Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.

Ryoji Ito

Yasunari Takedomi

A see-saw switch capable of closing the contacts at a high initial contact pressure. The switch includes a housing provided with a fixed contact, and a lever provided with a movable contact at one longitudinal end thereof. The lever is pivotally supported to the housing for pivotal movement about a pivot axis between a contact closing position and a contact opening position. A plunger is slidably supported to the housing for linear movement along an axial direction of the plunger, and has an actuator which is held in slidable contact with said lever for translating the linear movement of the plunger into the pivotal movement of the lever so that, when the plunger moves in a forward direction, the actuator causes the lever to pivot about the pivot axis into the closed position. A restrictor is provided to keep the lever engaged with the plunger in order to restrict the lever from pivoting from the open position to the closed position until the actuator proceeds in the forward direction past a critical point which is offset from the pivot axis by a certain distance towards the movable contact along the lever. Thus, the lever operates to close the contacts only after the actuator past the critical point where it applies a sufficient force to the lever so as to impart the substantial initial contacting pressure between the contacts.

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Tsu, Japan

Ryoji Ito