The invention relates to an apparatus for operating a rotary switch.
When using rotary switches, a variety of parameters such as electrical durability, the force required to operate the switch, and contact opening and closing speeds are often directly dependent on the speed and force with which the rotary switch is operated. A variety of apparatuses for operating rotary switches are known in the art, for example from German utility modyyyymel document DE 17 20 869 U, German patent specification DE 35 18 419 C2 and French patent application FR 2 533 067 A1.
German patent application DE 31 00 602 A1 describes a rotary switch operating apparatus having the same features as the preamble of claim 1. An inhibiting part comprising recesses in which pins engage is provided as a locking means to limit a rotational movement of a second drive element of the operating apparatus. A control cam for the pins, said cam extending in a circular arc, acts as a release means to cancel limiting of the rotational movement, said cam being provided in the coupling half on the drive side of the operating apparatus, said coupling half acting as the first drive element.
The object of the present invention is thus to provide an apparatus for operating a rotary switch which is designed to be as simple as possible.
This object is achieved by the subject matter of the independent claims. Further embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims.
One concept underlying the present invention consists in substantially decoupling, in an apparatus for operating a rotary switch, the speed and the required force for operating the contacts, i.e. opening and closing the contacts, from the speed and the force applied to operate the rotary switch. In other words, the apparatus according to the invention should open or close contacts substantially independently of the force and operating speed applied to operate the rotary switch. To this end, the invention proposes a mechanism in which two drive elements are coupled together by means of a spring, and in which locking and release means are provided which lock or release a rotation of one of the drive elements by the tensioned spring depending on the position of the other drive element. As a result, the movement of the drive element operated by a user can be decoupled from the movement of the other drive element. In other words, the drive element that can be operated by the user is used to release or lock the spring-actuated movement of the other drive element such that the other drive element is moved irrespective of the speed and force applied by the user to operate the first drive element. The invention also proposes the use of latches which contact guide portions of the two drive elements, the guide portion of one of the drive elements having release portions as release means and the guide portion of the other drive element having two stops for the latches as locking means. The latches which contact the guide portions of the two drive elements can both lock and, given appropriate movement of one of the drive elements, also release the spring-operated movement of the other drive element. The apparatus according to the invention has a relatively simple design due to the release and locking means being formed as integral parts of the drive elements and on account of the latches which contact the guide portions of both drive elements, this being particularly advantageous during manufacture.
One embodiment of the invention relates to an apparatus for operating a rotary switch comprising a drive shaft, a first and a second drive element, the first drive element being coupled to the drive shaft in a rotationally fixed manner and the second drive element being mounted on the first drive element in a rotatable manner, a spring which couples the first and the second drive element together in a resilient manner, locking means for limiting the rotational movements of the second drive element in a first direction of rotation and a second direction of rotation which is opposite the first direction of rotation, and release means for canceling the limiting of the rotational movement of the second drive element in specified rotation positions of the first drive element.
According to the invention, the locking means comprise a first latch and a second latch for limiting the rotational movements of the second drive element, both latches contacting guide portions of the two drive elements, and the guide portion of the first drive element having release portions for the latches as release means and the guide portion of the second drive element having two stops for the latches as locking means.
The locking and release portions may be provided on the guide portions in such a way that the second drive element is locked for rotation in a first direction of rotation in a first specified rotation position of the first drive element for a first switching state by means of the second latch engaging in a first stop, that the spring is tensioned by rotating the first drive element in the first direction of rotation by a specified angle into a second specified rotation position, the second latch is released by a first of the release portions and the second drive element is rotated in the first direction of rotation into a second switching state by means of the spring force stored in the tensioned spring, that in the second switching state the second drive element is locked for rotation in a second direction of rotation which is opposite the first direction of rotation by means of the first latch engaging in a second stop, and the spring is tensioned by rotating the first drive element in the second direction of rotation by the specified angle, the first latch is released by a second of the release portions after rotating by the specified angle and the second drive element is rotated in the second direction of rotation back into the first switching state by means of the spring force stored in the tensioned spring.
Two release portions may be provided on the first drive element at an angular distance approximately corresponding to the specified angle and a locking portion may be provided on the second drive element, said locking portion comprising the two stops for the first and second latches.
The first and second latches can be arranged such that they can pivot about a common pin above the guide portions and can be pressed onto the guide portions by means of a spring.
The first drive element may comprise a first portion which surrounds the drive shaft at least in part and a second disc-shaped portion which completes the first portion, the second disc-shaped portion having, on the edge thereof, the guide portion comprising the release portions for the latches.
The second drive element may comprise a first portion which surrounds the first portion of the first drive element at least in part and a second disc-shaped portion which completes the first portion, the second disc-shaped portion having, on the edge thereof, the guide portion comprising the two stops for the latches and a gearwheel portion.
The second drive element may be designed as a drive pinion, which can drive a gearwheel coupled to a pin of a rotation contact body.
Other advantages and possible applications of the present invention are explained in the following description in conjunction with the embodiments illustrated in the drawings.
The terms and associated reference numerals used in the list of reference numerals reproduced below are used in the description, claims, abstract and drawings.
In the drawings:
Identical components, or components having the same function or associated functions may be assigned the same reference numerals in the description below. Absolute values are only given below by way of example and should not be construed as limiting the invention in any way.
In addition to the drive shaft 12, the operating apparatus 10 comprises a first drive element 12, a second drive element 16 and a helical spring 18 coupling the two elements 14 and 16, the axis of said spring extending in parallel with the axis of the drive shaft and said spring being rigidly clamped at both ends, one end being rigidly coupled to the first drive element 14 and the other end being rigidly coupled to the second drive element 16.
The first drive element 14 is coupled to the drive shaft 12 in a rotationally fixed manner, and thus rotates with said drive shaft when the drive shaft rotates. The second drive element 16 is mounted on the first drive element 14 in a rotatable manner, specifically pushed over the first drive element 14 as shown in
A rotational movement of the first drive element 14 is in principle transferred to the second drive element 16 by the spring 18 coupling the two elements. In order to decouple the transmission of this rotational movement and the associated, usually manual rotational movement, caused by the rotary knob, from a rotational movement of the second drive element 16, a first and second latch 20 or 22 (see
The guide portion 24 of the first drive element 14 has two release portions 28, 30 as release means for the latches 20, 22. The release portions 28, 30 are designed such that they raise the latches 20, 22 radially to such an extent that they no longer lock or block a rotational movement of the second drive element 16. In this case, the release portions 28 and 30 are formed such that they raise one or both latches 20, 22 depending on the rotation position of the first drive element 14.
The guide portion 26 of the second drive element 16 comprises a locking portion 32, which forms two stops 320 and 322 for the latches 20 and 22. As soon as a latch 20, 22 engages in one of the stops 320, 322 and is not radially raised by a release portion 28, 30 of the first drive element, a rotational movement of the second drive element 16 in a first or a second direction of rotation 34 or 36 which is opposite the first direction of rotation is locked.
In this second switching state, the latch 20 engages in a latch stop 320 of the locking portion 32 on the guide portion 26 of the second drive element 16, and locks a rotational movement of this element in a second direction of rotation 36, which is opposite the first direction of rotation 34, such that the second drive element 16 is prevented from being rotated back to the first switching state. If the drive shaft 12 and the first drive element 14 connected to said drive shaft in a rotationally fixed manner are rotated in the second direction of rotation 36 by a specified angle of approximately 120° for example, the spring 18 is again tensioned as a result of the rotation and on reaching the position corresponding to the first switching state by means of the first drive element 14, the first latch 20 is radially raised by the release portion 28 of the guide portion 24 of the first drive element 14, as a result of which the lock on rotational movement by the second drive element 16 is canceled and the spring force stored in the tensioned spring 18 causes a rotation of the second drive element 16 in the second direction of rotation. This rotation causes the gearwheel 38 (
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2014 116 398.2 | Nov 2014 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2015/075893 | 11/6/2015 | WO | 00 |