Relay Socket Integral Locking Members Hardware-Free Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing relay apparatus and methods of attachment often require non-integral hardware, leading to complex assembly processes, increased costs, weight, and potential dislodgment issues due to the use of washers, spacers, nuts, and screws, as well as costly cutouts for clip-on hinged sockets.
Innovation Solution
A relay socket with integral locking members that can be extended through holes in a structure surface and relay, eliminating the need for attachment hardware by compressing to fit through holes and expanding to secure, thus attaching without tools or additional hardware.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If non-integral attachment hardware (washers, spacers, nuts, screws) is used to attach relay socket, then the relay socket can be securely attached to structure surface, but the assembly process becomes difficult and requires significant installation time and additional tools
Solution Approach 1:
The locking members are integrally formed with the relay socket body as a single piece, eliminating the need for separate attachment hardware. This merging of components simplifies the assembly process while maintaining secure attachment through the integral locking members that extend through holes in the structure surface and relay.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking members are extracted as distinct functional elements from the relay socket body, allowing them to be independently formed and positioned. This extraction enables the locking members to be specifically designed for engagement with holes in the structure surface and relay, providing secure attachment without requiring additional hardware.
2Reliability
If non-integral attachment hardware is used, then the relay socket can be attached to structure surface, but significant weight is added due to the attachment hardware
Solution Approach 1:
The locking members are integrally formed with the relay socket body, eliminating the need for separate attachment hardware. This merging eliminates the additional weight that would be introduced by separate washers, spacers, nuts, and screws, while maintaining secure attachment through the integral locking members.
3Ease of manufacture
If non-integral attachment hardware is used, then the relay socket can be attached to structure surface, but attachment hardware may become dislodged and need replacement
Solution Approach 1:
The locking members are integrally formed with the relay socket body, creating a unified structure that eliminates the risk of separate attachment hardware becoming dislodged. The integral construction ensures that the locking members remain permanently secured to the socket body, preventing the attachment hardware from becoming loose or needing replacement.
4Device complexity
If clip-on hinged sockets are used, then the relay socket can be attached without attachment hardware, but costly and timely structure surface cutouts are required
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of modifying the structure surface to accommodate the attachment mechanism (as with clip-on hinged sockets requiring cutouts), the invention inverts the approach by having the locking members extend through pre-existing holes in the structure surface. This reversal eliminates the need for costly and time-consuming structure surface modifications.
Data Source
AI summary
A relay socket may include an opening for insertion of a relay into the opening, and a plurality of integral locking members for attaching and locking the relay socket to at least one of a structure surface and a relay without the use of attachment hardware.