Patents Assigned to Stackpole Components Company
  • Patent number: 4361743
    Abstract: A hollow plunger is slidable vertically in a housing that has an open upper end, but its upward travel is limited to a predetermined elevated position, in which the lower end of the plunger body is spaced above the housing's bottom wall that holds a pair of opposed spring contact strips that extend below it to form terminals and that also converge upwardly inside the plunger and have upper ends urged toward engagement with each other. Loosely disposed inside the plunger is a shuttle provided with a cross member extending between the contact strips. The inside of the plunger is formed for supporting the shuttle while the plunger is held in its elevated position by a coil spring encircling the contact strips with the shuttle cross member spreading the upper ends of the contacts apart. After the plunger has been depressed a predetermined distance, it starts to move the shuttle downwardly with it.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 1981
    Date of Patent: November 30, 1982
    Assignee: Stackpole Components Company
    Inventor: Robert D. Ayers
  • Patent number: 4343564
    Abstract: A rotatable member is provided with an axial bore that receives one end of an undersized shaft. To fill the space between the shaft and the wall of the bore and to center the shaft in the bore, the portion of the shaft that is in the bore is encircled by a sleeve provided with a longitudinal slot extending outwardly from its inner end. A set screw threaded in the rotatable member extends through the slot and tightly engages the shaft to rigidly connect the rotatable member and shaft together.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 1981
    Date of Patent: August 10, 1982
    Assignee: Stackpole Components Company
    Inventor: Roderick M. Francis
  • Patent number: 4342892
    Abstract: A keyswitch includes a tubular plunger with a body slidable vertically in an open-top housing that has a bottom wall supporting the lower end of a coil spring extending up around a pair of opposed upright spring contact strips, the lower ends of which extend through the bottom wall. The inside of the plunger is provided with a cross member that normally separates the upper ends of the contact strips, but permits them to engage each other when the plunger is pushed down. The contact strips are substantially identical. Each has at least two parallel slits extending downwardly from its upper end to form a plurality of narrow contact fingers beside a wider contact finger that is wide enough to be engaged by the narrow contact fingers of the opposing contact strip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 1980
    Date of Patent: August 3, 1982
    Assignee: Stackpole Components Company
    Inventor: Robert D. Ayers
  • Patent number: 4341935
    Abstract: A slide is movable by an actuating knob back and forth in a rectangular housing and is attached to a movable metal contact below it by elements integral with the slide. The contact is pressed downwardly by a spring mounted in a bore in the slide. The housing, slide and knob are molded from insulating material. A pair of stationary electric contacts are mounted in the bottom of the housing in positions to be bridged by the movable contact when the slide is in a predetermined position in the housing. The slide may be provided inside the housing with a pair of integral resilient indexing prongs extending laterally into notches in the side walls of the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 1980
    Date of Patent: July 27, 1982
    Assignee: Stackpole Components Company
    Inventor: Leo J. M. Josemans
  • Patent number: 4324957
    Abstract: An actuating member in an electric switch housing is provided with a bore that opens downwardly inside the housing and contains a plunger slidably mounted therein and projecting from the lower end of the bore. A coil spring in the bore presses the plunger down against a movable contact to press it against stationary contacts. The plunger and movable contact are interconnected for movement of the contact by the actuating member, and the actuating member and plunger are provided with interengaging means for limiting downward movement of the plunger in the bore in the absence of the movable contact, whereby the plunger cannot escape from the actuating member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 1980
    Date of Patent: April 13, 1982
    Assignee: Stackpole Components Company
    Inventor: Leo J. M. Josemans
  • Patent number: 4255635
    Abstract: A keyswitch includes a tubular plunger with a rectangular body slidably mounted in a rectangular housing that has a bottom wall provided in its top with a circular recess receiving the lower end of a coil spring extending up around a pair of upright spring contact strips, the lower ends of which are press fitted in the bottom wall. The inside of the plunger is provided with a cross member that normally separates the upper ends of the contact strips, but permits them to engage each other when a keycap on the upper end of the plunger is pushed down to lower the plunger. The plunger body has legs extending downwardly from its lower corners which engage the area of the housing between the plunger body and bottom wall of the housing while the plunger is in its upper position. The corners of the bottom walls are provided with downwardly extending sockets for receiving the plunger legs when the keycap is depressed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 1979
    Date of Patent: March 10, 1981
    Assignee: Stackpole Components Company
    Inventors: Dudley H. Campbell, James A. Daggerhart, Arthur W. Overton
  • Patent number: 4211900
    Abstract: Two parallel rows of three fixed electric contacts are mounted on an insulating base. An insulating slider movable lengthwise of the rows carries a pair of bridging contacts from a position in which each bridging contact bridges the adjoining middle fixed contact and either of the end contacts in the same row to a position bridging the same middle contact and the other end contact in that row. When the bridging contacts are moved into engagement with a pair of end contacts, the slider also moves a metal shorting contact into engagement with the other pair of end contacts, whereby those two contacts are electrically connected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 1978
    Date of Patent: July 8, 1980
    Assignee: Stackpole Components Company
    Inventor: Thomas J. Quigley
  • Patent number: 4211905
    Abstract: A rectangular slide switch housing has a top wall with a longitudinal slot in it, the wall being provided with integral tabs projecting lengthwise from its opposite ends. Inside the housing is a contact-actuating slide provided with a button projecting out through the slot and movable lengthwise thereof. A switch holder for mounting the switch in a rectangular opening in a panel includes a face plate overlying the top wall of the switch and projecting laterally from the sides and ends of the housing. The plate is provided with a longitudinal slot, through which the slide button extends, and with a pair of laterally spaced resilient legs extending downwardly at each end of the housing, the upper ends of the legs being joined to the plate close to the ends of the housing but spaced inwardly from the ends of the plate. Each leg has an intermediate shoulder underlying the adjoining end of the switch for holding it against the plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 1979
    Date of Patent: July 8, 1980
    Assignee: Stackpole Components Company
    Inventor: Thomas J. Quigley
  • Patent number: 4204104
    Abstract: A row of three stationary electric contacts is mounted on an insulating base for a metal housing in which a bridging contact carried by an insulating slider is movable lengthwise of the row from a position bridging the middle stationary contact and either of the end contacts to a position bridging the metal contact and the other end contact. When the bridging contact is moved into engagement with an end contact the slider also moves a metal grounding contact into engagement with the end contact that is not engaged by the bridging contact at that time, whereby the end contact engaged by the grounding contact is electrically connected by it to the metal housing which the grounding contact always engages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 1978
    Date of Patent: May 20, 1980
    Assignee: Stackpole Components Company
    Inventor: Thomas J. Quigley
  • Patent number: 4194104
    Abstract: A push button adapter has a housing with an open bottom mounted on top of a slide switch, with the actuating button of the switch extending up into the housing. Slidably mounted in the housing and extending out of one end of it is a push button plunger with a recess therein loosely receiving the actuating button for moving it with the plunger. A coil spring normally holds the plunger in its outermost position with the button at one end of its travel, the plunger being movable into the housing far enough to move the button to its other position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 1979
    Date of Patent: March 18, 1980
    Assignee: Stackpole Components Company
    Inventor: Richard A. Stenta
  • Patent number: 4186288
    Abstract: A switch housing covering an elongated base has a top wall spaced from a plurality of fixed contacts mounted along the base for engagement by a bridging contact carried by a slider inside the housing. The top wall of the housing is provided with a slot extending inwardly from one end and having a pair of side walls formed from downturned areas of the top wall, each of which is provided with an upwardly extending notch. A lever disposed in the slot normally extends above the housing, with the lower end of the lever provided with laterally projecting trunnions extending through the side wall notches. The lower end of the lever outwardly beyond the trunnions extends downwardly into engagement with the end of the slider for pushing the slider toward the opposite end of the base when the upper end of the lever is swung outwardly away from the underlying end of the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 1978
    Date of Patent: January 29, 1980
    Assignee: Stackpole Components Company
    Inventors: Arthur W. Overton, Allan J. Sykora
  • Patent number: 4172972
    Abstract: A low cost miniature caseless slide action electric switch comprised by a relatively flat insulator base member of substantially uniform thickness throughout its length and breadth and fabricated from a molded thermoplastic material. A plurality of electric terminals extend through the lower one of the flat surfaces and are engagable from the opposite upper flat surface of the insulator base member. The insulator base member further includes at least two sets of opposed, resilient, slide contact housing side retaining members integrally formed on the respective side edges near the ends of the flat insulator base member. The side retaining members extend outwardly in a direction normal to the flat surfaces on the same side of the insulator base member as the upper flat surface. The insulator base member further includes integrally formed stiffening channel portions extending between corresponding side retaining members of the respective opposite sets formed on the same side edge of the insulator base member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 1978
    Date of Patent: October 30, 1979
    Assignee: Stackpole Components Company
    Inventors: Allan J. Sykora, Dudley H. Campbell
  • Patent number: 4121071
    Abstract: A switch housing having a separate base attached to one end includes an electric end contact secured to each end of the base inside the housing, and central electric terminal means secured to the central part of the base between the end contacts. An elongated bridging contact engages the central terminal means and has end portions beside rigid dielectric members projecting from the base adjacent the end contacts for restricted lateral movement of the bridging contact. The end contacts have projections overlying the end portions of the bridging contact, and the base and all of the contacts and terminals together form a base unit in which the bridging contact is confined between the base and the overlying portions of the end contacts before the base is secured to the rest of the switch housing. Manually operable actuating means engage the bridging contact for rocking it on the central terminal means to electrically connect the latter with the overlying portions of either of the overlying contacts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 1977
    Date of Patent: October 17, 1978
    Assignee: Stackpole Components Company
    Inventors: Dudley H. Campbell, Arthur W. Overton
  • Patent number: 4119821
    Abstract: A switch case has a top provided with a central opening in which slides the stem of a plunger that has a foot inside the case. A bridging contact spring has a central portion engaging the foot and has free end portions extending away from opposite sides of the foot to form movable contacts normally engaging stationary electric contacts in the case beneath the movable contacts. Between each stationary contact and the central portion of the spring there is a fulcrum member beneath a movable contact so that when the central portion of the spring is moved downwardly by depressing the plunger, the movable contacts will rock on the fulcrum members and lift away from the stationary contacts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 1977
    Date of Patent: October 10, 1978
    Assignee: Stackpole Components Company
    Inventor: Arthur Wayne Overton
  • Patent number: 4042795
    Abstract: In an electric switch a slide containing a shorting contact is movable back and forth along a row of at least three fixed electric contacts. The shorting contact is formed from a spring metal strip having an elongated central body between a pair of end portions, the body having contact surface for sliding engagement with the fixed contacts and being long enough to bridge three of them simultaneously. The end portions of the shorting contact extend toward the back wall of the contact-receiving recess in the slide and toward each other to form inclined legs having free ends pressing against the slide to press the contact surface against the fixed contacts. The central body of the shorting contact is provided with at least one slot extending lengthwise of it and into its legs to separate the body into laterally spaced contact bands integrally connected at the free ends of the legs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 1976
    Date of Patent: August 16, 1977
    Assignee: Stackpole Components Company
    Inventor: Allan J. Sykora