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

Claim 6:
7. 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;
a drive circuit configured to control a current to the coil; and
a contact voltage detection unit configured to detect a voltage at the movable contact and the fixed contact,
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; and 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, the drive circuit further being configured to detect the movable contact contacting the fixed contact as part of a transition from the first period to the second period based on the voltage detected by the contact voltage detection unit.