Integrated Yoke-Drive Shaft Contactor Against Contact Levitation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional contactor devices experience undesired separation of movable and fixed contacts due to levitation forces at elevated current levels, leading to unintended interruptions and arcing, which complicates manufacturing and reduces operational reliability.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating an upper yoke with an integral shaft extension through the movable contact and a drive shaft to generate a magnetic field that opposes levitation forces, thereby enhancing the holding force and simplifying manufacturing by forming the yoke and drive shaft as a single integral component.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional separate yoke and drive shaft components are used, then manufacturing flexibility is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing steps increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the yoke and drive shaft into a single integral component called an 'integral yoke-drive shaft assembly'. This merging eliminates the need for separate manufacturing and assembly steps for these two components, reducing device complexity while maintaining manufacturing flexibility through the integral design that can be produced as one piece.
2Ease of operation
If conventional separate yoke and drive shaft components are used, then ease of assembly is improved, but operational reliability decreases due to potential misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
By integrating the yoke and drive shaft into a single component, the patent eliminates alignment issues between separate parts. The integral design ensures perfect alignment between the yoke's magnetic field generation area and the drive shaft's movement path, improving operational reliability while the entire assembly can still be installed as one unit.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of assembling separate yoke and drive shaft components, the patent inverts the approach by manufacturing them as a single integrated piece. This inversion eliminates the need for precise alignment during assembly, as the components are already perfectly aligned in the integral structure.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional separate components are used, then ease of manufacture is improved, but manufacturing precision and alignment increase difficulty
Solution Approach 1:
The integral yoke-drive shaft assembly merges two components into one, eliminating the need for post-manufacturing alignment. The single-component design ensures that the yoke and drive shaft are perfectly aligned by default, as they are formed together in one manufacturing process, thereby improving manufacturing precision without complicating the manufacturing approach.
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
This configuration effectively reduces the complexity of manufacturing, increases operational reliability, and prevents unwanted separation and arcing between contacts, ensuring stable electrical connections.
Implementation Method 1
a drive shaft is included to move the movable contact. In some embodiments, the shaft extension can comprise full integrated shaft.
Data Source
AI summary
Contact assemblies are described herein having certain components, or portions thereof, that are formed integral to one another to reduce the complexity of manufacturing, improve the operation characteristics, and increase operational reliability of devices using the contact assemblies. New shapes to features and components of the contact assemblies are also disclosed, with the shapes providing the desired operational characteristics. Embodiments of the invention are also directed contactors or fuses (i.e., electrical switching devices) utilizing the contactor assemblies according to the present invention, and to electrical circuits and systems utilizing the electrical switching devices according to the present invention.