Latching mechanism for switch

Claim 1

In a latching mechanism for a switch, including a casing having a closed end and an open end, a slider mounted through the open end of the casing so as to be slidable therein, a spring mounted to the slider to bias the slider outwardly of the casing, a heart-shaped horizontally-oriented cam groove formed in one end of the slider disposed inwardly of the casing, a driving pin disposed in the direction of movement of the slider, and a flat leaf spring mounted in the casing to bias one end of the driving pin into engagement with the cam groove, the one end of the slider being horizontally slidable in the casing between a condition where the one end of the driving pin is anchored in a latching position in the cam groove and the slider is latched in a first position, and a second condition where the one end of the driving pin is moved out of the latching position and the slider is unlatched and returned to its original position, the improvement wherein the driving pin is generally a flat, inverted U-shape having a height substantially less than a length thereof, said U-shape driving pin comprising said one end in the cam groove, its other end, and a horizontal section in between the two ends, and wherein a pin-retaining element is formed on an upper portion of the casing adjacent the open end thereof, said pin-retaining element having a vertical downwardly-extending section and a hook extending horizontally therefrom for holding said other end of the driving pin horizontally and rotatably anchored to the pin-retaining element, such that the driving pin is oriented horizontal and parallel to said slider and said one end of the driving pin is only horizontally movable in the heart-shaped cam groove, whereby the height of an upper wall of the casing above the slider can be made substantially the same as the height of the driving pin carried between the slider and said casing, and an extremely flat switch can be formed.