Switch device with improved detent structure

Claim 1

IN AN ELECTRICAL SWITCH ASSEMBLY HAVING A RECTILINEARLY SLIDABLE SWITCH ACTUATOR, ELECTRICAL CONTACT MEMBERS HELD CAPTIVE BY AND MOVABLE WITH SAID ACTUATOR, AN INSULATING SUPPORT UNDERLYING SAID CONTACT MEMBERS AND HAVING PAIRED CONTACT TERMINALS RESPECTIVELY ADAPTED TO BE BRIDGED BY SAID CONTACT MEMBER UPON SHIFTING MOVEMENT OF SAID SWITCH ACTUATION RELATIVELY TO SAID SUPPORT AND AN ENCLOSING CASING FOR SAID SWITCH ASSEMBLY HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAP TOP WALL PART OVERLYING THE TOP OF SAID SWITCH ACTUATOR AND OPPOSED DEPENDING SIDE WALL PARTS SECURED TO SAID INSULATING SUPPORT TO EMBRACE THEREBTWEEN SAID SWITCH ACTUATOR, SAID CONTACT MEMBERS AND SAID INSULATED CONTACT TERMINALS, SAID CASING HAVING AN ELONGATED SLOT IN ITS SAID TOP WALL PART EXTENDING LENGTHWISE OF SAID CASING IN PARALLEL RELATION TO SAID OPPOSITE SIDE WALL PARTS THEREOF, AND SAID SWITCH ACTUATOR HAVING AN UPWARDLY PROJECTING PART INTEGRAL THEREWITH EXTENDING THROUGH SAID SLOT FOR SHIFTING MOVEMENT WITHIN THE LIMITS OF SAID SLOT, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING A DETENT PLATE FORMED OF RESILIENT SHEET MATERIAL DISPOSED IN INTERVENTING RELATION BETWEEN THE TOP WALL PART OF THE CASING AND THE TOP OF SAID SWITCH ACTUATOR, SAID DETENT PLATE BEING CENTRALLY APERTURED TO NON-ROTATABLY CAPTIVATE THE UPWARDLY PROJECTING PART OF SAID SWITCH ACTUATOR FOR SHIFTING MOVEMENT OF THE PLATE WITH SAID ACTUATOR, SAID DETENT PLATE BEING PROVIDED WITH LATERALLY SPACED RELATIVELY NARROW PARALLEL COPLANAR SIDE STRIPS RESPECTIVELY DISPOSED AT OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE CENTRAL APERTURE OF THE PLATE AND EXTENDING LENGTHWISE ALONG OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE UPWARDLY PROJECTING PART OF THE ACTUATOR IN RESPECTIVE PARALLEL RELATION TO THE CASING SIDE WALL PARTS, EACH OF SAID NARROW STRIPS OF THE DETENT PLATE SUBSTANTIALLY MID-POINT OF ITS LENGTH HAVING AN INTEGRALLY FORMED DETENT OF GENERALLY INVERTED U-SHAPE AS VIEWED FROM A SIDE EDGE OF SAID STRIP, EACH SAID DETENT EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY ACROSS THE FULL WIDTH OF ITS ASSOCIATED STRIP TO PROVIDE IN THE LATTER A PAIR OF SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL FLEX LINES SPACED LONGITUDINALLY ALONG THE EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF THE STRIP TO PERMIT FLEXING OF THE STRIP AND CORRESPONDING MOVEMENT OF THE DETENT ORTHOGONALLY WITH RESPECT TO THE PLANE OF SAID DETENT PLATE.