Eaton Corporation

Methode Electronics, Incorporated

Sheldon J Allen

Joseph E Khoury

Steven R Hoskins

Vladimir Karasik

A sliding contact mechanism includes a sliding door contact, a spring having one end connected to the sliding door contact and another end connected to the sliding door of a mini-van, and a pillar contact attached to the stationary pillar of the mini-van. The pillar contact has a shape complementary to a shape of the sliding door contact. When the sliding door is in a closed position, the sliding door is adjacent the pillar and the sliding door contact engages and is in a closed electrical connection with the pillar contact. When the sliding door is in an open position, the sliding door is not adjacent the pillar and the sliding door contact is an open electrical connection with the sliding door contact.

Sliding contact mechanism

A switch assembly having a sliding actuator adapted to be moved by a cam on a stalk lever. Initial movement of the actuator from a neutral position by user movement of the lever moves a first contact carried by the actuator to break a connection between a power bus and a fog lamp terminal strip in a planar array of strips. Further movement causes a second contact carried by the actuator to make a connection between another power bus strip and a high beam terminal strip. Continued movement of the sliding actuator causes rotational movement of a bi-stable rotor latched in one of its two bi-stable positions. Movement of the rotor causes a third contact on the rotor to shunt the second contact to make a second connection on another high beam strip and a fourth contact on the rotor breaks a second connection on the strip for the fog lamp electrically in series with the first connection. Subsequent return of the sliding actuator to its beginning or neutral position by user release of the lever does not effect the position of the third and fourth contacts, as the rotor is latched. A subsequent actuation of the stalk lever by the user again moves the sliding actuator to effect movement of the bi-stable member in the opposite direction to disconnect the high beam headlamps and reconnect the low beam and fog lamps, and the bi-stable member is again latched in the position with the low beams headlamps on.

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Southfield, MI, United States of America

Sheldon J Allen