Inertia-operated indicating apparatus

Claim 2

Inertia-operated indicating apparatus comprising a hollow body having a top wall, a bottom wall, and a sidewall; partition means in said body defining upper and lower chambers, said partition means defining a floor for the upper chamber and said bottom wall defining a bottom for said lower chamber; a first ramp in said upper chamber and inclined upwardly from said floor; a second ramp in said upper chamber extending in prolongation of said first ramp and inclined upwardly from said floor; at least one rotatable element normally supported on said floor in a position to roll onto and up either of said ramps, each of said ramps having an opening adjacent its upper end in communication with said lower chamber; and means dividing said lower chamber into a plurality of separate compartments, one of said compartments being in communication with the opening in one of said ramps and another of said compartments being in communication with the opening in the other of said ramps.

Claim 3

Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said partition is concave upwardly and has its lowest point at the center of said partition.

Claim 4

Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said ramps extends outwardly from the center of said floor.

Claim 5

Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 including second partition means interposed between said bottom wall and the first mentioned partition means and defining an intermediate chamber between said upper and lower chambers, said second partition means defining a floor for said intermediate chamber; first and second ramps in said intermediate chamber corresponding to the construction and arrangement of the first and second ramps in said upper chamber except that the ramps in said intermediate chamber extend normal to the ramps in said upper chamber; and at least one rotatable element normally supported on the floor of said intermediate chamber and in a position to roll onto and up either of the ramps in said intermediate chamber, each of the ramps in said intermediate chamber having an opening adjacent its upper end, each of the last-mentioned openings being in communication with a different compartment in said lower chamber.

Claim 6

Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 wherein each of said ramps in said intermediate chamber extends outwardly from the center of the floor thereof.

Claim 7

Inertia-operated indicating apparatus comprising a hollow body having a bottom wall; a first partition in said body substantially parallel to said wall; a second partition in said body substantially parallel to said first partition and spaced therefrom and from said bottom wall, saId partitions and said bottom wall defining upper, intermediate and lower chambers in said body; a pair of ramp members in said upper chamber and extending in prolongation of one another on opposite sides of and upwardly from the center of said first partition; a second pair of ramp members in said intermediate chamber and extending in prolongation of one another on opposite sides of and upwardly from the center of said second partition, the ramp members of the second chamber being normal to the ramp members of the first chamber; at least one rotatable element normally supported at the center of said first partition in a position to roll onto and up either of the ramp members in said first chamber; and at least one rotatable element normally supported at the center of said second partition in a position to roll onto and up either of the ramp members in said intermediate chamber.

Claim 8

Inertia-operated indicating apparatus comprising a hollow body having a bottom wall; a first partition in said body substantially parallel to said wall; a second partition in said body substantially parallel to said first partition and spaced therefrom and from said bottom wall, saId partitions and said bottom wall defining upper, intermediate and lower chambers in said body; a pair of ramp members in said upper chamber and extending in prolongation of one another on opposite sides of and upwardly from the center of said first partition; a second pair of ramp members in said intermediate chamber and extending in prolongation of one another on opposite sides of and upwardly from the center of said second partition, the ramp members of the second chamber being normal to the ramp members of the first chamber; at least one rotatable element normally supported at the center of said first partition in a position to roll onto and up either of the ramp members in said first chamber; and at least one rotatable element normally supported at the center of said second partition in a position to roll onto and up either of the ramp members in said intermediate chamber.

Claim 9

Apparatus as set forth in claim 6 including openings in all of said ramp members adjacent their upper ends for the accommodation of the associated rotatable elements.

Claim 10

Apparatus as set forth in claim 7 including means in communication with each of said openings and said lower chamber and through which said elements may pass to said lower chamber.

Claim 11

Apparatus as set forth in claim 8 including means in said lower chamber for dividing the latter into four compartments, there being one of said compartments for each of said communicating means.

Claim 12

Apparatus as set forth in claim 7 including baffle means overlying each of said openings.