Bi-stable solenoid with an intermediate condition
AssigneeHUSCO Automotive Holdings LLC
InventorMatthew Pellmann
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A bi-stable solenoid includes a housing, a wire coil, a permanent magnet, an armature, a pin, and a spring. The wire coil is arranged within the housing. The armature is slidably arranged within the housing and is moveable between a first armature position and a second armature position. The pin at least partially extends out of the housing and is slidably engaged by the armature. The spring is biased between the armature and the pin. When the pin encounters an intermediate position between a retracted position and an extended position due to the pin engaging an obstruction, the spring is configured to maintain a biasing force on the pin until the obstruction is removed.
Claims20
A bi-stable solenoid comprising:
- a housing;
- a wire coil including a first coil bay and a second coil bay arranged within the housing;
- a permanent magnet arranged within the housing;
- an armature slidably arranged within the housing and moveable between a first armature position and a second armature position;
- a pin at least partially extending out of the housing and slidably engaged by the armature;
- and
- a spring biased between the armature and the pin,
- wherein when the pin encounters an intermediate position between a retracted position and an extended position due to the pin engaging an obstruction, the spring is configured to maintain a biasing force on the pin until the obstruction is removed, and
- wherein the pin is slidably engaged by the armature such that when the pin is prevented from displacing to the extended position by the obstruction, the armature is allowed to shift from the first armature position to the second armature position.
A bi-stable solenoid comprising:
- a housing;
- a wire coil including a first coil bay and a second coil bay arranged within the housing;
- a permanent magnet arranged between the first coil bay and the second coil bay;
- an armature slidably arranged within the housing and moveable between a first armature position and a second armature position;
- a pin at least partially extending out of the housing and moveable relative to the armature, the pin being moveable between an extended position and a retracted position;
- and
- a spring biased between the armature and the pin,
- wherein, when the armature is moved from the first armature position to the second armature position, the spring applies a force onto the pin, thereby biasing the pin toward the extended position, and when the armature is moved from the first armature position to the second armature position and the pin encounters an obstruction, the spring continues to bias the pin toward the extended position until the obstruction is removed and the pin is allowed move to the extended position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.