Step switch
AssigneeHubert Laurenz Naimer
InventorGottfried Alsch
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A rotary switch comprising a rotatable driving shaft and a coaxial driven switching shaft has a coupling arranged between the shafts for indexing the rotary movement of the switching shaft in response to the rotation of the driving shaft. The coupling includes driving and driven coupling parts respectively keyed to the driving and driven shaft, the coupling parts having peripheries coaxial with the shafts. A spring having two ends respectively engaging the coupling parts is tensioned in the direction of the coupling part peripheries and a blocking device controlled by the rotary position of the shafts in relation to each other respectively blocks and unblocks the rotary movement of the driven coupling part.
Claims6
A rotary switch having a housing containing:
- (a) a rotatable driving shaft;
- (b) a coaxial driven switching shaft;
- (c) a driving coupling part keyed to the driving shaft;
- (d) a driven coupling part keyed to the switching shaft;
- (e) a spring having two ends respectively engaging the coupling parts holding the coupling parts under tension and coupling the shafts keyed to the coupling parts together for indexing the rotary movement of the switching shaft in response to the rotation of the driving shaft;
- and
- (f) a blocking device, means whereby said blocking device is controlled by the rotary position of the shafts in relation to each other for respectively blocking and unblocking the rotary movement of the driven coupling part and the switching shaft keyed thereto, the blocking device including
- (1) a set of bosses projecting axially from the surface of the driven coupling part,
- (2) a ratchet wheel arranged non-rotatably and guided in the housing, the ratchet wheel having a set of bosses projecting axially towards the bosses on the driven coupling part for cooperating engagement therewith, the bosses having inclined surfaces and the inclined surfaces of the bosses of one set rising gently in a direction opposite to that of the inclined surfaces of the bosses of the other set;
- and
- (3) spring means for axially biasing the ratchet wheel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.