GB2046022A - Electric switches - Google Patents

Abstract

A switch for use with electrically adjustable wing-mirrors, for vehicles, incorporating reversible electric motors has an operating member (27) which can be rotated about its own axis and can be tilted to and fro from a central position in each of two mutually transverse planes. First and second moving contacts (31 and 32) cooperate with fixed contacts (19 to 24) when the operating member is tilted. When the direction of tilting in each plane in each rotational position is reversed the connections between the fixed and moving contacts are reversed, there thus being four electrically distinct combinations of connections between the fixed and moving contacts, each of which is reversed on the tilting of the operating member (27) being reversed. Tilting of the operating member (27) can be effected by means of a plate, while rotation of the operating member can be separately effected by means of a slider and lever. The operating member (27) is returned to its central position by springs. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Electric switches This invention relates to electric switches.

Switches embodying the invention have been developed for use in controlling electrically adjustable rear-view mirrors for motor vehicles, but it must be understood that switches embodying the present invention may also be used for other purposes.

A number of different designs of electrically adjustable rear-view mirrors have been developed in which the position of the mirror proper, that is the reflective component, is movable relatively to a housing or support about each of two axes at right angles to each other and approximately in the plane of the reflective surface. It is usual for one of those axes to be vertical and for the other to be horizontal. Adjustment of the reflective component can be effected by means of an electric motor or by means of two electric motors.

The motor or each motor is usually mounted in the housing or support and is connected to the reflective component through reduction gearing.

The motor or each motor is reversible and is usually a permanent magnet d.c. motor. Where there are two motors, one serves to cause adjustment of the reflective component to and fro about one axis, and the other serves to cause adjustment of the component to and fro about the other axis. Where there is only a single motor, there is also provided a solenoid or other electrically operable device such that when the device is inoperative the motor serves to cause adjustment of the reflective component to and fro about one axis, and when the device is operative the motor serves to cause adjustment of the component about the other axis.

With the aid of mechanisms of these kinds it is possible for rear-view mirrors mounted in positions inaccessible from the driving seat of a motor vehicle, such as those mounted on the wings or doors of a motor vehicle, to be adjusted by the driver while he or she remains in the driving seat.

For the control of such mechanisms it is necessary to provide switch means capable of a plurality of different "on" settings. Firstly it is necessary to select the mirror to be adjusted, then it is necessary to select which axis the reflective component is to be adjusted about, and finally it is necessary to select the direction in which the component must be turned about that axis in order to effect the desired adjustment.

An object of the present invention is to provide an electric switch capable of being used for all of those functions.

According to the present invention there is provided an electric switch comprising an operating member which is so mounted that it can be rotated about an axis as between a first rotational position and a second rotational position, and, at least when in each of those positions, can be tilted so that the axis is inclined to and fro from a central position in each of two mutually transverse planes, the operating member being coupled to first and second moving contact means which are caused to co-operate with fixed contacts when the operating member is tilted in any of the four directions, the arrangement being such that when the operating member is in its first rotational position and is tilted in one direction in one of said planes the moving contact means contacts associated fixed contacts, and when the operating member is tilted in the other direction in said one plane the moving contact means contacts the opposite ones of said associated fixed contacts, the contact between the first and second moving contact means and the fixed contacts thus being reversed, a corresponding action occurring when the operating member is tilted to and fro in the other of said planes, and further corresponding actions also occurring.when the operating member is in its second rotational position and is tilted to and fro in each of said two planes, the tilting of the operating member in said two planes when in its first and second rotational positions giving rise to four electrically distinct combinations of connections between the moving contact means and the fixed contacts, each of which is reversed on movement of the operating member to and fro.

The first and second moving contact means may comprise mutually parallel, spaced plates, with the fixed contacts disposed between them.

The plates may rotate in response to rotation of the operating member, the peripheries of the plates, or at least of the electrically conductive parts of the plates, being so shaped that there is at least one fixed contact such that in the first rotational position of the operating member that contact is contacted by one of the plates when the operating member is tilted in one direction, but in the second rotational position of the operating member that fixed contact is not contacted by that plate when the operating member is tilted in said one direction.

In one convenient method of use the first and second moving contact means are connected one to one pole and the other to the other pole of a source of direct current, and the fixed contacts are connected to reversing electric motors or equivalent devices for controlling the adjustment o.- rear-view mirrors of a vehicle.

Spring means is preferably provided to urge the operating member to its central position when released.

There is preferably provided gate means operative to prevent the operating member being tilted other than in said two mutually transverse planes.

The switch may be provided with tilting means which extends laterally from the operating member at least in the planes in which the operating member is to be tilted, the tilting means being such that the operating member can be tilted by pressure applied to the tilting means in a direction parallel to said axis but spaced laterally therefrom. In addition it may be provided with rotating means distinct from the tilting means extends laterally from the operating member in one direction and is movable to and fro about said axis to rotate the operating member as between its first and second rotational positions.

if desired the switch may be such that rotation of the operating member deflects selected fixed contacts so that they are not contacted by the moving contacts when the operating member is tilted.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a partially exploded view of a switch embodying the present invention, Figure 2 is a side view of the assembled switch, the left hand part being shown in section, Figure 3 is an exploded view of part of the switch.

Figure 4 is a circuit diagram illustrating the way in which the switch can be used in controlling two adjustable rear-view mirrors for a motor vehicle, Figure 5 is a somewhat diagrammatic view of a gate which may be incorporated in the switch shown in Figures 1 to 3, Figure 6 is a diagrammatic side view of another switch embodying the present invention, and Figure 7 is a diagrammatic end view of the switch shown in Figure 6, as viewed from the right hand side of Figure 6.

Referring firstly to Figures 1 to 3, those Figures illustrate a switch embodying the present invention and intended for use in controlling the supply of electricity to a pair of electrically operated rear-view mirrors which may for example be mounted on the wings of a motor vehicle.

The switch comprises an inner part 10 and an outer part 11. As indicated in Figure 2 it is intended that the inner part 10 should be mounted on one side of a panel of a motor vehicle, such as a floor panel 12, while the outer part 11 is mounted on the other side of the panel. For convenience of description it will be assumed in what follows that the switch is orientated in the manner shown in Figure 2, but it must be understood that this is not intended to be in any way restrictive and that the switch may be mounted in any other desired orientation. For example the switch may be mounted on an upright panel, such as a panel of the driver's door or on the dashboard, rather than on a horizontal panel.

Much of the inner part 10 of the switch is shown in Figure 3. This inner part comprises a box having a square base 13 and upstanding peripheral walls 14, and a lid having a square top 1 5 and depending peripheral walls 1 6 which, as shown in Figure 2, extend around the outside of the upstanding walls 14 of the box. Both the box and the lid are made as unitary mouldings of electrically insulating plastics material. Vertical grooves 17 are formed in the upstanding walls 14, these grooves opening outwards and being open at their upper and lower ends. Each groove houses a tubular terminal 1 8 integrally connected to an associated blade which constitutes a fixed contact. In use the terminals receive terminal plugs on individual insulated leads.In an alternative construction (not illustrated) the blades are welded, crimped or otherwise secured to insulated leads connected to a floating socket or to floating sockets designed to receive a matching plug or matching plugs attached to the cable harness of the vehicle. In a modification of that arrangement the body of the socket constitutes an integral part of the box.

In the construction illustration, each blade extends horizontally from the upper end of the associated terminal into the interior of the inner part 10. There are six terminals, arranged as shown, with blades 1 9, 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24.

Blades 1 9 and 20 are disposed half way along adjacent sides of the box, blades 21 and 22 are side by side opposite to blade 19, while blades 23 and 24 are side by side opposite to blade 20.

When the box and lid are assembled the peripheral walls 1 6 of the lid prevent the terminals 1 8 escaping outwards from the grooves 1 7. Integral blocks 25 on the underside of the top 1 5 of the lid engage the upper ends of the terminals 18 and thus prevent their axial movement. The peripheral walls 1 6 of the lid are about twice the height of the peripheral walls 14 of the base, and the arrangement is such that the blades are parallel with the base plate 1 3 and are about half way between the base plate and the top 1 5.

A depression 26 is formed at the centre of the base plate 13. Located in this depression 26 is the lower end of an operating rod 27, the lower end being tapered and rounded as shown to enable the operating rod to be tilted and to rotate as described in more detail below. An upwardly projecting boss 28 on the top 15 of the lid is formed with an axial hole 29 through which the operating rod projects. The hole is broader than the operating rod to enable the rod to be tilted.

The wall of the upper part of the hole is of frustoconical shape so that when the rod is tilted it engages the wall along a line extending from top to bottom of the wall. The lower part of the hole 29 is opened out to form a downwardly opening recess facing the depression 26 in the base plate 13.

The operating rod 27 is formed from an electrically insulating plastics material. An integral collar 30 of circular outline projects from the operating rod at a level half way between the base plate 13 and the top 1 5. Above and below the collar 30 the operating rod is of square crosssection. Upper and lower contact plates 31 and 32 respectively, formed at their centres with square holes of complementary cross-section to that of the rod, are slid onto the operating rod and engage the upper and lower faces respectively of the collar 30. The contact plates 31 and 32 are thus mounted on the rod in such a manner that they cannot be rotated relatively to the rod. The contact plates constitute moving contact means as referred to above.Helical compression springs 33 and 34 are disposed around the rod and engage the upper and lower contact plates 31 and 32 respectively. The upper end of the upper spring 33 is located in the recess at the lower end of the hole 29, and engages one end of an electrical lead 35 which extends from the inner part 10: likewise the lower end of the lower spring 34 is located in the depression 26, and engages one end of an electrical lead 36 which also extends from the inner part of the switch. The springs 33 and 34 serve not only to locate the contact plates and form electrical connections between those plates and the leads, but also to return the operating member to its central position, as illustrated, after it has been tilted in any direction and then released.

The periphery of each of the contact plates 31 and 32 is shaped to provide two radially extending fingers 37 and 38 at right angles to each other, and a quadrant 39. The contact plates are preferably made from phosphor-bronze as are the six terminals and blades. The arrangement of the inner part 10 is such that when no external forces are acting on the operating rod the rod assumes its central or "off" position, shown in Figure 2, in which its axis is normal to the base plate 13 and to the top 1 5 of the lid. When the rod is in this "off" position the contact plates 31 and 32 are spaced above and below the blades of the terminals. When the operating rod is tilted about its lower end, against the restoring forces exerted by the springs 33 and 34, the contact plates 31 and 32 engage blades of the terminals.The particular blades engaged by the contact plates vary with the rotational position of the operating rod and the direction in which the rod is tilted. It is intended that the operating rod should be rotated about its axis to one of two rotational positions before being tilted, and that it should be tilted in any of four directions, that is towards the middle of any of the four sides of the inner part 10.

In a first rotational position of the operating member 27, the operating member may therefore be tilted in any one of four directions. When the rod is tilted towards the blades 21 and 22 the finger 37 of the upper contact plate 31 contacts the blade 21 while the quadrant 39 of the lower contact plate 32 contacts the opposite blade 1 9.

Meanwhile the blades 20, 22, 23 and 24 are not contacted by the contact plates at all. If the direction of tilting is reversed, that is the operating rod moves towards the blade 19, then the finger 37 of the lower contact plate contacts the blade 21 while the quadrant 39 of the upper contact plate contacts the blade 19. Thus in each case the terminals with blades 19 and 21 are connected one to each of the leads 35 and 36, but the connections are reversed when the direction of tilting is reversed.

In a second rotational position of the operating member 27, reached after the operating member has been rotated about its longitudinal, vertical axis through a suitable angle, the fingers 37 of the contact plates 31 and 32 are now aligned with the blade 22 rather than with the blade 21 so that when the operating member is tilted to and fro as before the terminals with blades 1 9 and 22 are connected one to each of the leads 35 and 36.

Meanwhile the blade 21 is aligned with gaps in the contact plates and can therefore make no contact with those plates. The angle through which the operating member rotates in moving from one operating position to the other may be about 1 50 or it may be rather larger, for example about 300.

The action of the switch is similar when the operating rod is tilted to and fro in directions at right angles to those referred to above, that is the rod is tilted towards and away from the blade 20.

When the rod is tilted in these directions the contact plates make no contact with the blades 19, 21 and 22. With the rod in its first rotational position the finger 38 of each contact plate in turn contacts the blade 23 while the quadrant 39 of the opposite contact plate contacts the opposite blade 20. With the rod in its second rotational position the fingers 38 can be brought one at a time into contact with the blade 24 while the opposite quadrant 39 again contacts the blade 20.

It would be possible for the switch to be operated by means of a simple knob attached to the projecting end of the operating rod 27. The switch illustrated, however, includes a rather more complex arrangement in the outer part 11. As shown in Figure 2 the inner part 10 can be secured beneath a floor panel 12 with the boss 28 projecting through a hole of complementary shape in the panel. Securing screws 40 extend through holes in the panel and enter tapped holes 41 in the top 1 5 of the lid. The screws also extend through holes in a base panel 42 of the outer part 11.The base panel 42 is formed from a plastics material and constitutes part of a moulding which also includes a hollow structure comprising inner peripheral walls 43 rising from the periphery of the base, an outwardly directed flange 44 at the top of the walls 43, and outer peripheral walls 45 depending from the outer edge of the flange 44.

The upper end part of the boss 28 is located in a hole 46 in the centre of the base panel 42.

A lever 47 is provided for rotating the operating rod 27 between its first and second rotational positions. This lever constitutes rotating means of the kind referred to above. One end part of the lever is formed with a square hole 48 through which projects an upper part of the operating member 27 of which the cross-section is a little less than the size of the hole 48 in the lever, the arrangement being such that the operating member can tiit relative to the lever but cannot rotate more than a few degrees relative to the lever. The lever overlies the base panel 42 and extends beyond that panel through a slot 49 formed in one of the inner peripheral walls 43. The outer end part of the lever is formed with a radial slot 50. That part of the flange 44 adjacent to the outer end of the lever is broader than the remainder of the flange so that the space between the inner and outer peripheral walls is greater here than along the remaining three sides of the outer part 11. A slider 51 is mounted in a slot in this broader part of the flange and can be moved lengthwise between first and second end positions. A peg 52 depending from the slider enters the radial slot 50 in the lever 47. When the slider 51 is moved from one end position to the other it causes the lever 47 to rotate the operating rod 27 from its first rotational position to its second rotational position.

As shown in Figure 1, the uppermost end portion of the operating rod 27 is of circular cross section. That portion enters a socket on the underside of a rocking plate 53. The rocking plate constitutes tilting means of the kind referred to above. The rocking plate is secured to the operating rod in such a manner as to prevent its being removed but to permit relative rotation between the rod and the rocking plate about the axis of the rod. In use, when any edge part of the rocking plate 53 is depressed the operating rod 27 tilts in the manner described above. In a modified construction (not illustrated) the rocking plate is replaced by four radially extending arms extending in the planes in which the operating member is to be tilted.In either construction the arrangement is such that the operating member can be tilted by pressure applied to the tilting means in a direction parallel to the axis thereof but spaced laterally therefrom.

In order to prevent the rocking plate tilting the operating rod in any direction other than one of the four desired directions, use may be made of the gate shown in Figure 5. This comprises four abutments 54 disposed in the hole 29 in the boss 28 and so arranged as to prevent the rod being tilted in any other than the four desired directions.

Figure 4 shows a circuit incorporating a switch 55 of the kind shown in Figures 1 to 3 and 5. The circuit also incorporates four permanent magnet reversible d.c. motors 56, 57, 58 and 59 which are connected to the terminals 18 of the switch 55 having the blades numbered as shown. The motors are incorporated in wing-mirrors to be mounted on the left and right hand wings of a motor vehicle. Motors 56 and 57 are in the left hand mirror, and motors 58 and 59 are in the right hand mirror. Motors 56 and 59 operate to adjust the reflective components of the mirrors about vertical axes, and motors 57 and 58 operate to adjust those reflective components about horizontal axes, the axes being approximately in the planes of the reflective surfaces of the reflective components.The leads 35 and 36 (not shown in Figure 4) are connected one to the positive pole and the other to the negative pole of the battery of the motor vehicle, or to some other d.c. source.

The switch is mounted on the floor of the vehicle, between the front seats, and is so orientated that when the slider 51 is moved to the left, operation of the rocking plate causes adjustment of the left hand mirror, and when the slider is moved to the right, operation of the rocking plate causes operation of the right hand mirror.The arrangement is also such that depression of the left or right hand side of the rocking plate causes corresponding movement away from the driver of the left or right hand side respectively of the reflective component of the mirror concerned, the component rotating about a vertical axis; and depression of the forward or rearward part of the rocking plate causes corresponding movement away from the driver of the upper or lower part respectively of the reflective component of the mirror concerned, the component then rotating about a horizontal axis.

It will be clear from the foregoing description that it is intended that the slider 51 should be operated before the rocking plate 53 is depressed.

If it should happen, however, that an attempt is made to operate the slider when the rocking plate is.depressed there is a danger that one of the fingers 37 and 38 may catch the edge of one of the blades 21,22, 23 and 24. In order to avoid that possibility the fingers may be bent so that they are then arcuate in cross-section and are able to slide smoothly from one blade to the adjacent blade. In an alternative method of overcoming the same problem the peripheral gaps in the contact plates 31 and 32 are filled with sectors of an electrically insulating material, so that each contact plate with its insulating sectors is then in the shape of an entire disc. The insulating sectors may be integrally formed with the operating member.The sectors may be of greater thickness than the metal contact plates and may be integrally interconnected behind the fingers 37 and 38. Numerous variations are of course possible.

Another switch embodying the present invention is shown diagrammatically in Figures 6 and 7. The switch has an operating member 60 having a central collar 61 of electrically insulating material, and first and second contact parts 62 and 63 respectively on either side of the collar, the contact parts being of generally cylindrical shape and being made of electrically conductive material. Leads 64 and 65 are connected to the contact parts 62 and 63 respectively. An operating handle, not shown, extends axially from the operating member (to the right in Figure 6) and enables the operating member to be tilted in any of four directions, that is to be tilted to and fro in each of two planes at right angles to each other and intersecting at the axis of the operating member.

Six fixed contacts 66, 67, 68, 69, 70 and 71 are disposed around the operating member. Each contact comprises a resilient metal blade anchored at one end, that is at the left hand end as shown in Figure 6. The contacts are arranged around the operating member in the manner shown in Figure 7, contact 66 being at the left, contact 67 being at the bottom, contacts 68 and 69 being at the right and contacts 70 and 71 being at the top. The collar 61 is formed with integral projections 72 and 73 which project upwards and to the right as viewed in Figure 7.

The operating member can be rotated between a first position, as illustrated, in which the projections 7? and 73 engage contacts 70 and 68 respectively, thus deflecting the contacts resiliently outwards, and a second position in which the projections engage and deflect the fixed contacts 71 and 69.

If the operating member 60 is tilted clockwise as viewed in Figure 6 the contact part 62 contacts the fixed contact 67, while the contact part 63 contacts the contact 71. Reversal of the tilting movement of the operating member causes contact part 62 to contact fixed contact 71, and causes contact part 63 to contact fixed contact 67. Lateral movement of the operating member results in contact between the contact parts, 62 and 63, and the fixed contacts 66 and 69.

Rotation of the operating member to its second rotational position causes deflection of fixed contacts 71 and 69 so that on tilting movement of the operating member, contacts 70 and 68 can contact the contact parts 62 and 63, while fixed contacts 71 and 69 are out of range of the contact parts.

A switch of this construction may be used to control the adjustment of rear-view mirrors in the same way as the switch shown in Figures 1 to 3.

To this end the leads 64 and 65 may be connected in place of leads 35 and 36, while contacts 66 to 71 may be connected in place of contact blades 1 9 to 24 respectively. Likewise, the switch may be provided with spring means for returning the operating member to its central position, and with tilting means and rotating means, which may resemble the corresponding means of the switch shown in Figures 1 to 3.

An advantage of the switches described above is that they can readily be installed on panels, such, as vehicle-body panels; in particular only a single hole for the operating member need be formed in the panel.

Claims (12)

1. An electric switch comprising an operating member which is so mounted that it can be rotated about an axis as between a first rotational position and a second rotational position, and, at least when in each of those positions, can be tilted so that the axis is inclined to and fro from a central position in each of two mutually transverse planes, the operating member being coupled to first and second moving contact means which are caused to co-operate with fixed contacts when the operating member is tilted in any of the four directions, the arrangement being such that when the operating member is in its first rotational position and is tilted in one direction in one of said planes the moving contact means contact associated fixed contacts, and when the operating member is tilted in the other direction in said one plane the moving contact means contacts the opposite ones of said associated fixed contacts, the contact between the first and second moving contact means and the fixed contacts thus being reversed, a corresponding action occurring when the operating member is tilted to and fro in the other of said planes, and further corresponding actions also occurring when the operating member is in its second rotational position and is tilted to and fro in each of said two planes, the tilting of the operating member in said two planes when in its first and second rotational positions giving rise to four electrically distinct combinations of connections between the moving contact means and the fixed contacts, each of which is reversed on movement of the operating member to and fro.

2. An electric switch according to claim 1 in which the first and second moving contact means comprise mutually parallel, spaced plates, with the fixed contacts disposed between them.

3. An electric switch according to claim 2 on which the plates rotate in response to rotation of the operating member, the peripheries of the plates or at least of the electrically conductive parts of the plates, being so shaped that there is at least one fixed contact such that in the first rotational position of the operating member that contact is contacted by one of the plates when the operating member is tilted in one direction, but in the second rotational position of the operating member that fixed contact is not contacted by that plate when the operating members is tilted in said one direction.

4. An electric switch according to any of claims 1 to 3 in which spring means is provided to urge the operating member to its central position when released.

5. An electric switch according to any of the preceding claims in which the first and second moving contact means are connected one to one pole and the other to the other pole of a source of direct current, and the fixed contacts are connected to reversing electric motors or equivalent devices for controlling the adjustment of rear-view mirrors of a vehicle.

6. An electric switch according to any of the preceding claims in which there is gate means operative to prevent the operating member being tilted other than in said two mutually transverse planes.

7. An electric switch according to any of the preceding claims in which tilting means extends laterally from the operating member at least in the planes in which the operating member is to be tilted, the tilting means being such that the operating member can be tilted by pressure applied to the tilting means in a direction parallel to said axis but spaced laterally therefrom.

8. An electric switch according to claim 7 in which rotating means distinct from the tilting means extends laterally from the operating member in one direction and is movable to and fro about said axis to rotate the operating member as between its first and second rotational positions.

9. An electric switch according to claim 1 in which rotation of the operating member deflects selected fixed contacts so that they are not contacted by the moving contacts when the operating member is tilted.

1 0. An electric switch substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 of the accompaying drawings.

11. An electric switch substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 5 to 7 of the accompanying drawings.

12. An electric switch according to any of the preceding claims in combination with reversible electric motors substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings.