Omni-directional inertia switching device

Claim 2

An inertia switching device comprising: a housing having an internal side wall extending between a conically shaped portion at one end of the housing and an opening at the other end of the housing; a spring secured to said housing, said spring having a star shaped opening in general alignment with the opening in said housing, said star shaped opening defining a plurality of leaves, said spring being electrically conductive, said spring including means for electrically interconnecting said spring to an external device; a mass being disposed within said side walls and supported by said leaves of said spring; and a contact member being electrically conductive and including means for electrically interconnecting said contact member to an external device, said contact member being spaced apart from said spring to define a gap wherein at least one of said leaves deflects in response to said mass reacting to inertia forces, whereby at least one of said leaves comes into electrical contact with said contact member when the inertia forces exceed a preselected limit.

Claim 3

The device of claim 1 further comprising: an insulating layer disposed between said spring and said contact member, said insulating layer having an opening aligned with said star shaped opening of said spring wherein said gap is defined.

Claim 4

The device of claim 1 further comprising: a base secured to said housing, said spring and said contact layer being disposed between said base and said housing.

Claim 5

The device of claim 1 wherein said mass comprises a ball.

Claim 6

The device of claim 1 wherein said star shaped opening comprises a circular central opening with slots extending outwardly therefrom defining a plurality of wedge shapes whereby said wedge shapes are said leaves.

Claim 7

The device of claim 5 wherein each of said slots terminate in a circular opening.

Claim 8

The device of claim 1 wherein said conically shaped portion has a cone angle between about 90° and about 120°.

Claim 9

A digital switch accelerometer comprising: a housing having a plurality of cavities with internal side walls, each of said internal side walls extending between a corresponding conically shaped portion at one end and a corresponding opening at the other end; a spring secured to said housing, said spring having a plurality of star shaped openings, each being aligned with the corresponding opening in said housing, each of said star shaped openings defining a plurality of leaves, said spring being electrically conductive, said spring including means for electrically interconnecting said spring to an external device; a plurality of masses, each of said masses being disposed within its said corresponding side walls and supported by said leaves of said corresponding star shaped opening; and a contact member having a plurality of electrically conductive contact pads, one of said pads aligned with each of said star shaped openings, said contact member including means for electrically interconnecting each of said pads to an external device, said contact member being spaced apart from said spring to define a gap wherein at least one of said leaves from each of said star shaped openings deflect in response to said masses reacting to acceleration forces, whereby at least one of said leaves from each of said star shaped opening comes into electrical contact with said corresponding pad when the acceleration forces exceed a corresponding preselected limit, each of said corresponding mass, star-shaped opening and pad being responsive to a different preselected limit.

Claim 10

A digital switch accelerometer comprising: a housing having a plurality of cavities with internal side walls, each of said internal side walls extending between a corresponding conically shaped portion at one end and a corresponding opening at the other end; a spring secured to said housing, said spring having a plurality of star shaped openings, each being aligned with the corresponding opening in said housing, each of said star shaped openings defining a plurality of leaves, said spring being electrically conductive, said spring including means for electrically interconnecting said spring to an external device; a plurality of masses, each of said masses being disposed within its said corresponding side walls and supported by said leaves of said corresponding star shaped opening; and a contact member having a plurality of electrically conductive contact pads, one of said pads aligned with each of said star shaped openings, said contact member including means for electrically interconnecting each of said pads to an external device, said contact member being spaced apart from said spring to define a gap wherein at least one of said leaves from each of said star shaped openings deflect in response to said masses reacting to acceleration forces, whereby at least one of said leaves from each of said star shaped opening comes into electrical contact with said corresponding pad when the acceleration forces exceed a corresponding preselected limit, each of said corresponding mass, star-shaped opening and pad being responsive to a different preselected limit.

Claim 11

The accelerometer of claim 8 wherein said preselected limits increase incrementally for each said corresponding mass, star-shaped opening and pad.

Claim 12

The accelerometer of claim 8 further comprising: an insulating layer disposed between said spring and said contact member, said insulating layer having a pluraltiy of openings, each of said openings in said insulating layer aligned with said corresponding star shaped opening and said corresponding pad wherein a pluraltiy of said gaps are defined.

Claim 13

The accelerometer of claim 8 further comprising: a base secured to said housing, said spring and said contact layer being disposed between said base and said housing.

Claim 14

The accelerometer of claim 8 wherein each of said masses comprises a ball.

Claim 15

The accelerometer of claim 8 wherein said star shaped openings each comprise a circular central opening with slots extending outwardly therefrom defining a plurality of wedge shapes whereby said wedge shapes are said leaves.

Claim 16

The accelerometer of claim 13 wherein each of said slots terminate in a circular opening.

Claim 17

The accelerometer of claim 8 wherein said conically shaped portions each have a cone angle between about 90° and about 120°.

Claim 18

The accelerometer of claim 8 wherein said means for electrically interconnecting each of said pads to an external device comprises: a trace extending from each of said pads, each of said traces terminating in a tab for providing connection to the external device, each of said pads being electrically isolated from each of said other pads.

Claim 19

The accelerometer of claim 8 wherein said means for electrically interconnecting each of said pads to an external device comprises: first resistor means connected between said pads; a first trace extending from one of said pads, said first trace terminating in a first tab for providing connection to the external device; second resistor means connected to one of said pads; and a second trace connected to said second resistor means, said second trace terminating in a second tab for providing connection to the external device.

Claim 20

The accelerometer of claim 17 wherein each of said first and second resistor means comprises: a printed resistor element.