Patent Application
20120175233
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a switch assembly, and in particular to a switch assembly having a replaceable switch cap.
2. The Prior Arts
A conventional switch assembly generally includes a switch member having a middle portion pivotally connected to a base and a pressing piece connected to one end of the switch member. When the switch member is operated, the pressing piece pushes a conductive piece such as a bi-metallic strip to electrically contact with another conductive piece, thereby forming a closed circuit.
However, different machines or products need different shapes of switch members. Especially on a machine having multiple switches, the switch members having various shapes or colors corresponding to different functions are used. Therefore, the user can easy distinguish the switch members and does not operate the wrong ones. It needs various molds to manufacture the switch members in various shapes and therefore the manufacturers have to prepare a lot of molds. Producing molds is expensive and time consuming. The high cost for molds make the switches to be less competitive in the market.
CN 2,646,858 discloses a fuse-less switch assembly and includes a case, a switch member and a switch cap. The switch cap is connected with the switch member and the switch member has a middle portion pivotally connected with the case. The switch member includes a pressing piece to push a free end of a bi-metallic strip. The switch cap includes connection portions to be connected with connection holes of the switch member. By modularization, the case and the switch member can be made in mass production so as to be connected with the interchangeable switch caps having different shapes or colors.
Nevertheless, the connection portions and the connection holes are respectively located at two sides of the switch cap and the switch member, the connection portions tend to shift relative to the connection holes after a period of use and even disengage from the connection holes.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a modularized switch assembly which includes a replaceable switch cap to be hooked to a switch member and is easy to replace when needed.
In order to achieve the objective, a switch assembly according to the present invention comprises a base, a switch member and a replaceable switch cap. The base includes a recess defined therein and two pivotal holes are defined in two sidewalls of the recess.
The switch member is located in the recess and has two pivots corresponding to the pivotal holes on two sides thereof The two pivots are pivotably engaged with the pivotal holes in the base. Thus, the switch member is capable of pivotally rotating about the pivots. A pressing piece is connected to the switch member. The switch member has a plurality of engagement portions.
The switch cap has a hook unit on a bottom thereof and the hook unit includes a first hook, a second hook and at least one third hook corresponding to the engagement portions of the switch member. The first and second hooks are disposed at two opposing sides of the switch cap, respectively. The third hook is disposed at another side of the switch cap. The hook unit is engaged with the engagement portions of the switch member.
According to the present invention, the switch assemblies of the present invention can be installed to different types of electric products. The base and the switching member can connect with the replaceable switch cap which is chosen from the switch caps having various colors and shapes. The chosen switch caps have required shapes and colors so that the users can easily tell the individual switch assemblies and do not operate on the wrong switch assembly.
The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:
With reference to the drawings and in particular to
Referring to
The switch cap 20 has a hook unit 201 on a bottom thereof The hook unit 201 includes a first hook 2011 and a second hook 2012 respectively disposed at two opposing sides of the switch cap 20, and at least one third hook 2013 disposed at another side of the switch cap 20. The hook unit 201 is engaged with the engagement portions 23 of the switch member 2, thereby connecting the switch cap 20 with the switch member 2. Because of the connection between the third hook 2013 of the hook unit 201 and the switch member 2, the switch cap 20 is not loosened from the switch member 2 after being used for a period of time. The third hook 2013 cooperates with the first and second hooks 2011, 2012 and reinforces the connection between the switch cap 20 and the switch member 2. This arrangement overcomes the disadvantages of the conventional switch assembly disclosed in CN 2,646,858, which connection portions tend to shift relative to connection holes after a period of use and even disengage from the connection holes.
The switch cap 20 further has a Light Emitting Diode (LED) 202 and the pressing piece 22 is made of a conductive material. The LED 202 is electrically connected with the pressing piece 22 so that when the pressing piece 22 is contacted with the conductive plate 11, the LED 202 is activated to show the circuit is on.
When assembling the switch assembly according to the present invention, the base 1 and the switch member 2 are assembled to the electric product or the machine. Then, the desired switch cap 20 is chosen to be connected with the switch member 2 to meet different requirements of the electric products. For example, different shapes and colors of the switch caps 20 can correspond to different functions for easy recognition.
Referring to
When the switch cap 20 is old or damaged and needs to be replaced, the hook unit 201 of the switch cap 20 is disengaged from the connection portions 23 of the switch member 2 and a new switch cap 20 is connected to the switch member 2 by engaging the hook unit 201 to the engagement portion 23.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention which is intended to be defined by the appended claims.
