Patents by Inventor Earl T. Piber

Earl T. Piber has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 3987265
    Abstract: The snap-in assembly includes a split or snap ring which is releasably held within an annular groove provided in the outer end portion of an elongated bushing, pivotally supporting an actuating lever of an electrical toggle switch, by a retainer including a sleeve or collar encircling and releasably engaging the snap ring. As the outer end portion of the bushing is inserted through the hole of a support panel during mounting, a portion of the retainer abuts the back of the panel and continued axial movement of the bushing relative to the retainer causes the snap ring to become disengaged from the sleeve or collar and move radially outwardly toward its normally expanded position where it overlies a front portion of the panel surrounding the mounting hole. The snap ring is held in tight engagement with the front of the panel by a backup spring which urges the bushing in an axial direction away from the backside of the panel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 1975
    Date of Patent: October 19, 1976
    Assignee: Cutler-Hammer, Inc.
    Inventor: Earl T. Piber
  • Patent number: 3971908
    Abstract: The snap-in arrangement includes a retainer slidably mounted on a bushing extending from a switch frame mounted on the switch base of an electrical toggle switch and pivotally supporting a toggle lever for actuating switch contacts housed in the switch base. The bushing is adapted to be inserted through an aperture in a support panel and has a main body, an enlarged outer end portion including an annular ledge extending radially outwardly from the outer surface of the main body, an annular slot in the underside of the ledge, and an inner end portion of a reduced diameter. The retainer has an annular base slidably mounted on the inner end portion of the bushing and a plurality of resilient fingers connected to and normally extending axially in an outwardly diverging direction from the retainer base with the free ends thereof extending radially outwardly beyond the outer periphery of the enlarged end portion of the bushing. The free ends of the fingers are releasably held in the bushing slot prior to mounting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 1975
    Date of Patent: July 27, 1976
    Assignee: Cutler-Hammer, Inc.
    Inventor: Earl T. Piber
  • Patent number: 3941965
    Abstract: A round plastic bushing and frame for an electric switch wherein the bushing has a flared collar that is radially squeezed when it is pressed through a round hole from the back of a mounting panel and spreads out in front so that its edge locks the bushing to the panel for great strength retention. A pair of integral spring fingers press against the back of the panel to keep the collar tight against the front of the panel. The integral frame has a pair of parallel arms that hug the switch base and are terminated in hooks that engage notches on opposite sides thereof to secure the integral bushing and frame to the base.In a first version where the bushing and frame cannot be molded integrally into final form, the collar is molded as a radial flange on the projecting end of the bushing and, after removal from the mold, is formed into a frusto-conical collar around the tip of the bushing for snap-in mounting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 1974
    Date of Patent: March 2, 1976
    Assignee: Cutler-Hammer, Inc.
    Inventor: Earl T. Piber