JP2002289080A - Electromagnetic relay - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electromagnetic relay which can prevent the generation of unpleasant sound and can watch ON failures. SOLUTION: A sound absorbing member 40 of a leaf spring formed in a L-shape is fixed at the free end part of a movable contact spring 33 which is supported at one end by a yoke 29 and reciprocates and oscillates by controlling excitation and demagnetization of a coil 20, and a stopper 17 being in contact with the lower face of the L-shaped horizontal part piece of the sound absorbing member 40 is formed at the upper part of a failure detecting terminal member 16 inserted through a base 11. The failure detecting terminal member 16 is connected with a controller for controlling excitation and demagnetization of coil wires 27. Since the damper effect and the buffer effect by the sound absorbing member can absorb the vibration of the spring in the cases that the movable contact spring returns, the generation of unpleasant vibration sound can be prevented. ON failures can be detected by watching on/off to the stopper of the sound absorbing member.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electromagnetic relay, and more particularly, to an electromagnetic relay effective for use in on-vehicle electrical components.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional electromagnetic relay of this type includes a base, a coil wire wound around a coil bobbin fixed to the base to excite the core, a yoke fixed to the coil bobbin, and a yoke. A movable contact spring having one end supported, an armature fixed to an intermediate portion of the movable contact spring and facing the core, a movable contact fixed to a free end of the movable contact spring, and a movable contact fixed to the base The movable contact fixed to the movable contact spring by degaussing and exciting the coil wire is provided with a stopper. There is known a device configured to open and close by reciprocating swing between a fixed contact and a fixed contact.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional electromagnetic relay, the armature is attracted to the core against the resilient force of the movable contact spring as the coil wire is excited, and the movable contact of the movable contact spring is moved. The fixed contact is turned ON, and then the movable contact spring generates a spring vibration sound called a buzzing sound after the movable contact spring collides with the stopper due to the resilient force of the movable contact spring following the demagnetization of the coil wire. There is a problem. The so-called rattle sound of the movable contact spring is recognized as an unpleasant sound.

[0004] In recent years, electromagnetic relays have begun to be used for in-vehicle electrical components for applications of high importance, and ON failures of contacts of the electromagnetic relay have been monitored by controllers.
In the near future, it is expected that conduction between the contact terminals at the time of ON will generally be confirmed even in an electromagnetic relay for high voltage and large current. It is desired to develop such an electromagnetic relay having an output terminal for ON failure detection separately from the load circuit. However, when a Hall element or a microswitch is used, the manufacturing cost of the electromagnetic relay is reduced. In addition to the increase, the electromagnetic relay becomes large.

[0005] A first object of the present invention is to provide an electromagnetic relay capable of preventing generation of unpleasant noise.
A second object of the present invention is to provide an electromagnetic relay capable of monitoring an ON failure.

[0006]

According to the electromagnetic relay of the present invention, an L-shaped soundproof member is fixed to a free end of a movable contact spring which is supported at one end and reciprocally swings by excitation and demagnetization of a coil. A stopper is provided in the swing range of the movable contact spring, the stopper being in contact with the outer surface of the L-shaped lateral piece of the soundproof member.

According to the above-described means, when the movable contact spring returns, the damper effect is exerted by the outer surface of the soundproof member abutting against the stopper, so that the spring vibration generated in the movable contact spring after the collision is rapidly reduced. Therefore, generation of a so-called rattle sound which is a spring vibration sound is prevented.

By configuring the stopper as a failure detection terminal, an ON failure in the electromagnetic relay can be monitored.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the electromagnetic relay 10 according to the present embodiment has a base 11, and the base 11 is a substantially rectangular flat plate made of an insulating resin. It is formed in a shape. A pair of coil terminal members 12 and 13 are vertically inserted into and fixed to one end (hereinafter referred to as a left end) of one short side of the base 11, respectively. A pair of contact terminal members 14 and 15 are vertically inserted into and fixed to the portion. Base 11
Between the pair of coil terminal members 12 and 13 is a failure detection terminal member 1 as a failure detection terminal.
6 is inserted and fixed in the vertical direction, and a stopper 17 for defining a left end of a soundproof member described later is formed at the upper end of the terminal member 16 for failure detection.

A coil bobbin 21 of a coil 20 is arranged on the base 11 in parallel with and close to the upper surface. The coil bobbin 21 is connected to both coil terminal members 12 and 13.
Are supported by support pieces 12a and 13a integrally protruding from the upper end of the support. That is, the coil bobbin 21 is integrally formed into a thread-wound shape using a resin having an insulating property, and both end portions (hereinafter, referred to as front and rear end portions) of a lower end portion of one flange (hereinafter, referred to as left flange) 22A. The support holes 25 and 26 are respectively formed in the pair of protrusions 23 and 24 before and after the protrusions are provided, respectively. The support holes 25 and 26 support the terminal members 12 and 13 for both coils. The pieces 12a and 13a are fitted respectively from below.

A coil wire 27 made of a conductor coated with an insulating film such as enamel is wound around the cylindrical portion of the coil bobbin 21. The winding start and end portions of the coil wire 27 are used for both coils. The terminal members 12 and 13 are electrically connected by being subjected to fusing processing. A core 28 is inserted into the cylindrical portion of the coil bobbin 21 from the left flange 22A side.
A yoke 29 is fixed to the core 28 by caulking at an opposite flange (hereinafter referred to as a right flange) 22B.

The yoke 29 is formed in an angle steel shape using a magnetic material such as iron. The yoke 29 has a core member 28 with the horizontal member 30 disposed on the upper side and the vertical member 31 in contact with the right flange 22B. It is fixed to the coil bobbin 21 by being caulked. Vertical member 31 of yoke 29
Is fixed to the upper end of the contact terminal member 15 inserted through the right end of the base 11 by caulking. With this caulking, the yoke 29 and the contact terminal member 15 are mechanically and electrically connected. Connected. Therefore, the coil bobbin 21 is supported by both the coil terminal members 12 and 13 and the movable contact terminal member 15.

On the other hand, a plurality of protrusions 32 for attaching a movable contact spring are provided on the upper surface of the horizontal member 30 of the yoke 29,
One end of a movable contact spring 33 is fixed to the projection 32. That is, the movable contact spring 33 is formed by bending a substantially angle-shaped steel shape using a leaf spring material having conductivity, and an attachment hole formed in the lateral member 34 is caulked to the projection 32. Coil bobbin 2 via yoke 29
In a state where the movable contact spring 33 is supported, the vertical member 35 of the movable contact spring 33 is in a state of being hung between the two convex portions 23 and 24 of the left flange 22A. In this state, the armature 3 is provided on the main surface of the vertical member 35 on the side facing the core 28.
6, the armature 36 is fixed by a plurality of mounting holes formed at the upper end of the vertical member 35 with protrusions 37 being caulked.

At the lower end of the vertical member 35 of the movable contact spring 33, a mounting hole for mounting a movable contact is formed, and a movable contact 38 is fixed to the mounting hole by caulking.
The movable contact 38 is opposed to a fixed contact 39 fixed to an upper end of a contact terminal member (hereinafter, referred to as a fixed contact terminal member) 14 inserted through the center of the base 11. That is, the upper end of the fixed contact terminal member 14 is disposed between the two convex portions 23 and 24 on the left flange 22 </ b> A of the coil bobbin 21 and faces the lower end of the movable contact spring 33.

At the lower end of the vertical member 35 of the movable contact spring 33, an L-shaped soundproof member 40 made of a leaf spring material is fastened together by a movable contact 38, and the L-shaped soundproof member 40 is formed. The outer surface of the lateral piece of the shape comes into overall contact with a stopper 17 formed at the upper end of the terminal member 16 for failure detection. That is, the stopper 17
Is integrally formed with a failure detection terminal member 16 made of a conductive material such as a copper (Cu) -based material (copper and its alloys). A protective film 18 for prevention is provided by surface treatment such as plating. The stopper 17 is slightly inclined with respect to the tangent of the arc locus due to the reciprocating swing of the movable contact spring 33, and the inclined surface of the stopper 17 is
Is set so as to entirely contact the lower surface of the L-shaped horizontal piece. A projection 41 is bent downward and protrudes from an end of the soundproof member 40 opposite to the stopper 17, and the protrusion 41 prevents the soundproof member 40 from coming off the stopper 17 to the left. It has become.

As shown in FIG. 3B, both coil terminal members 12, to which the coil wire 27 is connected,
13 is connected to the controller 50, and the failure detection terminal member 16 is also connected to the controller 50. The fixed contact terminal member 14 is connected to a power supply 51, and the movable contact terminal member 15 is connected to a load 52.

Although not shown for convenience, the base 1
A cover formed in a box shape is a coil bobbin 2 on
1 is covered so as to entirely surround the outside.

The operation and effect of the electromagnetic relay 10 configured as described above will be described.

The controller 50, the power supply 51 and the load 5
2, a female coupler (not shown) for electrically connecting
When mounted on the terminal members 12 to 16 protruding from the base 11 on the side opposite to the coil bobbin 21, the electromagnetic relay 1
0 is in a state of being electrically connected as shown in FIG.

When power is not supplied from the controller 50 to the coil wire 27, as shown in FIG. 1, a soundproof member 40 mechanically and electrically connected to the movable contact spring 33 together with the movable contact 38 is used for failure detection. Terminal member 1
6 is pressed against the stopper 17 by the resilient force of the movable contact spring 33, so that the voltage of the power supply 51 is applied to the controller 50 as shown in FIG. I have. Therefore, the controller 50 can recognize the state where the soundproof member 40, that is, the movable contact 38 is in contact with the stopper 17 of the failure detection terminal member 16.

When the coil wire 27 is excited by applying a control electric signal from the controller 50 to the coil wire 27 through the two coil terminal members 12 and 13, as shown in FIG.
Since the movable contact spring 33 swings due to the magnetic attraction of the core 6 by the core 28, the movable contact 38 contacts the fixed contact 39. By this contact, the fixed contact terminal member 14 and the movable contact terminal member 15 are electrically connected, so that the power of the power supply 51 is supplied to the load 52. At this time, the soundproof member 40, that is, the movable contact 3
8 is separated from the stopper 17 of the terminal member 16 for failure detection, so that the voltage of the power supply 51 is not applied to the controller 50. Therefore, the controller 5
0 is a terminal member 12 for both coils of the control electric signal, 1
By judging that the failure detection signal from the failure detection terminal member 16 is not input at the time of application to 3, the movable contact 38 can be recognized as being in contact with the fixed contact 39.

When the application of the control electric signal from the controller 50 to the coil wire 27 is stopped and the coil wire 27 is demagnetized, the movable contact spring 33 swings due to the elastic force of the movable contact spring 33, so After the contact 38 separates from the fixed contact 39, the soundproof member 40 fixed to the free end of the movable contact spring 33 contacts the stopper 17. However, if a welding accident is set between the movable contact 38 and the fixed contact 39, the movable contact 38 cannot separate from the fixed contact 39, so that the soundproof member 40, that is, the movable contact 38 contacts the stopper 17. Can not do. Therefore, the controller 50 determines that the failure detection signal from the failure detection terminal member 16 has not been input after the supply of the control electric signal to the coil terminal members 12 and 13 has stopped, and thereby the movable contact 38
Can recognize that the fixed contact 39 has a failure such as welding.

When the soundproof member 40 comes into contact with the stopper 17 as the movable contact spring 33 swings, the soundproof member 4
And the soundproof member 40
Of the soundproof member 40 due to the buffer effect of reducing the acceleration (deceleration) of the sudden stop when the movable contact spring 33 comes into contact with the stopper 17 due to the sliding on the inclined surface of the stopper 17 on the lower surface of the horizontal piece. Since the spring vibration of the movable contact spring 33 at the time of contact with the stopper 17 can be suddenly reduced, the so-called rattle sound is prevented from occurring after the sudden stop of the contact of the movable contact spring 33 with the stopper 17. can do.

When the soundproof member 40 comes into contact with the stopper 17 as described above, as shown in FIG.
Since the movable contact 38 is electrically connected to the failure detection terminal 16, the controller 50
Is applied. Therefore, the controller 50 can recognize that the movable contact 38, that is, the soundproof member 40 has returned to the state in which the movable contact 38 has come into contact with the stopper 17 of the failure detection terminal member 16.

When the coil wire 27 is excited by application of a control electric signal from the controller 50 and the armature 36 is magnetically attracted by the core 28, the soundproof member 40 is generated by the elastic force of the movable contact spring 33 or the like. Bites into the stopper 17 and the movable contact spring 3
3 does not swing, as shown in FIG.
The movable contact 38 remains electrically connected to the failure detection terminal member 16. Therefore, the controller 50 can control the terminal member 1 for both coils of the control electric signal.
It is possible to recognize a failure in which the movable contact 38 does not contact the fixed contact 39 by judging a situation in which a failure detection signal is input from the failure detection terminal member 16 when the voltage is applied to the terminals 2 and 13.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, the stopper is not limited to being formed on the failure detecting terminal member, but may be formed on the base. In this case, since there is no metal stopper, there is no need to worry about press-fitting at the one end of the base and to avoid a crack in the press-fitting resin portion, and to eliminate the space for the stopper portion.

The soundproofing member is not limited to being formed of a leaf spring material, but may be formed of an elastic material such as rubber or resin, or may be formed of an inelastic material.

The sound when the electromagnetic relay is ON is a collision sound between the movable contact and the fixed contact and an impact sound between the armature and the core. Depending on the shape of the tip of the soundproof member, the sound between the movable contact and the fixed contact is generated. Can be reduced, so that the present invention can be applied to noise generated at the time of ON.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the spring vibration can be reduced by the soundproof member when the movable contact spring returns, it is possible to prevent the generation of unpleasant sound, and by configuring the stopper as a failure detection terminal, the ON of the electromagnetic relay can be reduced. Failures can be monitored.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cut front view showing an electromagnetic relay according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a left side view thereof.

3A is a partially cutaway front view in which a part is omitted, and FIG. 3B is a circuit diagram.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Electromagnetic relay, 11 ... Base, 12, 13 ... Coil terminal member, 12a, 13a ... Support piece, 14 ... Fixed contact terminal member, 15 ... Movable contact terminal member, 16 ... Failure detection terminal member (failure) Detection terminal), 17: stopper, 18: protective film, 20: coil,
21: coil bobbin, 22A, 22B: flange, 2
3, 24 ... convex part, 25, 26 ... support hole, 27 ... coil wire, 28 ... core, 29 ... yoke, 30 ... horizontal member, 31 ... vertical member, 32 ... protrusion, 33 ... movable contact spring, 34 ... Horizontal member, 35 ... Vertical member, 36 ... Armature, 37 ... Projection,
38: movable contact, 39: fixed contact, 40: soundproof member, 4
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Projection part, 50 ... Controller, 51 ... Power supply, 52 ...
load.

Claims (3)

[Claims] An L-shaped soundproof member is fixed to a free end of a movable contact spring whose one end is supported and reciprocates and swings by excitation and demagnetization of a coil, and the soundproof member is provided in a swing range of the movable contact spring. An electromagnetic relay, wherein a stopper is provided for contacting the outer surface of the L-shaped horizontal piece of the member. 2. The electromagnetic relay according to claim 1, wherein the soundproof member is formed of a leaf spring material. 3. The electromagnetic relay according to claim 1, wherein the stopper is configured as a failure detection terminal.