Bus door switch apparatus
AssigneeMidland-Ross Corporation
InventorRobert M. Gute
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Disclosed is a touch bar switch apparatus useful for the opening of bus doors and the like which may be included in an electro-pneumatic door-operating system of a vehicle. The apparatus includes an elongate touch bar and a pair of housings mounted for receiving the ends of the touch bar, and switch mechanism within at least one of the housings responsive to any lateral movement of the touch bar relative to a housing containing the switch mechanism wherein, as electrically-conductive switch terminals, an elongate, coil spring may warp laterally into contact with a normally concentric sleeve.
Claims8
Manually operable normally open-circuit switch apparatus comprising a touch bar and first and second spaced assemblies to which opposite end portions of the bar are attached, said bar having at least one end portion comprising an electrically non-conductive material defining the end surface of the bar;
- said first assembly being adapted to receive two electrical conductors and comprising:
- a housing providing a recess for receiving said end portion, said recess defined by an interior circular side wall surface having a radial clearance with said end portion;
- a mount plug of electrically non-conductive material supported by said housing in axially spaced relation with said end portion;
- said plug and said end portion having central apertures and at inoperative position being aligned generally along a switch axis coaxial or parallel with the longitudinal axis of said bar;
- an elongate laterally-flexible normally-rectilinear spring extending at least partly through said apertures with its exterior surface in tightly fitting relation with surfaces defining the apertures;
- an electrically conductive sleeve supported in fixed position with said housing coaxially of said switch axis at a position between, and in spaced relation with, said end portion and the end of said mount plug further away from said end portion, said sleeve having an inner surface in normally radially spaced relation with said spring, and the length of said spring between said plug and said end portion being free to warp sidewise into contact with said sleeve;
- said spring and said sleeve being adapted for separate connection with two conductors of an electrical circuit;
- said second assembly adapted for mounting in fixed axially spaced relation with the first assembly and comprising means cooperating with means in the first assembly for maintaining said bar in a desired longitudinal or axial relation with said first assembly;
- and
- centering means urging said bar and said spring into coaxial relation with said sleeve.
Manually operable normally open-circuit switch apparatus comprising a touch bar and first and second spaced assemblies to which opposite end portions of the bar are attached, said bar having at least one end portion comprising an electrically non-conductive material defining an end surface of the bar;
- said first assembly being adapted to receive two electrical conductors and comprising:
- a housing providing a recess for receiving said end portion, said recess defined by an interior circular side wall surface having a radial clearance with said end portion;
- an elongate, normally-rectilinear, externally electrically-conductive flexible element connected to one of said electrical conductors, said element having one of its end portions secured within said end surface of the touch bar and its opposite end portion secured within an electrically non-conducting portion of the housing, said element in neutral condition of the apparatus extending along a neutral axis of said touch bar and portions of the housing;
- an electrically conductive sleeve connected to the other conductor supported in fixed position with said housing coaxially of said neutral axis at a position between, and in spaced relation with, said secured ends of the said element, said sleeve having an inner surface in radially spaced relation with said element at said neutral condition, and the length of said element between said secured ends being free to warp sidewise into contact with said sleeve when said touch bar is moved laterally;
- and
- centering means for urging said touch bar and said flexible element into coaxial relation with said sleeve.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.