US3004119A

US3004119A - Combination three light and push-button switch

Info

Publication number: US3004119A
Application number: US755625A
Authority: US
Inventors: Paul H Gerrie
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1958-08-18
Filing date: 1958-08-18
Publication date: 1961-10-10
Anticipated expiration: 1978-10-10

Description

P. H. GERRXE COMBINATION THREE LIGHT AND PUSH-BUTTON SWITCH Filed Aug. 18, 1958 INVENTOR. PAUL H. GERRIE.

TTORNEY Q5 1+ 2 -mi fi IE 3 5 II T T 9 H F 0 42 United StatesPatent O 3,004,119 COMBINATION THREE LIGHT AND PUSH-BUTTON SWITCH Paul H. Gerrie, Chatham, NJ. I Q14 Cooper Road, Red Bank, NJ.) Filed Aug. 18, 1958, Ser. No. 755,625 4 Claims. (Cl. 200-5114) This invention relates in general to switches for controlling a plurality of circuits, particularly switches for use with incandescent lamps having a plurality of filaments whereby the filaments may be connected in circuit individually or simultaneously to provide light of different intensities, for example, low, medium or high, or 50, 100 and 150 watts, respectively.

Generally, known switches of this type are rotary and include a knob so that if the switch is off and the user desires to turn on the light, he must first turn the knob to one position whereby the low watt filament is energized, after which by further turning of the knob in the same direction the low watt filament is cut out of circuit and a filament of higher wattage is brought in circuit and upon further turning of the knob in the same direction, both filaments are brought into the circuit. In order to turn off the switch and all of the filaments, it is necessary to continue rotation of the knob in the same direction. Consequently, if the switch knob is turned to energize the low watt filament for use, when it is desired to turn ofii the light, it is necessary for the user first to turn the knob through the medium and high positions in succession. Furthermore, if the user wishes to employ the lamp at the high position, he must first rotate the knob through the low and medium positions in succession. Also, at times the user may inadvertently rotate the switch through all three positions more than once in an effort to turn oil the switch or to get the switch turned on at the desired position.

Prime objects of the present invention are to overcome these and other objections to and disadvantages of known multi circuit switches, and to provide a switch of this character which shall include novel and improved features of construction whereby the switch can be turned off directly from any of its on, e.-g., low, medium or high, positions without the necessity, for example, of turning the switch successively through the diiferent positions.

Another object is to provide a switch of the character described which shall include a novel and improved construction, combination and arrangement of parts whereby the switch may be turned to any desired on position, then turned off, and thereafter. again turned on at the same position, without movement of the switch into the other on positions.

A further object is to provide such a switch which shall comprise a novel'and improved combination of a generally known type of rotary multi-light switch for closing the circuit in succession at the low, medium and high positions, and a push button switch for turning oif the switch or opening the circuit individually at any of said positions.

Other objects and results of the invention are to provide a novel and improved simple, reliable and relatively inexpensive combination of a rotary multi-circuit or light switch and a push-button sWitch;and to obtain other ad vantagesand resultsthat will be brought out by the fol-' lowing description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a lamp socket embody- FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the body portion of the socket as shown'in FIGURE 2; I

FIGURE 4 is a bottom plan view thereof;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse vertical sectional view approximately on the plane of the line 5-5 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is a horizontal sectional view approximately on the plane of the line 6-6 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 7 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view approximately on the plane of the line 7-7 of FIGURE 6 showing the switch in closed or on position;

FIGURE 8 is a similar view on a reduced scale showing the switch in open or off position; g

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged, fragmentary, transverse vertical sectional View approximately on the plane of the line 99 of FIGURE 8; and I FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary composite side elevation and sectional view of the push button lock mechanism for holding the push button in switch-opening position.

For the purpose of illustrating the principles of the should be understood that the invention may be utilized in other types of switches within the spirit and scope of the invention.

, As shown, the switch includes a body portion A in the form of a cylindrical block of insulation such as a synthetic resinous composition or porcelain. The body portion is shown as approximately cylindrical and at one end thereof is a disk B of insulating material that is interposed between the body portion A and the metallic screw socket C which is secured to the body portion by rivets D, The body portion has a recess E that opens through one end thereof, which is closed by the disk B,

and arranged in said recess and having one end projecting upwardly therefrom intothe socket C through an opening F in the disk, is a stationary contact member G to cooperate with a terminal for one of the filaments on the base of a' multi-light lamp when the lamp is screwed into the socket :C.

Also secured in the disk B by tubular rivet H is a central spring contact element I to engage the central terminal of the lamp basew hen the lamp is screwed into the socket, The socket C is directly connected to one sideof the electrical supply line by means of one of the rivets D to which the wire is secured by a screw K in usual manner. The other terminal of the electrical line is connected to the switch by a screw L threaded in a terminal plate M that is connected by a tubular rivet N which also secures to the body portion A, a switch connector element 0 that has one end portion 1 lying on the upperend surface of the body portion A and has a contact arm 2 disposed at right angles to said portion 1 and extending into a recess 3 in the body portion, as best shown in FIGURES 6 and 7.

'Also disposed in the recess 3 is a push button spring contact elements in circuit with the terminals and the respective filaments or other devices to be electrically energized, and as shown, a spring shoe 9 is connected to the contact element G, a similar spring shoe 10 is connected to the contact element P through the conductor strip Q and a third spring shoe 11 is connected to the central cons,oo4, 1 19 tact element 1. Each of said contact shoes has an arouate end portion to be engaged by the contact surfaces of a contactor R as best shown in FIGURES 5 and 7. The contactor is shown as comprising a head in the form of a toothed disk 12 of suit-able electrical insulating material having four equidistantly circumferentially spaced teeth 13, and a conductor disk 14 having three contact flanges 15, one lying upon the peripheral surface of each of the teeth 13. A flange for the one tooth 13a is omitted so as to leave the peripheral surface thereof exposed for contact with the

shoes

9, and 11. With this construction, upon rotation of the disk 12 in one direction as indicated by the arrow in FIGURES, the

shoes

9, 10 and 11 will be engaged in succession by each tooth, rotation of the disk in the opposite direction being prevented by engagement of the ends of the contact shoes with the teeth 13.

For rotating the disk, it is shown as provided with an integral hollow stem 16 that is rotatably journaled in the body portion A which has a semi-circular groove 17 in which the stem is seated and held by a retainer block 18 that has a groove 19 complemental to the groove 17 as shown in FIGURES 7 and 9. A knob 20 is screwthreaded on the outer end of the stem and has a coaxial opening 21 in which is slidably mounted the pushrod 22 of the push-button switch mechanism S which is arranged within the contactor R. The push rod 22 includes a main section 22a formed of suitable insulating material such as a phenolic resin, an intermediate metal detent rod 22b and a head 22c engageable with the pushbutton spring contact element P, all of said parts being disposed in axially aligned end to end relation to each other and extending through the knob 20, stem 16 and toothed disk 12 with one end of the push rod extending beyond the knob as shown so that it may be easily pushed by the thumb or finger of an operator.

The spring contact element F normally biases the push rod outwardly into the position shown in FIGURE 7 so that the opposite ends of said contact spring electrically contact with the connector element 0 and conductor strip Q as best shown in FIGURES 6 and 7. When the pushbutton switch mechanism is in this position, the circuit is closed between the terminal L, M, N and the conductor strip Q whereby the contact shoe 10 is also connected in the circuit. When the push rod 22 is pushed inwardly or to the left in FIGURE 7, the spring contact element P is compressed so as to move its end portion out of contact with the conductor strip Q as best shown in FIG- URE 8, so as to break the circuit from the terminal L, M, N to the conductor strip Q and contact shoe 10.

Suitable means is provided for releasably locking the push rod and the contact spring element P in this position, and as shown, the intermediate detent section 22b of the push rod has an enlargement providing a shoulder 23 with which coact lugs 24 on the free ends of spring fingers 25, the other ends of which are integrally connected into a sleeve 28 that is fast secured to the stem 16. When the push rod is in its switch-closing position as shown in FIGURE 7, the lugs 24 are disposed inwardly beyond the shoulder 23, but when the push rod is pushed inwardly or to the left in FIGURE 7, a tapered portion 26 on the detent section engages the lugs 24 and pushes them outwardly momentarily until the shoulder 23 has passed the lugs whereupon the lugs snap inwardly and behind the shoulder 23 as shown in FIGURE 8 to hold the push rod in switch-opening position. When it is desired to again close the switch, the push rod is momentarily pushed inwardly or to the left in FIGURE 8, whereupon the fingers '25 are pushed outwardly from behind the shoulder 23 by a sleeve 27 that has a limited sliding movement longitudinally on the detent section 22b between the shoulder 23 and the end of the push rod section 22a, the diameter of the sleeve being such as to spring the fingers 25 outwardly when the push rod is pushed inei y to disengage e s t ai the sho lder 23 as 4 shown in FIGURE 10 and permit the spring P to force the push rod outwardly and release the fingers 25 so that they may be engaged by the tapered portion 26 when the push button is in its outer or switch closing position as shown in FIGURE 7 and is next pushed inwardly.

With this construction, it will be understood that the push button switch mechanism in combination with the multi-circuit switch makes it possible, by rotation of the contactor knob 20 in one direction, to energize the several circuits, for example, low, medium and high, and permit any of said circuits to be opened directly without the necessity of turning the knob successively through its different positions. Furthermore, when the contactor is rotated so as to energize any one of the circuits, the push button switch enables that circuit to be turned on and off without further movement of the contactor mechanism knob. More specifically, it will be seen that when the push-button switch is closed, as shown in FIG- URE 7 and the exposed tooth 13a of the contactor disk is in engagement with the contact shoe 1t and conductor strip Q, the other contact elements G and H will be deenergized, but upon rotation of the contactor disk in the direction shown by the arrow in FIGURE 5, the contact member I will be deenergized by engagement of the insulated tooth 13a of the contactor disk, and the contact element G will be energized, whereupon the further rotation of the contactor disk in the same direction will cause deenergization of the contact element G and energization of the contact member I, and on further rotation both of the contact members G and I will be energized simultaneously. By actuating the push rod 22 at any time, the circuit through all of the contact members will be broken.

I have shown and described the invention as embodied in certain structural details and in a certain type of lamp bulb switch which is enclosed in a known type of casing T, but it will be understood that this is primarily for the purpose of illustrating the principles of the invention, that the invention may be embodied in other types of multiple-circuit switches, and that many modifications and changes may be made in the construction of the switch within the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A switch-socket for a multi-light electric lamp having a terminal for each filament and a common terminal for all filaments, said switch-socket including a body of insulation having a socket for said lamp that also provides a terminal element to contact said common terminal of the lamp, a plurality of other contact members one for each of said filaments, a switch in said body of insulation to control connection and disconnection of one of said contact members to and from one of said terminals, respectively, and a second switch including a contaotor movably mounted in said body of insulation to control connection and disconnection of said one contact member, respectively, to and from the other contact members upon movement of said contactor in one direction providing for opening of said circuit through any of said contact members and said one terminal by the firstmentioned switch and so that the filaments can be ener gized successively individually and simultaneously by the first-mentioned switch and any one thereof can be deenergized by said first-mentioned switch independently of the second switch.

2. A multi-circuit switch including a body of insulation having a recess therein, a terminal thereon for connection to each wire of an electrical supply line, a plurality of contact members mounted on said body within said recess including one for each of a plurality of elements to be energized by electricity from said supply line, a rotary switch contactor having a head disposed within said recess for connecting and disconnecting said contact members to and from one of said terminals, respectively, said contactor having a tubular stem coaxial with said head and journaled. for rotation. in said body and extending outwardly from said recess, and a reciprocable pushbutton switch to control connection and disconnection of one of said contact members respectively to and from said one terminal including a spring contact element and a reciprocable operating rod coaxial with said stem and extending therethrough with one end abutting said spring contact element, whereby the circuit through any one of said contact members and said one terminal can be opened upon movement of said operating rod in one direction, said spring contact element being normally yieldingly held in contact with said terminal and with said one contact member, said operating rod upon movement into one position actuating said spring contact element out of contact with said one contact member, and means for releasably locking said operating rod in said position.

3. A multi-circuit switch as defined in claim 2 wherein the last-named means includes coacting parts one of which is secured to and within said stem and another of which is carried by said operating rod.

4. A multi-circuit switch as defined in claim 2 wherein said spring contact element comprises a Z-shaped spring having one end normally contacting said one terminal and the other end engaged by said operating rod and normally influenced by its inherent resiliency into contact with said one contact member and being movable out of contact with said one contact member upon movement of the operating rod in said direction.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 954,117 Lux Apr. 5, 1910 1,132,997 Apple Mar. 23, 1915 1,170,063 Heeney Feb. 1, 1916 1,951,209 Rickard Mar. 13, 1934 2,163,069 Stringer June 20, 1939 2,576,836 Hilsinger Nov. 27, 1951 2,603,725 Dietrich July 15, 1952 2,676,235 Kennedy Apr. 20, 1954