Feed-through with connection terminals and casing and relay with such a feed-through

Abstract

A feedthrough (10) with a connecting terminal (22), in particular for a high-power relay (200), has a casing part (12) with a through-opening (14) and a connecting terminal arrangement (20) guided through the through-opening (14) and sealed against the through-opening (14) by a fastening material (16), the connecting terminal arrangement (20) comprising the connecting terminal (22) made of a first material and a tube guide (26) made of a second material, the tube guide (26) surrounding at least a portion of the connecting terminal (22), the fastening material (16) extending from the tube guide (26) to the second material in order to seal the connecting terminal arrangement (20). The feedthrough (10) is disposed between an outer wall of the sleeve section (27) of the guide (26) and an inner wall of the through opening (14), a first gap (32) exists between the inner wall of the sleeve section (27) and the connection terminal (22), and the connection terminal device (20) further comprises a flexible element (28) connecting the tube guide (26) to the connection terminal (22), the flexible element (28) surrounding a pin section of the connection terminal (22), and a second gap (34) exists between the pin section of the connection terminal (22) and the flexible element (28). It is further assumed that the flexible element (28) is integrally formed with the tube guide (26) as a section having a reduced thickness of the tube guide (26), or that the flexible element (28) is manufactured from a third material, or that the flexible element (28) is integrally formed with the connection terminal (22). Further aspects of the invention relate to casings and relays each including at least one such feedthrough.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The invention relates to a feedthrough with connecting terminals, in particular for high-power relays, which has a casing part with a through-opening and a connecting terminal arrangement guided through the through-opening and sealed against it by a fastening material. Further aspects of the invention relate to a casing and a relay each comprising at least one such feedthrough.

[0002] Relays are known in the prior art that can switch the current on and off. An example for this is the high-power relay used in electric or hybrid vehicles to ensure the isolation of the traction battery that supplies the electric energy for the vehicle from the vehicle's power grid. Such a relay comprises a casing, an electrical feed-through for the current circuit to be switched and a contact device that connects or separates the two terminals to switch the current. The contact device can be operated by an actuator, for example in the form of an electromagnet. The inside of the casing is usually sealed, on the one hand to prevent the ingress of moisture and, on the other hand, to keep in the casing an extinguishing gas that is possibly present in the casing to extinguish the arc.

[0003] From EP 3358593 B1 a gas-tight terminal is known, which is particularly suitable for high-power relays. The gas-tight terminal comprises a metal container with a through hole, a tube guide guided through the through hole, an insulating glass that hermetically seals the tube guide and the metal container, and a terminal block that extends through the tube guide and is attached gas-tight to the tube guide. The terminal block is made of a low-resistance metal and is arranged in the terminal in such a way that there is a gap between the inner circumferential surface of the tube guide in the area that contacts the insulating glass and the outer circumferential surface of the corresponding area of ​​the terminal block. When the terminal block thermally expands, the tube guide deforms, which prevents damage to the insulating glass.

[0004] In the known feedthroughs, the flexibility required to compensate for the thermal expansion of the connection terminals is provided by the tube guides, which must have a minimum length or height for this purpose. The known feedthroughs therefore have a relatively high overall height. In order to make it possible to design a housing with such a feedthrough more compact overall, it is the object of the present invention to provide a feedthrough with connection terminals that has a low overall height.

[0005] The known tube guides must be elastic so that they can accommodate length variations due to thermal expansion of the connection terminals. However, if a compression glass seal is desired for a gas-tight seal, the known tube guides cannot provide the necessary counter pressure for this. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a feedthrough that is suitable for a compression glass seal.

[0006] When using screw fastening between the connection terminal and the supply line, high torques can occur when tightening the coupling screws, which torques cannot be absorbed well by known hermetically sealed connection terminals. It can therefore be said that it is a further object of the present invention to provide a feedthrough with a connection terminal, which has an improved absorption and release of torques applied to the connection terminal.

[0007] Disclosure of the Invention A feed-through with a connection terminal is proposed, which is particularly suitable for high-power relays. The feed-through has a housing part with a through-opening and a connection terminal arrangement guided through the through-opening and sealed against the through-opening by a fastening material. The connection terminal arrangement includes a connection terminal made of a first material and a tube guide made of a second material, the tube guide surrounding at least a part of the connection terminal, the fastening material being arranged between an outer wall of the sleeve region of the tube guide and an inner wall of the through-opening in order to seal the connection terminal arrangement, a first gap being present between the inner wall of the sleeve region and the connection terminal. The fastening material mechanically fastens the connection terminal arrangement in the through-opening and electrically insulates the connection terminal arrangement from the housing part. Furthermore, the connection terminal arrangement has a flexible element connecting the tube guide to the connection terminal, the flexible element surrounding the pin region of the connection terminal, and a second gap being present between the pin region of the connection terminal and the flexible element. In a first embodiment i) the flexible element is integrally formed with the tube guide as a section of the tube guide having a reduced thickness. In a second embodiment ii) the flexible element is made of a third material. In a third embodiment iii) the flexible element is integrally formed with the connection terminal.

[0008] The connection terminal has a pin section which functions in particular as a current conductor in the feed-through. The pin section is preferably substantially cylindrical, in particular cylindrical, but other shapes are also conceivable. Thus, for example, a cylindrical shape with an oval, square or rectangular cross section is conceivable. It is furthermore conceivable for the pin section to be completely or partially conically shaped. The tube guide with the sleeve section as well as the flexible element at least partially surrounds the pin section. Its cross-sectional shape is preferably selected correspondingly to the cross-sectional shape of the pin section.

[0009] In a first embodiment of the invention, the elasticity of the part of the tube guide which acts as a flexible element is increased by a reduction in thickness, in which case such a reduction in thickness is performed in particular with respect to the sleeve section, so that the thickness, in particular the wall thickness, of the tube guide in the region of the flexible element is smaller than its thickness in the region of the sleeve section.

[0010] In a second embodiment of the invention, the elasticity of the flexible element is increased by producing it from a different material. The third material is preferably selected in this case such that its elastic modulus is less than that of the second material for the tube guide. This increases the elasticity even if the flexible element has the same wall thickness in the sleeve region as the tube guide. In addition, however, the thickness or wall thickness of the flexible element can of course also be selected to be less than the thickness of the tube guide in the sleeve region in order to further increase the elasticity.

[0011] In a third embodiment, the flexible element is integrally formed with the connection terminal and is therefore manufactured from the same material as the connection terminal. The first material for the connection terminal usually has a lower modulus of elasticity than the second material for the tube guide. The thickness or wall thickness of the flexible element can also be selected independently of the thickness of the sleeve region of the tube guide, resulting in a flexible element with good elastic properties. In particular, in this case, the thickness or wall thickness of the flexible element can be selected to be smaller than the thickness of the tube guide in the sleeve region.

[0012] All three embodiments allow the flexibility of the flexible element to be adjusted independently of the properties of the sleeve region of the tube guide, and the length of the flexible element can be reduced, which in turn reduces the overall height of the feed-through, which in this case is understood to mean in particular the length by which the connecting terminal device projects beyond the housing part.

[0013] The connection between the flexible element and the connection terminal or the tube guide is preferably effected by welding or brazing.

[0014] This connection is preferably effected in an airtight manner, likewise the sealing of the fastening material between the tube guide and the inner wall of the through opening is preferably effected in an airtight manner.

[0015] Airtightness means that when the pressure difference is 1 bar, the helium leakage rate is 1×10 -8 mbar l / s -1 Less than 1×10 -9 mbar l / s -1 It is understood to be less than

[0016] Preferably, the connection terminal has at least one collar. In this case, the collar is formed in particular as a region of the connection terminal in which the outer diameter of the connection terminal is larger than the outer diameter in the pin area. Such a collar may have a constant diameter. However, it may also be provided that in the region of the collar the diameter changes abruptly or continuously in one or more steps.

[0017] At least one collar is preferably arranged on the connection terminal and is dimensioned such that the collar is arranged outside the through opening.

[0018] Preferably, the flexible element is connected to the collar on the side of the collar facing the through-opening according to embodiment i) or ii). If, according to embodiment iii), the flexible element is formed integrally with the connecting terminal, it is preferred that the section of the connecting terminal forming the flexible element starts from the side of the collar facing the through-opening.

[0019] The outer diameter of the collar and the outer diameter of the flexible element may be selected to be identical, so that the flexible element is connected flush with the collar, whereas, alternatively, the outer diameter of the flexible element may be selected to be relatively small.

[0020] As an alternative to the arrangement of the flexible element on the surface of the collar facing the through opening, the flexible element is preferably connected to the collar on a lateral surface of the collar according to embodiment i) or ii).

[0021] The connection terminal may have connection means at one or both end faces to facilitate the connection of the electrical supply lines, for example in the form of a threaded hole which allows a screw fastening with the electrical connection. Preferably, such a threaded hole is arranged at least on the outer-facing side of the feed-through.

[0022] Alternatively to this, however, the connection means may also be formed, for example, in the form of a flat surface, which is suitable for brazing or welding, in this connection it may be envisaged to coat and / or roughen the surface in order to ensure good adhesion of such a connection.

[0023] The tube guide, or the flexible element if it is formed integrally with the tube guide, may also comprise a flange to facilitate coupling with the connection terminal, in particular with the collar of the connection terminal. For this purpose, it may be envisaged to fold the wall of the tube guide into a flange or to enlarge the end face of the tube guide by adapting the outer and / or inner diameter.

[0024] By providing such a flange, the diameter of the connection point can also be increased, so that torque acting on the connection terminal can be transmitted better without damage at the connection point.

[0025] If the flexible element is not formed integrally with the tube guide, it is preferably provided that the tube guide has a continuous or varying diameter expansion on the side facing the flexible element, outside the through-opening, and that the tube guide is connected to the flexible element in this area with the expanded diameter. The resulting expanded diameter can also improve the transmission of torque acting on the connection terminal, so that no damage to the feed-through occurs, especially when the connection cable is connected to the connection terminal by means of a screw fastening.

[0026] Preferably, the flexible element is arranged and configured such that the second gap between the flexible element and the pin section is greater than or equal to the first gap between the sleeve section and the pin section. For example, if the flexible element is formed by an extension of a tube guide having a reduced wall thickness, preferably the inner diameter is enlarged to reduce the thickness while the outer diameter remains unchanged.

[0027] In particular when the feedthrough is provided for electrical connections involving high voltages, in particular above 100 V, particularly preferably above 1000 V, the insulating section provided by the fastening material is preferably extended by the arrangement of further insulating material, in order to reduce leakage currents and / or arc-overs which, in the presence of impurities and / or moisture, may overcome the insulating distance provided by the fastening material alone, in particular if it is not extended by the further insulating material.

[0028] For this purpose, the fastening material and the adjacent areas of the housing parts are preferably covered with an insulating material on the upper and / or lower side of the feed-through.

[0029] The insulating material can be in the form of an insulating disk made of an electrically insulating material. Alternatively or additionally, the insulating material can be in the form of a coating made of an electrically insulating material, in particular comprising a sealing compound.

[0030] In the configuration as an insulating disk, the insulating material may in particular be selected from glass, glass ceramic, ceramic or plastic, with plastic being preferred. The insulating material may be selected to be the same as the fastening material.

[0031] The feed-through is preferably formed as a compression glass seal, in which the thermal expansion coefficient of the housing part is greater than that of the fastening material. In this case, the fastening material, which is preferably glass, is prepared as a pressed body, for example made of glass powder, and is inserted into the through-opening of the housing part together with the connection terminal device or at least together with the tube guide. By heating the device, the fastening material is obtained from the pressed body, which is glass-bonded to the through-opening and to the wall of the tube guide. Then, during cooling, the housing part shrinks significantly more than the fastening material due to the selected expansion coefficient, so that in the finished feed-through, pressure is continuously applied to the fastening material through the housing part. This achieves, in particular, that the seal has a high quality and remains permanently sealed and in particular hermetically sealed even under difficult conditions, such as frequent temperature changes and high mechanical demands. The tube guide is in this case designed and formed in such a way that the fastening material is supported from the inside in this compression glass seal. For this purpose, the sleeve section has a thickness that is selected in combination with the material selection of the tube guide in such a way that the sleeve section can exert a sufficient counter pressure.

[0032] For the construction as a compression glass seal, the material of the casing part and the fastening material preferably have a thermal expansion coefficient α ケーシング is the thermal expansion coefficient α of the fixing material ガラス is chosen to be at least 20% larger than α. For example, ケーシング is 12 x 10 -6 1 / K~19×10 -6 α is selected in the range of 1 / K. ガラス is 9 x 10 -6 1 / K~11×10 -6 It is selected in the range of 1 / K.

[0033] As an alternative to a compression glass seal, the thermal expansion coefficients of the casing part, the fastening material and the tube guide can also be selected to match each other, so that the thermal expansion coefficient of the fastening material differs from the thermal expansion coefficient of the casing part and / or the tube guide by less than 20%, preferably less than 10%, particularly preferably less than 5%.

[0034] Preferably, the first material used for the connection terminal has a lower electrical resistance than the second material used for the tube guide. Since the connection terminal acts as an electrical conductor in the feed-through, a material with as low an electrical resistance as possible is preferred. This is achieved, in particular, that the feed-through does not heat up excessively even in the case of high currents.

[0035] In particular in the case of feed-throughs in which the flexible element is integrally formed with the connection terminal, the first material preferably has a lower modulus of elasticity than the second material, so that elastic deformation of the flexible element can be achieved even in the case of a large material thickness.

[0036] Insofar as the flexible element is manufactured from a third material and thus exists as a separate component, the third material for the flexible element according to embodiment ii) preferably has a lower modulus of elasticity than the second material for the tube guide, and more preferably, the third material further has a lower modulus of elasticity than the first material for the connection terminal.

[0037] Preferably, the first material for the connection terminal is selected from non-ferrous metals such as copper or a copper alloy, in particular from non-ferrous metal alloys such as brass, aluminium or an aluminium alloy.

[0038] Preferably, at least the inwardly facing end faces of the connection terminals are coated with a contact material to reduce the contact resistance and / or to reduce spark formation. Optionally, however, both end faces may also be provided with such a contact material. The contact material is distinguished by good resistance to oxidation and is also resistant to wear due to sparks and arcs occurring during the switching process.

[0039] Suitable contact materials include, inter alia, silver, gold and platinum. Suitable alloys as contact materials include, inter alia, silver-nickel and silver-tin oxide.

[0040] The tube guide is manufactured from a second material, preferably selected from steel, in particular ferritic steel, steel alloys, in particular nickel steel alloys and chromium steels.

[0041] The housing parts are preferably made of metal, and the materials mentioned for the tube guides are in principle also suitable as materials for the housing parts. In addition, other steels, in particular austenitic steels, are also suitable. Materials with a thermal expansion coefficient greater than that of the fastening material used are preferred.

[0042] In particular in the case of tube guides, the second material may be a composite material made up of several layers, and in principle the choice of a composite material can also be considered both for the separate flexible element and for the connecting pin.

[0043] If a separate flexible element is used, the third material is preferably selected from non-ferrous metals or non-ferrous metal alloys. Examples of suitable materials include copper, copper alloys, and especially brass.

[0044] The tube guide can be configured as a solid component or as a folded sheet metal part, for example, the tube guide can be configured as a sheet metal part, the thickness of which is increased in the sleeve area by one or more folds of the sheet metal part compared to the area configured as a flexible element.

[0045] Preferably, the sheet metal part is a sheet metal part coated on one side, which is folded and arranged so that the coated side of the sheet metal part faces towards the connection with the flexible element or the connection terminal and the uncoated side of the sheet metal part faces towards the fixing material.

[0046] The coating of the sheet metal part may in particular be a nickel layer or other layer which facilitates joining, in particular by a brazing process, which is particularly advantageous when the sheet metal part is made of steel.

[0047] The coated sheet metal parts are preferably always arranged in a folded manner such that the coating does not come into contact with the fastening material. The coated side is therefore preferably always on the inside in the region of the sleeve section and is not adjacent to the fastening material. In the region of this flange, the coating preferably faces towards the connecting pair, so that the tube guide is provided with a surface which promotes welding and / or brazing, even if the tube guide does not bond very well with the fastening material. By folding the sheet metal parts accordingly, the surface which is most suitable for bonding with the respective connecting pair is always adjacent to the connecting pair.

[0048] The tube guide formed as a solid component may also be partially coated, in order to facilitate its joining with the flexible element and / or the connection terminal, in particular in a soldering process. In this case, in particular a nickel layer may be used. The coating is preferably applied in this case selectively only to the side facing the joining pair. In particular, the side facing the fastening material remains uncoated in this case.

[0049] Via the fastening material, the connection terminal arrangement is mechanically held and also electrically insulated with respect to the housing part, the fastening material being preferably selected from glass, glass ceramic or ceramic.

[0050] Particularly preferably, glass is used as the fastening material, the glass being selected from borosilicate glass, sodium barium glass, alkali glass, silicate glass or soda glass, with borosilicate glass and sodium barium glass being particularly suitable for conformal glass sealing, and alkali glass, silicate glass and soda glass being particularly suitable for compression glass sealing.

[0051] An example of the material selection of the feedthrough is copper as the first material for the connecting terminal and ferritic steel as the second material for the tube guide. As a fastening material, for example, soda glass can be used.

[0052] Copper here has a lower modulus of elasticity, about 110 GPa, than the ferritic steel of the tube guide, which has about 200 GPa. The elastic element made of copper material of the contact pin can therefore already be elastically deformed under smaller force actions, with the same geometry of the elastic element, and can thus accommodate shape changes caused by thermal expansion of the contact pin without transmitting undesirable forces to the fastening material. If the elasticity of the tube guide made of ferritic steel is maintained, the dimensions of the elastic element made of copper can be correspondingly reduced, which allows the feedthrough to be made more compact.

[0053] The connection terminal device can additionally include a further flexible element which is connected to the tube guide, the flexible element and the further flexible element being connected to the connection terminal on opposite sides with respect to the through opening or merging into the connection terminal in the case of an integral construction.

[0054] The further flexible element is also preferably configured substantially sleeve-like and preferably at least partially surrounds the pin area of ​​the connection terminal, with one flexible element directed towards the upper surface and the other flexible element directed towards the lower surface in relation to the through opening in the casing part, so that the connection terminal can be held from both sides of the casing part.

[0055] The described feedthroughs are particularly suitable for the reliable passage of large currents of several amperes, in particular in the range of more than 10 amperes, particularly preferably in the range of more than 100 amperes, through a hermetically sealed casing.

[0056] A further aspect of the present invention is the provision of a casing including at least one of the feedthroughs described herein, which may be, for example, the casing of an electrical safety device, the casing of a control device such as a relay, or the casing of a battery module.

[0057] In another aspect of the invention, a relay is proposed which includes a casing with at least two feedthroughs as described herein, as well as a contact device for forming an electrical connection between the connection terminals of both feedthroughs.

[0058] The contact device may in this case in particular comprise an actuator which can be controlled via an electric signal, so that the flow of current between the two connection terminals can be controlled in response to this control signal. An example of such an actuator is an electromechanical actuator with an electromagnet and a movable armature. Additionally or alternatively, the contact device may comprise a pyrotechnical actuator which can ignite the charge via an electric signal, thus causing a rapid disconnection of the electrical connection between the two connection terminals. For the feed-through of the electric signal, the housing may comprise a further electrical feed-through.

[0059] The housing of the relay is preferably hermetically sealed, so that on the one hand the interior of the housing is protected against the surrounding environment and on the other hand nothing can leak from the interior of the housing to the outside. This allows the interior of the housing or at least the area surrounding the contact device to be filled with a so-called arc-extinguishing gas. Such an arc-extinguishing gas has the task of extinguishing as quickly as possible any arc that may occur when the electrical contact is disconnected to the connection terminal.

[0060] The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings, but the invention is not limited thereto. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0061] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of a first embodiment of a feedthrough; [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of a second embodiment of a feedthrough; [Diagram 3] FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of a third embodiment of a feedthrough; [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of a fourth embodiment of a feedthrough; [Diagram 5] FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of a fifth embodiment of a feedthrough; [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of a sixth embodiment of a feedthrough; [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of a seventh embodiment of a feedthrough; [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of an example of a relay with two feedthroughs according to the invention according to a sixth embodiment.

[0062] 1 shows a first embodiment of a feedthrough 10 having a connecting terminal 22. The feedthrough 10 comprises a casing part 12 in which a through opening 14 is formed. A connecting terminal arrangement 20 is guided through this through opening 14 and is held therein by a fastening material 16. The fastening material 16 hermetically seals the connecting terminal arrangement 20 against the wall of the through opening 14, so that the through opening 14 is hermetically sealed.

[0063] The connection terminal device 20 comprises a connection terminal 22 and a tube guide 26. In the illustrated embodiment, the longitudinal axis of the connection terminal 22 extends coaxially with the longitudinal axis of the tube guide 26, which in this case surrounds a portion of the connection terminal 22. The fastening material 16 for sealing the connection terminal device 20 is arranged between the outer wall of a sleeve section 27 of the tube guide 26 and the inner wall of the through opening 14, with a first gap 32 being present between the inner wall of the sleeve section 27 and the connection terminal 22. Thus, as can be seen from the illustration in FIG. 1, the sleeve section 27 is the section of the tube guide 26 that is arranged inside the through opening 14 and directly contacts the fastening material 16.

[0064] In the first embodiment of FIG. 1, the tube guide 26 has a section with reduced thickness, which section serves as a flexible element 28. In the section with reduced thickness, the outer diameter of the tube guide 26 remains unchanged, and only the inner diameter is reduced to reduce the thickness, which reduces the wall thickness of the tube guide 26 in this section and thus the thickness of the tube guide. This results in a second gap 34 between the flexible element 28 and the cylindrically configured pin section of the connection terminal 22, which is larger than the first gap 32. Furthermore, the reduced thickness increases the flexibility of the tube guide 26, so that the flexible element 28 formed thereby can be relatively shorter than known feedthroughs with tube guides, and yet compensates by elastic deformation for dimensional changes of the connection terminal 22 caused by temperature fluctuations.

[0065] At its upper end, the connecting terminal 22 has a collar 24, which in the embodiment of FIG. 1 is formed in the form of two steps, at which the cylindrically formed connecting terminal 22 has a respective larger diameter. Furthermore, the connecting terminal 22 has a threaded bore 23 on its upper side. The threaded bore 23 is in particular designed to form a connection with an electrical supply line (not shown), the latter being screwed to the connecting terminal 22. Of course, in alternative embodiments, instead of the threaded bore 23, other connection means can be provided or the connecting means can be omitted, so that the connecting terminal 22 has, for example, on its upper side, a flat surface which can be connected to the electrical supply line, for example by soldering or welding.

[0066] The flexible element 28 formed by the area of ​​reduced wall thickness of the tube guide 26 is connected in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 to the side wall of the first step of the collar 24 of the connection terminal 22. Correspondingly, the outer diameter of the first step of the collar 24 is smaller than the inner diameter of the fastening material 16. Furthermore, in the illustrated example, the outer diameter of the larger second step of the collar is smaller than the inner diameter of the through opening 14. In other variants, however, this diameter can also be selected to be larger than the diameter of the through opening 14. The connection is made in the illustrated example via a solder joint 30, although other connection methods, such as welding, can of course also be used. The connection between the flexible element 28 and the collar 24 is also configured to be hermetically sealed, so that the feedthrough 10 as a whole hermetically seals the through opening 14 of the housing part 12.

[0067] The part of the flexible element 28 located between the collar 24 and the sleeve section 27 is adapted and shaped so that it can elastically deform when a force acts on it, the first gap 32 and the second gap 34 providing the necessary space for this. In this way, forces resulting from thermal expansion of the connection terminal 22 can be absorbed via an elastic deformation of the flexible element 28, in particular without adverse forces acting on the fastening material 16. Such thermal expansion can occur in particular when the connection terminal 22 is loaded with high currents and heats up due to the existing electrical resistance.

[0068] Advantageously, the wall thickness of the tube guide 26 is not reduced in the sleeve region 27, so that the tube guide 26, the fastening material 16 and the casing part 12 can form a compression glass seal in which the thermal expansion coefficient of the casing part 12 is selected to be greater than that of the fastening material 16. As a result, after vitrification of the fastening material 16, the casing part 12 shrinks significantly more than the fastening material 16 and thus exerts a defined pressure on the fastening material 16. The tube guide 26, which has a greater wall thickness in the region of the sleeve region 27, can then generate the required counter pressure, while at the same time the flexible element 28 has the necessary elasticity to absorb the thermal expansion of the connection terminal 22.

[0069] 1 is manufactured from a first material, and the tube guide 26 from a second material, which makes it possible to select optimal material properties for both parts of the connection terminal arrangement 20. Thus, in particular, a material with a low electrical resistance can be selected for the connection terminal 22, and a stiff material with a high elastic modulus can be selected for the tube guide 26 and in particular its sleeve section 27.

[0070] A second exemplary embodiment of the feedthrough 10 is shown in Fig. 2. In contrast to the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the tube guide 26 is formed in two parts, so that the sleeve section 27 and the flexible element 28 are made of two parts and are connected to each other via a connection 30, which is configured, for example, as a soldered or welded connection. This allows the section of the tube guide 26 used as the flexible element 28 to be manufactured from a third material, and only the sleeve section 27 to be manufactured from the second material. In this case, the third material is preferably selected so that it has a lower elastic modulus than the second material and can therefore already exhibit elastic deformation under relatively small force applications.

[0071] Figure 3 shows a third embodiment of the feed-through 10. As already explained with reference to Figure 1, the feed-through 10 has a casing part 12 with a through opening 14 through which a connecting terminal arrangement 20 with a connecting terminal 22 and a tube guide 26 is guided. The connecting terminal arrangement is held in the through opening 14 via a fastening material 16, which seals the through opening gas-tight.

[0072] 1 and 2, the connecting terminal 22 has a collar 24 on one side, which in this case is made in one step and is arranged flush with one of the end faces of the connecting terminal 22. In addition, a threaded hole 23 is arranged in this end face, which allows a screwed fastening with an electrical supply line.

[0073] The tube guide 26 is formed in the third embodiment of FIG. 3 by a coated sheet metal part comprising a metal sheet 38 having a coating 39 applied to one side. The sheet metal part is substantially tubular and surrounds the cylindrical pin section of the connection terminal 22, the longitudinal axis of the tube guide 26 running coaxially to the longitudinal axis of the connection terminal 22. At a first end, the sheet metal part forms a sleeve region 27 with an increased thickness and at a second end forms a flange. The sheet metal part is configured in this case such that the coating 39 faces inward in the direction of the cylindrical pin section of the connection terminal 22 and therefore the uncoated side of the sheet metal part faces outward. The sleeve region 27 is obtained by folding the sheet metal part one or more times. In this case, the sheet metal part is folded in such a way that the coatings 39 of the metal sheet 38 are folded over one another and are thus deformed in such a way that they are located on the inside. Correspondingly, the uncoated side of the metal sheet 38 faces towards the fastening material 16 in the sleeve region 27. The flange is also obtained by deformation of a metal sheet part, where the coating 39 of the metal sheet 38 faces towards the collar 24 of the connection terminal 22 and is connected to the collar via a connection 30 formed, for example, as a solder joint. In order to provide as large an area as possible for the connection 30 with the flange, the outside diameter of the collar is preferably selected to be larger than the inside diameter of the fastening material 16, as shown. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the diameter of the collar 24 is selected to be smaller than the inside diameter of the through-opening 14. However, in order to further increase the connection area, the outside diameter of the collar 24 can also be selected to be larger than the inside diameter of the through-opening 14.

[0074] Between the flange and the sleeve region 27, the sheet metal part is not folded and forms here a region which has a smaller thickness than the sleeve region 27 and which serves as a flexible element 28. As a result, a first gap 32 between the sleeve region 27 and the cylindrical pin region of the connection terminal 22 is smaller than a second gap 34 between the flexible element 28 and the cylindrical pin region of the connection terminal 22.

[0075] 4 shows a fourth embodiment of the feedthrough 10. The feedthrough 10 again has a casing part 12 with a through opening 14 through which a connecting terminal arrangement 20 with a connecting terminal 22 and a tube guide 26 is guided. The connecting terminal arrangement is held in the through opening 14 via a fastening material 16, which seals the through opening gas-tightly.

[0076] 1 and 2, the connecting terminal 22 has a collar 24 on one side, which is also in this case multi-stepped, starting from its underside opposite to its upper side with the threaded hole 23, the collar 24 has a first step and a second step, the diameter of the first step being greater than the diameter of the second step. In other embodiments, however, the collar 24 can of course be configured differently, for example with only one step, which is arranged flush with the upper side of the connecting terminal 22.

[0077] At the underside of the collar 24, the tube guide 26 is connected to the collar 24 via a connection 30, for example formed as a solder joint. In this case, the tube guide 26 is made in two parts, the sleeve section 27 facing the fastening material 16 being manufactured from a second material, and the section serving as the flexible element 28 being manufactured from a third material having a lower modulus of elasticity than the second material. Both parts of the tube guide 26 are also connected via a connection 30, for example formed as a solder joint, in the illustrated example. In this case, the tube guide 26 is arranged such that the flexible element 28 faces the collar 24. The tube guide 26 as a whole is substantially cylindrical in shape and surrounds the cylindrical pin section of the connection terminal 22 such that the longitudinal axis of the tube guide 26 runs coaxially with the longitudinal axis of the connection terminal 22. The dimensions of the collar 24 and of the tube guide 26 are in this case selected so that the outside diameter of the tube guide 26 corresponds to the relatively large diameter of the collar 24, so that the two parts transition into one another without a step.

[0078] FIG. 5 shows a fifth embodiment of the feedthrough 10, which is similar to the fourth embodiment of FIG. 4. In contrast to the fourth embodiment, the diameter of the tube guide 26 is smaller than the diameter of the collar 24. In addition, in order to improve the voltage resistance of the feedthrough 10, an additional insulating material 36 is provided, which in this case is formed as two insulating disks. In this case, the first insulating disk covers the upper side of the fastening material 16 and the adjacent part of the upper side of the casing part 12. In this case, the second insulating disk covers the lower side of the fastening material 16 and the adjacent part of the lower side of the casing part 12. Due to the arrangement of the insulating material 36, in particular the creepage distance between the connection terminal device 20 and the casing part 12 is increased, which improves the voltage resistance of the feedthrough 10. Instead of an insulating disk, the insulating material 36 can also be applied, for example as an insulating coating. Furthermore, depending on the application, it may be sufficient if the insulating material 36 is arranged only on one side of the feedthrough 10, for example on the upper side.

[0079] 6 shows a sixth embodiment of the feedthrough 10. The feedthrough 10 again has a casing part 12 with a through opening 14 through which a terminal arrangement 20 with a terminal 22 and a tube guide 26 is guided. The terminal arrangement 20 is held in the through opening 14 via a fastening material 16 and seals the through opening gas-tightly.

[0080] The connecting terminal 22 in this case has a collar 24 flush with the upper side with the threaded bore 23, with a sleeve-like section of the connecting terminal 22 acting as a flexible element 28 connected to the lower side of the collar 24 facing the through opening 14. The outer diameter of the sleeve-like section corresponds in this example to the outer diameter of the collar 24, but this outer diameter can also be selected differently and smaller. Furthermore, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the outer diameter of the collar 24 is selected to be larger than the inner diameter of the fastening material 16 and smaller than the inner diameter of the through opening 14. Alternatively, however, the outer diameter of the collar 24 can also be selected to be larger than the inner diameter of the through opening 14.

[0081] The sleeve-like section serves as a flexible element 28 and is connected to the tube guide 26 via a connection 30, for example formed as a solder joint. The tube guide 26 comprises a sleeve section 27 adjacent to the fastening material 16. Between the sleeve section 27, which surrounds the cylindrical pin section of the connection terminal 22, and the connection terminal 22, there is a first gap 32. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the sleeve section 27 is extended upwards and is expanded at the end facing the collar 24 to form a connection flange. In the connection flange, the tube guide 26 is connected to the flexible element 28 of the connection terminal 22. The tube guide 26 is manufactured from a second material having a higher modulus of elasticity than the first material from which the connection terminal 22 is manufactured. Thus, forces occurring in the event of thermal expansion of the connection terminal 22 are absorbed via an elastic shape change of the flexible element 28 of the connection terminal 22. Advantageously, forces resulting from thermal expansion are therefore not transmitted via the tube sleeve 26, in particular via its sleeve section 27, to the fastening material 16, or such transmission is at least reduced to a negligible extent.

[0082] The sleeve-like section of the connection terminal 22, which functions as a flexible element 28, surrounds the cylindrical pin section of the connection terminal 22, with the longitudinal axis of the sleeve-like section being arranged concentrically with respect to the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical pin section, and a second gap 34 being present between the inner surface of the sleeve-like section or the inner surface of the flexible element 28 formed by the sleeve-like section and the cylindrical pin section.

[0083] FIG. 7 shows a seventh embodiment of the feedthrough 10, in which, like the sixth embodiment of FIG. 6, the sleeve-like section of the connecting terminal 22 is formed as a flexible element 28.

[0084] In contrast to the embodiment of FIG. 6, the area of ​​the connection terminal 22 serving as the flexible element 28 has in this case a smaller outer diameter than the collar 24, which is formed in stages as in the embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5. Furthermore, the tube guide 26 does not have in this case an area with an enlarged diameter serving as a coupling flange. In the illustrated example, the outer and inner diameters of the tube guide 26 and the outer and inner diameters of the flexible element 28 are formed identically. Since the first material of the connection terminal 22 and thus the first material of the flexible element 28 formed integrally with the connection terminal have a lower modulus of elasticity than the second material of the tube guide 26, the forces arising from the thermal expansion of the connection terminal 22 are absorbed via elastic deformation of the flexible element 28, and the shape of the tube guide 26 remains substantially unchanged.

[0085] Figure 8 shows an example of a relay 200 which is formed as a high-power relay, for example for electric vehicles. The relay 200 comprises a housing 100 which has a housing part 12 formed as a cover. The housing part 12 comprises two electrical feedthroughs 10 with connection terminals 22, to which the current circuits to be switched by the relay 200 can be connected. For example, electrical connectors can be screwed to the connection terminals 22 for this purpose. In the example shown in Figure 8, the feedthroughs 10 are constructed as explained with reference to Figure 6. However, it is of course also possible to use other feedthroughs 10 as described herein.

[0086] A contact arrangement 110 is arranged inside the casing 100, which in a first position electrically connects the two connection terminals 22, so that a current can flow, and in a second position electrically separates the two connection terminals 22, so that a current cannot flow. As shown in the diagram of Fig. 8, the connection terminals 22 can have a contact coating 40 of a contact material on their end faces facing the contact arrangement 110. The contact material, for example silver or a silver-copper alloy or a silver-nickel alloy, is resistant to oxidation and reduces the electrical contact resistance between each connection terminal 22 and the contact arrangement 110.

[0087] To shift the contact arrangement from one position to the other, an actuator 120 is provided which is configured as an electromagnetic actuator in the exemplary embodiment shown in Fig. 8. For the electrical contact of the actuator 120, the housing 100 has a further electrical feed-through which is not shown in the cross-sectional view of Fig. 6.

[0088] In this case, via the electromagnet 122 of the actuator 120, for example, the contact device 110 can be brought into a first position when the electromagnet 122 is energized, so that a current can flow between the two connection terminals 22. When the electromagnet 122 is no longer energized, the contact device 110 can be brought into a second position, for example via a spring 124, so that no further current can flow between the two connection terminals 22. In order to quickly extinguish an arc discharge that may possibly occur when the contact device 110 is separated from the connection terminal 22, it may be provided for the interior of the casing 100 to be filled with a so-called arc-extinguishing gas. The feed-through 10 according to the invention is hermetically sealed, so that the arc-extinguishing gas cannot escape from the casing 100.

[0089] In addition to the actuator 120, the relay 200 may also be provided with another operating device for moving the contact arrangement 110. For example, a pyrotechnical device (not shown in FIG. 8) may be provided which, when the igniter is energized, activates a charge, which then rapidly moves the contact arrangement 110 to the second position in which the connection terminals 22 are electrically isolated from each other.

[0090] The scope of the claims is not limited to the embodiments described herein, in particular numerous variations are possible in which the individual features of the embodiments described herein can be combined with one another. [Explanation of symbols]

[0091] 10 Feedthrough 12 Casing part 14 Through hole 16 Fixed material 20 Connection terminal device 22 Connection terminal 23 Threaded hole 24 Color 26 Tube Guide 27 Sleeve Area 28 Flexible Elements 30 Brazed joint 32 The First Gap 34 The Second Gap 36 Insulating Materials 38 Metal thin plate 39 Coating 40 Contact Coating 100 Casing 110 Contact device 120 Actuator 122 Electromagnet 124 Spring 200 Relay

Claims

1. A feedthrough (10) with connection terminals (22), in particular for a high-power relay (200), comprising: a casing part (12) with a through opening (14); a connecting terminal device (20) guided through the through opening (14) and sealed to the through opening (14) by a fastening material (16); and a feedthrough (10) in which the connection terminal device (20) includes a connection terminal (22) made of a first material and a tube guide (26) made of a second material, the tube guide (26) surrounding at least a portion of the connection terminal (22), the fixing material (16) being disposed between an outer wall of a sleeve section (27) of the tube guide (26) and an inner wall of the through opening (14) to seal the connection terminal device (20), and a first gap (32) being present between the inner wall of the sleeve section (27) and the connection terminal (22); The connection terminal device (20) further includes a flexible element (28) connecting the tube guide (26) to the connection terminal (22), the flexible element (28) surrounding a pin area of the connection terminal (22), and a second gap (34) existing between the pin area of the connection terminal (22) and the flexible element (28); i) the flexible element (28) is formed integrally with the tube guide (26) as a section of the tube guide (26) having a reduced thickness, or ii) said flexible element (28) is made from a third material, or iii) the flexible element (28) is integrally formed with the connection terminal (22); A feedthrough (10) characterized in that

2. 2. The feedthrough (10) according to claim 1, wherein the connection terminal (22) has a collar (24), and the flexible element (26) is connected to the collar on a side of the collar facing the through-opening (14) according to aspect i) or ii), or forms the flexible element (28) if it is formed integrally with the tube guide (26) according to aspect iii), the section of the connection terminal (22) starting from the side of the collar facing the through-opening (14).

3. 2. The feedthrough (10) according to claim 1, wherein the connection terminal (22) has a collar (24), and the flexible element (28) is coupled to the collar at a lateral surface of the collar (24) according to aspect i) or ii).

4. The feedthrough (10) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the collar (24) is disposed outside the through opening (14).

5. 3. The feedthrough (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the tube guide (26) has a continuous or varying diameter enlargement on the side facing the flexible element (28), outside the through opening (14), and the tube guide (26) is connected to the flexible element (28) in this region with the enlarged diameter.

6. 3. The feed-through (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the connection terminal (22) has, on its outwardly facing side, a threaded hole (23) for attaching a connection line.

7. 3. The feedthrough (10) of claim 1 or 2, wherein the fastening material (16) and adjacent areas of the casing part (12) are covered by an insulating material (36) on the upper and / or lower surfaces of the feedthrough (10).

8. The feedthrough (10) of claim 7, wherein the insulating material (36) is formed as a disk of electrically insulating material or as a coating of electrically insulating material.

9. 3. The feedthrough (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the feedthrough (10) is formed as a compression glass seal in which the thermal expansion coefficient of the casing part (12) is greater than the thermal expansion coefficient of the fixing material (16).

10. 3. The feedthrough (10) of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first material has a lower electrical resistivity than the second material and / or the first material has a lower modulus of elasticity than the second material.

11. The feedthrough (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the third material according to aspect ii) has a lower modulus of elasticity than the second material, preferably a lower modulus of elasticity than the first material.

12. 3. The feedthrough (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first material is selected from copper or a copper alloy, in particular brass, a non-ferrous metal such as aluminum or an aluminum alloy.

13. 3. The feed-through (10) according to claim 1, wherein the end faces of the connection terminals (22) are coated with a contact material for reducing contact resistance and / or for reducing spark formation.

14. 3. The feedthrough (10) according to claim 1, wherein the tube guide (26) is formed as a sheet metal part, and the thickness of the sleeve section (27) is increased by one or more foldings of the sheet metal part compared to the section formed as the flexible element (28).

15. 15. The feedthrough (10) according to claim 14, wherein the sheet metal portion is a sheet metal portion coated on one side, and the sheet metal portion is folded and arranged so that the coated side of the sheet metal portion faces the direction of the connection portion (30) with the flexible element (28) or the connection terminal (22), and the uncoated side of the sheet metal portion faces the direction of the fixing material (16).

16. 3. The feedthrough (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second material is selected from steel, in particular ferritic steel, or a steel alloy, in particular a nickel steel alloy or a chromium steel.

17. The feedthrough (10) of claim 1 or 2, wherein the fastening material (16) is selected from glass, glass ceramic, or ceramic.

18. The feedthrough (10) of claim 17, wherein the glass is selected from borosilicate glass, sodium barium glass, alkali glass, silicate glass, or soda glass.

19. 3. The feedthrough (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the connection terminal device (20) comprises a further flexible element connected to the tube guide (26), the flexible element (28) and the further flexible element being connected to the connection terminal (22) on opposite sides of the through opening (14) or merging into the connection terminal in the case of an integral construction.

20. A casing (100) comprising at least one feedthrough (10) according to claim 1.

21. A relay (200) comprising at least two feedthroughs (10) according to claim 1 or a casing according to claim 20, and a contact device (110) for forming an electrical connection between the connection terminals (22) of both said feedthroughs (10).

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