Square D Company

Terry E Franks

Edwin R Newell

Charles W Draper

J Michael Boozer

Jinde Liu

Richard C Rothweiler

James M Boozer

Thomas R Phelps

A fiber-optic switch uses a single optical fiber for two-way communication with light. A switching mechanism has no electrical part and is thus appropriate for placement in an area having explosive or combustible materials. The optical fiber can be cut to length in the field and can be installed without special tools or training. The fiber is held in place by a clip that is constrained to compress the fiber and grip it securely. A snap-action mirror reflects light back into the fiber in one position and does not reflect it in another position. An electronic circuit provides pulsed light and determines coincidence of sent and received pulses to discriminate against operation of the switch by ambient light or other spurious signals.

Means for clamping fiber optical cable

A fiber-optic switch uses a single optical fiber for two-way communication with light. A switching mechanism has no electrical part and is thus appropriate for placement in an area having explosive or combustible material. The optical fiber can be cut to length in the field and can be installed without special tools or training. The fiber is held in place by a clip that is constrained to compress the fiber and grip it securely. A snap-action mirror reflects light back into the fiber in one position and does not reflect it in another position. An electronic circuit provides pulsed light and determines coincidence of sent and received pulses to discriminate against operation of the switch by ambient light or other spurious signals.

Fiber optic transceiver

A fiber-optic switch uses a single optical fiber for two-way communication with light. A switching mechanism has no electrical part and is thus appropriate for placement in an area having explosive or combustible materials. The optical fiber can be cut to length in the field and can be installed without special tools or training. The fiber is held in place by a clip that is constrained to compress the fiber and grip it securely. A snap-action mirror reflects light back into the fiber in one position and does not reflect it in another position. The mirror is maintained in one of the two positions by a spring force. An electronic circuit provides pulsed light and determines coincidence of sent and received pulses to discriminate against operation of the switch by ambient light or other spurious signals.

Fiber optic switching system

A proximity switch including a base assembly rotatably carries a sensing head formed of a support part rotatable about one axis extending through a base assembly for positioning a sensing face on a complementary sensing part in any one of four planes parallel to the one axis. A pivot between for the support and sensing parts enable the sensing face to be placed in a plane transverse to the one axis by rotation about a second axis at 45.degree. to the one axis. Flexible connections extend along the one axis and stops between the sensing and support parts avoid undue twisting of the connections. An annular printed circuit board supported by the base assembly and a plurality of fine wires carried on an elastomeric member supported in the support part provides separable multiple connections between each conductor on the board and the flexible connections. A single fastening member retained by the base assembly and passing along the one axis through the board to either of a pair of diametrically opposed equally radially spaced fastening inserts in the sensing part permit the sensing head to be detachably secured to the base assembly in each plane and places the wires in pressure engagement with the conductors on the board.

Proximity switch

A wall socket type ground fault circuit interrupter having a pair of sockets, a reset button and a test button that are accessible from the front of the interrupter. The interrupter has latched snap-acting contacts and a novel latching relay structure for releasably maintaining the snap-acting contacts in a circuit making position. The snap-acting contacts permit all of the components including the monitoring toroids and the power supply to be respectively located and connected at the load side of the snap-acting contacts so that all of the circuits of the interrupter are deenergized when the contacts snap to a circuit opening position. The snap-acting contact mechanism and relay are provided with structures which provides the interrupter with a trip-free mode of contact actuation and accordingly a tease-proof snap-acting contact operation.

Ground fault circuit interrupter including snap-acting contacts

A trip free manually and relay operated snap switch having movable contacts that are moved with a snap action to circuit interrupting and making positions in response to movement of a push button. The switch includes a member that transmits movement between the push button and a carrier and is releasably held in an operated position by a wire-like latch. The latch has portions extending in slots in a plate that is movable by a solenoid operated plunger and portions having a sliding connection with a structure that is moved by the button to permit relative movement along two axes between the button operated structure and the solenoid operated structure.

Snap acting solenoid operated reset latch mechanism

An intrinsically safe or an explosion proof pilot light having a cluster of light emitting diodes arranged in a pattern and visible through a lense cap located in a hazardous area. The pilot light has terminals connected through a rectifying bridge and a current regulator to the diodes to optimize the light output of the diodes and make the pilot light insensitive to the polarity or variations in the voltage of the A.C. or D.C. electrical supply to the pilot light and limiting the current to the diodes to a constant value in event one or more of the diodes is destroyed or shorted. A pair of printed circuit boards are spaced by a plurality of conductive supports with one of the boards mounted on a base of the pilot light and carrying the rectifier and current limiting components which are connected to the terminals. The other printed circuit board provides a support for the diodes and has a printed circuit thereon, portions of which provide a reflective surface for light emitted by the diodes. The pilot light includes a translucent lense cap formed of material that transmits light frequencies matching the light frequencies emitted by the light emitting diodes and optionally may include a fuse that replaces one of the conductive supports and limits current to the hazardous area.

Growing community of inventors

Leicester, NC, United States of America

Terry E Franks