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EP0060686A2 Expired / Lapsed EP ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Lever seal for miniature sealed toggle switch

Assignee: Eaton Corp
•
Filing: 1982-03-11
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2002-03-11
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Abstract

Abstract A miniature sealed toggle switch having a housing (2, 4) that is sealed by a gasket (16) sealed to the toggle lever by a groove (12b) and RTV (18) and to the housing by a ridge (16d) and a tapered edge (2e) on the base, and by two grooves (6d, 6e, Fig. 3) on the terminals that prevent leaks under different expansion of the metal terminals (6) and the molded base (2a, 2b, Fig. 3). Contactor erosion is reduced by a drop (26d) on the contactor causing arc movement on opening. Grooves (2g, 2h) and arc shields (2f) in the base prevent formation of conductive paths. A stepped taper (12d) on the toggle lever and a tapered hole (28a) reduce wear. Nickel plating of the brass lever (12) and aluminum bushing (4a) insure ground of the lever. The contactor configuration (32c, 32d, Fig. 5), clearance between the toggle lever and actuator, and energy storage in conical spring (30) provide non-stall, non-tease operation. The radius of the actuator tips (28c) are maintained by the radius (32a, 32b, Fig. 5) in the contactor over a time period. Non-teasable momentary action with reduced bounce is provided by spring-biased plungers (36) with controlled clearance relative to the actuator slots, conical spring (30) and contactor (42, Fig. 6) configuration with energy storage points (42d, 42e). Two-way momentary action is provided two pairs of plungers (36, 38, Fig. 8). Non-tease operation is provided by the pivot (26h, Fig. 11) of contactor suspension being above the decision point (26j', Fig. 11) of the contactor. Minor modifications (26g', Fig. 11, 96c, Fig. 14a) provide ON-ON-ON operation. common metal bushing may be used with different sizes o molded cover portion.

Inventors

  • 👤 Louis Fred Aschenbach
  • 👤 Selami Yalcin Pusatcioglu

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction EP
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-08 05:09
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01H; H01H21/00; H01H21/02; H01H21/04; H01H21/08; H01H21/085

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim 241 words
A miniature environmentally-sealed toggle switch comprising: a housing having a base (2) provided with a contact compartment and a cover (4) having a bushing (40) extending therefrom; stationary contacts (6a, 8, 10) in said compartment having terminals (6b, 8, 10) extending through said base to the outside; a movable contactor (26) supported on one of said stationary contacts (8) serving as a pivot therefor and being rockable in opposite directions to engage and disengage at least one other stationary contact; a toggle lever (12) extending down through said bushing and means (14) pivotally supporting said toggle lever in said bushing for limited pivotal movement; an actuator (28) engaging said contactor (26) and being slidable therealong to rock the same; means (12d, 28a) coupling said toggle lever (12) to said actuator (28) comprising a hole (28a) in said actuator into which the inner end portion (12d) of said toggle lever (12) extends and a frusto-conical compression spring (30) biasing said actuator against said contactor so that said actuator slides along said contactor and concurrently rocks in unison with said toggle lever as the latter is pivotally operated from one operating position to another; characterized by: sealing means (16) comprising a gasket (16) hugging said toggle lever (12b) below its pivot (14) and means (2e, 16d) stretching said gasket to the periphery of said base (2) and said cover (4); and an adhesive-sealant (18) between and about said toggle lever and said gasket.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 241 words
A miniature environmentally-sealed toggle switch comprising: a housing having a base (2) provided with a contact compartment and a cover (4) having a bushing (40) extending therefrom; stationary contacts (6a, 8, 10) in said compartment having terminals (6b, 8, 10) extending through said base to the outside; a movable contactor (26) supported on one of said stationary contacts (8) serving as a pivot therefor and being rockable in opposite directions to engage and disengage at least one other stationary contact; a toggle lever (12) extending down through said bushing and means (14) pivotally supporting said toggle lever in said bushing for limited pivotal movement; an actuator (28) engaging said contactor (26) and being slidable therealong to rock the same; means (12d, 28a) coupling said toggle lever (12) to said actuator (28) comprising a hole (28a) in said actuator into which the inner end portion (12d) of said toggle lever (12) extends and a frusto-conical compression spring (30) biasing said actuator against said contactor so that said actuator slides along said contactor and concurrently rocks in unison with said toggle lever as the latter is pivotally operated from one operating position to another; characterized by: sealing means (16) comprising a gasket (16) hugging said toggle lever (12b) below its pivot (14) and means (2e, 16d) stretching said gasket to the periphery of said base (2) and said cover (4); and an adhesive-sealant (18) between and about said toggle lever and said gasket.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 104 words
The miniature environmentally-sealed toggle switch claimed in claim 1, wherein: said means stretching said gasket comprises: an inward taper (2e) around the upper joining edge of said base; an integral ridge (16d) below the peripheral edge of said gasket (16) fitting into said taper to position said gasket in assembly; and means (20,22) for clamping said cover (4) onto said base (2) so as to press said ridge (16d) down along said taper (2e) whereby to stretch said gasket in order to minimize downward deflection of said gasket at lower temperatures. and said adhesive-sealant (18) comprises an RTV adhesive-sealant having excellent low temperature flexibility.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 53 words
The miniature environmentally-sealed toggle switch claimed in claims 1 or 2, wherein: said sealing means also comprises: a groove (12b) around said toggle lever (12) below said pivot means (14) thereof; an integral collar (16a) on said gasket hugging said groove; and said adhesive-sealant (18) being interposed between said groove and said collar.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 51 words
The miniature environmentally-sealed toggle switch claimed in claim 1, wherein: said gasket (16) consists of silicone rubber; said toggle lever (12) is composed of metal; and said adhesive-sealant (18) comprises a room temperature vulcanizing adhesive-sealant having good adhesive characteristics to said silicone rubber gasket (16) and said metal toggle lever (12).
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 28 words
The miniature environmentally-sealed toggle switch claimed in claim 4, wherein: said toggle lever (12) is composed of nickel-plated brass and is primed for good adhesion by said adhesive-sealant.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 29 words
The miniature environmentally-sealed toggle switch claimed in claim 4, wherein: said toggle lever (12) is composed of passivated stainless steel and is primed for good adhesion by said adhesive-sealant.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 17 words
The miniature environmentally-sealed toggle switch claimed in claim 5 or 6, wherein: said adhesive-sealant (18) is non-sagging.

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