US-12620538-B2 - Switch

US12620538B2US 12620538 B2US12620538 B2US 12620538B2US-12620538-B2

Abstract

A switch includes: a fixed contact including a fixed contact point; a movable contact including a movable contact point; a magnetic field generating member including a first magnetic pole surface and a second magnetic pole surface; a main yoke including a first connection portion that is connected to the second magnetic pole surface, extends in a third direction from the second magnetic pole surface, and projects to one side and another side in the third direction farther than the magnetic field generating member and the movable contact in the third direction, and an arm portion extending in a second direction from both end portions of the first connection portion along the third direction and disposed on both sides of the magnetic field generating member and the movable contact along the third direction; and an auxiliary yoke directly connected to the first magnetic pole surface.

Inventors

Katsuki Hotta
Shinya Watanabe
Katsuhiko Horinouchi

Assignees

MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20221014
Priority Date: 20211126

Claims (10)

1 . A switch comprising: a fixed contact including a fixed contact point; a movable contact including a movable contact point contactable with the fixed contact point, the movable contact being disposed to be movable in a first direction with respect to the fixed contact; a magnetic field generating member disposed apart from the movable contact in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, the magnetic field generating member including a first magnetic pole surface facing the movable contact and a second magnetic pole surface facing a side opposite to the movable contact; a main yoke including a first connection portion and a pair of arm portions, the first connection portion being connected to the second magnetic pole surface, extending from the second magnetic pole surface in a third direction orthogonal to both the first direction and the second direction, and projecting to one side and another side in the third direction farther than each of the magnetic field generating member and the movable contact, and the pair of arm portions extending in the second direction from both end portions of the first connection portion along the third direction and being disposed on both sides of the magnetic field generating member and the movable contact along the third direction; and an auxiliary yoke directly connected to the first magnetic pole surface, wherein the auxiliary yoke includes: a second connection portion directly connected to the first magnetic pole surface; and a pair of extending portions extending farther than the first magnetic pole surface in the third direction from both end portions of the second connection portion along the third direction, and extending so as to approach the movable contact as advancing away from the second connection portion.
2 . The switch according to claim 1 , wherein a cross-sectional area of each of the extending portions is smaller than a cross-sectional area of each of the arm portions.
3 . The switch according to claim 1 , wherein a plate thickness of the auxiliary yoke is thinner than a plate thickness of the main yoke.
4 . The switch according to claim 1 , wherein a hole penetrating in the second direction is formed in the second connection portion.
5 . The switch according to claim 1 , wherein two of the fixed contacts are disposed apart from each other in the second direction, the movable contact includes two of the movable contact points, the movable contact points each being contactable with the fixed contact point of a corresponding one of the fixed contacts, two of the magnetic field generating members are disposed apart from each other in the second direction with the movable contact interposed in between, the main yoke is connected one to the second magnetic pole surface of each of the magnetic field generating members, and the auxiliary yoke is connected one to the first magnetic pole surface of each of the magnetic field generating members.
6 . The switch according to claim 5 , wherein, when a center of the movable contact point in the second direction is defined as a center of the movable contact point, the extending portions extend until a position of the extending portions in the second direction coincides with the center of the movable contact point.
7 . The switch according to claim 5 , comprising an insulating member separating the movable contact, the movable contact point, the fixed contact, and the fixed contact point from the magnetic field generating member, the main yoke, and the auxiliary yoke, in the second direction and the third direction.
8 . The switch according to claim 7 , wherein, when a center of the movable contact in the second direction is defined as a center of the movable contact, at least one separation wall extending in the third direction from the insulating member toward the movable contact is provided in a portion of the insulating member located between the extending portions and the center of the movable contact in the second direction.
9 . The switch according to claim 8 , wherein, when a center of the movable contact in the second direction is defined as a center of the movable contact, at least one insulating wall extending in the third direction from the insulating member toward the movable contact is provided in a portion of the insulating member coinciding with the center of the movable contact in the second direction.
10 . The switch according to claim 7 , wherein, when a center of the movable contact in the second direction is defined as a center of the movable contact, at least one insulating wall extending in the third direction from the insulating member toward the movable contact is provided in a portion of the insulating member coinciding with the center of the movable contact in the second direction.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is based on PCT filing PCT/JP2022/038412, filed Oct. 14, 2022, which claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-192248, filed Nov. 26, 2021, the entire contents of each are incorporated herein by reference. FIELD The present disclosure relates to a switch that extends an arc by using an electromagnetic force to extinguish the arc. BACKGROUND Conventionally, there has been known a switch that extends an arc by using an electromagnetic force to extinguish the arc. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a switch including: a box-shaped case; a fixed contact including a fixed contact point; a movable contact including a movable contact point contactable with and separable from the fixed contact point; a magnet that generates a magnetic field around each contact point; and a yoke that guides a magnetic flux. The fixed contact, the movable contact, the magnet, and the yoke are accommodated in the case. Here, each component of the switch will be described with reference to a height direction, a width direction, and a depth direction of the case. The movable contact is disposed on the lower side of the fixed contact and is movable in the height direction with respect to the fixed contact. The magnet is disposed apart from the movable contact in the width direction. The yoke includes a main yoke and an auxiliary yoke. The main yoke extends in the depth direction from a surface of the magnet facing a side opposite to the movable contact, and then extends in the width direction until the main yoke is located on both sides of the magnet and the movable contact in the depth direction. The auxiliary yoke is disposed between the movable contact and the magnet. In the switch disclosed in Patent Literature 1, the main yoke forms a closed magnetic path inside the case. Therefore, an arc generated between the movable contact point and the fixed contact point when the movable contact point is separated from the fixed contact point can be extended in a direction away from each contact point. Further, in the switch disclosed in Patent Literature 1, the auxiliary yoke disposed between the movable contact and the magnet enables the magnetic flux to be guided toward each contact point to increase a magnetic flux density around each contact point, so that the arc can be quickly driven. CITATION LIST Patent Literature Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2021-051978 SUMMARY OF INVENTION Problem to Be Solved by the Invention In the switch disclosed in Patent Literature 1, the main yoke can extend the arc in a direction away from each contact point, but an effect of guiding the magnetic flux so as to extend the arc by using the auxiliary yoke has been insufficient because a gap or an insulator exists between a magnetic pole surface of the magnet and the auxiliary yoke. The present disclosure has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a switch capable of extending an arc longer than conventional technologies. Means to Solve the Problem In order to solve the above-stated problems and achieve the object, a switch according to the present disclosure comprises: a fixed contact including a fixed contact point; a movable contact including a movable contact point contactable with the fixed contact point, the movable contact being disposed to be movable in a first direction with respect to the fixed contact; and a magnetic field generating member disposed apart from the movable contact in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, the magnetic field generating member including a first magnetic pole surface facing the movable contact and a second magnetic pole surface facing a side opposite to the movable contact. Further, a switch according to the present disclosure comprises: a main yoke including a first connection portion and a pair of arm portions, the first connection portion being connected to the second magnetic pole surface, extending from the second magnetic pole surface in a third direction orthogonal to both the first direction and the second direction, and projecting to one side and another side in the third direction farther than each of the magnetic field generating member and the movable contact, and the pair of arm portions extending in the second direction from both end portions of the first connection portion along the third direction and being disposed on both sides of the magnetic field generating member and the movable contact along the third direction; and an auxiliary yoke directly connected to the first magnetic pole surface. Effects of the Invention The switch according to the present disclosure has an effect of being able to extend an arc longer than conventional technologies. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a switch according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating the switch according to the first embodim