JP2022098665A - Contact opening/closing mechanism and electromagnetic relay including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

To suppress the occurrence of re-ignition that occurs when a contact opening/closing mechanism is switched to the off state in the contact opening/closing mechanism and an electromagnetic relay equipped with this mechanism.SOLUTION: A contact opening/closing mechanism according to an embodiment includes (1) an electromagnetic actuator 40, (2) a spring-shaped movable contact piece 5 whose position and posture can be switched by a drive transmission unit 70, (3) a pair of left and right movable contacts 3A and 3B which are located in a movable terminal portion 3 on the free end side of a movable contact piece 5, are electrically connected to each other, and are arranged close to each other, (4) a corresponding pair of left and right fixing contacts 2A and 2B, and (5) a step difference generation mechanism that causes one of the left and right movable contacts 3A and the other left and right movable contacts 3B to be different in terms of distance from the corresponding fixing contacts 2A and 2B when the electromagnetic actuator 40 is switched to the off state and the pair of left and right movable contacts 3A and 3B move away from the pair of left and right fixing contacts 2A and 2B, and when the pair of left and right movable contacts 3A and 3B reapproach the pair of left and right fixing contacts 2A and 2B by bouncing or swinging back.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a contact opening / closing mechanism and an electromagnetic relay provided with the contact opening / closing mechanism, particularly a power relay.

Conventionally, as electromagnetic relays, for example, those having the following (1) to (4) have been used. (1) Electromagnet block, (2) Movable iron piece (polaron) that swings according to the excitation / non-excitation of the electromagnet block, (3) Leaf spring-like movable contact piece that swings with the swinging movement of the movable iron piece, and A fixed terminal member having a movable contact located on the free end side thereof and (4) a fixed contact at one end of which the movable contact is contacted and separated by this swinging motion.

In particular, an electromagnetic relay equipped with a pair of left and right (paired left and right) movable contacts at the free end of one movable contact piece or the free end of two movable contact pieces driven by one movable iron piece. It is used. The pair of left and right movable contacts are simultaneously contacted and separated from the corresponding pair of left and right fixed contacts, so that the output circuit is turned on and off.

Typically, a pair of left and right movable contacts are electrically conductive to each other through a movable terminal member that includes at least a portion of the movable contact piece. Then, when these movable contacts are pressed against the corresponding fixed contacts and come into contact with each other, the pair of left and right fixed terminal members are electrically conducted with each other. That is, when the pair of left and right contact opening / closing portions arranged close to each other are in contact (closed pole) state at the same time, the circuit on the output side of the electromagnetic relay is turned on.

The left-right direction here is, for example, the left-right direction when the contact opening / closing portion is arranged on the front side (front side) and the axis of the swinging motion of the movable iron piece is the horizontal direction. In this case, the location where the electromagnet block is arranged is on the rear side.

In such an electromagnetic relay, a device for suppressing an arc generated when a movable contact is separated from a fixed contact has been conventionally made.

For example, there is a leaf spring-shaped movable contact piece having a protruding piece formed at either the left or right side end to terminate the extension of the arc (see, for example, Patent Document 3). Further, as another contact opening / closing mechanism, an arc runner conductor is provided on the fixed terminal member, and a protrusion is provided on the arc runner conductor to generate an arc between the movable contact and the fixed contact at the time of contact separation (opening). Is configured to be commutated between the tip of the movable contact piece and the protrusion (see, for example, Patent Document 4).

These conventional techniques have a problem that the width in the left-right direction of the electromagnetic relay increases (Patent Document 3) or the member cost of the fixed terminal member increases (Patent Document 4). Therefore, it has been proposed to install a space for erasing the arc behind the contact opening / closing portion (Patent Document 1). Here, specifically, a pair of left and right movable contact pieces are connected to one movable iron piece, and a pair of left and right movable contacts are provided at the free end portion (movable terminal portion) of each movable contact piece. .. Since fixed contacts are provided corresponding to these movable contacts, a total of four contact opening / closing portions are provided so as to be aligned in the left-right direction. A space for erasing the arc (corresponding to the reference numeral 19 in FIG. 1 of the present application) is provided only behind each of the two contact opening / closing portions located on the outer side in the left-right direction.

On the other hand, by extending the free end of the movable contact piece further from the position of the movable contact and then bending it toward the fixed contact, the arc can be generated by such a bent tip portion (see 7D in FIGS. 7 to 9 of the present application). It has been proposed to make it disappear at an early stage through (corresponding to the code) (Patent Document 2). Here, both the movable contact piece and the fixed terminal member are supported at close positions by a resin support member (base). Then, the movable contact piece is pressed from the side of the movable iron piece on the free end side to bring the movable contact into contact with the fixed contact.

Japanese Patent No. 6365648 (PCT / JP2015 / 071277) Japanese Patent No. 5923932 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2013-98126) Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-196372 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-170876

The inventors of the present invention are diligently studying to reduce the generation of an arc, and immediately after the drive input to the electromagnet block is stopped and the contact opening / closing part is opened (open pole; separation), I noticed that re-ignition may occur, and investigated the cause. Then, the free end of the movable contact piece is separated from the fixed contact and returns to the original position, causing an overshoot, swinging back, or bouncing, and as a result, the pair of left and right movable contacts correspond to each other. I found that it was because it was close to the fixed contact again.

The present invention was made based on the discovery of one mechanism of arc generation and the discovery of this new problem, and the re-ignition that occurs when the contact opening / closing mechanism is switched to the off state. This is an attempt to suppress the occurrence of.

In a preferred embodiment, the contact opening / closing mechanism includes (1) a drive transmission unit whose position / posture (at least one of the position and posture) is switched according to the drive / non-drive of the actuator, and (2) the position / position of the drive transmission unit. A spring-shaped movable contact piece whose position and posture can be switched according to the change of posture, or a movable terminal part that receives spring force, (3) Located on the free end side of the movable contact piece, or on the movable terminal part and conducting with each other. A pair of left and right movable contacts arranged close to each other, and (4) a pair of left and right fixed contacts that are contacted and separated as the position and posture of the movable contact piece are switched. , (5) The fixed terminal where the left and right fixed contacts are arranged, and (6) When the actuator is switched to the off state and the pair of left and right movable contacts move away from the pair of left and right fixed contacts, and rebound. Alternatively, a step difference generation mechanism that causes one of the left and right movable contacts and the other left and right movable contacts to be different in terms of distance from the corresponding fixed contacts when reapproaching the pair of left and right fixed contacts by swinging back. To prepare for. Further, in a preferred embodiment, the electromagnetic relay includes such a contact opening / closing mechanism and an electromagnetic actuator.

In a preferred embodiment, the step difference generation mechanism is a stopper provided on the side opposite to the fixed contact when viewed from the movable contact. That is, when the actuator is switched to the off state and the pair of left and right movable contacts move away from the pair of left and right fixed contacts, the fixed member is arranged so as to be able to abut against the movable contacts so as to regulate the distance that can be away. Is. This stopper is arranged so as to be able to abut against a pair of left and right movable contacts at positions where the distance from the pair of left and right fixed contacts is different.

The stopper may be arranged so as to abut against only one of the left and right (pair) movable contacts. Also, instead of making the position of the abutting surface of the stopper (distance from the fixed contact) different on the left and right (between the left and right pairs), or in this way, on the left and right, and on the side of the movable contact piece. Therefore, the protrusion dimension toward the stopper at the portion abutted by the stopper may be different on the left and right. Further, the mass of the portion of the movable contact piece in the vicinity of the movable contact or the support structure for the portion in the vicinity of the movable contact can be different on the left and right.

In a preferred embodiment, the stopper and / or the protruding portion on the side of the movable contact piece (that is, at least one of them) has a springy property or a cushioning property for absorbing vibration.

In a preferred embodiment, the electromagnet block and a movable iron piece that swings according to the excitation / non-excitation of the electromagnet block form an actuator. The drive transmission unit is composed of this movable iron piece, an overall flat resin member (spacer / holding member) superposed on the movable iron piece, and a metal leaf spring-shaped movable contact piece attached to the resin member (spacer / holding member). To. Here, the movable iron piece is provided with a spring for returning to the non-excited position / posture. Further, a movable terminal portion is provided in the vicinity of the free end of the movable contact piece.

In another preferred embodiment, the actuator is of a plunger type using a solenoid, a piezo element, or the like. In this case, the plunger serves as a drive transmission unit, and a pair of movable contacts are provided in one flat elongated piece-shaped movable terminal member. A coil-shaped return spring can be provided on the side of the movable terminal member opposite to the fixed contact.

When a plurality of movable contact pieces are driven by one actuator and a pair of left and right movable contacts are arranged at the free ends of each movable contact piece, a series of movable contacts forming a plurality of pairs are composed of corresponding fixed contacts. The distances can all be different from each other.

It is possible to prevent or suppress re-ignition when the movable contact and the fixed contact are separated, that is, when the contact opening / closing portion is open (opening; separated).

FIG. 3 is a perspective view and a perspective view of an incision of the main part showing the appearance of the electromagnetic relay of the first embodiment when the cover is removed, and the main part. It is a horizontal sectional perspective view of the main part of the electromagnetic relay of Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a series of schematic horizontal sectional views of a main part for demonstrating the main point of the operation mode of the electromagnetic relay of Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a series of schematic horizontal cross-sectional views of a main part for explaining the operation mode of the electromagnetic relay of Embodiment 1 in more detail while comparing with those of the prior art. It is a series of horizontal sectional views of a main part schematically showing the modified embodiments 1 to 7 in the same manner as in FIG. 2A. It is a series of horizontal sectional views of a main part schematically showing the modified embodiments 8 to 11 in the same manner as in FIG. 2A. It is a schematic side view of the electromagnetic relay of Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the movable contact piece of the electromagnetic relay of Embodiment 2. It is a perspective view which shows the contact opening / closing part of the electromagnetic relay of Embodiment 2. Schematic horizontal cross-sectional view of the main part (left half) and schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the main part (right half) similar to FIG. 2 for explaining the main points of the operation mode of the electromagnetic relay of the second embodiment. ). It is a schematic horizontal sectional view of a main part similar to FIG. 2 for explaining the main points of the operation mode about the modification embodiment (transformation embodiment 12) from the second embodiment. Schematic horizontal cross-sectional view of the main part (left half) and schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the main part (right half) similar to FIG. 2 for explaining the main points of the operation mode of the electromagnetic relay of the third embodiment. ). It is a schematic incision side view which shows the more detailed structure about the main part of the electromagnetic relay of Embodiment 3.

<Embodiment 1>
The electromagnetic relay of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 shows the appearance when the rectangular parallelepiped cup-shaped cover is removed by a perspective view, and the main part is enlarged and shown by an incision perspective view. Further, FIG. 2 shows a horizontal cross-sectional perspective view of the main part.

The first embodiment is based on the electromagnetic relay disclosed in Patent Document 3, and is an improvement of the present invention. In the description of the first and second embodiments, it is assumed that the base 10 is located on the lower side, the electromagnet block 40 is located on the rear side, and the contact opening / closing point is located on the front side (front side). However, this has nothing to do with the placement when it is actually used.

The electromagnetic relay 101 of the first embodiment has a rectangular and generally flat resin base 10, an electromagnet block 40 mounted in a region on the rear side thereof, and a rectangular flat plate-shaped movable device arranged in front of the electromagnet block 40. The iron piece 60, the movable card member 70 made of resin and flat as a whole, which is overlapped and assembled on the movable iron piece 60, and the movable resin plate 5D which is overlapped and assembled on the movable card member 70. , A metal leaf spring-shaped movable contact piece 5 having a root side (upper side) end embedded in the movable resin plate 5D, and a movable terminal portion 3 formed at the lower tip portion of the movable contact piece 5. And fixed terminal members 21 to 24 that vertically penetrate the resin base 10 along the front edge of the resin base 10. The upper end portions of the fixed terminal members 21 to 24 are the fixed terminal portions 2.

A contact opening / closing portion is formed on the resin base 10 along the front edge thereof so that the fixed terminal portion 2 and the corresponding movable terminal portion 3 are in contact with each other and separated from each other. In the non-excited state (resting state) in which the electromagnet block 40 is not driven, the movable iron piece 60 is in a state of being slightly flipped up (tilted state) by the action of the return spring 6, and the movable terminal is accompanied by this. The portion 3 is separated from the fixed terminal portion 2. In the illustrated example, the horizontal portion of the yoke 55 forms the ceiling portion of the electromagnet block 40, and the upper end portion of the movable iron piece 60 is combined with the end portion in front of the ceiling portion so that it can be flipped up (undulated). ing. A coil spring-shaped return spring 6 is arranged along the upper surface of the horizontal portion of the yoke 55.

In the excited state (resting state) in which the electromagnet block 40 is driven, the movable iron piece 60 in the tilted state is attracted to the magnetic pole formed in front of the electromagnet block 40 and stands almost vertically (non-tilted state). State). Along with this, the movable contact piece 5 is swung backward, and the movable terminal portion 3 at the tip thereof is pressed against the fixed terminal portion 2. At this time, a spring force due to the deformation of the leaf spring portion 5A of the movable contact piece 5 acts.

The movable terminal portion 3 has an oval (race track-like) flat plate shape that is long on the left and right, and is provided with a pair of left and right movable contacts 3A and 3B, and these left and right movable contacts are made conductive with each other. The pair of left and right fixed contacts 2A and 2B, which are contacted and separated from the pair of left and right movable contacts 3A and 3B, are provided on the pair of left and right fixed terminal members 21 and 22, respectively. The portion protruding below the resin base 10 at the lower ends of the fixed terminal members 21 and 22 is an input / output terminal in the circuit on the output side of the electromagnetic relay 101. On the rear side of these, input / output to / from the circuit on the open / close control side that drives the electromagnet block 40 is performed through a pair of coil terminals 25 that vertically penetrate the resin base 10.

The resin base 10 is integrally provided with a handrail wall 11 along the peripheral edge of the upper surface. The handrail wall 11 is useful for assembling a rectangular parallelepiped cup-shaped cover (not shown), but also serves as a stopper for restricting the forward movement of the movable terminal portion 3. The stopper can also be formed by a separate resin member attached to the inner surface of the handrail wall 11.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a pair of left and right stoppers 1A and 1B are formed so as to project inward from the inner surface of the handrail wall 11 corresponding to the pair of left and right movable contacts 3A and 3B. ing. Here, both the left and right stoppers 1A and 1B form a flat and vertically extending stopper surface, and the stopper surface is inclined from the left and right direction. In particular, the left and right stoppers 1A and 1B are formed so that the protrusion heights inward are different from each other, that is, the positions of the stopper surfaces in the front-rear direction are different.

Before explaining the details of the electromagnetic relay 101 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the effects obtained by each embodiment of the present application will be described with reference to the schematic views of FIGS. 3 to 4.

As shown in FIG. 3A, in the non-operating initial state, that is, in the non-excited stationary state, the movable terminal portion 3 is close to the stopper surface at one of the left and right ends, and the other left and right ends. The ends are sufficiently spaced from the stopper surface. Immediately after the power supply to the electromagnetic relay 10 is switched off (non-excited), the spring action of the main body 5A of the movable contact piece 5 and the action of the return spring 6 promptly bring the vehicle into an initial / stationary state. Return to position / posture.

However, at this time, as shown in FIG. 3B, overshoot may occur. That is, when viewed from the fixed terminal portion 2, it swings to a position slightly farther than the initial / resting state. According to each embodiment of the present application, the pair of left and right stoppers 1A and 1B that regulate the overshoot have different positions of the stopper surfaces with respect to the position of the fixed terminal 2. Therefore, when overshooting to the maximum extent, the movable terminal portion 3 is inclined so as to be displaced in the front-rear direction toward the left-right direction.

FIG. 4 schematically shows the action and effect of the embodiment of the present application in comparison with that of the prior art. When the power supply to the electromagnet block 40 is started to bring the movable and fixed contacts into contact with each other (contact on state) and then the power supply to the electromagnet block 40 is stopped, as described above, the movable terminal portion 3 The runout is once overshooted. Then, when the movable terminal portion 3 made of metal is abutted against the stoppers 1A and 1B made of non-elastomeric resin, rebound occurs as shown in the broken line box. The bounce at this time occurs almost simultaneously on the left and right. It should be noted that there may be a case where the stopper 1B is not abutted on one of the left and right sides (the right side in the figure), and the bounce does not actually occur. However, also in this case, the left and right portions of the movable terminal portion 3 are almost simultaneously switched to move in the direction away from the fixed contact, or from a temporarily substantially stationary state to move in the direction approaching the fixed contact. sell.

Since the positions of the left and right stoppers 1A and 1B are different, the stroke when the stopper surface is abutted is larger on one of the left and right sides than on the other, and the impact of the collision is also larger. As a result, as shown in the dashed line box in FIG. 4, the bounce becomes large on either the left or right side. Therefore, even when the fixed terminal portion 2 is approached again after bouncing, the left and right steps are different. As a result, the distance between one movable contact and the corresponding fixed contact (contact separation distance) becomes larger on either the left or right side even when the contact is reapproached due to bounce. As described above, when the contact separation distance becomes sufficiently large at any of the left and right contact opening / closing points, the generation of current passing through the movable terminal portion 3 is suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the generation of an arc. That is, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of re-ignition that may occur when the open / close control circuit is turned off.

On the other hand, in the prior art shown in the right half of FIG. 4, the stopper surface of the stopper 1 does not have an inclination or a step in the left-right direction, and is a flat surface extending in the left-right direction. Therefore, the back surfaces of the left and right movable contacts 3A and 3B abut against the stopper surface at the same time and with the same stroke at the time of overshoot. As a result, bounce occurs to the same extent on the left and right at the same time. Therefore, as schematically shown in the dashed line box in the right half of FIG. 4, the contact separation distance when reapproaching the fixed terminal portion 2 after rebounding is the larger contact on either the left or right side in the embodiment of the present application. It is smaller than the separation distance. As a result, re-ignition is more likely to occur as compared with the embodiment of the present application shown in the left half of FIG. The same applies when the stopper 1 is not provided. Specifically, when the handrail wall 11 is located farther away and is arranged so as not to be abutted even at the time of overshoot, bounce due to a collision does not occur. However, the movement is almost the same. That is, after the overshoot, the left and right portions of the movable terminal portion 3 are almost simultaneously moved in the direction away from the fixed contact, or temporarily switched from the almost stationary state to the movement in the direction approaching the fixed contact. Be done.

Next, a more detailed structure / feature shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the present application will be described.

The movable contact piece 5 has an inverted T-shape, and is mainly composed of a T-shaped main body member formed by punching one metal plate. As shown in FIG. 2, this main body member includes a strip-shaped leaf spring portion 5A extending downward from the root portion in the movable resin plate 5D, and a terminal base portion 5B at the tip. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a backing plate 5C having a thickness larger than this and having the same contour is superposed on the terminal base portion 5B. The backing plate 5C is made of metal or other conductive material and reduces the conductive resistance in the movable terminal portion 3. In addition to the terminal base portion 5B and the backing plate 5C, contact rivets 4 are assembled at the left and right movable contacts 3A and 3B in order to form the movable terminal portion 3. The rivet head 4A forms a contact point, and the rivet foot 4C is formed by caulking to expand the tip of the rivet body 4B (shown only in "deformation embodiment 4" in FIG. 5). In the illustrated example, the contact forming surface of the rivet head 4A is flat and circular.

On the other hand, the fixed terminal portion 2 is formed by assembling the same contact rivet 4 as described above to the upper end portions of the fixed terminal members 21 and 22 for each of the fixed contacts 2A and 2B.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the electromagnetic relay 101 of the present embodiment is configured to be substantially symmetrical, and has exactly the same movable contact pieces 5 and fixed terminal members 21 to 22 and 23 to 24 on the left and right sides. Be done. Therefore, the stoppers 1C and 1D which are exactly the same as the stoppers 1A and 1B described above are provided on the opposite sides of the left and right sides. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the plate-shaped first permanent magnet 30 for extending the arc is a fixed terminal portion 2 (fixed terminal members 21 and 24) located on the outer side in the left-right direction. The auxiliary yoke 31 is arranged on the rear side of the upper end portion), and is arranged on the outer side in the left-right direction thereof. A second permanent magnet 32 is arranged in the front center portion sandwiched from the left and right contact opening / closing points. Further, behind the first permanent magnet 30, an arc erasing space 19 is formed between the cover and a cover (not shown) by a partition wall 12 extending upward from the resin base 10 in the shape of an L-shaped material.

The resin base 10 can be integrally formed from polyolefin, PPS resin, or the like, including the handrail wall 11 and the partition wall 12, by injection molding or the like. Therefore, it may be advantageous in manufacturing that the stoppers 1A and 1B are designed so as to project inward from the handrail wall 11 and extend in the vertical direction. In the specific examples shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the storage portions 17 and 18 for accommodating the permanent magnets 30 and 31 can be formed in a cup-like shape from the lower surface.

<Modification Embodiments 1 to 11>
Next, the modified embodiments 1 to 11 schematically shown in FIGS. 5 to 6 will be described.

Modifications 1 to 4 shown in the left half of FIG. 5 are as follows.

<Modification Embodiment 1>
Of the pair of left and right stoppers 1A and 1B in the first embodiment, the stopper 1B is omitted and only the stopper 1A is provided. The position of the stopper 1A in the left-right direction need only be deviated from the position of the center of gravity of the movable terminal portion 3 in the left-right direction to either the left or right.

<Modification Embodiment 2>
As a further modification from the modification embodiment 1, the stopper 1A is made of a resin (i) a protrusion from the handrail wall 11 having a semicircular or semi-elliptical cross section, or (ii) having a circular or elliptical cross section. It can be formed by a rod-shaped protrusion upward from the bottom surface of the base 10 or (iii) a member having such a shape separately assembled to the resin base 10. By forming the stopper surface in a round shape in this way, it is possible to prevent or suppress the corner portion of the stopper 1A from being scraped when the plate-shaped movable terminal portion 3 is abutted against the stopper surface. When the stopper 1A is formed by a member separate from the resin base 10, for example, a metal wire or a fishing line (thick filament thread) can be used. On the other hand, as described here, the portion or member forming each stopper can be formed separately from the handrail wall 11, and in that case, the portion or member forming the stopper comes into contact with the handrail wall 11. It may or may not be present.

<Modification Embodiment 3>
The pair of left and right stoppers 1A and 1B of the first embodiment can be formed as one continuous protrusion. In order to make the shape as simple as possible, one protrusion can form a stopper surface as one flat surface.

<Modification Embodiment 4>
The stoppers 1A and 1B can be abutted on the lateral side of the rivet foot portion 4C of each contact point in the movable terminal portion 3 in the left-right direction. In this way, damage to the contact rivet 4 when colliding with the stoppers 1A and 1B can be prevented or suppressed. Further, even if the dimension of the rivet foot portion 4C protruding from the backing plate 5C varies due to the variation in the caulking process for attaching the contact rivet 4, this variation can be ignored.

<Modification Embodiment 5>
As in the prior art, the stopper 1 is the handrail wall 11 itself extending in the left-right direction, and the back surface protrusion 3C is provided on the side of the movable terminal portion 3, so that the same effect as that of the modified embodiments 1 and 2 can be obtained. can. The "back surface" here is based on the contact side. The back surface protrusion 3C can be formed by, for example, applying an elastic epoxy resin to the vicinity of the rivet foot portion 4C on the back of the movable contact 1A and curing it. Further, the protrusion can be formed by embossing from the metal material constituting the movable terminal portion 3. Further, it is possible to form the metal material by bending it once and folding it, and after that, it is also possible to further emboss it to form a protrusion.

<Modification Embodiment 6>
The same effect can be obtained by bending the left and right ends of the oval metal laminated plate constituting the movable terminal portion 3 instead of the back surface protrusion 3C in the modified embodiment 5. .. In this case, since the tip of the long oval metal laminated plate is bent to the left and right, the outer edge of the bent portion 3D is arcuate.

<Modification Embodiment 7>
The same effect can be obtained by making the protrusion dimension of the rivet foot portion 4C larger on the back surface of one of the left and right movable contacts 3A and 3B instead of the back surface protrusion 3C in the modified embodiment 5. Can be done.

<Deformation related to the material and elasticity of the stopper and back protrusion>
In each embodiment and each modification embodiment of the present application, various modifications can be made with respect to the material, rigidity, and springiness of the stoppers 1A and 1B and the back surface protrusion 3C. The resin base 10 is not limited to a non-elastic and insulating resin material as in the case of being formed during molding, but may be a conductor material such as a metal material, or an elastomer resin such as a polyether ester elastomer. It may consist of. It can also be formed by attaching a spring-like member such as a leaf spring or a coil spring.

Next, the modified embodiments 8 to 11 will be described with reference to FIG.

<Modification Embodiment 8>
Similar to the first modification, the stopper 1A is arranged only on one of the left and right sides, and the position of the connection between the leaf spring-shaped main body portion 5A and the movable terminal portion 3 in the movable contact piece 5 is not the center in the left-right direction. , The stopper 1A is biased toward the side where it is arranged.

<Modification Embodiment 9>
Similar to the first modification, the stopper 1A is arranged only on one of the left and right sides, and the weight (weight; mass imparting part) 3E is attached to the movable terminal portion 3 on the other side of the left and right sides. As a result, when the movable terminal portion 3 overshoots and when the fixed terminal portion 2 is approached again, the inclination between the left and right sides or the step in the position can be increased. The weight 3E may be, for example, a metal plate or a metal block attached by a contact rivet 4.

<Modification Embodiment 10>
Similar to the first modification, the stopper 1A is arranged only on one of the left and right sides, and the connecting spring 5E is arranged between the leaf spring portion 5A of the movable contact piece 5 and the terminal portion 3. The connecting spring 5E has a spring property in the twisting direction. That is, the leaf spring portion 5A exerts a spring action against the movement in the rotation direction about the extending direction. By interposing such a connecting spring 5E, the load acting on the tip portion of the leaf spring portion 5A can be reduced.

<Modification Embodiment 11>
As in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a pair of left and right movable contact pieces 5 are provided, and a pair of left and right movable contacts 3A to 3B or 3C to 3D are provided on the movable terminal portion 3 at the tip of each movable contact piece 5. When is provided, the positions of the stopper surfaces in the front-rear direction can be shifted from each other for all the stoppers 1A to 1D. By doing so, the timing and degree of rebound can be staggered from each other. Therefore, re-ignition can be suppressed or prevented. Even if a re-ignition occurs, the re-ignition and its adverse effects can be suppressed by shifting the timing of the peak of the re-ignition, which may occur at the time of the closest approach.

For example, with respect to the first stopper 1A and the third stopper 1C from the left end (right end in FIG. 1) in FIG. 2, the positions of the stopper surfaces in the front-rear direction are shifted from each other, and the second stopper 1B and 4 from the left. The position of the stopper surface in the front-rear direction may be the same for the third stopper 1D.

<Embodiment 2>
Next, the electromagnetic relay of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 10. 7 is a schematic side view, FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the movable contact piece 7, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a contact opening / closing portion.

In the electromagnetic relay 102 of the second embodiment, when the arrangement area of the electromagnet block 40 is set to the rear, a pair of left and right fixed terminal members 21 and 22 are located at the front end of the electromagnetic relay 102. These fixed terminal members 21 and 22 extend upward from the resin base 10 independently for a long time, and can be deformed to some extent in the front-rear direction. Along with this, a sufficient holding force is obtained by increasing the dimension in the left-right direction at a portion that penetrates the resin base 10 up and down.

In the second embodiment, a bifurcated movable contact piece 7 held by a resin base 10 is provided. That is, it is a U-shaped integral metal member consisting of two leaf spring portions 7A and 7B extending vertically and a root portion 7C connecting them to each other, and the root portion 7C is mostly made of resin. It is press-fitted into the slit of the base 10. Contact rivets 4 for forming movable contacts 3A and 3B are attached to the upper ends of the two leaf spring portions 7A and 7B. Further, contact rivets 4 for forming the corresponding fixed contacts 2A and 2B are attached to the upper ends of the fixed terminal members 21 and 22.

The protrusions of the movable card member 70 are abutted against the leaf spring portions 7A and 7B from the rear at the positions of the movable contacts 3A and 3B at the tip portions thereof. The movable card member 70 is attached to a movable iron piece (not shown), and when the electromagnet block 40 is driven, its protrusion is pushed forward, and the left and right movable contacts 3A and 3B are left and right fixed contacts. Pressed against 2A and 2B. Further, when the electromagnet block 40 is switched to the non-excited state, it returns to the initial / rest state shown in FIGS. 7 and 9.

FIG. 10 summarizes the main points of the second embodiment by the same schematic part as in FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, the arrangement configuration of the left and right stoppers 1A and 1B in the plan view is almost the same as that of the first embodiment. That is, the positions of the left and right stoppers 1A and 1B in the front-rear direction are different from each other.

The second embodiment can be said to have the same mechanism of action as the first embodiment, except that the movable contacts 3A and 3B are formed in two horizontally separated portions, respectively. However, the left and right movable contacts 3A and 3B are located at the tips of the left and right leaf spring portions 7A and 7B, respectively. On the other hand, in the case of the first embodiment, the formed portions of the left and right movable contacts 2A and 2B are supported by the tip portion of one leaf spring portion 5A. Therefore, in the first embodiment, there may be a problem that the support portion is twisted around the support portion due to the action of the step difference generation mechanism. However, in the second embodiment, such a twisting problem does not occur.

FIG. 11 schematically shows a modified embodiment 12, which is a modification from the second embodiment. The electromagnetic relay of the modified embodiment 12 includes four movable contacts 3A to 3D by including two movable contact pieces 7 as in the modified embodiment 11. The four stoppers 1A to 1D corresponding to the movable contacts 3A to 3D are set so that the positions of the stopper surfaces in the front-rear direction are different from each other.

<Embodiment 3>
Next, the plunger type electromagnetic relay of the third embodiment will be described with reference to the schematic view of FIG. 12 and the side view of the main part incision of FIG. Here, for convenience of explanation, the axial direction of the plunger 8 is the vertical direction, and the direction in which the two contact opening / closing portions are lined up is the horizontal direction.

A horizontal plate-shaped movable terminal portion 3 long in the left-right direction is fitted to the tip portion of the plunger 8, and the left and right movable contacts 3A and 3B on the upper surface of the movable terminal portion 3 are the left and right fixed terminal members 21, respectively. , 22 faces the left and right fixed contacts 2A and 2B formed by the lower ends. The movable terminal portion 3 receives a spring action that tends to return to the tip end portion of the plunger 8 by the spring action of the contact spring 9. When the plunger 8 is pushed up by the solenoid actuator 82 (FIG. 13) and its tip portion rises beyond the fixed contacts 2A and 2B, the contact spring 9 is compressed. In this way, the movable contacts 3A and 3B are pressed against the fixed contacts 2A and 2B by a spring force.

The stopper 1A is provided only on the back surface side (lower side) when viewed from one of the left and right movable contacts 3A. Similar to the above embodiment, when the solenoid actuator 82 is turned off, the plunger 8 quickly returns to the original height position by the action of the return spring inside the solenoid actuator 82. At this time, overshoot may occur as in the above-described embodiment. That is, the movable terminal portion 3 temporarily descends below the initial position, and then rebounding may occur due to the action of the contact spring 9. Since the stopper 1A is present only on one of the left and right sides, the movable terminal part 3 moves to one of the left and right sides when the fixed terminal part is reapproached due to the bounce, as described with reference to the broken line boxed part in FIG. It tilts so that it hangs down. Therefore, in the contact opening / closing portion on one of the left and right sides, the distance between the contacts becomes relatively large, and re-ignition is suppressed.

In the specific example shown in FIG. 10, the movable terminal portion 3 is an oval metal plate, and the left and right movable contacts 3A and 3B are formed by integrally formed disk-shaped raised portions. The pair of left and right fixed contacts 2A and 2B corresponding to this are formed at the lower ends of the columnar fixed terminal members 21 and 22 as a disk-shaped portion integrated with the fixed contacts 2A and 2B. Further, the contact opening / closing portion is arranged in the gas-sealed opening / closing operating chamber 81, and thick plate-shaped permanent magnets 30 and 32 are arranged at least on the left and right sides of the opening / closing operating chamber 81.

1,1A, 1B Stopper 2 Fixed terminal part 2A, 2B Fixed contact part 3 Movable terminal part 3A, 3B Movable contact part 3C Back surface protrusion 3D Bending part 3E Weight part (mass imparting part)
4 Contact rivet (caulking)
4A rivet head for contacts 4B rivet body 4C rivet foot (flange forming part by caulking)
5 T-shaped movable contact piece (Embodiment 1)
5A Leaf spring part of movable contact piece (strip-shaped main body part)
5B Movable terminal base part integrated with leaf spring part 5C Backing plate for movable terminal 5D Movable resin plate 5E Connecting spring 6 Return spring 7 U-shaped movable contact piece (Embodiment 2)
7A, 7B Left and right leaf springs (strip-shaped body)
7C Root portion connecting the left and right leaf spring portions 8 Plunger shaft (Embodiment 3)
9 Contact spring 10 Resin base (base member)
11 Handrail wall 12 Partition wall 17 1st permanent magnet storage 18 2nd permanent magnet storage 19 Arc erasing space 21 to 24 Fixed terminal member 25 Coil terminal member 30 1st permanent magnet 31 Auxiliary yoke 32 2nd permanent magnet 40 Electromagnet block 55 York 60 Movable iron piece 70 Movable card member made of resin (drive end connecting part)
81 Gas-sealed open / close operating chamber 82 Solenoid actuators 101 to 103 Electromagnetic relays (power relays) of embodiments 1 to 3

Claims (8)

At least one drive transmission unit whose position and attitude can be switched by an actuator,
At least one movable terminal unit that has a pair of movable contacts and whose position and posture can be switched by the drive transmission unit.
A pair of fixed contacts that are contacted and separated from the pair of movable contacts according to the switching of the position and posture of the drive transmission unit.
Formed by at least a part of the movable terminal portion, or provided separately from the movable terminal portion, so as to move away from or approach the pair of movable contacts from the pair of fixed contacts. At least one spring member that exerts a spring force,
One of the pair when the actuator is switched to the off state and the pair of movable contacts move away from the pair of fixed contacts and reapproach the pair of fixed contacts by bouncing or swinging back. A contact opening / closing mechanism including a step difference generation mechanism that causes the movable contact and the pair of other movable contacts to have a step difference with respect to the distance from the corresponding fixed contact. The step difference generation mechanism includes a stopper to which the movable terminal portion is abutted on the back surface side as seen from the movable contact.
The stopper surface of the stopper has a stepped distance from the corresponding fixed contact between the back surface side of the pair of movable contacts and the back surface side of the pair of other movable contacts, or the stopper surface. The contact opening / closing mechanism according to claim 1, which is arranged only on the back surface side of the pair of other movable contacts. The step difference generation mechanism is
In the vicinity of the pair of movable contacts, a back surface protrusion on the movable terminal portion that protrudes toward the back surface side as seen from the movable contact.
The contact opening / closing mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a stopper to which the back surface projection may be abutted when the pair of movable contacts moves away from the pair of fixed contacts. The back surface protrusion
Whether it is formed by placing or applying a resin material on the back surface of the movable contact, or by attaching a separate member or material.
It is formed by bending the end of the metal plate forming the movable terminal portion toward the back surface side, or
When a contact rivet is used to form the movable contact, the protruding dimension of the rivet foot of the contact rivet at the one pair of movable contacts is the rivet of the contact rivet at the pair of other movable contacts. The contact opening / closing mechanism according to claim 3, which is formed by making it larger than the protruding dimension of the foot. With the base member
It is provided with a fixed terminal member which is inserted or fixed to the base member so as to penetrate and has the fixed contact at one end.
The drive transmission unit
A movable contact piece having a leaf spring portion as at least one spring member,
A movable terminal support portion formed near the free end of the movable contact piece and suspending or supporting the movable terminal portion around one of the movable terminal portions.
It is provided with a drive end connecting portion that transmits the movement of the drive end portion of the actuator to the movable contact piece.
The base of the movable contact piece is fixed to the drive end connecting portion or fixed to the base member.
The contact opening / closing mechanism according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the stopper is formed by the base member or a member fixed and attached to the base member, or is formed by the drive end connecting portion. The pair of movable contacts are provided in one movable terminal portion.
The drive transmission unit includes a movable terminal support portion that suspends or supports the one movable terminal portion at one of the movable terminal portions.
The step difference generation mechanism is
An eccentric support mechanism formed by connecting the movable terminal support portion to the movable terminal portion at a position shifted from the center of gravity of the movable terminal portion to the side of the pair of movable contacts.
In the movable terminal portion, a mass imparting portion provided so as to be offset to the side of one of the pair of movable contacts, or
A screw formed by at least a part of the movable terminal support portion or interposed between the movable terminal support portion and the movable terminal portion to perform a spring action around the axis of the movable terminal support portion. The contact opening / closing mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which includes a spring. At least two pairs of the movable contacts and corresponding at least two pairs of the fixed contacts are provided.
The step difference generation mechanism is such that at least four movable contacts or at least three movable contacts are stepped from each other with respect to a distance from the corresponding fixed contact. The contact opening / closing mechanism described in either. With the electromagnet block and movable iron piece, solenoid actuator, or other electromagnetic actuator as the actuator,
An electromagnetic relay comprising the contact opening / closing mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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