Manually controlled static switch

Claim 1

A manually controlled static switch comprising a body which has at least one oblong slot with a base wall, said slot being bordered on either side by first and second oblong recesses, so that said slot has at least two walls transparent to electromagnetic radiation, positioned laterally of the base wall and substantially parallel to one another, the body being constituted by a plate defined by two substantially parallel faces, said slot issuing by one opening onto a first face and the two recesses issuing by an opening onto the second face, a plurality of juxtaposed electromagnetic radiation beam emitters for emitting a first electromagnetic radiation located in the same first recess, a plurality of juxtaposed receivers located in the same second recess, the two recesses and the slot being located on substantially parallel axes, whereby with each emitter is associated a sensitive receiver, said receiver being able to emit an output signal having at least two different levels as a function of whether the receiver does or does not receive said beam when said beam is interrupted, wherein said base wall is made from a transparent material and said switch also comprises a plurality of juxtaposed light sources of a second electromagnetic radiation in the visible range positioned behind the base wall of said slot respectively corresponding to the emitters and receivers and oriented so as to illuminate the interior of said slot through said base wall and means connected to the outputs of the receivers for controlling each of said sources as a function of the level of said output signal of the sensitive receiver corresponding to this source; said body being made from a material transparent to the first electromagnetic radiation.