Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
  • H01H51/00—Electromagnetic relays
  • H01H51/02—Non-polarised relays
  • H01H51/04—Non-polarised relays with single armature; with single set of ganged armatures
  • H01H51/06—Armature is movable between two limit positions of rest and is moved in one direction due to energisation of an electromagnet and after the electromagnet is de-energised is returned by energy stored during the movement in the first direction, e.g. by using a spring, by using a permanent magnet, by gravity
  • H01H51/065—Relays having a pair of normally open contacts rigidly fixed to a magnetic core movable along the axis of a solenoid, e.g. relays for starting automobiles
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
  • H01H1/00—Contacts
  • H01H1/50—Means for increasing contact pressure, preventing vibration of contacts, holding contacts together after engagement, or biasing contacts to the open position

Definitions

• the present invention relates to the field of starters for a heat engine, especially a motor vehicle, and more precisely the starter contactors that allow the power supply of the electric motor driving the starter gear.
• the contactors of the starters of the state of the art have two roles, on the one hand to move the launcher supporting the pinion by means of a fork so as to allow the gear of the pinion on the crown of the engine to start and on the other hand feed the electric motor of the starter for driving the pinion in rotation.
• the contactors comprise a set of coils for moving the moving part of a magnetic core, the mobile part of the magnetic core driving both the displacement of the fork and the displacement of a contact device comprising a plate of contact for making electrical contact between power supply terminals of the electric motor.
• springs called crushing spring and return spring are placed on either side of the wafer so as to constrain the wafer against the terminals when the coils are activated and move the wafer towards the terminals and to facilitate the return of the wafer to the initial position when the coils are no longer powered.
• contact devices of the state of the art generally comprise a large number of parts resulting in a complex assembly.
• the object of the invention is therefore to provide an inexpensive solution and having a simple mounting of the contact device to reduce the occurrence of bounces when the coils are energized and that the wafer is moved to the terminals.
• the contact device must be reliable to maintain the various elements in the same position after a lot of starts.
• the present invention relates to a starter contactor comprising:
• At least one electrical terminal said at least one electrical terminal being in contact with the contact plate in its final position
• a return spring intended to be mounted on the contact rod of a second side of the contact plate opposite to the first side of the contact plate, the return spring developing a return force on the contact pin of the active position to the rest position for disconnecting the contact plate from the at least one electrical terminal
• the force of the crushing spring on the contact plate in the end position is at least twenty Newtons greater than the force of the return spring on the contact rod in the active position.
• the contact rod is made of polymeric material.
• the force of the return spring on the contact rod in the active position is between twenty-five and forty Newtons.
• the crushing spring is in contact with the contact plate.
• the crushing spring comprises at least one turn at the end of the spring, this turn comprising a flat surface portion perpendicular to the axis of revolution of the spring in contact with the contact plate.
• the retaining flange is integral with the contact rod.
• the crushing spring is held by a closure clip adapted to be positioned against a radial sealing surface of the contact rod.
• the number of turns of the crushing spring is greater than two. According to a further aspect of the present invention, in the rest position of the contact rod, the crushing spring is prestressed and applies a force of 45 Newtons + or - 10% on the contact plate.
• FIG. 5 shows a section of the contact device according to the invention in the assembled state
• FIG. 6 shows a figure of a contact device according to the invention in the assembled state
• FIGS. 1A and 1B show a diagram of a starter contactor 1 comprising a cover 3 enclosing a set of coils 5.
• the set of coils 5 defines at its center a tubular chamber 7 in which a magnetic core 9 is arranged.
• magnetic core 9 comprises a fixed part 9a and a movable part 9b which can move in translation, under the effect of the set of coils 5, between a rest position shown in FIG. 1 and an active position in which the movable part 9b comes into contact with the fixed part 9a of the magnetic core 9.
• a coil spring 11 promotes the return to the rest position in the absence of supply of the set of coils 5.
• the set of coils 5 comprises a call coil 5a and a contact coil 5b, the two coils 5a and 5b being fed to move the movable portion 9b of the magnetic core 9 from its rest position to its active position and then the active position of the movable portion 9b is maintained by the single contact coil 5b so as to limit the consumption of the set of coils 5.
• the contact plate 19 is movable relative to the contact rod 17 between an initial position in which the contact rod 17 is in a rest position and a final position in which the contact rod 17 is in the active position. . In the initial position, the contact plate 19 is in contact with the holding flange 17a and in the final position, a play is formed between the holding collar 17a and the contact plate 19 because of the contact with the electrical terminals 21 and 23 .
• the contact device 15 also comprises a crushing spring 25 mounted on the contact rod 17 which is positioned around a portion of the contact rod 17 and intended to be compressed when the contact plate 19 comes into contact with the electrical terminals 21 and 23 and a return spring 27 for facilitating the return of the contact device 15 in the rest position when the coils 5a and 5b are no longer supplied.
• FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of a contact device 15 according to the invention.
• the contact device comprises a contact rod 17 made of electrically insulating material, for example of polymer material.
• the contact rod 17 comprises a first radial surface forming a holding flange 17a of a first diameter and a second radial surface forming a closure flange 17b of a second diameter smaller than the first diameter.
• the holding flanges 17a and closure 17b are monoblock with the contact rod 17, that is to say exits material with the contact rod 17.
• the contact plate 19 is made of conductive material, for example copper and comprises a central and circular hole 19a whose diameter is greater than the diameter of the closure flange 17b and smaller than the diameter of the holding flange 17a.
• the contact plate is mounted on the contact rod 17 by inserting the contact rod 17 into the hole 19a of the contact plate 19 as indicated by the arrow 29.
• the contact plate 19 then comes into contact with the collar 17a holding a first side of the retaining flange 17a.
• the width of the wafer is substantially equal to the diameter of the retaining flange 17a so that the retaining flange 17a substantially covers the width of the contact plate 19 which contributes to the stability of the contact plate 19.
• the spring of FIG. crushing 25 whose diameter is greater than the diameter of the hole 19a of the contact plate 19 is positioned around the contact rod 17 and comes into contact with the contact plate 17 as indicated by the arrow 31.
• the crushing spring 25 comprises at least one turn at its end, a portion of which comprises a flat surface perpendicular to the axis of revolution of the crushing spring 25.
• This flat surface is for example obtained by grinding at the end. of the spring in contact with the contact plate 17 so as to obtain a flat surface at the end of the crushing spring 25 and increase the contact area between the crushing spring 25 and the contact plate 17 and thus improve the stability of the contact plate 17 in particular during the passage in the active position of the contact rod 17.
• the contact device 15 also comprises a closure clip 33 whose radial width is greater than or equal to the diameter of the crushing spring 25 and in which is provided a radial notch 33a whose width is smaller than the diameter of the closure flange 17b and which is intended to receive a portion of the contact rod 17.
• the closure clip 33 is positioned around the contact rod 17 against the radial surface formed by the closure collar 17b, as represented by the arrow 35.
• the closing clip therefore comes between the compression spring 25 and the collar closure 17b so as to maintain the crushing spring 25 and the contact plate 19 in position on the contact rod 17.
• the closure clip 33 is thus mounted on the contact rod 17 after the contact plate 19 and the crushing spring 25, the mounting of the closure clip 33 requiring compression of the crushing spring 25 to be mounted on the rod contact 17.
• the closure clip 33 then applies a prestress on the compression spring 25 which then applies a force on the contact plate 19 in the direction of the retaining flange 17a, which contributes to keeping the contact plate 19 as far as possible. on the holding flange 17a.
• the crushing spring 25 may also comprise a turn comprising a flat portion perpendicular to the axis of revolution of the crushing spring 25 at its second end in contact with the closure clip 33 so as to increase the contact surface between the crush spring 25 and closure clip 33.
• the return spring 27 is positioned on the contact rod bearing on a second side of the retaining flange opposite the first side as indicated by the arrow 37.
• the inner diameter of the return spring 27 is slightly less than or substantially equal to diameter of the end of the contact rod 17 for receiving the return spring 27 so that the friction between the return spring 27 and the contact rod 17 allow the position of the return spring 27 on the rod of contact 17, in particular before it is mounted in the contactor 1.
• the return spring 27 may comprise, at least at one of its ends, a turn comprising a flat portion perpendicular to the axis of revolution of the return spring 27 so as to obtain a end with a flat surface and maximize the contact surface with the retaining flange 17a on one side and the cover 3 of the contactor 1 on the other.
• the latter comprises a peripheral peripheral edge 33b on its face intended to come into contact with the closure flange 17b as represented in FIGS. 3a, 3b, 3c. , 3d the circumferential centering edge 33b having a diameter slightly greater than the diameter of the closure collar 17b so as to be positioned around the latter while leaving a minimum clearance between the two.
• the closure clip 33 therefore surrounds at least partially the closure collar 17b.
• FIG. 5 represents a section of the device whose closure clip 33 is according to the embodiment of FIG. 4a to 4D, in the state mounted on the contact rod 17.
• the first peripheral peripheral edge 33b is positioned around of the closure flange 17b and the second circumferential centering edge 33c is positioned in the center of the crushing spring 25 thus allowing a holding and centering of the crushing spring 25 around the contact rod 17.
• the crushing and return springs 27 are generally metal helical springs, for example made of steel.
• the stiffness of the crushing spring 25 is greater than the stiffness of the return spring 27.
• the crushing spring 25 is compressed between the contact plate 19 and the closure clip 33 so that In the idle state of the contact device 15, a preload between 40 and 50 Newtons is applied to the crushing spring 25.
• Figure 6 shows a figure of the contact device 15 in the assembled state. This contact device 15 comprises only five parts: the contact rod 17, the return spring 27, the contact plate 19, the crushing spring 25 and the closure clip 33. This small number of parts reduces the cost of the device and make the assembly easier and faster which also reduces mounting costs.
• the supply of the set of coils 5 thus causes the displacement of the contact rod in the active position, which causes the contact plate to come into contact with the electrical terminals 21 and 23.
• the crushing spring 25 applies a force on the contact pad 19 at least 20 Newtons higher than the force exerted by the return spring spring 27 on the contact rod 17 due to the difference in stiffness between the compression spring 25 and the return spring 27.
• the force exerted by the return spring 27 on the contact rod 17 is in a range of 25 to 40 Newtons.
• the force exerted by the compression spring 25 on the contact plate 19 is for example 51 Newtons while the force exerted by the return spring 27 on the contact rod 17 is 28 Newtons.
• This upper force of the compression spring 25 relative to the return spring 27 limits the clearance formed between the contact plate 19 and the retaining collar 17a in the final position of the contact plate 19, that is to say at the moment of contact with the electrical terminals 21 and 23.
• the rebound undergone by the contact plate 19 is reduced when the contact rod 17 is moved into the active position so that the electric motor is powered without there are false contacts.
• the coils 5a and 5b of the set of coils 5 are no longer powered.
• the return spring 27 makes it possible to disconnect the contact plate 19 of the electrical terminals 21 and 25 so as to allow the return of the contact rod 17 in the rest position.
• a crushing spring 25 having a large diameter, a number of high turns, a turn comprising a flat portion perpendicular to its axis of revolution at at least one of its ends and whose the stiffness is greater than the stiffness of the return spring 27 makes it possible to obtain a more stable contact device during the transition from the rest position to the active position when the contact pad 19 comes into contact with the electrical terminals 21 and 23 which makes it possible to reduce strongly or even to eliminate the rebound effect due to the docking of the contact pad 19 on the electrical terminals 21 and 23 or due to the balancing of the compression spring 25 after this docking.

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• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Electromagnetism (AREA)
• Push-Button Switches (AREA)
• Connection Of Motors, Electrical Generators, Mechanical Devices, And The Like (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=52807846

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (4)

Family Cites Families (4)

• 2014
  • 2014-05-05 FR FR1454029A patent/FR3020716B1/fr active Active
• 2015
  • 2015-04-22 EP EP15725775.9A patent/EP3140843B1/de active Active
  • 2015-04-22 CN CN201580023126.3A patent/CN106463280A/zh active Pending
  • 2015-04-22 WO PCT/FR2015/051084 patent/WO2015170025A1/fr not_active Ceased

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