JPH0355016B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field The present invention relates to a switch that connects and separates a pair of contacts to conduct or interrupt electrical conduction.

BACKGROUND ART A typical prior art is shown in FIG. Terminals 2 and 3 are fixed to a base 4 made of an electrically insulating material by terminal screws 4 and 5, respectively. A fixed contact 6 is fixed to the terminal 2. An operating piece 9 is pivotally supported by a shaft 8 on a rectangular cylindrical support member 7 extending upward from the base 1 in FIG. 8 so as to be angularly displaceable. One end of a spring 10 is fixed to the lower end of the operating piece 9. The other end of the spring 10 is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the bottom 11a of a movable member 11 made of a conductive material and having a cylindrical shape with a bottom. A support groove 12 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the bottom 11a of the movable member 11 and extends in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper, and the support protrusion 3a of the terminal 3 fits into the support groove 12. Therefore, the movable member 11 can be angularly displaced about the support protrusion 3a. A movable contact 13 is fixed to the movable member 11 . By pressing the operation piece 9, the stationary contact 6 and the movable contact 13 are brought into contact and separated, and electrical conduction and interruption occur.

In such prior art, when a load current flows through the fixed contact 6 and the movable contact 13, an arc is generated when the fixed contact 6 and the movable contact 13 separate from each other. The surface of the switch becomes disturbed and wears out, increasing contact resistance and shortening the life of the switch.

OBJECTIVES The objective of the present invention is therefore to provide a switch which solves the above-mentioned technical problems and whose service life can be significantly extended.

Structure of the Invention The present invention comprises: electrically insulating supports 15 and 20; an operating piece 21 pivotably supported on the supports 15 and 20 so as to be angularly displaceable about a first axis; and a first operating piece 21 fixed to the operating piece 21. 1 movable member 23; the support 15 facing the first movable member 23 and capable of angular displacement around a second axis parallel to the first axis;
20, and the first and second movable members 23, 29 extend to the same side (to the right in FIG. 1) with respect to a virtual plane including the first and second axes. The operation piece 21 has leg parts 21b and 21c extending toward the second movable member 29, and the leg parts 21b and 21c have a leg part 21b and 21c extending in a direction perpendicular to the first axis. elongated guide portions 48, 49 are formed which extend to the respective extension portions 25, 31, and contact points 26, 32 are fixed respectively near the tips of the respective extension portions 25, 31; The guide portions 48, 4 are supported by the supports 15, 20 and extend toward the contacts 26, 32.
9 and is driven to be displaced in a direction perpendicular to the virtual plane; and between the first movable member 23 and the arc extinguishing actuator 45;
and a pair which is interposed between the second movable member 29 and the arc extinguishing actuator 45 and biases the first and second movable members 23 and 29 in the direction of separation toward the first and second axes. springs 38 and 39, which are displaced so that the end portions of these springs on the side of the extinguishing actuator 45 are to the left or right of the virtual plane to bring the contacts 26 and 32 into contact with and separate from each other; 38,
39, fixed to the supports 15, 20 and connected to the contacts 2;
This switch is characterized in that it includes arc traveling members 37, 37a made of ferromagnetic material or electrically insulating material and extending toward the imaginary plane up to the vicinity of the contact positions of numbers 6 and 32.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the section line - in FIG. 1. The switch 14 according to the present invention will be explained using FIGS. 1 and 2. Terminals 16 and 17 are mounted on a base 15 made of an electrically insulating material with terminal screws 1.
8 and 19, respectively. Base 15
In FIG.
is pivotally supported for angular displacement. The support member 20 and the operation piece 21 are made of, for example, a synthetic resin material,
It is electrically insulating. The operating piece 21 is formed with a pair of legs 21b and 21c extending downward in FIG. 1 (see FIG. 3, which will be described later). A fitting recess 21a is formed below the operating piece 21 in FIG. 1, and the vicinity of the bottom 23a of the movable member 23, which is approximately cylindrical with a bottom, is fitted into the fitting recess 21a and fixed thereto.
The movable member 23 includes a spring storage portion 24, an extension portion 25, and a contact point 26 fixed near the tip of the extension portion 25.
has. The movable member 23 is made of a conductive material,
For example, it is made of metal. The movable member 23 is electrically connected to the terminal 16 by a flexible line 28 made of electrically conductive material. Movable member 23
The other movable member 29 is arranged below in FIG. The movable member 29 is the movable member 23
It has the same configuration as the spring storage part 30 and the extension part 3.
1 and a contact point 32 fixed near the tip of the extension portion 31. A support groove 34 is formed in the bottom 29a of the movable member 29 and extends in a direction perpendicular to the paper plane of FIG. The terminal 17 has a base 17a thereof.
are fixed by terminal screws 19, and connecting portions 17b and 17c connected to the base portion 17a extend near the bottom 29a of the movable member 29. Connection part 1 of terminal 17
A support protrusion 35 bent toward the bottom 29a of the movable member 29 is formed near the tip of the movable member 7c. The tip of this support protrusion 35 fits into the support groove 34 . Therefore, the movable member 29 is swingably supported by the support protrusion 35.

The movable member 23 can be angularly displaced around the shaft 22, and the movable member 29 can be angularly displaced around the tip of the support protrusion 35. The axis of the shaft 22 and the tip of the support protrusion 35 are parallel to each other.

A spring 38 is inserted into the spring storage portion 24 of the movable member 23, and one end 40 of the spring 38 is inserted into the spring storage portion 24 of the movable member 23.
is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the bottom 23a. Movable member 29
Similarly, a spring 39 is inserted in the spring storage portion 30 , and one end 41 of the spring 39 is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the bottom 29 a of the movable member 29 . An arc extinguishing actuator 45 is interposed between the spring 38 and the spring 39, and the other ends of the springs 38 and 39 are fixed to the arc extinguishing actuator 45, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 3, the extinguishing actuator 45 has a generally flat plate shape, and includes a base plate 41, a protrusion 42 formed to protrude from the base plate, and a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the protrusion 42 protrudes. A pair of extending support protrusions 4
3 and 44, and is made of an electrically insulating material such as quartz or porcelain. Support protrusions 43, 44
are long holes 46 and 47 bored in the support member 20.
Insert each into. Further, the support protrusions 43 and 44 fit into notches 48 and 49 formed at the tips of the legs 21b and 21c of the operation piece 21, respectively. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the support protrusion 44 of the extinguishing actuator 45 is fitted into a notch 49 formed at the tip of the leg portion 21c of the operation piece 21.

Since springs 38 and 39 are interposed between the extinguishing actuator 45 and the movable members 23 and 29, respectively, the pair of movable members 23 and 29
9 in the direction of their separation. The movable member 23 can be angularly displaced about the axis of the shaft 22, and the movable member 29 can be angularly displaced about the tip of the support protrusion 35 as the axis. Therefore, the movable members 23 and 29 move toward the spring 3 with respect to a virtual plane that includes the axis of the shaft 22 and the axis of the tip of the support protrusion 35.
The arc-shaped axes connecting the axes 8 and 39 are integrally displaced to the left or right in FIG.
The contact 2 corresponds to the displacement of the movable members 23 and 29.
6 and 32 are displaced in the vertical direction in FIG. 1 so as to contact and separate. An arc traveling member 37 made of a ferromagnetic material such as iron or Kotsukeru is disposed in a direction (horizontal direction in FIG. 1) that intersects the contact/separation displacement direction of the contacts 26, 32 (vertical direction in FIG. 1). be done. The arc travel member 37 is fixed to the support member 20 by a fixing piece 50. The base 15 and the support member 20 are electrically insulating and constitute a support body, and the operation piece 21 is pivotally supported on this support body as described above, and the movable member 23 is attached to this operation piece 21. A movable member 29 is also provided on the support body so as to be angularly displaceable, and the axis of the shaft 22 along which the operation piece 21 is angularly displaced, and the axis of the tip of the support protrusion 35 along which the movable member 29 is angularly displaced. As is clear from FIG. 1, these are perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1, parallel to each other, and on the same side with respect to the virtual plane containing each of these axes (in this example, right side)
The extension parts 25 and 31 extend to. The spring 36 is connected to the shaft 2
The movable members 23 and 29 are spring-biased in the direction of separation from the axis of the support protrusion 35 and the axis of the tip of the support protrusion 35.

The arc running member 37 is connected to the first of the contacts 26 and 32.
It extends toward the virtual plane up to the vicinity of the contact position shown in the figure.

The notches 48 and 49 formed in the legs 21b and 21c of the operating piece 21 are elongated and extend perpendicularly to the axis of the shaft 22, as clearly shown in FIG. Reference numerals 48 and 49 act as guide portions that engage with and drive the support protrusions 43 and 44 of the extinguishing actuator 45, respectively. Spring 3
In other words, the fact that the circular arc-shaped axes connecting the axes 8 and 39 are displaced to the left or right in FIG. The end portion on the actuator 45 side is displaced to the left or right of the virtual plane.

The operating state of such a switch 14 will be explained. The spring 3
A first stable state is defined as a state in which the arc-shaped axis in which the axes 8 and 39 are connected is on one side (left side in FIG. 1). This first stable state is shown in FIG. 5, in which both contacts 26, 32 are in contact. When the operating piece 21 is pressed from this state, the actuating members 23 and 29 are angularly displaced, passing through the neutral state shown in FIG. 52 to the state shown in FIG. 53. 5. In the state shown in FIG. 3, the arc-shaped axis connecting the axes of the springs 38 and 39 is on the other side (the first located on the right side of the figure). This state is defined as the second stable state of the switch 14. In the second stable state, both contacts 26, 32 are separated.
In a series of operations for displacing from the first stable state to the second stable state, the extinguishing actuator 45 moves the operating piece 2
The support member 2 is guided by the legs 21b and 21c of the
Therefore, the protruding portion 42 of the extinguishing actuator 45 moves along the long holes 47, 48 of the
Proximity between the two. Also at this time, both contacts 26, 32
are separated while moving to the right in FIG. 5. In the state shown in FIG. 3, the arc traveling member 3
The tip 51 of 7 faces and is close to the protrusion 42 of the extinguishing actuator 45.

In a series of operations transitioning from the first stable state to the second stable state, both contacts 26 and 32 go from being in contact to being separated. At that time, contact 2
An arc occurs between 6 and 32, and this arc is
The extension parts 25 and 31 are magnetically driven to approach the arc running member 37 by a magnetic field formed by the current flowing therein. Therefore, the arc generated between both contacts is split, the arc voltage is increased,
become more likely to be stranded.

Although in the embodiment described above the arc running member 37 was made of a ferromagnetic material, in other embodiments of the invention the arc running member 37 may be made of an insulating material. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, the arc generated between the contacts 26 and 32 extends along the surface of the arc traveling member 37a, and is therefore extinguished by increasing the arc voltage. That will happen.

Further, when the contacts 26 and 32 are separated and an arc is generated, the arc extinguishing actuator 45 is displaced by the notches 48 and 49 which are guide parts formed in the legs 21b and 21c of the operation piece 21. It is driven and displaced so as to approach the arc traveling members 37, 37a. Therefore, when a large arc occurs, the arc contacts the extinguishing actuator 45 and is divided.
become more likely to be stranded.

Moreover, since the extinguishing actuator 45 is made of an electrically insulating material, even if the springs 38 and 39 are made of metal, the springs 38 and 39 are electrically insulated from each other. 29 is the spring 38,
There is no short circuit through 39.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can also be suitably implemented in an electromagnetic breaker, etc., which connects and separates a pair of contacts using electromagnetic force to conduct or interrupt electrical conduction.

Effects As described above, according to the present invention, both contacts 26, 3
When the first and second movable members 2 are separated, an arc generated between the contacts 26 and 32
The arc is magnetically driven by the action of the magnetic field formed by the extending portions 25, 31 formed in the arc members 3, 29, and the arc is magnetically driven toward the arc traveling members 37, 37a. Therefore, the arc is divided by the arc running members 37, 37a,
be annihilated.

Moreover, in the present invention, the spring 36 causes the first and second movable members 23 and 29 to spring toward the first axis along which the operating piece 21 is angularly displaced and the second axis along which the second movable member 29 is angularly displaced. energized, the axis of the spring 36 is displaced to the left or right of an imaginary plane containing both axes, and the contact point 2
Since the contacts 6 and 32 are made to contact and separate, when the contacts 26 and 32 separate, the arc traveling members 37 and 37a enter closely between these contacts, and this also causes Additionally, the arc is more likely to be extinguished.

This reduces damage to both contacts 26, 32 due to arcing, stabilizes the contact resistance of both contacts 26, 32, and extends the life of the switch.

Moreover, in the present invention, the configuration is extremely simple,
Excellent productivity.

Further, the extinguishing actuator 45 is connected to the leg portion 2 of the operation piece 21.
Elongated guide portions 48, 4 formed in 1b, 21c
9, when the contacts 26, 32 are separated, they are driven to approach the arc traveling members 37, 37a, so that a large arc can be divided by the extinguishing actuator 45 and extinguished easily. can.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the cutting plane line - in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the area around the extinguishing actuator 45, and FIG. 5 is a side view showing the relationship between the operation piece 21 and the extinguishing actuator 45, FIG. , 32, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the prior art. 1, 15... Base, 11, 23, 29... Movable member, 14... Switch, 26, 32... Contact,
37, 37a... Arc traveling member, 45... Arc extinguishing actuator.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Electrically insulating supports 15, 20; An operating piece 21 pivotably supported on the supports 15, 20 so as to be angularly displaceable around a first axis; 1 movable member 23; the support 15 facing the first movable member 23 and capable of angular displacement around a second axis parallel to the first axis;
20, and the first and second movable members 23, 29 have extension portions 25, 31, respectively, extending in the same side with respect to a virtual plane including the first and second axes. The operating piece 21 has leg portions 21b and 21c that extend toward the second movable member 29, and the leg portions 21b and 21c include elongated guide portions 48 and 49 that extend in a direction perpendicular to the first axis. are formed, and furthermore, contacts 26 and 32 are fixed to the vicinity of the tips of each of the extension parts 25 and 31, respectively, and are made of an electrically insulating material and have a generally flat plate shape and are supported by the supports 15 and 20. , extending toward the contacts 26, 32, and extending toward the guide portions 48, 4.
9 and is driven to be displaced in a direction perpendicular to the virtual plane; and between the first movable member 23 and the arc extinguishing actuator 45;
and a pair which is interposed between the second movable member 29 and the arc extinguishing actuator 45 and biases the first and second movable members 23 and 29 in the direction of separation toward the first and second axes. springs 38 and 39, which are displaced so that the end portions of these springs on the side of the extinguishing actuator 45 are to the left or right of the virtual plane to bring the contacts 26 and 32 into contact with and separate from each other; 38,
39, fixed to the supports 15, 20 and connected to the contacts 2;
arc running members 37, 37a made of a ferromagnetic material or an electrically insulating material and extending toward the virtual plane up to the vicinity of the contact positions of the switches 6, 32.