US 5,589,671 AGranted

Rotary switch with spring stabilized contact control rotor

AssigneeU.S. Controls Corporation

InventorsDavid G. Hackbarth, Kenyon A. Hapke, Spencer C. Schantz

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Abstract

In a rotary switch, a manually rotatable shaft turns a disk which has a plurality of riser cam segments on one of its face. Stepwise rotation of the disk causes the cam segments to press down on flat spring contacts arranged in the switch to put the tip of one of the contacts at a time into electric contact with a stationary electrical contact that is connected to a source of electric potential or, in the alternative, to relieve one of the contacts from being pressed onto the stationary contact. An index wheel mounts to the shaft and has equiangularly spaced grooves. A plastic spring having parallel legs is mounted on the base of the switch. The legs have convex detents which register in successive grooves as the rotor is indexed rotationally in a stepwise fashion. The radius of the detents is greater than the radius of the grooves between the teeth of the index wheel. The legs of the spring are prohibited from moving longitudinally and tension is maintained in the spring legs at all times.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A rotary switch comprising:

a base member and a housing for enclosing the base member,
a plurality of electrical switch contacts mounted to said base member,
a rotor including a shaft journaled for rotation in said housing and means on said shaft for operating said switch contacts in response to rotation of said shaft, and including an index wheel mounted to the shaft coaxially therewith,
said index wheel having circumferentially spaced apart radially outwardly extending teeth defined by curved radially inwardly depressed recesses between said teeth,
a plastic spring operatively engaged with said index wheel to control said rotor to turn in discrete angular steps when said shaft is turned,
said spring is comprised of two longitudinally extending laterally spaced apart deflectable legs having opposite free end portions and struts spanning laterally between said legs and joined with said legs, respectively, near said opposite free end portions, each of said legs having a detent formed therein intermediate of said free end portions, said detents being convex and registered in said recesses of said index wheel when said rotor has turned one step,
said housing having pairs of laterally spaced apart slots with said pairs of slots longitudinally spaced apart to provide for inserting in said pairs of slots said free end portions of said legs of said spring and,
said end portions of said legs being constrained in said slots to prevent said legs from moving longitudinally by any amount when said legs are deflected by said detents thereon passing over said tips of said index wheel teeth when said rotor is turned.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.