Patent US3560689A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3560689A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Pushbutton switch having cam actuated spring contacts also acting as resilient support for pushbutton
Assignee: Tektronix Inc
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Filing: 1968-12-04
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Granted: 1971-02-02
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Expires: 1988-12-04
Abstract
Abstract A pushbutton switch apparatus having cam actuated spring contacts is described in which such contacts also function as resilient supports on which the pushbutton member is mounted and urged into its normal extended position. The switch contacts are attached directly to a printed circuit board, as is a light bulb which is positioned inside the pushbutton member for illuminating such member. The light bulb is energized by the switch indirectly through a control circuit on the printed circuit board when the pushbutton is depressed to momentarily close the contacts of such switch and the control circuit causes such bulb to remain illuminated until another push button is depressed to change the conductive condition of such circuit.
Inventors
- 👤 Arthur H Matson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 08:55
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01H; H01H15/00; H01H15/02; H01H15/06; H01H15/10; H01H15/102; H01H13/00; H01H13/02; H01H13/023; H01H1/00; H01H1/58; H01H1/5805
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
135 words
A pushbutton switch apparatus, comprising: a hollow pushbutton member of light transmitting material having two cam surfaces at the opposite sides thereof and a cavity between said cam surfaces; cam switch means including two separate switches each having a pair of switch contacts with at least one of said contacts being a movable spring contact; a light bulb positioned within said cavity and mounted between said switches; and support means mounting said pushbutton member by said cam surfaces on the spring contacts for longitudinal movement between extended and depressed positions so that said spring contacts resiliently urge the pushbutton member into its extended position, and the cam surfaces on said pushbutton member slide along the spring contacts to open and close the switches when the pushbutton member is moved between its extended and depressed positions.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
135 words
A pushbutton switch apparatus, comprising: a hollow pushbutton member of light transmitting material having two cam surfaces at the opposite sides thereof and a cavity between said cam surfaces; cam switch means including two separate switches each having a pair of switch contacts with at least one of said contacts being a movable spring contact; a light bulb positioned within said cavity and mounted between said switches; and support means mounting said pushbutton member by said cam surfaces on the spring contacts for longitudinal movement between extended and depressed positions so that said spring contacts resiliently urge the pushbutton member into its extended position, and the cam surfaces on said pushbutton member slide along the spring contacts to open and close the switches when the pushbutton member is moved between its extended and depressed positions.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
51 words
A switch apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the light bulb is electrically connected to one of the switches so that said light bulb is energized to illuminate the pushbutton member in response to the closing of said switch by movement of said pushbutton member into its depressed position.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
24 words
A switch apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the spring contacts are fixedly attached at one end to an electrical circuit board.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
69 words
A switch apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the outer end of the pushbutton member extends through an aperture in a mounting panel and said pushbutton member is provided with a stop shoulder adjacent its outer end which engages the inner side of said panel adjacent said aperture in the extended position of the pushbutton member which prevents said pushbutton member from coming off the spring contacts.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
62 words
A switch apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the inner end of the pushbutton member is provided with a plurality of stOp projections which space said pushbutton member a predetermined distance from a support plate to which the spring contacts are attached to prevent damage to the spring contacts due to over-bending in the depressed position of the pushbutton member.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
58 words
A switch apparatus including a plurality of momentary pushbutton switches in accordance with claim 2 which also includes a control circuit connected between the light bulbs and the switches which energize said light bulbs when said switches are closed, said control circuit maintaining the selected light bulb energized when its corresponding switch reopens until another switch is closed.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
30 words
A switch apparatus in accordance with claim 6 in which the spring contacts, the light bulb leads and the control circuit are all attached to the same electrical circuit board.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
135 words
A pushbutton switch apparatus, comprising: a pushbutton member having at least one cam surface thereon; cam switch means including a pair of switch contacts forming a switch with at least one of said contacts being a spring contact, said pushbutton member is provided with a notch in at least one side of its inner end into which the spring contact extends and the cam surface is formed by the edge of the notch; and support means mounting said pushbutton member on the spring contact for movement between extended and depressed positions so that said spring contact resiliently urges the pushbutton member into its extended position, and the cam surface on said pushbutton member engages the spring contact to open and close the switch when the pushbutton member is moved between its extended and depressed positions.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
135 words
A pushbutton switch apparatus, comprising: a pushbutton member having at least one cam surface thereon; cam switch means including a pair of switch contacts forming a switch with at least one of said contacts being a spring contact, said pushbutton member is provided with a notch in at least one side of its inner end into which the spring contact extends and the cam surface is formed by the edge of the notch; and support means mounting said pushbutton member on the spring contact for movement between extended and depressed positions so that said spring contact resiliently urges the pushbutton member into its extended position, and the cam surface on said pushbutton member engages the spring contact to open and close the switch when the pushbutton member is moved between its extended and depressed positions.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
55 words
A switch apparatus in accordance with claim 8 in which both contacts of the pair of contacts of the switch are movable spring contacts which are attached to an electrical circuit board and extend into the notch, each of said spring contacts engaging different portions of the cam surface on opposite sides of the notch.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
101 words
A switch apparatus in accordance with claim 9 in which the notch is provided with a narrow intermediate portion between the open end and the closed end of the notch which is of less width than said ends and the spring contacts extend through said intermediate portion with the free ends of said spring contacts flaring outward into the closed end of the notch to hold the pushbutton member on the spring contacts and with the fixed ends of the spring contacts flaring outward into the open end of the notch to resiliently bias the push button in its extended position.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
44 words
A switch apparatus in accordance with claim 10 which includes a second notch on the opposite side of the pushbutton member and a second pair of spring contacts extend into said second notch to form a second switch similar to the first mentioned switch.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
47 words
A switch apparatus in accordance with claim 11 in which a light bulb is mounted within an interior compartment inside the pushbutton member between the two notches and associated pairs of switch contacts, and the filament leads of said light bulb are attached to the circuit board.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1974-02-01 | 1974-08-03 | 1975-02-02 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1978-02-01 | 1978-08-03 | 1979-02-02 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1982-02-01 | 1982-08-03 | 1983-02-02 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |