This application claims priority of Taiwanese Invention Patent Application No. 109115726, filed on May 12, 2020.
The disclosure relates to a sensor switch, more particularly to a normally open sensor switch.
Referring to
The conventional ball switch cannot, based on the requirements of different products, be used in a product where the conventional ball switch is required to be normally open.
Therefore, the object of the disclosure is to provide a sensor switch that is normally open.
According to the disclosure, a sensor switch includes an insulating casing, two electroconductive terminals, and two electroconductive beads.
The insulating casing includes two installation ends opposite along an axis, an extending portion interconnecting the installation ends, and an inner tubular surface constituting inner surfaces of the installation ends and the extending portion. The inner tubular surface surrounds the axis to define a tubular space which extends through the insulating casing.
The electroconductive terminals extends into the tubular space respectively through the installation ends and are spaced apart along the axis. Each of the electroconductive terminals has an inner surrounding surface surrounding the axis and facing the axis, and an inner end surface being connected to an edge of the inner surrounding surface which is distal to the other one of the electroconductive terminals and cooperating with the inner surrounding surface to define a receiving space. The inner surrounding surface of each of the electroconductive terminals has an indented segment indented away from the axis and extending annularly around the axis.
The electroconductive beads are movably and respectively disposed in the receiving spaces of the electroconductive terminals.
The sensor switch is configured to be convertible by an external force between an open state, where the electroconductive beads are spaced apart from each other so that the electroconductive terminals are not electrically connected to each other, and a closed state, where the electroconductive beads are in direct contact with each other and with the respective electroconductive terminals so that the electroconductive terminals are electrically connected with each other.
When the sensor switch is placed such that the axis is horizontally leveled, the electroconductive beads are respectively retained in the indented segments of the inner surrounding surfaces of the electroconductive terminals to be spaced apart from. each other so that the sensor switch is in the open state.
Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Referring to
The insulating casing 1 includes two installation ends 11 opposite along an axis (L), an extending portion 12 interconnecting the installation ends 11, and an inner tubular surface 14 constituting inner surfaces of the installation ends 11 and the extending portion 12. The insulating casing 1 opens at the two installation ends 11. The inner tubular surface 14 surrounds the axis (L) to define a tubular space 13 which extends through the insulating casing 1. In this embodiment, the insulating casing 1 is made of a metallic material and an insulating material, e.g. a plastic film, covering the metallic material, but in other embodiments, the insulating casing 1 may be made entirely of an insulating material.
The electroconductive VP terminals 2 extends into the tubular space 13 of the insulating casing 1 respectively through the installation ends 11 and are spaced apart along the axis (L). In this embodiment, the electroconductive terminals 2 are secured to the insulating casing 1 by having respective portions being tightly and respectively fitted to the installation ends 11 within the tubular space 13, but is not limited thus.
Each of the electroconductive terminals 2 has an inner surrounding surface 22 surrounding the axis (L) and facing the axis, and an inner end surface 23 being connected to an edge of the inner surrounding surface 22 which is distal to the other one of the electroconductive terminals 2 and cooperating with the inner surrounding surface 22 to define a receiving space 21. The inner surrounding surface 22 of each of the electroconductive terminals 2 has an indented segment 221 indented away from the axis (L) and extending annularly around the axis (L), and a rollout segment 222 and a rollback segment 223 respectively extending from opposite sides of the indented segment 221.
Referring to
For each of the electroconductive terminals 2, the rollback segment 223 extends from a side of the indented segment 221 which is distal to the other one of the electroconductive terminals 2, interconnects the indented segment 221 and a respective one of the inner end surface 23, and tends toward the axis (L). In this embodiment, each of the rollback segments 223 has a cross-section taken along the axis (L) (see
Referring to
Referring to
When in use, the electroconductive terminals 2 are connected to an external circuit (not shown). When the sensor switch originally in the closed state is moved such that the axis (L) is horizontally leveled (i.e. the sensor switch is horizontally leveled), the rollout segment 222 of the inner surrounding surface 22 of one of the electroconductive terminals 2 biases a corresponding one of the electroconductive beads 3 to move so as to be retained by the indented segment 221 of the inner surrounding surface 22 of said one of the electroconductive terminals 2, thereby converting the sensor switch from the closed state to the open state. When the sensor switch is tilted or shaken such that the electroconductive beads 3 are brought into direct contact with each other and respectively with the electroconductive terminals 2, the electroconductive terminals 2 are electrically connected with each other so as to convert the sensor switch to the closed state. Specifically, when the sensor switch is placed such that the axis (L) is not horizontally leveled (i.e. the sensor switch is tilted), one of the electroconductive beads 3 rolls onto the rollout segment 222 of a corresponding one of the electroconductive terminals and abuts against the other one of the electroconductive beads 3, thereby pushing the other one of the electroconductive beads 3 onto the rollback segment 223 of the other one of the electroconductive terminals 2 and to abut against the inner end surface 23 of the other one of the electroconductive terminals 2.
It should be noted that when the electroconductive beads 3 are separated from each other, or when at least one of the electroconductive beads 3 is separated from the respective electroconductive terminal 2 for a short time due to the sensor switch being shaken, the electroconductive terminals 2 are not electrically connected to each other and the sensor switch is in the open state.
The benefits of the embodiment are as follows.
1. Due to the provision of the indented segment 221 of the inner surface 22 of each of the electroconductive terminals 2, the electroconductive beads 3 may be positioned so as to be separated from each other when the sensor switch is horizontally leveled. This allows the sensor switch to be normally in the open state.
2. The structure of the rollout segment 222 of each of the electroconductive terminals 2 allows each of the electroconductive beads 3 to easily roll onto the rollout segment 222 of the respective electroconductive terminal 2 to come into contact with the other one of the electroconductive beads 3 when the sensor switch is tilted, and biases each of the electroconductive beads 3 back toward the indented segment 221 of the respective electroconductive terminal 2 when the sensor switch is horizontally leveled. This improves sensitivity of the sensor switch.
3. The structure of the rollback segment 223 of each of the electroconductive terminal s 2 encourages the electroconductive beads 3 to move toward each other when the sensor switch is shaken or tilted to improve sensitivity of the sensor switch.
In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects, and that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be practiced together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure.
While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is considered the exemplary embodiment, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
109115726 | May 2020 | TW | national |