US2525846A - Electromagnetic actuated switch lever detent - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 17, 1950 J, c, w sd 2,525,846

ELECTRDMAGNET ACTUATED SWITCH LEVER DETENT Filed Sept. 27, 1946 4 0 37 4 I a Z 3A/5 INVENTOR Patented Oct. 17, 1950 I ELECTROMAGNETIC ACTUATED SWITCH LEVER DETENT Jack C.'Wilson, Garden City, N. Y., assignor to The Sperry Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application September 27, 1946, Serial No. 699,677

' 7 Claims.

This invention relates to a switch for electric circuits and more particularly to an electromagnetic switch and has for its object'the provision of a simple switch structure having manually operable contacts together with a mechanism controlled by an electromagnet for moving and locking the switch in a predetermined position. i

The switch disclosed herein is' particularly useful as a control element in interlock circuits such as are used in connection with automatic pilots for airplanes. I

Other features and objects of the invention will be found in the following description, given with the aid of the accompanying drawings, of which Figs. 1 and 2 are side views in elevation showing respectively the switch in off and in on positions; I

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the switch, and

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the switch bracket.

Referring particularly to Fig. 4, the switch comprises an approximately U-shaped bracket having spacedarms'll and I2 connected by a yoke it each arm being formed with a mounting plate is at the end thereof. A switch lever 55 having an operating knob IE attached at one end is disposed between arms I! and I2 of the bracket on a pivot I8 supported by both arms.

A roller 2 mounted on the opposite end of the switch lever cooperateswith a dOg'Zl formed with a curved surface 22'disposed toward the roller, the dog being mountedbetween arms II and I2 of the bracket, on a pivot 23 supported thereby which extends substantially through the midpoint of the dog'. The dog which is controlled by an electromagnet, to be described, is used to lock the switch in one of its two positions, which for the purpose of the present description will be assumed to Man open, or off position. The dogis also used in operating the switch automatically from on to off position.

Below pivot 23 and spaced therefrom, the dog carries a pivot 25 which'projects from opposite sides thereof into openings in flaps 26 extending upward on opposite sides of the dog from a link 2'! which is looselyattached to an armature 28 of an electromagnet 29. Link 21 is formed with a relatively narrow strip 30 or extension at the end thereof which extends through an opening in the upper part of armature 28 where the strip is bent at an angle to engage the armature.

The magnet and armature are attached to lever is attached by screws 36 shown by dotted lines to plates M of bracket [0. Plate 35 extends below plates l4, and the magnet 29 and an L-shaped bracket 31 are attached to this lower portion of the plate by a screw 38. The armature is attached toa normally fiat spring 39, which serves as a support as well as a retractile spring therefor, .19 spring being slightly bent. as shown in Fig. 2 when the magnet is energized. One end of spring 39 is secured by any suitable clamping arrangement to bracket 40, which preferably allows some adjustment of the spring for regulating the position of the armature, whlle the opposite end of the spring may be secured in any suitable manner to the armature such as by eyelets or by a clamp 4|.

Referring to Fig. 3, a spring 45 is attached at one end to a plate 46 secured by screws 41 to the upper surface of yoke l3 of the bracket Ill. The opposite end of spring 45 is attached to a pin 48 fixed to lever IS, the spring tending to move the switch lever to the position shown in Fig. 1.

A nest of contacts generally indicated by the reference character 49 is attached by screws 50 to the underside of plate 46. The contacts of the nest are operated, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 by a pin 5| attached to lever l5 whichengages an insulating strip 52 attached to the uppermost of the contacts when the switch is positioned as shown in Fig. 2. In the opposite position of the switch, pin 5| is clear of the insulating strip 52. While a contact nest of but three spring contacts is shown, a considerably greater number of contacts could be used if required. The end portion of plate 46 which supports the contacts is offset to one side of the magnet providing ample space for supporting additional contact springs.

A notch is formed in the side of dog 2| opposite the curved surface 22 thereof and the lower surface 55 of the notch engages the under side of the endportion' 43 of the bracket I0 and serves as a stop for the armature, as shown in Fig. 1 when the magnet is deenergized.

The switch operates as follows: When the magnet 29 is deenergized, spring 39 on which thearmature 28 is mounted straightens out and swings the armature away from the polepiece of the magnet, and link 21 turns dog 22 on its pivot 23 in a clockwise direction until the lower surface 55 of the notch in the dog engages the underside of yoke l3 of bracket l0 arresting further movement of the assembly. The upper end of the dog is then positioned under the arm of the switch lever I5. carrying roller 28 thereby blocking the lever against movement in a counterclockwise direction and pin is disengaged from the contacts of the contact nest.

When magnet 29 is energized, the armature 28 turns the dog in a counterclockwise direction moving the upper end thereof clear of the path of roller 20. With the magnet thus energized lever [5 may be operated at will in either direction to effect corresponding operation of the contacts of the contact nest.

On rotating switch lever [5 in a counterclockwise direction from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 2, which is possible only when the magnet is energized, spring 45 is stretched and roller 20 on the lever arm engages the curved surface 22 of the dog at some point below pivot 23. Continued movement of the lever causes the roller 20 to cam the dog slightly in a clockwise direction about its pivot 23 and against the force exerted on the dog by the mag net until the roller passes below the dog when the lower end thereof snaps in front of the roller due to the continued force exerted on the dog by the magnet thereby releasably retaining the lever in the position shown in Fig. 2 against the tension of spring 45 which constantly tends to move the lever to the position shown in Fig. 1. If magnet 29 becomes deenergized when the switch lever is thus positioned, spring 45 will become effective instantly to displace the lever to its opposite position shown in Fig. 1. Assuming, however, that magnet 29 remains constantly energized for the time and the switch lever has been moved to the position shown in Fig. 2, then manual pressure on the switch lever in a clockwise direction will cause roller 20 to bear against the slanting edge of dog 2| rocking the dog slightly in a clockwise direction on its pivot against the force of the magnet until the roller passes beyond the lower retaining edge of the dog when the lever is free to complete its travel to the position shown in Fig. 1 under the influence of spring 45.

A lever actuating spring 45 may be selected which will apply appreciable force to the switch lever when the magnet 29 is deenergized, and this force can be utilized in certain applications to operate or coordinate other external apparatus with the movements of the switch. Lever I5 is formed with an arm 56 to which is pivoted in oilset relation a link 51. Actuation of the switch lever effects corresponding reciprocation of the link. In a specific application of the switch, a link similar to link 51 but provided with a forked end portion is being used to centralize a control potentiometer for an automatic pilot when the switch is released.

Since many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departure from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

'1. A switch comprising a bracket, a movable contact operating lever pivotally mounted on the bracket movable to either of two positions, a dog comprising an elongated member pivotally mounted at substantially its midsection on the bracket beyond the end of the lever, an electromagnet having an armature pivotally coupled with the dog near one end thereof eifective to rock the dog on its mounting to position either of opposite end portions of the dog in the path of the lever to engage the lever and restrain the movement thereof in either of two directions, one end portion of the dog being formed to lock the lever against movement when engaged thereby, the opposite end of the dog being formed with a cam surface effective to engage the lever and yieldingly restrain the same against movement.

2. A switch comprising a bracket, a movable contact operating lever pivotally mounted on the bracket movable to either of two positions, a dog comprising an elongated member pivotally mounted at its midsection to the bracket beyond the end of the lever, an electromagnet having a spring biased armature pivotally coupled to the dog near one end thereof effective to rock the dog on its mounting according to the energization of the electromagnet to position either of opposite end portions of the dog in the path of the lever, one end portion being effective when in the path of the lever to lock the lever against movement when in a predetermined position, spring means connecting the lever and an extension of the bracket to bias the lever toward said position, the opposite end portion of the dog being formed with a slanting surface which when positioned in the path of the lever is effective to yieldingly restrain movement thereof by the spring means.

3. A switch comprising a bracket, a contact operating lever movable to either of two positions of rest, pivotally mounted in the bracket, a spring connecting an extension of the bracket with the lever efiective tomove the lever to a first of the positions of rest, a dog for retaining the lever in either of the positions of rest, comprising a bar pivotally mounted at substantially its midsection on the bracket immediately beyond an end of the lever, an electromagnet having a spring biased armature coupled to the dog near one end thereof effective in accordance with the operation of the armature to position either of opposite end portions of the dog in the path of the lever, the dog being so formed as to block movement of the lever when in said first position of rest on a predetermined operation of the armature, and on an opposite operation of the armature, to yieldingly hold the lever against actuation by the first mentioned spring when the lever is in a second of its positions of rest.

4. A switch comprising a bracket, a contact operating lever movable to either of two positions of rest pivotally mounted in the bracket, a spring connecting an extension of the bracket with the lever effective to move the lever to a first of the positions of rest, a dog for retaining the lever in a second of the positions of rest comprising a bar pivotally mounted at substantially its midsection on the bracket beyond the end of the lever, an electromagnet having a spring biased armature pivotally connected to the dog efiective on energization of the electromagnet to rock one end of the dog into the path of the lever to yieldingly hold the end of the lever against the force exerted thereon by the first mentioned spring, a cam surface formed on said end of the dog where engaged by the lever permitting the dog to be cammed out of the path of the lever momentarily on manual operation of the lever whereby the lever may be freely operated to either of its positions of rest while the electromagnet is energized.

5. A switch comprising a bracket, a contact operating lever movable to either of two positions of rest pivotally mounted in the bracket, spring means connecting an extension of the bracket with the lever effective to bias the lever toward a first of the positions of rest, a dog for retaining the lever in a second position of rest comprising a bar pivotally mounted at substantially its midpoint on the bracket beyond the end of the lever, an electromagnet, an armature therefor having a retracting spring, a link coupling the armature to the dog whereby the armature is efiective on energization of the electromagnet to rock one end of the dog into the path of the lever to yieldingly engage and hold the lever against the force exerted by the spring means, a slanting surface formed on said end of the dog where engaged by the lever effective when manual force is applied to the lever to earn the dog momentarily out of the path thereof whereby the lever may be operated from one position to another when the magnet is energized, the armature being effective on deenergization of the magnet to rock the dog to bring an opposite end portion thereof into the path of the lever, the latter end portion being effective to lock the lever against movement until the dog is rocked in the opposite direction by energization of the electromagnet.

6. A switch comprising a bracket, a contact operating lever movable to either of two positions of rest pivotally mounted in the bracket, means for retaining the lever in one of the positions of rest, comprisin an elongated dog having a curved cam surface on one edge thereof, a pivot disposed in approximately the mid-section of the dog mounting the dog on the bracket immediately beyond the end of the lever with the curved cam surface disposed toward the lever to be engaged thereby, an electromagnet, an armature therefor having a retracting spring, a link coupling the armature to the dog whereby the armature is effective on energization of the electromagnet to rock one end of the dog into the path of the dog in the opposite direction to move the lever to the opposite position of rest.

7. A switch comprising a bracket, a contact operating lever movable to either of two positions of rest pivotally mounted in the bracket, means for retaining the lever in one of the positions of rest comprising an elongated dog having a curved cam surface on one edge thereof, a pivot disposed in approximately the mid-section of the dog mounting the dog to the bracket immediately beyond the end of the lever with the curved cam surface disposed toward the lever to be engaged thereby, an electromagnet, a spring retracted armature therefor so coupled to the dog as to rock one end portion thereof into the path of the lever on energization of the magnet to engage and yieldingly hold the lever against movement, spring means effective onthe deenergization of the magnet and the resulting rocking of said end of the dog out of the path of the lever to move the lever to its opposite position of rest, and means on said dog effective to positively lock the lever in the latter position so long as the electromagnet I is deenergized.

JACK 0. WILSON.

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

" UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 786,017 Dutton Mar. 28, 1905 937,122 Waterman Oct. 19, 1907 1,050,791 Beach Jan. 21, 1913 1,288,738 Suren Dec. 24, 1918 1,313,019 Schmitz Aug. 12, 1919 2,049,397 Merkel July 28, 1936 2,072,510 Moloney Mar. 2, 1937 2,079,577 Parsons May 4, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 419,727 France Jan. 13, 1911

Images