US2124337A - Switch - Google Patents

Description

R. POPP SWITCH Filed Aug. 24, 1935 Patented J uly 19 1938 1 UNITED" TA -Es SWITCH Rudolf Pops; Valparaiso, 1nii.,"asign6rto McGi ll Manufacturing Company, Valparaiso, Ind., a

corporation of Indiana Athenian August 24, 19%5, stall N1 are 3 Claims. (01. zooies)" "Jinn. A h... 4.. i y .l

. MY, invention, relates .in. general .to. electrical switchesand, more. in particular, to.v an improvement overt e. structure of my Patent #1,996,030,

aasmall, .compact and inexpensive pull chain present-day competition inthe electrical switchart, low-priced, high quality merchandise is.esse nti al to asuccessfulbusiness. The more is in many instanoesbecoming obsolete because of, a. high cost pricewitha consequent highiselling price. However, very definitelimitations are put, on low cost. devicesfby vveryrigid underwritersf. requirements. New fixture designs, and

" generalswitch requirements necessitate a small,

compact structure.

It is an object of my invention .to provide a simplified, improved electrical switch.

Aiurther, object -is:..,to. provide 'an. electrical 2d switchmsimpleland sturdyin construction, and meeting. all of. the underwriters requirements A still further object is .to provide av switch with a .verysmall number of..parts to. in turn reduce manufacturing and assembly costs. to the lowest possible figure. l v

It is also anobje'ct. of;.myi.invention to provide a switch whichdstpositivelin operation and capable of long. continueduse- H One of the features of my inven 3 proved'stationary contact and conductor terminal member. ,.z.,;

Another feature is. alone-piece simplified, .mold-' ed actuator for actuating the contact mechanism. I A stillfurther feature is asturdy, low costcombinationmountingiirame and nipple removably carried in the switch housing.

Qther objects andfeatures of my invention will be; apparent from, the following description taken with the drawing, in which; l l is a perspective view of my switch slightly largerthan the actual size thereof.

Fig. 2 isan enlarged. lanview with the cover 1 of the switch removed. v 3 is a sectional view along the lined-3 of Fig.

Fig. Lis -a cross-sectionalview along'the'line Elia 5-1 a 1 Ei .,..8 is an.enlarged-perspective view of the actuator."

complicated, multi-part switch. of. the prior art.

tion is an im-' rreg ular section along ithe line Fig. 6 is an enlarged perspective viewtof the ,In practicing. my I invention, 1' provide a onepie'cemolded insulating housing with a removable insulating cover, acavityorieningirom one .face of said housing forcarrying a switch mechanism on.a..mounting.post in the center ofsaid cavity andintegralwith.thehousingr JI'he switch mechanism-comprises a bridging contact member centered, on .the .post,. a one-piece .actuator for ro tating said bridgingcontact memben-and removable stationary contacts mounted in depr essions on each side ofthe cavityinsaid housing. The stationary contact members are of a relatively soitmetal comprising a .contact portion lying in the .cavity, anuofisetxv connecting portion and a terminal ...portion with a plurality of punched, staggered holes, with said portion folded over to'.pinch and hold a wire conductor in cooperationtwith the staggered, punched holes. A combinationthreaded. nipple andflmounting nut is removablycarriedin saidhousing cooperating to carry .the cover as well as provide threadable extension means'f or..mounting the switch on a fixture....A pullchain is carried on theactuating member. and extends through the nipple for operating the switch.. v

Referring now to thedrawingJ provide a onepieceinsulating housing ill of any suitable molded.material, but preferablywof a material commercially known as .fBakelit'e, substantially rectan-gular in-shape exceptufor a projecting portion extending from one side. at one corner thereof 1 slot. I4 vatthe bottom. The cavity extends forwardly from .therecesses to an integral segmental collar I6, shown particularly in Figs. '2 and 3.

A. projection ll at the rearof the housing is apertured tolreceive a mounting eyelet H3 in an insulating cover l9, as shown in Figs. 1 to 5. A mountingframe or lnut 2i formed with a forwardly'rextending. threaded bearing surface 22 is mounted withan ear 23: extending into slot I l and an ear 24 fitting into a corresponding slot 26 in the cover. 19, with both ears extending from a vertical flange on.the-.nut.. A nipple 25 with a knurled. flange; at one. end and an elongated v threaded outside. surface. extending rearwardly therefrom is threadably carried in the nut 2i. Boththe nipple and-.mounting nut may be inexpensive screw machineparts, or the nut 2| may i be formed in anextrusion process.

As to theswitch mechanism, this rotateson a post 21 integral with the housing I0, and extend ing upwardly in the center of an enlarged cavity 28 within said housing. The switch mechanism comprises a one-piece bridging contact member 29 (Fig. '7) formed preferably from a phosphor bronze spring material and is mounted to rotate on the floor of the cavity 28 between a pair of stationary contacts 3| and 32, as will be hereinafter explained. The bridging contact member includes a pair of resilient contacting blades 33 oppositely disposed and standing upwardly from a center ring portion 35. The ring is split transversely, at one side, as at 35, with an upturned tongue 31 to act as a pawl.

A one-piece actuating member or actuator 38 is provided for operating the bridging contact member 29.

The actuator 38 is preferably molded, and from insulating material. From the standpoint of the cost of the mold and ease of handling the molded article, it is important to have vertical, straight side walls and no portions projecting outwardly from the body. These requirements are satisfied in the actuator with a center core for fitting over the post. 21, and a segmental shoulder 39 therein for riding on an annular collar 4| integral with the post at the base thereof. A stop or key 42 on the post engages the ends of the shoulder 39 to limit the movement of the actuator. The bottom portion of the actuator is provided with a plurality of longitudinally-projecting ratchet teeth 43 for successively engaging the tongue 3'! of the bridging contact member.

An annular flange 44 of the same diameter as the cavity 28 of the housing is provided on the actuator to ride on the ledge 46 at the bottom of the cavity formed in providing alternate ledges and ratchet tooth-like recesses 41 for the bridging contact member and stationary contacts, as will be hereinafter described. The upper face of the flange is adapted to carry a pull chain 48, with the first link 48' lying in a depression 49, and retained therein by the integral stud forming a narrow slit 52. In order that the chain may lay more regularly around the wall 53 of the core of the actuator, slight depressions are formed therein adjacent the slit 52, as shown in Fig. 8.

A coiled retrieving spring 54 is carried loosely in the actuator and around the post 27. One end is turned inwardly and projects into a slot 56 across the top of the center post. The other end of the spring is turned outwardly .and engages against a shoulder 57! of a comparatively wide recess in the wall 53 of the actuator. The spring is given approximately one half turn to tension it before the inwardly-extending end is pressed into the slot 56.

As to the stationary contact members, it has been customary in the art to provide a combination contact and terminal, with a screw post threaded into a terminal strip. The terminal portion is also formed to carry a conductor with the latter soldered therein. Both constructions are expensive in material and in labor, in the original and final assembly thereof. I provide a very simple, yet effective, combination contact and terminal in the members 3| and 32 formed in one piece from a relatively soft metal plate. .Both members are alike, except that they are mounted oppositely in the housing, and for convenience I will simply describe member 3|, as illustrated in Fig. 6.

This member is stamped out with an arcuated contact blade 58 connected with a terminal portion 59 through a constricted neck portion 6|. In

stamping the terminal portion, a plurality of holes 62 are stamped out, to subsequently lie on opposite legs or walls of the terminal, and staggered longitudinally so that preferably no two holes will lie opposite one another. The holes are stamped in such a manner that the usual burr which results from the stamping will lie on the outside of the formed terminal. The member 3| is finally formed so that the terminal portion is doubled over, as shown in Fig. 6, to pinch the uncovered end of a conductor 63 and positively retain the same by frictional engagement between the walls and the wire, and also by virtue of the fact that, when the walls are punched together, the wire is forced slightly into the holes 62. In the commercial embodiment of my invention, this construction has acted to positively retain the wire without any additional holding means, such as soldering, as has always been necessary in the prior art.

The members 3| and 32 with the conductors 63 fastened therein are mounted in corresponding recesses in opposite sides of the housing, as shown particularly in Figs. 3 and 4. This mounting is also shown in Fig. 2 with the insulation of the conductors 63 lying in channels 64 opening into cavities 66 rectangular in shape and slightly deeper than the depth of the portion 59. The

channels 64 are long enough so that the insula- I tion on the wire extends into the housing far enough so that it will not pull out and leave the wire bare. A channel 67 is also provided, opening into the cavity 28 of the housing on each side thereof to carry the neck portion 6|. The contact blades 58 each abut a ratchet tooth in the bottom of the cavity 28, as shown in Fig. 3, and engage against a shoulder of a recess 47 to hold the blade rigidly in position. The members 3| and 32 are retained in the housing as a result of the frictional engagement of the outer faces of the terminal portions 59 with the walls of the mounting cavities 66. There is a slight resiliency in the metal which cooperates in this action, and more important, a cutting frictional engagement exists between the sharp burr on the holes 62 and the walls of the cavity. This obviates the necessity of relying on the cover H! to retain the members in the housing, as is the case in some prior art switches. This is a marked advantage in view of the fact that the covers sometimes warp slightly at their outer edge to bend away from the upper face of the wall of the housing.

In assembling the switch, the members 3| and 32 are placed in their respective cavities. The bridging contact member 29 is slipped over the post 21 to the position shown in Fig. 3. The actuator 38 is dropped into position and the retrieving spring 54 assembled as previously described. After this is accomplished, the chain 48 is mounted on the actuator and threaded through the nipple 25 in the usual manner. The mounting nut 2| is assembled in the neck of the housing to carry the nipple 25, and the cover is placed on the housing as shown in Fig. 5. As may be noted from this figure, the post 21 with the slot 56 extends upwardly flush with the top face of the cover. In this manner the end of the spring is securely retained in the slot by means of the cover. The ears 23 and 24 on the flange of the mounting nut, together with the lower edge of the eyelet l8, are upset to rigidly retain the cover in position.

The switch is positive in operation with the chain moving the actuator 38, limited in its movement by the segmental collar 39 and key or stud 42, to in turn operate the bridging contact memon a wide or out of the housing and through an aperture in her 29. The ratchet teeth 43 of the actuator successively engage the tongue or pawl 31 of the bridging contact member. The nipple 25 may be readily removed and then threaded into the mounting nut 2| to quickly and firmly mount the switch as desired.

This mounting combination, as may be understood from a consideration of the drawing, is

a readily adapted to rather widely different mounting positions. With the somewhat elongated threaded portion on the nipple 25, and the threaded neck of the nut 2| extending to the mouth of the housing, the switch may be rigidly mounted thick board, wall, or fixture, for it is necessary that only a few threads of the nipple be threaded into the nut. On the other hand, the nipple threads into the nut 2| so far that a paper may be firmly gripped between the knurled collar of the nipple and the mouth of the nut as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, thereby mounting the switch on the thinnest possible material. This construction has a further advantage in that with the knurled head of the mounting nipple 25 bearing against the mouth of the nut 2| rather than againstthe housing, any pressure may be applied to tighten the nipple without danger of the nut being pulled from the housing. This construction eliminates the necessity of a large number of difierent sized mounting elements, facilitates mounting, and thereby reduces installation costs in material and labor.

Although I have described and illustrated my inventionin its preferred embodiment, it is understood that I am not limited thereby, but limit the invention only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a switch, a substantially cup-shaped housing for carrying switching'mechanism therein, with said housing having an aperture in a sidewall thereof, a cover for said switch originally pivotally secured at a sidewall opposite to said apertured sidewall, and combination means for mounting said switch and retaining said cover, said means comprising a one-piece flanged collar retained in said housing inwardly from the aperture in the sidewall with the collar extending into the aperture and having a flange extending the cover to be upset on said cover to prevent pivotal movement thereof, and cooperating with the pivot securing means to prevent removal of said cover, and a mounting nut with an enlarged head and having a nipple portion in said collar and threadably adjustable in and out thereof to clampingly mount the switch.

2. In a switch for mounting on a panel or the like, a walled housing of insulating material having an integral extension on one sidewall and an aperture in the opposite sidewall thereof, a cover for the top of said housing secured to said housing at one side by securing means through said cover and said wall extension, and secured at the other side thereof by combination switch mounting and cover securing means, said means including a onepiece internally-threaded sleeve in the aperture of the sidewall and having a flange at one end carried in said housing, with said flange having an car at one side extending through said cover and reshaped thereon to retain the cover on the housing, and a mounting nut having a nipple threadably adjustable in and out of said sleeve and having an enlarged head on the outer end thereof outside said housing.

3. In an electric switch, a one-piece cup-shaped housing having an integral offset at one sidewall thereof, with said offset having an aperture at the end thereof, a cover plate for said housing, and combination means for securing said cover on said housing and mounting said switch comprising an internally threaded flanged sleeve and a mount ing nut having an enlarged head and a threaded nipple threadably carried by said sleeve, with said sleeve retained at said flanged portion in said offset portion and extending through said aperture, with the end thereof substantially flush with the outside surface of the wall at the aperture but slightly beyond the same, and with a portion of the flange extending through said cover to be reshaped thereon to retain the cover on the housing, and said mounting nut threadably adjustable in and out of the sleeve to clamp a panel member or the like between the end of the sleeveoutside the offset wall and the enlarged head on the mounting nut. RUDOLF POPP.

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