Joseph P Swift

US Patent:

54204658, May 30, 1995

Filed:

Aug 30, 1994

Appl. No.:

8/297734

Inventors:

Stanley J. Wallace - Victor NY
John E. Courtney - Macedon NY
Wilbur M. Peck - Rochester NY
Joseph A. Swift - Ontario NY

Assignee:

Xerox Corporation - Stamford CT

International Classification:

H01H 3500

US Classification:

307116

Abstract:

Electronic switches and sensors have pultruded contact members. A switch includes first and second contact members, at least one of which including a pultruded contact member having an insulating body and a plurality of conductive fibers carried within the insulating body. The pultruded contact member is fibrillated at least at one end thereof to expose the conductive fibers for establishing electrical contact when brought into physical contact with the other of the first and second contact members. A sensor for detecting the presence of an article in a detection zone includes a contact at one side of the detection zone, and a pultrusion including a plurality of electrically conductive fibers and a host material carrying the plurality of fibers, supported at another end of the detection zone. One end of the pultrusion has a fibrillated end portion extending across the detection zone in electrical connection with the contact that is displaced by the article when the article is present in the detection zone to disconnect the electrical connection. The sensor is particularly well adapted to sense a sheet of paper or the like, for example, in an electrostatographic reproducing machine, and can be connected to a source of electrical potential so that the conductive fibers serve to discharge any static charges existing on the sheet of paper.