TWI865967B - Electrical switch - Google Patents

Abstract

An electrical switch includes an insulation base, an insulative-and-movable component, at least two output ports, and at least two transmission ports. The insulative-and-movable component is disposed on the insulation base and adapted to be operated between at least two switch positions relatively to the insulation base. The two output ports are disposed on the insulation base. The two transmission ports are disposed on the insulative-and-movable component. When the insulative-and-movable component is located at one of the two switch positions, one of the two output ports is aligned with one of the two transmission ports and another one of the two output ports is misaligned with another one of the two transmission ports.

Description

Electrical switch

The present invention relates to an electrical switch, and in particular to a switchable electrical switch.

RF switches are used in circuits to selectively establish a conduction path between multiple contacts. Currently, most RF switches use a mechanical switching structure to switch the conduction path. However, due to its complex composition, the mechanical switching structure has poor performance in terms of actuation accuracy, reliability, and response time. In addition, most mechanical switching structures are made of metal components, which can easily have an adverse effect on the impedance and/or other electrical properties of the RF switch.

The present invention provides an electrical switch having better actuation accuracy, reliability and response time, and having good impedance and/or other electrical performance.

The electrical switch of the present invention comprises an insulating seat, an insulating movable part, at least two output contacts and at least two transmission contacts. The insulating movable part is movably arranged on the insulating seat and is suitable for actuating between at least two switching positions relative to the insulating seat. The two output contacts are arranged on the insulating seat. The two transmission contacts are arranged on the insulating movable part. When the insulating movable part is located at one of the two switching positions, one of the two output contacts is located at one of the two transmission contacts and the other of the two output contacts is located at the other of the two transmission contacts. When the insulating movable member is located at the other of the two switching positions, one of the output contacts is misaligned with one of the two transmission contacts and the other of the output contacts is located at the other of the two transmission contacts.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the insulating base body has a through hole, and the two output contacts are located on the inner wall of the through hole and extend to the outer side of the insulating base body.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned insulating movable member is movably disposed in the through hole, the moving direction of the insulating movable member relative to the insulating seat body is the axial direction of the through hole, and the two transmission contacts are located radially outward of the insulating movable member.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the electrical switch includes at least one transmission line, wherein the transmission line is disposed on the insulating movable element, and two transmission contacts are formed on the transmission line.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the electrical switch further comprises an input contact, wherein the input contact is disposed on the insulating base and connected to the transmission line.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the transmission line is a spiral line, and the two transmission contacts are located at different positions of the spiral line.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the transmission line includes at least two linear lines separated from each other, and the two transmission nodes are respectively located on the two linear lines.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the electrical switch further comprises a main grounding portion, wherein the main grounding portion is disposed inside the insulating movable member, and the transmission line is located on the outer surface of the insulating movable member and separated from the main grounding portion.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned electrical switch further includes at least one sub-grounding portion, wherein the sub-grounding portion is arranged on the outer surface of the insulating movable part and connected to the main grounding portion, there is a gap between at least two sections of the transmission line, and the sub-grounding portion is located in the gap and separated from the two sections.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the electrical switch further comprises at least two conductive blocks, wherein the two conductive blocks are disposed on the transmission line to respectively form two transmission contacts.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the geometric center of each of the above-mentioned conductive blocks is located opposite to the transmission line in the operating direction of the insulating movable member.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the geometric center of each of the above-mentioned conductive blocks is misaligned with the transmission line in the operating direction of the insulating movable member.

In one embodiment of the present invention, each of the conductive blocks includes two conductive parts separated from each other.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the material of the insulating seat and the insulating movable member includes an insulating material.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned insulating material includes low-temperature co-fired ceramic.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned electrical switch further includes a driving element, wherein the driving element is suitable for driving the insulating movable member to move relative to the insulating seat.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the driving element is a piezoelectric actuator or a stepping motor.

Based on the above, in the electrical switch of the present invention, each transmission contact on the insulating movable member selectively switches the output contact on the insulating seat body as the insulating movable member moves relative to the insulating seat body, thereby switching the conduction path diameter. Compared with the conventional electrical switch that switches the conduction path diameter with a mechanical switching structure, the electrical switch of the present invention has better performance in terms of operation accuracy, reliability and response time by the movement of a single insulating movable member relative to the insulating seat body. Furthermore, compared to conventional electrical switches whose mechanical switching structures are mostly made of metal components, the insulating seat and insulating movable member in the electrical switch of the present invention can be made of non-metallic materials without adversely affecting the impedance and/or other electrical performances of the electrical switch.

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional diagram of an electrical switch of an embodiment of the present invention, which shows the axes X, Y, and Z. FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional diagram of the electrical switch of FIG. 1 at another viewing angle. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional diagram of the electrical switch of FIG. 1 , and the cross-section corresponds to the I-I line of FIG. 1 . Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 , the electrical switch 100 of the present embodiment is, for example, a radio frequency switch or other types of electrical switches, and includes an insulating base 110, an insulating movable member 120, a plurality of output contacts (shown as output contacts 130A to 130D), and a plurality of transmission contacts (shown as transmission contacts 140A to 140D). The insulating movable member 120 is movably disposed on the insulating base 110 along the axis Z. The output contacts 130A-130D are disposed on the insulating base 110, and the transmission contacts 140A-140D are disposed on the insulating movable member 120. The insulating movable member 120 is adapted to move along the axial direction Z relative to the insulating base 110 and to act between a plurality of switching positions. The present invention does not limit the number of transmission contacts and output contacts, which may be four as described above, or may be two, three, five or more.

FIG4 shows the insulating movable member of FIG3 moving downward, which corresponds to the II-II line of FIG1. FIG5 shows the insulating movable member of FIG4 moving downward, which corresponds to the I-I line of FIG1. FIG6 shows the insulating movable member of FIG5 moving downward, which corresponds to the II-II line of FIG1. Specifically, when the insulating movable member 120 is located at the switching position shown in FIG3, the output contact 130A is located opposite to the transmission contact 140A and the output contacts 130B~130D are located opposite to the transmission contacts 140B~140D respectively. When the insulating movable member 120 moves downward from the switching position shown in FIG. 3 to the switching position shown in FIG. 4 , the output contacts 130A, 130C, and 130D are respectively misplaced at the transmission contacts 140A, 140C, and 140D, and the output contact 130B is opposite to the transmission contact 140B. When the insulating movable member 120 continues to move downward from the switching position shown in FIG. 4 to the switching position shown in FIG. 5 , the output contacts 130A, 130B, and 130D are respectively misplaced at the transmission contacts 140A, 140B, and 140D, and the output contact 130C is opposite to the transmission contact 140C. When the insulating movable member 120 continues to move downward from the switching position shown in FIG5 and is located at the switching position shown in FIG6, the output contacts 130A, 130B, and 130C are respectively misplaced at the transmission contacts 140A, 140B, and 140C, and the output contact 130D is located at the transmission contact 140D. In FIG3 to FIG5, the part of the transmission line TL shown as a solid line only indicates that the part of the transmission line TL should be located near the insulating movable member 120 in the cross-section I-I or II-II in the line of sight, and does not mean that the part of the transmission line TL can be directly observed in the cross section.

In this embodiment, the output contacts 130A-130D are located at the same position on the axis Z, for example, and the transmission contacts 140A-140D are located at different positions on the axis Z. Therefore, as described above, when the insulating movable member 120 is located at any switching position, only one of the output contacts 130A-130D will correspond to the corresponding one of the transmission contacts 140A-140D to achieve the conduction path switching effect. In other embodiments, the output contacts 130A~130D may be located at different positions in the axial direction Z and the transmission contacts 140A~140D may be located at the same position in the axial direction Z, or the output contacts 130A~130D may be located at different positions in the axial direction Z and the transmission contacts 140A~140D may be located at different positions in the axial direction Z to achieve the same conduction path diameter switching effect. The present invention is not limited to this. In addition, the insulating movable member 120 of the present embodiment can be slidably disposed on the insulating base body 110 along the axis Z as described above, or can be rotatably disposed on the insulating base body 110 to switch the guide path diameter, or can be moved relative to the insulating base body 110 in other appropriate ways to switch the guide path diameter, and the present invention is not limited to this.

As described above, in the electrical switch 100 of the present embodiment, the transmission contacts 140A-140D on the insulating movable member 120 selectively switch the conduction path diameter of the output contacts 130A-130D located on the insulating seat 110 as the position of the insulating movable member 120 relative to the insulating seat 110 changes. In the present embodiment, the material of the insulating seat 110 and the insulating movable member 120 is, for example, low-temperature cofired ceramics (LTCC) or other types of insulating materials, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

Specifically, in this embodiment, the insulating base 110 has a through hole 110a, and the output contacts 130A-130D are located on the inner wall of the through hole 110a and extend to the outside of the insulating base 110. The insulating movable member 120 is movably disposed in the through hole 110a, and the direction of movement of the insulating movable member 120 relative to the insulating base 110 is the axial direction of the through hole 110a, and the transmission contacts 140A-140D are located on the radial outside of the insulating movable member 120. Furthermore, the electrical switch 100 further includes a transmission line TL, the transmission line TL is disposed on the insulating movable part 120, and the transmission contacts 140A-140D are formed on the transmission line TL. In addition, FIG. 7 is a side view of the insulating movable part of FIG. 1 , and an extension section TL-C of the transmission line TL extends to the outer edge of the insulating movable part 120 as shown in FIG. 4 , FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 . The electrical switch 100 further includes an input contact 150 (shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 6 ), which is disposed on the insulating base 110 and connected to the extension section TL-C of the transmission line TL. Therefore, no matter the insulating movable member 120 moves to any position shown in Figures 3 to 6, the transmission line TL always contacts the input contact 150 through its extended section TL-C. As shown in Figures 3 to 6, the transmission line TL of this embodiment is, for example, a spiral line, and the transmission contacts 140A to 140D are respectively located at different positions of the spiral line.

The present invention does not limit the manner of driving the insulating movable part 120 to operate, and an example is given below to illustrate this. FIG. 8 is a block diagram of some components of the electrical switch of FIG. 1 . Referring to FIG. 8 , the electrical switch 100 of this embodiment further includes a driving element 160, the driving element 160 is connected to the insulating movable part 120 and is suitable for driving the insulating movable part 120 to operate relative to the insulating base body 110 (shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 ) (for example, to move along the Z axis or to rotate around the Z axis). The driving element 160 is, for example, a piezoelectric actuator, a stepping motor or other types of actuators, and the present invention does not limit this.

FIG9 is a top view of the insulating movable member of FIG1. Referring to FIG9, in this embodiment, the electrical switch 100 (indicated in FIG1 to FIG8) further includes a main grounding portion 170, and the main grounding portion 170 is disposed inside the insulating movable member 120. The transmission line TL is located on the outer surface of the insulating movable member 120 and is separated from the main grounding portion 170 as shown in FIG3 to FIG6.

FIG. 10 is a three-dimensional diagram of an insulating movable part of another embodiment of the present invention. The main difference between the embodiment shown in FIG. 10 and the aforementioned embodiment is that the electrical switch of FIG. 10 further includes a sub-grounding portion 180, which is disposed on the outer surface of the insulating movable part 120 and is internally connected to the main grounding portion 170. There is a gap G between two adjacent sections of the transmission line TL, and the sub-grounding portion 180 is located in the gap G and is separated from the two adjacent sections of the transmission line TL. In addition to providing a grounding function together with the main grounding portion 170, the sub-grounding portion 180 can also shield between the two adjacent sections of the transmission line TL to prevent the two adjacent sections of the transmission line TL from interfering with each other.

FIG. 11 is a three-dimensional diagram of an insulating movable part of another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 shows the transmission line of FIG. 11 connected to the output contact. The main difference between the embodiments shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 and the aforementioned embodiments is that the electrical switch of FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 further includes a plurality of conductive blocks B, which are arranged on the transmission line TL and respectively constitute a plurality of transmission contacts (such as the transmission contacts 140A to 140D in the aforementioned embodiment). The conductive block B is, for example, a rectangular body, which is used to provide a larger contact area to contact the output contact (taking the output contact 130A as an example in FIG. 12).

In the embodiments shown in Figures 11 and 12, each conductive block B is located above the transmission line TL, so that the geometric center of each conductive block B is misaligned with the transmission line TL in the actuation direction (i.e., axial direction Z) of the insulating movable part 120. The present invention does not limit the configuration of the conductive block B, and this is explained below with an example. Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of a transmission line and a conductive block of another embodiment of the present invention. The main difference between the embodiment shown in Figure 13 and the aforementioned embodiment is that the conductive block B of Figure 13 is located below the transmission line TL, rather than above the transmission line TL. Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of a transmission line and a conductive block of another embodiment of the present invention. The main difference between the embodiment shown in FIG14 and the aforementioned embodiment is that the conductive block B of FIG14 has a larger width in the extension direction of the transmission line TL, and the geometric center of the conductive block B is located opposite to the transmission line TL in the actuation direction of the insulating movable member. FIG15 is a schematic diagram of a transmission line and a conductive block of another embodiment of the present invention. The main difference between the embodiment shown in FIG15 and the aforementioned embodiment is that the conductive block B of FIG15 includes two conductive parts C separated from each other.

In addition, the present invention does not limit the form of the transmission line, and the following example is used to illustrate this. FIG. 16 is a three-dimensional diagram of an insulating movable member of another embodiment of the present invention. The main difference between the embodiment shown in FIG. 16 and the aforementioned embodiment is that the transmission line TL' of FIG. 16 includes a plurality of linear lines separated from each other, and a plurality of transmission contacts 140A~140D are respectively located on these linear lines, and the lower end of each linear line is used to connect the input contact of the electrical switch (such as the input contact 150 shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 6). In other embodiments, the transmission lines may be in other forms and quantities, as long as each transmission contact 140A-140D can selectively correspond to the output contacts 130A-130D located on the insulating base 110 as the insulating movable member 120 moves relative to the insulating base 110.

In summary, in the electrical switch of the present invention, each transmission contact on the insulating movable member selectively switches the output contact on the insulating seat body as the insulating movable member moves relative to the insulating seat body, thereby switching the conduction path diameter. Compared with the conventional electrical switch that switches the conduction path diameter with a mechanical switching structure, the electrical switch of the present invention has better performance in terms of operation accuracy, reliability and response time by the movement of a single insulating movable member relative to the insulating seat body. Furthermore, compared to conventional electrical switches whose mechanical switching structures are mostly made of metal components, the insulating seat and insulating movable member in the electrical switch of the present invention can be made of non-metallic materials without adversely affecting the impedance and/or other electrical performances of the electrical switch.

100: electrical switch 110: insulating seat 110a: through hole 120: insulating movable part 130A~130D: output contact 140A~140D: transmission contact 150: input contact 160: driving element 170: main grounding part 180: sub-grounding part C: conductive part B: conductive block G: gap TL, TL’: transmission line TL-C: extension section X, Y, Z: axial direction

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional diagram of an electrical switch of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional diagram of the electrical switch of FIG. 1 from another viewing angle. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional diagram of the electrical switch of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 shows the insulating movable member of FIG. 3 moving downward. FIG. 5 shows the insulating movable member of FIG. 4 moving downward. FIG. 6 shows the insulating movable member of FIG. 5 moving downward. FIG. 7 is a side view of the insulating movable member of FIG. 1. FIG. 8 is a block diagram of some components of the electrical switch of FIG. 1. FIG. 9 is a top view of the insulating movable member of FIG. 1. FIG. 10 is a three-dimensional diagram of the insulating movable member of another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a three-dimensional diagram of an insulating movable part of another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 shows the transmission line of FIG. 11 connected to the output contact. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a transmission line and a conductive block of another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a transmission line and a conductive block of another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a transmission line and a conductive block of another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 16 is a three-dimensional diagram of an insulating movable part of another embodiment of the present invention.

100: Electrical switch

110: Insulation seat

110a: Through hole

120: Insulation movable parts

130B, 130D: output contacts

140A~140D: Transmission contacts

150: Input contact

TL: Transmission line

TL-C: Extension section

X, Y, Z: axial direction

Claims (14)

An electrical switch comprises: an insulating base; an insulating movable member movably disposed on the insulating base and adapted to actuate between at least two switching positions relative to the insulating base; at least two output contacts disposed on the insulating base; at least two transmission contacts disposed on the insulating movable member; and at least one transmission line, wherein the at least one transmission line is disposed on the insulating movable member, the at least two transmission contacts are formed on the at least one transmission line, wherein when the insulating movable member is located at one of the at least two switching positions, one of the at least two output contacts is switched to a switching position. A pair is located at one of the at least two transmission contacts and the other of the at least two output contacts is located at the other of the at least two transmission contacts. When the insulating movable member is located at the other of the at least two switching positions, the one of the at least two output contacts is located at the one of the at least two transmission contacts and the other of the at least two output contacts is located at the other of the at least two transmission contacts. The at least one transmission line is a spiral line, and the at least two transmission contacts are located at different positions of the spiral line. An electrical switch as described in claim 1, wherein the insulating base has a through hole, and the at least two output contacts are located on the inner wall of the through hole and extend to the outside of the insulating base. The electrical switch as described in claim 2, wherein the insulating movable member is movably disposed in the through hole, the direction of movement of the insulating movable member relative to the insulating seat body is the axial direction of the through hole, and the at least two transmission contacts are located radially outward of the insulating movable member. The electrical switch as described in claim 1 further includes an input contact, wherein the input contact is disposed on the insulating base and connected to the at least one transmission line. The electrical switch as described in claim 1 further includes a main grounding portion, wherein the main grounding portion is disposed inside the insulating movable part, and the at least one transmission line is located on the outer surface of the insulating movable part and separated from the main grounding portion. The electrical switch as described in claim 5 further includes at least one sub-grounding portion, wherein the at least one sub-grounding portion is disposed on the outer surface of the insulating movable member and connected to the main grounding portion, and there is a gap between at least two sections of the at least one transmission line, and the at least one sub-grounding portion is located in the gap and separated from the at least two sections. The electrical switch as described in claim 1 further includes at least two conductive blocks, wherein the at least two conductive blocks are arranged on the at least one transmission line and respectively constitute the at least two transmission contacts. An electrical switch as described in claim 7, wherein the geometric center of each conductive block is located opposite to the at least one transmission line in the actuation direction of the insulating movable member. An electrical switch as described in claim 7, wherein the geometric center of each conductive block is misaligned with the at least one transmission line in the actuation direction of the insulating movable member. An electrical switch as described in claim 7, wherein each of the conductive blocks includes two conductive parts separated from each other. An electrical switch as described in claim 1, wherein the material of the insulating seat and the insulating movable part includes an insulating material. An electrical switch as described in claim 11, wherein the insulating material comprises low-temperature co-fired ceramic. The electrical switch as described in claim 1 further includes a driving element, wherein the driving element is suitable for driving the insulating movable member to move relative to the insulating seat. An electrical switch as described in claim 13, wherein the driving element is a piezoelectric actuator or a stepper motor.

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