US2856492A - Electrical contact mounting means - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 14, 1958 E. B. HEYHAL ELECTRICAL CONTACT MOUNTING MEANS Filed May 1. 1957 d .b J v a M w WM M flf w J s 6 ,N Z V/O fir n. w w d y 7 f K Z g 4 M a m 5 W f a United States Patent ELECTRICAL CONTACT MGUNTINGMEANS Edward B. Heyhal, Bridgeport, Count, assignor to General Electric Company, a corporationiof New York Application May 1, 1957, Serial No. 656,233

3 Claims. (Cl. 206-466) This invention relates to electric switches and particularly to a means of mounting an electrical contact in an opening in a thin panel member of a switch.

There are several ways of mounting switch contacts. First, the contacts may be riveted in place; secondly, they may be staked or swaged; and, thirdly, they may be confined within the switch housing between opposed grooves and held in place by a removable cover member. Both of the first two methods are rather expensive as compared with the third method. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an electrical contact which may be assembled in a panel opening by merely pushing the contact through the opening until it snaps into place. This arrangement may be used as a substitute for the riveted or swaged methods while it retains the simplicity and low cost of the third confining method mentioned above.

The principal object of this invention is to provide an electrical contact with a resilient mounting means which may be assembled easily in an opening in a panel member without the use of special tools.

A further object of this invention is to provide an electrical contact with a transversely resilient mounting means for the opening in a thin panel member where the closing of the circuit through the contact tends to increase the holding force.

My invention will be better understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Figure 1 is an isometric view of an electrical contact embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a side view of the contact of Figure 1 as it is being assembled in a panel opening.

Figure 3 is a view similar to that of Figure 2 with the contact in its final assembled position.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional elevational view of a typical switch in which this invention may be used.

Referring in detail to the drawing and particularly to Figure 1, there is shown an electrical contact of thin strip material such as Phosphor bronze which is formed into the desired shape so that it may be assembled in a switch housing. This contact has a blade 11, a mounting portion 12 and a terminal end 13. The end 13 has a U-shaped crimping section for receiving a bare conductor (not shown) that is to be joined therein. The novelty of this invention is centered around the mounting portion 12 and how it cooperates with an opening in a thin panel member. First, there is a lanced locking tongue 14 which is located at the base of the blade 11; and, secondly, there is an abutment 15 which is arranged to oppose the locking tongue. Between the tongue and abutment there is formed a transversely resilient and longitudinally extensible spring section 16 which is in the shape of the letter 8 when seen in side view.

A better understanding of the nature of the contact 10 will be had by considering Figure 2 and the preliminary steps of assembling the contact 10 in an opening 17 in Patented Oct. 14, 1958 a panel member 18; The panel member 18 has a front face 19 and a back face 20. The contactis assembled from the back by inserting the blade 11. through the open ing-'17. Thelockingtongue 14will'strike the edge of the openingand bepushed'p'artiallythrough the opening until the rounded end of the S-shaped spring. portion 16 strikes the opposite edge of the opening. Further pressure on the contact will tend to compress the spring 16 until it slides intothe opening 17L .In the meantime, the tongue 14 moves out of the opening and snaps into place in engagement with the front face 19 of the panel. Simu1- taneously the abutment 15 of the contact will. bear against the back face of the panel and the contact will be in a position as shown in Figure 3.

While the locking tongue 14 has been shown adjacent the blade 11 and the abutment 15 adjacent the terminal end 13, it should be understood that this relation could be reversed without departing from this invention. The locking tongue, however, should be inserted through the opening first as it cooperates with the transversely resilient spring 16 to afford the necessary clamping action.

Figure 4 of the drawing is a cross-sectional view of a switch housing 25 in which this inventive contact has been assembled. The housing 25 comprises a metal shell 26 and an insulating base plate 18 having openings 17 in which the contacts 10 are mounted. A pair of movable contacts 27 are pivotally mounted about a pin 28 to engage either the left-hand or the right-hand contact. Fixed stops 29 are included on the base 18 to limit the travel of the movable contacts 27. Push buttons 30 are assembled through openings in the shell 26 for controlling the operation of the contacts 27. A leaf spring 31 fastened on the outer side 20 of the base plate 18 bears against the central portion of the contacts 27 to bias them normally to a central position. This action is supplemented by an additional serpentine spring 32 supported at its center on the pin 28 and bearing against the underneath side of each contact 27. The details of this switch are merely given for illustrative purposes since this invention relates to the electrical contact 10 and not to any particular switch structure.

Having described above my invention of a novel method of fastening an electrical contact in an opening in a panel, it will be readily understood by those skilled in this art that I have provided a simple snap-in method which is both easy to manufacture and low in cost. This fastening means is not adversely affected when the switch is closed but, on the contrary, the fastening or clamping action is increased as pressure is exerted against the blade 11. Moreover, the spring section of the mounting portion of the contact is longitudinally extensible. This renders it possible to adjust the spring by stretching it lengthwise so that it will accommodate a panel of oversize thickness and yet be gripped tightly in the opening.

Modifications of this invention will occur to those skilled in this art and it is to be understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiment disclosed but that it is intended to cover all modifications which are within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentof the United States is:

1. An electrical contact of thin strip material comprising a contacting blade, an adjustable mounting portion and a terminal end; the mounting portion including a locking tongue at one side of the contact, a transversely resilient and longitudinally extensible spring section on the opposite side of the contact, and an abutment likewise on the opposite side, whereby the contact may be assembled in an opening in a thin panel with the locking tongue bearing against one side of the panel and the abutment against the opposite side, while the resilient spring section is confined within the opening.

2. In combination, an electrical contact and a panel having a relatively wide opening in which the contact is mounted, the contact being of relatively thin strip material and having a blade, an adjustable mounting portion and a terminal end; the mounting portion including a locking tongue at one side of the contact for engaging one side of the panel, a transversely resilient and longitudinally extensible spring section on the opposite side of the contact, the spring section being confined within the opening, and an abutment joined to the spring section and bearing against the opposite of the panel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,543,000 Deakin Feb. 27, 1951

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