US 3,990,674 AGranted

Plastic spring

AssigneeGeneral Motors Corporation

InventorHarold F. Schattenberg

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Abstract

For use with an air outlet assembly having a damper valve therein with a crank arm extending from the side of the outlet, a combination lever and positioning spring adapted to engage the crank arm and pivot between first and second operative positions corresponding to open and closed positions of the damper. One end portion of the combination lever and spring which engages the crank arm has a bifurcated configuration with integrally jointed strip portions extending on either side of the crank arm. The lever is pivotally supported at a mid-portion and has a second end adapted for manual actuation. The bifurcated end portion forms an opening between the integrally joined strips through which the crank arm extends. As the crank arm is pivoted between the first and second operative positions, it moves axially with respect to the lever and causes separation of the strip portions accompanied by relative flexing of the joining portion between the strips thereby producing a force on the crank arm tending to move it from an intermediate position into first or second operative positions.

Claims2

Dependent claims

An integral positioning lever and centering spring for pivoting the crank arm of a flow control member such as a damper located in a fluid passage of a housing comprising:

an elongated body with means located at a mid-portion to permit mounting the lever for pivotal movement;
one end of the body extending a sufficient distance from the mounting means to permit manual actuation of the body between open and closed operative positions;
a second end portion of said body engaging the crank arm to produce movement of said crank arm between open and closed operative positions corresponding to open and closed damper positions during which movement the second end portion and the crank arm passes through a plane defined by the damper axis and the location about which said body pivots;
means formed in the second end portion to accommodate movement of the crank arm in an axial direction with respect to the elongated body;
said means including strip portions extending on either side of said crank arm which are integrally joined by a connecting portion to form an opening through which said crank arm extends;
said strip portions being spaced closer together in the axial direction from said opening to cause the crank arm to initially spread the strip portions further apart as the crank arm is moved from one operative position to an intermediate position marked by passage of the crank arm through said plane and to subsequently permit the strip portions to return to a relatively unstressed condition as the crank arm is moved from said intermediate position to the other operative position whereby a resultant positioning force on the crank arm is produced to cause the damper to move in a positive manner into its operative positions.

3 more elements

An integral positioning lever and centering spring for pivoting the crank arm of a flow control member such as a damper located in a fluid passage of a housing with opposite walls comprising:

an elongated body of plastic material with means located at a mid-portion to permit mounting of the lever for pivotal movement in a plane substantially parallel to one of said housing walls and normal to the axis of the damper;
one end of the body extending sufficiently from the mounting means to permit manual actuation of the body between open and closed operative positions;
a second end portion of said body engaging the crank arm to produce movement of said crank arm between open and closed operative positions corresponding to open and closed damper positions during which movement the second end portion and the crank arm passes through a plane defined by the damper axis and the location about which said body pivots;
means formed in the second end portion to accommodate movement of the crank arm in an axial direction with respect to the elongated body;
said means including relatively thin and resilient strip portions extending about the crank arm and integrally joined by a connecting portion to form an opening through which said crank arm extends;
said opening being axially spaced from said intermediate mounting means of said body to permit centering of the crank arm therein when the damper is in its open and closed positions;
said strip portions being spaced closer together in the axial direction from said opening to cause the crank arm to initially spread the strip portions apart as the crank arm moves from one operative position to an intermediate position marked by passage of the crank arm through said plane and to subsequently permit the strip and connecting portions to return to a relatively unstressed condition as the crank arm moves from said intermediate position to the other operative position whereby a resultant positioning force on the crank arm is produced to cause the damper to move in a positive manner into its operative position.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.