Patent EP-0993013-B1 (EP)
Inventor: BECHIS GIOVANNI
IPC: H01H35/14
Filed: 1999-10-07
Granted: 2002-06-12
Abstract: The safety switch includes a hollow body (10) for fixing to the motor vehicle and has a cavity (22) with a transverse base wall (20) and a transverse covering wall (26). An inertial mass (44) in the form of a body of revolution moves radially between the base wall and the covering wall (26), between a centred position and an infinite number of eccentric positions. A system of electrical contacts (54) at the side of the base wall remote from the cavity include a movable contact (56) capable of establishing two circuit states of the switch. The safety switch includes a hollow body (10) for fixing to the motor vehicle and has a cavity (22) with a transverse base wall (20) and a transverse covering wall (26). An inertial mass (44) in the form of a body of revolution moves radially between the base wall and the covering wall (26), between a centred position and an infinite number of eccentric positions. A system of electrical contacts (54) at the side of the base wall remote from the cavity include a movable contact (56) capable of establishing two circuit states of the switch. A push rod (76) is associated with the movable contact and extends centrally through the base wall to engage the inertial mass. An opposing resilient means (82) urges the movable contact and the push rod to the position corresponding to the second state of the circuit. When the inertial mass is in the centred position, it retains the push rod held against the force of its opposing resilient means and enables the movable contact to stay in the first state of the circuit. When the inertial mass has moved to an eccentric position, the push rod is free to move under the force of its resilient opposing means, moving the movable contact member to the position corresponding to the second state. A reset push button (30), accessible from the outside of the switch, faces the covering wall outside the cavity and is urged by resilient biasing device to a rest position in which it is remote from the covering wall. The button includes several projections (34) that extend towards the base wall through the covering wall and which has inclined active surfaces (38), which diverge towards the base wall. When the push button is in the rest position, its projections do not engage the inertial mass. When the inertial mass is in an eccentric position and the push button is pressed against the force of its resilient biasing means, the projections engage the inertial mass with a cam action and move it to the centred position. The inertial mass is in the form of a body of revolution about an axis at right angles to the base wall and the covering wall. It has a flat base surface (45) engaged with the base wall and a flat head surface (50) with an edge (51) that is engagable with a cam action by the projections. The base surface has a central depression (46) shaped as a flattened cone for housing the push rod and for maintaining it in the position corresponding to the first state of the circuit. An annular groove (48) is concentric with the depression into which, when the inertial mass is in an eccentric position, the push rod enters to reach a position corresponding to the second state of the circuit. The central depression and the annular groove are separated from each other by a crest (102). The annular groove is bounded by a radially inner annular side which has an annular bevel (104) next to the annular crest to constitute a ramp which co-operates like a cam with an end (80) of the push rod against the force of its opposing resilient means to repel the push rod to a position to allow the annular crest to pass beyond the push rod when the mass is brought back to the central position. It allows the push rod to enter the central depression (46). Disengagement means (90) are provided, which interconnect the push button and the push rod. When the internal mass is in an eccentric position with the end of the push rod in the annular groove, a pressure on the push button moves the push rod to a partially withdrawn position in which, when the projections of the push button engage the inertial mass to move the latter to the centered position, the annular bevel repels the push rod allowing the annular crest to pass beyond the latter.