AU2018202493B2

AU2018202493B2 - Push-button switch

Info

Publication number: AU2018202493B2
Application number: AU2018202493A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Peter Zhang
Original assignee: Schneider Electric Australia Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Schneider Electric Australia Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2017-04-10
Filing date: 2018-04-09
Publication date: 2023-04-13
Anticipated expiration: 2038-04-09
Also published as: AU2018202493A1; CN108695101A; CN108695101B

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention relates to a push-button switch, comprising: an actuating mechanism having a first permanent magnet (161) and a second permanent magnet (162); a conductive bridge (13) coupled to the actuating mechanism; a button (14), and a magnetically-attractable member (15) being movably coupled to said button (14) between a first stop and a second stop. The magnetically-attractable member (15) is arranged so that: in response to said button (14) being pressed, said magnetically-attractable member (15) at one of said first stop and said second stop drives said actuating mechanism to act at a side adjacent to one of said first permanent magnet (161) and said second permanent magnet (162); and in response to said button (14) being released, the other of said first permanent magnet (161) and said second permanent magnet (162) attracts said magnetically-attractable member (15) to move to the other of said first stop and said second stop. The push-button switch according to the present invention has a small footprint, so that it can be easily made thinner, and the number of parts is small for easy assembly. 23 1/7 100 r141 14 10 12 121 116 162 19 4 13 ::Mi 17 EMB131 Figure 1

Description

1/7

100

r141 14

10

12 121 116

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4 13

::Mi 17

EMB131

Figure 1

PUSH-BUTTON SWITCH TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] Various embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of switches,

and in particular to a push-button switch.

BACKGROUND

[0002] The push-button switch is a typical type of switch that turns on and off one

circuit alternately or alternately turns on two circuits, by repeatedly pressing a button.

[0003] A current push-button switch causes a conductive bridge driven by a rocker

to deflect between two positions so as to turn on or off a circuit, by pressing a button

to drive a driving member and the rocker to deflect about an axis perpendicular to a

movement direction of the button. This type of push-button switch requires a

sufficient amount of interaction between the driving member and one side of the

rocker when the button is pressed, so that the driving member is allowed to reliably

drive the one side of the rocker to deflect toward one direction, while requiring a

sufficient amount of interaction between the other side of the rocker and the driving

member when the button is released, so that the driving member can drive the rocker

from the other side to deflect toward another direction when the button is pressed next

time.

[0004] For this reason, the shapes and sizes of the driving member and the rocker

need to be carefully designed, the sizes of parts in the switch need to be very precise,

and assembling of the parts also needs to be very precise, so that the above two

requirements can be met at the same time. However, wearing of the parts and

accumulation of dust during use of such a switch may cause the driving member and

the rocker to fail to accurately fit as designed, which may cause the push-button

switch to be unstable when operating or even fail to operate. Moreover, the structure

of the driving member of this switch is complicated, and manufacturing and assembly

I thereof are troublesome. In addition, such a driving member needs to occupy a large space inside the switch, resulting in a large volume of the switch.

SUMMARY

[0005] According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a push-button switch, comprising: an actuating mechanism having a first permanent magnet and a second permanent magnet; a conductive bridge coupled to said actuating mechanism; a button, and a magnetically-attractable member being movably coupled to said button between a first stop and a second stop; wherein said magnetically-attractable member is arranged so that: in response to said button being pressed, said magnetically-attractable member at one of said first stop and said second stop drives said actuating mechanism to act at a side adjacent to one of said first permanent magnet and said second permanent magnet, so that said actuating mechanism drives said conductive bridge to deflect toward a first direction so as to contact to or detach from a fixed contact; and in response to said button being released, the other of said first permanent magnet and said second permanent magnet attracts said magnetically-attractable member to move to the other of said first stop and said second stop, so that when said button is pressed again, said magnetically-attractable member drives said actuating mechanism to act at a side adjacent to the other of said first permanent magnet and said second permanent magnet, so that said actuating mechanism drives said conductive bridge to deflect toward a second direction opposite to the first direction.

[0006] In some embodiments of the present invention, said actuating mechanism comprises: a rocker coupled to said conductive bridge, and a rotating member located between said magnetically-attractable member and said rocker and being rotatable about a rotational axis, said first permanent magnet and said second permanent magnet located on said rotating member and located on both sides of said rotational axis, respectively. Said magnetically-attractable member is adapted to press either side of said rotation axis of said rotating member to drive said rotating member to rotate, so that said rotating member drives said rocker to swing.

[0007] In some embodiments of the present invention, said actuating mechanism comprises: a rocker coupled to said conductive bridge, and being able to swing about a swing axis, said first permanent magnet and said second permanent magnet located on said rocker and located on both sides of said swing axis, respectively; said magnetically-attractable member is adapted to press either side of said swing axis of said rocker so as to drive said rocker to swing.

[0008] In some embodiments of the present invention, said first permanent magnet and said second permanent magnet are arranged so that in a case where said button is at a position of being released, one of said first permanent magnet and said second permanent magnet is closer to said magnetically-attractable member than the other in a pressed direction of said button and/or in a moving direction of said magnetically-attractable member, and the moving direction of said magnetically-attractable member is perpendicular to the pressed direction of said button.

[0009] In some embodiments of the present invention, Said magnetically-attractable member is formed of a third permanent magnet in which a magnetic field direction is parallel to the pressed direction of said button, and said first permanent magnet and said second permanent magnet have the same polarity on a side facing said magnetically-attractable member.

[0010] In some embodiments of the present invention, said magnetically-attractable member is formed of a third permanent magnet in which a magnetic field direction is parallel to the moving direction of said magnetically-attractable member, and said first permanent magnet and said second permanent magnet have opposite polarities on a side facing said magnetically-attractable member.

[0011] In some embodiments of the present invention, said magnetically-attractable member is formed of a material capable of being attracted by a permanent magnet, and said first permanent magnet and said second permanent magnet have the same polarity or opposite polarities on a side facing said magnetically-attractable member.

[0012] In some embodiments of the present invention, a side of said button facing said actuating mechanism has a supporting structure for holding said magnetically-attractable member and defining said first stop and said second stop of said magnetically-attractable member.

[0013] In some embodiments of the present invention, an indicating hole is provided on said button, and afirst identification and a second identification are arranged on said magnetically-attractable member along the moving direction of said magnetically-attractable member. In a case where said magnetically-attractable member is at the first stop, saidfirst identification is exposed from said indicating hole, and in a case where said magnetically-attractable member is at the second stop, said second identification is exposed from said indicating hole.

[0014] In some embodiments of the present invention, said first identification and said second identification are different from each other in at least one of color, text, and pattern to indicate OFF and ON states of said push-button switch, respectively.

[0015] The push-button switch according to the embodiment of the present invention drives the magnetically-attractable member by a magnetic attraction force to perform a simple and reliable linear movement, and thus the push-button switch can reliably drive the actuating mechanism to act in two different directions through the magnetically-attractable member so that the switch is smoothly turned off and on.

Since the push-button switch according to the embodiment of the present invention employs the magnetically-attractable member that moves perpendicularly to the pressed direction of the button to change the direction of driving the actuating mechanism each time the button is operated, the movement of the magnetically-attractable member does not need to occupy a larger space in the thickness direction than the thickness of the magnetically-attractable member in the switch. This allows the push-button switch to be made thinner in the thickness direction so as to be more easily installed in more occasions. Moreover, the push-button switch according to the embodiment of the present invention realizes the change in the direction of driving the actuating mechanism only by one magnetically-attractable member. Therefore, the number of parts of the push-button switch is less and the assembly thereof is easier.

[0016] In another aspect, there is provided a push-button switch, comprising: an actuating mechanism having a first permanent magnet and a second permanent magnet a conductive bridge coupled to said actuating mechanism; a button and a magnetically-attractable member being movably coupled to said button between a first stop and a second stop; wherein said magnetically-attractable member is arranged so that: in response to said button being pressed, said magnetically-attractable member is attracted towards one of said first permanent magnet and said second permanent magnet, providing a switch status via an indicating hole in the button.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] These and other objects, features, and advantages will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0018] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional perspective view of a push-button switch according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] FIG. 2 shows the push-button switch according to the embodiment of the

present invention in the first state;

[0020] FIG. 3 shows the push-button switch according to the embodiment of the

present invention in the second state;

[0021] FIG. 4 shows the push-button switch according to the embodiment of the

present invention in the third state;

[0022] FIG. 5 shows the push-button switch according to the embodiment of the

present invention in the fourth state;

[0023] FIG. 6 shows the push-button switch according to the embodiment of the

present invention in the fifth state;

[0024] FIG. 7 shows the push-button switch according to the embodiment of the

present invention in the sixth state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] Various embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail

by way of examples only.

[0026] Referring to FIG. 1, which shows a push-button switch 100 according to an

embodiment of the present invention, a housing 10 is partially removed just to better

illustrate its internal configuration. The push-button switch 100 includes a button 14,

and a magnetically-attractable member 15, which is movably coupled to the inside of

the button 14 between a first stop and a second stop. In the embodiment shown in FIG.

1, a guide groove 141 is formed on the inner side of the button 14, and the

magnetically-attractable member 15 is movably located in the guide groove 141 and

can move along the guide groove 141. Two opposite ends of the guide groove 141

define the first stop and the second stop. The magnetically-attractable member 15 may

also be held and movably coupled to the inner side of the button 14 by a support

structure in another form.

[0027] The push-button switch 100 also includes an actuating mechanism and a

conductive bridge 13 coupled to the actuating mechanism. The actuating mechanism

has a first permanent magnet 161 and a second permanent magnet 162 therein, and the

first permanent magnet 161 and the second permanent magnet 162 are adapted to

attract the magnetically-attractable member 15 at a specific position to move toward it.

One end of the conductive bridge 13 is provided with a movable contact 131. The

actuating mechanism is adapted to drive the conductive bridge 13 to deflect under the

action of the magnetically-attractable member 15 in the button 14, so that the movable

contact 131 at the one end of the conductive bridge 13 engages or disengages with at

least one fixed contact 17 to turn on or off a circuit to which the push-button switch

100 is electrically connected.

[0028] The push-button switch 100 also includes a reset spring 18 for resetting the

button 14, so that after the button 14 is pressed each time, it can be restored to an

initial position by an elastic restoring force of the return spring 18 when the button 14

is not pressed by the operator again.

[0029] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the actuating mechanism includes a

rocker 11 and a rotating member 12. The rocker 11 is coupled to the conductive

bridge 13 to drive the conductive bridge 13 to deflect by its swing motion. The rocker

11 can also be coupled with a rocker spring 19. The rocker spring 19 can hold the

rocker 11 in an inclined position after each pressing operation of the button 14, so that

the conductive bridge 13 maintains its inclined position, and thus the positional

relationship between the movable contact 131 and the fixed contact 17 of the

push-button switch 100 remains stable to be ON or OFF after each operation of the

button 14.

[0030] The rotating member 12 is rotatably supported between the

magnetically-attractable member 15 and the rocker 11 and is rotatable about a rotational axis (not shown). The first permanent magnet 161 and the second permanent magnet 162 are located on the rotating member 12 and are located on both sides of the rotational axis, respectively. In some embodiments of the present invention, the first permanent magnet 161 and the second permanent magnet 162 are arranged to face a side on which the magnetically-attractable member 15 is located, so as to enhance the attraction force of the first permanent magnet 161 and the second permanent magnet 162 to the magnetically-attractable member 15.

[0031] The first permanent magnet 161 and the second permanent magnet 162 are

respectively adapted to attract the magnetically-attractable member 15 to move

toward a side where the first permanent magnet 161 or the second permanent magnet

162 is located, by the magnetic attraction force when approaching the

magnetically-attractable member 15, to move the magnetically-attractable member 15

to its first or second stop.

[0032] In some embodiments of the present invention, the magnetically-attractable

member 15 is formed of a third permanent magnet, and the direction of the magnetic

field inside the third permanent magnet is parallel to the pressed direction of the

button 14. At this time, the entire surface (including one end of the surface close to the

first permanent magnet 161 and one end thereof close to the second permanent

magnet 162) of the magnetically-attractable member 15 on one side facing the

rotating member 12 (i.e. facing the first permanent magnet 161 and the second

permanent magnet 162) has the same polarity (e.g. south pole or north pole) as one

pole of the third permanent magnet. In order to attract the magnetically-attractable

member 15, one side of the first permanent magnet 161 and the second permanent

magnet 162 facing the magnetically-attractable member 15 and one side of the third

permanent magnet facing the first permanent magnet 161 and the second permanent

magnet 162 have opposite polarities (e.g. north pole or south pole), and thus the first

permanent magnet 161 and the second permanent magnet 162 have the same polarity on one side facing the magnetically-attractable member 15. In this way, when either of the first permanent magnet 161 and the second permanent magnet 162 is close to the magnetically-attractable member 15, one end of the first permanent magnet 161 or the second permanent magnet 162 facing the third permanent magnet can attract the third permanent magnet to move toward it to enter the first stop or the second stop.

[0033] In some embodiments of the present invention, the magnetically-attractable

field inside the third permanent magnet is parallel to the moving direction of the

magnetically-attractable member 15. At this time, one end of the

magnetically-attractable member 15 close to the first permanent magnet 161 in the

moving direction thereof and the other end close to the second permanent magnet 162

have opposite polarities. In order to attract the magnetically-attractable member 15, a

side of the first permanent magnet 161 facing the magnetically-attractable member 15

has a polarity opposite to the polarity of one end of the third permanent magnet close

to the first permanent magnet 161, and a side of the second permanent magnet 162

facing the magnetically-attractable member 15 has a polarity opposite to the polarity

of one end of the third permanent magnet close to the second permanent magnet 162,

and thus the first permanent magnet 161 and the second permanent magnet 162 have

opposite polarities on one side facing the magnetically-attractable member 15. In this

way, when either of the first permanent magnet 161 and the second permanent magnet

162 is close to the magnetically-attractable member 15, one end of the first permanent

magnet 161 or the second permanent magnet 162 facing the third permanent magnet

can attract the third permanent magnet to move toward it to enter the first stop or the

second stop.

[0034] In some embodiments of the present invention, the magnetically-attractable

member 15 is formed of a material that can be attracted by a permanent magnet, but is

not necessarily a permanent magnet. For example, the magnetically-attractable member 15 is formed of an iron, cobalt, or nickel material that can be attracted by a permanent magnet. In this case, since the magnetically-attractable member 15 itself does not have a polarity, and regardless of the polarity of the side of the first permanent magnet 161 and the second permanent magnet 162 facing the magnetically-attractable member 15, the magnetically-attractable member 15 can be attracted to move toward it, as long as the magnetic field strength of the first permanent magnet 161 and the second permanent magnet 162 is sufficiently large and they are close enough to the magnetically-attractable member 15. Therefore, in this case, the sides of the first permanent magnet 161 and the second permanent magnet 162 facing the magnetically-attractable member 15 may have the same polarity or opposite polarities.

[0035] The first stop and the second stop of the magnetically-attractable member 15 are appropriately defined by a guide structure (e.g. a guide groove) on the inner side of the button 14, and the shape of the rotating member 12 is also appropriately configured so that when the magnetically-attractable member 15 is located at the first stop, the magnetically-attractable member 15 can press one side of the rotating member 12 (e.g. the left side in FIG. 1) located on its rotational axis when pressing down in the moving direction of the button 14, causing the rotating member 12 to rotate in one direction and the other side of the rotating member 12 located on its rotational axis to warp up toward the magnetically-attractable member 15. However, when the magnetically-attractable member 15 is located at the second stop, the magnetically-attractable member 15 can press the other side of the rotating member 12 (e.g. the right side in FIG. 1) located on its rotational axis when pressing down in the moving direction of the button 14, causing the rotating member 12 to rotate toward another direction and the side opposite to the other side of the rotating member 12 located on its rotational axis to warp up toward the magnetically-attractable member 15.

[0036] In some embodiments of the present invention, a recess 121 is formed in a portion of the rotating member 12 between two ends thereof where the first permanent magnet 161 and the second permanent magnet 162 are disposed, respectively. When one end of the magnetically-attractable member 15 presses one end of the rotating member 12 to rotate the rotating member 12 in one direction, the other end of the rotating member 12 that is not pressed by the magnetically-attractable member 15 can enter the recess 121, to prevent the other end of the rotating member 12 that is not pressed by the magnetically-attractable member 15 from interfering with the magnetically-attractable member 15 during the rotation and thus affecting the continuing rotation of the rotating member 12.

[0037] When the button 14 is released (i.e. not pressed by an external force), the button 14 is moved away from the rotating member 12 by the restoring force of the spring 18, causing the magnetically-attractable member 15 to detach from the rotating member 12 and gradually moves away from the magnetically-attractable member 15. The positions of the first permanent magnet 161 and the second permanent magnet 162 on the rotating member 12 are appropriately set so that when the button 14 is in the released state, the first permanent magnet 161 or the second permanent magnet 162 on the raised side of the rotating member 12 is closer to the magnetically-attractable member 15 than the second permanent magnet 162 or the first permanent magnet 161 on the side previously pressed by the magnetically-attractable member 15.

[0038] This proximity can be measured in the pressed direction of the button 14, or it can be measured in the moving direction of the magnetically-attractable member 15 (the moving direction of the magnetically-attractable member 15 is substantially perpendicular to the pressed direction of the button 14); or it can also be measured simultaneously in the pressed direction of the button 14 and in the moving direction of the magnetically-attractable member 15.

[0039] By making the respective first permanent magnet 161 or second permanent

magnet 162 on the raised side of the rotating member 12 closer to the

magnetically-attractable member 15 than the respective second permanent magnet

162 or first permanent magnet 161 on the other side, the respective first permanent

magnet 161 or second permanent magnet 162 on the raised side of the rotating

member 12 can apply a relatively larger magnetic attraction force towards this side to

the magnetically-attractable member 15, so that one side of the

magnetically-attractable member 15 warping up toward the rotating member 12

moves to reach the respective first stop or second stop. In this way, when the button

14 is pressed again, the magnetically-attractable member 15 will press the rotating

member 12 on the raised side of the rotating member 12 to rotate the rotating member

12 in a direction opposite to the previous direction so that the rocker 11 and the

conductive bridge 13 are driven to swing toward a direction opposite to the previous

direction and thereby switch opening and closing states between the movable contact

131 and the fixed contact 17, realizing switching of ON and OFF states of the button

100.

[0040] In some embodiments of the present invention, in order to ensure that the

first permanent magnet 161 or the second permanent magnet 162 can smoothly attract

the magnetically-attractable member 15 to move toward it, respectively, when the

respective side of the rotating member 12 is warped up, the rotating member 12 has a

substantially symmetrical structure with respect to its rotational axis, and the first

permanent magnet 161 or the second permanent magnet 162 is also substantially

symmetrically arranged with respect to the rotational axis, and the first permanent

magnet 161 or the second permanent magnet 162 have substantially the same

magnetic size. In addition, the first stop and the second stop of the

magnetically-attractable member 15 are also substantially symmetrical with respect to

the rotational axis.

[0041] In some embodiments of the present invention, an indicating hole 142 is

provided on the button 14, and a first identification and a second identification (not

shown) are arranged on the magnetically-attractable member 15 along the moving

direction of the magnetically-attractable member 15.When the

magnetically-attractable member 15 is at the first stop, the first identification is

exposed from the indicating hole 142; when the magnetically-attractable member 15

is at the second stop, the second identification is exposed from the indicating hole 142.

It will be understood that in the released state, the magnetically-attractable member 15

is always attracted by the first permanent magnets 161 or the second permanent

magnet 162 that is closest to it, to move to thefirst and second stops thereof, but the

permanent magnet closest to the magnetically-attractable member 15 is in turn

dependent on the current inclination direction of the rotating member 12.Therefore,

the magnetically-attractable member 15 located at the first stop or the second stop is

respectively associated with the current inclination direction of the rotating member

12, so that the current position of the magnetically-attractable member 15 can reflect

the opening and closing states of the movable contact 131 relative to the fixed contact

17 in the push-button switch 100. Thus, the user can know the current operating state

of the push-button switch 100 by observing the different identifications on the

magnetically-attractable member 15 exposed from the indicating hole 142.

[0042] The first identification and the second identification on the

magnetically-attractable member 15 are different from each other in at least one of

color, text, and pattern to indicate OFF and ON states of said push-button switch,

respectively.

[0043] The operation procedures of the push-button switch 100 will be described

below with reference to FIGS. 2-7.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 2, when the push-button switch 100 is in the first state, the

button 14 is at a released position that is not pressed by the user, and both the rotating

member 12 and the rocker 11 are in a state of being inclined toward the right side. At

this time, the inclination state of the conductive bridge 13 (not shown in FIG. 2) is

such that the movable contact (not shown in FIG. 2) thereon is in a mutually engaged

or disengaged state with the fixed contact (not shown in FIG. 2) of the push-button

switch 100, for example, in a mutually engaged state to turn on an associated circuit.

[0045] In this state, since the first permanent magnet 161 on the left side of the

rotating member 12 is closer to the magnetically-attractable member 15 than the

second permanent magnet 162 on the right side of the rotating member 12, the left end

of the magnetically-attractable member 15 is attracted by the first permanent magnet

161 and is stopped at its leftmost first stop. At this time, the user can observe the first

identification on the magnetically-attractable member 15 from the indicating hole 142

on the button 14 to know the current state of the push-button switch 100, such as the

ON state.

[0046] As shown in FIG. 3, when the user presses the button 14, the

magnetically-attractable member 15 at its leftmost first stop moves downward with

the button 14, so that the left end of the magnetically-attractable member 15 presses

against the left side of the rotating member 12.The magnetically-attractable member

presses against the left side of the rotating member 12 to drive the rotating member

12 to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction. The right end of the

magnetically-attractable member 15 then enters the recess 121 in the middle portion

of the rotating member 12 without blocking the counter-clockwise rotation of the

rotating member 12. As the button 14 is pressed to the end of its stroke, the rotating

member 12 is rotated to the leftward inclination state shown in FIG. 3.The rotation of

the rotating member 12 simultaneously drives the rocker 11 to also rotate in the

counter-clockwise direction to the leftward inclination position shown in FIG. 3. , and the rocker 11 further drives the conductive bridge 13 to deflect so as to change the positional relationship between the movable contact and the fixed contact on the conductive bridge 13, for example, changing from the mutually engaged state to the mutually disengaged state to turn off the circuit associated with the push-button switch 100.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 4, when the user does not press the button 14 again, the button 14 is moved upward to its initial position by the restoring force of the reset spring (not shown in FIG. 4). The magnetically-attractable member 15 thus also disengages the rotating member 12 as the button 14 is moved upward. After the magnetically-attractable member 15 is moved upward away from the rotating member 12, since the rotating member 12 has become raised on its right side, the second permanent magnet 162 on the right side of the rotating member 12 becomes closer to the magnetically-attractable member 15 than the first permanent magnet 161 on the left side of the rotating member 12.Therefore, the right end of the magnetically-attractable member 15 is attracted by the second permanent magnet 162 so that the magnetically-attractable member 15 moves rightward to reach its rightmost second stop, as shown in FIG. 5.

[0048] In this state, since the magnetically-attractable member 15 has been attracted to a position on the right side, the right side of the magnetically-attractable member and the raised right side of the rotating member 12 are partially overlapped in the moving direction of the button 14 (the vertical direction in FIG. 5), whereas the left side of the magnetically-attractable member 15 and the left side of the rotating member 12 are separated in the moving direction of the button 14, which is ready for driving the rotating member 12 on the other side (i.e. the right side) of the rotating member 12 for the next time. At this time, the user can observe the second identification on the left side of the first identification on the magnetically-attractable member 15 from the indicating hole 142 to know the current changed state of the push-button switch 100, such as the OFF state.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 6, when the button 14 is once again pressed by the user, the

magnetically-attractable member 15 at its rightmost second stop presses the right side

of the rotation member 12 to rotate the rotation member 12 in a clockwise direction,

and the left side of the magnetically-attractable member 15 enters the recess 121 in

the middle portion of the rotating member 12 without hindering the clockwise rotation

of the rotating member 12. The rotating member 12 rotates clockwise to a

right-inclined position shown in FIG. 6, and drives the rocker 11 to swing clockwise

to a right-inclined position as well. The rocker 11 drives the conductive bridge 13 (not

shown in FIG. 6) to be deflected in a direction opposite to the previous deflection

direction, thereby changing the positional relationship between the movable contact

and the fixed contact on the conductive bridge 13 again, for example, changing from

the mutually disengaged state to the mutually engaged state to turn on the circuit

associated with the push-button switch 100.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 7, when the user does not press the button 14 again, the

button 14 is moved upward to its initial position by the restoring force of the reset

spring (not shown in FIG. 7). The magnetically-attractable member 15 thus also

disengages the rotating member 12 as the button 14 is moved upward. After the

magnetically-attractable member 15 is moved upward away from the rotating member

12, since the rotating member 12 has become raised on its left side, the first

permanent magnet 161 on the left side of the rotating member 12 becomes closer to

the magnetically-attractable member 15 than the second permanent magnet 162 on the

right side of the rotating member 12.Therefore, the left end of the

magnetically-attractable member 15 is attracted by the first permanent magnet 161 so

that the magnetically-attractable member 15 moves leftward to reach its leftmost first

stop, as shown in FIG. 2.Thus, the push-button switch 100 returns to the first state

shown in FIG. 2, which is ready for driving the rotating member 12 again on the left side of the rotating member 12 for the next time to switch the positional relationship between the movable contact and the fixed contact.

[0051] Although the present invention has been described with respect to the

actuating mechanism including the rotating member 12 and the rocker 11 in the

various embodiments described above, the present invention is not limited to the

above-described specific forms of the actuating mechanism. On the contrary, various

known and future developed actuating mechanisms can be used to convert the linear

movement of the button 14 into the closing and opening actions of the movable

contact to realize the solutions of the present invention. For example, the actuating

mechanism may include the rocker 11 and does not include the rotating member 12,

but the first permanent magnet 161 and the second permanent magnet 162 may be

located directly on the rocker 11 and located on both sides of the swing axis of the

rocker 11, respectively. The magnetically-attractable member 15 can directly press

against either side of the swing axis of the rocker 11 by the driving of the button 14 to

drive the rocker 11 to swing, thereby realizing the action of the movable contact. The

actuating mechanism may also include more components to improve the stability and

reliability of the action of the push-button switch 100.

[0052] It will also be understood that in some embodiments, the

magnetically-attractable member 15 acts solely as a status indicator and does not take

any part in the actuation function. In such embodiments, parts of the button 14 can be

provided to engage with the rotating member 12, to drive the actuation of the switch

in response to a user pushing on the button 14, and the magnetically-attractable

member 15 simply slides from one position to another as attracted by permanent

magnets 161, 162 to provide the status indication via indicating hole 142.

[0053] It should be understood that, for convenience of description, the description

herein is based on the placement orientation of the push-button switch 100 shown in the accompanying drawings. The directions of "up, down, left, and right" in this document are all described based on this positioning. Obviously, the push-button switch can be arranged in various orientations as needed. However, the directional descriptions of "up, down, left, and right" between the features described in this document will change correspondingly with the change in the arrangement orientation of the button switch 100, but the relative positional relationship among the features will not change.

[0054] The description of the present invention has been presented for the purposes

of illustration and description, but it is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the

forms as disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be conceived by those

skilled in the art.

[0055] Throughout the specification and the claims that follow, unless the context

requires otherwise, the words "comprise" and "include" and variations such as

"comprising" and "including" will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated

integer or group of integers, but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of

integers.

[0056] The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be

taken as, an acknowledgement of any form of suggestion that such prior art forms part

of the common general knowledge.

[0057] Therefore, the embodiments are selected and described in order to better

explain the principles and practical applications of the present invention, and to

enable other ordinary persons skilled in the art to understand that without departing

from the spirit of the present invention, all modifications and alterations made fall into

the protection scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A push-button switch, comprising: an actuating mechanism having a first permanent magnet and a second permanent magnet a conductive bridge coupled to said actuating mechanism; a button and a magnetically-attractable member being movably coupled to said button between a first stop and a second stop; wherein said magnetically-attractable member is arranged so that: in response to said button being pressed, said magnetically-attractable member at one of said first stop and said second stop drives said actuating mechanism to act at a side adjacent to one of saidfirst permanent magnet and said second permanent magnet, so that said actuating mechanism drives said conductive bridge to deflect toward a first direction so as to contact to or detach from afixed contact; and in response to said button being released, the other of said first permanent magnet and said second permanent magnet attracts said magnetically-attractable member to move to the other of said first stop and said second stop, so that when said button is pressed again, said magnetically-attractable member drives said actuating mechanism to act at a side adjacent to the other of saidfirst permanent magnet and said second permanent magnet, so that said actuating mechanism drives said conductive bridge to deflect toward a second direction opposite to the first direction.

2. The push-button switch according to claim 1, wherein said actuating mechanism comprises: a rocker coupled to said conductive bridge, and a rotating member located between said magnetically-attractable member and said rocker and being rotatable about a rotational axis, said first permanent magnet and said second permanent magnet located on said rotating member and located on both sides of said rotational axis, respectively; wherein said magnetically-attractable member is adapted to press either side of said rotation axis of said rotating member to drive said rotating member to rotate, so that said rotating member drives said rocker to swing.

3. The push-button switch according to claim 1, wherein said actuating mechanism comprises: a rocker coupled to said conductive bridge, and being able to swing about a swing axis, said first permanent magnet and said second permanent magnet located on said rocker and located on both sides of said swing axis, respectively; wherein said magnetically-attractable member is adapted to press either side of said swing axis of said rocker so as to drive said rocker to swing.

4. The push-button switch according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said first permanent magnet and said second permanent magnet are arranged so that in a case where said button is at a position of being released, one of said first permanent magnet and said second permanent magnet is closer to said magnetically-attractable member than the other in a pressed direction of said button and/or in a moving direction of said magnetically-attractable member, and the moving direction of said magnetically-attractable member is perpendicular to the pressed direction of said button .

5. The push-button switch according to claim 4, wherein said magnetically attractable member is formed of a third permanent magnet in which a magnetic field direction is parallel to the pressed direction of said button, and said first permanent magnet and said second permanent magnet have the same polarity on a side facing said magnetically-attractable member.

6. The push-button switch according to claim 4, wherein said magnetically attractable member is formed of a third permanent magnet in which a magnetic field direction is parallel to the moving direction of said magnetically-attractable member, and said first permanent magnet and said second permanent magnet have opposite polarities on a side facing said magnetically-attractable member.

7. The push-button switch according to claim 4, wherein said magnetically attractable member is formed of a material capable of being attracted by a permanent magnet, and said first permanent magnet and said second permanent magnet have the same polarity or opposite polarities on a side facing said magnetically-attractable member.

8. The push-button switch according to claim 4, wherein a side of said button facing said actuating mechanism has a supporting structure for holding said magnetically-attractable member and defining said first stop and said second stop of said magnetically-attractable member.

9. The push-button switch according to claim 4, wherein an indicating hole is provided on said button, and afirst identification and a second identification are arranged on said magnetically-attractable member along the moving direction of said magnetically-attractable member; wherein in a case where said magnetically-attractable member is at the first stop, said first identification is exposed from said indicating hole, and in a case where said magnetically-attractable member is at the second stop, said second identification is exposed from said indicating hole.

10. The push-button switch according to claim 9, wherein said first identification and said second identification are different from each other in at least one of color, text, and pattern to indicate OFF and ON states of said push-button switch, respectively.