Terminal seal for electric switch

Claim 1

In an electric switch having a housing comprising a hollow molded insulating base closed by a sealed cover to provide a switch compartment, stationary and movable contacts in said compartment, and an actuator for actuating the movable contact into and out of engagement with said stationary contacts, and holes in said base through which said stationary contacts are connected to terminals for connecting said switch to an external circuit, the improvement comprising: means sealed to said base and extending through said holes for connecting said stationary contacts to the respective terminals, each comprising: an electrical connector having an enlarged upper end portion which forms a part of or to which said stationary contact is attached and a reduced cross-section shank portion extending through one of said holes to the corresponding external terminal; each said hole in said base having a correspondingly enlarged upper end portion to closely surround said enlarged upper end portion of said connector and a correspondingly reduced portion extending down therefrom through said base to closely accommodate said shank portion of said connector, and a surface between said enlarged and reduced portions of said hole having a rounded bump at the lip of said reduced portion of said hole; and the lower surface of said enlarged upper end portion of said connector being provided with an angular undercut surface extending inwardly and upwardly at a predetermined angle with the horizontal plane and overlying said rounded bump for causing cold flow of said rounded bump of said molded insulating base when said connector is clamped tight and secured to said external terminal thereby to form a tight seal around said connector.