US3244847A - Manually operated keyboard switch in a stationary mount with guided shaftway - Google Patents

Manually operated keyboard switch in a stationary mount with guided shaftway Download PDF

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Publication number
US3244847A
US3244847A US369446A US36944664A US3244847A US 3244847 A US3244847 A US 3244847A US 369446 A US369446 A US 369446A US 36944664 A US36944664 A US 36944664A US 3244847 A US3244847 A US 3244847A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
contact
switch
guided
manually operated
shaftway
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US369446A
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English (en)
Inventor
Adolph C Erpel
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Navigation Computer Corp
Original Assignee
Navigation Computer Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Navigation Computer Corp filed Critical Navigation Computer Corp
Priority to US369446A priority Critical patent/US3244847A/en
Priority to GB15202/65A priority patent/GB1082902A/en
Priority to FR17788A priority patent/FR1434726A/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3244847A publication Critical patent/US3244847A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H1/00—Contacts
    • H01H1/50—Means for increasing contact pressure, preventing vibration of contacts, holding contacts together after engagement, or biasing contacts to the open position
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H13/00—Switches having rectilinearly-movable operating part or parts adapted for pushing or pulling in one direction only, e.g. push-button switch
    • H01H13/02—Details
    • H01H13/12—Movable parts; Contacts mounted thereon
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H1/00—Contacts
    • H01H1/12—Contacts characterised by the manner in which co-operating contacts engage
    • H01H1/14—Contacts characterised by the manner in which co-operating contacts engage by abutting
    • H01H1/24—Contacts characterised by the manner in which co-operating contacts engage by abutting with resilient mounting
    • H01H1/242—Contacts characterised by the manner in which co-operating contacts engage by abutting with resilient mounting the contact forming a part of a coil spring

Definitions

  • a switch assembly is provided in accordance with this invention that is smooth in operation with little pressure from an operator, even if moved by a glancing stroke from an off-center position at an angle. It has a reasonable range of travel of approximately 7 inch with a constant back pressure of one or two ounces, and makes and breaks contact over a very small range in mid-stroke without any significant snap or back pressure. Thus, it is diificult to jiggle manually or bounce the contacts to produce more than a single closure when depressing and releasing the key.
  • the switch operates on a novel wiping principle afforded by unc'oiling a loop spring contact wire to brush against a fixed contact with minimum bounce or other contact noise.
  • a long region of wiping of the contacts under forced spring pressure enabled by the coil spring construction feature serves to eliminate scratch or bounce due to corrosion or denting of the contacts ordinarily encountered in dry contact closures. Any tendency to bounce is further reduced significantly by the placing of the mating fixed contact surface for conductive encounter with the loop spring contact at a nodal vibration region on the coil spring which is not vibrated during switch actuation. In this manner the various desirable features of a low resistance single electrical contact closure and favorable operator touch are combined in a simplified and effective switch mechanism.
  • FIGURE 1 is a broken away perspective view of a contact assembly afforded by the invention
  • FIGURE 2 is an elevation view partly in section of the contact assembly of FIGURE 1,
  • FIGURE 3 is a panel assembly showing the mounting of a plurality of switches on a keyboard
  • FIGURE 4 is a partial elevation view of a switch contact assembly constructed in accordance with the invention to have a vibration free contact zone
  • FIGURE 5 is a partial elevation view of a switch contact assembly of the invention showing in phantom the wiping action of the contacts, and
  • FIGURE 6 is a diagrammatic sketch illustrating operation-al performance of a switch providedby the invention when manually actuated.
  • the switching mechanism is incorporated in a nylon or delren shell 10 which is fused or otherwise affixed to header 11 of the same material, through which two terminals 12, 13 extend.
  • a fixed contact 14. comprising a bent length of spring wire is'nrounted to one terminal post, and a movable contact comprising a spring wire loop- 15 having crossed ends 16, 17 extending therefrom respectively for mounting the contact to terminal 13 and flexing in a direction to expand the coil spring outwardly.
  • a sliding plate 19 for vertical'move'ment between two limiting positions when the plate'19 contacts the bottom and top of the shell case. Extending from the sliding plate 19 is a member having a nylon bumper 20 in constant engagement with the movable end 16 of the spring loop 15 throughout the movement of plate 19.
  • spring loop 15 provides a return force for theslider, it is slight and is supplemented by a coil spring assembly 22 to give the-proper touch.
  • manual pressure upon blockfi21 will compress spring 22, held onto the extended shaft 24 of the sliding plate 19 by retaining washer 25, to move the end 16 of the spring loop contact 15 into sliding contact with the fixed contact 14 having a portion mounted perpendicular to the path of the loop spring contact surface when flexed.
  • the header 11 at the bottom of the shell 10 has a slanted surface for permitting direct mounting on a fiat printed circuit panel of a keyboard assembly 31 with contacts 12, 13 extending therethrough.
  • FIGURE 2 additionally displays damping pads 32 which serve to arrest the forked ends of slider plate 19 in its downward position. These pads 32 may be made from semi-rigid urethane which wears well under continuous impact.
  • the compression spring 22 preferably has a compression force of approximately 60 grams at the point of contact closure, and about 70 grams as the slider 19 reaches the damping pads 32. This combination gives the switch a soft bottoming characteristic to eliminate the feeling of an abrupt stop. Initial movement of the spring 22 occurs at about 50 grams, so that this switch may be produced compatibly with existing requirements for standard keyboard touch.
  • the antiresonant vibration node region 35 of the spring 15, when actuated by flexing of end 16 with end 17 fixed, is located at the position of the fixed contact 14 to avoid any possibility of bounce or chatter during switching because of resonance of the coil spring 15.
  • FIGURE 5 illustrates the extended range of wiping motion attained in this switch assembly by use of coil loop 15.
  • the coil loop dimensions permit marker to move over a relatively long distance in wiping contact approximating preferably about three times the distance of the gap between the open contacts as the end 16 of the spring loop is flexed. This is shown by comparison between the phantom downward position and the unflexed solid position.
  • Such wiping operation virtually eliminates all bouncing and scratching in the switch, and the contact regon is plated with precious metals such as Rhodium to offset corrosion and wear and provide low resistance.
  • FIGURE 6 the idealistic operation accomplished by the switch construction is diagrammed.
  • the contact opening and closing region 44 is in the mid-region of travel of the key block to provide a range of flexing of the spring coil contact 15 before and after conductive contact is made.
  • a very narrow hysteresis band 44 between opening and closing of the contacts 3 results over the wide range of motion. Thus, it is virtually impossible to jiggle the switch manually in this region to cause multiple contact jitter.
  • the slide plate 19 may be chromium plated, and it moves in the nylon grooves without lubrication and has almost unlimited life at the slow manual speed of operation encountered in such a switch.
  • the switch construction provided by this invention has ideal bounceless operation which may be used directly into transistor logic circuits without filters or buffers.
  • the wiping action produces clean low resistance contact and very long life.
  • the plastic shell seals the unit from dust, and affords direct mounting on a printed circuit panel. Accordingly, those novel features related to the improved operating characteristics are defined with particularity in the following claim.
  • a switch assembly and stationary mount therefor comprising in combination, switching means having a fixed element including a contact assembly and a movable contact actuating element with a shaft having manual key thereon and adapted to displace the contacts responsive to manual change of position, a housing member enclosing said contact assembly with a hallow shell having a cap on one end with an aperture through which the 7 portion of the movable element with the key extends and a closure member at the other end, structure in the shell I guiding the movable element through a degree of movement longitudinally therethrough to two limiting positions with the movable element contacting the cap and closure member respectively, spring means biasing the movable element to the first limit position mounted about the shaft between the cap and the key outside the shell, and resilient pad means engaging the movable element at the other limiting position at the end of the specified travel range to give a soft bottoming characteristic feel in response to manual depression of the key.

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  • Push-Button Switches (AREA)
US369446A 1964-05-22 1964-05-22 Manually operated keyboard switch in a stationary mount with guided shaftway Expired - Lifetime US3244847A (en)

Priority Applications (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US369446A US3244847A (en) 1964-05-22 1964-05-22 Manually operated keyboard switch in a stationary mount with guided shaftway
GB15202/65A GB1082902A (en) 1964-05-22 1965-04-09 Keyboard switch
FR17788A FR1434726A (fr) 1964-05-22 1965-05-20 Interrupteur à bouton-poussoir actionné à la main, notamment pour des claviers, dont les contacts ne rebondissent pas

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US369446A US3244847A (en) 1964-05-22 1964-05-22 Manually operated keyboard switch in a stationary mount with guided shaftway

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3244847A true US3244847A (en) 1966-04-05

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US369446A Expired - Lifetime US3244847A (en) 1964-05-22 1964-05-22 Manually operated keyboard switch in a stationary mount with guided shaftway

Country Status (3)

Country Link
US (1) US3244847A (fr)
FR (1) FR1434726A (fr)
GB (1) GB1082902A (fr)

Cited By (20)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3311210A (en) * 1965-10-12 1967-03-28 Navigation Computer Corp Sloping panel keyboard mount
US3430012A (en) * 1965-12-27 1969-02-25 Walther Bueromasch Gmbh Electric snap key switch assembly
US3464532A (en) * 1967-08-30 1969-09-02 Burroughs Corp Keyboard pushbutton with character visible in depressed position
US3521015A (en) * 1968-05-13 1970-07-21 Singer Co Key switch with axially misaligned shuttle bridging member
US3591750A (en) * 1969-04-10 1971-07-06 Alps Electric Co Ltd Stopper plate mounting for pushbutton switch
US3679038A (en) * 1970-07-27 1972-07-25 Singer Co Electrical circuit for impact contact keyboard
US3758785A (en) * 1970-09-30 1973-09-11 Licentia Gmbh Key operated optical switch for electronics input keyboard including semiconductor light emitting and light sensitive components and reciprocating shutter
US3842229A (en) * 1973-07-05 1974-10-15 Texas Instruments Inc Keyboard pushbutton switch
JPS5012267U (fr) * 1973-05-28 1975-02-07
US3895203A (en) * 1973-01-24 1975-07-15 Gen Electric Co Ltd Manually operable electric switch with movable coil spring contact
US3920943A (en) * 1974-03-22 1975-11-18 Magsat Corp Electrical switch
US3924089A (en) * 1974-08-28 1975-12-02 Stackpole Component Co Keyboard switch
US3946185A (en) * 1974-08-21 1976-03-23 Intersil, Inc. Spring wire contact assembly
US4004121A (en) * 1974-04-04 1977-01-18 Mechanical Enterprises, Inc. Electrical switch with wire beam spring contact closer
FR2334057A1 (fr) * 1975-12-02 1977-07-01 Plessey Handel Investment Ag Appareil d'allumage electrique du type portatif et a commande manuelle
JPS54184481U (fr) * 1978-06-19 1979-12-27
US4209682A (en) * 1978-07-19 1980-06-24 Rood Robert M Low bounce momentary contact switch
US4488018A (en) * 1982-12-06 1984-12-11 Hosiden Electronics Co., Ltd. Miniature switch
US4730091A (en) * 1986-04-16 1988-03-08 Glenn Hiller Alarm switch
WO2006029418A1 (fr) * 2004-09-06 2006-03-16 Poznan Aleksandar Komadinovic Ensemble commutateur pour barriere electrique

Families Citing this family (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FI44920C (fi) * 1967-02-24 1972-02-10 Ericsson Telefon Ab L M Painikekytkin
DE1285041B (de) * 1967-08-05 1968-12-12 Wilhelm Ruf Kg Elektrotechn Sp Ein- oder mehrpoliger Schiebeumschalter, insbesondere fuer gedruckte Schaltungen
FR2581240B1 (fr) * 1985-04-29 1988-12-23 Crouzet Sa Interrupteur a action brusque

Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
BE555341A (fr) *
US1531347A (en) * 1922-04-25 1925-03-31 American Telephone & Telegraph Relay
US1723242A (en) * 1925-03-03 1929-08-06 Remington Rand Inc Contact unit for typewriter-key punches
CH238218A (de) * 1941-02-05 1945-06-30 Philips Nv Einrichtung mit einem elektrischen Kontaktteil, der beweglich in einem Träger angeordnet ist.
US2523768A (en) * 1945-10-02 1950-09-26 Knutsen Knut Andreas Keyboard for electrically controlled accounting or card punching machines
US2567421A (en) * 1947-01-30 1951-09-11 Bruno Martinuzzi Push-button switch
US2648731A (en) * 1950-05-29 1953-08-11 Pass & Seymour Inc Quiet snap switch
US2835754A (en) * 1957-03-20 1958-05-20 Gen Electric Multiple pushbutton switch with torsion spring contacts

Patent Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
BE555341A (fr) *
US1531347A (en) * 1922-04-25 1925-03-31 American Telephone & Telegraph Relay
US1723242A (en) * 1925-03-03 1929-08-06 Remington Rand Inc Contact unit for typewriter-key punches
CH238218A (de) * 1941-02-05 1945-06-30 Philips Nv Einrichtung mit einem elektrischen Kontaktteil, der beweglich in einem Träger angeordnet ist.
US2523768A (en) * 1945-10-02 1950-09-26 Knutsen Knut Andreas Keyboard for electrically controlled accounting or card punching machines
US2567421A (en) * 1947-01-30 1951-09-11 Bruno Martinuzzi Push-button switch
US2648731A (en) * 1950-05-29 1953-08-11 Pass & Seymour Inc Quiet snap switch
US2835754A (en) * 1957-03-20 1958-05-20 Gen Electric Multiple pushbutton switch with torsion spring contacts

Cited By (22)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3311210A (en) * 1965-10-12 1967-03-28 Navigation Computer Corp Sloping panel keyboard mount
US3430012A (en) * 1965-12-27 1969-02-25 Walther Bueromasch Gmbh Electric snap key switch assembly
US3464532A (en) * 1967-08-30 1969-09-02 Burroughs Corp Keyboard pushbutton with character visible in depressed position
US3521015A (en) * 1968-05-13 1970-07-21 Singer Co Key switch with axially misaligned shuttle bridging member
US3591750A (en) * 1969-04-10 1971-07-06 Alps Electric Co Ltd Stopper plate mounting for pushbutton switch
US3679038A (en) * 1970-07-27 1972-07-25 Singer Co Electrical circuit for impact contact keyboard
US3758785A (en) * 1970-09-30 1973-09-11 Licentia Gmbh Key operated optical switch for electronics input keyboard including semiconductor light emitting and light sensitive components and reciprocating shutter
US3895203A (en) * 1973-01-24 1975-07-15 Gen Electric Co Ltd Manually operable electric switch with movable coil spring contact
JPS5413561Y2 (fr) * 1973-05-28 1979-06-08
JPS5012267U (fr) * 1973-05-28 1975-02-07
US3842229A (en) * 1973-07-05 1974-10-15 Texas Instruments Inc Keyboard pushbutton switch
US3920943A (en) * 1974-03-22 1975-11-18 Magsat Corp Electrical switch
US4004121A (en) * 1974-04-04 1977-01-18 Mechanical Enterprises, Inc. Electrical switch with wire beam spring contact closer
US3946185A (en) * 1974-08-21 1976-03-23 Intersil, Inc. Spring wire contact assembly
US3924089A (en) * 1974-08-28 1975-12-02 Stackpole Component Co Keyboard switch
FR2334057A1 (fr) * 1975-12-02 1977-07-01 Plessey Handel Investment Ag Appareil d'allumage electrique du type portatif et a commande manuelle
US4149214A (en) * 1975-12-02 1979-04-10 Plessey Handel Und Investments A.G. Ignition devices
JPS54184481U (fr) * 1978-06-19 1979-12-27
US4209682A (en) * 1978-07-19 1980-06-24 Rood Robert M Low bounce momentary contact switch
US4488018A (en) * 1982-12-06 1984-12-11 Hosiden Electronics Co., Ltd. Miniature switch
US4730091A (en) * 1986-04-16 1988-03-08 Glenn Hiller Alarm switch
WO2006029418A1 (fr) * 2004-09-06 2006-03-16 Poznan Aleksandar Komadinovic Ensemble commutateur pour barriere electrique

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB1082902A (en) 1967-09-13
FR1434726A (fr) 1966-04-08

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