Push-button

Push-button
Buttons on a handheld calculator.
Generic arcade game buttons.
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A push-button (also spelled pushbutton) (press-button in the UK) or simply button is a simple switch mechanism for controlling some aspect of a machine or a process. Buttons are typically made out of hard material, usually plastic or metal. The surface is usually flat or shaped to accommodate the human finger or hand, so as to be easily depressed or pushed. Buttons are most often biased switches, though even many un-biased buttons (due to their physical nature) require a spring to return to their un-pushed state. Different people use different terms for the "pushing" of the button, such as press, depress, mash, and punch.

Uses

The "push-button" has been utilized in calculators, push-button telephones, kitchen appliances, and various other mechanical and electronic devices, home and commercial.

In industrial and commercial applications, push buttons can be linked together by a mechanical linkage so that the act of pushing one button causes the other button to be released. In this way, a stop button can "force" a start button to be released. This method of linkage is used in simple manual operations in which the machine or process have no electrical circuits for control.

Pushbuttons are often color-coded to associate them with their function so that the operator will not push the wrong button in error. Commonly used colors are red for stopping the machine or process and green for starting the machine or process.

Red pushbuttons can also have large heads (called mushroom heads) for easy operation and to facilitate the stopping of a machine. These pushbuttons are called emergency stop buttons and are mandated by the electrical code in many jurisdictions for increased safety. This large mushroom shape can also be found in buttons for use with operators who need to wear gloves for their work and could not actuate a regular flush-mounted push button. As an aid for operators and users in industrial or commercial applications, a pilot light is commonly added to draw the attention of the user and to provide feedback if the button is pushed. Typically this light is included into the center of the pushbutton and a lens replaces the pushbutton hard center disk. The source of the energy to illuminate the light is not directly tied to the contacts on the back of the pushbutton but to the action the pushbutton controls. In this way a start button when pushed will cause the process or machine operation to be started and a secondary contact designed into the operation or process will close to turn on the pilot light and signify the action of pushing the button caused the resultant process or action to start.

In popular culture, the phrase "the button" (sometimes capitalized) refers to a (usually fictional) button that a military or government leader could press to launch nuclear weapons.

See also

External links


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • push-button — ☆ push button [poosh′but΄ n ] adj. 1. controlled by or carried out by means of a push button 2. highly mechanized, computerized, automatic, etc. [modern, push button warfare] …   English World dictionary

  • Push button — (Elec.) A simple device, resembling a button in form, so arranged that pushing it closes an electric circuit, as of an electric bell; called also {button}. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • push-button — push′ but ton adj. 1) elm operated by or as if by push buttons: push button tuning[/ex] 2) utilizing devices that can be easily activated from a distant location: push button warfare[/ex] • Etymology: 1875–80, amer …   From formal English to slang

  • push-button — adj [only before noun] operated by pressing a button with your finger ▪ a push button telephone …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • push-button — push ,button adjective only before noun operated by pressing a button or switch: push button phones …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • push button — ☆ push button n. a small knob or button that is pushed to operate something, as by closing an electric circuit …   English World dictionary

  • Push Button —   [dt. »Druckknopf«, Schaltfläche], Dialogfeld …   Universal-Lexikon

  • push button — noun an electrical switch operated by pressing the elevator was operated by push buttons the push beside the bed operated a buzzer at the desk • Syn: ↑push, ↑button • Hypernyms: ↑switch, ↑electric switch, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • push-button — /ˈpʊʃ bʌtn/ (say poosh butn) noun 1. an on off switch that controls the operation of an electrically driven machine or appliance and is activated by the push of a button. –adjective 2. activated by, or as by, a push button. 3. characterised by… …  

  • push-button — adjective (only before noun) 1 operated by pressing a button with your finger: The old car had a push button starter. 2 using computers or electronic equipment rather than traditional methods: push button warfare | the push button piloting of a… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

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