US2510085A - Selector switch drive - Google Patents

Description

June 6, 1950 G. DEAKlN ETAL SELECTOR SWITCH DRIVE Filed June 25, 1948 R a 3 m NM INVETORS. GERALD DEAKIN &

JOHN C. JABLONOWS Kl A TTORA/fY- Patented June 6, 1950 SELECTOR SWITCH DRIVE Gerald Deakin, New York, N. Y., and John C. Jablonowski, Jersey City, N. J., assignors to International Standard Electric Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application June 25, 1948, Serial No. 35,203

Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in catch mechanism for a combination drive and clutch which may be used to move the brush carriage of one or more selectors of an automatic telephone system.

In an application by Gerald Deakin, Serial No. 35,202, filed of even date, certain features of the catch mechanism which is the subject of this invention are disclosed but not claimed.

The brush carriage of a selector is mounted on a movable rack having two parallel toothed surfaces each of which is permanently engaged by driving pinions which drive the rack back and forth. In order to impart a reciprocating movement to the brush carriage a clutch mechanism alternately couples and de-couples constantly rotating arms to gears, each of which is permanently in mesh with a pinion. Each arm has a pin by means of which it engages a. catch fastened to a gear. One arm drives the brush carriage from right to left and is disengaged from its cooperating catch by disengaging means, whereupon the other arm engages its catch and drives the carriage from left to right, this cycle being continuously repeated.

According to the present invention pin retaining means are provided at either end of each catch to prevent disengagement between a pin and a catch except by the disengaging means. The pin retaining means comprise a notch at one end of a catch for seating a pin While an arm is driving a gear and a hook at the other end of the catch for preventing the pin being disengaged from the catch if the catch should be accidentally moved in a direction opposite to the movement of the pin. The possibility of such accidental movement is particularly present during the shifting of the travel of the brush carriage from right to left or vice versa.

The features of the present invention will be disclosed in the following description in which the details of the drive and clutch, as well as the catch mechanism, will be explained so that the operation of the catch will be better understood.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view;

Fig. 2 is a section along the lines 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 2a is a plan view of a catch.

In the following description it is assumed that a main driving shaft (not shown) is to the left of the selector. If the shaft is to the right the selector parts are turned upside down and operate in the same manner.

A rack I carries near one end, a brush carriage generally indicated at 2 provided with the usual brushes which cooperate with a terminal bank and feeder strips of a selector. The rack has a central slot 3 separating two parallel toothed driving edges 4, 5 which when engaged by pinions. about to be described, drive the rack back and forth in a, horizontal plane. A guide piece 6 held by screws 1 in slot 3 has grooves on two sides through which the smooth edges of rack I may slide.

Toothed edge 4 of rack I is permanently in mesh with a driver or pinion 8 and toothed edge 5 is permanently in mesh with a driver or pinion 9. Eachpinion is free to rotate on pins Ii] mounted on brackets II held to base plate I2 by screws I3. Locking rings I4 hold the pinions on pins l0.

As best seen in Fig. 2 pinion 9 is permanently in mesh with a gear I5 and pinion 8 permanently in mesh with a similar gear I5. Gears I5 and I6 are situated one above the other to rotate freely on bushings I1, I8 surrounding a driving shaft I9 which is driven in the direction indicated by the arrow by a flexible driving gear 20. The operation of driving gear 20 is well known in the so-called rotary power driven selectors and will not be herein described.

When gear I5 is coupled to driving shaft l9 by the clutch mechanism about to be described, it will drive pinion 9 which in turn drives through toothed edge 5, rack I and brush carriage 2 mounted thereon from right to left. During this movement pinion 8 which is in mesh with edge 4 rotates freely about its pin It! and drives gear It freely about shaft I9. After brush carriage 2 has been driven to the left terminal position of rack I, the clutch mechanism de-couples shaft I9 from gear I5 and couples gear It to the shaft which drives by means of pinion 8 and edge 4, the rack back from left to right. Pinion 9 and gear I5 now rotate freely. At the completion of the left to right travel of the brush carriage the right to left movement is once again commenced as above described.

Shaft I9- rotates in a bushing 23 projecting from a hole in bottom plate I2. Two driving arms 24 and 25 are keyed to shaft I9 by its fiat side indicated at 26. Driving arm 24 is above gear I5 and driving arm 25 below gear IS. The two driving arms and the gears are held in place on shaft I9 by means of nut 2'! forcing the assembly on to I5 facing driving arm 24 and a catch 3| is fastened to the surface of gear ii; facing driving arm 25. These catches are displaced approximately 30 with respect to one another so that there will be no lost motion between the coupling of one gear and the de-coupling of the other gear as movement of the rack is shifted from right to left or vice versa.

Fingers 32, 33 are respectively pivoted at 34, 35 to arms 24, 25. Leaf springs 36, 31 are attached by screws 38 respectively to arms 24, 25. Ends 33 of the springs rest on projections '40 of the fingers and tend to rotate each finger about its pivot in a clockwise direction. This motion is limited by stops ll forming part of .the driving arms. Near the free end of fingers 32, 33 ,-pins 42, 43 project and are adapted to engage respectively catches 30, 3|.

As shown in Fig. 1, pin 42 is engaging rear notch 48 (shown for catch 3 l) of catch 30. Since finger 32 rotates with arm 24 and shaft [9, gear I will'also be rotated. Gear [5 in turn drives the rack'through the pinion'iland edge 5. When gear l5 has completed one rotation carriage '2 will have been driven all the way across the selector and portion Zi' iof the finger will contact top roller 45 ofengaging lug i''projecting from base ["2 to which it is secured by nut'ZB. Lug 4'5 pushes 'finger32 ina counterclockwise direction as'it cofnesby, lifting pin '42 out of notch 49in catchSfi thereby de-couplingdrivingarm 24 from gear 15. I

While gear 95 is being driven by arm '24, finger 33 is also rotated with shaft is andgear T6 is rotated in-a counterclockwise direction by pinion 8. Catch-3i of gear 16 will hot be engaged by pin 4'3 until portio'n'fiti of finger 33 engages roller 5! of lug 46 which rotates the finger sufficiently'for pin '43 to engage end l lof catch 3! and ride along edge E8 of the catchand nestle into notch 49. As finger 32 is being de-coupled by lug 46 from catch 3!! and gear I G, pin c3 lodges innotch 49 of catch 3| and finger 33 commences to drive gear H in a clockwise direction and the brush carriage'from left to right.

From Fig. 2a it is-seen that catch 3| has retaining means for pin 43 at either end consisting of notch A9 and hooked end 4?. Notch 49 isfo'rmed so that when pin 43 lodges in it, one side of the pin rests against the bottom of an overhangingl'ip Ell and the other-.side against a relatively sharply inclined wall 6|. In this way pin "43 is held against lateral displacement and since there is no lost motion between the driving and driven parts, overstepping by the selector during hunting is eliminated.

.Hooked end "4"! of catch 3'! prevents unwanted disengagement of the parts and possible breakage between the driving and driven parts. Such disengagement could, for example, be brought about, in the absence of end 41, if one were to move by hand the brush carriage during the period of changeover from right to left or left to right movement of .the carriage after one of the driving pins. e..g. '42,'h'ad been lifted out of match 45i-of'catch'30 andthe other pin, e. g.'43, had not yet lodged ini1ot'ch49 of catch 3!. However, wall 5 3 of end '4"! would arrest any movement of a driving pin brought about by moving the carriage by hand. A driving pin, therefore, will always beelfe'ctively connected to its'catchuntil lifted out by lug 39.

The alignment of gears I5, "I 6 so'that catches 3 l will be in proper relationship is accomplished-byfirst alignih'g two holes 54' in gear I5 with two holes 55 (only one of which is shown) in gear 55, and then rotating the top gear back one hole. The pinions may then be dropped into position and the operating fingers latched to the gears. Naturally since gears l5, [6 are moving in opposite directions holes 54, 55 will be in alignment-'only'i'n one position of the gears. This is not the position shown in Fig. 1.

It will be clear from the foregoing that because of the accurate and close fit between the respective parts of the assembly back lash is eliminatedand overstepping by the selector even when hunting at high speeds is virtually impossible.

What is claimed is: 1. In a drive for a reciprocating carriage, a

driving shaft, means for driving the carriage in alternate directions, a pin rotatable with said driving shaft, and a catch movable with said driving means and in cooperative relation withsaid and having pin retaining means preventing disengagement of'th'ep'i'n fromthe catch.

25A drive for a reciprocating carriage, comprising a driving shaft, means mounted on said driving shaft for driving the "carriage in alternate directionsftwo pins rotated with 'sa'idmeans, two catches, one movable with the means for driving the carriagein one directioniand' the other with the ineansifor'driving the carriag'e'inthe opposite direction, meansformov'ing one'pin into engagementwith one catch and'the other pin out of engagement with the other catch and vice versa, and two Lpin retaining means on each catch preventing removal of a pin from a catch by rotation in 'eith'erdirection when a pin is 'en gaged to a catch.

3. The device according to claim 2, and in which said pin retaining means comprise 'a hook atone endof a catch and a notch at the other end.

'4. The device according to claim 2, and in which said pin retaining means comprise a hook at one end of a catch having'a pin arresting wall and a notch at the other end of the catch having an overhanging lip.

'5. In a "drive for a selector brush carriage a driving shaft, a rack'carrying the brush carriage and having two toothed edges, cooperating pinion for each edge in permanent mesh therewith, two driving fastened to the shaft, two operating fingers mounted on the arms, .a pin projecting from each of said fingers, two gears freely rotatable around the shaft, each of said gears in permanent mesh with one of said pinions, a catch on each of said gears cooperating with the pin on each of said fingers, a hook at one end of said catches and a notch atthe other end of said catches, "lug means for alternately connecting and disconnecting apin to a catch as the driving shaft rotates, whereby a finger remains connected at alltimes to a catch until released therefrom by saidlugmeans.

GERAIQDE'AKIN. JOHN C. JABLONOWSKI.

REFERENCES crest The following references are of record iii-the file of this patent:

UNITED PATENTS Number Name "Date X71688 Bates July 27,1833 331,524 'Metzger et al. Dec. 1, 1883 1,864,499 Grigsby "June 21,1932

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