US3246095A

US3246095A - Cartridge type reed relay construction

Info

Publication number: US3246095A
Application number: US298202A
Authority: US
Inventors: Barton William Forbes
Original assignee: STANDARD GRIGSBY Inc
Current assignee: STANDARD GRIGSBY Inc
Priority date: 1963-07-29
Filing date: 1963-07-29
Publication date: 1966-04-12
Anticipated expiration: 1983-04-12

Description

April 12, 1966 w. F. BARTON CARTRIDGE TYPE REED RELAY CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed July 29, 1963 (as Q VENTOR. Mraf@ M BY A Elim ma, i275 April l2, 1966 w. F. BARTON 3,245,095

CARTRIDGE TYPE REED RELAY CONSTRUCTION Filed July 29, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 j 1 ENTOR W mymm United States Patent O 3,246,095 CARTRIDGE TYPE REED RELAY CQNSTRUC'HON William Forbes Barton, Rolling Meadows, Ill., assigner to Standard Grigsby, Inc., a corporation of Deiaware Filed .idly 29, 1963, Ser. No. 298,292 Claims. (Cl. 20G-87) This invention relates to improved cartridge type reed relay constructions and methods of assemblying the saine, more particularly, to such improved constructions and methods providing economy and versatility in manufacture and simplicity in use.

Reed relay contacts are available in many combinations of contact surfaces and voltage and current ratings and for each of these combinations more than one coil may be specified, depending upon operating requirements. For a manufacturer of reed relays of the character here involved to stock a complete line of such devices becomes a monumental project because of the innumerable combina-tions of contact surfaces and ratings.

Cartridge type reed relays of the general character involved in t is application are disclosed in the application of the same inventor, Serial No. 224,779, iiled September 19, 1962, and entitled Electrical Relay. Relays as disclosed in application Serial No. 224,779, included a coil, an insulatingy sleeve, terminals and a relay contact assembly as separate units, all of which were assembled irst and thereafter the combination was made unitary by filling the space inside of the sieevc with a plotting compound, such as epoxy resin.

The epoxy resin takes a certain time to cure and sometimes in curing shrinks unevenly thereby causing casing fractures. Moreover, once the potting compound has set, it is not possible to disassemble the relay contacts and the coil. Thus, if one of these elements fails, the whole unit must be discarded.

Because of the time delay involved in curing the potting compound a relay manufacturer, to be most expeditious in furnishing his product, would have to stock a large number of relay including many combinations of ydilierent coils and different relay contact surfaces thereby creating an inventory problem.

It is a further object `of the invention to provide an improved cartridge type reed relay construction whereby the actuating coil including terminals for the winding and for the relay contacts may be pre-assembled such that iinal assembly requires only the insertion of the reed Contact assembly into the coil and connecting, as by soldering, the reed terminals to the appropriate coil assembly terminals.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved cartridge type reed relay construction whereby the reed contact assembly may be quickly and readily attached to or removed lfrom the coil assembly.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a relay of the character indicated having7 improved arrangements for connecting the actuating coil terminals and the relay Contact terminals into electrical circuits in a facile manner.

In carrying out the invention in one form, a cartridge type electrical relay is provided comprising in combination, an elongate coil encapsulated in insulating material, a pair of terminal members disposed on said encapsulating material intermediate the ends thereof and connected one each to the ends of said coil, a central longitudinal opening extending through the encapsulated coil, a terminal conductor disposed on each end of said encapsulating material, a reed relay element having an exterior dimension so as to be relatively easily inserted into and removed yfrom said opening disposed in said ICC opening, said reed relay element comprising an insulating tube and at least a pair of cantilever reeds of conductive material projecting from opposite ends of the insulating tube and overlapping at adjacent ends within said insulating tube, and terminal members connecting each one of said reeds to an associated terminal conductor respectively -for positioning said reed relay element in said opening and for providing electrical connection to said reeds.

For a `fuller understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FlGURE 1 is a sectional View of a reed relay construction embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded View in perspective of certain components illustrated in assembled form in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded View in perspective similar to FIG. 2 but at a later stage of assembly;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view partially broken away of another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a sectional View of a component included in the assembly of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an elevational View partially broken away of another form of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6; and

FIGS. 8a, b, c and d are modified forms of contacts or connectors forming one of the components according to the invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the invention is shown in a reed relay construction 10 comprising a coil or winding assembly 11, and a reed relay assembly 12.

The coil assembly 11, as illustrated, comprises a Winding 13 encapsulated in some suitable insulating material 14, such as Nylon for example, a pair of contact bands and 16, a pair of insulating spacer bands 17 and 1S, and

end ferrules

19 and 21. The winding 13 encapsulated lin the Nylon material 14 forms a rigid construction capable for supporting the other components of the relay and is a preferred form of construction. Other forms may be used, such for example as a coil wound upon a spool or bobbin having the exterior surface Wrapped with suitable insulating material, such as tape. The encapsulated coil 13, `14 has a central opening or bore 22 therethrough of appropriate dimensions to receive the reed relay assembly 12.

Conveniently, the encapsulation 14 may include a central shoulder 23 adjacent the edges of which the leads 24 and 25 of the Winding 13 may be brought out. Disposed against opposite edges of the shoulder 23 are the

terminal bands

15 and 16, tne lead 24 being connected to the band 15 as by a Iblob of solder and the lead 25 being connected to the band 16 similarly by a blob of solder. The encapsulation 14 fmay include

grooves

26 and 27 extending outwardly from the shoulder 23 for receiving the indented or depressed portions 28 and 29 of

terminal bands

15 and 16, respectively, whereby the terminal bands are prevented from tending to rotate inasmuch as they may ybe of a diameter to be easily received over the appropriate portion of the encapsulation. Each depressed portion 28 and 29 may have a cut out portion at one end for receiving the

respective leads

24 and 25 and for providing an appropriate seat for the solder connection. Other ways `of holding the

terminal bands

15 and 16 from rotating may be utilized, for example, as by staking, shown indented at 31.

The insulating 4bands 17 and 18 may be formed of any suitable insulating material, are of a dimension to be easily received over the appropriate portion of the encapsulation 14, and are disposed, respectively, against the outer edges of the

terminal bands

15 and 16 in order to hold these members longitudinally in position. Disposed -against the outer edge of the insulating bands 17 and 18 are the

end ferrules

19 and 21 thereby holding the various bands in position. The ferrule 19 may have a depressed portion 32 and the end ferrule 21 may have a depressed portion 33, each to be received in the

grooves

26 and 27 for preventing rotation of the ferrules.

As shown, the

ferrules

19 and 21 are provided with openings 34 and 35 corresponding in size with the bore 22 and located at the ends thereof. If desired, the

ferrules

19 and 21, similarly to the

bands

15 and 16, may be affixed to the encapsulation -by stakes 36 as shown.

At final assembly, the reed irelay element 12 becomes disposed inside of the coil by inserting the element through either of the openings 34 and 35 into the bore 22. After the `reed relay element 12 is so placed,

eyelets

37 and 38 may be disposed to close openings 34 and 35. The eyelets include slots through which the terminals of the relay element 12 are received following which blobs of solder 39 and 41 may be applied to finally connect the relay element terminals to the eyelet and the eyelets to the ferrules, thereby also serving to position the reed relay element in bore opening 22. The blobs of solder may be sufficiently large to completely seal the ends of the relay, if desired.

The reed relay element 12 may be of any well-known form and -consists essentially of a hollow insulating chamber 42 within which are disposed at least two magnetizable cantilever supported reed elements 43 `and 44. In one typical form of such reed relay the chamber 42 may consist of glass and the reeds 43 and 44 supported by means of glass to metal seals at each end, the reeds overlapping at their interior ends, as shown, in order to form contact surfaces. Extending yfrom the reeds 43 and 44 are

terminals

45 and 46 which may be flattened, as shown, in order to be received through elongated slots in the eyelets 37 and 3S.

In the operation of the completed relay, energization is supplied to the winding 13 through

leads

24 and 25 and

contact bands

15 and 16. Energization of the coil provides a magnetic eld along its axis which `field acts on the magnetizable reeds 43 and 44 and causes these reeds to move into engagement at their interior ends. Thus contact is made for the electrical circuit into which the relay is connected, the circuit being completed through the

ferrules

19 and 21 and the

reed element terminals

45 and 46 as is well understood in this art. While the reeds 43 and 44, as shown, are normally -open for movement into closed position upon energization of the Winding, it will be understood that the reverse may be true without the exercise of invention, that is, the reeds 43 and 44 may be normally closed and caused to move into the open position by energization of the winding.

Conveniently, the coil proper consists of the winding 13 and the encapsulation 14 and may be provided as a unit upon which the terminal bands and `16 may be slid followed by the insulating spacers 17 and 18

andthe ferrules

19 and 21. Upon soldering the

leads

24 and 25 to the bands 15 and -16 `and staking the

ferrules

19 and 21 and the encapsulation, a -unitary coil is completed as may be seen in FIGS. 1 and 3. In this manner coils may be pre-assembled and Iheld available for final assembly with reed relay elements 12.

Reed relay elements 12 may be available in a large number of combinations of cont-act surfaces, for example, gold, silver or rhodium together with various voltage and current ratings rfor each of these contact surface types. Any one of a large variety of reed relay elements may be assembled with the same type of coil which is convenient for final assembly, thereby obv-iating the need for stocking final assemblies ahead of time. As may be seen best in FIG. 3, a near final assembly step cornprises the insertion of the reed relay element 12 into the assembled coil followed by the placement of

eyelets

37 and 38 over the ends of the

iiattened terminals

45 and 46. The soldering step will be the final step in completing the relay. If desired, the ends of the

terminals

45 and 46 may be llong enough to be bent over prior to the soldering operation.

Since the relay element 12 ordinarily would be assembled from one end only, it is essential only that one of the fet-rules be provided with a sufficiently large opening. The other maybe provided with a smaller opening suicient to receive the appropriate terminal of the reed relay element.

If it is desired to disassemble the coil and the reed relay element, as when one or the other components fails, it is necessary only to melt the blobs of solder 39 and 41 to loosen the eyelets 37 and 3S, thereby enabling the reed relay element 12 to be slid out of the bore 22. After such removal, the Ireed relay element or the coil, which ever is faulty, may be disposed of and a new component substituted.

The reed relay element 12 is held in position inside of the coil 11 by means of the soldered connections between the

terminals

45 and 46 and the

ferrules

19 and 21. In particular instances wherein the

terminals

45 and 46 are bent over the eyelets 37 and 33, the solder may be dispensed with and the relay element still held in position at the

ferrules

19 and 21.

Referring to FIGS 4 and 5, there is shown a form of the invention suitable for use in connection with a reed relay element 47 which includes normally open as well as normally closed contacts.

The coil proper 48, as illustrated in FIG. 4, is essentially the same as that illustrated in FIG. 1 and comprises an encapsulation 49 including a winding therein whose terminals are the terminal bands 51 and 52. Ferrules 53 and 54 are provided as shown and the reed relay element terminal 55 is attached to the ferrule 54 -by means of an eyelet and solde-r as described in connection with FIG. l. In addition to the terminal bands 51 and 52, a terminal band 56 is provided and is held in position. One end of the reed relay element 47 includes

terminals

57 and 58 which maybe bent into the form shown or into any other form suit-able for assembly. The

terminals

57 and 53 may be held in spaced position as by a grommet 59 and, as shown, the terminal 58 is bent so that its end lies adjacent ferrule 53 and the terminal 57 is bent so that its end ylies adjacent contact band 56, the terminal 57 being spaced away lfrom ferrule 53 so as to be electrically insulated therefrom. In the nal assembly the terminal 58 `is soldered to ferrule 53 and the terminal 57 is soldered to terminal band 56, as shown.

The reed relay element 47 may be provided by the manufacturer with the

terminals

57 and 58 bent into the shapes shown, or other appropriate shapes, so that in the final assembly process no further bending of `these members is necessary. The dimensions of the terminals 57 4and 5S are such that the ends of the terminals, without further manipulation, come opposite the points where `solder is to be applied. The reeds 6-1 and 62 are shown in closed contact position and upon energization of the coil through terminal bands 51 and 52, the reed 62 moves into contact with reed 63 thereby closing the circuitl through these members and opening the circuit through 'reeds 61 and 62.

In FIGS. 6 and 7, a further form of the invention is shown whereby a plurality of reed rel-ay elements may be disposed in a single assembly and energized from a single coil. In this manner a convenient and compact arrangement of relays which are intended to be operated at the same time is provided for easy insertion into and removal from a circuit.

Thus, an encapsulation 64 is provided having a winding 65 encapsulated therein, the winding being formed so as to provide a magnetic field along ythe axes of the relays to be actuated thereby. The encapsulation 64 includes

bosses

66 and 67 integral therewith over which ferrules 68 and 69 may be provided and held thereon by staking, for example. One end of the coil may be soldered to ferrule 68 and the other terminal coil may be soldered to ferrule 69 as shown.

The -assembly as shown in FIG. 6 operates .three relay elements. Accordingly, the encapsulation includes at each end thereof of projecting bosses over which ferrules 71, 72, 73, 74, 75 and 76 are disposed and held such as by staking. Interiorly of the encapsulation 64 and centrally disposed with respect to cooperating pairs of the ferrules yare bores 77, 78 and 79 for receiving appropriate reed relay elements soldered to the ferrules as shown. The multiple relay assembly or" FIG. 6 is adapted to be used as a unit. Thus, the appropriate contact receptacle for the reed relay `assembly may be so disposed that, upon inserting the assembly into position, the

ferrules

68 and 69 engage appropriate contacts for energization of the coil 65 and at the same time the pairs of

enrules

71, 74, 72, 75 and 73, 76 engage the appropriate receptacle contacts.

If desired, the coil 65 may have its ends brought out in the form of leads 79 and 81 instead of being attached to

ferrules

68 and 69.

The assemblies disclosed are, of course, adapted to be used with other forms of contact members. For example, eyelets 37 and 38 and the contact bands l5 and 16 may be in the form, respectively, shown in FIGS. 8c and 8b. Thus, eyelet 82 may include a spade 83 and Contact hand 84 may include a spade 85. A relay assembled with contact bands 84 and eyelets 82 is ena-bled to be plugged into a circuit Where appropriate receptacles are provided for spades 83 and 85 as compared with contact iingers for engaging the surfaces of the bands and ferrules as shown in application Serial No. 224,779. Similarly, the end ferrule 86 (FIG. 8d) may include a spade 87 for insertion into a receptacle. This construction could be used in lieu of one utilizing eyelets 82 at the end of the coil. As shown in FIG. 8a, the contact bands, instead of a spade, may include a simple stud S8 for engaging a contact or terminal provided for the purpose.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown, it will be understood, of course, that the invention is not limited thereto since many modifications may be made, and it is, therefore, contemplated by the appended claims `to cover any such modiiications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

The invention having thus been described, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A cartridge type electrical relay .comprising in combination, an elongate coil encapsulated in insulating material, a pair of terminal members disposed on said encapsulating material intermediate the ends thereof and connected one each to the ends of said coil, a central longitudinal opening extending through the encapsulated coil, a terminal conductor disposed at each end of said encapsulating material, at least one of said terminal conductors having an opening therethrough corresponding with said longitudinal opening, a reed relay element having an exterior dimension so as to be relatively easily inserted into and removed from said longitudinal opening and said one terminal conduct-or opening disposed in said coil longitudinal opening, said relay element comprising an insulating tube `and at least a pair of cantilever reeds of conducting material projecting from opposite ends of the insulating tube and overlapping at adjacent ends within said insulating tube, terminal members respectively extending from each one of said reeds to an associated terminal conductor, and means including a thermally softenable element for sealing said terminal member opening and for connecting each one of said terminal members to a respective one of said terminal conductors for positioning said reed relay element in said opening and for providing electrical connections to said reeds.

2. A cartridge type electrical relay comprising in combination, an elongate coil encapsulated in insulating material, a pair of terminal bands encircling said encapsulated coil intermediate the ends thereof and connected one each to the ends of said coil, means for locating each one of said terminal bands in position on said encapsulating material, a central longitudinal opening extending through the encapsulated coil, a conducting ferrule disposed at each end of said encapsulating material, at least one of said terrines having an opening therethrough corresponding in size to and in registry with said longitudinal opening, means for locating each one of said ferrules in position on said encapsulating material, conducting means for closing said ferrule opening, a reed relay element having an exterior dimension so as to :be relatively easily inserted into and removed from said longitudinal opening and said one ferrule -opening disposed in said longitudinal opening, said reed relay element comprising an insulating tube and at least a pair of cantilever reeds of conducting material projecting from opposite ends of the insulating tube and overlapping at adjacent ends within said insulating tube, terminal members respectively extending from one of said reeds to one of said ferrules and from the other of said reeds to said closing means, and means including a thermally softenable element for connecting one of said terminal members to its associated ferrule and the other of said terminal members to said closing means for positioning said reed relay element in said longitudinal opening and for providing electrical connections to said reeds.

3. A coil unit for a cartridge type electrical relay comprising in combination, an elongate coil encapsulated in insulating material, a pair of terminal bands encircling the encapsulated coil intermediate the ends thereof and connected one each to the ends of said coil, means for locating each one of said terminal bands in position on said encapsulating material, a central longitudinal opening extending through the encapsulated coil, a conducting errule disposed at each end of said encapsulating material, at least one of said errules having an opening therethrough corresponding in size to and in registry `with said longitudinal opening, and means for locating each one of said ferrules in position on said encapsulating material.

4. A cartridge type electrical relay comprising in combination, a coil encapsulated in insulating material, a pair of terminal members intermediate the ends of said encapsulating material for connection to a source of excitation and a conducting ferrule at each end of said encapsulating material, the encapsulated coil and at least one of said ferrules having longitudinal openings therethrough, a reed relay element including terminals easily receivable through said openings disposed inside said coil with the relay element terminals adjacent said ferrules respectively, and thermally sottenable means attaching said relay element terminals respectively to said conducting ferrules.

5. A cartridge type electrical relay comprising an elongate coil encapsulated in insulating material, a pair of terminal bands encircling the encapsulated coil intermediate the ends thereof and connected one each to the ends of said coil, means for locating each one of said terminal bands in position on said encapsulating material, a central longitudinal opening extending through the encapsulated coil, an insulating spacer band disposed on said encapsulating material adjacent each one of said terminal bands, a further terminal band encircling the encapsulated coil adjacent one of said insulating bands, a further insulating spacer band disposed on said encapsulating material adjacent said further terminal band, a conducting terrule disposed at each end of said encapsulation and abutting said further insulating spacer and another one of said insulating spacers, at least the ferrules adjacent said further insulating spacer having an opening therethrough corresponding in size to and in registry with said longitudinal opening, means for locating each one of said ferrules in position on said encapsulating material, conducting means for closing said terminal opening, a reed 7 relay element having an exterior dimension so as to be relatively easily inserted into and removed from said longitudinal opening and said one ferrule opening and disposed in Said longitudinal opening, said reed relay element comprising an insulating tube and three cantilever reeds of conducting material forming a normally open set and a normally closed set of contacts projecting from opposite ends of the insulating tube and overlapping at adjacent ends within said insulating tube, two terminal members extending from two of said reeds through the ferrule having said opening, one of said two terminal members terminating at the ferrule having said opening and the other of said two terminal members terminating at said further terminal ban-d, a further terminal member extending from the other one of said reeds to said closing means, and means including a thermally softenable element for connecting one of said two terminal members to its as- References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,726,100 8/1929 DaCosta 336-96 X 2,289,830 7/1942 Ellwood 20G-87 X 2,487,052 ll/1949 Hastings 200-87 2,783,326 2/1957 Hanson et al. 200-87 2,870,287 1/1959 Corbitt et al. 200-87 3,076,072 l/ 1963 Roschul; 20G-87 BERNARD A. GILHEANY, Primary Examiner.

Claims

3. A COIL UNIT FOR A CARTRIDGE TYPE ELECTRICAL RELAY COMPRISING A COMBINATION, AN ELONGATE COIL ENCAPSULATED IN INSULATING MATERIAL, A PAIR OF TERMINAL BANDS ENCIRCLING THE ENCAPSULATED COIL INTERMEDIATE THE ENDS THEREOF AND CONNECTED ONE EACH TO THE ENDS OF SAID COIL, MEANS FOR LOCATING EACH ONE OF SAID TERMINAL BANDS IN POSITION ON SAID ENCAPSULATING MATERIAL, A CENTRAL LONGITUDINAL OPENING EXTENDING THROUGH THE ENCAPSULATED COIL, A CONDUCTING FERRULE DISPOSED AT EACH END OF SAID ENCAPSULATING MATERIAL, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID FERRULES HAVING AN OPENING THERETHROUGH CORRESPONDING IN SIZE TO AND IN REGISTRY WITH SAID LONGITUDINAL OPENING, AND MEANS FOR LOCATING EACH ONE OF SAID FERRULES IN POSITION ON SAID ENCAPSULATING MATERIAL.