Patent Publication Number: US-2020279708-A1

Title: Contact device and electromagnetic relay equipped with contact device

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a contact device and an electromagnetic relay equipped with the contact device. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     There has heretofore been known a contact device including a fixed terminal and a movable contact that comes into contact with and away from the fixed terminal by moving in the up-down direction relative to the fixed terminal (see, for example, Patent Literature 1). 
     CITATION LIST 
     Patent Literature 
     Patent Literature 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-199893 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     Technical Problem 
     When a movable contact is brought into contact with a fixed terminal, a current flows between the fixed terminal and the movable contact. If a current flows between the first fixed terminal and the movable contact, such a current causes electromagnetic repulsion force between the first fixed terminal and the movable contact. 
     In terms of improving the reliability of contact, it is preferable to reduce the electromagnetic repulsion force acting between the fixed terminal and the movable contact. 
     Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a contact device capable of further reducing electromagnetic repulsion force acting between a fixed terminal and a movable contact, and an electromagnetic relay equipped with the contact device. 
     Solution to Problem 
     A contact device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a first fixed terminal and a movable contact that comes into contact with and away from the first fixed terminal by moving relative to the first fixed terminal. The contact device further includes a drive unit that moves the movable contact. The movable contact includes a movable contact main body having a first contact unit that comes into contact with the first fixed terminal. The first contact unit includes a plurality of first contact pieces that come into contact with the first fixed terminal. 
     An electromagnetic relay according to the present invention is equipped with the contact device. 
     Advantageous Effects 
     The present invention can provide a contact device capable of further reducing electromagnetic repulsion force acting between a fixed terminal and a movable contact, and an electromagnetic relay equipped with the contact device. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing an electromagnetic relay according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view showing the electromagnetic relay in an exploded state according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view showing a part of a contact device in an exploded state according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram showing the electromagnetic relay according to the embodiment of the present invention, (a) showing a side cross-sectional view of the electromagnetic relay taken along the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned off, while (b) showing a side cross-sectional view of the electromagnetic relay taken along the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned on. 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram schematically showing a part of the contact device according to the embodiment, (a) showing a partial side cross-sectional view of the contact device taken along a vertical plane including the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned on, (b) showing a side cross-sectional view of a movable contact and a holder taken along a vertical plane including the front-rear direction, (c) showing a transverse cross-sectional view of the movable contact and the holder taken along a horizontal plane, and (d) showing a perspective view of the movable contact. 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram schematically showing a part of a contact device according to a first modified example, (a) showing a partial side cross-sectional view of the contact device taken along a vertical plane including the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned off, while (b) showing a partial side cross-sectional view of the contact device taken along the vertical plane including the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned on. 
         FIG. 7  is a transverse cross-sectional view of a movable contact and a holder taken along a horizontal plane, schematically showing a part of a contact device according to a second modified example. 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a movable contact in a state where the contact is turned off, schematically showing a part of a contact device according to a third modified example. 
         FIG. 9  is a diagram schematically showing a part of a contact device according to a fourth modified example, (a) showing a partial side cross-sectional view of the contact device taken along a vertical plane including the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned on, while (b) showing a perspective view of a biasing member. 
         FIG. 10  is a diagram schematically showing a part of a contact device according to a fifth modified example, (a) showing a side cross-sectional view of a movable contact and a biasing member taken along a vertical plane including the front-rear direction in a state where the contact is turned off, while (b) showing a side cross-sectional view of the movable contact and the biasing member taken along the vertical plane including the front-rear direction in a state where the contact is turned on. 
         FIG. 11  is a diagram schematically showing a part of a contact device according to a sixth modified example, (a) showing a perspective view of a biasing member, while (b) showing a side view of the biasing member. 
         FIG. 12  is a diagram schematically showing a part of a contact device according to a seventh modified example, (a) showing a perspective view of a biasing member, while (b) showing a side view of the biasing member. 
         FIG. 13  is a diagram schematically showing a part of a contact device according to an eighth modified example, (a) showing a perspective view of a biasing member, while (b) showing a side cross-sectional view of a movable contact and the biasing member taken along a vertical plane including the front-rear direction. 
         FIG. 14  is a diagram schematically showing a part of a contact device according to a ninth modified example, (a) showing a side cross-sectional view of a movable contact and a biasing member taken along a vertical plane including the front-rear direction in a state where the contact is turned off, while (b) showing a side cross-sectional view of the movable contact and the biasing member taken along the vertical plane including the front-rear direction in a state where the contact is turned on. 
         FIG. 15  is a side cross-sectional view of a movable contact and a biasing member taken along a vertical plane including the front-rear direction, schematically showing a part of a contact device according to a tenth modified example. 
         FIG. 16  is a side cross-sectional view of a movable contact and a biasing member taken along a vertical plane including the front-rear direction, schematically showing a part of a contact device according to an eleventh modified example. 
         FIG. 17  is a diagram schematically showing a part of a contact device according to a twelfth modified example, (a) showing a side cross-sectional view of a movable contact and a biasing member taken along a vertical plane including the front-rear direction in a state where the contact is turned off, (b) showing a side cross-sectional view of the movable contact and the biasing member taken along the vertical plane including the front-rear direction in a state where the contact is turned on, and (c) showing a side view of the movable contact and the biasing member as seen in the front-rear direction in the state where the contact is turned on. 
         FIG. 18  is a diagram schematically showing a part of a contact device according to a thirteenth modified example, (a) showing a rear view of a movable contact, (b) showing a side view of the movable contact as seen from the front-rear direction in a state where the contact is turned off, and (c) showing a rear view of the movable contact in a state where the contact is turned on. 
         FIG. 19  is a diagram schematically showing a part of a contact device according to a fourteenth modified example, (a) showing a partial side cross-sectional view of the contact device taken along a vertical plane including the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned on, (b) showing a transverse cross-sectional view of a movable contact and a holder taken along a horizontal plane, and (c) showing a perspective view of the movable contact. 
         FIG. 20  is a transverse cross-sectional view of a movable contact and a holder taken along a horizontal plane, schematically showing a part of a contact device according to a fifteenth modified example. 
         FIG. 21  is a diagram schematically showing a part of a contact device according to a sixteenth modified example, (a) showing a partial side cross-sectional view of the contact device taken along a vertical plane including the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned off, while (b) showing a partial side cross-sectional view of the contact device taken along the vertical plane including the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned on. 
         FIG. 22  is a diagram schematically showing a part of a contact device according to a seventeenth modified example, (a) showing a partial side cross-sectional view of the contact device taken along a vertical plane including the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned on, while (b) showing a transverse cross-sectional view of a movable contact and a holder taken along a horizontal plane. 
         FIG. 23  is a diagram schematically showing a part of a contact device according to an eighteenth modified example, (a) showing a partial side cross-sectional view of the contact device taken along a vertical plane including the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned on, while (b) showing a transverse cross-sectional view of a movable contact and a holder taken along a horizontal plane. 
         FIG. 24  is a diagram schematically showing a part of a contact device according to a nineteenth modified example, (a) showing a side cross-sectional view of a movable contact and a holder taken along a vertical plane including the front-rear direction, while (b) showing a transverse cross-sectional view of the movable contact and the holder taken along a horizontal plane. 
         FIG. 25  is a diagram schematically showing a movable-side plate member and a biasing member, (a) is a perspective view showing an example of the movable-side plate member and the biasing member, (b) is a perspective view showing another example of the movable-side plate member and the biasing member, and (c) is a side view showing another example of the movable-side plate member and the biasing member. 
         FIG. 26  is a diagram schematically showing a part of a contact device according to a twentieth modified example, (a) showing a partial side cross-sectional view of the contact device taken along a vertical plane including the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned on, (b) showing a side cross-sectional view of a movable contact and a yoke taken along a vertical plane including the front-rear direction, and (c) showing a transverse cross-sectional view of the movable contact and the yoke taken along a horizontal plane. 
         FIG. 27  is a diagram schematically showing a part of a contact device according to a twenty-first modified example, (a) showing a partial side cross-sectional view of the contact device taken along a vertical plane including the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned off, (b) showing a partial side cross-sectional view of the contact device taken along the vertical plane including the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned on, (c) showing a transverse cross-sectional view of a movable contact, and (d) showing an exploded perspective view of a movable contact piece. 
         FIG. 28  is a diagram schematically showing a part of a contact device according to a twenty-second modified example, (a) showing a partial side cross-sectional view of the contact device taken along a vertical plane including the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned off, while (b) showing a partial side cross-sectional view of the contact device taken along the vertical plane including the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned on. 
         FIG. 29  is a diagram schematically showing a part of a contact device according to a twenty-third modified example, (a) showing a partial side cross-sectional view of the contact device taken along a vertical plane including the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned off, (b) showing a partial side cross-sectional view of the contact device taken along the vertical plane including the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned on, (c) showing a transverse cross-sectional view of a movable contact, and (d) showing an exploded perspective view of a movable contact piece. 
         FIG. 30  is a diagram explaining how one plate member comes into contact with a fixed terminal in the contact device according to the twenty-third modified example, showing a side cross-sectional view of the contact device taken along the vertical plane including the left-right direction in the state where the contact is turned on. 
         FIG. 31  is a diagram schematically showing a part of a contact device according to a twenty-fourth modified example, (a) showing a perspective view of a movable contact, (b) showing a partially enlarged perspective view of the movable contact, and (c) showing a partial side cross-sectional view of the contact device taken along a vertical plane including the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned on. 
         FIG. 32  is a diagram schematically showing an electromagnetic relay according to a twenty-fifth modified example, (a) showing a side cross-sectional view of the electromagnetic relay taken along a vertical plane including the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned off, while (b) showing a side cross-sectional view of the electromagnetic relay taken along the vertical plane including the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned on. 
         FIG. 33  is a transverse cross-sectional view schematically showing the electromagnetic relay according to the twenty-fifth modified example taken along a horizontal plane. 
         FIG. 34  is a diagram schematically showing an electromagnetic relay according to a twenty-sixth modified example, (a) showing a side cross-sectional view of the electromagnetic relay taken along a vertical plane including the front-rear direction in a state where the contact is turned off, while (b) showing a plan view of a movable contact and a fixed terminal. 
         FIG. 35  is a diagram schematically showing an electromagnetic relay according to a twenty-seventh modified example, (a) showing a side cross-sectional view of the electromagnetic relay taken along a vertical plane including the front-rear direction in a state where the contact is turned off, (b) showing a plan view of a movable contact and a fixed terminal, and (c) showing a side view of the electromagnetic relay as seen in the front-rear direction in a state where the contact is turned off. 
         FIG. 36  is a diagram schematically showing an electromagnetic relay according to a twenty-eighth modified example, (a) showing a side cross-sectional view of the electromagnetic relay taken along a vertical plane including the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned off, while (b) showing a plan view of a movable contact and a fixed terminal. 
         FIG. 37  is a diagram schematically showing an electromagnetic relay according to a twenty-ninth modified example, (a) showing a side cross-sectional view of the electromagnetic relay taken along a vertical plane including the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned off, while (b) showing a plan view of a movable contact and a fixed terminal. 
         FIG. 38  is a partially exploded perspective view schematically showing an electromagnetic relay according to a thirtieth modified example. 
         FIG. 39  is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing the electromagnetic relay according to the thirtieth modified example taken along a vertical plane including the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned on. 
         FIG. 40  is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing the electromagnetic relay according to the thirtieth modified example taken along a vertical plane including the front-rear direction in the state where the contact is turned on. 
         FIG. 41  is a diagram schematically showing an electromagnetic relay according to a thirty-first modified example, (a) showing a side cross-sectional view of the electromagnetic relay taken along a vertical plane including the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned off, while (b) showing a side cross-sectional view of the electromagnetic relay taken along the vertical plane including the left-right direction in a state where the contact is turned on. 
         FIG. 42  is a plan view schematically showing a movable contact and a fixed terminal in the electromagnetic relay according to the thirty-first modified example. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the following description is given assuming that a moving direction of a movable contact immediately before coming into contact with and away from a fixed terminal is an up-down direction, a direction in which a movable-side plate member of the movable contact extends is a left-right direction, and a direction orthogonal to the up-down direction and the left-right direction is a front-rear direction. Therefore, description is given assuming that up, down, left, and right in  FIG. 4  indicate up, down, left, and right, and that a direction orthogonal to the page space in  FIG. 4  indicates the front-rear direction. 
     An electromagnetic relay  1  according to this embodiment is of a so-called normally-open type in which contact is turned off in an initial state. This electromagnetic relay  1  is equipped with a contact device  10  configured by integrally combining a drive block (drive unit)  30  located below and a contact block (contact unit)  40  located above, as shown in  FIGS. 1 to 4 . To be more specific, the electromagnetic relay  1  equipped with the contact device  10  is formed by housing the contact device  10  in a case  20  formed of a resin material into a hollow box shape. Note that it is also possible to use a so-called normally-closed electromagnetic relay in which contact is turned on in an initial state. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the case  20  includes an approximately rectangular case base  21  and a case cover  22  arranged to cover the case base  21 . The case cover  22  is formed in a hollow box shape in which the case base  21  side is open. The mounted parts such as the drive block  30  and the contact block  40  are housed in the internal space of the case  20  formed with the case cover  22  attached to the case base  21 . 
     A pair of slits  21   a  and  21   a  are provided on the lower side of the case base  21 , into which a pair of coil terminals  340  and  340  are inserted, respectively. Meanwhile, a pair of slits  21   b  and  21   b  are provided on the upper side of the case base  21 , into which a first terminal  442 A of a first bus bar (first conductive member)  440 A and a second terminal  442 B of a second bus bar (second conductive member)  440 B are inserted, respectively. 
     Note that one of the slits  21   a  has approximately the same shape as the cross-sectional shape of one of the coil terminals  340  inserted into the one slit  21   a , and the other slit  21   a  has approximately the same shape as the cross-sectional shape of the other coil terminal  340  inserted into the other slit  21   a . Here, in this embodiment, the coil terminals  340  having approximately the same cross-sectional shape in the portion inserted into the slits  21   a  are used. Therefore, the slits  21   a  and  21   a  also have approximately the same cross-sectional shape. 
     Likewise, one of the slits  21   b  has approximately the same shape as the cross-sectional shape of the first terminal  442 A inserted into the one slit  21   b , and the other slit  21   b  has approximately the same shape as the cross-sectional shape of the second terminal  442 B inserted into the other slit  21   b . Here, in this embodiment, the first and second terminals  442 A and  442 B have approximately the same cross-sectional shape in the portion inserted into the slits  21   b . Therefore, the slits  21   b  and  21   b  also have approximately the same cross-sectional shape. 
     The drive block  30  includes a coil unit  310 . This coil unit  310  includes: a coil  330  that generates a magnetic flux when energized; a hollow cylindrical coil bobbin  320  around which the coil  330  is wound; and a pair of coil terminals  340  and  340  fixed to the coil bobbin  320  and connected to both ends of the coil  330 . 
     The coil bobbin  320  is formed of resin that is an insulating material, and has a vertically penetrating insertion hole  320   a  formed in the center thereof. The coil bobbin  320  includes an approximately cylindrical winding drum part  321  having the coil  330  wound on the outer surface thereof. The coil bobbin  320  further includes an approximately circular lower flange part  322  connected to the lower end of the winding drum part  321  so as to protrude radially outward of the winding drum part  321  and an approximately circular upper flange part  323  connected to the upper end of the winding drum part  321  so as to protrude radially outward of the winding drum part  321 . 
     The coil terminal  340  can be formed in a flat plate shape using a conductive material such as copper, for example. The coil terminals  340  and  340  also have relay terminals  341  and  341  provided thereon, respectively. A lead wire at one end of the coil  330  wound around the winding drum part  321  of the coil bobbin  320  is soldered in a tangled state to the relay terminal  341  of one of the coil terminals  340 . Likewise, a lead wire at the other end of the coil  330  wound around the winding drum part  321  of the coil bobbin  320  is soldered in a tangled state to the relay terminal  341  of the other coil terminal  340 . 
     As described above, in this embodiment, the coil unit  310  is formed by electrically connecting the both ends of the coil  330  wound around the winding drum part  321  of the coil bobbin  320  to the pair of coil terminals  340  and  340  fixed to the coil bobbin  320 . Thus, the drive block  30  is driven when the coil  330  is energized through the pair of coil terminals  340  and  340 . When the drive block  30  is driven by energizing the coil  330 , the contact of the contact block  40  to be described later is opened and closed. Note that, in this embodiment, a pair of contacts are formed in the contact block  40 . A bottom surface  421   a A of a first fixed terminal  420 A and a portion that comes into contact with a bottom surface  421   a A of a movable contact  430  form one of the contacts of the contact block  40 , while a bottom surface  421   a B of a second fixed terminal  420 B and a portion that comes into contact with a bottom surface  421   a B of the movable contact  430  form the other contact. Thus, in this embodiment, opening and closing of the contacts of the contact block  40  can be switched by driving the drive block  30  or stopping the drive of the drive block  30 . That is, conduction and non-conduction between the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B can be switched by switching on and off of the drive block  30 . 
     The drive block  30  includes a yoke  350  disposed around the coil  330 . This yoke  350  can be formed using a magnetic material, for example. In this embodiment, the yoke  350  is arranged so as to surround the coil bobbin  320 . The yoke  350  includes a rectangular yoke upper plate  351  arranged on the upper end surface side of the coil bobbin  320  and a rectangular yoke main body  352  arranged on the lower end surface side and the side surface side of the coil bobbin  320 . 
     The yoke main body  352  is arranged between the coil  330  and the case  20 . In this embodiment, the yoke main body  352  includes a bottom wall  353  and a pair of side walls  354  and  354  that rise from left and right end edges (peripheral edges) of the bottom wall  353 , respectively, which are opened in the front-rear direction. Note that the bottom wall  353  and the pair of side walls  354  and  354  can be formed in a continuous and integrated manner by bending a single plate. An annular insertion hole  353   a  is formed in the bottom wall  353  of the yoke main body  352 , and a bush  301  is mounted in the insertion hole  353   a . This bush  301  can also be formed using a magnetic material, for example. 
     On the tip side (upper end side) of the pair of side walls  354  and  354  of the yoke main body  352 , the yoke upper plate  351  described above is formed so as to cover the upper end surface of the coil bobbin  320  and the coil  330  wound around the coil bobbin  320 . 
     The drive block  30  includes a fixed iron core (fixed-side member)  360  that is inserted into the cylinder part (into the insertion hole  320   a ) of the coil bobbin  320  and is magnetized by the energized coil  330  (through which a magnetic flux passes). The drive block  30  further includes a movable iron core (movable-side member)  370  that is opposed to the fixed iron core  360  in the vertical direction (axial direction) and is disposed inside the cylinder part (in the insertion hole  320   a ) of the coil bobbin  320 . 
     In this embodiment, the fixed iron core  360  includes a cylindrical part  361  inserted into the cylinder part of the coil bobbin  320  (into the insertion hole  320   a ) and a flange part  362  protruding radially outward from the upper end of the cylindrical part  361 . The fixed iron core  360  has an insertion hole  360   a  formed therein, into which a shaft  380  and a return spring  302  are inserted. 
     Note that, in this embodiment, a projection  363  projecting inward (radially inward) of the insertion hole  360   a  is formed across the entire lower periphery of the flange part  362 . That is, the insertion hole  360   a  is formed such that the opening diameter above the projection  363  (on the upper surface  363   a  side) is larger than the opening diameter in the portion where the projection  363  is formed. The insertion hole  360   a  is also formed such that the opening diameter below the projection  363  (on the lower surface  363   b  side) is larger than the opening diameter in the portion where the projection  363  is formed. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the opening diameter above the projection  363  (on the upper surface  363   a  side) is slightly larger than the opening diameter below the projection  363  (on the lower surface  363   b  side). 
     Meanwhile, the movable iron core  370  is formed in an approximately cylindrical shape, and has an insertion hole  370   a  formed in the center thereof, into which the shaft  380  is inserted. The insertion hole  370   a  has an approximately constant opening diameter (opening diameter approximately the same as the diameter of a shaft main body  381 ), and has its lower end communicated with a recess part  371  formed in the lower center of the movable iron core  370 . 
     The shaft  380  can be formed using, for example, a non-magnetic material. In this embodiment, the shaft  380  has a round rod-shaped shaft main body  381  that is elongated in the moving direction (up-down direction: drive shaft direction) of the movable iron core  370 . A holder  460  that holds the movable contact  430  is connected to an upper end of the shaft main body  381 . 
     The movable iron core  370  and the shaft  380  are connected by inserting the lower end of the shaft main body  381  into the insertion hole  370   a  of the movable iron core  370  from above. 
     In this embodiment, the drive block  30  further includes a plunger cap  390  formed in a cylindrical shape with a bottom and an open top. This plunger cap  390  can also be formed using a non-magnetic material, for example. The plunger cap  390  is disposed between the fixed iron core  360  and the coil bobbin  320 , and between the movable iron core  370  and the coil bobbin  320 . 
     In this embodiment, the plunger cap  390  includes: a main body part  391  having a cylindrical shape with a bottom and an open top; and a flange part  392  that protrudes radially outward from the upper end of the main body part  391 . The main body part  391  of the plunger cap  390  is arranged in the insertion hole  320   a  formed at the center of the coil bobbin  320 . An annular seat surface  323   a  is also formed on the upper side (upper flange part  323 ) of the coil bobbin  320 , and the flange part  392  of the plunger cap  390  is placed on the seat surface  323   a  when the main body part  391  of the plunger cap  390  is inserted into the insertion hole  320   a  of the coil bobbin  320 . 
     The cylindrical part  361  of the fixed iron core  360  and the movable iron core  370  are housed in a housing space  390   a  of the plunger cap  390  provided inside the cylindrical part of the coil bobbin  320  (inside the insertion hole  320   a ). In this embodiment, the fixed iron core  360  is arranged on the opening side of the plunger cap  390 , while the movable iron core  370  is arranged below the fixed iron core  360  in the cylinder of the plunger cap  390 . 
     Furthermore, the cylindrical part  361  of the fixed iron core  360  and the movable iron core  370  are each formed in a cylindrical shape whose outer diameter is approximately the same as the inner diameter of the plunger cap  390 . The movable iron core  370  slides up and down (reciprocating direction: drive shaft direction) in the housing space  390   a  of the plunger cap  390 . 
     In this embodiment, the flange part  392  formed on the opening side of the plunger cap  390  is fixed to the periphery of the insertion hole  351   a  on the lower surface of the yoke upper plate  351 . The bottom part of the lower end of the plunger cap  390  is inserted into the bush  301  attached to the insertion hole  353   a  of the bottom wall  353 . 
     Thus, the movable iron core  370  housed below the plunger cap  390  is magnetically joined to the periphery of the bush  301 . That is, in this embodiment, the bush  301  forms a magnetic circuit together with the yoke  350  (the yoke upper plate  351  and the yoke main body  352 ), the fixed iron core  360 , and the movable iron core  370 . 
     In addition, an insertion hole  351   a  through which the fixed iron core  360  is inserted is formed in the center of the yoke upper plate  351 . As for insertion of the fixed iron core  360 , the cylindrical part  361  of the fixed iron core  360  is inserted from the upper surface side of the yoke upper plate  351 . In this event, a recess part  351   b  having approximately the same diameter as the flange part  362  of the fixed iron core  360  is provided approximately at the center of the upper surface of the yoke upper plate  351 . The flange part  362  of the fixed iron core  360  is fitted into the recess part  351   b  to prevent falling off. 
     A metal pressing plate  303  is further provided on the upper surface side of the yoke upper plate  351 , and this pressing plate  303  has its left and right ends fixed to the upper surface of the yoke upper plate  351 . A convex portion is provided at the center of the pressing plate  303  so as to form a space for housing the flange part  362  of the fixed iron core  360  protruding from the upper surface of the yoke upper plate  351 . 
     In this embodiment, an iron core rubber  304  made of a material having rubber elasticity (for example, synthetic rubber) is provided between the fixed iron core  360  and the pressing plate  303  to prevent direct propagation of vibration from the fixed iron core  360  to the pressing plate  303 . The iron core rubber  304  is formed in a disk shape and has an insertion hole  304   a  formed in its center, into which the shaft  380  is inserted. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the iron core rubber  304  is fitted to the fixed iron core  360  so as to surround the flange part  362 . 
     The pressing plate  303  has an insertion hole  303   a  formed therein, into which the shaft  380  is inserted. Thus, the upper end side (head  382  side) of the shaft  380  can be extended to the contact block  40  through the insertion hole  360   a  of the fixed iron core  360  and the insertion hole  303   a  of the pressing plate  303 . 
     When the movable iron core  370  is attracted to the fixed iron core  360  by energizing the coil  330 , the shaft  380  connected and fixed to the movable iron core  370  is also moved upward together with the movable iron core  370 . 
     Note that, in this embodiment, a range (movable range) within which the movable iron core  370  can move is set between an initial position spaced apart from the fixed iron core  360  by a gap D 1  and a contact position where contact is made with the fixed iron core  360 . Note that, in this embodiment, with the drive block  30  in its assembled state, a position where the movable iron core  370  is located farthest from the fixed iron core  360  is defined as an initial position, while a position where the movable iron core  370  is closest to the fixed iron core  360  is defined as a contact position. 
     As described above, the return spring  302  is disposed between the fixed iron core  360  and the movable iron core  370 , which uses its elasticity to bias the movable iron core  370  in a direction of returning the movable iron core  370  to the initial position (direction in which the movable iron core  370  moves away from the fixed iron core  360 ). In this embodiment, the return spring  302  is configured using a coil spring arranged inside the insertion hole  360   a  of the fixed iron core  360  in a state of being wound around the shaft  380 . The return spring  302  has its upper end in contact with the lower surface  363   b  of the projection  363  of the fixed iron core  360  and its lower end in contact with the upper surface  372  of the movable iron core  370 . That is, the lower surface  363   b  of the projection  363  and the upper surface  372  of the movable iron core  370  serve as a spring receiving part of the return spring  302 . 
     With the above configuration, when the coil  330  is energized, the surface (lower surface)  364  of the fixed iron core  360  facing the movable iron core  370  and the surface (upper surface)  372  of the movable iron core  370  facing the fixed iron core  360  have different polarities as a pair of magnetic pole parts. Then, the movable iron core  370  is attracted to the fixed iron core  360  and moved toward the contact position. Thus, in this embodiment, when the coil  330  is energized, the surface (lower surface)  364  of the fixed iron core  360  facing the movable iron core  370  and the surface (upper surface)  372  of the movable iron core  370  facing the fixed iron core  360  function as magnetic pole surfaces. 
     On the other hand, when the current supply to the coil  330  is stopped, the movable iron core  370  is returned to the initial position by the biasing force of the return spring  302 . 
     As described above, the movable iron core  370  according to this embodiment is disposed opposed to the fixed iron core  360  with the gap D 1  when the coil  330  is not energized, and is reciprocated so as to be attracted to the fixed iron core  360  side when the coil  330  is energized. 
     The shaft  380  is reciprocated in the up-down direction as the movable iron core  370  is reciprocated in the up-down direction. Furthermore, as the shaft  380  is reciprocated in the up-down direction, the movable contact  430  is moved relative to the first fixed terminal  420 A and the second fixed terminal  420 B. Thus, in this embodiment, the shaft  380  corresponds to the drive shaft that moves the movable contact  430  relative to the first fixed terminal  420 A and the second fixed terminal  420 B by reciprocating in the up-down direction (one direction). 
     Note that a damper rubber  305  made of a material having rubber elasticity and formed to have approximately the same diameter as the outer diameter of the movable iron core  370  is disposed at the bottom of the plunger cap  390  in the housing space  390   a.    
     Above the drive block  30 , the contact block  40  that opens and closes the contact according to the on/off state of the current supply to the coil  330 . 
     The contact block  40  includes a base  410  formed of a heat-resistant material such as ceramic into a box shape with an open bottom. This base  410  includes a top wall  411  and an approximately rectangular cylindrical peripheral wall  412  extending downward from a peripheral portion of the top wall  411 . 
     The top wall  411  of the base  410  has two insertion holes  411   a  and  411   a  provided therein so as to be aligned in the left-right direction. The first fixed terminal  420 A is inserted into one (on the left side in  FIG. 4 ) of the two insertion holes  411   a  and  411   a , while the second fixed terminal  420 B is inserted into the other (on the right side in  FIG. 4 ) insertion hole  411   a . In this embodiment, for the sake of convenience, the first fixed terminal  420 A and the second fixed terminal  420 B are used to distinguish between a pair of fixed terminals that are conducted to each other. However, it is not necessary that one fixed terminal (the left fixed terminal in  FIG. 4 ) be the first fixed terminal  420 A and the other fixed terminal (the right fixed terminal in  FIG. 4 ) be the second fixed terminal  420 B. That is, one fixed terminal (the left fixed terminal in  FIG. 4 ) may be the second fixed terminal  420 B and the other fixed terminal (the right fixed terminal in  FIG. 4 ) may be the first fixed terminal  420 A. 
     The first fixed terminal  420 A is formed of a conductive material such as a copper-based material, and is arranged so as to be vertically elongated in the state shown in  FIG. 4 . In this embodiment, the first fixed terminal  420 A includes an approximately cylindrical (approximately columnar) first fixed terminal main body  421 A (vertically elongated first fixed terminal main body  421 A) inserted into the insertion hole  411   a  from above. The bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal main body  421 A serves as a fixed contact with which the movable contact  430  comes into contact when the coil  330  is energized. Note that a fixed contact may be provided on the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal main body  421 A separately from the first fixed terminal main body  421 A. The first fixed terminal  420 A includes an approximately disk-shaped first flange part  422 A that protrudes radially outward from the upper end of the first fixed terminal main body  421 A, and is fixed to the upper surface of the top wall  411  (upper surface of the peripheral portion of the insertion hole  411   a ). 
     Likewise, the second fixed terminal  420 B is also formed of a conductive material such as a copper-based material, and is arranged so as to be vertically elongated in the state shown in  FIG. 4 . This second fixed terminal  420 B includes an approximately cylindrical (approximately columnar) second fixed terminal main body  421 B (vertically elongated second fixed terminal main body  421 B) inserted into the insertion hole  411   a  from above. The bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal main body  421 B serves as a fixed contact with which the movable contact  430  comes into contact when the coil  330  is energized. Note that a fixed contact may be provided on the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal main body  421 B separately from the second fixed terminal main body  421 B. The second fixed terminal  420 B includes an approximately disk-shaped second flange part  422 B that protrudes radially outward from the upper end of the second fixed terminal main body  421 B, and is fixed to the upper surface of the top wall  411  (upper surface of the peripheral portion of the insertion hole  411   a ). 
     In this embodiment, the first fixed terminal  420 A and the second fixed terminal  420 B are fixed to the top wall  411  via washers  50 , respectively. 
     To be more specific, the first fixed terminal  420 A is fixed to the top wall  411  by the following method. The first fixed terminal main body  421 A of the first fixed terminal  420 A is first inserted from above into the insertion hole of the washer  50  and one insertion hole  411   a  of the top wall  411  in a state where the washer  50  is arranged on the upper surface of the peripheral portion of the one insertion hole  411   a  in the top wall  411 . Then, the upper surface of the washer  50  and the lower surface of the first flange part  422 A are hermetically joined with a silver solder  51 , and the lower surface of the washer  50  and the upper surface of the top wall  411  (the upper surface of the peripheral portion of the one insertion hole  411   a ) are hermetically joined with a silver solder  52 . Thus, the first fixed terminal  420 A is fixed to the top wall  411 . Accordingly, the first fixed terminal  420 A is fixed to the top wall  411 . In this event, the first fixed terminal  420 A is fixed to the top wall  411  in a state where the insertion hole  411   a  is hermetically sealed. Note that, although the first fixed terminal  420 A is fixed to the top wall  411  in a state where the longitudinal direction approximately coincides with the up-down direction in this embodiment, it is not necessary to make the longitudinal direction of the first fixed terminal  420 An approximately coincide with the up-down direction. 
     The second fixed terminal  420 B is also fixed to the top wall  411  in the same manner. That is, first, the second fixed terminal main body  421 B of the second fixed terminal  420 B is inserted from above into the insertion hole of the washer  50  and the other insertion hole  411   a  of the top wall  411  in a state where the washer  50  is arranged on the upper surface of the peripheral portion of the other insertion hole  411   a  in the top wall  411 . Then, the upper surface of the washer  50  and the lower surface of the second flange part  422 B are hermetically joined with the silver solder  51 , and the lower surface of the washer  50  and the upper surface of the top wall  411  (the upper surface of the peripheral portion of the other insertion hole  411   a ) are hermetically joined with the silver solder  52 . Thus, the second fixed terminal  420 B is fixed to the top wall  411 . In this event, the second fixed terminal  420 B is also fixed to the top wall  411  in a state where the insertion hole  411   a  is hermetically sealed. Note that, although the second fixed terminal  420 B is fixed to the top wall  411  in a state where the longitudinal direction approximately coincides with the up-down direction in this embodiment, it is not necessary to make the longitudinal direction of the second fixed terminal  420 B approximately coincide with the up-down direction. 
     As described above, in this embodiment, the first fixed terminal  420 A and the second fixed terminal  420 B are fixed (arranged) on the top wall  411  so as to be spaced apart from each other. Then, the upper and lower sides of the first fixed terminal  420 A are partitioned by the top wall  411  in a state where the first fixed terminal  420 A is fixed to the top wall  411 . Likewise, the upper and lower sides of the second fixed terminal  420 B are partitioned by the top wall  411  in a state where the second fixed terminal  420 B is fixed to the top wall  411 . 
     A first bus bar (first conductive member)  440 A connected to an external load or the like is attached to the first fixed terminal  420 A, and a second bus bar (second conductive member)  440 B connected to an external load or the like is attached to the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     The first bus bar  440 A has a shape obtained by bending a member formed of a conductive material, and includes a first fixed part  441 A fixed to the first fixed terminal  420 A and a first terminal  442 A inserted into one slit  21   b . The first fixed part  441 A has a first insertion hole  441   a A formed therein. A first projection  423 A provided at the center of the first flange part  422 A so as to project upward is caulked while being inserted into the first insertion hole  441   a A. Thus, the first bus bar  440 A is fixed to the first fixed terminal  420 A. 
     Likewise, the second bus bar  440 B also has a shape obtained by bending a member formed of a conductive material, and includes a second fixed part  441 B fixed to the second fixed terminal  420 B and a second terminal part  442 B inserted into the other slit  21   b . The second fixed part  441 B has a second insertion hole  441   a B formed therein. A second projection  423 B provided at the center of the second flange part  422 B so as to project upward is caulked while being inserted into the second insertion hole  441   a B. Thus, the second bus bar  440 B is fixed to the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     The movable contact  430  is arranged in the base  410  so as to be movable relative to the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B as the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is moved in the up-down direction (one direction). 
     In this embodiment, the movable contact  430  is held by the holder  460  integrally connected to the upper end of the shaft (drive shaft)  380  as described above. 
     This holder  460  can be formed using an insulating resin or the like, for example. The holder  460  has an approximately rectangular cylindrical shape with both sides opened in the left-right direction (direction in which the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are arranged side by side), and includes a top wall  461 , side walls  462  and  462 , and a bottom wall  463 . The shaft (drive shaft)  380  has its upper end connected to the center of the lower surface of the bottom wall  463 . Note that the connection between the holder  460  and the shaft (drive shaft)  380  can be performed by various methods such as bonding and insert molding. 
     In this embodiment, the movable contact  430  is held by the holder  460  in a state of being movable relative to the holder  460  in the up-down direction (one direction). 
     To be more specific, long holes  462   a  and  462   a  elongated in the up-down direction are formed in both side walls  462  and  462  of the holder  460 . A circular insertion hole (formed by connecting a plurality of insertion holes  433   a  to be described later) is also formed, which penetrates the movable contact  430  in the front-rear direction (width direction of the movable contact  430 ). In a state where the movable contact  430  is disposed between the side walls  462  and  462 , and the circular insertion hole (formed by connecting the plurality of insertion holes  433   a  to be described later) is communicated with the pair of long holes  462   a  and  462   a , respectively, a support shaft  465  is inserted into the respective holes. E-rings  466  are attached to the portions of the support shaft  465  protruding outward from the side walls  462 . Accordingly, the movable contact  430  is held by the holder  460  so as to be relatively movable in the up-down direction in a state where the movable contact  430  is prevented from falling out of the holder  460 . 
     In this embodiment, the contact pressure between the movable contact  430  and the first fixed terminal  420 A and the contact pressure between the movable contact  430  and the second fixed terminal  420 B are secured by a contact pressure spring  401 . The contact pressure spring  401  is formed using a coil spring, and is arranged with the axial direction coinciding with the up-down direction. 
     In this embodiment, the contact pressure spring  401  is disposed between the holding member  464  for placing and holding the movable contact  430  thereon and the bottom wall  463  of the holder  460 , and presses the movable contact  430  upward via the holding member  464 . 
     Furthermore, a spring receiving projection  464   a  is formed at the center of the lower surface of the holding member  464 , and a spring receiving projection  463   a  is formed at the center of the upper surface of the bottom wall  463 . In a state where the upper portion of the contact pressure spring  401  is inserted into the spring receiving projection  464   a , the upper end of the contact pressure spring  401  is brought into contact with the lower surface of the holding member  464 . Meanwhile, in a state where the lower portion of the contact pressure spring  401  is inserted into the spring receiving projection  463   a , the lower end of the contact pressure spring  401  is brought into contact with the upper surface of the bottom wall  463 . Thus, in this embodiment, the lower surface of the holding member  464  and the upper surface of the bottom wall  463  serve as a spring receiving part of the contact pressure spring  401 . 
     The movable contact  430  is biased upward by the contact pressure spring  401 . To be more specific, even in a state where the movable contact  430  is moved upward relative to the holder  460  and the support shaft  465  is brought into contact with the upper ends of the pair of long holes  462   a  and  462   a , the movable contact  430  is still biased upward by the contact pressure spring  401 . Accordingly, the contact pressure between the movable contact  430  and the first fixed terminal  420 A and the contact pressure between the movable contact  430  and the second fixed terminal  420 B can be more reliably ensured. 
     In this embodiment, with such a configuration, when the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is moved upward (to one side) in the up-down direction (one direction), the movable contact  430  is also moved upward and comes into contact with the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. On the other hand, when the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is moved downward (to the other side) in the up-down direction (one direction), the movable contact  430  is also moved downward and separated from at least one of the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. In this embodiment, the movable contact  430  is separated from both of the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B (see  FIG. 4( a ) ). 
     Here, in this embodiment, the movable contact  430  includes the movable contact main body  431 , and the movable contact main body  431  includes a first contact unit  4311 A that comes into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A. The movable contact main body  431  also includes a second contact unit  4311 B that is electrically connected to the first contact unit  4311 A and comes into contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B. Note that the first contact unit  4311 A is a part of the movable contact main body  431 , which is moved upward (to one side) as the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is moved upward (to one side) in the up-down direction (one direction) and comes into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A. The second contact unit  4311 B is another part of the movable contact main body  431  that is different from the first contact unit  4311 A, which is moved upward (to one side) as the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is moved upward (to one side) in the up-down direction (one direction) and comes into contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B. The first contact unit  4311 A and the second contact unit  4311 B are electrically connected to each other through another portion of the movable contact main body  431 . 
     With the use of such a movable contact main body  431 , when the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is moved upward (to one side) in the up-down direction (one direction), the first contact unit  4311 A is moved relative to the first fixed terminal  420 A and comes into contact with the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. At the same time, the second contact unit  4311 B is moved relative to the second fixed terminal  420 B and comes into contact with the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     Thus, the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are brought into a conductive state. 
     On the other hand, when the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is moved downward (to the other side) in the up-down direction (one direction), the first contact unit  4311 A is moved relative to the first fixed terminal  420 A and separated from the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. At the same time, the second contact unit  4311 B is moved relative to the second fixed terminal  420 B and separated from the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     Thus, the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are brought into a non-conductive state. 
     As described above, the drive block (drive unit)  30  according to this embodiment includes the shaft (drive shaft)  380  that drives (moves) the movable contact  430 . 
     By moving the shaft (drive shaft)  380  upward (to one side) in the up-down direction (one direction), the movable contact  430  is relatively moved in the direction approaching the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. Accordingly, the movable contact  430  is relatively moved so as to approach the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B, and thus the movable contact  430  comes into contact with the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. Thus, the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are brought into a conductive state. 
     On the other hand, by moving the shaft (drive shaft)  380  downward (to the other side) in the up-down direction (one direction), the movable contact  430  is relatively moved away from the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. Accordingly, the movable contact  430  is relatively moved away from the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B, and thus the movable contact  430  is separated from the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. Thus, the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are brought into a non-conductive state. 
     As described above, in this embodiment, the movable contact  430  is moved relative to the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B as the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is moved in the up-down direction (one direction), thus making it possible to switch conduction and non-conduction between the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. 
     Between the movable contact  430  and the pressing plate  303 , an insulating plate  480  is provided, which is formed of an insulating material so as to cover the pressing plate  303 , and the insulating plate  480  has an insertion hole  480   a  provided at its center, through which the shaft  380  is inserted. 
     In the contact device  10  configured as described above, the shaft  380  can be attached to the movable iron core  370  in the following manner, for example. 
     First, the movable iron core  370 , the return spring  302 , the yoke upper plate  351 , the fixed iron core  360 , the iron core rubber  304 , the pressing plate  303 , and the insulating plate  480  are arranged in this order from the lower side. In this event, it is preferable that the return spring  302  is inserted into the insertion hole  360   a  of the fixed iron core  360  in advance. 
     Then, the main body  381  of the shaft  380  is inserted into the respective insertion holes  480   a ,  303   a ,  304   a ,  360   a , and  351   a  and the return spring  302  from above the insulating plate  480 , and then inserted into the insertion hole  370   a  of the movable iron core  370  to be connected. Thus, the lower end of the shaft  380  is attached to the movable iron core  370 . 
     In this embodiment, the connection of the shaft  380  to the movable iron core  370  is performed by crushing and riveting the tip in a protruding state into the recess part  371  as shown in  FIG. 4 . However, the shaft  380  may be connected to the movable iron core  370  using other methods. For example, the shaft  380  may be connected to the movable iron core  370  by forming a screw groove at the other end of the shaft  380  and screwing the movable iron core  370  into the screw groove. Alternatively, the shaft  380  may be connected to the movable iron core  370  by press-fitting the shaft  380  into the insertion hole  370   a  of the movable iron core  370 . 
     In this embodiment, a gas is enclosed in the base  410  to suppress arc generated between the movable contact  430  and the first fixed terminal  420 A or arc generated between the movable contact  430  and the second fixed terminal  420 B. This arc is generated when the movable contact  430  is separated from the first fixed terminal  420 A or when the movable contact  430  is separated from the second fixed terminal  420 B. As such a gas to suppress the generation of arc, a mixed gas can be used, which is mainly composed of hydrogen gas having the highest heat conductivity in a temperature range where the arc is generated. In order to enclose this gas, an upper flange  470  is provided in this embodiment to cover a gap between the base  410  and the yoke upper plate  351 . 
     To be more specific, the base  410  includes the top wall  411  in which the pair of insertion holes  411   a  and  411   a  are arranged in the left-right direction (width direction) and the rectangular cylindrical peripheral wall  412  that extends downward from the periphery of the top wall  411 . That is, the base  410  is formed in a hollow box shape with an open bottom (on the movable contact  430  side). The base  410  is fixed to the yoke upper plate  351  through the upper flange  470  in a state where the movable contact  430  is housed inside the peripheral wall  412  from the open bottom. 
     In this event, the peripheral edge of the opening in the lower surface of the base  410  and the upper surface of the upper flange  470  are hermetically joined with a silver solder  53 , while the lower surface of the upper flange  470  and the upper surface of the yoke upper plate  351  are hermetically joined by arc welding or the like. Furthermore, the lower surface of the yoke upper plate  351  and the flange part  392  of the plunger cap  390  are hermetically joined by arc welding or the like. Thus, a sealed space S with gas sealed therein is formed in the base  410 . 
     In this embodiment, arc suppression using a capsule yoke block  450  is also performed in parallel with the arc suppression method using gas. The capsule yoke block  450  includes a capsule yoke  451  and a pair of permanent magnets  452  and  452 . The capsule yoke  451  is formed in an approximately U-shape using a magnetic material such as iron. The capsule yoke  451  is formed by integrating a pair of side pieces  451   a  and  451   a  facing each other and a connecting piece  451   b  connecting base ends of the both side pieces  451   a  and  451   a.    
     The permanent magnets  452  and  452  are attached to the side pieces  451   a  and  451   a  of the capsule yoke  451  so as to face the side pieces  451   a  and  451   a , respectively. The permanent magnets  452  and  452  provide the base  410  with a magnetic field approximately perpendicular to the moving direction (up-down direction) of the shaft  380  (drive shaft). As a result, the arc is elongated in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the shaft (drive shaft)  380 , and is cooled by the gas sealed in the base  410 . Accordingly, the arc voltage rises sharply and the arc is interrupted when the arc voltage exceeds the voltage between the contacts. That is, in the electromagnetic relay  1  of this embodiment, arc measures are taken by magnetic blowing with the capsule yoke block  450  and cooling with the gas sealed in the base  410 . Thus, the arc can be interrupted in a short time, making it possible to reduce the consumption of the movable contact  430  and the fixed terminals (first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B). 
     When the movable contact  430  is brought into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A and the second fixed terminal  420 B, a current flows between the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B through the movable contact  430 . Such a current flowing between the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B through the movable contact  430  causes electromagnetic repulsion force to act between the first fixed terminal  420 A and the movable contact  430  and between the second fixed terminal  420 B and the movable contact  430 . 
     From the viewpoint of improving the reliability of the contact, it is preferable to reduce the electromagnetic repulsion force acting between the fixed terminal (first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B) and the movable contact  430 . 
     Therefore, in this embodiment, the electromagnetic repulsion force acting between the fixed terminal (first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B) and the movable contact  430  can be further reduced. 
     Hereinafter, a specific configuration of the movable contact  430  according to this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to  FIGS. 3 to 5 . 
     Although a drive block  30  shown in  FIG. 5  has a configuration different from that of the drive block  30  shown in  FIGS. 1 to 4 , a contact device  10  can be formed using such a drive block  30 . That is, the contact device  10  according to this embodiment can be formed using drive blocks  30  having various configurations. 
     In  FIG. 5( a ) , the drive block  30  is configured without using a fixed iron core. That is, a yoke upper plate  351  is used as a fixed-side member instead of the fixed iron core, and the movable iron core  370  is attracted to the yoke upper plate  351 . A range (movable range) within which the movable iron core  370  can move is set between an initial position spaced apart from and below the yoke upper plate  351  and a contact position where contact is made with the yoke upper plate  351 . Between the yoke upper plate  351  and the movable iron core  370 , a return spring  302  is disposed, which uses its elasticity to bias the movable iron core  370  in a direction of returning the movable iron core  370  to the initial position (direction in which the movable iron core  370  moves away from the yoke upper plate  351 ). The drive block  30  shown in  FIGS. 6 to 31  has the same configuration as that of the drive block  30  shown in  FIG. 5( a ) . The drive block  30  shown in  FIGS. 6 to 31  can also be the drive block  30  shown in  FIGS. 1 to 4 . 
     The movable contact  430  according to this embodiment includes the movable contact main body  431  having the first contact unit  4311 A and the second contact unit  4311 B as described above. The first contact unit  4311 A of the movable contact main body  431  includes a plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A that come into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A. The second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431  includes a plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B that come into contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     Here, in this embodiment, the movable contact main body  431  includes five (a plurality of) first movable-side plate members (first movable-side plate parts)  433 A on which the first contact pieces  4312 A are formed. The first contact unit  4311 A is formed by stacking the five first movable-side plate members  433 A in the front-rear direction (arranging the five first movable-side plate members  433 A so as to be lined up in the front-rear direction). The movable contact main body  431  also includes five (a plurality of) second movable-side plate members (second movable-side plate parts)  433 B on which the second contact pieces  4312 B are formed. The second contact unit  4311 B is formed by stacking the five second movable-side plate members  433 B in the front-rear direction (arranging the five second movable-side plate members  433 B so as to be lined up in the front-rear direction). 
     Furthermore, in this embodiment, each of the second movable-side plate members  433 B is formed integrally with one corresponding first movable-side plate member  433 A. That is, the second movable-side plate member  433 B and the first movable-side plate member  433 A located at the front in the front-rear direction are integrally formed, and the second movable-side plate member  433 B and the first movable-side plate member  433 A located at the end (fifth from the front) are integrally formed. Likewise, the second movable-side plate member  433 B and the first movable-side plate member  433 A located second from the front, the second movable-side plate member  433 B and the first movable-side plate member  433 A located at the center (third from the front), and the second movable-side plate member  433 B and the first movable-side plate member  433 A located second to the last (fourth from the front) are integrally formed, respectively. 
     As described above, in this embodiment, one approximately rectangular plate-shaped member (plate member)  433  that is elongated in the left-right direction is formed. One side of the plate member  433  in the left-right direction serves as the first movable-side plate member  433 A having the first contact piece  4312 A formed thereon, while the other side in the left-right direction serves as the second movable-side plate member  433 B having the second contact piece  4312 B formed thereon. 
     Such five (a plurality of) plate members  433  are formed, and the five plate members  433  are stacked in the front-rear direction (arranged so as to be lined up in the front-rear direction) to form the movable contact main body  431 . 
     Thus, in this embodiment, the five approximately rectangular plate-shaped plate members  433  each having the first contact piece  4312 A on one side and the second contact piece  4312 B on the other side are stacked in the front-rear direction (arranged so as to be lined up in the front-rear direction) to form the movable contact main body  431 . Accordingly, the movable contact main body  431  includes the plurality of first and second contact pieces  4312 A and  4312 B. 
     Furthermore, in this embodiment, the plate members  433  are stacked in the front-rear direction (arranged so as to be lined up in the front-rear direction) with the longitudinal direction approximately aligned with the left-right direction and the thickness direction approximately aligned with the front-rear direction, thus forming the movable contact main body  431 . The upper end on one side in the left-right direction of each plate member  433  serves as the first contact piece  4312 A that comes into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A, while the upper end on the other side serves as the second contact piece  4312 B that comes into contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B. As the plate member  433 , a flat plate member made of a conductive material such as copper, for example, can be used. In this embodiment, description is given of an example using five plate members  433  having the same material and the same shape. 
     The front-rear direction in which the plate members  433  are stacked is a direction intersecting with the up-down direction (one direction: moving direction of the movable contact  430 ). The front-rear direction is also a direction intersecting with the left-right direction (direction in which the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are arranged side by side). 
     Each plate member  433  also has an insertion hole  433   a  formed therein that penetrates in the thickness direction. The plate members  433  are stacked so that the respective insertion holes  433   a  are communicated with each other. Thus, the movable contact main body  431  (movable contact  430 ) having a round insertion hole penetrating in the front-rear direction is formed. 
     The movable contact main body  431  (movable contact  430 ) having such a configuration is supported by the support shaft  465  in a state of being arranged between the side walls  462  and  462  of the holder  460 . That is, in a state where the round insertion holes formed in the movable contact main body  431  are communicated with the pair of long holes  462   a  and  462   a , the support shaft  465  is inserted into the respective holes, and thus the movable contact main body  431  (movable contact  430 ) is held by the holder  460 . In this event, the movable contact main body  431  (movable contact  430 ) is held by the holder  460  so as to be relatively movable in the up-down direction. Furthermore, in this embodiment, each plate member  433  is configured to be independently rotatable about the support shaft  465 . 
     Therefore, in this embodiment, at least one of the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A is movable relative to the other first contact pieces  4312 A. Likewise, at least one of the plurality of second contact pieces  43112 B is movable relative to the other second contact piece  4312 B. 
     In this embodiment, description is given of the example where the plurality of plate members  433  have the same shape as described above. Therefore, when the plate members  433  are stacked such that the respective insertion holes  433   a  are communicated with each other, the plurality of plate members  433  are stacked in a state of having their peripheral surfaces (surfaces that outline the contour as seen from the thickness direction) approximately flush with each other. However, the plurality of plate members  433  do not have to have the same shape, but at least one of the plate members  433  may have a different shape from the others. Furthermore, the contour shape of the plate member  433  does not have to be rectangular, but can be any shape. For example, a plate curved to have both ends face upward can be used as the plate member  433 . Moreover, the material of at least one plate member  433  may be different from that of the other plate members  433 . 
     Next, operations of the electromagnetic relay  1  (contact device  10 ) will be described. 
     First, when the coil  330  is not energized, the movable iron core  370  is moved in a direction away from the fixed iron core  360  by the elastic force (elastic restoring force) of the return spring  302 . That is, the movable contact  430  is in the state of  FIG. 4( a )  where the movable contact  430  is separated from the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. In this event, the movable contact  430  is moved to a position where the support shaft  465  comes into contact with the upper ends of the long holes  462   a  and  462   a  by the upward biasing force of the contact pressure spring  401  (see  FIG. 4( a ) ). 
     When the coil  330  is energized from the off state, the movable iron core  370  is attracted to the fixed-side member (the fixed iron core  360  and the yoke upper plate  351 ) by the electromagnetic force against the elastic force (elastic restoring force) of the return spring  302  and moved (upward) so as to approach the fixed-side member. Then, as the movable iron core  370  is moved upward, the shaft  380  and the holder  460  are also moved upward, and the movable contact  430  is also moved upward. Then, as the movable contact  430  is moved upward, the first contact unit  4311 A comes into contact with the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A, and the second contact unit  4311 B comes into contact with the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. Thus, the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are electrically connected to turn on the electromagnetic relay  1  (contact device  10 ) (see  FIG. 4( b ) ). 
     In this embodiment, force moving the shaft  380  and the holder  460  upward still acts when the movable contact  430  is in contact with the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. Therefore, the holder  460  is moved upward relative to the movable contact main body  431  that is in contact with the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. That is, in a state of being in contact with the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B, the movable contact main body  431  is moved downward relative to the holder  460  while contracting the contact pressure spring  401 . In this embodiment, the movable contact  430  is moved relative to the holder  460  to a position where the support shaft  465  comes into contact with the lower ends of the long holes  462   a  and  462   a  (see  FIG. 4( b ) ). 
     When the electromagnetic relay  1  (contact device  10 ) is turned on, the five first contact pieces  4312 A formed on the first contact unit  4311 A come into contact with the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. Meanwhile, the five second contact pieces  4312 B formed on the second contact unit  4311 B come into contact with the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     Thus, in this embodiment, the movable contact  430  is configured to come into contact with the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A and the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B at five spots (a plurality of spots). Therefore, the magnitude (current value) of the current flowing through each of the five first contact pieces  4312 A is smaller than the magnitude (current value) of the current flowing through the first fixed terminal  420 A. In this embodiment, the movable contact main body  431  is formed using the five plate members  433  formed of the same material having the same shape. Therefore, the magnitude (current value) of the current flowing through each of the five first contact pieces  4312 A is about one fifth of the magnitude (current value) of the current flowing through the first fixed terminal  420 A. Likewise, the magnitude (current value) of the current flowing through each of the five second contact pieces  4312 B is about one fifth of the magnitude (current value) of the current flowing through the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     Here, it is known that the magnitude of the electromagnetic repulsion force generated when a current flows through a contact portion between two members is proportional to the square of the current flowing through the contact portion. Therefore, the electromagnetic repulsion force generated on each of the five first contact pieces  4312 A is 1/25 of the electromagnetic repulsion force generated on the first contact unit  4311 A when the contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A is made at one spot. As a result, as shown in  FIGS. 1 to 5 , when the contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A is made at five spots, the electromagnetic repulsion force generated in the entire first contact unit  4311 A is about one fifth of the electromagnetic repulsion force generated in the entire first contact unit  4311 A when the contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A is made at one spot. Likewise, on the second contact unit  4311 B side, when the contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B is made at five spots, the electromagnetic repulsion force generated in the entire second contact unit  4311 B is about one fifth of the electromagnetic repulsion force generated in the entire second contact unit  4311 B when the contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B is made at one spot. 
     Thus, when the first contact unit  4311 A is brought into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A at a plurality of spots, the magnitude of the electromagnetic repulsion force received by the first contact unit  4311 A from the first fixed terminal  420 A can be reduced compared with the case where the contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A is made at one spot. Likewise, when the second contact unit  4311 B is brought into contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B at a plurality of spots, the magnitude of the electromagnetic repulsion force received by the second contact unit  4311 B from the second fixed terminal  420 B can be reduced compared with the case where the contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B is made at one spot. 
     As a result, the contact between the first contact unit  4311 A and the first fixed terminal  420 A is prevented from being released, and the contact between the second contact unit  4311 B and the second fixed terminal  420 B is prevented from being released. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably maintain the conductive state between the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. 
     On the other hand, when the current supply to the coil  330  is stopped, the movable iron core  370  is returned to the initial position by the biasing force (elastic restoring force) of the return spring  302 . That is, the movable iron core  370  is moved downward. Then, as the movable iron core  370  is moved downward, the shaft  380  and the holder  460  are also moved downward, and the movable contact  430  is also moved downward. When the movable contact  430  is moved downward, the first contact unit  4311 A is separated from the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A, and the second contact unit  4311 B is separated from the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. Thus, the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are electrically insulated from each other to turn off the electromagnetic relay  1  (contact device  10 ) (see  FIG. 4( a ) ). 
     As described above, in this embodiment, the contact device  10  includes the first fixed terminal  420 A, the movable contact  430  that comes into contact with and away from the first fixed terminal  420 A by moving relative to the first fixed terminal  420 A, and the drive block (drive unit)  30  that moves the movable contact  430 . The movable contact  430  includes the movable contact main body  431  having the first contact unit  4311 A that comes into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A. The first contact unit  4311 A includes the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A that come into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A. 
     Thus, the magnitude of the electromagnetic repulsion force received by the first contact unit  4311 A from the first fixed terminal  420 A can be reduced. 
     The electromagnetic relay  1  according to this embodiment is equipped with the contact device  10 . 
     Therefore, according to this embodiment, the contact device  10  capable of further reducing the electromagnetic repulsion force acting between the first fixed terminal  420 A and the movable contact  430  and the electromagnetic relay  1  equipped with the contact device  10  can be provided. 
     In this event, at least one of the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A may be configured to be movable relative to the other first contact pieces  4312 A. 
     With this configuration, it is possible to prevent all the first contact pieces  4312 A from being separated from the first fixed terminal  420 A by the electromagnetic repulsion force acting between the first fixed terminal  420 A and the movable contact  430 . That is, the state where any one of the first contact pieces  4312 A is in contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A can be more reliably maintained. As a result, the conductive state between the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B can be more reliably maintained. 
     In this embodiment, the movable contact main body  431  includes five (a plurality of) first movable-side plate members (first movable-side plate parts)  433 A having the first contact pieces  4312 A formed thereon. The five movable-side plate members  433 A are stacked in the front-rear direction (arranged so as to be lined up in the front-rear direction), that is, in the direction intersecting the up-down direction (moving direction of the movable contact  430 ). The stacking direction (front-rear direction) is also a direction that intersects with the left-right direction (direction in which the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are arranged side by side). 
     With this configuration, the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A can be formed only by stacking the plurality of plate members (arranging the plurality of plate members in a line). Thus, the movable contact main body  431  having the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A can be obtained more easily. Moreover, by stacking the plurality of plate members (arranging the plurality of plate members in a line), at least one of the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A can be moved relative to the other first contact pieces  4312 A with a simpler configuration. Furthermore, the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A are formed so as to be line up in the stacking direction (front-rear direction). Therefore, when the movable contact main body  431  is moved in the up-down direction (moving direction of the movable contact  430 ) to come into contact with the bottom surface  421   a A, each of the first contact pieces  4312 A can be brought into contact with the bottom surface  421   a A without being obstructed by the other first contact pieces  4312 A. As a result, all of the first contact pieces  4312 A can be more reliably brought into contact with the bottom surface  421   a A. 
     In this embodiment, the second fixed terminal  420 B is provided, which is arranged in a separated state from the first fixed terminal  420 A, and conduction and non-conduction between the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B is switched by the movable contact  430 . The movable contact main body  431  includes a second contact unit  4311 B that is electrically connected to the first contact unit  4311 A and comes into contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     Therefore, according to this embodiment, in the contact device  10  of a type that switches conduction and non-conduction between the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B, at least the electromagnetic repulsion force acting between the first fixed terminal  420 A and the movable contact  430  can be further reduced. 
     In this event, the second contact unit  4311 B may include a plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B that come into contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     Thus, it is possible to reduce the magnitude of the electromagnetic repulsion force received by the second contact unit  4311 B from the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     Furthermore, at least one of the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B may be configured to be movable relative to the other second contact pieces  4312 B. 
     With this configuration, it is possible to prevent all the second contact pieces  4312 B from being separated from the second fixed terminal  420 B by the electromagnetic repulsion force acting between the second fixed terminal  420 B and the movable contact  430 . That is, the state where any one of the second contact pieces  4312 B is in contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B can be more reliably maintained. As a result, the conductive state between the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B can be more reliably maintained. 
     In this embodiment, the movable contact main body  431  includes five (a plurality of) second movable-side plate members (second movable-side plate parts)  433 B having the second contact pieces  4312 B formed thereon. The five (plurality of) second movable-side plate members  433 A are stacked (arranged in a line) in the front-rear direction, that is, in the direction intersecting with the up-down direction (moving direction of the movable contact  430 ). The stacking direction (front-rear direction) is also a direction that intersects with the left-right direction (direction in which the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are arranged side by side). 
     With this configuration, the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B can be formed only by stacking the plurality of plate members (arranging the plurality of plate members in a line). Thus, the movable contact main body  431  having the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B can be obtained more easily. Moreover, by stacking the plurality of plate members (arranging the plurality of plate members in a line), at least one of the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B can be moved relative to the other second contact pieces  4312 B with a simpler configuration. Furthermore, the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A and the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B are formed so as to be arranged in the stacking direction (front-rear direction). Therefore, when the movable contact main body  431  is moved in the up-down direction (moving direction of the movable contact  430 ) to come into contact with the bottom surface  421   a B, each of the second contact pieces  4312 B can be brought into the bottom surface  421   a B without being obstructed by the other second contact pieces  4312 B. As a result, all of the second contact pieces  4312 B can be more reliably brought into contact with the bottom surface  421   a B. 
     Furthermore, in this embodiment, the second movable-side plate member  433 B and the movable-side plate member  433 A are integrally formed. That is, five (a plurality of) plate members (plate members)  433  are formed, each having the first contact piece  4312 A on one side and the second contact piece  4312 B on the other side. The five (plurality of) plate members  433  are stacked in the front-rear direction (direction intersecting with the moving direction of the movable contact  430  and the direction in which the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are arranged side by side) to form the movable contact main body  431 . 
     Accordingly, a plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A and a plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B can be formed only by stacking the plate members  433  (arranging the plate members  433  in a line). That is, the movable contact main body  431  having the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A and the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B can be manufactured more easily. Furthermore, the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A and the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B are formed so as to be arranged in the stacking direction (front-rear direction). Therefore, when the movable contact main body  431  is moved in the up-down direction (moving direction of the movable contact  430 ) to come into contact with the respective bottom surfaces  421   a A and  421   a B, the respective contact pieces can be brought into contact with the bottom surfaces  421   a A and  421   a B without being obstructed by the other contact pieces. As a result, all the contact pieces can be more reliably brought into contact with the bottom surfaces  421   a A and  421   a B. 
     In the above embodiment, the description is given of the example where the five (plurality of) plate members  433  are held by the holder  460  using the support shaft  465 . However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, as shown in  FIG. 6 , a configuration in which a plurality of plate members  433  are held by the holder  460  itself is also possible. 
     In  FIG. 6 , again, the movable contact  430  includes a movable contact main body  431  formed by stacking a plurality of plate members (plate members)  433  in the front-rear direction (arranging the plate members in a line), each having the first contact piece  4312 A on one side and the second contact piece  4312 B on the other side. A holder  460  is provided so as to surround the movable contact  430 . 
     To be more specific, an approximately rectangular plate-shaped upper member  467  fixed to the shaft  380  and arranged above the movable contact  430  and an approximately U-shaped lower member  468  surrounding the lower side and the side of the movable contact  430  form the holder  460  surrounding the upper and lower surfaces and side surfaces of the movable contact  430 . In  FIG. 6 , the lower surface of the bottom wall of the lower member  468  is pressed upward by the contact pressure spring  401 . The contact pressure spring  401  is formed of a coil spring, and the shaft  380  is inserted inside the contact pressure spring  401 . 
     Furthermore, in  FIG. 6 , a recess part  430   a  opened upward and on both sides in the front-rear direction is formed in the upper part of the center of the movable contact  430  in the left-right direction. The upper member  467  is arranged inside the recess part  430   a  when the movable contact  430  is held by the holder  460 . Thus, it is possible to prevent the plate member  433  from falling out of the holder  460  opened on both sides in the left-right direction. It is preferable that the upper member  467  fixed to the shaft  380  is configured such that at least the lower part thereof is located inside the recess part  430   a  in a state where the movable contact  430  is in contact with the fixed terminals (first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B) as shown in  FIG. 6( b ) . Thus, even when the movable contact  430  is in contact with the fixed terminals (first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B), the plate member  433  can be prevented from falling out of the holder  460 . 
     It is also possible to form the upper and lower members  467  and  468  using a magnetic material, and to make the holder  460  function as a yoke. 
     Moreover, in the above embodiment, the description is given of the example where the movable contact main body  431  is formed by stacking the five (plurality of) plate members  433 , each having the first and second contact pieces  4312 A and  4312 B formed thereon, in the front-rear direction (arranged the plate members in a line). However, the configuration of the movable contact main body  431  is not limited thereto. 
     For example, as shown in  FIG. 7 , a movable contact main body  431  can be configured by forming a plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A on the side of a single plate member to be the first contact unit  4311 A, whose both ends in the left-right direction serve as the first contact unit  4311 A and the second contact unit  4311 B. 
     In  FIG. 7 , the movable contact main body  431  is formed by using a plate member  4331  having an approximately rectangular shape when viewed from the thickness direction. This plate member  4331  has a shape in which notches  4331   a  having openings on the tip side and both sides in the thickness direction (up-down direction) are arranged in the transverse direction (front-rear direction) on one side in the longitudinal direction (left-right direction). Thus, a plurality of protruding pieces  4331   b  separated by the notches  4331   a  are formed on one side in the longitudinal direction. When the plurality of protruding pieces  4331   b  on one side in the longitudinal direction are opposed to the first fixed terminal  420 A while the other side in the longitudinal direction is opposed to the second fixed terminal  420 B, the plate member  4331  serves as the movable contact main body  431  having a plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A. In this case, the movable contact main body  431  comes into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A at a plurality of spots, and comes into contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B at one spot. 
     This also makes it possible to reduce the magnitude of the electromagnetic repulsion force received by the first contact unit  4311 A from the first fixed terminal  420 A. 
     Note that it is also possible that the plate member  4331  has a shape in which a plurality of notches are also provided on the other side in the longitudinal direction, and the movable contact main body  431  includes a plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A and a plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B formed therein. That is, it is also possible for the movable contact main body  431  to have a shape in which the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A and the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B are connected by a single central plate portion. In this case, the movable contact main body  431  comes into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A at a plurality of spots, and also comes into contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B at a plurality of spots. 
     This also makes it possible to reduce the magnitude of the electromagnetic repulsion force received by the movable contact  430  from the fixed terminals (first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B). 
     The movable contact main body  431  may also be configured as shown in  FIG. 8 . In  FIG. 8 , the movable contact main body  431  is formed by electrically connecting a one side member  4332  having a first contact unit  4311 A having a plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A formed therein to the other side member  4333  that is provided separately from the one side member  4332  and includes a second contact unit  4311 B. 
     In  FIG. 8 , the other side member  4333  is formed of a single second movable-side plate member (second movable-side plate part)  433 B. The one side member  4332  has a shape in which one end side (left side in  FIG. 8 ) is branched such that the plurality of first movable-side plate parts  433 A are arranged in the front-rear direction. Thus, the one side member  4332  shown in  FIG. 8  is formed of one member. The one side member  4332  and the other side member  4333  are electrically connected to each other. 
       FIG. 8  illustrates an example where the one side member  4332  and the other side member  4333  (the second movable-side plate member  433 B) have their ends electrically connected by a connecting member  469  formed of a conductive material. However, a method of electrically connecting the one side member  4332  and the other side member  4333  is not limited thereto, and various methods can be used. For example, the one side member  4332  and the other side member  4333  can be directly connected to each other for electrical connection. 
     In the one side member  4332  shown in  FIG. 8 , a gap formed between the adjacent first contact pieces  4312 A is branched so as to be gradually wider toward the tip. Alternatively, the gap may be branched such that the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A are arranged approximately in parallel. 
     Alternatively, a movable contact main body  431  may be configured to have one side member  4332  formed of a plurality of movable-side plate members  433 A. For example, when three movable-side plate members  433 A are used, the movable contact main body  431  may be formed as follows. 
     First, two movable-side plate members  433 A, each having one end bent, and one flat movable-side plate member  433 A whose ends are not bent are prepared. Next, the flat movable-side plate member  433 A whose ends are not bent is arranged such that the thickness direction is approximately aligned with the front-rear direction. Then, the movable-side plate members  433 A, each having one end bent, are arranged on either side of the flat movable-side plate member  433 A in the front-rear direction in a state where one side end is on the right side and the other side end (unbent side) is separated from the flat movable-side plate member  433 A. In this event, the three movable-side plate members  433 A may have one side ends in contact with each other, or at least one movable-side plate member  433 A may be separated. Next, the one side ends of the three movable-side plate members  433 A are electrically connected to the other side member  4333  by using the connecting member  469  or the like. Thus, a movable contact main body  431  is formed, in which the one side member  4332  formed of the plurality of movable-side plate members  433 A is electrically connected to the other side member  4333 . Note that the one side member  4332  may be formed by stacking a plurality of flat movable-side plate members  433 A in the front-rear direction. 
     The second movable-side plate member (second movable-side plate part)  433 B that constitutes the other side member  4333  may be arranged in a state where the thickness direction is approximately aligned with the up-down direction. In this event, the second contact unit  4311 B may be brought into contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B at one spot or a plurality of spots. 
     Alternatively, the other side member  4333  may have a second contact unit  4311 B having a plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B formed therein. This other side member  4333  can have the same shape as that of the one side member  4332  shown in  FIG. 8  and its modified example. It is also possible to form the other side member  4333  by using a plurality of second movable-side plate members  433 B. This other side member  4333  can be formed by the same method as the method described above for forming the one side member  4332  using a plurality of movable-side plate members  433 A. It is also possible to form the other side member  4333  by stacking a plurality of flat second movable-side plate members  433 B in the front-rear direction. 
     The one side member  4332  and the other side member  4333  electrically connected to each other may be pressed upward by using one contact pressure spring or using two or more contact pressure springs. 
     The same advantageous effects as those achieved in the above embodiment can also be achieved with these movable contact main bodies  431 . 
     In the contact device  10  described above, the movable contact main body  431  is pressed upward by one contact pressure spring  401 . That is, the plurality of contact pieces (first and second contact pieces  4312 A and  4312 B) are not individually pressed. The movable contact main body  431  is formed such that the height positions of the plurality of contact pieces are approximately the same, and the plurality of contact pieces having the same height position come into contact with the flat bottom surface of the fixed terminal. 
     With such a configuration, there is a possibility that there is a contact piece that does not come into contact with the fixed terminal due to an error generated during manufacturing or assembly, a positional shift during use, or the like. For this reason, it is preferable that all the contact pieces can be more reliably brought into contact with the fixed terminal even when an error, a positional shift, or the like occurs. 
     Such a contact device  10  can be realized by adopting a configuration shown in  FIG. 9 , for example. 
     To be more specific, a movable contact  430  shown in  FIG. 9  includes a movable contact main body  431  including a first contact unit  4311 A that comes into contact with a first fixed terminal  420 A and a second contact unit  4311 B that comes into contact with a second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     In  FIG. 9 , again, the movable contact main body  431  is formed using five (a plurality of) plate-shaped members (plate members)  433 , each having a first contact piece  4312 A on one side and a second contact piece  4312 B on the other side. That is, the movable contact main body  431  is formed by stacking the five plate members  433  in the front-rear direction (arranging the five plate members  433  so as to be lined up in the front-rear direction). 
     In  FIG. 9 , again, the movable contact  430  is held by the holder  460  in a state of being movable relative to the holder  460  in the up-down direction (one direction). 
     To be more specific, long holes  462   a  and  462   a  elongated in the up-down direction are formed on both side walls  462  and  462  of the holder  460 , respectively. A round insertion hole (a plurality of insertion holes  433   a  communicated with each other) penetrating in the front-rear direction (width direction of the movable contact  430 ) is formed in the movable contact  430 . The movable contact  430  is arranged between the side walls  462  and  462 , and the support shaft  465  is inserted into the holes in a state where the round insertion hole is communicated with the pair of long holes  462   a  and  462   a . E-rings  466  are attached to the portions of the support shaft  465  that protrude outward from the side walls  462 . Thus, the movable contact  430  is held by the holder  460  so as to be relatively movable in the up-down direction in a state where the movable contact  430  is prevented from falling out of the holder  460 . 
     A contact pressure spring  401  is disposed between a holding member  464  for placing and holding the movable contact  430  on top and a bottom wall  463  of the holder  460 . The contact pressure spring  401  presses the movable contact  430  upward through the holding member  464 . 
     Here, in the contact device  10  shown in  FIG. 9 , in a state where the first contact unit  4311 A is in contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A, a plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A are pressed against the first fixed terminal  420 A independently of the other first contact piece  4312 A by a biasing member  434 . At the same time, in a state where the second contact unit  4311 B is in contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B, the plurality of second contact pieces  43112 B are pressed against the second fixed terminal  420 B independently of the other second contact pieces  4312 B by the biasing member  434 . 
     In  FIG. 9 , the biasing member  434  is formed by stacking five leaf springs (biasing parts)  434   a , each having its both ends curved upward, in the front-rear direction. In  FIG. 9 , the thickness of each leaf spring  434   a  is approximately the same as the thickness of the plate member  433 , and each leaf spring  434   a  is held by a support shaft  434   b  so as to be rotatable independently. The biasing member  434  is disposed between the holding member  464  and the movable contact  430  in a state where one plate member  433  of the movable contact main body  431  is located above each leaf spring  434   a . Thus, each leaf spring  434   a  is flexibly deformed independently to press the plate member  433  disposed thereabove in a state where the first contact unit  4311 A comes into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A and the second contact unit  4311 B comes into contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B. That is, in  FIG. 9 , one leaf spring  434   a  presses one plate member  433 , and thus the first contact piece  4312 A formed on the one plate member  433  is pressed against the first fixed terminal  420 A, and the second contact piece  4312 B is pressed against the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     As described above, in  FIG. 9 , the five (plurality of) plate members  433  are separately and independently pressed by the biasing members  434 . That is, the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A are separately and independently pressed, while the plurality of second contact pieces  43112 B are separately and independently pressed. 
     Accordingly, the individual contact pieces (the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A and the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B) are pressed by the biasing member  434 . Therefore, even if an error occurs during manufacturing or assembly, or a positional shift occurs during use, all of the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A can be more reliably brought into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A. At the same time, all of the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B can be more reliably brought into contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     In  FIG. 9 , the biasing member  434  is arranged on the holding member  464  biased upward by the contact pressure spring  401 . Alternatively, without using the contact pressure spring  401  and the holding member  464 , the biasing member  434  may also be arranged on the bottom wall  463  of the holder  460 . 
       FIG. 9  illustrates a biasing member  434  in which one biasing part (leaf spring  434   a ) presses the first contact piece  4312 A and the second contact piece  4312 B of one plate member  433 . However, the biasing member  434  does not have to have the configuration shown in  FIG. 9 , but may also have a configuration in which a biasing part that presses the first contact piece  4312 B of one plate member  433  and a biasing part that presses the second contact piece  4312 B are provided separately. 
     As described above, when the individual contact pieces (the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A and the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B) are separately and independently pressed by the biasing member  434 , the movable contact main body  431  can be configured to follow the shape of the fixed terminal (first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B). 
     For example, as shown in  FIG. 10 , individual contact pieces (a plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A and a plurality of second contact piece  4312 B) can be brought into contact with an uneven surface (curved surface)  421   a A of the fixed terminal (first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B). 
     In  FIG. 10 , the movable contact main body  431  includes seven (a plurality of) first movable-side plate members (first movable-side plate parts)  433 A having first contact pieces  4312 A formed thereon. The seven movable-side plate members  433 A are stacked (arranged so as to be lined up in the front-rear direction) in the front-rear direction (direction intersecting with the moving direction of the movable contact  430 ). The stacking direction (front-rear direction) is also a direction that intersects with the left-right direction (direction in which the first fixed terminals  420 A and the second fixed terminals  420 B are arranged side by side). 
     Long holes  433   a A elongated in the up-down direction are formed in the seven movable-side plate members  433 A, respectively, and a support shaft  465  is inserted into the long holes  433   a A. Thus, the movable contact main body  431  is formed having the plurality of movable-side plate members  433 A held so as to be relatively movable in the up-down direction. 
     In  FIG. 10 , the individual movable-side plate members  433 A are separately and independently pressed by a coil spring (biasing part)  434   a  of the biasing member  434 . Thus, the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A are brought into contact with the curved surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. That is, the movable contact main body  431  follows the shape of the curved surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. 
     Although  FIG. 10  illustrates the case where the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A are brought into contact with the curved surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A, the same goes for the case where the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B are brought into contact with the curved surface of the second fixed terminal  420 B. The same goes for the case where, by using a plurality of plate members  433 , the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B are brought into contact with the curved surface of the second fixed terminal  420 B while the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A are brought into contact with the curved surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. Although  FIG. 10  illustrates an example where the biasing part  434   a  constituting a part of the biasing member  434  is a coil spring, the leaf spring  434   a  shown in  FIG. 9  or another member having elastic restoring force may also be used as the biasing part. These also apply to  FIGS. 13 to 16  to be described later. 
     It is also possible to use one shown in  FIG. 11  as the biasing member  434 . In  FIG. 11 , a biasing member  434  is formed by mounting a flexible plate member  434   d  using a heat-resistant fluororesin or the like on a rigid base part  434   c . Note that the base part  434   c  has approximately the same contour shape as the plate member  434   d  in a plan view. Therefore, the plate member  434   d  is placed on the upper surface of the base part  434   c  in a state where the entire shape is prevented from being significantly deflected. 
     Furthermore, slits are formed in a lattice pattern in the upper part of the plate member  434   d . By forming slits in a lattice pattern in the upper part of the plate member  434   d , a plurality of projections (biasing parts)  434   e  connected at the lower part are formed in the upper part of the plate member  434   d . The plurality of projections  434   e  can be flexibly deformed separately and independently. Note that a method of forming the plurality of projections that can be flexibly deformed separately and independently is not limited to the above method, and the plurality of projections can be formed using various methods. 
     When the plurality of plate members  433  of the movable contact main body  431  are arranged, for example, on the plurality of projections  434   e  that can be flexibly deformed separately and independently, the plurality of plate members  433  are pressed separately and independently by the biasing member  434 . In this case, the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A are separately and independently pressed, while the plurality of second contact pieces  43112 B are separately and independently pressed. 
     For example, as shown in  FIG. 11( b ) , the biasing member  434  can be disposed in a state of being pressed upward by the contact pressure spring  401  interposed between the base part  434   c  and the bottom wall  463  of the holder  460 . As in the case of the biasing member  434  shown in  FIG. 9 , the biasing member  434  can also be disposed directly on the bottom wall  463  of the holder  460 . 
     Alternatively, a biasing member shown in  FIG. 12  can also be used. In  FIG. 12 , a biasing member  434  is formed by placing a plate member (biasing part)  434   d  having elastic restoring force on a rigid base part  434   c . The plate member  434   d  having elastic restoring force can be obtained, for example, by molding a gel member, rubber, or the like into a plate shape. In  FIG. 12 , again, the base part  434   c  has approximately the same contour shape as the plate member  434   d  in plan view. Therefore, the plate member  434   d  is placed on the upper surface of the base part  434   c  in a state where the entire shape is prevented from being significantly deflected. 
     When the plurality of plate members  433  of the movable contact main body  431  are arranged, for example, on the plate member  434   d  having elastic restoring force, the plurality of plate members  433  are separately and independently pressed by the biasing member  434 . In this case, the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A are separately and independently pressed, while the plurality of second contact pieces  43112 B are separately and independently pressed. 
     Such a biasing member  434  can be disposed in a state of being pressed upward by a contact pressure spring  401  interposed between the base part  434   c  and the bottom wall  463  of the holder  460 , for example, as shown in  FIG. 12( b ) . As in the case of the biasing member  434  shown in  FIG. 9 , the biasing member  434  can also be disposed directly on the bottom wall  463  of the holder  460 . 
     Alternatively, a biasing member  434  shown in  FIG. 13  may also be used. In  FIG. 13 , the biasing member  434  is formed by arranging three coil springs (biasing parts)  434   a  on a rigid base part  434   c  so as to be arranged in the front-rear direction. For example, as shown in  FIG. 13( b ) , the biasing member  434  can be disposed in a state of being pressed upward by a contact pressure spring  401  interposed between the base part  434   c  and the bottom wall  463  of the holder  460 . As in the case of the biasing member  434  shown in  FIG. 9 , the biasing member  434  can also be disposed directly on the bottom wall  463  of the holder  460 . 
     The biasing member  434  shown in  FIG. 13  is configured such that the coil spring (biasing part)  434   a  disposed on the front side in the front-rear direction presses the two first contact pieces  4312 A disposed on the front side in the front-rear direction, while the coil spring (biasing part)  434   a  disposed on the rear side in the front-rear direction presses the two first contact pieces  4312 A disposed on the rear side in the front-rear direction. The coil spring (biasing part)  434   a  arranged at the center in the front-rear direction presses the single first contact piece  4312 A arranged at the center in the front-rear direction. 
     As described above, in  FIG. 13 , the biasing member  434  has two (at least one) coil springs (biasing parts)  434   a  that separately and independently press the two first contact pieces  4312 A. This makes it possible to reduce the number of coil springs (biasing parts)  434   a  used to press the plurality of contact pieces separately and independently. 
     In this event, as shown in  FIG. 14 , it is preferable to interpose a balance member  435  between the coil spring (biasing part)  434   a  and the two first contact pieces  4312 A. As shown in  FIG. 14 , the balance member  435  has an approximately U-shape, including a bottom wall  435   a  and a pair of side walls  435   b  and  435   b  connected to both ends in the front-rear direction of the bottom wall  435   a.    
     The approximately U-shaped balance member  435  is arranged so that the bottom wall  435   a  is located above the coil spring  434   a  and the side walls  435   b  are located below the two first contact pieces  4312 A. Thus, when the lower surface of the bottom wall  435   a  of the balance member  435  is pressed by the coil spring  434   a , the elastic restoring force of the coil spring (biasing part)  434   a  is transmitted to the first contact piece  4312 A via the respective side walls  435   b.    
     Thus, with the balance member  435  interposed between the coil spring (biasing part)  434   a  and the two first contact pieces  4312 A, the elastic restoring force of the coil spring (biasing part)  434   a  can be more reliably transmitted to the two first contact pieces  4312 A. 
     The shape of the balance member  435  is not limited to the approximately U-shape, but may be any shape such as an approximately V-shape. 
     As shown in  FIG. 15 , it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which three or more first contact pieces  4312 A are separately and independently pressed by one coil spring (biasing part)  434   a . Such a configuration can be obtained by combining a plurality of balance members  435 . For example, by connecting another balance member  435  to one side wall  435   b  of the balance member  435 , the three first contact pieces  4312 A can be separately and independently pressed by one coil spring  434   a . Alternatively, by connecting another balance member  435  to the two side walls  435   b , four first contact pieces  4312 A can be separately and independently pressed by one coil spring  434   a . Therefore, by combining a plurality of balance members  435 , three or more first contact pieces  4312 A can be separately and independently pressed by one coil spring  434   a .  FIG. 15  illustrates a configuration in which six first contact pieces  4312 A can be separately and independently pressed by one coil spring  434   a.    
     Thus, by combining a plurality of balance members  435 , the number of coil springs (biasing parts)  434   a  used to press the plurality of contact pieces separately and independently can be further reduced. 
     As shown in  FIG. 16 , a transmission member  436  may be interposed between the coil spring (biasing part)  434   a  and the balance member  435  to transmit the elastic restoring force of the coil spring (biasing part)  434   a  to the balance member  435  through the transmission member  436 . In  FIG. 16 , the transmission member  436  includes a spring receiving part  436   a  that receives the coil spring (biasing part)  434   a  and a transmission projection  436   b  formed to project upward at the center of the spring receiving part  436   a . By disposing the transmission projection  436   b  at the center of the bottom wall  435   a  of the balance member  435 , the elastic restoring force of the coil spring (biasing part)  434   a  is transmitted to the center of the bottom wall  435   a  from the transmission projection  436   b  of the transmission member  436 . This makes it possible to more evenly transmit the elastic restoring force of the coil spring (biasing part)  434   a  to the two first contact pieces  4312 A. 
     Alternatively, the movable contact main body  431  may also be configured as shown in  FIG. 17 . In  FIG. 17 , a plurality of plate members  433  are held using a support shaft  465  formed of a flexibly deformable coil spring, instead of a rigid support shaft. In  FIG. 17 , the movable contact main body  431  is formed by holding the plurality of plate members  433  using the flexibly deformable support shaft  465 . 
     With such a configuration, the individual contact pieces (first and second contact pieces  4312 A and  4312 B) can follow the shape of the fixed terminal (first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B).  FIG. 17  illustrates an example where five first contact pieces  4312 A are brought into contact with a first fixed terminal  420 A having a tapered portion  4211 A formed in its lower portion, the tapered portion  4211 A having a smaller diameter toward the lower side.  FIG. 17  also illustrates an example where five second contact pieces  4312 B are brought into contact with a second fixed terminal  420 B having a tapered portion  4211 B formed in its lower portion, the tapered portion  4211 B having a smaller diameter toward the lower side. 
     Although  FIG. 17  illustrates an example where the five plate members  433  are each pressed by one coil spring (biasing part)  434   a , the configurations shown in  FIGS. 9 and 11 to 16  may also be adopted. 
     With such a configuration, when the individual contact pieces (first and second contact pieces  4312 A and  4312 B) come into contact with the fixed terminals (first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B), the support shaft  465  is flexibly deformed so as to follow the shape of the first fixed terminal  420 A. As shown in  FIGS. 17( b ) and 17( c ) , the five plate members  433  are displaced such that the both ends are at the highest position and the central portion is at the lowest position. 
     In this event, the elastic restoring force generated on the support shaft  465  causes the two outer first contact pieces  4312 A to sandwich the tapered portion  4211 A of the first fixed terminal  420 A, and the two outer second contact pieces  4312 B to sandwich the tapered portion  4211 B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     Thus, in  FIG. 17 , when the individual contact pieces (first and second contact pieces  4312 A and  4312 B) are brought into contact with the fixed terminals (first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B), the two plate members  433  located on the outer side are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction. In this event, a current flows in the same direction through the two first contact pieces  4312 A arranged side by side in the front-rear direction. 
     When a current in the same direction is applied to the juxtaposed members, force attracting each other acts on the juxtaposed members. Therefore, in a state where the individual contact pieces are in contact with the fixed terminal, force attracting each other acts on the two plate members  433  located outside. Therefore, with the configuration shown in  FIG. 17 , the two outer first contact pieces  4312 A more firmly hold the tapered portion  4211 A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. As a result, the first contact piece  4312 A can be prevented from being moved by the electromagnetic repulsion force acting between the first fixed terminal  420 A and the first contact piece  4312 A. Likewise, the two outer second contact pieces  4312 B more firmly hold the tapered portion  4211 B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. As a result, the second contact piece  4312 B can be prevented from being moved by the electromagnetic repulsion force acting between the second fixed terminal  420 B and the second contact piece  4312 B. 
     Alternatively, the movable contact main body  431  may also be configured as shown in  FIG. 18 . In  FIG. 18 , a flat plate member  433  is arranged at the center in the front-rear direction. A leaf spring curved so as to be elastically deformable in the thickness direction is used as the plate member  433 . To be more specific, two elastically deformable plate members (leaf springs)  433  are disposed on both sides in the front-rear direction of the flat plate member  433  in a state where both ends in the left-right direction are separated from both ends of the flat plate member  433 . 
     The three plate members  433  have long holes  433   a  formed therein, which are elongated in the up-down direction, and the support shaft  465  is inserted into the long holes  433   a . Thus, the movable contact main body  431  is formed having the plurality of plate members  433  held so as to be relatively movable in the up-down direction. 
     With such a configuration, again, the individual contact pieces (first and second contact pieces  4312 A and  4312 B) can follow the shape of the fixed terminal (first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B).  FIG. 18  illustrates an example where three first contact pieces  4312 A are brought into contact with a first fixed terminal  420 A having a tapered portion  4211 A formed in its lower portion, the tapered portion  4211 A having a smaller diameter toward the lower side.  FIG. 18  also illustrates an example where three second contact pieces  4312 B are brought into contact with a second fixed terminal  420 B having a tapered portion  4211 B formed in its lower portion, the tapered portion  4211 B having a smaller diameter toward the lower side. 
     In  FIG. 18 , again, the three plate members  433  can be each pressed by one coil spring (biasing part)  434   a . It is also possible to use the biasing members  434  shown in  FIGS. 9 and 11 to 16 . 
     With such a configuration, when the individual contact pieces (first and second contact pieces  4312 A and  4312 B) come into contact with the fixed terminal (first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B), the three plate members  433  are displaced so that both ends are located above and the center is located below. 
     In this event, the plate members  433  located at both ends in the front-rear direction slide on the tapered portions of the fixed terminals while being elastically deformed so that the tips on both sides in the left-right direction open outward in the front-rear direction. Therefore, the elastic restoring force generated at the plate members  433  located at both ends in the front-rear direction causes the two first contact pieces  4312 A located outside to sandwich the tapered portion  4211 A of the first fixed terminal  420 A, and the two second contact pieces  4312 B located outside to sandwich the tapered portion  4211 B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     As described above, in  FIG. 18 , when the individual contact pieces (first and second contact pieces  4312 A and  4312 B) are brought into contact with the fixed terminals (first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B), the two plate members  433  located outside are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction. In this event, a current flows in the same direction through the two first contact pieces  4312 A arranged side by side in the front-rear direction. 
     Therefore, with the configuration shown in  FIG. 18 , again, the two first contact pieces  4312 A located outside more firmly hold the tapered portion  4211 A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. As a result, the first contact piece  4312 A can be prevented from being moved by the electromagnetic repulsion acting between the first fixed terminal  420 A and the first contact piece  4312 A. Likewise, the two second contact pieces  4312 B located outside more firmly hold the tapered portion  4211 B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. As a result, the second contact piece  4312 B can be prevented from being moved by the electromagnetic repulsion acting between the second fixed terminal  420 B and the second contact piece  4312 B. 
     The contact device  10  is not limited to the configurations described above but may have various configurations. 
     For example, the contact device  10  may also have a configuration shown in  FIG. 19 . 
     As in the case of the movable contact  430  described in the above embodiment, a movable contact  430  shown in  FIG. 19  also includes a movable contact main body  431  including a first contact unit  4311 A that comes into contact with a first fixed terminal  420 A and a second contact unit  4311 B that comes into contact with a second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     As in the case of the above embodiment, the movable contact main body  431  shown in  FIG. 19  is also formed by stacking a plurality of approximately rectangular plate members  433  in the front-rear direction (arranging the plate members so as to be lined up in the front-rear direction), each having a first contact piece  4312 A on one side and a second contact piece  4312 B on the other side. In  FIG. 19 , the movable contact main body  431  is formed by stacking three plate members  433  in the front-rear direction. 
     In the movable contact main body  431  shown in  FIG. 19 , again, the first contact unit  4311 A includes a plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A that come into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A. The plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A are separately and independently movable in the up-down direction (rotatable about the support shaft  465 ). That is, at least one of the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A is movable relative to the other first contact pieces  4312 A. 
     The second contact unit  4311 B includes a plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B that come into contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B. The plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B are separately and independently movable in the up-down direction (rotatable about the support shaft  465 ). That is, at least one of the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B is movable relative to the other second contact pieces  4312 B. 
     Here, the movable contact  430  shown in  FIG. 19  includes a first outer movable contact main body  432 A arranged around the first contact unit  4311 A of the movable contact main body  431 , separately from the movable contact main body  431 . The movable contact  430  also includes a second outer movable contact main body  432 B arranged around the second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431 , separately from the movable contact main body  431 . 
     In  FIG. 19 , the first outer movable contact main body  432 A and the second outer movable contact main body  432 B are integrally formed. 
     That is, in  FIG. 19 , the movable contact  430  includes an outer movable contact main body  432  arranged around the first and second contact units  4311 A and  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431 , separately from the movable contact main body  431 . 
     To be more specific, the outer movable contact main body  432  is formed by using two plate members  4321  each having a shape in which both ends in the longitudinal direction of one plate member are bent in the same direction. That is, the outer movable contact main body  432  is formed by using two plate members  4321  formed in an approximately U-shape using a side wall part  432   a  and a pair of bent pieces  432   b  and  432   b  provided at both ends of the side wall part  432   a . The length of the side wall part  432   a  in the longitudinal direction is longer than the length of the plate member  433  in the longitudinal direction. 
     The two plate members  4321  are arranged so as to sandwich the movable contact main body  431  in the front-rear direction. To be more specific, one plate member  4321  is disposed in front of the movable contact main body  431  so as to come into contact with the front surface of the movable contact main body  431 , and the other plate member  4321  is arranged behind the movable contact main body  431  so as to come into contact with the rear surface of the movable contact main body  431 . In this event, the one plate member  4321  is arranged in front of the movable contact main body  431  in a state where the thickness direction of the side wall part  432   a  is approximately aligned with the front-rear direction and the tips of the pair of bent pieces  432   b  and  432   b  face rearward. Meanwhile, the other plate member  4321  is arranged behind the movable contact main body  431  in a state where the thickness direction of the side wall part  432   a  is approximately aligned with the front-rear direction and the tips of the pair of bent pieces  432   b  and  432   b  face forward. 
     Thus, the outer movable contact main body  432  is arranged around the first and second contact units  4311 A and  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431 .  FIG. 19  illustrates an example where the bent piece  432   b  of the one plate member  4321  and the bent piece  432   b  of the other plate member  4321  are separated in the front-rear direction on both sides in the left-right direction. However, the bent piece  432   b  of the one plate member  4321  and the bent piece  432   b  of the other plate member  4321  do not have to be separated on both sides in the left-right direction. That is, the bent piece  432   b  of the one plate member  4321  and the bent piece  432   b  of the other plate member  4321  may be in contact with each other on at least one side in the left-right direction. Alternatively, a frame-shaped member may be used as the outer movable contact main body  432 , and this outer movable contact main body  432  may be arranged so as to surround the entire circumference of the movable contact main body  431 . Alternatively, an approximately C-shaped member that is partially notched may be used as the outer movable contact main body  432 . 
     In  FIG. 19 , a gap is formed between the bent piece  432   b  and the movable contact main body  431 . That is, a first gap D 2  is provided between the first contact unit  4311 A of the movable contact main body  431  and the outer movable contact main body  432 . A second gap D 3  is also provided between the second contact unit  4311 B and the outer movable contact main body  432 . 
     The movable contact  430  shown in  FIG. 19  is also held by the holder  460  in a state of being movable relative to the holder  460  in the up-down direction (one direction). Note that a round insertion hole  432   c  is formed in the side wall part  432   a  of the outer movable contact main body  432 . By inserting the support shaft  465  into the round insertion hole  432   c , the outer movable contact main body  432  is held on the holder  460  by the support shaft  465  together with the movable contact main body  431 . In  FIG. 19 , again, the support shaft  465  is held by the holder  460  in a state of being movable relative to the holder  460  in the up-down direction (one direction). Therefore, when the support shaft  465  is moved in the up-down direction (one direction) relative to the holder  460 , the outer movable contact main body  432  is moved in the up-down direction (one direction) relative to the holder  460  together with the movable contact main body  431 . 
     A contact pressure spring  401  is disposed between a holding member  464  for placing and holding the movable contact  430  on top and a bottom wall  463  of the holder  460 . The contact pressure spring  401  presses the movable contact  430  upward through the holding member  464 . 
     Here, in  FIG. 19 , in an assembled state of the contact device  10 , the first contact unit  4311 A of the movable contact main body  431  is opposed to the inner side in the left-right direction of the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. The inner side of the bottom surface  421   a A in the left-right direction refers to a region located on the second fixed terminal  420 B side in a region of the bottom surface  421   a A that is divided by a straight line passing through the center of the bottom surface  421   a A and extending in the front-rear direction. At the same time, the bent piece  432   b  defining the first gap D 2  of the outer movable contact main body  432  is opposed to the outer side in the left-right direction of the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. 
     Furthermore, the second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431  is opposed to the inner side of the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B in the left-right direction. The inner side of the bottom surface  421   a B in the left-right direction refers to a region located on the first fixed terminal  420 A side in a region of the bottom surface  421   a B that is divided by a straight line passing through the center of the bottom surface  421   a B and extending in the front-rear direction. At the same time, the bent piece  432   b  defining the second gap D 3  of the outer movable contact main body  432  is opposed to the outer side in the left-right direction of the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     With such a configuration, when the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is moved upward (to one side) in the up-down direction (one direction), the movable contact  430  is also moved upward and comes into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A and the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     In this event, the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A formed on the first contact unit  4311 A of the movable contact main body  431  come into contact with the inner side of the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. The bent piece  432   b  that defines the first gap D 2  of the outer movable contact main body  432  comes into contact with the outer side of the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. 
     Likewise, the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B formed on the second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431  come into contact with the inner side of the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. The bent piece  432   b  that defines the second gap D 3  of the outer movable contact main body  432  comes into contact with the outer side of the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     On the other hand, when the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is moved downward (to the other side) in the up-down direction (one direction), the movable contact  430  is also moved downward and separated from both of the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. That is, the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A and the bent piece  432   b  that defines the first gap D 2  of the outer movable contact main body  432  are separated from the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. At the same time, the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B and the bent piece  432   b  that defines the second gap D 3  of the outer movable contact main body  432  are separated from the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     Thus, the same advantageous effects as in the above embodiment can also be achieved with the contact device  10  having the configuration shown in  FIG. 19 . 
       FIG. 19  illustrates the example where two approximately U-shaped plate members  4321  elongated in the left-right direction are used to form the outer movable contact main body  432  disposed around the first and second contact units  4311 A and  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431 . 
     However, the outer movable contact main body  432  does not have to have such a configuration. For example, as shown in  FIG. 20 , only the first outer movable contact main body  432 A of the first and second outer movable contact main bodies  432 A and  432 B may be formed.  FIG. 20  illustrates an example where the first outer movable contact main body  432 A is formed by using two plate members  4321 , one of which has a shape in which one end in the longitudinal direction is bent. 
     An approximately U-shaped plate member having bent pieces formed at both ends of a side wall part extending in the front-rear direction may be disposed around the first contact unit  4311 A of the movable contact main body  431  to form the first outer movable contact main body  432 A. In this event, a first gap D 2  may be provided between the first contact unit  4311 A of the movable contact main body  431  and the first outer movable contact main body  432 A. 
     Likewise, an approximately U-shaped plate member having bent pieces formed at both ends of a side wall part extending in the front-rear direction may be disposed around the second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431  to form the second outer movable contact main body  432 B. In this event, a second gap D 3  may be provided between the second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431  and the second outer movable contact main body  432 B. 
     Alternatively, the first outer movable contact main body  432 A and the second outer movable contact main body  432 B formed separately from the first outer movable contact main body  432 A may be provided. 
     Such a configuration is achieved, for example, by disposing an approximately U-shaped plate member having bent pieces formed at both ends of a side wall extending in the front-rear direction around the first and second contact units  4311 A and  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431 . In this event, the first gap D 2  may be provided between the first contact unit  4311 A of the movable contact main body  431  and the first outer movable contact main body  432 A, or the second gap D 3  may be provided between the second contact unit  4311 B and the second outer movable contact main body  432 B. 
     Thus, the same advantageous effects as those achieved with the contact device  10  shown in  FIG. 19  can be achieved. 
     It is also possible that the three plate members  433  constituting the movable contact main body  431  and the two plate members  4321  constituting the outer movable contact main body  432  are separately and independently pressed by the biasing member  434  described above. 
     Alternatively, the contact device  10  may also have a configuration shown in  FIG. 21 . 
     In  FIG. 21 , again, a movable contact  430  includes a movable contact main body  431  and an outer movable contact main body  432  arranged around a first contact unit  4311 A and a second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431 . The movable contact main body  431  shown in  FIG. 21  has the same configuration as the movable contact main body  431  shown in  FIG. 19 , and the outer movable contact main body  432  shown in  FIG. 21  has approximately the same configuration as the outer movable contact main body  432  shown in  FIG. 19 . 
     Here, in  FIG. 21 , the first outer movable contact main body  432 A is configured to be movable in the up-down direction (one direction) relative to the movable contact main body  431 . In a non-conductive state (when the movable contact  430  is separated from the first fixed terminal  420 A), the first outer movable contact main body  432 A is located above the movable contact main body  431  (on the first fixed terminal  420 A side). 
     Furthermore, the second outer movable contact main body  432 B is configured to be movable in the up-down direction (one direction) relative to the movable contact main body  431 . In a non-conductive state (when the movable contact  430  is separated from the second fixed terminal  420 B), the second outer movable contact main body  432 B is located above the movable contact main body  431  (on the second fixed terminal  420 B side). 
     That is, the outer movable contact main body  432  is configured to be movable in the up-down direction (one direction) relative to the movable contact main body  431 . In the non-conductive state, the outer movable contact main body  432  is arranged above the movable contact main body  431  (on the first fixed terminal  420 A side and the second fixed terminal  420 B side). 
     To be more specific, a long insertion hole  432   c  elongated in the up-down direction is formed in the side wall part  432   a  of the outer movable contact main body  432 . By inserting the support shaft  465  into the long insertion hole  432   c , the outer movable contact main body  432  is held on the holder  460  by the support shaft  465  together with the movable contact main body  431 . 
     In  FIG. 21 , round holes  462   a  and  462   a  are formed in the both side walls  462  and  462  of the holder  460 , respectively. Therefore, in a state where the outer movable contact main body  432  and the movable contact main body  431  are held on the holder  460  by the support shaft  465 , the outer movable contact main body  432  is movable in the up-down direction (one direction) relative to the holder  460 . That is, in  FIG. 21 , as the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is moved in the up-down direction (one direction), the holder  460  and the movable contact main body  431  are moved integrally. 
     A contact pressure spring  401  is disposed between a holding member  464  for placing and holding the movable contact  430  on top and a bottom wall  463  of the holder  460 . The contact pressure spring  401  presses the movable contact  430  upward through the holding member  464 . 
     In  FIG. 21 , an approximately trapezoidal projection  432   d  projecting downward is formed at the center in the left-right direction of the side wall part  432   a  of the outer movable contact main body  432 . This projection  432   d  is placed in surface contact with the upper surface of the holding member  464 . The projection  432   d  is formed so as to have its tip positioned below the lower surface of the movable contact main body  431  in a state where the upper surface of the outer movable contact main body  432  and the upper surface of the movable contact main body  431  are approximately flush with each other (see  FIG. 21( b ) ). 
     With such a configuration, in the non-conductive state, the contact pressure spring  401  presses the outer movable contact main body  432  upward through the holding member  464 , thereby the outer movable contact main body  432  is moved upward relative to the holder  460  and the movable contact main body  431 . This relative movement is performed until the support shaft  465  comes into contact with the lower end of the long insertion hole  432   c . In  FIG. 21 , the tip of the projection  432   d  is flush with the lower surface of the movable contact main body  431  in a state where the support shaft  465  is in contact with the lower end of the insertion hole  432   c  (see  FIG. 21( a ) ). 
     In  FIG. 21 , again, when the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is moved upward (to one side) in the up-down direction (one direction), the movable contact  430  is also moved upward and comes into contact with the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. 
     To be more specific, when the movable contact  430  is moved upward, both ends of the outer movable contact main body  432  in the left-right direction first comes into contact with the outer side of the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A and the outer side of the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     When the shaft  380  is further moved upward in a state where both ends of the outer movable contact main body  432  in the left-right direction are in contact with the respective fixed terminals, the holder  460  and the movable contact main body  431  are moved upward relative to the outer movable contact main body  432 . 
     When the movable contact main body  431  is thus moved upward relative to the outer movable contact main body  432 , the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A formed in the first contact unit  4311 A of the movable contact main body  431  come into contact with the inner side of the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. At the same time, the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B formed in the second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431  come into contact with the inner side of the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     On the other hand, when the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is moved downward (to the other side) in the up-down direction (one direction), the movable contact  430  is also moved downward and separated from both of the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. 
     To be more specific, as the shaft  380  is moved downward, the holder  460  and the movable contact main body  431  are also moved downward. In this event, the outer movable contact main body  432  is pressed upward by the contact pressure spring  401 . Therefore, when the shaft  380  is moved downward with the both ends of the outer movable contact main body  432  in the left-right direction in contact with the respective fixed terminals, the holder  460  and the movable contact main body  431  are moved downward relative to the outer movable contact main body  432 . 
     When the shaft  380  is thus moved downward, the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A are first separated from the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A, and the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B are separated from the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     The downward movement of the holder  460  and the movable contact main body  431  relative to the outer movable contact main body  432  is performed until the support shaft  465  comes into contact with the lower end of the long insertion hole  432   c . Therefore, when the support shaft  465  comes into contact with the lower end of the long insertion hole  432   c , the outer movable contact main body  432  is also moved downward together with the holder  460  and the movable contact main body  431 . 
     When the outer movable contact main body  432  is moved downward, the bent piece  432   b  defining the second gap D 3  of the outer movable contact main body  432  is separated from the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. At the same time, the bent piece  432   b  defining the second gap D 3  of the outer movable contact main body  432  is separated from the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     Thus, the movable contact  430  is separated from both of the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. 
     Accordingly, in the movable contact  430  shown in  FIG. 21 , the outer movable contact main body  432  comes into contact with the respective fixed terminals before the movable contact main body  431  and is separated from the respective fixed terminals after the movable contact main body  431 . Thus, the arc can be mainly generated by the outer movable contact main body  432 . That is, in the movable contact  430  shown in  FIG. 21 , the contact of the movable contact main body  431  serves as a contact mainly used for energization, and the contact of the outer movable contact main body  432  serves as a contact mainly used for arc generation. 
     Thus, the same advantageous effects as those achieved with the contact device  10  shown in  FIG. 19  can also be achieved with the contact device  10  having the configuration shown in  FIG. 21 . 
     In  FIG. 21 , the outer movable contact main body  432  is configured to be movable in the up-down direction (one direction) relative to the movable contact main body  431 . In the non-conductive state, the outer movable contact main body  432  is arranged above the movable contact main body  431  (on the first fixed terminal  420 A side and the second fixed terminal  420 B side). 
     Accordingly, the arc can be mainly generated by the outer movable contact main body  432 , and the movable contact main body  431  can be more reliably prevented from being affected by the arc. 
       FIG. 21  also illustrates the example where the two approximately U-shaped plate members  4321  elongated in the left-right direction are used to form the outer movable contact main body  432  disposed around the first contact unit  4311 A and the second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431 . However, the configuration of the outer movable contact main body  432  is not limited thereto. For example, the first outer movable contact main body  432 A shown in  FIG. 20  and the first and second outer movable contact main bodies  432 A and  432 B described as a modified example of  FIG. 19  may be used and configured to be movable in the up-down direction (one direction) relative to the movable contact main body  431 . In the non-conductive state, the first and second outer movable contact main bodies  432 A and  432 B may be arranged on the upper side (on the first fixed terminal  420 A side and the second fixed terminal  420 B side). 
     Thus, the same advantageous effects as those achieved with the contact device  10  shown in  FIG. 21  can also be achieved. 
     In  FIG. 21 , again, the three plate members  433  constituting the movable contact main body  431  and the two plate members  4321  constituting the outer movable contact main body  432  may be separately and independently pressed by the biasing member  434  described above. 
     Alternatively, the contact device  10  may also have a configuration shown in  FIG. 22 . 
     In  FIG. 22 , again, a movable contact  430  includes a movable contact main body  431  and an outer movable contact main body  432  arranged around a first contact unit  4311 A and a second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431 . The movable contact main body  431  shown in  FIG. 22  has the same configuration as the movable contact main body  431  shown in  FIG. 19 , and the outer movable contact main body  432  shown in  FIG. 22  has the same configuration as the outer movable contact main body  432  shown in  FIG. 19 . That is, the movable contact  430  shown in  FIG. 22  has the same configuration as the movable contact  430  shown in  FIG. 19 . 
     Here, in  FIG. 22 , a first defining part is formed in the first fixed terminal  420 A. The first defining part enters the first gap D 2  and defines the movable contact main body  431  and the outer movable contact main body  432  during the conductive state. 
     To be more specific, a tapered portion  4211 A having a smaller diameter toward the lower side is formed below the first fixed terminal  420 A. 
     When the coil  330  is energized to set the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B in a conductive state (when the movable contact  430  is in contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A), the tapered portion  4211 A has its tip  4211   a A enter the first gap D 2 . The movable contact main body  431  and the outer movable contact main body  432  are defined by the tip  4211   a A by making the tip  4211   a A of the tapered portion  4211 A enter the first gap D 2 . Accordingly, in  FIG. 22 , the tip  4211   a A of the tapered portion  4211 A serves as the first defining part that enters the first gap D 2  to define the movable contact main body  431  and the outer movable contact main body  432 . 
     When the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are brought into a conductive state, the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A formed in the first contact unit  4311 A of the movable contact main body  431  come into contact with the inner side of the tapered surface  4211   b A of the tapered portion  4211 A. Meanwhile, the bent piece  432   b  defining the first gap D 2  of the outer movable contact main body  432  comes into contact with the outer side of the tapered surface  4211   b A of the tapered portion  4211 A. 
     In  FIG. 22 , a second defining part is formed in the second fixed terminal  420 B. The second defining part enters the second gap D 3  to define the movable contact main body  431  and the outer movable contact main body  432  during the conductive state. 
     To be more specific, a tapered portion  4211 B having a smaller diameter toward the lower side is formed below the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     When the coil  330  is energized to set the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B in a conductive state (when the movable contact  430  is in contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B), the tapered portion  4211 B has its tip  4211   a B enter the second gap D 3 . The movable contact main body  431  and the outer movable contact main body  432  are defined by the tip  4211   a B by making the tip  4211   a B of the tapered portion  4211 B enter the second gap D 3 . Accordingly, in  FIG. 22 , the tip  4211   a B of the tapered portion  4211 B serves as the second defining part that enters the second gap D 3  to define the movable contact main body  431  and the outer movable contact main body  432 . 
     When the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are brought into a conductive state, the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B formed in the second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431  come into contact with the inner side of the tapered surface  4211   b B of the tapered portion  4211 B. Meanwhile, the bent piece  432   b  defining the second gap D 3  of the outer movable contact main body  432  comes into contact with the outer side of the tapered surface  4211   b B of the tapered portion  4211 B. 
     Thus, the same advantageous effects as those achieved with the contact device  10  shown in  FIG. 19  can also be achieved with the contact device  10  having the configuration shown in  FIG. 22 . 
     In  FIG. 22 , a first gap D 2  is provided between the first contact unit  4311 A of the movable contact main body  431  and the first outer movable contact main body  432 A. Meanwhile, a second gap D 3  is provided between the second contact unit  4311 B and the second outer movable contact main body  432 B. 
     When the movable contact  430  is in contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A, the tip  4211   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A enters the first gap D 2 . 
     When the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are in a conductive state, the tip  4211   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B enters the second gap. 
     Accordingly, it is possible to prevent an arc generated during separation of the outer movable contact main body  432  that comes into contact outside of the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B from coming into contact with the inner movable contact main body  431 . As a result, the movable contact main body  431  can be more reliably prevented from being affected by the arc. 
     In  FIG. 22 , a plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A formed in the first contact unit  4311 A of the movable contact main body  431  are brought into contact with the inner side of the tapered surface  4211   b A of the tapered portion  4211 A. Meanwhile, the bent piece  432   b  that defines the first gap D 2  of the outer movable contact main body  432  is brought into contact with the outer side of the tapered surface  4211   b A of the tapered portion  4211 A. 
     Therefore, obliquely downward electromagnetic repulsion force is generated between the first fixed terminal  420 A and the first contact piece  4312 A and between the first fixed terminal  420 A and the bent piece  432   b  defining the first gap D 2 . 
     Thus, component force of the electromagnetic repulsion force can be used as force transmitted to the shaft (drive shaft)  380  (force moving the shaft  380  downward). Therefore, the electromagnetic repulsion force acting on the shaft (drive shaft)  380  (force in the direction of setting the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B in a non-conductive state) can be further reduced. 
     Likewise a plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B formed in the second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431  are brought into contact with the inner side of the tapered surface  4211   b B of the tapered portion  4211 B. Meanwhile, the bent piece  432   b  that defines the second gap D 3  of the outer movable contact main body  432  is brought into contact with the outer side of the tapered surface  4211   b B of the tapered portion  4211 B. 
     Thus, the same advantageous effects achieved on the first fixed terminal  420 A side can also be achieved on the second fixed terminal  420 B side. 
     As shown in  FIG. 21 , a defining part may be provided in the fixed terminal after the outer movable contact main body  432  is configured to be movable in the up-down direction (one direction) relative to the movable contact main body  431 . In this event, it is preferable that the outer movable contact main body  432  located outside comes into contact with the fixed terminal before the movable contact main body  431  and is separated from the fixed terminal after the movable contact main body  431 . 
     This makes it possible to further reliably suppress the movable contact main body  431  from being affected by the arc. 
       FIG. 22  also illustrates the example where the two approximately U-shaped plate members  4321  elongated in the left-right direction are used to form the outer movable contact main body  432  disposed around the first contact unit  4311 A and the second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431 . However, the configuration of the outer movable contact main body  432  is not limited thereto. For example, the first outer movable contact main body  432 A and the second outer movable contact main body  432 B described as modified examples of  FIGS. 19 and 21  may be used, and the tips are allowed to enter the gaps formed between the first and second outer movable contact main bodies  432 A and  432 B and the movable contact main body  431 . 
     Thus, the same advantageous effects as those achieved with the contact device  10  shown in  FIG. 22  can also be achieved. 
     In  FIG. 22 , again, three plate members  433  constituting the movable contact main body  431  and two plate members  4321  constituting the outer movable contact main body  432  can also be separately and independently pressed by the biasing member  434  described above. 
     As shown in  FIG. 23 , a partition wall  4212 A extending in the front-rear direction and protruding downward is provided on the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A, and the partition wall  4212 A may be allowed to function as a first defining part. 
     In  FIG. 23 , a partition wall  4212 B extending in the front-rear direction and protruding downward is also provided on the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B, and the partition wall  4212 B is allowed to function as a second defining part. 
     Accordingly, when the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are in a conductive state, the first fixed terminal  420 A has its tip (partition wall  4212 A) enter the first gap D 2 , and the second fixed terminal  420 B has its tip (partition wall  4212 B) enter the second gap D 3 . 
     Thus, the same advantageous effects as those achieved with the contact device  10  shown in  FIG. 22  can also be achieved with the contact device  10  having the configuration shown in  FIG. 22 . 
     Further, the first outer movable contact main body  432 A shown in  FIG. 20  and the first outer movable contact main body  432 A and the second outer movable contact main body  432 B described as modified examples of  FIGS. 19 and 21  may be used, and the fixed terminals may be configured to have their tips enter the gaps formed between the first and second outer movable contact main bodies  432 A and  432 B and the movable contact main body  431 . 
     Thus, the same advantageous effects as those achieved with the contact device  10  shown in  FIG. 23  can also be achieved. 
     In  FIG. 23 , again, three plate members  433  constituting the movable contact main body  431  and two plate members  4321  constituting the outer movable contact main body  432  can also be separately and independently pressed by the biasing member  434  described above. 
     Alternatively, the contact device  10  may also have a configuration shown in  FIG. 24 . 
     As in the case of the movable contact  430  described in the above embodiment, a movable contact  430  shown in  FIG. 24  also includes a movable contact main body  431  including a first contact unit  4311 A that comes into contact with a first fixed terminal  420 A and a second contact unit  4311 B that comes into contact with a second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     As in the above embodiment, the movable contact main body  431  shown in  FIG. 24  is also formed by stacking plate members  433 , on which a first contact piece  4312 A and a second contact piece  4312 B are formed, respectively, in the front-rear direction. In  FIG. 24 , the movable contact main body  431  is formed by stacking three plate members  433  in the front-rear direction. 
     In the movable contact main body  431  shown in  FIG. 24 , again, the first contact unit  4311 A includes a plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A that come into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A. The plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A can be separately and independently moved in the up-down direction (rotated about the support shaft  465 ). That is, at least one of the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A can be moved relative to the other first contact pieces  4312 A. 
     The second contact unit  4311 B includes a plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B that come into contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B. The plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B can be separately and independently moved in the up-down direction (rotated about the support shaft  465 ). That is, at least one of the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B can be moved relative to the other second contact pieces  4312 B. 
     Here, in the movable contact  430  shown in  FIG. 24 , a partition wall  461   a  is interposed between two plate members  433  and  433  adjacent to each other in the front-rear direction (stacking direction). 
     Two adjacent first movable-side plate members  433 A and  433 A are partitioned by the partition wall  461   a , while two adjacent second movable-side plate members  433 B and  433 B are partitioned by the partition wall  461   a.    
     Thus, in  FIG. 24 , the partition wall  461   a  functions as a first partition wall interposed between the two adjacent first movable-side plate members  433 A and  433 A. The partition wall  461   a  also functions as a second partition wall interposed between the two adjacent second movable-side plate parts. That is, in  FIG. 24 , the partition wall  461   a  also serves as the first partition wall and the second partition wall. Note that the first and second partition walls can also be provided separately. 
     The movable contact  430  shown in  FIG. 24  is also held by the holder  460  in a state of being movable in the up-down direction (one direction) relative to the holder  460 . 
     Therefore, in  FIG. 24 , two partition walls  461   a  extending in the left-right direction and protruding downward are formed on the lower surface of the top wall  461  of the holder  460  so as to be arranged side by side in the front-rear direction. 
     Three plate members  433  are inserted into three spaces formed between the side wall  462  and the partition wall  461   a . In this event, the side surfaces (front and rear surfaces) of the respective plate members  433  are brought into surface contact with the surface of the side wall  462  and the surface of the partition wall  461   a.    
     It is preferable that a current is unlikely to flow between each plate member  433  and the side wall  462  or the partition wall  461   a . Such side walls  462  and partition walls  461   a  can be formed using, for example, a material having higher conductor resistance than the plate member  433 , or using an insulating material. The surface of the side wall  462  or the partition wall  461   a  may be subjected to an insulating coating process. 
     In  FIG. 24 , each of the plate members  433  is biased upward by a coil spring  402  as a biasing part. This biasing part is not limited to the coil spring, but may be a biasing part used in the biasing member  434  described above, for example. 
     As shown in  FIG. 25( a ) , it is also possible to provide an elastically deformable leg part  433   b  on the plate member  433 , and use this leg part  433   b  as a biasing part. That is, by elastically deforming the leg part  433   b , contact pressure between each plate member  433  and the first fixed terminal  420 A and contact pressure between each plate member  433  and the second fixed terminal  420 B may be ensured. 
       FIG. 25( a )  illustrates the leg part  433   b  extending with its tip face outward. However, as illustrated in  FIG. 25( b ) , the leg part  433   b  may also be configured to extend with its tip face inward. 
     As shown in  FIG. 25( c ) , it is also possible to provide an elastically deformable leg part  463   b  on the bottom wall  463  of the holder  460 , instead of the plate member  433 . This leg part  463   b  can be formed, for example, by cutting and raising a part of the bottom wall  463  with its tip face outward. It is also possible to form a leg part  463   b  having its tip face inward. 
     With such a configuration, when the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is moved upward (to one side) in the up-down direction (one direction), the movable contact  430  is also moved upward and comes into contact with the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. 
     That is, the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A formed in the first contact unit  4311 A of the movable contact main body  431  come into contact with the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. Meanwhile, the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B formed in the second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431  come into contact with the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     Thus, the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are brought into a conductive state. 
     On the other hand, when the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is moved downward (to the other side) in the up-down direction (one direction), the movable contact  430  is also moved downward and separated from both of the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. That is, the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A are separated from the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A, while the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B are separated from the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     When the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are brought into a conductive state, a current in the same direction flows through the three plate members  433  arranged side by side in the front-rear direction. Although  FIG. 24( b )  illustrates an example where a current flows from left to right as indicated by the arrow, a current can also flow from right to left. In either case, a current flows in the same direction through the three plate members  433 . 
     Thus, when a current in the same direction is applied to the juxtaposed members, force attracting each other acts on the juxtaposed members. Therefore, when three members (plate members  433 ) are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction as shown in  FIG. 24 , force attracting each other acts on the plate members  433  positioned at the front and rear in the front-rear direction. Accordingly, the partition wall  461   a  is more firmly sandwiched by the plate members  433 , and frictional force generated between the plate members  433  and the partition wall  461   a  is increased. As a result, the plate members  433  are prevented from being moved by the electromagnetic repulsion force acting between the fixed terminals (first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B) and the movable contact  430 . 
     Thus, in  FIG. 24 , when the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are brought into a conductive state by interposing the partition wall between two members adjacent to each other in the stacking direction, movement of each member is suppressed. Accordingly, the conductive state between the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B can be more reliably maintained. 
     Thus, the same advantageous effects as in the above embodiment can also be achieved with the contact device  10  having the configuration shown in  FIG. 24 . 
     Even if a plurality of plate members  433  are simply stacked without providing any partition wall, force attracting each other acts on the plate members  433  arranged at both ends in the stacking direction. Therefore, even in the case of the movable contact  430  described in the above embodiment and the like, the frictional force generated in the contact portion between the plate members  433  can be increased. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the plate members  433  from being moved by the electromagnetic repulsion force acting between the fixed terminals (first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B) and the movable contact  430 . 
     However, as shown in  FIG. 24 , if the partition wall  461   a  is interposed between two members adjacent to each other in the stacking direction, the frictional force generated in the contact portion between the plate members  433  and other members can be further increased. Therefore, it is possible to further prevent the plate members  433  from being moved by the electromagnetic repulsion force acting between the fixed terminals (first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B) and the movable contact  430 . 
     As described in the modified example of the above embodiment, when the first movable-side plate members  433 A having the first contact pieces  4312 A formed thereon are stacked in the front-rear direction, a first partition wall may be interposed between two first movable-side plate members  433 A adjacent to each other in the stacking direction. 
     Likewise, when the second movable-side plate members  433 B having the second contact pieces  4312 B formed thereon are stacked in the front-rear direction, a second partition wall may be interposed between two second movable-side plate members  433 B adjacent to each other in the stacking direction. 
     Thus, the same advantageous effects as those achieved with the contact device  10  shown in  FIG. 24  can also be achieved. 
     Alternatively, the contact device  10  may also have a configuration shown in  FIG. 26 . 
     As in the case of the movable contact  430  shown in  FIG. 19 , a movable contact  430  shown in  FIG. 26  also includes a movable contact main body  431  including a first contact unit  4311 A that comes into contact with a first fixed terminal  420 A and a second contact unit  4311 B that comes into contact with a second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     As in the case of  FIG. 19 , the movable contact main body  431  shown in  FIG. 26  is also formed by stacking plate members  433  having a first contact piece  4312 A and a second contact piece  4312 B formed thereon, respectively, in the front-rear direction. 
     In  FIG. 26 , however, the width in the front-rear direction of the plate member  433  arranged at the center in the front-rear direction is wider than the width in the front-rear direction of the plate members  433  arranged at the front and rear in the front-rear direction. 
     The narrower plate members  433  arranged at the front and rear in the front-rear direction are each provided with an elastically deformable leg part  433   b . By elastically deforming the leg part  433   b , contact pressure between each plate member  433  and the first fixed terminal  420 A and contact pressure between each plate member  433  and the second fixed terminal  420 B are secured. 
     On the other hand, no leg part is formed in the wider plate member  433  disposed at the center in the front-rear direction, and an insertion hole  433   c  is formed in the center so as to penetrate in the up-down direction, into which the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is inserted. 
     In  FIG. 26 , no support shaft  465  is used, and the plate members  433  are placed on a bottom wall  492   a  of a lower yoke  492  to be described later in a separate and independent state. 
     In the movable contact main body  431  shown in  FIG. 26 , again, the first contact unit  4311 A includes a plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A that come into contact with the first fixed terminals  420 A. The plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A can be moved in the up-down direction separately and independently of each other. That is, at least one of the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A can be moved relative to the other first contact pieces  4312 A. 
     Likewise, the second contact unit  4311 B includes a plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B that come into contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B. The plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B can be moved in the up-down direction separately and independently of each other. That is, at least one of the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B can be moved relative to the other second contact pieces  4312 B. 
     The movable contact  430  shown in  FIG. 26  also includes an outer movable contact main body  432  disposed around the first contact unit  4311 A and the second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431 , separately from the movable contact main body  431 . 
     The outer movable contact main body  432  shown in  FIG. 26  has approximately the same configuration as the outer movable contact main body  432  shown in  FIG. 19  and is formed by arranging approximately U-shaped plate members  4321  on either side of the movable contact main body  431  in the front-rear direction. In this event, the two plate members  4321  constituting the outer movable contact main body  432  are also placed on the bottom wall  492   a  of the lower yoke  492 . The two plate members  4321  are also each provided with an elastically deformable leg part to ensure contact pressure between each plate member  4321  and the first fixed terminal  420 A and contact pressure between each plate member  4321  and the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     Here, in the contact device  10  shown in  FIG. 26 , a yoke  490  is provided so as to surround the movable contact  430 . To be more specific, the yoke  490  surrounding the upper and lower surfaces and side surfaces of the movable contact  430  is configured using an upper yoke (first yoke)  491  disposed above the movable contact  430  and a lower yoke (second yoke)  492  surrounding the lower and side portions of the movable contact  430 . By surrounding the movable contact  430  with the upper yoke  491  and the lower yoke  492 , a magnetic circuit is formed between the upper yoke  491  and the lower yoke  492 . 
     By providing the upper yoke  491  and the lower yoke  492 , when a current flows through the movable contact  430 , the upper yoke  491  and the lower yoke  492  generate magnetic force that attracts each other based on the current. Accordingly, by generating the magnetic force attracting each other in the upper and lower yokes  491  and  492 , the upper and lower yokes  491  and  492  are attracted to each other. When the upper and lower yokes  491  and  492  are attracted to each other, the movable contact  430  is pressed against the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. With the movable contact  430  pressed against the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B, the movable contact  430  is prevented from being separated from the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. Accordingly, the generation of arc is suppressed, and contact welding due to the generation of arc can be suppressed. 
     In  FIG. 26 , the upper yoke  491  is formed in an approximately rectangular plate shape, and the lower yoke  492  is formed into an approximately U-shape by a bottom wall  492   a  and side walls  492   b  formed upright from both ends of the bottom wall  492   a . The upper yoke  491  is fixed to the upper surface of the head  382  of the shaft (drive shaft)  380 . An insertion hole  492   c  into which the shaft main body  381  is inserted is formed in the bottom wall  492   a  of the lower yoke  492 . In  FIG. 26 , the lower surface of the bottom wall portion  492   a  is pressed upward by the contact pressure spring  401 . In  FIG. 26 , the bottom wall  492   a  and the wide plate member  433  are provided with a projection and a recess to be fitted together, and the lower yoke  492  is connected to the wide plate member by fitting the projection and the recess together. To be more specific, a fitting projection  492   d  protruding upward is formed on the upper surface of the bottom wall  492   a , and this fitting projection  492   d  is fitted into a fitting recess  433   d  formed on the lower surface of the wide plate member  433 . Thus, the lower yoke  492  is arranged so as to surround the movable contact  430  on three sides. 
     In  FIG. 26 , again, in an assembled state of the contact device  10 , the first contact unit  4311 A of the movable contact main body  431  is opposed to the inner side of the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A in the left-right direction. Meanwhile, the bent piece  432   b  defining the first gap D 2  of the outer movable contact main body  432  is opposed to the outer side of the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A in the left-right direction. 
     Likewise, the second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431  is opposed to the inner side of the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B in the left-right direction. Meanwhile, the bent piece  432   b  defining the second gap D 3  of the outer movable contact main body  432  is opposed to the outer side of the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B in the left-right direction. 
     With such a configuration, when the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is moved upward (to one side) in the up-down direction (one direction), the movable contact  430  is also moved upward and comes into contact with the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. 
     In this event, the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A formed on the first contact unit  4311 A of the movable contact main body  431  come into contact with the inner side of the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. Meanwhile, the bent piece  432   b  defining the first gap D 2  of the outer movable contact main body  432  comes into contact with the outer side of the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. 
     Likewise, the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B formed on the second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431  comes into contact with the inner side of the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. Meanwhile, the bent piece  432   b  defining the second gap D 3  of the outer movable contact main body  432  comes into contact with the outer side of the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     In this event, the wide plate member  433  disposed at the center in the front-rear direction is pressed against the upper yoke  491  by the upper and lower yokes  491  and  492  being attracted to each other. 
     On the other hand, when the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is moved downward (to the other side) in the up-down direction (one direction), the movable contact  430  is also moved downward and separated from both of the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. That is, the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A and the bent piece  432   b  defining the second gap D 3  of the outer movable contact main body  432  are separated from the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. At the same time, the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B and the bent piece  432   b  defining the second gap D 3  of the outer movable contact main body  432  are separated from the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     Thus, the same advantageous effects as those achieved with the configuration shown in  FIG. 19  can also be achieved with the contact device  10  having the configuration shown in  FIG. 26 . 
     Note that, instead of the outer movable contact main body  432 , the first outer movable contact main body  432 A shown in  FIG. 20  and the first and second outer movable contact main bodies  432 A and  432 B described as the modified example of  FIG. 19  may be used to provide the yoke  490  around the first and secondouter movable contact main bodies  432 A and  432 B. 
     Thus, the same advantageous effects as those achieved with the contact device  10  shown in  FIG. 26  can also be achieved. 
     Alternatively, the contact device  10  may also have a configuration shown in  FIG. 27 . 
     A movable contact  430  shown in  FIG. 27  includes a plurality of (three) conductive leaf springs, and a first contact piece  4312 A and a second contact piece  4312 B are formed at both ends of each leaf spring. That is, in  FIG. 27 , the conductive leaf springs serve as plate members  433  having first and second contact pieces  4312 A and  4312 B formed thereon, respectively. These plate members  433  have a shape that is curved so as to protrude downward in a state where the thickness direction is approximately aligned with the up-down direction. 
     A movable contact main body  431  is formed by stacking the three plate members  433  in the up-down direction in a state of being curved so as to protrude downward. The three plate members  433  have different lengths in the left-right direction, and the longer one is disposed on the lower side. Thus, when the movable contact main body  431  is formed, the tips of the plate members  433  in the left-right direction are arranged approximately at the same height position in the left-right direction. 
     An insertion hole  433   a  penetrating in the thickness direction is formed at the center of the plate member  433  in the left-right direction. By inserting a shaft (drive shaft)  380  into the insertion hole  433   a , the movable contact main body  431  is attached to the shaft (drive shaft)  380 . In this event, a gap is formed between the plate members  433  adjacent to each other in the up-down direction (stacking direction: one direction). 
     Thus, in the movable contact main body  431  shown in  FIG. 27 , one side of each plate member  433  in the left-right direction serves as the first contact unit  4311 A and the first contact piece  4312 A. Meanwhile, the other side of each plate member  433  in the left-right direction serves as the second contact unit  4311 B and the second contact piece  4312 B. 
     The movable contact  430  shown in  FIG. 27  also includes an outer movable contact main body  432  disposed around the first contact unit  4311 A and the second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431 , separately from the movable contact main body  431 . 
     The outer movable contact main body  432  shown in  FIG. 27  is formed by integrating approximately U-shaped plate members  4321  disposed on either side of the movable contact main body  431  in the front-rear direction with a bottom wall  432   e  that is flexibly deformable in the up-down direction. 
     The approximately U-shaped plate member  4321  has the same configuration as the plate member  4321  shown in  FIG. 19 , and includes a side wall  432   a  and a pair of bent pieces  432   b  and  432   b  connected to both ends of the side wall  432   a  in the left-right direction. 
     An insertion hole  432   f  penetrating in the thickness direction is formed at the center of the bottom wall  432   e . By inserting the shaft (drive shaft)  380  into the insertion hole  432   f , the outer movable contact main body  432  is attached to the shaft (drive shaft)  380 . 
     The shaft (drive shaft)  380  shown in  FIG. 27  includes a shaft main body  381  and a head  382 . The shaft (drive shaft)  380  shown in  FIG. 27  is provided with a support member  383  attached around the shaft main body  381  to support the movable contact main body  431  and the outer movable contact main body  432  from below. 
     The support member  383  is attached around the shaft main body  381  after the shaft main body  381  is inserted into the insertion holes  433   a  and  432   f  of the movable contact main body  431  and the outer movable contact main body  432 . Accordingly, the movable contact main body  431  and the outer movable contact main body  432  are attached to the shaft (drive shaft)  380  while being sandwiched between the head  382  and the support member  383 . 
     In  FIG. 27 , the bottom wall  432   e , the plate member  433  having the longest length in the left-right direction, the plate member  433  having an intermediate length, and the shortest plate member  433  are stacked in this order from the bottom. Then, in a state of being stacked in this order, the movable contact main body  431  and the outer movable contact main body  432  are attached to the shaft (drive shaft)  380  by inserting the shaft main body  381  into the respective insertion holes  433   a  and  432   f  from above. In  FIG. 27 , when the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are set in a non-conductive state, the height position of the bent piece  432   b  is approximately the same as the height position of both ends of each plate member  433  in the left-right direction. 
     In  FIG. 27 , again, in an assembled state of the contact device  10 , the first contact unit  4311 A of the movable contact main body  431  is opposed to the inner side of the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A in the left-right direction. Meanwhile, the bent piece  432   b  defining the first gap D 2  of the outer movable contact main body  432  is opposed to the outer side of the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A in the left-right direction. 
     Likewise, the second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431  is opposed to the inner side of the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B in the left-right direction. Meanwhile, the bent piece  432   b  defining the second gap D 3  of the outer movable contact main body  432  is opposed to the outer side of the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B in the left-right direction. 
     With such a configuration, when the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is moved upward (to one side) in the up-down direction (one direction), the movable contact  430  is also moved upward and comes into contact with the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. 
     To be more specific, when the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is moved upward (to one side) in the up-down direction (one direction), the entire movable contact  430  (the movable contact main body  431  and the outer movable contact main body  432 ) is first moved upward. 
     Then, by moving the entire movable contact  430  upward, a plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A formed on the first contact unit  4311 A of the movable contact main body  431  come into contact with the inner side of the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. At the same time, the bent piece  432   b  defining the first gap D 2  of the outer movable contact main body  432  comes into contact with the outer side of the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. Likewise, a plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B formed on the second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431  come into contact with the inner side of the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. At the same time, the bent piece  432   b  defining the second gap D 3  of the outer movable contact main body  432  comes into contact with the outer side of the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     That is, in  FIG. 27 , when the entire movable contact  430  is moved upward, the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A, the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B, and the four bent pieces  432   b  come into contact with the fixed terminal almost simultaneously. When the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A, the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B, and the four bent pieces  432   b  come into contact with the fixed terminal, upward movement of these members (the first contact pieces  4312 A, the second contact pieces  4312 B, and the bent pieces  432   b ) is restricted. 
     In  FIG. 27 , the shaft (drive shaft)  380  can be moved upward even when the upward movement of the first contact pieces  4312 A, the second contact pieces  4312 B, and the bent pieces  432   b  is restricted. 
     Therefore, the bottom wall  432   e  of the outer movable contact main body  432  is flexibly deformed so as to protrude upward by the upward pressing with the shaft  380 . When the bottom wall  432   e  is flexibly deformed, each plate member  433  is elastically deformed by being pressed upward with both ends in contact with the bottom surface of the fixed terminal. That is, while the tip of the first contact piece  4312 A slides on the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A, the tip of the second contact piece  4312 B is elastically deformed by sliding on the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     By elastically deforming each plate member  433  in a direction in which the tips are separated from each other, upward pressing force caused by the elastic restoring force of each plate member  433  acts on the first and second contact pieces  4312 A and  4312 B. Therefore, the first contact piece  4312 A comes into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A with a relatively large contact pressure. Likewise, the second contact piece  4312 B also comes into contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B with a relatively large contact pressure. Since the upward pressing force caused by the elastic restoring force of the bottom wall  432   e  also acts on the bent pieces  432   b , each bent piece  432   b  also comes into contact with the fixed terminal with a relatively large contact pressure. 
     When the plate members  433  are elastically deformed, the gap formed between the adjacent plate members  433  is eliminated, and the adjacent plate members  433  come into surface contact with each other. When a current in the same direction flows through each plate member  433  in this state, force attracting each other acts on the plate member  433  disposed at the top and the plate member  433  disposed at the bottom. Thus, the frictional force generated between the plate members  433  adjacent to each other is increased, and the separation of the plate members  433  from the fixed terminals can be suppressed. 
     On the other hand, when the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is moved downward (to the other side) in the up-down direction (one direction), the first contact piece  4312 A and the second contact piece  4312 B are relatively moved in a direction of approaching each other by the elastic restoring force of each plate member  433  and the bottom wall  432   e.    
     When the plate members  433  and the bottom wall  432   e  are returned to the initial state, the entire movable contact  430  is moved downward and separated from the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. That is, the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A, the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B, and the four bent pieces  432   b  are almost simultaneously separated from the fixed terminal. 
     When the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are in a non-conductive state, the height position of the bent piece  432   b  may be higher than the height position of both ends of each plate member  433  in the left-right direction. Thus, when the entire movable contact  430  is moved upward, the outer movable contact main body  432  can be brought into contact with each fixed terminal before the movable contact main body  431  and can be separated from each fixed terminal after the movable contact main body  431 . 
     Thus, the same advantageous effects as those achieved with the configuration shown in  FIG. 19  can also be achieved with the contact device  10  having the configuration shown in  FIG. 27 . 
       FIG. 27  also illustrates an example where two approximately U-shaped plate members  4321  elongated in the left-right direction are used to form the outer movable contact main body  432  disposed around the first contact unit  4311 A and the second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431 . However, the configuration of the outer movable contact main body  432  is not limited thereto. For example, the first outer movable contact main body  432 A shown in  FIG. 20  and the first and second outer movable contact main bodies  432 A and  432 B described as a modified example of  FIG. 19  may be used. 
       FIG. 27  also illustrates an example where a plurality of plate members  433  having the first contact piece  432 A and the first contact piece  432 B formed thereon, respectively, are used, and a plurality of the plate members  433  are stacked in the up-down direction (one direction) to form the movable contact main body  431 . However, the configuration of the movable contact main body  431  is not limited thereto. 
     For example, the first movable-side plate members  433 A having the first contact pieces  4312 A formed thereon are stacked in the up-down direction to form a stacked body including the first contact unit  4311 A having the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A formed thereon. This stacked body may be used as the movable contact main body  431 . 
     The movable contact main body  431  may be formed by electrically connecting the above stacked body to a member provided separately from the stacked body and having the second contact unit  4311 B. As a method of electrically connecting the stacked body having the first contact unit  4311 A to the member having the second contact unit  4311 B, there are, for example, a method of directly connecting the two, a method of electrically connecting the both through a holding member  464  formed of a conductive material and a bottom wall  432   e , and the like. 
     The member having the second contact unit  4311 B may be a single plate member arranged in a state where the thickness direction is approximately aligned with the up-down direction. In this event, the contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B may be made at one spot or at a plurality of spots. 
     The member having the second contact unit  4311 B may be a stacked body formed by stacking the second movable-side plate members  433 B having the second contact pieces  4312 B formed thereon in the up-down direction. This stacked body includes a second contact unit  4311 B having a plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B formed thereon. 
     Thus, the same advantageous effects as those achieved with the configuration shown in  FIG. 27  can also be achieved. 
     Alternatively, the contact device  10  may also have a configuration shown in  FIG. 28 . 
     In  FIG. 28 , again, a movable contact  430  includes a movable contact main body  431  and an outer movable contact main body  432  arranged around a first contact unit  4311 A and a second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431 . The movable contact main body  431  shown in  FIG. 28  has the same configuration as the movable contact main body  431  shown in  FIG. 27 , and the outer movable contact main body  432  shown in  FIG. 28  also has the same configuration as the outer movable contact main body  432  shown in  FIG. 27 . That is, the movable contact  430  shown in  FIG. 28  has the same configuration as the movable contact  430  shown in  FIG. 27 . 
     In  FIG. 28 , a first defining part is formed in the first fixed terminal  420 A. The first defining part enters the first gap D 2  to define the movable contact main body  431  and the outer movable contact main body  432  during the conductive state. Likewise, a second defining part is formed in the second fixed terminal  420 B. The second defining part enters the second gap D 3  to define the movable contact main body  431  and the outer movable contact main body  432  during the conductive state. 
     To be more specific, a tapered portion  4211 A having a smaller diameter toward the lower side is formed below the first fixed terminal  420 A. Likewise, a tapered portion  4211 B having a smaller diameter toward the lower side is formed below the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     That is, the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B shown in  FIG. 28  have the same configurations as those of the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B shown in  FIG. 22 . 
     Thus, the same advantageous effects as those achieved with the configuration shown in  FIGS. 22 and 27  can also be achieved with the contact device  10  having the configuration shown in  FIG. 28 . 
     Alternatively, the contact device  10  may also have a configuration shown in  FIGS. 29 and 30 . 
     A movable contact  430  shown in  FIGS. 29 and 30  includes a plurality of (three) conductive leaf springs, and a first contact piece  4312 A and a second contact piece  4312 B are formed at both ends of each leaf spring. That is, in  FIGS. 29 and 30 , the conductive leaf springs serve as the plate members  433  having the first and second contact pieces  4312 A and  4312 B formed thereon, respectively. These plate members  433  have a shape that is curved so as to protrude downward in a state where the thickness direction is approximately aligned with the up-down direction. 
     The movable contact main body  431  is formed by stacking the three plate members  433  in the up-down direction in a state of being curved so as to protrude downward. 
     In  FIGS. 29 and 30 , narrower pieces are formed at both ends of the three plate members  433  in the left-right direction, respectively, and these narrower pieces serve as the first contact piece  4312 A and the second contact piece  4312 B. 
     To be more specific, one plate member  433  has a shape in which one end protruding in the left-right direction from the center in the front-rear direction is formed by narrowing the both ends in the left-right direction. 
     The other plate member  433  has a shape in which both ends in the left-right direction are slightly narrowed, and a notch is formed at the center of the narrowed portion in the front-rear direction. This notch is formed so as to be slightly wider than the piece formed in the one plate member  433 . Thus, the other one plate member  433  has a shape in which two pieces are formed protruding in the left-right direction from both ends in the front-rear direction in the narrow portion. 
     The remaining one plate member  433  has a shape in which a notch is formed at the center in the front-rear direction at both ends in the left-right direction. This notch is formed so as to be slightly wider than the narrow portion formed in the other one plate member  433 . Thus, the remaining one plate member  433  has a shape in which two pieces are formed protruding in the left-right direction from both ends in the front-rear direction. 
     In  FIGS. 29 and 30 , one plate member  433 , another plate member  433 , and the remaining one plate member  433  are stacked in this order from the top to form the movable contact main body  431 . Accordingly, when the movable contact main body  431  is formed, the tips of the plate members  433  in the left-right direction are arranged in the front-rear direction. 
     An insertion hole  433   a  penetrating in the thickness direction is formed at the center of the plate member  433  in the left-right direction. By inserting a shaft (drive shaft)  380  into the insertion hole  433   a , the movable contact main body  431  is attached to the shaft (drive shaft)  380 . In this event, a gap is formed between the plate members  433  adjacent to each other in the up-down direction (stacking direction: one direction). 
     In the movable contact main body  431  shown in  FIGS. 29 and 30 , the piece on one side in the left-right direction of each plate member  433  serves as the first contact unit  4311 A and the first contact piece  4312 A. Meanwhile, the piece on the other side in the left-right direction of each plate member  433  serves as the second contact unit  4311 B and the second contact piece  4312 B. 
     The movable contact  430  shown in  FIGS. 29 and 30  also includes an outer movable contact main body  432  disposed around the first contact unit  4311 A and the second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431 , separately from the movable contact main body  431 . 
     The outer movable contact main body  432  shown in  FIGS. 29 and 30  is formed by integrating approximately U-shaped plate members  4321  disposed on both sides of the movable contact main body  431  in the front-rear direction with a bottom wall  432   e  that is flexibly deformable in the up-down direction. 
     The approximately U-shaped plate member  4321  has approximately the same configuration as the plate member  4321  shown in  FIG. 19 , and includes a side wall  432   a  and a pair of bent pieces  432   b  and  432   b  connected to both ends of the side wall  432   a  in the left-right direction. In the outer movable contact main body  432  shown in  FIGS. 29 and 30 , an inclined surface  432   g  is formed inside the bent piece  432   b , which is inclined outward toward the upper side. When the movable contact  430  is moved in the up-down direction, each plate member  433  has its tip moved in the up-down direction while sliding on the inclined surface  432   g.    
     An insertion hole  432   f  penetrating in the thickness direction is formed at the center of the bottom wall  432   e . By inserting a shaft (drive shaft)  380  into the insertion hole  432   f , the outer movable contact main body  432  is attached to the shaft (drive shaft)  380 . 
     The shaft (drive shaft)  380  shown in  FIGS. 29 and 30  includes a shaft main body  381  and a head  382 . The shaft (drive shaft)  380  shown in  FIG. 27  is also provided with a support member  383  attached around the shaft main body  381  to support the movable contact main body  431  and the outer movable contact main body  432  from below. 
     The support member  383  is attached around the shaft main body  381  after the shaft main body  381  is inserted into the insertion holes  433   a  and  432   f  of the movable contact main body  431  and the outer movable contact main body  432 . Thus, the movable contact main body  431  and the outer movable contact main body  432  are attached to the shaft (drive shaft)  380  while being sandwiched between the head  382  and the support member  383 . 
     In  FIGS. 29 and 30 , the bottom wall  432   e , the remaining one plate member  433 , the other one plate member  433 , and the one plate member  433  are stacked in this order from below. In a state of being stacked in this order, the movable contact main body  431  and the outer movable contact main body  432  are attached to the shaft (drive shaft)  380  by inserting the shaft main body  381  into the respective insertion holes  433   a  and  432   f  from above. 
     In  FIGS. 29 and 30 , when the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are in a non-conductive state, the both ends of each plate member  433  in the left-right direction have different height positions. To be more specific, the lower the plate member  433 , the lower the height position of both ends in the left-right direction. However, the height positions of both ends of each plate member  433  in the left-right direction may be approximately the same when the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are set in a non-conductive state. 
     In  FIGS. 29 and 30 , when the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are brought into a non-conductive state, the height position of the bent piece  432   b  is set lower than the height positions of both ends in the left-right direction of the plate member  433  disposed at the top. However, when the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are set in a non-conductive state, the height position of the bent piece  432   b  may also be set approximately the same as the height positions of the both ends in the left-right direction of the plate member  433  disposed at the top. 
     In  FIGS. 29 and 30 , again, in an assembled state of the contact device  10 , the first contact unit  4311 A of the movable contact main body  431  is opposed to the inner side of the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A in the left-right direction. Meanwhile, the bent piece  432   b  defining the first gap D 2  of the outer movable contact main body  432  is opposed to the outer side of the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A in the left-right direction. 
     Likewise, the second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431  is opposed to the inner side of the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B in the left-right direction. Meanwhile, the bent piece  432   b  defining the second gap D 3  of the outer movable contact main body  432  is opposed to the outer side of the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B in the left-right direction. 
     With such a configuration, when the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is moved upward (to one side) in the up-down direction (one direction), the movable contact  430  is also moved upward and comes into contact with the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. 
     To be more specific, when the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is moved upward (to one side) in the up-down direction (one direction), the entire movable contact  430  (the movable contact main body  431  and the outer movable contact main body  432 ) is first moved upward. 
     When the entire movable contact  430  is moved upward, a plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A formed on the first contact unit  4311 A of the movable contact main body  431  come into contact with the inner side of the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. Meanwhile, the bent piece  432   b  that defining the first gap D 2  of the outer movable contact main body  432  comes into contact with the outer side of the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. Likewise, a plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B formed on the second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431  come into contact with the inner side of the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. Meanwhile, the bent piece  432   b  defining the second gap D 3  of the outer movable contact main body  432  comes into contact with the outer side of the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     In the case of the configuration shown in  FIGS. 29 and 30 , when the entire movable contact  430  is moved upward, the first and second contact pieces  4312 A and  4312 B of the plate member  433  disposed at the top come into contact with the fixed terminal almost simultaneously. Thereafter, the first and second contact pieces  4312 A and  4312 B of the plate member  433  disposed in the middle and the four bent pieces  432   b  come into contact with the fixed terminal almost simultaneously. 
     When the bent piece  432   b  comes into contact with the fixed terminal, the upward movement of the bent piece  432   b  is restricted. 
     In  FIGS. 29 and 30 , the shaft (drive shaft)  380  can be moved upward even when the upward movement of the bending piece  432   b  is restricted. 
     Therefore, the bottom wall  432   e  of the outer movable contact main body  432  is flexibly deformed so as to protrude upward by the upward pressing with the shaft  380 . When the bottom wall  432   e  is flexibly deformed, the plate member  433  disposed at the bottom is elastically deformed by being pressed upward in a state of having both tips in sliding contact with the inclined surface  432   g . That is, the first and second contact pieces  4312 A and  4312 B of the plate member  433  disposed at the bottom are elastically deformed while sliding on the inclined surface  432   g.    
     Thus, the first and second contact pieces  4312 A and  4312 B of the plate member  433  disposed at the bottom come into contact with the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. 
     In the configuration shown in  FIGS. 29 and 30 , the top plate member  433  and the middle plate member  433  are elastically deformed by being pressed upward in a state of having both tips in contact with the bottom surface of the fixed terminal. 
     As described above, when the plate members  433  are elastically deformed, the gap formed between the plate members  433  adjacent to each other is eliminated, and the plate members  433  adjacent to each other come into surface contact with each other. When a current in the same direction flows through the plate members  433  in this state, force attracting each other acts on the plate member  433  disposed at the top and the plate member  433  arranged at the bottom. Accordingly, the frictional force generated between the plate members  433  adjacent to each other is increased, and the separation of the plate members  433  from the fixed terminals can be suppressed. 
     On the other hand, when the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is moved downward (to the other side) in the up-down direction (one direction), the first and second contact pieces  4312 A and  4312 B are relatively moved in the direction of approaching each other by the elastic restoring force of each plate member  433  and the bottom wall  432   e.    
     Then, when the plate members  433  and the bottom wall  432   e  are returned to the initial state, the entire movable contact  430  is moved downward and separated from the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. 
     When the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are set in a non-conductive state, the height position of the bent piece  432   b  may be set higher than the height positions of both ends of each plate member  433  in the left-right direction. With this configuration, when the entire movable contact  430  is moved upward, the outer movable contact main body  432  can be brought into contact with each fixed terminal before the movable contact main body  431  and separated from each fixed terminal after the movable contact main body  431 . 
     Thus, the same advantageous effects as those achieved with the configuration shown in  FIG. 27  can also be achieved with the contact device  10  having the configuration shown in  FIGS. 29 and 30 . 
       FIGS. 29 and 30  also illustrates an example where two approximately U-shaped plate members  4321  elongated in the left-right direction are used to form the outer movable contact main body  432  disposed around the first contact unit  4311 A and the second contact unit  4311 B of the movable contact main body  431 . However, the configuration of the outer movable contact main body  432  is not limited thereto. For example, the first outer movable contact main body  432 A shown in  FIG. 20  and the first outer movable contact main body  432 A or the second outer movable contact main body  432 B described as a modified example of  FIG. 19  may be used. 
       FIGS. 29 and 30  also illustrates an example where a plurality of plate members  433 , each having the first contact piece  432 A and the first contact piece  432 B formed thereon, are used and a plurality of the plate members  433  are stacked in the up-down direction (one direction) to form the movable contact main body  431 . However, the configuration of the movable contact main body  431  is not limited thereto. 
     For example, the first movable-side plate members  433 A having the first contact pieces  4312 A formed thereon are stacked in the up-down direction to form a stacked body including the first contact unit  4311 A having the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A formed thereon, and the stacked body may be used as the movable contact main body  431 . 
     The movable contact main body  431  may be formed by electrically connecting the above stacked body to a member that is provided separately from the stacked body and includes the second contact unit  4311 B. As a method of electrically connecting the stacked body having the first contact unit  4311 A and the member having the second contact unit  4311 B, there are, for example, a method of directly connecting the two, a method of electrically connecting the both through a holding member  464  or a bottom wall  432   e  formed of a conductive material, and the like. 
     The member having the second contact unit  4311 B may be a single plate member arranged in a state where the thickness direction is approximately aligned with the up-down direction. In this event, the contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B may be made at one spot or at a plurality of spots. 
     The member having the second contact unit  4311 B may be a stacked body formed by stacking the second movable-side plate members  433 B having the second contact pieces  4312 B formed thereon in the up-down direction. This stacked body includes the second contact unit  4311 B having the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B formed thereon. 
     Thus, the same advantageous effects as those achieved with the configuration shown in  FIGS. 29 and 30  can also be achieved. 
     Alternatively, the contact device  10  may also have a configuration shown in  FIG. 31 . 
     To be more specific, a movable contact  430  shown in  FIG. 31  also includes a movable contact main body  431  including a first contact unit  4311 A that comes into contact with a first fixed terminal  420 A and a second contact unit  4311 B that comes into contact with a second fixed terminal  420 B. In  FIG. 31 , a plate member  438  formed to be flexible by using a conductive resin or the like is provided on a base part  437  formed to be rigid using a conductive material, thereby forming a movable contact main body  431  elongated in the left-right direction. The contour shape of the base part  437  in plan view is approximately the same as that of the plate member  438 . Therefore, the plate member  435  is placed on the upper surface of the base part  437  in a state where the entire plate member is prevented from being significantly deflected. 
     Furthermore, slits are formed in a lattice pattern in the upper part of the plate member  438 . By forming slits in a lattice pattern in the upper part of the plate member  438 , a plurality of projections connected at the lower part are formed in the upper part of the plate member  438 . The plurality of projections can be flexibly deformed separately and independently. 
     The movable contact  430  shown in  FIG. 31  is also held by the holder  460  in a state of being movable in the up-down direction (one direction) relative to the holder  460 . 
     A contact pressure spring  401  is disposed between a holding member  464  for placing and holding the movable contact  430  on top and a bottom wall  463  of the holder  460 . This contact pressure spring  401  presses the movable contact  430  upward through the holding member  464 . 
     With such a configuration, when the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is moved upward (to one side) in the up-down direction (one direction), the movable contact  430  is also moved upward and comes into contact with the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. In this event, the plurality of projections formed in the upper part on one side of the movable contact main body  431  in the left-right direction come into contact with the bottom surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. At the same time, the plurality of projections formed in the upper part on the other side of the movable contact main body  431  in the left-right direction also come into contact with the bottom surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     On the other hand, when the shaft (drive shaft)  380  is moved downward (to the other side) in the up-down direction (one direction), the movable contact  430  is also moved downward and separated from both of the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. 
     Thus, the movable contact  430  shown in  FIG. 31  also includes the movable contact main body  431 , and the movable contact main body  431  includes the first contact unit  4311 A and the second contact unit  4311 B. The first contact unit  4311 A and the second contact unit  4311 B are electrically connected to each other through another portion of the movable contact main body  431  (the central portion in the left-right direction of the plate member  438  or the base part  437 ). 
     In the movable contact  430  shown in  FIG. 31 , the plurality of projections formed on the upper part on one side of the movable contact main body  431  in the left-right direction correspond to the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A that come into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A. Likewise, the plurality of projections formed on the upper part on the other side of the movable contact main body  431  in the left-right direction correspond to the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B that come into contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     In the movable contact  430  shown in  FIG. 31 , the projections are flexibly deformed separately and independently. That is, at least one of the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A can be moved relative to the other first contact pieces  4312 A. Likewise, at least one of the plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B can be moved relative to the other second contact pieces  4312 B. 
     Thus, the same advantageous effects as in the above embodiment can also be achieved with the contact device  10  having the configuration shown in  FIG. 31 . 
     Alternatively, an electromagnetic relay  1  shown in  FIGS. 32 and 33  may be realized. 
     The electromagnetic relay  1  shown in  FIGS. 32 and 33  is equipped with a contact device  10  configured by integrally combining a lower drive block (drive unit)  30  and an upper contact block (contact unit)  40 . To be more specific, the electromagnetic relay  1  equipped with the contact device  10  is formed by housing the contact device  10  in a case  20  formed of a resin material into an approximately hollow box shape. 
     The drive block  30  includes a coil unit  310 . The coil unit  310  includes a coil  330  that generates a magnetic flux when energized, and a hollow cylindrical coil bobbin  320  around which the coil  330  is wound. 
     When the coil  330  is energized, the drive block  30  is driven, and the drive of the drive block  30  opens and closes the contacts of the contact block  40 . In the electromagnetic relay  1  shown in  FIGS. 32 and 33 , again, the contact block  40  has a pair of contacts formed herein. In  FIGS. 32 and 33 , one of the contacts of the contact block  40  is formed by a first fixed contact  424 A provided in the first fixed terminal  420 A and a portion of the movable contact  430  that comes into contact with the first fixed contact  424 A. On the other hand, the other contact is formed by a second fixed contact  424 B provided in the second fixed terminal  420 B and a portion of the movable contact  430  that comes into contact with the second fixed contact  424 B. Thus, in  FIGS. 32 and 33 , again, opening and closing of the contacts of the contact block  40  can be switched by driving the drive block  30  or stopping the drive of the drive block  30 . That is, conduction and non-conduction between the first fixed terminal  420 A and the second fixed terminal  420 B can be switched by switching on and off of the drive block  30 . 
     The drive block  30  includes a yoke  350  disposed around the coil  330 . The yoke  350  can be formed using a magnetic material, for example, and includes a rectangular yoke upper plate  351  disposed on the upper end surface side of the coil bobbin  320  and a rectangular yoke main body  352  disposed on a lower end surface side and a side surface side of the coil bobbin  320 . 
     The drive block  30  includes a fixed iron core (fixed-side member)  360  that is inserted into the cylinder of the coil bobbin  320  and is magnetized by the energized coil  330 . The drive block  30  further includes a movable iron core (movable-side member)  370  that is opposed to the fixed iron core  360  in the up-down direction (axial direction) and is disposed inside the cylinder of the coil bobbin  320 . 
     Here, in  FIGS. 32 and 33 , the fixed iron core  360  is arranged below and the movable iron core  370  is arranged above. To be more specific, a return spring  302  is mounted on the upper surface of the fixed iron core  360 , and the movable iron core  370  is disposed above the fixed iron core  360  in a state of being biased in a direction away from the fixed iron core  360  by the return spring  302 . 
     There is also an insertion hole  370   a  formed in the center of the movable iron core  370 , and a shaft (drive shaft)  380  is inserted into the insertion hole  370   a . A regulating member  384  is connected to the upper end of the shaft  380  to regulate the movement toward the fixed terminals (first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B) of the movable contact  430  when the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are in a non-conductive state (see  FIG. 32( a ) ). 
     Above the drive block  30 , a contact block  40  is provided, which opens and closes the contact according to turning on and off of current supply to the coil  330 . 
     The contact block  40  includes a first fixed terminal  420 A and a second fixed terminal  420 B spaced apart from the first fixed terminal  420 A. The contact block  40  further includes a movable contact  430  that switches conduction and non-conduction between the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B by moving relative to the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. 
     The first fixed terminal  420 A is formed of a conductive material and arranged to be elongated in the front-rear direction in the state shown in  FIG. 33 . The first fixed terminal  420 A includes an approximately rectangular plate-shaped (approximately columnar) first fixed terminal main body  421 A, and a first fixed contact  424 A is attached to one end of the first fixed terminal main body  421 A. 
     In  FIGS. 32 and 33 , the case  20  is provided with a partition wall  23  that vertically defines an internal space. In the center of the partition wall  23 , an insertion hole  23   a  is formed, through which the regulating member  384  can be inserted. 
     The first fixed terminal main body  421 A having the first fixed contact  424 A attached thereto is arranged on the partition wall  23 . In this event, the first fixed terminal main body  421 A is disposed on the partition wall  23  in a state of having the other end side penetrating through the case  20  and protruding outside the case  20 . The portion protruding outside the case  20  serves as a first bus bar (first conductive member)  440 A connected to an external load and the like. 
     On the other hand, the second fixed terminal  420 B is also formed of a conductive material and arranged to be elongated in the front-rear direction in the state shown in  FIG. 33 . The second fixed terminal  420 B also includes an approximately rectangular plate-shaped (approximately columnar) second fixed terminal main body  421 B, and a second fixed contact  424 B is attached to one end of the second fixed terminal main body  421 B. 
     The second fixed terminal main body  421 B having the second fixed contact  424 B attached thereto is also arranged on the partition wall  23 . To be more specific, the second fixed terminal main body  421 B is arranged on the partition wall  23  in a state of having the other end side penetrating the case  20  and protruding outside the case  20 . The portion protruding outside the case  20  serves as a second bus bar (second conductive member)  440 B connected to the external load or the like. 
     As described above, in  FIGS. 32 and 33 , the first fixed terminal  420 A and the second fixed terminal  420 B are spaced apart from each other so as to be lined up in the left-right direction. 
     In the space formed above partition wall  23  of case  20 , the movable contact  430  is disposed so as to be movable relative to the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B as the shaft  380  is moved in the up-down direction. 
     In  FIGS. 32 and 33 , the movable contact  430  is held by the holder  460 . The holder  460  can be formed using, for example, an insulating resin or the like. The holder  460  has an approximately rectangular cylindrical shape with both sides opened in the left-right direction (direction in which the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are arranged side by side), and includes a top wall  461 , side walls  462  and  462 , and a bottom wall  463 . 
     In  FIGS. 32 and 33 , again, as in the above embodiment, the movable contact  430  is held by the holder  460  in a state of being movable in the up-down direction relative to the holder  460 . 
     In  FIGS. 32 and 33 , again, a contact pressure spring  401  ensures contact pressure between the movable contact  430  and the first fixed terminal  420 A and contact pressure between the movable contact  430  and the second fixed terminal  420 B. The contact pressure spring  401  is formed of a coil spring and arranged with its axial direction directed in the up-down direction. 
     Here, in  FIGS. 32 and 33 , the contact pressure spring  401  is disposed between the top wall of the case  20  and the top wall  461  of the holder  460 , and presses the movable contact  430  downward through the top wall  461 . A regulating member  384  is disposed below the bottom wall  463 . This regulating member  384  regulates downward movement of the movable contact  430  at least when the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are in a non-conductive state. 
     With such a configuration, when the coil  330  is not energized, the movable iron core  370  is moved in a direction away from the fixed iron core  360  by the elastic force (elastic restoring force) of the return spring  302 . In this event, the holder  460  is pushed upward by the regulating member  384 , and the movable contact  430  is separated from the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B as shown in  FIG. 32( a ) . The movable contact  430  is moved to a position where the support shaft  465  comes into contact with the lower ends of the long holes  462   a  and  462   a  by its own weight (see  FIG. 32( a ) ). A biasing member may be arranged between the top wall  461  and the movable contact  430  to move the support shaft  465  to a position where the support shaft  465  comes into contact with the lower ends of the long holes  462   a  and  462   a  with the biasing force of the biasing member. 
     Then, when the coil  330  is energized from the off state, the movable iron core  370  is attracted to the fixed iron core  360  against the elastic force (elastic restoring force) of the return spring  302  by the electromagnetic force, and is moved downward so as to approach the fixed iron core  360 . As the movable iron core  370  is moved downward, the shaft  380  and the regulating member  384  are also moved downward, and the holder  460  and the movable contact  430  are also moved downward. When the movable contact  430  is moved downward, the movable contact  430  comes into contact with the first fixed contact  424 A of the first fixed terminal  420 A and the second fixed contact  424 B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. Thus, the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are electrically connected to turn on the electromagnetic relay  1  (contact device  10 ) (see  FIG. 32( b ) ). 
       FIG. 32( b )  illustrates an example where the regulating member  384  comes into contact with the holder  460  even when the movable contact  430  is in contact with the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. However, the regulating member  384  may also be configured to be separated from the holder  460  when the movable contact  430  is in contact with the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. 
     The contact pressure spring  401  is arranged so that force moving the holder  460  downward acts even when the movable contact  430  is in contact with the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. The movable contact  430  is held by the holder  460  in a state of being movable in the up-down direction relative to the holder  460 . 
     Therefore, the holder  460  is moved downward relative to the movable contact main body  431  in contact with the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. That is, the movable contact main body  431  is moved upward relative to the holder  460  in a state of being in contact with the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. In this event, the movable contact  430  is moved, relative to the holder  460 , to a position where the support shaft  465  comes into contact with the upper ends of the long holes  462   a  and  462   a  (see  FIG. 32( b ) ). 
     In  FIGS. 32 and 33 , a pair of guide grooves  24  and  24  for accommodating both ends of the support shaft  465  are formed to ensure that the movable contact  430  is more reliably moved in the up-down direction. 
     In  FIGS. 32 and 33 , an arc extinguishing magnet  450  is embedded in the case  20  to suppress an arc generated between the movable contact  430  and the first fixed terminal  420 A and an arc generated between the movable contact  430  and the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     In  FIGS. 32 and 33 , again, the movable contact  430  includes a movable contact main body  431 , and the movable contact main body  431  includes a first contact unit  4311 A that comes into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A. The movable contact main body  431  further includes a second contact unit  4311 B that is electrically connected to the first contact unit  4311 A and comes into contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     The first contact unit  4311 A includes a plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A that come into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A, and the second contact unit  4311 B includes a plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B that come into contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     To be more specific, the movable contact main body  431  includes five (a plurality of) plate members  433  having the first contact piece  4312 A on one side and the second contact piece  4312 B on the other side. The five (plurality of) plate members  433  are stacked in the front-rear direction (direction intersecting with the moving direction of the movable contact  430  and the direction in which the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are arranged side by side) to form the movable contact main body  431 . 
     The same advantageous effects as those achieved with the electromagnetic relay  1  and the contact device  10  in the above embodiment can also be achieved. 
     An electromagnetic relay  1  shown in  FIG. 34  may also be realized. 
     The electromagnetic relay  1  shown in  FIG. 34  is equipped with a contact device  10  configured by integrally combining a drive block (drive unit)  30  and a contact block (contact unit)  40 . To be more specific, the electromagnetic relay  1  equipped with the contact device  10  is formed by attaching the contact device  10  to a case  20  formed in an approximately hollow box shape. In  FIG. 34 , the contact device  10  is attached to the case  20  in a state of being partially housed in the case  20  and partially arranged outside the case  20 . The electromagnetic relay  1  equipped with the contact device  10  can be formed by housing the contact device  10  in the case  20 . 
     In  FIG. 34 , the drive block  30  includes an iron core  365  having a head part  365   a  and a shaft part  365   b , and a coil  330  wound around the shaft part  365   b  of the iron core  365 . 
     When the coil  330  is energized, the drive block  30  is driven, and the drive of the drive block  30  opens and closes the contacts of the contact block  40 . 
     In the electromagnetic relay  1  shown in  FIG. 34 , again, a pair of contacts are formed in the contact block  40 . In  FIG. 34 , one contact of the contact block  40  is formed by an upper surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal  420 A and a portion of the movable contact  430  that comes into contact with the upper surface  421   a A. The other contact is formed by an upper surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal  420 B and a portion of the movable contact  430  that comes into contact with the upper surface  421   a B. 
     As described above, in  FIG. 34 , again, opening and closing of the contact of the contact block  40  can be switched by driving the drive block  30  or stopping the drive of the drive block  30 . That is, by switching on/off of the drive block  30 , conduction and non-conduction between the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B can be switched. 
     The drive block  30  includes a yoke  350  disposed around the coil  330 . The yoke  350  is formed of a magnetic material into an approximately L-shape. The yoke  350  and the iron core  365  are integrally fixed (connected). An approximately cylindrical coil bobbin  320  may be used, and the iron core  365  may be inserted into the cylinder of the coil bobbin  320  and the coil  330  may be wound around the outer surface of the coil bobbin  320 . 
     In  FIG. 34 , the iron core  365 , the coil  330 , and the yoke  350  are attached to the case  20  from outside. 
     The drive block  30  includes an approximately plate-shaped armature  385 , and the armature  385  is disposed inside the case  20 . The armature  385  is swingably supported on the yoke  350  by a hinge spring  386  bent into an approximately L-shape. Thus, in  FIG. 34 , the armature  385  and the head  365   a  of the iron core  365  are opposed to each other with the case  20  interposed therebetween. 
     Furthermore, a holder  460  for holding the movable contact  430  is connected to the tip of the armature  385 . 
     The contact block  40  also includes a first fixed terminal  420 A and a second fixed terminal  420 B arranged apart from the first fixed terminal  420 A. The contact block  40  further includes a movable contact  430  that switches conduction and non-conduction between the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B by moving relative to the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. 
     The first fixed terminal  420 A is made of a conductive material and arranged to be elongated in the up-down direction in a state shown in  FIG. 34( a ) . The first fixed terminal  420 A includes an approximately cylindrical (approximately columnar) first fixed terminal main body  421 A, and an upper surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal main body  421 A serves as a first fixed contact. 
     The first fixed terminal main body  421 A is fixed to the case  20  in a state of having the other end side penetrating the case  20  and protruding outside the case  20 . This portion protruding outside the case  20  serves as a first bus bar (first conductive member)  440 A connected to an external load or the like. 
     On the other hand, the second fixed terminal  420 B is also formed of a conductive material and arranged to be elongated in the up-down direction in a state shown in  FIG. 34( a ) . The second fixed terminal  420 B also includes an approximately cylindrical (approximately columnar) second fixed terminal main body  421 B, and an upper surface  421   a B of the second fixed terminal main body  421 B serves as a second fixed contact. 
     The second fixed terminal main body  421 B is fixed to the case  20  in a state of having the other end side penetrating the case  20  and protruding outside the case  20 . This portion protruding outside the case  20  serves as a second bus bar (second conductive member)  440 B connected to the external load or the like. 
     In  FIG. 34 , again, the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are spaced apart from each other so as to be arranged in the left-right direction. 
     The case  20  can be formed entirely of an insulating material or can be formed partially of a conductive material. In this event, it is preferable that at least a portion of the case  20  to which the fixed terminals (first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B) are fixed is formed of an insulating material. At least a portion of the case  20  interposed between the armature  385  and the head  365   a  of the iron core  365  can also be formed of a magnetic material. 
     In  FIG. 34 , the movable contact  430  is arranged in the case  20  so as to be movable relative to the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B as the armature  385  swings. 
     To be more specific, the movable contact  430  is held by the holder  60  connected to the tip of the armature  385 , thus making the movable contact  430  movable relative to the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B as the armature  385  swings. The holder  460  can be formed of an insulating resin or the like, for example. The holder  460  has an approximately rectangular cylindrical shape with both sides opened in the left-right direction (direction in which the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are arranged side by side), and includes a top wall  461 , side walls  462  and  462 , and a bottom wall  463 . 
     In  FIG. 34 , again, the movable contact  430  is held by the holder  460  in a state of being movable in the up-down direction relative to the holder  460 . 
     A contact pressure spring  401  ensures contact pressure between the movable contact  430  and the first fixed terminal  420 A and contact pressure between the movable contact  430  and the second fixed terminal  420 B. The contact pressure spring  401  is formed of a coil spring and arranged with its axial direction directed in the up-down direction. 
     Here, in  FIG. 34 , the contact pressure spring  401  is disposed between the top wall  461  of the holder  460  and the holding member  464  for holding the movable contact  430  disposed therebelow, and presses the movable contact  430  downward through the holding member  464 . 
     With such a configuration, when the coil  330  is not energized, the armature  384  is held in a separated state from the head  365   a  of the iron core  365  by the biasing force (upward biasing force) of the hinge spring  386 . In this event, the movable contact  430  is in a state (off state) of being separated from the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. 
     When the coil  330  is energized from the off state, the armature  384  is attracted to the head  365   a  of the iron core  365  against the elastic force (elastic restoring force) of the hinge spring  386  by the electromagnetic force, and moved downward so as to approach the iron core  365 . Then, as the armature  384  is moved downward, the holder  460  and the movable contact  430  are also moved downward. Then, as the movable contact  430  is moved downward, the movable contact  430  comes into contact with the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. Thus, the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are electrically connected to turn on the electromagnetic relay  1  (contact device  10 ). 
     In  FIG. 34 , again, the movable contact  430  includes a movable contact main body  431 , and the movable contact main body  431  includes a first contact unit  4311 A that comes into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A. The movable contact main body  431  further includes a second contact unit  4311 B that is electrically connected to the first contact unit  4311 A and comes into contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     The first contact unit  4311 A includes a plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A that come into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A, and the second contact unit  4311 B includes a plurality of second contact pieces  4312 B that come into contact with the second fixed terminal  420 B. 
     To be more specific, the movable contact main body  431  includes five (a plurality of) plate members  433  having the first contact piece  4312 A on one side and the second contact piece  4312 B on the other side. The five (plurality of) plate members  433  are stacked in the front-rear direction (direction intersecting with the moving direction of the movable contact  430  and the direction in which the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are arranged side by side) to form the movable contact main body  431 . 
     Thus, the same advantageous effects as those achieved with the electromagnetic relay  1  and the contact device  10  in the above embodiment can also be achieved. 
     Alternatively, an electromagnetic relay  1  shown in  FIG. 35  may also be realized. 
     The electromagnetic relay  1  shown in  FIG. 35  has basically the same configuration as the electromagnetic relay  1  shown in  FIG. 34 . That is, the electromagnetic relay  1  (contact device  10 ) shown in  FIG. 35  also switches on/off of the hinge type drive block (drive unit)  30 , thus making it possible to switch conduction and non-conduction between the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B by moving the movable contact  430  relative to the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B. 
     Here, the first fixed terminal  420 A is disposed in the case  20  so as to be elongated in the front-rear direction in a state shown in  FIG. 35( a ) . The first fixed terminal  420 A includes an approximately cylindrical (approximately columnar) first fixed terminal main body  421 A, and a side surface  421   b A of the first fixed terminal main body  421 A serves as a first fixed contact. 
     The second fixed terminal  420 B is also disposed in the case  20  so as to be elongated in the front-rear direction in the state shown in  FIG. 35( a ) . The second fixed terminal  420 B also includes an approximately cylindrical (approximately columnar) second fixed terminal main body  421 B, and a side surface  421   b B of the second fixed terminal main body  421 B serves as a second fixed contact. 
     In  FIG. 35 , again, the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are spaced apart so as to be arranged in the left-right direction. 
     Thus, the same advantageous effects as those achieved with the electromagnetic relay  1  and the contact device  10  shown in  FIG. 34  can also be achieved. 
     Alternatively, an electromagnetic relay  1  shown in  FIG. 36  may also be realized. 
     In the electromagnetic relay  1  shown in  FIG. 36 , again, a hinge-type drive block (drive unit)  30  is used as in  FIGS. 34 and 35 . Here, no second fixed terminal  420 B is provided in the electromagnetic relay  1  shown in  FIG. 36 . That is, in the electromagnetic relay  1  shown in  FIG. 36 , the movable contact  430  is brought into contact with and separated from the first fixed terminal  420 A by switching on/off of the hinge-type drive block (drive unit)  30 , thereby switching opening and closing of the contact of the contact block  40 . 
     The first fixed terminal  420 A is disposed in the case  20  so as to be elongated in the front-rear direction in a state shown in  FIG. 36( a ) , and includes an approximately cylindrical (approximately columnar) first fixed terminal main body  421 A. A side surface  421   b A of the first fixed terminal main body  421 A serves as a first fixed contact. The first fixed terminal main body  421 A is fixed to the case  20  in a state of having the other end side penetrating the case  20  and protruding outside the case  20 . This portion protruding outside the case  20  serves as a first bus bar (first conductive member)  440 A connected to an external load or the like. 
     The drive block  30  includes a yoke  350  disposed around the coil  330 . The yoke  350  is formed of a magnetic material into an approximately L-shape. The yoke  350  and the iron core  365  are integrally fixed (connected). An approximately cylindrical coil bobbin  320  may be used, and the iron core  365  may be inserted into the cylinder of the coil bobbin  320 , and the coil  330  may be wound around the outer surface of the coil bobbin  320 . 
     In  FIG. 36 , again, the iron core  365 , the coil  330 , and the yoke  350  are attached to the case  20  from outside. 
     A portion of the case  20  to which the first fixed terminal  420 A is fixed is formed of an insulating material, and a portion of the iron core  365  to which the head  365   a  is attached is formed of a conductive material such as metal. 
     A movable contact  430  is mounted on the approximately plate-shaped armature  385  disposed in the case  20 , and the movable contact  430  can be moved relative to the first fixed terminal  420 A as the armature  385  swings. 
     Here, in  FIG. 36 , the movable contact  430  is attached to the armature  385  without using a holder. To be more specific, the movable contact  430  is directly attached to the armature  385  by using a support shaft  465  formed of a telescopic coil spring. 
     In  FIG. 36 , the movable contact  430  includes a movable contact main body  431 , and the movable contact main body  431  includes a first contact unit  4311 A that comes into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A. The first contact unit  4311 A includes a plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A that come into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A. 
     To be more specific, the movable contact main body  431  includes five (a plurality of) first movable-side plate members (first movable-side plate parts)  433 A having the first contact piece  4312 A on one side. The movable contact main body  431  is formed by stacking the five (plurality of) first movable-side plate members  433 A in the front-rear direction (direction intersecting with the moving direction of the movable contact  430 ). Thus, in  FIG. 36 , the plurality of first movable-side plate members  433 A are arranged so as to be lined up in the front-rear direction (direction intersecting with the moving direction of the movable contact  430 ). 
     The other ends of the five (plurality of) first movable-side plate members  433 A are in contact with the portion of the case  20  formed of a conductive material, respectively. The first movable-side plate members  433 A are electrically connected to an external load or the like through the portion of the case  20  formed of the conductive material. 
     With such a configuration, when the coil  330  is not energized, the armature  384  is held in a state of being separated from the head  365   a  of the iron core  365  by the biasing force (upward biasing force) of the hinge spring  386 . In this event, the movable contact  430  is in a state (off state) of being separated from the first fixed terminal  420 A. 
     When the coil  330  is energized from the off state, the armature  384  is attracted to the head  365   a  of the iron core  365  against the elastic force (elastic restoring force) of the hinge spring  386  by the electromagnetic force, and moved downward so as to approach the iron core  365 . Then, as the armature  384  is moved downward, the movable contact  430  is also moved downward. When the movable contact  430  is moved downward, the movable contact  430  comes into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A. Thus, the movable contact  430  and the first fixed terminal  420 A are electrically connected to turn on the electromagnetic relay  1  (contact device  10 ). The broken arrows in  FIG. 36  indicate the flow of current. 
     In  FIG. 36 , the movable contact  430  comes into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A during the attraction of the armature  384  to the head  365   a  of the iron core  365 . Therefore, after the movable contact  430  comes into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A, the armature  384  is attracted to the head  365   a  of the iron core  365  while the support shaft  465  is extended. 
     In  FIG. 36 , the armature  384  is attracted to the head  365   a  of the iron core  365  while the support shaft  465  is extended, and thus the elastic restoring force of the support shaft  465  ensures the contact pressure between the movable contact  430  and the first fixed terminal  420 A. The movable contact  430  may be fixed to the armature  384  using a non-telescopic support shaft  465  (rigid support shaft  465 ), and the contact pressure between the movable contact  430  and the first fixed terminal  420 A may be ensured by the force attracting the armature  384  to the head  365   a  of the iron core  365 . 
     Thus, the same advantageous effects as those achieved with the electromagnetic relay  1  and the contact device  10  in the above embodiment can also be achieved. 
     Alternatively, an electromagnetic relay  1  shown in  FIG. 37  may also be realized. 
     As in  FIG. 36 , the electromagnetic relay  1  shown in  FIG. 37  also switches on/off of a hinge type drive block (drive unit)  30  to bring he movable contact  430  into contact with and away from the first fixed terminal  420 A, thereby switching opening and closing of the contact of the contact block  40 . 
     Here, the first fixed terminal  420 A is disposed in the case  20  so as to be elongated in the up-down direction in a state shown in  FIG. 37( a ) . The first fixed terminal  420 A includes an approximately cylindrical (approximately columnar) first fixed terminal main body  421 A, and an upper surface  421   a A of the first fixed terminal main body  421 A serves as a first fixed contact. The first fixed terminal main body  421 A is fixed to the case  20  in a state of having the other end side penetrating the case  20  and protruding outside the case  20 . This portion protruding outside the case  20  serves as a first bus bar (first conductive member)  440 A connected to an external load or the like. 
     The drive block  30  includes a yoke  350  disposed around the coil  330 . The yoke  350  is formed of a magnetic material into an approximately L-shape. The yoke  350  and the iron core  365  are integrally fixed (connected). An approximately cylindrical coil bobbin  320  may be used, the iron core  365  may be inserted into the cylinder of the coil bobbin  320 , and the coil  330  may be wound around the outer surface of the coil bobbin  320 . 
     In  FIG. 37 , the drive block  30  is attached to the case  20  in a state where the yoke  350  forms a part of the case  20 . A portion of the case  20  to which the first fixed terminal  420 A is fixed is formed of an insulating material, and a part thereof is formed of a conductive material such as a metal. 
     A movable contact  430  is attached to an upper portion of the approximately plate-shaped armature  385  disposed in the case  20 , and the movable contact  430  is movable relative to the first fixed terminal  420 A along with the swing of the armature  385 . 
     In  FIG. 37 , again, the movable contact  430  is directly attached to the armature  385  by using a support shaft  465  formed of a telescopic coil spring. 
     In  FIG. 37 , again, the movable contact  430  includes a movable contact main body  431 , and the movable contact main body  431  includes a first contact unit  4311 A that comes into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A. The first contact unit  4311 A also includes a plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A that come into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A. 
     To be more specific, the movable contact main body  431  includes five (a plurality of) first movable-side plate members (first movable-side plate parts)  433 A, each having a first contact piece  4312 A on one side. The movable contact main body  431  is formed by stacking the five (plurality of) first movable-side plate members  433 A in the front-rear direction (direction intersecting with the moving direction of the movable contact  430 ). Thus, in  FIG. 37 , again, the plurality of first movable-side plate members  433 A are arranged so as to be lined up in the front-rear direction (direction intersecting with the moving direction of the movable contact  430 ). 
     The five (plurality of) first movable-side plate members  433 A have their other ends in contact with a portion of the case  20  formed of a conductive material. Further, a third bus bar (third conductive member)  440 C is arranged so as to come into contact with the outside of the portion of the case  20  made of the conductive material. The movable contact main body  431  is electrically connected to the third bus bar (third conductive member)  440 C through a lead wire  443 . Thus, in  FIG. 37 , the movable contact  430  is electrically connected to an external load or the like through the third bus bar  440 C and the portion of the case  20  formed of the conductive material, and is also electrically connected to the external load or the like through the third bus bar  440 C and the lead wire  443 . This can ensure more reliable electrical connection between the movable contact  430  and the external load or the like. 
     With such a configuration, when the coil  330  is not energized, the armature  384  is held in a state of being separated from the head  365   a  of the iron core  365  by the biasing force (upward biasing force) of the hinge spring  386 . In this event, the movable contact  430  is in a state (off state) of being separated from the first fixed terminal  420 A. 
     When the coil  330  is energized from the off state, the armature  384  is attracted to the head  365   a  of the iron core  365  against the elastic force (elastic restoring force) of the hinge spring  386  by the electromagnetic force, and moved downward so as to approach the iron core  365 . Then, as the armature  384  is moved downward, the movable contact  430  is also moved downward. When the movable contact  430  is moved downward, the movable contact  430  comes into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A. Thus, the movable contact  430  and the first fixed terminal  420 A are electrically connected to turn on the electromagnetic relay  1  (contact device  10 ). Note that the broken arrows in  FIG. 37  indicate the flow of current. 
     In  FIG. 37 , again, the movable contact  430  comes into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A during the attraction of the armature  384  to the head  365   a  of the iron core  365 . Therefore, after the movable contact  430  comes into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A, the armature  384  is attracted to the head  365   a  of the iron core  365  while the support shaft  465  is extended. 
     In  FIG. 37 , the armature  384  is attracted to the head  365   a  of the iron core  365  while the support shaft  465  is extended, and thus the elastic restoring force of the support shaft  465  ensures the contact pressure between the movable contact  430  and the first fixed terminal  420 A. The movable contact  430  may be fixed to the armature  384  using a non-telescopic support shaft  465  (rigid support shaft  465 ), and the contact pressure between the movable contact  430  and the first fixed terminal  420 A may be ensured by the force attracting the armature  384  to the head  365   a  of the iron core  365 . 
     Thus, the same advantageous effects as those achieved with the electromagnetic relay  1  and the contact device  10  shown in  FIG. 36  can also be achieved. 
     Alternatively, an electromagnetic relay  1  shown in  FIGS. 38 to 40  may also be realized. 
     The electromagnetic relay  1  shown in  FIGS. 38 to 40  is equipped with a contact device  10  configured by integrally combining a drive block (drive unit) and a contact block (contact unit)  40  (not shown). To be more specific, the contact block  40  is housed in a case  20  formed in an approximately hollow box shape, and the drive block connected to the contact block  40  is arranged outside the case  20 . Thus, the electromagnetic relay  1  equipped with the contact device  10  is formed. The electromagnetic relay  1  equipped with the contact device  10  can also be formed by housing the contact device  10  in the case  20 . 
     The electromagnetic relay  1  shown in  FIGS. 38 to 40  switches on/off of the drive block to bring a movable contact  430  into contact with and away from a first fixed terminal  420 A by moving the movable contact  430  in the up-down direction, thereby switching opening and closing of the contact of the contact block  40 . 
     The case  20  includes an approximately rectangular cylindrical body part  210  made of a material such as ceramic or alumina, and a top wall  220  and a bottom wall  230  which are made of a material such as acid-free copper or 4-2 alloy and fixed so as to cover both ends of the body part  210  in the axial direction (up-down direction in  FIG. 39 ). 
     A through-hole  221  is formed in the top wall  220 , and the movable contact  430  is inserted into the through-hole  221 . 
     An approximately oval fitting recess  222  is formed in an outer peripheral portion of the through-hole  221  on the outer surface (upper surface) side of the top wall  220 . 
     An insulating plate  240  made of, for example, a ceramic material is disposed on the inner surface (lower surface) of the top wall  220 . A communication hole  241  communicated with the through-hole  221  is formed in the insulating plate  240 . 
     On the other hand, a fitting recess  231  protruding outward (downward) is formed in the bottom wall  230 , and the first fixed terminal main body  421 A of the first fixed terminal  420 A is fitted into the fitting recess  231  in a state of extending in the up-down direction. The first fixed terminal main body  421 A is formed in an approximately rod shape (approximately columnar shape) using a material such as acid-free copper. 
     A through-hole  232  is formed in the bottom wall  230 , and an air supply pipe  250  for supplying hydrogen gas or the like is connected to the through-hole  232 . The air supply pipe  250  is disconnected to seal the case  20  after supplying hydrogen gas or the like into the case  20 . 
     An insulating plate  260  made of, for example, a ceramic material is arranged on the inner surface (upper surface) of the bottom wall  230 . The insulating plate  260  has a communication hole  261  communicated with the fitting recess  231  and a communication hole  262  communicated with the through-hole  232 . 
     In  FIGS. 38 to 40 , an approximately cylindrical guide member  270  having an insertion opening  271  formed at one end, into which the movable contact main body  431  is inserted, is provided on the top wall  220  so as to protrude outward. The guide member  270  has a flange part  272  formed at the other end, having a shape (approximately oval shape) corresponding to the fitting recess  222 . By fitting the flange part  272  into the fitting recess  222 , the guide member  270  is provided on the top wall  220  with the inside communicated with the through-hole  221 . 
     In  FIGS. 38 to 40 , the first fixed terminal  420 A includes a first fixed terminal main body  421 A formed in an approximately rod shape (approximately columnar shape) and a first fixed terminal contact  424 A formed at a tip (upper end) of the first fixed terminal main body  421 A. The first fixed contact  424 A is formed in an approximately disc shape using a material such as tungsten, and is connected to the first fixed terminal main body  421 A with a fixing jig  425  having a pair of holding pieces  425   a  and  425   a.    
     On the other hand, the movable contact  430  includes a movable contact main body  431 . The movable contact main body  431  includes a columnar part  4313  formed in an approximately rod shape (approximately columnar shape) using a material such as acid-free copper, and a first contact unit  4311 A that comes into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A. The first contact unit  4311 A is also formed in an approximately disc shape using a material such as tungsten, and is connected to the columnar part  4313  with a fixing jig  4314  having a pair of holding pieces  4314   a  and  4314   a.    
     In  FIGS. 38 to 40 , the first contact unit  4311 A includes a plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A that come into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A. 
     To be more specific, by stacking three (a plurality of) first movable-side plate members  433 A in the front-rear direction (direction intersecting with the moving direction of the movable contact  430 ), the movable contact main body  431  having the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A is formed. Thus, in  FIGS. 38 to 40 , again, the plurality of first movable-side plate members  433 A are arranged so as to be lined up in the front-rear direction (direction intersecting with the moving direction of the movable contact  430 ). The three (plurality of) first movable-side plate members  433 A are attached to the fixing jig  4314  using the support shaft  465 . 
     A bellows member  280  is disposed in the guide member  270  so as to surround the entire circumference of the movable contact main body  431 . The bellows member  280  has its one end airtightly connected to the guide member  270  and the other end airtightly connected to the movable contact main body  431 . 
     Thus, in  FIGS. 38 to 40 , after the air supply pipe  250  is disconnected in an airtight manner, the internal space of the case  20  is hermetically sealed from the outside. 
     The bellows member  280  is configured to bias the movable contact  430  toward the first fixed terminal  420 A even when the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A are separated from the first fixed contact  424 A. 
     As shown in  FIG. 40 , permanent magnets  452  are disposed on either side of the case  20  in the front-rear direction (stacking direction of the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A). A yoke  490  is arranged outside the permanent magnets  452  so as to surround the permanent magnets  452 . 
     With this configuration, when the drive block is not driven, the movable contact  430  is set in a state (off state) of being separated from the first fixed terminal  420 A. 
     When the drive block is driven from the off state, the movable contact  430  is moved downward, and the three (plurality of) first contact pieces  4312 A come into contact with the first fixed terminal main body  421 A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. Thus, the movable contact  430  and the first fixed terminal  420 A are electrically connected to turn on the electromagnetic relay  1  (contact device  10 ). 
     In this event, the movable contact  430  is biased downward by the bellows member  280 , and the contact pressure between the movable contact  430  and the first fixed terminal  420 A is ensured by the bellows member  280 . 
     Thus, the same advantageous effects as those achieved with the electromagnetic relay  1  and the contact device  10  in the above embodiment can also be achieved. 
     Also, an electromagnetic relay  1  shown in  FIGS. 41 and 42  may also be realized. 
     The electromagnetic relay  1  shown in  FIGS. 41 and 42  is equipped with a contact device  10  configured by integrally combining a drive block (drive unit)  30  and a contact block (contact unit)  40 . To be more specific, the electromagnetic relay  1  equipped with the contact device  10  is formed by attaching the contact device  10  to a case  20  formed in an approximately hollow box shape. In  FIGS. 41 and 42 , the contact device  10  is attached to the case  20  in a state where the contact device  10  is partially housed in the case  20  and partially arranged outside the case  20 . The electromagnetic relay  1  equipped with the contact device  10  can be formed by housing the contact device  10  in the case  20 . 
     In  FIGS. 41 and 42 , the drive block  30  includes a coil unit  310 . The coil unit  310  includes a coil  330  that generates a magnetic flux when energized, and a hollow cylinder coil bobbin  320  around which the coil  330  is wound. 
     When the coil  330  is energized, the drive block  30  is driven, and the drive of the drive block  30  opens and closes the contacts of the contact block  40 . Thus, in  FIGS. 41 and 42 , again, opening and closing of the contacts of the contact block  40  can be switched by driving the drive block  30  or stopping the drive of the drive block  30 . 
     The coil bobbin  320  is formed of a resin which is an insulating material, and an insertion hole  320   a  penetrating in the left-right direction is formed at the center of the coil bobbin  320 . The coil bobbin  320  includes an approximately cylindrical winding drum part  321  on the outer surface, around which the coil  330  is wound. The coil bobbin  320  includes: an approximately circular first flange part  322  that is connected to one end of the winding drum part  321  and protrudes radially outward of the winding drum part  321 ; and an approximately circular second flange part  323  that is connected to the other end of the winding drum part  321  and protrudes radially outward of the winding drum part  321 . 
     The drive block  30  includes a yoke  350  formed of a magnetic material into an approximately U-shape. The yoke  350  is arranged in a state of having its central portion housed in the insertion hole  320   a  of the coil bobbin  320  and both ends follow the first and second flange parts  322  and  323 , respectively. 
     In  FIGS. 41 and 42 , the coil unit  310  and the yoke  350  are attached to the case  20  from outside. 
     The drive block  30  includes an approximately plate-shaped armature  385 , and the armature  385  is disposed inside the case  20 . The armature  385  is coupled to the movable contact  430  via an approximately rod-like (approximately columnar) shaft  380 . The connection between the shaft  380  and the armature  385  and the connection between the shaft  380  and the movable contact  430  can be performed using a method such as welding. 
     The contact block  40  further includes a first fixed terminal  420 A and a second fixed terminal  420 B arranged apart from the first fixed terminal  420 A. 
     In  FIGS. 41 and 42 , the first fixed terminal  420 A is formed in an approximately L-shape. To be more specific, the first fixed terminal  420 A includes a first horizontal terminal piece  4201 A and a first vertical terminal piece  4202 A. The first horizontal terminal piece  4201 A and the first vertical terminal piece  4202 A are continuously and integrally formed. In  FIGS. 41 and 42 , the first horizontal terminal piece  4201 A and the first vertical terminal piece  4202 A are formed in a rectangular plate shape. 
     As a material of the first fixed terminal  420 A, for example, conductive metal or the like can be used. As the conductive metal, for example, copper, copper alloy, or the like can be used. 
     A first fixed contact  424 A having an approximately circular shape in plan view is provided on the upper surface of one end (left end in  FIGS. 41 and 42 ) of the first horizontal terminal piece  4201 A. Note that the shape of the first fixed contact  424 A in plan view is not limited to a circular shape. 
     On the other hand, the second fixed terminal  420 B is also formed in an approximately L-shape in  FIGS. 41 and 42 . To be more specific, the second fixed terminal  420 B includes a second horizontal terminal piece  4201 B and a second vertical terminal piece  4202 B. The second horizontal terminal piece  4201 B and the second vertical terminal piece  4202 B are continuously and integrally formed. In  FIGS. 41 and 42 , the second horizontal terminal piece  4201 B and the second vertical terminal piece  4202 B are also formed in a rectangular plate shape. As a material of the second fixed terminal  420 B, conductive metal or the like can be used. As the conductive metal, for example, copper, a copper alloy, or the like can be used. 
     The contact block  40  further includes a movable contact  430  that switches conduction and non-conduction between the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B by relatively moving relative to the first fixed terminal  420 A. 
     In  FIGS. 41 and 42 , the movable contact  430  is formed in an approximately flat plate shape using a leaf spring made of a conductive metal, and has spring properties. As the conductive metal, for example, copper, a copper alloy, or the like can be used. 
     In  FIGS. 41 and 42 , one end (left side in  FIGS. 41 and 42 ) of the movable contact  430  in the longitudinal direction (left-right direction) is fixed to the second horizontal terminal piece  4202 B of the second fixed terminal  420 B. As a method of fixing the movable contact  430  to the second horizontal terminal piece  4202 B, a method such as caulking, screwing, and welding can be used for example. 
     Here, in  FIGS. 41 and 42 , the movable contact  430  includes a movable contact main body  431 , and the movable contact main body  431  includes a first contact unit  4311 A that comes into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A. The first contact unit  4311 A includes a plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A that come into contact with the first fixed terminal  420 A. 
     To be more specific, the movable contact main body  431  is formed by using a plate member  4331  that has an approximately rectangular shape when viewed from the thickness direction. The plate member  4331  has a shape in which notches  4331   a  opened on the tip side and both sides in the thickness direction (up-down direction) are arranged in the short direction (longitudinal direction) at the other end (right side in  FIGS. 41 and 42 ) in the longitudinal direction (left-right direction). That is, the plate member  4331  has a shape in which a plurality of projecting pieces  4331   b  separated by the notches  4331   a  are formed on the other side in the longitudinal direction. 
     While fixing one end of the plate member  4331  having such a shape to the second horizontal terminal piece  4202 B, the plurality of projecting pieces  4331   b  at the other end are opposed to the first fixed contact  424 A of the first fixed terminal  420 A. Thus, the plate member  4331  serves as a movable contact main body  431  having a plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A. The movable contact main body  431  (movable contact  430 ) is fixed to the second horizontal terminal piece  4202 B while being biased upward. 
     The case  20  can be formed entirely of an insulating material, or can be formed partially of a conductive material. In this event, it is preferable that at least a portion of the case  20  to which the fixed terminals (first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B) are fixed is formed of an insulating material. Further, at least a portion of the case  20  to which the coil unit  310  and the yoke  350  are attached may be formed of a magnetic material. 
     Furthermore, in  FIGS. 41 and 42 , a partition member  480  is disposed in the case  20 . The partition member  480  is made of an insulating material such as resin or ceramic and is formed in an approximately rectangular box shape with an open top, and separates a space where the first horizontal terminal piece  4201 A of the first fixed terminal  420 A, the second horizontal terminal piece  4201 B of the second fixed terminal  420 B, and the movable contact  430  are located from a space where the armature  385  is located. An insertion hole  480   a  for inserting the shaft  380  is formed in the bottom wall of the partition member  480 . 
     With such a configuration, when the coil  330  is not energized, the armature  384  is held in a state of being separated from the yoke  350  by the upward biasing force of the movable contact  430 . In this event, the movable contact  430  is set in a state (off state) of being separated from the first fixed terminal  420 A. 
     When the coil  330  is energized from the off state, the armature  384  is attracted to the yoke  350  against the elastic force (elastic restoring force) of the movable contact  430  by the electromagnetic force, and moved downward so as to approach the yoke  350 . As the armature  384  is moved downward, the movable contact  430  coupled to the armature  384  via the shaft  380  is displaced so as to bring the plurality of first contact pieces  4312 A into contact with the first fixed contact  424 A. Thus, the first and second fixed terminals  420 A and  420 B are electrically connected to turn on the electromagnetic relay  1  (contact device  10 ). 
     Thus, the same advantageous effects as those achieved with the electromagnetic relay  1  and the contact device  10  described in the above embodiment can also be achieved. 
     Note that it is also possible to provide no second fixed terminal  420 B in the electromagnetic relay  1  of the type shown in  FIGS. 41 and 42 . 
     Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. 
     For example, a contact device can be formed by appropriately combining the configurations described in the above embodiment and modified examples thereof. 
     The present invention is also applicable to a contact device having three or more fixed terminals. 
     Also, the specifications (shape, size, layout, and the like) of each fixed terminal, movable contact, and other details can be appropriately changed. 
     This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-188532 filed on Sep. 28, 2017, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 
     The present invention can provide a contact device capable of further reducing electromagnetic repulsion force acting between a fixed terminal and a movable contact, and an electromagnetic relay equipped with the contact device.