Electromagnetic contactor

An electromagnetic contactor constructed so as to enable economical assembly thereof without any screws or similar fasteners comprising:

• an upper housing part of insulating material having an opening at the bottom and a contact compartment therein for slidably receiving and slidably accommodating a movable contact carrier and through-slots in opposite end walls thereof for receiving stationary contacts;
• an insulating movable contact carrier having resiliently-biased movable contacts mounted thereon and constructed to be inserted or dropped into said contact compartment through said opening;
• complementary inner walls in said contact compartment of said upper housing part and on said contact carrier for freely receiving said contact carrier into said contact compartment when dropped therein and guiding the same within said compartment for relative vertical actuation with respect thereto;
• stationary contacts inserted with interference fit through said slots in said opposite end walls of said upper housing part into said contact compartment for engagement by said movable contacts when said contact carrier is actuated and terminals on said stationary contacts accessible on the outside of said upper housing part;
• leaf spring retaining means at the bottom of said contact carrier;
• an armature having a slot therethrough;
• a retainer leaf spring inserted through said slot in said armature and pressed sideways at its ends into said leaf spring retaining means to securely clamp said armature to said contact carrier;
• an electromagnet comprising an insulation encapsulated operating coil unit having interfitting portions with said upper housing part to maintain said coil unit fixed with respect to said upper housing part and a magnetic frame about the coil of said coil unit so as to magnetically attract said armature when said coil is energized;
• an armature return spring between said coil unit and said armature;
• a lower housing part placed over and secured to said upper housing part and embracing said magnetic frame and said coil unit to retain the same clamped with respect to said upper housing part with said return spring partly compressed between said coil unit and said armature;
• and said insulation encapsulated coil unit comprising integral resilient abutments that are engaged by said lower housing part to take up looseness between said coil unit and said lower housing part and thereby hold said coil unit tightly against said upper housing part.