their: same set position. Each pair'of racks associated with each of the buttons ID will of course be in different positions,-depending upon the setting of the station or indexpoint desired, so that whenanother button is depressed these racks will be 'free to move to a-new position, depending upon thenew setting. But when they are pressed again they willalways come backto the same parallel bottoming-positionand give the same radial setting of the rotary shaft on which the pinion 30 is mounted.

It will be remembered that the pinion 30 was described as being frictionally mounted on the shaft 28 and by this is meant that under ordinary conditions the pinion 30 will rotate with and drive the shaft 28 but if the shaft 28 is held against rotation the pinion 30 may be moved relative thereto for initial setting purposes. In this way in order to set the indexing buttons to desired stations the manual knob 8 is depressed and the set tuned to the desired station. This knob is then held against rotation and to its innermost position and one of the buttons 10 pushed inwardly until it reaches a position such as that shown in ;'Figure4 when both racks are pressed against the buttons until they have all beenset for predetermined stations and when this occurs any later depressing of the button will always return the setting of the tuning shaft of the set to that station through the gears 32,36 and the extension of the shaft 34 through to the tuning condensers which are within the panel 2.

It is obvious that I have provided a simple mechanical means for automatically indexing the rotatable tuning shaft of a radio set and also for altering thesetting or automatically tuning the set.

I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, a rotatable shaft that may be set at a plurality of different radial positions, a plurality of axially spaced means mounted on the shaft for driving the same,

,a pair of reoiprocable members operably connected at diametrically.oppositepoints to each of said axially spaced means and a plurality of means ,to contact. theend of one or.the other of the reciprocable members of a pair to moveboth into 45 7 endwise alignment and contact with said means and index the shaft.

2. In a device of the class described, a shaft, a pinion mounted onthe shaft, a pair of racks mounted in diametrically opposed position adjacent the pinion to engage the same and reciprocable means mounted to engage the end of one or the other of the racks to bring the ends of both racks into alignment to turn the pinion for indexing the shaft.

3.,In an indexing device, a shaft, a plurality of pinions frictionally mounted in spaced axial relation on the shaft, a pair of reciprocable racks mounted to contact the opposite faces of each pinion and means adjacent each pair of racks to contact the end of one or the other rack of a .pair and bring both ends thereof into alignment thereby turning theassociated pinion to index the shaft.

4. Inv a deviceof the class described, a main control: shaft,:gearing operatively connected to the main control shaft, manually operable-means normally out of contact with the gearing but engageable therewith to rotate the-shafta second shaft connected to and rotatable with the main control shaft, pinions mounted on the secand shaft, reciprocable racks mounted to'engage means.

5. In an index control,a shaft, a control shaft therefor and connected thereto, a plurality of pinions frictionally mounted on the control shaft, reciprocating racks engaging the pinions to rotate the same, and reciprocable means engaging the racks to force them to a predetermined position, and spring biasing means to return the lastnamed means to initial position afterthe rack has been actuated.v

. 6. In an index control, a shaft, acontrol shaft therefor, a plurality of axially spaced frictionally mounted pinions on the control shaft, a pair of oppositely disposed reciprocable racks associated with each pinion whereby if one rack is reciprocated the pinion will be turned and the other rack driven in the opposite direction and a plurality of push button means each in alignment witha pair of racks whereby when the push button means is depressed the rack extending outwardly will be depressed by the means and the movement will continue until the end of the other rack also engages thepush button means and .carried by each plate, axially spaced rollers carried by the racks, said rollers being in alignment, bent-in portions on the plates in alignment with the rollers, a pair of opposed racks reciprocating in the guides formed by the bent-inportions and on the rollers, a shaft supported by the plates between the racks and pinions on the shafts to. cooperate with each pair of racks.

9. In an indexing device, a panel, a pair of spaced plates extending from the panel, racks carried by each plate, axially spaced rollers carried by the racks, said rollers being in alignment, bent-in portions on the plates in alignment with the rollers, a pair of opposed racks reciprocating in the guides formed by the bent-in portions and on the rollers, a shaft supported by the plates between the racks and pinions on the shafts to cooperate "with each pair of racks and push but ton means to reciprocate against the ends of each pair of racks for index purposes, said means extendingthrough openings in the panel face.

10. In an index control, acontrol shaft, means adapted to be connected to said control shaft for rotating said control shaft to or holding it in any one of a plurality of angular positions, a second shaft operatively connected to said control shaft, a plurality of pinions frictionally mounted each of said pinions and means for moving said racks to move individual pinions through agiven angle with respect to said second shaft when it is prevented from rotating by said first named means and to index said control shaft to any one of a plurality of angular positions when said first named means is disconnected.

'11. A mechanism for operating the tuning shaft of a radio condenser, .comprising a gear member operatively connected to said tuning shaft, racks meshing with said gear member at diametrically opposite points thereon, and means including a plunger member to operate said racks, said plunger member being provided with means for engaging said racks successively upon operation of the plunger member.

12. A mechanism for operating the tuning shaft of a radio condenser, comprising a gear member 'operatively connected to said tuning shaft, racks meshing with said gear member at diametrically opposite points thereon, and means including a plunger member to operate said racks, said plunger member being provided with means for' engaging said racks successively upon operation of the plunger member, one of said members tion of said pinion, means including a longitudinally movable plunger for operating said racks, said last means effecting a stoppage of movement of said racks when they arrive at a position in which their ends are in alignment.

14. In a radio control device, a rotatable con-- trol shaft, longitudinally reciprocable driving and stopping means operably connected to said shaft, means radially movable in one direction with respect to the shaft, to engage the reciprocable means and move the same to cause rotary movement of the shaft in either direction to one of a plurality of predetermined angular positions.

15. In a radio control device, a rotatable control shaft, longitudinally reciprocable driving and stopping means adjustably and operably connected to said shaft, means radially movable in one direction with respect to the shaft to engage the reciprocable means and move the same to cause positions. BERTRAM A. SCHWARZ.

on said second shaft, reciprocable racks engaging

Images