US3643051A - Electrical switches having improved contact structure - Google Patents

Electrical switches having improved contact structure Download PDF

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Publication number
US3643051A
US3643051A US39130A US3643051DA US3643051A US 3643051 A US3643051 A US 3643051A US 39130 A US39130 A US 39130A US 3643051D A US3643051D A US 3643051DA US 3643051 A US3643051 A US 3643051A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
base
spigot
contact member
operating member
fixed contacts
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
US39130A
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English (en)
Inventor
David Foley
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.)
ZF International UK Ltd
Original Assignee
Lucas Industries Ltd
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 Lucas Industries Ltd filed Critical Lucas Industries Ltd
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3643051A publication Critical patent/US3643051A/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
    • H01H23/00—Tumbler or rocker switches, i.e. switches characterised by being operated by rocking an operating member in the form of a rocker button
    • H01H23/02—Details
    • H01H23/12—Movable parts; Contacts mounted thereon
    • H01H23/16—Driving mechanisms
    • H01H23/164—Driving mechanisms with rectilinearly movable member carrying the contacts

Definitions

  • a compression spring surrounds the [58] ileldnlsesrch ..200ll66Bl-I, 16 R, 76 R spigot and urges the contact member into engagement with the base, the compression spring acting as part of an over- [56] lleieneaees Cited center mechanism.
  • a switch comprises, a body having a base, a plurality of fixed contacts carried by the base and insulated from one another, an operating member pivotally mounted on the body, a spigot carried by the operating member, the spigot extending towards the base, a movable contact member slidable on the base and including a pair of resilient electrically interconnected parts engageable with the fixed contacts, said contact member being engaged with said spigot, and a compression spring surrounding said spigot and urging said contact member into engagement with the base, the arrangement being such that pivotal movement of the operating member relative to the body is transmitted by said spigot to the contact member to cause said contact member to slide relative to the base, said spring acting as part of an overcenter mechanism urging the movable contact member and the operating member to one side or the other of a central position.
  • FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an electrical switch
  • FIG. 2 is a plan view of the movable contact member of the switch shown in FIG. 1.
  • the switch includes a hollow molded synthetic resin body 11 which is open at one end, and which is closed at the other end by an integral base 12.
  • a plurality of fixed contacts 13 each of which is electrically connected to a respective blade connector on the exterior of the base.
  • lugs 14 Upstanding from opposite sidewalls of the body 11 are a pair of lugs 14 (one of which is shown in FIG. I) and extending between the lugs 14 and pivotally mounted thereon is a molded synthetic resin, rockertype operating member 15.
  • Integral with the operating member 15 and extending towards the base 12 is a cylindrical spigot 16 which is engaged at its free end with a movable contact member 17.
  • the movable contact member 17 is stamped from a strip of phosphor bronze, and is generally I-l-shaped.
  • the limbs 18 of the H- shaped member 17 are curved downwardly out of the plane of the remainder of the member 17, and define independently resilient arms engaging the base 12.
  • the central portion of the member 17 is formed with an elongated slot 19 through which the free end of the spigot 16 extends, and the contact member 17 is urged firmly into engagement with the inner surface of the base 12 by a compression spring 21 which surrounds the spigot 16 and which acts between the operating member 15 and the contact member 17.
  • the material of the member 17 is chosen to impart resilience to the arms.
  • Copper which is commonly used for contacts, is not suitable for this purpose.
  • the fixed contacts 13 are arranged in pairs, only one of each pair being shown in the drawings.
  • the contacts in each pair of contacts are positioned side by side, and are spaced apart by a distance equal to the width of the contact member 17.
  • FIG. 1 shows theswitch in a position wherein the contact member 17 is bridging the extreme right-hand pair of contacts 13, and by pivoting the operating member 15 in a clockwise direction, as shown in the drawings, the member 17 can be moved to the left, to bridge the extreme left-hand pair of contacts and the central pair of contacts simultaneously, so
  • the spigot 16 which extends through the slot 19 in the member 17 engages one end of the slot 19, and thereafter the member 17 is moved with the spigot 16 the member 17 sliding on the base 12, and remaining substantially parallel with the base 12.
  • the spring 21 will be stressed to the greatest extent when the spigot 16 is at right angles to the base 12, and
  • the spring 21 serves to bias the operating member to one side or the other of the central position wherein the spigot 16 is at right angles to the base 12.
  • the end walls of the body 11 of the switch are formed with respective, resilient lugs 22 by means of which the switch can be engaged as a snap fit in an aperture in a mounting plate.
  • the spigot 16 need not be cylindrical and could, for example, be of rectangular cross section.
  • An electrical switch comprising a body having a base a plurality of fixed contacts carried by the base and insulated from one another, an operating member pivotally mounted on the body, a spigot carried by the operating member, the spigot extending towards the base, a movable contact member slidable on the base and defined by a conductive strip having a hole therein through which said spigot passes, and including a pair of integral resilient electrically interconnected parts engageable with the fixed contacts, and a compression spring surrounding said spigot and urging said contact member into engagement with the base, the arrangement being such that pivotal movement of the operating member relative to the body is transmitted by said spigot to the contact member to cause said contact member to slide relative to the base, said spring acting as part of an overcenter mechanism urging the contact member and the operating member to one side or the other of a central position.

Landscapes

  • Rotary Switch, Piano Key Switch, And Lever Switch (AREA)
  • Tumbler Switches (AREA)
  • Mechanisms For Operating Contacts (AREA)
US39130A 1969-06-12 1970-05-20 Electrical switches having improved contact structure Expired - Lifetime US3643051A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB29753/69A GB1291241A (en) 1969-06-12 1969-06-12 Electrical switches

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3643051A true US3643051A (en) 1972-02-15

Family

ID=10296619

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US39130A Expired - Lifetime US3643051A (en) 1969-06-12 1970-05-20 Electrical switches having improved contact structure

Country Status (5)

Country Link
US (1) US3643051A (fr)
JP (1) JPS5118071B1 (fr)
ES (1) ES159008Y (fr)
FR (1) FR2049708A5 (fr)
GB (1) GB1291241A (fr)

Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3912895A (en) * 1973-05-14 1975-10-14 Amp Inc Electric switch
US4146767A (en) * 1976-09-10 1979-03-27 Alps Electric Co., Ltd. Push-button switch
EP0066375A1 (fr) * 1981-05-29 1982-12-08 General Signal Corporation Dispositif dans un mécanisme de soupape pour coupler un moyen d'actionnement de la rotation avec un axe de la rotation
US4431880A (en) * 1983-02-16 1984-02-14 Carlingswitch, Inc. Rocker switch with integrally defined retention means for resistor and lamp
US4454400A (en) * 1981-12-09 1984-06-12 Carlingswitch, Inc. Switch construction
US4624049A (en) * 1985-05-23 1986-11-25 Illinois Tool Works Inc. Switch actuator assembly
US4710601A (en) * 1985-12-02 1987-12-01 Indak Manufacturing Corp. Sealed toggle action electrical switches
US4766278A (en) * 1985-12-02 1988-08-23 Indak Manufacturing Corp. Sealed toggle action electrical switches
US20230381989A1 (en) * 2021-06-17 2023-11-30 Sincerely Ltd. B.V. Personal care devices and components

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4347417A (en) * 1981-02-11 1982-08-31 Carlingswitch, Inc. Switch construction

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3299227A (en) * 1966-02-14 1967-01-17 Indak Mfg Corp Electrical switches with improved contact and detent structures
US3427415A (en) * 1967-05-11 1969-02-11 Girling Ltd Electric switches
US3529109A (en) * 1968-03-12 1970-09-15 Sylvania Electric Prod Multiple circuit control switch with guide stops for limiting the vertical travel of a springlike movable contact

Family Cites Families (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2400849A (en) * 1944-05-05 1946-05-21 Jason C Stearns Waterproof electric switch

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3299227A (en) * 1966-02-14 1967-01-17 Indak Mfg Corp Electrical switches with improved contact and detent structures
US3427415A (en) * 1967-05-11 1969-02-11 Girling Ltd Electric switches
US3529109A (en) * 1968-03-12 1970-09-15 Sylvania Electric Prod Multiple circuit control switch with guide stops for limiting the vertical travel of a springlike movable contact

Cited By (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3912895A (en) * 1973-05-14 1975-10-14 Amp Inc Electric switch
US4146767A (en) * 1976-09-10 1979-03-27 Alps Electric Co., Ltd. Push-button switch
EP0066375A1 (fr) * 1981-05-29 1982-12-08 General Signal Corporation Dispositif dans un mécanisme de soupape pour coupler un moyen d'actionnement de la rotation avec un axe de la rotation
US4454400A (en) * 1981-12-09 1984-06-12 Carlingswitch, Inc. Switch construction
US4431880A (en) * 1983-02-16 1984-02-14 Carlingswitch, Inc. Rocker switch with integrally defined retention means for resistor and lamp
US4624049A (en) * 1985-05-23 1986-11-25 Illinois Tool Works Inc. Switch actuator assembly
US4710601A (en) * 1985-12-02 1987-12-01 Indak Manufacturing Corp. Sealed toggle action electrical switches
US4766278A (en) * 1985-12-02 1988-08-23 Indak Manufacturing Corp. Sealed toggle action electrical switches
US20230381989A1 (en) * 2021-06-17 2023-11-30 Sincerely Ltd. B.V. Personal care devices and components
US12115689B2 (en) * 2021-06-17 2024-10-15 Sincerely, Ltd. Llc Personal care devices and components

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
ES159008U (es) 1970-08-01
GB1291241A (en) 1972-10-04
ES159008Y (es) 1971-02-16
FR2049708A5 (fr) 1971-03-26
JPS5118071B1 (fr) 1976-06-07

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