It is aimed to place the contact poles of the switch as far as possible from each other to reduce the risk of an arc firing between them. GB1159729 discloses how the contacts of two vertically adjacent bodies are arranged in a 90 degrees angle to each other. In GB1159729, due to the round shape of the contact bodies, the stationary contacts point directly outwards, whereby extra space is needed between adjacent switches.
EP0886292 A1 discloses a rectangular switch body, where the contacts come out of the body from a direct side of the body. Thus, an angle is formed between a connection portion and a contact portion of the stationary contact such that the connection portion projects perpendicularly from an outer wall of the body, but the contact portion points substantially towards the rotation axis of the switch. A drawback is that the clearance in the asymmetric support of the switch 8-1 in FIG. 8A of EP0886292 A1 permits swinging of the contact portion.
WO 2005069328A1 discloses a contact module having two stationary contacts on opposite sides of the body and a rotary contact assembled on the roll turns around its center point therebetween, whereby two contact gaps are formed. A rectangular opening is formed through the roll, and a contact to be placed therein includes two blades, and a spring element holding the blades separate from each other, and includes a locking member to prevent longitudinal movement of the blades.
EP2107581 A1 discloses a contact module which includes one movable contact and stationary contacts arranged substantially to opposite corners of the contact module. The movable contacts of overlapping modules are arranged to a 90 degrees angle to each other, whereby the stationary contacts, to which the connection screws connect, are equipped to overlapping modules alternately to different sides of the body such that the connection screws are positioned as far as possible from each other to reduce an arc firing there between. It is required to cover unequipped spaces for the stationary contact and connection screw with an insulating plug. Except the base body, the contact modules can be identical, but right-hand and left-hand stationary contacts are needed, which are mirror-images from each other. The switch axis is formed of shank modules, one per each contact module. The movable contact is formed of two copper plates pressed together and insulating cardboards attached between them. A drawback is that the axis of the shank module passes the connector reducing the cross-section of the conducting area, whereby the square shank module axis has to have a small cross-section. Due to this, the torque causes a strong shear force on the axle member. The clearance between the axle member and the next shank module combined with small diameter of the axle member causes non-simultaneous function in a switch equipped with a plurality of contact modules. Due to the cardboard insulation, the mounting of the stationary contacts and movable contacts is difficult, because the stationary contact needs to be pushed from the side to space between two cardboard plates.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds