EP0036815B1 - Dispositif d'articulation d'une lame mobile pivotante sur son embase, et interrupteur comportant un tel dispositif - Google Patents

Dispositif d'articulation d'une lame mobile pivotante sur son embase, et interrupteur comportant un tel dispositif Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0036815B1
EP0036815B1 EP81400442A EP81400442A EP0036815B1 EP 0036815 B1 EP0036815 B1 EP 0036815B1 EP 81400442 A EP81400442 A EP 81400442A EP 81400442 A EP81400442 A EP 81400442A EP 0036815 B1 EP0036815 B1 EP 0036815B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
float
liquid
movable blade
blade
cavity
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
EP81400442A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0036815A1 (fr
Inventor
Gérard Holvoet
Jacques Legrand
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Socapex SA
Original Assignee
Socapex SA
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Socapex SA filed Critical Socapex SA
Publication of EP0036815A1 publication Critical patent/EP0036815A1/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0036815B1 publication Critical patent/EP0036815B1/fr
Expired legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H1/00—Contacts
    • H01H1/06—Contacts characterised by the shape or structure of the contact-making surface, e.g. grooved
    • H01H1/08—Contacts characterised by the shape or structure of the contact-making surface, e.g. grooved wetted with mercury
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H29/00—Switches having at least one liquid contact

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a hinge device of a blade, movable in an angular movement, and pivoting on its support.
  • An example of such an articulation is found, inter alia, in switches with wet contacts and with magnetic control.
  • Switches with contacts wetted by a conductive liquid, most generally consisting of mercury or an amalgam of mercury, are known in the art; they are frequently called “ILM”, mercury wetted switch, or in English “mercury wetted switch”.
  • ILM mercury wetted switch
  • This category of electric switches is, in its most generally known form, constituted by a system of associated metal blades, at least one of which has a certain flexibility, sealed in a glass bulb inside which has been introduced a enough mercury to wet the blades.
  • the main advantage of this type of switch is that it offers very good electrical contact without damaging the surfaces that come into contact since they are wetted by mercury, which regenerates the surfaces of the blades.
  • this type of switch has a certain number of drawbacks among which the fact that, in order to obtain sufficient flexibility of the movable blade, it must have a certain length combined with a certain thinness, which results in a relatively large device, of the order of 2 cm in length, which is contrary to the current trend in technology, which goes in the direction of miniaturization made necessary by the increasing complexity of electronic systems such as for example telephone exchanges, or professional equipment.
  • wet reed switches must therefore combine small dimensions, sensitivity to low currents so that they can be controlled for example by integrated circuits, insensitivity to vibrations which are included in all standards. of receiving materials, and also for cost reasons, the need for them to be made with few mechanical adjustments, which moreover leads to an increase in their reliability since the fewer the adjustments, the less has possible causes of misadjustments.
  • the articulation of the movable blade of a switch is produced either by an element of the blade provided with flexibility, or by a mechanical articulation.
  • German patent application 2 106 321 proposes a mercury switch comprising a contact support whose articulation is produced by a part forming an axis cooperating with a bearing, mercury ensuring the electrical continuity between the axis and the bearing.
  • the presence of an axis and a bearing implies the constraints of good mechanical precision.
  • US Patent 2,295,602 discloses a switch in which the switching takes place in translation.
  • a contact element is integral with an armature arranged in a sleeve and the surface tension of mercury exerts on the armature a downward force, so as to maintain the contact region of the contact element in close electrical contact with the contact region of a rear contact element.
  • Such a switch is relatively complicated and is not adaptable to a pivoting movable blade.
  • French Patent 2,392,485 discloses a hinge for a rotating moving part wetted with mercury which remains in permanent contact with an electrode and is movable so as to make contact either with one or the other of two other electrodes. It is guided by a cavity which implies a certain assembly precision.
  • the invention relates to a device for articulating a movable blade, the plane of which pivots in an angular movement around a pivot axis located at a base, and which does not have the aforementioned drawbacks.
  • the movable blade is integral with a float comprising said pivot axis and floating on a liquid contained in a cavity in which it is retained by capillarity. and which is practiced in the base, the nature of the material of the float and its dimensions being such that the buoyancy exerted by the liquid is greater than or equal to the weight of the mobile assembly constituted by the float, the mobile blade and the film that wets the moving blade, the balance of forces ensuring that the joint functions independently of its position in space.
  • the dimensions of the cavity must simply allow mercury to be retained by capillary action and therefore it does not need to be produced with precision, which simplifies the manufacture and lowers the cost prices.
  • FIG. 1 represents an example of a switch with moving blades according to the known art, which was the subject of a patent application by the applicant.
  • a metal base 1 is crossed by two rods 2 and 3 sealed by means of glass beads, these two rods 2 and 3 constituting the so-called rest and working contacts, and being bent so as to ensure good contact with a blade 4 which if found between them.
  • This blade 4 is made of a ferromagnetic material and it is articulated at one of its ends around a liquid hinge 5 constituted by a certain amount of mercury which wets the blade 4 as well as two metal rods 6 and 7 parallel between them and spaced a distance very slightly greater than the thickness of the blade.
  • the assembly of the blade 4, the rods 6 and 7, as well as the contacts 2 and 3 are wetted with mercury.
  • the external connections are ensured by the rods 2 and 3 which pass through the base as well as by a third rod which is also called 1, in the figure, because it is in electrical contact with the base 1.
  • This type of relay is supplemented by a small magnet 8 of polarization, by a cover of closing, which is not represented to let see the interior of the relay, and by a control coil, which is not also represented, and which is located under the base between the output connections 1, 2 and 3.
  • This wet contact switch has progress compared to known switches and its operation is fully satisfactory. However, it requires a certain precision machining so as to avoid the risk of seizing or mechanical jamming of the blade between the two rods 6 and 7 which provide its liquid hinge. Indeed, the liquid hinge must be adjusted well enough for the mercury to ensure bridge contact between the rods 6 and 7 and the blade 4, and for the blade 4 to be held in this hinge without escaping during vibration. , this adjustment should not however oppose the sensitivity of the switch.
  • FIG. 2 represents the means of articulation of the movable blade as it is proposed under the invention.
  • the movable blade 9 is integral with a part 10 to which it is attached by welding, brazing, or even by any other means such as a T-shaped cutting and a metal pushing.
  • This part 10 does not function as an axis of rotation - because it does not have the precision of machining, and it is not associated with bearings - but rather as a float to support the movable blade 9 and allow its movement angular.
  • the part 10 which is metallic floats on a mercury bath 11 which is held in place by a cavity 12 arranged in a base 13.
  • the float 10 has an elongated shape since it is integral with a blade, by its slice. However, it can have the same length as the width of the blade, or a longer length.
  • the base 13 has the form of the bases of encapsulation boxes for discrete semiconductors of the signal transistor type, but it can have any other form suitable for producing a switch.
  • the movable assembly of the pallet 9 and the integral float 10 is introduced into the cavity 12 and floats in indifferent equilibrium in the conductive liquid with which this cavity is filled.
  • the weight of the mobile assembly is equal to the buoyancy exerted by the liquid on the float, which implies that the material of which the float is made has a lower density than that of the liquid in which it is immersed, because of the additional weight imposed by the movable blade which it is out of the liquid.
  • the weight of the mobile assembly is 18 mg for the float, 6 mg for the pallet, to which are added 5 mg for the mercury on the surface of the pallet.
  • the total weight is therefore 29 mg, however the buoyancy exerted on the float is 29.6 mg.
  • the weight of the pallet is therefore less than the Archimedes thrust exerted by the mercury and the mobile assembly floats in the mercury.
  • the volume of the cavity 12 being small, and provided that the surfaces of this cavity and the surfaces of the mobile assembly are wetted by mercury as well as the stops, the latter remains in place in all positions with respect to the vertical of the place, thanks to the surface tension forces; Archimedes' thrust is always exerted on the float to cancel the weight of the mobile assembly.
  • the base 13 in which the cavity 12 is machined is metallic: it then suffices to treat the surfaces of the cavity 12 so as to make them wettable.
  • the base 13 may also include, inside the outer ring, which is always metallic in anticipation of closing by electrical welding, a flat cake. bale which is made of ceramic: it then suffices to metallize, by brush or by any suitable process, the walls of the cavity 12 so as to make them wettable by mercury.
  • FIG. 3 represents the cavity 12 seen in plan and in section, in the central part of the base 13;
  • the cavity has been shown to have a substantially square section at its ends. In fact, this is only an example of realization; what is important is essentially that the two walls of the cavity leave between them and the float sufficient play so that the float is actually surrounded by the liquid, and does not block, the bottom of the cavity can be indifferently flat or curved , semi-cylindrical for example.
  • the cavity 12 can be either machined, by chip removal, in a metal base 13, or stamped in metal. But if the base 13 is made of ceramic, the cavity 12 can be obtained by sintering during the production of the base.
  • This cavity 12 in a preferred embodiment, consists of three parts, a central part and two parts at the ends of the float.
  • the two end parts 14 and 15 have a width dimension equal to the diameter of the float, increased by a certain clearance such as for example a third of the diameter of the float in addition, so as to ensure sufficient guidance of the mobile assembly, without risk of jamming.
  • the depth of these two end parts 14 and 15 must be at least equal to the diameter of the float.
  • the parts 14 and 15 of the cavity 12 constitute bearings for the float, incorrect term because a bearing supposes a greater precision in the adjustment, it is however possible state that these end portions 14 and 15 constitute guide cages, intended to prevent seizure or jamming of the mobile assembly, but these cages do not require high machining precision.
  • the central part 16 is that which constitutes the reserve of mercury in the cavity 12. For this, its width is notably increased compared to that of the end parts 14 and 15 and it is for example, of the order of 50% wider than the diameter of the movable member. Its depth is also increased accordingly.
  • the movable element When the movable element is placed in the cavity 12 and the latter is filled with mercury, which is hitherto the most commonly used conductive liquid, as well as its amalgams, the internal tension forces of the mercury as well that the wettability of the latter against the walls of the cavity, in its external parts 14 and 15, and the wettability of the mercury on the float 10, effectively prevent the mercury from leaking from the outside, which means that it is not useful to close the cavity 12 outside the base 13.
  • FIG. 4 shows two examples of means for fixing the mobile assembly to the base of the switch.
  • the invention provides either a narrow metal plate as shown in 17, which covers only the external parts 14 and 15 of the cavity 12, or a wide metal plate such as that shown in 18 which covers the part of the cavity 12 located between the movable blade 9 and the periphery of the base 13.
  • the assembly of the two narrow plates 17, or of the two large plates 18, can be replaced by a single v-shaped part, the two branches of which constitute the two plates.
  • a narrow plate such as 17 has the advantage of ensuring friction on the float 10 only on a short generator, that is to say that the friction is low.
  • a wider plate like that shown in 18 ensures a more complete closure of the cavity, which is always a useful precaution to prevent mercury from emerging from the cavity as a result of sudden impact for example.
  • Figure 5 shows the floating joint of the movable blade seen from one end of the device.
  • the movable blade 9 is welded to its float 10 seen at the end, and it floats on a small amount of mercury 11 inside a cavity 12 hollowed out in the base 13 of a switch with wet contacts.
  • a metal element 17 prevents the movable blade and float assembly from leaving its cavity.
  • Figure 5 is intended to highlight the fact that the float 10 is in a liquid bath, and that the spacing of the walls of the cavity does not allow this hinge device to be confused with a mechanical axis, held in two bearings .
  • the embodiment which has been described is based on the case where the conductive liquid is mercury, because it is still mercury and its alloys which are currently the most commonly used liquids.
  • this type of mobile joint and its production remain valid and belong to the field of the invention in the case where the conductive liquid is other than mercury.
  • the conducting liquid is the eutectic NaK, for example, eutectic between sodium and potassium melting at 5 °; it suffices to ensure the operation of this articulation device to adapt the densities and the dimensions of the float to the density of the conductive liquid.
  • the wet contact relay which completes the articulation device as described, is completed by means of so-called work and rest electrodes, which pass through the base 13 ensuring, on one side of the base the external contacts, and on the other side of the base, the rest and work contacts with the movable pallet 9.
  • the common contact on the movable pallet 9 is made directly on the base 13 if the latter is metallic, or by means screen-printed metalization if the base 13 is made of ceramic or insulating material.
  • the relay is also supplemented, according to the rules of those skilled in the art, by a polarizing magnet which preferentially directs the movable blade towards one of the two contacts, as well as by external control means, ie a coil, or a mobile magnet, and it is closed by a hermetically sealed cover on the base.
  • a polarizing magnet which preferentially directs the movable blade towards one of the two contacts
  • external control means ie a coil, or a mobile magnet

Landscapes

  • Switches Operated By Changes In Physical Conditions (AREA)
  • Level Indicators Using A Float (AREA)
EP81400442A 1980-03-26 1981-03-20 Dispositif d'articulation d'une lame mobile pivotante sur son embase, et interrupteur comportant un tel dispositif Expired EP0036815B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FR8006688 1980-03-26
FR8006688A FR2479552A1 (fr) 1980-03-26 1980-03-26 Dispositif d'articulation d'une lame mobile, pivotante sur son embase et interrupteur comportant un tel dispositif

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0036815A1 EP0036815A1 (fr) 1981-09-30
EP0036815B1 true EP0036815B1 (fr) 1984-09-19

Family

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP81400442A Expired EP0036815B1 (fr) 1980-03-26 1981-03-20 Dispositif d'articulation d'une lame mobile pivotante sur son embase, et interrupteur comportant un tel dispositif

Country Status (5)

Country Link
US (1) US4375055A (GUID-C5D7CC26-194C-43D0-91A1-9AE8C70A9BFF.html)
EP (1) EP0036815B1 (GUID-C5D7CC26-194C-43D0-91A1-9AE8C70A9BFF.html)
JP (1) JPS56149729A (GUID-C5D7CC26-194C-43D0-91A1-9AE8C70A9BFF.html)
DE (1) DE3166113D1 (GUID-C5D7CC26-194C-43D0-91A1-9AE8C70A9BFF.html)
FR (1) FR2479552A1 (GUID-C5D7CC26-194C-43D0-91A1-9AE8C70A9BFF.html)

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2498689A1 (fr) * 1981-01-23 1982-07-30 Socapex Dispositif de rappel par tension de surface d'un liquide, interrupteur comportant un tel dispositif et son utilisation dans les relais a commande magnetique
US4494156A (en) * 1982-05-14 1985-01-15 Media Systems Technology Selectable format computer disk copier machine

Family Cites Families (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2317695A (en) * 1940-06-15 1943-04-27 Bell Telephone Labor Inc Electric switch
US2295602A (en) * 1941-07-17 1942-09-15 Bell Telephone Labor Inc Switching device
DE1764884U (de) 1955-06-10 1958-04-10 Erich Herion Steuerschieber mit elastischen abdichtmitteln.
US2923792A (en) * 1958-09-22 1960-02-02 Fry Carroll Brooks Magnetic switch
DE1514762B2 (de) * 1965-05-28 1970-06-25 : Standard Elektrik Lorenz AG, 7000 Stuttgart Haftrelais
US3470502A (en) * 1967-10-11 1969-09-30 Clare & Co C P Mercury-wetted contact switch
GB1200269A (en) * 1968-05-02 1970-07-29 Telephone Mfg Co Ltd Improvements in or relating to magnetically polarised relays using encapsulated reed changeover contacts
DE1764884A1 (de) * 1968-08-24 1971-11-25 Eberle Werke Kg Schaltrelais mit durch Quecksilber benetzten Kontakten
DE2106321B2 (de) * 1971-02-10 1974-01-10 Willy Guenther Kg, 8500 Nuernberg Magnetisch betätigter Quecksilberschalter
DE2326338A1 (de) * 1973-05-23 1974-12-19 Koehler Muth & Co Quecksilberschalter
FR2392485A1 (fr) * 1977-05-27 1978-12-22 Orega Circuits & Commutation Interrupteur a contacts mouilles, et a commande magnetique

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
FR2479552A1 (fr) 1981-10-02
DE3166113D1 (en) 1984-10-25
FR2479552B1 (GUID-C5D7CC26-194C-43D0-91A1-9AE8C70A9BFF.html) 1982-09-03
JPS56149729A (en) 1981-11-19
US4375055A (en) 1983-02-22
EP0036815A1 (fr) 1981-09-30

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