EP0911850B1 - Electromagnetic relay - Google Patents

Electromagnetic relay Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0911850B1
EP0911850B1 EP19970308470 EP97308470A EP0911850B1 EP 0911850 B1 EP0911850 B1 EP 0911850B1 EP 19970308470 EP19970308470 EP 19970308470 EP 97308470 A EP97308470 A EP 97308470A EP 0911850 B1 EP0911850 B1 EP 0911850B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
armature
arm
relay
magnetic yoke
yoke
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 - Lifetime
Application number
EP19970308470
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0911850A1 (en
Inventor
Javier Gómez
Jorge Bonilla
Gema Cózar
Jaime Fernández
Pedro J. Riquelme
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.)
ABB Electrification Solutions SL
Original Assignee
GE Power Controls Iberica SL
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 GE Power Controls Iberica SL filed Critical GE Power Controls Iberica SL
Priority to DE1997636289 priority Critical patent/DE69736289T2/de
Priority to PT97308470T priority patent/PT911850E/pt
Priority to EP19970308470 priority patent/EP0911850B1/en
Priority to ES97308470T priority patent/ES2267121T3/es
Publication of EP0911850A1 publication Critical patent/EP0911850A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0911850B1 publication Critical patent/EP0911850B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H71/00—Details of the protective switches or relays covered by groups H01H73/00 - H01H83/00
    • H01H71/10—Operating or release mechanisms
    • H01H71/12—Automatic release mechanisms with or without manual release
    • H01H71/24—Electromagnetic mechanisms
    • H01H71/32—Electromagnetic mechanisms having permanently magnetised part
    • H01H71/321—Electromagnetic mechanisms having permanently magnetised part characterised by the magnetic circuit or active magnetic elements
    • H01H71/323—Electromagnetic mechanisms having permanently magnetised part characterised by the magnetic circuit or active magnetic elements with rotatable armature
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H71/00—Details of the protective switches or relays covered by groups H01H73/00 - H01H83/00
    • H01H71/02—Housings; Casings; Bases; Mountings
    • H01H71/0207—Mounting or assembling the different parts of the circuit breaker
    • H01H2071/0242—Assembling parts of a circuit breaker by using snap mounting techniques

Definitions

  • This invention relates to relays generally, and more specifically, to electromagnetic relays with tilting armatures.
  • Electromagnetic trip relays operate by means of which circuits are automatically opened in case of faults such as accidental leakage of current, to prevent damage to other connected devices if the circuits remain active.
  • Relays employing tilting armatures are known, for example, from EP Published Patent Application No. 643410.
  • a relay is encased in a housing cover having an aperture at the top through which an actuating pivot is inserted.
  • the relay includes a magnetic core formed by a coil wrapped about a coil bobbin in concentric with an electromagnet core.
  • the core is one of the two arms of a U-shaped electromagnet yoke with a permanent magnet attached to the bottom of the yoke.
  • An armature is tiltingly mounted above the magnet yoke, pivoting about an anchor shaft integrally welded onto it.
  • the permanent magnet creates a magnetic circuit keeping the armature on the U-shaped electromagnet yoke.
  • the electromagnet When the electromagnet is activated by current flowing through the coil, it creates an opposing magnetic circuit that cancels out the action of the permanent magnet, thus the armature is allowed to tilt away from the U-shaped electromagnet yoke by the operation of a spring. Once the relay is deactivated and the current is gone, a pivot is actuated to reclose the armature, thrusting it into contact with the electromagnet again.
  • the permanent magnet Since the permanent magnet is attached to the bottom center arm of the magnetic yoke and external to the yoke, it means that an intermediate air gap is present through which some of the magnetic flux of the magnet is lost making it necessary to use a high power magnet.
  • High power magnets on the order of 100 ⁇ VA are often required to obtain the magnetic force necessary to maintain the armature against the action of the spring acting in the opposing direction.
  • FR 2410353 A1 illustrates another relay having a tilting armature.
  • an electromagnetic relay comprising:
  • one feature of the invention resides in an electromagnetic relay with a permanent magnet incorporated in an interior location of the U-shaped yoke and attached to one arm of the yoke, particularly by soldering to an arm of said U-shaped part, in a position near and parallel to the bottom center arm of the U-shape.
  • Another novel feature of the present invention is an electromagnetic realy with the mechanical contact surface being separate from the magnetic contact surface to lessen the polar surface wear due to friction.
  • the top surface of the free arm of the magnetic yoke is mechanically separated into a central polar surface and two lateral surfaces.
  • the armature is tiltingly mounted above the magnetic yoke and pivoting about the two lateral surfaces, directing the flux conduction to the central surface and the mechanical friction to the side surfaces.
  • a novel support clamp with inclined projecting shoulders is mounted on the free arm of the magnetic yoke for relieving some of the reclosing stress from the armature and providing support to the armature.
  • the present invention further reduces material and assembly costs with the armature surfaces being easily identified with an asymmetrical shape, thus requiring only one side to be surface-treated and helping assembly workers easily identify the treated side.
  • Another novel feature of the present invention is a mechanical damper in the form of a thin sheet mounted above the armature to transfer the stress associated with the reclosing of circuit away from the polar contact surfaces.
  • Yet another novelty of the relay of the present invention is a flap for the external assembly of the actuating pivot, thus greatly reducing the chances for foreign particles to enter the relay during assembly.
  • the flap assembly with an aperture at the top for the insertion of the pivot, snaps click onto a depression on the cover of the relay, allowing the pivot to be assembled after the installation of the relay housing cover.
  • FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective of the relay according to the first embodiment of the present invention, showing a relay including a housing cover 1, closed off by a snap-fit base 2.
  • the magnetic circuit of the relay as seen comprises a U-shaped yoke 1 of a soft magnetic material, to which a permanent magnet 18 is attached (not shown in Figure 1).
  • One arm 15b of the yoke is encased in bobbin 11, around which a winding coil is wound, forming a coil core 10.
  • the other arm of the yoke, the free arm 15a passes through an opening 16 in a support base 9, encasing the bottom of the magnetic yoke in the support base 9.
  • the top surface of arm 15a is mechanically indented with two notches, dividing the top polar surface of the free arm into a center polar surface and two shoulder or lateral surfaces.
  • An armature 6 is mounted directly over the magnet yoke and tiltingly pivoting about the two shoulder surfaces of the free arm 15a of the magnetic yoke. Both the armature 6 and the yoke 15 are made out of a "soft" magnetic material.
  • the geometry of the armature 6 lends itself to a further advantage of the invention. It has proved economical to surface treat or to provide a higher-quality treatment to only one side of the armature, the side facing and contacting the magnetic core.
  • the armature has an asymmetrical shape to enable assemblers to quickly and almost automatically identify the treated side.
  • the invention should not be limited to this construction.
  • the armature may have distinguishing characteristics to mark its surfaces to enable assemblers to quickly and automatically identify its sides to correctly assemble the armature into the relay.
  • the armature 6 is an asymmetrically paddle-shaped plate with a broad end and a narrow end, with the broad end overlapping the two lateral shoulders of the yoke and the narrow end overlapping the coil core 10 when the magnetic circuit is de-activated. (See Figure 5, showing the armature positioned in relation to the magnetic yoke.)
  • the armature tilts under the tension force of spring 8 with one end of the spring 8 being hooked on a projection arm at the broad end of the armature 6, and the other end of the spring 8 being hooked on a clamp device 7 mounted on the free arm 15a of the magnetic yoke.
  • the spring 8 tends to tilt the armature 6 in the direction of opening or separated from arm 15b.
  • Figures 2A, 2B and 2C respectively show a perspective view and two side views of the magnetic yoke 15.
  • a permanent magnet 18 is placed between the two arms of the yoke and welded to the smaller arm 15b, forming the core of the magnetic core.
  • the part of the yoke below the magnet is known as the magnetic shunt.
  • Permanent magnet 18 creates a circulation of magnetic flux in the path formed by the two yoke 15 and the armature 6 as shown in Figure 2B so that when the armature 6 rests on arm 15b, the magnetic action maintains the armature 6 in position against the action of spring 8.
  • Figures 2A and 2C also show two notches at the top surface of the free arm 15a, dividing the polar surfaces into a larger central polar surface, and two smaller lateral shoulder surfaces.
  • a rather large impact action is generated and absorbed by the polar surfaces of the yoke 15 as well as the armature 6.
  • Such reclosing stress is significant relieved by a clamp device 7, which is to be discussed next.
  • Figures 3A and 3B show two possible embodiments for the magnetic yoke 15, with an orifice or recess in the bottom center arm 15c of the U-shape.
  • the orifice 15' can be in the form of a drill hole as in Figure 3A, or a plurality of notches as in Figure 3B.
  • the orifice 15' permits better control of the opening of the relay, i.e., overcoming the magnetic action retaining the armature 6 resting on arm 15b and allowing the armature 6 to tilt under action of spring 8.
  • FIGS 4A, 4B, and 4C show various views of a clamp 7 with a number of projecting side arms, allowing it to be tightly clamped around the free arm 15a of the magnetic yoke.
  • At the opposite end of the clamp device are two inclined surfaces 7' which provide support for the armature 6.
  • the two inclined surfaces 7' also provide another useful function, limiting the rotation of the armature 6 as well as avoiding displacement of the armature 6 caused by the traction of the spring 8 when the magnetic circuit opens.
  • one of the objects of the present inventions is to simplify the assembly to reduce labor and manufacturing costs.
  • the open hook of the support spring in the prior art relay can be easily entangled, causing a nuisance during the assembly process.
  • the projection parts of the armature 6 and the clamp device 7 allow the use of spring 8 with closed-end hooks, facilitating the assembly of the relay.
  • FIG. 6 depicts the flap cover 20 and its snap-fit relation with the housing cover 1 of the relay.
  • the flap 20 has a center aperture 19 for the external insertion and assembly of the actuating pivot 21, allowing the housing cover 1 of the relay to be installed at an earlier stage than in the prior art.
  • the housing cover 1 is provided with a slightly-formed depression on top of the cover with two protruding features 22 forming a snap-lock fit with the windows 23 in the flap 20.
  • the housing cover 1 is also provided with an small open hole at the top for the pivot 21 to go through.
  • the cover 1 can be first installed with only the small hole being open and exposed at the top. Next, the pivot 21 inserted through the aperture 19 of the flap, and the flap assembly 20 with the pivot 21 is snapped onto the relay cover 1 and completing the relay assembly.
  • Figure 7 shows a prior art relay, with the permanent magnet 18 being external to the U-shaped magnetic yoke and attached to the bottom center arm 15c of the yoke.
  • the arrangement of the permanent magnet outside of the U-shaped yoke gives rise to two magnetic circuits.
  • Circuit C is between the permanent magnet and the center bottom arm 15c of the U-shaped part.
  • the other circuit A runs through the U-shaped arms of the yoke and the amarture resting on the arms of the U-shape.
  • the external arrangement of the permanent magnet means that some of the flux is lost, requiring high intensity magnet on the order of 100 ⁇ VA to obtain the magnetic force necessary to maintain the armature against the tilting action of the spring.
  • the magnetic circuit of the relay is optimized with: 1) a permanent magnet being placed much closer to the armature and internal within the U-shaped yoke; and 2) an optimized U-shaped magnetic yoke with a secondary circuit having a reduced cross-section area in the form of the central polar surface of the yoke.
  • the permanent magnet is incorporated within the U-shaped yoke, affixed by soldering on one arm of the yoke, being near and parallel to the bottom center arm 15c.
  • the location of the permanent magnet means that there is no air gap between the permanent magnet and the yoke, facilitating circulation of the magnetic flux without losses. Additionally, this design allows the two magnetic circuits A and B formed (see Figure 2B) to have the same direction where they coincide, whereby an optimum magnetic effect is obtained in maintaining the armature 6 in a resting position on the yoke 15 and allowing a permanent magnet of much lower intensity in the order of 30 ⁇ VA or so, compared with the prior art relay of 100 ⁇ VA or so.
  • FIGs 8 and 9 illustrate the operation of the relay of the present invention with the optimized design.
  • the magnetic circuit is de-activated, i.e., the coil is NOT energized by a supply of current.
  • the flux of the permanent magnet 18 placed within the two arms of the yoke 15 flows from one pole to another following two different paths: 1) through the bottom of the yoke 15, and 2) through the armature 6, flowing across the polar surfaces of the yoke 15 and the air gaps separating the armature 6 and the yoke 15.
  • the magnetic circuit is activated, i.e., the coil is energized by a supply of current.
  • the coil When the coil is energized, it produces an alternating magnetic flux in the magnetic circuit.
  • This flux flows through armature 6, down one of the arms of the yoke 15, through the magnetic shunt (the part of the yoke 15 below the permanent magnet 18), and up the other arm to close the magnetic circuit.
  • the alternating magnetic flux creates an oscillation of the flux through the air gaps between the armature 6 and the yoke 15, bringing about a similar oscillation of the magnetic force holding the armature 6 and the yoke 15 together.
  • the alternating magnetic flux is created in the opposite direction of and overcoming the permanent magnet's flux, canceling out its effect and causing the magnetic force holding the armature 6 to the yoke 15 to fall below the level necessary to overcome the counterforce of the spnng 8 to keep the armature 6 from tilting.
  • the armature 6 tilts away from the magnetic yoke 15 and the tilting magnifies the air gaps between itself and the yoke 15. At that point, the reluctance in the magnetic circuit of the relay is increased and the magnetic flux in the circuit is decreased, preventing the circuit from reclosing by itself.
  • RCCB residual current circuit breaker
  • fault current is detected through a magnetic core, i.e., current transformer, which feeds an electromagnetic relay as in the present invention.
  • the present invention allows the tripping of devices such as RCCBs at very low power, e.g., 30 ⁇ VA, yet having all the features and stability of higher power relays while employing a much smaller and less costly magnetic core.
  • the relay is re-closed by an external push on the pivot 21 to force it back into the cover.
  • the pivot 21 is pushed back inside the cover, the armature 6 is forced against the yoke 15 until the air gaps between them are small enough to allow the permanent magnet's flux to hold the two pieces together with the armature resting on the yoke, and for the magnetic circuit to be back in its de-energized state.
  • the armature 6 pivots around the edges of the two lateral and smaller polar surfaces of the yoke 15.
  • the titling mechanism of the present invention considerably prolongs the life of the electromagnetic relay.
  • the design of the yoke having a top surface in contact with the armature being mechanically separated into a central polar surface and two lateral surfaces allows the flux conduction to be directed mainly to the central polar surface with a greater surface area, and the mechanical open-close operations to be directed mainly to the lateral surfaces with smaller surface areas. Since most of the wear-and-tear caused by the open-close movements of the relay is concentrated on the two lateral surfaces, the electrical and magnetic properties of the operative magnetic polar surfaces remain little affected during the life of the relay.
  • the mechanical separation of the top surface of the yoke creates two notches or gaps separating the two lateral surfaces from the central polar surface, thus allowing loose particles generated from impact or friction during the open-close operations of the armature to accumulate in the notches instead of reaching the central polar surface and affecting the magnetic characteristics of the circuit.
  • FIG 10 is a side view showing another embodiment of the invention with a novel armature design and a damper mechanism.
  • Figures 11A and 12A show the damper in the form of a leaf cover 30, preferably made out of a metallic sheet, mounted on top of armature 6, and separating the armature from the re-closing action of the pivot 21.
  • a projection arm 31 On the side of the leaf cover 30 facing the armature 6 is a projection arm 31, which can be attached to the sheet cover by welding or soldering.
  • the projection arm 31 and the bend 30' at one end of the leaf cover 30 provide the force necessary to urge and restore the leaf cover 30 under the reclosing actions of the resetting pivot.
  • FIG. 12B is a top view showing the armature positioned in relation to the leaf cover 30. In the figure, one end of the damper cover 30 extends over the tilting end of the armature 6, allowing spring 8 to be hooked onto the end of the damper cover 30 as well as onto the projection arm of the armature 6.
  • the first embodiment of the present invention with a novel tilting mechanism a the yoke design with a central surface and two lateral surfaces, minimizes the wearing at the polar surfaces 15a.
  • the novel damper mechanism describes above relieves the stress and wearing on the remaining polar contact surface 15b.
  • Figures 12A, 12B, and 12C show how the damper mechanism operates to relieve the polar surfaces of the yoke 15 and the armature 6 from most of the reclosing stress. After the relay is tripped, it can be re-closed by an external push on the pivot 21 to force it back into the cover.
  • the reclosing force is not directly transmitted to the armature 6 since the armature 6 is shielded from the pivot by the damper cover 30.
  • the reclosing energy is instead directed to the damper cover 30, and then transmitted to the armature 6 via the touching point 32.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Electromagnetism (AREA)
  • Electromagnets (AREA)
EP19970308470 1997-10-23 1997-10-23 Electromagnetic relay Expired - Lifetime EP0911850B1 (en)

Priority Applications (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE1997636289 DE69736289T2 (de) 1997-10-23 1997-10-23 Elektromagnetisches Relais
PT97308470T PT911850E (pt) 1997-10-23 1997-10-23 Rele electromagnetico
EP19970308470 EP0911850B1 (en) 1997-10-23 1997-10-23 Electromagnetic relay
ES97308470T ES2267121T3 (es) 1997-10-23 1997-10-23 Rele electromagnetico.

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP19970308470 EP0911850B1 (en) 1997-10-23 1997-10-23 Electromagnetic relay

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0911850A1 EP0911850A1 (en) 1999-04-28
EP0911850B1 true EP0911850B1 (en) 2006-07-05

Family

ID=8229567

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP19970308470 Expired - Lifetime EP0911850B1 (en) 1997-10-23 1997-10-23 Electromagnetic relay

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0911850B1 (pt)
DE (1) DE69736289T2 (pt)
ES (1) ES2267121T3 (pt)
PT (1) PT911850E (pt)

Families Citing this family (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2823370B1 (fr) * 2001-04-06 2003-10-24 Realisation De Disjoncteurs So Declencheur electromagnetique comprenant une armature mobile et une armature fixe sur laquelle est encliquetee une piece de guidage de l'armature mobile
FR2874740B1 (fr) * 2004-09-02 2006-10-20 Schneider Electric Ind Sas Declencheur electromagnetique et appareil de coupure electrique le comportant
EP4439617A1 (en) * 2023-03-30 2024-10-02 ABB Schweiz AG A magnetic actuator for low-voltage electric systems

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2410353A1 (fr) * 1977-11-28 1979-06-22 Merlin Gerin Relais polarise de declenchement d'un disjoncteur differentiel
DE3528470A1 (de) * 1985-08-08 1987-02-19 Bbc Brown Boveri & Cie Fehlerstromschutzausloeser
FR2596577B1 (fr) * 1986-03-28 1993-04-30 Serd Soc Et Realisa Disjonct Declencheur polarise
DE3643510A1 (de) * 1986-12-19 1988-06-30 Felten & Guilleaume Energie Magnetsystem fuer schnellabschaltung

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0911850A1 (en) 1999-04-28
DE69736289T2 (de) 2007-08-30
ES2267121T3 (es) 2007-03-01
DE69736289D1 (de) 2006-08-17
PT911850E (pt) 2006-10-31

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