Relay Contact Insulation Structure with Extracted Actuator
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing relay designs face challenges in achieving effective insulation between contact rows carrying different potentials, leading to potential contact erosion and malfunctions due to insufficient insulation and wide housing structures.
Innovation Solution
The design features a labyrinth-like interlocking structure with fixed webs on the hood and spring bracket, where the actuator is positioned outside the insulation structure, and wings on the actuator prevent contact erosion from entering the insulation gap, ensuring a high insulation distance in a compact space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the actuator is arranged between the hood-side and spring bracket-side webs, then the insulation structure is formed, but the housing structure becomes very wide and space-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The actuator is extracted from the insulation structure and positioned outside the overlapping region of the hood-side and spring bracket-side webs. This allows the insulation structure to be formed independently by the fixed webs without the actuator occupying space within the insulation gap, thereby reducing housing width while maintaining insulation effectiveness.
2Area of stationary object
If the actuator is arranged outside the overlapping webs, then the housing width is reduced, but the actuator cannot provide additional insulating effect between contact springs
Solution Approach 1:
The insulation function is segmented and assigned to dedicated fixed hood-side and spring bracket-side webs that overlap to form the insulation structure. The actuator is separated from this insulation structure and positioned outside, allowing each component to fulfill its specific function without compromising the other.
3Device complexity
If the contacts are arranged in the actuator, then the actuator serves as contact carrier, but contact erosion can bridge insulation and cause malfunctions
Solution Approach 1:
The actuator is extracted from the insulation structure and positioned outside the overlapping region of the fixed webs. This spatial separation ensures that contact erosion on the actuator cannot bridge the insulation gap between different potential contacts, preventing malfunctions while maintaining structural integration.
4Reliability
If the hood-side and spring bracket-side webs overlap extensively, then insulation distance is increased, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The insulation structure is segmented into fixed hood-side webs and fixed spring bracket-side webs that overlap in a systematic manner. This segmentation creates a clear, reproducible insulation pattern that increases insulation distance while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through standardized web arrangements.
Data Source
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AI summary
The relay has a contact set arranged in a hood (2) and a spring gantry (3), and a contact series separated by an insulation structure (1). The contact series includes fixed, hood-side bars (5, 5 ') and a fixed, spring gantry-sided bar (6) directed and set opposite to each other. Movable actuators (4, 4 ') are arranged in an interstice between the hood and the spring gantry. The hood-sided bars are arranged parallel to each other and at a distance to each other, and the spring gantry-sided bar is engaged between the hood-side bars.