Piezoelectric high voltage generating device

Claim 1

A high voltage generating device comprising: a manually operable shaft; an inner rotary member movable with said manually operable shaft; an outer rotary member having an axis, said outer rotary member having an inner surface defining an axial bore in which said inner rotary member is disposed for rotation about and longitudinal movement along said axis and having a plurality of cam lobes formed on its circular outer circumference equidistant from each other; said inner rotary member having a block mounted in a radially extending blind bore therein and having yieldable means for biasing said block radially outwardly; said inner rotary member being movable within said outer rotary member along said axis between a first position in which said block is in operative engagement with a first section of said inner surface of said outer rotary member and a second position in which said block is in operative engagement with a second section of said inner surface; said outer rotary member having a plurality of axial grooves formed in said inner surface and running through said first and second sections, and a plurality, corresponding in number to said axial grooves, of cam surfaces formed in said inner surface, each defining one side wall of one of said plurality of axial grooves, and adapted to assist said block in moving out of a corresponding one of said axial grooves upon rotation of said inner rotary member relative to said outer rotary member in one predetermined rotational direction; said outer rotary member having a plurality, corresponding in number to said axial grooves, of second cam surfaces formed in said first section of said inner surface, each defining a portion of an opposite side wall of one of said plurality of axial grooves, and adapted to assist said block in moving out of a corresponding one of said axial grooves upon rotation of said inner rotary member relative to said outer rotary member in the opposite rotational direction to said predetermined rotational direction when said inner rotary member is in said first position; said outer rotary member having a plurality, corresponding in number to said axial grooves, of limiting surfaces formed in said second section of said inner surface, each defining a portion of the opposite side wall of each of said axial grooves, and adapted to prevent said block from moving out of a corresponding one of said axial grooves to transmit a torque from said inner rotary member to said outer rotary member upon application of a torque to said inner rotary member in a manner tending to cause rotation of said inner rotary member relative to said outer rotary member in the opposite direction to said predetermined direction when said inner rotary member is in said second position; a piezoelectric means for generating high voltage upon application of an impact thereto; and a cam follower means cooperating with said plurality of cam lobes for applying an impact to said piezoelectric unit.