US3708642A

US3708642A - Relay base apparatus having a retaining clip mounted thereon

Info

Publication number: US3708642A
Application number: US00209513A
Authority: US
Inventors: R Hollingsead; Y Linda; C Pryor
Original assignee: HOLLINGSEAD PRYOR ENTERPRISES
Current assignee: HOLLINGSEAD PRYOR ENTERPRISES
Priority date: 1971-12-20
Filing date: 1971-12-20
Publication date: 1973-01-02
Anticipated expiration: 1990-01-02

Abstract

A relay base apparatus having means for receiving outwardly flexible legs of a retaining clip. The retaining clip comprises a top wall adapted to extend over the relay and a pair of legs extending downwardly from opposite sides of the wall to retain the relay therebetween. The lower extremities of the legs are outwardly flexible and are adapted to engage clip receiving means located on the base to form an integral unit therewith.

Description

United States Patent 1191 Hollingsead et al.

1 51 Jan. 2, 1973 [54] RELAY BASE APPARATUS HAVING A RETAINING CLIP MOUNTED THEREON [75] Inventors: Robert Allen Holllngsead, Yorba Linda; Clyde Robert. Pryor, Anaheim, both of Calif.

[73] Assignee: Hollingsead-Pryor Enterprises, Inc.,

Los Angeles, Calif.

[22] Filed: Dec. 20,1971

. 1211 Appl. N6; 209,513

[52] US. Cl ..200/l68 C, 335/202 317/101 CC,

51 161. c1. .110111 9/08 [58] Field Of Search ..200/168 R, 168 B, 168 0; 317/101 0, 113; 335/202 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,396,313 8/1968 Payne ..3 l7/l0l CC 2,896,045 7/1959 Brunicardi ..335/202 x 3,242,285 3/1966 Obszamy et al. ..335/202 ux 3,130,284 4/1964 Woods ..335/202 X 3,621,173 11/1971 OCheskey ..200/l68 c 3,551,630 12/1970 Griffith ...200/l68 R Primary Examiner-H. 0. Jones- Attorney-Harold L. Jackson et al.

57 ABSTRACT A relay base apparatus having means for receiving outwardly flexible legs of a retaining clip. The retaining clip comprises atop wall adapted to extend over the relay and a pair of legs extending downwardly from opposite sides of the wall to retain the relay therebetween. The lower extremities of the legs are outwardly flexible and are adapted to engage clip receiving means located on the base to form an integral unit therewith.

7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures RELAY BASE APPARATUS HAVING A RETAINING CLIP MOUNTED THEREON BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to relay bases for supporting electrical relays and more particularly to relay bases having retaining means detachably engaged thereto for removably securing the relay to the base.

2. Description of the Prior Art Heretofore, electrical relays have been mounted on relay bases by the conventional methods of soldering, staking or bolting. Although such mounting methods are used quite extensively, they all suffer from various shortcomings which hinder their applicability.

The shortcoming involved with soldering the relays to the base is that the relay cannot be easily removed for inspection, repair, or replacement. In fact, if it is necessary to replace the relay the entire relay-base unit must be discarded.

The identical shortcoming is encountered when the relay is staked to the base because such installations are again permanent. I

If the relay is bolted to the base, it must be secured thereto by means of lock nuts. The problem encountered with lock nuts is that they are relatively more expensive than the two previously mentioned mounting methods. Secondly, such lock nuts must be tightened by wrenches or other tools. This poses a problem when a multiplicity of relays are arranged in a closely spaced array. Because of this, it is quite difficult to apply a tool to these nuts to adjust or remove the relays.

Another approach for mounting a relay to a base utilizes a spring hold-down strap mounted over the relay with tabbed ends of the strap being connected to a mounting plate supporting the base. The shortcoming with such an approach is that the mountingplate structure is of a special construction and is not particularly suited to most conventional applications. The present invention provides a relay base apparatus that SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly summarizing the present invention obviates the above mentioned shortcomings by providing a relay base apparatus that is easily adaptable to present day applications. The apparatus comprises a relay base having a plurality of sockets forreceiving a plurality of terminal prongs of the relay. The base further comprises means located thereon for receiving outwardly flexible legs of a retaining clip. In one embodiment, these means comprise a plurality of studs threadedly engaged within bores formed on the outer extremities of the base. Each stud has an annular collar formed thereon for engagingly receiving the retaining clip legs. In another embodiment, these means comprise a pair of slots formed on the base for receiving the retaining clip legs. The retaining clip comprises a top wall portion adapted to extend over the relay and a pair of legs extending downwardly from opposite sides of the wall to retain the relay therebetween. The lower extremity of each leg is outwardly flexible to engage the clip receiving means located on the base. The top wall portion of the retaining clip may also include pressure flngers for applying a downward force on the relay.

The primary advantage of the present invention is that the retaining clip can easily be attached'directly to the base without the need for any other additional support structure. Moreover, the retaining clip can be attached or detached from the base without the use of any tool; thereby facilitating the inspection, repair, and replacement of the relay.

Another important advantage is that present day conventional bases can be easily modified, in accordance with the present invention, to receive the retaining clip to form an integral unit therewith.

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The present invention, both as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective view of one embodiment of the relay base apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the second embodiment taken along lines 33 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of the second embodiment taken along lines 44 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS:

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a relay base apparatus, generally indicated by arrow 10, comprising a base 11 having a retaining clip 13 mounted thereon. The base 11 includes a main body portion 15 having a support plate 17 formed in a conventional manner for supporting a contact plate 19. An electrical relay, shown in phantom lines, is adapted to be mounted on g the base 11 with the bottom portion thereof in electrical contact with the contact plate 19. The electrical relay is of conventional construction and is usually square shaped in form.

The support plate 17 further includes three flanged portions 21 extending therefrom with each flange forming a bore which normally receives a threaded bolt when used in the conventional manner. However, in accordance with the present invention, each bore is fitted with a stud 23 having a lower threaded-portion 25 extending through the bore and an upper portion 26 of a larger diameter which extends above the flange 21. The upper extremity of each stud 23 forms a collar 27 having an annular groove formed therein.

The retainer 13 includes a top wall 29 extending over the upper face of the relay and a pair of legs 31 extending downwardly from opposite sides of the top wall 29 to enclose the relay therebetween. Each leg 31 is outwardly flexible with the lower extremities of each legforrning a slotted foot 33 which, in turn, is adapted to engage the annular groove formedin each collar 27.

The top wall 29 further includes a pair of pressure flngers 35 extending outwardly from the center of the. wall section and flexing downwardly to engage the top surface of the relay and apply a retaining force thereto.

In mounting a relay onto the base 11, the relay is positioned on the contact plate 19 of the base 11. The

retainer clip 13 is then placed over the relay with the resilient legs 31 being flexed inwardly by hand until the slotted foot 33 is in the same horizontal plane as the annular grooves formed by the collar 27. At this level, the pressure fingers 35 of the top wall 29 engage and apply a retaining force to the top of the relay. The legs 31 are then released to flex outwardly to enable the slotted feet 33 to engage the respective annular grooves of the studs 23. In removing the retaining clip 13 to inspect, repair or replace the relay, the legs 31 are easily flexed inwardly by hand in order to disengage the studs 23.

An important advantage of this embodiment is that the base 13 is of a conventional construction and can be easily fabricated or obtained as an off-the-shelf item. The only difference involved is that instead of utilizing the bores for receiving threaded bolts, the studs 23 are inserted therein. Moreover, because of the convenient attaching process, the relays can be easily inspected, repair or replaced without the need of any special tools.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a second embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in which a base 40 comprises a plurality of prongs 41 for extending into an electrical socket (not shown). The base 40 also includes a plurality of sockets 43 formed in the upper surface thereof for receiving the terminal prongs of a relay (shown in phantom). The outer extremities of the base 40 form a pair of slotted flanges 45 for receiving a retaining clip 50.

The retaining clip 50 comprises a top wall 51 having a pair of rims 53 extending over the lateral edges thereof. A pair of legs 55 also extend downwardly from the opposite edges of the top wall 51 to extend through the slotted flanges 45. As in the previous embodiment, the legs 55 are outwardly flexible, with the lower extremities of each leg 55 comprising a tab 57 projecting outwardly therefrom. As-shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the tabs 57 are adapted to extend beneath and engage the bottom surface of the flange 45.

In securing the retaining clip 50 to the base 40 after the relay has been mounted therein, the retaining clip 50 is mounted over the relay and the legs 55 manually flexed inwardly against the sides of the relay until the tabs 57 of the legs 55 extend below the slotted flanges 45. The legs 55 are then released and are permitted to flex outwardly with the tabs 57 engaging the flanges 45, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In this manner, a relay base apparatus is provided in which the retaining clip can be easily attached and detached tothe relay base without any additional support structure and without the use of any special tools.

It should be noted that various modifications canbe made to the apparatus while still remaining within the purview of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A relay base apparatus for fixedly supporting an electrical relay comprising:

a base having contact means adapted to engage terminal means of the relay, said base further having means for receiving a retaining clip; and

a retainingclip having a top plateadapted to extend over the relay, the retaining clip further having leg means extending downwardly from the top wall to engage clip receiving means on said base, said leg means being outwardly flexible to engage the base,

whereb said retainin cli is ca able f b in detach d from the bas ma ually, vithou? the us of any tools.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said leg means comprise a pair of legs extending downwardly from opposite sides of the top wall to retain the relay therebetween.

3. The invention of claim 1 wherein said top wall further comprises flexible pressure fingers adapted to apply a downward retaining force on the relay.

4. The invention of claim 1 wherein said clip receiving means comprises:

a plurality of bores formed on the outer extremities of said base; and

a plurality of studs threadedly engaged within said bores, each stud having an annular, collar formed on the upper extremity for engagingly receiving the leg means. g

5. The invention of claim 2 wherein said clip receiving means comprises a pair of slotted flanges formed on opposite extremities of said base, said slotted flanges adapted to receive the outwardly flexible leg means of said retaining clip.

6. The invention of claim 5 wherein the outwardly flexible leg means of said retaining clip further comprises foot portions adapted to extend below the slotted flanges to engage the lower portion of the base.

7. The invention of claim 4 wherein the leg means of said retaining clip further comprises a slotted foot portion adapted to engage the annular collar of each of said studs. I

Claims

1. A relay base apparatus for fixedly supporting an electrical relay comprising: a base having contact means adapted to engage terminal means of the relay, said base further having means for receiving a retaining clip; and a retaining clip having a top plate adapted to extend over the relay, the retaining clip further having leg means extending downwardly from the top wall to engage clip receiving means on said base, said leg means being outwardly flexible to engage the base, whereby said retaining clip is capable of being detached from the base manually, without the use of any tools.

4. The invention of claim 1 wherein said clip receiving means comprises: a plurality of bores formed on the outer extremities of said base; and a plurality of studs threadedly engaged within said bores, each stud having an annular collar formed on the upper extremity for engagingly receiving the leg means.

7. The invention of claim 4 wherein the leg means of said retaining clip further comprises a slotted foot portion adapted to engage the annular collar of each of said studs.