Television tuner having vernier knob individually clutchable to channel fine tuners with automatic declutching upon channel selection

Claim 1

A TUNER FOR CONTROLLING THE TUNING OF A WAVE SIGNAL RECEIVER, COMPRISING: A MOVABLE FREQUENCY SELECTOR INCLUDING A DISPLACEABLE TUNING ELEMENT HAVING A DRIVEN PORTION TO BE ENGAGED BY A DRIVING MEMBER TO EFFECT DISPLACEMENT OF SAID TUNING ELEMENT AND TUNING OF SAID SELECTOR; A MOVABLE STATION SELECTOR HAVING A PLURALITY OF OPERATING POSITIONS IN ONE OF WHICH SAID FREQUENCY SELECTOR IS MOVED INTO A POSITION IN WHICH IT IS OPERATIONALLY INCLUDED IN THE CIRCUITRY OF SAID RECEIVER TO CONTROL THE TUNING THEREOF TO A PRESELECTED STATION FREQUENCY; A DRIVING MEMBER NORMALLY BIASED TO A REST POSITION OUT OF THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF THE FREQUENCY SELECTOR BUT DISPLACEABLE TO AN OPERATIVE POSITION IN WHICH SAID DRIVING MEMBER MECHANICALLY ENGAGES SAID DRIVEN PORTION OF SAID TUNING ELEMENT DURING INTERVALS IN WHICH SAID FREQUENCY SELECTOR HAS BEEN MOVED TO BE OPERATIONALLY INCLUDED IN THE CIRCUITRY OF SAID RECEIVER; AN ACTUATING MECHANISM COMPRISING A ROTATABLE ACTUATOR AND MEANS RESPOSIVE SOLELY TO ROTATION OF SAID ACTUATOR FOR DISPLACING SAID DRIVING MEMBER TO ITS OPERATIVE POSITION AND ACTUATING SAID DRIVING MEMBER TO DRIVE SAID DRIVEN PORTION OF SAID TUNING ELEMENT; AND DECOUPLING MEANS RESPONSIVE TO MOVEMENT OF SAID STATION SELECTOR FOR POSITIVELY INSURING THE DISENGAGEMENT OF SAID DRIVING MEMBER AND SAID DRIVEN PORTION OF SAID TUNING ELEMENT BY SHIFTING THE DRIVING MEMBER OUT OF THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF THE FREQUENCY SELECTOR, TO AVOID INTERFERENCE BETWEEN SAID PARTS AS THE STATION SELECTOR IS MOVED TO A NEW POSITION.