US3194920A

US3194920A - Electrical contactor

Info

Publication number: US3194920A
Application number: US377333A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr John Scheib
Original assignee: Ward Leonard Electric Co
Current assignee: Ward Leonard Electric Co
Priority date: 1964-06-23
Filing date: 1964-06-23
Publication date: 1965-07-13
Anticipated expiration: 1982-07-13

Description

July 13, 1965 J.scHE1B,JR

ELECTRICAL CONTACTOR 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 25, 1964 July 13, 1965 J. SCHEIB, .JR 3,194,920

ELECTRICAL CONTACTOR Filed June 23, 1964 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 13, 1965 J. scHElB, JR 3,194,920

ELECTRICAL CONTACTOR Filed June 23, 1964 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 No ma s wa l TJ. ll.

a :MVA-m sb qb ad; .-2. v B50;- @Ad /Nvnvro JQHN Suis/a, Je.

July 13, 1965 .1. scHElB, JR

ELECTRICAL CONTACTOR 6 Sheets-Sheetl 4 Filed June 23, 1964 p-llo INVENTOR. JOHN Sams/s, d,

July 13, 1965 J. scHElB, JR 3,194,920

ELECTRICAL coNTAcToR Filed June 25, 1964 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 :OO Si' an@ n INVENTOR kJ/wv SCA/Cus, de

BWK/@m July 13, 1965 .1. scHElB, .1R 3,194,920

ELECTRICAL GONTAGTOR Filed June 23, 1964 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Ti E E. L90 l/ b 187 MQW 9 Y \Ir\*4 Blq u 35H0 D o E 295 2m 28% C L 'Fig 2 E1.

INVENTOR.

dOf//y Sens/5, da P /f ATTO/WYE? 3,194,920 ELECTRICAL CGNTAQTR lohn Scheib, lr., Elmsford, NY., assigner to Viard Leonard Electric Co., Mount Vernon, NSY., a corporation of New York Filed June Z3, i954, Ser. No. 377,333 21 Claims. (5l. M30-lud) This is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 130,090 filed August 8, 1951, and entitled Electrical Contactor which is now abandoned.

This'invention relates to electrical contactors and is directed particularly to the dynamic components of the contactor and the casing supporting and housing the electrical units of the contactor.

An object of the invention is to provide an electrical contactor with a minimum number of parts that are easily assembled into a properly operating contactor.

Another object of the invention is to provide an electrical contactor formed of separable parts that are assembled into an operable contactor with a minimum of threaded or similar fasteners to retain the parts in position.

Another object of the invention is to provide an electrical ,contactor in which the operable parts may be inspected while in place and while the contactor is mounted on a panel.

Another object of the invention is to provide parts of an electrical contactor that is inexpensive to manufacture and easily assembled With a minimum of maniplative movements.

Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the drawings, in Which- FIG. 1 is an assembled perspective view of the electrical contactor;

FIG. 2 is a top View of the attaching supporting member with theclosing supporting member removed to illustrate the electrical and magnetic components, and a sectional view of the fastening member taken along lines 2;-2 of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the contactor taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an end viewv of the assembled contactor with the fastening member fragmentized to illustrate the xed contacts;

FIG. 5 illustrates the assembled contactor with the fastening member spaced for insertion into place;

FIG. 6 illustrates the attaching supporting member with the armature and contact carrier in place and the electromagnetic coil and core removed;

FIG. 7 illustrates an exploded view of the core and electromagnetic coil;

FIG. 8 is a perspective and exploded view of the components and members;

FIG. 9 is a perspective View of the fixed contact;

FIG. l is a perspective view of the movable Contact;

FIG. ll is a fragmentary sectional view of the supporting members and the fastening member taken along lines 11-11 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary sectional view of the fixed contact mounting means;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary View of another embodiment illustrating the lower supporting member with a fragmentary half of the fixed contact illustrated in section and the other half of the lower supporting member illustrated without the fixed contact support, contact carrier and the electromagnet unit;

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary sectional View of an assembled contactor taken along lines 14--314 of FIG. 13;

FIG. l is a fragmentary side view of the end of an assembled contactor;

United States Patent O FIG. 16 is a fragmentary sectional view of an assembled contactor taken along lines 16-16 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 17 is a fragmentary top View of another embodiment of the contact and armature carrier;

FIG. 18 is a `fragmentary sectional view taken along linesof FIG. 17;

FiG. 19 is a rear View of the contact carrier;

FIG. 20 is a fragmentary view of a contactor illustrating an embodiment of the carrier in two pieces;

FIG. 2l is a fragmentary side View of the embodiment of the carrier with the upper and lower members illustrated in section;

FIG. 22 is a plan View of the lower supporting member with the electromagnet, contact carrier and contacts;

FIG. 23 is a plan View of the upper supporting member;

FIG. 24 is a front View of the upper and lower supporting members with the fastening member fragmentarily shown;

FIG. 25 is a side View of the upper and lower supporting members with the front portions partially fragmentized along lines 25-25 of FIG. 24;

FIG. 26 is a fragmentary top View of the fastening member;

FlG. 27 is a sectional view of the upper and lower supporting members taken along lines 27-27 of FIG. 22 and a front View of the contactcarrier mounted therein; and

FIG. 28 is a fragmentary sectional View of one of the electromagnetic holding means.

Referring to the drawings, the electrical contactor 20 is mounted in a horizontal position on a vertical panel 21 by screws `or bolts with the dynamic elements of the contactor reciprocating horizontally, In the described embodiment the supporting

members

24 and 26 extend horizontally to form the member 24 as a lower member and the member 26 as an upper cover member. The member 24 has a vertical mounting base 25 molded as a single piece with the lower member. The base extends below the lower member 24 and above the upper member 26 to provide for the notches 27' through which the screws 23 extend.

The lower member supports the electromagnetic coil 23, core 29, carrier 3;@ with armature 31 and movable contacts 32. The

fixed contacts

33, 34 are mounted in the lower and upper members respectively. The upper member sets on top of the lower member and is held in place by the hooks 11d fitting in the notches 119 and the fastening means 120.

The electromagnetic coil 2li may be of a conventional type with the winding encapsulated in epoxy resin to provide accurate dimensions. A hole 35 is provided through the coil for receiving the center leg 36 of the E-shaped core 3'?. The outer legs 3S, 39 form the outer magnetic path in cooperation with the armature 31 and the cross leg 40. Terminals 41 are provided in the coil to supply electric current to the coil for energizingthe contactor. The outer legs 3S, 39 have end surfaces 38a, 39a engaged by the ground surfaces 31a, lb of the armature. T he core is of conventional laminated ferromagnetic steel and the surfaces of the core are ilat for snugly fitting in position.

The movable contact carrier is preferably made of nylon and has a generally U shape formed by the guide members 42a, 4211 and a cross member 44 with projections 45 for holding the movable contacts 32. The carrier is of a rectangular configuration with the upper and lower surfaces being planar to form flat guide surfaces een, 47a and 46.71, flb on the guide members 42a, 42h (FIG. 8). The side surfaces 48, 49 of the guide members are also flat for reciprocally engaging the side walls '71, '72 (FIG. 2). The inner surface 5,0 on the cross member 4-4 is flat and seats on the end surface 51 of the core on deenergization of the contactor (FIG. 7). The projections 45 have rectangular slots 52 extending in the direction of movement of the carrier. The walls of the a slots are vertical to vertically support and guide the movable contact 32. Helical springs 53 forming a resilient means are positioned in the slots 52 to press the movable contacts 32 into engagement with the fixed

contacts

33, 34.

The movable contacts are formed of thin fiat metallic pieces having contact buttons 54 on each end and a loop 55 in the middle. The ends of the helical springs fit in the loop to hold the springs and contacts together and in place. In the side edges of the contacts are notches 56 for engaging the upper and lower surfaces 46, 47 and positioning the buttons in relation to the fixed contacts. In the slots on the cross member 44 are bosses 57 for seating and positioning the springs. At the other end of the carrier the armature 31 extends between the ends of the guide members 42a, 42b.

The armature is made of laminated ferromagnetic steel and is of a general elongated rectangular shape with a width substantially greater than its thickness. The armature has two

ground surfaces

31a, 311; raised from the side 58 to space the side from the center leg 36 of the ferromagnetic core. The ends of the armature have grooves 66a, 60b extending the full width of the armature (FIG. 6). The grooves have overlapping lips 61a,

61h extending over the groove to partly close it. The

guide members 42a, 4211 have keys 63, 64 extending from the end to fit in the grooves and under the respective lips. The contact carrier is narrower than the armature so that the armature extends above and below the carrier.

The lower member 24 has a bottom panel 70 and

side walls

71, 72 extending perpendicular to the panel and forming with the base a chamber '73 for receiving the actuating and actuated components (FIG. 8). At the front of the lower member are mounting means 74 for supporting the fixed

contacts

33, 34. The mounting means comprises a block portion 75 extending across the front of the lower member. The block portion has a plurality of aligned holes 76 evenly spaced across the member. The holes 76 are each rectangular in shape and have a cylindrically shaped bottom 77 to receive the U- shaped portion 80 of the fixed contact 33. The contact button is mounted on the leg 79 extending upwardly above the block to position the contact button 33a in the path of the respective movable contact buttons 54. On the other leg of the U-shaped portion 80 the L-shaped terminal portion 81 extends towards the front for attachment of leads to the contactor.

Between the holes '76 are partitions S4, 85, 36 extending between the contact carrier projections to isolate the movable contacts and the fixed contacts. The partitions have portions 84a, 85a, 86a reduced in thickness to provide space for projections 45. Steps S411, Sb, Seb are provided to receive the crosspiece of the contact carrier and provide surfaces 84C, 85C, 36e on which the cross member 44 rests and reciprocates. On the front of the lower member the terminal portions 81 are isolated and recessed by the

extensions

84d, 85d, 36d. On the outside the

side walls

71, 72 extend to recess the end terminals.

The side walls have grooves or channels 8S, 89 in which the legs 42a, 42b of the contact carrier move. On the vertical surfaces are

bosses

99, 91 with flat vertical guide surfaces and on the horizontal surface are horizontal bosses 92, 93 at the same level or height as the

surfaces

84e, 85e, 86e to evenly support the carrier. Since the armature 31 is wider than the carrier the channels have deeper portions 88a, 89a to space the walls from the armature. The armature 31 rests on the supports 94 extending uward from the bottom 711.

The core 37 is positioned in the lower member by setting on the posts 95, 96, 97 which are of the same height from the panel 70. The core has projections 98, 9@ engaging

steps

100, 101 to hold the core against the ends of the partitions 84a, 85a, 86a. The coil bears against the support 94 and the core crosspiece 411. The side surfaces 163, 104 bear against the

walls

71, 72 to prevent sidewise movement. Thus the core and coil are held snugly in place. The posts 95, 96, 97 support the core above the bottom of the lower member to provide space for the coil 28.

The contact carrier is recessed in the lower member and the armature 31 extends above the side walls. The core 29 also extends above the walls a similar amount so that the contacting

surfaces

31a, 31h and 38a, 39a are coextensive.

The armature is spaced from the core on deenergization by springs 11.15 located in the channels S8, 89 between the cross member 44 of the carrier and the end surfaces 166 facing the carrier.

The upper member 26 is complementary to the lower member and has a top panel 116 extending parallel to 'the ybot-tom 70 of the lower member and thas an opening 111 for the terminal 41 of the coil.

Side walls

112, 113 extend from the top and are above the contact carrier. Opposite the bosses 92, 93 Aon the lower side walls are horizontal lateral bosses 1414, 115 providing a narrow contact Aarea for the

upper surfaces

46a, 46b of the contact carrier. On .the front end of the upper member sloped surfaces 116 match with the sloped surfaces 117 on the lower member. The

side walls

71, 72 are higher than the

side walls

112, 113 in order to recess the contact carrier and the

walls

116, 117 reflect the difference in width. The hooks 118 on the rear end of the upper member and fitting in the notches 119 in the base are drawn against the base vto firmly .mount the upper member on the lower member with the

walls

112, 113 engaging the

walls

71, 72. The front part of the upper member is similar to the front part of the lower member. The fixed contact supporting block `121 extends across the front and has evenly spaced square sloped Iholes 122 with cylindrical bot-toms `123.

Partitions

124, 125, 126 are provided between the holes to isolate the fixed contacts 34 with respective movable contact 32. The partitions have portions 124a, v12.541, 12er: reduced in thickness to provide enlarged spaces between the partitions for the movable contacts. The fixed contacts 34 are identical to the fixed contacts 33 and fit into the holes 122 in Ia similar manner to the lower fixed contacts. The contact buttons 34a .are mounted on the extended leg i9 of -the U-shaped portion fitting in the hole 122 and the terminal 81 formed as part of the U-shaped por-tion attached to the other leg. The contact buttons 34a `are positioned in the space between the partitions for engagement by a respective movable contact. The side walls extend forwardly to the termin-als to recess the terminals in cooperation with the extensions -124b, 12512, 126b.

The portions 124.7., 125a, 126a have surfaces 124C, 125C, 126C engaging the cross member 44 :and forming a channel with the sur-faces 84C, 85C, 86C in which the cross member `44 reciprocates. The bosses `114, 115 and

surfaces

124e, 125C, 126e extend beyond the

walls

112, 113 to provide narrow bearing surfaces for the contact carrier. Thus the contact carrier is slideably held between the bosses 92, 93 and

bosses

114, 115 yand between

surfaces

1240, 125C, 126e. At the panel end the armature is guided by the supports 94 and 130.

rhree posts 127, 128, 129 `are provided to engage the upper surface of the core opposite to the lower posts 95, 95, 97 engaging the lower 4surface of the core for holding the core against vertical movement. Supports 130 opposite to the supports 94 on the lower member are provided to engage the upper surface of the armature 31 and hold it from vertical movement. The upper walls are recessed at 131:1, 13117 to provide space for the .armature to reclprocate.

The upper and

lower members

24, 26 are held together at the rear by the hooks 118 fitting in the notches 119 in the base 25 and at the front by the fastening means 120 slideably fitting in the front ends of the

members

24, 26. The fastening means 120 is preferably made of nylon and has rectangular plate 132 with fingers 1331;,

tuator is illustrated. The armature 230 is loosely fitted into the Contact carrier 231 in order to accommodate to the seating surfaces 232 of the E-shaped core 233. Extending between the ends of the legs of the contact carrier or actuator are upper and

lower web members

235, 236 forming an opening 234 closed at ends by the

end webs

237, 238. The upper and lower webs have notches 239 t accommodate the heads of the rivets 240. The upper and lower webs are spaced apart substantially wider than the legs or guide members of the Contact carrier and the side walls are notched to accommodate the ends as illustrated in FIG. 18. The armature detachably engages the lands 241 and the

webs

237, 238. The armature is removable endwise from the carrier and recess. On de-energization the armature is held in the recess by the springs 222 pressing the carrier against the base 15.1 and on energization is drawn and held against the E- shaped core by the magnetic forces to close the contacts. The lateral wall 234 slidably engages and is guided by the raised supports 244 in the top and bottom walls in a similar manner to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 12.

In FIGS. and 21 another embodiment of the carrier or movable contact actuator is illustrated. The contact ysupport 245 is a separate piece from the pushers 2de, 247 which correspond to the legs of the carrier illustrated' in the embodiment of FIGS. l to 12. The pushers are attached to the armature in the same manner as the legs or guide members 42a, 4211. The pushers have rounded ends 246e, 247g for engaging the movable contact support 245. The contact support is guided by the surfaces in the same manner as in the previous embodiment.

Projections

249, 250 are provided on the upper and lower sides for engaging the guide surfaces 251, 252, respectively, on the side walls of the cover and lower members.

These projections prevent the contact support from tilting. The pushers are guided and supported by the side walls in the same manner as the guide members 4t2-a, di2b of the carrier. The contacting engagement of the rounded ends permits the pushers to rock and accommodate the armature to the seating surfaces on the E-shaped core. Thus the contact support 245 has a linear movement to seat and disengage the movable contacts in a confined action while the pushers and armature may swing slightly to the pressures of the armature on seating. The pushers 246, 247 are loosely held by the side walls and the bosses, such as bosses 92, 93 of FIG. 8 which permit the pushers to shift in the casing.

The embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 22 to 28 is the preferred form of the invention and is substantially the same as the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 8 except for the guiding of the contact carrier and for the holding of the upper and lower supporting members together by the fastening member. The upper and lower casing or supporting members 27u and 271 are substantially the same as in the other embodiment with the lower supporting member formed as a single piece with a mounting panel 272. The upper member 27th or cover is hingedly attached to the panel and secured to the lower member at the front by the fastening means or member 273. The front portions of the upper and lower members are substantially the same and the fixed contacts are of similar configuration and supported in a similar manner as in the previous embodiment.

The means for guiding the Contact carrier 275 are different from the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 8. Instead of the contact carried being guided by the

vertical bosses

90 and 91 in the side Walls of the lower supporting member, projections 276 and 277 (FIGS. 22, 23, 27) in the armature supporting end 278 of the carrier fit in grooves 279, 280 formed by the walls 281 and 282 of the upper and lower member respectively and by the inwardly extending center partition 283 at the front of the lower member fitting between the movable contact supports 234. The side legs 28S, 286 of the carrier 275 have rounded raised portions 287:1, b and 28851, b on the upper and lower sura faces of the side legs which engage the fiat surfaces 296er, b and 291e, b ofthe upper and lower members respectively for horizontally guiding the carrier. Thus the contact carrier is held from sidewise and transverse movement so as to move longitudinally to the upper and lower members for closing and opening the contacts on actuation and deactuation of the electromagnet 274. At the armature end the lower member 271 has four surfaces 292 for slidably supporting the armature supporting end 278 of the carrier and the upper supporting member has two surfaces 299 for engagement by the supporting end 278. The surfaces 292 and 299 correspond to the supports 94 and 13b of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8. The armature supporting end 278 is similar to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 17, 18 and 19.

For interconnecting the carrier with the movable components of other

adjacent unit slots

293 and 294 are provided in the side walls 295, 296 of the lower member and the carrier has connecting means 297, 298 with recesses fitting in the slots for accessibility from outside of the contacter. For actuation of other members above or below the contactor projections 3ft@ and 391 on the cross member 302 of the carrier are provided with holes 333, 304. The upper and lower members 270, 271 have openings 305, 306 aligned with the movement of the projections for rendering the projections accessible from the exterior of the contactor for interconnecting with other units.

The electromagnet 274 is held in a similar manner to the other embodiments on posts 367e, b, 368a, b and 3:89a, b of the upper and lower members respectively. However, in addition to the posts as illustrated in FIGS. 22, 23 and 28

members

310, 311 and 312, 313 are formed in the upper and lower members respectively to fit between the projections 314, 315 and the

coil

316, 317 of the electromagnet. The members 314B to 313 and the extensions 318 to 321 of the partitions of the upper and lower members hold the magnet longitudinally.

The coil of the electromagnet is connected to the

terminals

323, 324 by the

Wires

325, 326 recessed in

grooves

327, 328 and side walls of the lower member. The fastening means 273 is similar to the fastening means 120 illustrated in FIG. 5 except that the holding stubs 33tla, b, 331a, b are on opposite sides of the

fingers

332, 333. As illustrated in FIG. 24 mating notches 334 to 337 are provided in the

partitions

338, 339 and 340, 341 on opposite sides of the terminals for receiving the stubs and holding the upper and lower members together. As illustrated in FIG. 25 the corresponding partitions on the other side are similarly constructed. Partitions 343 and 344 have notches 345 and 346 for stubs 331:1, 331b. The

fingers

332, 333 engage the xed contacts in a similar manner to the embodiment of FIG. 5. The fastening means 273 is firmly interlocked with the upper and lower members to hold the members together and to firmly retain the fastening member from endwise dislodgment. However, a screw 342 is provided threading into the lower member to further retain the fastening member in place.

Various modifications and changes may be made in the embodiment without departing from the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An electrical contactor comprising a coil and core assembly including a movable armature actuated by said coil and core assembly, a generally planar shaped contact carrier having contacts normal thereto at one end and supporting means at the other end for holding said armature normal to said carrier, a mounting base with two matching holding members supportably attached thereto and extending normal thereto for enclosing said coil and core assembly, said matching holding members having a dimension lateral to said contact carrier substantially narrowe; than the dimension longitudinal to said carrier, each of said holding members having fixedcontact holding means at the opposite end of said holding members from said mounting base and on opposite sides of the plane of movement of said carrier, each of said holding means having a set of fixed contacts supported thereby to form pairs of contacts for engagement by said carrier contacts on actuation, said holding members having means for firmly supporting said coil and core assembly and having guide surfaces extending longitudinally and parallel to the plane of movement of said contact carrier and at least one holding means having surfaces extending longitudinally to and normal to said plane of movement of said contact carrier for linearly guiding said contact carrier in a plane on actuation by said coil and core assembly.

2. An electrical contacter comprising contacter components including a coil and core assembly with a movable armature and a contact carrier having contacts normal thereto at one end and supporting means at the other end for holding said armature normal to said carrier, a mounting base, two matching contactor component hol-ding means forming an enclosing casing attached to and supported by said base and extending therefrom with a longitudinal length normal to said base substantially greater than the thickness parallel to said base, said holding members having side walls and panels connecting said side walls of a respective member and fixed contact mounting means between said side walls at the end opposite to said base forming a chamber in said casing, said fixed Contact mounting means having a set of fixed contacts for engagement by said carrier contacts on actuation, said holding members having opposite means for firmly supporting said core assembly therebetween., said sides having facing guide surfaces extending parallel to the plane of movement of said contact carrier and at least one of said holding members having second guide surfaces extending longitudinal and normal to the plane of movement of said Contact carrier for linearly guiding said contact carrier in a plane on actuation by said armature of saidcoil and core assembly.

3. An electrical contactor as set fort-h in claim 2 wherein one of said holding members is permanently attached to said base to form a lower member and said other member is detachably mounted on said base and lower member to form :an enclosing cover.

4. An electrical contacter as set forth in claim 2 wherein said facing guide surfaces are narrow and extend crosswise to the carrier for a reduced engaging area.

5. An electrical contactor as set forth in cl aim Z, wherein said facing guide surfaces are formed in said ,side walls and said contact carrier has raised portions enga ging said surfaces.

o. An electrical cont-actor as set forth in claim 2 wherein said contact carrier has surfaces extending longitudinally .and normal to t-he movement of said carrier and `said holding members have surfaces extending parallel therewith for holding said contact oar-rior against sidewise movement.

7. An electrical contacter as set forth in claim 2 wherein said fixed contact mounting means in said holding members have partitions extending longitudinally and normal thereto to isolate said fixed contacts and some of said partitions have longitudinally extending slots opening away from said base and interlocking means are provided fitting in .said slotstc fasten said holding mem- `ers together.

S. An electrical contac-tor comprising a coil and core assembly with a movable armature; a generally planar- `shaped Contact carrier having bridging contact holding portion and guide members with means for attaching said armature to said contact carrier; bridging contacts resiliently mounted in said bridging contact holding portion normal to said carrier; amounting base; a supporting member land a cover member attached to said base with the cover member on top of said supporting member forming .an enclosing casing extending therefrom with a longitudinal length normal to said base substantially greater than the thickness parallel to said base; said supporting `member and said cover member each having spaced side walls, panels connecting said side walls and fixed contact mounting means between 4said side walls at Ithe end opposite to said base forming a chamber in said casing; fixed contacts held by said fixed con-tact mounting means to form pairs of cont-acts for engagement by said bridging conta-cts on actuation; said supporting member and said cover member having means for firmly supporting said coil and core assembly in said chamber; said side walls Ahaving facing guide surfaces parallel to the plane of said contacter and respective guide members between facing surfaces for guiding the movement of said carrier in a plane; `said panels and said fixed contact mounting means 4having parallel longitudinally extending walls normal to the plane of movement of said contact carrier and said contact carrier having at least one projection fitting between said walls normal to one of said panels and said bridging Contact holding portion having means engaging said walls on said fixed contact mounting means to guide said carrier linearly in the plane of movement.

9. An electricalfcontactor comprising a coil and core assembly, fixed contacts, a reciprocable conta-ct carrier having contacts mounted thereon for engaging said fixed contacts, a supporting member having a chamber for housing contactor components, a retaining member for holding cont-actor components in said supporting member and closing said chamber to enclose contacter components, said supporting and retaining members having supports for positioning said coil and core assembly and having on each side of said core narrow surfaces above land below said contact carrier and lateral to the move- Iment thereof for slideably guiding said contact carrier on energization .and deenergization of said coil and core assembly .to move said moveable contacts in and out of engagement with said xed contacts.

iti. An yelectrical contacter as set forth in claim 9 wherein said contact carrier has a U-shaped yoke piece with two guide members and a cross member, said guide members and said cross member having flat surfaces for engaging said narrow surfaces on said members to provide for smooth reciprocal movement and an armature between `the ends of the guide members for actua-ting the carrier on ener-gization .and deenergization of the coil and core assembly. y

ll. An electrical 4contacter as set forth in claim 1f) wherein said guide members have offset projections and said armature has grooves with lips overlapping transversely with .said projections fitting snugly in said grooves and bearing transversely against said lips to maintain the transverse dimensions of said carrier.

liZ. An electrical contacter :as set for-th in claim 9 wherein said moveable conta-ct carrier comprises a moveable support for the moveable contacts, an armature and armature guide and support securely fastened to said armature, said armature guide and support being adjustably held yby said upper and lower members, and in actuating relation with `said moveable support to force said moveable contacts into engagement on energization .and to permit said armature to evenly seat on said core and coil assembly.

i3. An electrical contacter as set forth .in claim 9 wherein said moveable contact carrier comprises a moveable yContact support, pusher rods and :an armature forV engaging said coil and core assembly; said armature being attached to said pusher rods at one end thereof; said rods at the other end being convex and detachably engaging said contact support to force said moveable contacts into engagement with said fixed contacts and having a rocking movement in relation to the contact lsupport to permit the armature to seat on said coil and core assembly.

i4. An electrical contactor comprising a mounting base for attaching a contacter Ito mounting means, upper and lower casing members extending laterally to said base to project the contacter outwardly from the mounting means, fixed contacts mounted in said casing members at the opposite end to said base, an elect-romagnet with a core, coil and movable armature positioned by said casing between said fixed contacts and said base, a Contact carrier attached to .said armature for encompassing said core and coil, said carrier having movable contacts resiliently mounted with springs in the plane of the carrier and armature pressing the moveable contacts against the fixed contacts on engagement therewith and extending Ilaterally to said base, said casing members having upper and lower guide surfaces :arranged around said core and coil to reciprocally support said carrier in aligned relation with said armature and core and coil so that the contacter has a narrow dimension lateral to the movement of the contact carrier.

15. An electrical contactor as set forth in claim la wherein means are provided for supporting said iixed contacts, said supporting means being separable from said upper casing member and said lower casing member, and retaining means are provided for holding said members together and said supporting means in place.

16. An electrical contacter as set for-th in claim 15 wherein said upper and lower members have partitions extending normal .thereto .to form an inner chamber for said core and coil assembly and an open space for receiving said supporting means, the partitions of the upper member forming with the partitions of the lower member a lateral opening for said contact carrier to pass from the inner chamber to .the outer chamber and 1for engaging said fixed contacts.

17. An electrical contactor comprising a base panel, first and second contactor component supporting members extending from said panel and having the longitudinal dimension normal to said panel, said iirst and second members each having spaced parallel side walls, said side walls of the first and second members on a respective side of the contacter being substantially in the same plane, front portions extending between the ends of the side walls opposite to the panel and having fixed contacts, a coil land core assembly, a contact carrier with moveable contacts for engaging lthe fixed contacts, said side walls and front portions having means for fixedly supporting said core and coil assembly and means for slideably supporting said contact carrier wit-hin the transverse projection of said walls and front portions to form a comp-act contacter.

13. An electrical contacter comprising a panel, two fiat contacter component supporting members extending nor-mal to the panel, each having a width substantially greater than the depth to form a fiat elongated housing, a .thin contact carrier extend-ing parallel to the supporting members and having moveable contacts normal to the carrier, means for actuating the carrier on energization .and deenergization, each member having a set of fixed contacts .in opposing relation and plug means tting in the end of the members to lock the housing together.

i9. An electrical contactor comprising a panel, two

fiat contacter component supporting members extending normal to the panel each having a width substantially greater than `the depth to form a fiat elongated housing, a Contact carrier extending parallel to the supporting members and having moveable cont-acts extending normal to the carrier, each member having a set of fixed contacts, each of said fixed contacts having a generally S-shape to align portions of said contact :and said movcable contacts t0 reduce the depth of the members and provide a dat contacter.

An electrical contacter comprising two supporting members on opposite sides of .a parting plane for housing electrical components, each member having a set of spaced electrical contacts with a set of one member matchf' ing the set of the other member on 'opposite sides or" the parting plane to form pairs of spaced contacts, each member having a set of projecting blocks with lthe blocks of 4one member matching the blocks of the other member to form pairs of blocks between pairs of electrical contacts, fastening means having facing project-ions on opposite sides of the parting plane fitting on said members with said projecting blocks therebetween for `locking said members together and having on opposite sides of the parting plane sets lof contact projections engaging said electrical contacts for holding said contacts in a respective member.

2li. An electrical contacter comprising a coil and core assembly, a contact carrier with contacts and armature and actuated by said assembly, two matching contactor component `holding members forming an enclosing casing having a narrow dimension lateral to the movement of said carrier and a long dimension longitudinal to the movement of said carrier, each of said holding members yhaving fixed contact holding means facing one another -ton opposite sides ofthe plane of movement of said carrier and each of said holding members having a set of fixed contacts fitting in said holding means to form pairs of contacts for engagement by said carrier contacts on actuation, said holding members having means for firmly supporting said coil and core assembly and having surfaces extending longitudinally and surfaces extending lat crally for linearly guiding said contact carrier on actuation by said coil and core assembly.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,565,467 8/51 Besag et al 200-87 2,692,314 10/54 Lawrence ZOO-104 2,724,814 11/55' Stubbers 339-198 2,924,685 2/60 Burch ZGO-l 04 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,059,083 6/59 Germany.

829,689 3/ 60 Great Britain.

' BERNARD A. GrLHEANY, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT K. SCHAEFER, Examiner.

Claims

19. AN ELECTRICAL CONTACTOR COMPRISING A PANEL, TWO FLAT CONTACTOR COMPONENT SUPPORTING MEMBERS EXTENDING NORMAL TO THE PANEL EACH HAVING A WIDTH SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN THE DEPTH TO FORM A FLAT ELONGATED HOUSING, A CONTACT CARRIER EXTENDING PARALLEL TO THE SUPPORTING MEMBERS AND HAVING MOVEABLE CONTACTS EXTENDING NORMAL TO THE CARRIER, EACH MEMBER HAVING A SET OF FIXED CONTACTS, EACH OF SAID FIXED CONTACTS HAVING A GENERALLY S-SHAPE TO ALIGN PORTIONS OF SAID CONTACT AND SAID MOVEABLE CONTACTS TO REDUCE THE DEPTH OF THE MEMBERS AND PROVIDE A FLAT CONTACTOR.