US3651293A

US3651293A - Electric teeter totter switch

Info

Publication number: US3651293A
Application number: US82976A
Authority: US
Inventors: Benedict J Hoffman
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1970-10-22
Filing date: 1970-10-22
Publication date: 1972-03-21
Anticipated expiration: 1989-03-21

Abstract

A mechanically actuated multicontact electrical switch having an electrical status dependent upon its history is disclosed comprising a linear toothed member, a gear supported on and rotatable about an axis and a contact device frictionally driven by the gear. When the gear is rotated from an initial position sufficiently far to cause slippage of the frictional engagement between the gear and the contact device and then returned to its initial position the electrical status of the switch may be different. The switch has particular utility when mechanically linked to an automobile accelerator pedal and electrically connected with a series of indicator lights to indicate to another driver how the so equipped automobile is being operated.

Description

United States Patent Hoffman Mar. 21, 1972 [541 ELECTRIC TEETER TOTTER SWITCH 3,077,963 2/1963 Volker ..200 153 P x [72] Inventor: Benedict J. Hoffman, 2230 Chestnut Primary Examiner Roben K Schaefer Street Fort Wayne 46803 Assistant Examiner-Robert A. Vanderhye 22 Filed; Oct 22 1970 Attorney.leffers and Rickert pp 82,976 57 ABSTRACT A mechanically actuated multicontact electrical switch having [52] US. 'Cl .200/153 P, ZOO/61.89, 340/71 an elegtrical status dependent upon its history is disclosed llll- Cl i 3 i H 3/40, lh 3/1 comprising a linear toothed member, a gear supported on and [58] Field of Search .....200/158, 153 P, 61.89, 61.46, rotatable about an axis and a contact device frictionally driven 200/156; 340/71 by the gear. When the gear is rotated from an initial position sufficiently far to cause slippage of the frictional engagement [56] References Cit d between the gear and the contact device and then returned to its initial position the electrical status of the switch may be dif- UNITED STATES PATENTS ferent. The switch has particular utility when mechanically linked to an automobile accelerator pedal and electrically 3,439,325 4/1969 Lelchsenrmg ..200/6l.89 X connected with a Series of indicator lights to indicate to 3,435,167 3/1969 Pfleger ..200/156 another driver how the so equipped automobile is being 3,469,042 9/1969 Sandor .200/153 P x operated 3,196,238 7/1965 Freund et a1. .....200/153 P 3,129,300 4/1964 Moyles ..200/6l.46 8 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures 1 I HI! PATENTEDMARZI I972 SHEET 1 UF 2 INVEN TO R vv/vvv wage.

III

BENEDICT J. HOFFMAN ATTORNEYS PATENTEDMARZI 1912 3,651,293

SHEET 2 UF 2 s5 g PURPLE AMBER INVENTOR BENEDICT J. HOFFMAN BY MW A TORNEYS ELECTRIC TEETER TOTTER SWITCH BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an electrical switch and more especially an electrical switch whose present electrical status is dependent not only on the position of the actuating member but also on previous positions of that actuating member. In its preferred environment the present invention represents a substantial improvement over the well-known automobile stop light switch and variations thereon.

The prior art automobile status indicator lights have generally been the simple and well-known brake light which is energized by a simple pair of contacts which in turn are mechanically or hydraulically responsive to actuation of the brake pedal. There have been other attempts to provide additional indications, however, these other attempts have not been widely accepted.

One such attempt is indicated by the patent to Antunovic, US. Pat. No. 3,375,496 which discloses a deceleration indicator actuated only by the accelerator linkage and effective to sequentially energize a series of three lights depending on the extent to which the accelerator pedal is depressed. If the pedal is clear down none of the lights are lit, partial release energizes one light and so on until the pedal is entirely released at which time all three lights are energized. The present invention represents a substantial improvement over the Antunovic patent in that no more than one of three colored indicator lights is energized at any given time and further that the particular indicator which is energized is dependent not only upon the present positioning of the accelerator pedal but also previous recent positions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an improved system of indicator lights for a vehicle actuated by a novel switching structure connected to the accelerator pedal. The switching structure comprises a linear toothed member which mates with a gear and the gear in turn frictionally drives one plurality of contacts while another plurality of contacts reside on the linear toothed member. Motion of the linear member rotates the gear and the contact means until electrical connection is established at which time further rotation of the gear causes the contact means to slide relative to the gear such that when a reversal of this linear motion of the linear toothed member occurs new electrical connections will be set up at new relative positions of the linear member. The actual mechanical actuation of the switch may occur either by straightline motion of the toothed member or by rotary motion imparted to the gear. Due to the frictional engagement and possible slippage between the gear and the contact means, the response of the switch to motion is dependent upon its history rather than being invariate.

Accordingly, it is one object of the present invention to pro vide a set of indicator lights for a vehicle indicative of the manner in which the vehicle is being operated.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an electrical switch having a memory.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an electrical switch whose electrical status is dependent upon its history.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an electrical switch responsive to accelerator pedal movement for selectively energizing a plurality of distinguishable indicator lights.

These and other objects of the present invention will appear more clearly from a detailed reading of the description of the preferred embodiment in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an end view of the switch of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a side view along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 further illustrating two possible positions of the contact means;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the linear toothed member of FIGS. 1 and 2 having four exposed electrical contacts associated with it;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the contact means and frictional engaging portion of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a set of signal lights;

FIG. 7 is a top view similar to FIG. 3 but having a different arrangement of electrical contacts; and

FIG. 8 is a top view of the contact means similar to that shown in FIG. 5 but for use in conjunction with the linear member of FIG. 7.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Turning first to the end view shown in FIG. I, the switch of the present invention is seen to consist of an axle 11 supported by a housing 13 at two points, 15 and 17. A gear 19 is supported by this axle and adapted to rotate about it. The gear 19 engages the corrugations on a linear toothed member 21 so that rotation of the gear imparts a linear sliding motion to the linear member 21 and conversely, imparting a linear motion to the member 21 drives the gear 19in a rotary motion about its axle 11. An arm 23 may be provided for driving the gear 19 if desired. A second member or contact means 25 is also suspended from and free to rotate about the axle 11 within prescribed limits. This contact means has a series of electrical contacts in fairly close proximity to the linear toothed member and which when in the proper position form electrical connections with contacts on the linear member. The contact means also has a frictional engaging portion 27 which forms a frictional drive between the gear 19 and the member 25. While there are numerous ways to effect the desired frictional drive, the frictional engaging portion 27 is urged against gear 19 by a spring 29 whose tension may be adjustable for example, by a nut 31 on the threaded portion of the axle 11.

Turning now to FIG. 2 and considering first only the toothed gear or wheel 19 and the linear member 21 it is clear that sliding motion of the corrugated or toothed member 21 will impart a rotary motion to the gear 19 and conversely rotation of the gear 19 will result in a linear motion of the toothed member 21. The gear 19 is illustrated as being incompletely toothed because, for the dimensions shown, the limits of travel of the linear member 21 do not require a full 360 gear, however, smaller diameter gears or longer linear members might require a complete gear toothing. The gear 19 rotates about its axle 11 and may be either free to rotate on the axle or the axle and gear may be relatively fixed with the relative motion occurring at the

support points

15 and 17. The contact member 25 is also supported on the axle 1 1 and rotates about that axis. Again the contact member may rotate relative to the axle (or could be affixed to the axle with the relative rotation occurring at the

support points

15 and 17.) The critical factor is that both the gear 19 and the contact member 25 must be free to rotate with a friction coupling between them which will yield under the appropriate applied force. Thus, the frictional contact might be, for example, the connection between the gear 19 and the axle 11 with the contact member 25 being fixed to the axle. Several similar modifications will now readily present themselves to those of ordinary skill in the art.

Before returning to FIG. 2 for a discussion of the operation of the present invention, reference should be had to FIGS. 3 and 4 which present top and sectional views of the linear sliding member 21. This member is provided with an aperture 33 for connection to an automobile accelerator pedal linkage, the lever also being provided with an aperture 33 so that the switch may be optionally actuated by linear motion 33 or rotary motion 33. The linear member 21 is provided with a series of corrugations 35 which form a linear gear adapted to mesh with the teeth of the gear 19. Along a series of lines somewhat parallel to its direction of intended motion, the linear member has a series of

electrical contacts

37, 39, 41 and 43 which as seen in FIG. 4 are exposed only along a certain portion of these hypothetical lines and are then beneath the surface of the linear member 21 in an insulated fashion so as to communicate with the ends of that member.

Turning briefly to FIG. 5, the contact means 25 is seen to comprise not only the frictional engaging portion 27 discussed in reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 but also a plurality of

electrical contacts

45, 47, 51 and 53. In the preferred embodiment, the contacts of the contact member 25 are all electrically interconnected and connected to the axle 11 so that one terminal of the switch is actually the axle 11 which may be grounded to the support framework 13. While it is clearly possible to insulate or interconnect the plurality of contacts on the contact means in a different fashion, the present preferred embodiment serves to connect one of the

contacts

37, 39, 41 or 43 to the ground or housing 13.

Returning now to FIG. 2, the operation of the switch of the present invention should be easily understood. Assume that operation of the switch is begun when the contact means 25 is in the position illustrated by the dotted lines. Under these circumstances terminal 51 of the contact means 25 is touching and forming an electrical connection with contact 43 and hence when the switch is in this status, conductor 55 of FIG. 3 is grounded. Assume now that linear motion is imparted to the member 21 toward the right as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. Under the circumstances, the gear 19 rotates, however, the contact member 25 slips relative to the gear 19 because the contact terminal 51 is resting on terminal 43 and the contact 53 is resting on an insulated portion of the linear member 21 adjacent to the contact 41. As the linear member 21 slides toward the right, connection between

contacts

51 and 43 is broken and at about the same time an electrical connection is effected between contacts'4l and 53. The status of the switch has now changed so that conductor 57 is grounded. If at this time the linear member 21 were slid to the left the gear 19 as well as the contact member 25 would rotate in a clockwise direction until contact 47 came to rest on contact 39 which in the illustrated configuration would again ground conductor 55. It is this limited rotational movement executed by the contact member 25 which gives rise to the concept of calling the present invention a teeter totter switch. At this point, it should be noted that if it were desired to reestablish electrical connection between the

contacts

43 and 51 it would first be necessary to move the linear member 21 further to the left so as to establish contact between the

contacts

37 and 45 and then move the member 21 toward the right. If rightward motion is begun at the

time contacts

39 and 47 are connected, contact will be reestablished between

contacts

41 and 53. Thus, it should now be clear that the electrical status of the switch is dependent not only on the specific mechanical actuation it receives during its present movement but on its previous status. Thus the switch has a memory.

Before discussing the relatively straightforward electrical circuit shown in FIG. 6, FIGS. 3 and 7 should be compared.

Contacts

41 and 41 are substantially identical while contact 43 is substantially longer than contact 43. The contact 37' which corresponds electrically to contact 37 of FIG. 3 has been substantially increased in size. innumerable variations of this type are, of course possible however, the specific configuration shown in FIG. 7 has been found to be particularly suited to the present preferred embodiment of an electrical switch actuated by the accelerator pedal linkage which energizes indicator lights which indicate the way in which the so equipped vehicle is being operated. FIG. 8 illustrates a modified contact member similar to that shown in FIG. and preferably em ployed in conjunction with the linear member illustrated in FIG. 7. It should, however, be noted that the contact member of FIG. 8 could be used in conjunction with the specific contact configuration of FIG. 3. The distinctions between the contact configurations of FIGS. 3 and 7 will become readily apparent in discussing the lighting sequence achievable by each.

Turning now to FIG. 6 a schematic diagram showing three indicator lights and a source of electrical energy such as an automobile battery 61 which, in conjunction with the specific switch configuration shown in FIG. 3 or better still FIG. 7, will achieve the preferred embodiment of an automobile signal light system is shown. One terminal of each of the three

indicator lights

63, 65 and 67 is connected to one terminal of the battery 61, the other battery terminal being grounded. The remaining lead from each of the three indicator lights is connected to one of the

conductors

55, 57 and 59 or 55', 57' and 59' in one of the switches and as previously noted, the contact member 25 is effective to ground which ever of the

contacts

37, 39, 41 or 43 or 37, 41 or 43 it happens to be touching. The contact actions of the FIG. 3 embodiment will be considered first.

Assume now that for variety the aperture 33' is connected to some point in the accelerator pedal linkage such that the spring biasing of that pedal tends to rotate the gear 19 in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 2. In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the leftward travel of the member 21 may exceed that necessary to effect contact between the

terminals

45 and 37 so that in its leftmost or

rest position terminals

45 and 47 of the contact means 25 are both resting on insulated portions of the board. Under these circumstances, with the accelerator in its rest position no lights will be lit save perhaps for the standard automobile brake light which is independently operated by the brake pedal in the usual manner. When the operator depresses the accelerator pedal the arm 23 and the gear 19 will rotate in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 2 lifting the

contacts

45 and 47 from their rest position on insulated portions of the board and

pressing contacts

51 and 53 down onto another insulated section of the board. Further depression of the accelerator pedal causes the linear member of board 21 to move toward the right with the

contacts

51 and 53 sliding along the board until such time as contact 51 forms an electrical connection to contact 43 thus energizing the green indicator light by way of conductor 55. Further depression of the accelerator pedal as for example, during very rapid acceleration or when the automobile is exceeding some predetermined speed will result in the green light being extinguished and the purple light 65 being energized due to contact between the

contacts

53 and 41. If now the operator eases off the gas pedal, the purple light 65 will be extinguished and the green light 63 will again come on this time due to contact between

contacts

39 and 47. Further release of the accelerator pedal will cause the linear member 21 to slip further to the left so that contact between

terminals

39 and 47 will be broken and a new electrical connection will be formed between

contacts

45 and 37 thus energizing the amber or yellow light 67 by way of conductor 59. This light is of course a caution light indicating an impending stop. Further reduction in the accelerator depression results in the amber light being extinguished and as a rule at this time the brake pedal will be depressed energizing the standard red stop light. The present invention contemplates parameters wherein the purple indicator light would be operative at speeds above 70 m.p.h. with the green light being intermittently energized under normal driving conditions of less than 70 m.p.h. As one further illustration, consider an automobile moving down the highway at 70 m.plh. and attempting an emergency stop. The accelerator pedal would be released and the purple light would be extinguishedand the green light energized. Depending upon how rapidly the accelerator pedal pressure was released, the green light would stay on for a period of time and then extinguish to be replaced by the amber light which would in turn extinguish at about the time that the standard red brake light came on. For situations less than this emergency stop procedure, the sequence would be the same, however, the period of time that each light remained on would of course vary tremendously. For a stop from say 65 m.p.h. a different situation would prevail. At a steady 65 m.p.h. the green light would be energized due to the contact 43 being grounded by way of contact member 25. If at this time the gas pedal were eased up on slightly, the green light would extinguish and then come on again this time due to the contact 39 being grounded by way of contact member 25.

pressure would still fol- .different situation prevails. As noted earlier, the amber light contact 37 is larger as is the green light contact 43 while there is no second green light contact corresponding to 39 in FIG. 3. As before, the purple light will be energized due to the grounding of contact 41 whenever the automobile is being operated at speeds in excess of 70 mph or under conditions of very rapid acceleration. In contradistinction to the previous example however, whenever the accelerator pedal pressure is diminished the amber or yellow light will'be energized clue to the grounding of contact 37'. Thus, one side of the teeter totter operation results in either the grounding of contact 37 or no indication in the event that the linear member has been slid so far to the left that the contact member 25 now rests on the insulated portion beyond the contact 37. For the configuration shown in FIG. 7, the green light will always be energized at times of constant or reasonably increasing speeds and similarly the amber light will be energized during all times of reasonable deceleration.

It should be clear from the foregoing discussion that a multitude of possible variations are possible with the switch of the present invention. Thus, the

several contacts

45, 47, 51 and 53 may be insulated one from the other and each provided with a conductor for various possible energizations. Similarly, many more contact strips than those shown in FIG. 3 may be used and a number of contact members 25 which rotate or slip under different circumstances may be provided. These and other modifications of the present invention should be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the foregoing teachings and accordingly the scope of the present invention is to be measured only by that of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A mechanically actuated multicontact electrical switch having an electrical status dependent upon its history comprism a first member having a first plurality of electrical contacts,

said first member being provided with a linear corrugated portion;

a second member having a second plurality of electrical contacts; and

means coupling said first and second members and adapted to move one of said members relative to the other in a first manner within predeterminedlimits and to move said one member relative to said other member in a second manner when said limits are exceeded, said means for coupling comprising a gear adapted to engage said linear corrugated portion and a surface adapted to frictionally engage said second member.

2. The switch of claim 1 wherein motion in said first manner occurs when the frictional forces between said second member and said gear surface are not exceeded and motion in said second manner occurs when the frictional forces between said second member and said gear surface are exceeded.

3. The switch of claim 1 wherein the mechanical actuation is a rotary motion imparted to said gear.

4. A mechanically actuated multicontact electrical switch having an electrical status dependent upon its history comprismg:

a first member having a first plurality of electrical contacts;

a second member having a second plurality of electrical contacts; and

means coupling said first and second members responsive to linear motion supplied to said first member to move said second member in a first manner within predetermined limits and to move said second member in a second manner when said limits are exceeded.

5. A switch comprising:

a supported axle;

a gear supported on and rotatable about said axle; a mear toothed member adapted to mesh with said gear and to slide along its linear axis in conjunction with rotation of said gear; contact means suspended from and free to rotate within prescribed limits about said axle, said contact means adapted to complete an electrical circuit when its rotational position is at one of the prescribed limits; and

friction means connecting said contact means and said gear to effect drive of said contact means by said gear when the rotational position of said contact means is within said prescribed limits and to allow relative slippage between said contact means and said gear when the rotational position of said contact means is at one of the end points limits.

6. The switch of claim 5 wherein said axle is rotatably supported and one of said gear and said contact means is fixedly attached to said axle.

7. The switch of claim 5 wherein said linear toothed member is provided with a plurality of electrical contacts, said contact means forming an electrical connection with at least one of said electrical contacts at at least one of the points of the prescribed limits of rotation of said contact means.

8. The switch of claim 7 wherein a different electrical connection may be formed by effecting relative slippage between said contact means and said gear and then returning said gear to its original position.

5 3 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION paten No. 3,651,293 Dated March 21, 1972 I Inventofls) Benedict .J. Hoffman It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent I and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 6, line 32 (Claim 5) "direct" omitted between "effect" and "drive". Y

Column 6 line 36 (Claim 5); "end points" should be- --'--prescribed---.

Column 6, line 44 (Claim 7), "end" omitted between "the" and "points".

fiign'sd and sealed this 25th day of July 19'22.

HDWTPU MF1QETGHEJH,JE. ROBERT G-UTTSCHALK Mizmwting Officer Commissioner of Patents zg gg UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,651,293 I Dated March 21, 197;

Inveritofls) Be edictflJ. Hoffman It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent I and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 6, line 32 (Claim 5) "direct" omitted between I I "effect" and "drive".

Column 6, line 36 (Claim 5 "end points" should be" ---prescribed---.

Column 6, line 44 (Claim 7) "end" omitted between "the" and "points". i

Signed and sealed this 25th day of July 19 1?.

E'IMfidfi ihFIjfl'lCfiihi-E ffie GUTTSGHALK Ettmxting Officer Commissioner of Patents

Claims

1. A mechanically actuated multicontact electrical switch having an electrical status dependent upon its history comprising: a first member having a first plurality of electrical contacts, said first member being provided with a linear corrugated portion; a second member having a second plurality of electrical contacts; and means coupling said first and second members and adapted to move one of said members relative to the other in a first manner within predetermined limits and to move said one member relative to said other member in a second manner when said limits are exceeded, said means for coupling comprising a gear adapted to engage said linear corrugated portion and a surface adapted to frictionally engage said second member.

4. A mechanically actuated multicontact electrical switch having an electrical status dependent upon its history comprising: a first member having a first plurality of electrical contacts; a second member having a second plurality of electrical contacts; and means coupling said first and second members responsive to linear motion supplied to said first member to move said second member in a first manner within predetermined limits and to move said second member in a second manner when said limits are exceeded.

5. A switch comprising: a supported axle; a gear supported on and rotatable about said axle; a linear toothed member adapted to mesh with said gear and to slide along its linear axis in conjunction with rotation of said gear; contact means suspended from and free to rotate within prescribed limits about said axle, said contact means adapted to complete an electrical circuit when its rotational position is at one of the prescribed limits; and friction means connecting said contact means and said gear to effect drive of said contact means by said gear when the rotational position of said contact means is within said prescribed limits and to allow relative slippage between said contact means and said gear when the rotational position of said contact means is at one of the end points limits.