What is claimed is:
1. An isolation switch for an electric power circuit having a line conductor, load conductor and ground conductor, the isolation switch comprising:
a housing;
a shaft mounted for rotation about its longitudinal axis within the housing; and
a pole unit comprising:
a movable conductor carried by the shaft and having a first movable contact at one end and a second movable contact at another end, the first and second movable contacts being angularly spaced in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the shaft by an angle ; and
a fixed load contact, a fixed line contact, and a fixed ground contact all mounted in the housing in the plane perpendicular to the shaft with the fixed load contact between and angularly spaced from the fixed line contact and the fixed ground contact by the angle , the shaft being rotatable to a first position in which the first movable contact engages the fixed load contact and the second movable contact engages the fixed line contact, and a second position degrees from the first position in which the first movable contact engages the fixed ground contact and the second movable contact engages the fixed load contact.
2. The isolation switch of claim 1, wherein the shaft is rotatable to a third position in which neither of the first and second movable contacts engages the fixed load contact.
3. The isolation switch of claim 1, wherein the angle is less than 180.
4. The isolation switch of claim 3, wherein the angle is about 90.
5. The isolation switch of claim 4, wherein the fixed line contact, fixed ground contact and fixed load contact are disposed in a T configuration having a cross leg and an intersecting leg intersecting the cross leg, the fixed line contact and the fixed ground contact being disposed at opposite ends of the cross leg and the fixed load contact being disposed at a free end of the intersecting leg, and the longitudinal axis of the shaft being disposed at the intersection of the intersecting leg with the cross leg.
6. The isolation switch of claim 1 comprising multiple pole units axially spaced along the shaft.
7. The isolation switch of claim 6, wherein there are three pole units.
8. The isolation switch of claim 1, wherein the shaft has a metal axle extending along the longitudinal axis and the pole unit includes an insulative material mechanically mounting the movable conductor on and providing electrical isolation from the metal axle.
9. The isolation switch of claim 8 comprising multiple pole units and the insulative material extending along the metal axle between the axially spaced pole units to form a single continuous element integral with the insulative material at the pole units.
10. The isolation switch of claim 9, wherein the insulative material forms integral fins adjacent the first and second movable contacts on outer pole units.
11. The isolation switch of claim 8, wherein the angle is about 90 and the movable conductor comprises a copper bar having a center section and terminal sections at the one end and another end of the copper bar and forming about 45 angles with the center section.
12. The isolation switch of claim 1, wherein projections of longitudinal axis of the terminal sections of the movable conductor intersect at the longitudinal axis of the shaft.
13 The isolation switch of claim 12, wherein the fixed line contact, fixed ground contact and fixed load contact are disposed in a T configuration having a cross leg and an intersecting leg intersecting the cross leg, the fixed line contact and the fixed ground contact being disposed at opposite ends of the cross leg and the fixed load contact being disposed at a free end of the intersecting leg, and the longitudinal axis of the shaft being disposed at the intersection of the intersecting leg with the cross leg.
14. An isolation switch for an electrical power circuit having a line conductor, a load conductor and a ground conductor, the isolation switch comprising:
a housing;
an elongated electrically insulative shaft with a metal axle extending along a longitudinal axis about which the shaft is mounted in the housing for rotation; and
a pole unit comprising a movable conductor embedded and solely supported by the elongated electrically insulative shaft in electrical isolation from the metal axle, the shaft being rotatable between a connected position in which the movable conductor connects the load conductor to the line conductor, and a grounded position in which the movable conductor connects the load connector to the ground conductor.
15. The isolation switch of claim 14 comprising multiple pole units mounted axially on the shaft.
16. The isolation switch of claim 15, wherein the movable conductor has terminal sections angularly spaced from each other by an angle and each extending substantially radially outward from the longitudinal axis of the shaft and a center section joining the terminal sections and offset laterally from the metal axle.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A thin keyboard structure comprising:
a substrate having a base, a first portion with a first end and a second portion with a second end, wherein the first portion and the second portion are connected with the base; the first portion protrudes from the base at a first included angle; the first end is aligned with the second end and separated from the second end by a distance; the first portion may be forced to deform to contact the second end;
a flexible circuit having a predetermined circuit over the substrate, wherein the predetermined circuit comprises a first contact fixed on the first end and a second contact fixed on the second end, when the first end contacts the second end, the first contact electrically connects to the second contact; and
a keycap having a first connecting device fixed on the first portion protruding from the base;
when the keycap is forced to push the connecting device, the first portion is deformed to electrically connect the first contact and the second contact;
when releasing the forced keycap, the deformed portion returns to its native position to electrically disconnect the first contact and the second contact.
2. The thin keyboard structure according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is selected from a group consisting of a plastic plate, an iron plate, an aluminum plate, a semiconductor plate and any arbitrary combination thereof.
3. The thin keyboard structure according to claim 1, wherein the second portion protrudes from the base at a second included angle.
4. The thin keyboard structure according to claim 3, wherein the keycap further comprises a second connecting device fixed on the second portion.
5. The thin keyboard structure according to claim 3, wherein the first included angle and the second included angle are substantially about 120\xb0.
6. The thin keyboard structure according to claim 3, wherein the second portion has a thickness of substantially about 0.3 mm.
7. The thin keyboard structure according to claim 4, wherein when the keycap is. forced to push the first connecting device and the second connecting device, the first portion and the second portion are deformed to electrically connect the first contact and the second contact.
8. The thin keyboard structure according to claim 3, wherein the second included angle is not equal to the first included angle.
9. The thin keyboard structure according to claim 1, wherein the second portion is substantially coplanar with the base.
10. The thin keyboard structure according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the first portion is substantially about 0.3 mm.
11. The thin keyboard structure according to claim 1, wherein the flexible circuit is a film circuit that is printed on the substrate.
12. The thin keyboard structure according to claim 1, wherein the flexible circuit is a flexible printed circuit fixed on the substrate.
13. The thin keyboard structure according to claim 1, wherein the first contact and the second contact are two metal protuberances connected on the flexible circuit.
14. The thin keyboard structure according to claim 4, wherein the first connecting device and the second connecting device are fixed on the substrate by at least one fastener respectively.