US2512505A - Operating means for enclosed switches - Google Patents

Description

June 20, 1950 R. N. ROWE 2,512,505

OPERATING MEANS FOR ENCLOSED swrrcmas Filed Sept. 8, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 7 g.4 $HIIIMIAUI I Inventor: Qayrn'ond N. Rowe,

H fs ox ney June 20, 1950 g, N. ROWE 2,512,505

OPERATING MEANS FOR ENCLOSED SWITCHES I Filed Sept. 8, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 nullnmlwmw,

Inventor Raymond N. lQowe,

y Hi A torney.

Patented June 20, 195

OPERATING MEANS FOR ENCLOSED SWITCHES Raymond N. Rowe, Plainville, Conn., assignor to The Trumbull Electric Manufacturing Company, Plainville, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application September 8, 1948, Serial No. 48,269

'7 Claims.

My invention relates to manually operable switches and particularly to front-operatecl switches, and is an improvement upon devices of the type of my former application Serial Number 773,381, filed September 11, 1947, now Patent 2,475,338. In such a construction, the contacting mechanism and protective devices are mounted within a box and the operating knob or handle is mounted on the movable cover usually at the front of the box. 7

It is my present object to provide simple and practical means for interlocking the handle with the actuating shaft of the switch when the cover is closed and manually operable means for releasing the interlock. I

I have also provided means for locking the handle in the released position when the cover is open.

One object is to strengthen the handle. y

Another object is to ensure proper andsmooth connections between the handle and the actuating shaft when the cover is being closed.

Another object is to improve the action of the interlocking parts.

One object is to more securely hold the handle to the cover.

Another object is to combine the above features in a form which is practical to make and reliable in operation. 7

The handle and its associated parts are assembled as a unit and attached to the cover of the switch box so that the cover may be opened and closed and automatically disengage and engage the handle from and with an interior switch actuator and permit opening and closing the switch when the cover is closed. The handle contains a bolt for interlocking with the switch actuator so as to prevent the opening of the cover when th switch is on or off. I also provide a device for automatically locking the handle against rotation when the cover is opened. Special means is provided for defeating the interlock with the actuator when it has been padlocked and means for automatically reengaging the interlock when the cover is closed.

Fig. 1 is .a side view on a small scale of an enclosed switch embodying my invention, part of the box being broken away to disclose the outer end of the switch actuating shaft.

Fig. 2 is a front view, full scale, showing the handle on a fragment of the cover in the closed circuit or on position and showing the handle in dot-dash lines in position to permit the cover to be opened with the circuit open or off.

Fig. 3 is a, sectional view taken on the plane 2 of the line 33 of Fig. 2 and showing the interlock with th actuating shaft.

Fig. 4 is a similar view but showing the relative position of the handle and actuating shaft when the handle has been released and the cover slightly opened.

Fig. 5 is a view of the under side of the handle and its mounting plat or ring in the closed circuit or on position of the switch.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing the parts in the off or open circuit position of the switch.

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the handle taken on the plane of the line 'I'I of Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary detail showing the handle padlocked.

Fig. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the handle parts with the mounting ring.

The box ID of any suitable type has a cover II hinged to it in the usual manner and contains contact mechanism of any suitable type such as shown in my application Serial Number 713,194, filed November 30, 1946, now Patent 2,494,314. Such a switch has a predetermined on position and another predetermined off position but no intermediate position. In such a switch an actuating shaft I2 projects toward the cover to coact with the handle I3 which is mounted on the outside of the cover. This handle may be conveniently formed of molded insulation and has a hub I4 mounted in a ring I5 which is secured around an opening in the cover by screws inserted from inside the cover seated in seats I6. The handle hub is rotatable in the ring I5 and held to the ring and thus to the cover by the inner plate or ring I! which is secured to the hub of the handle by screws I8.

The ring I5 has a lug I9 which projects into a groove 20 in the handle to limit the turning of the handle in the ring.

The outer end 2| of the actuating shaft I2 protrudes from the box and the handle has a recess 22 to receive the end 2I when the cover is closed. Th end 2| is fiat and the walls of the recess are tapered so as to more smoothly receive the flat end of the shaft and the inner end 23 of the recess is wedge-shaped so as to be sure and guide the handle on to the fiat end of the shaft when closing the cover in case they are not in close alignment at both sides. By rotating the handle, the shaft I2 is turned to actuate the switch per se. The center of the end 2I is coaxial with the center of the switch actuating mechanism (not shown) to which the shaft I2 is connected, and the wedge-shaped extension permits a lim- 2,512,505 I v f ited free rotation of the handle about the end of the shaft.

Inside of the handle is a locking bolt 25 which is slidable transversely of the handle in a slot 25 and ha a prong 26 adapted to engage in a recess 2'! in the end of the shaft to lock the cover closed when the parts are in the position of Figs. 5, 7 and 8. This bolt 25' is biased to an unlocked position of Figs. 4 and 6 by the spring 28 which i compressed between the shoulders 25" of the bolt and a shoulder [3' in the handle.

The control bolt 29 slides in the same slot in the handle and a spring 39 stronger than spring 28 is interposed between the two bolts tending to press the shoulder 35 on bolt 25 against shoulder 32 on bolt 29. Spring 28 presses both bolts outwardly of the ring as will be later described.

To look the cover closed with the switch on, the handle should be turned to the position of Fig. 2 or 5.

In the position of Figs. 3 and 6, the spring 23 pushes the two bolts outwardly so that shoulder 33 extends into notch 35. To interlock the bolt 29 with the shaft end 2! when the cover is closed, it is only necessary to rotate the handle from the position of Fig. 6 anti-clockwise thereupon the shoulder 33 of bolt 29 will ride in along the cam 3 and force bolts 29 and to the locking position.

To look the cover in the open circuit or off position, the handle is rotated to the position of the dot and dash lines of Fig. 2 (or the full line position of Fig. 6) in which position the bolt 29 can be pushed by reason of the notch 35 which provides clearance for bolt 29.

The handle may also be locked in either the position of Fig. 2 or 5 or 8 by pushing the bolt 29 inwardly and inserting a seal or padlock 38 in the opening 35' (Fig. 8). This is made possible by reason of the notch 35' in the abutment ring.

When the parts are in the so-called locked position, the bolt '25 may nevertheless, in an emergency, be retracted by the use of a pin or other tool (not shown) inserted in the hole 3'! in the bolt 25. r

The plunger 40 in the handle is pressed by a spring 4| to the position of Fig. l when the handle is in the open cover position at which time the handle and base ring are interlocked against rotation of the handle by reason of the interengagement of the shoulder 62 in the notch 43 of the ring. Should the cover be opened when the switch is on, the shoulder 32 of the latching plunger 49 will project into notch 43 and prevent rotation of the handle.

When the cover is closed, the plunger lil engages the projection H on the actuating shaft which retracts the plunger from the ring and frees the handle for rotation. When the handle is turned anticlockwise (Fig. 6), the cam shoulder 34' engages the shoulder 33 on the bolt 29 and forces the bolts into. the position in which the cover is interlocked with the actuating shaft.

In order to reinforce the interlocking action, I provide a T-shaped metal insert 56 in the outer wall of the handle. This insert has an opening 5| into which the prong 52 of bolt 25 projects when the bolt prong 26 is interlocked with the recess 2'! in the end of the actuating shaft. The bolt 29 slides in the slot in the handle on the upper surface of the ring and the bolt 25 slides on bolt 29 and the insert serves as a reinforcing abutment to assist in holding the cover closed.

I claim:

1. In an enclosed switch construction, a box containing control mechanism and an actuating shaft extending outwardly from the box, a cover hinged to the box, a handle having a recess to receive the end of the shaft, a mounting ring for the handle secured to the cover, an anchorage plate connecting the handle to said mounting ring, said handle and anchorage plate being rotatable about said mounting ring and a looking bolt slidable in said handle for engaging said actuating shaft to lock the cover closed.

2. In an enclosed switch construction, a box containing control mechanism and an actuating shaft extending outwardly from the box, a cover hinged to the box, a handle having a recess to receive the end of the shaft, a mounting ring for the handle secured to the cover, an anchorage plate connecting the handle to said mounting ring, said handle and anchorage plate being rotatable about said mounting ring and a locking bolt slidable in said handle for engaging said actuating shaft to lock the cover closed and a spring-pressed plunger coacting with the ring to prevent rotation of the handle when the cover is open.

3. A switch construction comprising a box containing the contact mechanism and having an actuatin shaft with a recess in its outer end, a cover hinged to the box, a handle rotatably mounted on the cover and having a recess with walls to embrace the outer end of said shaft, a bolt slidable in said handle to engage in the recess in said shaft when the cover is closed and an anchorage mounted in the handle to interlock with said bolt when said bolt is engaged in the recess of said shaft.

4. In an enclosed switch construction, a box containing control mechanism and an actuating shaft extending outwardly from the box, a cover hinged to the box, a handle having a recess to receive the end of the shaft, a mounting ring for the handle secured to the cover, an anchorage plate connecting the handleto said mounting ring, said handle and anchorage plate being rotatable about said mounting ring, a locking bolt slidable in said handle for engaging said actuating shaft to lock the cover closed and a cam edge on said ring for forcing the bolt into locking engagement with said shaft when the handle is rotated.

5. In a switch, a box containing switch contact mechanism having an actuating shaft having a flat outer end with a rounded edge, a cover pivoted to the box and having an operating handle with a recess to receive the flat outer end of the shaft when the cover is closed, the inner wall of said recess being tapered to assist in centering said handle on said shaft and the inner end of said recess being wide enough in the center to receive the flat end of said shaft and wedge-shaped on both sides of the center to allow for a substantial turning of the handle without turning said shaft.

6. In a switch, a box containing switch con tact mechanism having an actuating shaft having a fiat outer end with a rounded edge and having an opening to receive the tip of a locking bolt and a cover for the box having an operating'handle with a recess to receive the fiat outer end of the shaft when the cover is closed, the inner end of said recess being wide enough in the center to receive the fiatend of said shaft and wedge-j shaped on both sides of the center to allow'for a substantial turning of the handle without turning said shaft and a bolt slidable in the handle to interlock with the opening in said shaft when the cover is closed.

7. In a switch, a box containing switch contact mechanism having an actuating shaft having a fiat outer end with a rounded edge having an opening to receive the tip of a locking bolt, a cover for the box having an operating handle with a recess to receive the flat outer end of the shaft when the cover is closed, the inner wall of said recess being tapered to assist in centering said handle on said shaft and the inner end of said recess being wide enough in the center to receive the flat end of said shaft and wedgeshaped on both sides of the center to allow for a substantial turning of the handle without turning said shaft and a bolt slidable in the handle to interlock with the opening in said shaft when the cover is closed.

RAYMOND N. ROWE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

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