Electricity: circuit makers and breakers – Snap – Double snap
Patent
1999-05-24
2000-06-27
Friedhofer, Michael
Electricity: circuit makers and breakers
Snap
Double snap
200438, 200449, H01H 1328
Patent
active
060809493
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention pertains to an electric switch, in particular, for motor vehicles with a housing in which a contact lever can move between two end settings within the housing. The electrical switch is equipped with a moveable switch piece to initiate the reversing process and with at least one fixed contact. One of the two elements, namely the contact lever or the switch piece, bears a wedge profile while the other of the two elements has a switching element which senses the contour of the wedge profile during switching. In addition, the two mutually cooperating elements are pre-tensioned with respect to each other in the sensing direction and, as a rule, the sensing direction runs perpendicular to one motion direction in which the two mutually cooperating elements are displaced with respect to each other during the switching.
A switch of this kind is described, for example, in DE-OS 33 36 877, and here both the switch element and also the wedge profile are each formed by a wedge. From DE-OS 44 18 707, a corresponding switch by the applicant is known, in which the known wedge-shaped switch element was replaced by a pre-tensioned sensing roller.
With regard to the design according to DE-OS 44 18 707, it has already been proposed to exchange the wedge profile and the switching element having a curved sensing surface with each other so that the switching piece is provided with a spring tensioned wedge profile.
Therefore the invention proceeds from an electrical switch of the kind in which the contour of the wedge surface is straight. This means that the opposing force exerted by the switching piece when pressed in, is roughly proportional to the distance by which the switch piece is pressed in. Thus, upon manual operation of the switching piece, the opposing force is exerted by the switching piece against the operator increases linearly up to the point where the wedge peak is reached by the switching element. From this point on, the snap action of the switch begins, through which the contact lever is automatically brought into its second contact position. Due to the linear increase in force in the first activation phase of the switch piece, the operator is not able to tell in which region the switching point is actually reached. Thus the switch will reverse at a moment which cannot be determined precisely by the operator.
The purpose of the invention is to make clearly discernible the approach of the pressure point for the operator.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In principle, the invention consists of starting from the known linear dependence of the force exerted by the switching piece with respect to the path traversed by the switching piece, and to introduce a nonlinear relationship. This non-linear relationship is achieved by means of a curved profile. In addition, due to this kind of curbed surface in certain regions, it is possible to control the speed and the acceleration at which the electrical contact are brought together. Thus, within certain limits, the collision tendency of mutually approaching contacts can be controlled, or the speed at which the contacts are brought together, can be controlled for the prevention of electric arcing.
If the goal is a non-linear increase of the opposing force of the switching piece just before reaching the pressure point, then, in a refinement of the invention, the curvature of the contour sensed from the beginning of the switch operation until the transition point is selected such that the force exerted on the switch piece increases disproportionately with respect to the path traversed by the switch piece. Of course, the principle can be applied to both wedge surfaces for a reversing switch acting in two directions, in which the contact lever makes a fixed contact in its two end settings.
A particularly simple construction is obtained by pretensioning the wedge in the switch piece in the pretension direction. Thus the design of the contact lever will be greatly simplified, so that any otherwise occurring problems will be eliminated when it
REFERENCES:
patent: 2779835 (1957-01-01), Russell
patent: 2853573 (1958-09-01), Wang
patent: 4006333 (1977-02-01), Hults
patent: 4636597 (1987-01-01), Menuche
patent: 5821481 (1998-10-01), Neubauer
Botz Jakob
Duster Christel
Weber Adam
Friedhofer Michael
ITT Manufacturing Enterprises Inc.
Lewis J. Gordon
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