Carrier sub-assembly for an electrical relay device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9916952-B2
Application number	US-201615167231-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 27, 2016
Priority date	Jun 12, 2015
Publication date	Mar 13, 2018
Grant date	Mar 13, 2018

Abstract

A carrier sub-assembly for an electrical relay device includes a plunger and a shaft. The plunger is formed of a ferromagnetic material. The plunger has a generally cylindrical shape extending between a top side and a bottom side of the plunger. The shaft extends between a contact end and an opposite plunger end. The shaft is directly secured to the plunger without a discrete component between the shaft and the plunger securing the shaft to the plunger. The shaft and the plunger are configured to move together within the electrical relay device. A segment of the shaft including the contact end protrudes from the top side of the plunger for securing to a movable contact of the electrical relay device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A carrier sub-assembly for an electrical relay device, the carrier sub-assembly comprising:
a plunger formed of a ferromagnetic material, the plunger having a generally cylindrical shape extending between a top side and a bottom side of the plunger, the plunger defining a channel extending axially therethrough between the top side and the bottom side, and
a shaft extending between a contact end and an opposite plunger end, the shaft extending through the channel of the plunger and being directly secured to the plunger within the channel without a discrete component between the shaft and the plunger securing the shaft to the plunger, the shaft and the plunger configured to move together within the electrical relay device, a segment of the shaft including the contact end protruding from the top side of the plunger for securing to a movable contact of the electrical relay device,
wherein the shaft includes an end flange at the plunger end, the end flange having a greater diameter than the channel at or at least proximate to the bottom side of the plunger, the end flange engaging at least one of the bottom side of the plunger or a bottom shoulder of the plunger to secure the shaft to the plunger,
wherein the shaft further includes an intermediate flange that is located within the channel of the plunger and spaced apart from the end flange, the end flange and the intermediate flange defining a recess therebetween, wherein interior walls of the plunger that define a narrow region of the channel extend into the recess to secure an axial position of the shaft relative to the plunger.

2. The carrier sub-assembly of claim 1 , wherein the shaft is formed of a metal material that is different than the ferromagnetic material of the plunger, the ferromagnetic material of the plunger having a greater magnetic permeability than the metal material of the shaft.

3. The carrier sub-assembly of claim 1 , wherein the contact end of the shaft is defined by at least two deflectable prongs, the deflectable prongs defining a cavity therebetween, the deflectable prongs configured to deflect at least partially into the cavity to allow the contact end of the shaft to be received in an aperture of the movable contact during assembly of the electrical relay device, the deflectable prongs configured to resiliently return towards an original position once a biasing force is removed to engage the movable contact and secure the movable contact to the shaft.

4. The carrier sub-assembly of claim 1 , wherein the channel of the plunger includes a broad region that extends from the top side and the narrow region extends from the broad region towards the bottom side, the broad region having a greater diameter than the narrow region, the broad region separated from the narrow region by a shoulder of the plunger, the intermediate flange configured to engage the shoulder within the channel.

5. The carrier sub-assembly of claim 1 , wherein an outer surface of the shaft engages interior walls of the plunger that define the channel.

6. The carrier sub-assembly of claim 1 , wherein a diameter of the narrow region of the channel is approximately equal to a diameter of the shaft between the end flange and the intermediate flange such that the interior walls of the plunger along the narrow region engage an outer surface of the shaft via an interference fit.

7. The carrier sub-assembly of claim 1 , wherein the channel of the plunger includes a broad region that extends from the top side to a shoulder within the channel, the broad region having a diameter that is greater than a diameter of a segment of the shaft within the broad region such that a radial gap extends between interior walls of the plunger that define the broad region and an outer surface of the shaft, the radial gap configured to receive a plunger spring therein.

8. The carrier sub-assembly of claim 1 , wherein the end flange at the plunger end of the shaft is flared radially outward beyond at least a portion of the bottom side of the plunger or the bottom shoulder of the plunger.

9. An electrical relay device comprising:
a housing,
two stationary contacts held within the housing and spaced apart from one another,
a coil of wire within the housing, the coil of wire electrically connected to a relay power source,
an actuator assembly disposed partially within the coil of wire within the housing, the actuator assembly including a movable contact coupled to a carrier sub-assembly, the actuator assembly being configured to move along an actuation axis between a first position and a second position based on a presence or absence of a magnetic field that is induced by current through the coil of wire, the movable contact of the actuator assembly being spaced apart from the stationary contacts when the actuator assembly is in the first position, the movable contact engaging the stationary contacts to provide a closed circuit path between the stationary contacts when the actuator assembly is in the second position, the movable contact having an inner side and an opposite, outer side,
wherein the carrier sub-assembly includes a plunger and a shaft directly secured to one another without a discrete component between the shaft and the plunger securing the shaft to the plunger, the plunger being formed of a ferromagnetic material, the shaft protruding from a top side of the plunger and extending to a contact end of the shaft, the contact end including at least two deflectable prongs that extend through an aperture in the movable contact, the deflectable prongs having catch surfaces configured to engage the outer side of the movable contact to secure the movable contact to the shaft; and
a contact spring surrounding the shaft axially between the movable contact and the plunger, the contact spring engaging the inner side of the movable contact to force the movable contact towards the catch surfaces of the deflectable prongs.

10. The electrical relay device of claim 9 , wherein the deflectable prongs of the shaft define a cavity therebetween, the deflectable prongs configured to deflect at least partially into the cavity to allow the contact end of the shaft to be received in the aperture of the movable contact in a direction from the inner side to the outer side of the movable contact during assembly of the electrical relay device, the deflectable prongs being configured to resiliently return towards an original position once a biasing force is removed.

11. The electrical relay device of claim 9 , wherein the deflectable prongs each include a hook feature at a free end, the hook feature of each deflectable prong defining the catch surface, the catch surfaces generally facing towards the top side of the plunger.

12. The electrical relay device of claim 9 , wherein the shaft is formed integral to the plunger.

13. The electrical relay device of claim 9 , wherein the shaft is discrete from the plunger and is formed of a metal material that is different than the ferromagnetic material of the plunger, the ferromagnetic material of the plunger having a greater magnetic permeability than the metal material of the shaft.

14. The electrical relay device of claim 9 , wherein the movable contact is formed of a first metal material and the shaft is formed of a second metal material, the first metal material of the movable contact having a greater electrical conductivity than the second metal material of the shaft.

15. The electrical relay device of claim 9 , wherein the shaft extends between the contact end and a plunger end and the plunger extends from the top side to a bottom side, the plunger defining a channel b

Assignees

• Tyco Electronics Corp
• Tyco Electronics Mexico S De R L De C V
• Amp Amermex S A De C V
• Te Connectivity Corp

Inventors

• Blackmon Terrance Edward
• Banas Thomas Michael
• Drummond Darnell Lathal
• Thrush Roger L
• Gerardo Daniel Enrique Juarez
• Moreno Jose Antonio Felix

Classifications

• H01H50/20 Primary

  movable inside coil and substantially lengthwise with respect to axis thereof; movable coaxially with respect to coil · CPC title

• H01H51/065

  Relays having a pair of normally open contacts rigidly fixed to a magnetic core movable along the axis of a solenoid, e.g. relays for starting automobiles (details H01H50/20) · CPC title

• H01H1/2008

  Facilitate mounting or replacing contact bridge and pressure spring on carrier (H01H11/0012 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01H50/641

  intermediate part performing a rectilinear movement (H01H50/645, H01H50/66 - H01H50/74 take precedence) · CPC title

• H01H50/041 Primary

  Details concerning assembly of relays · CPC title