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US 6,373,009 B1Granted
Fail safe safety switch
AssigneeEaton Corporation
InventorsRichard D. Prohaska, Warren Clift Sipe
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A safety switch with a spring toggle linkage which causes the switch shaft to rapidly rotate for opening and closing the switch has a lost motion coupling between the switch handle and the switch shaft which engages at about the point of toggling to assure positive operation of the switch.
Claims9
A safety switch comprising:
- a switch box having a rear wall, side walls, and a cover;
- a switch mechanism mounted in said switch box and including a switch shaft having a crank on one end of said switch shaft for rotating said switch shaft to alternately operate said switch mechanism between an open state and a closed state;
- and
- an operating assembly comprising:
- a handle unit pivotally mounted adjacent one side wall of said switch box;
- a spring toggle linkage coupling said handle unit to said crank for rotation of said crank and with it said switch shaft;
- and
- a lost motion coupling also coupling said handle unit to said crank for rotating said crank and said switch shaft.
5 more elements
The safety switch of claim of 6 wherein said crank comprises a lever having said first coupler adjacent a first end and said second coupler adjacent a second end, said lever being mounted on said switch shaft intermediate said first and second ends.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.