U.S. patent number 3,626,171 [Application Number 05/046,726] was granted by the patent office on 1971-12-07 for illuminable pushbutton switch.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Lee Electric, Inc.. Invention is credited to Mark H. Abramowitz, Harry G. Shapiro.
United States Patent |
3,626,171 |
Abramowitz , et al. |
December 7, 1971 |
ILLUMINABLE PUSHBUTTON SWITCH
Abstract
Illuminable pushbutton switch in which the button is guided and
retained within a tubular shell by fingers extending from a ring
interposed between the shell and a base, the fingers having tips
extending transversely through openings in the shell and the
button. The contact elements of the switch comprise a simple
resilient plate within the button adapted to abut the ends of
elongated fixed contacts which also serve as switch terminals.
Inventors: |
Abramowitz; Mark H. (Cresskill,
NJ), Shapiro; Harry G. (Upper Montclair, NJ) |
Assignee: |
Lee Electric, Inc. (West New
York, NJ)
|
Family
ID: |
21945044 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/046,726 |
Filed: |
June 16, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
200/314;
200/530 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01H
13/023 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01H
13/02 (20060101); F21v 033/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;240/2,2S,2SP,1
;200/159,167A,168C,172 ;116/114,124 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Capozi; Louis J.
Claims
We claim:
1. An illuminable pushbutton switch or the like comprising an
insulating base having a pair of spaced, elongated contact members
projecting from one side of the base, a tubular shell extending
from said side of said base and surrounding the projecting contact
members, a button slidably received in said shell at the end
opposite to said base, spring means within said shell urging the
button outwardly of said shell, contact means supported by the
button adapted to engage the contact members when the button is
pressed inwardly of the shell, and a button-retainer ring
interposed between the base and the shell and having a pair of
spaced fingers extending along the exterior of said shell, the
shell and button having respective pairs of aligned openings, and
the fingers having inturned ends extending through the shell
openings and into the button openings, the button openings having
sufficient length to accommodate the movement of the button when it
is pressed inwardly of the shell, the fingers' inturned ends
limiting the movement of the button outwardly of the shell.
2. An illuminable pushbutton switch or the like in accordance with
claim 1, wherein the fingers of the retainer ring are resilient,
whereby the fingers may be sprung out of the button openings to
release the button.
3. An illuminable pushbutton switch or the like in accordance with
claim 2, wherein the retainer ring includes resilient friction
fingers extending along the exterior of the shell for holding the
switch within a mounting hole.
4. An illuminable pushbutton switch or the like in accordance with
claim 1, wherein the button is substantially cup-shaped and the
contact means comprises a plate within the button adjacent to the
closed end thereof, the plate having teeth engaging the sidewall of
the button for supporting the plate and having resilient contacts
adapted to abut the ends of the contact members.
5. An illuminable pushbutton switch or the like in accordance with
claim 4, wherein the plate has an opening therethrough and the
closed end of the button is of light-transmitting material.
6. An illuminable pushbutton switch or the like in accordance with
claim 5, wherein a lamp is supported between the contact members
and has terminals electrically connected thereto.
7. An illuminable pushbutton switch or the like in accordance with
claim 1, wherein the shell is affixed to the base by tabs extending
from the shell through the base.
8. An illuminable pushbutton switch or the like in accordance with
claim 7, wherein the retainer ring has notches through which the
tabs are extended to orient the ring relative to the shell.
9. An illuminable pushbutton switch or the like in accordance with
claim 1, wherein the contact members extend through bores in the
base and have ends projecting from the opposite side thereof.
10. An illuminable pushbutton switch or the like in accordance with
claim 9, wherein the contact member ends have screws threaded
therethrough, respectively, adjacent to said opposite side of said
base.
11. An illuminable pushbutton switch or the like in accordance with
claim 10, wherein the contact members have flanges seated within
enlargements of the bores at said one side of said base.
12. An illuminable pushbutton switch or the like in accordance with
claim 1, wherein the spring means comprises a coil spring
surrounding and spaced from the contact members.
13. An illuminable pushbutton switch or the like in accordance with
claim 6, wherein the retainer ring includes resilient friction
fingers extending along the exterior of the shell for holding the
switch within a mounting hole; wherein the shell is affixed to the
base by tabs extending from the shell through the base; wherein the
retainer ring has notches through which the tabs are extended to
orient the ring relative to the shell; wherein the contact members
extend through bores in the base and have ends projecting from the
opposite side thereof; and wherein the contact member ends have
screws threaded therethrough, respectively, adjacent to said
opposite side of said base.
Description
This invention relates to illuminable pushbutton switches and is
more particularly concerned with the type of switch which
incorporates a lamp that is shunted when the button is pressed.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It has heretofore been proposed to provide an illuminable
pushbutton switch with a cylindrical shell capable of being mounted
simply in a round hole of a panel in the same manner as
nonilluminable pushbutton switches, as by spring fingers external
to the shell which retain the switch in the hole frictionally. Such
an illuminable switch is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No.
2,980,784, granted Apr. 18, 1961 to Gohs et al. The virtue of
mounting simplicity and appropriate sizing is, however, off-set by
an undue complexity of internal switch construction, and
particularly by the necessity for manufacturing and assembly a
substantially large number of intricately shaped parts. Moreover,
in order to replace the lamp, it is necessary to disassemble such
switch from the rear.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly a principal object of the present invention to
provide an improved illuminable pushbutton switch or the like of a
minimal number of easily made parts which may be assembled very
simply to thereby furnish a suitable product at a low-cost of
manufacture.
Another object of the invention is to provide a pushbutton switch
constructed to permit access to the lamp from the front of the
switch so that the switch may be readily relamped.
Briefly stated, a typical switch constructed in accordance with the
present invention comprises an insulating base supporting a pair of
generally parallel elongated, fixed contact members which project
from the base. A tubular shell surrounds the projecting contact
members, and a cup-shaped pushbutton slidably received within the
shell supports a resilient contact plate adapted to abut the ends
of the elongated fixed contact members when the button is pressed.
The button is urged outwardly of the shell by a coil spring within
the shell and is retained and guided by a retainer ring interposed
between the shell and the base. The retainer ring has a pair of
retainer fingers extending along the exterior of the shell, the
free ends of which are bent transversely or inwardly to extend
through aligned holes in the shell and in the button. A lamp is
supported between and electrically connected to the fixed contact
members. To obtain access to the lamp, it is merely necessary to
spring the retainer fingers out of the associated holes and to
remove the button.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be further described in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings, which illustrate a preferred and exemplary
embodiment, and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an illuminable
pushbutton switch in accordance with the invention, the switch
contacts being shown open;
FIG. 2 is a similar sectional view displaced by 90.degree. from the
view of FIG. 1, this view showing the switch mounted in a
panel;
FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 3--3 of FIG.
1;
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view similar to FIG. 1, but with
the contacts shown closed; and
FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the components
of the switch.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to FIG. 5, the components of a switch in accordance with
the invention comprise a base A, a pair of elongated fixed contact
members B, a button retainer ring C, an open ended tubular shell D,
a washer E (optional), a helical compression spring F, a moving
contact plate G, and a button H.
The base A is preferably an electrically insulating disc of plastic
material provided with a central well 10 to receive a lamp L, and
provided with a pair of spaced, diametrically opposed rectangular
bores 12. The elongated, fixed contact members B are preferably
flat bars of suitable conducting material provided with tapped
holes 14 at one end thereof, and have intermediate projections 16
which seat within laterally enlarged entrances of the bores 12 when
the contact members are inserted to extend through the bores, as
shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. The tapped holes 14 receive screws 18 to
provide terminals for the switch to which lead wires (not shown)
may be connected. The lamp L is connected to the contact members B
by lead wires 20. The projections 16 limit longitudinal movement of
the contact members B with respect to the base A in one direction,
and the screws 18 limit their movement in the opposite direction.
The base 10 is provided with a second set of opposed bores 13 to
enable the connection of the shell D and the retainer ring C to the
base.
When the switch is assembled, the contact members B, which project
from one side of the base A in substantial parallelism, are
surrounded by the tubular shell D. The shell preferably is made of
metal. The retainer ring C, preferably of a resilient metal, is
interposed between the shell D and the base A. The shell has
opposite integral tabs 22 which are received within notches 24 of
the retainer ring to orient the ring. As shown in FIG. 2, the tabs
are passed through the bores 13 of the base, and the tabs' free
ends are bent over upon the back face of the base to secure the
shell and the retainer ring to the base.
The button H is preferably cup-shaped and is preferably formed or
molded of a light-transmitting material (at least part of the
closed button end). Examples of light-transmitting materials are
the acrylic resins, the cellulose acetates or the like which are
transparent or translucent to light. The contact plate G,
preferably formed of a resilient conductive material, is supported
within the button H adjacent the closed end thereof as shown in
FIGS. 1, 2 and 4. The contact plate, which preferably is cruciform
in shape as shown in FIG. 5, is provided with teeth 26 angulated as
shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 to engage and bite into the tubular sidewall
28 of the button when the plate is forced into the button adjacent
the button's closed end wall 30. The contact plate is formed to
provide contacts 32 which overlie adjacent ends of the elongated,
fixed contact members B when the button is slidably received within
the shell D as shown in FIG. 1. The contacts 32, which are movable
with the button, preferably are spaced slightly from the closed end
30 of the button to permit resilient engagement with the fixed
contact members. The coil spring F is positioned within the shell
D, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, one end of the spring engaging the
lower edge of the button's wall 28, and urging the button outwardly
of the shell D. To assure engagement of the spring with the button,
the open end thereof may be formed with an internal annular flange
34. The other end of the spring engages the insulating washer E
adjacent to the base A. If desired, the washer may be omitted,
whereby the spring engages the retainer ring C or the end internal
rim 36 of the shell D.
The retainer ring C is provided with a pair of diametrically
opposed retainer fingers 38 which extend along the exterior of the
shell D. The free ends or tips 40 of the fingers are bent
transversely or inwardly, and extend through aligned openings 42
and 44 extending through the shell and button, respectively. The
openings 44 have sufficient width and length to permit the button
to move longitudinally relative to the retainer fingers' tips 40,
so that the moving contacts 32 may engage the elongated, fixed
contact members B, as shown in FIG. 4, and may be disengaged from
these members as shown in FIG. 1. The coaction of openings 44 with
the tips 40 of retainer fingers 38 thus serves to limit the outward
movement of the button under the pressure of spring F and to guide
the reciprocative movement of the button for proper switch closing.
The contact plate G must of course be properly oriented within the
button. The retainer ring C also is provided with the usual
friction fingers 46 for holding the switch within a circular
opening 48 of a panel 50 as shown in FIG. 2. The friction fingers
are bent as shown to furnish the spring effect. The shell D is
provided with an annular flange 52 which abuts the panel 50 in the
usual manner.
A conventional incandescent lamp L is supported between the
elongated, fixed contact members B, the base of the lamp extending
into the well 10, and the lamp leads are connected to the contact
members. The contact plate G is provided with an aperture 54 to
increase the light from the lamp which is transmitted through the
button H. When the button is pressed, the lamp is shunted and
extinguished, and a circuit is completed between the switch
terminals at the screws 18.
It is apparent from the foregoing description that the pushbutton
switch of the present invention comprises a minimal number of
parts, which, by virtue of their simple configuration, are
economical to manufacture and easy to assemble. The retainer
fingers 38 of the button retainer ring C are formed from the
material between the friction fingers 46, and would ordinarily be
scrap and discarded. The switch is readily disassembled from the
front to expose the lamp by merely springing the retainer fingers
38 out of the associated openings 42 and 44 to release the button,
which may then be removed.
Although in the illustrated form of the invention the lamp
terminals are shown connected to the fixed contact members B by
conductors 20 which are soldered in holes of the fixed contact
members, it will be appreciated that if the lamp is connected to
the fixed contact members by clips, such as tubular clips slipped
over the ends of the fixed contact members, the replacement of the
lamp is greatly facilitated. The button is easily reassembled with
the remainder of the switch by springing the tips of retainer
fingers 38 back into the button openings 44. Not only is the switch
of the invention simpler to manufacture, assemble and disassemble
than comparable switches known heretofore, but the contact elements
are simpler in their construction and mode of operation, merely
requiring a simple shunting plate G for abuttingly engaging the
ends of the elongated, fixed contact members B, thereby avoiding
the need for slender, especially formed, longitudinally extending
moving switch contacts. The contact members also serve as switch
terminals at their opposite ends.
While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and
described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that
changes can be made in this embodiment without departing from the
principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is
defined in the appended claims.
* * * * *