Armature spring for a relay

Details Armature spring for a relay Armature spring for a relay

2001-05-02

2004-01-20

Schwartz, Christopher P. (Department: 3613)

Spring devices

Bendable along flat surface

C335S078000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06679488

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an armature spring for a relay having a fastening section with which the armature spring can be fastened to an armature or a thrust bearing, an oblong spring section which is connected at a first end with the fastening section, as well as a lever adjacent to the spring section and comprising a support area for supporting the lever on a thrust bearing or an armature.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Armature springs generally accomplish several tasks. The armature into an open position and they urge the armature against an armature bearing, so that an armature pivot axis is achieved. They can also ensure that an opening force can be exerted with a contact pair connected to the armature via a contact spring.
EP 0707331 A1 describes an armature spring of the aforementioned type, arranged in the form of a beam fixed at both ends. The middle of the beam comprises a projection which engages into a recess of an armature. The armature spring and the recess in the armature are thereby positioned such that the armature is biased into an open position. During the closing of the armature the armature spring is subject to bending stress. An arrangement of this type, however, is not suitable for armatures with a high rotary angle. Furthermore, the restoring force of this known armature spring is minimal and in many cases insufficient.
In addition, torsion springs are known as armature springs having spiral torsion springs. These known springs present the disadvantage that they require significant construction space, with nonetheless the area next to the spring remaining unused, contradicting efforts to achieve miniturization and a compact design.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an armature spring, which not only biases the armature but also pushes the latter against a bearing, and which is suitable for a high armature rotary angle and is nevertheless characterised by compact dimensions.
According to the invention, this and other objects are realised by an armature spring of the aforementioned type, characterised in that the support area and the fastening sections are located on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the spring section such that during movement of the armature, the spring section is subject primarily to torsional stress.
These armature springs obtain the required force not through elastic bending strain but through torsion. Due to the fact that the support area is located on the longitudinal axis side of the spring section opposite the fastening sections, the amount of bending stress during the stressing of the spring section is significantly reduced and the amount of transverse stress (torsion) is significantly elevated. The advantage of the torsionally stressed spring section is that the stress is evenly distributed over the length of the spring section. This means that, despite high force and low spring rates, mechanical tensions can be kept relatively low. This in turn enables the armature spring to be designed in geometric dimensions which are smaller than in traditional springs. Due to this solution, the existing construction space of a preset geometry can be optimally used. In the case of a preset maximum available construction space, particularly high armature restoring forces can thus be realised.
An embodiment combines bending strain and torsion, either through a flexible design of the lever or through increasing the amount of bending strain. The combination of bending strain and torsion results in the availability of several parameters according to which the desired spring characteristic can be adjusted to meet requirements.
The spring section may possess the form of a torsion web, whereby the width of the torsion web corresponds to approximately the material thickness. Both ends of the torsion web are firmly connected with the armature and the lever is arranged in the middle of the torsion web. Due to the form and arrangement of the lever or the thrust bearing, the force generated by the armature spring can be optimally divided into bias force and armature bearing force.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4346359 (1982-08-01), Pirner et al.
patent: 4670727 (1987-06-01), Muller et al.
patent: 5155458 (1992-10-01), Gamble
patent: 5534834 (1996-07-01), Hendel
patent: 5627503 (1997-05-01), Mader
patent: 5689222 (1997-11-01), Schneider et al.
patent: 5894253 (1999-04-01), Ichikawa et al.
patent: 5900791 (1999-05-01), Hoffmann et al.
patent: 6266867 (2001-07-01), Kern
patent: 0 707 331 (1996-04-01), None

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