EP0047980B1 - Quecksilberschalter - Google Patents

Quecksilberschalter Download PDF

Info

Publication number: EP0047980B1
Authority: EP; European Patent Office
Prior art keywords: glass bulb; solid; mercury; mercury switch; switch according
Prior art date: 1980-09-13
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.): Expired

Application number

EP81107106A

Other languages

German (de)

English (en)

French (fr)

Other versions

EP0047980A3 (en

EP0047980A2 (de

Inventor

Walter Günther

Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)

W Gunther GmbH

W Guenther GmbH

Original Assignee

W Gunther GmbH

W Guenther GmbH

Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)

1980-09-13

Filing date

1981-09-09

Publication date

1985-01-16

1981-09-09 Application filed by W Gunther GmbH, W Guenther GmbH filed Critical W Gunther GmbH

1982-03-24 Publication of EP0047980A2 publication Critical patent/EP0047980A2/de

1982-09-22 Publication of EP0047980A3 publication Critical patent/EP0047980A3/de

1985-01-16 Application granted granted Critical

1985-01-16 Publication of EP0047980B1 publication Critical patent/EP0047980B1/de

Status Expired legal-status Critical Current

Links

QSHDDOUJBYECFT-UHFFFAOYSA-N mercury Chemical compound [Hg] QSHDDOUJBYECFT-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 title claims description 56
229910052753 mercury Inorganic materials 0.000 title claims description 56
239000011521 glass Substances 0.000 claims description 29
238000007373 indentation Methods 0.000 claims description 3
239000007787 solid Substances 0.000 claims 8
BASFCYQUMIYNBI-UHFFFAOYSA-N platinum Chemical compound [Pt] BASFCYQUMIYNBI-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 12
230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 6
229910052697 platinum Inorganic materials 0.000 description 6
238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 3
238000000576 coating method Methods 0.000 description 2
238000006073 displacement reaction Methods 0.000 description 2
230000005484 gravity Effects 0.000 description 2
238000010309 melting process Methods 0.000 description 2
230000007704 transition Effects 0.000 description 2
230000001960 triggered effect Effects 0.000 description 2
241001295925 Gegenes Species 0.000 description 1
210000001015 abdomen Anatomy 0.000 description 1
239000000853 adhesive Substances 0.000 description 1
230000001070 adhesive effect Effects 0.000 description 1
230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 description 1
239000011248 coating agent Substances 0.000 description 1
230000001427 coherent effect Effects 0.000 description 1
230000001788 irregular Effects 0.000 description 1
238000007493 shaping process Methods 0.000 description 1
230000003746 surface roughness Effects 0.000 description 1
231100000331 toxic Toxicity 0.000 description 1
230000002588 toxic effect Effects 0.000 description 1
XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
238000009736 wetting Methods 0.000 description 1

Images

Classifications

- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- H01H29/00—Switches having at least one liquid contact
- H01H29/20—Switches having at least one liquid contact operated by tilting contact-liquid container

Definitions

the innovation relates to a mercury switch with the features of the preamble of claim 1.
Mercury switches of this type are already known and are described, for example, in German utility model DE-U-8016981.
Mercury switches of this type are used to switch small electrical currents, in particular microphonic currents.
the switching process is triggered by tilting movements, the mercury drop serving as movement contact in the switched-on position wetting the two fixed contact ends projecting into the interior of the switch, in the switched-off position, on the other hand, being detached from the fixed contact ends of the fixed contacts.
the fixed contacts are generally made of platinum or at least their free ends are provided with platinum coatings. Due to the extremely low surface roughness of platinum, the mercury drop surface adheres strongly to the platinum surfaces, which can lead to tear-off difficulties during the switch-off process and thus to irregular switch-off behavior.
the volume of the mercury drop was chosen to be relatively large in order to reduce the tear-off problems during the switch-off process. If the coherent drop of mercury is accelerated away from the fixed contacts during the tilt-off movement, the kinetic energy inherent in it is usually sufficient to overcome the adhesive forces between the platinum coating of the fixed contacts and the surface of the mercury, i. H. detach the mercury drop from the fixed contacts.
the object of the invention is to develop a mercury switch in such a way that it has small external dimensions and manages with a smaller amount of mercury with a defined switching behavior.
the invention takes advantage of the extremely high surface tension of 465 dynes / cm at room temperature of a drop of mercury and thus its endeavor to reduce its surface area as much as possible in order to improve the detachment behavior of the drop of mercury from the contacts. Due to the endeavor of a drop of mercury to assume a largely spherical shape, it will - like a balloon envelope filled with water - try to avoid indentation in the surface of the sphere. There is a repulsive force between a protrusion that indentes the surface of the drop of mercury and the center of mass of the mercury. This repulsive force is used in addition to the kinetic kinetic energy that is inherent in the drop accelerated away from the fixed contacts to force it away from the fixed contacts or to detach it.
the force pushing the mercury drop away from the fixed contacts essentially axially in the direction of extension of the fixed contacts and thus contributes significantly to the tearing off of the mercury surface from the tips of the fixed contacts.
a convex shape of the inner surface of the fixed contact end of the glass bulb between the fixed contacts according to claim. 3 can be easily reached during the melting process of the fixed contacts.
a glass flow limit can be reached which protrudes convexly into the interior of the glass bulb.
Protrusions that protrude from the side wall of the piston in the area of the fixed contacts into the interior of the glass bulb also cause a dropping force of the mercury drop from the fixed contacts.
Such projections protruding from the piston side wall can be produced particularly easily by indenting the piston side wall in the warm state according to claim 5.
indentations are formed in the transition area between the cylindrical part of the glass bulb and the "neck” area, which cause the above-described repulsion effect of the mercury drop from the fixed contacts.
the bottle-like shape triggers a “snap effect” when the device is switched off.
the center of gravity of the drop of mercury tilts shortly before tearing off the fixed contacts when the glass bulb tilts over the potential threshold formed by the transition area and protrudes into the interior, thereby dragging the part of the drop remaining in the neck area into the lower “belly area” due to the high surface tension and thus causes an abrupt interruption of the contact path between the two fixed contacts.
the switch-off tilt angle when the switch is tilted in a tilt plane that is curved at right angles to the flattening can be set asymmetrically with respect to the central axis of the glass bulb. If the inclination in the swivel plane is such that the mercury drop rolls over the flattening, the switch-off swivel angle is different than when the glass bulb is swiveled in the opposite direction, in which the mercury drop is on the Rolls inside surface of the substantially round remaining constriction.
the additional detaching force caused by the snap effect is expended to tear off the mercury surface simultaneously from both fixed contacts.
the snap effect occurs particularly strongly in the case of the flattening according to the marking, as a result of which a reliable simultaneous tearing off of the mercury surface from the fixed contacts is ensured.
the measure-defining part of claim 11 ensures a particularly strong displacement effect due to the convexly shaped inner surface of the fixed contact end.
a mercury switch 1 essentially consists of a glass bulb 2 and a mercury drop 4 enclosed therein, which acts as a moving contact between two fixed contacts 3.
the mercury drop 4 connects the two ends protruding into the interior 5 of the glass bulb 2 and coated with platinum of the fixed contacts 3.
the inner surface 6 of the glass bulb is bulged in such a way that mercury drops 4 are dented by the projections 7, 8 when the fixed contact path is bridged.
the projections 7 are formed by a bottle neck-like constriction 9, which is arranged at the fixed contact end 10 of the glass bulb 2.
This narrowing 9 is provided on two diametrically opposite sides with flattenings 11 which run essentially parallel to the common plane of extent of the fixed contacts 3.
the inner surface 12 of the fixed contact end 10 or of the projection 8 runs in the area of the flattenings 11 in the form of a cylinder jacket.
Their apex 13 is further into the inner space 5 of the glass bulb 2 than the tips of the fixed contacts 3 (Fig. 3).
FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation of a mercury drop 4, the surface 14 is shown in the layers I, II and III. In position I, the mercury drop 4 is so far away from the convex projection 8 that its surface 14 is not influenced by the projection 8 and is thus largely approximated to a spherical shape.

Landscapes

Contacts (AREA)
Push-Button Switches (AREA)

EP81107106A 1980-09-13 1981-09-09 Quecksilberschalter Expired EP0047980B1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number	Priority Date	Filing Date	Title
DE8024552U DE8024552U1 (de)	1980-09-13	1980-09-13	Quecksilberschalter
DE8024552U		1980-09-13

Publications (3)

Publication Number	Publication Date
EP0047980A2 EP0047980A2 (de)	1982-03-24
EP0047980A3 EP0047980A3 (en)	1982-09-22
EP0047980B1 true EP0047980B1 (de)	1985-01-16

Family

ID=6718856

Family Applications (1)

Application Number	Title	Priority Date	Filing Date
EP81107106A Expired EP0047980B1 (de)	1980-09-13	1981-09-09	Quecksilberschalter

Country Status (3)

Country	Link
EP (1)	EP0047980B1 (da)
DE (2)	DE8024552U1 (da)
DK (1)	DK147587C (da)

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number	Priority date	Publication date	Assignee	Title
GB8830241D0 (en) *	1988-12-24	1989-02-22	Charles Edward A	Precision level detector

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number	Priority date	Publication date	Assignee	Title
DE910183C (de) *	1943-12-23	1954-04-29	Frantz Christensen	Stromeinschalter, insbesondere fuer elektrische Zaeune
DE2211259C3 (de) *	1972-03-09	1975-03-27	Manfred 7023 Echterdingen Hoehn	Elektrischer Kleinschalter
DE8016981U1 (de) *	1980-06-26	1980-11-06	W. Guenther Gmbh, 8500 Nuernberg	Quecksilber-Elektrodenschalter

1980
- 1980-09-13 DE DE8024552U patent/DE8024552U1/de not_active Expired
1981
- 1981-09-09 DE DE8181107106T patent/DE3168323D1/de not_active Expired
- 1981-09-09 EP EP81107106A patent/EP0047980B1/de not_active Expired
- 1981-09-11 DK DK405281A patent/DK147587C/da active

Also Published As

Publication number	Publication date
DE3168323D1 (en)	1985-02-28
DK147587C (da)	1985-03-25
DE8024552U1 (de)	1981-02-26
DK147587B (da)	1984-10-08
EP0047980A3 (en)	1982-09-22
DK405281A (da)	1982-03-14
EP0047980A2 (de)	1982-03-24

Legal Events

Date	Code	Title	Description
1982-01-22	PUAI	Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase	Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009012
1982-03-24	AK	Designated contracting states	Designated state(s): DE FR GB IT
1982-07-22	PUAL	Search report despatched	Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009013
1982-09-22	AK	Designated contracting states	Designated state(s): DE FR GB IT
1983-06-01	17P	Request for examination filed	Effective date: 19830318
1984-09-28	ITF	It: translation for a ep patent filed
1984-11-16	GRAA	(expected) grant	Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009210
1985-01-16	AK	Designated contracting states	Designated state(s): DE FR GB IT
1985-01-16	PG25	Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]	Ref country code: FR Free format text: THE PATENT HAS BEEN ANNULLED BY A DECISION OF A NATIONAL AUTHORITY Effective date: 19850116
1985-02-28	REF	Corresponds to:	Ref document number: 3168323 Country of ref document: DE Date of ref document: 19850228
1985-10-25	EN	Fr: translation not filed
1985-11-12	PLBE	No opposition filed within time limit	Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009261
1985-11-12	STAA	Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent	Free format text: STATUS: NO OPPOSITION FILED WITHIN TIME LIMIT
1986-01-15	26N	No opposition filed
1986-04-30	GBPC	Gb: european patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee
1986-06-03	PG25	Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]	Ref country code: DE Effective date: 19860603
1988-11-18	PG25	Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]	Ref country code: GB Effective date: 19881118

Publication	Publication Date	Title
DE2221395C3 (de)	1974-09-19	Stoßempfindlicher elektrischer Schalter
EP0043058A1 (de)	1982-01-06	Quecksilber-Elektrodenschalter
DE1965388B2 (de)	1977-03-03	Verfahren zur herstellung einer farbbildroehre und eine nach diesem verfahren hergestellte farbbildroehre
EP0047980B1 (de)	1985-01-16	Quecksilberschalter
DE2612175B2 (de)	1979-06-28	Düse zum tropfenweisen Aufbringen von Waschflüssigkeit auf eine Waschstelle
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DE4319615C2 (de)	1997-07-10	Elektrischer Schalter zum Schalten eines Elektromotors, insbesondere in einer elektrischen Zahnbürste
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EP0466021A2 (de)	1992-01-15	Beschleunigungsschalter mit Schnappfeder
DE3744238A1 (de)	1989-07-06	Temperatursicherung fuer elektrische geraete
DE2050710A1 (de)	1972-05-04	Elektrischer Neigungsschalter
DE3007243C2 (de)	1984-10-18	Fehlerstromschutzschalter
EP0480131A1 (de)	1992-04-15	Neigungsschalter
DE4117762C2 (de)	1996-09-26	Thermische Schutzvorrichtung
DE3041634C2 (da)	1989-01-26
DE2942546A1 (de)	1980-04-30	Thermischer schalter
DE606734C (de)	1934-12-12	Quecksilberschaltroehre
DE4244724C2 (de)	1994-10-20	Quecksilberfreier Flüssigkeits-Neigungsschalter
DE3104411C2 (da)	1988-06-01
DE4210869C2 (de)	1996-06-20	Handbetätigbarer Schwachstromschalter
DE1916956B2 (de)	1976-02-26	Elektrischer schnappschalter
DE2818433A1 (de)	1978-11-09	Elektrischer schalter
DE3442349C2 (da)	1989-04-20
DE875243C (de)	1953-04-30	Kathodenstrahlroehre
DE1515566C (de)		Quecksilberbenetzter Schutzrohrankerkontakt und Verfahren zur Herstellung desselben