Safety switch

• US 7,633,029 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2006
• Issued: 12/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IDEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: IDEC Corporation
• Inventors: Komori, Etsurou, Yasui, Takeo, Fukui, Takao, Obata, Norifumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Friedhofer; Michael A
• Assistant Examiner(s): HOMZA, LISA NHUNG
• Application Number:
  US11/886,169
• Publication Number:
  US 20080121499A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,383 Days
• Field of Search: 200/43.01, 200/43.04, 200/43.09, 200/17.R, 200/200, 200/334, 200/61.62
• US Class Current: 200/334
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 27/002 wherein one single insertion movement of a key comprises an unlocking stroke and a switch actuating stroke, e.g. security switch for safety guards
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 9/24 for interlocking two or more parts of the mechanism for operating contacts

Abstract

A safety switch capable of detecting withdrawal of an actuator from a switch main unit in a sure and reliable manner even when the safely switch, including a lock mechanism, is in a locked condition and an attempt is made to forcibly withdraw the actuator from the switch main unit. Even when a drive cam becomes capable of rotation since not less than one of a notch cut-out section and a lock member is broken by forcibly extracting an actuator with rotation of the drive cam locked, a cam curve section of the drive cam and an operating rod are in a normal condition and free of breakage. Accordingly, if the drive cam rotates in a counter-clockwise direction, normally-closed contacts of a contact section adopt an open condition normally, and even in situations where the actuator is withdrawn from the switch main unit with a force equal to or greater than the fracture strength of the safety switch, withdrawal of the actuator from the switch main unit can be detected in a sure and reliable manner.

Claims

1. A safety switch comprising:

a switch main unit having an operation section, a switch section and a lock mechanism section, the switch section including an operating rod and a contact section including a contact,

an actuator provided so as to be capable of freely entering into and withdrawing from said operation section of said switch main unit, and wherein entry and withdrawal of said actuator effects opening and closing, respectively, of said contact of said contact section via a reciprocating motion in accordance with entry and withdrawal of said actuator of said operating rod provided in said switch section

a drive cam that is provided so as to be capable of freely rotating in said operation section, and

a lock mechanism that is provided in said lock mechanism section of said switch main unit and locks a rotation of said drive cam;

wherein

said drive cam having an engagement section, a notch cut-out section, and a cam curve section each formed on an outer peripheral surface of said drive cam, said engagement section engaging with a portion of said actuator pursuant to pushing in of said actuator,

is rotated in one direction along with entry of said actuator into said operation section while retaining the engagement condition, and

is rotated in another direction along with withdrawal of said actuator from said operation section pursuant to extraction of said actuator until the portion of said actuator comes free of the engagement condition with said engagement section, and

thus said operating rod moves in a reciprocating fashion as a result of said operating rod making sliding contact with said cam curve section due to rotation of said drive cam in both directions; and

said lock mechanism comprises a lock member and a drive section that moves said lock member,

said look member being provided so as to be capable of freely moving between a lock position and an unlock position in a direction substantially perpendicular to a rotating shaft of said drive cam,

engaging with said notch cut-out section to lock a rotation of said drive cam as a result of motion to said lock position when said actuator is in an entry condition, and

being released from engagement with said notch cut-out section as a result of motion to said unlock position.

2. The safety switch of claim 1, wherein

a tip section of said lock member engages with said notch cut-out section, and

a fracture strength of said tip section is set lower than a fracture strength of said notch cut-out section of said drive cam.

3. The safety switch of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein

said drive section comprises:

a hinge-type electromagnet provided in said lock mechanism section and arranged such that a direction of a central axis of said hinge-type electromagnet is substantially perpendicular to a motion direction of said lock member, and

a transmission section displaced by a force of magnetic attraction resulting from energizing of said hinge-type electromagnet and moving said look member by transmitting the displacement to said lock member.

4. The safety switch of claim 1 or 2, wherein

said switch main unit has a rectangular parallelepiped shape with an actuator entry opening formed at one of a pair of opposing corner portions of said switch main unit and a cable extraction opening formed at the other, and

a cable, said cable being extracted from said cable extraction opening substantially in a direction of joining of said pair of opposing corner portions.

5. The safety switch of claim 1 or 2, wherein

said switch main unit has a rectangular parallelepiped shape with an actuator entry opening formed at one of a pair of opposing corner portions of said switch main unit and a cable extraction opening at a second corner of said pair of opposing corner portions, the cable extraction opening being configured for extracting a cable from said cable extraction opening substantially in a direction of joining of said pair of opposing corner portions.

6. The safety switch of claim 3, wherein

said switch main unit has a rectangular parallelepiped shape with an actuator entry opening formed at one of a pair of opposing corner portions of said switch main unit and a cable extraction opening formed at the other, and

a cable, said cable being extracted from said cable extraction opening substantially in a direction of joining of said pair of opposing corner portions.

7. The safety switch of claim 3, wherein

said switch main unit has a rectangular parallelepiped shape with an actuator entry opening formed at one of a pair of opposing corner portions of said switch main unit and a cable extraction opening at a second corner of said pair of opposing corner portions, the cable extraction opening being configured for extracting a cable from said cable extraction opening substantially in a direction of joining of said pair of opposing corner portions.