General Electric Company

Other

Walter Carl Schumacher

Joan K Creamer

Combined switchplate, switches and indicator panel therefor

A wire terminal electrical contact is provided to accommodate wires of a wide range of diameters. The terminal is of the push-in type and includes a metal strip having spring properties within an insulating housing. Openings to the housing through which the wire is pushed to make contact accept the full range of wire diameters normally employed in household wiring ranging from No. 10 gauge to No. 14 gauge. Locking cams are formed from the spring metal strip by an F configuration of slits to form two side-by-side locking tongues. The free ends of the tongues are bent up from the strip to the housing interior and two adjoining openings are provided in the housing aligned with the vertical portion of the F. The openings are circular and accept the largest and smallest diameter wires. Also the openings intersect, but their area of intersection is smaller than the smallest diameter wire which will be used in either of the holes. A compact construction is achieved without danger of releasing a smaller diameter wire from the closely adjacent locking tongues.

Wire terminal electrical contact

An alternating current switch suitable for automatic assembly is provided having an insulating housing including an open top base and a cover to close the base. The base has side openings to expose screw terminals and may have bottom openings to admit wires to push in connectors. The terminals are integral parts of contact arms within the housing. The contact arms as well as a balance spring are held in place in the housing within side wall slots integral with the base of the housing and by bosses integral with the cover. The balance spring and a movable contact arm are shaped to bear against cam portions of a toggle. The cover is provided with bearings to hold the toggle at its trunions in pivoting relation and is provided with a top opening through which the trigger of the toggle extends to the switch exterior. Ease of assembly is achieved due to the small number of parts and the simplicity of the individual parts so that the switch may be assembled quickly by hand or in automatic assembly equipment of relatively low cost. The movable contact is formed from a single metal strip including wire terminal and electrical contact and has a long operational life.

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Warwick, RI, United States of America

Walter Carl Schumacher