US3652971A

US3652971A - Self-aligning slip ring capsule

Info

Publication number: US3652971A
Application number: US10500A
Authority: US
Inventors: Kenly C Bugg
Original assignee: Kendick Manufacturing Co
Current assignee: Kendick Manufacturing Co
Priority date: 1970-02-11
Filing date: 1970-02-11
Publication date: 1972-03-28
Anticipated expiration: 1989-03-28

Abstract

A self-aligning rotary electrical contact assembly for concentric relatively rotatable members having an annular recess in the first member, a linear recess in the second member, the linear recess being transverse to the annular recess, a first electrical conductor disposed within the annular recess forming an arcuate conducting element, a second electrical conductor linearly disposed within the linear recess, and a brush member disposed in the annular recess having a portion thereof projecting into the linear recess wherein the brush member is in rotatable contact with the arcuate conducting element and is in slidable contact with the second electrical conductor, thereby causing the brush member to be automatically positioned.

Description

United States Patent 51 Mar. 28, 1972 Brigg [54] SELF-ALIGNING SLIP RING CAPSULE [72] Inventor: Kenly C. Bugg, Fort Wayne, Ind.

[73] Assignee: Kendlck Manufacturing Company, Fort Wayne, Ind

[22] Filed: Feb. 11, 1970 [2]] Appl. No.: 10,500

[52] US. Cl ..339/8 [51] Int. Cl ..H0lr 39/40 [58] Field of Search ..339/7, 9, 5, 8; 310/249, 242, 310/248 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,843,830 7/1958 Blanding ..339/5 M 3,389,366 6/1968 Galles ..339/7 R Primary Examiner-Richard E. Moore Attorney-Hume, Clement, Hume & Lee

[57] ABSTRACT A self-aligning rotary electrical contact assembly for concentric relatively rotatable members having an annular recess in the first member, a linear recess in the second member, the linear recess being transverse to the annular recess, a first electrical conductor disposed within the annular recess forming an arcuate conducting element, a second electrical conductor linearly disposed within the linear recess, and a brush member disposed in the annular recess having a portion thereof projecting into the linear recess wherein the brush member is in rotatable contact with the arcuate conducting element and is-in slidable contact with the second electrical conductor, thereby causing the brush member to be automati cally positioned.

20 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PATENTEDMARZFB 1972 552.971

SHEET 1 OF 4 ill IHIIIIIIII IIHIJHIII I W/m5 [/m/wf/fw f/zz PATENTEDMAR28 I972 3.652871 sum 2 [IF 4 PATENTEnuARzs 1972 SHEET 3 [IF 4 PATENTEDMAR28|912 3.652.971

sum u [If 4 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to rotary electrical contact assemblies such as slip rings and selector switches and more particularly to a self-aligning rotary contact assembly construction known as a capsule assembly, particularly useful in environments in which there is a demand for a highly accurate, reliable electrical connection between rotating and stationary elements.

Electromechanical control systems have achieved a high degree of development and their use in computers, space vehicles and similar installations, has created a demand for highly accurate and reliable electrical slip ring and switching assemblies. At the same time, there is a growing demand for such assemblies that are miniaturized" and encapsulated" in the sense that all of the parts are of a minimum size, and the delicate parts are all well protected. One type of apparatus which fulfills this need is disclosed in a United States Patent application filed by Kenly C. Bugg, Ser. No. 829,526, which was filed on June 2, I969, and was assigned to the Kendick Manufacturing Company. Although this device has served the purpose, difficulty has been experienced in assembling the capsule. It has heretofore been necessary to maintain appropriate tolerances between the slots in the rotor and the slots in the stator. These close tolerances are necessary to insure proper alignment between the rotor and stator. For example, in the above mentioned application there is normally a 0.015 to 0.012 of an inch gap between pitches in the assembly and, therefore, alignment tolerances are necessarily quite small. Lastly, assembly and alignment of the brushes between the rotor and stator has also proved difficult. The present invention overcomes these limitations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The general purpose of this invention is to provide a selfaligning rotary electrical contact assembly which embraces all of the advantages of similarly employed assemblies and possesses none of the aforedescribed limitations. To attain this, the present invention contamplates an assembly including a cylindrical core member, a housing member concentrically disposed in rotatable relation around the core member, an annular recess in the core member, a longitudinal recess in the housing member, the longitudinal recess being transverse to the annular recess, a first electrical conductor disposed within the annular recess forming an arcuate conducting element, a second electrical conductor longitudinally disposed within the longitudinal recess, and a brush member disposed in the annular recess having a portion thereof projecting into the longitudinal recess wherein the brush member is in rotatable contact with the arcuate conducting element and is in slidable contact with the second electrical conductor, thereby causing the brush member to be automatically positioned in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the core member.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a rotary contact assembly having a simplified construction which readily permits miniaturization and encapsulation.

Another object is to provide a rotary contact assembly which is easy to assemble and which eliminates the difficult requirement of maintaining tolerances between the slots in the rotor and the slots in the stator.

A further object is to provide a rotary contact assembly having self-aligning brushes.

Still another object is to provide a rotary contact assembly having a construction such that the component parts thereof can be formulated of a suitable material having a low coefficient of friction so that the device may be made without bearings, needs no lubricant, and has very good dielectric properties and thermal stability.

Yet another object is the provision of a rotary contact as-- sembly having a construction such that the brush element thereof perform the function of bearing members, which characteristic helps to eliminate the need for conventional bearings and lubricants.

A still further object is to provide a rotary contact assembly which can be fabricated without requiring hand operations of a delicate nature, and in which the components forming the rotary electrical contacts can be given a predetermined amount of loading provided by the self-aligning brushes.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a slip ring capsule assembly incorporating one form of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a section taken on the lines 2-2 of FIG. I.

FIG. 3 is an end view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, with a portion of the cover removed.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the cylindrical core member for the slip ring capsule assembly shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is an alternative embodiment of a portion of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is an end view of the alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is an alternative embodiment of the brush assembly shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 9 is another alternative embodiment of the brush assembly shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 10 is still another alternative embodiment of the brush assembly shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 11 is an alternative embodiment of the assembly shown in FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown in FIGS. l-S, a self-aligning rotary electrical contact assembly 10, the specific form being that of a slip ring capsule assembly. A substantially cylindrical housing member 12 is provided with a plurality of spaced longitudinal grooves or recesses 14 on the interior surface thereof. A core member 16 is also provided having an area of reduced diameter 18 that is rotatably received within a central longitudinal bore 20 in the housing member 12. The core member 16 is provided with a collar portion 22 of increased diameter against which one end 24 of the housing member 12 is adapted to abut. A suitable spacing member 26 such as a washer may be interposed between the collar portion 22 and the end 24 of the housing member 12 provide a better fit. The housing member 12 is retained in this position on the core member by a suitable retaining ring 28 adapted to be received in an annular groove 30 of a second area of reduced diameter 19 of the core member 16. Suitable spacing members 32 may be provided between the retaining ring 28 and an outer end 34 of the housing member 12. With such a construction, the housing member 12 and the core member 16 are disposed in concentric, rotatable relation.

The housing member 12 and the core member 16 may be formed of a suitable plastic material, such as Teflon, for example. A material like Teflon has proven to be particularly advantageous for a number of reasons, among which is the fact that the necessity for providing bearings is eliminated, because of the low coefficient of friction of the material. This in turn eliminates the need for any lubricant. In addition, Teflon has very good dielectric properties and has excellent thermal stability. Although Teflon has been indicated as being a preferred material from which to formulate the devices incorporating the invention, it is given only by way of example, and it is obvious that any material having good dielectric properties can be utilized.

Referring again to FIGS. 1-5 it can be seen that the core member 16 has a plurality of annular recesses 36 formed on the outer surface of the area of reduced diameter 18. Each annular recess 36 is adapted to receive an electrical conductor which is disposed within the annular recess 36 to form an arcuate conducting element 38, better known as a slip ring. The two ends of each electrical conductor 38 may be threaded through a suitable opening 40 located in each annular recess 36, which opening communicates with the hollow interior &2 of the core member 16. The two ends of each electrical conductor 38 extending into communication with the hollow interior 42 of the core member 16 are twisted together therein to form a single lead 441 which is preferably brought out of the end 416 of the core member 16 in a suitable manner. An additional cover plate 438 is provided to be placed over the opening in the end of the core 46 through which the leads 44 extend. Cover plate 43 is installed when the full assembly of the rotary electrical contact assembly is completed and serves to protect the core leads 44.

Referring now particularly to FIGURES l, 2 and 4, the housing member 12 contains a plurality of spaced longitudinal grooves or recesses 14 along its inner surface. Each longitudinal recess 14 is provided with an electrical conductor 50 disposed therein. One end of the electrical conductor 50 may be threaded through an aperture 52 in the housing member l2. This first end is then joined with the second end of the electrical conductor 50 and are twisted together externally from the housing to form a single lead 54. The twisting of the two ends of the electrical conductor 50 secure this conductor within the longitudinal recess M. The leads 54 may then be collected at the end 34 of the housing member 112 as shown in FIGURE 4. FIGS. 6 and 7 disclose an alternative method of securing the longitudinal conductor 50 within the longitudinal groove or recess 14. Rather than providing an aperture within the housing such as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of recessed grooves 56 are provided along the outer surface of the housing member 12'. The two ends of each longitudinal electrical conductor 50 are threaded through the recess 14 as well as the recess 56 and are twisted together in recess 56 to form a single lead 54'. It will be recognized that either method of securing longitudinal conductor 50 within the recess 14 may be utilized and with any of the brush members which will be described below.

It can be seen by referring to FIGS. 1-5 that longitudinal conductors 50 extend the full length of the housing member 12 and are transverse to the arcuate conductors 38 on the core member 16. This arrangement permits a brush member 58 to be inserted in the appropriate recess 36 of the core member 16 before the housing member 12 is slipped over that portion of the core member 116. Brush member 58 is designed such that when disposed in the annular recess 36 it has a portion or end 60 thereof projecting into the longitudinal recess 14 of the housing member 12. In this manner, the brush member 58 rotatably contacts the arcuate conductor 38 within the annular recess 36 of the core member and slidably contacts the longitudinal conductor 50 located within the longitudinal recess 14.

Thus, to assemble the self-aligning slip ring capsule, the end 61) of the brush member 58 is inserted in a preselected recess 14 in the housing member 12 and is also inserted in the annular recess 36 closest to the reduced diameter area 119 of the core member 16. As the housing 12 is moved gradually into rotatable relation around the core member 16, the brush member slides along the longitudinal conductor Si) disposed in the longitudinal recess 14. As the relative position of the core member 16 and the housing member 12 is changed during this assembly operation, the upper ends 60 of the brush members 58 slide along their respective longitudinal conductors 50. The end result is that after the capsule is completely assembled, the brush members 58 have a position determined by the annular recesses 36 in the core member 16 in which they are inserted and the electrical connection with the brush assembly 58 is automatically established by the abutting relationship of the end 60 of the brush assembly 58 with the longitudinal conductor 50. This type of construction permits the brush members 58 to be self-aligning since they have a configuration such that the annular recess 36 in the core member 16 will keep them oriented in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the core member B6.

In a preferred embodiment, the brush members 58, during the assembly operation, are placed so that each succeeding brush member is oriented approximately from the preceding brush member. This orientation is accomplished by preselecting longitudinal recesses 14 which are spaced approximately 90 apart and then inserting the end 60 of the brush assembly 58 into these preselected recesses M. This arrangement is desirable in that it insures that the ends as of the brush members 58, which protrude above the recesses 305 in the core member 16 into contact with the longitudinal conductors $0, are separated a maximum distance from each other. Thus, an easy method of assembling a slip ring capsule is provided. Moreover, it is no longer necessary to maintain strict tolerances between slots in the core and slots in the housing as has been the requirement in the previous slip ring capsules.

Obviously, many shapes of brush members may be utilized. FIG. 2 shows a preferred brush member 58. The brush member 58 includes a first end 60 which is designed to protrude beyond the periphery of the annular recess 36 in the core member 16 and to protrude into the longitudinal recess 14 and come in slidable contact with the conductor 51]? associated therewith. A bent segment 62 is provided in the brush member 58. The bent segment 62 rotatably contacts the arcuate electrical conductor or slip ring 38. In the preferred embodiment, the brush members 58 are given a configuration such that they are somewhat compressed when in their assembled position as shown in FIGURE 2 and thus provide a standardized load on the core member to. It can be seen that the bent segment may be so designed so as to tangentially contact the arcuate conductor 38 and thus provide nearly frictionless rotatable contact.

In order to eliminate the need for any bearings, Teflon is utilized for most of the working parts. The longitudinal conductors 50 in the preferred embodiment may be made of any suitable wire that is highly corrosion resistant. The brush members 58 may be made from a wire known as paliney No. 7 (heat-treated)" manufactured by the Ney Company. The slip ring or arcuate conductor 38 may be manufactured from a wire which is also manufactured by the Ney Company and is identified as Ney No. 69 which is an alloy composed of 6 percent platinum, 69 percent gold and 25 percent silver. The term wire" or conductor in this disclosure is utilized to include the conventional wire of circular cross section, as well as other configurations such as triangular, square, rectangular or the like, and it will be recognized by one skilled in the art that the above wires which have been described are merely a preferred composition and any similar electrical conducting material may be utilized.

The operation of the self-aligning rotary contact assembly 10 just described is obvious from the description which has already been given in that the arcuate conductor 33 in each annular recess 36 in the core member 116 forms a slip ring to which an electrical connection can be made through the lead 44, and the brush member 58 protruding into the longitudinal recess 14 in the housing member 12 is in sliding electrical contact with its associated longitudinal conductor 50 and is in rotatable electrical contact with the associated slip ring or arcuate conductor 38. Thus, an electrical connection is made by the brush member 58 to the lead 54 and this electrical connection can be maintained between the leads to associated slip ring and brush assemblies during the relative rotation of the housing member 12 and the core member l6. Needless to say, the rotation referred to can be established by relative movement between the two members 12 and 116 so that either member can function as the rotor, although in the embodiment shown the core member 16 is designed to be the rotor.

Obviously, many modifications of the brush member 53 may be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention. FIGS. 8-10 disclose several variations in the shape of the brush assembly member 58 and any of these variations may be interchangeably utilized in the self-aligning rotary electrical contact assembly shown in FIGS. 1-5.

FIG. 8 discloses an alternative brush member 70 which is adapted to be in slidable electrical contact with the longitudinal conductor 50 and in rotatable electrical contact with the arcuate conductor 38. This is accomplished by having a first end 60 projecting into the longitudinal recess 14 and two bent segments made in the wire such that

opposite surfaces

72 and 74 each tangentially contact the arcuate conductor 38 of the core member 16 and thus provide rotatable contact.

FIG. 9 discloses a brush assembly 80 which is similar to brush assembly 58 in that a bent segment 62 is provided which rotatably contacts the arcuate conductor 38 in two places. An additional bent segment 82 has been provided to equalize the load being placed upon longitudinal conductor 50 and the arcuate or slip ring conductor 38.

FIG. 110 discloses a brush member 86 which constitutes another alternative embodiment. Brush member 86 comprises a segmentally concave segment 88 formed between the first end 60 of the brush member 86 and the second end 90. By utilizing a concave segment 88, the brush assembly 86 provides a load upon the arcuate conductor 38, 180 apart and, therefore, applies a more uniform lead to the core member 16.

FIG. 11 discloses still another alternative embodiment. However, it will be readily recognized that the brush member 92 disclosed in FIGURE 11 differs substantially from the

previous brush members

58, 70, 80 and 86 in that both ends 94 and 96 of the brush member 92 protrude into the longitudinal recesses 98 provided in the housing member 99. In this instance, however, the longitudinal electrical conductor 100 is disposed in a pair of recesses 98 in the housing member 99 rather than in a single recess 50 as shown in FIG. 2. The iongitudinal conductors 100 are interconnected with each other to form a pair of longitudinal conductors along which the single brush 92 is in slidable contact therewith. As before, the two ends of the conductor 100 are twisted together to form a single lead 102.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing disclosure relates only to preferred embodiments of the invention and that numerous modifications or alterations maybe made therein without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A self-aligning rotary electrical contact assembly for concentric relatively rotatable members comprising:

an annular recess in said first member and a linear recess disposed transversely to said annular recess in said second member;

a first electrical conductor disposed within said annular recess forming an arcuate conducting element;

a second electrical conductor disposed within said linear recess; and brush member disposed in said annular recess having a portion thereof projecting into said linear recess wherein said brush member is in rotatable contact with said arcuate conducting element and is in slidable contact with said second electrical conductor thereby causing said brush member to be automatically positioned.

2. A self-aligning rotary electrical contact assembly comprising:

a cylindrical core member;

a housing member concentrically disposed in rotatable relation around said core member;

an annular recess in said core member;

a longitudinal recess in said housing member, said longitudinal recess being transverse to said annular recess;

a second electrical conductor longitudinally disposed within said longitudinal recess; and

a brush member disposed in said annular recess having a portion thereof projecting into said longitudinal recess wherein said brush member is in rotatable contact with said arcuate conducting element and is in slidable contact with said second electrical conductor thereby causing said brush member to be automatically positioned in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said core member.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said brush member is compressed between said arcuate conducting element and said second electrical conductor wherein said compression causes a load on said core.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 further comprising an opening in said core member adapted to receive each end of said first electrical conductor whereby said ends of said first conductor are threaded into the interior of said core member.

5. The apparatus of claim 2 further comprising an aperture in said housing member adapted to receive said first end of said second electrical conductor whereby said first end of said second electrical conductor is threaded through said aperture and wherein said first and second ends of said second electrical conductor are joined together, externally from said housing member thereby securing said second electrical conductor in said longitudinal recess.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein a segment of said aperture is spaced apart from and parallel to said longitudinal recess.

7. The apparatus of claim 2 further comprising a second longitudinal recess in said outer surface of said housing member adapted to receive said first and second ends of said second electrical conductor, wherein said first and second ends of said electrical conductor are joined together, externally from said housing member thereby securing said second electrical conductor in said longitudinal recess.

8. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said brush member comprises:

a first end projecting into said longitudinal recess;

a second end; and

a bent segment formed between said first end and said second end, said bent segment being in rotatable contact with said arcuate conducting element.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the bent segment of said brush member tangentially contacts said arcuate conducting element at two points.

10. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said brush member comprises:

a first end projecting into said longitudinal recess;

a second end; and

a bent segment between said first end and said second end wherein a first surface and a second surface of said bent segment each contact said arcuate conducting element.

111. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said first and second surfaces each tangentially contact said arcuate conducting element.

12. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said brush member comprises:

a first end projecting into said longitudinal recess;

a second end; and

a segmentally concave segment formed between said first end and said second, said concave segment being in rotatable contact with said arcuate conducting element.

13. A self-aligning rotary electrical contact assembly for concentric relatively rotatable members comprising:

a plurality of radially aligned, spaced annular recesses in said first member and a plurality of spaced linear recesses disposed transversely to said annular recesses in said second member;

a first electrical conductor disposed within each of said annular recesses forming a plurality of arcuate conducting elements;

a second electrical conductor linearly disposed within each of said linear recesses;

a brush member disposed in each of said annular recesses having a portion thereof projecting into a preselected one of said linear recesses wherein each of said brush members is in rotatable contact with the arcuate conducting element associated therewith and is in slidable contact with said second electrical conductor associated therewith thereby causing each of said brush members to be automatically positioned.

14. A self-aligning rotary electrical contact assembly comprising:

a cylindrical core member;

a plurality of radially aligned, spaced annular recesses in the outer surface of said core member;

a plurality of spaced longitudinal recesses in the inner surface of said housing member;

a second electrical conductor longitudinally disposed within each of said longitudinal recesses; and

a brush member disposed in each of said annular recesses having a portion thereof projecting into a preselected one of said longitudinal recesses wherein each of said brush members is in rotatable contact with the arcuate conducting element associated therewith and is in slidable contact with said second electrical conductor associated therewith thereby causing each of said brush members to be automatically positioned in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said core member.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein each adjacent brush member is oriented such that said preselected longitudinal recess associated with each of said brush members is different from said preselected longitudinal recess associated with said adjacent brush member, thereby angularly displacing said projecting portions of said adjacent brush members.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said angular displacement between adjacent brush members is approximately 90.

17. A self-aligning rotary electrical contact assembly comprising:

a cylindrical core member;

at least one annular recess in the outer surface of said core member;

at least one pair of spaced longitudinal recesses in the inner surface of said housing member;

a second electrical conductor longitudinally disposed within each of said pairs of longitudinal recesses;

a brush member disposed in each of said annular recesses having a first end, a second end and a bent segment between said first and second ends, said first and second ends each projecting into said pair of longitudinal recesses and are each in slidable contact with said second electrical conductor associated therewith and said bent segment being in rotatable contact with said arcuate conducting element thereby causing each of said brush mem- W bers to be automatically positioned in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said core member.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein each adjacent brush member is oriented such that said pair of longitudinal recesses associated with each of said brush members is difierent from said pair of longitudinal recesses associated with said adjacent brush member.

19. A method of assembling a self'aligning rotary contact including concentric relatively rotatable members comprising the steps of:

providing an annular recess in said first member;

forming an arcuate electrical conductor within said annular recess;

providing a linear recess transversely to said annular recess in said second member; forming a linear electrical conductor within said linear recesses;

inserting a brush member in said annular recess, said brush member being in rotatable contact with said arcuate electrical conductor and having a first end thereof extending beyond the periphery of said annular recess; and

inserting said first member into said second member and inserting said first end of said brush member into said linear recesses wherein said first end of said brush member is in slidable contact with said linear conductor and whereby said brush member is aligned in a position determined solely by said position of said linear recess.

20. A method of assembling a self-aligning rotary contact assembly including a cylindrical core member and a substantially cylindrical housing member comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of radially aligned, spaced annular recesses in the outer surface of said core member; forming an arcuate electrical conductor within each of said annular recesses;

providing a plurality of spaced, longitudinal recesses in the inner surface of said housing member;

forming a longitudinal electrical conductor within each of said longitudinal recesses;

inserting a brush member in each of said annular recesses,

each of said brush members being in rotatable contact with said arcuate electrical conductor associated therewith and having a first end thereof extending beyond the periphery of said annular recess;

inserting a portion of said core member into said housing member and inserting said first end of said first brush member into a first one of said longitudinal recesses wherein said first end of said brush member is in slidable contact with said longitudinal conductor associated therewith; and

continuing to insert said core member into said housing member and inserting said first end of said second brush member into a second one of said longitudinal recesses in slidable contact with said longitudinal contact associated therewith whereby each of said brush members is aligned in a position determined solely by said position of said longitudinal recesses and whereby each of said brush members is positioned in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said core member.

t i it t i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE 0F CORRE TION Patent No. 3'652'97l Dated March 28,1'11972' Inventor) K'enly Co "Bugg Itis certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 1, line 41, change 'oontampla'te" to contemplate Column 1, line 73, h n "element" -,to elements Column 5, line 25, change "lead" to loed Column 6, line 40, after "wherein", change "the" to--said-.

Signed and sealed thi 's lQthof Se p temberi-l972.

Attest: V.

EDWARD mmmmcmin ,JR. ROBERT GO'ITSCHALK Attesting Officer: Commissioner ofPatents FORM PC4050 f Q I USCOMM-DC 005764 08 (5 ".5. GOVERNMENT PRINYING OFFICE: "l9 O-JGG8SQ

Claims

1. A self-aligning rotary electrical contact assembly for concentric relatively rotatable members comprising: an annular recess in said first member and a linear recess disposed transversely to said annular recess in said second member; a first electrical conductor disposed within said annular recess forming an arcuate conducting element; a second electrical conductor disposed within said linear recess; and a brush member disposed in said annular recess having a portion thereof projecting into said linear recess wherein said brush member is in rotatable contact with said arcuate conducting element and is in slidable contact with said second electrical conductor thereby causing said brush member to be automatically positioned.

2. A self-aligning rotary electrical contact assembly comprising: a cylindrical core member; a housing member concentrically disposed in rotatable relation around said core member; an annular recess in said core member; a longitudinal recess in said housing member, said longitudinal recess being transverse to said annular recess; a first electrical conductor disposed within said annular recess forming an arcuate conducting element; a second electrical conductor longitudinally disposed within said longitudinal recess; and a brush member disposed in said annular recess having a portion thereof projecting into said longitudinal recess wherein said brush member is in rotatable contact with said arcuate conducting element and is in slidable contact with said second electrical conductor thereby causing said brush member to be automatically positioned in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said core member.

8. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said brush member comprises: a first end projecting into said longitudinal recess; a second end; and a bent segment formed between said first end and said second end, said bent segment being in rotatable contact with said arcuate conducting element.

10. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said brush member comprises: a first end projecting into said longitudinal recess; A second end; and a bent segment between said first end and said second end wherein a first surface and a second surface of said bent segment each contact said arcuate conducting element.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said first and second surfaces each tangentially contact said arcuate conducting element.

12. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said brush member comprises: a first end projecting into said longitudinal recess; a second end; and a segmentally concave segment formed between said first end and said second, said concave segment being in rotatable contact with said arcuate conducting element.

13. A self-aligning rotary electrical contact assembly for concentric relatively rotatable members comprising: a plurality of radially aligned, spaced annular recesses in said first member and a plurality of spaced linear recesses disposed transversely to said annular recesses in said second member; a first electrical conductor disposed within each of said annular recesses forming a plurality of arcuate conducting elements; a second electrical conductor linearly disposed within each of said linear recesses; a brush member disposed in each of said annular recesses having a portion thereof projecting into a preselected one of said linear recesses wherein each of said brush members is in rotatable contact with the arcuate conducting element associated therewith and is in slidable contact with said second electrical conductor associated therewith thereby causing each of said brush members to be automatically positioned.

14. A self-aligning rotary electrical contact assembly comprising: a cylindrical core member; a housing member concentrically disposed in rotatable relation around said core member; a plurality of radially aligned, spaced annular recesses in the outer surface of said core member; a plurality of spaced longitudinal recesses in the inner surface of said housing member; a first electrical conductor disposed within each of said annular recesses forming a plurality of arcuate conducting elements; a second electrical conductor longitudinally disposed within each of said longitudinal recesses; and a brush member disposed in each of said annular recesses having a portion thereof projecting into a preselected one of said longitudinal recesses wherein each of said brush members is in rotatable contact with the arcuate conducting element associated therewith and is in slidable contact with said second electrical conductor associated therewith thereby causing each of said brush members to be automatically positioned in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said core member.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said angular displacement between adjacent brush members is approximately 90*.

17. A self-aligning rotary electrical contact assembly comprising: a cylindrical core member; a housing member concentrically disposed in rotatable relation around said core member; at least one annular recess in the outer surface of said core member; at least one pair of spaced longitudinal recesses in the inner surface of said housing member; a first electrical conductor disposed within each of said annular recesses forming a plurality of arcuate conducting elements; a second electrical conductor longitudinally disposed within each of said pairs of longitudinal recesses; a brush member disposed in each of said annular recesses having a first end, a second end and a bent segment between said first and second ends, said first and second ends each projecting into said pair of longitudinal recesSes and are each in slidable contact with said second electrical conductor associated therewith and said bent segment being in rotatable contact with said arcuate conducting element thereby causing each of said brush members to be automatically positioned in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said core member.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein each adjacent brush member is oriented such that said pair of longitudinal recesses associated with each of said brush members is different from said pair of longitudinal recesses associated with said adjacent brush member.

19. A method of assembling a self-aligning rotary contact including concentric relatively rotatable members comprising the steps of: providing an annular recess in said first member; forming an arcuate electrical conductor within said annular recess; providing a linear recess transversely to said annular recess in said second member; forming a linear electrical conductor within said linear recesses; inserting a brush member in said annular recess, said brush member being in rotatable contact with said arcuate electrical conductor and having a first end thereof extending beyond the periphery of said annular recess; and inserting said first member into said second member and inserting said first end of said brush member into said linear recesses wherein said first end of said brush member is in slidable contact with said linear conductor and whereby said brush member is aligned in a position determined solely by said position of said linear recess.

20. A method of assembling a self-aligning rotary contact assembly including a cylindrical core member and a substantially cylindrical housing member comprising the steps of: providing a plurality of radially aligned, spaced annular recesses in the outer surface of said core member; forming an arcuate electrical conductor within each of said annular recesses; providing a plurality of spaced, longitudinal recesses in the inner surface of said housing member; forming a longitudinal electrical conductor within each of said longitudinal recesses; inserting a brush member in each of said annular recesses, each of said brush members being in rotatable contact with said arcuate electrical conductor associated therewith and having a first end thereof extending beyond the periphery of said annular recess; inserting a portion of said core member into said housing member and inserting said first end of said first brush member into a first one of said longitudinal recesses wherein said first end of said brush member is in slidable contact with said longitudinal conductor associated therewith; and continuing to insert said core member into said housing member and inserting said first end of said second brush member into a second one of said longitudinal recesses in slidable contact with said longitudinal contact associated therewith whereby each of said brush members is aligned in a position determined solely by said position of said longitudinal recesses and whereby each of said brush members is positioned in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said core member.