US3337708A

US3337708A - Switch mounting device

Info

Publication number: US3337708A
Application number: US573957A
Authority: US
Inventors: Walter J Cerveny; Charles M Dino
Original assignee: Amphenol Corp
Current assignee: Amphenol Corp
Priority date: 1966-08-22
Filing date: 1966-08-22
Publication date: 1967-08-22
Anticipated expiration: 1984-08-22
Also published as: DE1625256A1; FR1534532A; GB1200325A

Description

Aug. 1967 w. J. cERvENY ETAL 3,337,763

' SWITCH MOUNTING DEVICE Filed Aug. 22, 1966 a C q z er eruen United States Patent 3,337,708 SWITCH MOUNTING DEVICE Walter J. Cerveuy, Vestal, and Charles M. Dino, Endicott, N.Y., assignors to Amphenol Corporation, Broadview, 11]., a corporation of Delaware Filed Aug. 22, 1966, Ser. No. 573,957 12 Claims. (Cl. 200-168) The present invention relates to a switch mounting device and is directed particularly to such a device especially adapted to mounting a switch on a panel or wall element in an arrangement in which the switch is positioned on one side of the panel and has an actuating button projecting therethrough for manual manipulation on the other side.

Such switches heretofore have usually been mounted by means of rivets, screws, bolts etc., which extend through mounting elements on the switch and through the panel. This means of mounting the switch is disadvantageous because, first, in the case of a miniature switch, such rivets, screws, etc, in order to be large enough to be manually worked, are often disproportionately large to the switch and when the switch is to be used in the surroundings corresponding in dimensions to itself, the securing means often cannot be readily utilized, for lack of space, or because of interference with the switch or mounting means in the process of mounting it; second the appearance of the securing means projecting through the panel is many times less than desired, because of the disproportionate size as well as its mere presence itself.

A broad object of the present invention is to provide a novel means for mounting a switch which obviates the disadvantages set out above, and more particularly to provide such a mounting device which positions the securing means mostly on one side of the panel which in the normal use thereof may be considered the rear side, or that side out of view.

Another and more specific object is to provide a mounting means of the foregoing general character which be-' cause I of the special arrangement for positioning the securing means, improves the appearance of the panel on which the switch is mounted.

Still another, and more specific, object is to provide a mounting means of the foregoing general character which embodies a detail structure which includes elements engaging the marginal edges of the opening in the panel through which the manually actuatable element of the switch extends.

A further object is to provide a device of the foregoing general character which is extremely simple in design and construction, is inexpensive, and quick-acting in its application to the switch and to the panel.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following detail description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein-.-

FIGURE 1 is a .face view of a panel on which a switch is mounted by means of the mounting device of the present invention, also showing, partially in full lines and partially in dotted lines, the mounting means and switch themselves;

FIGURE 2 is a view from the right of FIGURE 1 but showing the panel in section;

FIGURE 3 is a view oriented according to FIGURE 2, on a larger scale and partially in section, showing details of construction of the mounting device; and

FIGURE 4 is a rear view of the mounting device taken from the right of FIGURE 3 and on a smaller scale.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the mounting device of the invention is indicated at and is shown mounting a switch 12 on a panel 14. The switch 12 is of conventional characterand need not be described in detail,

but it includes a body 16 and an actuating button 18 which, when the switch is mounted in position, extends through an elongated opening 20 in the panel 14.

The panel 14 may be any of various kinds of members on which the switch may be mounted, for example,,an outer wall of a container 21 having a top element 22, and utilized for housing a number of instruments therein, including the switch itself. Regardless what the specific construction or use of the element 14 is, the term panel is utilized, for convenience, to designate it generically. The panel has an inner or rear surface 24 and an outer or front surface 26, the switch being mounted on the rear surface and the button 18 being exposed on the outer surface of the panel.

The mounting device 10 is a single integral member, preferably made of plastic. Any of various kinds of plastic may be utilized for the purpose, but polypropylene is preferred, this material providing great strength and capable of being bent or flexed a great number of times without damage thereto, as will be referred to again hereinbelow. The device 10 includes a generally flat, elongated body member 28 having a front surface 30 to be fitted against the inner surface 24 of the panel and an inner or rear surface 32. The body member is provided with a central aperture 34 of nearly the dimensions of the opening20, preferably of the same width and of nearly the same length, this aperture being in register with the opening when the device is mounted in place. Adjacent the ends of the apertures are hooks 36 extending across the aperture and integral with the portions defining the side edges of the opening. Each hook includes a shank 38 extending perpendicularly from the body portion from the front side 30 thereof, and a hook element 40 having an inclined camming surface 41, the two hook elements extending away from each other or toward the respective ends of the body members. The hook elements overlie small end apertures 42, these apertures being provided to enable elements of the mold in which the device is cast to extend therethrough, to enable the mold to be made up solely of parts that may be separated from each other by moving them directly apart, and without undercuts, the hook elements extending no greater longitudinally than the end apertures 42. If desired, the undersurfaces 44 of the hook elements may "be inclined downwardly in direction toward the ends of the body member, a slight amount to provide greater gripping action on the panel in the mounting thereof.

The ends of the body member 28, at 46, form extensions or cars beyond the aperture 34, and have pins 48 extending from the rear surface 32 thereof for mounting the switch 12.

The switch 12 as noted above is a conventional switch and includes a casing having ears 50 overlying the cars 46 and having apertures receiving the pins 48. The switch is fitted in position with those apertures so receiving the pins 48 and friction clips 52 of known kind are fitted over the pins, holding the switch in position on the mounting member.

The arrangement is such that the button 18 extends through the aperture 34, and the mounting device, with the switch thereon, is then put in position by inserting the button and the hooks 36 through the opening 20 in the panel, and in this step the hooks due to their inclined outer camming surfaces 41, and engaging the marginal edge of the opening, are flexed inwardly and upon their being fully projected through the opening, snap outwardly and engage over the marginal edges of the opening 20. Because of the slight inclination of the under surfaces 44, the hook elements firmly grip the outer surface of the panel and secure the body member 28 firmly and flatly against the inner surface of the panel.

The securing portions of the switch are entirely concealed behind the panel, or within the container 20, as the case may be, and the area of the outer surface of the panel, around the hooks 40, is entirely unencumbered, this being particularly notable in the absence of rivets, screws, etc., as noted above which normally would be in line with the pins 48.

In the form of switch 12 illustrated, the button 18 is of the sliding type, being slidable between opposite positions engaging the respective ones of the hooks 36, but of course the arrangement will accommodate any kind of element intended for manual access, whether for sliding, push-pulling, turning, or even a stationary element. The hooks 40 are of extremely small dimensions and are inconspicuous and the opening 20 in the panel, to accommodate the present mounting device, need be only slightly larger than heretofore, namely only large enough to accommodate the thickness of the shanks 38 of the hooks in the direction of the length of the opening.

Previously in the case of a miniature switch which for example may be less than an inch long in vertical direction as viewed in FIGURE 2, the securing means would be disproportionately large and would at least in many cases impair the appearance of the installation. Additionally it was often diificult to apply such large securing means, and furthermore it was quite often difficult to remove the securing means as when it was desired to remove the switch and replace it. In the present instance those difficulties and disadvantages are overcome, and the switch, with the mounting device applied thereto, is quickly mounted by the simple step of inserting the button 18 and the hooks 40 through the opening. The hooks snap inwardly to pass by the marginal edges of the opening 20 and snap outwardly into locking position when fully inserted through the opening. The switch is easily releasable by flexing the hooks inwardly, or only one of them, as by squeezing inwardly with the fingers, and withdrawing the switch from position. The polypropylene plastic material of which the mounting device is made is extremely strong and susceptible of being flexed numerous times without weakening or being otherwise damaged.

While we have disclosed herein a preferred form of the invention it will be understood that changes may be made therein within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A device for mounting an instrument on a panel, the instrument having an element projectable through an opening in the panel for manual access on the opposite side of the panel, the mounting device including a body portion adapted to be fitted to the panel and having an aperture registerable with said opening in the panel of receiving said element of the instrument, and also having extensions laterally of the aperture for securement of the instrument thereto by means of which the instrument is supported entirely by the mounting device, and the mounting device including mounting elements at the marginal edges of the aperture extendable into said opening and operatively engageable with the marginal edges of the opening for mounting the device, and the instrument, on the panel.

2. A mounting device according to claim 1 and wherein the mounting elements are movable into and out of operative engagement with the panel for releasably so mounting the device and the instrument on the panel.

3. The invention set out in claim 2 wherein said mounting elements include a pair of hooks having hook elements extending away from each other and engageable with opposite marginal edges of the opening in the panel and yieldably movable toward each other for releasing them from the panel for removal of the mounting device and instrument.

4. A mounting device according to claim 3 and wherein the mounting device is a single integral member of plastic material including a body portion having a flat surface adapted to be flatly fitted to the inner surface of the panel, and the hook elements extend generally perpendicular from the body portion and each includes a shank with a hook element on the outer end thereof, and the shanks are of such flexibility, and the hook elements are of such extent perpendicular to the direction of the shanks, that at least one of the hooks is flexible toward the other sufficiently to release the hooks from the engaged marginal edges of the opening.

5. A mounting device according to claim 4 wherein the plastic material is polypropylene.

6. A mounting device according to claim 1 wherein said extensions on the body portion have pins extending generally away from the panel when the body portion is fitted thereto, said pins serving as means for mounting the instrument on the mounting device.

7. A mounting device according to claim 3 wherein the body portion is a generally fiat piece having a front surface fitted to the panel and an opposite rear face, said hooks have shanks extending generally perpendicular to the body portion and the hook elements extend longitudinally and away from each other, said extensions on the body portion extend longitudinally beyond said aperture, and mounting pins projecting perpendicularly from said rear face for securing the instrument to the mounting device.

8. A mounting device according to claim 7 wherein the hooks are of yieldable material and movable into and out of operative position in which the hook elements engage the marginal edges of the opening in the panel, and the ends of the hooks remote from the body portion having inclined camming surfaces operative upon insertion of the hooks through the opening in the panel for fitting the mounting device thereto, for camming the outer ends of the hooks inwardly toward each other for hooking them onto the marginal edges of the opening in the panel.

9. A mounting device according to claim 3 which is a single integral item of molded plastic material of elongated shape and the aperture is enlongated in the same direction, the hooks are at the ends of the aperture and the hooks have shanks the inner ends of which define the ends of the aperture, the body portion has end apertures longitudinally beyond the first aperture, and the hooks have hook elements extending longitudinally away from each other and in register with said end apertures and having longitudinal dimensions substantially equal to said end apertures, said hooks being inclined toward the body portion in direction toward their outer free ends.

10. A mounting device according to claim 1 in conjunction with an instrument mounted thereon and having an actuating button extended through said aperture in the mounting device, and the actuating 'button having a predetermined range of operational movement, and the mounting elements consist of hooks at the edges of the aperture at the opposite ends of the movement of the actuating button.

11. The combination set out in claim 10 in which the mounting device has a front surface fitted flat to the panel and has securing elements extending from the opposite and rear face of the body portion, the instrument is secured to the body portion through said securing elements, and the instrument is entirely rearwardly of the body portion except for said actuating button.

12. The combination mounting device and instrument set out in claim 11 in further conjunction with said panel.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,446,141 7/1948 Parsons 200-168 3,213,189 10/ 1965 Mitchell et al. 200-l68 3,273,104 9/1966 Krol 200168 3,298,641 1/ 1967 Puerner 24827 ROBERT K. SCHAEFER, Primary Examiner.

H. O. J ONES, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. A DEVICE FOR MOUNTING AN INSTRUMENT ON A PANEL, THE INSTRUMENT HAVING AN ELEMENT PROJECTABLE THROUGH AN OPENING IN THE PANEL FOR MANUAL ACCESS ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE PANEL, THE MOUNTING DEVICE INCLUDING A BODY PORTION ADAPTED TO BE FITTED TO THE PANEL AND HAVING AN APERTURE REGISTERABLE WITH SAID OPENING IN THE PANEL OF RECEIVING SAID ELEMENT OF THE INSTRUMENT, AND ALSO HAVING EXTENSIONS LATERALLY OF THE APERTURE FOR SECUREMENT OF THE INSTRUMENT THEREOF BY MEANS OF WHICH THE INSTRUMENT IS SUPPORTED ENTIRELY BY THE MOUNTING DEVICE, AND THE MOUNTING DEVICE INCLUDING MOUNTING ELEMENTS AT THE MARGINAL EDGES OF THE APERTURE EXTENDABLE INTO SAID OPENING AND OPERATIVELY ENGAGEABLE WITH THE MARGINAL EDGES OF THE OPENING FOR MOUNTING THE DEVICE, AND THE INSTRUMENT, ON THE PANEL.