The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 03, 2000
Filed:
Feb. 03, 1997
Adrian Parvulescu, Fish's Eddy, NY (US);
Sophie Klym, Lincoln Park, NJ (US);
Andrew Todd Zidel, Hawthorne, NJ (US);
Sony Corporation, Tokyo, JP;
Sony Electronics, Inc., Park Ridge, NJ (US);
Abstract
A rotary switch with direction-of-rotation output includes a thumbwheel (12), a first reduced-diameter ratchet wheel (14), a second reduced-diameter ratchet wheel (16), and a mounting shaft (18) upon which the thumbwheel (12), ratchet wheel (14), and ratchet wheel (16) are mounted in side-by-side frictionally engaged relationship. The ratchet wheel (14) and the ratchet wheel (16) cooperate with respective pawls (24)(30) so that the ratchet wheel (14) is constrained for rotation in one direction only about the shaft (18), and the ratchet wheel (16) is constrained for rotation in the other direction only about the shaft (18). The thumbwheel (12) is in frictional engagement with the ratchet wheel (14) and the ratchet wheel (16) so that rotation of the thumbwheel (12) will cause one of the two ratchet wheels to rotate. Normally closed electrical switches (44)(46) are mechanically connected to the respective pawls (24)(30) so that rotation of the thumbwheel (12) will cause one switch or the other to open and close to thereby determine the direction-of-rotation of the thumbwheel (12).