Feedthroughs equipped with connection terminals, as well as metal sheet housings and relays equipped with such feedthroughs.

Abstract

In particular, a feedthrough (10) equipped with a connection terminal (22) for a high-power relay (200), comprising a housing portion (12) with a through-opening (14) and a connection terminal assembly (20), wherein the connection terminal assembly (20) is through-guided through the through-opening (14) and sealed to the through-opening (14) by a position-fixing material (16), the feedthrough (10) has a reinforcing component (18) which reinforces the housing portion (12) in the area of ​​the through-opening (14), the glass sealing length (EL) of the position-fixing material (16) is formed to be greater than the thickness (d) of the housing portion (12), and the connection terminal assembly (20) is made from a first material A feedthrough (10) includes a connecting terminal (22) and a pipe lead (26) made of a second material, the pipe lead (26) surrounding at least a portion of the connecting terminal (22), a position-fixing material (16) positioned between the outer wall of a sleeve section (27) provided on the pipe lead (26) and the inner wall of a through-opening (14) to seal the connecting terminal assembly (20), a first gap (32) existing between the inner wall of the sleeve section (27) and the connecting terminal (22), the connecting terminal assembly (20) further includes a flexible element (28) through which the pipe lead (26) is coupled to the connecting terminal (22). Another aspect of the present invention relates to housings and relays each including at least one such feedthrough.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a feedthrough with connection terminals, particularly for a high-power relay, comprising a housing portion having a through-opening and a connection terminal assembly, wherein the connection terminal assembly is guided through the through-opening and sealed to the through-opening by a position-fixing material. Another aspect of the present invention relates to a housing and a relay, each comprising at least one such feedthrough.

[0002] In the prior art, relays capable of connecting and disconnecting electric current are known. One example is the high-power relay, which is used in electric or hybrid vehicles to reliably isolate the traction battery, which supplies electrical energy to the vehicle, from the vehicle's current network. Such a relay includes a housing, an electrical feedthrough for the current circuit to be switched, and a contact device for connecting or disconnecting two terminals for switching the current. This contact device may be operated by an actuator, for example, in the form of an electromagnet. The inside of the housing is usually sealed, on the one hand to prevent the intrusion of moisture, and on the other hand to retain arc-extinguishing gas, which may be present inside the housing, for extinguishing arcs.

[0003] A hermetically sealed connector is known, particularly suitable for high-power relays, under European Patent No. 3358593. This hermetically sealed connector includes a metal container with a through-hole, a pipe lead guided through the through-hole, insulating glass hermetically sealing the pipe lead and the metal container, and a connector base extending through the pipe lead and hermetically attached to the pipe lead. The connector base is made of a metal with low resistance and is positioned within the connector such that a gap exists between the inner surface of the portion of the pipe lead in contact with the insulating glass and the outer surface of the corresponding portion of the connector base. When the connector base undergoes thermal expansion, the pipe lead deforms, thus avoiding damage to the insulating glass.

[0004] A hermetic connecting element and a contact device having such a connecting element are known, based on European Patent Application Publication No. 4002415. The connecting element has a container with a plurality of through-openings, into which one pipe lead is introduced, together with insulating glass, forming a glass-metal-feedthrough. This glass-metal-feedthrough is hermetically sealed to the metal container. The pipe lead is coupled to a connecting base inserted into the pipe lead via a weakened section. The weakened section may be made of a different material from the rest of the pipe lead, or it may be formed as a section formed in the thin wall of the pipe lead.

[0005] In known feedthroughs, the flexibility required to compensate for the thermal expansion of the connection terminals is provided by the pipe lead. For this to work, the pipe lead must have a predetermined minimum length or height. Therefore, known feedthroughs have a relatively high configuration height. Furthermore, in order to form a glass-metal feedthrough, the housing portion must be sufficiently stable and thick to provide a hermetically tight and mechanically load-resistant glass seal. In order to enable the overall formation of a more compact housing with such a feedthrough, the object of the present invention is to provide a feedthrough with connection terminals that has a small configuration height and is mechanically stable and tight even in the case of a thin housing.

[0006] Known pipe leads must be elastically formed to accommodate length changes due to thermal expansion of the connection terminals. However, when compression glass sealing is desired for hermetically sealed applications, the necessary counterpressure cannot be provided by known pipe leads. Furthermore, in order to apply sufficient pressure for compression glass sealing, the housing material must also have a corresponding thickness. Accordingly, an object of the present invention may be found to be providing a feedthrough suitable for compression glass sealing when using thin-walled housings.

[0007] When screw connections are used between the connection terminal and the supply line, high torque may be generated when tightening the connection screws, and such high torque cannot be optimally absorbed by known hermetically sealed connection terminals. Accordingly, another object of the present invention may be to provide a feedthrough with a connection terminal such that the absorption and further transmission of torque introduced to the connection terminal are improved.

[0008] Disclosure of the invention A feedthrough with a connection terminal is proposed, particularly suitable for high-power relays. This feedthrough includes a housing portion with a through-opening and a connection terminal assembly, the connection terminal assembly being guided through the through-opening and sealed to the through-opening by a position-fixing material. The feedthrough further has a reinforcing component, which reinforces the housing portion in the region of the through-opening, in which case the glass sealing length EL of the position-fixing material is formed to be greater than the thickness of the housing portion. The connection terminal assembly includes a connection terminal made of a first material and a pipe lead made of a second material, in which case the pipe lead surrounds at least a portion of the connection terminal, and the position-fixing material is positioned between the outer wall of a sleeve section provided on the pipe lead and the inner wall of the through-opening to seal the connection terminal assembly, in which case a first gap exists between the inner wall of the sleeve section and the connection terminal. In this case, the position-fixing material mechanically fixes the connection terminal assembly in place within the through-opening and electrically insulates the connection terminal assembly from the housing portion. Furthermore, the connection terminal assembly is specified to include a flexible element through which a pipe lead is coupled to the connection terminal, the flexible element surrounding a pin section provided on the connection terminal, and a second gap existing between the pin section of the connection terminal and the flexible element. In the first variation i), the flexible element is formed integrally with the pipe lead as a section of the pipe lead having a reduced thickness. In the second variation ii), the flexible element is made from a third material. In the third variation iii), the flexible element is formed integrally with the connection terminal.

[0009] The connector has a pin section, which is used in the feedthrough, particularly as a conductor. The pin section is preferably formed in a substantially tubular shape, particularly in the form of a cylinder. However, other shapes are also possible, namely, a tubular shape having an elliptical, square, or rectangular cross-section. Furthermore, the entire or a part of the pin section may be formed in a conical shape. The pipe lead with a sleeve section and the flexible element surround the pin section at least partially. Preferably, the cross-sectional shapes of these are selected to correspond to the cross-sectional shape of the pin section.

[0010] In a first variation of the present invention, the elasticity of the portion of the pipe lead used as a flexible element is increased by a reduction in thickness. Since this reduction in thickness is carried out in this case particularly with respect to the sleeve section, the thickness of the pipe lead in the flexible element region, especially the wall thickness, becomes smaller than the thickness in the sleeve section region.

[0011] In a second variation of the present invention, the elasticity of the flexible element is increased by fabricating the flexible element from a different material. Preferably, in this case, the elastic modulus of this third material is set to be smaller than that of the second material of the pipe lead. This increases the elasticity of the flexible element even when it has the same wall thickness as the pipe lead in the sleeve region. Of course, however, the thickness or wall thickness of the flexible element can also be set to be smaller than the thickness of the pipe lead in the sleeve region, thereby further increasing the elasticity.

[0012] In the third variation, the flexible element is formed integrally with the connector and is therefore made from the same material as the connector. The first material of the connector typically has a lower modulus of elasticity than the second material of the pipe lead. Furthermore, the thickness or wall thickness of the flexible element can be set independently of the thickness of the sleeve section of the pipe lead, thus obtaining a flexible element with good elastic properties. In particular, in this case, the thickness or wall thickness of the flexible element can be set to be smaller than the thickness of the pipe lead in the sleeve section.

[0013] All three variations allow for adjustment of the flexibility of the flexible element independently of the characteristics of the pipe lead sleeve region, compared to feedthroughs known based on prior art, and reduce the length of the flexible element, thereby reducing the configuration height of the feedthrough. In this case, "configuration height" is interpreted as the length by which the connection terminal assembly protrudes beyond the housing portion. Furthermore, the reinforcing component makes it possible to use the proposed feedthrough even in housing components with a small thickness d, and yet still obtain a high mechanical stability and a safe and hermetically dense feedthrough. This is particularly advantageous in housing components formed as thin metal sheet portions.

[0014] The flexible element is preferably joined to the connecting terminal or pipe lead by welding or brazing.

[0015] This bond is preferably hermetically tightly formed. Similarly, the seal between the pipe lead and the inner wall of the through-opening, using a position-fixing material, is also preferably hermetically tightly formed.

[0016] "Hermetically tight" specifically means that when there is a pressure difference of 1 bar, the helium leak is 1.10 -8 mbar l / s -1Smaller than, preferably 1.10 -9 mbar l / s -1 It is interpreted as being smaller than [the specified value].

[0017] To achieve a tight feedthrough, a sufficiently large glass seal length EL is required. In this case, the glass seal length is a predetermined length viewed along the longitudinal axis of the through-opening, along which the positioning material is bonded to the reinforced housing component and in contact with the housing component and possibly the reinforcement component. Without alternative means, the thickness d of the housing component corresponds to the glass seal length EL.

[0018] To conserve material, and consequently weight and volume, it is desirable to set the thickness d of the housing portion as small as possible. Furthermore, when the material thickness is small, the housing portion can be formed as a thin metal sheet and easily brought into the desired shape by deformation processing methods, such as deep drawing. In this case, "thickness d" refers to the material thickness of the housing portion, especially when it is constructed as such a thin metal sheet. If the housing portion has a variable material thickness, the thickness d relates to the material thickness of the housing portion in the area of ​​the through-opening.

[0019] To extend the glass sealing length EL, the reinforcing component is preferably formed and positioned so as to extend the inner wall of the through-opening and, together with the housing, provide the glass sealing length EL. In this case, the wall of the reinforcing component continues along the inner wall of the through-opening, extending the inner wall of the through-opening, and the position fixing material is in direct contact with the reinforcing component, preferably glass-welded to this reinforcing component.

[0020] In contrast, an alternative configuration may involve the housing portion being bent in the region of the through-opening, thereby forming an inner wall of the through-opening along the entire glass sealing length, in which case the reinforcing component supports the bent portion of the housing portion. To achieve this, the material of the housing portion, for example, formed as a thin metal sheet, may be deformed and bent at an angle of approximately 90°. In this case, the position-fixing material is in direct contact with the housing portion along the entire glass sealing length, but not with the reinforcing component. Preferably, the reinforcing component is formed so as to be in direct contact with and support the bent portion of the housing portion.

[0021] The reinforcing components are preferably joined to the housing components by a joining method, such as brazing, welding, or adhesive bonding.

[0022] Preferably, the material thickness d of the housing portion is in the range of 0.5 mm to 1 mm. The glass sealing length EL, which is desirable to be greater than the material thickness d of the housing portion, is preferably in the range of 1.5 mm to 3 mm, thereby enabling a hermetically tight and mechanically load-resistant bond. Accordingly, it is preferable to set the thickness D of the reinforcing component portion in the range of 0.5 mm to 2.5 mm.

[0023] Preferably, the connector terminal has at least one flange. In this case, the flange is formed in particular as a region of the connector terminal, within which the outer diameter of the connector terminal is enlarged compared to the outer diameter of the pin section. Such a flange may have a constant diameter. However, the diameter in the flange region may change abruptly in the form of one or more steps, or it may be specified to change continuously.

[0024] Preferably, the at least one flange is positioned on the terminal of the connection such that the flange is located outside the through-opening, and is sized in this manner.

[0025] Preferably, the flexible element according to variation i) or variation ii) is coupled to the flange on the side facing the through-opening of the flange. When the flexible element is integrally formed with the connection terminal according to variation iii), it is preferable that the section of the connection terminal forming the flexible element starts on the side of the flange facing the through-opening.

[0026] The outer diameter of the flange and the outer diameter of the flexible element may be set to be the same. Thereby, the flexible element continues flush with the flange. In an alternative configuration, the outer diameter of the flexible element may be set to be smaller.

[0027] In an alternative configuration to the configuration in which the flexible element is arranged on the surface of the flange facing the through-opening, it is preferably defined that the flexible element according to variation i) or variation ii) is coupled to the flange on the side surface of the flange.

[0028] To facilitate the connection of the electrical supply line, the connection terminal may include coupling means on one end face side or both end face sides. This coupling means is formed, for example, as a threaded hole, which enables a threaded connection with the electrical connection part. Preferably, such a threaded hole is arranged on at least one side of the feed-through facing outward.

[0029] However, in an alternative configuration, the coupling means may be formed, for example, in the form of a flat surface. Such a flat surface is suitable for brazing or welding. In this regard, it may be defined to coat and / or roughen the surface, thereby better retaining such a connection.

[0030] The pipe lead, or the flexible element if it is integrally formed with the pipe lead, may include a flange to facilitate coupling with the connector, particularly the flange of the connector. To this end, the wall of the pipe lead may be bent to form the flange, or the end face of the pipe lead may be enlarged by adjusting the outer and / or inner diameter.

[0031] By providing such a flange, the diameter of the connection point can be increased. This allows the torque acting on the connection terminal to be transmitted more effectively without damage to the connection point.

[0032] If the flexible element is not integrally formed with the pipe lead, preferably the pipe lead has a continuous or abrupt increase in diameter outside the through-opening on the side facing the flexible element, and the pipe lead is coupled to the flexible element in this region having the increased diameter. In this case as well, the increased diameter obtained improves the transmission of torque acting on the connection terminal so that the feedthrough is not damaged, especially when the connection cable is screwed to the connection terminal.

[0033] Preferably, the flexible element is arranged and formed such that a second gap between the flexible element and the pin section is larger 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 pipe lead having reduced wall thickness, preferably the inner diameter is enlarged and the outer diameter is maintained in order to reduce the thickness.

[0034] In particular, when the feedthrough is specified for electrical connection with high voltages, especially voltages higher than 100V, and especially preferably voltages higher than 1000V, the insulating section provided by the fixed material is preferably extended by placing another insulating material. This can reduce the occurrence of creep current and / or current flashover, in particular. Such creep current and / or current flashover may overcome the insulating section provided only by the fixed material if impurities and / or moisture are present, without this extension by the other insulating material.

[0035] Preferably, the position-fixing material and adjacent sections of the housing are covered with insulating material on the upper and / or lower sides of the feedthrough.

[0036] The insulating material may be formed as a plate made of an electrically insulating material. In an alternative or additional configuration, the insulating material may be formed in the form of a covering made of an electrically insulating material, particularly a covering having a sealing compound.

[0037] When formed as an insulating board, the insulating material may be selected from glass, glass ceramic, ceramic, or plastic. In this case, plastic is preferred. The insulating material may be selected to be the same as the position fixing material.

[0038] Preferably, the feedthrough is formed as a compressed glass seal where the coefficient of thermal expansion (Waermeausdehnungskoeffizient) of the housing portion and / or reinforcing component is greater than that of the fixation material. Preferably, the coefficients of thermal expansion of the reinforcing component and the housing portion are matched to each other, however, these coefficients of thermal expansion may be set differently. In this case, it is particularly advantageous to place the reinforcing component because, in order to form the compressed glass seal, compressive force must be transmitted to the fixation material, and the thin housing portion does not have sufficient mechanical strength without reinforcement. In this case, the fixation material, preferably glass, is prepared, for example, as a pressed product made from glass powder, and is inserted into the through-opening of the housing portion together with the connecting terminals, or at least together with the pipe lead. By heating this assembly, the fixation material is obtained from the pressed product with glass welded to the walls of the through-opening and the pipe lead. Subsequently, during cooling, the housing and / or reinforcing components contract more strongly than the fixed material based on their set expansion coefficients, so that in the finished feedthrough, continuous pressure is applied to the fixed material by the housing and / or reinforcing components. This ensures that the seal, in particular, is of high quality and remains permanently tight even under difficult conditions, such as frequent temperature changes and high mechanical requirements, and especially remains hermetically tight. In this case, the pipe lead is formed and configured such that the fixed material is supported from the inside in this compressed glass seal. For this purpose, the sleeve section has a predetermined thickness, which, in combination with the material selection of the pipe lead, is set so that the sleeve section can apply sufficient counterpressure.

[0039] For the configuration as a compressed glass sealing part, the material of the housing portion or reinforcing component portion and the position fixing material preferably have a thermal expansion coefficient α of the housing portion and / or the thermal expansion coefficient α of the reinforcing component portion. Gehaeuse However, the thermal expansion coefficient α of the fixed-position material GlasIt is set to be at least 20% larger. For example, α Gehaeuse is 12·10 -6 1 / K~19·10 -6 is set in the range of 1 / K, and α Glas is 9·10 -6 1 / K~11·10 -6 is set in the range of 1 / K. In the context of this application, regarding the coefficient of thermal expansion, the "coefficient of thermal expansion" is interpreted as the linear coefficient of thermal expansion α in the range of 20°C to 300°C.

[0040] In another configuration alternative to the compression glass seal, the coefficients of thermal expansion of the housing part, the reinforcing structure part, the position fixing material, and the pipe lead can also be set to be compatible with each other. Therefore, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the position fixing material is preferably less by less than 20%, more preferably less by less than 10%, and particularly preferably less by less than 5% than the coefficient of thermal expansion of the housing part or the reinforcing structure part and / or the pipe lead.

[0041] Preferably, the first material used for the connection terminal has a smaller electrical resistance than the second material used for the pipe lead. Since the connection terminal is used as an electrical conductor in the feed-through, a material with as small an electrical resistance as possible is preferred. Thereby, in particular, it is achieved that the feed-through is not overheated even in the case of a large current. [[ID=ZI]]

[0042] In particular, in a variant of the feed-through in which a flexible element is integrally formed with the connection terminal, it is preferred that the first material has a smaller modulus of elasticity than the second material. Thereby, even in the case of a larger material thickness, elastic deformation of the flexible element can be performed.

[0043] If the flexible element is made from a third material and exists as a corresponding separate component, the third material for the flexible element according to variation ii) preferably has a smaller modulus of elasticity than the second material of the pipe lead. Furthermore, it is preferable that the third material has a smaller modulus of elasticity than the first material of the connector terminal.

[0044] Preferably, the first material of the connecting terminal is selected from non-ferrous metals, such as copper or non-ferrous metal alloys, such as copper alloys, especially brass, aluminum or aluminum alloys.

[0045] Preferably, at least one inwardly facing end face of the connector terminal is covered with a contact material to reduce contact resistance and / or spark formation. However, optionally, both end faces may be provided with such contact material. The contact material has excellent resistance to oxidation and also has resistance to wear caused by sparks and arcs generated during the switching process.

[0046] Suitable contact materials include, in particular, silver, gold, and platinum. Suitable alloys as contact materials include, in particular, silver-nickel and silver-tin oxides.

[0047] The pipe reed is made from a second material. Preferably, the second material is selected from steel, especially ferritic steel, steel alloys, especially nickel-steel alloys, or chromium steel.

[0048] The housing portion is preferably made of metal, in which case the material described for the pipe lead is basically also suitable as the material for the housing portion. Additionally, other steels, especially austenitic steels, are also suitable. Preferably, the material has a coefficient of thermal expansion greater than the coefficient of thermal expansion of the position-fixing material used.

[0049] In particular, in the case of pipe leads, the second material may be a composite material. A composite material is formed from multiple layers. However, the choice of composite material can be considered for separate flexible elements or for connecting pins.

[0050] When separate flexible elements are 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.

[0051] The pipe lead may be formed as a solid component or as a folded metal sheet portion. For example, the pipe lead may be formed as a metal sheet portion, in which case, in the sleeve section, the thickness is increased compared to the section formed as a flexible element by folding the metal sheet portion once or multiple times.

[0052] Preferably, the thin metal sheet portion is a thin metal sheet portion that is covered on one side, in which case the thin metal sheet portion is folded and positioned such that the covered side of the thin metal sheet portion is oriented toward the joint with the flexible element or connector terminal, and the uncovered side of the thin metal sheet portion is oriented toward the position-fixing material.

[0053] The coating over the thin metal sheet portion may be a nickel layer in particular, or another layer that facilitates bonding, especially using a brazing process. This is particularly advantageous when the thin metal sheet portion is made from steel.

[0054] The covered metal sheet portion is preferably always folded and positioned so that the covering does not come into contact with the fixing material. Accordingly, the covered side is preferably always located inward within the region of the sleeve section and does not come into contact with the fixing material. When a pipe lead with a flange is formed, the covering is preferably oriented toward the mating end in the region of this flange. This achieves the provision of a surface on the pipe lead that facilitates welding and / or brazing, even if the pipe lead does not bond very well with the fixing material. The corresponding folds of the metal sheet portion ensure that the surface best suited for bonding with each mating end is always adjacent to that mating end.

[0055] The pipe leads, formed as solid components, may also be partially coated. This facilitates joining with flexible elements and / or connecting terminals, particularly in brazing processes. In this case, a nickel layer may be used in particular. The coating is preferably selectively applied only to the surfaces facing the mating mat. In particular, the surfaces oriented towards the fixed material are preferably left uncoated.

[0056] The connector terminal assembly is mechanically held in place and electrically insulated from the housing portion via a positioning material. Preferably, the positioning material is selected from glass, glass ceramic, or ceramic.

[0057] Particularly preferred is glass used as the fixing material. In this case, the glass is selected from borosilicate glass, sodium-barium glass, alkali glass, silicate glass, or soda-lime glass. In this case, borosilicate glass and sodium-barium glass are particularly suitable for matched glass sealing, while alkali glass, silicate glass, or soda-lime glass are particularly suitable for compressed glass sealing.

[0058] One example of material selection for feedthroughs is copper as the first material for the connector terminals and ferritic steel as the second material for the pipe leads. For the fixing material, soda-glass, for example, may be used.

[0059] In this case, copper has an elastic modulus of approximately 110 GPa, which is lower than that of the ferritic steel pipe lead, which has an elastic modulus of approximately 200 GPa. Therefore, the elastic element formed from the copper material of the connecting pin will already deform elastically with a smaller force, assuming the same geometric shape of the elastic element, and thus can absorb the shape change caused by the thermal expansion of the connecting pin without transmitting undesirable forces to the fixed material. If the elasticity of the pipe lead made of ferritic steel is maintained, the dimensions of the elastic element made from copper can be correspondingly smaller, which can make the feedthrough even more compact.

[0060] The connector terminal assembly may additionally include another flexible element, which is coupled to the pipe lead, in which case the flexible element and the other flexible element are coupled to the connector terminal on opposite sides with respect to the through-opening, or transition to the connector terminal in the case of an integrated configuration.

[0061] This other flexible element is preferably formed in a substantially sleeve shape and preferably surrounds at least partially the pin section of the connector terminal. With respect to the through-opening provided in the housing portion, one of these flexible elements may be oriented upward and the other flexible element may be oriented downward, so that the connector terminal can be held by both sides of the housing portion.

[0062] The feedthrough described is particularly suitable for reliably passing and guiding large currents in the range of several amperes, especially those higher than 10 amperes, and especially preferably those higher than 100 amperes, through a hermetically enclosed housing.

[0063] Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a housing that includes at least one of the feedthroughs described herein. The housing may be, for example, a housing for an electrical safety device, a control device, such as a relay housing or a battery module housing.

[0064] The housing preferably includes a deep-drawn component formed from a metal sheet blank, which is part of one of the feedthroughs described herein. The housing component is preferably formed in a pot or cup shape and has one bottom and a plurality of side walls. In this case, it is preferable to have through-openings in the bottom for forming one or more feedthroughs. Accordingly, it is also preferable to use a cup-shaped housing component in the feedthroughs described herein. However, in an alternative configuration, the housing component may be formed substantially flat and, for example, as a cover component for another cup-shaped housing component.

[0065] The reinforcing component is preferably formed in an annular shape, thereby extending and / or supporting the through-opening of the housing portion.

[0066] In yet another aspect of the present invention, a relay is proposed that includes a housing having at least two feedthroughs as described herein, and a contact device for forming an electrical connection between the connection terminals of both feedthroughs.

[0067] The contact device in this case may include an actuator, which can be controlled via an electrical signal, so that the current flowing between the two connection terminals can be controlled in relation to such a control signal. One example of such an actuator is an electromagnetic actuator comprising an electromagnet and a movable armature. In an additional or alternative configuration, the contact device may include a pyrotechnic actuator. In this pyrotechnic actuator, the propellant charge can be ignited via an electrical signal. This propellant charge causes a rapid separation of the electrical connection between the two connection terminals. For guidance via an electrical signal, the housing may include another electrical feedthrough.

[0068] The relay housing is preferably hermetically sealed, so that on the one hand, the inside of the housing is protected from environmental influences, and on the other hand, nothing can escape from the inside of the housing to the outside. This makes it possible to fill the inside of the housing or at least one predetermined area surrounding the contact device with a so-called arc-extinguishing gas. The role of such an arc-extinguishing gas is to extinguish as quickly as possible any arc that may occur when the electrical contacts to the connection terminals are separated.

[0069] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to these configurations. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0070] [Figure 1] This is a schematic cross-sectional view from the side, showing a first embodiment of the feedthrough. [Figure 2] This is a schematic cross-sectional view from the side, illustrating a second embodiment of the feedthrough. [Figure 3] This is a schematic cross-sectional view from the side, illustrating a third embodiment of the feedthrough. [Figure 4] This is a schematic cross-sectional view from the side, showing a fourth embodiment of the feedthrough. [Figure 5]This is a schematic cross-sectional view from the side, showing a fifth embodiment of the feedthrough. [Figure 6] This is a schematic cross-sectional view from the side, showing a sixth embodiment of the feedthrough. [Figure 7] This is a schematic cross-sectional view from the side showing a seventh embodiment of the feedthrough. [Figure 8] This is a schematic cross-sectional view from the side showing two embodiments of a relay with feedthrough according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

[0071] Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of a feedthrough 10 equipped with a connector 22. The feedthrough 10 includes a thin-walled housing portion 12, which is provided with a through-opening 14. The housing portion 12 has a material thickness or thickness d around the through-opening 14. The material of the housing portion 12 is bent by 90° at the through-opening 14. The bent portion of the housing portion 12 is reinforced and supported by a reinforcing component 18. A connector assembly 20 is guided through the through-opening 14 and held within the through-opening 14 by a positioning material 16. The positioning material 16 hermetically seals the connector assembly 20 against the walls of the through-opening 14, so that the through-opening 14 is hermetically closed. The bending of the material of the housing portion 12 provides a glass sealing length EL for the positioning material 16. This glass sealing length EL is significantly greater than the thickness d of the housing portion 12.

[0072] The terminal assembly 20 includes a terminal 22 and a pipe lead 26. In the illustrated embodiment, the longitudinal axis of the terminal 22 extends coaxially with the longitudinal axis of the pipe lead 26, in which case the pipe lead 26 surrounds a portion of the terminal 22. The position-fixing material 16 for sealing the terminal assembly 20 is positioned between the outer wall of a sleeve section 27 provided on the pipe lead 26 and the inner wall of the through-opening 14, in which case a first gap 32 exists between the inner wall of the sleeve section 27 and the terminal 22. Thus, as can be seen from Figure 1, the sleeve section 27 is a section of the pipe lead 26 that is positioned inside the through-opening 14 and in direct contact with the position-fixing material 16.

[0073] In the first embodiment shown in Figure 1, the pipe lead 26 has a reduced thickness section, which is used as a flexible element 28. In the reduced thickness section, the outer diameter of the pipe lead 26 remains unchanged, and only the inner diameter is reduced to decrease the thickness. As a result, the wall thickness of the pipe lead 26 is reduced in this section, and consequently, the thickness of the pipe lead 26 is reduced. This creates a second gap 34 between the flexible element 28 and the cylindrical pin section of the connection terminal 22, and this second gap 34 is larger than the first gap 32. Furthermore, because the flexibility of the pipe lead 26 is increased based on the reduced thickness, the formed flexible element 28 can be relatively shorter than known feedthroughs with pipe leads. Nevertheless, this flexible element 28 can compensate for dimensional changes in the connection terminal 22 caused by temperature fluctuations through elastic deformation.

[0074] The upper end of the connector terminal 22 has a flange 24. In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the flange 24 is formed in the shape of two stepped sections, where the diameter of the cylindrical connector terminal 22 is increased at each step. Furthermore, the connector terminal 22 has a threaded hole 23 on its upper side. The threaded hole 23 is specifically tuned to form a connection with an electrical supply line (not shown), in which case the supply line is screwed into the connector terminal 22. In another embodiment, instead of the threaded hole 23, there may, of course, be another coupling means, or the coupling means may be unnecessary, so the connector terminal 22 has, for example, a flat surface on its upper side, which can be coupled to the electrical supply line, for example, by brazing or welding.

[0075] In the first embodiment shown in Figure 1, the flexible element 28, formed by the reduced thickness region of the pipe lead 26, is coupled to the side wall of the first stepped portion of the flange 24 of the connection terminal 22. Correspondingly, the outer diameter of the first stepped portion of the flange 24 is smaller than the inner diameter of the fixing material 16. Furthermore, in the illustrated example, the outer diameter of the larger second stepped portion of the flange is smaller than the inner diameter of the through-opening 14. However, in another modified embodiment, this diameter can be set to be larger than the diameter of the through-opening 14. In the illustrated example, the coupling is made via a brazed joint 30, in which case, of course, other coupling methods, such as welding, could also be used. Since the coupling between the flexible element 28 and the flange 24 is also hermetically tight, the feedthrough 10 as a whole hermetically tightly closes the through-opening 14 of the housing portion 12.

[0076] The portion of the flexible element 28 located between the flange 24 and the sleeve section 27 is adjusted and formed to deform elastically when a force is applied. In this case, the first gap 32 and the second gap 34 provide the necessary space for this purpose. Thus, the force generated by the thermal expansion of the connection terminal 22 can be absorbed through the elastic shape change of the flexible element 28, especially without undesirable force acting on the fixed material 16. Such thermal expansion can occur, in particular, when the connection terminal 22 is loaded with a high current and generates heat based on the existing electrical resistance.

[0077] In sleeve section 27, the thickness of the pipe lead 26 is not reduced, which is advantageous. As a result, the pipe lead 26, the fixing material 16, and the housing portion 12 can form a compressed glass seal, in which the thermal expansion coefficients of the housing portion 12 and the reinforcing component 18 are set to be greater than those of the fixing material 16. As a result, after glass sealing of the fixing material 16, the housing portion 12 and the reinforcing component 18 contract more strongly than the fixing material 16, thus applying pressure to the fixing material 16. In the region of sleeve section 27, the pipe lead 26 with a larger wall thickness can form the required resistance pressure in this case, and at the same time, the flexible element 28 has the elasticity necessary to withstand the thermal expansion of the connection terminal 22.

[0078] In the first embodiment shown in Figure 1, the connector terminal 22 is made from a first material, and the pipe lead 26 is made from a second material. This allows for the optimal selection of material properties for each part of the connector assembly 20. Specifically, a material with low electrical resistance may be selected, particularly for the connector terminal 22, while a rigid material with a high modulus of elasticity may be selected, particularly for the pipe lead 26 and its sleeve section 27.

[0079] Figure 2 shows a second embodiment of the feedthrough 10. Unlike the first embodiment shown in Figure 1, the pipe lead 26 is formed from two parts, so that the sleeve section 27 and the flexible element 28 are assembled from two parts and joined to each other via a joint 30, which is formed, for example, as a brazed or welded joint. This makes it possible to fabricate the section of the pipe lead 26 used as the flexible element 28 from a third material, and only the sleeve section 27 from a second material. In this case, the third material is preferably selected such that it has a lower modulus of elasticity than the second material and is therefore able to exhibit elastic deformation even when subjected to only a small force.

[0080] Unlike the first embodiment in Figure 1, the material of the housing portion 12 is not bent in the region of the through-opening 14, so the position-fixing material 16 is in direct contact with the reinforcing component 18. However, in this embodiment as well, it is possible to bend the material of the housing portion 12 as in Figure 1 and support it with the reinforcing component 18. In that case, the position-fixing material 16 is coupled to the inner wall of the through-opening 14, which is formed by the material of the housing portion 12, along the entire length EL of the glass sealing portion.

[0081] Figure 3 shows a third embodiment for the feedthrough 10. As already described with respect to Figure 1, the feedthrough 10 has a housing portion 12 with a through-opening 14 through which a terminal assembly 20, comprising a terminal 22 and a pipe lead 26, is guided. The terminal assembly is held in the through-opening 14 via a position-fixing material 16, which hermetically seals the through-opening 14.

[0082] Similar to the first two embodiments shown in Figures 1 and 2, the connector terminal 22 has a flange 24 on one side. However, in this case, the flange 24 is formed in a single stage and is flush with one end face of the connector terminal 22. A threaded hole 23 is again located on this end face, which allows for screwing into an electrical supply line.

[0083] In the third embodiment shown in Figure 3, the pipe lead 26 is formed by a covered metal sheet portion. This metal sheet portion includes a metal sheet 38 with a covering 39 attached to one side. This metal sheet portion is substantially pipe-shaped and surrounds the tubular pin section of the connector 22, in which case the longitudinal axis of the pipe lead 26 extends coaxially with the longitudinal axis of the connector 22. The first end of the metal sheet portion forms a sleeve region 27 having increased thickness, and the second end forms a flange. In this case, the metal sheet portion is formed such that the covering 39 is oriented inward toward the tubular pin section of the connector 22, and the uncovered side of the metal sheet portion is correspondingly oriented outward. The sleeve region 27 is obtained by folding the metal sheet portion once or multiple times. In this case, the metal sheet portion is deformed so that the covering 39 of the metal sheet 38 is folded over, and thus the covering 39 is located internally. Accordingly, the uncovered side of the metal sheet 38 is oriented toward the position-fixing material 16 in the sleeve region 27. The flange is obtained by similarly deforming a portion of the metal sheet. In this case, the covering 39 of the metal sheet 38 is oriented toward the flange 24 of the connection terminal 22, and is coupled to this flange 24 via a joint 30, which is formed, for example, as a brazed joint. In order to provide as large a surface area as possible for the joint 30 with the flange, the outer diameter of the flange is preferably set to be larger than the inner diameter of the position-fixing material 16, as shown in the figure. In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, the diameter of the flange 24 is set to be smaller than the inner diameter of the through-opening 14. However, in order to further increase the coupling surface area, the outer diameter of the flange 24 can also be set to be larger than the inner diameter of the through-opening 14.

[0084] Between the flange and the sleeve region 27, the thin metal plate portion is not folded, and a section is formed in this location that has a thickness smaller than the sleeve region 27 and is used as a flexible element 28. As a result, a first gap 32 is formed between the sleeve region 27 and the cylindrical pin section of the connection terminal 22, and this first gap 32 is smaller than the second gap 34 between the flexible element 28 and the cylindrical pin section of the connection terminal 22.

[0085] Figure 4 shows a fourth embodiment for the feedthrough 10. The feedthrough 10 again has a housing portion 12 with a through-opening 14 through which a terminal assembly 20, comprising a terminal 22 and a pipe lead 26, is guided. The terminal assembly is held in the through-opening 14 via a position-fixing material 16 that hermetically seals the through-opening 14.

[0086] Similar to the first two embodiments shown in Figures 1 and 2, the connector terminal 22 has a flange 24 on one side. In this case, the flange 24 is also formed in a multi-stage configuration. In this case, starting from the lower side opposite to the upper side with the threaded hole 23, the flange 24 has a first step and a second step, with the diameter of the first step being greater than the diameter of the second step. However, in another embodiment, it is of course possible to form the flange 24 differently, for example, to have a single step that is flush with the upper side of the connector terminal 22.

[0087] Below the flange 24, the pipe lead 26 is joined to the flange 24 via a joint 30, which is formed, for example, as a brazed joint. In this case, the pipe lead 26 is made of two parts: the sleeve section 27, which is located opposite the position-fixing material 16, is made of a second material, and the part used as a flexible element 28 is made of a third material having a lower modulus of elasticity than the second material. Both parts of the pipe lead 26 are also joined via a joint 30 in the illustrated example, which is formed, for example, as a brazed joint. In this case, the pipe lead 26 is positioned so that the flexible element 28 faces the flange 24. The pipe lead 26 is formed substantially cylindrical overall and surrounds the cylindrical pin section of the connector 22, in which case the longitudinal axis of the pipe lead 26 extends coaxially with the longitudinal axis of the connector 22. In this case, the dimensions of the flange 24 and the pipe lead 26 are set such that the outer diameter of the pipe lead 26 corresponds to the maximum diameter of the flange 24, and thus the two parts transition to each other without any steps.

[0088] Figure 5 shows a fifth embodiment for the feedthrough 10, which is similar to the fourth embodiment in Figure 4. Unlike the fourth embodiment, the diameter of the pipe lead 26 is smaller than the diameter of the flange 24. Furthermore, to improve the voltage strength of the feedthrough 10, an additional insulating material 36 is provided, which in this case is formed as two insulating plates. The first insulating plate in this case covers the upper side of the positioning material 16 and the adjacent upper portion of the housing portion 12. The second insulating plate in this case covers the lower side of the positioning material 16 and the adjacent lower portion of the housing portion 12. The provided insulating material 36 improves the voltage strength of the feedthrough 10, in particular by increasing the creepage distance between the connector terminal assembly 20 and the housing portion 12. Instead of insulating plates, the insulating material 36 may also be applied as, for example, an insulating coating. Furthermore, depending on the application, it may be sufficient to place the insulating material 36 on only one side of the feedthrough 10, for example, the upper side.

[0089] Figure 6 shows a sixth embodiment for the feedthrough 10. The feedthrough 10 again has a housing portion 12 with a through-opening 14 through which a terminal assembly 20, comprising a terminal 22 and a pipe lead 26, is guided. The terminal assembly 20 is held in the through-opening 14 via a fixing material 16 that hermetically seals the through-opening 14.

[0090] In this case, the connector 22 has a flange 24 flush with the upper side which has a threaded hole 23, and in this case, a sleeve-shaped section used as a flexible element 28 of the connector 22 continues on the lower side of the flange 24 facing the through-opening 14. The outer diameter of the sleeve-shaped section corresponds to the outer diameter of the flange 24 in this example, however, in this case the outer diameter may be set to be smaller than in this configuration. Furthermore, in the embodiment shown in Figure 6, the outer diameter of the flange 24 is set to be larger than the inner diameter of the position-fixing material 16 and smaller than the inner diameter of the through-opening 14. However, in an alternative configuration, the outer diameter of the flange 24 may be set to be larger than the inner diameter of the through-opening 14.

[0091] The sleeve-shaped section is used as a flexible element 28 and is connected to the pipe lead 26 via a joint 30, which is formed, for example, as a brazed joint. The pipe lead 26 includes a sleeve section 27 adjacent to the position-fixing material 16. A first gap 32 exists between the sleeve section 27, which surrounds the cylindrical pin section of the connection terminal 22, and the connection terminal 22. In the embodiment shown in Figure 6, the sleeve section 27 is extended upward and expands at the end near the flange 24 to form a coupling flange. At this coupling flange, the pipe lead 26 is connected to the flexible element 28 of the connection terminal 22. The pipe lead 26 is made from a second material, and the connection terminal 22 is made from a first material, but the second material has a greater modulus of elasticity than the first material. Accordingly, the force generated when the connection terminal 22 undergoes thermal expansion is absorbed through the elastic shape change of the flexible element 28 of the connection terminal 22. Therefore, it is advantageous that forces generated based on thermal expansion are not transmitted to the fixed material 16 via the pipe lead 26, particularly its sleeve section 27, or such transmission is reduced to an unproblematic level.

[0092] The sleeve-shaped section used as a flexible element 28 of the connection terminal 22 surrounds the cylindrical pin section of the connection terminal 22. In this case, the longitudinal axis of the sleeve-shaped section is concentric with the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical pin section, and a second gap 34 exists between the inside of the sleeve-shaped section or the flexible element 28 formed by this sleeve-shaped section and the cylindrical pin section.

[0093] Figure 7 shows a seventh embodiment of the feedthrough 10. In the seventh embodiment, similar to the sixth embodiment shown in Figure 6, the sleeve-shaped section of the connection terminal 22 is formed as a flexible element 28.

[0094] Unlike the embodiment in Figure 6, in this case, the portion of the connector 22 used as the flexible element 28 has a smaller outer diameter than the flange 24, and the flange 24 is formed in a multi-stage manner, as in the embodiments of Figures 4 and 5. Furthermore, in this case, the pipe lead 26 does not have a region with an enlarged diameter used as a coupling flange. In the illustrated example, the outer and inner diameters of the pipe lead 26 and the flexible element 28 are formed to be the same. Since the first material of the connector 22, and by extension the first material of the flexible element 28 formed integrally with the connector 22, has a smaller modulus of elasticity than the second material of the pipe lead 26, the force generated by the thermal expansion of the connector 22 is absorbed through the elastic deformation of the flexible element 28, and the shape of the pipe lead 26 is maintained substantially unchanged.

[0095] Figure 8 shows an example of a relay 200 formed, for example, as a high-power relay for an electric vehicle. The relay 200 includes a housing 100 having a cup-shaped housing portion 12. The housing portion 12 has a bottom 101 and side walls 102. The housing portion 12 is joined to a cover 103 to form the housing 100. The housing portion 12 includes two electrical feedthroughs 10 located at the bottom 101, and these feedthroughs 10 are provided with connection terminals 22, to which current circuits to be switched by the relay 200 may be connected. For this purpose, for example, an electrical connector may be screwed to the connection terminals 22. In the example shown in Figure 8, the feedthroughs 10 are formed as described with respect to Figure 6. However, of course, other feedthroughs 10 as described above can also be used.

[0096] A contact device 110 is located inside the housing 100. This contact device 110 is adjusted so that in a first position both connection terminals 22 are electrically connected and energized, and in a second position both connection terminals 22 are electrically separated and energized. As shown in Figure 8, the end faces of the connection terminals 22 facing the contact device 110 may have a contact coating 40 made of a contact material. The contact material, such as silver, 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 device 110.

[0097] In the embodiment shown in Figure 8, an actuator 120 is provided to displace the contact device from one position to the other. This actuator 120 is formed as an electromagnetic actuator. For the electrical contacting of the actuator 120, the housing 100 has another electrical feedthrough, but this feedthrough is not visible in the cross-sectional view of Figure 6.

[0098] In this case, for example, the contact device 110 can be brought to a first position via the electromagnet 122 of the actuator 120 when the electromagnet 122 is energized, so that current can flow between the two connection terminals 22. When the energization of the electromagnet 122 is terminated, the contact device 110 can be brought to a second position via, for example, the spring 124, so that current can no longer flow between the two connection terminals 22. In order to quickly extinguish any arc that may occur when the contact device 110 is separated from the connection terminals 22, it may be specified that the inside of the housing 100 be filled with so-called arc-extinguishing gas. Since the feedthrough 10 according to the present invention is hermetically tight, there is no risk of the arc-extinguishing gas escaping from the housing 100.

[0099] In the relay 200, it may be specified that an additional operating device for moving the contact device 110 is provided in addition to the actuator 120. For example, a pyrotechnic (gunpowder ignition) device may be provided (not shown in Figure 8), which releases the propellant when the igniter is energized, and in this case, the propellant quickly displaces the contact device 110 to a second position. In this second position, the connection terminals 22 are electrically isolated from each other.

[0100] The claims are not limited to the embodiments described herein. In particular, numerous variations are possible, in which the individual features of the embodiments described herein are combined with each other. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0101] 10 feedthrough 12 Housing section 14 Through-opening 16 Position fixing material 18 Reinforcement components 20 Connection terminal assembly 22 Connection terminals 23 Threaded holes 24 Brim 26 Pipe Lead 27 Sleeve Classification 28 Flexible Elements 30 Brazed joint 32. The first gap 34. The second gap 36 Insulating materials 38 Metal thin plate 39 Covering 40 Contact covering 100 Housing 101 Bottom 102 Side wall 103 Cover 110 Contact device 120 Actuators 122 Electromagnet 124 springs 200 relays EL glass sealing length d Thickness of housing component D Thickness Reinforcement component

Claims

1. In particular, a feedthrough (10) equipped with connection terminals (22) for a high-power relay (200), The feedthrough (10) includes a housing portion (12) having a through-opening (14) and a connection terminal assembly (20), the connection terminal assembly (20) being through-guided through the through-opening (14) and sealed to the through-opening (14) by a position-fixing material (16), the feedthrough (10) having a reinforcing component (18) which reinforces the housing portion (12) in the area of ​​the through-opening (14), and the glass sealing length (EL) of the position-fixing material (16) being greater than the thickness (d) of the housing portion (12), The connector assembly (20) includes a connector (22) made of a first material and a pipe lead (26) made of a second material, the pipe lead (26) surrounding at least a portion of the connector (22), and the position fixing material (16) is positioned between the outer wall of a sleeve section (27) provided on the pipe lead (26) and the inner wall of the through opening (14) to seal the connector assembly (20), and a first gap (32) exists between the inner wall of the sleeve section (27) and the connector (22). In the feedthrough (10), The connector assembly (20) further includes a flexible element (28) through which the pipe lead (26) is connected to the connector (22), the flexible element (28) surrounds a pin section provided on the connector (22), and a second gap (34) exists between the pin section of the connector (22) and the flexible element (28). i) The flexible element (28) is formed integrally with the pipe lead (26) as a segment of the pipe lead (26) having a reduced thickness, or ii) The flexible element (28) is made from a third material, or iii) The flexible element (28) is formed integrally with the connection terminal (22), Feedthrough (10) characterized by the above.

2. The feedthrough (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the reinforcing component (18) extends the inner wall of the through-opening (14) and together with the housing component (12) provides a glass sealing length (EL), or the housing component (12) is bent in the region of the through-opening (14) and forms the inner wall of the through-opening (14) over the entire glass sealing length (EL), and the reinforcing component (18) supports the bent portion of the housing component (12).

3. The feedthrough (10) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the material thickness (d) of the housing portion (12) is set in the range of 0.5 mm to 1 mm, and preferably the thickness (D) of the reinforcing component portion (18) is set such that the glass sealing length (EL) is in the range of 1.5 to 3 mm.

4. The feedthrough (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, when the connecting terminal (22) has a flange (24), and the flexible element (28) according to variation i) or variation ii) is coupled to the flange (24) on the side of the flange (24) facing the through opening (14), or is formed integrally with the pipe lead (26) according to variation iii), the portion of the connecting terminal (22) that forms the flexible element (28) begins on the side of the flange (24) facing the through opening (14).

5. The feedthrough (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the connecting terminal (22) has a flange (24), and the flexible element (28) according to variation i) or variation ii) is coupled to the flange (24) on the lateral surface of the flange (24).

6. The feedthrough (10) according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the flange (24) is located outside the through-opening (14).

7. The feedthrough (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the pipe lead (26) has a continuous or abrupt increase in diameter outside the through opening (14) on the side facing the flexible element (28), and the pipe lead (26) is coupled to the flexible element (28) in this region having the increased diameter.

8. The feedthrough (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the connection terminal (22) has a threaded hole (23) on the outward-facing side for attaching a connecting line.

9. The feedthrough (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the position-fixing material (16) and adjacent portions of the housing portion (12) are covered by an insulating material (36) on the upper and / or lower sides of the feedthrough (10), wherein the insulating material (36) is preferably formed as a plate made of an electrically insulating material or as a covering made of an electrically insulating material.

10. The feedthrough (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the feedthrough (10) is formed as a compressed glass sealing portion in which the thermal expansion coefficient of the housing portion (12) and / or the reinforcing component portion (18) is formed to be greater than the thermal expansion coefficient of the position fixing material (16).

11. The feedthrough (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the first material has a lower electrical resistance than the second material, and / or the first material has a lower modulus of elasticity than the second material.

12. The feedthrough (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the third material according to variation ii) has a smaller modulus of elasticity than the second material and preferably a smaller modulus of elasticity than the first material.

13. The feedthrough (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the first material is selected from copper or copper alloys, particularly brass, aluminum or aluminum alloys, and other non-ferrous metals.

14. The feedthrough (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the end face of the connection terminal (22) is covered with a contact material for reducing contact resistance and / or reducing spark formation.

15. The feedthrough (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the pipe lead (26) is formed as a thin metal plate portion, and the thickness of the thin metal plate portion is increased compared to the portion formed as the flexible element (28) by folding the thin metal plate portion once or multiple times in the sleeve portion (27).

16. The feedthrough (10) according to claim 15, characterized in that the metal sheet portion is a metal sheet portion covered on one side, the metal sheet portion is folded and arranged such that the covered side of the metal sheet portion is oriented toward the joint portion (30) with the flexible element (28) or the connecting terminal (22), and the uncovered side of the metal sheet portion is oriented toward the position fixing material (16).

17. The feedthrough (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that the second material is selected from steel, particularly ferritic steel, or steel alloy, particularly nickel-steel alloy or chromium steel.

18. The feedthrough (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that the position-fixing material (16) is selected from glass, glass ceramic, or ceramic.

19. The feedthrough (10) according to claim 18, characterized in that the glass is selected from borosilicate glass, sodium-barium-glass, alkali-glass, silicate glass, or soda-glass.

20. The feedthrough (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 19, characterized in that the connection terminal assembly (20) includes another flexible element, the other flexible element is coupled to the pipe lead (26), and the flexible element (28) and the other flexible element are coupled to the connection terminal (22) on opposite sides with respect to the through opening (14), or transition to the connection terminal (22) in the case of an integrated configuration.

21. The feedthrough (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 20, characterized in that the housing portion (12) is a cup-shaped housing portion (12) having a bottom portion (101) and a side wall (102).

22. A housing (100) comprising at least one feedthrough (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 21.

23. A relay (200) comprising at least two feedthroughs (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 21, a housing according to claim 22, and a contact device (110) for forming an electrical connection between the connection terminals (22) of both feedthroughs (10).

Images