US1588858A - Quick-make and quick-break electric switch - Google Patents

Description

June 15 ,1926. I v 1,588,858

R. D. SMITH QUICK MAKE AND QUICK BREAK ELECTRIC SWITCH Filed Feb. 25, v1921/9 2 SheetsShe et 1 \vwuwm mxmmwsmm June 15 1926.

,R. D. SMITH QUICK MAKE AND QUICK BREAK ELECTRIC SWITCH Filed Feb. 25. 1921 2 SheetsShe et 2 Patented June 15, 1926. i i

'UNITED STATES- FATENT OFFEQE.

RAYMOND D. SMITH, OF SOARSDALE. NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, .BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO TREMONT PRODUCTS CORIPOBATION, 011" BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF'MASSACHUSETTS. i

QUICK-MAKE AND QUICK-BREAK ELECTBIEC SWITCH.

Application filed February 25, 1921. Serial No. 447,662.

A principal object of this invention is to application hereinbefo-re referredto, and to provide a novel form of switch mechanism which thepresent improvement in electric for causing a snap action both in the 0105- switch mechanism is especially suited, but he ing and opening movements of two elecnot limited. Fig. 2 is an inverted plan b tric contacts and which shall be particuview of the same switch mechanism looklarly suited for a type of switch mechanism mg upwardly from the plane 22 in Fig. whereinan automatically retractable detent 1;tlie insulating base being removed.

is employed for controlling the circuit- Fig. 3, on an enlarged scale, shows elements 60 breaking movement of the contacts. I i corresponding to certain parts in Fig. 2

1 An example of this type of swltch mech-. with the movable switch contact provided anisin is fully illustrated and described in with my new quick-make meehanism'; the my co-pending application, Serial N0. 428, parts appearing as in the full off position 100, filed December 3, 1920wherein a therof the switch. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side at ii'iostatically-positioiicd detent automaticalview looking at the right of Fig. 3. Fig. 5

1y operates to prevent circuit-breaking 210- shows the same parts" nearly at the end of tion ofthe switch a pre-determined intertheir circuit-making movement. Fig. 6 val of time after usual actuation of the conshows a dotted and full line'position of the trol agency to extinguish the light, and then same parts, the dotted lines representing 70 causes a quick break of the circuit. It will the full on positioni of the switch, and

be seen from reference to my co-pending apthe full lines representing the position of plication mentioned above, that the dos p r s p r t0 the automa ic, ti ing of the contacts to make the circuit there mg action. Fig. 7 shows on a reducedxscale constitutes a relatively slow movement efthe samefparts as in Figs. 3, 5 and posi- "t5 fected through direct actuation by the contioned asiper the dotted lines in Fig. it? with trol agency. It is a specific object 'of this a diagram of tliei i .'electrical connection.

improvement to eliminate the possibility of 1* 1g. 8 is a sim lar diagram of connections,

producing a slow or hesitating closing of w th parts positioned'as per fulhfhnes in the contacts and preferably through simple Fig (i.- Fig. 9 shows a lllOCllfiCzttlOIi of the g0 modification of one of the contact members stationary contact with provision for adnot disturbing the originally designed co Justing the engagementbetween the movable action of said contact and thethermostati Contact and its controlling detent. i ig. 10

call positioned dctent in their circuit conshon fanother meansjfor Qdlusting this trollingmovement. 'gagiiicnt, and also. a d tferent orm of 55 A further accomplishment of the present spriiigfor effecting the uick make' moveimprovements is the provision of a rugged i llt; 1* g. ll sliowsstill another modificaand practicable means for adjusting the i 10n i;.\ l16l'8l 1i details of construction are amount of engagement between the above further varied. F rgiz. 12 shows a jclrosssecliitiitiOHOtl contact and detent so as to vary tioiiyon the plane t'd-12 in Fig. ll. Fig. 9 the time interval consumed in therniostati- 1?) shows a simple provision applicable to 40 call causvtl retraction of said detcnt to thei ormer designswitch actuator wherepci'niit cscapcnicnt of said contact.- by at proper times the thermostat may be -l*o1- the ii -coiiiplishinents of the above properly rcinforcedto insure correct relaand other objects, my invention consists in rive action of the Jcontacts and detent. Fig.

the novel provisions 2' d constructions il- 14; is a fragmentary sectional/view taken lusti'uted as preferred embodinients of the ()ii lhe pltll'le l rl' ti: in Fig. 13.

invention in the accompanying drawings "lhroughout tlie figures of the drawings and hereinafter described di'ifi'erent views of the same element are In the drawings, Figg-l is an outline view designated by the same reference character. ii elevation showing a certain form of elecin Fig. 1 the iiiain socket stiaieti ire, which I Yric lamp pull socket with casing cut away 'isAillustrative ofi any useful application of o disclose the interior "-Iswitch mechanism, it switch mechanism embodying my present [which is similar to that in my co-pending "tvention, consists of the usualpupper insumovements of cam 20,

,one end to bracket 24.

lating cap and insulating base 9, above the former of which are'carried. the screw shell 11 the insulating spacer block 12 and center contact 13; and below the latter of which, depends the threaded lamp receptacle 14 and central contact tongue 15; this type of socket switch structure being of the nature of an attachment adapted to insert between the common form of lamp socket and'an ordinary electric lamp bulb (neither of which are shown). A

As may be more fully understood from reference to my co-pending application hereinbefore mentioned, the switch actuating agency includes the two pull chains 16 and 17 which pass through the bell mouth. 18 for oscillating a segment structure 19 to which is rigidly fixed the contact controlling cam 20 which latter, together with segment 19, is pivotally mounted to oscillate one quarter turn in a horizontal plane about the pivot screw 21 and which is held in place on its pivotal mounting by a double armed spring-washer 22 mounted on the terminus 23 of main bracket member 24.

The swinging of cam 20 causes the springleaf contact 26 to fiex to and from a position for contacting with stationary contact 27, contact 26 being automatically caught and held in contact with stationary contact 27 by interception of the free end of thermo- Stat 28, which latter when energized by a resistance wire 29 wound thereon in insulating relation, moves the free end of said thermostat out of a position intercepting .the free end of contact 26. Thermostat 28 is composed of a laminated strip encircling the switch mechanism and securely riveted at In predetermined relation to the swinging an auxiliary contact member 31 makes and breaks circuit in properly timed relation therewith for which purpose, contact 31 is faced with insulation 32 secured thereto by the conductive eyelet 33 for'purposes-of circuit control as later to be explained; L

In Figs. 3, 4 and 5 the contact 26 is shown in modified form as 26 in accordance with the principles of my present improvement. The formerly integral end oi. contact 26 is replaced by a movable contactshoe 34 fixed at theend of a stem 35 which latter is slidable lengthwise in'bearings 36 36 carried by the leaf-spring 26'. A coiled spring 37 surrounds the stem 35 pressing between lower bearing 36 and a pin 38, which latter limits the upward movement of stem 35, and causes spring 37 to press contact shoe 34 against the end of thermostat 28. lVhen cam 20 is swung clockwise in Figure 5, the contact shoe 34,

,riding in contact with thermostat 28, is depressed by the latter against the light tension in spring 37 sufiiciently to prevent contacting of shoe 34 with contact 27 until Said at which time it snaps to the position shown producing the desirable in Figure 6, thus in the contacting of quick make action members 34 and 27.

In former types of this switch mechanism, contact between members 26 and 27 can be broken only under control of the thermostat 28 as, for instance, when the latter, through thermal energization by the resistance wire 29, is caused to flex to its dotted-line position in Fig. 6 thus permitting shoe to be snapped away from contact with member 27 by the resiliency in carrying member 26'. It will be seen that the present improvement makes it impossible through any manipulation of the pull chains 16 and 17 to cause other than a quick-break and also a quickmake of the circuit.

The operation ofthe vswitch as a whole with my, present improvements embodied therein will be clear from reference to Figs. 7 and 8. In Fig. 7, the parts have been moved to the full on position so that current will be continuously supplied to the lamp through the following conductors: 11- 27-3435-2620-3331l4 to lamp indicated by L thence through 15, 13 and back to the line. In Fig. 8, cam 20 has been retracted leaving contact 34 tensioned for escapement The current here is through the following conductors (contact between cam 20 and eyelet 33 having been broken) :1127'34- 35'-26'24-282914 to the lamp L hence back to the line through 15 and 13 as before. It is thus seen that in Fig. 8, resistance wire 29 is thrown in series with the lamp which thermally energizes the thermostat 28 which releases contact 34 and breaks the circuit after a brief interval of delay. One use for this principle of switch action is to prevent being left in darkness when turning'o'utthe light, the delay interval being suflicient to permit a comfortable exit before the light goes out.

It isnoted that make switch mechanism illustrated in Fig. 2, the stationary contact 27 is formed as a thin leafspring for permitting its necessary yielding to accommodate clearance move nent ofcontact 26 when the latter is pushed out into latching engagment with thermostat 28 for making the circuit. It is also to be noted from the curvature and relation of contact 26 and thermostat 28 that the latter, in this arrangement, is the member which in the old form of slowthe from thermostat 28.

yields to perform the latching action. The

present improvement, however, contemplates 4 and 5) acting on the contact 34 that the pressure of this spring of thermostat 28 is not sufliagainst the end an appreciable deflection of cient to cause the latter, but etfectsthe latohing'engage;

by a change of its-setting ment of contact shoe 34 with the thermostat, through yielding (mainly or solely) of the contact shoe 34.

In Fig. 9, a modification isshown wherein stationary contact 27 (which is not here required to be yielding for the reasons explained above) is formed as a rigid member 27 carrying at its contact making end an adjustable contact-making screw 39 which as mounted in member 2? and secured by the lock nut 30) operates to determine the amount of engagementbetween contact shoe 34 and the end ofthermostat. while permitting all of the other designed functions of the contact parts to take place as hereinbefore described.

Fig. 10 shows a modification, in which a Ieafspring 44-replaces coil spring 37 and wherein means for adjusting the engagement between contact shoe 34 and thermostat 28 are provided in the form of a set nut 45 and lock nut 46 carried on stem35, this form of spring being preferable for maintaining good electrical contact between stem and til? the spring-leaf carrying member :26 in cases where electrical conductance from one to another of these parts is required.

Fig. 1 1 shows a still further simplification embodying the principles of this invention, wherein the stem 35 is replaced by a strip member 47 guided in bearings formed by turning over tongues 48, 48 carried on spring-leaf carrying member 26", said member 47 in this case having substantially the same form at its contact-making end as the old form of spring-leaf contact 26 in Fig. 2 and being pressed upwardly toward the thermostat 28 by a thin leaf-spring secured in this case by the same holding means or rivet.51 that secures member 26". A stop 52 can be provided to limit upward movement of member 47.

I Figs 13 and l4"sh,ow "a re-enforcing provision for the thermostat in the form of an upward projectionf tl secured to the inner face of the curved thermostat '28 for engaging with a cam-like, curved strip 42 carried on the operating, segment 19, which acts to re-enforce the free end of the thermostat 28 against outward thrust ot spring 37, ex-' cept when it is desired that this tlexure should take place to cause automatic circult breaking action. Thus, in Fig. 13, where the cam and operating segment 19 (whlch move in fixed relation) both occupy their position corresponding to full oli position of the switch, it is clear that as soon as cam strip-42 starts to swing counter clockwise ,With the operating segment 19 and'cam 20, it

will engage thermostat projection 41 (even though the latter be already somewhat outvvardly displaced by the thrust of spring 37) and will force the latter into itsnormally innermost position where it will be retained by continuation 03. the engagement-oi cam strip ,nfember 49,-

42 with projection 41 and until cam shoe 34 has escaped the end of thermostat 28 which relieves the latter from the thrust of spring 37.

It- \v1ll be obvious that within the scope of my invention many such departures may the foregoing specification but shallhe interpreted as covering all equivalent arrangements and constructions that may fairly be included within the spirit of. the invention defined.

What I claim is: 1. A quick-make and quick-break mechanism for thermostatically controlled switches embodying, in combination; a relatively stationary contactmember; a relatively movable contact member; means tending to separatev said two members; a thermostatically controlled latch movable to and from a position preventing the separation of said two members, and'means acting on said movable member co-operatively with said latch mem-, her to cause a quick snap action thereof when the latter approaches said stationary member. v

2. A quick makeand-break switch mocha nism embodying, in combination; .1 station ary contact; a movable contact, spring-impelled in relatively transverse directions re-' spectively to make and to break the circuit; and a contact-controlling detent; the movements of said movable contact in each of its said directions being controlled by escapement thereof from said detent. 3. In a thermostatically controlled, quick-. make and quick-break switch mechanism in combination; a stationary contact; a movable contact mounted for movement in relatively transverse directions respectively to 'm ";e and to break circuit with said station contact; and a thermostatically posi bl) i Jill) tioned detent; the movements of said movnormally stationed to ,depress the movable 1 vmember to a tenslonedi'opposed position {gr quick circuit-making action producing a the latter. r a 1;

5. In an electric switch, the combiniati n of a OOIIt Q P me a s as 9 w direction $9 mechanism make the circuit and movable in a relative- 1y transverse path to break the circuit, and a detent arranged to restrain said contact at different times from each of its said lllOVGll'lOl'li'S while simultaneously permitting its other movement.

(5. In an electric switch embodying two contact members and a thermostatic latch to ;control the separation thereof; meaiis car ried by one of said contacts and co-operating with said thern'iostalic latch to produce a snap movement ot'the last mentioned contact near theeud of its movement toward the other contact. v

7. In an electric switch embodying an operating agency and two relatively movable contacts adapted to be closed by one movement of said agency and separated by a subsequent movementthereot; in combination; means automatically operative to delay the separating movement of said contacts responsive to control movement of the operating agency; and means automatically operative to produce a snap action of one of said contacts to close the circuit responsive to a subsequent actuation of the said control agency.

8. Automatic switch mechanism embody= ing in combination a stationary contact; a movable contact made of two parts, the first part being mounted for spring-caused move ment away from said stationary contact and the second part being mounted on said first part and spring-impelled in a direction to make contact with said stationary contact; spring energizing means; and a restraining detent for causing the quickseparation of said second part of the movable contact from said stationary contact; and separate spring-energizing means and detent mechanism for causing the quick circuit-closing movement of said second part of the mov able contact member relative to said stationary contact. Y 9. In an electric switch a stationary con tact; a spring-leaf carrying-men'iber; and a relatively movable contact carried thereby; said member being mounted'to flex against its spring tension'in a direction to bring said movable contact adjacent said stationary contact; a separate spring urging said re at ively movable contact to a position for engagement with said stationary contact; and a common detent; co-operatively arranged With said movable contact to cause both a quick separation of the latter from said stationary contact under the impulse of said spring-leaf holding-member, and also to cause a snap-closing movement of said mov-- able contact with said stationar contact under the impulse of said separatespring.

I an automatic contact-breaking switch, a quick-action contact-breaking embodying in combination; a thermostatically positioned detent and a tea- 'making position.

sionable switch contact arranged to be locked thereby in circuit making position, said detent being relatively unyielding and said contact having tension means yieldingly to press it against said detent for causing a snap escapement therefrom 11. In an automatic contact-breaking switch a quick contact-breaking mechanism embodying in combination; a thermostatically positioned .detent; a contact shoe mounted for travel in spring pressed contact with said detent, and adapted to escape said detent, for quick snap movement into its circuit making position.

12. In an electric switch the combination of a contact controlling detent; a switch contact movable under spring impulse in two respectively transverse paths relative to said detent; the escapement of said contact from said detent in one of said paths causing a quick'break of the circuit, and the escapement of said contact from said detent in the other of said paths producing a quick make of the circuit.

13. A quick-make and quick-break switch mechanism; embodying, in combination; a movable contact; spring mechanism conuected thereto to actuate the same in two different directions; a control agent for moving said contact under the tension of said switch mechanism; and a detentoperating to restrain said contact against spring caused movement in both of said different directions thereby to cause a snap action of said contact respectively to break and to make the circuit.

'14:. In an electric switch embodying circuit governing contacts normally tensioned to separate; an actuating member adapted to close said contacts; a thermostatic latch arranged to effect the automatic opening of said contacts when said actuating member is withdrawn; and mechanism acting on one of I said contacts to produce a snap action thereof While said two contacts are being closed by said member.

into circuit- 15. In an electric switch, a pair of contact members, switching mechanism tending by successive movements to move one of said contact members with a snap action both into circuit-making and circuit-breaking positions respectively, a slow acting control device interposing a detent to intercept the circuit-breaking movement of said member thereby to delay for, a Substantial interval of time the movement of said Contact member to its circuit-breaking position, and an adjustable device co-operating with one of said contact members to vary the extent of detent surface that must be traversed. by said contact member to efiect escapement of the latter, thereby to vary the time.

16. In an e eotric switch, a rotatable switching member tending by contact members,

successive movements to move one of the ,contact members relatively into circuit-making and circuit-breaking positions, a slow acting control device interposmg a detent to by successive movements to move the contact member into circuit-making and circuitbreaking positions, and a slow acting control device to delay for a substantial interval of time the movement of said contact member to a circuit-breaking position, said switch including an adjustable part acting on said contact member for varying the time interval.

18. An electric switch having an operating agency and two relatively movable contacts one of which is adapted to be moved by successive movements of said operating agencyrespectively into circuit-making and circuit-breaking positions, means automatically operative to delay the circuit-breaking movement'of said contact responsive to the control movement of the operating agency, and means automatically operative when said controlling agency is subsequently moved to cause quick circuit-making movement of said contact.

19. An electric switch having a movable contact, a switch controlling member arranged positively to impel said contact toward circuit-closing position, a thermostatic detent adapted automatically to release said contact and permit its movement to circuitbreaking position, and means automatically to cause said contact to snap into its closed circuit position while being positively 1mpelled toward said position by said switch controlling member,

20. Invan electric switch, the combination with a contact, of a switch controlling member adaptedthrough successive movements to initiate respective circuit-breaking and circuit-making movements of said contact, a thermostatic detent acting automatically to delay the. completion of one of said movements until after the lapse of a time interval, and means automatically to complete the'other movement with a quick snap action while said contact is being impelled by said member.

Signed at Boston, in the county of Sutfolk and setts, this 17th day of February, 1921;

RAYMOND 1). SMITH.

Commonwealth of Massachu--

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