EP0746007A2 - Polarized electromagnetic relay - Google Patents

Abstract

The relay has a rocker armature (3) arranged between a base (1) and a coil (7), which is pulled into one of two switching positions by a permanent magnet (55). Contact springs (34) are connected to the permanent magnet and cooperate with fixed contacts (14) anchored in the base. To stabilize the construction and to separate between a contact space (4) and a coil space (6), a base body with a preferably H-shaped cross section is provided, which overlaps the base (1) in a box shape and which has shoulders (57) on both sides of the armature which can support pins of the base.

By pouring the coil space (6) with potting compound, the construction is highly stable. In this way, both conventional solder pin connections, SMT connections and press-in connections can be used with the same design. The stable base body can transmit high mechanical compressive forces to the press-fit connector pins supported on it, or it can also ensure stability against thermal influences in the case of SMT connections.

Description

• einem Sockel aus Isolierstoff, der mit seiner Bodenseite eine Grundebene definiert und in dem Träger für Festkontakte sowie Kontakt-Anschlußstifte verankert sind,
• einem über dem Sockel angeordneten Wipp-Anker, der mittig beiderseits mit zur Grundebene paralleler Drehachse gelagert ist,
• einer oberhalb des Ankers angeordneten Spule mit zur Grundebene paralleler, zur Ankerdrehachse senkrechter Achse,
• einem in der Spule axial angeordneten Kern mit an beiden Enden senkrecht zur Grundebene nach unten gerichteten Jochen, die jeweils mit den Enden des Ankers Arbeitsluftspalte bilden,
• einer Dauermagnetanordnung, die in den Jochen gleichnamige Magnetpole und über der Ankerdrehachse einen dazu ungleichnamigen Magnetpol erzeugt, und
• einer über eine Isolierstoff-Umhüllung mit dem Anker fest verbundene Kontaktfederanordnung, die entsprechend der Ankerbewegung mit den Festkontakten des Sockels zusammenwirkt.

The invention relates to a polarized electromagnetic relay

• a base made of insulating material, which defines a base plane with its bottom side and is anchored in the carrier for fixed contacts and contact connecting pins,
• a rocker anchor arranged above the base, which is mounted centrally on both sides with an axis of rotation parallel to the base plane,
• a coil arranged above the armature with an axis parallel to the base plane and perpendicular to the armature axis of rotation,
• an axially arranged core in the coil with yokes directed downwards at both ends perpendicular to the base plane, each of which forms working air gaps with the ends of the armature,
• a permanent magnet arrangement which produces magnetic poles of the same name in the yokes and a magnetic pole of the same name above the armature axis of rotation, and
• a contact spring arrangement which is firmly connected to the armature via an insulating material sheath and which cooperates with the fixed contacts of the base in accordance with the armature movement.

A relay of the type mentioned is described in WO 94/22156. There, a bobbin is placed directly on the base, which in addition to the coil winding and the core also carries the yokes and the permanent magnet and which is connected directly to the base in side areas. A cap placed over the bobbin is connected to the base to form a closed housing. This known structure is designed for conventional solder connection technology; for stronger mechanical or thermal loads, however, the connection structure of the base and the coil body is not designed. However, since the assembly of printed circuit boards (SMT) and the connection technology with press-in pins are increasingly desired for the assembly of printed circuit boards in addition to the conventional contacting via solder pins, relays should, as far as possible, be able to withstand the mechanical and thermal loads occurring with these techniques without their construction the precisely set characteristic values of the relay deteriorate.

From DE 27 23 430 Al a rotary armature relay with a base body with an H cross section is already known, which separates a coil space on the underside from a contact space on the top. However, the construction there requires relatively long contact connection elements embedded in the side walls of the base body. The connection of these connection elements in the top-side contact space is also neither suitable for receiving the pressure load for press-in pins, nor can the contact arrangement be exposed to the thermal load in surface mounting technology without risk.

The aim of the present invention is to construct a polarized relay of the type mentioned in such a way that on the one hand the insulation between the contacts and the coil is improved and on the other hand the construction is made more stable overall, so that the desired characteristics of the relay are set in a simpler manner and safer to maintain when handling or operating the relay. In particular, a basic construction is to be created which is suitable only for the installation of different connection elements both for solder pin connection and for SMT connection and for press-in connection.

According to the invention, this aim is achieved in the aforementioned relay structure in that a base body made of insulating material is provided, which forms a partition parallel to the base plane - with bushings for the yokes - between the armature and the coil, that the base body has side walls with the base is nested and forms an at least partially closed switching space with it and that the base body has a shoulder on both sides of the armature, under which the contact pins arranged in a row are located and which is suitable as a support area for these pins if necessary.

The base body provided according to the invention results in a high rigidity and stability of the relay structure. The adjustments made during production are thus reliably retained, even if mechanical or thermal loads act on the relay housing from the outside. These advantages of the more stable structure also come into play when the support areas provided on both sides of the armature are not required for supporting connection pins, because only simple solder connection pins bent from the printed circuit board injected in the base are provided.

However, the construction according to the invention is particularly effective when connecting pins are used which extend vertically upwards from the base to the respective support region of the base body. In order to avoid overdetermination during production, it is expediently provided that the connecting pins are fixed in each case in grooves in the base body and there by means of a hardenable sealing compound. So it is possible that after the assembly of the armature with a precise adjustment of the contact spacing of the base, the magnet system connected to the base body can be pushed onto the base until the armature lies exactly against the magnet system or has reached the specified air gaps to the yokes . By pouring in adhesive or potting compound, on the one hand, the base body can then be sealingly connected to the base, the connecting pins being cast in the grooves mentioned in a preceding or simultaneous operation. This creates a dense and stable control room that is insulated from the coil. This control room also has compared to similarly constructed Relay has a very low air volume because the coil space is not included. This is particularly advantageous in the case of strong heat, such as when soldering the relay, in particular when reflow soldering SMT connections.

The base body thus forms closed side walls at least around the contact space, so that the housing cap which would otherwise be required can be dispensed with. An embodiment in which the base body has an H-shaped cross section and thus also accommodates the coil in an upwardly open, trough-shaped coil space is particularly advantageous. This coil space is expediently completely or at least partially filled with potting compound, which further increases the rigidity of the construction. This is particularly advantageous if the relay is provided with press-in connection pins which are anchored in the base body in the manner mentioned above. In this case, the press-in tool can press directly onto the encapsulated coil space, the press-in forces being transmitted to the connecting pins via the base body and there being no fear of impairment of the adjustments in the relay. If necessary, a cover plate can be attached to the top of the coil space. This can be metallic or have a metallic outer layer in order to act as a heat shield, in particular in the case of surface mounting (SMT).

Further advantageous refinements are specified in the subclaims.

• Figur 1 die Hauptbaugruppen eines erfindungsgemäß gestalteten Relais vor dem Zusammenbau in perspektivischer, teilweise geschnittener Darstellung,
• Figur 2 das Relais von Figur 1 in zusammengebautem Zustand,
• Figur 3 einen Schnitt durch das Relais von Figur 2 mit beiderseits einer Mittelebene etwas versetzter Schnittführung,
• Figur 4 einen Figur 3 entsprechenden Schnitt durch ein Relais mit SMT-Anschlußstiften,
• Figur 5 einen Figur 3 entsprechenden Schnitt durch ein Relais mit Einpreß-Anschlußstiften,
• Figur 6 eine teilweise geschnittene Seitenansicht auf ein Relais mit einer gegenüber Figur 1 abgewandelten Anker- und Kontaktanordnung,
• Figur 7 eine Schnittansicht von oben auf die Hälfte des Ankers von Figur 6,
• Figur 8 eine Querschnittsansicht auf das Relais von Figur 6,
• Figur 9 eine Detail-Schnittansicht auf die Ankerlagerung und den Kontaktfederanschluß des Relais nach den Figuren 6 bis 8,
• Figur 10 und 11 zwei abgewandelte Ausführungsformen der Kontaktfederanschlüsse in einer Figur 9 vergleichbaren Seitenansicht,
• Figur 12 eine weitere Abwandlung eines Kontaktfederanschlusses und der Ankerlagerung in teilweise geschnittener Seitenansicht,
• Figur 13 eine Figur 7 vergleichbare Schnittansicht von oben auf eine Ankerhälfte in einer abgewandelten Ausführungsform,
• Figur 14 eine Seitenansicht auf die Ankerlagerung von Figur 13,
• Figur 15 und 16 eine weitere Ausführungsform eines Relais in zwei Ansichten.

The invention is explained in more detail below using exemplary embodiments with reference to the drawing. It shows

• FIG. 1 shows the main assemblies of a relay designed according to the invention before assembly in a perspective, partially sectioned illustration,
• FIG. 2 shows the relay from FIG. 1 in the assembled state,
• 3 shows a section through the relay from FIG. 2 with a slightly offset cut on both sides of a central plane, FIG.
• FIG. 4 shows a section corresponding to FIG. 3 through a relay with SMT connection pins,
• 5 shows a section corresponding to FIG. 3 through a relay with press-in connection pins, FIG.
• FIG. 6 shows a partially sectioned side view of a relay with an armature and contact arrangement modified compared to FIG. 1,
• FIG. 7 shows a sectional view from above onto half of the armature from FIG. 6,
• FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional view of the relay from FIG. 6,
• FIG. 9 shows a detailed sectional view of the armature bearing and the contact spring connection of the relay according to FIGS. 6 to 8,
• FIGS. 10 and 11 show two modified embodiments of the contact spring connections in a side view comparable to FIG. 9,
• FIG. 12 shows a further modification of a contact spring connection and the armature bearing in a partially sectioned side view,
• FIG. 13 shows a sectional view, comparable to FIG. 7, from above of an anchor half in a modified embodiment,
• FIG. 14 shows a side view of the anchor bearing from FIG. 13,
• Figures 15 and 16 another embodiment of a relay in two views.

The relay shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 essentially consists of a base 1 with an armature 3 pivotably arranged above the base. A base body 5 receives the base 1 from below and forms a closed contact space 4 with it. In addition, the base body 5 an upwardly open coil space 6, in which a coil 7 is inserted.

The base 1 has a flat bottom 11, which defines the base level of the relay, and partially raised peripheral sides 12. In the insulating material of the base, contact carriers 13 with exposed fixed contacts 14 are punched out parallel to the base level 8 and punched out; in one piece with the contact carriers, connection pins 15 are formed downwards, which usually serve as solder connections. In addition, in each case contact spring connecting pins 16 are embedded from the board material, the extensions of which serve upward as bearing supports 16 a for the armature 3.

The armature 3 consists of an essentially elongated ferromagnetic sheet which has an upwardly curved bearing curvature 31 in its central section to define a rolling axis running transversely to its longitudinal extent. The two wings of the armature each define pole faces 32 in their end sections.

Below the armature is a movable contact arrangement with an insulating jacket 33 is arranged, in which two elongated contact springs 34 are embedded in a plane next to each other, such that their ends are exposed below the armature ends and each carry movable contacts 35, which with the underlying fixed contacts 14 work together. Each contact spring has an im Lateral area emerging from the sheath 33, in the area of the armature bearing arched and angled into a vertical position, the bearing band 36, which is welded to an associated contact spring connecting pin 16 with a corresponding fastening section 37 or is conductively connected to it in some other way. The insulating sheath 33 has upwardly formed pins 38 which are inserted through bores in the armature 3 and deformed on the upper side thereof, so that the movable contact arrangement with the contact springs 34 is firmly connected to the armature 3 and thus takes part in its switching movement. When the armature 3 is mounted on the base 1, the desired contact distance between the movable contacts 35 and the fixed contacts 14 is first set in a suitable manner before the bearing strips 36 are connected to the connecting pins 16.

The base body 5 made of insulating material has a generally H-shaped cross section with a partition 51 parallel to the base plane and circumferential side walls 52, which together with the partition 51 form the switching space 4 mentioned below and the coil space 6 upwards. In the partition 51 two bushings 53 are recessed, in which two ferromagnetic yokes 54 are inserted standing vertically. A rod-shaped permanent magnet 55 is fastened between clamping ribs 56 (see FIG. 3) between the lower ends of the two yokes 54. The permanent magnet is magnetized in three poles in such a way that it generates a permanent magnet pole (N) in the center above the armature axis and two opposite poles (S) at both ends. Along the two long sides of the base body 5, paragraphs 57 are formed below the partition 51, which lie above the connecting pins 15 and 16 and, if necessary, can serve as support areas for corresponding extended connecting pins. In any case, these paragraphs provide additional stiffening of the base body; special configurations will be described later.

The coil 7 has a coil body 71 made of insulating material, on which a winding 73 is arranged between flanges 72. A core 74 is arranged in an axial through opening of the coil former. In addition, each coil terminal pins 75 are anchored in the flanges 72.

During assembly, the coil 7 is inserted from above into the coil space 6 of the base body, the coil connection pins 75 being inserted through corresponding holes 58 in the base body. The coil is then fixed in the base body with potting compound, the yokes 54 and the permanent magnet 55 also being glued. The bushings are also tightly sealed. Filling the coil space 6 with potting compound creates a very stable bond that can also absorb high mechanical forces. For example, a plate 76 is placed above the coil, which offers a flat surface for labeling. The plate can be made of metal or be coated with metal so that it forms a heat shield when the relay is exposed to strong heat radiation, for example in SMT assembly.

Thereafter, the base 1 pre-assembled with the armature 3 is inserted into the switching space 4 of the base body, the side walls 52 of the base body engaging in a box shape over the side walls 12 of the base. The base 1 is pushed in so far that the bearing curvature 31 bears more or less on the permanent magnet 55 and the armature can optionally abut one of the yokes. The switching mobility of the armature can be checked by inserting a test pin through ventilation openings 17 (shown in FIG. 8) and measuring the switching movement. For this purpose, two ventilation or test openings 17, one under each anchor wing, are provided. These are located in the middle between the two contact springs in the area of a raised insulating web 18. After setting the exact position between the armature and the permanent magnet or yoke, the base 1 is firmly connected to the base body 5, preferably by casting of potting compound or adhesive in the edge gap between the respective side walls. The ventilation and test openings 17 can later be closed separately.

As can be seen in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, for example, a groove 63 is formed in the contact space below the shoulders 57, which is delimited by the outer wall 52 of the base body and by a wall web 59. This wall web 59 also forms an insulation between the metal parts of the armature and the connection elements or bearing strips 36 of the contact springs. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, potting compound 63 can be poured into these grooves in order to firmly anchor projecting connecting pins in the base body; this also increases the rigidity. FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of connection pins 20 which is inserted in the base area through the injected circuit board of the contact carrier 13 and is contacted in a suitable manner in openings 13a. The connection pins 20 with a rectangular cross section are anchored at their upper end section 21 in the sealing compound 60 and are bent outwards with their lower ends in the form of SMT connection lugs 22.

In FIG. 5, round connecting pins 23 are anchored in the base in the same way and contacted with the carrier board 13. In addition, here, too, the upper end sections 24 are anchored in the casting compound 60, while the lower ends in this case are deformed into press-in handles 25. Of course, all possible types of press-fit zones come into consideration here; in addition, instead of the round cross-section shown, the press-in pins can also have a rectangular cross-section as in FIG. 4 or some other cross-sectional shape. Otherwise, the relay according to FIGS. 4 and 5 has the same or similar structure as that shown previously; minor modifications are possible within the scope of the invention.

A particularly simple way of attaching and contacting the pins 20 and 23 is that in the Contact carrier 13 forming plate openings 13a are recessed, which have a slightly smaller cross section than the pins 20 and 23 to be inserted. Depending on the cross-sectional shape of the pins, these openings 13a are also round or rectangular. The recesses 11a in the base 1 or in the base base 11, on the other hand, are somewhat larger in cross section than the pins 20 or 23, so that the edge of the openings 13a around the pins is somewhat exposed. When the connection pins 20 and 23 are pressed into the openings 13a with a correspondingly large force, the edge of the opening 13a in question lies with slight deflection on the outer surface of the respective pins 20 and 23. This penetration between the contact carrier board 13 and the each connector pin 20 or 23 results in a permanent voltage, which ensures the desired contact.

In FIG. 5, a laterally protruding bearing journal 41 is additionally shown in the right half of the anchor representation, which lies in a bearing shell 61 of the base body or of the wall web 59. In this way, the armature can, if necessary, be positioned more precisely in relation to the base body and the permanent magnet 55. The storage is thus independent of the shape and properties of the bearing belts 36. These bearing belts 36 are unnecessary in this case and can be replaced by a simple flexible connecting section 42, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The area of the armature bearing from FIG. 6 is shown again in detail in FIG. 9, the section here being moved somewhat outward into the side wall of the base body in order to show the bearing shell 61. In this case, the meandering connecting section 42 has an integrally molded connecting pin 43 which is guided through an opening 19 in the base to the outside. The opening 19 is closed and the connecting pin 43 is fixed by a locking pin 62 formed on the base body. In Figure 10, the bearing part of the armature is again shown schematically from the side. In this case there is a simply angled connecting section 42 with an additional one molded closure piece 44, which is inserted with the pin in the opening 19 of the base and closes it.

A further modified embodiment of the bearing details is shown in FIG. 11. In this case, the connection section 42 is extrusion-coated in its horizontal and obliquely upward part by the sheath 33 of the contact arrangement, so that only the vertical part acts resiliently. In this case, too, a closure piece 44 is sprayed onto the connection section.

In a further modification, FIG. 12 shows that a meandering or also differently shaped connection section 42 can also be connected to a solid connection pin 23 anchored in the base, similar to that in FIG. 5, instead of a molded-on thin connection pin. The pin 23 is in this case inserted through a recess 45 of the connecting portion 42 and conductively connected to it in a manner not shown.

FIGS. 13 and 14 show a further modification in two detailed views, the armature being supported as before by a bearing journal 41 and the contact springs each having a round connection section 42, which runs from the armature to the outside as a torsion bar parallel to the bearing axis Pin 23 are connected.

A further modification of the armature bearing is shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, which largely correspond to the representation in FIGS. 6 and 7. In a modification of the exemplary embodiment there, according to FIG. 15, the armature is mounted on the permanent magnet 55 via an additional bearing piece 46, which forms a bearing cutting edge 47. The armature has a bearing notch 48 formed in its axial area which, like the bearing cutting edge, has an obtuse angle of any kind or can also be rounded. The contact springs In this case, 34 are connected to a connecting pin 23 via a meandering connecting section 42.

Further modifications are possible, in particular individual elements from the different examples, in particular the different armature bearings and contact spring connections, can be combined with one another.

Claims (20)

Polarized electromagnetic relay with - a base (1) made of insulating material, which defines a base plane with its bottom side (11) and is anchored in the carrier (13) for fixed contacts (14) and contact connecting pins (15, 16; 20; 23; 43), a rocker armature (3) arranged above the base (1), which is mounted centrally on both sides with an axis of rotation parallel to the base plane, a coil (7) arranged above the armature (3) with an axis parallel to the base plane and perpendicular to the armature axis of rotation, a core (74) axially arranged in the coil with yokes (54) directed downwards at both ends perpendicular to the base plane, each of which forms working air gaps with the ends of the armature (32), - A permanent magnet arrangement (55) which generates magnetic poles (S) of the same name in the yokes (54) and a magnetic pole (N) of the same name above the armature axis of rotation, and a contact spring arrangement (34) which is fixedly connected to the armature (3) via an insulating material sheath (33) and which cooperates with the fixed contacts (14) of the base (1) in accordance with the armature movement, characterized by that a base body (5) made of insulating material is provided, which forms a partition wall (51) parallel to the base plane - with passages (53) for the yokes (54) - between the armature (3) and the coil (7), that the base body (5) is nested by means of side walls (52) with the base (1) and forms an at least partially closed switching space (4) with it and that the base body (5) on both sides of the armature (3) has a shoulder (57), under which the contact pins (15, 16; 20; 23) arranged in a row are located and which, if necessary, serves as a support area for these pins suitable is. Relay according to Claim 1, characterized in that the base body (5) has an essentially H-shaped cross section, the coil (7) being arranged in a trough-shaped coil space (6) which is open at the top. Relay according to claim 2, characterized in that the coil (7) in the coil space (6) is at least partially embedded in potting compound. Relay according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the coil space (6) is closed on the upper side by a cover plate (76). Relay according to Claim 4, characterized in that the cover plate (76) consists of metal at least in an upper layer. Relay according to one of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the permanent magnet arrangement comprises a rod-shaped, three-pole magnetized permanent magnet (55) which is fastened in the base body (5) below the partition (51) between the yokes (54). Relay according to claim 6, characterized in that the permanent magnet (55) is clamped between vertical wall sections (56) of the base body (5). Relay according to one of Claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the contact spring arrangement comprises two contact springs (34) arranged in one plane, each contact spring having a flexible connecting section (36; 42) which is led out laterally in the bearing area of the armature (3) is connected to a connecting pin (16, 20; 23) anchored in the base (1). Relay according to Claim 8, characterized in that the connection section (36) also serve as bearing strips for the armature (3). Relay according to Claim 8, characterized in that horizontal bearing journals (41), which lie in corresponding bearing shells (61) of the base body (5), are formed on the insulating sheath (33) connected to the armature at the side in the bearing area of the armature. Relay according to Claim 10, characterized in that the connection sections (42) of the contact springs (34) each form integrally molded connection pins (43) which are guided outwards through openings (19) in the base (1). Relay according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that in the base (1) embedded conductor tracks of a pre-punched circuit board in each case support (13) for the fixed contacts (14), optionally upwardly bent connection sections (16a) for the contact springs and Form connection pins (15; 16; 43) which are led out vertically downwards. Relay according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that conductor tracks embedded in one level in the base (1) each form carriers (13) for the fixed contacts and that connecting pins (20; 23) perpendicular to the base plane pass through the level of the conductor tracks are connected to them and are supported with their upper ends (21) on the shoulder (57) of the base body (5). Relay according to Claim 13, characterized in that the ends of the connecting pins (23) emerging at the underside of the base are shaped into press-in handles (25). Relay according to Claim 12 or 13, characterized in that the ends of the connection pins (20) emerging at the underside of the base are shaped into SMT connection lugs (22). Relay according to one of Claims 13 to 15, characterized in that the upper end sections (21; 24) of the connecting pins (20; 23) in the region of the base body extension (57) project into a groove (58) which is open at the bottom and in this are fixed by hardened casting compound (60). Relay according to one of Claims 1 to 16, characterized in that a test and ventilation opening (17) is provided in the base (1) below each anchor wing (3; 32). Relay according to Claim 11, characterized in that the connection lugs each have a meandering section (42) in the region between the casing (33) and their passage through the opening (19) of the base. Relay according to claim 11 or 18, characterized in that the connecting lugs (43) of the contact springs (34) are each covered with a sealing plug (44) which closes the opening (19) in the base. Relay according to Claim 11 or 18, characterized in that the connecting lugs (43) of the contact springs (34) are fixed in the opening (19) of the base with a locking pin (62) projecting downward from the base body (5).

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