US3425122A - Method of making an electrical switch sub-assembly - Google Patents

Method of making an electrical switch sub-assembly Download PDF

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Publication number
US3425122A
US3425122A US425592A US3425122DA US3425122A US 3425122 A US3425122 A US 3425122A US 425592 A US425592 A US 425592A US 3425122D A US3425122D A US 3425122DA US 3425122 A US3425122 A US 3425122A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
wires
contact
strips
assembly
making
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
US425592A
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Richard Berger
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.)
Telefunken Patentverwertungs GmbH
Original Assignee
Telefunken Patentverwertungs GmbH
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 Telefunken Patentverwertungs GmbH filed Critical Telefunken Patentverwertungs GmbH
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3425122A publication Critical patent/US3425122A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H9/00—Details of switching devices, not covered by groups H01H1/00 - H01H7/00
    • H01H9/30—Means for extinguishing or preventing arc between current-carrying parts
    • H01H9/32—Insulating body insertable between contacts
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H11/00—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for the manufacture of electric switches
    • H01H11/04—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for the manufacture of electric switches of switch contacts
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H15/00—Switches having rectilinearly-movable operating part or parts adapted for actuation in opposite directions, e.g. slide switch
    • H01H15/005—Switches having rectilinearly-movable operating part or parts adapted for actuation in opposite directions, e.g. slide switch adapted for connection with printed circuit boards
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H63/00—Details of electrically-operated selector switches
    • H01H63/02—Contacts; Wipers; Connections thereto
    • H01H63/06—Contact banks
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T29/00—Metal working
    • Y10T29/49—Method of mechanical manufacture
    • Y10T29/49002—Electrical device making
    • Y10T29/49105—Switch making
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T29/00—Metal working
    • Y10T29/49—Method of mechanical manufacture
    • Y10T29/49789—Obtaining plural product pieces from unitary workpiece
    • Y10T29/49798—Dividing sequentially from leading end, e.g., by cutting or breaking

Definitions

  • a slide-type switch having a slide made of insulating material and carrying metal contact elements sandwiched and movable between two rows of flexible stationary contact elements.
  • Two contact assemblies, each containing one row of stationary contact elements, are made by arranging metal wires in an insulator and stamping the extending ends of each wire to form a contact surface. The two contact assemblies are placed parallel to each other with a slide sandwiched therebetween.
  • switches are made as follows. First, the stationary contacts are stamped out of sheet metal and are then bent to have the desired configuration. The individual contacts are then set into plates, for example, printed circuit plates, or they are attached to strips or the like. Setting in prefabricated contacts is an expensive proposition since it generally has to be done by hand. Furthermore, there is always the danger, inherent in the manual assembly, that the contacts will be bent out of the desired shape or that they will not be properly positioned which, in turn, usually makes it necessary to adjust the contacts after they have been put in place.
  • the primary object of the present invention to provide a way in which switches of the above type can be manufactured so as to avoid the above-described drawbacks, namely, to provide a method for making switches, and especially slide-type switches, wherein there are a plurality of adjacent contacts.
  • the present invention resides, basically, in a method of making a contact assembly wherein a plurality of contacts, each having a desired shape, are arranged next to each other, which method comprises the steps of making an intermediate product comprising an insulating strip carrying 3,425,122 Patented Feb. 4, 1969 a plurality of generally parallel, spaced apart wires which are transverse to the insulating strip and extend from both sides thereof, and thereafter stamping one of the two extending ends of each wire for imparting the desired shape thereto.
  • FIGURE 2a is an end view of the product shown in FIGURE 2.
  • FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a contact assembly made in accordance with the present invention.
  • FIGURE 3a is a side elevational view of the contact assembly of FIGURE 3, and additionally shows stamping means.
  • FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view showing a composite contact assembly incorporating two of the contact assemblies of FIGURES 3;"ain-d 30.
  • FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view, partly in section
  • FIGURE 4 showing a slide-type switch incorporating the compositecontact assembly of FIGURE 4.
  • FIGURES l and 1a thereof show a plurality of wires 1 which are played olf suitable supply rolls, one of whrich is shown at 10 in FIGURE 1a.
  • the wires 1 have series of transverse plastic strips 2 molded to them.
  • the molding operation can be carried out in any one of which is shown at 10 in FIGURE la.
  • FIGURES 2 and 2a ' show the assembly as comprising one strip 2 through which pass a plurality of wires 1.
  • the wires extend longitudinally beyond both sides of the strip 2 to the ends 4 and 5.
  • the ends 5 may, for instance, serve as lead-ins, for example, by inserting the contact assembly into appropriately configured printed circuit boards.
  • the next manufacturing step is that of imparting to the wires the ultimate configuration which the stationary contacts are to have. This is done by means of suitable stamps or dies 13, 13a, so that each contact will be given the configuration shown, for example, in FIGURES 3 and 3a which illustrate each contact as having a longitudinal flat portion 6 and a calotte-shaped end portion 7.
  • the flat portion 6 serves to impart the desired resilient characteristics to the contact while the part 7 is the part which comes into actual physical contact with the slide or other elements, i.e., the part at whcih the contact is to be electrically engaged.
  • FIGURE 4 shows a composite contact assembly made of two contact assemblies each as depicted in FIGURES 3 and 3a.
  • the two plastic strips 2 are glued or otherwise suitably secured together so that the two calotte-shaped parts 7 ofopposite contacts resiliently engage each other.
  • FIGURE shows the composite contact assemblyof FIGURE 4 in conjunction with a slide :8, made of insulating material and carrying metallic coatings 8a which make electrical contact with the respective stationary contacts.
  • a suitable dust cover such as a cap 9 made, for example, of transparent plastic.
  • the process for making the contact assembly as shown in FIGURES 3 and -3a comprises the steps of first making the intermediate product shown in FIGURES 2 and 2a, namely, an insulating strip 2 carrying a plurality of generally parallel, spaced apart wires 11 positioned transversely to the insulating strip and extending from both sides thereof, and then stamping one of the two extending ends of each wire, e.g., the end 4, for imparting the desired shape thereto.
  • This allows the contacts themselves to be made from simple starting materials, namely, wires.
  • the individual contacts require no adjustment because they are given their ultimate shape during the stamping step, after having first been firmly secured to the insulating strips. This, then, eliminates the need for any manual adjustment which, as explained above, is particularly difficult in the case of miniature components.
  • the surfaces of the wires will be silvercoated so as to provide good contact-making characteristics.
  • the insulating strips 2 need not necessarily be rectilinear, inasmuch as, if the contact assembly is to be used in a rotary switch, the strip will be ring-shaped or arcuate. In that case, the wires will not be co-planar with each other but will be arranged along the envelope of a cylinder.
  • the intermediate product depicted in FIGURES 2 and 2a may be made by positioning a plurality of wires, of indeterminate lengths, in parallel spaced relationship, by then securing to the wires transverse insulating strips which are spaced from each other a distance corresponding to the length of the wires of the intermediate product, and finally severing the wires along lines (rectilinear lines in the case of fiat contact assemblies and circular lines in the case of annular or segment-shaped contact assemblies) which are transverse to the wires and generally parallel with and between consecutive insulating strips, thereby to obtain the intermediate products.
  • lines rectilinear lines in the case of fiat contact assemblies and circular lines in the case of annular or segment-shaped contact assemblies
  • a composite contact assembly which is made by placingtwo contact assemblies, each as depicted in FIGURES 3 and hand made by the above-described process, next to each other such that insulating strips of the respective contact assemblies are parallel to each other, the strips being secured to each other.
  • a slide-type switch which comprises the composite contact assembly
  • the strips 2 will be dimensioned, and/or the contacts 6, 7, will, during the stamping operation, be so oriented, that when the insulating strips of two contact assemblies are placed against each other, the contactmaking ends of the coating contacts will engage each other, or the contacts of a slide, with the proper contact pressure.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Manufacture Of Switches (AREA)
  • Push-Button Switches (AREA)
US425592A 1964-02-01 1965-01-14 Method of making an electrical switch sub-assembly Expired - Lifetime US3425122A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DET25538A DE1190544B (de) 1964-02-01 1964-02-01 Verfahren zur Herstellung mehrerer in einer Reihe angeordneter Kontakte, insbesondere fuer Schiebeschalter

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3425122A true US3425122A (en) 1969-02-04

Family

ID=7552142

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US425592A Expired - Lifetime US3425122A (en) 1964-02-01 1965-01-14 Method of making an electrical switch sub-assembly

Country Status (8)

Country Link
US (1) US3425122A (it)
JP (1) JPS4115136B1 (it)
AT (1) AT246252B (it)
BE (1) BE658431A (it)
DE (1) DE1190544B (it)
ES (1) ES308682A1 (it)
FR (1) FR1422516A (it)
GB (1) GB1099224A (it)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4178670A (en) * 1978-06-22 1979-12-18 Crystal Systems, Inc. Process of forming a wire pack
US4256079A (en) * 1978-06-22 1981-03-17 Crystal Systems Inc. Wire blades

Families Citing this family (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE2226678A1 (de) * 1972-05-31 1973-12-13 Siemens Ag Elektrischer schaltkontakt
AT503029B1 (de) * 2006-03-03 2007-07-15 Pollmann Austria Ohg Fixierelement für elektrische leiter, leiterstruktur-bauteil und verfahren zu dessen herstellung
AT503044B1 (de) * 2006-03-03 2007-07-15 Pollmann Austria Ohg Fixierelement für elektrische leiter, leiterstruktur-bauteil und verfahren zu dessen herstellung
EP3131108B1 (de) * 2015-08-14 2018-10-10 RAFI GmbH & Co. KG Elektromechanische schaltvorrichtung

Citations (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2613252A (en) * 1947-09-23 1952-10-07 Erie Resistor Corp Electric circuit and component
US2802971A (en) * 1952-12-05 1957-08-13 Philips Corp Connecting strip
US2834393A (en) * 1954-12-29 1958-05-13 Western Electric Co Method of forming articles by bending the free end portions thereof
GB815136A (en) * 1956-12-06 1959-06-17 Englehard Ind Ltd Improvements in or relating to the manufacture of electrical contacts
CA593317A (en) * 1960-02-23 Rossi Carlo Process for the production of subtractive multi-color photographic films
US3133981A (en) * 1959-10-05 1964-05-19 Harold A Seele Apparatus and method for feeding, forming and swaging panel inserts
US3138675A (en) * 1961-06-07 1964-06-23 Krone Gmbh Separating and testing plug contact, particularly for separating soldering tag strips in telecommunication technique
US3191271A (en) * 1959-06-29 1965-06-29 Ibm Method of forming and pulling contact terminals into an electrical receptacle
US3252206A (en) * 1962-07-09 1966-05-24 Molding Engineers Inc Method of molding and forming a switch device

Family Cites Families (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE1114567B (de) * 1959-01-30 1961-10-05 Telefonbau & Normalzeit Gmbh Verfahren zur Herstellung eines magnetisch steuerbaren Schaltkontaktes

Patent Citations (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CA593317A (en) * 1960-02-23 Rossi Carlo Process for the production of subtractive multi-color photographic films
US2613252A (en) * 1947-09-23 1952-10-07 Erie Resistor Corp Electric circuit and component
US2802971A (en) * 1952-12-05 1957-08-13 Philips Corp Connecting strip
US2834393A (en) * 1954-12-29 1958-05-13 Western Electric Co Method of forming articles by bending the free end portions thereof
GB815136A (en) * 1956-12-06 1959-06-17 Englehard Ind Ltd Improvements in or relating to the manufacture of electrical contacts
US3191271A (en) * 1959-06-29 1965-06-29 Ibm Method of forming and pulling contact terminals into an electrical receptacle
US3133981A (en) * 1959-10-05 1964-05-19 Harold A Seele Apparatus and method for feeding, forming and swaging panel inserts
US3138675A (en) * 1961-06-07 1964-06-23 Krone Gmbh Separating and testing plug contact, particularly for separating soldering tag strips in telecommunication technique
US3252206A (en) * 1962-07-09 1966-05-24 Molding Engineers Inc Method of molding and forming a switch device

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4178670A (en) * 1978-06-22 1979-12-18 Crystal Systems, Inc. Process of forming a wire pack
US4256079A (en) * 1978-06-22 1981-03-17 Crystal Systems Inc. Wire blades

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
BE658431A (it) 1965-05-17
GB1099224A (en) 1968-01-17
FR1422516A (fr) 1965-12-24
ES308682A1 (es) 1965-05-16
JPS4115136B1 (it) 1966-08-25
DE1190544B (de) 1965-04-08
AT246252B (de) 1966-04-12

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