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US 5,813,520 AGranted
Housing and actuator button assembly
AssigneeEricsson Inc.
InventorsBart Reier, Patrick Nixon, Robert Doran
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An actuator button is mounted in a housing by a cantilevered beam fixedly attached to the intermediate portion of a torsion beam. The ends of the torsion beam are nonrotatably fixed with respect to the housing. The actuator button is maintained at a normal, spaced-apart position with respect to a switch positioned within the housing. Movement of the actuator toward the switch induces bending stress in the cantilevered beam and torsional stress in torsion beam. The actuator button arrangement permits direct, vertical insertion of the actuator button into the housing, does not require any secondary assembly operations, and has a unitary construction.
Claims17
A housing assembly, comprising:
- a housing having an internal surface and an external surface, at least one opening extending between said internal surface and said external surface, and a pair of notches disposed on the internal surface of the housing and adapted to retain respective spaced-apart end portions of a torsion beam;
- and
- an actuator button having a first portion extending through said opening in the housing, and a second portion disposed within said housing, said second portion having a base from which said first portion of the actuator button extends, an elongated torsion beam spaced from said base and having a pair of spaced-apart end portions each adapted to be mounted in a respective one of said pair of notches on the internal surface of the housing and further including an intermediate portion disposed between said spaced-apart end portions, and a cantilevered beam extending between said intermediate portion of the torsion beam and said base of the actuator button and attached in respective fixed relationship to said intermediate portion of the torsion beam and to said base of the actuator button.
A housing assembly, comprising:
- a housing having an internal surface and an external surface, at least one opening extending between said internal surface and said external surface, and a pair of notches disposed on the internal surface of the housing and adapted to retain respective spaced-apart end portions of a torsion beam, each of the spaced-apart end portions of the torsion beam having a cross-sectional shape at least partially defined by a plurality of generally orthogonal flat surfaces arranged in a predefined relationship with each other, and each one of the pair of notches formed on the interior surface of said housing having a plurality of flat surfaces that are arranged to mate with the flat surfaces defined on a respective end of the torsion beam;
- and
- an actuator button having a first portion extending through said opening in the housing, and a second portion disposed within said housing, said second portion having a base from which said first portion of the actuator button extends, an elongated torsion beam spaced from said base and having a pair of spaced-apart end portions each adapted to be mounted in a respective one of said pair of notches on the internal surface of the housing and further including an intermediate portion disposed between said spaced-apart end portions, and a cantilevered beam extending between said intermediate portion of the torsion beam and said base of the actuator button and attached in respective fixed relationship to said intermediate portion of the torsion beam and to said base of the actuator button.
A housing assembly, comprising:
- a housing having an internal surface and an external surface, at least one opening extending between said internal surface and said external surface, and a pair of notches disposed on the internal surface of the housing and adapted to retain respective spaced-apart end portions of a torsion beam, said pair of notches being defined by a pair of embossments each of which have a lower surface extending outwardly from a portion of the interior surface of the housing, a pair of anti-rotation platforms each of which is vertically aligned and spaced from the lower surface of a respective one of said embossments, and a portion of said interior surface of the housing extending between the lower surface of each of the embossments and the respective vertically aligned anti-rotation platform;
- and
- an actuator button having a first portion extending through said opening in the housing, and a second portion disposed within said housing, said second portion having a base from which said first portion of the actuator button extends, an elongated torsion beam spaced from said base and having a pair of spaced-apart end portions each adapted to be mounted in a respective one of said pair of notches on the internal surface of the housing and further including an intermediate portion disposed between said spaced-apart end portions, and a cantilevered beam extending between said intermediate portion of the torsion beam and said base of the actuator button and attached in respective fixed relationship to said intermediate portion of the torsion beam and to said base of the actuator button.
An actuator button, comprising:
- a first portion adapted to extend through an opening in a housing and having a tactile outer surface;
- and
- a second portion having a base from which said first portion of the actuator button extends, an elongated torsion beam spaced from said base and having a pair of spaced-apart end portions each adapted for mounting in fixed relationship with said housing and an intermediate portion disposed between said spaced-apart end portions, and a cantilevered beam extending between said intermediate portion of the torsion beam and said base of the actuator button and attached in respective fixed relationship to said intermediate portion of the torsion beam and to said base of the actuator button.
An actuator button, comprising:
- a first portion adapted to extend through an opening in a housing and having a tactile outer surface;
- and
- a second portion having a base from which said first portion of the actuator button extends, an elongated torsion beam spaced from said base and having a pair of spaced-apart end portions each adapted for mounting in fixed relationship with said housing and an intermediate portion disposed between said spaced-apart end portions, and a cantilevered beam extending between said intermediate portion of the torsion beam and said base of the actuator button and attached in respective fixed relationship to said intermediate portion of the torsion beam and to said base of the actuator button, said torsion beam having an arm extending radially outwardly from each of the spaced-apart end portions at a radial position whereat each of said arms is adapted for abutment with a predefined portion of the housing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.