US3484893A - Knob assembly - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 23, 1969 GODDARD ETAL KNOB ASSEMBLY Filed June 26, 1967 WILLIAM H. GOL-DARD HENRY C. HOPF INVENTORS ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,484,893 KNOB ASSEMBLY William H. Goddard and Henry C. Hopf, Rochester, N.Y., assignors to Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N .Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed June 26, 1967, Ser. No. 648,585 Int. Cl. Eb 1/00 US. Cl. 16114 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A knob assembly includes a knob which is detachably secured to a mounting lever by cooperation between an end portion of the lever and a pair of fingers on the knob.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention includes within its scope an improved knob assembly in which a knob is detachable secured to a mounting lever. The knob has a lever receiving and guiding portion, and a resilent post transverse to the lever and in the path thereof adapted to nest in a recess in the lever.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an improved knob assembly for detachably securing a knob to a mounting lever in a simple, reliable, efficient and facile manner.

Objects and advantages other than those set forth above will be apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top perspective view showing a knob secured to a mounting lever;

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the knob as sembly of FIG. 1 in its assembled position; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged bottom view of the knob assembly in a disassembled position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawing, a knob assembly of this invention comprises a knob 4 having a serrated outer surface to facilitate manual manipulation thereof by an operator. The bottom of knob 4 adjacent one end thereof is provided with a recess 6 in which a surface 8 defining the bottom of the recess has an outwardly extending preferably cylindrical post 10 having a diametrical slot 12 along its entire length to provide a pair of resilient fingers 14, each having an arcuate outer surface. The knob 4 also has an opening 16 as best seen in FIG. 3 extending from one end thereof to recess 6 for receiving and guiding one end of a mounting lever 18. Since a surface 20' defining opening 16 is substantially in the same plane as surface 8, post 10 which is longer than the height of opening 16 extends completely across opening 16 and in the path thereof. The lever 18 is of substantially the same cross sectional configuration as opening 16, and further has a generally V-shaped slot 22 at its end defined by beveled surfaces 23,

3,484,893 Patented Dec. 23, 1969 and terminating in an enlarged circular recess 24 of substantially the same diameter as the diameter of post 10 in its normal, unflexed position. The width of slot 22 measured by the shortest distance between surfaces 23 is less than the diameter of post 10 in its normal position. The detachable connection is achieved by inserting the end of lever 18 through opening 16 until edges 23 of V-shaped slot 22 engage resilient fingers 14. Further insertion of lever 18 causes fingers 14 to be flexed toward one another in order to pass through V-shaped slot 22, the fingers 14 then returning to their normal position when moved into recess 24 causing the arcuate surfaces thereof to engage portions of the surface of recess 24. The slot 12 in post 10 is substantially in alignment with V- shaped slot 22 so that fingers 14 of post 10 will flex in the proper direction for passage through slot 22. With certain materials used for knob 4, it is useful to relieve material around the base of fingers 14, as shown at 21, to increase the resiliency of the fingers.

The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to one embodiment thereof but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention as described hereinabove, and as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A knob assembly comprising:

a mounting lever having an elongate and generally fiat end portion, said end portion having an opening therein comprising a slot extending from an edge of the lever to a recess in the lever, said recess having a width greater than the minimum width of said slot; and

a knob assembled on said end portion of said lever,

said knob having an opening therein with a crosssectional shape corresponding generally to the crosssectional shape of said end portion of said lever whereby during assembly said end portion of the lever is insertable into the opening with the opening serving to guide the lever into the knob, a pair of elongate fingers positioned in spaced relation and adjacent to each other on the knob, at least one of said fingers being movable toward and away from the other of said fingers, said fingers being located with respect to said opening in the knob so that during assembly the slot in the end portion of the lever is guided by the opening toward said fingers by relative movement between the lever and the knob when said end portion of the lever is aligned with said opening, said fingers being dimensioned and positioned with respect to each other and with respect to the dimensions of said slot and said recess in the lever so that relative movement between the lever and said fingers during assembly can cause deflection of said one of said fingers toward the other of said fingers to allow said fingers to pass through said slot and into said recess.

2. The knob assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said knob has a recess, and said fingers are positioned wholly within said recess of the knob.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,727,771 12/1955 Adams 24214 839,047 12/ 1908 Sylvester 24230 3,302,826 2/ 1967 Henchert 16-1 14 BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner D. L. TROUTMAN, Assistant Examiner

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