The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 19, 1998
Filed:
Dec. 09, 1996
Thomas Kossakowski, Ludenscheid, DE;
Leopold Kostal GmbH & Co. KG, , DE;
Abstract
A multi-stage electrical rocker actuated switch assembly is disclosed which basically consists of a rocker operating element which is pivotably mounted on a housing and four plungers which face the underside of the rocker operating element with one of their ends while the other ends engage with a movable contact part. In order to create a multi-stage rocker actuated switch in which two exactly definable functional positions in each direction can clearly be felt by the user because of a sharp change in the operating forces during operation of the rocker operating element, the two movable contact parts present in each functional group are so different in design that in order to switch over the one movable contact part, a force is necessary whose magnitude is definable different from the force which is necessary to switch over the other movable contact part and wherein for each functional group an intermediate element in the form of a two-armed lever is present which is situated between the ends of the two plungers belonging to each functional group and the underside of the rocker operating element, both intermediate elements being capable of displacement in the operational direction of the rocker operating element while at the same time they are mounted to as to be capable of tilting crosswise relative to the operational direction of the rocker operating element.