Electromechanical relay

Claim 1

An electromechanical relay comprising, in combination: a housing forming an enclosed internal chamber, the housing having two endwalls and sidewalls, said sidewalls extending longitudinally of and interconnecting said endwalls to form said enclosed internal chamber; an elongated rectangular-shaped piezo-electric element positioned internally within the enclosed chamber and extending longitudinally within said chamber substantially parallel to said sidewalls, the element being flexible laterally intermediate said sidewalls responsive to electrical power applied to the element; support means for anchoring a first longitudinal terminal end of the element to the housing within the internal chaMber and adjacent to one of said endwalls, the other longitudinal terminal end of the element being suspended within the enclosed internal chamber; input terminal means embedded within the housing walls and protruding through the housing to within said internal chamber and externally to the exterior of the housing, the input terminal means being positioned externally to receive input electrical power from an external source, the input terminal means being electrically connected internally to the element adjacent to said first longitudinal terminal end; an elongated electrically insulative interlink having a thickness greater than the thickness of the element, the interlink being anchored about one of its longitudinal terminal ends to said other longitudinal terminal end of the element, the interlink extending longitudinally within the chamber in tandem longitudinal alignment with said element and substantially parallel with said sidewalls, the interlink establishing an elongated moment arm with the element; an elongated electrically conductive armature contactor having one longitudinal terminal end anchored within and adjacent the other longitudinal end of the insulative interlink, extending longitudinally in tandem longitudinal alignment with the interlink substantially parallel with said sidewalls, the interlink electrically insulating the element from the armature contactor, the armature contactor establishing an elongated moment arm with the interlink and the element; and a plurality of contact terminals embedded within said housing walls and protruding through said housing walls to within said internal chamber and externally of the housing, the contact terminals projecting internally to a position laterally adjacent to the armature contactor, at least two of said contact terminals being offset relative to one another within the chamber, a flexible conductive wire connected to one of said contact terminals within the chamber and about its other end to said conductive armature contactor.