US1569416A - Switch - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 12 192e. 1,569,416

A. H. BATES SWITCH v Filed August 5, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheff:l 2

I y mm,

Patented Jan. 12, 1926.

-UNITED ls'mJns PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT H. BATES, OF ELGIN, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENT-TO THE HOOVER COMPANY, OF NORTH CANTON, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

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' Application. sied August' s, 1922. serial No. svasoa 77o all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT H. BATES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Elnois, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Switches, of which the Y following is a specification.

This invention relates in general to im, provements in electric switches and refers -in particular to a novel single push button type of switch in which the electrical circuit controlled by the switch is either opened or closed by the movement of a single push button, which actuates asnap mechanism carryin the movable contacttelements of the switch'. After each movement of the push button, the contact elements of the switch remain in the position to which they have been thrown and the push button returns to the normal position for the next movement which throws the contact elements to another position. s My invention may be applied generally to the light and power circuits commonly used for'the distribution of electrical energy, and is especially adaptable for use in connection with machines or lapparatus in which the location of the vswitch is necessarily or preferably .such aste be inconvenientv tol be operated by hand, but is adapted tobe oper# ated by foot pressure. My invention, however, is by no means limited to this type of machine or apparatus o r this mo'de of operation.

An object of -my invention is to provide a snap action switch which is compact, rugged,

and simple in construction. t A

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel form ofsnap action which possesses the quickness and reliability of action necessary to safehandling of relatively heavy currents. l i

Another object of my invention is the provision of novel and reliable means for actuating the snap action.

C )ther objects will appear from the following detailed description and in the claimsl appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawings:

50. Figure 1 is a horizontal sectional view of elevation.

y lining a switch madJ in accordance with my invention, taken on line :1e-iv of Fig. 2 looking in U the direction of arrows. gin, in the county of Kane and State of Illi- Figure 2 is a vertical sectional View taken on line y-g/ of Fig. 1v with parts shown in 55 Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on line z-z of Fig. 1 with parts shown in elevation.

Figure"4 is an vaxialsectional view with parts shown in elevation illustrating a modiiied forni of actuating mechanism.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on line u -w-of Fig. 4 with parts shown in elevation.

Figure 6 is 'a sectional view on line v-fv of Figure 1. t

Figure 7 is a detail View.

In Figures 1 to 3 inclusive I have illus-` trated a preferredembodiment of my invention, whichinay for ease of description be considered as constituted of two elements; viz a snap action mechanism and an actuating mechanism which mutually coact and combine to form a switch.

Both the snap action and the actuating mechanism are supported upon av base 10 made of any suitable non-conducting inaterial which also carries the electrical connections, :2metal cover 11 and an insulating 80' The base 10 is preferably made of a general cylindrical shape formed with a central aperture. 13 which encloses and protects the snap action.

The base is further provided with two upstanding - post ortions 14, 14 upon whichV the entire switc mechanism rests.

In the. modification illustrated in Figures 1 to 3 inclusive the snap action is suspended 0 in the central a erture 13 of the base 10 by .meansf'f a U-s aped supporting frame 15 having outwardly bent end portions 16, 16 resting on the posts 14, 14 .provided with screw threaded holes en aging the screws 17, 17 which passthroug the base 10 and are received in nuts 18, 18^which also secure in place the anchorage members 19, 19.

The nuts and anchorage members are situated in cutaway portions 20, 2O of the base 10 i and the anchorage members receive the screws 21, 21 which hold the metal cover l0 and' the insulating lining in position.

The side portionsof the supporting frame below the end portion 16, flare outwardly as shown at 22, 22 for a'purpose that will be is a short shaft 24 on which are pivotally mounted the cams 25, 25 which in this modlcation are connected on one side by an integral `portion 26 in order to stien and maintain the cams in roper registry.

Each cam is formedj with a wedge shaped upper end having side faces 27, 27 which meet at the point 28 and terminate at the other ends in the shoulders 29, 29.

Beneath the shaft 24 each cam is rovided with an arcuate slot 30 throug which passes a pin 31 mounted in the side portions of the frame 15 and upon which is pivotally mounted the U-shape pole piece 32. The side .arms of the pole iece swing outside of the cams 25, 25 and have their range of movement limited by the'sto s 23, 23. The bottom of the U-shaped po e piece is perforated at 33 and is further provided with an lextension having formed thereon lugs 34, 34 which clamp and secure a strip of insula-4 tion 35vto which the resilient movable contacts 36, 36 are secured by means of a rivet 37. By this construction the mechanism of the switch is insulated from the electrical currents and the maximum protection is given the operator. i

The cams 25, 25 are each provided with an aperture 38 which register wit-h each other and pivotally receive the integral lugs 39, 39 formed on the head 40 on one end y of the guide member 41 (Fig. 7), the lower end of which extends through thel perfora-l tion 33 in the bottom of the pole piece. .Around the ide member, between the head 40 and .the bottom of the pole piece is a coiled compression spring 42.

From the drawings and the description it will be-seen that when thecams 25, 25 are rotated on the shaft 24 so that the points 28, 28 cross a vertical plane through the shaft 2A, the vSpring 42 1s compressed and when the pivot lugs 39 cross the line connecty ing the aperture 33 and the shaft 24, thepole piece32 is thrown to the other side of the switch with a quick snap action. A rel verse rotation of the cams causes the` pole ypiece to be thrown with a snap action in the opposite-direction.

In order to rovide a simple and lefficient means for giving the `required motions to the cams 25, 25 `Ihave provided an actuat" ing mechanism comprising a centrally apertured su porting rin 43 formedwith an up' turned ange 44 and aterally extending ears 44. .A guide tube 45 is provided at the lower end with laterally extending ears 46,

16,16 of the frame 15 will secure the snapaction mechanism and the actuating mechanism together so that they -form an assembly that can be removed from the base 10 as a unit. This construction facilitates assembling of the switch as well as inspection at any time. I

On dialnetrically opposite sides the uide tube is provided with slots 47, 47 whic receive and guide lugs 48, 48.formed integrally withthe cylindrical plunger 49 which is closed at one end and forms the push button of the switch.

Resting upon the ring 43 and centered by the upturncd flange 44 is a helical com ression spring 50 which extends to the c osed top of the plunger 49 where it is bent radially inward as at 51 and then downwardly coaxially with the plunger as at 52 to a point approximately level with the supporting ring 43. At. this oint the sprin wire is bent at right ang es at 53 and t en back on itself to form a terminal'54 which is parallel to the shaft 24 and long enough to bridge across the cams 25, 25. Due to t e resiliency of the spring wire, the portion 52 tends always to remain coaxial with the .similar in shape to the ears 44', rests upon plunger 49 and automatically returns to this position afterv each .actuation of the switch when the plunger is allowed to assume its normal position under the influence of the spring50.

To coact with the movable. contacts 36,

36 Ivhave provided the fixed contacts 55, 55

-end with a portion 59 of reduced diameter which guides the plunger-60 and limits its upward travel by engaging with -the enlar ed lower end 61.

he lower end of the guide tube is provided at diametrically opposite points with laterally extending ears 62, 62 each having an aperture therein. j

The guide tube 58 is secured on the supporting ring 63 by means of bolts 64 and nuts 65. The bolts 64 passingthrough the ears 62, 62 and through similar ears formed on the supporting ring.

The centrally apertured supporting ring 63 is i also provided with laterall exupturned ange 68 which centers a helical compression spring 69 one end of which bears against lthe ring 63 and the otheragainst the shoulder 61 ofthe lunger 60.

In the upper closed end oi) the lunger 60, a securing member 70 is fixed f y any desirable method such as a tight push fit or by welding. This member is vcircular in shape and is provided with two loops` 71 which receive Iand pivotally support the trunnions 72 of the push bar 73 which extends through a hole in the member 70 and comprises a flat stri formed with a rounded lower end 74 an an oblong aperture 7 5V having a beveled lower edgel 76. The ,push bar is made sufficiently wide to open the distance between the cams 25, 25l and when the plunger is depressed the lower round-l ed end follows one of the side faces until it reaches a shoulder 29 whereupon further depression of the plunger causes, rotation of the cams. During this operation the push bar assumes a position at an angle to the4 axis of the plunger and-in order to return the push bar to its normal coaxial position, irrespective of the position in which the switch mechanism may be mounted, I have provided two flat leaf springs 77, 77 fastened at diametrically opposite points to the under side of the supporting rlng 63 bymeans of the bolts 64 and the nuts 65 and having their free ends extending through the aperture 75 and normall pressing against the bevelled lower edge 6.

In this modification it will be noted that the supporting frame in which the, snap action is mounted is made of twol members 78, 78 each of which has a laterally extending end portion 79 with holes to receive the screws 67 67 At the lower end each member 78 flares outwardly and is provided on each side with a stop lug 80 which limits the movement of the pole piece.

When the plunger 49 is depressed, the terminal 54 of the resilient vspring wire contacts with the sloping side face 27 of the cam 25 which happens at that time to be presented.

lFurther depression of the plunger causes.

the terminal of the springwire to slide along the face 27 until it reaches the shoulder 29, whereupon the cams 25 are yrotated about the axis ofthe shaft 24. This rotation of the cams causes Vthe lugs 39 to travel, in a path which crosses a vertical plane throughthe axis of the shaft 24. As soon as the lugs 39 have' crossed the line connecting the aperture 33 with the axis of thegshaft 24, the spring 42, which has been compressed by this action, throws the. pole piece 32 with a quicl; snap action to the other side of the switch where it is stopped by the lugs 23 on thesupporting p frame yI5.

The compression ofthe spring 42 not only' i tends to hold the pole piece in the position to which it `has been thrown, but also holds the cams 25 in their extreme position so that when the plunger is again depressed the terminal of the spring wire will contact with the other face 27 and on further depression of the plunger cause a movement ot thc switch, which vis exactly similar but opposite in direction to'that just described.

@ During its entire excursion of travel th terminal 54 is guarded from any undue movement longitudinally of the shaft 24 by the flaring portions 22, of the supporting frame 15 which conform tothe path of travel of the terminal 54.

When pressure is removed the plunger under the influence of the spring 50 returns to the normal position and the portion 52 of l -plunger the push bar 73 engages the faces 27 o`f the cams 25 which happen to be presented at that time, and in thel manner just de-v scribed rotates the cams'and thereby causes a snap action to be imparted to the pole piece. Upon the return o the plunger -60 to its normal. position under thelv infiuence of the spring 69, the at leaf springs 77 engage the -lower bevelled edges of the aperture in the push bar and force it to assume a position which is coaxial with the plunger irrespective of the position in which the switch is mounted. It is also to be noted that the arcuate slots 30 in the cams 25 act as stops for the cam by reason of the ends engaging the pin 31 at each end of the travel of the cam. It will thus be seen that both the cams and the pole pieces are provided with stops and that both will be held in either of their extreme positions by the action of the compression spring 42.

I claim:

1l In a device of the character described, an actuating mechanism comprising a guide member, a plunger guided by said guide member and a coll of resilient material normally tending to force said plunger in one direction and having an extension normally coaxial with said plunger.

2. In a device of the characteridescribed, i

an actuating mechanism comprising a guide member, a plunger guided by said guide member and a coll of resilient material nor-l mally tending to force said plunger in one direction and having an extension normally coaxial with said plunger, saidaextension being provided at the free end wth lateral projections.

3. In a swltch, the combination of an actuating mechanism comprising a plunger and an element tending automatically to remain coaxial with said plunger, with a snap action frame, two spaced operating cams enclosed by said pole piece and supported from said frame, and a guide member and a compresision spring supported jointly by said cams and the pole piece.

4. In a switch, the combination of a Snap action mechanism comprising a supporting l frame, a polev piece pivot-ally supported by said frame, tWo spaced operating cams su ported from said frame and enclosed by sald pole piece and a guide member and a compression spring vsupported jointly by said cams .and the pole piece With an actuating ,mechanism comprising a plunger and an velement tending automatically to remaln coaxial with said plunger and adaptedto engage simultaneously the operating cams.

Signed at Chicago, in the county of Cook, and State of lllinois, this 28th day of JulyX Ag. D.'1922. f

ALBERT H. BATES.

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