Unitized control panel
First Claim
Patent Images
1. In a unitized switch control panel:
- (a) a flat, thin cover plate made of electrically conductive, flexible and resilient material having an outer surface and an inner surface lying is spaced, parallel planes;
(b) said plate having on its outer surface, first grooves defining a plurality of discrete actuators in the normal, unflexed condition of said plate, which are of unrestricted configuration and array, said actuators having digitally engageable surfaces substantially coplanar with said outer surface of said cover plate;
(c) said plate having on its inner surface, second grooves substantially paralleling the first grooves but laterally offset therefrom in directions parallel to the said planes of said cover plate surfaces;
(d) said second grooves defining contact pads for said actuators substantially in said plane of said inner surface of said plate;
(e) a circuit board having a plurality of pairs of contact segments arrayed to be bridged by said actuator pads when said actuator pads are depressed by digital pressure; and
(f) an insulation spacer in contact with the circuit board on one side and said panel on the other, and having a plurality of apertures for said pairs of contact segments.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Individual switch actuators are formed by etching offset grooves in opposite sides of a thin metal plate. The groove on one side of the plate falls just within the groove on the other side of the plate. A web is formed between the adjacent groove walls which provides significant localized flexibility. A discrete contact pad is defined on the inside that is in the plane of the metal plate.
31 Citations
6 Claims
-
1. In a unitized switch control panel:
-
(a) a flat, thin cover plate made of electrically conductive, flexible and resilient material having an outer surface and an inner surface lying is spaced, parallel planes; (b) said plate having on its outer surface, first grooves defining a plurality of discrete actuators in the normal, unflexed condition of said plate, which are of unrestricted configuration and array, said actuators having digitally engageable surfaces substantially coplanar with said outer surface of said cover plate; (c) said plate having on its inner surface, second grooves substantially paralleling the first grooves but laterally offset therefrom in directions parallel to the said planes of said cover plate surfaces; (d) said second grooves defining contact pads for said actuators substantially in said plane of said inner surface of said plate; (e) a circuit board having a plurality of pairs of contact segments arrayed to be bridged by said actuator pads when said actuator pads are depressed by digital pressure; and (f) an insulation spacer in contact with the circuit board on one side and said panel on the other, and having a plurality of apertures for said pairs of contact segments. - View Dependent Claims (2)
-
-
3. In a unitized switch control panel:
-
(a) a flat cover plate having an electrically conductive inner surface and having an outer surface, said surfaces lying in closely spaced parallel planes; (b) said plate having a plurality of switch actuators; (c) each actuator being formed by a series of continuous grooves present when the plate is in its unflexed state and located on opposite surfaces of the cover plate, the grooves on one surface of the plate substantially paralleling the grooves on the other surface of the plate, but being laterally offset from each other in directions parallel to the said planes of the plate to form narrow webs between the respective grooves that extend substantially perpendicular to said plane; (d) said offset grooves defining, on the inside of the cover plate, a contact pad normally in said plane of the said inner surface but substantially individually flexible upon substantially aligned digital pressure on the opposite outside surface to bridge a pair of contact segments.
-
-
4. In a unitized switch control panel:
-
(a) a cover plate made of steel having a thickness of approximately 0.040 inches sufficient to utilize the strength and durability characteristics of the steel, said plate having an outer surface and an inner surface lying in spaced parallel planes; (b) a switch contact pad defined from the material of said steel by two endless grooves, one on the outer surface of the plate, and one on the inner surface of the plate, said grooves extending inwardly of said surfaces when said plate is in its normal, unflexed, flat state; (c) said grooves circumscribing two areas, a smaller one on the inner surface of said plate and a larger one on the outer surface of said plate that are substantially aligned, the said area on the outer surface having a peripheral edge encompassing and being just outwardly spaced from the outer edges of said groove on said inner surface are projected into the plane of said larger area thereby to impart flexibility to the contact pad in a direction perpendicular to the plane of said plate whereby a selectively positionable contact bridge is formed.
-
-
5. In a unitized switch control panel:
-
(a) a substantially planar cover plate having an outer surface and an inner surface lying in spaced parallel planes, said inner surface being substantially uniformly electrically conductive; (b) said plate having on its outer surface, first grooves defining a plurality of discrete actuators in the normal, unflexed condition of said plate, which are of unrestricted configuration and array, said actuators having digitally engageable surfaces substantially coplanar with said outer surface of said cover plate; (c) said plate having on its inner surface, second grooves substantially paralleling the first grooves but laterally offset therefrom in directions parallel to the said planes of said cover plate surfaces; (d) said second grooves defining contact pads for said actuators substantially in said plane of said inner surface of said contact pads. - View Dependent Claims (6)
-
Specification