GB452341A - Improvements in electromagnetic relays - Google Patents

Abstract

452,341. Electromagnetic switches and relays. GENERAL RAILWAY SIGNAL CO., Rochester, New York, U.S.A.-(Assignees of Howe, W. K.; 333, Oxford Street, Rochester, New York, U.S.A.) July 3, 1935, No. 19075. Convention date, July 20, 1934. [Class 38 (v)] An electromagnetic relay which may be used in railway signalling circuits has a plurality of sets of contact fingers arranged one above the other, the movable contact fingers of the several sets being positively driven up and down for engaging with upper and lower relatively stationary contacts by a single insulated driving member which on the one hand is operably connected to the movable contact fingers and on the other hand to the relay armature, the driving member passing through openings in the contact fingers of the several sets in rear of their contact points and being formed with a notch for each movable contact finger forming abutments to engage with opposite faces of such movable contact member. As shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 4, the relay has a pivoted neutral armature 21 extending across the two polar faces 14, 15 and a polarized armature 68 pivoted at 69 so as to swing between the adjacent sides of the pole pieces 14, 15. The neutral armature is adapted to operate the four inner vertical rows of contact springs by means of insulating bars 60 secured to operating projections 64 attached to horizontally extending portions 23 of the armature carrier 22 while the polarized armature operates the outer pair of rows of contact springs by means of a bar 76 attached to the pivot 69 and bearing insulating projections 60. The armature 68 is polarized by a bar magnet 18 supported below and midway between the cores 10, 11 of the operating electromagnets 8, 9, the rear end of the magnet 18 fitting tightly into a yoke piece 12 carrying the electromagnet cores and the forward end extending into a fixed polepiece 19 separated by a narrow curved gap from the lower end of the polarized armature. The pivot of the neutral armature consists in a narrow horizontal slot 32 into which extends a fixed plate 30 on which the armature pivots, an adjustable spring 35 being provided to return the armature after operation. The contact-operating member 60 consists of an insulating bar extending upwardly through apertures in the contact springs in rear of the contact points. Opposite each movable spring a notch 61 is formed in the bar 60 and the bar is anchored to the spring by a projection 62 which is bent away laterally during the insertion of the bar 62 through the spring but is bent into the plane of the spring after the bar is inserted so that upper and lower faces of the movable springs are re-engaged by the sides of the notches 62. Thus the springs are moved positively in the upward and downward direction to engage the front and back contacts, which are similarly supported on blade springs. The relay is carried by a supporting plate 7 carrying an insulating plate 48 bearing the contact springs and may be arranged for quick detachability in relation to its support in the manner described in Specification 419,853. Instead of a spring-retracted armature a gravity return may be utilized. The interchangeability of parts in the relay described facilitates its assembly in a standard size either as a polar-neutral relay, a retained-neutral polar relay or simply as a neutral relay.