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| United States Patent | 4139755 |
| Link to this page | http://www.wikipatents.com/4139755.html |
| Inventor(s) | Hastings; Jerome K. (Sussex, WI);
Keranen; John J. (Sussex, WI) |
| Abstract | A toggle switch having a molded insulating frame mounting a snap-in bushing
secured thereto for snap-in mounting of the switch in a hole in a mounting
pane. This bushing pivotally retains the toggle lever for operating the
switch contacts within the base. This frame includes a pair of depending
legs between which the insulating switch base is snap-in mounted and
retained. This frame has integrally molded therewith a pair of oppositely
disposed resilient back-up elements for pressing against the back of the
panel, these elements having at their ends ramped riser bars for
accommodating a range of different panel thicknesses while retaining the
switch against significant movement on the panel during toggle lever
operation. |
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Title Information  |
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Drawing from US Patent 4139755 |
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Snap-in bushing electric switch including a frame with integral back-up
elements having panel-engaging ramped riser bars |
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| Publication Date |
February 13, 1979 |
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Title Information |
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| Market Size |
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Estimate the gross annual revenues of the relevant market
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| Market Share |
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| Reasonable Royalty |
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Public's "Guesstimation" of Royalty Value
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| Market Size | N/A | [No votes] | | x | Market Share | N/A | [No votes] | | x | Reasonable Royalty | N/A | [No votes] |
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Market Review |
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Technical Review |
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Claims |
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We claim:
1. A snap-in mounting means for an electric switch having a housing
including a frame and a base secured thereto with the base enclosing
switch contacts, which mounting means adapts the switch to be mounted from
the rear through a hole in a mounting panel so that the switch actuator is
accessible at the front of the panel comprising:
a bushing on said frame having a bore therethrough including means for the
retaining the switch actuator therein;
a circular locking snap-in skirt on said bushing flaring from the forward
end thereof outwardly and back toward the frame;
and a pair of back-up elements on said frame extending from opposite sides
of said bushing in opposite directions with small upward angles, said
elements being tapered in crosssection and having riser bars at their
ends, with the upper surfaces of said riser bars being ramped thereby to
accommodate a larger range of panel thicknesses between said snap-in skirt
and said riser bars without overstressing said back-up elements.
2. The snap-in mounting means defined in claim 1, wherein:
said back-up elements are generally flat plat-like members integral at one
end with said frame and tapering in thickness toward their other ends
where they terminate in said riser bars extending substantially all the
way thereacross.
3. The snap-in mounting means defined in claim 2, wherein:
said back-up elements have a gradual upward curvature toward said other
ends thereof.
4. The snap-in mounting means defined in claim 1, wherein:
each of said ramped riser bars has a narrow and elongated lateral upper
surface that slants outwardly and upwardly so that when said back-up
elements are pressed against the rear surface of the mounting panel the
end portions of said elements and said riser bars will unroll and cause a
reduction in the effective height of said riser bars between said elements
and the panel thereby to prevent overstressing said back-up elements while
accommodating a wider range of panel thicknesses.
5. The snap-in mounting means defined in claim 1, wherein:
said back-up elements are integral at one end with said frame and are
spaced from said frame throughout the remainder of their lengths.
6. The snap-in mounting means defined in claim 1, wherein:
said frame including said back-up elements are integrally molded of plastic
molding material whereby said back-up elements have some resiliency but
are rather stiff thereby to hold the switch securely to the panel.
7. A toggle switch having a housing including an open top base and a frame
secured thereto so as to close the top of said base, said base enclosing
switch contacts, and mounting means adapting said switch to be mounted
from the rear through a hole in a mounting panel so that the toggle lever
is accessible at the front of the panel for actuation by the user
comprising:
a hole in said frame surrounded by a low collar;
a bushing lining said hole and secured to said frame and having a hole
therethrough including means for retaining the toggle lever therein for
limited pivotal movement;
a substantially circular snap-in collar on said bushing flaring from the
top of said bushing outwardly and toward said frame;
and a pair of generally flat plate-like back-up wings extending from said
frame at opposite sides of said low collar thereof in opposite directions
at a small upward curvature in spaced relation to said frame, said wings
being tapered in thickness toward their ends and terminating in lateral
riser bars at their ends so that when said back-up wings are pressed
against the rear surface of the mounting panel, these wings will be
stressed and the riser bar end portions thereof will rotate outwardly an
amount depending upon the thickness of the mounting panel to reduce the
effective height of these riser bars between the wings and the mounting
panel thereby to accommodate a greater range of thicknesses of mounting
panel without overstressing said back-up elements along the lengths
thereof.
8. The toggle switch defined in claim 7, wherein:
said riser bars have outwardly and upwardly angled, ramped surfaces for
engaging the back surface of the mounting panel with an unrolling motion
when said switch is mounted in a hole in the panel. |
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Claims |
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Description |
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Electric switches of the toggle lever type having a snap-in bushing and
back-up elements have been known heretofore. For example, Earl T. Piber
U.S. Pat. No. 3,941,965, dated March 2, 1976, and assigned to the assignee
of this invention, shows a switch frame having planar or slightly upwardly
curved backup elements or wings for abutting and applying a force to the
back of the mounting panel so as to draw the snap-in collar against the
front of the mounting panel around the hole. These back-up elements have
been handicapped by their inability to hold the switch against rocking on
the panel when the toggle lever is operated or by their tendency to
over-stress if designed to hold the switch tighter on the panel. While
that construction has been useful for its intended purpose, this invention
relates to improvements thereover.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to provide an improved electric switch.
A more specific object of the invention is to provide an electric switch
frame with improved means for retaining the switch rigidly and securely to
the mounting panel.
Another specific object of the invention is to provide an electric switch
with improved snap-in panel hole mounting means that retains the switch
rigidly and securely to the panel without over-stressing while
accommodating the switch to a range of different panel thicknesses.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the switch with part of the frame in
cross-section to show the integral backup elements with their ramped riser
bars;
FIG. 2 is a top view of the frame of the switch of FIG. 1 with the snap-in
bushing and toggle lever removed; and
FIG. 3 is a partial view like FIG. 1 showing the switch secured to a
mounting panel.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a toggle switch constructed in
accordance with the invention. As shown therein, this switch is provided
with a frame 2 molded of plastic insulating material or the like. This
frame is generally rectangular in top view as shown in FIG. 2 and is
provided with a short upstanding collar 2a at the top center having a hole
2b for retaining a bushing 4 which is also molded of plastic insulating
material. This bushing has a tubular liner portion 4a that fits snugly
down through and lines hole 2b in the frame and is non-rotatably keyed
therein as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. The lower end 4b of this liner
portion is formed or flared below a shoulder 2c near the lower end of the
hole in the frame to rigidly secure the bushing to the frame.
This bushing is provided with snap-in means for mounting the switch in a
hole 6a in a mounting panel 6 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. This means
comprises an integrally-molded frusto-conical skirt or collar 4c at the
upper end of the bushing having a keyway in its right-hand side as seen in
FIGS. 1 and 3 coinciding with keyway 2d in collar 2a of the frame shown in
FIG. 2. This skirt is integral with the bushing and flared downwardly and
outwardly from the upper end of the bushing. Clearance space 4d is
provided beneath this skirt in the outer wall around the bushing above
collar 2a so that this skirt can be squeezed as it is pushed through the
hole in the mounting panel and snaps out or spreads out again on the other
side of the panel to abut the front of the panel around the hole and thus
to secure the switch to the panel.
To keep the bushing skirt tight against the front of the panel, the frame
is provided with a pair of improved back-up elements such as lateral wings
2e and 2f as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. These wings are integrally molded
with the frame of plastic molding material or the like and extend in
opposite directions from collar 2a with a gradual upward curvature and
taper and terminate in ramped riser bars 2g and 2h, respectively, at their
ends. As shown in FIG. 2, these ramped riser bars extend almost all the
way across the ends of the respective back-up elements. These riser bars
extend upwardly from the ends of the respective back-up elements and are
provided with outwardly and slightly upwardly extending inclines or ramps
2j and 2k, respectively, as shown in FIG. 1. As a result, when the switch
is mounted on the panel as shown in FIG. 3, these ramped upper surfaces of
the riser bars rotate or tip over flat or almost flat, depending upon the
thickness of the panel, against the back surface of the panel to limit
stressing and prevent overstressing of the back-up elements. This allows
use of the snap-in bushing structure on a wider range of panel thicknesses
without overstressing the back-up elements.
The inner surface of the bushing is provided with suitable constriction
means for pivotally retaining a toggle lever 6 that extends therethrough
into a base 8 for actuating the switch contacts in the latter.
Frame 2 is provided with means for snap-in mounting of base 8 thereon and
for accommodating bases having slightly differing dimensional tolerances
as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. This means comprises a pair of tapered and
curved legs 2m and 2n extending down from the opposite ends of the frame
and integrally molded therewith and adapted to be snap-in assembled on and
to grip notches in the left and right ends of the base. These legs are
generally rectangular plates that taper to a thinner crosssection toward
their lower ends while also curving inwardly toward one another. Elongated
raised portions 2p and 2q on the front and rear of the base overlie the
corresponding sides of the base. The structures of this frame and the base
clamped and registered therebetween are more fully described in J. K.
Hastings and E. T. Piber copending application Ser. No. 694,389, filed
June 9, 1976, assigned to the assignee of this invention.
While the apparatus hereinbefore described is effectively adapted to
fulfill the objects stated, it is to be understood that the invention is
not intended to be confined to the particular preferred embodiment of
snap-in bushing electric switch including a frame with integral back-up
elements having panel-engaging ramped riser bars disclosed, inasmuch as it
is susceptible of various modifications without departing from the scope
of the appended claims.
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Description |
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