EP1121701A1

EP1121701A1 - Security relay

Info

Publication number: EP1121701A1
Application number: EP99947446A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Leopold Mader; Rudolf Mikl
Original assignee: Tyco Electronics Austria GmbH
Current assignee: Tyco Electronics Austria GmbH
Priority date: 1998-10-16
Filing date: 1999-10-01
Publication date: 2001-08-08
Anticipated expiration: 2019-10-01
Also published as: EP1121701B1; DE59902225D1; WO2000024020A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a relay having a base body (1) over which an electromagnet system (31, 35, 37) is placed, said electromagnet system actuating relay springs (23, 25) which are fixed vertically on the base body. A slide (40) exhibits windows (47) at least for the active relay springs (25), the cross section of said windows being smaller than the cross section of end parts provided with contact pieces (26) and belonging to the active relay springs (25). The structure of the inventive relay prevents broken ends of relay springs from falling with the contact pieces (26) inside the relay, through the slide.

Description

description

Safety relay

The invention relates to a relay with a base body which defines a base plane, a magnet system arranged on the base body with a coil, core and armature, with at least two pairs of contact springs, each pair of contact springs comprising a passive and an active contact spring and each contact spring standing perpendicular to the base plane is fastened in the base body and carries a contact piece at its end remote from the base body, furthermore with an actuating slide which can be moved parallel to the base plane and engages on each active contact spring in the vicinity of the contact piece.

Such a relay is known for example from US 52 89 144 A. There, the magnet system with the coil axis is arranged parallel to the base plane on the base body, the respective changeover contacts forming active and passive contact springs being anchored in front of one end face of the magnet system in the base body, while the armature lies on the opposite end face of the magnet system and above one Coil extending slide actuates the active contact springs. For this purpose, the slide has window-shaped recesses with which it acts on the free ends of the active contact springs, that is, above the contact pieces. However, this design is not suitable for safety relays because, for example, in the event of a spring break, no precautions are taken against short-circuiting.

From DE 195 40 739 AI a relay with positively driven contacts is also known, in which the individual contact springs are arranged insulated from one another, special design measures being taken against short-circuits in the event that contact pieces are separated from the contact detach feathers. In this known relay, the acti ^¬ ven contact springs are guided below the contact pieces in laterally open slots of the slide and operated. Lateral open operating sections, however, reduce the stability of the slide, so that such slides tend to warp during manufacture and do not retain the optimum shape accuracy even during operation.

The aim of the present invention is to develop a relay of the type mentioned in the introduction in such a way that the arrangement of the contacts and their actuation ensure the greatest possible security, but at the same time a high dimensional accuracy of the contact spacings and the actuation is achieved.

According to the invention this goal is achieved in that all contact springs are fastened in fastening channels of the base body by insertion perpendicular to the base plane, that the slide encloses at least each active contact spring individually all around in the form of a frame, with a window for the implementation of the contact spring within each frame is recessed in the area between their attachment and their contact piece, and the cross section of the contact spring end section including the contact piece is in each case larger than the cross section of the window.

The design according to the invention has found a way of arranging the slide underneath the contact pieces, that is to say between the respective contact piece and the attachment of the contact spring, and nevertheless enclosing each contact spring in a frame-like manner and actuating it in the region of a window which is closed all round. In contrast to conventional safety relays, this requires that the individual contact springs are inserted into the base body from above through the windows of the previously mounted slider and fastened there. In this way, the slide as a whole and in the area of each active contact spring is given good stability and high dimensional accuracy for the actuators. supply. In addition, the larger cross-sectional dimensioning of the contact spring end with the contact piece ensures that the contact piece does not fall through the slide or past the slide even in the event of a spring break and can possibly produce an undesired conductive connection there. The frame enclosing the individual active contact spring preferably has partitions which surround the end section carrying the contact piece all around. Each partition of the frame preferably has a cutout in which the contact piece of the respective active contact spring is guided in its actuation direction, the contour of the partition wall in each case having a locking section which relative movement of the active contact spring with respect to the slide in the direction of the associated passive contact spring locks. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, actuating lugs for each active contact spring are formed on the slide in such a way that each active contact spring is guided with little play between a locking section of the partition and an actuating lug.

Further details, refinements and developments of the invention are contained in the subclaims.

The invention is explained in more detail using an exemplary embodiment with reference to the drawing. It shows

1 shows a relay designed according to the invention in an exploded view, FIG. 2 shows the relay from FIG. 1 in the assembled state, with a partially cut-out slide and without a cap, in a perspective view,

3 shows the relay from FIG. 2 in a rotated perspective view, FIG. 4 shows the relay from FIGS. 1 to 3 in a side view, partly in longitudinal section, Figures 5 and 6, the slide of the relay of Figure 1 to 4 in two perspective views

7 is a diagram showing the basic Ver ^¬ running of the force-displacement characteristics of the magnet system and the Fe to the relay.

The relay shown in Figures 1 to 6 has a base body 1 made of insulating material, which is designed essentially flat and defines a bottom side 10 and forms a closed housing with a cap 2. The base body 1 has a flat, trough-shaped recess 11 for receiving a magnet system, while the remaining part with raised side walls 12, a longitudinal intermediate wall 13 and transverse walls 14 forms two rows of contact carrier chambers 15. These contact carrier chambers 15 are slit-shaped towards the bottom

Plug-in channels 16 are narrowed (see FIG. 4) in order to accommodate insertable fixed contact carriers 21 or contact spring carriers 22 from above, perpendicular to the base plane 10. The fixed contact carriers 21 each form passive (or fixed) contact springs 23 with fixed contact pieces 24 attached to them at their free ends, while active (or movable) contact springs 25 are fastened to the contact spring carriers 22 with movable contact pieces 26 attached to their free ends.

The magnet system used to actuate the relay has a U-shaped core yoke 31 with a core leg 32 and a yoke leg 33. A coil body 34 carries an excitation coil 35 and receives the core leg 32 in an axial through opening. Since this has a smaller width than the yoke leg 33 because of the limited coil width, an additional flux guide part 36 is inserted into the coil interior together with the core leg 32. In this way, the iron cross section within the coil is increased, as is the pole area 32a or 36a with which an armature

37 cooperates. This anchor is with the help of an anchor spring

38 mounted and forms at the free end of the yoke leg 33 with the pole faces 32a, 36a in the usual way a working air gap. Two return legs 39 of the armature spring 38 erzeu ^¬ gen the rest position of the contacts in nichterregtem state of the magnet system.

The movement of the armature 37 is transmitted via an armature extension 37a to a slide 40 and via this to the active contact springs 25. Since the contact springs are arranged on the side of the magnet system opposite the armature, the slide has a connecting section 41 which extends above the coil and which is adjoined by an actuating section 42 which is stepped downward in the direction of the floor level. With a central longitudinal wall 43 and side walls 44 and transverse walls 45 and 46, this actuating section forms frames for each individual contact spring, which these contact springs, with the exception of the first passive contact springs 24R and the last passive contact springs 23R and 23A2, which are shown in FIGS End regions of the actuating section 42 of the slide 40 lie and therefore do not require any shielding to an adjacent contact spring on either side. For the sake of explanation, it should be noted here that the active and passive contact springs 25 and 23 in FIG. 4 are provided with additional designations to denote the type of contact, that is to say 23A1, 23A2 for passive working contact springs (normally open contact springs), 23R for passive normally closed contact springs (normally closed contact springs), 25A1 and 25A2 for active normally open contact springs (normally open contact springs) and 25R for active normally closed contact springs (normally closed contact springs). Windows 47 for the active contact springs and windows 48 for the passive contact springs are recessed within the frames of the slide 40 formed by partitions 43, 44, 45 and 46. The respective passive contact springs 23 and active contact springs 25 protrude through these windows 46 and 47, so that the contact pieces 24 and 26, respectively, have ends above the actuating section 42 of the slide and essentially within the partition walls 43, 44, 45 and 46 are formed frames. Those transverse walls or barrier walls 46 which separate each ^¬ sammenwirkende to active and passive contact springs, be sitting ^¬ a respective approximately semi-circular cutout 49 in adaptation to the circular contour of the contact pieces. A movable contact piece 26 of the active contact springs 25 is guided in this cutout 49. As a result, the active contact spring itself can bear close to the locking wall 46 or a locking rib 50 protruding from the locking wall. In addition, the slide forms in each case from the side walls 44 inwardly projecting actuating lugs 52 which actuate the active work contact springs or the active normally closed contact springs at different heights. The active contact springs are each arranged within the window 47 and guided with close play between the respective locking rib 50 and the associated actuating nose 51 or 52. As a result, when a contact is welded, all other active contact springs are also locked against further switching actuation.

When assembling the relay, the assembled magnet system is first inserted into the recess 11 of the base body 1, the armature spring 38 being fastened between the yoke leg 33 and the base body. The slide 40 with its connecting section 41 is placed on the magnet system, the return legs 39 of the armature spring 38 being hooked into the openings 41a of the slide. The armature itself is mounted on the yoke leg 33 and hung with its extension 37a in the opening 41b of the slide 40.

After assembly of the slide 40, which sits with the longitudinal partition 43 on the longitudinal wall 13 and with the longitudinal walls 44 on the side walls 12 of the base body 1, the contact springs are mounted. All contact springs are inserted through the corresponding windows 47 and 48 of the slide into the chambers 15 of the base body and fastened in the plug-in slots 16. All fixed contact carrier 21 with the passive contact springs 23 are of identical construction and straight, can be plugged so as to perpendicular to the ground plane in the base body incorporated ^¬. All active contact springs 25 with their contact spring supports 22 are of the same construction and straight, so that they can be used perpendicular to the base plane through the associated window 47 of the slide independently of their function as working contact springs 25A1, 25A2 or normally closed contact springs 25R. For this purpose, the slide 40 is held in a central position against the bias of the armature spring 38.

In this construction, all contact springs must be inserted into the base body from above through the already installed slide 40, because the end sections of the contact springs, at least those of the active contact springs 25 with the contact pieces 26, have a larger cross section than the windows 47, so that the slide does not can subsequently be inserted from above over the contact springs. These proportions on the one hand give the slide its stability due to the closed frame around the contact springs, on the other hand a broken contact piece cannot fall down through a window 47 into a spring chamber and possibly cause a short circuit there.

In the de-energized state of the magnet system, the slider is pulled into the rest position by the restoring force of the armature spring 38, that is, to the right in FIG. 4. The normally closed contact springs 25R in the relaxed state are pulled to the right into the position shown in FIG. 4, so that they make contact with the passive normally closed contact spring 23R.

When the magnet system is energized, the slide is moved to the left in FIG. 4, the active normally closed contact spring 25R is lifted from the passive normally closed contact spring 23R and moved into its open working position by the locking rib 50R. At the same time, the slide engages with the actuating lugs 51 laterally on the active working contact springs 25A1 and 25A2 moves these countries in the direction of the passive Arbeitskontaktfe ^¬ are 23A1 and 23A2, through the corresponding normally open contacts closed. When the excitation is switched off, the armature spring 38 restores the idle state, the slide 40 engaging laterally via the actuating lugs 52 on the contact pieces 26R and closing the normally closed contacts. If one of the contacts is welded, the tight guidance of the active contact springs 25 ensures that further movement of the slide 40 and thus further actuation of the other contacts is blocked. If, for example, a normally closed contact welds, the slide is blocked against further movement via the locking rib 50R, which acts directly next to the contact piece. The work contacts cannot close. If, on the other hand, a work contact is welded, the locking rib 50A, which acts on the associated contact spring in addition to the welded contact, also prevents the slide from being reset and actuation of the normally closed contacts.

In addition, since all active contact springs are straight, they are self-opening. For example, if an actuating lug 51 or 52 on the slide breaks, the relevant active contact spring (break contact) opens or it is not closed (with the make contact). If, on the other hand, the armature spring 38 breaks, all normally closed contacts (break contacts) open and all make contacts are no longer closed.

As can be seen from the description and in particular from FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the actuating lugs 52 for the active normally closed contact springs 25R lie substantially higher with respect to the base plane than the actuating lugs 51 for the active normally open contact springs 25A1 and 25A2. As a result, the force-displacement translation is different for the work contacts and the rest contacts. Since the magnet system is strongest in the closed state, i.e. when the armature is attracted or almost tightened, while the force increases only slowly when the armature has dropped out, are painter, by the dimensioning of the magnet system si ^¬ chergestellt that the magnet system is applied at the beginning of the armature tightening movement of sufficient force to the Ruhekon ^¬ contacts in the direction of opening to actuate and thereby force the rear to overcome the armature spring. The staggered arrangement of the actuation points or the actuation lugs 51 and 52 with respect to the base plane means that the active NC contact springs are actuated with less force and over a longer distance, while the active NO contact springs due to the shorter lever ratio over a short distance to close to be brought. At this moment, the magnet system already has more power because the armature has already largely approached the pole face. This measure makes it possible to increase the efficiency of the magnet system, in particular in the construction of a safety relay, in which no changeover contacts, but instead separately openers and closers are used, so that the magnet system can be dimensioned smaller than usual.

The diagram in FIG. 7 shows the adaptation of the force-displacement characteristics. Here f denotes the characteristic of the total spring forces and m the characteristic of the magnet system. The forces F acting against each other are plotted over the path s, which represents the armature movement or the movement of the slide 40 between the rest position (on the right in FIG. 4 when the armature is open) and the working position (on the left in FIG. 4 when the armature is closed). In the idle state, the slide is located, for example, at the point sl or to the right of it, depending on the contact wear. When the anchor is tightened, the slide moves to the left, the force m of the magnet system initially increasing only slowly. In this range up to s2 the opening force to be overcome (on the active normally closed contact spring or the armature spring adapted to it) is still relatively low due to the large lever ratio. From s2 to s3, the active work contact springs result in a stronger increase in spring force, which also results in a higher magnetic force in this area is overcome. From s3 to the stop, both the spring force f and the magnetic force increase sharply. This is the area of overlap up to point s4.

Claims

claims

1. relay with a base body (1) which defines a base plane (10), a magnet system arranged on the base body with coil (35), core (31) and armature (37), with at least two pairs of contact springs (23, 25), wherein each pair of contact springs comprises a passive (23) and an active (25) contact spring, and wherein each contact spring is mounted in the base body standing perpendicular to the base plane (10) and carries a contact piece (24, 26) at its end remote from the base body , furthermore with an actuating slide (40) which can be moved parallel to the base plane (10) and engages on each active contact spring (25) in the vicinity of the contact piece (26), characterized in that all contact springs (23, 25 ) are fastened in fastening channels (15) of the base body by insertion perpendicular to the base plane (10), that the slide (40) surrounds at least each active contact spring (25) individually all around in the form of a frame (43, 44, 45, 46), wherebyWithin each frame, a window (47) for the implementation of the contact spring (25) in the area between its attachment and its contact piece is recessed and the cross section of the contact spring end section including the contact piece (26) is larger than the cross section of the window (47).

2. Relay according to claim 1, so that the slide (40) surrounds at least the end section of each active contact spring (25) carrying the contact piece (26) with all-round dividing walls (43, 44, 45, 46).

3. Relay according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the contact piece (26) of each active contact spring (25) in a cutout (49) of a locking wall (46) of the slide is guided, wherein a locking portion (50) of the locking wall (46 ) each relative movement of the active contact spring (25) clock spring (23) locks the slide (40) in the direction of the associated passive ^¬ Kon.

4. Relay according to claim 3, d a d u r c h g e k e n n z e i c h n e t that actuating lugs (51,52) are formed on the slide which attack in the edge region on the active contact springs (25).

5. Relay according to claim 3 or 4, so that each active contact spring is guided between a blocking section (50) of the partition (46) and an actuating nose (51, 52) with little play.

6. Relay according to one of claims 4 or 5, characterized in that actuating lugs (51,52) for active normally closed contact springs (25R) and for active normally open contact springs (25A1, 25A2) at different heights with respect to the base plane (10) on the slide (40) - hen.

7. Relay according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the magnet system with the floor plane (10) is arranged parallel to the coil axis on the base body (1), that the contact spring pairs (23, 25) on the one hand and the armature (37) on the other are arranged on opposite end faces of the coil (35) and that the slide (40) with a connecting section (41) extends above the coil (35), while the active section (42) lies closer to the bottom plane (10) Contact springs (25) surrounds like a frame.