US2458311A - Self-unlocking lockup relay - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 4, 1949. H. N. STAATS 2,458,311

SELF-UNLOCKING LOCKUP RELAY Filed Feb. 2, 1945 Hem FIG.6B mac FIG.6D

FIG. 3 INVENTOR.

HENRY N. STAATS ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 4, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SELF-UNLOCKING LOCKUP RELAY Henry N. Staats, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Automatic Electric Laboratories, Inc., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Applicationliebruary 2, 1945, Serial No. 575,910

Claims. 1

The present invention relates in, general to electromagnetic relays, and more particularly to the self unlocking lock-up type. To this end my invention relates to that type of relay which, when energized, will move its armature to a locked position and when energized a second time will release the armature from its locked position andmcve thearmature to a forward position, from which the, armature will return directly to its normal position after the relay is deenergized.

One-of the objects of this invention is to provide a relay in which a three position armature and one Winding, or. a plurality of windings, will perform the functions of more, than one relay.

Another object of this invention is to provide a relay which will retainits armature in its second position and thereby perform certain external circuit functions with its winding or windings deenergized. Further, this relay will move its armature from its second to its third posi- I tion when it is energizedto a greater degree, either by app ying, a more powerful current to the first winding or the energization of one or more of its other windings-for the first time, and from the third position the armature will return directly to its first or normal position after its winding or windings have been deenergized.

Considerable variation may be exercised in" the construction of this new and improved relay. One method of construction which I propose is termed wedge type and'another is thelatching-spring type. In thewedge type the end of the armature arm is shaped like a wedge, with a notch or shoulder on one side, which notch engages a spring latch after the armature has moved apart of its normal stroke distance and the armature will behe d in this position after the winding is deenergized and on being energized to a greater degree the armature will be released from the latch by being moved forward to a further position, thatis, to position three. From position three the armature will return directly to its normal position when the winding is deenergized. In the locking spring type, two springs (Jo-operate with the armature to hold the armature locked in its second position, and to permit the armature to movefrom its second to its third position, upon bein energized to a greater degree and to allow the armature to return to its first or normal position after the winding has again been deenergized, From an economical view point the Wedge type would probably be preferred, however the latchingspring type may in some instances be more desirable.

The two types of construction of the new and improved relay will be illustrated and described in the drawings and explanation, which follow. The drawings consist of seven figures on one sheet, as follows:

Figure 1 shows a relay with heel piece, armature, latching spring and tension spring. This is the wedge type construction,

Figure 2 is an enlarged view showing diagrammatically the normal position of the armature and latching spring of Figure 1.

Figures 2A to 2D are enlarged sectional views taken in the direction of the arrows along the line 22 Figure 1, showing the relative positions of the armature arm and latching spring of Figure 1 at several points along the line of movement of the armature arm.

Figure 3 is an enlarged view of a part. of the armature arm of Figure 1 showing details of the cut away portion to form the shoulder.

Figure 4 is a detail view of the latching spring of Figure 1.

Figure 5 shows a re ay with aheel piece, m0dified armature, armature tension spring, locking spring and latching spring. This is the latching spring type construction- Figure 6 is a schematic view of the latching spring of Figure 5 with its associated locking spring.

Figures 6A to 6D are enlarged views showing diagrammatically the relative positions of the latching spring of Figure 5 with its locking spring and the end of the armature arm at different stages in the operation.

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of connections which could be used to operate this relay, by energizing the winding, first through a resistance and, second without a resistance in the circuit.

ihe particu ars of the coil 9, to be used in a relay assembly, would depend upon the special requirements offlbhe circuit in which it is to be used, however for the purpose of this description we will assume a coil with one Winding, this coil to be assembled in the usual way with a heel piece 8. We wi l further assume that the spring pile-up, in addition to the lock spring 2 and the tension spring 5 (in Figure 1), or in addition to the lock spring H, latch spring [2 and tension spring H (in Figure 5), will consist of two sets of make contact springs. The first set of contacts to make when the armature arm I is moved througha portion of'its normal stroke distance, to its before-mentioned second position, and the second set of spring contacts'to make, just prior to the completion of the full armature stroke.

The spring pressure, which would be applied at the point 3 on armature arm I in Figure l or at the point "3 on armature arm M in Figure 5, would be adjusted so that the relay when first energized with a suitable resistance in series with the winding, would have sufficient power to move the armature through a portion of the total stroke distance, that is to the point where the armature arm will be engaged by the lock spring. It will be seen, by reference to Figures 1 and 3 that, when the end I of the armature arm 1 moves upwards behind end 4 of lock spring 2, its shoulder 6 will, upon reaching the top edge of the lock spring 2, near the end 4 as shown in Figure 2A, become engaged with this spring and the armature will be prevented from returning to its original position after the coil is deenergized. Again, in Figure it will be seen that when the coil 19 is first energized and the armature arm I 3 moves upwards, its end M will be locked in the position shown in Figure 6A which is the first portion of the total stroke distance. In both instances a first set of contact springs (not shown) would be closed upon the first energization of the coil and the armature arm would remain looked after the coil was deenergized. The armature will remain looked in this so called second position until a second energization takes place with current of sufficient power to overcome the spring pressure which maintains the armature in its second position. This is accomplished by energizing the winding the second time from the same power source but with the resistance shunted from the circuit or energizing the winding from a power source oi a higher value than the original current. The armature would, due to the increased power of the magnetizing force, continue its movement from position two to position three, for instance from position 2A through stage 2B to the third position 2C. The armature will remain in this 20 position until the winding is deenergized, after which it would return through stage 2D to its normal position as shown in Figure 2. It can be noted that from the position shown in 2A the armature arm 1 moves upwards when the coil is energized for the second time through the stage 23 to 2C and at this point the tension of the lock spring 2 causes its end 4 to move to the right to' the position shown in 20. After the coil has been deenergized the armature arm I will return to normal by a downward movement and the armature end I will move from the position shown in 20 through stage 2D to normal as shown in Figure 2. In moving from the position shown in 20 to the position shown in Figure 2, the end 1 of the armature caused the end 4 of the lock spring 2 to move to the right, as seen in Figure 2D, but after end 1 has passed the end 4 of spring 2, the spring 2 again moves to the left and assumes its original position as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 5 shows a method of constructing the latch-spring type, which functions the same as the wedge type as explained above, but with a slightly different locking arrangement. This will be clear from a perusal of Figures 6 to 6D, which show the position of the end l4 of the armature arm I3, in relation to the latch spring l2 and lock spring ll, through several stages of movements. From the normal position of the end l4 of the armature arm l3 as shown in Figure 6, this end M will move, when the armature re- 4 sponds to the first impulse of current through the winding of the relay, to position two, as shown in BA. At this instant, end N5 of the latch spring 12 moves to the right, as seen in Figure 6A and the end I4 of armature arm l3 will be locked in the second position and certain spring contacts will be closed. A second impulse of current which would have sufiicient power to move the armature against the spring pressure which maintained the armature in its second position, will move the end M of the armature 53, from position two as shown in Figure 6A through the position shown in 63 to the position shown in BC. At the instant shown in 63, the end l4 of the armature l3 presses against latch spring 12 sufficiently to allow the end l5 of the latch spring l2 to drop behind the shoulder l5 of the lock spring H as shown in 63. During the time the winding remains energized from the second impulse of current, the end l5 of the latch spring l2 will be held by the shoulder It of the lock spring ll shown in Figure 60. After deenergization of the winding of the relay, its armature will return to normal and the end IQ of the armature 13 will return from the position show in Figure 60 through the stage shown in Figure 8D to the position shown in Figure 6, and at this instant end II is moved down tounlock the end 15 which is now removed from the control of the shoulder it of lock spring H and therefore the end IE will return to its normal position as shown in Figure 6. Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a circuit arrangement showing one method of operating this relay, in which the first impulse of current to the relay would result from the operation of the non-lock key A. When key A is closed, current from the battery B will flow through the winding of relay coil 9, through the contact of key A, through the resistance R to the other terminal of the battery. As the voltage of the battery is fixed, the power available for operation of the relay armature is controlled by the fixed resistance R, the value of which has been previously determined. Closing of the key A causes the armature of the relay to move from the position shown in Figures 2 to 2A, after which key A may be opened, and the armature will remain locked as shown in Figure 2A. For the second energization of the coil 9, key C would be closed which would cause the full strength of the battery to be applied direct to the relay coil. The increased magnetic strength of the coil core is now sufilcient to overcome the spring tension which has maintained the armature in its second position, and the armature will move from the so called second position 2A to the third position 20. End 1 of armature arm i will remain in the position as shown in Figure 2C during the time the second energizing force remains, but when the current is disconnected from the coil, the armature will restore to normal and end I of armature arm 1 will come to rest in its normal position as shown in Figure 2. It can be noted that armature arm l, in moving up and down, follows a vertical line but end t of spring 2 will be pushed aside by arm "i, first to the left when arm I moves up and later to the right when armature arm restores, but when not influenced by the arm 1, end 4 of spring 2 will be in its normal position as seen in Figure 2.

. Having described the features of this invention, what is considered to be new and desired to have protected by Letters Patent will be pointed out in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an electromagnetic relay, a heel piece, an armature with an arm, a spring, the end of said arm being formed into the shape of an ellipse with one portion cut away to form a shelf or shoulder for the edge of said spring, said armature having three positions, means for energizing said relay to cause said armature to move from said first or normal position to the said second position in which the shoulder of said arm rests on said spring edge, means for energizing the said relay to a greater degree to cause said armature to move from the said second to the said third position to clear said spring edge, whereby deenergizing said relay will permit said armature to return to its said first position.

2. In a relay having an energizing coil and an armature, said armature having an arm with its forward end formed into the shape of an ellipse with one portion cut away to form a shelf, a latching spring cooperating with the said shelf of said arm of said armature, said armature moved in one step by one energization of the coil to a position Where said latching spring engages and holds said armature, means for unlatching said spring from the armature arm shelf by an additional movement of said armature in response to an increased energization of said coil, and means eifective in response to said last means for holding said spring from engagement with said armature arm shelf to permit release of the armature.

3. A relay comprising a heel piece, a plurality of spring sets mounted on said heel piece, an armature having a plurality of resting positions, a core with magnetizing means, means for energizing said magnetizing means to one degree to cause said armature to be moved from said resting position number one to resting position number two, means for locking said armature in said position number two after which said magnetizing means is deenergized, means for reenergizing said magnetizing means to a higher degree to cause said armature to be released from said lock and to be moved to said third resting position,

means for deenergizing said magnetizing means I for the second time to cause said armature to be released to the said first position.

4. In a relay having an armature and means for energizing the relay to cause first stage and second stage operations of the armature, a latching spring operative in response to a first stage operation of the armature, a bent portion of said latching spring effective to latch the armature against return to normal in response to the first operation of said latching spring, a locking spring having a catch, said latching spring further operated by said second stage operation of said armatin'e to cause said catch on said locking spring to engage said latching spring in response to said further operation to render the latching spring ineffective to latch the armature.

5. In an electromagnetic relay, a heel piece, an armature with an arm, a spring, the end of said armature being formed into the shape of an ellipse with one portion cut away leaving a shelf or shoulder for the edge of said spring, said armature having three positions, means for energizing said relay to cause said armature to move from said first position to said second position in which the shoulder of said armature rests on said spring edge for any period of time after said energizing means has been discontinued, means for energizing the relay a second time after any period of time to a different degree to cause said armature to move from the said second position to a third position to remain for any period of time during which said relay continues to remain energized, said armature returning to the original said first position upon being deenelgized.

HENRY N. STAATS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 735,531 Lacey Aug. 4, 1903 900,435 Slough Oct. 6, 1908 1,259,901 Parker Mar. 19, 1918 1,724,924 Graham Aug. 20, 1929 1,908,567 Steinmayer May 9, 1933 1,964,268 Margenstern June 26, 1934

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