Patent ID: 11948764
Assignee: OMRON CORPORATION
Field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H | IPC H

Claim 0:
1. An electromagnetic relay, comprising:
a fixed terminal;
a fixed contact connected to the fixed terminal;
a movable contact piece configured to move in an opening direction and a closing direction with respect to the fixed terminal;
a movable contact connected to the movable contact piece and arranged to face the fixed contact;
a coil configured to generate an electromagnetic force to move the movable contact piece; and
a drive circuit configured to control a current to the coil,
wherein
the drive circuit is configured 1) to increase the current at a first increase rate in a first period prior to the movable contact contacting the fixed contact, the first period beginning when the current starts to flow in the coil; 2) in a second period subsequent to the movable contact contacting the fixed contact, to increase the current at a second increase rate that is larger than the first increase rate; and 3) in a third period subsequent to the second period, to maintain the current to the coil at a current value larger than a current value during the first period.