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US 5,334,967 AGranted
Voltage divider
AssigneeIllinois Tool Works Inc.
InventorGeorge Paszkiewicz
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A voltage divider which can be manipulated so as to vary the output voltage thereof, prevents mechanical wear of the voltage divider element, provides continuous contact, and can be sealed so as to prevent interaction with the ambient atmosphere including first and second non-conductive substrates with a predetermined spaced portion therebetween. A first conductive strip on the second substrate is depressed across the spaced portion so as to contact at least one of a plurality of conductive taps on the first substrate, each of which are in contact with a voltage divider element so as to complete a desired circuit. By sliding while depressing the second substrate along its surface where the conductive strip is positioned, one or more successive taps are contacted so as to vary the voltage supplied to the circuit.
Claims20
A voltage divider, comprising:
- a first non-conductive substrate having first and second opposite surfaces;
- a second non-conductive flexible substrate having first and second opposite surfaces, said first surface of said second substrate facing, and being sealed to, said first surface of said first substrate;
- non-conductive spacing means, having a slot defined therein, interposed between said first and second substrates for positioning at least a predetermined portion of said second substrate at a distance from said first substrate;
- a longitudinally extending conductive strip, electrically connected to a desired circuit, disposed upon a portion of said first surface of said second substrate which corresponds to said predetermined portion of said second substrate which is spaced from said first substrate;
- longitudinally extending voltage divider resistance means disposed upon a first portion of said first surface of said first substrate which is remote from said predetermined spaced portion of said second substrate upon which said longitudinally extending conductive strip is disposed;
- and
- a plurality of conductive taps disposed upon a second portion of said first surface of said first substrate and extending laterally from said longitudinally extending voltage divider resistance means so as to be disposed in a longitudinally extending array with a predetermined distance being defined between successive ones of said plurality of conductive taps, said plurality of conductive taps being integrally connected to said longitudinally extending voltage divider resistance means and being positioned substantially beneath said predetermined spaced portion of said second substrate upon which said longitudinally extending conductive strip is disposed such that a user can depress said predetermined spaced portion of said second substrate so as to establish electrical contact between a predetermined portion of said longitudinally extending conductive strip and at least one of said plurality of conductive taps, by causing said predetermined portion of said longitudinally extending conductive strip to be moved through said slot of said non-conductive spacing means, so as to complete said circuit and provide a desired voltage thereto whereby said user can selectively depress said predetermined spaced portion of said second substrate anywhere along its length where said longitudinally extending conductive strip is correspondingly positioned so as to provide selective contact of a predetermined portion of said longitudinally extending conductive strip with one or more of said successive ones of said plurality of conductive taps and thereby vary said voltage supplied to said circuit.
4 more elements
A voltage divider, comprising:
- a first non-conductive substrate having first and second opposite surfaces;
- a second non-conductive flexible substrate having first and second opposite surfaces, said first surface of said second substrate facing, and being sealed to, said first surface of said first substrate;
- spacing means, including a bubble portion provided within said second substrate, for positioning at least a predetermined portion of said second substrate at a distance from said first substrate;
- a conductive strip, electrically connected to a desired circuit, disposed upon a portion of said first surface of said second substrate which corresponds to said predetermined portion of said second substrate which is spaced from said first substrate;
- voltage divider means disposed upon a first portion of said first surface of said first substrate which is remote from said predetermined spaced portion of said second substrate upon which said conductive strip is disposed;
- and
- a plurality of conductive taps disposed upon a second portion of said first surface of said first substrate which is positioned substantially beneath said predetermined spaced portion of said second substrate upon which said conductive strip is disposed such that a user can depress said predetermined spaced portion of said second substrate so as to establish electrical contact between a predetermined portion of said conductive strip and at least one of said plurality of conductive taps so as to complete said circuit and provide a desired voltage thereto whereby said user can selectively depress said predetermined spaced portion of said second substrate anywhere along its length where said conductive strip is correspondingly positioned so as to provide selective contact of a predetermined portion of said conductive strip with one or more of said successive ones of said plurality of conductive taps and thereby vary said voltage supplied to said circuit.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.