Electricity: circuit makers and breakers – Foot operated
Reexamination Certificate
2002-11-14
2003-11-25
Enad, Elvin (Department: 2832)
Electricity: circuit makers and breakers
Foot operated
C200S243000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06653582
ABSTRACT:
The present disclosure relates to subject matter contained in priority Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-349813, filed on Nov. 15, 2001, the contents of which is herein expressly incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stop lamp switch which is used for controlling a stop lamp to be lighted only when a brake pedal of a vehicle is pressed and to a method for attaching such a stop lamp switch.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, the following type of stop lamp switch has been widely used as a stop lamp switch employed for controlling the lighting of a stop lamp. Specifically, when the stop lamp switch is to be attached to an attachment bracket opposing to a brake pedal of a vehicle, a projected length of an operation shaft of the stop lamp switch can be adjusted while directly abutting the operating shaft on the brake pedal. Such a stop lamp switch is intended to ensure a turn-on operation of the stop lamp when the brake pedal is pressed and a turn-off operation of the stop lamp when the brake pedal is no more pressed, regardless of variations in size and shape of the stop lamp switch, its relative position with respect to the brake pedal or the attachment bracket, and the like.
The above-described type of a conventional stop lamp switch has a structure as shown in a longitudinal cross-sectional view of FIG.
9
. More specifically, a cover body
3
is connected to a cylindrical case
2
made of an insulating resin with an upper open end, through the engagement between engagement holes
4
and engagement claws
7
to form a stop lamp switch
1
. A connector connection part
2
b
for fitting a connector described below thereto is integrally formed with the case
2
below its bottom wall
2
a
. Terminal portions
8
a
of fixed contacts
8
are penetrated through the bottom wall
2
a
so as to be projected into the connector connection part
2
b
, whereby the fixed contacts
8
are held at predetermined positions within the case
2
. Movable contacts
9
, which constitute switch contacts with the fixed contacts
8
, are in elastic contact with the fixed contacts
8
on their bottoms by a contact pressure spring
10
interposed between the movable contacts
9
and the bottom wall
2
a
in a somewhat deflected state.
A cylindrical actuator
11
serves to allow the movable contacts
9
to be in contact with/separate from the fixed contacts
8
. The cylindrical actuator
11
is provided so as to be freely slidable in in/out directions to/from the case
2
by fitting a guide rib (not shown) of the actuator
11
into a guide groove (not shown) of the case
2
. At the same time, the actuator
11
is always energized by a return spring
12
in such a direction that the actuator
11
is projected from the case
2
. The return spring
12
is provided between an engagement wall
11
a
and the bottom wall
2
a
of the case
2
, where the engagement wall
11
a
is integrally formed with the actuator
11
so as to divide an inner space of the actuator
11
in two. A cylindrical operating shaft
13
having a head is penetrated through a guide hole
3
a
of the cover body
3
so as to be connected to one end of the actuator
11
with an engaging spring
14
being interposed therebetween in a displaceable state. More specifically, the engaging spring
14
having an approximately U shape when viewed from a plane is engaged with one end of the actuator
11
so as to perpendicularly cross an opening on the end of the actuator
11
. The operating shaft
13
has concave-convex locking portions
13
a
formed along its axial direction on parts of its outer surface, the parts of the outer surface being opposed to each other in a radial direction. The concave-convex locking portions
13
a
are forced into a slightly enlarged middle space of the U-shaped engaging spring
14
while spreading the middle space, so that the operating shaft
13
is connected to the actuator
11
with the engaging spring
14
being interposed therebetween.
The engaging spring
14
is brought into elastic contact with the concave-convex locking portions
13
a
on the both sides due to a restoring force of the middle portion of the engaging spring
14
which is deformed in a spreading direction. The operating shaft
13
can be forced into the actuator
11
against the engagement force of the engaging spring
14
with the concave-convex locking portions
13
a
. The operating shaft
13
is thus forced into the actuator
11
so as to adjust its projected length from the guide hole
3
a
of the cover body
3
. As a result, a connected length between the actuator
11
and the operating shaft
13
can be adjusted in such a manner to allow the reduction thereof.
The stop lamp switch
1
is attached in the following manner. After a part of the operating shaft
13
and the cover body
3
is inserted into an attachment hole
17
a
of the attachment bracket
17
which is opposed to a brake pedal of a vehicle, the stop lamp switch
1
is relatively rotated with respect to the attachment bracket
17
so as to engage engaging portions
3
b
outwardly protruding from both sides of the cover body
3
in its radial direction with the edge of the attachment hole
17
a
.
FIG. 10
is a side view showing a state where the stop lamp switch
1
is attached to the attachment bracket
17
of a vehicle in the above-described manner. A brake pedal
18
is freely turnably provided around a spindle
19
serving as a supporting point. At the same time, the brake pedal
18
is energized to be turned in a right-hand direction of
FIG. 10
by a spring
20
so as to be held at a normal position indicated with a solid line in the drawing. More specifically, the spring
20
is set to have a larger spring pressure than the total spring pressure of the contact pressure spring
10
and the return spring
12
of the stop lamp switch
1
.
The operating shaft
13
of the stop lamp switch
1
before its attachment is set to have a rather large projected length from the guide hole
3
a
. In its attachment to a vehicle, the operating shaft
13
is pushed into the cover body
3
until the projected length is reduced to allow the attachment of the operating shaft
13
to the attachment bracket
17
while a tip of the operating shaft
13
is abutting on an abutting face
21
of the brake pedal
18
. At this moment, the engagement force between the concave-convex locking portions
13
a
of the operating shaft
13
and the engaging spring
14
is larger than the spring pressure of the spring
20
. Consequently, in the case where the operating shaft
13
is inserted into the attachment hole
17
a
of the attachment bracket
17
, the brake pedal.
18
is pressed by the operating shaft
13
so as to be turned from the position indicated with the solid line in
FIG. 10
to the position indicated with a double-chain line against the energizing force of the spring
20
. Accordingly, with such a structure, it is not possible to adjust a projected length by inserting the operating shaft
13
into the cover body
3
.
In order to solve this problem, the stop lamp switch
1
has been conventionally attached in the following procedure. The operating shaft
13
is penetrated through the attachment hole
17
a
of the attachment bracket
17
so that its tip abuts on the abutting face
21
of the brake pedal
18
while holding the brake pedal
18
so as not to be moved from the normal position indicated with the solid line in FIG.
10
. Thereafter, the stop lamp switch
1
is pushed toward the brake pedal
18
.
In the above-described attachment operation, when the operating shaft
13
is pushed against the abutting face
21
, the actuator
11
, which holds the operating shaft
13
with the engaging spring
14
being interposed therebetween, moves in a downward direction in the drawing from the state shown in
FIG. 9
while compressing the return spring
12
. As a result, the movable contacts
9
are pushed down to be separated from the fixed contacts
8
. Thereafter, once the actuator
11
abuts on
Hirobe Masahiro
Jahara Koji
Kasakawa Noriyuki
Miyazaki Hiroshi
Nakatani Kenji
Enad Elvin
Greenblum & Bernstein P.L.C.
Klaus Lisa
Matsushita Electric - Industrial Co., Ltd.
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