Pressure sensitive switch
First Claim
1. A pressure sensitive switch comprising:
- a housing including a cap having a top wall and a continuous side wall,a spacer tightly disposed within said housing and including a support surface,a dielectric substrate secured to said support surface of said spacer,a metal diaphragm mounted about its periphery on said substrate and forming a first cavity with said top wall of said cap and a second cavity with said substrate,said first cavity communicating with a source of fluid pressure,said metal diaphragm having a large resilient surface portion movable toward and away from said substrate in response to variations in fluid pressure within said first cavity,a first contact supported by said substrate in a preselected position relative to said diaphragm, anda second contact supported by said diaphragm and arranged for movement with said diaphragm,said second contact engaging and disengaging said first contact in response to variations in fluid pressure within said first cavity.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A pressure sensitive switch for indicating when a fluid pressure reaches a predetermined limit includes a housing having a top wall and a dielectric substrate within the housing spaced from the top wall. A metal diaphragm is hermetically bonded to the substrate to form a cavity between the top wall and the diaphragm. The diaphragm includes a major resilient portion which deforms responsive to varying fluid pressures within the cavity. A first contact is fixedly mounted relative to the substrate and a second contact, arranged for movement with the deformable diaphragm, is spaced from the first contact in juxtaposition thereto. When the fluid pressure within the cavity reaches a predetermined limit, the second contact engages the first contact to close the switch. When the fluid pressure is below the predetermined limit, the second contact moves with the diaphragm away from the first contact to open the switch.
Also disclosed is a barometric version wherein the inside of the diaphragm is partially evacuated and atmospheric pressure outside the cavity works against the diaphragm to open and close the switch.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A pressure sensitive switch comprising:
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a housing including a cap having a top wall and a continuous side wall, a spacer tightly disposed within said housing and including a support surface, a dielectric substrate secured to said support surface of said spacer, a metal diaphragm mounted about its periphery on said substrate and forming a first cavity with said top wall of said cap and a second cavity with said substrate, said first cavity communicating with a source of fluid pressure, said metal diaphragm having a large resilient surface portion movable toward and away from said substrate in response to variations in fluid pressure within said first cavity, a first contact supported by said substrate in a preselected position relative to said diaphragm, and a second contact supported by said diaphragm and arranged for movement with said diaphragm, said second contact engaging and disengaging said first contact in response to variations in fluid pressure within said first cavity. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A pressure sensitive switch comprising:
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a housing including a cap having a top wall and a continuous side wall; a spacer tightly disposed within said housing and including a support surface; a dielectric substrate secured to said support surface of said spacer; a metal diaphragm mounted about its periphery on said substrate and forming a first cavity with said top wall of said cap and a second cavity with said substrate; said first cavity communicating with a source of fluid pressure; said metal diaphragm having a large resilient surface portion movable toward and away from said substrate in response to variations in fluid pressure within said first cavity; a first contact supported by said substrate in a preselected position relative to said diaphragm; a second contact supported by said diaphragm and arranged for movement with said diaphragm; said second contact engaging and disengaging said first contact in response to variations in fluid pressure within said first cavity, said second contact engaging said first contact when the pressure differential between said cavities is greater than a predetermined limit, said second contact disengaging said first contact when the pressure differential between said cavities decreases beyond said predetermined limit plus a fixed factor; and hysteresis means for maintaining the engagement of said contacts until the pressure differential decreases beyond said predetermined limit plus said fixed factor. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A pressure sensitive switch for sensing a plurality of pressures comprising:
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a housing including a cap having a top wall and a continuous sidewall; a spacer tightly disposed within said housing and including a support surface; a dielectric substrate secured to said support surface of said spacer; a metal diaphragm mounted about its periphery on said substrate and forming a first cavity with said top wall of said cap and a second cavity with said substrate said first cavity communicating with a source of fluid pressure; said metal diaphragm having a large resilient surface portion movable toward and away from said substrate in response to variations in fluid pressure within said first cavity; a plurality of first contacts supported by said substrate in a preselected position relative to said diaphragm; and a second contact supported by said diaphragm and arranged for movement with said diaphragm; said second contact engaging and disengaging said first contacts in response to varying fluid pressures within said cavity. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30)
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Specification