US3377451A - Switching and indicating mechanism - Google Patents

Description

April 1968 K. G. KREUTER 3,377,451

SWITCHING AND INDICATING MECHANISM Filed March 31, 1966 32 I 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR KENNETH GlK/FEUTER ATTORNEY p 968 K. cs. mEuTER 3,377,451

SWITCHING AND INDICATING MECHANISM Filed March 31, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR KENNETH G. KREUTER ATTORNEY 3,3 ?145 l Patented Apr. 9, 1968 3,377,451 SWITCHING AND INDICATING MECHANISM Kenneth G. Kreuter, Goshen, Ind., assignor to Robertshaw Controls Company, Richmond, Va., 21 corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 31, 1966, Ser. No. 539,054 17 Ciaims. (Cl. 200167) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLGSURE A combined switching and indicating mechanism having a switch operator and a plural indicator that are pivotally and slidably carried in a housing and that are linked together for unitary sliding movement in response to a manual push actuator; a spring effects return movement of the actuator during which the indicator is pivoted and a cam causes pivoting of the operator whereby switch operation and switch position indicia changes are effected simultaneously.

The invention relates to switching devices, and, in particular, to manually operated switch means having indicators to indicate visually the condition or position of the contained electrical switches.

It has been conventional practice to incorporate changeable indicators with switch actuators that indicate the particular position of the switch. However, the few attempts to combine changeable indicators with switch actuators have resulted in complicated arrangements with a complex assortment of components, e.g., a plurality of push button actuators and/ or a plurality of indicators with interlocking mechanisms to assure proper operation.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to combine a switch actuator with a changeable indicator into a single assembly for a switching device.

Another object of this invention is to operate a switching device simultaneously with a switch position indicator by a single actuator unit.

The present invention has another object in that a switching and indicating mechanism is movable to successive positions by unitary actuator unit.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a plural switching arrangement with a manual push button actuator that has a return force to accomplish switch action and switch indicator movement.

In practicing the present invention, a combined switching and indicating mechanism includes a housing having switch means and operating means therefor pivotally and slidably carried by the housing, indicating means with plural indicia pivotally and slidably carried by the housing,

linking means connecting the operating and indicating means to slide as a unit, actuator means imparting a sliding movement to the operating and indicating means and being manually actuated in one direction and spring returned in an opposite direction, means to pivot the indicating means during return movement, and cam means to pivot the operating means also during such return movement whereby switch operation and indicia changes are effected simultaneously.

Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

.FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a switching device embodying the present invention with a part broken away;

'FIG. 2 is an enlarged, exploded perspective vie-w of the switching device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the switching device of FIG. 2 with parts broken away;

'FIG. 4 is a top plan view of FIG. 3 with parts in section and with a portion of the housing top broken away;

FIG. 5a is a side elevation of a detail of the actuating mechanism of FIG. 3 in its depressed position;

FIG. 5b is a side elevation similar to FIG. 5a but with an intermediate position;

FIG. 50 is a side elevation similar to FIG. 5a but with the actuating mechanism in its rest position.

As is illustrated in FIG. 1, the preferred embodiment of the present invention is mounted in a corresponding opening of an instrument panel 10 so that only a front portion of the actuator unit, indicated generally at 12, protrudes through the panel 10. The actuator unit 12, formed from molded plastic, includes a square front portion 14 carrying a transparent window 16 and a rectangular rear portion 18 extending perpendicularly from the bottom of the square front 14. The left side 'wall of the rectangular portion is provided with front and rear guide pins 20 and 22; similarly located guide pins extending from the right side wall are designated 20a and 22a (FIG. 4).

The actuator unit 12 defines a push button slidably disposed in a housing, indicated generally at 24, having top and bottom walls 26 and 28 joined by an end wall 30 and opposed side walls 32 and 32a; the front of housing 24 defines an opening through which the push button front 14 slidably extends and is provided with suitable flanges for fastening to the panel 10. The side walls 32 and 32a have rear extensions protruding beyond the end wall 30, which have bottom edge notches to receive fasteners, such as bolt and nuts 34 and 34a for securing electric switches 36 and 36a thereto. Actuating levers 38 and 38a are disposed on the top of the switches 36 and 36a, respectively, to effect switch operation.

As is illustrated in FIG. 2, a substantial part of the construction on the right side of the housing is identical to that on the left side, so only the left side elements will be described in detail and the right side elements merely identified on the drawing with the letter a appended to those reference numerals of the left side elements. For example, the left side wall 32 has a pair of elongated guide slots 40 and 42 which are similarly found on the right side wall 32a at 40a and 42a, respectively. The slots 40 and 42 are spaced from each other along the bottom edge of side wall 32 to receive the actuator guide pins 20 and 22, respectively; before actuation, the pins 20 and 22, engage the front edge of slots 40 and 42, an upon movement of the actuator unit 12, they engage the rear edge thereof. Thus, the length of slots 40 and 42 defines the length of travel for the actuator unit 12, while the front and rear edges of such slots act as stops to define the limits of movement of the actuator unit 12. The side wall 32 also has a pair of elongated slots 44 and 46 spaced from each other along a central portion of the side wall 32; the slot 44 has a width substantially the same as slots 40 and 42 while the slot 46 has a width approximately twice the size of slot 44.

A generally rectangular link 48, slidably disposed along the inside of wall 32, has front and rear openings 50 and 52 which are spaced from each other a distance corresponding to the distance between the front edges of side wall slots 44 and 46. The link 48 is located so that its openings 50 and 52 are in registry with the slots 44 and 46, respectively, for a purpose to be described hereinafter.

Adjacent the link 48 is an elongated operating lever 54 having an intermediate opening 56 in registry with the link opening 52. The operating lever 54 is disposed edgewise and has a perpendicular tab 58' extending from its top edge adjacent the rear portion. The Lab 58 thus extends over the actuating lever 38 for operating the switch 36. The front end of operating lever 54 has a forwardly projecting tab 60 which is a cam follower having its bottom edge in engagement with a cam.

A polygonal sided indicating block 62, in this case a cube, is disposed behind the transparent window 16 through which indicia bearing surfaces of the block 62 are visible. It is to be understood that the indicia on the block 62 may be in any suitable form, such a numerals, letters, markings, etc., which will be utilized to correspond to the position of the switches 36 and 36a. In this particular arrangement, colors have been used to indicate switch positions, whereby the four visible surfaces of the cube 62 are color coded, e.g., the top surface in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5a is blue, the front surface in FIG. 5a is red, the front surface in FIG. 50 is yellow, and the bottom surface in FIG. 50 is white (not shown).

The four color coded surfaces of the indicator block 62 are successively visible through the actuator window 16 by rotating the block 62 on a central axis extending through the other two end surfaces of the cubical block 62. Each such end surface has a ratchet wheel 64 centrally fixed thereon, which includes a number of ratchet teeth corresponding to the number of indicia bearing surfaces. Thus in this instance, four ratchet teeth are shown with a fiat surface extending therebetween. As is illustrated in FIGS. 5a and 5c, the fiat surfaces between the ratchet teeth are non-parallel to the block edges by being slightly inclined relative to the adjacent edges for a purpose to be described hereinafter. Centrally fixed to the ratchet wheel 64 is a cam 66 having two arcuate end surfaces joined by two flat surfaces; the cam follower 60 engages such cam surfaces whereby the lever 54 is pivoted for each 90 rotation of the cam 66 and the cubical block 62. While the cam 66 defines only four camming surfaces, it is to be understood that the number of camming surfaces are to correspond to the number of indicia bearing surfaces on the indicia block 62. It should also be noted that the cam 66a, shown in dashed lines in FIG. 3, is displaced 90 from the cam 66 whereby the cam follower 60a is actuated 90 out of phase with the cam follower 60; with such an arrangement, the operating levers 54 and 54a provide a different sequence of operation of the two switches 36 and 36a, and various other cam configurations may be utilized to provide many different combinations of switch actions.

The central axis of rotation of the cubical block 62 is defined by a pivot pin 68 centrally extending from the end surface through the ratchet wheel 64 and cam 66. The pivot pin 68 protrudes through the link aperture 50 and the side wall slot 44; the indicator block 62 is thus supported by the side walls 32 and 3211 with its pivot pins 68 and 68a being rotatably and slidably supported in the slots 44 and 440.

A pawl for the ratchet wheel 64 includes a flat plate 70 of spring material having a rear end attached to the housing top wall 26 as by rivets 71. Adjacent its orward end, left and right arms 72 and 72a on the left and right edges of the pawl plate 70 extend downwardly and forwardly therefrom and terminate in perpendicular pawl latches 74 and 74a for cooperation with the ratchet wheel 64.

A coil return spring 76 is mounted in compression between the housing rear wall 30 and an axle plate 78; each end of the axle plate 78 is circular to define journal axles 80 (and 800:) which extend through the operating lever aperture 56, link aperture 52 and side Wall slot 46.

Thus, the operating lever 54 is pivotally mounted on the axle 80 which is slidably mounted in the slot 46. Because of the link 48, the pivot pin 68 and the axle 80 are linked for unitary sliding movement in their respective side wall slots 44 and 46. Of course, the link 48 also slides as a unit with the pivot pin 68 and the axle 80 inasmuch as it transmits the actuating force from the block 62 to the axle plate 78 as well as the spring return force from the axle plate 78 to the indicator block.

To describe the sequence of operation of the above 4 switching and indicating mechanism, the initial position of the components will be as is illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 where the red indicia surface is visible through the actuator window 16. To operate the device, a manual force is applied to the actuator unit 12 and, in turn, is directly applied to the red indicia bearing surface of the indicator block 62. The applied force causes unitary rearward movement of the actuator unit 12, the indicator block 62 and the axle plate 78; the actuator unit 12 slides in the direction of the applied force with its base guide pins 20-20a and 2222a sliding in the side wall slots 4040a and 42-42a, respectively; the indicator block 62 slides in the same direction with its pivot pins 68-68a sliding in the side wall slots 44-4411, because of the links 48-480, the axle plate 78 slides in the same direction with its axles -8011 sliding in the side wall slots 46-46(1. During such rearward movement, the operating levers 54-54a also move rearwardly since they are pivotally mounted on the axles 80-80a, however, they do not pivot at this time because the cam 66 is merely translated and not rotated. Also during such rearward movement, the pawl latches 74-74a move upwardly against their inherent bias by the inclined surfaces between the teeth of the ratchet wheels 6464a. The rearward movement is stopped by the base guide pins 20-201: and 22-22a engaging the rear edges of their side wall slots 40-40a and 42-4211, respectively, whereupon the pawl latches 74-74411 are free of the ratchet wheels 64-6411 and move downwardly under their inherent biasto engage the-succeeding teeth on the ratchet wheels.

The completion of the rearward movement is illustrated in FIG. 5a wherein it is apparent that the indicator block 62 has not been rotated but has been moved in the direction of the arrow from the line which represents the edge of the opening in the front wall of housing 24. Since the Y cam follower 60 still engages the arcuate surface cam 66, the operating lever 54 has not been pivoted but only moved rearwardly so that the lever tab 58 maintains its downward force on the switch actuator 38 as represented by the downward arrow on FIG. 5a whereby the switch 36 has not been actuated. It should be noted that since cam follower 60a engages the flat cam surface of cam 66a the force on the lever tab 58a is just the opposite, thus, the switch 36a is also not actuated at this time.

Upon release of the applied force, the assembly commences a return action under the bias of the return spring 76. The intermediate position of the components during such return action is illustrated in FIG. 5b wherein the assembly as moving in the direction of the arrow toward the front housing edge. During such return action, the pawl latches 74-74a engage the succeeding teeth on the ratchet wheels 64-64a, causing the indicator block .62 to rotate counterclockwise (as viewed in FIG. 5b) on its pivot pins 68-68a. The cam 66 is also rotated whereby the cam follower 60 is moved toward the fiat surface of the cam 66 causing the operating lever 54 to pivot about its axle 80 so that the lever tab 58 moves upward as indicated by the upward arrow in FIG. 5bnote that lever 54a is oppositely arranged.

As soon as the cubical indicator 62 is rotated the return action is completed by a sliding movement until the yellow coded surface of the block 62 is directly behind the indicator window 16. The completed return movement is illustrated in FIG. 50 wherein the cam follower 60 engages the flat surface of the cam so that the switch 36 has been actuated and the switch 36a has been reversely actuated. Thus, the yellow coded surface of the cubical block 62 indicates that the switches 36 and 36a have been actuated to another position. In the above arrangement, the earns 66 and 66a are so designed that in one complete revolution of the block 62, the two switches 36 and 36a assume on-otf-on-off and off-on-off-on sequences, respectively: however, other sequences may be used according to the requirements of a particular installation.

Inasmuch as the preferred embodiment of the invention is subject to many modifications, structural alterations and reversals of parts, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description or shown on the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A combined switching and indicating mechanism comprising,

a housing,

switching means mounted on said housing,

actuator means slidably disposed in said housing,

indicating means having plural indicia bearing surfaces,

said indicating means positioned within said actuator means in one direction,

pivote means for said indicating means,

spring means biasing said indicating means toward said actuator means in the opposite direction to return said indicating means and said actuator means following movement of said actuator means in said one direction,

means rotating said indicating means on its pivot means during return movement thereof whereby the indicia bearing surfaces are changed,

cam means rotatable with said indicating means, and

operating means for said switch means positioned by said cam means to cause said switch means to be actuated in accordance with the rotation of said cam means with said indicating means.

2. The invention as recited in claim 1 wherein said means rotating said indicating means comprises ratchet wheel means fixed to said indicating means and pawl means mounted on said housing.

3. The invention as recited in claim 2 wherein said ratchet wheel means includes a plurality of spaced teeth connected by a sloping surface and said pawl means includes a spring biased pawl slidably engaging the sloping surface and successively latching said teeth to effect rotation of said indicating means.

4. The invention as recited in claim 3 wherein said indicating means comprises a polygonal sided block providing said indicia bearing surfaces and the number of said spaced teeth corresponds to the number of said indicia bearing surfaces.

5. The invention as recited in claim 4 wherein said pivot means defines a rotatable axis centrally located in said block in a plane parallel to each of said indicia bearing surfaces.

6. The invention as recited in claim 5 wherein said cam means is centrally mounted on said block about its rotaable axis and comprises a plurality of cam surfaces with one cam surface for each indicia bearing surface of said block, and said operating means including a cam follower successively engaging said cam surfaces to cause said operating means to actuate said switch mean in accordance with the cam surface presented to said cam follower.

7. The invention as recited in claim 6 wherein said block has two opposed sides which are perpendicular to said rotatable axis, said ratchet wheel means are disposed on each of said two opposed sides and said pawl means comprises a pair of spring biased pawls with one pawl for each ratchet wheel means.

8. A combined switching and indicating mechanism comprising,

a housing,

switch means mounted on said housing,

operating means for said switch means,

pivotal axle means for said operating means slidably carried by said housing,

indicating means having plural indicia bearing surfaces,

pivot means for said indicating means slidably carried by said housing,

linking means connecting said pivot and pivotal axle means whereby said indicating and operating means slide as a unit in said housing. actuator means slidably disposed in said housing and imparting a sliding movement to said indicating and operating means when moved in one direction, spring means biasing said pivotal axle means and slidably returning said indicating and operating means and said actuator in opposite direction,

means rotating said indicating means on its pivot means during return movement thereof whereby the indicia bearing surfaces are changed, and

cam means rotatable with said indicating means and engaging said operating means to pivot the same about said pivotal axle means whereby said switch means is actuated whenever the indicia bearing surfaces are changed.

9. The invention as recited in claim 8 wherein said means rotating said indicating means comprises ratchet wheel means fixed to said indicating and pawl means mounted on said housing.

10. The invention as recited in claim 9 wherein said ratchet wheel means includes a plurality of spaced teeth connected by a sloping surface and said pawl means includes a spring biased pawl slidably engaging the sloping surface and successively latching said teeth to effect rotation of said indicating means.

11. The invention as recited in claim 10 wherein said indicating means comprises a polygonal sided block providing said indicia bearing surfaces and the number of said spaced teeth corresponds to the number of said indicia bearing surfaces.

12. The invention as recited in claim 11 wherein said pivot means defines a rotatable axis centrally located in said block in a plane parallel to each of said indicia bearing surfaces.

13. The invention as recited in claim 12 wherein said cam means is centrally mounted on said block about its rotatable axis and comprises a plurality of cam surfaces with one cam surface for each indicia bearing surface of said block and said operating means comprises lever means intermediately mounted on said pivotal axle means having one end for operating said switch means and an opposite end defining a cam follower successively engaging said cam surfaces.

14. The invention as recited in claim 13 wherein said block has two opposed sides which are perpendicular to said rotatable axis, said ratchet wheel means are disposed on each of said two opposed sides and said pawl means comprises a pair of spring biased pawls with one pawl for each ratchet wheel means.

15. The invention as recited in claim 14 wherein said cam means are disposed on each of said two opposed sides of said block and said lever means comprises a pair of levers with one lever for each cam means whereby a plural operation of said switch means is effected.

16. .The invention as recited in claim 15 wherein said switch means comprises a pair of switches with one switch for each lever, and the cam surfaces of one cam means are in staggered relation to the cam surfaces of the other cam means whereby said pair of switches are operated in sequence.

17. The invention as recited in claim 16 wherein said actuator means comprises a base member having a plurality of pins extending edgewise therefrom, and said housing includes a corresponding plurality of elongated slots receiving said plurality of pins to define limits of movement for said base member.

No references cited.

ROBERT K. SCHAEFER, Primary Examiner.

H. O. JONES, Assistant Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,377,451 April 9, 1968 Kenneth G. Kreuter It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 5, Iine 14, before "actuator" insert housing for movement with said line 16, "pivote" should read pivot Signed and sealed this 2nd day of September 1969.

(SEAL) Attest:

Edward M. Fletcher, Jr. WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR.

Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

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