JP2011090956A - Contact device, relay using the same and micro relay - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a contact device, a relay which uses the device, and a microrelay with the effects of preventing adhesion between mutual contacts are durable, even if opening and closing between contacts are repeated. <P>SOLUTION: The contact device, the relay which uses the device, and the microrelay have a stationary contact 10; a movable contact 20 contactable with and separable from the stationary contact 10; and a movable part 2 having the movable contact 20 and is rockable between the position where the movable part 20 contacts with and where it is separated from the stationary contact 10. The stationary contact 10 is constituted of a substantially hemispherical bowl part 11a, of which the top part is a site for contacting the movable contact 20 and an electrode 11 which protrudes from a flat face, excluding a curved face in the bowl part 11a and having a nearly rod-like leg part 11b, of which the diameter is smaller than that of the bowl part 11a. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a contact device, a relay using the contact device, and a micro relay.

  Conventionally, as a high-frequency small-sized relay, a micro relay such as a MEMS relay formed by using a semiconductor microfabrication technique has been provided, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1. The micro relay described in Patent Document 1 has a storage portion that stores an electromagnet device that generates a magnetic flux in response to an excitation current applied to a coil wound around a yoke, and a fixed contact is provided on one surface side in the thickness direction. Provided base substrate. Also, a frame-like frame portion fixed to the one surface side of the base substrate, and an armature disposed inside the frame portion and supported by the frame portion through a support spring portion so as to be swingable and driven by an electromagnet device And a main block having a movable contact base portion supported by a movable portion to which the armature is fixed via a contact pressure spring portion and provided with a movable contact. Further, a cover having a peripheral portion fixed to the frame portion on the side opposite to the base substrate in the main block is provided. In the electromagnet device, a permanent magnet is provided in a magnetic path formed by the armature and the yoke within the thickness dimension of the base substrate. The contact device according to the present invention includes a fixed contact, a movable contact, and a means for displacing the movable contact so that the movable contact can be freely moved. As in the conventional example, an electromagnet device is used as the means. Used for electromagnetic relays.

JP 2005-216541 A JP 2007-12558 A

  By the way, in a contact device used for the above-described conventional micro relay or the like, it is usual to use a soft metal such as gold as a contact material in order to stabilize the contact resistance between the contacts at a low value. However, in such a configuration, when the contacts are repeatedly opened and closed, the contacts are deformed by the collision of the contacts, and the surface of each contact may be flattened and the contacts may be fixed (sticking). When the contacts are fixed, there is a problem that it is difficult to peel the movable contact from the fixed contact when the contact is opened, and the opening / closing performance of the contact is lowered. As means for solving the above problem, for example, Patent Document 2 discloses a configuration in which a pseudospherical contact point is provided on at least one facing surface of a mover and a stator that are arranged to face each other. By providing the contact points in this way, the contact area is reduced to reduce the adhesion, and the contact parts are easily separated from each other to prevent the contact parts from sticking to each other.

  However, in the conventional example described in Patent Document 2, it is possible to prevent the contacts from sticking to each other at the contact point, but it is not possible to mitigate the impact when the contacts collide with each other. For this reason, there is a problem in that each contact is deteriorated due to an impact at the time of collision by repeatedly opening and closing between the contacts, and the effect of gradually preventing the contacts from sticking to each other is reduced.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and a contact device capable of maintaining the effect of preventing sticking between contacts even when opening and closing between the contacts is repeated, a relay using the contact device, and a micro relay The purpose is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, the first aspect of the present invention provides a fixed contact, a movable contact that can be brought into contact with and separated from the fixed contact, a position having the movable contact and a position at which the movable contact comes into contact with the fixed contact A movable portion that can swing between the fixed contact point and the movable contact point. It is comprised by the electrode which has a substantially rod-shaped leg part which protrudes from the site | part on the opposite side to the said contact part in a part, and is smaller in diameter than a spherical part.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, in the electrode, the spherical surface portion is a substantially hemispherical ridge portion whose top is a portion that contacts an opposing contact, and the leg portion is a curved surface in the ridge portion. It protrudes from the flat surface except for.

  A third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the contact point constituted by the electrode is constituted by a plurality of electrodes.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, each electrode of the contact constituted by the electrodes is along a direction from the fulcrum when the movable portion swings in the movable portion toward the portion where the movable contact is provided. It is arranged in parallel, and the height dimension becomes large as it goes to the said fulcrum.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects of the invention, the contact electrode composed of the electrodes has a spherical portion made of a highly rigid metal material and a leg portion made of a soft metal material. It is characterized by comprising.

  A sixth aspect of the invention includes the contact device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, and a driving device that drives the movable portion so that the movable contact is in contact with and away from the fixed contact. Features.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the relay according to the sixth aspect, the driving device is a micro relay comprising an electromagnet device that swings the movable portion by generating a magnetic field that is made of a magnetic material and attracts the armature provided on the movable portion. And a base formed of a substrate and containing an electromagnet device and having a fixed contact and a transmission line provided on one side in the thickness direction, and a frame-like frame fixed to the one side of the base, And a main block having a movable portion and an armature that are swingably supported by the frame, and a cover whose peripheral portion is fixed to the frame on the opposite side of the base of the main block.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the relay according to claim 6, wherein the driving device is an electromagnet device that swings the movable portion by generating a magnetic field that attracts an armature made of a magnetic material and provided on the movable portion. A base made of a substrate and provided with a fixed contact and a transmission line on one side in the thickness direction, a frame-like frame fixed to the one side of the base, and a movable supported in a swingable manner by the frame A main block having a portion and an armature; and a cover having a peripheral portion fixed to the frame on the opposite side of the base of the main block and having a storage portion for storing an electromagnet device.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the contacts are closed, the tops of the spherical portions are in contact with the contacts facing each other, so that the contacts facing each other are in contact with each other over the entire surface. The contact area between the contacts can be reduced, the contacts can be easily separated, and the contacts can be prevented from sticking. Furthermore, when the contacts are brought into contact with each other, the leg portion is bent due to the elasticity of the legs, thereby reducing the impact when the contacts are brought into contact with each other. Thus, it is possible to prevent each contact from deteriorating due to an impact at the time of collision, and it is possible to maintain the effect of preventing contact between the contacts even when opening and closing between the contacts is repeated.

  According to the invention of claim 2, since the height dimension of the leg portion can be increased while reducing the area where the contact points contact each other, the leg portion can be easily bent, and thus the contact points contact each other. It is possible to enhance the effect of mitigating the impact.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the contact area with the contact point facing the electrode can be increased as compared with the case of one electrode, the contact resistance can be reduced and the contact reliability between the contacts is improved. be able to.

  According to the invention of claim 4, since the tops of the spherical portions of all the electrodes can be brought into contact with the opposing contacts almost simultaneously, the contact area with the opposing contacts is stabilized, and the switching performance between the contacts is further stabilized. It can be made.

  According to the invention of claim 5, by forming the spherical portion with a highly rigid metal material, it is possible to more effectively prevent the contact between the contacts, and the contact area between the contacts when the contacts are closed. Can be further stabilized. Moreover, the impact at the time of contact of contacts can be more effectively relieved by forming a leg part with a soft metal material.

  According to the invention of claim 6, it is possible to realize a relay having the effect described in any one of claims 1 to 5.

  According to the seventh and eighth aspects of the invention, a microrelay having the effect of any one of the first to fifth aspects can be realized.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows Embodiment 1 of the contact apparatus which concerns on this invention, (a) is a principal part perspective view which shows the case where there is one electrode, (b) is a principal part perspective view which shows the case where there are two or more electrodes. It is a figure which shows another structure same as the above, (a) is a principal part perspective view, (b) is an enlarged view of an electrode. It is a principal part perspective view which shows Embodiment 2 of the contact apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the basic form 1 of the micro relay which concerns on this invention, (a) is a disassembled perspective view, (b) is the perspective view seen from the lower side. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the basic form 2 of the micro relay which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing same as the above.

  Hereinafter, in describing embodiments of a contact device according to the present invention, basic forms 1 and 2 of a microrelay including the contact device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the vertical direction in FIG. 4A is defined as the vertical direction.

(Basic form 1)
As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the basic form includes an electromagnet device 6 that generates magnetic flux in response to an exciting current applied to a coil 62 wound around a yoke 60, and a rectangular plate-like glass substrate. A base 5 provided with a pair of fixed contacts 50 at each end in the longitudinal direction on one surface (upper surface) side in the thickness direction, a rectangular frame 31 fixed to the upper surface side of the base 5, and A movable portion 30 disposed inside the frame 31 and supported by the frame 31 via the four support spring portions 32 so as to be swingable. The movable portion 30 is supported by two contact pressure spring portions 35. In addition, two movable contact bases 34 each provided with a movable contact (not shown) and an armature (not shown) provided on the movable part 30 made of a magnetic material and driven by the electromagnet device 6 are provided. Main block having When, and a cover 4 made of a rectangular plate-shaped glass substrate peripheral portion on the opposite side of the base 5 in the main block 3 is fixed to the frame 3.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the yoke 60 in the electromagnet device 6 has an elongated rectangular plate-shaped coil winding portion 60a around which the two coils 62 are directly wound, and a longitudinal direction of the coil winding portion 60a. A pair of leg pieces 60b that extend from both ends toward the movable part 30 and whose opposite end surfaces are excited with different polarities according to the excitation current to the coil 62, and the coil between the leg pieces 60b. A rectangular plate-shaped permanent magnet 61 arranged to be overlapped with the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the winding portion 60a and an elongated rectangular plate shape on the opposite side of the surface facing the permanent magnet 61 in the coil winding portion 60a. And a resin molded body 63 fixed so as to be orthogonal to the coil winding portion 60a. The yoke 60 is formed by bending or casting an iron plate such as electromagnetic soft iron, and the cross sections of both leg pieces 60b are formed in a rectangular shape.

  In the permanent magnet 61, both magnetic pole surfaces in the thickness direction are magnetized differently from each other, one magnetic pole surface is in contact with the coil winding portion 60a, and the other magnetic pole surface is flush with the tip surfaces of both leg pieces 60b. The thickness dimension is set so as to be located above. Further, each coil 62 is restricted from moving in the longitudinal direction of the coil winding portion 60a by the permanent magnet 61 and both leg pieces 60b. The resin molded body 63 is made of an insulating resin material, and the coil terminals 63a are provided so as to partially expose the longitudinal ends of one surface thereof. In each of the coil terminals 63a, a circular part forms an external connection electrode, and a rectangular part forms a coil connection part. A bump 64 made of a conductive material (for example, Au, Ag, Cu, solder, etc.) is appropriately fixed to the external connection electrode in each coil terminal 63a, but a bonding wire is used instead of fixing the bump 64. Bonding is acceptable.

  The base 5 is formed in a rectangular shape by heat-resistant glass such as Pyrex (registered trademark), and as shown in FIG. 4B, the electromagnet device 6 is accommodated through the center portion in the thickness direction. A storage hole 56 is provided therethrough, and through holes (not shown) penetrating in the thickness direction are provided in the vicinity of the four corners. Also, lands 52 are formed on both sides of the base 5 in the thickness direction and on the periphery of each through hole. Here, the lands 52 overlapping in the thickness direction of the base 5 are conductive materials (for example, Cu, Cr, Ti, Pt, Co, Ni, Au, or alloys thereof) deposited on the inner peripheral surface of the through hole. Etc.) are electrically connected by a conductor layer (not shown). Further, bumps 53 are appropriately fixed to the lands 52 on the other surface (lower surface) side in the thickness direction of the base 5. By fixing the bumps 53 to the lands 52, openings of through holes are formed on the lower surface side of the base 5. The surface is covered with bumps 53. The opening surface of each through hole is circular, and four lids 54 made of a silicon thin film covering the opening surface of each through hole and the land 52 are fixed to the upper surface of the base 5.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, each pair of fixed contacts 50 are arranged in parallel between two through holes formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the base 5 so as to be spaced apart in the short direction of the base 5. It is electrically connected via a conductive pattern 51 and a land 52 formed at the periphery of the through hole adjacent in the short direction. Here, as a material of the fixed contact 50, the conductive pattern 51, and the land 52, for example, a conductive material such as Cr, Ti, Pt, Co, Cu, Ni, Au, or an alloy thereof may be employed. As the material of 53, for example, a conductive material such as Au, Ag, Cu, or solder may be employed. The through hole and the accommodation hole 56 may be formed by, for example, a sand blast method or an etching method, and the conductor layer may be formed by, for example, an electroplating method, a vacuum evaporation method, a sputtering method, or the like.

  The opening surface of the storage hole 56 has a cross shape as shown in FIG. 4B, and a lid 57 made of a silicon thin film that closes the storage hole 56 is fixed to the upper surface side of the base. Here, the electromagnet device 6 is inserted into the storage hole 56 in such a manner that the front end surfaces of both leg pieces 60 b of the yoke 60 face the lid body 57. In the electromagnet device 6, the permanent magnet 61 is provided in a magnetic path formed by the armature and the yoke 60 within the thickness dimension of the base 5, and the surface of the resin molded body 63 is substantially flush with the lower surface of the base 5. Yes. The lids 54 and 57 are made of a silicon thin film formed by thinning a silicon substrate by etching or polishing, and the thickness dimension is set to 20 μm. Here, the thickness dimension of the lid 57 is not limited to 20 μm, and may be appropriately set within a range of, for example, about 5 to 50 μm. Further, the lids 54 and 57 are not limited to the silicon thin film, but may be formed of a glass thin film formed by thinning a glass substrate by etching or polishing.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the main block 3 includes a rectangular frame 31 and four support springs formed by processing a semiconductor substrate made of a silicon substrate by a semiconductor micromachining process. It comprises a part 32, a rectangular plate-like movable part 30 arranged inside the frame 31, four contact pressure spring parts 35, and two movable contact base parts 34. For example, a rectangular plate-shaped armature made of a magnetic material such as soft iron, electromagnetic stainless steel, or permalloy is fixed to the surface of the movable portion 30 facing the base 5.

  The support spring parts 32 are formed at two locations on both sides in the short side direction of the movable part 30 so as to be separated from each other in the longitudinal direction of the movable part 30. Each support spring portion 32 has one end portion integrally connected to the frame 31 and the other end portion integrally connected to the movable portion 30. In addition, each support spring part 32 is lengthened by forming the site | part between one end part and the other end part in the planar shape in the meandering shape in the same plane. For this reason, when the movable part 30 swings, the stress concerning each support spring part 32 can be disperse | distributed, and it can prevent that each support spring part 32 is damaged.

  The movable portion 30 has a rectangular protruding piece 36 integrally extending from the center of both side edges in the short direction, and a rectangular protruding piece 37 from a portion corresponding to the protruding piece 36 on the inner peripheral surface of the frame 31. Is integrally extended. The projecting pieces 36 and 37 are such that the tip surfaces thereof face each other, and the projection provided on the tip surface of the projection piece 36 abuts on the inner peripheral surface of the recess provided on the tip surface of the projection piece 37. Thus, the movement of the movable portion 30 in the plane orthogonal to the thickness direction of the frame 31 is restricted.

  The movable contact base portion 34 is disposed between both ends of the movable portion 30 and the frame 31 in the longitudinal direction of the movable portion 30, and a movable contact made of a conductive material on a surface (lower surface) facing the base 5. Is fixed. Here, the movable contact base part 34 is supported by the movable part 30 via two contact pressure spring parts 35. In addition, since the stopper part 33 which restrict | limits the amount of armature displacement is integrally extended in the four corners of the movable part 30, respectively, the planar shape of the contact pressure spring part 35 is three sides of the outer periphery of the stopper part 33. It is formed in U shape along.

  The cover 4 is made of heat-resistant glass such as Pyrex (registered trademark), and a recess (not shown) that secures a swinging space of the movable portion 30 is formed on the surface facing the main block 3. .

  Here, a metal thin film for bonding (not shown) is formed over the entire periphery of the surface (lower surface) facing the base 5 in the frame 31, and the periphery of the surface (upper surface) facing the cover 4. A metal thin film for bonding 38a is also formed on the entire portion over the entire circumference. Further, a metal thin film 55 for bonding is formed over the entire periphery of the surface of the base 5 facing the main block 3 (upper surface), and the periphery of the surface of the cover 4 facing the main block 3 (lower surface). In addition, a bonding metal thin film (not shown) is formed over the entire circumference. Therefore, the main block 3, the cover 4, and the base 5 can be hermetically joined by pressure welding or anodic bonding, and the airtightness of the space surrounded by the base 5, the cover 4, and the frame 31 can be improved.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the basic mode will be described. When the coil 62 is energized, one end of the armature in the longitudinal direction is attracted to one leg piece 60b of the yoke 60 according to the direction of magnetization, and the movable part 30 swings, and the other end side of the movable part 30 The movable contact held by the movable contact base 34 contacts the pair of fixed contacts 50 facing each other with a predetermined contact pressure. Even if energization is stopped in this state, the attractive force is maintained by the magnetic flux generated by the permanent magnet 61, and the state is maintained as it is.

  Further, when the energization direction to the coil 62 is reversed, the other end portion of the armature in the longitudinal direction is attracted to the other leg piece 60b of the yoke 60, and the movable portion 30 swings. The movable contact held by the movable contact base 34 contacts the pair of fixed contacts 50 facing each other with a predetermined contact pressure. Even if energization is stopped in this state, the attractive force is maintained by the magnetic flux generated by the permanent magnet 61, and the state is maintained as it is.

(Basic form 2)
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, this basic form is mainly composed of a base 100, a main block 200 provided on one surface (upper surface) side in the thickness direction of the base 100, and the main block 200 opposite to the base 100 side. A cover 300 provided on the upper side and an electromagnet device 400 are provided.

  The base 100 is formed of, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped glass substrate. As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of transmission lines 110 are formed on both ends in the longitudinal direction on the upper surface side of the base 100. All of the transmission lines 110 are formed in a straight line, and the longitudinal direction thereof coincides with the short direction of the base 100. In addition, the pair of transmission lines 110 are arranged in a line along the short direction of the base 100. Here, a pair of external connection electrodes (not shown) are formed on both ends in the longitudinal direction on the other surface (lower surface) side in the thickness direction of the base 100. The pair of external connection electrodes are electrically connected to a pair of transmission lines 110 and through-hole wirings (not shown) penetrating the base 100 in the thickness direction.

  A plurality of fixed contacts 120 electrically connected to the transmission line 110 are formed on the upper surface side of the base 100. Each fixed contact 120 is connected to an end portion that is inside the base 100 in each transmission line 110. Therefore, a pair of fixed contacts 120 are formed on each of the left and right ends of the base 100. In each transmission line 110, an end portion that is outside the base 100 is electrically connected to the external connection electrode through the above-described through-hole wiring. The fixed contact 120 is a metal thin film made of a metal material having good conductivity such as Cu or Au, and is formed by using a sputtering method, an electroplating method, a vacuum deposition method, or the like. Further, the fixed contact 120 is not limited to a single layer structure, and may be a multilayer structure including, for example, an Au layer and a Ti layer interposed between the Au layer and the base 100.

  The main block 200 mainly includes a movable part 210 and a frame 220. The frame 220 is formed in a rectangular frame shape, and the movable portion 210 is disposed in the opening of the frame 220. Here, the opening of the frame 220 includes a rectangular first opening 230 provided at the center of the frame 220 and a second opening 231 provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the frame 220. Including. The second opening 231 communicates with the first opening 230 at the center in the vertical direction. The outer dimensions of the frame 220 are the same as the outer dimensions of the base 100.

  The movable part 210 has a main body part 211 disposed in the first opening 230 of the frame 220. The main body 211 is formed in a rectangular plate shape, and is disposed in the first opening 230 so that its longitudinal direction is along the longitudinal direction of the frame 220. A contact protrusion 212 is provided at each central portion of both ends in the short direction of the main body 211, and the tip thereof is disposed in the second opening 231. A movable contact 213 is provided on a surface (lower surface) of the contact protrusion 212 facing the base 100 (see FIG. 6). The movable contact 213 is configured to short-circuit between the pair of fixed contacts 120 when contacting the pair of fixed contacts 120. The movable contact 213 is a metal thin film made of a metal material such as Cu or Au, like the fixed contact 120, and is formed using a sputtering method, an electroplating method, a vacuum deposition method, or the like. Further, the movable contact 213 is not limited to a single layer structure, and may have a multilayer structure like the fixed contact 120 described above.

  On the other hand, a fulcrum protrusion 214 projects from the center of the surface (upper surface) of the main body 211 facing the cover 300. The fulcrum protrusion 214 is used as a fulcrum for the swinging operation (seesaw operation) of the movable portion 210.

  Such a movable portion 210 is integrally connected to the frame 220 by a plurality of (four in the drawing) support pieces 240. Each of the support pieces 240 is configured to integrally connect the inner side surface of the first opening 230 of the frame 220 in the longitudinal direction and the outer side surface of the main body 211 in the short direction. The four support pieces 240 are arranged so as to be point-symmetric about the center of the main body 211. Further, the support piece 240 is formed in a meandering shape so as to advance and retreat in a direction along the longitudinal direction of the main body portion 211 within a plane orthogonal to the thickness direction. As a result, the movable portion 210 is swingably supported by the frame 220. Further, each support piece 240 is formed in a meandering shape to increase the length dimension, and the stress applied to the support piece 240 when the movable portion 210 swings is dispersed.

In the main block 200 described above, the movable portion 210, the frame 220, and the support piece 240 are formed on a semiconductor substrate 25 having a thickness of, for example, about 50 μm to 300 μm, preferably about 200 μm, using a semiconductor fine processing technology such as a photolithography technology and an etching technology. It is integrally formed by patterning using it. The semiconductor substrate 25 is an SOI (two-layer SOI) substrate in which semiconductor layers made of silicon and insulating layers made of silicon oxide (SiO ₂ ) are alternately stacked.

  An armature 500 is provided on a surface (upper surface) of the main body 211 of the movable unit 210 facing the cover 300. The armature 500 is used for swinging the movable part 210 by a magnetic field generated by the electromagnet device 400. The armature 500 is formed into a rectangular plate shape by machining a magnetic material such as electromagnetic soft iron, electromagnetic stainless steel, or permalloy, and is joined to the main body 211 by a method such as adhesion, welding, heat fitting, or brazing. In addition, a reinforcing member 600 that holds the armature 500 on the movable portion 210 and reinforces the movable portion 210 is provided on the side of the movable portion 210 facing the base 100 (lower surface). In order to avoid an increase in the thickness of the micro relay due to the reinforcing member 600, the base 100 is provided with a recess 130 that avoids the reinforcing member 600 (see FIG. 6).

  The main block 200 described above is attached to the upper surface side of the base 100 by joining the frame 220 to the base 100 such that the movable contact 213 and the pair of fixed contacts 120 face each other.

  The cover 300 is formed of, for example, a glass substrate that is an insulating material, and the outer dimensions thereof are equal to the outer dimensions of the base 100. Thus, the cover 300 is formed in a size that can close the opening of the frame 220. An opening 310 that penetrates in the thickness direction is formed at the center of the surface (upper surface) opposite to the frame 220 side of the cover 300. The opening 310 is formed in a size that can accommodate the electromagnet device 400, and a closing plate 320 that closes the entire opening 310 is tightly bonded to a surface (lower surface) on the frame 220 side. The closing plate 320 is made of, for example, a silicon plate or a glass plate having a thickness of about 5 to 50 μm (preferably about 20 μm). A space surrounded by the inner peripheral surface of the opening 310 and the closing plate 320 constitutes a storage chamber of the electromagnet device 400. The cover 300 described above is joined to the surface (upper surface) of the frame 220 opposite to the base 100 side.

  The electromagnet device 400 generates a magnetic field that attracts the armature 500 and includes a permanent magnet 410 for latching the movable portion 210. The electromagnet device 400 mainly includes a yoke 420 and a pair of coils 430. The yoke 420 is integrally provided with a long rectangular plate-shaped main piece 421 and rectangular plate-shaped leg pieces 422 projecting from both ends in the longitudinal direction on the surface side (lower surface side) of the main piece 421. . Such a yoke 420 is formed by bending or forging an iron plate such as electromagnetic soft iron. The permanent magnet 410 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is magnetized so that one surface side and the other surface side in the thickness direction have different polarities. The permanent magnet 410 is attached to the yoke 420 such that the other surface is in contact with the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the lower surface of the main piece 421 of the yoke 420. The pair of coils 430 is disposed at each portion of the main piece 421 between each leg piece 422 and the permanent magnet 410.

  Further, the electromagnet device 400 is provided with a pair of coil terminals (not shown). By applying a voltage between the pair of coil terminals, a current flows through both coils 430. Such an electromagnet device 400 is stored in the storage chamber of the cover 300. Here, a linear wiring pattern (not shown) is formed on the surface (upper surface) of the cover 300 opposite to the main block 200 side, and a coil terminal is soldered to one end of the wiring pattern. Etc. are electrically connected.

  A drive electrode (not shown) for energizing both coils 430 is provided on the lower surface side of the base 100, and the base 100 is located at a position where the drive electrode and the other end of the wiring pattern overlap in the thickness direction. A through hole (not shown) penetrating the main block 200 and the cover 300 in the thickness direction is provided. A through-hole wiring (not shown) is formed in the through-hole, and the drive electrode and the coil terminal are electrically connected through the through-hole wiring and the wiring pattern.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the basic mode will be described. When energization of both the coils 430 is performed, one end of the armature 500 in the longitudinal direction is attracted to one leg piece 422 of the yoke 420 according to the direction of magnetization, and the main body 211 of the movable unit 210 swings. The movable contact 213 provided on the contact protrusion 212 on one end in the longitudinal direction of the main body 211 comes into contact with the pair of fixed contacts 120 facing each other with a predetermined contact pressure. Even if energization is stopped in this state, the attractive force is maintained by the magnetic flux generated by the permanent magnet 410, and the state is maintained as it is.

  Further, when the energization direction of both the coils 430 is reversed, the other end portion of the armature 500 in the longitudinal direction is attracted to the other leg piece 422 of the yoke 420, and the main body portion 211 of the movable portion 210 swings. The movable contact 213 provided on the contact protrusion 212 on the other end side in the longitudinal direction of the portion 211 comes into contact with a pair of fixed contacts 120 facing each other with a predetermined contact pressure. Even if energization is stopped in this state, the attractive force is maintained by the magnetic flux generated by the permanent magnet 410, and the state is maintained as it is.

  As described above, since the electromagnet device 400 is housed in the opening 310 of the cover 300 in this basic embodiment, the thickness of the base 100 can be reduced compared to the case where the electromagnet device 400 is housed in the base 100. it can. For this reason, the through-hole wiring for connecting the fixed contact 120 to the external connection electrode can be shortened, and the high frequency characteristics can be improved. In addition, since the distance between the electromagnet device 400 and the fixed contact 120 can be increased, the influence of the magnetic field generated by the electromagnet device 400 can be reduced.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, a contact device according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the vertical and horizontal directions in FIG. 1A are defined as the vertical and horizontal directions. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1A, a pair (one in the figure) of fixed contacts 10 provided on the transmission line 1 wired to the base A, and the fixed contacts 10 are separated from each other. A movable pair 2 having a movable pair 20 (one in the drawing) that can be freely swung between a position where the movable contact 20 is in contact with the fixed contact 10 and a position where the movable contact 20 is separated from the fixed contact 10. Is provided. The movable portion 2 of the present embodiment swings when a rectangular plate armature (not shown) provided on one surface (lower surface) facing the base A is attracted by an electromagnet device (not shown). It is supposed to be.

  The movable portion 2 is formed in a rectangular plate shape, and a movable contact 20 is provided on one surface (lower surface) facing the base A at both ends in the longitudinal direction. A fulcrum protrusion (not shown) protruding upward is provided at a portion of the base A that faces the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the movable part 2, and when the fulcrum protrusion swings the movable part 2. It becomes the fulcrum of

  Here, as shown in FIG. 1 (a), the fixed contact 10 of the present embodiment includes a substantially hemispherical flange (spherical surface) 11a having a portion contacting the movable contact 20 as a top, and a flange 11a. It consists of a substantially umbrella-shaped electrode 11 that protrudes from a flat surface excluding a curved surface and has a substantially rod-shaped leg portion 11b having a diameter smaller than that of the flange portion 11a. Thus, since the top of the flange 11a and the movable contact 20 come into contact with each other when the contacts are closed, the contacts come into contact with each other as compared to the case where the surfaces facing each other contact each other over the entire surface. The area can be reduced, and the contacts can be easily separated to prevent the contacts from sticking to each other. Furthermore, when the contacts are in contact with each other, the leg 11b bends due to its own elasticity, so that the impact when the contacts are in contact can be alleviated. For this reason, it can prevent that each contact deteriorates by the impact at the time of a collision, and even if it repeats opening and closing between contacts, the effect which prevents adhesion of contacts can be maintained. Moreover, since the contact area between the contacts at the time of closing between the contacts can be made almost constant at all times, the switching performance between the contacts can be stabilized.

  As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the electrode 11 has a substantially spherical sphere portion 11c with a portion contacting the movable contact 20 as a top portion, and protrudes downward from the sphere portion 11c. You may comprise from the substantially rod-shaped leg part 11b whose diameter dimension is smaller than 11c. That is, the electrode 11 has a spherical portion having at least a spherical surface with a portion contacting the opposite contact point as a top, and a substantially rod-like shape protruding from a portion of the spherical portion opposite to the contact portion and having a smaller diameter than the spherical portion. Other configurations may be used as long as the leg portion is included.

  However, when the electrode 11 is composed of the ball portion 11c and the leg portion 11b as described above, if the height dimension of the electrode 11 is constant, the height dimension of the leg portion 11b is shortened. It becomes difficult to bend a little, and there is a possibility that the effect of mitigating the impact when the contacts come into contact with each other may be reduced. On the other hand, when the electrode 11 is composed of the flange portion 11a and the leg portion 11b, the height of the leg portion 11b can be increased while reducing the area where the contacts are in contact with each other. This is preferable because it can be easily bent, and the effect of mitigating the impact when the contacts come into contact with each other can be enhanced.

  By the way, when the fixed contact 10 is comprised from the one electrode 11 as shown to Fig.1 (a), there exists an effect which prevents the adhesion | attachment of contacts and the impact reduction at the time of contacts contacting. However, since the contact area with the movable contact 20 is reduced, the contact resistance is increased, and the contact reliability of the contact may be reduced. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1B, the fixed contact 10 may be composed of a plurality (three in the drawing) of electrodes 11. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 (b), the electrodes 11 are arranged in parallel along the longitudinal direction of the transmission line 1. In this case, since the number of the electrodes 11 that come into contact with the movable contact 20 increases, the contact area with the movable contact 20 can be increased as compared with the case where the number of the electrodes 11 is one, so that the contact resistance can be reduced. Contact reliability between the contacts can be improved. Of course, the effect which prevents the adhesion of contacts and the effect which relieve | moderates the impact at the time of contacts contacting can also be show | played.

(Embodiment 2)
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the contact device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Since the basic configuration of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, common portions are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. In this embodiment, as shown to Fig.3 (a), (b), the fixed contact 10 is comprised from the electrode 11 of several (in the illustration 9), and when each electrode 11 is closed between contacts, First, the height dimensions L1 to L3 of the leg portion 11b increase from one end portion (the left end portion in the drawing) on the side in contact with the movable contact 20 toward the other end portion (the right end portion in the drawing) ( L1 <L2 <L3). That is, the respective electrodes 11 are arranged side by side along the direction from the fulcrum protrusion of the movable part 2 to the portion where the movable contact 20 is provided in the movable part 2, and the height dimension thereof increases as it goes to the fulcrum protrusion. There is.

  For example, when the height dimensions of the leg portions 11b of the electrodes 11 are the same or uneven, the movable contact 20 and the side surface portion of the flange portion 11a are in contact with the movable contact 20 or the movable contact 20 when the contacts are closed. Electrode 11 and the like that are not mixed, or the movable contact 20 and each electrode 11 do not come into contact with each other almost simultaneously, so that the contact between the movable contact 20 and each electrode 11 becomes unstable. Therefore, by configuring as described above, the tops of the flanges 11a of all the electrodes 11 can be brought into contact with the movable contact 20 almost simultaneously, so that the contact area with the movable contact 20 is stabilized, and switching between the contacts is performed. The performance can be stabilized.

  By the way, in each said embodiment, the collar part 11a of the electrode 11 is a metal material with high rigidity (for example, ruthenium (Ru), rhodium (Rh), iridium (Ir), platinum (Pt), or a composite metal containing these). It is desirable to form the leg portion 11b with a soft metal material (for example, gold (Au), silver (Ag), palladium (Pd), or a composite metal containing a large amount thereof). In this way, by forming the flange portion 11a from a highly rigid metal material, it is possible to more effectively prevent contact between the contacts, and further stabilize the contact area between the contacts when the contacts are closed. Can be made. Moreover, the impact at the time of contact of contacts can be more effectively relieved by forming the leg part 11b with a soft metal material. In addition, as the highly rigid metal material, for example, tungsten (W), titanium (Ti), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), or a base metal material such as a composite metal containing these may be used instead.

  Here, in each of the above embodiments, the fixed contact 10 is composed of one to a plurality of electrodes 11, but the movable contact 20 may be composed of one to a plurality of electrodes 11 instead of the fixed contact 10. Even in this case, the same effects as those of the above embodiments can be obtained.

  In addition, the contact device of each said embodiment is employable in any of the basic forms 1 and 2. When the contact device of each of the above embodiments is adopted as the basic form 1, the conductive pattern 51 is the transmission line 1, the fixed contact 50 is the fixed contact 10 (electrode 11), and the movable contact provided on the movable contact base 34 is used. The movable contact 20 and the movable part 30 may be replaced with the movable part 2, respectively. Further, when the contact device of this embodiment is adopted as the basic form 2, the transmission line 110 is the transmission line 1, the fixed contact 120 is the fixed contact 10 (electrode 11), the movable contact 213 is the movable contact 20, and the movable part 210 is What is necessary is just to replace with the movable part 2, respectively. Of course, the relay provided with the contact device of the present invention is not limited to the micro relay of the above basic form, and the contact device of the present invention may be adopted for a relay and a micro relay having other structures. . In addition, the driving device for swinging the movable portion is not limited to the electromagnetic driving type, and for example, an electrostatic driving type driving device may be adopted.

10 fixed contact 11 electrode 11a collar part (spherical part)
11b Leg part 2 Movable part 20 Movable contact

Claims (8)

  A contact device having a fixed contact, a movable contact that can be contacted with and separated from the fixed contact, and a movable part that has a movable contact and is swingable between a position where the movable contact contacts the fixed contact and a position where the movable contact opens. And either one of the fixed contact and the movable contact protrudes from a spherical portion having at least a spherical surface with a portion contacting the opposite contact as a top, and a spherical portion protruding from a portion of the spherical portion opposite to the contact portion. A contact device comprising an electrode having a substantially rod-like leg portion having a smaller diameter than the other.   In the electrode, the spherical surface portion is a substantially hemispherical flange portion whose top is a portion that contacts an opposing contact, and the leg portion protrudes from a flat surface excluding the curved surface of the flange portion. The contact device according to claim 1.   The contact device according to claim 1, wherein the contact configured by the electrodes includes a plurality of electrodes.   Each electrode of the contact constituted by the electrodes is juxtaposed along the direction from the fulcrum when the movable part swings in the movable part to the site where the movable contact is provided, and the height dimension thereof is at the fulcrum. The contact device according to claim 3, wherein the contact device becomes larger as it goes.   5. The contact according to claim 1, wherein the electrode of the contact composed of the electrode has a spherical portion made of a highly rigid metal material and a leg portion made of a soft metal material. apparatus.   6. A relay comprising: the contact device according to claim 1; and a drive device that drives a movable portion so that the movable contact is in contact with and away from the fixed contact.   7. The relay according to claim 6, wherein the driving device is a micro relay including an electromagnet device that swings the movable portion by generating a magnetic field that is made of a magnetic material and attracts an armature provided on the movable portion. A base in which a storage portion for storing an electromagnet device is formed and a fixed contact and a transmission line are provided on one side in the thickness direction, a frame-like frame fixed to the one side of the base, and a frame that is swingable A micro relay comprising: a main block having a supported movable portion and an armature; and a cover having a peripheral portion fixed to a frame on the opposite side of the base of the main block.   7. The relay according to claim 6, wherein the driving device is a micro relay including an electromagnet device that swings the movable portion by generating a magnetic field that is made of a magnetic material and attracts an armature provided on the movable portion. A main having a base provided with a fixed contact and a transmission line on one surface side in the thickness direction, a frame-like frame fixed to the one surface side of the base, and a movable portion and an armature that are swingably supported by the frame A micro relay comprising: a block; and a cover having a peripheral portion fixed to a frame on the opposite side of the base of the main block and having a storage portion for storing an electromagnet device.

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