Synthetic-resin and metallic layered housing for hand-held appliance

Abstract

A housing has a wall constituted by a rigid metal plate formed with an array of throughgoing perforations and by a flexible synthetic-resin sheet overlying the inner face of the rigid wall and having a multiplicity of projections each extending through a respective perforation and beyond the outer surface of the rigid plate. Futhermore the flexible sheet may be inwardly deflectable to actuate a switch in the housing.

We claim: 
     
       1. In a switchable hand-held appliance, in combination: a housing having a rigid wall formed with an array of perforations extending between an inner and an outer face thereof;   an elastomeric nonmetallic sheet overlying said wall at said inner face thereof and formed with a multiplicity of bosses each penetrating a respective perforation and extending beyond said outer face; and   switch means in said housing juxtaposed with a portion of said sheet carrying some of said bosses, said portion being inwardly deflectable away from said wall by finger pressure exerted upon said some of said bosses for actuating said switch means, the remainder of said sheet being fixed to said wall and preventing a depression of all other bosses.   
     
     
       2. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said some of said bosses project farther beyond said outer face than to the other bosses on the remainder of said sheet. 
     
     
       3. The combination defined in claim 2 wherein the projecting parts of said some of said bosses progressively increase in length toward the middle of said portion of said sheet. 
     
     
       4. The combination defined in claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein said wall forms a recess adjacent said portion of said sheet, said some of said bosses projecting from said recess. 
     
     
       5. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said switch means includes a metallic foil on a surface of a portion of said sheet opposite said wall. .Iadd. 
     
     
       6.  A two-layer housing for a hand-held appliance, said housing defining an enclosed internal open space, said housing comprising a substantially rigid housing wall, of a predetermined thickness, having an inner face and an outer face with an array of perforations extending between said faces, a continuous sheet of synthetic resin material, at least a portion of which is rigidly bonded to the inner face of said housing wall, said housing wall being continuous between said perforations, said sheet having a multiplicity of individual upstanding bosses, each said boss having a predetermined diameter and each said boss extending through a respective perforation and projecting one-quarter to three-quarters the thickness of said housing wall beyond said outer face and said bosses being spaced at most about three times the diameter of said bosses from each other, each said upstanding boss of said continuous sheet of synthetic resin material located on the portion of said sheet which is rigidly bonded to the inner face of said housing wall forming a tight and sealed connection with its respective perforation to hold said sheet and said bosses in position thereby rendering said bosses non-displaceable with repect to said respective perforations of said housing wall, and to prevent moisture from entering the internal open face of said housing..Iaddend. .Iadd.7. The housing as defined in claim 6 wherein each said boss includes a rounded tip projecting beyond said outer face of said wall, and wherein each said individual upstanding boss is generally cylindrical..Iaddend.