Master switch for multi-speed vehicles
AssigneeSquare D Company
InventorStanley H. Edwards, Jr.
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A selector switch assembly includes modular switch units that are serially-arranged in a housing and are operated by a single rotatable control member that is biased to a first position by a biasing unit. A modular switch unit includes a housing that has an end wall and two opposite sidewalls that each have two recesses at opposite ends which receive planar blade portions of switches to define an enclosure. The control member includes a hollow tube that has a friction member which has cams on the periphery to actuate the switches and also has an opening for frictionally engaging a rotatable adjusting screw on the next modular switch unit. The modular units are sealed into a support and the hollow tube provides access to the adjusting screw outside the support.
Claims17
In a selector switch assembly having a support and having a plurality of modular units with an actuating member extending through said units and rotatable on said support, one of said units having biasing means normally maintaining said actuating member in a first position, and another of said modular units having a plurality of switches therein, the improvement of each of said switches having a rigid planar blade portion having a first contact thereon and a movable portion having a second contact normally biased to a position spaced from said first contact, said another modular unit having sets of opposed recesses directed toward each other with a space therebetween, said planar blade portion of said switches being slidably received edgewise into opposed pairs of recesses to be releasably retained therein.
A modular unit for use with a selector switch assembly comprising a rectangular housing having an end wall with an opening therein and at least one pair of opposed parallel sidewalls extending from opposed parallel edges of said end wall, each sidewall having an elongated inwardly-directed recess adjacent each end thereof with opposed pairs of recesses on the respective sidewalls defining two sets of slots, a plurality of switches each having a rigid planar blade portion having a fixed contact and a movable contact, said planar blade portions being received in respective sets of slots to substantially close the space between said sidewalls.
A selector switch assembly comprising a housing having a manually-variable control means actuable to produce a control function and including a rotatable adjusting member, an actuating lever including a hollow rectangular tube rotatable in said housing and having an open end extending from said housing, means for frictionally connecting said tube to said adjusting member for rotation as a unit with said hollow tube defining an access opening for gaining access to said adjusting member to produce manual relative rotational movement between said tube and said rotatable adjusting member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.