Snap action switch

Claim 1

In a switch, an annular housing, a pair of diametrically opposite terminals carried by the wall of said housing and extending parallel to the axis of the latter, a plunger slidably mounted in said housing, the inner circumferential surface of said housing being defined by an electrically insulative member and slidably receiving said plunger, said plunger being slidable within said housing between a pair of predetermined positions, said plunger defining a transverse bore therewithin, a pair of contact members slidably mounted in said transverse bore, resilient means within said bore between said contact members yieldably urging said contact members toward opposite ends of the transverse bore and into engagement with said electrically insulative member when the plunger is disposed in one of said positions and as the plunger is moved from said one position to the other position, a pair of diametrically opposite apertures in said insulative member exposing portions of said contacts, the length of said apertures along the axis of the bore being small in comparison with the length of said housing so that said contact members engage said insulative member when the plunger is disposed in said one position and as the plunger is moved between said positions but snap through said apertures by the force of said resilient means when the plunger is moved into the other position defined by the transverse bore being brought into registry with the apertures, said contact members and said resilient means being electrically conductive to define a circuit path between said terminals when the plunger is disposed in said other position.