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US 6,894,595 B2Granted
Magnetically operated hinge switch
AssigneeKey Safety Systems, Inc.
InventorAntony Howell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A switch has a unitary plastic body that can be formed by injection moulding or extrusion. The body has a base that holds a magnetic field sensor. The base is fastened to a support structure by a plurality of fasteners. The base is connected to an arm by an elastic U-shaped portion of the plastic body that acts as both a hinge and a biasing member. The arm positions an activation magnet over the base and the sensor. The arm does not block access to fasteners that mount the switch to the support structure.
Claims17
A switch comprising:
- a single piece plastic hinge, the hinge having a base portion and flexible section which extends between the base portion and an arm portion extending over the base portion;
- a magnetic field sensor mounted to the base portion;
- and
- an activation magnet mounted to the arm portion, the flexible section elastically biasing the arm portion and the actuation magnet away from the magnetic field sensor mounted to the base portion so that the magnetic field sensor is activated by elastically pushing the arm portion towards the base portion.
1 more element
A switch comprising:
- a single piece plastic hinge body;
- a base forming a portion of the plastic hinge body, the base being mounted to a support structure by a plurality of fasteners extending through the base;
- a U-shaped hinge integrally formed with the base;
- an arm integrally formed with the base and the U-shaped hinge, wherein the U-shaped hinge extends between the base and the arm, and wherein the arm extends over at least a portion of the base;
- a magnetic field sensor mounted to the base;
- and
- an activation magnet mounted to the arm, the U-shaped hinge elastically biasing the arm portion and the activation magnet away from the magnetic field sensor mounted to the base so that the magnetic field sensor is activated by elastically pushing the arm portion towards the base.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.