US2831072A - Permutation switch - Google Patents

Description

B. A. BELS PERMUTATION SWITCH April 15, 1958 Filed May 28, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 M HHM INVENTOR BASI L A. BELS ATTORNEYJ,

April 15, 1958 B. A. BELS PERMUTATION SWITCH 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 28, 1957 mm- M mm Q mm mm INVENTOR BASIL A. BELS ATTORNEYj tates PERMUTATIQN SWETCH Basil A. Bels, Great Neck, N. Y., assignor signments, to the United tates of sented by the Secretary of the Navy by mesne asrepre sea The present invention relates to position selector switches and more particularly to a permutation switch which can be locked in its selected switch positions.

Heretofore selector switches have been used for setting predetermined positions of selective electrical circuit by means which operates difierent contact arms and subsequently holds the contacts in position. Dififerent keys or settings are provided for setting different positions of the control arms of the switch to provide difierent circuits and the device which sets the contacts must be held in its set position to maintain the contacts in their positions and separate keys must be used for different switches.

The device of the present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a locking mechanism which locks the switch contacts in position after they have been set by a key. After locking the contacts in position, the key can be removed and used for setting contact positions of other like switches or the key can be changed to set other switches for different arranged circuits.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a permutation switch which can be set and locked in position.

Another object is to provide a permutation switch which is easily set for difi'erent arrangements of circuits.

Still another object is to provide a permutation switch which will make and maintain good contacts for difierent circuits.

Yet another object is to provide a device which will interconnect any chosen circuits through a switch according to any chosen combination selected by a spring contact positioning device.

Another object of the invention is to provide a permutation switch which can be cleared instantly and reset for a different combination without altering the structure of the switch.

A further object is to provide a key operated switch through which circuits can be established according to the setting of the key and then looked in position.

Other and more specific objects of this invention will become apparent upon a more careful consideration of the following detailed description when taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is an elevational side view of the switch illustrating the key slots, and the insulating partitions held in position by upper and lower plates;

Fig. 2 is a cross section along lines 2--2 and rotated through 90 degrees to illustrate one of the spring contact arm assemblies and the position of the parallel contact rods relative to the spring contact arms;

Fig. 3 is a cross section along line 3-3 illustrating the locking mechanism;

Fig. 4 is a cross section of Fig. 3 along lines 4-4 illustrating the form of the locking mechanism housing and the relationship of the parts therein;

Fig. 5 is an elevational side view illustrating the key re- IQQ quired to set the spring contact arms and to operate the locking mechanism; and

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view of the body of the key, illustrating the manner in which the key levers are secured to the body.

In accordance with the present invention, a permutation switch is provided for selectively completing electrical circuits between two banks of a plurality of stationary terminals. A plurality of contact arms or springs are positioned within the switch with one end thereof permanently connected to one bank of the stationary terminals and the other end normally in an open circuit position. The contact arms are adapted to be selectively positioned in contact with the other stationary terminals in order to complete groups of predetermined circuits. For the purpose of positioning the contact arms in their desired position, in contact with a desired terminal contact, a key is provided. The key has a centrally located guidepost and is adapted to be provided with a plurality of leaves which can be inserted into the switch. The leaves make contact with specific spring contact arms forcing them into position adjacent to their desired contact terminals. The post of the key has a plunger passing therethrough which when pressed downwardly contacts a crank mechanism, on which the contact arms are pivotably mounted, forcing the crank downwardly and at the same time moving the contact arms into contact with their respective terminal contact. A locking trigger is positioned adjacent to the crank cooperating therewith to lock the crank and the contact arms in their respective places. When the selected circuit is no longer needed the locking rigger can be tripped to release the crank and the spring contacts which return to their normally open position.

Referring now to the drawings, the switch of the present invention comprises a frame having identical upper and lower plates 12 and 13 and end plates 14 and 15 as sembled together by screws 16 on the end surface. The upper and lower plates have slots 17 therein which receive the ends 18 of insulating plate sections 231 made of any suitable material such as Bakelite, pl? nylon, mica, etc. Each of the insulating secuo =ns is formed with a flat face surface 22 and the opposite face has a countersunk area 23 which has the same depth as a slot 24 which extends into th countersunk area. The countersunk area provides space in which a spring contact assembly 25 (shown in. Fig. 2} is pivotahly secured about a rod 26 and insulated therefrom by any suitable covering such as nylon.

A spacer plate 27 of nylon laminate or any other suitable insulating material is positi..ned hetwecn end plate 14 and the outermost insulating plate section 21 and on the other end the central portion of the upper plate is cut away to allow passage of an insulating plate 28 to which electrical terminals 31 are connected. A spacer plate 32 is positioned between the end plate 15 and the insulating plate 255 and separated therefrom by spacer washers 33 which provides a space for the contact wire which extends from the terminal to stationary contact rods 34. The contact rods eraend at right angles across the switch, parallel to the upper plate and are then secured at the ends thereof in spacer plate 12"]. For the purpose of illustration one continuous wire forms each of the terminal contacts secured to the insulation plate and the contact rods and the terminal ends are shown as extending in opposite directions on a 45 degree angle for the purpose of simplifying connections.

The switch is arranged with a locking mechanism assembly 35, better shown in Figs. 3 and 4, which has three insulating plates 21. and three spring contact assemblies on each side thereof. Between the outermost insulating plate and spring assembly, the insulating plate 28 with the electrical terminals thereon is secured to provide means for connecting the stationary contact rods 34, and suitable spacer plates 27 and 32 respectively separate the end plates from the adjacent insulating plates 21 and 23. An insulating plate 29 is also provided to separate one wall of the locking mechanism and the countersunk side of an adjacent plate section 21 to insulate the spring contact assembly from the Wall of the locking mechanism assembly. The locking mechanism and the insulating plates are all secured between the upper and lower plates 12 and 13 by the end plates 14 and 15'to form the switch assembly.

The locking mechanism comprises an L-shaped crank having arms 36 and 37, a crank locking trigge 33, a shutter mechanism 39 and appropriate springs and 4-2 all secured within a locking mechanism housing 4%, the disposition of which is shown in Pig. 4. The housing 43 is rectangular box-shaped having sides which are cut away at various positions to allow for'securing andoperation of the locking mechanism. A cover plate is secured to the housing by'screws 45. The crank trigger 38 is pivotably secured about pin 46 between a spacer washer 5d. and an enlarged portion 56 of the pin. The trigger crank has an extended end 47 that extends from the housing through one side thereof and the surface below the extended end 47 forms a shoulder 48 which matches with a shoulder 49 on arm 36 of the L-shaped crank arm. The L-shaped crank arm is pivotably secured about a rod 51 which extends entirely through the switch and is provided with a bushing 52 havingends that fit into holes in the wall surfaces, and spacers 53 which space the crank from the housing walls. Crank arms 36 and 37 are thicker than the trigger 38 and are approximately as wide as the locking mechanism assembly housing. Arm 37 extends towards the upper plate 12 parallel to the ends of the switch and perpendicular. to a key post slot 54 which passes through the locking mechanism from the opposite end of housing 43. The axis of arm 36 is perpendicular to arm 37, extending parallel to and along the lower plate 13 and is provided with an extended end portion 55 which extends beyond the shoulder 49 and to one side of the locking trigger 38, to form a shoulder against which the shutter mechanism operates. of the loading trigger 38 and to the lever 37 which forces the bottom of the loading trigger against the upper end of arm 36 and at the same time pulls arms 37 toward the. inner portion of the switch in order to hold the arm in position across slot 54. cured at one end on trigger pin 46 and positioned be tween the enlarged portion 56 on the pin and a spacer washer 57 between the shutter and the cover plate 44 of the locking mechanism housing 43. The opposite end of the shutter is secured to the housing 4-3 by a pin 53' and a spacer washer 57 which positions the shutter for. slidable motion along the loading trigger. The shutter mechanism has one end thereof connected to crank arm 36 by a spring 4-2 and has a detent which fits over the extended end of the crank arm 36 to form a shoulder. 61 which is held against the crank arm "6 by spring 42. The other end of the shutter mechanism has a portion thereof bent at 90 degrees to the main body positioned adjacent to the locking trigger and is adapted to fit across the slot 54 when the crank arm is in its locked position. The housing is provided with dowel pins 62 which positions the locking mechanism in its proper position between the upper and lower plates. Screw holes are also provided to hold the plates against the ends of the locking mechanism housing.

The steps for assembling the locking mechanism assembly are as follows: Insert pin 46 into the loading trigger lock 38 and then place the spacer washer 50 over the pin and insert the end of the pinin the hole in the housing wall.

Spring 41 is connected to the lower portion The shutter 39 is slidably se- Attach spring 41 to the loading trigger andcrank arm 37 andwith bushing 52 inserted into the L- shaped crank and a spacer washer 53 over the end of the bushing, position the L-shaped crank in position with one end of the bushing inserted into the appropriate hole in the housing. Next attach spring 42 to the end of crank arm 36 and to the end of the shutter 39 and position the shutter over pins 46 and 58 with shoulder 61 in contact with the extended end portion 55 of the crank arm 36, then position spacer washers 57 over pins 46 and 58 and spacer washer 53 over bushing 52 and add the cover plate dd which is secured in position by screws The load ing mechanism is now ready to be assembledin the switch.

As shown in Fig. 2 the spring contact assembly is formed by one continuous wire which is pivotably secured about rod 26 and insulated therefrom by any suitable insulating material. The spring assembly comprises a spring contact end 64 to which a block or" plastic insulation 65 such as Tenite has been secured along. the portion which extends across slot 24. The spring'wire is wound about rod 26 a number of turns, such as four and then is wound about a stationary rod 66 of insulating material such as laminated'plastic which is held in position by the end plates, the plate sections 21 and the sides of the locking mechanism housing The spring wire extends from rod 66 toward the lower plate 13' and is brought out to a stationary terminal 67 where the wires at the-terminal are shown as bent in opposite directions to provide easier connections therewith. The rod 26 extends across the entire, switch and is connected to the crank arm 36 and moved therewith when the crank is displaced. Suitable slots 68 are made in the end plates, the plate sections and the locking mechanism housing to allow for the movement of rod 26 when the l -sha'ped crank is pivoted'about rod 51.

The crank arm 37 is provided with dowel pins 71 on the outer side which positions the crank arm with re: spect to a plate 72 having perpendicular ends 73 and held thereto by screws 74. The plate 72 extends along the side, parallel to the upper and lower plates and the perpendicular end portions 73 extend parallel to each end plate and are connected to rods,2 6 and 51 by any suitable means.

The key for selectively positioning. and locking the spring contacts in their respective positions for engage: ment with the desired contact terminals comprises abody 75 which has an integral post 76 extending therefrom adapted to be insertedinto the key post slot 54 o f he permutation switch. The post is ota length thatit'ex; tends into the switch such that the end of the post makes contact with the crank arm. The key body 75 and the post 76 has a passage therethrough for reception of a plunger rod 77. The end of the postx76 has a forked end portion in which an enlarged end-portion 7.8 fits for sliding motion and the upper end of the plunger is connected to plunger handle 79 by any suitable means such as a pin 81. The plunger handle 79 has two pins 82 positioned on opposite sides of the plunger which extend into holes 83 and act as guides for the handle, springs 34 positioned about pins 82 are seated in an enlarged portion of holes 85 andapplies force against the handle to hold the plunger in its upper position within the post.

The key body 75 is milled-with a longitudinal slot 85 extending across the entire length of the body andother slots 86 are cut perpendicular thereto for reception of leaves 37. A slidekey 88.fits. into the slot 85- and provides means for securing key leaves 37v to the key body. Eachof the leaves is formed with a slot 91 thereinwhich fits over the slidekey 88 and'are held parallel with the key post in slots 86 by a flat plate 92 which is secured to the body by screws 93. Side plates 94. are secured to the ends of thebody by screws 95'to providezprotection for thekey leaves. secured between the key post and the side plates. The key leaves are securedroffset with respect to the key post so that the key can be inserted into the switch only one way. The arrangement of the key leaves with respect to the body is shown in Fig. 6 which is a cross section thereof and illustrates the manner in which the leaves are held in position.

In operation of the device, the switch is connected to any desired electrical circuitry and then the spring contacts are selectively positioned and locked in place in order to provide a desired combination of circuits. The spring contacts are positioned in their respective positions by first setting up the key with a desired arrangement of spring contact leaves. After setting up the key, the key post and the attached leaves are inserted respectively into the key post slot and the leaf slots. The bottom surface of the key base will rest on the upper surface of the switch such that the key post extends into the slot with the end of the post adjacent the locking mechanism crank. During insertion of the key, the key leaves contact the insulated portion of the spring arm contacts and forces them downwardly according to the arrangement of the leaves which positions the spring contacts adjacent to one of the stationary contact terminals. Once the key has been positioned into the respective slots, the plunger handle is forced downwardly overcoming springs 84 wherein the lower end of the plunger extends beyond the key post to force the crank downwardly to displace crank arms 36 and 37. At the same time the lock trigger 3-6 locks the crank in its displaced position by action of the spring 41 which pulls the trigger into position with shoulder 48 thereon seating behind shoulder 49 of the crank arm 36. When the crank has been forced down wardly by the plunger to displace the crank arms, red as positioned on arm 36 is displaced accordingly and moves the pivotably attached spring contacts into contacting position in front of their respective terminal contact at which they have been positioned by the key leaves. Once the key has been inserted into the switch and the crank mechanism has been locked in place the key can be removed and the spring contacts will be held against their respective terminal contacts by the spring action of the spring contacts. Since the rod to which the spring contacts are secured has been displaced by movement of the crank to move the spring contacts in front of their respective terminal contacts, the spring contact cannot by-pass the terminal contacts and must remain in contact with the terminal contact until the locking trigger is actuated to release the crank to which the spring contacts are secured. The switch will remain in its preselected position until the locking trigger is released which then allows the spring contacts to return to their neutral position and ready for another setting.

After setting the spring contacts and locking them in position the key is removed and can be used to set other switches exactly as the previous one. if desired, the leaves of the key can be changed to another predetermined arrangement in order to set other switches for other and ditferent circuits.

When the key is withdrawn from the switch after setting the contact circuits, the shutter 39 by action of spring 52 moves into position across the key post slot to prevent entrance of any other keys. When the trigger is moved to release the crank mechanism the extended end portion 47 of crank arm 36 contacts shoulder 61 on the shutter to move the shutter from across the slot.

As illustrated in Fig. l, the switch has three slots on each side of the key post, each slot has a spring arm contact therein so the illustrated switch can set up six different circuits. It will be obvious that the number of contacts can be increased to any desired number. This can be done by two different methods, one is to have a nun ber of extended stationary terminal rods which can be contacted by separate groups of contact spring arms, and another is to have more than one individual group of terminal rods and contact arms set side by side to be operated by the same key. Such switches can be used for making test circuits for different types of tubes wherein the same sockets may be used for tubes having the same bases. Other applications would be to control certain display lights wherein different keys could control different panels of lights. With a switch having twenty-six extended terminal rods with more than one group of contact spring arms, difierent words could be spelled out for dilferent display signs. The switch of the present invention is not to be limited to the examples set forth above since it is obvious that other uses will be apparent and the switch could be used therefor without departing from the invention.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teaching. It is therefore to be understood, that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

1. A permutation switch comprising a plurality of stationary electrical contact rods, a plurality of spring contacts each adapted to be selectively engageable with one of said stationary contact rods, said spring contact being pivoted about a first rod connected with one arm of an L-shaped crank, said L-shaped crank being adapted to be pivoted about a second rod, a locking trigger associated with said crank arm and adapted to lock each of said spring contacts in a preselected contacting position with one of said stationary contact rods.

2. A permutation switch comprising a plurality of parallel stationary electrical contact rods terminating at one end of the outside of said switch, a plurality of spring contacts each having one end adapted to be selectively engageable with one of said contacts rods and the other end terminating on the outside of said switch, said spring contacts being pivoted about a first rod connected to one arm of an L-shaped crank, said L-shaped crank adapted to be pivoted about a second rod and adapted to position said spring contacts in contact with said stationary con tact rods, and a locking means associated with said crank arm and adapted to lock each of said spring contacts in a preselected contacting position with one of said stationary contact rods.

3. A permutation switch comprising a locking mechanism, insulating plate sections on opposite sides of said locking mechanism, a plurality of movable spring contact assemblies positioned between said insulating plates and pivotably secured about a rod passing through said switch, a plurality of parallel stationary electrical contact rods extending across said switch perpendicular to said insulating plate section and terminating at one end on the outside of said switch, said stationary rods being assembled on an arc juxtaposed the are about which the spring contacts move, an L-shaped crank pivotably secured within said locking mechanism about a rod passing through said switch parallel to said first mentioned rod, said first mentioned rod being connected to one arm of said L.- shaped crank and adapted to position said spring contacts in contact with said stationary contact rods upon displacement of said crank and a locking means positioned within said locking mechanism juxtaposed one arm or" said L-shaped crank and adapted to lock each of said spring contacts in a preselected contacting position with one of said stationary contact rods.

4. A permutation switch comprising a plurality of parallel stationary electrical contact rods having terminals on the outside of said switch, a plurality of spring contacts each adapted to be selectively engageable with one of said contact rods, 21 key comprising a guidepost and leaves adapted to be inserted into said switch, said leaves en gaging said spring contacts on insertion into said switch thereby moving said spring contacts to a preselected combination of positions with respect to said contact rods, locking means associated with said spring contacts for locking said spring contacts in contacting position with a d preselected contact rod, and means in said key adapted for operating said locking means.

5. A permutation switch comprising a plurality oi parallel stationary electrical contact rods having terminals on the outside of said switch, a plurality of spring contacts each adapted to be selectively engageable with one of said contact rods, an L-shaped crank arm, said spring contacts being pivotable about an insulated rod secured in one arm of said crank and terminating onthe outside of said switch, a key comprising a guidepost and leaves adapted to be inserted into said switch, said leaves engaging aid spring contacts on insertion into said switch thereby moving said spring contacts to a preselected combination of positions with respect to said contact rods, means associated With said key for pivoting said L shaped crank and moving said spring contacts into. contact with their respective, contact rods, and means, for locking said L-sh ped crank in its d placed p ition whereby said spring contacts are locked in contact with said contact rods. 1 l

6. A permutation switch comprising a plurality of parallel uniformly spaced stationary electrical contact rods having terminals on the outside of said switch, a pulrality of uniformly spaced, spring contacts each insulated from each other and adapted to be selectively engageable with one of said contact rods, an L-shaped crank, a. rod of insulating material secured to one arm of said L-shaped crank parallel with said contact rods, said spring contacts being spaced along and pivotably secured about said rod secured to said crank arm and having one end terminating on the outside of said switch and the other end terminating adjacent said contact rods, a key comprising a guidepost and leaves adapted to be inserted into said switch, said leaves engaging said spring contacts on insertion into said switch thereby moving said spring contacts to a preselected combination of positions with respect to said contact rods, said contact rods being positioned at the ends of said spring contacts on an are along the movement of said spring contacts, means associatedwith said key for pivotably displacing said L- shaped crank and moving said spring contacts into contact with their respective contact rod, and means for locking said L-shaped, crank in its displaced position whereby said spring contacts are locked in contact with said contact rods.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,420,789 Valkenburg June 27, 1922

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