The present disclosure relates to a relay, particularly to a stand-alone relay.
A relay is an electrically operated switch. It consists of a set of input terminals for a
single or multiple control signals, and a set of operating contact terminals. The switch may
have any number of contacts in multiple contact forms, such as make contacts, break contacts,
or combinations thereof.
Fig. 9 illustrates a known relay 100. As shown in exploded view, a U-shaped metal
bracket 110 and a cover 120 are used for mounting the relay 100 to a support such as a rack
(not shown). Further, a relay base 130 is used for providing electrical accessibility to the relay
100. The relay base 130 comprises sockets 132 into which electrical contact pins 102 of the
relay 100 are inserted for providing electrical contact between the relay 100 and the relay
base 130. On a side of the relay base 130 opposite the sockets 132, the relay base 130 has
relay terminals which are provided for contacting with external electrical conductors. The
electrical connection to the relay terminals is done using sockets inside the relay base 130.
These sockets are crimped to the conductors using a special crimping tool and pushed into the
relay base 130 for connection. For disconnection, a further special tool is needed.
Accordingly, special termination contact pins, sockets, crimping tools, and relay
bases, i.e., a number of different parts are needed to realize mounting and electrical
connection of the relay 100.
There is a need for an improved relay. Particularly, there is a need for a relay
providing facilitated handling, which is simple to mount and install, which is safe, reliable, cost
efficient, compact and/or which allows improved usability at optimized size.
SUMMARY
The present technology is defined by the claims and the aspects discussed herein. In
particular, according to the present invention, a relay is provided that comprises a base assembly, a relay mechanics module supported by the base assembly, and a housing element
that houses the relay mechanics module and that is connected to the base assembly. The
housing element may comprise a flange configured for attaching the relay to a support.
Thus, the relay can be mounted or attached to a support such as for example a rack
via the housing element in a particularly suitable way. In this way, facilitated handling is
enabled. Particularly, the flange of the housing element may be configured to support the
entire mass of the relay. In other words, if attached to the support, the housing element may
carry the whole weight of the relay. In this way no additional bracket or other accessory is
needed for mounting the relay to a support such as a rack.
Accordingly, the relay can be mounted without using any special accessory.
Further, the flange of the housing element allows for a flush mounting of the relay.
This makes the relay particularly suitable as a stand-alone relay.
Various embodiments of the present technology may implement the following
features:
The housing element may be formed in one piece. In other words, the housing
element may be made in one integral piece. In this way, particularly improved protection of
the relay mechanics can be achieved. This may improve the safety of the relay. This may also
improve handling of the relay.
The flange may extend in a plane, here briefly also referred to as the “plane of the
flange”. This allows a suitable installation possibility in an installation opening of a support
lying in one plane. With respect to the plane of the flange, the footprint of the base assembly
may be smaller than the footprint of the flange. In this way, the relay can simply be pushed
into the installation opening of the support for mounting on the support. Particularly, the relay
may be so shaped that the flange projects or extends beyond the base assembly on two or
more, preferably all sides when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the flange.
This improves handling and mounting and, in particular, the possibility of fixing the relay to
the support as well as the protection of the relay when installed.
Preferably, the relay may be shaped such that the flange extends beyond the rest of
the relay on two or more, preferably all sides when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the
plane of the flange.
The relay may have a main axis which is oriented perpendicular to the plane of the flange. The relay may be configured to be inserted into an installation opening of the support
along an insertion direction that is parallel to the main axis for installation.
The relay may have a front end and a rear end, wherein the flange is disposed at the
front end. The front end of the relay may comprise a planar front end surface area. The planar
front end surface area may be oriented parallel to or coincide with the plane of the flange.
The relay may further comprise at least one connector terminal element for providing
electrical accessibility to the relay. Specifically, the connector terminal element may be a
fixedly mounted part of the relay. Specifically, the relay may be configured such that the
connector terminal element is not adapted to be disconnected from the base assembly by a
user of the relay. In this way, no additional elements or parts are needed to mount and
connect the relay, apart from a standard tool for the connection of external cables, such as
generic wiring. In this way, the relay is particularly easy and practical to use.
The base assembly may have a first side and a second side opposite the first side,
wherein the first side faces the housing element. The at least one connector terminal element
may be fixed to the second side of the base assembly. This is particularly advantageous for
flush mounting.
The at least one connector terminal element may comprise screw terminals. This
allows a user of the relay to connect external electrical cables or conductors to the relay
particularly conveniently. Particularly, no special tool is required for the electrical connection.
The relay may further comprise flexible electrical conductors connecting relay
contacts of the relay mechanics module to connector pins of the at least one connector
terminal element. The connector pins may each electrically connected to at least one of the
screw terminals. In this way, the screw terminals, which have a certain minimum size for ease
of operation, can be electrically connected in a particularly suitable manner to the contacts of
the relay mechanics module and may be arranged closer to each other. In this way, a
particularly space-saving design of the relay can be achieved.
The electrical and mechanical connections between the relay contacts and the
flexible electrical conductors can be established, as an example, by soldering. Alternatively,
other mechanical connections such as clips or crimps can be used, for example.
The housing element may comprise a first side having an opening for receiving the
relay mechanics module and/or for connecting to the base assembly. This enables particularly
suitable protection of the relay mechanics module.
The housing element may further comprise a second side, preferably opposite the
first side, wherein the flange is located on the second side.
The flange may extend from two, three, or four sides of the housing element. The
flange may circumferentially surround the housing element, particularly in a closed
circumferential form. This may enable a particularly reliable and secure attachment of the
relay to the support.
The flange may have at least one hole for receiving a screw for fastening the relay to
the support. For example, the flange may have at least two holes or at least three holes or at
least four holes each configured to receive a fixing screw for fastening the relay to the support.
The housing element may be made from a transparent plastic material. This makes it
possible to see the relay mechanics from the outside. For example, certain relay states, such
as switch positions or indicators, can be recognized from the outside in this way.
Alternatively, the housing element may be made or covered by a non-transparent or
opaque material. This makes it possible that the interior of the relay is not visually
recognizable from the outside. This may further allow to provide certain technical information
on the relay housing.
The housing element may be configured to protect the relay mechanics module
against water and dust, e. g., as defined by ingress protection class IP40 or better. This is
particularly achievable by a one-piece or integral construction of the housing and/or by a
respective connection to the relay base, closing the housing opening.
The screw terminals may be configured for being connected to standard round or
fork type lugs. In this way, a particularly simple electrical connection of the relay is possible.
Screw terminals may require the connection of cable connectors from the side, i.e.,
about perpendicular to the screw axis, which may ease the connection. To further improve
the connectivity, screw terminals be provided as a row of terminals, while two or more rows
may be arranged in steps, i.e., at different positions along the main axis of the relay.
The at least one connector terminal element may comprise a shrouding member for
shrouding at least one, preferably all of the screw terminals. This allows, i.a., for an improved
protection of a user of the relay from an electric shock. The shrouding member may be shaped
essentially plate-like.
The shrouding member may be mounted movable between a shrouding position and
an open position. Preferably, the shrouding member is mounted movable, for example pivotably vis-à-vis the rest of the connector terminal element between the shrouding position
and the open position. The shrouding member may be mounted pivotably around a rotation
axis that is oriented perpendicular to the main axis of the relay.
The configuration may be such that the shrouding member, when in the shrouding
position, shrouds or overlaps the at least one of the screw terminals when viewed from a first
direction, preferably a direction along the main axis of the relay, and leaves it open when
viewed from a second direction. Preferably, when in the open position, the shrouding member
leaves the at least one of the screw terminals open when viewed from the first direction. In
this way, external cables can be easily connected, e.g., with the help of a screwdriver, to the
screw terminals when the shrouding member is in its open position.
Preferably, the first direction is oriented parallel to the main axis of the relay, i.e.,
perpendicular to the plane of the flange, and the second direction is oriented perpendicular
to the first direction. This allows the external cables to be led out from the side of the screw
terminals when the shrouding member is in its shrouding position.
The at least one connector terminal element may be shaped step-like, preferably
when viewed in a cross-section perpendicular to the plane of the flange. In this way a suitable
lateral connection of external cables to the connector terminal element can be achieved.
The shrouding member may be made from a transparent plastic material. This allows
a visual inspection of the screw terminals even when the shrouding member overlaps the
screw terminal when viewed in the first direction normal to the plane of the flange of the
housing element.
The shrouding member may comprise markings for individually marking the screw
terminals. This enables improved safety with regard to correct electrical connection of the
relay.
The base assembly may comprise markings for individually marking the screw
terminals. This makes it easy to distinguish the screw terminals even if the shrouding member
is broken or lost.
The relay may comprise two connector terminal elements.
The base assembly may comprise a base assembly top element on a first side and a
base assembly bottom element on a second side, wherein the at least one connector terminal
element is fixed to the base assembly bottom element. The housing element may be
connected to the base assembly top element. The relay mechanics module may be connected to the base assembly top element.
The base assembly may support the relay mechanics while the housing element does
not (directly) support the relay mechanics. In particular, the relay mechanics may be
connected to the relay base assembly, preferably the base assembly top element, while the
also housing element is connected to the relay base assembly, preferably the base assembly
top element.
The base assembly top element may comprise at least one opening with at least one
of the flexible electrical conductors passing therethrough.
The base assembly top element may at least partially extend into the housing
element. This enables a particularly suitable mechanical connection between the base
assembly top element and the housing element. This connection may be particularly strong to
allow the housing element to support the entire relay when mounted to a support, such as a
rack. This connection may also be tight to seal the relay mechanics against ambient conditions.
The housing element may be fixed to side surfaces of the base assembly top element, for
example via screw connections.
The relay may be in form of a stand-alone relay.
According to an alternative or additional aspect of the present invention, a relay is
provided that comprise a base assembly, a relay mechanics module supported by the base
assembly, and a housing element that houses the relay mechanics module and that is
connected to the base assembly. The relay further comprises at least one connector terminal
element for providing electrical accessibility to the relay. The base assembly has a first side
and a second side opposite the first side, wherein the first side faces the housing element. The
at least one connector terminal element is fixed to the second side of the base assembly.
The relay may further comprise flexible electrical conductors connecting relay
contacts of the relay mechanics module to connector pins of the at least one connector
terminal element.
The at least one connector terminal element may comprise screw terminals. The
connector pins may be each electrically connected to at least one of the screw terminals,
preferably via the flexible electrical conductors.
In particular, the present disclosure comprises the following aspects:

WE CLAIM:
1. A relay, comprising
a base assembly (2),
a relay mechanics module (4) supported by the base assembly (2), and
a housing element (6) that houses the relay mechanics module (4) and that is
connected to the base assembly (2),
wherein the housing element (6) comprises a flange (62) configured for attaching the
relay to a support.
2. The relay of claim 1, wherein the housing element (6) is formed in one piece.
3. The relay of claim 1, wherein the housing element (6) comprises a first side (64) having
an opening for receiving the relay mechanics module (4) and a second side (66) opposite the
first side (64), wherein the flange (62) is located on the second side (66)
4. The relay of claim 1 or 2, wherein the flange (62) extends in a plane (E), wherein with
respect to the plane, the footprint of the base assembly (2) is smaller than the footprint of the
flange.
5. The relay of claim 4, wherein the flange (62) extends beyond the base assembly (2) on
all sides when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the plane (E).
6. The relay of any of the preceding claims, further comprising
at least one connector terminal element (8) for providing electrical accessibility to the
relay.
7. The relay of claim 6, the base assembly (2) having a first side (22) and a second side
(24) opposite the first side, the first side facing the housing element (6),
wherein the at least one connector terminal element (8) is fixed to the second side (24)
of the base assembly (2).
8. The relay of claims 6 or 7, wherein the at least one connector terminal element (8)
comprises screw terminals (82).
19
9. The relay of claim 8, further comprising flexible electrical conductors (10) connecting
relay contacts (42) of the relay mechanics module (4) to connector pins (88) of the at least one
connector terminal element (8), wherein the connector pins (88) are each electrically
connected to at least one of the screw terminals (82).
10. The relay of any of the preceding claims, wherein the housing element (6) is configured
to protect the relay mechanics module (4) against water and dust, e. g., as defined by IP40.
11. The relay of any of the preceding claims, comprising the features of claim 8, wherein
the screw terminals (82) are configured for being connected to standard round or fork type
lugs.
12. The relay of any of the preceding claims, comprising the features of claim 8, wherein
the at least one connector terminal element (8) comprises a shrouding member (84) for
shrouding at least one of the screw terminals (82).
13. The relay of any of the preceding claims, comprising the features of claim 12,
wherein the shrouding member (84) is mounted movable, preferably pivotably
between a shrouding position and an open position on the at least one connector terminal
element (8), and/or
wherein the shrouding member (84) is made from a transparent plastic material.
14. The relay of any of the preceding claims, comprising the features of claim 12,
wherein the shrouding member (84) comprises markings (86) for individually marking
the screw terminals (82).
15. The relay of any of the preceding claims, comprising the features of claim 6, wherein
the base assembly (2) comprises a base assembly top element (26) on a first side (22) and a
base assembly bottom element (28) on a second side (24), wherein the at least one connector
terminal element (8) is fixed to the base assembly bottom element (28).
16. The relay of claim 15, comprising the features of claim 9, wherein the base assembly
top element (26) comprises at least one opening (262) with at least one of the flexible
electrical conductors (10) passing therethrough.