Electrical contact mat with device for closed-circuit protection

Abstract

Electrical contact mat (2) with at least two plates (2a, 2b) arranged at a spacing from each other in the at-rest condition, which plates are fabricated in particular from rubber or polymers and made electrically conductive by the admixture of conductive substances such as carbon black, graphite, metal powder and the like, the spacing being established by one or more nonconductive spacers, and with a device for closed-circuit protection, which is operatively connected with the plates (2a, 2b), the spacers being designed as a substantially inelastic interlayer (2c), which has openings of such size that the inner surfaces of the plates (2a, 2b) make mutual contact when the contact mat (2) is under compressive load and thus form the switch of a tactile sensor (1) of the device for closed-circuit protection, the sensor (1) having an electrical connection (3) in parallel with the contact mat (2).

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.