EP0534572A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Bistable electrical relay
Assignee: Holec Holland NV
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Filing: 1992-09-25
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2012-09-25
Abstract
Abstract Bistable electrical relay (1) comprising a first contact (13), a movably mounted, essentially rigid arm (4) coupled thereto and provided with a first connecting point (14, 15, 16), and a second contact (12) coupled to an immovably mounted further arm (11) which is provided with a second connecting point (17, 18). To operate the contacts, electromagnetic drive means (9) are provided which act on the movable arm via spring means (5) for producing contact force. To keep the contacts closed, the drive means are provided with permanent magnets (20), while further spring means (6) act on the movable arm to keep the contacts open. Preferably, leaf springs are used, the two arms being mounted in close proximity in order to make use of the Lorentz force to produce additional contact force in the case of short-circuit currents. A switching module comprising bistable relays is also provided for switching group connecting points in an electrical power installation.
Inventors
- 👤 Nico Jan Van De Ven
- 👤 Mannes Kippers
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 22:17
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01H; H01H89/00; H01H89/06; H01H1/00; H01H1/50; H01H1/54; H01H1/58; H01H1/5805; H01H50/00; H01H50/54; H01H50/56; H01H50/58; H01H51/00; H01H51/22; H01H51/2209
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
129 words
Bistable electrical relay, comprising at least one pair of electrical contacts for switching an electrical circuit, consisting of a movably mounted first contact and an immovably mounted second contact, which contacts mutually touch in a first position (closed) and are mutually separated in a second position (open), having means for keeping the contacts in the first and second positions and having electromagnetically activable drive means operatively coupled to the movable contact for altering the position of the contacts, characterised by a movably mounted, essentially rigid arm coupled to the first contact, the drive means acting on said arm via spring means, which spring means are designed to provide a force for keeping the contacts in the first (closed) position and are not part of the circuit to be switched.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
121 words
Bistable relay according to Claim 1, wherein the movable arm is mounted so as to be pivotably supported at one end and the movable contact is coupled to the other end of the arm such that the supported end forms a first contact connecting point, the fixed contact being coupled to one end of an immovably mounted further arm, the other end of which forms a second contact connecting point, which arms are mounted so as to be closely adjacent over at least a portion of their length and mutually insulated electrically such that, under the influence of an electrical current flowing through the two arms, mutually exerted magnetic forces are operative for keeping the contacts in their first (closed) position.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
23 words
Bistable relay according to Claim 2, wherein the two arms have an elongated flat shape at least as regards the adjacently situated parts.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
118 words
Bistable relay according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the spring means consist of a first leaf spring which extends in the longitudinal direction of the movable arm and of which one end is coupled in a fixed manner to the movable arm of which the other end is coupled to the drive means, the end coupled to the drive means being held at a predetermined greater spacing from the movable arm than the end coupled to the movable arm, and the contacts being arranged such that they can be set to the first (closed) position by moving the end, coupled to the drive means, of the first leaf spring away from the movable arm.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
79 words
Bistable relay according to Claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein the means for keeping the contacts in a certain position comprise further spring means in the form of a second leaf spring which extends in the longitudinal direction of the movable arm and of which one end is supported and of which the other end is operatively coupled to the movable arm, which second leaf spring is pretensioned so as to keep the movable arm in the desired position.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
66 words
Bistable relay according to Claim 5, wherein the first and second leaf spring form a single entity, the first leaf spring being mounted adjacent to the movable arm and the two leaf springs being fixedly connected by their one end to the movable arm in the vicinity of the pivot point thereof, the other end of the second leaf spring acting on the first leaf spring.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
54 words
Bistable relay according to one or more of the preceding claims, provided with operating means which are coupled to the spring means acting on the movable arm for mechanically altering the position of the contacts, which operating means act, in particular, on the end of the first leaf spring coupled to the drive means.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
32 words
Bistable relay according to one or more of the preceding claims, provided with drive means for the activation thereof with electrical pulses of either polarity to alter the position of the contacts.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
169 words
Bistable relay according to one or more of the preceding claims, in which the drive means comprise a first yoke of magnetic material having an essentially U-shaped section, a cylindrical electrical coil extending from the closed end to the open end in said first yoke, provided with a core of magnetic material extending partly in the space bounded by the coil and magnetically coupled to the first yoke and a movable armature of magnetic material, and having a second yoke of magnetic material having a likewise essentially U-shaped section, which second yoke is fitted in an inverted manner with respect to the first yoke over the coil in the first yoke, one or more permanent magnets being fitted in the space between the adjacently situated parts of the two yokes for keeping the contacts in the first (closed) position and the second yoke being provided with an opening through which the armature can be moved outwards so as to act on the spring means coupled to the movable arm.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
60 words
Bistable relay according to Claim 9, dependent on Claim 4, provided with a body which is attached to the portion of the armature which can be moved outwards and which has a locally constricted section, the first leaf spring being provided with a slot with which it acts on said body at the point of the constriction in the section.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
70 words
Bistable relay according to one or more of the preceding claims, dependent on Claim 3, provided with an approximately L-shaped housing of electrically insulating material, the drive means being situated in the space bounded by the short limb of the housing and the long limb having an approximately S-shaped section, in one half of which the fixed arm and in the other half of which the movable arm are arranged.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
80 words
Switching module, provided with a bistable relay according to one or more of the preceding claims, comprising a housing provided with electrical terminals and a switching element having a pair of contacts for making or breaking an electrical connection between predetermined terminals, the contacts of the bistable relay being connected electrically in series with the contacts of the switching element and the housing being provided with control signal terminals for energising the electromagnetically activatable drive means of the bistable relay.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
28 words
Switching module according to Claim 12, wherein both the contacts of the bistable relay and the contacts of the switching element are connected to terminals of the housing.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
49 words
Switching module according to Claim 12 or 13, comprising a switching element provided with a plurality of pairs of contacts and a plurality of bistable relays, the contacts of one or more separate bistable relays being electrically connected in series with a pair of contacts of the switching element.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
78 words
Switching module according to Claim 12, 13 or 14, wherein the signal terminals are fitted on a support body resiliently borne in the housing of the switching module, the support body having an essentially block-shaped periphery, with resilient members situated on two oppositely situated sides in the direction perpendicular thereto, a further side connecting to said sides and rounded off in the direction thereof and a side, situated opposite said further side, for mounting the signal terminals thereon.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
194 words
Switching module according to Claim 15, in which the support body is made of plastic and has an essentially M-shaped section with a widened central section or base part for mounting the signal terminals thereon, the base part being provided, in the plane of the M-shaped section, with at least one upright wall extending outside the periphery of the support body, which wall is rounded off laterally in the direction of the base part at the end remote from the base part, the housing of the switching module being provided with an essentially rectangular compartment having a length, width and depth for the reception of the support body, the length being chosen such that the support body can be slid in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the M-shaped section, the width being less than the dimensions of the support body measured in the plane of the M-shaped section parallel to the base part, with a depth essentially equal to the dimension of the support body measured in the plane of the M-shaped section perpendicular to the base part, and with an opening through which the signal terminals can extend outside the housing.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
37 words
Switching module according to Claim 12, 13, 14, 15 or 16, wherein the signal terminals have the form of an edge connector in order to make contact to contact pads provided at the edge of a substrate.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
9 words
Support body as described in Claim 15 or 16.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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