Patent Description:
Generally, a relay apparatus is an apparatus with an electrical contact point configured to connect or disconnect a current, and is installed in various machines or vehicles to allow any device to be automatically controlled without requiring a person to operate the device as needed.

Examples of such relay apparatuses include polar type relays and sliding type relays.

Among them, the polar type relay is a relay apparatus which operates by switching vertically with respect to an electromagnet to provide switchable contact points.

Polar type relay apparatuses include a unipolar type relay having only ON and OFF functions, and a bipolar type relay which allows a switching operation to be selectively performed.

Among them, a relay apparatus which is mainly used in mechanical and electrical devices such as automobiles is a unipolar type relay.

Such a relay apparatus basically includes an electromagnet, an electric armature, a mover operated in conjunction with the electric armature, a stator provided to be in contact with the mover, or the like, and is operated in such a way that when a current is supplied to a coil of the electromagnet, the electric armature is pulled to mechanically move the mover so that the mover comes into contact with the stator, which becomes an ON or OFF position of the relay apparatus.

The background art of the present invention is disclosed in <CIT>).

<CIT> relates to a contact apparatus and an electromagnetic switch apparatus using the contact apparatus. The contact apparatus comprises stationary contacts and moveable contacts. The surface of the stationary contact (1A) corresponding to the moveable contact (3A) has a flat surface. The surface of the moveable contact (3A) is a convex curve which protrudes towards the corresponding stationary contact (1A).

The present invention is directed to providing a relay apparatus with an improved structure to improve contact stability between a stator and a mover.

The present invention provides a relay apparatus including: a stator having a first fixed contact point and a second fixed contact point provided to be spaced apart from each other; a mover movably provided in a first direction which is a direction close to the stator or in a second direction which is a direction far from the stator, and electrically connected to the stator by being brought into contact with the first fixed contact point and the second fixed contact point; and an actuator configured to move the mover in the first direction or the second direction, wherein the mover includes: a first mover portion on which a first contact surface provided to be in contact with the first fixed contact point is formed; and a second mover portion on which a second contact surface and a third contact surface provided to be in contact with the second fixed contact point are formed, and the second contact surface and the third contact surface are brought into contact with the second fixed contact point at different positions.

The first contact surface is formed on the first mover portion to form a plane surface parallel to the first fixed contact point, and the second contact surface and the third contact surface is formed on the second mover portion to form an inclined oblique surface with respect to the second fixed contact point and a central boundary is formed at a boundary portion between the second contact surface and the third contact surface by a press manufacturing process, and the central boundary forms a plane surface connecting the second contact surface and the third contact surface.

Each of the second contact surface and the third contact surface may be linearly symmetrical about an imaginary line separating the second contact surface and the third contact surface, and may be formed to be inclined upwardly toward an end of the mover in a width direction.

The stator and the mover may be electrically connected to each other in a form of three-point contact in which the first contact surface is brought into contact with the first fixed contact point and each of the second contact surface and the third contact surface is brought into contact with the second fixed contact point.

According to a relay apparatus of the present invention, contact stability between a stator and a mover can be effectively improved to reduce contact heat generation, and a shape of the mover can be processed through a press process for easy manufacturing of the apparatus by increasing the number of contact points between the stator and the mover by merely changing the shape of the mover without changing the shape of the stator.

Further, the present invention can effectively improve the contact stability between the stator and the mover by merely changing the shape of the mover without increasing sizes of the stator and the mover, so that a relay apparatus with high contact stability can be provided while a size of the apparatus can be reduced.

Further, not only can the present invention easily manufacture the apparatus by processing the shape of the mover through the press process, but can also provide improved productivity by reducing a risk in which processing defects are generated in the press process.

Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment of a relay apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. For convenience of descriptions, thicknesses of lines and sizes of components shown in the drawings may be exaggerated. In addition, the terms described below are defined in consideration of functions of the present invention, which may vary depending on the intention of a user or operator, or custom. Therefore, the definitions of the terms should be based on contents throughout this specification.

<FIG> is a cross-sectional view illustrating an internal structure of a relay apparatus according to an example and <FIG> is a cross-sectional view taken along line "II-II" of <FIG>. Further, <FIG> is a perspective view illustrating a mover shown in <FIG>, and <FIG> is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the mover shown in <FIG> is moved in a first direction.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, a relay apparatus <NUM> includes a stator <NUM>, a mover <NUM>, and an actuator <NUM>.

The stator <NUM> is accommodated in a case <NUM> forming an exterior of the relay apparatus <NUM> and may be connected to a load such as a wiper motor or direction indicator of automobiles, to control the supply of power applied to the load.

A pair of stators <NUM> may be installed on an upper side of the case <NUM> to be separated from each other, and a first fixed contact point <NUM> and a second fixed contact point <NUM> are provided to be spaced apart from each other on the stators <NUM>.

The first fixed contact point <NUM> and the second fixed contact point <NUM> may be electrically connected to each other by being brought into contact with the mover <NUM>, which will be described later, and may be provided in the form of an electrode made of a molybdenum (Mo) metal material.

The mover <NUM> is provided inside the case <NUM> to be movable in a first direction which is a direction close to the stators <NUM>, or in a second direction which is a direction far from the stators <NUM>.

The mover <NUM> moves in the first direction and may be electrically connected to the stators <NUM> by being brought into contact with the first fixed contact point <NUM> and the second fixed contact point <NUM> provided in the stators <NUM>. Also, the mover <NUM> moves in the second direction and moves away from the stators <NUM> to allow the electrical connection with the stators <NUM> to be broken.

The specific structure and operation of the mover <NUM> will be described later.

Like the mover <NUM>, the actuator <NUM> is provided inside the case <NUM> to move the mover <NUM> in the first direction or the second direction.

The actuator <NUM> includes a coil <NUM>, a fixed core <NUM>, and a movable core <NUM>.

The coil <NUM> is installed inside the case <NUM> to generate a magnetic force, and the fixed core <NUM> is disposed inside the coil <NUM>. Further, the movable core <NUM> is disposed so as to be close to and away from the fixed core <NUM>.

Here, the coil <NUM> and the fixed core <NUM> are referred to as so-called electric armatures, and the movable core <NUM> is referred to as an armature.

The movable core <NUM> and the fixed core <NUM> are disposed to be spaced apart from each other along a moving direction of the mover <NUM>, that is, an axial direction which is a concept including the first direction and the second direction to which the mover <NUM> moves. The movable core <NUM> may be provided so as to be linearly reciprocable with respect to the fixed core <NUM>.

As another example, the actuator <NUM> may be configured so that the movable core <NUM> is rotatable with respect to the fixed core <NUM>.

Hereinafter, an example of the actuator <NUM> in which the movable core <NUM> is configured to be linearly reciprocable with respect to the fixed core <NUM> will be described.

The above-described actuator <NUM> may further include a yoke <NUM> that forms a magnetic path together with the fixed core <NUM> and the movable core <NUM>.

The yoke <NUM> may include a first yoke <NUM> having a plate form and a second yoke <NUM> having an approximate U-shaped cross section. The fixed core <NUM> may be coupled to a central portion of the first yoke <NUM>.

The coil <NUM> is disposed inside the yoke <NUM> and typically wound around a circumference of a cylindrical bobbin <NUM>. The coil <NUM> is connected to a coil terminal <NUM> for connection to a power source.

The coil <NUM> may be connected to a DC power source and configured as a DC relay, or connected to an AC power source and configured as an AC relay. An inside of the bobbin <NUM> may be formed to have an inner diameter to such an extent that allows the fixed core <NUM> to be embedded in and coupled to the inside.

Further, the actuator <NUM> may further include a working rod <NUM> configured to transmit a movement of the movable core <NUM> to the mover <NUM>.

The working rod <NUM> may be formed in the form of a rod having a length extending in an axial direction. Also, one end portion of the working rod <NUM> is connected to a center portion of the mover <NUM> and the other end portion of the working rod <NUM> is connected to the movable core <NUM>.

A rod hole (not numbered) is formed to pass through a center portion of the fixed core <NUM> and the working rod <NUM> may pass through a center of the fixed core <NUM> through the rod hole.

Such the working rod <NUM> is moved in the first direction or the second direction in conjunction with the movement of the movable core <NUM>, and the mover <NUM> is moved in the first direction or the second direction by the movement of the working rod <NUM>, and thus the stator <NUM> and the mover <NUM> may be connected or disconnected.

The operation of the actuator <NUM> having the above-described configuration may be performed as described below.

When power is supplied to the coil terminal <NUM> and the power is applied to the coil <NUM>, a magnetic flux is generated, and the generated magnetic flux flows along a magnetic path formed by the yoke <NUM>, the fixed core <NUM> and the movable core <NUM>.

Accordingly, the movable core <NUM> moves instantaneously toward the fixed core <NUM>, that is, toward a direction in which magnetic resistance decreases, and comes into contact with the fixed core <NUM>, and the working rod <NUM> moves in the first direction in conjunction with the movement of the movable core <NUM>.

The mover <NUM> is moved in the first direction by the movement of the working rod <NUM> so that the stator <NUM> and the mover <NUM> are brought into contact with each other and electrically connected to each other.

Meanwhile, when the power supplied to the actuator <NUM> is cut off and the supply of power to the coil <NUM> is stopped, the generation of the magnetic force is also stopped, and the movable core <NUM> returns to an initial position thereof by an elastic force of a return spring (not numbered).

Accordingly, the working rod <NUM> moves in the second direction to move the mover <NUM> in the second direction, and as a result, the mover <NUM> is separated from the stator <NUM> and the supply of the power to the load is stopped.

The mover <NUM> which is provided to perform the above-described actions, has a length extending along a separation direction of the stators <NUM> disposed to be spaced apart from each other along a width direction of the relay apparatus <NUM>, and may be formed in a form of a metal plate through which a current can flow.

As shown in <FIG>, the mover <NUM> includes a first mover portion <NUM> and a second mover portion <NUM>.

The first mover portion <NUM> corresponds to any one of two portions that are divided along the longitudinal direction of the mover <NUM>.

A portion corresponding to a portion located on a side of the first fixed contact point <NUM> among the two divided portions of the mover <NUM> is exemplified as the first mover portion <NUM>.

A first contact surface a which is provided to be in contact with the first fixed contact point <NUM> is formed on the first mover portion <NUM>.

The first contact surface a is formed on a surface of the first mover portion <NUM> facing to the stator <NUM> to be a plane surface parallel to the first fixed contact point <NUM>.

The first mover portion <NUM> is electrically connected to the stator <NUM> by being brought into contact with the first fixed contact point <NUM> through the first contact surface a formed as described above.

The second mover portion <NUM> corresponds to another portion except the portion corresponding to the first mover portion <NUM> among the two portions divided along the longitudinal direction of the mover <NUM>.

A portion corresponding to a portion located on the side of the second fixed contact point <NUM> among the two divided portions of the mover <NUM> is exemplified as the second mover portion <NUM>.

A second contact surface b and a third contact surface c which are provided to be in contact with the second fixed contact point <NUM> are formed on the second mover portion <NUM>.

The second contact surface b and the third contact surface c are each formed on a surface of the second mover portion <NUM> facing the stator <NUM> to be an inclined oblique surface with respect to the second fixed contact point <NUM>.

When the mover <NUM> moves in the first direction, each of the second contact surface b and the third contact surface c formed on the second mover portion <NUM> is brought into contact with the second fixed contact point <NUM>, and may be brought into contact with the second fixed contact point <NUM> at different positions.

The second contact surface b is formed on one portion of the second mover portion <NUM> when the second mover portion <NUM> is divided in half along a width direction of the mover <NUM>, and the third contact surface c is formed on the remaining portion of the second mover portion <NUM>.

Each of the second contact surface b and the third contact surface c, which is provided on the second mover portion <NUM> as described above, is linearly symmetrical about an imaginary line separating the second contact surface b and the third contact surface c, and may be formed to be inclined upwardly toward an end of the mover <NUM> in a width direction.

It is exemplified that the second contact surface b and the third contact surface c are formed to be inclined to form a V-shape.

The second mover portion <NUM> including the second contact surface b and the third contact surface c having such a shape may be formed by pressing a portion corresponding to the second mover portion <NUM> of the mover <NUM> provided in the form of a flat metal plate in a V- shape.

Accordingly, the mover <NUM> having the first mover portion <NUM> and the second mover portion <NUM> includes three contact surfaces composed of the first contact surface a, the second contact surface b, and the third contact surface c.

As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the stator <NUM> and the mover <NUM> are electrically connected to each other in the form of a three-point contact in which the first contact surface a is brought into contact with the first fixed contact point <NUM> and each of the second contact surface b and the third contact surface c is brought into contact with the second fixed contact point <NUM>.

In the case of the conventional relay apparatus in which a mover is in the form of a plane surface, to generate an electrical connection between the stator and the mover, generally, the stator and the mover are brought into contact with each other in a two-point contact manner in which the stator is brought into contact with the mover at two points.

When the stator and the mover are brought into contact with each other, there may be a difference in a contact pressure acting on two contact points at which the stator and the mover are brought into contact with each other. The difference in the contact pressure may be caused by tolerances generated in the process of manufacturing or assembling components constituting the stator and the mover, or shape deformation of components constituting the stator and the mover while using the relay apparatus.

As described above, when the contact pressures acting on each of the two contact points at which the stator and the mover are brought into contact with each other are different, the contact stability between the stator and the mover is lowered due to an influence of the current oscillation while the current flows.

That is, according to the conventional relay apparatus, since the stator and the mover are brought into contact with each other in the form of the two-point contact, the contact stability between the stator and the mover is lowered due to the influence of the current oscillation, thereby increasing contact heat generated at the contact point between the stator and the mover.

Further, in order to reduce a level at which the contact stability between the stator and the mover lowers, a method of increasing sizes of the stator and the mover to increase the contact area between the stator and the mover may be used, but in this case, overall size of the apparatus may be larger than necessary.

In comparison with the conventional apparatus, the relay apparatus <NUM> of the present embodiment is provided in a form including the mover <NUM> having three contact surfaces composed of the first contact surface a, the second contact surface b, and the third contact surface c, that is, the three contact surfaces including one plane surface and two oblique surfaces.

As a result, the stator <NUM> and the mover <NUM> are electrically connected to each other in the form of the three-point contact in which the first contact surface a in the form of the plane surface is brought into contact with the first fixed contact point <NUM> and each of the second contact surface b and the third contact surface c in the form of the oblique surface is in contact with the second fixed contact point <NUM>.

That is, the number of the contact points between the stator <NUM> and the mover <NUM> for electrical connection between the stator <NUM> and the mover <NUM> is increased to three points and thus the contact stability between the stator <NUM> and the mover <NUM> may be effectively improved.

According to the relay apparatus <NUM> including the above-described mover <NUM>, the contact stability between the stator <NUM> and the mover <NUM> may be effectively improved to reduce contact heat generation and a shape of the mover <NUM> may be processed through a press process to easily manufacture the apparatus by increasing the number of the contact points between the stator <NUM> and the mover <NUM> by merely changing the shape of the mover <NUM> without changing a shape of the stator <NUM>.

Further, the relay apparatus <NUM> may effectively improve the contact stability between the stator <NUM> and the mover <NUM> by merely changing the shape of the mover <NUM> without increasing the sizes of the stator <NUM> and the mover <NUM>, so that a relay apparatus with high contact stability may be provided while a size of the apparatus may be reduced.

<FIG> is a cross-sectional view illustrating an internal structure of a relay apparatus according to the present invention, and <FIG> is a cross-sectional view taken along line "VI-VI" of <FIG>. Also, <FIG> is a perspective view illustrating a mover shown in <FIG>, and <FIG> is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the mover shown in <FIG> is moved in a first direction.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the relay apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to <FIG>.

For convenience of descriptions, the same or similar structures and functions as those of the above-described embodiment are referred to by the same reference numerals and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Referring to <FIG>, a relay apparatus 400a according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a stator <NUM>, a mover 200a, and an actuator <NUM>.

The configuration and operation of the stator <NUM> and the actuator <NUM> exemplified in the present embodiment are the same as those of the stator <NUM> and the actuator <NUM> exemplified in the above-described embodiment and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The mover 200a of the present embodiment includes a first mover portion <NUM> provided with a first contact surface a and a second mover portion 220a provided with a second contact surface b and a third contact surface c like the mover <NUM> (see <FIG>) exemplified in the above-described embodiment.

Among the mover portions, the second mover portion 220a includes the second contact surface b and the third contact surface c which are linearly symmetrical about an imaginary line separating the second contact surface b and the third contact surface c and formed to be inclined upwardly toward ends of the mover 200a in a width direction. Here, a boundary portion d (hereinafter referred to as a "central boundary") between the second contact surface b and the third contact surface c is provided in a shape having a width greater than that of the corresponding portion of the mover <NUM> (see <FIG>) exemplified in the above-described embodiment.

That is, in a press process, a plane surface connecting the second contact surface b and the third contact surface c is formed by the central boundary d by making a width of the central boundary d, which is a section in which a direction of the oblique surface is changed over, at the boundary portion between the second contact surface b and the third contact surface c wider.

A shape of the second mover portion 220a is determined such that the direction of the oblique surface at the boundary portion between the second contact surface b and the third contact surface c is not changed too rapidly by the central boundary d formed as described above.

As a result, a risk in which processing defects such as cracks are generated at the boundary portion between the second contact surface b and the third contact surface c in the press process for forming the oblique surface of the second mover portion 220a may be reduced.

Accordingly, the mover 200a of the present embodiment including the second mover portion 220a formed as described above may reduce a risk in which processing defects are generated in the processing process, thereby providing improved productivity.

In the relay apparatus 400a of the present embodiment including the above-described configuration, by merely changing the shape of the mover 200a without changing the shape of the stator <NUM>, the contact stability between the stator <NUM> and the mover 200a may be effectively improved, the shape of the mover 200a may be easily manufactured by processing through the press process, and improved productivity may be provided due to less risk of processing defects in the press process.

Meanwhile, in the above-described embodiments, an example of the relay apparatus 400a in which the stator <NUM> and the mover 200a are contacted at three points by providing the first mover portion <NUM> on one side of the mover 200a and the second mover portion 220a on the other side of the mover 200a is described, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

According to the present invention, the relay apparatus may be provided in a four-contact configuration in which the stator and the mover are in contact at four points by providing the second mover portion <NUM> shown in <FIG> or the second mover portion 220a shown in <FIG> on both sides of the mover 200a. In addition, the relay apparatus of the present embodiment may be modified in various ways such as being provided in a form in which the stator and the mover are brought into contact with each other at a plurality of points that are more than five points.

Claim 1:
A relay apparatus including a stator (<NUM>), and a mover (<NUM>) movably provided, the relay apparatus comprising:
the stator (<NUM>) having a first fixed contact point (<NUM>) and a second fixed contact point (<NUM>) provided to be spaced apart from each other;
the mover (<NUM>) movably provided in a first direction which is a direction close to the stator (<NUM>) or in a second direction which is a direction far from the stator (<NUM>), and electrically connected to the stator (<NUM>) by being brought into contact with the first fixed contact point (<NUM>) and the second fixed contact point (<NUM>) ; and
an actuator (<NUM>) configured to move the mover (<NUM>) in the first direction or the second direction,
wherein the mover (<NUM>) includes:
a first mover portion (<NUM>) on which a first contact surface (a) provided to be in contact with the first fixed contact point (<NUM>) is formed; and
a second mover portion (<NUM>) on which a second contact surface (b) and a third contact surface (c) provided to be in contact with the second fixed contact point (<NUM>) are formed,
wherein the first contact surface (a) is formed on the first mover portion (<NUM>) to form a plane surface parallel to the first fixed contact point (<NUM>),
wherein the second contact surface (b) and the third contact surface (c) are formed on the second mover portion (<NUM>) to form an inclined oblique surface with respect to the second fixed contact point (<NUM>), characterised in that a central boundary (d) is formed at a boundary portion between the second contact surface (b) and the third contact surface (c) by a press manufacturing process, and the central boundary (d) forms a plane surface connecting the second contact surface (b) and the third contact surface (c).