US443606A

US443606A - Edward it

Info

Publication number: US443606A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1890-12-30
Anticipated expiration: 1907-12-30

Description

(Nb Model.)

No. 443,606. Patented. Dec. 30, 1890f &

mil-Mm! Elm:

NVENTDR! UNITED STATES PATENT Fries.

EDVARD H. JOHNSON, OF NElV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO BERGMANN & COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 443,606, dated December 30, 1890.

Application filed January 21, 1885. Serial No. 153,487. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD H. JOHNSON, of New Yorlnin the county and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Switches for Electric Circuits, of which the following isaspecification.

The object of this invention is to control the separate circuits of severaltwo or more electric lamps or groups of electric lamps by a single switch, so that the movement of such switch will throw such lamps or groups of lamps successively into circuit or successively out of circuit, whereby one or all or any intermediate number of such lamps or groups of lamps may be placed in circuit, and thus lighted, or cut out of circuit and thereby extinguished.

in carrying my invention into effect I em-.

ploy a moving body provided with a contact permanently in connection with a conductor of the main or supplying circuit and with two or more other contacts adapted to be brought by the movementof said body successively into connection with terminals of the two or more branch circuits with which the two or more lamps or groups of lamps which it is desired to effect by the movements of the switch are connected. The other terminal of each of said branch circuits is permanently connected with the other conductor of the main or supplying circuit. The moving body is preferably a revolving cylinder of. insulating material having upon its surface a continuous metal ring, on which bears a spring, which is a terminal of a conductor of the main or supplying circuit, and having also two or more non-continuous metal contacts or portions of rings, upon the plane of each of which bears a spring which forms a terminal of a branch circuit. All said non-continuous rings are connected permanently with the main continuous ring. Said non-continuous rings are so arranged relatively to each other or one another that their ends or the points at which the springs leave them are in different vertical planes while the springs are in the same vertical planes, so that the circuits are closed successively or broken successively. I may employ upon the same cylinder two or more sets of branch terminals,

whereby during a single revolution of the cyl inder the circuits are closed and broken two or more times, and thus the whole operation of the switch is performed by only a part of the revolution of the cylinder.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a view in elevation of a switch embodying my invention having two sets of branch-circuit terminals; Fig. 2, a similar view of the switch with only one set of bran chcircuit terminals. Fig. 3 is a view of the cyl inder of Fig. 1 developed into a flat surface and a diagram of the circuits, and Fig. 4 is a similarview of the switch of Fig. 2.

A is a cylinder of suitableinsulating material, having a central spindle a, which turns in bearings in asupporting-frame l3, and is provided with a wheel C or any other suit.- able key or handle for turning it.

I will first describe the simple switch shown in Figs. 2 and 4.

Upon' the su rtace of the cylinder A is a continuous metal ring or band E. I

F, F, and F are metal contact-bands, each of which extends about half-way around the cylinder, and G, G, and G are corresponding dead-plates not connected with the circuits, whose object to provide substantially continuous surfaces in the paths of the contact-springs.

Secured in any suitable manner to the frame B is a spring 11, which bearsconstantly on the continuous band or ring E,and springs I, I, and 1 which bear upon the contacts F F is revolved.

1 2 are main conductors or terminals of the source of electricity. Main conductor 1 is connected by wire 3 with spring H, and main conductor 2 is connected by wires 4:, 5, and (5, through lamps 1 .91; 00 with the contact springs I I 1 7 By means of wires 0, c, and c the continuous ring E is connected with all the non-continuous contacts F, F, and These wires are preferably soldered or otherwise secured to the under sides of the contacts. The metal rings and connecting-wires upon the cylinder thus form a moving conducting-body perma- F or the dead-plates G G" G as the cylinder ncntly in connection with the main cond uctorterminal and adapted to be brought into connection with one or all or any intermediate number of the branch conductor-terminals.

The operation of the switch is as follows: hen the switch-contacts are as shown in the figures, all the lamps are in circuit; but on turning the switch in the direct-ion indicated by the arrow the spring I first leaves the contact F and passes upon the dead-plate G, breaking the circuit of lamp .1 Next the spring I leaves contact I!" and breaks the circuit of 1 and finally spring I leaves Wand extinguishcs lamp at. A continuation of the revolution brings I upon 1 then 1 upon F, and then I upon E the lamps being thus brought successively into circuit again. It is evident that each contact of the switch may control instead of a single lamp a group of lamps, as shown in Fig. 3.

In the switch shown in Figs. 1 and 3 there are two contactsfff f or f f and two dead plates 9 g g g or g g in the path of each branch-circuit spring. The contacts for each spring are connected together by awire d. V hen a plates in its path, circuit is closed to the group oflamps :2: controlled by that spring, and when it is on either of the dead-plates the circuit of such lamps is broken. Thus a half-revolution of the switch successively lights all the lamps and then successively extinguishes them, after which acontinuation of the movement in the same direction performs the same operations again. It is evident that the springs may be madeto revolve upon the cylinder,insteadotthecylinderunderthesprings, and also that the ends of the springs may be arranged in different vertical planes instead of the ends of the ring-contacts.

Either of the above-described forms of switches may be employed in any situation and for any purpose where it is desired to control a number of circuits and to close and break said circuits successively.

The switch may be used to control the separate lights of an electrolier, and for this purpose may be placed upon the fixture or in any convenient place to which the lamp-circuits may be orought, or it may be employed to control groups of lights, as the lights of difwith the continuous contact,

spring is on either of the contact-' l'ercnt rooms or lights in dlll'eront parts of a room or building.

What I claim is- 1. The combination, with a movable body of insulating material, of a contact-piece carried thereby permanently in connection with the conductor of the main circuit, and two or more overlapping contact-pieces carried by and terminating at different points on the su rface of the movable body, and consisting of non-continuous strips extending around the movable body, the breaks in the strips being arranged diagonally on the surface, and 00- operating contacts for said overlapping contact-pieces connected with the other conductor of the main circuit, whereby one or more of the overlapping pieces may be connected substantially as forth.

2. In an electrical switch, the combination of a spring from which a main-circuit wire extends,aconducting-bod y with which thespring is continuously in contact, a series of springs from which wires of branch circuits extend, and a moving conducting-body consisting of connected non-contin uous strips on whichsaid springs bear, said moving conducting-body passing under all the branch-circuit springs for a portion of its length, the end terminating in a line diagonal to the end of the contact-springs, whereby one or more of the branches may be switched into circuit, substantially as described.

3. In an electrical switch, the combination of a revolving cylinder,a continuous ring, and two or more non-continuous rings on said cylinder, the conducting-sections of said rings overlapping for a part of their length, a spring forming a main-circuit terminal hearing on said continuous ring, and springs forming branch-circuit terminals bearing on said non-continuous rings, said continuous rings and said non-continuous rings being connected together, substantially as set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 14th day of January, 1885.

EDWARD I-I. JOHNSON. Witnesses:

T. G. GREENE, J r., EDW. 0. ROWLAND.