Magnetically actuated pushbutton switch
AssigneeDuraswitch Industries, Inc.
InventorAnthony J. Van Zeeland
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An electrical switch has a set of electrodes mounted on one side of a carrier. The opposite side of the carrier mounts an actuator having a plunger mounted for reciprocating motion. The plunger carries a coupler in the form of magnets. A conductive armature of magnetic material is disposed on the electrode side of the carrier. When the plunger withdraws the coupler magnets from the carrier, the armature is free to fall out of contact with the electrodes. A retention cover maintains the armature in the vicinity of the carrier such that subsequent movement of the coupler proximate the carrier will draw the armature back into contact with the electrodes.
Claims27
An electrical switch, comprising:
- a carrier having first and second surfaces;
- a set of electrodes disposed on one of said carrier surfaces and defining at least one pair of spaced switch contacts;
- a containment cover on said one of the carrier surfaces, the containment cover and carrier together defining an enclosed chamber encompassing the switch contacts;
- an actuator for selectively opening or closing the switch contacts, the actuator comprising an electrically conductive armature disposed within the chamber, and a first coupler mounted on the other of the carrier surfaces for reciprocating movement toward and away from the chamber, one of the coupler and armature being a permanent magnet and the other being made of magnetic material, the coupler being movable close enough to the chamber such that magnetic attraction between the coupler and armature draws the armature into shorting relation with the switch contacts, and the coupler being movable far enough away from the chamber to release the armature from contact with the carrier.
A combination pushbutton and rotary switch, comprising:
- a carrier having first and second surfaces with first and second sets of electrodes on one surface of the carrier;
- first and second armatures associated with the first and second sets of electrodes respectively;
- an actuator on the other surface of the carrier, the actuator including a plunger mounted for reciprocating movement toward and away from the first set of electrodes and a rotor mounted for rotary movement opposite the second set of electrodes;
- first and second couplers attached to the plunger and rotor, respectively;
- one of the second coupler and second armature being a permanent magnet and the other being made of magnetic material such that the second armature is held in engagement with said one surface of the carrier by the magnetic attraction between the second coupler and second armature, movement of the rotor causing corresponding movement of the second armature with respect to the second set of spaced electrodes;
- one of the first coupler and first armature being a permanent magnet and the other being made of magnetic material such that when the plunger places the first coupler proximate to the carrier the first armature is held in engagement with said first set of electrodes by the magnetic attraction between the first coupler and first armature, and when the plunger places the first coupler remote from the carrier the first armature is released from contact with the carrier;
- and
- a containment cover on said one of the carrier surfaces enclosing at least the first armature.
An electrical switch of the type having a generally hollow bushing with an inner wall and a plunger slidably mounted in the bushing, a set of electrodes defining at least one pair of spaced switch contacts associated with the plunger for selective opening or closing of the switch contacts, the improvement comprising a push-push mechanism engageable with the plunger and including:
- a generally cylindrical sleeve mounted for rotation in the bushing and having an inner surface;
- a plurality of axially-extending grooves on the inner surface of the sleeve, a plurality of stops located between the grooves, a latch slidably mounted in the bushing and having at least one cog slidably engageable with said grooves or interferingly engageable with said stops depending on the orientation of the cog, a return spring biasing the latch out of the bushing, a keycap slidably mounted in the bushing, the keycap and latch having interengaging cam surfaces which index the latch each time a user pushes on the keycap to alternately align the cog with a stop or a groove.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.