US1428542A - freret - Google Patents

Description

SNAP SWITCH MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 9. I92I.

Pafendsepn 12, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2,. d

mvmtoz HRTHUR L. IE ET f' www@ Patented Sept. 12, 1922.

UNTE STATES PATENT FFICE.

ARTHUR L. FRERET, OF ENSLEY, ALABAMA.

SNAP-SWITCH MECHANISM.

original application led May 22, 1918, Serial No. 235,924. Divided and this application filed A' Serial N0. 460,053.

To (MZ fw from t may con/cern): v

Be it known that I, ARTHUR L. FRERE-T, a citizen o'f the United States, residing in Fnsley, Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Snap-Switch Mechanism, oi' which the following is a specification.

This invention is a division oit my application Serial Number 235,924` tiled May 22` 1918, and relates to improved quick acting mechanism for actuating switch blades.

The objects of the invention will be apparent trom the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the improved switch with the front of the cover sectioned off indicated by line 1 1 oi' Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the plane indicated by the line 2 2 ot Fig. 1; the switch blades and the enclosing cover being shown in their respective closed positions Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the enclosing cover and the switch blades intheir respective open positions;

Fig. lis sectional view on the plane indicated by line 4 4 of Fig. 1 the switch blades however being shown in their open position in the interest of clearer illustration;

Fig. is a detail View o'li the switch operating mechanism, the parts being shown in the positions they assume when the switch blades are in closed position;

Fig. 6 is a similar view showing the positions assumed by the parts when the switch blades 'are in open position. being a section on line 6 6 of Fig. 4;

Fig'. 7 is a detail showing the rectangular switch shaft with the switch blades secured thereto;

Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view or. the operating dog; and F ig. 9 is a detail perspective View of the locking bar.

The switch comprises a fixed back plate 1 having an overhanging hood 2 secured thereto which comprises a top 3 and short side walls 4 and 5 and a front wall 6 extending downwardly therefrom. A hinged portion 7 formed in the front wall 6 forms a pivotal support for the enclosing cover 8 which cover includes side walls 9 and '10,

pril 9,

a front wallll and a bottom wall 12. A lug 3 is formed integral with the front wall 11 of the hinged cover and a similar lug 14 is formed on the :front wall 6 of the -fixed portion of the casing. l/Vhen the cover is in open position the apertures 15 and 16 in the respective lugs 13 and 14 will come into register and as shown in Fig. 3 the cover may be securely held in open position by inserting a pin 17 through the registering apertures.

All the movable parts of the switch mechanism are supported by the hinged enclosing cover and all electrical terminals and connections are carried or supported by the fixed back plate. It will be seen that when the cover is held in open position as shown in Fig. 3, that even though the switch mechanism were accidentally operated no harmful results could occur, and it 4will further be noted that free access may be had to the terminals and switch jaws for replacement or repair or the renewal of "fuses,

The hinged cover 8 is provided with a locking means actuated by the switch mechanism which co-operates with a stationary jaw secured to the back plate. This mechanism comprises a locking bar 18 guided in brackets 19 and 2O secured to the side wall 9 or' the cover. A spring 21v anchored to pins 22 and 23 carried respectively by the bar 18 and bracket 2O serves to normally keep the locking bar in the locked position shown in Fig. 2. At its upper end the bar 18 is provided with an angular lip 24 for engagement with one of the trip pawls of the switch mechanism to be-hereinafter described.

The lower end of the locking bar 18 cooperates with a lug 25 formed on the fixed bracket 25 which is secured to the back base 1 to securely hold the cover in locked position as long as the switch blades are closed and in contact with their co-operat- 'ing terminal switch jaws. When the switch mechanism is operated to break the circuit the locking bar 18 is raised to such position to permit the end of said bar to clear the locking lug 25. L

The feeder terminals 2.6 26 enter the casing through suitable insulating bushiings 27 27 in the top wall 3 of the casing 2 and are connected in the usual manner to the switch terminals 28 28 having downwardly extending biturcated ff9-29 which project into recesses provided there- 'for in the insulating block 30 which is suitably secured to the back base l.

rlShe motor leads 31-31 are connected to the 'fuse terminals 852-32 secured to an insulating base 33 carried by the back base l. Switch terminals 3ft-34 having jaws are secured to the upper part of the insulating base 83 and suitably replaceable 'fuses 36-36 are interposed between other jaws 35-35 of the switch terminals Sb-8l and the jaws 3232 of the motor outlet terminals 532-32 in the usual well known manner.

An insulating barrier 3i' is rigidly secured to the back base l of the switch and is provided with a slot 38 concentric with the hinge 't' and terminating in an enlargeifi circular inner' orifice 39. This slot co-operates with the shaft of the switch mechanism to prevent the closing oi the switch cover when the blades ot the switch mechanism arein closed position1 as will be hereinafter described.

The switch mechanism is carried wholly bythe hinged enclosing cover and is mounted therein in such a way that it can be easily and quickly removed Yfor replacement or re*- pair when necessary.

This mechanism comprises a detachable unit or subassembly of parts inclucling` a shaft l0 the greater part oit which is rectangular in cross-section as shown in Finis. l anl 7. The ends of the shaft are cylin-A drical, one enddl is supported in a bearing' l2 which is detachably secured by screws Ail to the side wall lO ot the enclosing; cover. The other cylindrical portion ot Vhe shaft 40, indicated at dil, is oiE I\ reater`length and is jcurnalled in a suitable bearing; YtoV in the operating dog` L15. The dog;` `l- 's .Y vided with a cylindrical hub portion -l-(S which is rotatably mounted within a suitable aperture in the side wall il oi' the hinged cover. By removingl the bearing.;` 4i?, the whole switch mechanism can be tain-fn ont as a unit tor inspection or replacement. The dog` l5 (Fig. 8) is also provided with a square shanlr i7 for engagement with the operating handle 48, and an extended biiiurcated jaw i9 'for engagement vith a tenon ?L of the control lever 50, which is loosely mounted on the portion ela-loit operating' shaft ltl.

On either side of the control lover l, 5 and 6) are located the oppositelywo` volute prings 5l and. the inner entre; ot which are lixedly secured to the sha'f' the outer tree ends oit which are hooked at 53 and 54- tor engagement with the driving pijn 55 carried by the control lever 50. fi. ratchet 56 keyed to the operating` shatt cooperates with trip pawls 57 and 5S which are pivotally secured at 59 and 60 to the side 'iA-eases rfi wall 9 ot the hinged cover. .ihe control lever 50 is provided with a projcette@` pin Gl adapted to alternatei;r diseno'acje the trip pawls 57 and 58 Ytrom the ratchet 56 and engaged by the hooli' also oe oft the trip pawl 58. in auxiliary trip cam (32 keyed to the cylindrical portion 44tot the operating s mit is adapted to engage the pin (Si of the control lever to rotate the sha'tt all in the event that the sprinlci snap mechanism should tor any reason tall to operate.

Referring` to Figs. e and i' the switch blades 63 623 and (5l-- are secured in dove-tailed slots (S5-65 ot the split siiiporting' collars (5T-6"? which embrace the rectangular portieri il() oit the operating` sha'tt and are insulated there-trom by layers oi" liber 6Fl-G8. Suitable bolts securely clamp the collars Gi" in position on the operatingl shaft. ln Fig. 'i it will be seen that a line passing` through the major axis oit the cross-section of the shaft il0, is approximately at an angle oli 5 degrees trom a center line passing through the length of the blades 63.

rllhen the switch is in closed position as illistrated in Fig. 2 with the blades GZ'l--Gl in the vertical position the major axis oit the rectangular section oi the shaft l0 will be at an angle ot approximately degrees with the horizontal and coincident yh radial line pissing` through the hinge i. lo this position as more clearly seen in dette( .lines at in 3, it clear that it for any reason the locking;- bar it? did not operate to ctliectiiicly loca the cover to the bach base ot the switcln that it on openingv movement were gli' to the core ,he same would be prei.' nted in opching bf.' the interfierence et toe shait with walls olI the orifice formed in the barrier i-li'". lllowever., 'when the switch blades 63 and are in their open JVJcsition as indicated in Fig. S5 the blades and the shalit having been rotated through approximately 90 de. will so position the rectangu la r port i o n of the shaft that the minor axis ot its cross-section will be opposite the arcuate slot 38 ''ormed in the barrier 3T. rllhe slot beine' oli igreai'icr depth than the minor airis oli the shaft will permit the shatt to lireely passy 'therethrough when the cover raised to the open position as clearly sho-.\;'n by the dotted position zf/ which indicates an intermediate position ol the switch mechanism. l

ln operation when the switch is closed the heated in llipc.

l. 52 and the hinged cc einig locked in the closed position by the cooperation of the spring actuated locking; bar i8 carried by the cover and the L brochet i5 srcnrei, to the l ack base l, 'The cover 8 cannot be opened withoi'at i'irst moving the switch blades to their open position by.' operating` the handle d8 which act will raise to be the locking bar 18 by reason of engagement between the lip 2a. thereof with the trip pawl 57 which is raised to the position shown in Fig. e when the switch blades are opened. Should the locking bar 18 tail to operate through breakage or any other rea son the rectangular portion et the shaft a() will be in such position indicated at m in dotted lines in F ig. 3) as to pre* ent the passage of said shait through the lot 38 which is oit less width than the maior axis oit the rectangular portion ot t-he shatt.

When the switch blades are operated they quickly snap through an angle of approximately 90 degrees and their travel is arrested by coming into contact with rubber bumpers TO-70 carried by a lug 71 'termed on the interior 0l the hinged cover.

The opening movement is eii'ected by turning the handle 48 which is lcarried by the squared portion t7 formed on the driving dog and its motion is transmitted by the biturcated end 49 to the control lever 50 by engagement with a tongue 50 formed on the upper end of said control lever. As this lever swung around in clockwise direction as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 5, the pin carried thereby will come into eng gement with the hooked end 53 of the spring 51 and a :turtl'ier movement thereof will wind said spring around the shaft 441 which at this time is held against rotation by the trip pawl 57 which is in engagement with the ratchet 5G secured to the shaft, the action oit which is to store considerable torque within the volute spring 51. lontinued movement ot the handle 48 and control lever 50 will bring the pin 61 carried by said control lever into engagement with the underside oi the trip pawl 57 and raise the same as shown in Fig. 6. This releases the ratchet 56 and permits the sh att ll and the switch blades carried thereby to be quickly snapljied around into a position shown in Fig. G by the energy previously stored in the volute spring, the movement olf the switch blades being jiositively stopped by coming Vinto contact with the rubbiw slnicl': absorbino.` hunuiiers Til carried by the ledge i of the cover. being raisy d by the pin (il carried by the control lever 5th above described, its upwai'd movement caused the locking bar 15% also raised due to the engagement oit lip E241; ot the locking bar with the upper oll the trip pawl 57, as indicated in Figs. 2, 3, 5 and G. lith the switch blades in this position the rectangular portion ot the shaft 4110 will be so positioned that it will 'freely pass through the slot 38 in the insulating barrier S7 and the locking bar 1S will be raised a suiiicient distance to permit its lower end to clear the tooth 25 on the bracket 25, thus rendering all the parts in the its the trip pawl 57 was' position to permit the switch cover to be swung upward about its hinge 7 to the position shown in Fig. 3, to permit access to the .interior of the switch.

To effect the closing movement oi the cover, the switch blades must be in the open position as illustrated in Fig. 3 so that'the rectangular portion ot the shaft -O will be able to enter the slot 38 of the barrier and the locking bar 1S set to clear the tooth 25" et the locking bracket It is clear that should the switch handle i8 be inadvertently moved so as to bring the switch blades into closed position when the cover is open `it will be impossible to swing the cover about the hinge 7 to a position whereby the switch blades will come into Contact with the jaws 29 and 35 due to the interference oil the rectangular portion of shait l0 and the barrier wall 3'?, as indicated by dotted lines at .e in Fig. 3.

After the switch cover been closed down it'inay be additionally locked by a suitable winged thumb screw 80 passing through a slot 81 in a depending lug 82 secured to the cover and entering a tapped hole in a similar lug S8 termed on the back base 1. The lugs S2 and 83 are provided with registering apertures S/l through which a suitable pad-A lock may be inserted to preclude the possi-y bility of meddlers opening the switch,

When the cover is locked in the position shown in Fig. 2, and the switch blades are in the opened position indicated in dotted lines. the switch may be closed by swinging the operating handle in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 6. The closing operation being very similar to the above described opening` operation. n

The driving dog 4:5 rota-ting the control lever 5) in the direction indicated permits the trip p .wl 5i' to Atall into position to icooperate with the ratchet 56. Further movemeut causes the pin to engage the hooked end 54 oit the closing spring 52, storing eneroy in the said spring while the trip pawl. ft l Vjing the ratchet 5G prevents the rotiusy movement until the piu 61 ot the control lever is swung around. to position to trip the pawl 58 from engagement with its eri-operating ratchet whereupon the switch blades will be quickly snapped to the position shown in Figs. 2 and 5, the movement ot the control lever being arrested by the pin G1 engaging' the hooked end 582L ot the trip pawl 5S. i

Provision is made :tor opening the switch blades independent of the snap mechanism in the event that for any reason this mechanism should become inoperative due to the accidental breakage ot one of the opening springs or failure of other parts to properly operate. This auxiliary operating means comprises the cam 62 keyed or otherwise :i incense scoured to the switch shaft. rEhe pin 55 carried by the control lever is of such that it projects within the path of said cam 62 as shown at the left of 4l. its thus constructed it is clear that if for any reason upon the rotation of the control lever in the direction indicated in Fig. 5 the switch blades do not operate, a continued movement thereon will carry the pin around and into engagement with the ca n 62 which being keyed to the shaft will cause the rotation thereof thus effecting an opening movement of the switch blades.

Though lr. have described with great particularity of detail the embodiment herein shown, it is not to be construed that l am limite/c' thereto, as it is clear that structural changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

llllhat l claim is:

l. ln an electric switch a quick throw snap mechanism comprising operating shaft having switch blades secured thereto, a pair of oppositely wound volute springs secured to said shaft for moving said blades alternately in opposite directions, a ratchet secured to said shaft, trip pawls to alter'- nately prevent the movement of said operating shaft arranged for engagement with said ratchet, a control lever provided with means for engaging said springs to store torque therein upon the movement thereof and means carried by said control lever for disengaging the said trip pawl acting to prevent the rotation of said ratchet.

2. ln an electric switch a quick throw mechanism including an operating shaft carrying switch blades, a control lever loosely mounted on said shaft having a snring engaging pin, oppositely wound volute springs having their inner ends secured to said shaft and their outer ends hooked for engagement with the pin carried by said control lever, a driving dog having a forked end for engagement with said control lever, ratchet wheel secured to said shaft, trip pawls arranged to co-act with said ratchet wheel and to be alternately actuated by a trip pin carried by said control lever, whereby the initial rotation of the control lever in one direction will store energy in one of the volute springs and a further rotation will trip one of the pawls thereby permitting the switch blades to quickly snap from one 'i position to another substantially as described.

.fan electric switch comprising a fixed base, an e; closing cover hinged thereto, a snap switch mechanism enclosed by said cover including an operating shaft carrying contact blades, actuating springs and a control lever and means for supporting said shaft which will permit the removal of said shaft and the parts carried thereby as a sep- :irate unit.

4t. An electric switch comprising a supporting cover, a snap switch mechanism inwinding an operating shaft, said shaft sup- )oiting a control lever, a ratchet, and switch ctuating springs operated by said control ever, a driving dog for actuating said con- ;rol lever, said driving dog being provided with a bearing for supporting one end of the operating shaft and means for engaging said control lever which will permit the removal of the switch operating shaft from the bearing in said driving dog and a detachable bearing for supporting the other end of said shaft, to permit the removal of the switch operating mechanism from the supporting cover as a separate unit,

5. ln an electric switch a shaft carrying si itch blades. a control lever carried by saic shaft, volute springs secured to said shaft and co-actiug with said control lever to ef- .feet a quick movement of the switch blades carried by said shaft and a lixed member on said shaft arranged to co-act with said control lever to effect an opening movement of said switch blades in the event of the failure the snap mechanism to operate.

6. ln an electric switch a shaft carrying switch blades, a control lever carried by said shaft, volute springs havinftheir inner ends secured to said shaft, means carried by said control lever arranged to alternately engage the i' ends of said volute springs, a ratchet secured to said shaft, trip pawls co-acting with said ratchet, and arranged to be actuated alternately by said control lever to release said ratchet and permit a quick movement of the switch shaft, and a fixed member on said shaft arranged to co-act with said control lever to effect a movement of the switch blades in the event of the fail` ure of the volute springs and associated parts to function properly.

ln witness whereof, l have hereunto signed my name.

ARTHUR L. FERRET.

Images