Switch mounted in a lever handle

Claim 1

A combined lever and switch control assembly, comprising: (a) a lever having means for defining a hollow housing at an upper end of said lever for gripping by the hand of an operator, said housing having an elongated front member extending along said lever and shaped to be gripped by the fingers of a hand, an elongated rear member extending along said lever and shaped to be gripped by the heel of a hand, and means for releasably securing said front member to said rear member, said rear member having a sloping top surface; (b) switch means for operating a remote member, including a toggle switch mounted within said housing on said rear member and having a movable arm extending upwardly inside said housing; (c) thumb controlled means, rotatably mounted on said rear member, for actuating said toggle switch, including means for receiving said arm to move said arm, and first and second surfaces alternately extending above and flush with said top sloping surface for ease of actuation by the thumb of a hand, said thumb controlled means being rotatably mounted to permit a pushing action on either said first surface or said second surface to change the state of said toggle switch; and (d) means for stopping rotary movement of said thumb controlled means when said toggle switch is in either state, including a fixed projection extending from said front member internally of said housing, and a pair of spaced-apart shoulders on said thumb controlled means straddling said projection, either of said shoulders contacting said projection depending on the direction of rotation of said thumb controlled means.