CN216084698U - Micro switch - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure discloses a micro switch, including: the switch comprises a switch body, wherein an insulating frame is arranged in the switch body, a moving mechanism is arranged in the insulating frame, a push rod penetrates through the middle position of the moving mechanism, an upper electrode is arranged outside one side of the push rod, and liquid metal is coated on the opposite surface of the push rod and the upper electrode; the other side of the push rod is immersed into the upper surface of the liquid metal pool, and the lower surface of the liquid metal pool is soaked with a lower electrode. This is disclosed through forming liquid metal contact, can eliminate the contact unstability problem that the solid contact electrically conducts the spot and brings, and can tolerate great surge current, reduces the on-state loss.

Description

Micro switch

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of electrical and electronic switches, and more particularly to a micro switch.

Background

An electrical electronic switch is one of the essential control elements that are indispensable in power transmission and signal transmission circuits. Common switching devices include mechanical switches and semiconductor switches, both of which require a circuit to be kept stably on in a closed state and cut off current and isolate the circuit in an open state.

The traditional mechanical switch uses a pair of closed solid metal contacts to conduct current, and the micro-protrusions on the surface of the solid metal can generate huge electric repulsion when conducting short-circuit current or suffering from high current such as lightning stroke and the like, so that the switch contacts are electrically exploded. In addition, solid contact also has the problems of unstable contact resistance, serious insertion loss of a high-frequency circuit and the like. Mechanical wear during the closing operation of the solid contact and arc erosion generated during the breaking of current limit the service life and stability of the mechanical switch; semiconductor switches are free of mechanical movement and switching arcing during operation, but rely on carrier conduction to inevitably produce large on-state losses. Meanwhile, the switching ratio of the semiconductor switch is not high, and the isolation voltage endurance is limited.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

In view of the deficiencies in the prior art, the object of the present disclosure is to provide a micro switch, which has stable electrical contact for withstanding large current impact, low on-state power consumption and high frequency insertion loss, and high isolation voltage tolerance.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the present disclosure provides the following technical solutions:

a micro-switch, comprising:

a switch body, a switch cover and a switch cover,

an insulating frame is arranged in the switch body,

a motion mechanism is arranged in the insulating frame, a push rod penetrates through the middle position of the motion mechanism, an upper electrode is arranged outside one side of the push rod, and liquid metal is coated on the opposite surface of the push rod and the upper electrode; the other side of the push rod is immersed into the upper surface of the liquid metal pool, and the lower surface of the liquid metal pool is soaked with a lower electrode.

Preferably, the movement mechanism comprises any one of: a stepping motor, a linear motor and a push-pull electromagnet.

Preferably, one end of the upper electrode is positioned outside the insulating frame, and the other end of the upper electrode is positioned inside the insulating frame.

Preferably, one end of the lower electrode is positioned outside the insulating frame, and the other end of the lower electrode is positioned in the liquid metal pool.

Preferably, the switch body is a seal-cast body.

Preferably, a sealing cover plate is arranged on one side of the insulating frame.

Preferably, the diameter of the contact part of the two sides of the push rod and the liquid metal is not more than 3 mm.

Preferably, the diameters of the upper electrode and the lower electrode are not more than 3 mm.

Preferably, one side of the liquid metal pool is provided with a liquid pool cover plate.

Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effect that this disclosure brought does:

1. by forming the liquid metal contact, the problem of unstable contact caused by conductive spots of the solid contact can be solved, and the solid contact can bear larger surge current and reduce on-state loss.

2. The use of liquid metal electrical connection paths enables wear-free mechanical movement of the solid electrode.

3. The liquid metal switch is cast and sealed in an oxygen-free environment, so that the liquid metal can be protected from being oxidized, and the long-life self-healing property of the liquid metal contact is realized.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a micro switch according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a microswitch provided by another embodiment of the present disclosure in a closed state;

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a microswitch provided by another embodiment of the present disclosure in an open state;

the reference numbers in the figures are as follows:

1. a switch body; 2. an insulating frame; 3. sealing the cover plate; 4. a motion mechanism (4-1, a push rod); 5. an external electrode (5-1, an upper electrode, 5-2, a lower electrode); 6. a liquid metal contact (6-1, a first hemispherical liquid metal contact, 6-2, a second hemispherical liquid metal contact); 7. a liquid metal bath; 8. liquid pool cover plate.

Detailed Description

Specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to fig. 1 to 3. While specific embodiments of the disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the disclosure may be embodied in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

It should be noted that certain terms are used throughout the description and claims to refer to particular components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, various names may be used to refer to a component. This specification and claims do not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function. In the following description and in the claims, the terms "include" and "comprise" are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean "include, but not limited to. The description which follows is a preferred embodiment of the disclosure, but is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the disclosure and not for the purpose of limiting the scope of the disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure is to be determined by the terms of the appended claims.

To facilitate an understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the following detailed description is to be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and the drawings are not to be construed as limiting the embodiments of the present disclosure.

In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 1, the present disclosure provides a micro switch comprising:

the switch body (1) is provided with a plurality of switch bodies,

an insulating frame 2 is arranged in the switch body 1,

a movement mechanism 4 is arranged in the insulating frame 2, a push rod 4-1 penetrates through the middle position of the movement mechanism 4, an upper electrode 5-1 is arranged outside one side of the push rod 4-1, and liquid metal is coated on the opposite surface of the push rod 4-1 and the upper electrode 5-1; the other side of the push rod 4-1 is immersed into the upper surface of the liquid metal pool 7, and the lower surface of the liquid metal pool 7 is immersed with the lower electrode 5-2.

The above embodiments constitute a complete technical solution of the present disclosure, and the working principle of the above embodiments is described in detail with reference to fig. 2 and 3. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the micro switch in a closed state, and as shown in fig. 2, when the push rod 4-1 penetrating through the moving mechanism 4 moves vertically upward, the liquid metal droplet coated on the upper surface of the push rod 4-1 is driven to be fused with the liquid metal droplet coated on the lower surface of the upper electrode 5-1, so as to form a liquid metal capillary liquid bridge, i.e., a liquid metal contact 6, thereby realizing circuit conduction. While the push rod 4-1 is moving upward, the lower surface of the push rod 4-1 is always immersed in the liquid metal bath 7, which forms a stable electrical connection path with the lower electrode 5-2 that is also immersed in the liquid metal bath 7. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the micro switch in an off state, as shown in fig. 3, when the push rod 4-1 penetrating through the moving mechanism 4 moves vertically downward, the liquid metal contact 6 is stretched, so that the liquid bridge is broken, and the separated first hemispherical liquid metal contact 6-1 and second hemispherical liquid metal contact 6-2 are formed, thereby realizing circuit breaking and isolation, and the lower surface of the push rod 4-1 is always soaked in the liquid metal pool 7 while the push rod 4-1 moves downward, and a stable electrical connection path is maintained with the lower electrode 5-2 which is also soaked in the liquid metal pool 7.

Compared with the traditional mechanical microswitch, the embodiment takes the liquid metal as the conductive medium, eliminates conductive spots between solid contacts, can keep stable electric contact performance when conducting large current, and cannot generate contact repulsion force; meanwhile, the liquid metal contact also reduces the on-state loss in a large-current and high-frequency circuit, can avoid mechanical abrasion and greatly prolongs the service life of equipment.

In another embodiment, the movement mechanism comprises any one of: a stepping motor, a linear motor and a push-pull electromagnet.

In this embodiment, under the action of the motor or the magnet, the push rod 4-1 can move upwards or downwards, so that the liquid metal droplets coated on the upper surface of the push rod 4-1 are fused or separated with the liquid metal droplets coated on the lower surface of the upper electrode 5-1, thereby realizing the conduction or the disconnection of the circuit.

In another embodiment, one end of the upper electrode is positioned outside the insulating frame, and the other end of the upper electrode is positioned inside the insulating frame.

In another embodiment, one end of the lower electrode is positioned outside the insulating frame, and the other end of the lower electrode is positioned in the liquid metal pool.

In another embodiment, the switch body is a seal cast body.

In this embodiment, the switch body is a sealed casting body, because the conductivity of the liquid bridge formed by the fusion of the liquid metals is weakened after the liquid bridge contacts with oxygen to generate an oxidation reaction, and therefore, the fusion of the liquid metals to form the liquid bridge needs to be performed in a sealed oxygen-free environment.

In another embodiment, a sealing cover plate 3 is arranged on one side of the insulating frame.

In this embodiment, through setting up sealed apron, can prevent that the glue solution from getting into inside the frame when carrying out sealed pouring to switch frame construction.

In another embodiment, the liquid metal is a gallium indium tin alloy.

In the embodiment, in the components of the gallium-indium-tin alloy, the percentage content of gallium is 68.5%, the percentage content of indium is 21.5%, and the percentage content of tin is 10%.

In another embodiment, the diameter of the contact part of the two sides of the push rod and the liquid metal is not more than 3 mm.

In the present embodiment, the reason why the diameter of the portion of both sides of the push rod which is in contact with the liquid metal is set to be not more than 3mm is that the surface tension of the liquid metal can be made dominant within this size range. If the diameter of the push rod exceeds 3mm, the effect of gravity will exceed the surface tension, and liquid metal capillary bridges will not be formed and the droplet morphology will not be maintained.

In another embodiment, the diameter of the upper electrode and the lower electrode is not more than 3 mm.

In this embodiment, the diameter of the upper electrode and the lower electrode is set to be not more than 3mm, and the principle is the same as that of the push rod, and thus the description is omitted here.

In another embodiment, a bath cover 8 is provided on one side of the bath 7.

In another embodiment, as a further improvement to the present solution, a layer of metallic tin may be further plated on the upper surface of the push rod 4-1 and the lower surface of the upper electrode 5-1, so as to achieve complete wetting and stable contact between the electrodes and the liquid metal.

In another embodiment, as a further improvement of the present invention, in order to enhance the arc extinguishing capability of the switch and protect the liquid metal from oxidation, any liquid medium including deionized water, deoxidized water, insulating oil, etc. may be filled around the liquid metal contact 6.

While the embodiments of the disclosure have been described above in connection with the drawings, the disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments and applications described above, which are intended to be illustrative, instructive, and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art, having the benefit of this disclosure, may effect numerous modifications thereto and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure as set forth in the claims that follow.

Claims (9)

1. A micro-switch, comprising:

a switch body, a switch cover and a switch cover,

an insulating frame is arranged in the switch body,

a moving mechanism is arranged in the insulating frame, a push rod penetrates through the middle position of the moving mechanism, an upper electrode is arranged outside one side of the push rod, and liquid metal is coated on the opposite surface of the push rod and the upper electrode; the other side of the push rod is immersed into the upper surface of the liquid metal pool, and the lower surface of the liquid metal pool is soaked with a lower electrode.

2. The microswitch of claim 1, wherein the movement mechanism comprises any one of: a stepping motor, a linear motor and a push-pull electromagnet.

3. The micro-switch of claim 1, wherein one end of the upper electrode is positioned outside the insulating frame and the other end is positioned inside the insulating frame.

4. The micro-switch of claim 1, wherein one end of the lower electrode is located outside the insulating frame and the other end is located in the liquid metal bath.

5. The microswitch of claim 1, wherein the switch body is a seal cast body.

6. The micro-switch of claim 1, wherein a sealing cover plate is provided at one side of the insulating frame.

7. The micro-switch of claim 1, wherein the diameter of the portion of both sides of the push rod contacting the liquid metal is not more than 3 mm.

8. The micro-switch of claim 1, wherein the upper and lower electrodes have a diameter of no more than 3 mm.

9. The microswitch of claim 1, wherein one side of the liquid metal bath is provided with a bath cover.

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