Pivotable multipole switch

An electrical switch for connecting and disconnecting a plurality of isolated electrical conductors comprising:

• (a) an insulating base panel,
• (b) a thin substantially flat insulating sheet,
• (c) means for pivotably supporting said sheet parallel to and above said base panel,
• (d) a plurality of parallel planar conductors mounted substantially flush with at least one side of said sheet and extending to at least one edge of said sheet,
• (e) at least one connector mounted on said base panel and having an array of parallel elastically deformable conductors forcibly engageable with the parallel planar conductors on said sheet,
• (f) means for forcibly engaging and disengaging said sheet with said connectors,
• (g) means for making electrical connections to said parallel planar conductors, and
• (h) means for making electrical connections to said elastically deformable conductors.

An electrical switch for connecting and disconnecting a plurality of isolated electrical conductors comprising:

• (a) an insulating base panel,
• (b) a thin substantially flat insulating sheet,
• (c) means for pivotably supporting said sheet parallel to and above said base panel,
• (d) a plurality of parallel planar conductors mounted substantially flush with at least one side of said sheet and extending transversely from the longitudinal center line of said sheet to at least one edge of said sheet,
• (e) at least one connector mounted on said base panel and having an array of parallel elastically deformable conductors forcibly engageable with the parallel planar conductors on said sheet,
• (f) means for forcibly engaging and disengaging said sheet with said connectors,
• (g) means for making electrical connections to said parallel planar conductors, and
• (h) means for making electrical connections to said elastically deformable conductors.

An electrical switch for connecting and disconnecting a plurality of isolated electrical conductors comprising:

• (a) an insulating substantially flat base panel,
• (b) a pair of rearward facing rear multi-conductor connectors mounted on either side of the longitudinal center line of the base panel near the rear edge of the base panel,
• (c) a pair of front multi-conductor connectors having upper and lower rows of parallel, elastically deformable contact strips, said strips being disposed perpendicularly inward from the front mating surface of said connectors, said connectors being mounted in mirror image positions equidistant from the longitudinal center line of the base panel near the front edge of the base panel, the long axis of each connector being canted outward slightly from the longitudinal center line of the base panel, viewing the panel from front to rear,
• (d) conductors electrically connecting corresponding terminals in both left and right hand front/rear connector pairs,
• (e) a substantially rectangular insulating sheet pivotably mounted above and parallel to the base panel, said sheet having its longitudinal center line above and parallel to the center line of the base panel in the neutral position of the pivotable sheet,
• (f) right and left upper and lower row pairs of parallel planar conductors mounted substantially flush with the upper and lower sides of said pivotable sheet and extending perpendicularly from the longitudinal center line of said sheet to the right and left front edges respectively of said sheet, said parallel planar conductors being pivotably engageable with either the right or left front elastically deformable-contact connector mounted on the base panel,
• (g) a rearward facing rear multi-conductor connector mounted on the pivotable sheet symmetrically with respect to the center line of the pivotable sheet,
• (h) conductors electrically connecting the inner edges of the parallel planar conductors to terminals on the center rear connector, and
• (i) an insulating handle mounted to and extending beyond the front edge of the pivotable sheet, thereby providing the capability for pivoting the sheet to either left-hand, right-hand, or central neutral switch positions.

An electrical switch for connecting and disconnecting a plurality of isolated electrical conductors comprising:

• (a) an insulating base panel,
• (b) a thin substantially flat insulating sheet,
• (c) means for pivotably supporting said sheet in a vertical plane perpendicular to said base panel,
• (d) means for pivoting said sheet in a horizontal plane,
• (e) a plurality of parallel planar conductors mounted substantially flush with at least one side of said sheet and extending to at least one edge of said sheet,
• (f) at least one connector mounted on said based panel and having an array of parallel elastically deformable conductors forcibly engageable with the parallel planar conductors on said sheet,
• (g) means for forcibly engaging and disengaging said sheet with said connector,
• (h) means for making electrical connections to said parallel planar conductors, and
• (i) means for making electrical connections to said elastically deformable conductors.

An electrical switch for connecting and disconnecting a plurality of isolated electrical conductors comprising:

• (a) an insulating base panel,
• (b) a thin substantially flat insulating sheet,
• (c) means for pivotably supporting said sheet in a vertical plane perpendicular to said base panel,
• (d) means for pivoting said sheet in a horizontal plane,
• (e) a plurality of parallel planar conductors mounted substantially flush with at least one side of said sheet and extending transversely from the longitudinal center line of said sheet to one edge of said sheet,
• (f) at least one connector fixedly mounted with respect to said base panel and having an array of parallel elastically deformable conductors forcibly engageable with the parallel planar conductors on said sheet,
• (g) means for forcibly engaging and disengaging said sheet with said connector,
• (h) means for making electrical connections to said parallel planar conductors, and
• (i) means for making electrical connections to said elastically deformable conductors.

An electrical switch for connecting and disconnecting a plurality of isolated electrical conductors comprising:

• (a) an insulating substantially flat base panel,
• (b) a plurality of rearward facing multi-conductor connectors mounted perpendicular to the base panel,
• (c) a plurality of front multi-conductor connectors having right and left rows of parallel, elastically deformable contact strips, said strips being disposed perpendicularly downward from the top mating surface of said connectors, said connectors being mounted near the front edge of the base panel on radial lines connecting the front edge of each connector with a central pivot point near the rear edge of the longitudinal center line of the base panel,
• (d) conductors electrically connecting corresponding terminals in front and rear connector pairs,
• (e) a substantially rectangular vertically oriented insulating sheet pivotably mounted to the base panel and pivotable both parallel to and perpendicular to the base panel,
• (f) right and left rows of parallel planar conductors mounted substantially flush with the right and left sides of said pivotable sheet and extending perpendicularly downward from the longitudinal center line of said sheet, said parallel planar conductors being pivotably engageable with the selected one of the plurality of front multi-conductor connectors,
• (g) a center rearward facing rear multi-conductor connector mounted perpendicular to the base panel,
• (h) conductors electrically connecting the inner edges of the parallel planar conductors to terminals on the center rear connector, and
• (i) an insulating handle mounted to and extending beyond the front edge of the pivotable sheet whereby the sheet may be pivoted vertically to disengage it from a front connector, pivoted horizontally to a different connector positioned, and pivoted vertically to engage said sheet with a selected connector.