EP1109188A2 - A treatment for lengthening the life of electromagnetic relays - Google Patents

A treatment for lengthening the life of electromagnetic relays Download PDF

Info

Publication number
EP1109188A2
EP1109188A2 EP00311157A EP00311157A EP1109188A2 EP 1109188 A2 EP1109188 A2 EP 1109188A2 EP 00311157 A EP00311157 A EP 00311157A EP 00311157 A EP00311157 A EP 00311157A EP 1109188 A2 EP1109188 A2 EP 1109188A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
treatment
life
lengthening
electromagnetic relays
magnetic elements
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.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP00311157A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP1109188A3 (en
Inventor
Jose Fernando Mediavilla Telleria
Javier Gomez Martin
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
Publication of EP1109188A2 publication Critical patent/EP1109188A2/en
Publication of EP1109188A3 publication Critical patent/EP1109188A3/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H50/00—Details of electromagnetic relays
    • H01H50/16—Magnetic circuit arrangements
    • H01H50/163—Details concerning air-gaps, e.g. anti-remanence, damping, anti-corrosion

Definitions

  • Electromagnetic relays use a mechanically soft material as magnetic circuit, which, because of the friction caused by normal operations of the relay, gives rise to damage to the contact surfaces, so that the magnetic properties of the material are destroyed.
  • this treatment comprises hardening the surface of the determining magnetic elements of the contacts in the relay with a very fine coat of TiN (titanium nitride).
  • the coating is made by electron deposition, a technique that makes it possible to obtain thin homogeneous layers of coating material on the base elements.
  • said improvement, object of the invention is clearly a result of some very advantageous features, their application acquiring a life of their own and a preferential character in the relays mentioned.

Landscapes

  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Electromagnetism (AREA)
  • Electromagnets (AREA)
  • Contacts (AREA)
  • Switch Cases, Indication, And Locking (AREA)
  • Physical Vapour Deposition (AREA)

Abstract

A treatment for lengthening the life of electromagnetic relays is characterized by the determining magnetic elements of the contacts in the relay being surface-hardened by means of the incorporation of a fine TiN (titanium nitride) base covering coat.

Description

  • Electromagnetic relays use a mechanically soft material as magnetic circuit, which, because of the friction caused by normal operations of the relay, gives rise to damage to the contact surfaces, so that the magnetic properties of the material are destroyed.
  • This results in a short duration of said relays, which are normally good for some 4,000 operations, it being of the utmost importance to increase said duration, because of the cost savings and reliability of application functions that can be achieved.
  • In order to solve the problem, two possibilities exist:
    • One consists of improving the mechanical system in order to reduce friction during normal operations, for which purpose various solutions have been developed, like, for example, that encompassed by EP 94401276.4.
    • And the other consists of increasing the hardness of the contact surfaces, without affecting the magnetic properties of the device. For this purpose, coatings with different materials and different methods have been tested, geometric solutions also having been tried, changing the dimensions of the poles, rounding of edges, etc., with results that have not entailed major advances in solution of the problem, but have, however, had a high impact on costs.
  • Thus a treatment is proposed, based on the method of increasing the hardness of the contacts, thereby achieving some very advantageous characteristics for purposes of the function indicated.
  • According to the invention, this treatment comprises hardening the surface of the determining magnetic elements of the contacts in the relay with a very fine coat of TiN (titanium nitride).
  • In one embodiment, the coating is made by electron deposition, a technique that makes it possible to obtain thin homogeneous layers of coating material on the base elements.
  • In this way, a covering coat of approximately 0.125 µm to 1 µm is applied, thereby obtaining the surface hardness necessary to avoid wear, without the magnetic properties of the elements determining the functional behavior of the application relay being affected.
  • A very considerable prolongation of the duration of electromagnetic relays is thereby obtained, since, with the corresponding magnetic elements coated in the form indicated, up to 50,000 operations of said relays are achieved under good operating conditions, compared to the 4,000 operations made possible on the average by the conventional relays of the same type without the coating recommended.
  • Therefore, said improvement, object of the invention, is clearly a result of some very advantageous features, their application acquiring a life of their own and a preferential character in the relays mentioned.

Claims (3)

  1. A treatment for lengthening the life of electromagnetic relays, characterized in that the determining magnetic elements of the contacts in the relay are surface-hardened by means of the incorporation of a fine TiN (titanium nitride) base covering coat.
  2. A treatment as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the covering coat is applied on the corresponding magnetic elements by electron deposition.
  3. A treatment as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the covering coat on the magnetic elements is applied with a thickness in the order of 0.125 µm to 1 µm.
EP00311157A 1999-12-14 2000-12-12 A treatment for lengthening the life of electromagnetic relays Withdrawn EP1109188A3 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
ES9902729 1999-12-14
ES009902729A ES2167187B2 (en) 1999-12-14 1999-12-14 PERFECTING TO INCREASE THE LIFE OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RELAYS.

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1109188A2 true EP1109188A2 (en) 2001-06-20
EP1109188A3 EP1109188A3 (en) 2003-04-16

Family

ID=8310899

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP00311157A Withdrawn EP1109188A3 (en) 1999-12-14 2000-12-12 A treatment for lengthening the life of electromagnetic relays

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1109188A3 (en)
ES (1) ES2167187B2 (en)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7797980B2 (en) 2005-07-13 2010-09-21 Alifax Holding S.P.A. Method for calibrating blood analysis machines

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4480010A (en) * 1982-06-18 1984-10-30 Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. Method and coating materials by ion plating
US4680438A (en) * 1985-03-14 1987-07-14 W. C. Heraeus Gmbh Laminated material for electrical contacts and method of manufacturing same
US5272295A (en) * 1991-01-23 1993-12-21 Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Electric contact and method for producing the same
EP0855729A1 (en) * 1997-01-24 1998-07-29 Mecagis High sensitive relay and method of coating contact surfaces of a highly sensitive relay

Family Cites Families (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2130795B (en) * 1982-11-17 1986-07-16 Standard Telephones Cables Ltd Electrical contacts
US4769622A (en) * 1986-11-28 1988-09-06 General Instrument Corporation Reed switch having improved glass-to-metal seal

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4480010A (en) * 1982-06-18 1984-10-30 Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. Method and coating materials by ion plating
US4680438A (en) * 1985-03-14 1987-07-14 W. C. Heraeus Gmbh Laminated material for electrical contacts and method of manufacturing same
US5272295A (en) * 1991-01-23 1993-12-21 Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Electric contact and method for producing the same
US5351396A (en) * 1991-01-23 1994-10-04 Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Method for producing electrical contact
EP0855729A1 (en) * 1997-01-24 1998-07-29 Mecagis High sensitive relay and method of coating contact surfaces of a highly sensitive relay

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7797980B2 (en) 2005-07-13 2010-09-21 Alifax Holding S.P.A. Method for calibrating blood analysis machines

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
ES2167187B2 (en) 2003-05-16
EP1109188A3 (en) 2003-04-16
ES2167187A1 (en) 2002-05-01

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