Rotary switch housing

Claim 2

A housing for a rotary switch having a rotary shaft, comprising: a. a top wall, a bottom wall and a circumferential side wall, integrally formed of an insulated plastic material and encasing said switch, b. openings in at least one of said walls for receiving electrical leads for connection to said switch, c. a boss having a top surface integrally formed on, and projecting upward from, said top wall, d. said boss having an elongated cylindrical shaft hole therethrough normal to said top wall and adapted to tightly receive said shaft for rotary movement, said shaft projecting above the top of said boss, e. a knob having a solid top surface and an annular skirt extending radially outward to define an annular rim, f. means securing the bottom of said knob concentrically to the top of said shaft so that the level of said rim is below, and spaced radially outwardly of, the top surface of said boss.

Claim 3

The invention according to claim 1 in which said top wall is flat so that said switch housing is adapted to fit flush against the bottom surface of a relatively thin, horizontal, mounting wall having a hole therethrough to permit said boss to project upward therethrough, and having a pair of cam slots spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the transverse dimension of the switch housing and on opposite sides of the boss hole, said housing further comprising a pair of upstanding latch ears having bottom end portions integrally formed with said bottom wall, said latch ears projecting upward and terminating in latch hooks spaced above said top wall, each latch hook having a laterally outward projecting bottom ledge and upper converging cam surfaces, the material of said latch ears being sufficiently resilient to permit inward flexing of said latch ears so that said upper cam surfaces will cam upward and inward through said latch openings and said bottom ledges will catch over the edges of said latch openings to lock said switch housing against the bottom of said mounting wall.