US3895203A - Manually operable electric switch with movable coil spring contact - Google Patents

Manually operable electric switch with movable coil spring contact Download PDF

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Publication number
US3895203A
US3895203A US435599A US43559974A US3895203A US 3895203 A US3895203 A US 3895203A US 435599 A US435599 A US 435599A US 43559974 A US43559974 A US 43559974A US 3895203 A US3895203 A US 3895203A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
spring
staples
electric switch
fixed contacts
printed circuit
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
US435599A
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English (en)
Inventor
John Harwood Leworthy
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.)
GPT INTERNATIONAL Ltd
Telent Technologies Services Ltd
Original Assignee
General Electric Company PLC
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 General Electric Company PLC filed Critical General Electric Company PLC
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3895203A publication Critical patent/US3895203A/en
Assigned to GEC PLESSEY TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED reassignment GEC PLESSEY TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST. Assignors: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, P.L.C., THE
Assigned to GEC PLESSEY TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED reassignment GEC PLESSEY TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST. Assignors: GPT INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
Assigned to GPT INTERNATIONAL LIMITED reassignment GPT INTERNATIONAL LIMITED CHANGE OF NAME (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). 4-01-89 - CARDIFF Assignors: GEC PLESSEY TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED (CHANGED TO)
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
    • H01H1/12—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
    • 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
    • H01H1/36—Contacts characterised by the manner in which co-operating contacts engage by sliding
    • H01H1/40—Contact mounted so that its contact-making surface is flush with adjoining insulation
    • H01H1/403—Contacts forming part of a printed circuit

Definitions

  • ABSTRACT [30] Foreign Apphc atmn Pn0rlty Data
  • a light-current electric switch has two parallel wire Jan. 24, 1973 Unlted Kingdom 3636/73 staples in a printed circuit board as fixed contacts which are electrically bridged by pushing a metal coil [52] US.
  • the present invention pro vides an electric switch in which a metal wire spring which has a plurality of turns disposed in generally heli cal form is mounted for movement between a position in which individual turns of the spring electrically bridge a pair of fixed contacts and a position in which there is no bridging of the fixed contacts, the arrangement being such that movement of the spring to the po' sition in which it bridges the fixed contacts winds or unwinds the spring to cause relative movement between adjacent turns thereof and thereby provide a wiping action between the spring and the fixed contacts.
  • the spring is so mounted that the axis of the helix is substantially at right angles to the direction of said movement.
  • a push button or key may be provided for manual operation of the switch.
  • the spring may be loosely carried on an actuating member that is mounted for movement in the direction of said movement.
  • the helical portion of the spring may loosely embrace a peg projecting from this member.
  • the end portions of the spring may extend away from the helical portion thereof, the spring being ten sioned so that the end portions press against the actuating member.
  • the fixed contacts are preferably elongated in a direction generally parallel to the axis of the helix.
  • the fixed contacts may be staple-like in form and may be secured to a printed circuit board in like manner to a paper staple in paper.
  • Switches of the kind recited above may be provided with a common mounting structure.
  • a common printed circuit board may carry the fixed contacts of all the switches, these fixed contacts being electrically connected to conductors of the printed circuit board.
  • the switches may be disposed in a rectilinear matrix.
  • FIGS. 1 and 2 are respectively front and side elevations (partly in section) ofa manually operable electric keyswitch in accordance with the invention
  • FIG. 3 is a view, corresponding to FIG. 1 of the keyswitch in its operated position
  • FIG. 4 shows a plan view of a printed circuit board that is part of an array of keyswitches each of which is as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.
  • a helical spring of gold plated phosphor bronze or other suit able spring wire is loosely carried on a peg 12 jutting from an actuating member 14 of the keyswitch.
  • the spring 10 is tensioned so that the end portions 10 thereof press against a part 17 projecting from the main body of the member 14, the end portions 10 lying in channels 18 in the part 17 in which channels the ends of the spring may slide longitudinally.
  • the member 14 protrudes through a hole 20 in a surface plate 22 and terminates in a manually-operable key 24.
  • the key 24 or the plate 22 adjacent to the key 24 may carry or be associated with one or more alpha-numeric or pictorial symbols (not shown).
  • a printed circuit board 26 is mounted substantially parallel to the surface plate 22.
  • a projection 28 on the member 14 is slidable in a hole 30 in the board 26 which together with the hole 20 guides the member 14 for sliding movement in the planes of FIGS. 1 and 2.
  • a further spring 32 embraces the projection 28 and engages both the board 26 and the member 14 so as to bias the member 14 from its operated position (FIG. 3) to its non-operated position (FIGS. 1 and 2).
  • the board 26 has two metal staples 34 of gold-plated copper wire secured thereto to serve as fixed contacts. It will be seen by a comparison of FIGS. 1 and 3 that as the key 24 is depressed to move the member 14, the spring 10 first contacts the staples 34 while the spring 10 is still lying on the peg 12 and then the body of the spring 10 is lifted off the peg 12 by further downward movement of the member 14. In the final position of the member 14 (FIG. 3) as determined by a stop 36 on the bottom of the member 14, it will be seen that the ends 16 of the spring 10 have slid along the channels 18 and the spring 10 is more tightly coiled.
  • the staples 34 are mechanically secured to the board 26 in like manner to conventional staples by having their end portions 41 turned over.
  • the end portions 41 are electrically connected to conductors 42 on the side 40 of the printed circuit board 26 in known manner by means of blobs 43 of solder. Fixed contacts other than staples could be used.
  • the board 26 preferably carries printed conductors only on the side 40 although the board 26 can carry conductors on either or both sides. It has been found that at least one printed conductor can be disposed on the board 26 between the staples 34 thereby enabling an increased conductor path complexity.
  • the member 14 (including the peg 12, the part 17, the projection 28 and the stop 36) is preferably a unitary plastics moulding.
  • the surface plate 22 may have lip 38 round the hole 20 to reduce the chances of spilled liquids contaminating the switch and printed circuit board.
  • a plurality of the above described switches may be assembled in rows and columns to provide a manually operable keyboard, e.g. for a telephone subscribers apparatus or for a PBX.
  • the layout of conductors of part of a common printed circuit board for such an array of switches is shown in FIG. 4.
  • those portions of the conductors on the printed circuit board 45 that are designated 46A to 46L are each associated with one of said switches.
  • the board 45 has a pair of holes 47 'to receive a fixed contact staple (corresponding to one of the staples 34 in FIGS. 1 to 3) and adjacent to those holes there are a pair of printed lands 48 to which the end portions (corresponding to the portions 41) of that staple are soldered after they have been bent over to hold the staple captive on the board.
  • another pair of holes 49 is provided to receive the other fixed contact staple and there are a pair of printed lands 50 adjacent to the holes 49 for solder connection to the end portions of that staple.
  • the hole 30 corresponds to the hole 30 in FIGS. 1 and 3.
  • the conductors 51 and 52 connect one fixed contact of one switch to the corresponding fixed contacts of the two switches that lie in the same line as that switch one on either side thereof. Furthermore, the fixed contact staples in the holes 47 and 49 effectively bridge the conductor 53 which passes between the pairs oflands 48 and 50.
  • operation of any one of the switches causes a connection to be provided between a unique pair of contacts 54 and the features just mentioned enable this to be achieved with printed conductors on only one side of the board 45.
  • An electric switch comprising an electrically insulating member, a pair of fixed contacts mounted on said member, a metal wire spring which has a plurality of turns disposed in generally helical form, means to mount said spring for movement between a position in which individual turns of the spring electrically bridge said fixed contacts and a position in which there is no bridging of the fixed contacts, and spring tensioning means operable upon movement of said spring to the position in which it bridges the fixed contacts to cause relative movement of adjacent turns of the spring and thereby provide a wiping action between the spring and the fixed contacts.
  • An electric switch according to claim 1 wherein said means to mount said spring comprises an actuating member having a peg which projects from the body of that member and which is loosely embraced by the helical portion of the spring.
  • said pair of fixed contacts are provided by a pair of staples each of which has a centre portion lying adjacent one side of the printed circuit board and two leg portions which pass through the printed circuit board and at least one of which is electrically connected to a conductor of the printed circuit board on the other side thereof.
  • An electric switch comprising a printed circuit board having a plurality of conductors on one side thereof, a pair of metal staples mounted on said board and each having a centre portion and two leg portions which extend one from either side of the centre portion, the centre portions of the two staples lying parallel to one another adjacent the opposite side of the printed circuit board to that on which said conductors are provided and the two leg portions of each staple passing through the board with leg portions of the two staples electrically connected respectively to two of said conductors an actuating member, a metal wire spring which comprises a centre portion having a plurality of turns disposed in generally helical form and two end portions which extend away from the centre portion and generally tangential respectively to the two end turns of the centre portion, means to mount said actuating member for movement in a direction perpendicular to the plane of said board between a position in which individual turns of the centre portion of said spring electrically bridge the centre portions of the two staples and a position in which there is no bridging of the staples, and means to apply force to the end

Landscapes

  • Push-Button Switches (AREA)
  • Contacts (AREA)
US435599A 1973-01-24 1974-01-22 Manually operable electric switch with movable coil spring contact Expired - Lifetime US3895203A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB363673A GB1460021A (en) 1973-01-24 1973-01-24 Electric switches

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3895203A true US3895203A (en) 1975-07-15

Family

ID=9762063

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US435599A Expired - Lifetime US3895203A (en) 1973-01-24 1974-01-22 Manually operable electric switch with movable coil spring contact

Country Status (7)

Country Link
US (1) US3895203A (enrdf_load_html_response)
JP (1) JPS49109873A (enrdf_load_html_response)
AU (1) AU473387B2 (enrdf_load_html_response)
DE (1) DE2403108A1 (enrdf_load_html_response)
GB (1) GB1460021A (enrdf_load_html_response)
SE (1) SE390851B (enrdf_load_html_response)
ZA (1) ZA74449B (enrdf_load_html_response)

Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4004121A (en) * 1974-04-04 1977-01-18 Mechanical Enterprises, Inc. Electrical switch with wire beam spring contact closer
US4034177A (en) * 1976-11-19 1977-07-05 Burroughs Corporation Plunger-actuated, lost motion switch with tactile feedback
US4112284A (en) * 1975-08-22 1978-09-05 The General Electric Company Limited Fall-through return spring arrangement for a push-button switch mechanism
US4507651A (en) * 1981-07-09 1985-03-26 Vacuumschmelze Gmbh Contact-free push-button key for generating an electrical signal upon depression thereof
US4600819A (en) * 1985-03-08 1986-07-15 Mechanical Enterprises, Inc. Switch assembly
US4631378A (en) * 1983-10-31 1986-12-23 Jelco. Co., Ltd. Push button switch
US4795865A (en) * 1987-12-10 1989-01-03 Delta Systems, Inc. Safety switch for automatic de-activation of a motor vehicle
US4812604A (en) * 1987-12-10 1989-03-14 Delta Systems, Inc. Torsion spring contact switch
US5528007A (en) * 1991-09-09 1996-06-18 Delta Systems, Inc. Plunger switch and method of manufacture

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS52124483U (enrdf_load_html_response) * 1976-03-19 1977-09-21
US4188518A (en) 1976-06-16 1980-02-12 Isostat Miniature electrical push button contactor
EP0012279B1 (de) * 1978-12-14 1982-07-07 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Tastenschalter, insbesondere für Tastaturen in Schreibmaschinen und ähnlichen Einrichtungen
FR2556512B1 (fr) * 1983-12-13 1986-12-26 Itt Composants Instr Dispositif de commutation electrique
JP3757540B2 (ja) * 1996-11-08 2006-03-22 松下電工株式会社 押釦スイッチ

Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2567421A (en) * 1947-01-30 1951-09-11 Bruno Martinuzzi Push-button switch
US3214528A (en) * 1963-12-16 1965-10-26 Radio Frequency Lab Inc Rotary electrical switch with movable spring contact structure
US3244847A (en) * 1964-05-22 1966-04-05 Navigation Computer Corp Manually operated keyboard switch in a stationary mount with guided shaftway
US3697706A (en) * 1971-06-23 1972-10-10 Baldwin Co D H Push type electric switch with contact post, movable coil spring contact and interposed non conductive plunger
US3725907A (en) * 1971-06-01 1973-04-03 Texas Instruments Inc Pushbutton keyboard system
US3767878A (en) * 1972-09-21 1973-10-23 Stackpole Component Co Keyboard switch

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
AT266970B (de) * 1967-04-28 1968-12-10 Standard Telephon & Telegraph Federnde elektrische Kontaktvorrichtung
CH460119A (de) * 1967-07-27 1968-07-31 Baumer Electric Ag Elektrische Schalttaste
FR2102579A5 (enrdf_load_html_response) * 1970-08-10 1972-04-07 Arvai T
US3699296A (en) * 1971-05-21 1972-10-17 Ibm Catastrophically buckling compression column switch and actuator

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2567421A (en) * 1947-01-30 1951-09-11 Bruno Martinuzzi Push-button switch
US3214528A (en) * 1963-12-16 1965-10-26 Radio Frequency Lab Inc Rotary electrical switch with movable spring contact structure
US3244847A (en) * 1964-05-22 1966-04-05 Navigation Computer Corp Manually operated keyboard switch in a stationary mount with guided shaftway
US3725907A (en) * 1971-06-01 1973-04-03 Texas Instruments Inc Pushbutton keyboard system
US3697706A (en) * 1971-06-23 1972-10-10 Baldwin Co D H Push type electric switch with contact post, movable coil spring contact and interposed non conductive plunger
US3767878A (en) * 1972-09-21 1973-10-23 Stackpole Component Co Keyboard switch

Cited By (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4004121A (en) * 1974-04-04 1977-01-18 Mechanical Enterprises, Inc. Electrical switch with wire beam spring contact closer
US4112284A (en) * 1975-08-22 1978-09-05 The General Electric Company Limited Fall-through return spring arrangement for a push-button switch mechanism
US4034177A (en) * 1976-11-19 1977-07-05 Burroughs Corporation Plunger-actuated, lost motion switch with tactile feedback
US4507651A (en) * 1981-07-09 1985-03-26 Vacuumschmelze Gmbh Contact-free push-button key for generating an electrical signal upon depression thereof
US4631378A (en) * 1983-10-31 1986-12-23 Jelco. Co., Ltd. Push button switch
US4600819A (en) * 1985-03-08 1986-07-15 Mechanical Enterprises, Inc. Switch assembly
WO1986005316A1 (en) * 1985-03-08 1986-09-12 Mechanical Enterprises, Inc. Switch assembly
US4795865A (en) * 1987-12-10 1989-01-03 Delta Systems, Inc. Safety switch for automatic de-activation of a motor vehicle
US4812604A (en) * 1987-12-10 1989-03-14 Delta Systems, Inc. Torsion spring contact switch
US5528007A (en) * 1991-09-09 1996-06-18 Delta Systems, Inc. Plunger switch and method of manufacture

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
SE390851B (sv) 1977-01-24
JPS49109873A (enrdf_load_html_response) 1974-10-18
DE2403108A1 (de) 1974-07-25
ZA74449B (en) 1974-12-24
AU6465574A (en) 1975-07-24
GB1460021A (en) 1976-12-31
AU473387B2 (en) 1976-06-17

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Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AS Assignment

Owner name: GEC PLESSEY TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED, ENGLAND

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST.;ASSIGNOR:GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, P.L.C., THE;REEL/FRAME:005025/0756

Effective date: 19890109

AS Assignment

Owner name: GEC PLESSEY TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED, ENGLAND

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST.;ASSIGNOR:GPT INTERNATIONAL LIMITED;REEL/FRAME:005224/0225

Effective date: 19890917

Owner name: GPT INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

Free format text: CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNOR:GEC PLESSEY TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED (CHANGED TO);REEL/FRAME:005240/0917

Effective date: 19890917