US2491168A - Push-button control head - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 13, 1949 us K PUSH BUTTON CONTROL HEAD 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 12, 1947 Dec. 13, 1949 Filed April 12, 194'? R. DUSEK PUSH BUTTON CONTROL HEAD 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 38 39 3a a7 *r% M 40 0 l \20 '22 INVENTOR. Mezjasei sible.

Patented Dec. 13, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PUSHPBUTTON CONTROL HEAD Robert Dusek, Berwyn, Ill., assignor to Motorola, Inc., a corporation of Illinois Application April 12, 1947, Serial No. 741,091

5 Claims. 1

This invention relates generally to a remote control head. and more particularly to an arrangement for illuminating the push buttons of a push button control head.

It is the usual. practice in many applications to provide a. control head which is remote from the particular piece of apparatus which is controlled thereby. Such control heads are used in connection with heating systems, radio sets and. the like. In some instances the control head may be located in a position where it is either not desired that there be a large amount of illumination or itis. notv practical to. have high illumination, and. in such cases it. is difficult to observe. the position of the various controls on.

the. control head and. the, setting. thereof Various lighting arrangements havebeen. used on control heads to overcome this. difficulty but these systems have been objectionable in many cases in that. if sufii'cient illumination is provided. for indicating the position. and setting. of the. controls, the i1.- lumination is, so great to be objectionable in the particular location. This. is particularly true in. connection. with control. heads used with heaters or radios installed inv automobiles, as to permit.

good. driving. visibility it is necessary that il.--

lumi'nation within the vehicle: be. as low as pos- It is, therefore, an object. of the present invention to provide a simple. and efiective i-lluminated pushv button control head.

It is a. further. object of this. invention toprovide a. push button control head including a lighting. arrangement whichilluminates the push buttonsv so that the, i'ndicia thereon is visible.

It. is. a still further object 01 this invention, to provide a push. button. control. head. having, a

source of light. therein. and. means for conducting;

more light to a push. button which is. actuated than to the push buttons which are not actuated so. that the setting of the. push buttons is readily apparent.

A ieature. of this invention. is the provision of.

a push button control head including. a plurality of pushv buttons. 50 arranged. that light from, a.

light source is transmitted. thereby- Another feature. of this. invention is the provision. of a control head including. push buttons made of light refractive material. and so arranged that a button in actuated position. is ex posed to a. lightsource to.- be. illuminated. thereby and; the buttons which are not actuated are il--- vision of. an illuminated push button control head.

including means. for interlocking the push buttons so that actuation 0t one button releases the others and in which. the interlocking means is arranged to shield the buttons not. actuated from a light source in the. control head so that these buttons will be illuminated. to a. less extent than. a button which is actuated.

Further objects,v features and advantages of the invention. will be. apparent from a consideration of the following specification taken in. connectionwth the. accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is. a perspective view of the push button control head in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the operation of the control head;

Fig. 3 is a view looking down. on the control head with the cover and push buttons removed; and

Fig. 4 is a detailed. view along. the lines 4-4 of Fig. 2.

In. practicing my invention I provide a small control head suitable for installation in a vehicle for controlling a. heater or radio installed therein. The control head includes a. plurality of pivotally mounted push buttons having finger engaging portions, switch actuating portions and rearwardly extending portions for interlocking the various push, buttons. with respect to each other. Switch contacts are arranged to be actuated by the switch actuating portionsand may be arranged so that the switch is either opened or. closed by operation of the push buttons. The push buttonsv are made of light refractive material and a light bulb is provided withinv the control. head. so that. light therefrom is transmitted by the push. buttons. The bush button interlocking means includes a pivotedbaflle member which is effective. to shield the push buttons when in their normal position from the direct trays of the light source but which allows a push button which is actuated tobe exposed. tov the light. rays. so that the depressed button. will be illuminated to a greater extent than the other pushv buttons.

Referring now to the drawings, in Fig. 1 there is illustrated a. push button control head l0 which may beinstalled in a. vehicle to control a heater or radio-installed therein and which may be used generally in applications; requiring. a remote control. head. The control head includes a housing ll, push buttons 12 and a name. plate: 1.3 which may indicate. the equipment controlled by the control head or may be used for a trade name. The push buttons 42 are shown having numbers 54 placed thereon by any suitablevmeans, it. beingobvious that various types of indicia can be provided, such as the call letters of a radio station, the temperatures at which a heating unit may be set, or other designations.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the operating components of the control head are mounted on a chassis !5 including a base portion l6, back portion I1 and end portions l8 and I9. The housing I I may be secured to the chassis in any suitable manner. on a rod 2c which is supported by the end portions l8 and I9. As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the push buttons include a finger engaging portion 2 I, switch actuating portions 22 and a rearwardly extending portion 23. The portion of the push button adjacent the rod 28 is of reduced cross section forming a hollow space within which the switch contacts extend for movement by the switch actuating portions 22. For providing interlocking action between the push buttons, portions 24'; are provided on each of the push buttons which may be integral with the remainder of the buttons or may be a separate member secured thereto. The portions 2 are biased in a downward position by springs 25 and include rear surfaces of such. configuration to cooperate with pivoted battle-like member 2! to provide an interlocking action of the push buttons. The member 23 is pivoted on a rod 28 which is supported by the end portions 58 and i9 similarly to rod 28. A pair of springs 29 are positioned about the rod 28 which have end portions bearing against the baifle like member 2'! and the base portion it of the chassis to hold the baffle against curved rear surfaces of the push buttons. of the chassis between the memper 2'1 and the back portion it a socket is provided in the base member it of the chassis having a bulb 3i positioned therein for illuminating the control head.

etrr-rtu; the manner in which the push buttons cooperate therewith. This structure is composed of a plurality of laminae of insulating material having conducting members 35 positioned .ierebetween. These laminae are secured together by a plurality of rivets 3'! to form a unitary assembly. The conducting members 33 have terminals 33 on the rear side thereof to which connection is made by conductors 39. The front portions of the contacting members are turned up as shown in Fig. 2 and carry contacts 453 thereon. As illustrated in the drawings, the contact carrying portions may be arranged so that the contacts are normally closed and are opened by the push buttons or so that the contacts are normally open and are closed by the push buttons. Also each push button is capable of operating two sets of contacts but it may be desirable in many applications that at least some of the buttons operate only one set of contacts. These various arrangements are illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 wherein the contact carrying members 5L and iii normally hold the contacts it associated therewith closed and are moved by the switch actuating portions 22 of the first push button to break the contacts. The contacts carried by contact carrying members 52 and 53 on the other hand are normally in open position with the member 52 being moved by the switch actuating portion 22 of the second push button to cause the contacts of this switch to be closed. In the switch illustrated, the first butt-cn has associated with it two sets of contacts both of which are normally closed and which Push buttons [2 are pivotally mounted At the rear f.

and l disclose the switch contact' may be opened by actuation of the push button. Only one set of switch contacts is associated with each of the remaining push buttons and these are all positioned so that the contacts are normally opened and will be closed by actuatio of the button. It is obvious from this disclosure that two sets of switch contacts may be associated with each button and the contacts may be so arranged so that one set is normally open and the other set normally closed. Actuation of the push button will then close the first set of contacts and open the second.

As previously stated, the push buttons include portions 24 which cooperate with a pivoted bafflelike member 2'! to provide interlocking action of the push buttons. Specifically this action results from the coaction between the curved projection 60 and the recess 62 in the rear surface of the push button, and the right angle projection SI of the member 21. As the finger engaging portion 25 of a push button is depressed the rear portion moves upward with the curved projection til en gaging the projection SI of the baffie causing the bafile to be tilted rearwardly. The projection 61 looks in the recess 62 in the back portion of the push button and prevents the spring 25 from restoring the push button to the normal position. The operation of one of the other buttons, however, will cause the baflle to be tilted rearwardly again thereby releasing any button which is in actuated position and allowing the spring 25 to move such button to its normal position.

In addition to providing interlocking action between the push buttons, the member 27 also has the additional function of shielding the push buttons when in their normal positions from the direct rays of the bulb 3|. The push buttons l2 are constructed of a transparent material such as Lucite, Plexi-glas, etc., which has a high index of refraction. Hereafter in the specification and claims such materials will be referred to as light refractive material. Because of the optical properties of such material, any illumination reaching the rear portion 23 of the push button is conducted along the material of the push button to the finger engaging portion 12 thereof. Accordingly, when the buttons are in their normal position as shown by the second button in Fig. 2 (partly in dotted lines), the portion 23 thereof is shielded from the light by the member 21. Some light, of course, will be reflected from control head housing to the push buttons so that there will be limited illumination thereof. However, when the push buttons are depressed as illustrated by the first button in Fig.2, the rear portion 23 is positioned above the member 2'! so that light from the bulb 3| contacts the push button directly. This light will be transferred through the material of the push button to the portion thereof which is in view to illuminate this portion to a relatively high degree. Therefore, any push button which is depressed will appear much brighter than the push buttons which are not depressed to make it readily apparent to any ob-' server as to the setting of the buttons on the control head. The name plate l3 may also be made of light refractive material so that light from the bulb 3| is transmitted thereby making any desigplate intelligible even in total nation on the name darkness.

It is apparent from the foregoing description number of push buttons may be provided without departing from the invention. The lighting arrangement of the control head both illuminates the indicia on the push buttons and makes readily apparent the setting of the buttons by the intensity of the illumination thereof. The lighting arrangement is combined with the interlocking mechanism of the switches to provide a simple and relatively fool-proof structure which is of inexpensive construction.

Although I have described one embodiment which illustrates the invention, it is apparent that various changes and modifications can be made therein within the intended scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A push button control head comprising a housing, a plurality of switches within said housing, a plurality of push buttons made of light refractive material pivotally mounted on said housing and including switch actuating portions, each of said push buttons having a normal position and an actuated position, a light source within said housing, and means positioned between said light source and said push button and cooperating with said push buttons for holding a button which has been actuated in said actuated position and for releasing the same when an additional button is actuated, said means including a light shielding portion arranged so as to be more effective in preventing the passage of light from said source to the buttons which are in the normal position than to a button in actuated position, whereby a button in actuated position is illuminated more than the buttons which are in the normal position.

2. A push button control head comprising a plurality of switches, a plurality of pivotally mounted push buttons made of light refractive material and including switch actuating portions and curved rear portions, said push buttons having a normal position and an actuated position, a light source, and means associated with said rear portions of said push buttons for interlocking said buttons, said interlocking means including a pivoted baffle-like member having a projection adapted to engage the curved rear portion of said buttons to hold a button which is actuated in said actuated position and to be pivoted by the curved rear portion of a push button which is being actuated to release any push button which is being held thereby, said baiile-like member also being efiective to shield said buttons from said light source when they are in said normal position so that an actuated button is illuminated more than said buttons which are in said normal position.

3. A push button control head comprising a housing, a plurality of switches within said housing, a plurality of push buttons made of light refractive material and including switch actuating portions and curved rear portions pivotally mounted on said housing, said push buttons having a normal position and an actuated position, a light source within said housing, and means positioned between said light source and said push buttons and associated with said rear ortions of said push buttons for interlocking said buttons and for selectively transmitting light thereto, said interlocking means including a baffie-like member pivotally supported on said housing and having a projection adapted to engage the curved rear portion of said buttons to hold a button which is actuated in actuated position and being adapted to be pivoted by the curved rear portion of a push button which is being actuated to release any push button which is being held thereby, said baille-like member also being effective to shield said buttons from said light source when they are in said normal position so that an actuated button is illuminated more than said buttons which are in said normal position.

4. A push button control head comprising a plurality of switches, a plurality of pivotally mounted push buttons including switch actuating portions and curved rear portions, said push buttons having a normal position and an actuated position, and means associated with said rear portions of said push buttons for interlocking said buttons, said interlocking means including a pivoted baffle-like member having a projection adapted to engage the curved rear portion of said buttons to hold a button which is actuated in actuated position, said baffle-like member being moved by the curved rear portion of a push button which is being moved to said actuated position to release any push button which is being held thereby.

5. A push button control head comprising a plurality of switches, a plurality of pivotally mounted push buttons made of light refractive material and including switch actuating portions and curved rear portions, said push buttons hav-- ing a normal position and an actuated position, a light source, and means associated with said rear portions of said push buttons for interlocking said buttons and for selectively transmitting light from said source thereto, said means including a pivoted baffle-like member having a projection adapted to engage the curved rear portion of said buttons to hold a button which is actuated in actuated position and to be moved by the curved rear portion of a push button which is being moved to said actuated position to release any push button which is being held thereby, said rear portions of said push buttons when in said normal position being below said baflle-like member so that they are shielded from said light source and being above said member when in said actuated position so that an actuated button is exposed to said light source and is illuminated more than the buttons which are in the normal position.

ROBERT DUSEK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ille of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,823,319 Dickinson Sept. 15, 1931 2,285,374 Dohsmann June 2, 1942 2,331,590 Andres Oct. 12, 1943

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