GB2540990A - Blow switch - Google Patents
Blow switch Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2540990A GB2540990A GB1513754.0A GB201513754A GB2540990A GB 2540990 A GB2540990 A GB 2540990A GB 201513754 A GB201513754 A GB 201513754A GB 2540990 A GB2540990 A GB 2540990A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- current
- wires
- sheet
- electrical
- plastic
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
- 239000004033 plastic Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 6
- 229920003023 plastic Polymers 0.000 claims abstract description 6
- 239000002985 plastic film Substances 0.000 claims description 12
- 238000007664 blowing Methods 0.000 claims description 5
- 238000005452 bending Methods 0.000 claims description 4
- 229920002457 flexible plastic Polymers 0.000 claims 2
- 230000000284 resting effect Effects 0.000 claims 1
- 239000004020 conductor Substances 0.000 description 13
- 230000008034 disappearance Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000014759 maintenance of location Effects 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H21/00—Switches operated by an operating part in the form of a pivotable member acted upon directly by a solid body, e.g. by a hand
- H01H21/86—Switches with abutting contact carried by operating part, e.g. telegraph tapping key
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H1/00—Contacts
- H01H1/02—Contacts characterised by the material thereof
- H01H1/021—Composite material
- H01H1/029—Composite material comprising conducting material dispersed in an elastic support or binding material
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H35/00—Switches operated by change of a physical condition
- H01H35/003—Switches operated by other part of human body than hands
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H35/00—Switches operated by change of a physical condition
- H01H35/24—Switches operated by change of fluid pressure, by fluid pressure waves, or by change of fluid flow
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H3/00—Mechanisms for operating contacts
- H01H2003/007—Mechanisms for operating contacts the contacts being actuated by deformation of a flexible housing
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H2217/00—Facilitation of operation; Human engineering
- H01H2217/014—Facilitation of operation; Human engineering handicapped
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H3/00—Mechanisms for operating contacts
- H01H3/02—Operating parts, i.e. for operating driving mechanism by a mechanical force external to the switch
- H01H3/14—Operating parts, i.e. for operating driving mechanism by a mechanical force external to the switch adapted for operation by a part of the human body other than the hand, e.g. by foot
Landscapes
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Dispersion Chemistry (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Composite Materials (AREA)
- Materials Engineering (AREA)
- Push-Button Switches (AREA)
Abstract
An apparatus comprises a flexible sheet of plastic 1 supported by two wires 3, 4 which are attached to a base and threaded through the sheet. One wire is connected to a power supply 8, the other is connected to a current sensing device 9, which is in turn connected to a device such as a lamp 10. The wires meet at a contact point 7. The user blows on or touches the flexible sheet, the wires are separated and the circuit is broken. When the sensing device detects there is no current the lamp is switched on.
Description
Blow switch
This invention relates to a switch which a person can operate by blowing.
Many kinds of switch require contact with the human body. However, for certain purposes, switches are needed which can be operated at a distance. Health or hygiene considerations, for example, may exclude the use of switches which work only if a person is in physical contact with them. Again, some prospective users may be unable to reach a given switch. Other users still may be unable to perform the body movements necessary to operate switches which work by sensing motion of objects at a distance or those switches which work when an object interrupts a beam, or those switches which are equipped with devices which send out a signal and respond if this signal is reflected back off an object in its path close by.
To overcome these difficulties, the present invention proposes a switch which a person can operate by blowing.
An advantage of the switch described by the present invention is that it is not susceptible to many kinds of interference which can limit the usefulness of other kinds of switch. For instance, the present invention is robustly insensitive to background disturbances arising from vibrations, loud signals or noises, or gusts of wind, because it is most responsive to a puff of breath close to it or to direct physical contact with it as when, for example, a person touches it with their finger-tip. Another advantage of the present invention is that it can be operated quietly, which can make it preferable to voice-activated devices.
An example of the invention will now be described by referring to the accompanying drawings : • Figure 1 shows a sheet of plastic 1 which in the present example is rectangular in shape, about two fingers long and broad (but which is not limited to these dimensions) and which is flat when at rest. This plastic sheet 1 is held fast at a fixed location from a base 2 by two stiff wires 3, 4 (but is not limited to this form cf retention.) Two insulated electrical direct current conductors 3,4, incorporated in these stiff retaining wires, have been threaded through the plastic sheet 1 from the underside and they meet at a contact point 7 on the upper face of the sheet such that the bare end of the primary electrical conductor 3 rests on the bare end of the secondary conductor 4 when the plastic sheet 1 is flat. The primary electrical conductor 3 is connected at its other end with an electrical power supply 8. The secondary electrical conductor 4 is connected with an electrical current-detecting device 9. This electrical current-detecting device 9 tests for the presence of current flowing in the secondary electrical conductor 4 and when it detects no current, it switches on a device 10 which in the present example is a lamp (’though the application of the invention is not confined to a lamp.) The primary electrical conductor 3 is attached to the plastic sheet 1 in such a way that, in the absence of breath or touch applied to the unrestrained section of the sheet 5, it stays in electrically conductive contact with the secondary electrical conductor 4 but becomes detached from it by the bending of the plastic sheet under the influence of breath or touch and remains so detached for as long as the unrestrained section 5 of the plastic sheet 1 is blown on or touched, thus preventing current flowing from the power supply 8 to the current-detecting unit 9. When no current is detected by the current-detector 9, the detector enables, by means of suitable electronic circuitry, an electrical current to flow to a further device 10 which in the present example of the application of the invention is a lamp (although the application of the invention is not confined to a lamp) and thus switches on the lamp. The current-detecting unit 9 is connected with the lamp in such a way that the lamp is off for as long as current is detected in the secondary conductor 4. • Figure 2 shows the example of the invention from the point of view of a user. • Figure 3 shows the plastic sheet bending slightly when the unrestrained part 5 of the plastic sheet 1 is subject to blowing or touching. If this bending is sufficiently great, a fulcrum action about the point at which the primary stiff wire 3 joins the plastic sheet 1 causes the primary conductor 3 to become detached from secondary conductor 4, resulting in the disappearance of current in the secondary conductor 4. When no current is detected in the secondary conductor 4 by the electrical current-detecting device 9, the lamp 10 is switched on. The lamp remains on for as long as the unrestrained part 5 of the plastic sheet 1 is subject to blowing or touching.
Claims (18)
1. Apparatus to support the connection of two electrical current-conducting wires, in which the apparatus consists of a sheet of flexible plastic.
2. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which the apparatus consists of two stiff wires attached to a base and extending outwards from it to support a plastic sheet at a short distance from the base, the wires being fixed to the underside of one half-plane of the sheet and threaded through it to meet on the upper face of the sheet.
3. Apparatus according to claim 2, in which the apparatus consists of a flat sheet of flexible plastic which bends in response to being blown on or touched but which returns to its resting flat state when the blowing or touching ceases.
4. Apparatus according to claim 3, in which the apparatus consists of a sheet of plastic, to one half-plane of which two insulated electrical current-conducting wires are attached.
5. Apparatus according to claim 4, in which the apparatus consists of two insulated electrical current-conducting wires which are connected with each other when the bare end of one of them touches the bare end of the other.
6. Apparatus according to claim 5, in which the apparatus consists of the placing of two insulated current-conducting wires such that the bare end of one of these conducting wires rests on the bare end of the other one but is lifted off it when the sheet of plastic to which both wires are attached is bent through being blown on or touched.
7. Apparatus according to claim 6, in which the apparatus consists of the placing of two electrical current-conducting wires such that electrical current originating at one end of one of the conducting wires continues on to flow in the other conducting wire for as long as the two conducting wires are touching each other.
8. Apparatus according to claim 2, in which the apparatus consists of a base.
9. Apparatus according to claim 8, in which the apparatus consists of an electrical power supply mounted on the base.
10. Apparatus according to claim 8, in which the apparatus consists of a current-sensing device mounted on the base and which has a two-state output.
11. Apparatus according to claim 9, in which the apparatus is an electrical power supply which gives rise to direct electrical current flowing through two electrical currentconducting wires to a current-sensing device when the two wires are in contact with one another.
12. Apparatus according to claim 11, in which the apparatus consists of two electrical current-conducting wires which are attached to a sheet of plastic such that they are capable of being connected with and disconnected from each other through the bending of the sheet.
13. Apparatus according to claim 12, in which the apparatus consists of a point of contact at which two electrical current-conducting wires meet and connect with each other if the plastic sheet to which they are attached is flat and hence not being blown on or touched, but which are disconnected from each other by being physically separated from each other if the plastic sheeting is being blown on or touched and hence bent.
14. Apparatus according to claim 10, in which the apparatus is a current-sensing device which tests for current originating in a power supply and flowing from one current-conducting wire to another current-conducting wire when the two wires are in electrically conductive contact with each other.
15. Apparatus according to claim 14, in which the apparatus consists of a current-sensing device which tests for current flowing in a wire connected with it so long as this wire is in electrically-conductive contact with another wire which is terminated with a power supply.
16. Apparatus according to claim 15, in which the apparatus consists of a current-sensing device which incorporates electrical circuitry which enables electrical power to an external electro-mechanical device such that the electro-mechanical device is switched off for as long as current is detected as flowing to the current-sensing unit but which is switched on for as long as no current is sensed by the current-sensing unit.
17. Apparatus according to claim 17, in which the electro-mechanical device is, but is not limited to being, a lamp.
18. Apparatus according to claim 17, in which an electro-mechanical device switched on or off by a current-sensing device is connectable with an electrical power supply.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB1513754.0A GB2540990A (en) | 2015-08-01 | 2015-08-01 | Blow switch |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB1513754.0A GB2540990A (en) | 2015-08-01 | 2015-08-01 | Blow switch |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB201513754D0 GB201513754D0 (en) | 2015-09-16 |
| GB2540990A true GB2540990A (en) | 2017-02-08 |
Family
ID=54063158
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB1513754.0A Withdrawn GB2540990A (en) | 2015-08-01 | 2015-08-01 | Blow switch |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| GB (1) | GB2540990A (en) |
Families Citing this family (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN115831653A (en) * | 2022-11-16 | 2023-03-21 | 浙江天正电气股份有限公司 | Knife switch and electric energy calculation method thereof |
Citations (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US2133038A (en) * | 1937-01-25 | 1938-10-11 | Muller | Blow switch operated toy |
| WO1980000048A1 (en) * | 1978-06-07 | 1980-01-10 | D Kuke | Electric contact protected against dust |
| US20030066741A1 (en) * | 2001-10-04 | 2003-04-10 | Burgess Lester E. | Pressure actuated switching device and method and system for making same |
-
2015
- 2015-08-01 GB GB1513754.0A patent/GB2540990A/en not_active Withdrawn
Patent Citations (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US2133038A (en) * | 1937-01-25 | 1938-10-11 | Muller | Blow switch operated toy |
| WO1980000048A1 (en) * | 1978-06-07 | 1980-01-10 | D Kuke | Electric contact protected against dust |
| US20030066741A1 (en) * | 2001-10-04 | 2003-04-10 | Burgess Lester E. | Pressure actuated switching device and method and system for making same |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB201513754D0 (en) | 2015-09-16 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| WAP | Application withdrawn, taken to be withdrawn or refused ** after publication under section 16(1) |