EP0626705A2 - Kombinierter Druckknopf- und Drehschalter - Google Patents

Kombinierter Druckknopf- und Drehschalter Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0626705A2
EP0626705A2 EP94108247A EP94108247A EP0626705A2 EP 0626705 A2 EP0626705 A2 EP 0626705A2 EP 94108247 A EP94108247 A EP 94108247A EP 94108247 A EP94108247 A EP 94108247A EP 0626705 A2 EP0626705 A2 EP 0626705A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
actuator
switching
rotatable
switch
stage
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP94108247A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0626705A3 (de
Inventor
John Barkelew Coniff
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Eaton Corp
Original Assignee
Eaton Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Eaton Corp filed Critical Eaton Corp
Publication of EP0626705A2 publication Critical patent/EP0626705A2/de
Publication of EP0626705A3 publication Critical patent/EP0626705A3/de
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H25/00—Switches with compound movement of handle or other operating part
    • H01H25/06—Operating part movable both angularly and rectilinearly, the rectilinear movement being along the axis of angular movement
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H1/00—Contacts
    • H01H1/12—Contacts characterised by the manner in which co-operating contacts engage
    • H01H1/36—Contacts characterised by the manner in which co-operating contacts engage by sliding
    • H01H1/40—Contact mounted so that its contact-making surface is flush with adjoining insulation
    • H01H1/403—Contacts forming part of a printed circuit
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H13/00—Switches having rectilinearly-movable operating part or parts adapted for pushing or pulling in one direction only, e.g. push-button switch
    • H01H13/50—Switches having rectilinearly-movable operating part or parts adapted for pushing or pulling in one direction only, e.g. push-button switch having a single operating member
    • H01H13/56—Switches having rectilinearly-movable operating part or parts adapted for pushing or pulling in one direction only, e.g. push-button switch having a single operating member the contact returning to its original state upon the next application of operating force
    • H01H13/562—Switches having rectilinearly-movable operating part or parts adapted for pushing or pulling in one direction only, e.g. push-button switch having a single operating member the contact returning to its original state upon the next application of operating force making use of a heart shaped cam
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H11/00—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for the manufacture of electric switches
    • H01H11/04—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for the manufacture of electric switches of switch contacts

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to low voltage switches and particularly to switches employed for automotive switching applications where it is desired to provide a push-to-actuate function for user control of certain convenience items or accessories.
  • switches employed for automotive switching applications where it is desired to provide a push-to-actuate function for user control of certain convenience items or accessories.
  • the switch assembly of the present invention has a pushable actuator which is slidably mounted on the housing through a rotatable disc such that rotation of the actuator member causes the disc to rotate; and, pushing of the actuator without rotation effects sliding movement of a non-rotatable member.
  • the non-rotatable member effects actuation of a latching member which effects push-to-actuate/push-to-deactuate functioning of a movable switching contact member.
  • the movable switching contact member is in the form of a shorting bar which makes sliding contact with a pair of stationary contact members or strips.
  • the stationary contact strips are formed of conductively plated thermoplastic material.
  • thermoplastic material is molded in two stages: a first stage of unplatable material forming the switch housing and having a recess provided therein, and a second stage which fills the recess with platable thermoplastic material which is subsequently plated on the exposed surface with conductive material to form the stationary contact strips.
  • the two-stage molding of the housing with the contact surfaces subsequently formed by plating provides a low-cost technique for manufacturing the switching device.
  • the rotary switch member has at least one wiper type shorting bar contact thereon which wipes against a stationary set of contacts or strips formed by molding a first stage unplatable thermoplastic with a recess therein and a second stage platable thermoplastic which is subsequently plated after molding to provide the stationary contact surfaces.
  • additional push-to-actuate only switching functions may be provided with additional latchable switches which are mounted on a common housing with the combined push-to-actuate and rotary switches.
  • the switch assembly of the present invention is indicated generally at 10 as having a housing formed of a lower shell 12 and an upper shell or cover 14 received thereover and secured by any suitable fastening expedient as, for example, snap-locking tabs or plastic weldment.
  • the lower housing shell 12 is formed with partitions or walls 16,18 which form an electrical receptacle area 20 which is open to the exterior and is adapted for insertion of a plug or wiring harness connector therein.
  • a plurality of electrical connector terminals 22,24,26,28,30,31 extend through the partition or wall 18 into the receptacle area 20 and also through the interior side of wall 18 and are individually electrically connected, respectively, to stationary terminal strips denoted by reference numerals 32,34,36,38,40,41, which are formed integrally with the housing shell 12, as will hereinafter be described in greater detail.
  • each of the terminals 22 - 31 passes through partition 18 and one of the strips 32 - 41, and is soldered thereto for making internal connection within housing 12 to the components of the switching assembly 10.
  • Another partition or wall 42 is provided separately located in the housing shell 12, and has an aperture 44 provided therethrough.
  • Aperture 44 has rotatably received therein a reduced diameter portion or shoulder 46 formed on a hub or boss 48, which is provided preferably integrally formed on a rotatable arm 50.
  • Hub 48 has formed centrally therethrough a bore 52 preferably having a polygonal shape in transverse section through which is received in guided free-sliding engagement therewith a plunger or rod 54 with conforming transverse section.
  • Rod 54 has one end thereof extending downwardly through hub 48, and received over and rotatably guided on one end of an actuator member 56.
  • the actuator member 56 has its upper end freely rotatable in rod 54, but axially secured therein by any suitable expedient as, for example, integral snap-locking annular rib 57.
  • the lower end of actuator 56 has a generally rectangular transverse section, and is slidably received in a groove 58 formed between two raised wall portions or lugs 60,62, which are integrally molded with the lower housing shell 12.
  • Actuator 56 is retained in the groove 58 by a preferably metal cover plate 64,68 secured over the lugs 60,62 by tabs 66 crimped downwardly into grooves provided in the lugs 60,62.
  • An aperture is provided in the metal cover 64 and is denoted by reference numeral 74, and has one end of a generally U-shaped wire latch member 70 received therein, with the opposite end of the U-shaped latch member 70 received in a cardioid shaped cam slot or groove 72 formed in the actuator 56.
  • Actuator member 56 has a flange 73 provided adjacent the upper end thereof against which is received one end of a return spring 76, which biases the actuator 56 and plunger 54 in an upward or return direction.
  • plunger 54 has a user knob or button 78 provided thereon, which is slidably and rotatably received in aperture 80 formed in the upper housing shell 14.
  • the user may push the button from the position shown in dashed outline downwardly to the position shown in solid outline in FIG. 2; and, the latch member 70 is operative to maintain the actuator in the downward position. It will be understood that the upper end of the wire latch member 70 received through aperture 74 traverses in a slot 80 provided in the actuator 56 during the movement of the actuator 56.
  • the stationary contacts for the switch comprise a pair of conductive strips 82,84 are formed in the bottom of groove 58; and, a shorting bar or conductive strip 86 is mounted on the bottom of actuator 56 and slidably moved therewith for contacting the conductive strips 82,84.
  • strips 82,84 are of differing lengths such that the shorting bar 86 makes contact with both strips when the actuator 56 is in the upward position shown in dashed outline of button 78 and the shorting bar 86 makes contact with only one of the strips 82,84 when the actuator 56 is in the downward position represented by the solid outline of button 78 in FIG. 2.
  • the housing 14 is molded in two stages, a first stage of thermoplastic material having recesses 88,90 therein with the first stage molded material comprising the outline of the part for the lower housing shell 12.
  • the first stage molded part is removed from the mold and inserted in a second stage mold wherein second stage platable thermoplastic material is injected to fill the grooves 88,90 with platable thermoplastic material.
  • the two-stage molded part is then removed from the second stage mold and the platable thermoplastic material is plated with conductive material to form the strips 82,84.
  • portions of the strips 82,84 are shown in FIG. 2, and are truncated, but it will be understood that the strips ultimately connect to one of the connector terminals, such as terminals 22 through 31.
  • the first stage of the molded thermoplastic material is preferably a blend of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and polysulfone.
  • One such material is available from Amoco Performance Products, Inc., 380 Grove Street, Ridgefield, Connecticut 06877, with manufacturer's designation 5-1000; other materials, however, may be employed.
  • the second stage material comprising the platable resin may be obtained from Mitsui Pathtek Corporation, 250 Metro Park, Rochester, New York 14626.
  • the conductive strips 82,84 may be formed of copper, nickel, or silver plated material.
  • the second stage thermoplastic is preferably formed of polyether sulfone resin, and may be glass-reinforced, and contains a catalytic additive to facilitate plating.
  • the rotary switch indicated generally at 49 is shown with the rotatable arm 50 having a pair of conductive wipers 92,94 provided thereon which are preferably formed from a strip of copper alloy and may be attached by providing apertures in the strip and heat staking over pegs 96,98 provided on the undersurface of the wiper arm.
  • the wipers 92,94 are thus electrically connected together to form a shorting bar.
  • the wiper 92 sequentially makes contact between a common terminal strip 100 and a plurality of spaced discrete contact strips disposed in spaced-parallel arrangement therewith, and which are denoted by reference numerals 102,104,106, each of which is formed integrally with a conductive strip denoted, respectively, by 100',102',104',106'.
  • the contacts 100,102,104,106 and their respective strips denoted by primed numerals are formed integrally with the wall partition 42 in the same process and from the same materials as the strips 82,84 provided in the bottom of groove 58 for sliding actuator 56 of switch 49.
  • the strips 100' through 106' are shown truncated in FIG. 1, but are ultimately each connected to a connector terminal, such as terminals 22 through 31,30.
  • button 78 and contact arm 50 are rotated in a clockwise direction to any of the contact positions corresponding to contacts 102, 104, or 106 a discrete switching function is effected for switch 75.
  • the push-to-latch, push-to-unlatch function of the button 78 which results in the making and breaking of a circuit between contact strips 82,84 of switch 49 is employed to engage or disengage a separate vehicle accessory such as a sentinel control for headlamps.
  • resistive strip 108 may be formed by etching resistive material on the conductive strip plated on the second stage molded thermoplastic.
  • a pair of additional push-to-actuate switch buttons 108,110 are slidably mounted in the cover 14 for actuating individually push-to-actuate switches indicated generally at 112,114.
  • the switches 112,114 are identical in construction and operation to the switch 75 described with respect to contact strips 82,84.
  • the contact strips for switches 112,114 are similarly integrally molded in a two-stage molding process with the lower housing shell 12 in the identical manner as are contact strips 82,84.
  • Switches 112,114 have their contact strips each similarly connected to one of the connector terminals such as terminals 20 - 31, but the conductive strips are omitted in the drawings for the sake of brevity.
  • Switches 112,114 may be employed for any desired accessory control functions as, for example, front and rear window defogger circuits. It will be understood that although a single row of connector terminals 22,24,26,28,30,31 is illustrated in FIG. 2, a second may be disposed in spaced-parallel arrangement to the illustrated row.
  • the present invention thus employs a two-stage thermoplastic molding process to form discrete contact strips integrally with a switch housing in which the first step of molding provides the basic part outline with recesses formed therein; and, the second stage of molding fills the recesses with platable thermoplastic, which is subsequently plated to provide conductive strips and exposed contact surfaces for switching.
  • the switch actuator comprises a push-to-actuate, push-to-release slidable and rotatable member which passes through a rotary member having a pair of wipers thereon. The wipers contact stationary contact strips to provide rotary switching of individual circuits upon rotation of the actuator member; and, upon push-to-actuate movement, a second switch is actuated without actuation of the rotary switching mechanism.

Landscapes

  • Push-Button Switches (AREA)
  • Switches With Compound Operations (AREA)
EP94108247A 1993-05-28 1994-05-27 Kombinierter Druckknopf- und Drehschalter. Withdrawn EP0626705A3 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US6882893A 1993-05-28 1993-05-28
US68828 1993-05-28

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0626705A2 true EP0626705A2 (de) 1994-11-30
EP0626705A3 EP0626705A3 (de) 1995-01-18

Family

ID=22084962

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP94108247A Withdrawn EP0626705A3 (de) 1993-05-28 1994-05-27 Kombinierter Druckknopf- und Drehschalter.

Country Status (1)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0626705A3 (de)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE10334080B3 (de) * 2003-07-25 2005-05-04 Robert Seuffer Gmbh & Co. Kg Drehschalter
US20120126640A1 (en) * 2009-10-21 2012-05-24 Leopold Kostal Gmbh & Co. Kg Rotary actuator

Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR1553129A (de) * 1967-12-01 1969-01-10
DE1813317B2 (de) * 1968-12-07 1977-09-01 Telefonbau Und Normalzeit Gmbh, 6000 Frankfurt Drucktastenschalter
DE2755072A1 (de) * 1976-12-22 1978-07-06 Lucas Industries Ltd Elektrischer schalter
DE2816869A1 (de) * 1978-04-18 1979-10-31 Widmaier Fa Hans Tastendruckschalter
EP0102332A2 (de) * 1982-08-26 1984-03-07 SMEG S.p.A. Drehbare Steuereinrichtung mit zurückziehbarem Drehknopf, insbesondere für Haushaltsgeräte
DE3342609A1 (de) * 1983-11-25 1985-06-05 SWF Auto-Electric GmbH, 7120 Bietigheim-Bissingen Elektrischer drucktastenschalter
EP0342031A2 (de) * 1988-05-12 1989-11-15 UNITED TECHNOLOGIES AUTOMOTIVE, Inc. Autoscheinwerfer-Druck-Zug-Drehschalteranordnung
JPH0432115A (ja) * 1990-05-25 1992-02-04 Seiko Epson Corp スイッチ基板

Patent Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR1553129A (de) * 1967-12-01 1969-01-10
DE1813317B2 (de) * 1968-12-07 1977-09-01 Telefonbau Und Normalzeit Gmbh, 6000 Frankfurt Drucktastenschalter
DE2755072A1 (de) * 1976-12-22 1978-07-06 Lucas Industries Ltd Elektrischer schalter
DE2816869A1 (de) * 1978-04-18 1979-10-31 Widmaier Fa Hans Tastendruckschalter
EP0102332A2 (de) * 1982-08-26 1984-03-07 SMEG S.p.A. Drehbare Steuereinrichtung mit zurückziehbarem Drehknopf, insbesondere für Haushaltsgeräte
DE3342609A1 (de) * 1983-11-25 1985-06-05 SWF Auto-Electric GmbH, 7120 Bietigheim-Bissingen Elektrischer drucktastenschalter
EP0342031A2 (de) * 1988-05-12 1989-11-15 UNITED TECHNOLOGIES AUTOMOTIVE, Inc. Autoscheinwerfer-Druck-Zug-Drehschalteranordnung
JPH0432115A (ja) * 1990-05-25 1992-02-04 Seiko Epson Corp スイッチ基板

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN vol. 016, no. 200 (E-1201) 13 May 1992 & JP-A-04 032 115 (SEIKO EPSON) 4 February 1992 *

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE10334080B3 (de) * 2003-07-25 2005-05-04 Robert Seuffer Gmbh & Co. Kg Drehschalter
US20120126640A1 (en) * 2009-10-21 2012-05-24 Leopold Kostal Gmbh & Co. Kg Rotary actuator
US9175983B2 (en) * 2009-10-21 2015-11-03 Leopold Kostal Gmbh & Co. Kg Rotary actuator

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0626705A3 (de) 1995-01-18

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