US 5,376,764 AGranted

Three-way switch

AssigneeIndustrial Innovations, Inc.

InventorsDale J. Retter, Anthony J. Van Zeeland

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Abstract

A three-position floating beam armature switch includes a hollow housing, in which a floating beam armature is resiliently biased toward the closed top of the housing. An operator member is carried by the housing to apply a predetermined force to the armature; so that a first end of the armature initially moves toward the bottom of the housing by pivoting the armature about its second end. Continued application of additional force by the operator member, causes the armature to pivot about the first end; so that the second end then moves toward the bottom of the housing. With both the first and second ends at the bottom of the housing, the third position of the switch is attained. Release of force by the operator member allows the floating beam armature once again to be biased toward the top of the housing to the initial position.

Claims17

Dependent claims

An actuator for a three-position switch including in combination:

a hollow housing member with first and second ends, first and second sides, a bottom and a top;
a floating beam armature, having a center and first and second ends, in said housing member and extending between said first and second ends of said housing member;
a resilient anchor at each end of said floating beam armature to bias said armature toward the top of said housing;
an operator member carried by said housing for applying a predetermined force to said armature so that said armature pivots at the second end thereof, with the first end thereof moved into contact with the bottom of said housing, whereupon continued application of force by said operator member, greater than said predetermined force, causes said armature to pivot at the first end thereof, so that the second end of said armature moves to the bottom of said housing to locate both said first and second ends of said armature at the bottom of said housing.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.