Snap spring positioning device
OwnerPierre P. Schwabinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A snap-acting positioning device comprising an enclosure, including a spring member having a plurality of sine-shaped bow sections disposed equidistantly in a circular pattern to take a disc shape and stressed to cause the spring member to take a substantially dome-shaped configuration and the sine-shaped bow sections to store a predetermined amount of energy. The spring member is made of flexible material and is adapted to co-act with an activating member to define a snap-acting function. The snap-acting device is capable for employment in snap-acting valves, snap-fasteners, linear positioning devices, vibration and shock reduction hardware and spring suspensions for rotating machinery.
Claims17
A spring member made of a flexible material with a center aperture, comprising:
- a) at least three peripheral support points, each being defined as a midpoint of a portion of said spring member lying on an outermost periphery of said spring member;
- b) at least three hub land areas being segmented and circumferentially spaced apart from each other to define said center aperture;
- c) at least three hub support points with a hub support point centrally located at the innermost circumference of each of said at least three hub land areas;
- and
- d) at least six arms with two of said arms coupling each of said peripheral support points to two of said at least three hub support points, one of said two arms having a hub to peripheral material distance that is greater than the other of said two arms, where said material distance is defined as the shortest distance from a hub support point to a peripheral support point through a path passing only through said material of said spring member.
A spring member made of a flexible material with a center aperture, comprising:
- a) three peripheral support points spaced substantially equally apart around the periphery of said spring member, each being defined as a midpoint of a position of a portion of said spring member lying on an outermost periphery of said spring member;
- b) three hub land areas being segmented and circumferentially spaced apart from each other to define said center aperture;
- c) three hub support points with a hub support point centrally located at the innermost circumference of each of said hub land areas;
- and
- d) six arms with two of said arms coupling one of said peripheral support points to two of said hub points, said two arms joining at said one peripheral support point to define a curve of at least 270 degrees, one of said two arms having a hub to peripheral material distance that is greater than the other of said two arms, where said material distance is defined as the shortest distance from a hub point to a peripheral point through a path passing only through said material of said spring member.
A snap spring comprising:
- a) a spring member with a center aperture;
- b) three peripheral support points spaced substantially equally apart around the periphery of said spring member, each being defined as a midpoint of a point of said spring member lying on an outermost periphery of said spring member;
- c) three hub land areas being segmented and circumferentially spaced apart from each other to define said center aperture;
- d) three equally spaced apart hub support points disposed around said center aperture with a hub support point centrally located at the innermost circumference of each of said hub land areas;
- e) a housing supporting said peripheral support points;
- f) at least six arms with two of said arms coupling one of said peripheral support points to two of said hub support pons, said two arms joining at said one peripheral support point to define a curve of at least 270 degrees, one of said two arms having a hub to peripheral material distance that is greater than the other of said two arms, where said material distance is defined as the shortest distance from a hub support point to a peripheral support point through a path passing only through said material of said spring member;
- and
- g) an activating member extending through said aperture to strain said spring member to exhibit two states of equilibrium where in one state of equilibrium said hub support points are offset out of coplanar alignment to one side of a plane defined by said three peripheral support points, and in the other state of equilibrium said hub support points are offset out of coplanar alignment to the opposite side of said plane, thereby effecting bistable operation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.