US3120585A

US3120585A - Rotary switch with replaceable contact sets

Info

Publication number: US3120585A
Application number: US779169A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr Thomas S Harris; Robert E Lindemann
Original assignee: Teleregister Corp
Current assignee: Teleregister Corp
Priority date: 1958-12-09
Filing date: 1958-12-09
Publication date: 1964-02-04
Anticipated expiration: 1981-02-04

Description

Feb. 4, 1964 T. s. HARRIS, JR., ETAL 3,120,535

ROTARY SWITCH WITH REPLACEABLE CONTACT SETS 4 BY It 46- ATRNz Feb. 4, 1964 T. s. HARRIS, JR., ETAL 3,120,585

ROTARY 'SWITCH WITH REPLACEABLE CONTACT SETS Filed Dec. 9, 1958 2 sheets-sheet 2 T1 CIAB- United States Patent C) 3,12ll,585 RTARY SWITCH WHH REPLACEABLE CN'ACT ElS Thomas S. Harris, fr., Stamford, Conn., and Robert E.

Lindemann, Farmingdale, NSY., assignors to The Teleregister Corporation, Stamford, Conn., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 9, M58, Ser. No. 779,169

6 Claims. (Cl. Zoll-6) This invention relates to electric circuit switches and more particularly it relates to switches having a plurality of stationary contact sets and a rotor contact member.

A principal object of the invention is to provide an improved construction of rotary switch having readily replaceable stationary contact members, whereby any desired switching combinational arrays can be expediously obtained with a minimum of wiring changes.

Another object is to provide a rotary switch having a contact rotor and a plurality of stationary but readily replaceable contact members whereby a large number of different circuit switching combinations can be effected without disconnecting any permanent wiring to or from the switch.

Another object is to provide a novel rotary switch construction which lends itself readily to ganged assembly, and whereby a very large number of switching combinations can be effected without changing permanent wiring connections at the switch.

A feature of the invention relates to a rotary switch having a number of stationary contact strips which are supported and anchored so as to be readily removable or replaced without making any wiring disconnections,

and without having the said contact members subjected I to external wiring strain as is the case when the external wiring is soldered or similarly permanently attached to the contact strips.

Another feature relates to a novel form of rotary switch of the push button operated kind.

A further feature relates to the novel organization, arrangement and relative location and interconnection of parts which cooperate to provide an improved multicontact rotary switch.

Other features and advantages not specifically enumerated will be apparent after a consideration of the following detailed descriptions, the appended claims, and the attached drawing.

In the drawing, which shows by way of example certain preferred embodiments,

FIG. l is a plan View of one preferred switch structure embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional View of FIG. l taken along the line 2 2 thereof and viewed in the direction of the arrows;

FlG. 3 is a section taken along the line 3 3 of FIG. 2 and viewed in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is an exploded View showing one manner of assembling and anchoring the replaceable stationary contact strips in the switch;

FlG. 5 is an exploded view of a modification of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged diagrammatic view explanatory of one form of switch for effecting transfer contact combination;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 of another form showing a make-before-break transfer combination;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of one typical array of rotor contacts and removable stationary contacts;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram similar to FG. 8 showmg a different array of rotor contacts and stationary contacts;

FIG. 10 is a plan View of one alternative method or" making the rotor contacts;

3,l2b,585 Patented Feb. 4, 1964 FIG. 11 s a perspective view of the contacts of FIG. 10 applied to the rotor;

PEG. 12 is a diagrammatic View explaining certain 1nake-beforebreak operations of the switch according to the invention.

ln certain fields of use it is necessary sometimes to be able to expeditiously replace defective or worn contacts, and at the same time it is also desirable to provide a switch capable of effecting a very large number of combinational circuit switchings by means of a switch construction which occupies relatively small volumetric space. For example, in one field of use it is desirable to have a series of switches which can be readily mounted on a control panel or keyboard so that they can be operated by an attendant merely pushing on an operating button projecting from the panel or keyboard. At the same time it is important in such devices to be able to change the switching combinations of the switch expeditiously for example by easy addition or removal of contacts and without soldering and unsoldering operations.

One such switch arrangement embodying the invention is shown in FIG. l wherein the panel or keyboard face is designated l@ and the switch proper is provided with an externally projecting operating button lit. The button Il is connected to a blade l2 which slidably passes through a slot in the panel l@ but is incapable of rotation. Attached to the end of blade l2, is a tubular elongated cup-shaped plunger member i3 which is provided in the wall thereof with a helical slot E4. The outer face of member i3 has a pair of inclined locking notches l5, 16 adapted to be engaged by a spring detent 17 to lock the member 13 in either of its two positions. One of these positions may for example be that shown by the full lines in FIG. l and the other position is represented by the dot-dash outline. rThe detent l' can be released by any suitable means (not shown) to allow the plunger to be returned to its full line position by spring 22. For example, where a series of switches and respective push buttons are provided, they may be interconnected by the well known interlocking arrangement whereby when one push button is operated or depressed it automatically unlatches any other push button which has been previously depressed.

Telescoped into the end of member 13 is a rotary shaft i8 of suitable electric insulating or dielectric material such as ceramic, Bakelite, or the like. The reduced shoulder end 12" of shaft llt; rotates in a suitable bearing in an end plate 2b. Shaft lf; carries a radially extending pin 2l. which rides in the slot M. A spring 22 is located within the member .t3 and abuts against the end of shaft lg, thus tending to force the member 13 and the button ll to the left of the full line position as shown in FIG. l. The switch assembly has an opposite end plate 23 having an opening through which the blade l2 passes. The end plates 2li and 23 are joined by a pair of insulator plates or strips 24, by means of suitable screws or rivets 2d, 27, 28, 29.

As shown more clearly in FlGS. 2 and 3, the upper insulator plate 2d is provided with a series of rectangular openings one of which is shown in FIG. 2 and designated by the numeral 3i). Each of these openings has a length L which is approximately the same as the diameter D of the insulator shaft l. Permanently attached to the insulator plate 24 by means of rivets or metal eyelets 3l, 32 are respective contact lugs 33, 34. One of these contact lugs is shown in enlarged perspective form in FIG. 4. It comprises, for example, a tongue 35 having an opening 36 to receive the fastening eyelet 3l. It also has another bent-back tongue37 having an opening 33 to receive a wire which may be soldered or otherwise permanently connected to the tongue 37. The forward edge of tongue 3S has a tapered portion 39 which is adapted to fit into a slot 4t) in an associated metal contact strip 41. The lower end of the strip 41 lits into a corresponding slot or opening 42 in the bottom insulator 25. A similar contact strip 43 having a slot similar to 4@ is located in the opening 30 and is removably supported on a projection 44 on contact lug 34 similarly to the manner in which the contact strip 41 is supported on lug 39. Likewise the lower end of Contact strip 43 ts into a slot 45 in the bottom insulator 25.

As shown in FIG. 2, the

contact members

41 and 43 are located on opposite ends of the diameter of shaft 13, and since the diameter D is approximately the same Vas the length L of the opening Sil, the

contact members

41 and 43 bear against the surface of the shaft 18 and are thus slightly bowed outwardly so that the upper end of each contact member is firmly held against the corresponding contact lug 33, 34, and the lower end of each contact member is firmly pressed against one end of the corresponding slot 42, 45. Thus, the contact members are anchored in place at all times without the necessity of soldering or otherwise being permanently connected to their respective Contact lugs 33 and 34. Preferably the

contact members

41 and 43 are of spring metal strip stock such as Phosphor bronze or the like, although if desired they may be made out of wire stock, as illustrated in FIG. 5, wherein one of the contact members is shown as a wire 46, the upper end of which is provided with a ring or loop section 4'7 adapted to t over the projection 39 on the above described Contact lug. The lower end of wire 46 will, of course, pass through an opening similar to opening 42 in insulator 25.

The insulator rotor shaft 1d carries a first series of contact members 48, 49, 511, etc., arranged in linear spaced array along the length of the shaft 18, as indicated in FIGS. 3 and 8. A second and similar series of

contact members

51, 52, 53, etc., is also provided on the shaft 18. The contact of each pair, for example the

pair

43 and 51, is displaced around the shaft 1S a distance somewhat less than 18() degrees so that when the shaft 18 is turned, for example a quarter turn in a clockwise direction, the

contacts

51, 52, 53, etc., engage the corresponding stationary contacts 41-41rz, 41b-41c, 11d-41e; and when turned a quarter turn in the counterclockwise direction the

contacts

48, 49, 50, etc., engage the corresponding stationary contacts 43- 43a, 43b-43c, 43d-43e, etc. The quarter turn of the rotor shaft in either direction is, of course, controlled by the design of the slot 14 as hereinabove described.

The contacts 4S, 49, etc., can be molded into the body of the insulator rotor shaft 1S, or they may be in the form of electrolytically deposited platings, or even in the form of separate metal or alloy contact members which are fastened in any suitable way to the shaft 18. Preferably, although not necessarily, each of the contacts on shaft 1S is long enough in the direction of the shaft length, as to bridge or make contact with a corresponding pair of stationary contacts as shown in FIGS. 3 and 8. Thus, when the shaft is in one position, such as shown schematically in FIG. 8, contact 41 is connected to contact 41a; contact 41b to contact 41C, etc. However, if desired, the contacts 4S, 49, etc., may be of respectively different lengths as schematically shown in FIG. 9. Thus, contacts 4S and 51 may be long enough to bridge a pair of stationary contacts; contacts 49 and 52 may be long enough to bridge three associated stationary contacts; and

contacts

50 and 53 may be just long enough to engage a single corresponding stationary contact. It will be understood that the various stationary contacts can be interconnected in any desired combinations by suitable straps such as 54, 55 depending upon the circuit functions to be controlled in the two different settings of the switch rotor.

Preferably the contacts 48, 49, etc., are slightly raised above the surface of the rotor 1S so that a more positive contact pressure may be exerted against the respective stationary contact when rotated into engagement therewith. If desired, instead of having the stationary contacts located less than 180 degrees around the shaft 1S they may be disposed diametrically opposite to each other as shown in FIG. 6, and if desired, each of the stationary contacts may be provided with a bump or offset portion 57 at the contacting region. This bump is useful when the contacts are to be effected in a makebefore-break sequence. Thus, as shown in FIG. 7, the bump 57 on stationary contact 41 may be staggered vertically with relation to the bump 57 on the opposite stationary contact 43, so that as the shaft 18 is rotated, for example in a clockwise direction, the contact 51 engages contact 41 before Contact 43 breaks from contact 43.

While in the foregoing the rotor shaft 18 is described as being rotated or oscillated by a manually operated reciprocable plunger of the push-button kind, any other well known manner of turning the said shaft may be employed.

Instead of applying the rotor contacts as platings, they may be prefabricated, for example as shown in FIG. l0, by punching out the complementary portion 58 from a thin metal sheet 59, leaving the remaining contact strips, such as 60, 61, 62, joined to the body of the sheet by the readily frangible Webs 63--6'7. Adhesive cement is then applied primarily to the contact strip portions Gtl, 61, o2. The entire piece is then bonded to the rotor 18 at the appropriate location, after which the non-adherent or scrap part of the sheet is peeled off leaving the

contacts

69, 61, 62, rmly attached to the rotor periphery. If desired, any sharp or ragged edges on the adherent contacts can be smoothed out by buing. lf a heat curing rubber cement is used to cement the contacts to the rotor, the scrap portion of the sheet can be easily peeled oif without endangering the bond between the Contact strip portions of the rotor. While FIGS. 10 and 11 show certain of the contact strips as being joined by an

integral web portion

68, 69, these may not be necessary, in which case all the contacts can be in the form of simple strips displaced around the rotor in accordance with the desired make-before-break or break-before-make combination.

FlG. 12 shows a typical rotor in unwrapped or developed form to explain one particular array of the rotor contacts and stationary contacts. In FIG. 12 the location of the

stationary contacts

41, 41a, 41b, 41e and 43, 43a, 43b, 43e, constitute with their respective strip contacts 71), '71, 72 one particular sequence of make-beforebreak and break-before-make. Thus, assuming the rotor 1S moving in the direction of the arrow, the

contacts

43 and 43a make with contact 70 before contact 43h breaks with contact '70. On the other hand, contact 43b breaks with contact 70 before it makes with Contact 71. The actual points of contacts are indicated schematically in FIG. 12 by the crosses. It will be understood, of course, that FIG. 12 shows one representative arrangement of make-before-break contacts, and any other desired arrangement of the electrodes can be used.

From the foregoing it will be seen that in addition to other features, the switch has the following advantages:

(1) Both the stationary contacts, as well as the rotor contacts can be readily removed for cleaning or for replacement without disconnecting any of the connected circuit wiring.

(2) It is possible to multiply switching operations by stacking along the length of the rotor, numerous switching combinations of stationary contacts with the latter relatively closely spaced, for example with spacings D1 as small as 3/s inch as indicated in the enlarged view of FIG. 3.

(3) The various stationary contacts are independently and removably mounted and iirrnly anchored in place but without being subjected to the strain of external wiring connections which strain is taken up entirely by the permanently anchored connection lugs 33, 34, etc.

Various changes and modifications may be made in the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A switch for producing predetermined circuit closing and opening functions comprising an insulating support having spaced members, at least one of said members having Contact lugs mounted thereon in spaced relation, each contact lug having a Wiring projection to which Wiring may be connected and a contact projection, at least one stationary contact of exible material extending between said members, means at one end of the stationary contact and one of the members including the contact projection of said lug to lock the stationary contact in a xed position relative to said members and electrically connect it to its contact lug, the opposite end of said stationery contact bearing directly against the other spaced member of the insulating support, a rotor, means mounting said rotor to rotate on an axis adjacent to and at one side of said stationary contact and between the spaced members of said support, said rotor having a radial dimension to bear against said exible stationary contact and ex it outwardly between said spaced members, and a contact on said rotor for engaging said stationary contact whereby the engagement of said rotor with said stationary contact holds the latter against the spaced members of the support in interlocked relation with the projection of the Contact lug while permitting removal thereof by ilexing it to disengage its end from the projection and withdrawing it from between the members without disassembling any remaining part of the switch or Wiring thereto.

2. A switch for producing predetermined circuit closing and opening functions comprising a pair of spaced insulating members having aligned openings therein, end members connected to said insulating members to maintain them in spaced parallel relation to form a supporting frame, at least one of said insulating members having contact lugs mounted thereon in spaced relation, each contact lug having a wiring projection to which a wire may be connected and a tapered contact tongue projecting into the opening, a liexible spring contact for each contact lug, each spring contact being of a length to extend between the pair of spaced insulating members and having a slot adjacent one end for interlocking engagement with the Contact tongue of a lug, the opposite end of said contact bearing directly against the other insulating member of the pair, a rotor mounted to rotate in the end members of said frame and said rotor having a surface projecting radially to bear against each spring contact tangentially to press it toward the insulating members and lock it in position on the projecting tongue, and a contact on the rotor for selectivity engaging at least one ofthe spring contacts.

3. A switch in accordance with claim 2 in which one of said insulating members has contact lugs mounted thereon on opposite sides ofthe opening therein, the spring contacts extending between the pair of spaced insulating members on opposite sides of the opening and engaging opposite sides of the rotor.

4. A switch in accordance with claim 2 in which the spring contact has an inwardly projecting detent engaging the rotor. 1

5. A switch in accordance with claim 2 in which the spring contact is in the form of a wire having a loop at one end for an interlocking electrical engagement with the tongue on its lug.

6. A switch for producing predetermined circuit closing and opening functions comprising a pair of spaced insulating members having aligned openings therein, end members connected to said insulating members to maintain them in spaced parallel relation to form a supporting frame, at least one of said insulating members having contact lugs mounted thereon in spaced relation, each contact lug having a wiring projection to which a wire may be connected and a tapered contact tongue projecting into the opening, a spring contact for each contact lug, each spring contact being of a length to extend between the pair of spaced insulating members and having a slot adjacent one end for interlocking engagement with the contact tongue of a lug, a rotor mounted to rotate in the end members of said frame and engaging each spring contact tangentially to press it toward the insulating members and lock it in position on the projecting tongue, a Contact on the rotor for selectively engaging at least one of the spring contacts, said rotor comprising axially movable parts, and said axially movable parts having an interengaging pin and helical slot connection whereby axial movement of one part produces rotation of the part having the contact thereon.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 506,841 Bulen Oct. 17, 1893 1,302,035 Hall Apr. 29, 1919 1,673,607 Tulloch .Tune 12, 1928 2,186,818 Brown Ian. 9, 1940 2,201,882 Bryant et al May 21, 1940 2,669,611 Siluius Feb. 16, 1954 2,856,674 Hill Oct. 21, 1958 2,861,324 Klumpp Nov. 25, s 2,881,272 Parker Apr. 7, 1959 2,912,528 Wall Nov. 10, 1959

Claims

1. A SWITCH FOR PRODUCING PREDETERMINED CIRCUIT CLOSING AND OPENING FUNCTIONS COMPRISING AN INSULATING SUPPORT HAVING SPACED MEMBERS, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID MEMBERS HAVING CONTACT LUGS MOUNTED THEREON IN SPACED RELATION, EACH CONTACT LUG HAVING A WIRING PROJECTION TO WHICH WIRING MAY BE CONNECTED AND A CONTACT PROJECTION, AT LEAST ONE STATIONARY CONTACT OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID MEMBERS, MEANS AT ONE END OF THE STATIONARY CONTACT AND ONE OF THE MEMBERS INCLUDING THE CONTACT PROJECTION OF SAID LUG TO LOCK THE STATIONARY CONTACT IN A FIXED POSITION RELATIVE TO SAID MEMBERS AND ELECTRICALLY CONNECT IT TO ITS CONTACT LUG, THE OPPOSITE END OF SID STATIONARY CONTACT BEARING DIRECTLY AGAINST THE OTHER SPACED MEMBER OF THE INSULATING SUPPORT, A ROTOR, MEANS MOUNTING SAID ROTOR TO ROTATE ON AN AXIS ADJACENT TO AND AT ONE SIDE OF SAID STATIONARY CONTACT AND BETWEEN THE SPACED MEMBERS OF SAID SUPPORT, SAID ROTOR HAVING A RADIAL DIMENSION TO BEAR AGAINST SAID FLEXIBLE STATIONARY CONTACT AND FLEX IT OUTWARDLY BETWEEN SAID SPACED MEMBERS, AND A CONTACT ON SAID ROTOR FOR ENGAGING SAID STATIONARY CONTACT WHEREBY THE ENGAGEMENT OF SAID ROTOR WITH SAID STATIONARY CONTACT HOLDS THE LATTER AGAINST THE SPACED MEMBERS OF THE SUPPORT IN INTERLOCKED RELATION WITH THE PROJECTION OF THE CONTACT LUG WHILE PERMITTING REMOVAL THEREOF BY FLEXING IT TO DISENGAGE ITS END FROM THE PROJECTION AND WITHDRAWING IT FROM BETWEEN THE MEMBERS WITHOUT DISASSEMBLING ANY REMAINING PART OF THE SWITCH OR WIRING THERETO.