US3284586A - Extended life electrical contact means - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 8, 1966 ov 3,284,586

EXTENDED LIFE ELECTRICAL CONTACT MEANS Filed A ril 9, 1965 L V/51V] 0R. M9200: IV. 6'0 1 52 United States Patent 3,284,586 EXTENDED LIFE ELECTRICAL CONTACT MEANS Marcius N. Gover, Los Angeles, Calif. (311 Pat Mel] Road SW., Apt. 12-15, Marietta, Ga.) Filed Apr. 9, 1965, S61. No. 446,807 14 Claims. (Cl. 200-49) Generally speaking, the present invention pertains to extended life electrical contact means or to an arrangement for protecting electrical contacts in a manner such as to greatly prolong the life thereof. This is true in a broad general sense with respect to electrical contact means of any of a great variety of different types. However, one particular application and form for such extended life electrical contact means which is particularly advantageous will be used throughout this application for purposes of illustration, but should be clearly unde-rtsood to be non-specifically limiting to such a particular application and form thereof.

The exemplary application and form of such extended life electrical contact means referred to in the preceding paragraph is in the distributor of the electrical ignition system of an internal combustion engine where two electrical contact means are employed and are conventionally called distributor points and have been a constant source of trouble because of their extremely repetitive usagethat is, the fact that they must open and close rapidly as long as the internal combustion engine is running, and, thus, said distributor \points or contacts tend to become heated during use, resulting in rapid oxidation of the contact surfaces and, in many cases, resulting in transfer of contact material (usually metal) from one contact surface to the other contact surface, which effectively causes pitting of one the distributor points or contacts and .a buildup of material on the other one.

Also, the above-mentioned oxidized distributor points or contact surfaces are much more resistant to the flow of electrical current, and, hence, the contacts become less efficient and interfere with satisfactory operation of the internal combustion engine, since an inadequate spark will then be available at the spark plugs thereof for proper firing of the air-gas mixture in the combustion chambers of the cylinders of said internal combustion engine. Indeed, ultimately, such reduction in efficiency of the distributor points may result in a misfiring, or failure to fire, in one or more of the cylinders of the internal combustion engine which not only leads to greatly increased loss of power but ultimately to damage to the-engine because of stresses and strains produced by such failure to fire.

Additionally, it should be noted that conventional distributor points are open to atmosphere and exposed to various types of foreign material and contaminants, such as oil and grease, which tend to collect on the distributor points and also tend to produce an increased electrical resistance across the distributor points to the point of ultimate failure thereof.

For these and other reasons, conventional distributor points tend towearr out very rapidly and must be replaced frequently, and it will the noted that the novel extended life electrical contact means of the present invention, when incorporated in a distributor for an internal combustion engine, virtually completely overcomes and eliminates the above-mentioned prior art problems since no oxidation of the contact surfaces or distributor points will occur and also since no foreign matter or contaminants will be deposited on the distributor points or contacts. Furthermore, because of the inherent advantages of the extended life electrical contact means of the present invention, it may be possible to minimize the space, which exists between the distributor points or contacts when separated during the operation thereof by the rotary cam of the conventional distributor and to consequently shorten the distance from the contacts to the effective pivot point around which one of said contacts pivots, thus reducing the length and mass of the moving portion of the complete device. This is primarily made possible by reason of the inert gaseous atmosphere provided therebetween in the novel arrangement of the present invention, which, additionally, will tend to minimize any possibility of electrical arcing between the contact members occurring when they are separated, and this, of course, will reduce heating of the contact surfaces and any burning away and/or transfer of contact material to an absolute minimum.

All of the above-mentioned factors tend to greatly extend and lengthens the life of the distributor points, or electrical contact means, so that it will be unneccessary to replace same frequently in the undesirable manner of conventional prior art distributor points. It should also be noted that the inert gaseous atmosphere surrounding the contacts may make a reduction in contact pressure possible, which, in turn, may eliminate the necessity for an auxiliary return biasing spring means.

With the above points in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide novel extended life electrical contact means which may comprise two electrical contact members, or any desired number thereof, effectively surrounded and enclosed by an envelope means relatively movably resiliently carrying at least one of said contact members for relative forcible displacement with respect to at least one other of said contact members positioned therein in order to bring about effective electrical engagement and electrical disengagement thereof, and with said contact members all being within said resilient envelope means and being surrounded by a non-oxidizing, substantially inert gaseous atmosphere.

It is a further objectof the present invention to provide extended life electrical contact means of the character referred to above, which is in a form effectively comprising distributor points or contact means carried by mounting elements and structure substantially functionally equivalent to the corresponding portions of a conventional distributor, and distributor points carried thereby, of an internal combustion engine and suitable for exact mounting replacement of such conventional portions of a conventional internal combustion engine distributor.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide extended life electrical contact means having any or all of the features and advantages referred to herein, either generically or specifically, and/ or individually or in combination, and which is of a relatively simple, inexpensive, easy-to-mount, and easy-to-install construction such as to be conductive to widespread use thereof.

Further objects are implicit in the detailed description which follows hereinafter (which is to be construed as exemplary of the present invention, but which is not to be considered as specifically limiting it to the exemplary forms described hereinafter), and said objects will be apparent to persons skilled in the art after a careful study of the detailed description which follows hereinafter.

For the purpose of clarifying the nature of the present invention, several exemplary embodiments thereof, taking the form of distributor point assemblies suitable for mounting on a conventional internal combustion engine distributor, are illustrated in the hereinbelow-described figures of the accompanying single drawing sheet and are described in detail hereinafter.

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional pictorial view of one exemplary embodiment of the present invention wherein it takes the form of a replacement distributor point assembly embodying the novel long life electrical contact means of the present invention and adapted to comprise a complete replacement for a conventional prior art distributor point assembly of a conventional prior art internal combustion engine distributor, as shown partially brokenaway in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 is a top view, partly in elevation and partly in section, illustrating the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1 in the mounted relationship of FIG. 1 with respect to a conventional prior art internal combustion engine distributor. In this view, the enclosing envelope means and the means mounting same at the rear end are shown in section substantially on a central longitudinal plane in order to clearly show the interior positioning of the opposed electrical contact means or points when the distributor point assembly and the conventional driving cam of the distributor are in the non-deflected positional relationships shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view, generally similar to FIG. 2, but shows the distributor point assembly in the positionally deflected relationship produced by rotation of the conventional distributor cam from the position shown in FIG. 2 into the position shown in FIG. 3, which results in effectively opening or separating the distributor points or electrical contact means temporarily.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary detailed view of the remote end portion of the enclosing envelope means of FIG. 2, of the corresponding end portion of the auxiliary exterior biasing return spring, and of the corresponding interior contact means or distributor points and the rigid longitudinal support member carrying one of said contact means.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view, taken substantially in the direction of the arrows 5-5 of FIG. 2, and illustrates the fact that the rear end of the rigid longitudinal support member is provided with electrical connector or connection means for connection to a source of electric power, such as the hot lead of the ignition system of a conventional internal combustion engine, for example.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5, but shows the rear end of the hollow tube comprising the rigid longitudinal support member prior to being effectively sealed. This is the condition of said tube when it is used as an aperture for providing the interior chamber within the enclosing envelope means with a substantially non-oxidizing and/ or inert gaseous atmosphere, after which it is effectively closed to have an end closure seal such as shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a slightly reduced-size fragmentary elevational view, taken substantially in the direction of the arrows 77 of FIG. 2, and illustrates one exemplary form of cam follower means.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary three-dimensional view illustrating a slightly modified form of cam follower means from that shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 4, but illustrates a slightly modified form of the outer end of the enclosing envelope means.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary, somewhat diagrammatic view, generally similar to a portion of FIG. 2, but illustrates a slight modification thereof wherein the auxiliary biasing return spring means is eliminated and the inherent resiliency of the enclosing envelope means comprises the effective biasing return spring means. Also, in this modification, the configuration of said enclosing envelope means is slightly varied from the form illustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view, taken substantially along the plane indicated by the arrows 1111 of FIG. 10 and with certain portions of the apparatus behind the plane of the view and therebelow removed for reasons of drawing simplification and clarity.

Generally speaking, the extended life electrical contact means of the present invention may be said to comprise of hollow enclosing envelope means provided therein with a first contact member movable therewith and a second fixed contact member non-movable therewith, and adapted to be controllably engaged and/ or disengaged with respect to said first contact member when said enclosing envelope means is forcibly elastically deflected and then released from said forcible elastic deflection to allow it to return to a normal at-rest position.

The invention is intended to include and comprehend both a normally open contact arrangement, wherein the forcible elastic deflection of the envelope means produces electrical engagement of the first and second electrical contact members and wherein the release thereof causes disengagement of said first and second electrical contact members; and to also include the opposite arrangement wherein the forcible elastic deflection of said enclosing envelope means produces disengagement of said first and second electrical contact members and wherein the release thereof produces engagement of said first and second electrical contact members.

In other words, the present invention, in a broad sense, may be said to comprise both a normally open extended life electrical contact means arrangement and a normally closed extended life electrical contact means arrangement. However, since the exemplary form of the invention chosen to illustrate the broad principles thereof comprises a replacement distributor point assembly, and since such distributor point assemblies are conventionally normally closed, the arrangement illustrated in the figures comprises a normally closed, extended life electrical contact means. However, it should be clearly understood that this exemplary form is illustrative only, and is intended to fully disclose and include and comprehend such al normally open extended life electrical contact means a so.

In the exemplary first form illustrated, the invention includes a hollow longitudinal cantilever type enclosing envelope means, generally designated at 11, which is made of electrically conductive metallic material and which is provided at the rear end 11R thereof with rigid electrically conductive metallic mounting bracket means, generally designated by the reference numeral 12, which has a base portion 13 fastened at opposite ends by a pair of fastening screw means 14 extending through corresponding position-adjusting slot means 15 to the inside top surface portion 16 of the conventional internal combustion engine distributor, generally indicated at 17.

Said mounting bracket means 12 also includes an upstanding clamping portion indicated at 18, which may comprise a pair of laterally spaced fingers or a complete enclosing ring, rigidly clamping the rear end UK of the hollow horizontal cantilever type enclosing envelope means 11 in said clamping members 18 and in a rigid fixed relationship with respect to the remainder of the mounting bracket means 12 and the complete distributor 17.

However, it should be noted that the front end 11F of the hollow longitudinal cantilever type enclosing envelope means 11 is not fixed to anything but is freely supported in spaced relationship above the inside top surface portion 16 of the conventional distributor 17 and is also spaced above the flat bottom portion 13 of the mounting bracket means 12 in what might be termed -a cantilever fashion.

In the exemplary form illustrated, the front end 11F of the enclosing envelope means 11 is effectively sealed by having a sealing closure cap 19 positioned over the initially open end 21 of the tube forming said longitudinal enclosing envelope means 11. It will be understood that the initially open end 21 of the longitudinal enclosing envelope means 11 may facilitate interior adjustment of the electrical contact members which will be referred to hereinafter, after which said sealing closure cap 19 may be placed over the open end 21 and sealed into place in any suitable manner, such as by soldering, brazing, welding, or adhesively, cohesively, or mechanically fastening same in place.

The exemplary first form of the invention is also provided with a rigid longitudinal support member 22 of electrically conductive metallic material extending through the rear end 11R of the longitudinal enclosing envelope means 11 to a position exterior thereof and there having an upwardly bent rear end, as indicated at 22R, which is effectively provided with electrical connector means, such as generally designated at 23, and which is shown as comprising a pair of threaded nuts mounted on a corresponding exteriorly threaded portion of said rear end part 22R of said rigid longitudinal support member 22.

The forward end of said rigid longitudinal support member 22 extends forwardly along and within the interior chamber 24 defined within the enclosing envelope means 11 to a position spaced from the forward end closure cap 19 thereof and also spaced from any of the side wall portions 115 of the enclosing envelope means 11, and it should be noted that the portion of said rigid longitudinal support member 22 which passes through the rear end 11R of said enclosing envelope means 11, also passes substantially centrally through the clamping means 18 and is firmly mounted in said position and in electrically insulated relationship with respect to the enclosing envelope means 11 by an inner sealing plug means 25 of electrical insulating material which is firmly fastened within the otherwise open rear end 11R of the longitudinal enclosing envelope means 11 and to which said rear end 11R of said enclosing envelope means 11 is firmly sealed by any suitable means, such as pressure, or various sealing compounds or the like. Also, in the event that the clamping means 18 comprises a complete enclosing ring, this may provide an effective seal between the rear end 11R of the enclosing envelope means 11 and said sealing and insulating plug means 25.

In the first exemplary form illustrated, a first electrical contact member 26 is effectively carried by an inside surface part of a side wall portion 118 of said enclosing envelope means 11 and is in electrical engagement therewith and, thus, by way of the clamping portion 18 and the bottom portion 13 of the mounting bracket means 12, may be said to be grounded to the electrically conductive top inside surface wall 16 of the distributor 17, since said distributor 17 is conventionally grounded to an internal combustion engine mounting same.

In the exemplary form illustrated, a second electrical contact member 27 is carried by a forward end of said rigid longitudinal support member 22 aligned with, opposed to, and facing said first electrical contact member 26, and normally in electrical engagement therewith except when forcibly disengaged therefrom by operation of the conventional rotary distributor cam 28 from the position shown in FIG. 2 into the position shown in FIG. 3. It will be understood that the contact member 27 is electrically insulated and isolated from the rest of the complete assembly and connects only through the rigid longitudinal support member 22 to the rear end 22R thereof and the electrical connection means 23 which is adapted to be connected to the hot wire or lead of a conventional internal combustion engine ignition system.

It will be noted that, in the exemplary first form illustrated, said enclosing envelope means 11 is additionally provided with effective biasing cantilever spring means 29, which is also carried by the clamping means 18 of the mounting bracket means 12 and normally forcibly cooperates with the right side portion of the front end part 11F of the longitudinal enclosing envelope means 11 in a manner resiliently forcing same toward the left so as to relatively move said front end portion 11F of the enclosing envelope means 11 with respect to the fixed contact member 27 whereby to bring about the normally closed relationship and electrical engagement of said first and second electrical contact members 26 and 27. However, when the conventional distributor cam 28 is rotated during operation of an associated internal combustion engine (not shown), the multiple points or lobes thereof, as indicated at 28L, will forcibly ride against a cam follower means, such as is generally designated at 31, which will forcibly deflect the complete front end 11F of the cantilever enclosing envelope means 11 toward the right or in a clockwise direction around an effective pivot point which may be said to be located substantially at the point indicated by the reference numeral 32 in FIGS. 2 and 3 in a manner such as to relatively move the first electrical contact member 26 away from the fixed position second electrical contact member 27 into the open relationship shown in FIG. 3. This action will occur repetitively and very rapidly during the operation of an internal combustion engine, and between each such opening of the first and second electrical contact members 26 and 27, they will automatically close under the resilient biasing action of the return biasing spring means 29.

Incidentally, it should be noted that the effective pivot or hinge point indicated at 32 is effectively caused by the provision of the resilient flexible convolutions 33 (which may comprise one or more convolutions as desired or needed) which increase the compliance or reduce the stiffness of tthe complete longitudinal cantilever-type enclosing envelope means 11 so as to effectively produce what might be called resilient flexible convoluted hinge or pivot means effectively operable about the pivot point 32.

Also, it should be noted that, in the exemplary first form of the invention illustrated, the cam follower means 31 comprises a roller 34 rotatably mounted on a vertical shaft 35 which is rigidly fastened to the corresponding side wall portion 118 of the longitudinal enclosing envelope means 11, said fastening points being indicated by the reference numeral 36 and comprising welding, brazing, soldering, or any other suitable rigid fastening means.

In the exemplary first form of said cam follower means 31, the roller means 34 thereof may be of hard wear-resistant, electrically conductive, metallic material since it is in contact with the enclosing envelope means 11 which is grounded and, therefore, it need not be made of an electrical insulating material, which is frequently not as wear resisting, as is the case with conventional prior art distributor point assemblies.

An extremely important feature of the present invention is the fact that the hollow interior chamber 24 defined within the longitudinal cantilever type enclosing envelope means 11 is provided with a substantially non-oxidizing or inert gaseous atmosphere therein which, therefore, completely covers and surrounds said first and second electrical contact members 26 and 27 and completely prevents oxidation thereof and also contamination thereof by exterior foreign matter, such as oil, grease, or the like-this being the feature of the present invention which brings about the extended life of the electrical contact means comprising, in the example illustrated, said first and second electrical contact members 26 and 27.

It will be noted that the apparatus of the present invention provides a very convenient arrangement for placing the above-mentioned non-oxidizing inert gaseous atmosphere in the hollow interior of the enclosing envelope means 11, as indicated at 24, since the rigid longitudinal support member 22 comprises a hollow tube having an open forward end 37 and having its previously mentioned rear end 22R initially open, as indicated at 38 in FIG. 6, thus providing a convenient means for evacuating the interior 24 of the enclosing envelope means 11 and then introducing a non-oxidizing or inert gas thereinto, after which said opening 38 in said rear end 22R is effectively closed or provided with a closure seal, such as is indicated at 39 in FIG. 5.

It should be noted that the non-oxidizing or inert gaseous atmosphere referred to above may comprise any of the so-called inert gases such as argon, krypton, neon, xenon, or various other non-oxidizing gases, or, in certain cases, may merely comprise ordinary air at greatly reduced pressure-in other words, a substantial vacuum.

FIG. 8 illustrates a very slight modification of the cam follower means 31 of the first form of the invention and, because of its similarity, similar parts are indicated by similar reference numerals, followed by the letter, a,

however. In this modification, it will be noted that the cam follower means 31a is not of the rotatable type illustrated in the first form of the invention, but comprises a non-rotatively mounted wear-resistant contact surface means 34a which may be of electrically conductive metal or extremely hard wear-resistant plastic material, if desired, adapted for sliding cam-following abutment with respect to the rotary distributor cam means 28.

FIG. 9 illustrates a further slight modification of a portion of the invention and, because of the similarities thereof, similar reference numerals, followed by the letter, [2, however, designate similar parts thereof. In this modification, it will be noted that the outer end 111 12 of the enclosing envelope means 111; is not provided with a closure cap of the type illustrated at 19 in the first form of the invention, but is formed in sealed relationship.

FIG. illustrates a further slight modification of the invention from the first form illustrated and described in detail hereinbefore and, because of the similarities thereto, similar reference numerals, followed by the letter, c, however, designate similar parts. In this modification, it will be noted that the separate or auxiliary biasing return spring means 29 is eliminated, and the inherent resiliency and elasticity of the side walls 1180 of the enclosing envelope means 11c are relied upon to effectively comprise a functionally equivalent return biasing spring means adapted to normally maintain the first and second contact members 26c and 27c in electrical engagement with each other. Also, in this modification, it will be noted that the convolution means 33 of the first form of the invention are eliminated, and the cross-sectional shape of the longitudinal cantilever type enclosing envelope means 110 is modified into a substantially elliptical form with the longitudinal axis thereof lying in a substantially horizontal plane, thus increasing the inherent stiffness of the longitudinal enclosing envelope means 110 and further minimizing the necessity for the auxiliary return biasing spring 29 of the first form of the invention. Incidentally, this may also make it possible to reduce the mass of the moving assembly substantially, which is highly desirable. It should be noted that the above description of the FIG. 10 modification of the invention, and the showing thereof in FIGS. 10 and 11, without convolutions means of the type shown at 33 in the first form of the invention means that the envelope means 110 would tend to be substantially stiffer than the envelope means 11 of the first form of the invention, unless the wall thickness thereof is substantially reduced, which is intended in the showing thereof in FIGS. 10 and 11, although this is not illustrated accurately in the cross-sectional view comprising FIG. 11 because any reduction in the wall thickness of the envelope means 110 in FIG. 11 would not be capable of effective reproduction. Therefore, it should be clearly understood that the wall thickness of the envelope 11c in FIG. 11 is shown substantially exaggerated by comparison with the wall thickness of the earlier form of the invention shown, for example, in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4. This reduction in Wall thickness of the envelope means 110 has certain advantages since it tends to reduce the mass of the moving elements and increases the responsiveness of the electrical contact means comprising the contacts 260 and 27c. However, it should be noted that, in certain versions of this modification of the invention, one or more convolution means of a general type similar to that shown at 33 in the first form of the invention may be employed if desired or needed.

Also, it should be noted that the cam follower means 31 of the first form of the invention may, in certain cases, be made of a hard, wear-resistant plastic material rather than the hard wear-resistant metallic material referred to hereinbefore. This my also be true of the alternate cam follower means 31a of FIG. 8 or 310 of FIG. 10, if desired.

It will be noted that because of the non-oxidizing and inert gas within the envelope and around the first and second contact members, which prevents any oxidation thereof, it may be possible to not only reduce contact spacings when open, but to minimize contact pressures when closed, which tends to further eliminate the necescity for the auxiliary return biasing spring means 29 of the first form of the invention.

It should be understood that the figures and the specific description thereof set forth in this application are for the purpose of illustrating the present invention and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention to the precise and detailed specific structure shown in the figures and specifically described hereinbefore., Rather, the real invention is intended to include substantially equivalent constructions embodying the basic teachings and inventive concept of the present invention.

I claim:

1. Extended life electrical contact means, comprising: hollow longitudinal cantilever enclosing envelope means of resilient electrically conductivity material provided at a rear end thereof with rigid electrically conductive mounting bracket means flexibly mounting said cantilever envelope means in a cantilever manner extending outwardly therefrom, said envelope means having a sealed front end longitudinally spaced from said rear end and capable of being resiliently arcuately forcibly displaced from an initial rest position; a rigid longitudinal support member of electrically conductive material extending through the rear end of said envelope means and along the length thereof to an interior position in a predetermined interior relationship with respect to said front end of said envelope means and spaced from and out of contact with inside surfaces of said envelope means; a first electrical contact member effectively carried by an inside surface of a side portion of said envelope means and in electrical engagement therewith; and a second electrical contact member aligned with, opposed to, and facing said first electrical contact member and effectively carried by said rigid longitudinal support member within said envelope means and in electrical engagement with respect to said rigid longitudinal support member, said first and second electrical contact members together comprising an effective electrical switch; said rear end of said envelope means being provided with inner sealing plug means effectively closing and sealing same and being made of electrical insulating material effectively electrically insulating said rigid longitudinal support member from the rear end of said cantilever envelope means, an exterior side portion of said envelope means being provided with laterally directed cam follower means in engagement with a cam for corresponding cantilever deflection of said envelope means with respect to the non-deflected inner rigid longitudinal support member whereby to forcibly cause corresponding relative movement of said first and second electrical contact members within said sealed envelope means in an effective switch operating manner, said envelope means defining a completely sealed interior chamber provided with a substantially non-oxidizing gaseous medium therein; said cantilever envelope means being provided with effective resilient flexible convoluted hinge means adjacent to said rear end and positioned outwardly of the mounting engagement thereof with respect to said mounting bracket member and providing an effective pivot point, each of said first and second electrical con tact members being spaced from said effective pivot point by a distance substantially equivalent to the corresponding radius of pivotal rotation of the resiliently movable one of said electrical contact members.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the rela tive positionings of said rigid longitudinal support memher and said envelope means are such as to normally maintain said first and second'electrical contact members in resilient electrical engagement.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said rigid longitudinal support member has a rear end extending outside of the rear end of said cantilever envelope means and provided with electrical connector means for connection to a suitable source of electric power.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said mounting bracket means is in electrical engagement with said rear end of said envelope means, said rigid longitudinal support member having a rear end extending outside of the rear end of said cantilever envelope means and provided with electrical connector means for connection to a suitable source of electric power.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said rigid longitudinal support member comprises a hollow tube having. an opening positioned within said envelope means and having an initially open rear end for providing said interior chamber within said envelope means with said substantially non-oxidizing gaseous medium and then being provided with closure seal for subsequently maintaining same.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said en- 'velope means is provided with effective biasing spring means carried by said mounting bracket means and normally forcibly cooperating with a side portion of said envelope means adjacent to said front end thereof for forcibly resiliently arcuately deflecting said cantilever envelope means in a manner such as to force said first interiorly mounted electrical contact member carried therewithin into electrical engagement with said second electrical contact member carried by said inner rigid longitudinal support member.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the front end of said cantilever envelope means is of initially open tubular construction provided with a sealing closure cap positioned thereover after .interior adjustment of said first and second electrical contact members for aligned engaging and disengaging relative movemen thereof.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said cam follower means comprises a rotatably mounted frictionminimizing roller means mounted for rotation in response to forcible rotary abutment therewith of said cam.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said cam follower means comprises a projection having a wear resistant contact surface adapted for sliding cam following abutment with respect to said cam during forcible contact therewith.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said mounting bracket means is of a size and shape such, and is provided with attachment means positioned such, as to be adapted for direct attachment to the pre-existing engagement portions of a conventional internal combustion engine distributor, with said cam follower means positioned at the proper location for engagement with and operation by said cam, which takes the form of a conventional multi-lobed internal combustion engine distributor cam.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the relative positionings of said rigid longitudinal support member and said envelope means are such as to normally maintain said first and second electrical contact members in electrically disengaged relationship.

12. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said envelope means is provided with effective biasing spring means carried by said mounting bracket means and normally forcibly cooperating with a side portion of said envelope means adjacent to said front end thereof for forcibly resiliently arcuately deflecting said cantilever envelope means in a manner such as to force said first interiorly mounted electrical contact member carried therewithin .into electrically disengaged relationship with respect to said second electrical contact member carried by said inner rigid longitudinal support member.

13. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said cam follower means comprises an effectively electrically grounded rotatably mounted friction-minimizing roller means mounted for rotation in response to forcible rotary abutment therewith of said cam.

14. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said cam follower means comprises an effectively electrically grounded projection having a wear resistant contact surface adapted for sliding cam following abutment with respect to said cam during forcible contact therewith.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 580,987 4/1897 Moore 200 19 2,039,647 5/1936 House 20032 X BERNARD A. GILHEANY, Primary Examiner. G. MAIER, Assistant Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. EXTENDED LIFE ELECTRICAL CONTACT MEANS, COMPRISING: HOLLOW LONGITUDINAL CANTILEVER ENCLOSING ENVELOPE MEANS OF RESILIENT ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVITY MATERIAL PROVIDED AT A REAR END THEREOF WITH RIGID ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE MOUNTING BRACKET MEANS FLEXIBLY MOUNTING SAID CANTILEVER ENVELOPE MEANS IN A CANTILEVER MANNER EXTENDING OUTWARDLY THEREFROM, SAID ENVELOPE MEANS HAVING A SEALED FRONT END LONGITUDINALLY SPACED FROM SAID REAR END AND CAPABLE OF BEING RESILIENTLY ARCUATELY FORCIBLY DISPLACED FROM AN INITIAL REST POSITION; A RIGID LONGITUDINAL SUPPORT MEMBER OF ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL EXTENDING THROUGH THE REAR END OF SAID ENVELOPE MEANS AND ALONG THE LENGTH THEREOF TO AN INTERIOR POSITION IN A PREDETERMINED INTERIOR RELATIONSHIP WITH RESPECT TO SAID FRONT END OF SAID ENVELOPE EMANS AND SPACED FROM AND OUT OF CONTACT WITH INSIDE SURFACES OF SAID ENVELOPE MEANS; A FIRST ELECTRICAL CONTACT MEMBER EFFECTIVELY CARRIED BY AN INSIDE SURFACE OF A SIDE PORTION OF SAID ENVELOPE MEANS AN IN ELECTRICAL ENGAGEMENT THEREWITH; AND A SECOND ELECTRICAL CONTACT MEMBER ALIGNED WITH, OPPOSED TO, AND FACING SAID FIRST ELECTRICAL CONTACT MEMBER AND EFFECTIVELY CARRIED BY SAID RIGID LONGITUDINAL SUPPORT MEMBER WITHIN SAID ENVELOPE MEANS AND IN ELECTRICAL ENGAGEMENT WITH RESPECT TO SAID RIGID LONGITUDINAL SUPPORT MEMBER, SAID FIRST AND SECOND ELECTRICAL CONTACT MEMBERS TOGETHER COMPRISING AN EFFECTIVE ELECTRICAL SWITCH; SAID REAR END OF SAID ENVELOPE MEANS BEING PROVIDED WITH INNER SEALING PLUG MEANS EFFECTIVELY CLOSING AND SEALING SAME AND BEING MADE OF ELECTRICAL INSULATING MATERIAL EFFECTIVELY ELECTRICALLY INSULATING SAID RIGID LONGITUDINAL SUPPORT MEMBER FROM THE REAR END OF SAID CANTILEVER ENVELOPE MEANS, AN EXTERIOR SIDE PORTION OF SAID ENVELOPE MEANS BEING PROVIDED WITH LATERALLY DIRECTED CAM FOLLOWER MEANS IN ENGAGEMENT WITH A CAM FOR CORRESPONDING CANTILEVER DEFLECTION OF SAID ENVELOPE MEANS WITH RESPECT TO THE NON-DEFLECTED INNER RIGID LONGITUDINAL SUPPORT MEMBER WHEREBY TO FORCIBLY CAUSE CORRESPONDING RELATIVE MOVEMENT OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND ELECTRICAL CONTACT MEMBERS WITHIN SAID SEALED ENVELOPE MEANS IN AN EFFECTIVE SWITCH OPERATING MANNER, SAID ENVELOPE MEANS DEFINING A COMPLETELY SEALED INTERIOR CHAMBER PROVIDED WITH A SUBSTANTIALLY NON-OXIDIZING GASEOUS MEDIUM THEREIN; SAID CANTILEVER ENVELOPE MEANS BEING PROVIDED WITH EFFECTIVE RESILIENT FLEXIBLE CONVOLUTED HINGE MEANS ADJACENT TO SAID REAR END AND POSITIONED OUTEARDLY OF THE MOUNTING ENGAGEMENT THEREOF WITH RESPECT TO SAID MOUNTING BRACKET MEMBER AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE PIVOT POINT, EACH OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND ELECTRICAL CONTACT MEMBERS BEING SPACED FROM SAID EFFECTIVE PIVOT POINT BY A DISTANCE SUBSTANTIALLY EQUIVALENT TO THE CORRESPONDING RADIUS OF PIVOTAL ROTATION OF THE RESILIENTLY MOVABLE ONE OF SAID ELECTRICAL CONTACT MEMBERS.

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