Claims
- 1. An actuating mechanism for a material lever indicator, said mechanism comprising:
- a mounting bracket for mounting to a container having an opening extending between a container interior and a container exterior, said opening being of predetermined dimensions;
- a force transmitting member coupled to said material level indicator and slidably connected to said bracket;
- an actuator having means for collapsing said actuator to a collapsed size sized to be extended through said opening, with said actuator having a rest size greater than said collapsed size and having means for pivotally connecting said actuator to said bracket for said actuator to pivot in response to a force of a material contained within said container, and with said actuator coupled to said force transmitting member to displace said force transmitting member in response to movement of said actuator;
- said actuator including a lever switch for displacing said member in response to a material contained in said container, said switch including a first switch arm and a second switch arm pivotally connected at an intermediate pivot point;
- said lever switch connected to said bracket with said first switch arm presenting a contact end opposing said force transmitting member inn force transmitting relation;
- whereby said material within said container urges said first and second arms together to pivot about said pivot point with said contact end urging said force transmitting member to become displaced, and thereby actuate said indicator.
- 2. An actuating mechanism according too claim 1 wherein said second lever arm is pivotally connected to said bracket, and said contact end is dimensioned to oppose said force transmitting member when said lever switch is pivoted about said axis in any one of a plurality of positions.
- 3. An actuating mechanism according to claim 1 comprising a flexible collapsible enclosure surrounding said lever switch and connected to said bracket.
- 4. An actuating mechanism according to claim 1 comprising means for urging said lever arms apart.
- 5. An actuating mechanism according to claim 1 comprising means for preventing rotation of said actuator relative to said mounting bracket.
- 6. An actuating mechanism for an indicator, said mechanism comprising:
- a mounting bracket for mounting to a container having an opening extending between a container interior and a container exterior, said opening being of predetermined dimensions;
- a force transmitting member coupled to said indicator and slidably connected to said bracket;
- an actuator having means for collapsing said actuator to a collapsed size sized to be extended through said opening, with said actuator having a rest size greater than said collapsed size and having means for pivotally connecting said actuator to said bracket for said acuator too pivot in response to a force of a material contained within said container, and within said actuator coupled to said force transmitting member to displace said force transmitting member in response to movement of said actuator;
- said actuator including a pressure plate formed of resilient material collapsible to a first state sized to pass through said opening and resilient to expand from said collapsed state to an expanded state.
- 7. An actuating mechanism according to claim 6, wherein said pressure plate is a plate of resilient synthetic rubber.
- 8. An actuating mechanism according to claim 7, wherein said actuating mechanism includes spring means molded within said rubber for urging said rubber to expand from said collapsed state to said expanded state.
- 9. An actuating mechanism according to claim 6 comprising means for preventing rotation of said actuator relative to said mounting bracket.
- 10. An actuating mechanism according to claim 7 wherein said actuator includes resilient flaps angled to deflect flowable medium from flowing between said actuator and said container.
Parent Case Info
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/464,898, filed Jan. 16, 1990, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (9)
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
464898 |
Jan 1990 |
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