JP2023091238A - Electromagnetic contactor - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an electromagnetic contactor that improves reliability by regulating the rotation of a movable contactor to avoid conduction failures when switching a main circuit, and solves the problem of reduced insulation between contacts of the movable contactor and reduced breaking performance.SOLUTION: When a movable contact 13 moves upward and downward, a pair of sliding portions 40a and 40b of a sliding member 40 fixed to a contact support 14 slide in contact with rotation limiting portions 43a and 43b of a rotation limiting member 41 fixed to an upper plate 35a of an upper yoke body 35 of an electromagnet unit 3, and the rotation of the movable contact 13 is restricted. As a result, the defective conduction between the contacts 13a and 13b of the movable contact 13 and a fixed contact 11a of a first fixed contact 11 and a fixed contact 12a of a second fixed contact 12 is avoided, thereby sufficiently ensuring the reliability of a main circuit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to an electromagnetic contactor that opens and closes a main circuit.

As a conventional electromagnetic contactor, a pair of fixed contacts having fixed contacts and a long movable contact capable of contacting and separating from the fixed contacts of each of the pair of fixed contacts are placed in a storage case made of an insulating material. The contact mechanism that is stored, the electromagnet unit that drives the movable contact in the direction in which the movable contact of the contact mechanism contacts and separates from the pair of fixed contacts, and the rotation that regulates the rotation when the movable contact contacts and separates. A device is known that includes a regulating portion.

The rotation restricting portions are separated from each other in the longitudinal direction of the movable contact, and are arranged in two pairs so as to sandwich the movable contact from the width direction. Consists of guides. When the movable contact moves in the contact/separate direction, the four sliding guides come into contact with the sides of the movable contact in the short direction, thereby restricting the rotation of the movable contact and opening/closing the main circuit. This improves reliability by avoiding occasional conduction failures.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-118111

By the way, in the magnetic contactor of Patent Literature 1, four metal sliding guides are arranged near the movable contact, so insulation between contacts of the movable contact tends to deteriorate. In addition, since the arc generated by the opening operation of the movable contact tends to short-circuit the sliding guide, there is a problem in terms of breaking performance.

In view of this, the present invention restricts the rotation of the movable contact to avoid poor conduction during opening and closing of the main circuit, thereby improving reliability, and at the same time, preventing deterioration in insulation between contacts of the movable contact and reduction in breaking performance. The object is to provide a solved magnetic contactor.

To achieve the above object, an electromagnetic contactor according to one aspect of the present invention has a pair of fixed contacts having fixed contacts, and a pair of movable contacts that can be brought into contact with and separated from the fixed contacts of the pair of fixed contacts. A long movable contact, and an electromagnet unit that drives a movable plunger connected to the movable contact via a movable contact support portion to drive the movable contact in a forward and backward direction to contact and separate the pair of fixed contacts. , and a rotation restricting portion that restricts rotation when the movable contact advances and retreats is arranged near the movable contact supporting portion.

According to the electromagnetic contactor of the present invention, the movable contact advances and retreats in the vicinity of the movable contact supporting portion that connects the movable contact and the movable plunger, which are separated from the contacts of the pair of fixed contact and movable contact. Since the rotation restricting portion is arranged to restrict the rotation of the movable contact, the rotation of the movable contact is regulated to avoid conduction failure when opening and closing the main circuit, thereby improving reliability. It is possible to prevent deterioration of insulation between contacts and deterioration of breaking performance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is sectional drawing of the electromagnetic contactor which concerns on 1st Embodiment which concerns on this invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the electromagnetic contactor of the first embodiment, excluding an upper case and a lower case fixing a pair of stationary contacts. It is the figure which showed the principal part of the electromagnetic contactor of 1st Embodiment by planar view. FIG. 4 is a view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3; FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the magnetic contactor of the second embodiment, excluding the upper case and the lower case fixing a pair of stationary contacts. It is the figure which showed the principal part of the electromagnetic contactor of 2nd Embodiment by planar view. FIG. 7 is a view taken along line VII-VII of FIG. 6;

Next, embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. However, it should be noted that the drawings are schematic, and the relationship between thickness and planar dimension, the ratio of thickness of each layer, and the like are different from the actual ones. Therefore, specific thicknesses and dimensions should be determined with reference to the following description. In addition, it is a matter of course that there are portions with different dimensional relationships and ratios between the drawings.
Further, the embodiments shown below are examples of devices and methods for embodying the technical idea of the present invention. etc. are not specified below. Various modifications can be made to the technical idea of the present invention within the technical scope defined by the claims.
Terms indicating directions such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "front", "back", "long direction", and "short direction" described in the following description are used with reference to the directions of the accompanying drawings.
[First embodiment]

A magnetic contactor of a first embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the electromagnetic contactor 1 of this embodiment includes a contact mechanism 2 and an electromagnet unit 3 that drives a movable contact of the contact mechanism 2, which will be described later.
The contact mechanism 2 and the electromagnet unit 3 are stored in the same space in a storage case 6 in a sealed state. The storage case 6 is composed of an upper case 4 made of resin and a lower case 5 made of resin joined to the upper case 4 . A gas for arc extinguishing is filled in the storage case 6 from a gas introduction pipe 7 . The gas introduction pipe 7 is cut halfway after the gas for extinguishing the arc is sealed in the storage case 6 to close the opening. An upper case 4 of the storage case 6 is provided with a mounting portion 8 for attaching to another member.

The contact mechanism 2 includes a pair of stationary contacts 11 and 12 (hereinafter referred to as a first stationary contact 11 and a second stationary contact 12) fixed to the upper case 4 by insert molding, and these first stationary contacts. 11 and a movable contact 13 that can be brought into contact with and separated from the second fixed contact 12 .
The first stationary contact 11 and the second stationary contact 12 are made of a conductive metal material and are fixed to the upper case 4 with a predetermined space therebetween in the horizontal direction. A fixed contact 11a is formed on the lower end surface of the first fixed contact 11 on the left side, and a fixed contact 12a is formed on the lower end surface of the second fixed contact 12 on the right side.
The movable contactor 13 is a conductive plate made of a conductive metal and extending in the left-right direction. Supported. These contact support 14, contact spring 15 and spring retainer 16 correspond to the movable contactor support section in the present invention.
A movable contact 13a that contacts the fixed contact 11a of the first fixed contact 11 on the left is formed on the upper surface of the left end of the movable contact 13, and a second contact on the right is formed on the upper surface of the movable contact 13 on the right end. A movable contact 13b that contacts the fixed contact 12a of the fixed contactor 12 is formed. The lower portion of the contact support 14 is fixed to the upper end of the movable plunger 21, and the upper portion of the contact support 14 is a spring retainer 16 having a top plate portion 16a and a pair of leg portions 16b extending downward from both ends of the top plate portion 16a. A pair of legs 16b are fixed. The movable contactor 13 is arranged so as to penetrate between the top plate portion 16a of the spring retainer 16 and the contact support 14 in the left-right direction, and is moved by the contact spring 15 arranged between the movable contactor 13 and the contact support 14. The movable contactor 13 is held between the top plate portion 16a of the spring retainer 16 and the contact spring 15 while being constantly urged upward.

The electromagnet unit 3, as shown in FIG. It is arranged below the mechanism 2 .
The movable plunger 21 is a vertically extending round shaft-shaped member made of a magnetic material. An armature 22 made of a disc-shaped magnetic material having a diameter larger than that of the movable plunger 21 is fixed to the lower end of the movable plunger 21 . The contact support 14 fixed to the upper end of the movable plunger 21 moves upward as the movable plunger 21 moves upward, and moves downward as the movable plunger 21 moves downward. As the contact support 14 moves upward, the movable contact 13 moves upward, and as the contact support 14 moves downward, the movable contact 13 moves downward. A cylindrical sliding collar 26 is arranged on the lower side of the outer circumference of the movable plunger 21, and a cylindrical plunger ring 27 is arranged on the upper side.
The excitation yoke 31 includes a U-shaped upper yoke body 35 with an opening facing downward, and a lower yoke body 36 connected to close the opening of the upper yoke body 35 . The upper plate 35a of the upper yoke 35 and the lower yoke 36 are formed with movable plunger through holes 37a and 37b through which the movable plunger 21 passes.

The upward movement of the movable plunger 21 is restricted by the contact of the armature 22 with the lower peripheral edge of the movable plunger through hole 37b of the lower yoke body 31b, and the downward movement of the movable plunger 21 is assisted by the armature 22. It is regulated by coming into contact with the upper surface of the yoke 32 . The spool 24 is a cylindrical member that surrounds the outer periphery of the movable plunger 21 and extends in the vertical direction. This exciting coil 25 is electrically connected to a terminal 38 . The permanent magnet 33 is an annular member and is installed below the lower yoke body 36 of the excitation yoke 31 and around the armature 22 of the movable plunger 21 . An annular plate-shaped auxiliary yoke 32 made of a magnetic material is installed below the permanent magnet 33 . The permanent magnet 33 is attached to the lower surface of the lower yoke body 36 , and the auxiliary yoke 32 is attached to the lower surface of the permanent magnet 33 . The return spring 34 is installed between the lower end surface of the slide collar 26 and the armature 22 fixed to the movable plunger 21 so as to surround the movable plunger 21. When the excited state of the exciting coil 25 is released, the return spring 34 , the movable contact 13 is separated from the first fixed contact 11 and the second fixed contact 12 .

FIG. 2 shows the internal structure of the electromagnetic contactor 1 excluding the upper case 4 (the first fixed contactor 11 and the second fixed contactor 12) and the lower case 5. As shown in FIG. 3 shows the internal structure of FIG. 2 from above, and FIG. 4 shows a cross section of the internal structure shown in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the contact point support 14 of the present embodiment is a resin member having a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from above. As shown in FIG. 4, the upper end of the movable plunger 21 is fixed to the lower portion of the contact support 14 by insert molding. Fixed by molding. The movable contactor 13 sandwiched between the top plate portion 16a of the spring retainer 16 and the contact spring 15 while penetrating in the left-right direction has a front-rear side portion between the pair of leg portions 16b of the spring retainer 16. are arranged with a slight gap between them.

As shown in FIG. 3, a sliding member 40 made of a non-magnetic metal plate is fixed to the side of the contact support 14 by insert molding. The sliding member 40 is formed by bending a belt-shaped metal body into a U-shape, and includes a pair of mutually facing sliding portions 40a and 40b and a connecting portion that connects the pair of sliding portions 40a and 40b. 40c and. The pair of sliding portions 40a and 40b are fixed to the side surface of the contact support 14 facing the front-rear direction, and the connecting portion 40c is fixed to the side surface of the contact support 14 facing the right direction.

As shown in FIG. 2, a rotation restricting member 41 made of a non-magnetic metal plate is fixed to the upper plate 35a of the upper yoke body 35 that constitutes the exciting yoke 31 of the electromagnet unit 3. As shown in FIG. The rotation restricting member 41 has a pair of fixed portions 42 which are caulked and fixed to the upper plate 35a and which are spaced apart in the left-right direction, and a flat plate shape which is connected to the front-rear direction edges of the pair of fixed portions 42 and rises upward. and a pair of rotation restricting portions 43a and 43b. As shown in FIG. 4 , a through hole 41 a through which the plunger ring 27 is inserted is formed in the center of the rotation restricting member 41 . The pair of rotation restricting portions 43a and 43b face the pair of sliding portions 40a and 40b of the sliding member 40 fixed to the side portion of the contact support 14, as shown in FIG.

Next, operation of the magnetic contactor 1 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
Assume now that the exciting coil 25 of the electromagnet unit 3 is in a non-excited state, and the electromagnet unit 3 is in a released state in which no exciting force is generated to move the movable plunger 21 upward. In this released state, the movable plunger 21 is urged downward by the return spring 34 and the armature 22 is attracted to the auxiliary yoke 32 by the action of the permanent magnet 33 . Therefore, the movable contact 13 connected to the movable plunger 21 is spaced downward by a predetermined distance from the first fixed contact 11 and the second fixed contact 12 . Therefore, the current path between the first fixed contact 11 and the second fixed contact 12 is cut off (open state of the contact mechanism 2).
When the excitation coil 25 of the electromagnet unit 3 is energized from the open state of the contact mechanism 2, an excitation force is generated in the electromagnet unit 3, and the movable plunger 21 is attracted to the auxiliary yoke 32 by the permanent magnet 33 and the return spring 34 is released. The armature 22 is pushed upward against the biasing force, and the armature 22 is attracted to the lower surface of the lower yoke body 36 of the exciting yoke 31 . As the movable plunger 21 moves upward in this way, the movable contactor 13 connected to the movable plunger 21 also moves upward, and both the contacts 13a and 13b of the movable contactor 13 are moved to the first fixed position. The contact pressure of the contact spring 15 contacts the fixed contact 11a of the contact 11 and the fixed contact 12a of the second fixed contact 12, and the current path between the first fixed contact 11 and the second fixed contact 12 is established. An energized state is established (a closed state of the contact mechanism 2). When the excitation coil 25 of the electromagnet unit 3 is deenergized from the closed state of the contact mechanism 2, the excitation force for moving the movable plunger 21 upward by the electromagnet unit 3 disappears. The urging force of 34 causes the armature 22 to move downward, and the armature 22 is attracted to the auxiliary yoke 32 by the action of the permanent magnet 33 . When the movable plunger 21 moves downward, the movable contact 13 connected to the movable plunger 21 moves downward away from the first fixed contact 11 and the second fixed contact 12 to start opening.

Here, when the movable contact 13 moves downward due to the open state of the contact mechanism 2, both the contacts 13a and 13b are connected to the fixed contact 11a of the first fixed contact 11 and the fixed contact 12a of the second fixed contact 12. Try to rotate in a direction that does not face the The rotation of the movable contact 13 is transmitted to the contact support 14 via a pair of legs 16b of the spring retainers 16 that are adjacent to the sides of the movable contact 13 in the front-rear direction. The contact point support 14 is formed by a pair of sliding portions 40a and 40b of a sliding member 40 fixed to the side surfaces coming into contact with a pair of rotation restricting portions 43a and 43b of a rotation restricting member 41 facing thereto. Rotation is restricted. As described above, when the movable contactor 13 tries to rotate, the pair of sliding portions 40a and 40b of the sliding member 40 provided on the contact support 14 come into contact with the rotation restricting member 41 provided on the electromagnet unit 3. Rotation of the movable contact 13 is restricted by sliding. Further, even when the movable contactor 13 moves upward due to the closed state of the contact mechanism 2, the pair of sliding portions 40a and 40b of the sliding member 40 provided on the contact support 14 are not provided on the electromagnet unit 3. Rotation of the movable contact 13 is restricted by contacting and sliding against the rotation restricting member 41 .

Next, the effect of the electromagnetic contactor 1 of this embodiment will be described.
When the movable contactor 13 moves upward and downward, the pair of sliding portions 40a and 40b of the sliding member 40 fixed to the contact point support 14 move the upper plate 35a of the upper yoke body 35 of the electromagnet unit 3. Since the movable contactor 13 is slid in contact with the rotation regulating portions 43a and 43b of the rotation regulating member 41, the rotation of the movable contactor 13 is regulated. As a result, in the electromagnetic contactor 1 of the present embodiment, defective conduction between the contacts 13a and 13b of the movable contact 13 and the fixed contact 11a of the first fixed contact 11 and the fixed contact 12a of the second fixed contact 12 is prevented. is avoided, the reliability of the main circuit can be sufficiently ensured.

Also, the sliding member 40 and the rotation regulating member 40 that regulate the rotation of the movable contact 13 are provided between the contacts of the movable contact 13 (contacts 13 a and 13 b of the movable contact 13 and the fixed contact of the first fixed contact 11 ). Since the contact 11a and the fixed contact 12a) of the second fixed contact 12 are arranged at positions sufficiently separated in the vertical direction, insulation between the contacts of the movable contact 13 does not deteriorate. Also, even if an arc is generated by the opening operation of the movable contactor 13, the arc will not short-circuit the sliding member 40 and the rotation restricting member 40 which are sufficiently separated from the movable contactor 13 in the vertical direction. , the breaking performance can be sufficiently ensured.

Further, the contact support 14 of this embodiment, which is made of resin, serves as a main circuit flowing through the first fixed contact 11, the second fixed contact 12, and the movable contact 13, and a drive circuit flowing through the electromagnet unit 3. Since it functions as a partitioning insulating member, it is possible to provide the electromagnetic contactor 1 in which a sufficient insulating distance is ensured between the main circuit and the drive circuit.
In the present embodiment, the sliding member 40 formed by bending the metal band into a U shape is fixed to the side of the contact support 14. However, the sliding member is formed by forming the metal band into a square shape. Even if 40 is fixed to the side of contact support 14, the same effect can be obtained.

[Second embodiment]
Next, FIG. 5 shows the internal structure of the electromagnetic contactor of the second embodiment, excluding the upper case 4 (the first fixed contactor 11 and the second fixed contactor 12) and the lower case 5. As shown in FIG. 6 shows the internal structure of FIG. 5 from above, and FIG. 7 shows a cross section of the internal structure shown in FIG. The same components as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted.
A member indicated by reference numeral 44 in FIGS. 5 and 6 is a contact support 44 made of resin according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the lower ends of the pair of legs 16b of the spring retainer 16 are fixed to the upper portion of the contact support 44 by insert molding. A pair of sliding members 45 made of a non-magnetic metal plate are fixed to the lower portion of the contact support 44 by insert molding. The pair of sliding members 45 is an L-shaped bent plate material, and includes a connecting portion 46 extending in the front-rear direction and connected to the upper portion of the movable plunger 21, and a sliding portion rising from the end of the connecting portion 46. 47 and .

As shown in FIG. 5 , a rotation restricting member 50 made of a non-magnetic metal plate is fixed to the upper plate 35 a of the upper yoke body 35 that constitutes the exciting yoke 31 of the electromagnet unit 3 . The rotation restricting member 50 includes a fixing portion 52 formed with a through hole 51 through which the plunger ring 27 is inserted and fixed to the upper plate 35a by caulking, and a pair of plate-shaped rotation restricting portions 53a rising from the edge of the through hole 51. , 53b. The pair of rotation restricting portions 53a and 53b face the sliding portions 47 of the pair of sliding members 45 fixed to the contact support 44 and the movable plunger 21, as shown in FIG.

In the electromagnetic contactor 1 of the present embodiment, when the movable contact 13 moves downward due to the open state of the contact mechanism 2, both the contacts 13a and 13b When the contactor 12 tries to rotate in a direction not facing the fixed contact 12a, the rotation of the movable contactor 13 causes the pair of leg portions of the spring retainers 16 which are close to the sides of the movable contactor 13 in the front-rear direction. 16b to the contact support 44. Rotation is restricted when the sliding portions 47 of the pair of sliding members 45 fixed to the contact support 44 come into contact with the pair of rotation restricting portions 53a and 53b of the rotation restricting member 50 facing them. be. As described above, when the movable contact 13 is about to rotate, the sliding portions 47 of the pair of sliding members 45 fixed to the contact support 44 move the pair of rotation restricting portions of the rotation restricting member 50 fixed to the electromagnet unit 3 . Rotation of the movable contactor 13 is restricted by contacting and sliding against 53a and 53b. Also, when the movable contactor 13 moves upward due to the closed state of the contact mechanism 2, the sliding portions 47 of the pair of sliding members 45 of the contact support 44 are moved by the pair of rotation restricting portions of the rotation restricting member 50. Rotation of the movable contactor 13 is restricted by contacting and sliding against 53a and 53b.

Therefore, in the electromagnetic contactor 1 of the second embodiment as well, the rotation of the movable contactor 13 when moving upward and downward is regulated. It is possible to avoid poor conduction between the fixed contact 11a of the child 11 and the fixed contact 12a of the second fixed contact 12, and to sufficiently secure the reliability of the main circuit.
Further, the sliding portion 47 of the pair of sliding members 45 and the pair of rotation restricting portions 53a and 53b, which restrict the rotation of the movable contact 13, are sufficiently separated in the vertical direction from the contacts of the movable contact 13. Therefore, the insulation between the contacts of the movable contactor 13 does not deteriorate, and even if an arc occurs due to the opening operation of the movable contactor 13, the Since the arc is not short-circuited in the sliding portion 47 of the pair of sliding members 45 and the pair of rotation restricting portions 53a and 53b which are sufficiently separated in the direction, it is possible to sufficiently secure the breaking performance.

In addition, since the connecting portion 46 of the pair of sliding members 45 is connected to the upper portion of the movable plunger 21, the impact force of the sliding portion 47 due to contact with the pair of rotation restricting portions 53a and 53b is transferred to the movable plunger 21. can escape to As a result, it is possible to improve the durability of the resin-made contact support 44 to which impact force is less likely to be input.

1 electromagnetic contactor 2 contact mechanism 3 electromagnet unit 4 upper case 5 lower case 6 storage case 7 gas introduction pipe 8 mounting portion 11 first fixed contact 11a fixed contact 12 second fixed contact 12a fixed contact 13 movable contact 13a, 13b movable contact 14 contact support 15 contact spring 16 spring retainer 16a top plate 16b leg 21 movable plunger 22 armature 24 spool 25 excitation coil 26 sliding collar 27 plunger ring 31 excitation yoke 32 auxiliary yoke 33 permanent magnet 34 return spring 35 upper yoke Body 35a Upper plate 36 Lower yoke 37a, 37b Movable plunger through hole 38 Terminal 40 Sliding members 40a, 40b Sliding portion 40c Connecting portion 41 Rotation restricting member 41a Through hole 42 Fixed portions 43a, 43b Rotation restricting portion 44 Contact support 45 Sliding member 46 Connecting portion 47 Sliding portion 50 Rotation restricting member 51 Through hole 52 Fixed portions 53a, 53b Rotation restricting portion

Claims (4)

a pair of fixed contacts having fixed contacts;
a long movable contact having a pair of movable contacts that can be brought into contact with and separated from the fixed contacts of the pair of fixed contacts;
An electromagnet unit that drives a movable plunger connected to the movable contact via a movable contact support portion to drive the movable contact in a forward and backward direction to contact and separate the pair of fixed contacts,
An electromagnetic contactor, wherein a rotation restricting portion for restricting rotation of the movable contact when the movable contact advances and retreats is arranged near the movable contact supporting portion. The movable contactor support includes a resin contact support fixed to one end of the movable plunger, and a top plate and a spring having a pair of legs extending in parallel from both ends of the top plate fixed to the contact support. a retainer, and a contact spring that biases the longitudinal central portion of the movable contact arranged inside the spring retainer toward the top plate portion,
The electromagnet unit includes an excitation coil that generates a magnetic force when excited to drive the movable plunger, and an excitation yoke that surrounds the excitation coil,
The rotation restricting portion includes a flat metal sliding portion fixed to the side surface of the contact support along the rotational direction, and a flat metal sliding portion fixed to the excitation yoke and arranged opposite to the sliding portion. 2. The magnetic contactor according to claim 1, further comprising a rotation restricting portion. The sliding portion is fixed to at least two of the side surfaces of the contact support, and at least two of the rotation restricting portions are arranged to face the sliding portions of at least two locations. The electromagnetic contactor according to item 2. 4. The electromagnetic contactor according to claim 2, wherein a connecting portion is formed integrally with said sliding portion, and said connecting portion is fixed to said movable plunger.

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