JP2002297144A - Electric horn - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electric horn the off-gap of which can be adjusted by an easy method not requiring screwing work of an adjusting screw. SOLUTION: In the electric horn wherein a movable iron core 15 is provided with 1st pressing parts 15b, 15c for pressing a movable contact supporting plate 17 made of a spring material, and wherein when the movable iron core 15 is attracted to a fixed iron core 21 by the electromagnetic force of a coil 14, the 1st pressing parts press the movable contact supporting plate 17 to separate the movable contact 17a from a fixed contact 18, the movable iron core 15 is provided with a 2nd pressing part 15d capable of plastically deforming the fixed contact supporting plate 18 by depressing it, to adjust an off-gap of the electric horn by plastically deforming the fixed contact supporting plate 18 by the 2nd pressing part 15d.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a vehicle and the like,
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric horn (horn) that vibrates a diaphragm by an electromagnet, and particularly to an adjustment structure and an adjustment method of an off-gap of a movable contact by a movable iron core.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional electric horn, a pressing portion of a movable contact support plate made of a metal spring material is provided on a movable iron core, and when the movable iron core is attracted to a fixed iron core by electromagnetic force of a coil, the movable iron core is moved. The movable contact support plate is pressed by the pressing portion to separate the movable contact from the fixed contact.

By the way, in order to exhibit the good performance of the electric horn, it is necessary to appropriately set an off gap described below. Here, the off-gap is defined as the time when the movable contact support plate is pressed by the pressing portion of the movable core when the coil is not energized and the pressing portion of the movable core when the coil is energized, and the movable contact is separated from the fixed contact. Is the distance from the movable contact support plate.

If the off-gap is small, the movable contact is quickly separated from the fixed contact, so that the time for energizing the coil, that is, the time for generating the electromagnetic force of the coil, is shortened. The amplitude decreases, and the volume decreases. Conversely, if the off-gap is large, the amount of depression of the movable contact support plate by the pressing portion of the movable iron core is reduced, so that the distance between the two contacts when off is reduced, and the effect of interrupting the coil current is deteriorated. As a result, the balance between the operation of attracting the movable core and the operation of restoring the movable core due to the intermittent operation of the coil current is lost, the amplitude of the diaphragm becomes unstable, and the tone deteriorates.

In order to avoid the above problems, it is necessary to strictly manage the off-gap within an appropriate range. Therefore, conventionally, an adjusting screw is provided on the bottom surface of the horn housing, and the position of the fixed contact support plate is moved up and down according to the screwing position of the adjusting screw, thereby adjusting the off gap to an appropriate range.

[0006]

However, such a method of adjusting the off-gap requires a member (adjustment screw) dedicated to adjustment, and increases the number of parts. Further, it is necessary to machine the threaded portion of the adjusting screw on the horn housing side, which leads to an increase in cost. Further, since the screwing work of the adjusting screw is required, the man-hour for the adjusting operation is increased.

[0007] In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electric horn capable of adjusting an off-gap by a simple method that does not require screwing work of an adjusting screw.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a movable core (15) coupled to a diaphragm (11) and a movable core (15) are disposed opposite to the movable core (15). A fixed core (21), a coil (14) for attracting the movable core (15) to the fixed core (21), and a coil (1).
4) A fixed contact (18a) provided in the energizing circuit, and a fixed contact support plate (18) for supporting the fixed contact (18a).
A normally-closed movable contact (17a) normally closed to the fixed contact (18a), and a movable contact (17a).
A movable contact support plate (17) made of a spring material, and a first member for pressing the movable contact support plate (17) against the movable iron core (15).
Pressing portions (15b, 15c) are provided, and when the movable iron core (15) is attracted to the fixed iron core (21) by the electromagnetic force of the coil (14), the first pressing portion (15) of the movable iron core (15) is provided.
b, 15c), the movable contact (17a) is pressed by the movable contact (17a) to separate the movable contact (17a) from the fixed contact (18a). ) Is provided with a second pressing portion (15d) capable of pressing and plastic deformation.

According to this, the off-gap can be adjusted by plastically deforming the fixed contact support plate (18) by the second pressing portion (15d) of the movable iron core (15).

As a result, the off-gap can be adjusted by a simple method that does not require the screwing work of the adjusting screw. Therefore, the number of parts is reduced by eliminating the adjusting screw, and the machining of the threaded portion on the horn housing side is eliminated. Furthermore, the work of screwing the adjusting screw is not required, and the cost of the electric horn can be reduced.

[0011] Like the invention described in claim 2, claim 1
, The movable core (15) is a columnar member, the first pressing portion is a ring-shaped flange portion (15b) protruding radially outward on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical movable core (15), Specifically, the pressing portion may be formed in a shape protruding radially outward from a part of the ring-shaped flange portion (15b) in the circumferential direction.

As in the third aspect of the present invention, the first aspect
In or 2, if the movable iron core (15) is provided with a non-circular tool engaging portion (15e), the second pressing portion (15d) is utilized by using the tool engaging portion (15e) when adjusting the off-gap. ) Can easily move the movable core (15) to a position where it can press the fixed contact support plate (18), and after the adjustment of the off gap is completed, the second pressing portion (15d) moves the fixed contact support plate (18). The movable iron core (15) can be easily moved to a position where it is not pressed. The tool engaging portion (15e) may have any of a non-circular hole shape and a projecting shape.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the coil (14)
The movable contact is supported by the first pressing portions (15b, 15c) of the movable iron core (15) when the coil is not energized, and the first pressing portions (15b, 15c) of the movable iron core (15) when the coil (14) is energized. When the plate (17) is pressed, the movable contact (1) is pressed.
An adjustment method for adjusting an off-gap, which is a distance from the movable contact support plate (17) when the fixed contact (7a) is separated from the fixed contact (18a), wherein the fixed contact support plate (18) is attached to the movable iron core (15). ) Second pressing portion (15d) capable of pressing
The off-gap is adjusted by pressing the fixed contact support plate (18) with the second pressing portion (15d) and plastically deforming the fixed contact supporting plate (18). After the adjustment of the off-gap, the second pressing portion (15d) supports the fixed contact support plate (15d). The plate (18) is moved to a position that does not interfere with the plate (18).

Thus, the off-gap can be adjusted by a simple method that does not require the screwing operation of the adjusting screw, so that the cost of the electric horn can be reduced as in the first aspect.

After the adjustment of the off-gap, the second pressing portion (15d) is moved to a position that does not interfere with the fixed contact support plate (18), so that the fixed core (2) of the movable core (15) is moved.
The second pressing portion (15d) does not hinder the suction operation to the 1) side.

The reference numerals in parentheses of the above means indicate the correspondence with specific means described in the embodiments described later.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. This embodiment relates to an electric horn for a vehicle, and FIGS. 1 and 2 show a state after an off-gap is adjusted. 3 and 4 show the state before the adjustment of the off gap, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the diaphragm unit.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a horn housing, and the diaphragm 1
1 for accommodating an electromagnet 12 for vibrating 1. The horn housing 10 and the diaphragm 11 are formed by pressing a plate made of an iron-based magnetic material into a concave shape so as to form a part of a magnetic circuit of the electromagnet 12.

The electromagnet 12 is provided with a coil 14 wound around a bobbin 13 made of resin.
The lower part of the movable core 15 formed in a columnar shape is disposed in the center hole of the movable core. The central portions of the diaphragm 11 and the resonance plate 16 are caulked and fixed to the small-diameter portion 15a above the movable iron core 15. The outer peripheral end 11a of the diaphragm 11 is fixedly wound around a flange 10a at the outer peripheral end of the horn housing 10 over the entire periphery.

On the concave intermediate flat portion 10b of the horn housing 10, a protruding portion 13b projecting radially outward from the upper flange portion 13a of the bobbin 13, a movable contact support plate 17 made of a metal spring material, a fixed contact A support plate 18 and a resin insulating ring body 19 interposed between the contact support plates 17 and 18 are laminated and fixed by caulking with metal rivets 20. The fixed contact support plate 18 is made of a relatively deformable iron-based conductive metal, for example, a cold-rolled steel plate (low carbon steel) plate (plate thickness: 1.0 mm, for example).

The movable contact support plate 17 has a movable contact 17a.
The fixed contacts 18a are fixed to the fixed contact support plate 18, respectively. The movable contact 17a is a normally-closed contact that is normally pressed to the fixed contact 18a by a spring force due to elastic deformation of the movable contact support plate 17 (when the coil 14 is not energized).

A ring-shaped flange portion 15b projecting radially outward is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical movable iron core 15 at the axially intermediate portion, and the movable iron core 15 is provided on the lower surface side of the flange portion 15b. An insulating ring body 15c made of resin is press-fitted and fixed. The flange portion 15b and the insulating ring body 15c constitute a first pressing portion for pressing the end portion 17b (FIGS. 1 and 3) of the movable contact support plate 17 near the center of the horn downward.

Here, when the movable iron core 15 moves up and down, the fixed contact support plate 18 has an arc shape so that the outer diameters of the flange portion 15b and the insulating ring body 15c do not interfere with the fixed contact support plate 18. An escape portion 18b is formed. If an electrical insulator is arranged on the end 17b side of the movable contact support plate 17, the insulating ring body 15c on the movable iron core 15 side can be eliminated.

As shown in FIG. 5, a second pressing portion 15d is formed on the movable iron core 15 so as to protrude radially outward from a part of the ring-shaped flange portion 15b in the circumferential direction.
The protrusion dimension h of the second pressing portion 15d is
d is set on the fixed contact support plate 18 so as to be able to press the fixed contact support plate 18 as shown in FIG. A tool engaging portion 15e is formed at an end of the small diameter portion 15a on the upper part of the movable iron core 15. Although a hexagonal hole is formed in the illustrated example as the tool engaging portion 15e, any other non-circular hole such as a polygonal shape, a cross shape, a minus shape, or a non-circular protrusion may be used. You may.

A connector (not shown) is fixed to the outside of the horn housing 10, and one end of the coil 14 is electrically connected to a terminal piece of the connector.
The other end of 4 is electrically connected to the movable contact support plate 17. The fixed contact support plate 18 is electrically connected to the horn housing 10 via a metal rivet 20, and is further grounded to the vehicle body via a mounting stay (not shown) fixed to the horn housing 10. I have.

A fixed iron core 21 is fixed to the center of the bottom surface 10c of the horn housing 10 by means such as screws.
The fixed iron core 21 is disposed at the center of the bottom surface portion 10c of the horn housing 10 so as to face the lower end surface of the movable iron core 15 via a predetermined suction gap.

Next, a method of adjusting the off-gap of the electric horn according to the present embodiment will be described. Here, the off gap can be defined as follows. That is, when the coil 14 is not energized, the lower surface of the insulating ring body 15 c forming a pressing portion of the movable iron core 15 and the movable iron core 15 when the coil 14 is energized.
The end 17b of the movable contact support plate 17 is pressed by the insulating ring body 15c, and the movable contact 17a is fixed to the fixed contact 18a.
The distance from the movable contact support plate 17 at the time of separation from the movable contact support plate 17 is the off gap.

Before adjusting the off-gap, the bobbin 1 is attached to the intermediate flat portion 10b on the horn housing 10 side.
The three protrusions 13b, the movable contact support plate 17, the fixed contact support plate 18, and the resin insulating ring 19 interposed between the two contact support plates 17, 18 are caulked and fixed by metal rivets 20. deep. On the movable iron core 15 side,
The central portions of the vibration plate 11 and the resonance plate 16 are caulked and fixed to the small diameter portion 15a, and the insulating ring body 15c is press-fitted and fixed to the lower surface side of the flange portion 15b.

Next, as shown in FIGS.
The fitting position between the outer peripheral end portion 11a of the diaphragm 11 and the flange portion 10a of the horn housing 10 is adjusted to a position where the second pressing portion 15d overlaps the fixed contact support plate 18. This fitting position adjustment is performed by inserting an appropriate tool into the tool locking portion 15e of the movable core 15 and rotating the movable core 15.

Next, the movable core 15 is pushed from the initial position (neutral position) supported by the diaphragm 11 toward the fixed contact support plate 18 by a predetermined amount, and the second pressing portion 15d is pressed.
As a result, the fixed contact support plate 18 is pressed in the direction of arrow A (FIG. 4) to cause plastic deformation. Here, it is necessary to consider the springback of the fixed contact support plate 18 and the springback of the movable contact support plate 17 accompanying the pushing of the fixed contact support plate 18 as the amount of pushing of the movable core 15.
The amount by which the fixed contact support plate 18 is to be deformed, the amount of springback of the fixed contact support plate 18 alone, and the amount of movable contact support plate 1
7 is the sum of the springback amount of the single unit.

As described above, the off-gap can be adjusted to a predetermined amount by plastically deforming the fixed contact support plate 18 by pushing the movable iron core 15 into it. Therefore, by setting the amount of pushing of the movable core 15 to a predetermined amount corresponding to each product in advance, the amount of plastic deformation of the fixed contact support plate 18 can be set to a predetermined amount and the off gap can be adjusted to a predetermined amount.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the outer peripheral end 11a of the diaphragm 11 and the flange 1 of the horn housing 10 are formed.
0a to the second pressing portion 15d of the movable iron core 15.
Moves to a position where it does not overlap (interference) on the fixed contact support plate 18. The movement of the movable core 15 is also performed by inserting an appropriate tool into the tool locking portion 15e of the movable core 15
Can be performed by rotating.

Thereafter, the outer peripheral end 11a of the diaphragm 11 is fixedly wound around the flange 10a of the horn housing 10. After that, the fixed iron core 21 is connected to the horn housing 1.
It is fixed to the center of the bottom surface portion 10c by a screw or the like.

Next, the operation of the electric horn according to the present embodiment will be described. When a horn switch (not shown) is turned on, a current from the vehicle-mounted power supply is supplied from a connector (not shown) to the electromagnetic coil 14 → the movable contact support plate 17. → Movable contact 17a → fixed contact 18a → fixed contact support plate 18 → rivet 20 → horn housing 10 → mounting stay (not shown) → body (ground) path.

As a result, the electromagnetic force of the electromagnetic coil 14 acts on the suction gap between the movable core 15 and the fixed core 21, and the movable core 15 is attracted to the fixed core 21. Due to the displacement of the movable core 15, the insulating ring body 15c of the movable core 15 presses the movable contact support plate 17 to separate the movable contact 17a from the fixed contact 18a. As a result, the power supply to the electromagnetic coil 14 is interrupted, and the electromagnetic force is lost.
5 returns to the original position due to the elastic reaction force of the diaphragm 11, whereby the closed state of the movable contact 17a and the fixed contact 18a is restored. In this way, the power supply to the electromagnetic coil 14 is interrupted, so that the vibration plate 11 and the resonance plate 1
6 vibrates at a high frequency and emits a warning sound.

The second pressing portion 15d of the movable core 15
Are fixed contact support plates 1 in the circumferential direction of the movable iron core 15.
8 has been moved to a position that does not interfere with
The second pressing portion 15 d does not push down the fixed contact support plate 18 during suction of 5. (Other Embodiments) In the above embodiment, the center of the diaphragm 11 and the center of the resonance plate 16 are caulked and fixed to the small-diameter portion 15a of the movable iron core 15 before the adjustment of the off-gap. After the adjustment of the gap, the second pressing portion 15d of the movable iron core 15 does not overlap (interference) the fitting position between the outer peripheral end portion 11a of the diaphragm 11 and the flange portion 10a of the horn housing 10 on the fixed contact support plate 18. However, before adjusting the off-gap, caulking and fixing the center portions of the diaphragm 11 and the resonance plate 16 to the small-diameter portion 15a of the movable iron core 15 is stopped, and the small-diameter portion of the movable iron core 15 is stopped. 15a is held rotatably with respect to the center of the vibration plate 11 and the resonance plate 16, and the fixed contact support plate 18 is plastically deformed by pushing the movable iron core 15 to adjust the off gap. The small diameter portion 15a of the heart 15 diaphragm 11
May be fixed by caulking to the center of the resonance plate 16.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially broken plan view showing a state after an off-gap adjustment of an electric horn according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary front view of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partially broken plan view showing a state before an off-gap adjustment of an electric horn according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary front view of a main part of FIG. 3;

5A is a cross-sectional view of a diaphragm unit of an electric horn according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5B is a plan view of a movable core shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Horn housing, 11 ... diaphragm, 12 ... electromagnet, 14 ... coil, 15 ... movable iron core, 15b ... flange part (1st press part), 15c ... insulating ring body (1st press part), 15d ... 2nd Pressing part, 15e: Tool locking pressure part, 1
7: movable contact support plate, 17a: movable contact, 18: fixed contact support plate, 18a: fixed contact, 21: fixed iron core.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A movable core (15) coupled to a diaphragm (11), and a fixed core (2) opposed to the movable core (15).
1), a coil (14) for attracting the movable core (15) to the fixed core (21), a fixed contact (18a) provided in an energizing circuit of the coil (14), and a fixed contact (18a). ) Fixed contact support plate (1)
8) a normally closed movable contact (17a) normally closed to the fixed contact (18a); and a movable contact support plate (17) made of a spring material and supporting the movable contact (17a). A first pressing portion (15b, 15c) for pressing the movable contact support plate (17) is provided on the movable core (15), and the movable core (15) is moved by the electromagnetic force of the coil (14). When attracted by the fixed iron core (21), the movable contact support plate (17) is pressed by the first pressing portions (15b, 15c) of the movable iron core (15), and the movable contact (17) is pressed.
a) separating the fixed contact (18a) from the fixed contact (18a);
The second pressing portion (1) capable of pressing and deforming plastically
An electric horn characterized by providing 5d). 2. The movable iron core (15) is a columnar member, and the first pressing portion is the cylindrical movable iron core (15).
A ring-shaped flange portion (15b) protruding radially outward on the outer peripheral surface of the ring-shaped flange portion (15b).
The electric horn according to claim 1, wherein the electric horn is formed in a shape protruding radially outward from a part in a circumferential direction of the electric horn. 3. The electric horn according to claim 1, wherein the movable iron core (15) is provided with a non-circular tool engaging portion (15e). 4. A movable core (15) coupled to a diaphragm (11), and a fixed core (2) disposed opposite to the movable core (15).
1), a coil (14) for attracting the movable core (15) to the fixed core (21), a fixed contact (18a) provided in an energizing circuit of the coil (14), and a fixed contact (18a). ) Fixed contact support plate (1)
8) a normally closed movable contact (17a) normally closed to the fixed contact (18a); and a movable contact support plate (17) made of a spring material and supporting the movable contact (17a). The movable iron core (15) is provided with first pressing portions (15b, 15c) of the movable contact support plate (17), and the coil (1) is provided.
When the movable iron core (15) is attracted to the fixed iron core (21) by the electromagnetic force of 4), the movable iron core (15)
In the electric horn in which the movable contact support plate (17) is pressed by the first pressing portions (15b, 15c) to separate the movable contact (17a) from the fixed contact (18a), the coil (14) ) By the first pressing portions (15b, 15c) of the movable iron core (15) at the time of non-energization and the first pressing portions (15b, 15c) of the movable iron core (15) at the time of energizing the coil (14). The movable contact support plate (1)
7) An adjustment method for adjusting an off-gap, which is a distance from the movable contact support plate (17) when the movable contact (17a) is separated from the fixed contact (18a) by pressing. The movable core (15) is provided with the fixed contact support plate (18).
A second pressing portion (15d) capable of pressing the fixed contact support plate (18) by the second pressing portion (15d) to plastically deform the fixed contact support plate (18) to adjust the off-gap; After the adjustment of the second pressing portion (15)
d) moving the d) to a position where it does not interfere with the fixed contact support plate (18).