EP1072049A1

EP1072049A1 - Twin relay

Info

Publication number: EP1072049A1
Application number: EP99917980A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Eberhard Kirsch
Original assignee: Hengstler Bauelemente GmbH; Hengstler GmbH
Current assignee: Hengstler GmbH
Priority date: 1998-04-17
Filing date: 1999-04-14
Publication date: 2001-01-31
Anticipated expiration: 2019-04-14
Also published as: WO1999054905A1; DE19816878C2; EP1072049B1; JP2002512423A; DE59901855D1; US6559744B1; DE19816878A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a twin relay with at least two drive mechanisms which are separate from each other. The drive mechanisms each act on designated contact springs and both act on a single contact assembly.

Description

Twin relay

The invention relates to a twin relay according to the preamble of claim 1.

It is known to provide so-called twin relays, in particular in telecommunications technology, which consist of two relays which are spatially separated from one another and which, for example, have a common yoke.

The purpose of this measure was that in certain switching technology problems it was necessary to always use two relays, but these were controlled separately. For spatial reasons, such relays have then been formed with a common yoke; but they were functionally completely independent.

In another embodiment of a twin relay (support relay), two independent relays are mounted on a common mounting base and the common element connecting the two relays is a mechanical locking of the two anchors.

Due to the mechanical locking between the two armatures of these relays arranged in parallel next to one another, it is ensured, for example, that only one of the two relays is in the working position, while the other relay is locked, for example, in the rest position.

Characteristic of this relay was also the separate control and the completely separate arrangement of the contact spring sets with connections. Support relays of this type therefore require a relatively large amount of space because the contact spring sets and their connections are led out completely separately and must be controlled accordingly. The invention is therefore based on the object of developing a twin relay of the type mentioned in such a way that the configuration as a twin relay takes place with significantly less space and use of material.

To achieve the object, the invention is characterized by the technical teaching of claim 1.

An essential feature of the invention is that the twin relay has at least two drives which are separate from one another, which drives each act on associated contact springs, and that both drives operate on a single common or at least partially common contact set.

With the present invention, the main advantage is achieved that two relays are now arranged in one and the same relay housing, each of which is assigned its own independent drive, but the contact sets are combined with one another.

Relays with positively driven contacts are used in a large number of applications which, due to the use of positively driven contacts, generally have similarities in terms of circuitry. In order to implement self-monitoring safely and to establish redundancy and dual-channel functionality, the relays required to enable / disable the monitored circuits are always required twice. In principle, this is independent of the way in which the control of these two relays is carried out. Of course, this can also be done by means of relays, but also by electronics or by a combination of electronics and relays.

Since there must always be two output relays, the question arises as to what extent it makes technical / economic sense to make a combination of these, a relay twin. at With such a construction, the interconnections that would otherwise have to be carried out externally could already be carried out in a simple manner within the relay. This would simplify the integration into a circuit and the wiring of such a combination, for example on a printed circuit board. Creepage distances and clearances could be enlarged, or conductor tracks could be made wider. There would be no increased space requirement. Here is especially thought of a horizontal relay; of a flat design, which is particularly suitable for installation in narrow housings; e.g. housing width 22.5 mm.

Functionally, such a unit can represent all elements for so-called extension modules.

The contacts of the two relays can be combined. The individual contact no longer consists of an active and a passive spring, but of two active contact springs, each of which is moved by a drive.

The advantages of the present invention can be seen in the following features:

- volume reduction compared to two individual relays;

- Reduction of the wiring effort;

- Gain space on the circuit board, which can be used to enlarge the conductor cross-sections or to accommodate other components;

- Thermal relief of the circuit board, the possibility of making conductor tracks wider;

- Lower assembly costs for the module (output stage = evaluation device;

- Training as a complete functional unit (regarding the electromechanical functional part), suitable for suitable controls, e.g. Light barriers, light curtains, two-hand indentations and others;

- A summary of the contacts results in a significant material saving; - Due to the clear assignment of the usability of the contacts, a special design can be advantageous;

- Consistent expression of the required isolation;

If one also considers the general development of control technology in such a consideration, such a relay combination should be good in the future

Have uses. The trend in control technology has started in the direction of decentralization of functions. This applies in particular to systems and large machines. These decentralized functionalities are connected by bus.

At the same time, it is necessary to implement certain safety functions locally. In addition, with such a decentralization, the robustness with regard to safe electrical isolation and EMC is gaining in importance.

Starting from a construction height with max. 15 mm and an outer geometry of approx. 65 mm X 75 mm, a 2 X 6-contact (6-contact) combination should be accommodated.

The overall height is formed by 2 levels.

On the half facing the connection side, e.g. the drive systems are designed as polarized sliding anchors. Such sliding anchors are known.

The contact set is located on the 2nd level.

Basically, the properties such as positive guidance, fault tolerance, chambering, internal actuation, "bars" - spring combination etc. are available. The distribution of the connections on the underside of the relay is optimal for the user if the connections are distributed in the area of the outer edges. In this case, the remaining area covered by the relay is available for other components. If the connections are arranged centrally under the relay, the area for the conductor tracks to these connections is required.

The twins' active feathers are made in one piece. It is also conceivable that the passive contact parts are in one piece. This means that only the passive contact springs are routed to the outside; the series connection of the two contacts takes place internally. This applies first of all to the make and break contacts, which will later be available for external use.

The load-bearing plastic element of this relay could be constructed in cross-section in such a way that the drives are fitted on one side and the contacts on the other flat side. The cover on the connection side and on the contact side would each be made by an element, which could be a cover or an enclosing hood. The cover / hood can also have partial walls which serve for the chambering or a laminated solid insulation.

The surface opposite the connection side can be so pronounced that it also represents the outer surface of a 22.5 mm wide housing. For a better fit in a covering frame, the peripheral edge can be provided with a corresponding peripheral recess.

The position of the actuator of the contact set can be used to set an optical feature on the narrow side for recognizing the actual position of the contact set (if the cover is sufficiently translucent) The subject matter of the present invention results not only from the subject matter of the individual patent claims, but also from the combination of the individual patent claims with one another.

All of the information and features disclosed in the documents, including the summary, in particular the spatial design shown in the drawings are claimed to be essential to the invention, insofar as they are new to the prior art, individually or in combination.

In the following, the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to drawings showing several possible embodiments. Here, from the drawings and their description, further features and advantages of the invention that are essential to the invention emerge.

Show it:

Figure 1: Schematically drawn side view of a positively driven contact (only representation of the

Normally open); Figure 2: Schematic of the formation of a twin relay with the passive spring as an external connection; Figure 3: Schematic of the front view of a relay

Figure 2; Figure 4: An embodiment of a twin relay modified compared to Figure 2, wherein each individual contact consists of two active contact springs; Figure 5: Another schematic embodiment, which in

Compared to Figure 2 only has other external connections; Figure 6: Schematic of the design of a third

Embodiment.

The basic relationships at a relay contact are shown with reference to FIG. In the closer shown in Figure 1 it can be seen that in a spring bracket 1st the passive contact spring 2 and the active contact spring 6 - are clamped. The respective springs 2, 6 are guided to the outside by means of connections 3, 7 and can be contacted there.

The passive contact spring 2 has a front contact piece 5 and bears against a stop 4 fixed to the housing.

The active contact spring 6 is actuated by an actuator 8. The term “internal actuation” is understood to mean that the actuator 8 with its drivers 11, which receive and guide the active contact spring 6 between them, is actuated in the space between the contact piece 12 and the clamping point in the spring bracket 1.

The actuation takes place in such a way that the actuator 8 moves the active contact spring 6 in the direction of arrow 9 in the direction of closing on the passive contact spring 2, while the contact is opened in the opposite direction - arrow direction 10.

The invention is not limited to the fact that the active contact spring 6 is taken between two drivers 11 (in FIG. 1, the one driver is designated 11a); it is also sufficient to spatially separate the drivers 11, 11a or to make them movable independently of one another.

FIG. 2 shows such a twin relay 16, which consists of two partial relays 13, 14. The two partial relays 13, 14 are electrically separated from one another by a central, insulating partition 15.

It is characteristic of the invention that certain parts of the contact set of these two partial relays 13, 14 are present together and that each partial relay 13, 14 is assigned, for example in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 2, a common active contact spring 6. FIG. 2 shows that each partial relay 13, 14 has a total of four contacts, the respective contact being able to be designed either as a break contact, as a make contact or as a changeover contact.

It is also irrelevant how many contacts are arranged in a partial relay 13, 14 because the number is arbitrary. Thus, there can be only one contact in each case, but there can also be a plurality of contacts arranged one above the other, as can be seen in FIG. 2 by means of four separate contacts.

In Figure 2 it is shown that each contact is arranged in its own chamber 20, 21, 22, 23, wherein it can be seen that the parts arranged in the right part relay 14 are provided with a prime, compared to the same parts on the left side that belong to the partial relay 13.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the fact that such contacts are arranged in electrically insulated chambers 20-23. The chambers 20-23 are namely separated from one another by corresponding horizontally running partition walls 17. However, the invention is not restricted to this. Such horizontally extending partitions 17 can also be omitted.

According to the explanation given above for FIG. 1, it is also stated that the actuator 8 essentially consists of two parts, but this is also not necessary for a solution. It is sufficient here to provide only one actuator 19, which engages on one side of the active contact spring 6, 6 '.

The opposite driver is referred to in the following as a positive guide 18 and has only the purpose of preventing the opener and closer from being closed at the same time. It is now important that the entire drive for the partial relay 13, which is referred to below as the partial drive 24, is mechanically separated and completely autonomous from the partial drive 25 for the right partial relay 14.

That that is, the entire drive system with respect to the partial drive 24 and the partial drive 25 is driven and actuated separately from one another in the arrow directions 26, 27.

FIG. 3 shows schematically that this drive system consisting of the partial drives 24, 25 is on one level below the partial relays 13, 14. That So the contact level is arranged above the level for the partial drives 24, 25.

This leads to a considerably smaller space requirement because the entire drive system is arranged below the contact system according to FIG. 2.

Of course, it is provided in another embodiment of the invention that the levels are interchanged. In this arrangement, not shown in the drawing, the level for the drives 24, 25 is then arranged above the level for the contact sets of the partial relays 13, 14.

Such a drive system could consist of two separate hinged anchor systems and a sliding anchor system. It is characteristic of both drives that both have a separate relay coil, which relay coil acts on an associated armature via a respective separate yoke and moves it.

Each armature then acts in the arrow directions 26, 27 shown on the associated sub-drive system 24, 25 of the respective sub-relay 13, 14. A practical application can now be explained using the exemplary embodiment in FIG.

The respective lower chamber 20, 20 'of the respective partial relay 13, 14 are each designed as openers. It is characteristic of these two break contacts that the active contact spring 6 is connected through and consequently electrically connects both break contacts to one another, so that these two contacts are electrically connected in series.

As soon as one of the two NC contacts opens, e.g. the break contact in the partial relay 13, the circuit between the connections 3,3 'is interrupted. This results in the series connection of these two contacts.

In an analogous manner, this also applies to the normally open contact shown in the chambers 23, 23, because the series connection from the two normally open contacts is only closed when the active contact spring has been moved upwards in the direction of the arrow 26, 27 by both autonomous drive systems to confirm the normally open contacts.

It can be seen from the exemplary embodiments shown that the relay always consists of a series connection of contacts, but this series connection in each case shares an active contact spring. Due to the electrical interconnection of the active contact spring, it is no longer necessary to lead this active contact spring to the outside via separate connections and to connect it to one another outside of the spring bracket via assigned connections. The connections are therefore already made internally in the relay without the need for contacting without connecting lines and without corresponding conductor tracks.

FIG. 4 shows as a further exemplary embodiment that each individual contact consists of two active contact springs, each of which is separate from the two drives (Partial drives 24, 25) are moved. As FIG. 4 shows, the direction of movement of the two partial drives 24, 25 runs in opposite directions, because the actuation of the respectively active contact springs 6, 6 'takes place in opposite directions. This takes place in that on one contact spring 6 the actuator 19 rests on one side, while on the other contact spring 6- the actuator 19 rests on the other side.

Here again it can be seen that the two active contact springs 6, 6 'which can be actuated separately from one another form a single contact 28 which is designed as an opener, but nevertheless there is a series connection in the sense of the previous FIG. 2 of two contacts.

The normally closed contact 28 is opened as soon as one of the two contact springs 6 or 6 'is acted upon by the associated partial drive 24 or 25.

Analogously, this also applies to the contact 29 (make contact) in the chamber 23, 23 ', which is only closed when both partial drives 24, 25 are actuated, so that the contact 29 is closed thereby.

The respective active contact spring 6, 6 'has the assigned external connection 3, 3', which is led out of the relay.

Figure 5 shows the same conditions as in Figure 2, it can only be seen that the internal connections 3, 3 'of the respective passive contact springs are placed differently, i.e. they are brought out at another point in the spring frame.

FIG. 6 is a variant of FIG. 4, the same explanations as those given with reference to FIG. 4 apply. The only difference is that the respective connection 3, 3 'of the respective active contact spring 6, 6' is now not led out to the outside of the relay, but is designed on the inside. FIG. 7 shows that the respective partial drive system 24; 25 of the partial relays 13, 14 also does not have to be arranged in alignment one above the other, but that the partial drive system is quite offset from one another. It is again important in this embodiment that the drive system 24 is actuated in the direction of the arrow 26, while the drive system 25 of the partial relay 23 is actuated in the arrow directions 27 separately from the other partial drive system.

6 shows that the upper part of the respective partial relay 13, 14 consists of an arrangement as has already been described with reference to FIG. 6, while the lower part, consisting of the chambers 30, 31 and 30 ', 31 'shows that both the active contact spring and the passive contact spring are guided outwards. It is characteristic of this embodiment that the two partial relays, 14, 15 consist of different relay systems arranged one above the other, the two relay systems each having a common partial drive system 24, 25.

The separation between the two relay systems takes place in the left and right direction of the longitudinal center axis 32 shown.

In the upper part 33 of this relay the contacts are thus operated together, each with two separate sub-drive systems 24, 25, while in the lower part 34 the contacts are operated individually, i.e. operated separately.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the combination of the parts 33, 34 shown here. The invention relates to all the previously illustrated embodiments, which can now be arranged modularly one above the other, as was shown with reference to the superimposed parts 33, 34, each part 33, 34 being divided with respect to the longitudinal center axis 32 and each part (left side and right side) of the respective part 33, 34 has its own part drive system 24, 25.

It is important that the two parts 33, 34 arranged one above the other are each assigned a separate drive system 24, 25. It is important that this modular structure, as it exists in Figure 7 by the superimposition of two such parts 33, 34, can also be carried out several times, so that other contact constellations, e.g. 4, 5, 6 have been shown, can be arranged one above the other in the form of this modular structure.

It is characteristic of all structures that a left partial relay 13 and a right partial relay 14 are formed with respect to the longitudinal center axis 32 and that each partial relay 13, 14 is assigned a separate drive system, which is shown in the drawings as partial drive 24 and 25.

FIG. 7 shows, as a deviation from the previously shown exemplary embodiments, that both the active contact spring and the passive contact spring are each guided to the outside with connections 3, 7 and 3 ', 7'.

The contacts required for internal use must be considered separately. These are l * openers and l * closers.

The break contact is looped into the monitoring circuit for starting the arrangement. The closer is used for self-holding. These contacts have to bear a much lower load than those available for external use. There is a potential for reducing the required volume here. The same applies to the insulation to the drive. The question of whether one connection of the internally usable closer should already be connected to a coil end differs from case to case.

The advantage of the twin relay shown here is thus that simpler manufacture is ensured with the smallest space requirement, since external interconnections are omitted. The user has a great benefit from this because wiring errors are avoided from the outset and there is space on an existing circuit board for other applications and interconnection paths.

The main advantage for the user is that two partial relays are actually arranged in a single housing, which can be controlled separately from one another, but are to be regarded as one piece in storage and processing, which considerably simplifies handling.

Drawing legend

Spring block passive contact spring

Connection 3 '

attack

Contact piece active contact spring 6 '

Connection

Actuator

Arrow direction

Driver 11a

contact piece

Partial relay

partition wall

Twin relay

partition wall

Forced leader

Actuator

Chamber 20 '

Chamber 21 '

Chamber 22 '

Chamber 23 '

Partial drive

Arrow direction

Contact (NC contact)

Contact (make contact)

Chamber 30 '

Chamber 31 '

Longitudinal center axis

part part

Claims

16 patent claims

1. Twin relay, characterized in that it has at least two separate partial drives (24, 25), these partial drives (24, 25) each acting on associated contact springs (6, 6 ') and both partial drives (24, 25) on one single contact set work.

2. Twin relay according to claim 1, characterized in that the contacts of the two relays (16) are combined and thus the single contact consists of two active contact springs (6), each of which is moved by a partial drive (24, 25).

3. Twin relay according to one of claims 1-2, characterized in that the passive contact parts (2, 2 ') are integrally formed.

4. Twin relay according to one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the active contact parts (6, 6 ') are in one piece.

5. Twin relay according to one of claims 1-4, characterized in that only the passive contact springs (2) are guided to the outside by connection and the series connection of the contacts takes place internally.

6. Twin relay according to one of claims 1-5, characterized in that the supporting plastic element is constructed in cross section so that the assembly of the partial drives (24, 25) on one and that of the contacts

(3, 3 ', 7, 1') on the other flat side.

7. Twin relay according to one of claims 1-6, characterized in that the cover on the connection side and on the contact side is achieved by a respective enclosing element.

8. Twin relay according to one of claims 1-6, characterized - in that the base body consisting of contact and drive is arranged in an upwardly open housing which is closed by a cover.

9. Twin relay according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that this enclosing element partitions

(15, 17), which is used for insulating chambering.

10. Twin relay according to one of claims 1-9, characterized in that the surface opposite the connection side simultaneously represents the outer surface of the housing.

11. Twin relay according to one of claims 1-10, characterized in that the peripheral edge of the twin relay is provided with a peripheral recess for mounting purposes.

12. Twin relay according to one of claims 1-11, characterized in that the position of the contact set is indicated optically on the outside.

13. Twin relay according to claim 12, characterized in that this position of the contact set is indicated optically.