1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a switch, and particularly to a switch provided with an electrical member such as a Light Emitting Diode (LED), used in various electronic devices.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional switch provided with a light source is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,202,429 published on Apr. 10, 2007 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,331,805 published on Feb. 19, 2008. The U.S. Pat. No. 7,202,429 disclose a switching device, includes a vertically moveable operating member with a cavity in which a light lies. The light is supported on tongues of a pair of sheet metal energizing members. Each energizing member has laterally opposite sides that form a pair of legs. The legs extend downward along opposite sides of the switch casing, and the legs have lugs at their lower ends for soldering to traces on a circuit board. The U.S. Pat. No. 7,331,805 disclose a switch, comprises an insulative housing defining a cavity, a first, a pair of second and a third fixed terminals embedded in the insulative housing, a movable contact retained in the cavity of the insulative housing, an operator exposed above the movable contact, a retention portion positioned on the operator, an LED located above the retention portion, an actuator assembled to the insulative housing, a cover attached to a top of the insulative housing, and a gasket interposed between the insulative housing and the cover. The insulative housing has two fixing portions respectively defined in a pair of opposite sidewalls, and the LED has a pair of cantilevered arms respectively contacting with the second fixed terminals and fixed in the fixing portions of the insulative housing for immovably fastening the LED to the insulative housing. When the operator is downwardly pushed by the actuator to thereby depress the movable contact, the movable contact has a central contact portion thereof being downwardly depressed for contacting with the first fixed terminal to thereby establish an electrical connection between the first and the third fixed terminals.
Take the U.S. Pat. No. 7,331,805, and in fact for assuring of the electrical connection between the second fixed terminals and the cantilevered arms of the LED, the capacity of the fixing portion just enough to receive the cantilevered arm of the LED. But due to this reason in assembly, the cantilevered arm of the LED may burst the fixing portion of the housing.
Hence, an improved electrical connector is required to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages of the related art.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a switch for increasing success ratio in assembly.
To achieve the aforementioned object, a switch comprises an insulative housing having a pair of fixing grooves defined in a pair of opposite sidewalls, a first, a second and a third fixed terminals respectively provided with a first contact portion, a pair of second contact portions and a pair of third contact portions exposed to outside, a movable contact to be in contact with the third contact portions, an operator capable of depressing the movable contact, a pair of connecting contact respectively having a spring portion connecting with the second contact portion and a fixing portion opposite to the spring portion, a LED having a pair of leads respectively fixed in the fixing portions of the connecting contacts for fastening the LED to the insulative housing, and an actuator adapted for driving the operator to downwardly depress the movable contact. When the operator is downwardly pushed by the actuator, said movable contact contacting with the third fixed terminals has a central contact portion downwardly depressed by the operator for contacting with the first contact portion of the first fixed terminal to thereby establish an electrical connection between the first and the third fixed terminals.
The LED always connects with the second terminal by the connecting contact, and the connecting contact defines the spring portion for the connecting contact to flexibly inserted in the fixing groove of the insulative housing and reducing the burst probability of the fixing groove. It is beneficial for switch to reliably reduce fraction defective in assembly.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Reference will now be made to the drawing figures to describe the present invention in detail. Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
The operator 14 comprises a button 141 having a beveled surface and four projection beams 142 projecting radially from a lower portion of the button 141.
The retention member 15 is formed with a body portion 151 having a curved outer surface for corresponding to the first recesses 1131, a pair of indentations 153 symmetrically defined thereon, and a pair of engaging portions 152 symmetrically formed at an outer surface of the body portion 151.
Referring to
The LED 17 comprises a light source 171 and a pair of substantially Z-shaped leads 172 extending downwardly from the light source 171 for insertion into the fixing portion 162 of the connecting contact 16 and for fixing the LED 17 in the cavity 110. In addition, the leads 172 of the LED 17 are respectively located outside of said fixing grooves 116.
The actuator 18 comprises a cylindrical base portion 182, and an upper portion 181 having a diameter smaller than that of the base portion 182. The base portion 182 has four protrusions 184 symmetrically formed around an outer surface thereof, and four cutouts 183 each defined between a pair of adjacent protrusions 184.
The cover 20 comprises a top face 201 defining an extension hole 202, and a pair of bent faces 203 extending downwardly from a pair of opposite sides of the top face 201. Each bent face 203 has an engaging groove 204 defined thereon for engaging with the tubers 114 of the insulative housing 11.
The gasket 19 is substantially a rectangular board, comprising a board portion 191 and a circular mounting hole 192 defined therein.
Referring to
The movable contact 13 is disposed on the bottom wall 111 of the insulative housing 11, with a pair of periphery contact portions 132 thereof engaging with corresponding second recesses 115 and contacting with the third contact portions 1232 of the third fixed terminals 123, and with the central contact portion 131 positioned a certain distance above the first contact portion 1213. The operator 14 is received in the cavity 110, with the button 141 thereof positioned above the central contact portion 1213, and the projection beams 142 thereof retained in the second recesses 115 and corresponding to the periphery contact portions 132. The connecting contact 16 is received in the fixing groove 116 of the insulative housing 11 by the spring portion 161. The retention member 15 is mounted on the operator 14, with a lower surface of the body portion 151 being resisted against by the button 141, and with the engaging portions 152 engaging with the first recesses 1131. The LED 17 is fastened to the insulative housing 11, with the light source 171 thereof exposed above the retention member 15, and the leads 172 thereof extending through the indentations 153 and then being inserted into the fixing portions 162 for contacting with the second contact portions 1222.
The actuator 18 is fixed on the retention member 15, with the cutouts 183 thereof engaging with the engaging portions 152. The base portion 182 engages with the first recesses 1131, and the protrusions 184 are inserted into the corresponding second recesses 115. The light source 171 is received in the actuator 18. The gasket 19 is interposed between the cover 20 and the insulative housing 11 to ensure a proper sealing therebetween. The engaging grooves 184 thereof engage with the tubers 114. The actuator 18 extends outwardly through the mounting hole 192 and the extension hole 202 in sequence. The switch 100 is assembled as a whole finally.
In operation, the actuator 18 is downwardly pushed by exerting an external force thereon. The retention member 15 and therefore the button 141 are urged downwardly for depressing the central contact portion 131 of the movable contact 13. The LED 17 does not move even though the retention member 15 positioned therebelow moves downwardly. The movable contact 13 contacting with the third contact portion 1231 of the third fixed terminal 123 in a normal position is then forced to deform and have the central contact portion 131 downwardly depressed for contacting with the first contact portion 1213 of the first fixed terminal 121 to thereby establish an electrical connection between the first and the third fixed terminals 121, 123.
When the external force is removed, the switch 100 restores itself to a normal position due to a resilient force from a deformation of the movable contact 13 and the button 141.
In present invention, The LED 17 always connects with the second terminal 122 by the connecting contact 16, and the connecting contact 16 defines the spring portion 161 for the connecting contact 16 to flexibly inserted in the fixing groove 116 of the insulative housing 11 and reducing the burst probability of the fixing groove 116. It is beneficial for switch 100 to reliably reduce fraction defective in assembly.
Naturally, in another embodiment, the actuator 18 has an engaging portion (not shown) formed at a lower portion thereof for engaging with the operator 14. The switch 100 is assembled as a whole, with the retention member 15 being removed. In operation, the operator 14 could be downwardly pushed by the actuator 18 directly to thereby depress the movable contact 13, due to an engagement between the operator 14 and the engaging portion of the actuator 18.
However, the disclosure is illustrative only, changes may be made in detail, especially in matter of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2007 2 0041188 U | Aug 2007 | CN | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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4751385 | Van Benthusysen et al. | Jun 1988 | A |
7235754 | Rochon et al. | Jun 2007 | B2 |
7331805 | Hu | Feb 2008 | B1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20090032381 A1 | Feb 2009 | US |