1. A direct contact plug-in connection, comprising:
a circuit board including a side provided with contact surfaces; and
a direct contact plug adapted to be plug-connected to the circuit board, the plug including contact elements for an electrical direct contacting with the contact surfaces of the circuit board, wherein:
the contact surfaces are provided on a circuit board section that runs transversely to a plugging direction of the plug-in connection, and
the contact elements each has a front end face that contacts a respective one of the contact surfaces in the plugging direction,
wherein the circuit board section is at an angle with respect to a remaining portion of the circuit board, and
wherein the circuit board section is formed by a middle leg of the circuit board that is doubly at an angle.
2. The direct contact plug-in connection as recited in claim 1, wherein the middle leg of the circuit board is doubly at an angle in a U-shaped manner.
3. The direct contact plug-in connection as recited in claim 1, wherein the contact elements are springy in the plugging direction of the plug-in connection.
4. The direct contact plug-in connection as recited in claim 1, wherein the contact surfaces of the circuit board are positioned in a plurality of longitudinal rows on the circuit board section.
5. The direct contact plug-in connection as recited in claim 4, wherein the contact surfaces are positioned in one of three and four of the longitudinal rows.
6. A circuit board of a direct contact plug-in connection, comprising:
a circuit board section provided transversely to a plugging direction of the plug-in connection; and
a plurality of contact surfaces situated on the circuit board section for an electrical direct contacting,
wherein the circuit board section is at an angle with respect to a remaining portion of the circuit board, and
wherein the circuit board section is formed by a middle leg of the circuit board that is doubly at an angle.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
What is claimed is:
1. An optically controlled mechanical switch actuated by electrostatic forces, the switch comprising:
electrostatic plates disposed on opposing portions of the switch to accumulate charge;
conductors to conduct charge to said electrostatic plates from a bias supply; and
a photoelectric element arranged to affect a quantity of charge reaching said electrostatic plates from the bias supply such that the switch is caused to actuate to a first position when the photoresistive element is exposed to a first level of illumination, and to a second position when the photoresistive element is exposed to a different second level of illumination.
2. The optically controlled switch of claim 1 wherein the photoelectric element is a photoresistor.
3. The optically controlled switch of claim 2 wherein illumination of the photoresistor causes the switch to open.
4. The optically controlled switch of claim 1 wherein the photoelectric element is a photovoltaic cell.
5. An antenna array tunable by selective actuation of optically controlled switches according to claim 1.
6. The optically controlled switch of claim 2 wherein the photoelectric element exists within a substrate upon which the switch is fabricated.
7. A plurality of optically controlled switches according to claim 1, each of said plurality sharing a bias supply and a bias common, and each individually controllable by selective illumination.
8. A plurality of optically controlled switches according to claim 1, each of said plurality individually controllable by selective illumination without a need for a bias supply.
9. The optically controlled switch of claim 1 wherein the photoelectric element is formed in a region between metallization patterns of a substrate upon which the switch is fabricated.
10. The optically controlled switch of claim 9 wherein no processing of the substrate besides the deposition of the metallization is required to form the photoelectric element.
11. A method of controlling a mechanical switch, comprising the steps of:
providing electrostatic plates on opposing portions of the mechanical switch;
providing a source of charge for the electrostatic plates;
connecting a photoelectric element to affect the amount of charge provided to the electrostatic plates from the charge source;
illuminating the photoelectric element to a first level, thereby causing the switch to assume a first position; and
illuminating the photoelectric element to a different second level, causing the switch to actuate to a different second position.
12. The method of claim 11 wherein the photoelectric element connected is a photoresistor.
13. The method of claim 12 comprising the further step of increasing illumination of the photoresistor to cause the switch to open.
14. The method of claim 11 wherein the photoelectric element connected is a photovoltaic cell.
15. A method of tuning an antenna array by selectively controlling mechanical switches as claimed in claim 11.
16. The method of claim 12 comprising the further step of forming the photoelectric element within a substrate upon which the switch is fabricated.
17. A method of controlling a plurality of optically controlled switches according to the method of claim 11, comprising the steps of:
providing a bias supply and a bias common to each one of said plurality of switches; and
selectively illuminating the photoelectric element of each switch.
18. A method of controlling a plurality of optically controlled switches according to the method of claim 11 including the step of independently controlling the state of each particular optically controlled switch by selectively illuminating the photoelectric element of the particular switch, irrespective of voltages connected to devices other than the switch or the photoelectric element thereof.
19. The method of claim 11 including the steps of forming the photoelectric element in a region between metallization patterns of a substrate, and forming the photoelectric element upon said substrate.
20. The optically controlled switch of claim 19 wherein the step of forming the photoelectric element requires no processing of the substrate besides the deposition of the metallization.