Switches and sensors utilizing pultrusion contacts
US5420465A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 30, 1994 |
| Grant date | May 30, 1995 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 30, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01H1/06
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Electronic switches and sensors have pultruded contact members. A switch includes first and second contact members, at least one of which including a pultruded contact member having an insulating body and a plurality of conductive fibers carried within the insulating body. The pultruded contact member is fibrillated at least at one end thereof to expose the conductive fibers for establishing electrical contact when brought into physical contact with the other of the first and second contact members. A sensor for detecting the presence of an article in a detection zone includes a contact at one side of the detection zone, and a pultrusion including a plurality of electrically conductive fibers and a host material carrying the plurality of fibers, supported at another end of the detection zone. One end of the pultrusion has a fibrillated end portion extending across the detection zone in electrical connection with the contact that is displaced by the article when the article is present in the detection zone to disconnect the electrical connection. The sensor is particularly well adapted to sense a sheet of paper or the like, for example, in an electrostatographic reproducing machine,…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.