The present invention relates to an electrical contact system and, more particularly, to a double contact system.
An electrical circuit may be automatically or manually switched on and off according to external specified signals and requirements. An electrical contact system is generally used to carry out the switch on and off of the electrical circuit. The electrical contact system has two types: a single contact system and a double contact system. The single contact system generally comprises a single movable contact and a single static contact. When the single movable contact is in contact with the single static contact, the electrical circuit is switched on. The double contact system generally comprises a pair of movable contacts and a pair of static contacts. When the pair of movable contacts are in contact with the pair static contacts, respectively, the electrical circuit is switched on.
Compared with the single contact system, the double contact system greatly increases the distance between the movable and static contacts and has better arc extinguishing performance. However, for the double contact system, the pair of movable contacts and the pair of static contacts must reliably and electrically contact with each other. If one of the pair of movable contacts does not reliably and electrically contact one of the pair of static contacts, the electrical circuit will not be able to be switched on.
In order to realize reliable electrical contact between the pair of movable contacts and the pair of static contacts in the double contact system, in general, a complex mechanism and a large spring are required. However, this leads to a complicated structure of the double contact system and increased difficulty in assembling the double contact system, which increases the manufacturing cost of the double contact system.
An electrical contact system includes a pair of static contacts, a rotatable member disposed between the static contacts and rotatable about a rotation axis between a first position and a second position, and a movable contact mounted on and rotated with the rotatable member. A pair of opposite ends of the movable contact are in electrical contact with the static contacts when the rotatable member is rotated to the first position. The ends of the movable contact are separated from the static contacts when the rotatable member is rotated to the second position. The movable contact has a Z-shape and is slidably mounted on the rotatable member. The movable contact slides under a pushing force from a first static contact of the static contacts toward a second static contact of the static contacts to be in electrical contact with the second static contact.
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 like reference numerals refer to 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 convey the concept of the invention 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.
An electrical contact system according to an embodiment, as shown in
The movable contact 200 is shown separated from the static contacts 610, 620 in
The movable contact 200, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The electrical contact system, as shown in
The movable contact 200 is adapted to slide from an initial position to an offset position under the pushing force of the first static contact 610. After the ends 210, 220 of the movable contact 200 electrically contact the pair of static contacts 610, 620, the movable contact 200 is kept in the offset position. After the ends 210, 220 of the movable contact 200 are separated from the pair of static contacts 610, 620, the movable contact 200 is returned to the initial position.
The electrical contact system, as shown in
As shown in
The electrical contact system, as shown in
The electrical contact system, as shown in
The electrical contact system, as shown in
A process of operating the electrical contact system will now be described with reference to
When an electrical circuit having the electrical contact system needs to be switched on, the rotatable member 100 is rotated by an external driving force to rotate the movable contact 200 toward the pair of static contacts 610, 620. While the movable contact 200 is rotated toward the pair of static contacts 610, 620, one 211 of the first convex contact points 211, 221 on the movable contact 200 will contact the first static contact 610, and then the first static contact 610 will push the movable contact 200 to move toward the second static contact 620, so that the other 221 of the first convex contact points 211, 221 on the movable contact 200 is rapidly moved into electrical contact with the second static contact 620. In this way, two first convex contact points 211, 221 on the movable contact 200 reliably and electrically contact two second convex contact points 611, 621 on the pair of static contacts 610, 620.
When the electrical circuit needs to be switched off, the rotatable member 100 is driven to rotate by a reset spring to rotate the movable contact 200 to a distance from the pair of static contacts 610, 620, such that the movable contact 200 is rapidly separated from the static contacts 610, 620.
In the described embodiments, the Z-shaped movable contact 200 switches the electrical circuit. When one end 210 of the movable contact 200 firstly contacts the first static contact 610, a contact pressure generated between the one end 210 of the movable contact 200 and the first static contact 610 forces the movable contact 200 to slide toward the offset position in the slot 110, so that an opposite end 220 of the movable contact 200 also reliably and electrically contacts the second static contact 620.
The electrical contact system according to the described embodiments requires less driving energy and has low energy consumption. Moreover, the electrical contact system of the present overcomes a poor contact of an electrical contact system in the related art, and may reliably switch on or off the electrical circuit. The mechanism of the electrical contact system is very simple and has high reliability, and it may be easily manufactured and assembled. In addition, the volume of the whole electrical contact system is miniaturized, and it is beneficial to arc extinguishing.
It should be appreciated for those skilled in this art that the above embodiments are intended to be illustrative, 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.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201710403385.X | Jun 2017 | CN | national |
This application is a continuation of PCT International Application No. PCT/EP2018/064357, filed on May 31, 2018, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Chinese Patent Application No. 201710403385.X, filed on Jun. 1, 2017.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/EP2018/064357 | May 2018 | US |
Child | 16698543 | US |