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. 23, 2001
Filed:
Jul. 22, 1999
James P. Frank, Rock Falls, IL (US);
Manuel L. Gonzalez, Sterling, IL (US);
Ronald W. Poling, Morrison, IL (US);
General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US);
Abstract
A temperature responsive switch includes a housing, electrical contacts, an actuator arm, a rotatable shaft, and a cam assembly to open and close an electrical power circuit in response to environmental conditions. The cam assembly includes a cam and a cam follower attached to the actuator arm with a bias spring and contacting a cam surface. The cam surface has a first portion for adjusting the temperature calibration of the switch, and a second portion for positioning the cam follower in an OFF position that reduces the load on the bias spring. Thus, spring losses are avoided when the cam follower is in the OFF position, and the switch may be more accurately calibrated and adjusted when the switch is returned from the OFF position.