US2830139A

US2830139A - Electrical relay contact support and relay indexing

Info

Publication number: US2830139A
Application number: US475224A
Authority: US
Inventors: Wesley B Wells
Original assignee: Westinghouse Air Brake Co
Current assignee: Westinghouse Air Brake Co
Priority date: 1954-12-14
Filing date: 1954-12-14
Publication date: 1958-04-08
Anticipated expiration: 1975-04-08
Also published as: FR1136445A; GB782405A; BE541731A

Description

April s, 1958 w. B. WELLS ELECTRICAL RELAY CONTACT SUPPORT AND RELAY INDEXING Filed Deo.

2 Sheets-Sheet l April 8, 1958 w. awELLs 2,830,139

ELECTRICAL RELAY CONTACT SUPPORT ND RELAY INDEXING Filed Dec. 14, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheetl 2 0000000090 @To 4 Ooooo @aoco 01264567@ 43 )Il V 55 l# )=1 Z 1N VEN TOR. Wsy was BY i A HIS ATTRZVEY ELECTRICAL RELAY CNTACT SUPPORT AND RELAY ENDEXING Application December l14, 1954, Serial No. 475,224

6 Claims. (Cl. 20G- 1) My invention relates to electrical relays of the plug-in type, and more particularly to a novel means for securing the contacts of a relay of the type described to a relay trame, and a novel means for indexing a relay of the plugin type to its mounting base.

In some previous relays of the plug-in type considerable difficulty has been encountered in maintaining a rigid insulated support for the secured ends of the contact member or lugs of a relay under varying temperatures, humidity conditions and vibrations. It has further been found that in some previous relays difficulty has been encountered in providing suiiicient indexing digits to distinguish between a large number of relays of the plug-in type. For example,`in some cases, it was necessary to use the same indexing for relays that were not identical but were of a general type grouping.

It is therefore an object of my invention lto provide a novel relay contact support structure that substantially prevents contact displacement within the support structure.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel plug-in relay indexing means providing an extremely large number of digit combinations.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel plug-in relay contact support and indexing means that is simple in structure and inexpensive to manuifacture.

Other objects, purposes and characteristic features of my invention will be in part obvious from the accompanying drawings and in part pointed out as the description of my invention progresses.

In practicing my invention I provide a relay of the plug-in type whose contacts are firmly iixed within an insulating support block in such a manner as to hold their positions within the support block without varying due to changes in vibration, temperature or humidity conditions. The relay of my invention is further provided with an indexing means that presents a substantial number of indexing combinations to provide for a different indexing for each relay.

In describing my invention in detail reference will be made to the accompanying drawings in which corresponding parts are generally identified by corresponding reference characters and in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing one form of plug-in relay involving my invention.

Fig. la is a partly sectioned vertical View of the mounting base for the plug-in relay of Fig. l.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the mounting base of Fig. la taken along the line II-II, showing the indexing openings for receiving the indexing pins of the relay of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view taken along the lines Ill-III of Fig. l showing a view f the plug-in end of the relay.

Fig. 4 is an exploded View of the contact support block of the relay showing details of the securing means for the contact members.

Fig. 5 is a sectional View taken along the line V-V of Fig. 2 showing the indexing plate.

Fig. 6 is a sectional View taken substantially along the tates ate line VI-VI of Fig. 3 for showing the securing of the indexing pin in the relay frame.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the contact members and their securing means taken on the line VII-VII of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, the relay comprises a frame member 1 of suitable nonmagnetic material such die-cast aluminum. 'the frame member 1 consists of a vertical portion 35 and an integral horizontal forwardly extending portion 36. The portion 36 includes two pole pieces 3 and 4 which are preferably irst machined and are then cast into the horizontal portion 36 of the frame member l. The two pole pieces 3 and 4i are L-shaped and are secured within the horizontal portion 36 of the frame member with an end 37 of each projecting above or flush with the upper surface of the horizontal portion 36 of the frame member 1. The upper ends 37 of the L-shaped pole pieces 3 and 4 are subsequently ground to provide a good magnetic contact with a core member 5 that passes through and supports an energizing coil 2. The core member 5 is secured to the horizontal portion 36 of the frame member 1 and against the upper ends 37 of the Lshaped core members 3 and i by bolts 38. The L- shaped pole pieces 3 and 4 are so positioned within the portion 36 that a portion of nonmagnetic material is located between the adjacent ends 66.

Armature 6 is pivotally secured to the vertical portion 35 of the frame member 1 by a suitable hinge construction comprising a support block 8 and hinge springs '7, one of which is vertically disposed so as to prevent vertical displacement of the armature and is secured to the support block 8 by the screw 8a and to the armature 6 by the screw 6a. The other hinge spring is horizontally disposed to prevent horizontal displacement of the armature 6. The horizontally disposed hinge spring 7 is secured to the support block 8 by screws 8b and to the armature 6 by the screw 6b. The block 8 is secured to the portion 35 by support block adjusting screws 9 passing through enlarged openings 76 in frame member l. and threaded into suitable screw openings 8d, in the block 3. With this arrangement the armature air gap between the pole pieces 3 and 4, in the frame It, and armature 6 may be adjusted by shifting the armature support block S vertically `along the portion 35. The armature 6 underlies and cooperates with the pole pieces 3 and 4.

Supported by the pole piece 4 is a hold-down pole piece it? secured by means of screws i2 to a permanent magnet il.. The permanent magnet 11 is then secured to the pole piece 4 by magnetizable bolts 39 which also acts as a shunt to prevent demagnetization of the magnet 1i, if the magnet is subjected to any stray flux surges'. It should be noted that the hold-down pole piece 1i) also serves as a backstop to limit the movement of the armature 6 away from the pole pieces 3 and 4. The armature 6' is provided with the usual nonmagnetic core pins 77 to prevent the armature from sticking to the pole piece 4 or to the hold-down pole piece i6.

The coil 2 has an opening 46 for receiving the core member 5. The coil 2 is further provided with a coating of substantially hard insulating material which supports two electrical prongs 67 at the rear end thereof. This arrangement eliminates the necessity for passing coil lead in wires into the enclosed area of the contacts, which will hereinafter be described, and then through the vertical portion 35 of the frame member i. Located between the coil 2 and the core member 5 within the opening'40 is a vibration dampener leaf spring 62 which tends to hold the coil firm, thus eliminating excessive movement.

The vertical portion 35 of the frame member 1 is provided with a rearwardly facing terminal receiving opening 72 for receiving the plug-in ends or lugs of the iixed contact members 4&3, the Contact base membersA or lugs 54 (hl. at?

portion 35 of the frame member 1 and opening into the terminal opening 72 is a contact block opening 33. Secured by suitable bolts 7i to the portion 35 and extending into the contact block openings 33 is a Contact support block 16 made of suitable insulating material.

The contact support block 16 is provided with a plurality of openings 42 for receiving the ends of the fixed contact members 43 and the movable contact base members 54. Each of the

members

43 and 54 is provided with an opening 3th for receiving a projection Si of an associated pressure block S2. Two insulated pressure blocks 82 are used to support or secure two of the members 43 and/or 54 within a single opening 42 of the contact support block 16. Each of the insulated pressure blocks 82 is generally channel-shaped in cross section. The pressure blocks 82 are used in pairs with the open sides of the channels facing each other, thus forming a substantially rectangular opening therethrough. The bottom 86 of each of the channel blocks 82 is tapered so that the rectangular opening, formed when two pressure blocks 82 are placed in opposition, is of progressively decreasing size.

Arranged for disposition within the wedge shaped opening formed by two opposing pressure blocks 82 is a tapered wedge member 83. The tapered wedge member 83 is provided with a threaded opening 84 therethrough for receiving a tensioning bolt S5. Adjacent to the rear end of, and extending across each of the recesses 42, of the member 16, is an insulating bridge member S7. Each of the members S7 is provided with a central opening d3 and an enlarged rearwardly facing head receiving portion S9. The bridge member S7 is integral with the support block 16 and spaced from the upper and lower sur faces of the opening 42' a sufficient amount to allow insertion of the contact members 43 and/ or 54.

T o assemble the contact members within the contact support block 16 the procedure is as follows. The insulated pressure blocks S2 are placed in position on the contact members 43 and/ or 54 that are to be inserted into the openings 42 in the support block 16. With the projections 81 of the insulating pressure blocks 82 inserted into the openings 8S, in the contact members 43 and/or 54, the contact members 43 and/ or 54 and the pressure blocks 82 are inserted into the openings 42 with the contact members extending beyond the rear and front surfaces of the support block 1d. The wedge members 33 are then inserted into the tapering rectangular openings formed by the pressure blocks 82. The securing screws 85 are then inserted into the recesses 88, within the bridge members S7, and threaded into the wedge member openings 84, in the wedge members 83, and tightened. The tightening of the screws 35 pull the wedge members 83 into the space between the pressure blocks 32 forcing them outwardly and firmly against the Contact members 43 and/or 54, that are located between the pressure blocks 82 and the walls of the openings 42. The contact members are thus securely held in place against any displacement or change in their relative positions.

Each of the contact members 43 is provided with reinforcing ribs 45 and contact point members 14. Each of the movable contact base members 54 has secured thereto movable contact leaf members 44 of spring material in a manner described hereinafter.

Attached to the movable armature 6 by a securing block 47 is an armature contact actuator drive wire 4E. The drive wire 4d is secured to the securing block 47 by passing it through an opening 19 in the securing block 47. The actuator drive wire extends downwardly from the securing block 47 and armature 6, and is secured to a contact actuator member 15.

The Contact actuator member is provided with a plurality of pins, such as pins 52, for engaging the movable contact leaf spring members 44. At the upper end of the actuator member 15 is an enlarged spring seat por- Cari tion 50 and a vertically extending smaller spring guide 51.

Located between the drive wire securing block 47 and the actuator member 1S, and surrounding the downwardly extending actuator drive wire 4S is a contact actuator pressure spring member 2d. The spring member 2G acts to force the actuator member away from the armature 6, and securing bloclt 47, placing the drive wire undcr tension.

Referring to the contacts, each of the movable cont base members 54 has secured thereto, on opposite tit-:.co, one end of each of two movable contact leaf spring members 44. Each of the two members 44 which are secured to the same base member 54 converge and contact each other at a point 44a. The two mem- M then diverge and again converge in such a mann that when the unsecured ends of these members are forced together, the middle portions are well separated. Attached to the well-separated portion of each of the movable Contact leaf spring members 44 is an electrical contact member 55 adapted to engage an associated one of the xed contacts 14, in a manner hereinafter described.

Formed in the members 44, between the contact members 55 and the unsecured ends of the members 44, are transverse grooves 13. When the members 44 are inserted between adjacent pairs of movable contact projecting pins 52 of the member 15, the transverse grooves i3 of the leaf spring members 44 engage the pins 52 firmly. ln order for the contact leaf spring members 44 to pass between the projecting pins S2, of the member 15, the leaf spring members must be compressed. This causes the unsecured ends of the contact leaf spring members 44 to come into contact with each other and helps to cause each of the transverse grooves 13 of thc contact leaf spring members 44 to seat against the projecting pins 52 of the actuating member 15. This eliminates all lost motion between the member 15 and the members 44 as well as placing the leaf spring members under an initial pressure for reducing contact bounce. The friction at contact point 44a of the leaf spring rnernbers 44 further acts to aid in reducing contact bounce to a minimum.

Located within a groove 57 near the peripheral edge of the frame member 1 is a gasket or filler member 58. The gasket or filler member 58 is arranged to cooperate with a transparent contact cover member 17 to provide a weathertight seal for the relay contacts. The contact cover member is secured to the frame member 1 by suitable bolts 59. It will be noted that the cover member is provided with a projecting edge which ts within the gasket member 58 for providing a better seal.

The portion 35 of the relay frame 1 is provided with a latch member 24 for holding the plug-in relay in place on a typical mounting base member 23. The mounting base member 23 is provided with a fixed hook member 22 that is engageable with the latch member 24. The relay latching forms no part of my invention and, therefore, is not described herein in detail. A detailed showing is found in the copending application to H. E. Ashworth, Serial No. 459,970, filed October 4, 1954.

Secured to the front end of the frame member 1 is a relay handle member 31 provided with

nger grip loops

63 and 64. The relay handle member 31 is secured to the frame member 1 by suitable bolts 65.

For indexing a plug-in relay to its mounting base so that a relay cannot be inserted into an improper position, I provide relay indexing pins that are receivable within mounting base openings. The relay indexing pins 73 are rolled of a material, such as sheet steel, compressed and pressed into openings such as 73a shown in Fig. 6. The relay is provided with four vertically spaced apart rows of pin positions such as shown by the -l-s in Fig. 3. Three of the rows contain ten possible pin positions. The remaining row, located next to the bottom row, contains only eight possible pin positions since the screw 9 utilizes the space necessary for the additional two pin positions. For indexing a relay the pins may be placed in any of the four rows and in any of the possible positions within each row.

rThe mounting base 23 comprises a removable indexing plate 91 provided with four vertically spaced apart rows of centering recesses 94a which are located in a manner to correspond with the possible positions of the indexing pins 73 previously recited. Three of the vertically spaced apart rows of recesses contain positions numbered 0 through 9. The remaining row, which is the next to the bottom of the four rows is provided with 8 positions numbered 0 through 3 and 6 through 9 (see Fig. 2). The indexing plate 91 is secured in place over a recess 90 in the mounting base 23 by a securing bolt 92.

Indexing of a relay is usually accomplished by the use of four (4) indexing pins, one to each vertically spaced apart row. The relays are identified by a code number which includes two groups of digits. The group of digits is a type number of six digits and a suflix number of three digits. For example, 453098-066 might be the number of the relay shown indexed in the drawings. The last two digits of the type member (or 98) correspond to the pin position of the top and second rows, respectively. 'The last two digits of the group or suflix number (or 66) are the pin positions of the third and fourth or bottom rows, respectively (see Fig. 2).

It can be seen therefore that for every suiix pin position there are 100 type number pin positions, and since there are 80 different sullix pin combinations there are 8000 different possible relay indexing pin combinations using one pin to each row. This is the desired indexing system. However, for additional indexing it would be possible to use a single pin in one of the rows or any combination of pins up to the total of 38 or all of the pin positions in all four of the rows.

In new relay installations the relay, having its indexing pins installed, is shipped with the indexing plate 91 which is provided with the proper openings to correspond to the relay shipped. The indexing plate 91 is installed and secured to the mounting base Z3 by the bolt 92 and remains secured to prevent the installation of another relay not having the characteristics of the original relay.

The relay of my invention has the advantage of complete indexing, eliminating all possibility of trouble due to improper selection of a replacement relay. My relay also has the advantage of a lirm support for the relay contacts, eliminating objectionable contact shifting and costly maintenance.

Although I have herein shown and described only one form of relay embodying my invention, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made therein within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A relay contact support comprising an insulated support block having an opening therethrough, at least one contact member provided with an opening therein,

a portion of said contact member received within said 'i support block opening, at least one pressure block received within said support block opening, a projection on said pressure block received within said contact member opening, and means for expanding said pressure block and said contact member outwardly against a wall of said support block opening for firmly securing said contact member within said support block opening.

2. In a relay having xed and movable contacts, a means for supporting said contacts in an insulating manner comprising, a contact support block provided with a plurality of openings having insulated Walls, a plurality of contact members and contact pressure blocks located within said openings, means for preventing sliding movement between said pressure blocks and said contact members, and wedge means capable of separating said pressure blocks for forcing said pressure blocks and said contact members outwardly against the insulated walls of said openings.

3. In a relay having xed and movable contacts, a means for supporting said contacts in an insulating manner comprising, a contact support block provided with a plurality of openings having insulated walls, a plurality of contact members and contact pressure blocks located within said openings, means for preventing sliding movement between said pressure blocks and said contacts, and wedge means capable of separating said pressure blocks for forcing said pressure blocks and said contact members outwardly against the walls of said openings, said pressure blocks' being channel shaped in cross section.

4. In a relay having lxed and movable contacts, a means for supporting said contacts in an insulating manner comprising, a contact support block provided with a plurality of openings having insulated walls, a plurality of contact members and contact pressure blocks located within said openings, means for preventing sliding movement between said pressure blocks and said contact members and wedge means capable of forcing said pressure blocks and said contact members outwardly against the insulated walls of said openings, said pressure blocks being channel shaped in cross section and used in pairs with the open sides of said channels facing each other, said wedges being received Within the spaces formed by said pairs of pressure blocks.

5. In a relay having fixed and movable contacts, a means for supporting said contacts in an insulating manner comprising, a contact support block provided with a plurality of openings having insulated walls, a plurality of contact members and contact pressure blocks located within said openings, means for preventing sliding movement between said pressure blocks and said contact members, and wedge means capable of forcing said pressure blocks and said contact members outwardly against the insulated walls of said support block openings, said means for preventing sliding movement between said pressure blocks and said contact members comprising projections on said pressure blocks being received within openings in said contact members.

6. A contact support comprising, a plurality of contact members, an insulated support block having a plurality of openings, said openings being spanned by bridge members integral with said support block, a plurality of channel shaped insulated pressure blocks having tapered internal surfaces and being provided with projections positioned to be received within openings in said contact members, wedge members received between said tapered surfaces of opposed pressure blocks, said pressure blocks being disposed in pairs for each contact block opening, an opening in each of said bridge members, securing screws inserted through said openings in said bridge members and threaded into openings in said wedge members, whereby the tightening of said securing screws causes said wedge members to force said pressure blocks outwardly against said contact members and the side Walls of said openings in said insulated support block.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,214,177 Raybould Sept. 10, 1940 2,258,122 Merkel Oct. 7, 1941 2,348,088 Nichols May 2, 1944 2,472,690 Atherton June 7, 1949 2,679,031 Jaidinger May 18, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 386,848 France Apr. 24, 1908 379,682 Germany Aug. 27, 1923