US2611835A - Lever switch - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 23,. 1952 D. P. MOSSMAN, SR

LEVER SWITCH Filed June 6, 1947 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Slept. 23, 1952 D. P. MossMAN, SRv 2,611,835

LEVER SWITQH Filed June 6, 1947 2 SHEETS-smal 2 Patented Sept. 23, 1952 OFFICE LEVER SWITCH Donald P. Mossma'n, sr., chicago, 111. Application June 6, 1947, .Serial No. 752,936

The present invention relates to lever switches. It is particularly concerned with a switch wherein a plurality of groups of springs are arranged to be operated by a rocking lever to make and break contact between the contact points on the springs. Switches of this character are vusually provided with a main frame and oppositely disposed groups `or pile-ups of contact springs, certain of which springs extend beyond the others and are adapted to be engaged by rollers or cams that are mounted on a pivoted lever. It is customary also to associate with the lever a spring pressed detent which engages a notched cammng surface that is part of the lever. The detent is adapted to hold the lever yieldingly against movement in a neutral position `and one or more operating positions when the lever is turned in either direction from neutral position.

In many instances i-t is desirable to have the lever operable to makeor break certain of the spring contacts without passing the spring detent over one of the holding notches of the camming plate. Such a position is usually termed a nonlock position, and is reached with a relatively small motion of the lever. It is dillicult Ito obtain proper movement of the spring contacts with such a small throw of the lever and still have the requisite movement of the spring contact for locking position that is arrived at by a much larger angular movement of the lever.

It is a purpose of my invention toprovide in a switch of Ithis character, a novel combination of par-ts whereby the desirable full movement of the movable contact spring is obtained over a'wide range of movement of the lever so that, for examlple, a small movement of 4the lever from neutral position in one `direction will give full movement of the contact springs actuated while much greater movement of the lever may be used to move other contact springs or the same springs without excessive bending of the springs and without the necessity of any change in the lever, and general switch construction.

It is also a purpose of my invention to provide certain improvements in a switch of this character whereby the vibration of the contact springs is overcome so as to enable the switch to withstand very severe shocks without the contacts being made or broken due to the shock.

It is a further purpose of my invention to` provide in a switch of lthis character, a frame construction which readily adapts itself to the application of screw terminals for wiring the several pile-ups of switch contacts.

It is another purpose of my invention to provide in a switch of this character, an improved mounting for the spring pile-ups whereby the parts are more rigidly secured together and the construction is simplified from the assembly standpoint.

3 Claims. (Cl. 200-1) The natureand advantages of the invention will appear more fully from the following 1description and accompanying drawings wherein a preferred form of the invention is shown. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and description are illustrative only, and should not :be taken as limiting the invention except insofar as it is limited by the claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through a switch embodyingv my invention;

Figure 2 is a sectoriali view taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary end view looking at the switch from the right hand end of Figure 1, certain parts being broken away to bet-V -ter illustrate the construction;

. Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view through the mounting plates for the spring contacts, the view being taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is an exploded View illustrating .the mounting plates in perspective and separated from each other Fgure 6. is an enlarged fragmentary view illustrating a changed position of the lever; and

Figure '7 is a view similar to Figure 6 but showing the modified construction for obtaining 'adeouate movement of the contact springs with a small throw or the operating lever.

Referring now to the drawings in Figure 1, I have illustrated a switch embodying my invention wherein a main frame I0 has a U-shaped lever mounting portion similar to that shown vin my prior application, Serial Number 590,909, now Patent No. 2,497,414 dated February 14, 1950. This lever mounting portion includes an apertured back plate I I and two sides one of which is shown at I3. These sides have reduced portions Iza and I3a which extend parallel to each other and serve to mount a spring contact lassembly I4 which is in the form of a plurali-ty of groups I5, I6, I'I and I8, of contact springs, and associated insulators or spacers 29, and vibration dampening springs 2 I. The operating parts of the pileup assembly comprise stationary `Contact springs 22 and movable contact springs 23 and 23 both yof which carry contact points indicated generally by the numeral 24 on the stationary springs land by the numeral 2.5 on the movable springs.

In connection with each of the springs 23 and 23', wiring terminal plates 26 are "provided, these terminal plates being laid in engagement with the springs. Each terminal plate has a portion 21 extending end Wise beyond the :pile-up, and provided with a screw 28 for fastening a lead thereto. Each of the stationary springs 22 has a terminal wiring pla'te 29 engaged therewith. The terminal wiring plates 29 extend laterally from the pile-ups and have wiring terminal porlength of the attached screw carrying portion of j the terminal plate itself.

The actuation of the spring members 23 andW 23' is by means of a cam lever 32 which is pivoted between the side portions of the frame I3 by means of a shaft 33 and suitable'spacing sleeves 34. This'lever 32 extends through the slot l l in the base of the frame IG, and has a reduced neck portion 35 provided with an extension 35 on which a handle 3'1 is mounted. The neck portion 35 is of substantial thickness in the plane of movementof the lever 32, so as to form a shoulder against which the handle 31 engages and to give adequate strength to the lever at this critical point. The lever itself is in the nature of a plate substantially circular throughout most of its circumference except for the neck 35, and notches 33', 39 and 40, and projections 4| and 42. These notches and projections are adapted to engage Y a spring pressed roller 43 which is mounted in the bifurcated end 44 of a rod 45. The bifurcated end 44 of the rod 45 overlaps the lever 32 on both sides thereof so as to guide the roller with respect to the notches and projections just described. Mounted on the lever plate 35 are also'such stop pins 35a and 35h as are necessary to effect a position of locking or non-locking when these pins impinge against the frame ID on either or both sides of slot Il. rlhe pin 35h effecting the nonlock stopping action has a large head on it so as to limit the throw of the lever to a point when the latching roller 43 does not ride over the tip of projection 42, thus allowing the lever to reverse itself automatically and return to the neutral or center position.

The rod 45 is slidably mounted in twov cross frame members 45 and 41 which extend between the side frame portionsr [2a and |3a. The rod is hollow to receive a spring 48 which is backed up by an adjustable stop pin 49. The stop pin 49 is adjusted by means of a screw 50 which threads into the stop pin and which is mounted for rotation in a cross bar l at the rear ends of the frame members l2a and l3a. As usual in devices of this character a lock nut 52 is provided on the screw 59. Thus the tension on the roller 43 pressing it into the notches of the lever 32 can be varied to provide the desired resistance to movement of the lever itself.

An important feature of my invention is embodied in the engagement between the spring Contact engaging rollers v53 and 54 that are mounted on the lever 32, and the movable contact springs 23 and 23. t will be noted that the lower spring 23 in Figure l has its forward end bent toward the roller 53 at 55, and then outwardly again at 5t,A while the upper spring 23 has its forward end 5'! bent 'outwardly at the same angle as the portion 55. In normal use of the switch illustrated, the upper spring 23' is adapted to be used in so-called lock. position only. In other words, if the lever 32 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction it will move the upper spring 23 outwardly to engage its contact with the contacts 24 on the associated spring 22 above it with the roller 43 resting on the notch 39. This so-called lock position will then be maintained so that it is necessary to exert substantial pressure on the handle 31 to return the lever to neutral position. It is often desirable to have a hold or non-lock position where the operator of the switch must hold the lever while contact is made, and the lever will return to neutral position immediately upon release of the handle 37. Heretofore it has been difficult to ob tainthe proper amount of movement of the spring 23` without modifying the switch construction substantially. In order to give the proper throw to the lower spring 23 for a hold or non lock position this spring is provided with the bent tip as illustrated bythe portions 55 and 56. Now when the 'lever is initially moved, the portion 55 engages the roller r53'and'causes the spring 23 to move outwardly quite rapidly in the initial movement of the lever thus making contact with the lower spring 22 before the detent roller 43 moves over the upper projection 42 as the lever is rotated in the clockwise direction. This is the socalled hold position when the stationary spring 22 and the actuating spring 23 offer resistance to and the stop h prevents further movement of the lever to a lock position. As soon as the operator releases the handle 3l this spring force returns the lever to neutralposition breaking the contacts between the lower spring 23 and the lower stationary spring 22. Thus'it is possible to adapt the switch to one having a non lock position when the lever is moved in one direction, and a locked position when the lever is moved in the other direction merely by the utilization of a contact spring 23 on the non-lock side which has the bent ends and 56. This makes it unnecessary to change in any way the general mechanism of the switch for adapting it to different installations requiring in some cases a lock and a non-lock position, and in other cases two locked positions, or two non-locked positions.

Referring now to Figures 3, 4, and 5, the frame construction for mounting the pile-ups is shown more in detail. The side frame members I2a and 13a. and the cross bars 41'and 5| serve to secure two duplicate mounting plates 6U and 6I. These mounting plates are generally rectangular in form, but are provided with offset fingers 62, 53, 54 and 65. The fingers are the same on both plates B0 and 6l and are offset inwardly toward the opposite plate. In Figures 3 and 4, this offset is sufcient so that the ngers come together' and enter aperture B6 provided in the cross bar 47 and aperture 6'! provided in the cross bar 5l. The fingers as shown in Figure 4 are not exactly parallel so that their tips engage and they wedge in the openings 66 and 61. The plates are tightly secured by suitable screws 63 and 69 which pass through the bar 5l and are threaded into the cross bar 47. In Figure 5 the construction is slightly modified in that two apertures 'l0 and '1| are provided in the crossl bars for each pair of fingers such as 62 and 63. Otherwise the construction is just the same as in Figures 3 and 4, but the offset of the ngers is reduced accordingly to align them with the apertures 'l0 and 1|. The plates 69 and 5| are suitably apertured to receive mounting screws 'l2 and 13 for the pile-ups.

This construction makes it possible to use the same mounting screws for mounting both'groups such as I5 and I'! of the contact spring assembly or pile-ups on the opposite sides of the frame. This insures accurate alignment of the pile-ups and proper spacing thereof with respect to the lever 32, and because of the fact that the screws such as 12 and 13 extend all the way through the pile-ups on opposite sides of the frame the switch is quite rigid and therefore capable of withstanding rougher usage than is the case where individual pile-up mounting is employed. It also provides a means of making separate pileups such as l5 and I6 in the upper position and I1 and I8 in the lower position, each pair mounted separately on an individual plate 60 and 6l respectively when that plate has tapped holes as at 60a and Bla. This method is desirable and much more economical for mounting pile-ups than when the mounting screws go through the plates, and when it is not necessary to provide the additional support of screws which go through the plates as is required in some cases of unusually large pile-ups.

In certain usages of heavy duty switches such as this, the switch is subjected to rather severe shocks, and such shocks tend to cause vibration of the free ends of the stationary springs 22 so as to cause them sometimes to make or break momentary contact with the movable springs. According to my invention, I provide each of the stationary springs 22 with back up springs 2l on both sides. The back up springs are bent from the ends of the spacers toward the stationary contact springs to engage them at a distance about two-thirds of the way from the spacers to the ends of the springs. The inner back up spring 2l thus opposes vibration toward the movable contact while the outer back up spring dampens the vibration in the opposite direction. These back up springs are somewhat lighter than the stationary contact springs so as to avoid the possibility of setting up resonant vibration between the sp-rings.

The construction shown in Figure 'T of the drawings illustrates a slightly modified manner of accomplishing the same results as is obtained by the portions 55 and 55 of the lower movable spring 23. In this construction the roller 53 is replaced with a cam type of spring engaging member 53a which is so constructed asto effect a much greater throw of a Contact spring 23a, than would be effected by a roller 53. The contact spring 23a, has its tip portion 14 bent over the corner of the member 53a to cause it to rock when the lever is turned. It is believed that this operation is suiciently clear from the drawings that it need not be further described. The form shown in Figure 1 is much preferable both from an operational and a manufacturing standpoint since it combines all of the changes necessary to get non-lock operation to a single spring.

From the foregoing it is believed that the nature and advantages of my invention will be clear to those skilled in this art.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A switch of the character described comprising a supporting frame, a plurality of contact carrying springs mounted thereon in spaced relation, an operating member pivoted in said frame for movement transversely of said springs, and having a handle, at least one of said springs having its free end extended beyond other springs alongside the path of movement of said operating member, a spring engaging member pivoted on said operating member, and said extended spring having a portion thereof in the path of movement of said spring engaging member bent to extend toward the pivotal axis of said operating member and positioned to hook partially over the spring engaging member and cause greater movement of the spring end as the operating member moves the spring engaging member toward the spring than the movement of the spring engaging member, and back up springs mounted on opposite sides of the non-extended springs, said back up springs being spaced from the nonextended springs at their mounting points and having their free ends in engagement with the non-extended springs at a distance from their mounting.

2. A switch of the character described, comprising a substantially U-shaped supporting frame, the base of said frame being widened and slotted to receive an operating lever, an operating lever extending through the slotted base, pivot means for the lever in said frame adjacent to the base, spring pile up actuating rollers on opposite sides of said lever, and spring pile up mounting means supported on the legs of said frame, said mounting means comprising spaced cross bars connecting the legs, pairs of mounting plates between the cross bars and legs, interlocking lugs and sockets on the plates and cross bars, means to draw the cross bars toward each other to clamp the lugs in the sockets, and a pair of spring pile ups mounted on each plate.

3. A switch of the character described, comprising a substantially U-shaped supporting frame, the base of said frame being widened and slotted-to receive an operating lever, an operatingv lever extending through the slotted base,

pivot means for the lever in said frame adjacent to the base, spring pile up actuating rollers on opposite sides of said lever, and spring pile up mounting means supported on the legs of said frame, said mounting means comprising spaced cross bars connecting the legs, pairs of mounting plates between the cross bars and legs, interlocking lugs and sockets on the plates and cross bars, means to draw the cross bars toward each other to clamp the lugs in the sockets, and a pair of spring pile ups mounted on each plate, said spring pile ups including wiring terminal plates having ears turned up at right angles to the plates and provided with terminal screws, the ears on certain terminal plates being at the sides of the pile ups and the ears on other terminal plates being at the ends of the pile ups.

DONALD P. MOSSMAN, SR.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,951,530 Richter Mar. 20, 1934 1,958,646 Snavely May 15, 1934 2,013,513 Dressel Sept. 3, 1935 2,184,780 Little 4---- Dec. 26, 1939 2,258,122 Merkel Oct. 7, 1941 2,400,952 Riebe May 28, 1946 2,411,576 Kelleigh Nov. 26, 1946 2,497,414 Mossman Feb. 14, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 357,634 Great Britain Sept. 28, 1931 '711,519 France Feb. 19, 1931

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