Mechanical push-toggle design

[salukikev]

I'm working on a project that requires a mechanical push-toggle. I'd entertain other designs, but currently I'm pursuing the standard pin-in-path design of standard electrical push-push switches. This is not an electrical product, but I need a similar push-push design.

To clarify this design, I will describe below:

Typically, a pin will be positioned with a bias toward a centerline. Surrounding that centerline is a heart-shaped path, and at the center is a island which will both guide the pin around it, and allow the pin to settle at into the trough at the top. The Pin is sprung toward the base of the heart shaped path.

As the pin travels around the slot, there are two positions it will come to rest in and constrain the rest of the system. Either in the groove in the top of the "island" or the groove at the base of the heart shaped track, indicating the two states of the system.

I hope that is an adequate description. This is a pretty common design, but my search terms keep bringing up side switch or rocker switch designs, and that simply won't work for my system. I require a push-push operation to toggle states.

Thanks for any:
1. Search Terms.
2. Design Guides.
3. Alternative (simple)mechanisms.

-k

 

[NuclearNerd]

A sketch would be very helpful. Your description is a bit too complex for me to visualize

I've made push-push style indexers using a ballpoint pen style mechanism such as described in the bottom of this page:

http://www.roymech.co.uk/Useful_Tables/Cams_Springs/Indexing.html.

The mechanism requires three pieces - a housing, a plunger and a rotor (the rotor has to be cut with a barrel cam profile, which could require specialized machining).