Miniature slide switch assembly having flexible detent on movable actuator or fixed housing

Claim 1

A miniature slide switch assembly comprising: a. a fixed base member, having a pair of opposite longitudinal side surfaces, molded out of any suitable insulating material, each of said side surface having a pair of recesses, b. at least two adjacent molded fixed contacts disposed in an array in the longitudinal direction of said base member and molded integrally with said base member, each of said fixed contacts comprising a contact plate having a pair of tapered edges at the lower end thereof and elongated leg portions integral with the top end of said tapered edges, said contact plate being disposed above said base member, said leg portions being disposed extending downwards below said base member, c. a movable casing member having opposite longitudinal walls and slidably riding on said base member so that it can slide in the direction of the array of said fixed contacts, a cavity at the upper end of said movable casing member in the upwardly extending direction of said fixed contact, a pair of resilient detent bars integral with said side wall of said movable casing member, each of said resilient detent bars having at the top end thereof a finger capable of being snap fitted into said recesses corresponding to the ON-condition and the OFF-condition of the switch assembly, respectively, d. an electrically conductive strip being inversed U-shaped and being accommodated in said cavity of said movable casing member, said conductive strip being slidable over said fixed contacts from one of a first and a second position to the other in accordance with the movement of said movable casing member, whereby, when said conductive strip is in the first position, it bridges said adjacent fixed contacts, while when said conductive strip is in the second position, the bridging of said strip between said adjacent fixed contacts is broken.