DESC:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to switching devices and more particularly, relates to an improved switching device with overall enhanced service life and designed to accommodate a plurality of rockers.

BACKGROUND

Commonly, electrical switching devices are employed for operating a wide range of appliances by controlling a flow of current to such appliances. In particular, the electrical switching devices are employed in electrical circuits to divert or interrupt the flow of current flowing towards the appliances, and thereby switching-ON or switching-OFF such appliances. The electrical switching devices include a plurality of switches which are adapted to be operated by a user in order to switch-ON or switch-OFF various appliances. Such switches include electrical contact assemblies which are provided to connect electrical wires to the switches.

The electrical contact assemblies include various sub-components, such as electrical terminals, for creating an electrical connection when at least one of the switches is operated by the user. Such electrical terminals are usually provided to connect the switch with electrical wires. However, such electrical terminals are formed of a material having sustainably low electrical conductivity and high electrical resistance. Owing to the use of such material, overall endurance of the electrical terminals may be substantially reduced and thus, the electrical terminals fail to withstand high electrical loads during operation of the switches. Further, this may lead to a substantial reduction in overall service life of the electrical switching device. Also, the electrical terminals may be arranged in the electrical switching device in such a manner that it is difficult to accommodate a large number of the switches, such as rockers, without compromising with dimension of such switches.

Therefore, there is a need for a switching device with improved fixing structure which can support a plurality of switches, such as rockers.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, in a simplified format, that are further described in the detailed description of the invention. This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the invention and nor is it intended for determining the scope of the invention.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a switching device is disclosed. The switching device includes a plurality of rockers and various other sub-components, such as connecting pillars and load pillars accommodated within a housing member of the switching device. Such sub-components are manufactured using a different type of materials in order to enhance overall service life of the switching device. Further, such sub-components are arranged within the housing member in such a manner that the plurality of rockers can be accommodated in the switching device without compromising with dimensions of such rockers.

In an embodiment, the switching device includes a housing member and a plurality of rockers adapted to be mounted on the housing member. Further, the switching device includes an electrical contact assembly having a plurality of connector units adapted to be in contact with the plurality of rockers. Each of the plurality of connector units includes a connecting pillar adapted to pivotally support a moving contact element. The connecting pillar is adapted to be connected to electrical wires. Further, each of the plurality of connector units includes a plurality of load pillars adapted to form intermittent contact with the connecting pillar through the moving contact element.

To further clarify the advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 illustrates a front view of a switching device having a plurality of switches, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 2 illustrates a perspective view of the switching device, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 3 illustrates an exploded view of the switching device, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figures 4a 4b, and 4c illustrate partial perspective views of the switching device, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 5 illustrates a partial side view of the switching device depicting various components of the switching device, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

Figure 6a, 6b, and 6c illustrate different views of a connecting pillar of the switching device, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Further, skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the drawings are illustrated for simplicity and may not have been necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the flow charts illustrate the method in terms of the most prominent steps involved to help to improve understanding of aspects of the present invention. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skilled in the art to which this invention belongs. The system, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.

The term “some” as used herein is defined as “none, or one, or more than one, or all.” Accordingly, the terms “none,” “one,” “more than one,” “more than one, but not all” or “all” would all fall under the definition of “some.” The term “some embodiments” may refer to no embodiments or to one embodiment or to several embodiments or to all embodiments. Accordingly, the term “some embodiments” is defined as meaning “no embodiment, or one embodiment, or more than one embodiment, or all embodiments.”

The terminology and structure employed herein is for describing, teaching and illuminating some embodiments and their specific features and elements and does not limit, restrict or reduce the spirit and scope of the claims or their equivalents.

More specifically, any terms used herein such as but not limited to “includes,” “comprises,” “has,” “consists,” and grammatical variants thereof do NOT specify an exact limitation or restriction and certainly do NOT exclude the possible addition of one or more features or elements, unless otherwise stated, and furthermore must NOT be taken to exclude the possible removal of one or more of the listed features and elements, unless otherwise stated with the limiting language “MUST comprise” or “NEEDS TO include.”

Whether or not a certain feature or element was limited to being used only once, either way, it may still be referred to as “one or more features” or “one or more elements” or “at least one feature” or “at least one element.” Furthermore, the use of the terms “one or more” or “at least one” feature or element do NOT preclude there being none of that feature or element, unless otherwise specified by limiting language such as “there NEEDS to be one or more . . . ” or “one or more element is REQUIRED.”

Unless otherwise defined, all terms, and especially any technical and/or scientific terms, used herein may be taken to have the same meaning as commonly understood by one having ordinary skills in the art.

Reference is made herein to some “embodiments.” It should be understood that an embodiment is an example of a possible implementation of any features and/or elements presented in the attached claims. Some embodiments have been described for the purpose of illuminating one or more of the potential ways in which the specific features and/or elements of the attached claims fulfil the requirements of uniqueness, utility and non-obviousness.

Use of the phrases and/or terms such as but not limited to “a first embodiment,” “a further embodiment,” “an alternate embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “multiple embodiments,” “some embodiments,” “other embodiments,” “further embodiment”, “furthermore embodiment”, “additional embodiment” or variants thereof do NOT necessarily refer to the same embodiments. Unless otherwise specified, one or more particular features and/or elements described in connection with one or more embodiments may be found in one embodiment, or may be found in more than one embodiment, or may be found in all embodiments, or may be found in no embodiments. Although one or more features and/or elements may be described herein in the context of only a single embodiment, or alternatively in the context of more than one embodiment, or further alternatively in the context of all embodiments, the features and/or elements may instead be provided separately or in any appropriate combination or not at all. Conversely, any features and/or elements described in the context of separate embodiments may alternatively be realized as existing together in the context of a single embodiment.
Any particular and all details set forth herein are used in the context of some embodiments and therefore should NOT be necessarily taken as limiting factors to the attached claims. The attached claims and their legal equivalents can be realized in the context of embodiments other than the ones used as illustrative examples in the description below.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 illustrates a front view of a switching device 100 having a plurality of switches 102, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The switching device 100 may be employed in houses and similar premises for operating various electronic devices, such as household appliances. For instance, each of the plurality of switches 102 of the switching device 100 may be employed to switch-ON or switch-OFF an operation of an electrical appliance. In the illustrated embodiment, each of the plurality of switches 102 may be embodied as a rocker switch, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

The present disclosure is explained with respect to the switching device 100 having a plurality of rocker switches 102. However, it should be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that the present disclosure can equally be implemented with respect to other types of switches, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Constructional and operational details of the switching device 100 are explained in detail in the subsequent sections of the disclosure.

Figure 2 illustrates a perspective view of the switching device 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2, the switching device 100 includes, but is not limited to, a cover plate 202, a mounting plate 204, and a housing member 206. In an embodiment, the cover plate 202 may be adapted to be mounted on the mounting plate 204. The mounting plate 204 may be adapted to be fixed on an installation surface. In an embodiment, the installation surface may include, but is not limited to, a wall and a ceiling. Further, the housing member 206 may be adapted to accommodate various sub-components of the switching device 100.

Figure 3 illustrates an exploded view of the switching device 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 1, Figure 2, and Figure 3, the switching device 100 may include, but is not limited to, the plurality of rockers 102, the plurality of supporting members 302, a switch cover 304, and the electrical contact assembly 306. In an embodiment, the plurality of rockers 102 and the plurality of supporting members 302 may interchangeably be referred to as the rockers 102 and the supporting members 302, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The plurality of rockers 102 may operably connected to the electrical contact assembly 306 via the plurality of supporting members 302.

Figures 4a 4b, and 4c illustrate partial perspective views of the switching device 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 3 and Figure 4a, in an embodiment, each of the rockers 102 may be adapted to be coupled with each of the supporting members 302. Each of the supporting members 302 may be adapted to connect each of the rockers 102 to the electrical contact assembly 306.

The rockers 102 may individually be referred to as the rocker 102-1, the rocker 102-2, the rocker 102-3, and the rocker 102-4, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Similarly, the supporting members 302 may individually be referred to as the supporting member 302-1, the supporting member 302-2, the supporting member 302-3, and the supporting member 302-4, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 4a, the rockers 102-1, 102-2, 102-3, and 102-4 may be coupled to the supporting members 302-1, 302-2, 302-3, and 302-4, respectively. Further, the supporting members 302-1, 302-2, 302-3, may be in contact with the electrical contact assembly 306 of the switching device 100.

Referring to Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4b, and Figure 4c, the electrical contact assembly 306 may be disposed in the housing member 206 of the switching device 100. In an embodiment, the electrical contact assembly 306 may include a plurality of connector units 402 adapted to be in contact with the plurality of supporting members 302. The connector units 402 may enable fastening of electrical wires to the switching device 100 through a plurality of fastening members including, but not limited to, screws, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Referring to Figure 4b and Figure 4c, in the illustrated embodiment, the switching device 100 may include four connector units 402-1, 402-2, 402-3, and 402-4 corresponding to four rockers 102-1, 102-2, 102-3, and 102-4. In particular, the plurality of connector units 402 may include a first connector unit 402-1, a second connector unit 402-2 disposed adjacent to the first connector unit 402-1, a third connector unit 402-3 disposed adjacent to the second connector unit 402-2, and a fourth connector unit 402-4 disposed adjacent to the third connector unit 402-3. However, it should be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that it should not be construed as limiting, and the switching device 100 may include multiple connector units 4002 corresponding to multiple switches, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

In an embodiment, the connector units 402-1, 402-2, 402-3, and 402-4 may collectively referred to as the connector unit 402. Referring to Figure 4c, the connector units 402 may be positioned in the switching device 100 in a manner that a distance D between the second connector unit 402-2 and the third connector unit 402-3 is different from a distance D’ between the first connector unit 402-1 and the second connector unit 402-2. The distance D between the second connector unit 402-2 and the third connector unit 402-3 may be smaller than the distance D’ between the third connector unit 402-3 and the fourth connector unit 402-4. The distance D may be defined between a connecting pillar 504 of the second connector unit 402-2 and a connecting pillar 504 of the third connector unit 402-3. Further, the distance D’ may be defined between a connecting pillar 504 of the first connector unit 402-1 and a connecting pillar 504 of the second connector unit 402-2.

In the illustrated embodiment, the distance D between the first connector unit 402-1 and the second connector unit 402-2 may be equal to a distance between the third connector unit 402-3 and the fourth connector unit 402-4. Therefore, the distance between the third connector unit 402-3 and the fourth connector unit 402-4 may also be referred as the distance D, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Similarly, the connector units 402 may be positioned in a manner that the distance D between the second connector unit 402-2 and the third connector unit 402-3 is different from the distance D’ between the third connector unit 402-3 and the fourth connector unit 402-4. The distance D between the second connector unit 402-2 and the third connector unit 402-3 may be smaller than the distance D’ between the third connector unit 402-3 and the fourth connector unit 402-4. The distance D may be defined between the connecting pillar 504 of the second connector unit 402-2 and the connecting pillar 504 of the third connector unit 402-3. Further, the distance D’ may be defined between the connecting pillar 504 of the third connector unit 402-3 and a connecting pillar 504 of the fourth connector unit 402-4. Owing to such positioning of the connector units 402, overall strength of the switching device 100 is substantially increased and flexibility in device selection also improved. Further, overall size of the switching device 100 may be substantially reduced which further lead to reduction in manufacturing cost associated with the switching device 100.

Constructional and operational details of the connector units 402 are explained with respect to only the first connector unit 402-1 as shown in Figure 6 of the present disclosure. However, it should be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that the present disclosure is equally applicable to other connector units 402-2, 402-3, and 402-4, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Figure 5 illustrates a partial side view of the switching device depicting various components of the switching device, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 4b, Figure 4c, and Figure 5, in the illustrated embodiment, the first connector unit 402-1 of the electrical contact assembly 306 may include, but is not limited to, a plurality of load pillars 502-1, 502-2, the connecting pillar 504, and the moving contact element 506. In an embodiment, the connecting pillar 504 and the plurality of load pillars 502-1, 502-2 may be positioned apart from each other to accommodate electrical wires and the plurality of rockers 102. In the illustrated embodiment, referring to Figure 4c, the connecting pillar 504 may be positioned at a distance L from each of the plurality of load pillars 502-1, 502-2 of the first connector unit 402-1. The plurality of load pillars 502-1, 502-2 may be adapted to be connected to the electrical wires through fasteners including, but not limited to, screws. The plurality of load pillars 502-1, 502-2 may interchangeably be referred to as the load pillars 502-1, 502-2, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The load pillars 502-1, 502-2 may be adapted to form intermittent electrical contact with the connecting pillar 504 through the moving contact element 506.

Figure 6a, Figure 6b, and Figure 6c illustrate different views of the connecting pillar 504 of the switching device 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The connecting pillar 504 may be adapted to pivotally support the moving contact element 506. The connecting pillar 504 may include a wedge portion 602 adapted to pivotally support the moving contact element 506 in the switching device 100. Further, the connecting pillar 504 may be adapted to be connected to electrical wires through fasteners including, but not limited to, screws. In the illustrated embodiment, the connecting pillar 504 may include a cavity 603 adapted to receive a fastening member to couple the electrical wires with the connecting pillar 504.

In an embodiment, the connecting pillar 504 may be formed of a material having substantially high electrical conductivity. In the illustrated embodiment, the connecting pillar 504 may be formed of brass material, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Owing to the use of such material, overall endurance of the connecting pillar 504 may be substantially increased and thus, the connecting pillar 504 can withstand high electrical loads during operation of the switching device 100. Further, this may lead to a substantial increase in overall service life of the switching device 100.

Further, the connecting pillar 504 may provide substantially low electrical resistance during operation of the switching device 100. This ensures that overall temperature of the connecting pillar 504 remains low, and thereby eliminates the possibility of failure of the switching device 100 due to problems associated with increase in temperature of the connecting pillar 504. Referring back to Figure 4a, Figure 4b, Figure 4c, and Figure 5, the connecting pillar 504 and the load pillars 502-1, 502-2 of each of the plurality of connector unit 402 may be arranged within the housing member 206 in a manner that electrical wires can be connected to the switching device 100 with ease. In particular, the connecting pillar 504 of each of the plurality of connector unit 402 may be aligned along a central axis (X-X’) (as shown in Figure 4c) of the housing member 206. In the illustrated embodiment, the connecting pillar 504 may be positioned within the housing member 206 along the central axis (X-X’) of the housing member 206. In an example, the connecting pillar 504 may be positioned at a predefined depth within the housing member 206. Further, the load pillars 502-1, 502-2 may be positioned in the housing member 206 in such a manner that each of the load pillars 502-1, 502-2

In an embodiment, when the rocker 102-1 is moved between the ON-position and the OFF-position, the moving contact element 506 may pivotally be moved on the connecting pillar 504 to form intermittent contact between one of the load pillars and the connecting pillar 504. In one instance, when the rocker 102-1 is moved to the ON-position, the moving contact element 506 forms a contact with the first load pillar 502-2 in order to create an electrical connection between the first load pillar 502-2 and the connecting pillar 504. In another instance, when the rocker 102-1 is moved to the OFF-position, the moving contact element 506 forms a contact with the second load pillar 502-2.

As would be gathered, the present disclosure offers the improved switching device 100 which is capable of accommodating the plurality of rockers 102. As mentioned earlier, the switching device 100 may be disposed on constructional surfaces, such as walls, for operating various electrical appliances. Therefore, the switching device 100 has a wide range of applications.

As explained earlier, the switching device 100 includes the connector units 402 adapted to be connected to the plurality of rockers 102. Each of the connector units 402 includes a connecting pillar, such as the connecting pillar 504, a pair of load pillars, such as the load pillars 502-1, 502-2, and a moving contact element, such as the moving contact element 506. The connecting pillar 504 and the load pillars 502-1, 502-2 may be arranged within the housing member 206 in a manner that electrical wires can be connected to the switching device 100 with ease. The connecting pillar 504 may be positioned along the central axis of the housing member 206.

Owing to such an arrangement of the connecting pillar 504 and the load pillars 502-1, 502-2 within the housing member 206, the plurality of rockers 102 can be accommodated in the switching device 100 without compromising with dimensions of such rockers 102. Further, such arrangement of contacts, i.e., the connecting pillar 504 and the load pillars 502-1, 502-2, ensures that all essential safety parameters of International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards, like creepage distances, clearance distances, etc. are appropriately attained and maintained for the switching device 100. Further, as explained earlier, the connecting pillar 504 may be formed of the material, such as brass, having high electrical conductivity and low electrical resistance. Owing to the use of such material, overall endurance and services life of the connecting pillar 504 may be substantially increased. This may result in a substantial increase in the service life of the switching device 100. Therefore, the switching device 100 of the present disclosure is flexible in implementation, compact, cost-effective, convenient, and has a wide range of applications.

While specific language has been used to describe the present subject matter, any limitations arising on account thereto, are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein. The drawings and the foregoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment.
,CLAIMS:1. An improved switching device (100) comprising:
a housing member (206);
a plurality of rockers (102) adapted to be mounted on the housing member (206);
an electrical contact assembly (306) having a plurality of connector units (402) adapted to be in contact with the plurality of rockers (102), each of the plurality of connector units (402) comprising:
a connecting pillar (504) adapted to pivotally support a moving contact element (506), the connecting pillar (504) adapted to be connected to electrical wires; and
a plurality of load pillars (502-1, 502-2) adapted to form intermittent contact with the connecting pillar (504) through the moving contact element (506).

2. The switching device (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connecting pillar (504) is formed of brass material.

3. The switching device (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connecting pillar (504) includes a cavity (603) adapted to receive a fastening member to couple the electrical wires with the connecting pillar (504).

4. The switching device (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connecting pillars (504) of each of the plurality of connector unit (402) is arranged within the housing member (206) and aligned along a central axis (X-X’) of the housing member (206).

5. The switching device (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of connector units (402) includes a first connector unit (402-1), a second connector unit (402-2) disposed adjacent to the first connector unit (402-1), a third connector unit (402-3) disposed adjacent to the second connector unit (402-2), and a fourth connector unit (402-4) disposed adjacent to the third connector unit (402-3).

6. The switching device (100) as claimed in claim 5, wherein each of the plurality of connector units (402) positioned in the switching device (100) in a manner that a distance (D) between the second connector unit (402-2) and the third connector unit (402-3) is different from a distance (D’) between the first connector unit (402-1) and the second connector unit (402-2).

7. The switching device (100) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the distance (D) between the second connector unit (402-2) and the third connector unit (402-3) is different from the distance (D’) between the third connector unit (402-3) and the fourth connector unit (402-4).

8. The switching device (100) as claimed in any of claims 6 and 7, wherein the distance (D) is smaller than the distance (D’).

9. The switching device (100) as claimed in claim 6, wherein:
the distance (D) is defined between the connecting pillar (504) of the second connector unit (402-2) and the connecting pillar (504) of the third connector unit (402-3), and
the distance (D’) is defined between the connecting pillar (504) of the first connector unit (402-1) and the connecting pillar (504) of the second connector unit (402-2).

10. The switching device (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connecting pillar (504) and the plurality of load pillars (502-1, 502-2) are positioned apart from each other to accommodate the electrical wires and the plurality of rockers (102).

11. The switching device (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connecting pillar (504) includes a wedge portion (602) adapted to pivotally support the moving contact element (506).