Relay Pressure Relief Valve Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical relay devices are prone to damage and destruction due to pressure buildup from excessive electrical energy, leading to potential bursting and inoperability during faults, as they lack effective pressure control mechanisms within sealed environments.
Innovation Solution
An electrical relay device with a housing that includes a pressure relief valve to open and reduce pressure when it exceeds a threshold, preventing structural damage and maintaining functionality during faults.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the relay device is sealed to protect against dust and humidity, then protection against contaminants is improved, but pressure buildup from excessive electrical energy causes damage and destruction
Solution Approach 1:
The sealed chamber is segmented into two regions by internal walls: an interior region containing the movable contact and an exterior region containing the pressure relief valve. This segmentation allows the pressure relief valve to access the chamber interior through the exterior region, enabling pressure relief functionality while maintaining the sealed protection against dust and humidity.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressure relief valve acts as an intermediary mechanism that opens only under excessive pressure conditions to release gas from the chamber. This intermediary component provides a controlled release pathway that prevents catastrophic failure while maintaining the sealed environment during normal operation, thus resolving the contradiction between sealing and pressure protection.
2Reliability
If the pressure relief valve is positioned to directly access the chamber interior, then pressure relief effectiveness is improved, but exposure to debris and contaminants damages the movable contact
Solution Approach 1:
The chamber is divided into an interior region and an exterior region by internal walls. The pressure relief valve is located in the exterior region and opens into this region rather than directly into the interior region. This segmentation creates a buffer zone that protects the movable contact in the interior region from contaminants that may enter when the pressure relief valve opens.
Solution Approach 2:
The exterior region acts as an intermediary buffer zone between the chamber interior and the pressure relief valve opening. When the pressure relief valve opens to release pressure, any debris or contaminants enter the exterior region first, not the interior region containing the movable contact. This intermediary space maintains pressure relief effectiveness while protecting sensitive components.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The pressure relief valve effectively reduces internal pressure, preventing the relay device from bursting and ensuring it remains operational even after experiencing excessive electrical energy faults, thereby maintaining functionality and preventing immediate inoperability.
Implementation Method 1
a coil of wire within the chamber of the housing, the coil of wire electrically connected to a relay power source; an actuator assembly within the chamber of the housing that is configured to move 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
Implementation Method 2
the shell having a pressure relief valve in flow communication with the chamber, the pressure relief valve being configured to open in response to a pressure within the chamber exceeding a threshold set pressure in order to reduce the pressure within the chamber
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
An electrical relay device (100) includes a housing (106), a wire coil (110), an actuator assembly (122), and a shell (200). The housing extends between a closed end (170) and an open end (172) and defines a chamber (174). The wire coil and the actuator assembly are within the chamber. The actuator assembly is configured to move between a first position, in which a movable contact (124) is spaced apart from at least one stationary contact (108), and a second position, in which the movable contact engages the at least one stationary contact, based on a magnetic field induced by current through the wire coil. The shell seals the open end of the housing to seal the chamber. The shell has a pressure relief valve (204) in flow communication with the chamber. The pressure relief valve is configured to open in response to a pressure within the chamber exceeding a threshold set pressure to reduce the pressure within the chamber.