Patent Application
20240203678
This application claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. CN202211622725.5 filed on Dec. 16, 2022, in the State Intellectual Property Office of China, the whole disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to an elastic member for a relay, and a relay including the elastic member.
In the prior art, a contact spring of a relay is usually located in the middle of a movable terminal and applies a predetermined contact pressure to the middle of the movable terminal. However, the two movable contacts of the movable terminal are located at both ends of the movable terminal, rather than in the middle of the movable terminal, which can cause the movable contact to rebound during the connection, thus disconnecting the movable terminal and the static terminal. In addition, in the prior art, when the movable and static contacts are fused together, they cannot be separated in a timely manner, resulting in the inability to disconnect the main circuit in a timely manner, which reduces the safety and reliability of the relay. Further, when the movable and static contacts of the relay come into contact and carry short-circuit current, a Hohm repulsion force between the movable and static contacts increases with the increase of short-circuit current. The electromagnetic attraction generated by the coil system cannot overcome the Hom repulsion. This can cause the movable contact to bounce, resulting in the movable and static contacts being fused together by an electric arc therebetween.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an elastic member adapted to apply a contact pressure to a movable terminal of a relay includes a fixed part and a pair of elastic arms. The fixed part is adapted to be fixed to a movable seat of the relay. The pair of elastic arms are connected to respective sides of the fixed part and extend obliquely therefrom. End parts of the pair of elastic arms are adapted to abut against two ends of the movable terminal of the relay and apply a predetermined contact pressure thereon.
The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying Figures, of which:
Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described hereinafter in detail with reference to the attached drawings, wherein the like reference numerals refer to the like elements. The present disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiment set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.
In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, an elastic member for applying a contact pressure to a movable terminal of a relay includes a fixed part which is used to be fixed to a movable seat of the relay, and a pair of elastic arms which are respectively connected to both sides of the fixed part. The pair of elastic arms extend a predetermined length by tilting forward or extending obliquely from both sides of the fixed part, so that the elastic member is in a herringbone or V-shaped. The end parts of the pair of elastic arms are used to respectively lean or abut against the two ends of the movable terminal of the relay, in order to apply a predetermined contact pressure on each of two ends of the movable terminal.
According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a relay comprises the above elastic member, a terminal assembly, a fixed seat, and a moveable seat. The terminal assembly includes a movable terminal and a pair of static terminals symmetrically arranged at both ends of the movable terminal. The static terminal is fixed on the fixed seat, and the movable seat is movably installed on the fixed seat and is capable of being moved back and forth in a first direction relative to the fixed seat. The movable terminal and the elastic member are installed on the movable seat. The elastic member is compressed between the movable seat and the movable terminal, so that the movable terminal is floatable in the first direction relative to the movable seat.
According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a relay static terminal comprises a static terminal body, a static contact, and an electrical connection part. The static terminal body is in an “n” shape and comprises a first side plate; a second side plate which is spaced from and opposite to the first side plate; and a third side plate connected between the first side plate and the second side plate. The static contact is fixed on the first side plate. The electrical connection part extends downwards from the bottom of the second side plate and is used for electrical connection to a main circuit. The first side plate, the second side plate and the third side plate of the static terminal body define an accommodation space, and the static contact is used for electrical contact with a movable contact of a movable terminal located in the accommodation space.
According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal assembly comprises a movable terminal and two above relay static terminals. The movable terminal comprises a movable terminal body, and two movable contacts which are respectively fixed on both ends of the movable terminal body. The two static terminals are symmetrically arranged at both ends of the movable terminal body. The two movable contacts are respectively located in the accommodation spaces of the two static terminals and respectively face the static contacts of the two static terminals.
According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a relay comprises the above terminal assembly, a fixed seat, a movable seat which is movably installed on the fixed seat and is movable back and forth in a first direction relative to the fixed seat, and an elastic member which is installed on the movable seat. The static terminal is fixed to the fixed seat, and the elastic member is compressed between the movable seat and the movable terminal. In this way, the movable terminal is floatable in the first direction relative to the movable seat.
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In the illustrated embodiments, when the movable terminal 2 is pushed to the closed position, the main circuit current I will flow along the “n” shaped static terminal body 10 and generate a magnetic field. The direction of the electrodynamic force F′ applied to the movable terminal 2 by the magnetic field is the same as the direction of the contact pressure F applied to the movable terminal by the elastic member 9, so as to overcome the Hohm repulsion F3 between the static contact 110 and the movable contact 210 together. Thus, it can effectively prevent the problem of movable contact 210 to rebound and be fused.
The elastic member 9 is in a herringbone or V shape. The elastic member 9 includes a fixed part 90 and a pair of elastic arms 91. The fixed part 90 is fixed to the movable seat 3. The pair of elastic arms 91 are respectively connected to both sides of the fixed part 90. The end parts 9a of a pair of elastic arms 91 slide against the back surfaces of two ends 221 of the movable terminal body 20 opposite to the movable contact 210, respectively. In this way, when the elastic arms 91 undergo elastic deformation, their end parts 9a can slide on the movable terminal body 20.
The movable seat 3 has a strip-shaped main body 30 extending in the first direction Y, forming a transverse penetrating receiving chamber 302 on the main body 30 of the movable seat 3. The fixed part 90 of the elastic member 9 and the installation part 222 of the movable terminal body 20 are accommodated in the receiving chamber 302 of the movable seat 3. The fixed part 90 of the elastic member 9 is fixed to the rear wall of the receiving chamber 302, and the installation part 222 of the movable terminal body 20 is slidably mated with the top and bottom walls of the receiving chamber 302.
The pair of elastic arms 91 are inclined forward or extend obliquely from the left and right sides of the fixed part 90 to the outside of the receiving chamber 302. The two ends 221 of the movable terminal body 20 extend from the left and right sides of the installation part 222 to the outside of the receiving chamber 302, respectively. A fixing hole 901 is formed in the fixed part 90, and a protrusion 311 is formed on the rear wall of the receiving chamber 302 of the movable seat 3, which is engaged into the fixing hole 901. The elastic member 9 further includes a pair of elastic snapping pieces 92, which are respectively connected to the upper and lower sides of the fixed part 90. A snapping slot 312 is formed on each of the top and bottom walls of the receiving chamber 302 of the movable seat 3, and the elastic snapping piece 92 is engaged into the snapping slot 312.
A guide slot 201 is formed on each of the upper and lower sides of the movable terminal body 20. The guide slots 201 on the upper and lower sides of the movable terminal body 20 are slidably mated with the top and bottom walls of the receiving chamber 302 to guide the movable terminal body to float in the first direction Y relative to the movable seat 3. Convex support parts 32 are formed on the left and right sides of the front wall of the receiving chamber 302 of the movable seat 3, respectively. When the movable terminal 2 is pushed to the opened position, the end part 9a of the elastic member 9 is pressed against the back surface of the movable terminal body 20, and the convex support part 32 is pressed against the front surface of the movable terminal body 20. When the movable terminal 2 is pushed to the closed position, the end part 9a of the elastic member 9 is pressed against the back surface of the movable terminal body 20, and the convex support part 32 is not in contact with the movable terminal body 20.
In the illustrated embodiment, multiple receiving chambers 302 are formed in the movable seat 3. The multiple receiving chambers 302 are evenly spaced along the first direction Y. The relay includes multiple terminal assemblies 1, 2, as well as multiple elastic members 9 respectively corresponding to the movable terminals 2 of the multiple terminal assemblies. One movable terminal 2 and one elastic member 9 are installed in each receiving chamber 302 of the movable seat 3. In this way, multiple main circuits can be controlled simultaneously through the same relay.
The relay further comprises a bracket 7 and a coil drive assembly 4. The bracket 7 is installed on the top of fixed seat 6. The coil drive assembly 4 is installed on the top of the bracket 7 to drive the movable seat 3 to move forward and backward in the first direction Y.
The coil drive assembly 4 includes: 1) a coil framework 41; 2) a coil 42 which is wound on the outside of the coil framework 41; 3) a magnetic core 43 which is arranged inside the coil framework 41; 4) a magnetic yoke 44 is fixed to the end of the magnetic core 43 and is located outside the coil 42; 5) an armature 45 is movably connected to the magnetic yoke 44 to be able to rotate relative to the magnetic yoke 44; and 6) a spring 46 which is arranged between magnetic yoke 44 and armature 45 and is used to apply elastic reset force on the armature 45.
The armature 45 is movably connected to the movable seat 3, thereby enabling the movable seat to move forward and backward in the first direction Y through the armature. When coil 42 is energized, the armature 45 rotates under the action of electromagnetic attraction to drive the movable seat 3 forward to the closed position where the movable terminal 2 is in electrical contact with the static terminal 1. When the coil 42 deenergized, the armature 45 rotates under the elastic resetting force of spring 46 to drive the movable seat 3 to move backwards to the opened position where the movable terminal 2 is electrically separated from the static terminal 1.
A slot 301 is formed on the top of the main body 30 of the movable seat 3. A leg 451 is formed on the armature 45. The leg 451 can be movably inserted into the slot 301, allowing the armature 45 to be movably connected to the movable seat 3.
The relay further includes an auxiliary contact 51, 52. The auxiliary contact 51, 52 is used to detect the status between the movable terminal 2 and the static terminal 1 of the relay. In the illustrated embodiment, the auxiliary contact 51, 52 includes an auxiliary static contact 51 fixed to the fixed seat 6, and an auxiliary movable contact 52 fixed to the fixed seat and having a contact spring 52b. A protruding pushing part 35 is formed on the top of the main body 30 of the movable seat 3, which is used to push the contact spring 52b to an electrical contact position with the auxiliary static contact 51 or an electrical separation position from the auxiliary static contact 51.
When the movable seat 3 pushes the movable terminal 2 to the closed position, the pushing part 35 of the movable seat pushes the contact spring 52b of the auxiliary movable contact 52 to the electrical separation position. When the movable seat 3 pushes the movable terminal 2 to the opened position, the pushing part 35 does not contact the contact spring 52b, allowing the contact spring to automatically reset to the electrical contact position. However, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments. For example, in another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, when the movable seat 3 pushes the movable terminal 2 to the closed position, the pushing part 35 of the movable seat 3 pushes the contact spring 52b of the auxiliary movable contact 52 to the electrical contact position; When the movable seat 3 pushes the movable terminal 2 to the opened position, the pushing part 35 does not contact the contact spring 52b, allowing the contact spring 52b to automatically reset to the electrical separation position.
The relay further includes a housing 8, which is used to accommodate the terminal assembly 1, 2, the movable seat 3, the coil drive assembly 4, the auxiliary contact 51, 52, the fixed seat 6, and the bracket 7 of the relay. The electrical connection part 14 of the static terminal 1, the electrical connection pin 412a of the coil terminal 412 of the coil drive assembly 4, and the pins 51a and 52a of the auxiliary contacts 51, 52 extend from the bottom of the fixed seat 6 to respectively connect to the corresponding circuit. Among them, the electrical connection part 14 of the static terminal 1 is used for electrical connection to the main circuit, the electrical connection pin 412a of the coil terminal 412 is used for electrical connection to a coil circuit, and the pins 51a and 52a of the auxiliary contacts 51 and 52 are used for electrical connection to a detection circuit.
An elastic member 9 is also disclosed, which is used to apply contact pressure F to the movable terminal 2 of the relay. In the illustrated embodiment, the elastic member 9 includes a fixed part 90 and a pair of elastic arms 91. The fixed part 90 is fixed to the movable seat 3 of the relay. The pair of elastic arms 91 are respectively connected to both sides of the fixed part 90. The pair of elastic arms 91 extend a predetermined length by tilting forward from both sides of the fixed part 90, so that the elastic member 9 is in a herringbone shape. The end parts 9a of the pair of elastic arms 91 are used to lean against the two ends of the movable terminal 2 of the relay, respectively, to apply predetermined contact pressure on the two ends of the movable terminal 2.
The end parts 9a of the pair of elastic arms 91 are suitable for sliding against the surfaces of both ends of the movable terminal 2, so that the end parts 9a of the elastic arm 91 can slide on the surface of the movable terminal 2 when the elastic arm 91 undergoes elastic deformation. A fixing hole 901 is formed in the fixed part 90 of the elastic member 9, which is used to engage with a protrusion 311 formed on the movable seat 3.
The elastic member 9 further includes an elastic snapping piece 92, which is connected to the fixed part 90. The elastic snapping piece 92 is snapped into a snapping slot 312 formed on the movable seat 3. The fixed part 90 is in a plate shape, and a pair of elastic arms 91 are connected to the left and right sides of the fixed part 90, respectively. The elastic member 9 includes a pair of elastic snapping pieces 92, which are respectively connected to the upper and lower sides of the fixed part 90.
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The static terminal 1 includes the static terminal body 10, the static contact 110, and the electrical connection part 14. The static terminal body 10 is in an “n” shape, and includes a first side plate 11, a second side plate 12 which is spaced from and opposite to the first side plate 11, and a third side plate 13 connected between the first side plate 11 and the second side plate 12. The static contact 110 is fixed on the first side plate 11. The electrical connection part 14 extends downwards from the bottom of the second side plate 12 for electrical connection to the main circuit.
The movable terminal 2 includes a movable terminal body 20 and two movable contacts 210. Two movable contacts 210 are respectively fixed on both ends of the movable terminal body 20. The static terminal body 10 defines an accommodating space 101. The two movable contacts 210 of the movable terminal 2 are respectively located in the accommodating spaces of the two static terminals 1 and respectively face the static contacts 110 of the two static terminals.
The movable seat 3 is used to push the movable terminal 2 to move between the closed position in electrical contact with the static terminal 1 and the opened position in electrical separation from the static terminal. When the movable terminal 2 is pushed to the closed position, the movable contact 210 is in electrical contact with the static contact 110. The elastic member 9 applies a predetermined contact pressure F1 on the movable terminal 2 to ensure reliable electrical contact between the movable contact 210 and the static contact 110. When the movable terminal 2 is pushed to the opened position, the movable contact 210 is electrically separated from the static contact 110.
When the movable terminal 2 is pushed to the closed position, the main circuit current I will flow along the “n” shaped static terminal body 10 and generate a magnetic field. The direction of the electrodynamic force F′ applied to the movable terminal 2 by the magnetic field is the same as the direction of the contact pressure F applied by the elastic member 9 to the movable terminal 2, so as to overcome the Hohm repulsion F3 between the static contact 110 and the movable contact 210 together.
The movable seat 3 has a strip-shaped main body 30 extending in the first direction Y, forming a transverse penetrating receiving chamber 302 on the main body 30 of the movable seat 3. The fixed part 90 of the elastic member 9 and the installation part 222 of the movable terminal body 20 are accommodated in the receiving chamber 302 of the movable seat 3. The fixed part 90 of the elastic member 9 is fixed to the rear wall of the receiving chamber 302, and the installation part 222 of the movable terminal body 20 is slidably mated with the top and bottom walls of the receiving chamber 302.
In the illustrated embodiments, a pair of elastic arms 91 are inclined forward from the left and right sides of the fixed part 90 to the outside of the receiving chamber 302. The two ends 221 of the movable terminal body 20 extend from the left and right sides of the installation part 222 to the outside of the receiving chamber 302, respectively. A protrusion 311 is formed on the rear wall of the receiving chamber 302 of the movable seat 3, and the protrusion 311 is engaged into a fixing hole 901 formed in the elastic member 9. A snapping slots 312 is formed on each of the top and bottom walls of the receiving chamber 302 of the movable seat 3, and the snapping slot 312 is engaged with the elastic snapping piece 92 on the elastic member 9.
In addition, those areas in which it is believed that those of ordinary skill in the art are familiar, have not been described herein in order not to unnecessarily obscure the invention described. Accordingly, it has to be understood that the invention is not to be limited by the specific illustrative embodiments, but only by the scope of the appended claims.
It should be appreciated for those skilled in this art that the above embodiments are intended to be illustrated, and not restrictive. For example, many modifications may be made to the above embodiments by those skilled in this art, and various features described in different embodiments may be freely combined with each other without conflicting in configuration or principle.
Although several exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the disclosure, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.
As used herein, an element recited in the singular and proceeded with the word “a” or “an” should be understood as not excluding plural of the elements or steps, unless such exclusion is explicitly stated. Furthermore, references to “one embodiment” of the present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features. Moreover, unless explicitly stated to the contrary, embodiments “comprising” or “having” an element or a plurality of elements having a particular property may include additional such elements not having that property.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202211622725.5 | Dec 2022 | CN | national |
