Relay and electric meter

Abstract

Provided in the present disclosure are a relay and an electric meter. The relay comprises a casing, a magnetic circuit portion, a contact portion and a pusher. The magnetic circuit portion is disposed in the casing and comprises a coil, two yokes and a magnetic rotating member, wherein the coil extends in a first direction; the two yokes are respectively connected to two ends of the coil in the first direction; and the magnetic rotating member can switch rotation direction when the coil is energized with a forward pulse voltage or a reverse pulse voltage. The contact portion comprises at least one movable contact assembly and at least one fixed contact assembly, wherein each movable contact assembly comprises a movable contact member that extends in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, both ends of the movable contact member being provided with movable contacts; each fixed contact assembly comprises two electrical connection terminals that are electrically connected to the outside, each electrical connection terminal being provided with at least one fixed contact; each fixed contact assembly is disposed on the side of the corresponding movable contact member in the first direction; and the fixed contacts of each fixed contact assembly respectively correspond to the movable contacts of each movable contact member. The pusher extends in a direction parallel to the first direction and can be driven by the magnetic rotating member to move in the first direction. The central part of each movable contact member in the second direction is mounted on the pusher, and each movable contact member integrally follows the movement of the pusher in the first direction so as to connect to or disconnect from the fixed contact assembly. The coil and the magnetic rotating member are respectively located on two sides of the pusher in the second direction.

Description

Relays and electric meters

[0001] This disclosure claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 202410161523.8 filed on February 4, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a relay and an electric meter. Background Art

[0003] A relay is an electronic control device with a control circuit (also known as an input circuit) and a controlled system (also known as an output circuit). It is commonly used in automatic control circuits. A relay is essentially an "automatic switch" that uses a smaller current to control a larger one. Therefore, it plays a role in automatic regulation, safety protection, and circuit switching.

[0004] As the application scope of relays continues to expand, relays are also developing towards high load and miniaturization. The demand for high load requires that relays should have large contact gaps.

[0005] There is a design scheme for existing relays, that is, the contact part adopts a bridge-type dynamic contact structure and the magnetic circuit part adopts a direct-push structure. Although this design scheme can achieve a large contact gap to a certain extent, in order to meet the requirements of a large-stroke driving contact part, the magnetic circuit part needs to be made very large, resulting in a large overall size of the relay, which is difficult to meet the design requirements of miniaturization.

[0006] There is another design scheme for existing relays, that is, the contact part includes a moving spring, a moving spring lead-out end and a static spring, and a moving contact is provided on the moving spring. One end of the moving spring is fixedly connected to the moving spring lead-out end, and the other end is driven by the magnetic circuit part to only rotate a small angle relative to the moving spring lead-out end to contact or separate with the static contact on the static spring. The magnetic circuit portion of this design is small in size and can meet the requirements of miniaturized design. However, in the contact portion, in order to meet the large contact gap, the movable spring needs to form a large angle with the movable spring lead-out end. Since the movable spring needs to pass a large current, its thickness needs to be set larger. Therefore, the reaction force of the movable spring itself is large, and there are the following disadvantages when used: 1. The deformation angle of the movable spring is large, and the reaction force generated is large. The magnetic rotating part cannot overcome the reaction force and cannot move. Conversely, in order to make the magnetic rotating part overcome the reaction force and move, a large functional magnetic circuit structure needs to be provided, resulting in a large magnetic circuit structure and being unable to meet the requirements of miniaturized design; 2. The deformation angle of the movable spring is large, and its own stress is large, which is easy to reach a yield state and form permanent deformation; 3. After deformation, the contact surface of the moving contact and the static contact will form an angle similar to a trumpet mouth, resulting in uncontrolled arc overflow and not in the center of the contact, affecting the life.

[0007] It can be seen that the existing relay designs are difficult to meet the requirements of high load, large contact gap and miniaturization. Summary of the Invention

[0008] A main purpose of the present disclosure is to overcome at least one of the above-mentioned defects of the prior art and provide a relay and an electric meter that can achieve a large contact gap between the moving contact component and the static contact component while having miniaturization characteristics.

[0009] To achieve the above objectives, the present disclosure adopts the following technical solutions:

[0010] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a relay includes a housing, a magnetic circuit part, a contact part and a pusher, the magnetic circuit part is arranged in the housing and includes a coil, two yokes and a magnetic rotating part, the coil extends along a first direction, the two yokes are respectively connected to the two ends of the coil along the first direction, and the magnetic rotating part can switch the rotation direction when the coil is subjected to a positive pulse voltage and a reverse pulse voltage; the contact part includes at least one moving contact component and at least one static contact component arranged corresponding to the moving contact component, each of the moving contact components includes a moving contact, the moving contact extends along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and the two ends of the moving contact are connected. Each end of the static contact assembly is provided with a moving contact; each of the static contact assemblies includes two electrical connection ends for forming an electrical connection with the outside, each electrical connection end is provided with at least one static contact, each of the static contact assemblies is provided on one side of the corresponding dynamic contact member along the first direction, and the static contacts of each static contact assembly respectively correspond to the moving contacts of the dynamic contact member; the pushing member extends in a direction parallel to the first direction and can be driven by the magnetic rotating member to move along the first direction; the dynamic contact member is installed on the pushing member in the middle of the second direction, and the dynamic contact member as a whole moves with the pushing member along the first direction to close or open with the static contact assembly. The coil and the magnetic rotating member are respectively located on both sides of the pushing member in the second direction.

[0011] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the pushing member is provided with a first avoidance hole, and the first avoidance hole passes through the pushing member along the second direction for the yoke to pass through.

[0012] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, along the third direction, the width of the yoke is smaller than the width of the first avoidance hole, and there is a gap between the two ends of the yoke in the third direction and the two side groove walls of the first avoidance hole in the third direction, and the third direction is perpendicular to a reference plane, and the reference plane is parallel to the first direction and the second direction.

[0013] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the pushing member is provided with a first avoidance groove; the first avoidance groove passes through the pushing member along the second direction, and its opening is at a side edge of the pushing member in a third direction, the third direction is perpendicular to a reference plane, the reference plane is parallel to the first direction and the second direction, and the yoke is passed through the first avoidance groove.

[0014] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the yoke is provided with a second avoidance hole, which passes through the yoke along the first direction for the pushing member to pass through.

[0015] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the yoke is provided with a second avoidance groove; the second avoidance groove passes through the yoke along the first direction, and its opening is at a side edge of the yoke in a third direction, the third direction is perpendicular to a reference plane, the reference plane is parallel to the first direction and the second direction, and the pushing member is passed through the second avoidance groove.

[0016] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the pushing member is provided with a mating groove; the magnetic rotating member is provided with a driving arm on the side facing the coil; the end of the driving arm facing the coil is the driving end; the driving end is located in the mating groove; wherein, the relay is configured as: when the magnetic rotating member rotates, the driving end pushes against the groove wall on either side of the mating groove in the first direction, driving the pushing member to move along the first direction.

[0017] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, when the driving end swings relative to the pushing member, its width along the first direction is smaller than the width of the mating groove along the first direction, so that the driving arm has an idle stroke in the process of switching to abut the groove walls on both sides of the mating groove along the first direction.

[0018] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, in the second direction, the housing has a first edge; the electrical connection end is connected to a lead-out piece, and the lead-out piece is led out through the first edge; wherein the coil is located on the side of the pushing member facing the first edge.

[0019] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the contact portion includes at least two dynamic contact components and at least two static contact components, and the at least two dynamic contact components are arranged at intervals along the first direction and follow the pushing member along the first direction.

[0020] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, along the first direction, the magnetic circuit portion is located between two adjacent moving contact assemblies.

[0021] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, along the first direction, the number of the dynamic contact assemblies located on both sides of the magnetic circuit portion is equal or differs by one.

[0022] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the contact portion includes a dynamic contact component and a static contact component.

[0023] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, at least one support member is further included, and the at least one support member is fixedly connected to the dynamic contact component or the pushing member and is supported on the housing along a third direction; the third direction is perpendicular to a reference plane, and the reference plane is parallel to the first direction and the second direction; the magnetic rotating member is supported on the housing along the third direction, and the magnetic rotating member is also used to support the pushing member in the third direction; the pushing member is supported by the magnetic rotating member and the at least one support member and suspended in the housing.

[0024] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a first limiting structure is provided in the housing, and the first limiting structure cooperates with the support member to limit the position in the third direction to limit the degree of freedom of the support member in the third direction.

[0025] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the housing is further provided with a second limiting structure; the second limiting structure cooperates with at least one of the support members to limit the freedom of the support member in the second direction.

[0026] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the shell includes a base and a cover plate fixed to each other; a bottom plate is provided on the side of the base away from the cover plate; the first limiting structure includes a supporting wall and a first limiting column, the supporting wall is arranged on the bottom plate, the first limiting column is arranged on the cover plate of the shell, and at least a portion of the support member is respectively abutted against the supporting wall and the first limiting column on both sides along the third direction.

[0027] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the second limiting structure includes two retaining walls; the two retaining walls are both arranged on the base plate and are respectively located on both sides of the support member along the second direction, so as to respectively provide abutment for the two sides of the support member and limit the freedom of the support member along the second direction.

[0028] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, each of the support members has two support arms; the two support arms respectively extend from the two ends of the dynamic contact member along the second direction, and both support arms are elastic; corresponding to the end of each support arm, a second limiting column and a third limiting column are provided in the housing, the second limiting column is located on the side of the support arm facing the corresponding static contact component, and the third limiting column is located on the side of the support arm facing away from the corresponding static contact component; the second limiting column and the third limiting column cooperate with each other and limit the displacement of the support arm in the first direction.

[0029] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, when the moving contact is closed with the static contact, the support arm abuts against the second limiting column and stores energy to apply a force to the moving contact that can move away from the corresponding static contact component; when the moving contact is disconnected with the static contact, the support arm abuts against the third limiting column and stores energy to apply a force to the moving contact that can move toward the corresponding static contact component.

[0030] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the support member is fixedly connected to the dynamic contact assembly; the support arm is arranged at an angle relative to the second direction; in the first direction, one end of the support arm connected to the dynamic contact member is closer to the corresponding static contact assembly than the end thereof; wherein, along the second direction, a reverse bending portion is provided at the end of the support arm, and the reverse bending portion is arranged around the outer periphery of the second limiting column portion.

[0031] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, an elastic member is further included, which abuts between the dynamic contact member and the pushing member along the first direction; when the dynamic contact component leans toward the static contact component, the pushing member applies force to the dynamic contact member through the elastic member, and closes the dynamic contact and the static contact.

[0032] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an electric meter includes the relay described in the present disclosure.

[0033] As can be seen from the above technical solutions, the advantages and positive effects of the relay proposed in this disclosure are:

[0034] 1. The relay proposed in the present disclosure includes a housing, a magnetic circuit part, a contact part and a pusher. The magnetic circuit part is arranged in the housing and includes a coil, two yokes and a magnetic rotating part. The coil extends along a first direction, and the two yokes are respectively connected to the two ends of the coil. The contact part includes at least one moving contact component and at least one static contact component corresponding to the moving contact component, and the static contact component is arranged on one side of the moving contact component along the first direction. The pusher extends in a direction parallel to the first direction, and the pusher can be driven by the magnetic rotating part to move along the first direction and drive the moving contact component toward or away from the static contact component. The coil and the magnetic rotating part are respectively located on both sides of the pusher in the second direction, and the pusher and the yoke avoid each other, and can be driven by the magnetic rotating part to move along the first direction.

[0035] Through the above-mentioned design, the present disclosure enables the relay to simultaneously meet the design requirements of a large contact gap and a small size. Specifically, in the present disclosure, the moving contact extends along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and moving contacts are provided at both ends of the moving contact. That is, the moving contact is a bridge-type moving contact extending along the second direction and having moving contacts at both ends. The moving contact is integrally mounted and moves with the pusher. When the pusher drives the moving contact to move, the moving contact itself does not deform. Therefore, even if a large contact gap is set between the moving contact assembly and the static contact assembly, the contact between the moving contact and the static contact will not form a V-shaped opening, which facilitates rapid arc interruption.

[0036] At the same time, in this contact part, the total contact gap is equal to the sum of the gaps between the two moving contacts located at both ends of the moving contact and their corresponding static contacts when the moving contact assembly and the static contact assembly are disconnected. The gap between a single moving contact and the corresponding static contact is half of the total contact gap, and the movement stroke of the moving contact relative to the static contact assembly is also half of the total contact gap, thereby achieving the requirement of a large contact gap with a small movement stroke, which is conducive to reducing the volume of the contact part and reducing the driving force of the magnetic circuit part, reducing the number of turns of the coil in the magnetic circuit part, reducing the volume of the coil, and realizing the miniaturization design of the relay.

[0037] In addition, in conventional application scenarios, the dynamic contact is generally equipped with a compression spring to provide contact pressure for its contact with the static contact component. In the present disclosure, since the compression spring used to apply contact pressure to the dynamic contact when the pusher forms an overstroke does not flow current, and current only flows through the dynamic contact, the compression spring only needs to ensure that it can provide elastic force, and there is no need to increase the thickness in order to pass a large current. The compression spring is thin and its own stress is small. Therefore, the magnetic circuit part only needs to use a small magnetic driving force to drive the pusher to push the compression spring to deformation and form contact pressure, which is conducive to reducing the volume of the magnetic circuit part. Based on this, the dynamic contact no longer has the need to deform itself, so it can be set to a specific thickness according to the size of the load current that needs to be connected.

[0038] The magnetic circuit part adopts the form of a combination of a coil and a magnetic rotor, that is, it adopts a traditional swinging armature assembly structure. The magnetic rotor includes a magnet and two armatures. The two armatures are respectively fixed to the two pole faces of the magnet and respectively constitute two contact arms. Since the magnet and the armature fit closely, the magnetic resistance between the two is small. Therefore, the overall magnetic efficiency of the magnetic circuit part is high, which is further conducive to reducing the volume of the magnetic circuit part and meeting the miniaturization design requirements of the relay.

[0039] In addition, in the above design, the moving contact is installed on the pushing member in the middle of its extension direction, that is, the pushing member supports the middle of the moving contact, so that the pushing member supports the moving contact more stably, ensuring the reliability of the two contacts of the moving contact to contact or disconnect with the corresponding static contacts; on this basis, the bridge-type moving contact needs to occupy a large space in its extension direction. If the coil and the magnetic rotating member are arranged on the same side of the pushing member, the combination of the magnetic circuit part and the bridge-type dynamic spring will occupy a large volume in the second direction, which is difficult to meet the requirements of miniaturization design.

[0040] In this regard, the present disclosure breaks with the traditional design thinking. On the basis of adopting a bridge-type dynamic contact, the coil and the magnetic rotating part are respectively arranged on both sides of the pushing part along the extension direction of the dynamic contact. Accordingly, the volume reduction in the second direction can be achieved, which is conducive to meeting the design requirements of small volume.

[0041] Furthermore, since the coil extends along the first direction, the layout direction of the coil and the magnetic rotating part is consistent with the extension direction of the dynamic contact part, and the magnetic circuit part and the contact part are arranged in the extension direction of the pushing part. Therefore, the overall structure composed of the magnetic circuit part and the contact part is compactly arranged along the length direction (that is, the extension direction of the pushing part), and the space occupied in the thickness direction and width direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the pushing part is small, which is more conducive to miniaturizing the overall volume of the relay to meet application requirements.

[0042] In summary, the relay design scheme disclosed in the present invention can simultaneously meet the requirements of high load, large contact gap and miniaturization, and can easily meet the design requirements of small space and large contact gap in application scenarios such as electric meters.

[0043] 2. Furthermore, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, when there is an impact on the movement stability of the pushing member when the rotational motion of the magnetic rotating member is converted into the linear motion of the pushing member, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the design of forming an idle stroke by the driving arm in the process of switching to abut the groove walls on both sides of the mating groove is used, so that the movement component and friction force of the driving end relative to the pushing member in the second direction are reduced, so that the deflection amount of the pushing member movement is reduced, thereby further improving the stability of the pushing member movement in the first direction, so that when the yoke and the pushing member are intertwined, the pushing member will not scrape the yoke due to deflection, thereby avoiding scraping and reducing the obstruction of the pushing member by the yoke during operation. Accordingly, the driving force of the magnetic circuit part can be reduced, the number of turns of the coil of the magnetic circuit part can be reduced, thereby reducing the volume of the coil, which is beneficial to the miniaturization design of the relay. In addition, it is also beneficial to enable the two moving contacts of the moving contact to reliably contact and separate with the corresponding static contacts.

[0044] 3. Furthermore, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, a design in which a support member is supported on the housing is utilized. Since the support member is fixedly connected to the dynamic contact member or the pushing member and is supported on the housing along the third direction, and at the same time is supported on the housing along the third direction by the magnetic rotating member, the magnetic rotating member is designed to also support the pushing member in the third direction. Accordingly, the present disclosure can utilize the support of the magnetic rotating member and the support member to realize the suspension of the pushing member in the housing, further avoiding friction between the pushing member and the housing during movement, thereby reducing the driving force of the magnetic circuit part, reducing the number of turns of the coil of the magnetic circuit part, thereby reducing the volume of the coil, and facilitating the miniaturization design of the relay.

[0045] Furthermore, in the case where the conversion of the rotational motion of the magnetic rotating member into the linear motion of the pushing member affects the movement stability of the pushing member, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, a design is also utilized in which the support member is limited in the first direction and the second direction respectively, and the present disclosure can limit the degree of freedom of the support member in the third direction, so that the pushing member will not rotate due to unbalanced force, thereby further improving the stability of the pushing member. In addition, the present disclosure can limit the degree of freedom of the support member in the second direction, so that the pushing member will not swing with the magnetic rotating member, and can move stably along the first direction, so that the two moving contacts of the moving contact member can reliably contact and separate with the corresponding static contacts.

[0046] By limiting the freedom of the pusher in the second and third directions, the smoothness of the movement of the pusher is further improved. Therefore, when the yoke and the pusher are intertwined, it is further ensured that the pusher will not scrape the yoke due to deflection, thereby avoiding scraping and reducing the obstruction of the pusher by the yoke during operation. Accordingly, the driving force of the magnetic circuit part is reduced, the number of turns of the coil in the magnetic circuit part is reduced, and the volume of the coil is reduced, which is conducive to the miniaturization design of the relay. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0047] The various objects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are merely illustrative illustrations of the present disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to the same or similar parts throughout.

[0048] FIG1 is a schematic perspective structural diagram of a relay according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0049] FIG2 is a perspective exploded schematic diagram of the relay shown in FIG1 ;

[0050] FIG3 is a schematic perspective view of a partial structure of the relay shown in FIG1 ;

[0051] FIG4 is a schematic perspective view of a partial structure of the structure shown in FIG3 ;

[0052] FIG5 is a top view of FIG4;

[0053] FIG6 is an enlarged schematic diagram of portion A in FIG5 ;

[0054] FIG7 is a sectional view taken along line CC in FIG6;

[0055] FIG8 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG5;

[0056] Figures 9 and 10 are schematic diagrams of the three-dimensional structure of the dynamic contact assembly at two different viewing angles;

[0057] FIG11 is a perspective exploded schematic diagram of a moving contact assembly;

[0058] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the cover plate;

[0059] FIG13 is a plan view of the combined structure of the coil and the magnetic rotating member;

[0060] FIG14 is a perspective schematic diagram of the combined structure of the pusher, the dynamic contact assembly and the magnetic rotating member;

[0061] FIG15 is a front view of FIG14;

[0062] FIG16 is a top view of FIG14;

[0063] FIG17 is a front view showing a partial structure of a relay according to another exemplary embodiment;

[0064] FIG18 is a schematic plan view of a relay according to yet another exemplary embodiment.

[0065] Description of the accompanying drawings: 100. Base; 410. Moving contact assembly; 530. Housing; 101. First edge; 411. Moving contact; 600. Fixing frame; 110. Support wall; 412. Moving contact; 610. First portion; 120. Retaining wall; 413. Support member; 620. Second portion; 130. Second limiting column; 4131. Support arm; 630. Connecting portion; 140. Third limiting column; 41311. Reverse bending portion; 700. Cover plate; 210. Coil; 414. Elastic member; 710. First limiting column; 220. Yoke; 421. Static contact; D1. Outer diameter; 221. First contact end; 422. Lead piece; D2. Width; 300. Pushing member; 423. Electrical connection terminal; D3. Width; 310. Mating slot; 500. Magnetic rotating element; G. Gap; 311. Slot wall; 510. Contact arm; R1. First rotating axis; 3111. Avoidance chamfer; 511. Second contact terminal; R2. Second rotating axis; 320. First avoidance hole; 520. Drive arm; X. First direction; 330. First avoidance slot; 521. Drive end; Y. Third direction; 340. Third avoidance slot; 524. Drive arm body; Z. Second direction. 525. Rib plate; DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0066] Typical embodiments that embody the features and advantages of the present disclosure will be described in detail in the following description. It should be understood that the present disclosure can have various variations in different embodiments without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, and the description and drawings therein are essentially for illustrative purposes rather than for limiting the present disclosure.

[0067] In the following description of different exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this disclosure and in which are shown by way of example different exemplary structures, systems and steps that may implement aspects of the present disclosure. It should be understood that other specific schemes of components, structures, exemplary devices, systems and steps may be used, and structural and functional modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Moreover, although the terms "above", "between", "within", etc. may be used in this specification to describe different exemplary features and elements of the present disclosure, these terms are used herein for convenience only, for example, according to the directions of the examples depicted in the accompanying drawings. Nothing in this specification should be construed as requiring a specific three-dimensional orientation of a structure to fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0068] Referring to Figure 1, a representative perspective view of the relay disclosed herein is shown. In this exemplary embodiment, the relay disclosed herein is described using a three-phase relay as an example. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various modifications, additions, substitutions, deletions, or other variations may be made to the following specific embodiments to apply the relevant designs of this disclosure to other types of relays, and such variations remain within the scope of the principles of the relay disclosed herein.

[0069] Referring to Figures 2 to 16, Figure 2 is a representative exploded perspective view of a relay; Figure 3 is a representative perspective view of a partial structure of the relay, wherein the cover plate 700 is omitted; Figure 4 is a representative perspective view of a partial structure of Figure 3, wherein the fixing frame 600 and part of the lead sheet are further omitted; Figure 5 is a representative top view of Figure 4; Figure 6 is a representative enlarged perspective view of part A in Figure 5; Figure 7 is a representative cross-sectional view taken along line CC in Figure 6; and Figure 8 is a representative cross-sectional view taken along line BB in Figure 5. Figures 9 and 10 respectively show schematic diagrams of the three-dimensional structure of the dynamic contact assembly 410 at two different viewing angles; Figure 11 shows a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional exploded structure of the dynamic contact assembly 410; Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the cover; Figure 13 shows a schematic plan view of the combined structure of the coil 210 and the magnetic rotating member 500; Figure 14 shows a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the combined structure of the pusher 300, the dynamic contact assembly 410 and the magnetic rotating member 500; Figure 15 shows a representative front view of Figure 14; and Figure 16 shows a representative top view of Figure 14. The following will be combined with the above-mentioned figures to explain in detail the structure, connection method and functional relationship of the main components of the relay proposed in the present disclosure.

[0070] As shown in Figures 1 to 16, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the relay provided herein includes a housing, a magnetic circuit portion, a contact portion, and a pusher 300. The magnetic circuit portion is disposed within the housing and includes a coil 210, two yokes 220, and a magnetic rotor 500. The coil 210 extends along a first direction X, and the two yokes 220 are connected to both ends of the coil 210 along the first direction X. The magnetic rotor 500 is capable of switching rotational direction when a forward pulse voltage and a reverse pulse voltage are applied to the coil 210.

[0071] The contact portion includes at least one dynamic contact assembly 410 and at least one static contact assembly corresponding to the dynamic contact assembly. Each dynamic contact assembly 410 includes a dynamic contact member 412 extending in a second direction Y perpendicular to the first direction X. Dynamic contacts 411 are provided at both ends of the dynamic contact member 412. In this embodiment, each dynamic contact assembly 410 includes two dynamic contacts 412 arranged along a third direction Z perpendicular to the first and second directions X and Y. The static contact assembly is provided on one side of the dynamic contact assembly 410 along the first direction X. Each static contact assembly includes two electrical connection terminals for establishing an electrical connection with the outside world, each terminal having at least one static contact 421. The static contacts 421 of each static contact assembly correspond to the dynamic contacts of the dynamic contact member 412.

[0072] The pusher 300 extends parallel to the first direction X and can be driven by the magnetic rotor 500 to move in the first direction X. The movable contact 412 is mounted on the pusher 300 in the middle of the second direction Y. The movable contact 412 as a whole moves with the pusher 300 in the first direction X to close or open the contact with the static contact 421. Based on this, the coil 210 and the magnetic rotor 500 are respectively located on either side of the pusher 300 in the second direction Y. The ends of the movable contact 412 are respectively located on either side of the pusher 300 in the second direction Y. The pusher 300 and the yoke 220 avoid each other.

[0073] Through the above-mentioned design, the present disclosure enables the relay to simultaneously meet the design requirements of large contact gap and small volume. Specifically, in the present disclosure, the dynamic contact 412 extends along the second direction Y perpendicular to the first direction X, and a dynamic contact 411 is provided at both ends of the dynamic contact 412, that is, the dynamic contact 412 is a bridge structure. Therefore, in this contact portion, the total contact gap is equal to the sum of the gaps between each dynamic contact 411 and its corresponding static contact 421. The gap between a single dynamic contact 411 and its corresponding static contact 421 is half of the total contact gap, and the movement stroke of the dynamic contact 412 relative to the static contact assembly is also half of the total contact gap, achieving the large contact gap requirement with a small movement stroke, thereby reducing the volume occupied by the contact portion and reducing the driving force of the magnetic circuit portion, reducing the number of turns of the coil 210 of the magnetic circuit portion, reducing the coil volume, and realizing a miniaturized design of the relay.

[0074] Furthermore, in actual use, since current flows through the movable contact 412, while the compression spring used to apply contact pressure to the movable contact 412 when the pusher 300 overtravels does not, the compression spring does not need to be large enough to carry a large current. Its inherent stress is low, and the magnetic circuit portion only requires a relatively small magnetic driving force to drive the pusher 300 to push the compression spring until it deforms and generates contact pressure, thereby facilitating a reduction in the volume of the magnetic circuit portion. The magnetic circuit portion utilizes a combination of a coil assembly and a magnetic rotor 500, i.e., a conventional swing-type armature assembly structure. The magnetic rotor 500 includes a magnet and two armatures, each of which is fixed to the two pole faces of the magnet and forms two contact arms. In the magnetic rotor 500, the magnet and armature fit tightly together, resulting in low magnetic resistance between them. Consequently, the overall magnetic efficiency of the magnetic circuit portion is high, further facilitating a reduction in the volume of the magnetic circuit portion and meeting the requirements for miniaturized relay design.

[0075] In addition, in the above design, the dynamic contact 412 is installed on the pushing member 300 in the middle of its extension direction, that is, the pushing member 300 supports the middle of the dynamic contact 412, so that the pushing member 300 supports the dynamic contact 412 more stably, ensuring the reliability of the two contacts of the dynamic contact 412 to contact and disconnect with the corresponding static contacts 421; on this basis, the bridge-type dynamic contact needs to occupy a larger space in its extension direction. At this time, if the coil 210 and the magnetic rotating member 500 are arranged on the same side of the pushing member 300, the combination of the magnetic circuit part and the bridge-type dynamic spring will occupy a larger volume in the second direction Y, which is difficult to meet the requirements of miniaturization design.

[0076] In this regard, the present disclosure breaks with the traditional design thinking. On the basis of adopting a bridge-type dynamic spring, the coil 210 and the magnetic rotating member 500 are respectively arranged on both sides of the pushing member 300 along the extension direction of the dynamic contact member 412. Accordingly, the volume reduction in the second direction Y can be achieved, which is conducive to meeting the design requirements of small volume.

[0077] Furthermore, since the coil 210 extends along the first direction X, the layout direction of the coil 210 and the magnetic rotating part 500 is consistent with the extension direction of the dynamic contact part 412, and the magnetic circuit part and the contact part are arranged in the extension direction of the pushing part. Therefore, the overall structure composed of the magnetic circuit part and the contact part is compactly arranged along the length direction (that is, the extension direction of the pushing part 300), and the occupancy in the thickness direction and width direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the pushing part 300 is relatively small, which is more conducive to miniaturizing the overall volume of the relay to meet application requirements.

[0078] In summary, the relay design scheme disclosed in the present invention can simultaneously meet the requirements of high load, large contact gap and miniaturization, and can easily meet the design requirements of small space and large contact gap in application scenarios such as electric meters.

[0079] As shown in Figures 14 and 15, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the pushing member 300 may be provided with a first avoidance hole 320 corresponding to each yoke 220, and the first avoidance hole 320 passes through the pushing member 300 along the second direction Y. The first avoidance hole 320 can be provided for the yoke 220 to pass through, so that the yoke 220 extends from one side of the pushing member 300 in the second direction Y to the other side.

[0080] Through the above design, the present disclosure can utilize the design of the yoke 220 passing through the first avoidance hole 320 to respectively arrange the coil 210 and the magnetic rotating member 500 on both sides of the pushing member 300 in the second direction Y, and can also reduce the space occupied in the third direction Z, which is perpendicular to a reference plane, and the reference plane is parallel to the first direction X and the second direction Y.

[0081] Furthermore, the present disclosure adopts a design of opening a first avoidance hole 320 in the pushing member 300 to achieve mutual avoidance between the pushing member 300 and the yoke 220. Since the size of the yoke 220 in the third direction Z is not affected, and the avoidance hole 320 is located in the middle of the pushing member 300 in the third direction Z, the structural strength of the pushing member 300 and the magnetic flux area and magnetic efficiency of the yoke 220 can be guaranteed.

[0082] Based on the design of the first avoidance hole 320 provided on the pushing member 300, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the width of the first avoidance hole 320 can be greater than the maximum displacement stroke of the pushing member 300 along the first direction X, so that the yoke 220 and the first avoidance hole 320 do not contact each other during the movement of the pushing member 300. Through the above design, the present disclosure can achieve mutual avoidance between the pushing member 300 and the yoke 220, avoid motion interference between the pushing member 300 and the yoke 220 when moving along the first direction X, and ensure the stability of the movement of the pushing member 300.

[0083] In some embodiments, the push rod 300 may not be provided with the first avoidance hole 320, and the yoke 220 may be provided with a second avoidance hole, which passes through the yoke 220 along the first direction X for the push member 300 to pass through, and is not limited to the above embodiment.

[0084] Based on the design of the first avoidance hole 320 provided on the pusher 300, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the width of the yoke 220 can be smaller than the width of the first avoidance hole 320 along the third direction Z, and there is a gap between both ends of the yoke 220 in the third direction Z and the two side walls of the first avoidance hole 320 in the third direction. Through this design, the present disclosure can prevent the pusher 300 from contacting the yoke 220 in the third direction Z, further ensuring the stability of the pusher's operation.

[0085] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the relay proposed in the present disclosure further includes at least one support member 413, which is fixedly connected to the dynamic contact assembly 410 or the pusher 300. In this embodiment, the support member 413 is specifically fixedly connected to each dynamic contact member 412 in the dynamic contact assembly 410 by a method not limited to riveting. The support member 413 is supported by the housing along a third direction Z. The third direction Z can be, for example, perpendicular to both the first direction X and the second direction Y, that is, it can be, for example, perpendicular to the bottom plate of the housing. On this basis, the magnetic rotating member 500 is supported by the housing along the third direction Z, and preferably can be fixed relative to the housing in the third direction Z, and the magnetic rotating member 500 also supports the pusher 300 in the third direction Z. As a result, the pusher 300 is supported by the magnetic rotating member 500 and the support member 413 and suspended in the housing.

[0086] Through the above design, the present disclosure utilizes the support member 413 to support the outer shell along the third direction Z, so that the dynamic contact member 412 and the pushing member 300 are both suspended in the outer shell without abutting against the inner wall of the outer shell, thereby avoiding friction between the dynamic contact member 412 and the pushing member 300 and the outer shell during movement, thereby reducing the magnetic driving force, allowing the magnetic circuit part to be reduced in volume, and facilitating miniaturization.

[0087] As shown in Figures 6 to 11 , based on the design of the relay including a support member 413, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, a first limiting structure is provided in the housing. The first limiting structure cooperates with the support member 413 to limit the degree of freedom of the support member 413 in the third direction Z. Due to the large weight of the dynamic contact 412, the pusher 300 may experience unbalanced forces on both sides of the magnetic rotating member 500, causing rotation. To overcome this problem, in this embodiment, the support member 413 is limited to the housing along the third direction Z by the first limiting structure. In other words, the degree of freedom of the support member 413 in the third direction Z is limited, preventing the pusher 300 from rotating due to unbalanced forces, further improving the stability of the pusher 300.

[0088] As shown in Figures 6 to 11 , based on the design of the relay including a support member 413, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, a second limiting structure is provided in the housing. The second limiting structure cooperates with the support member 413 to limit the support member 413 in the second direction Y, thereby limiting the support member 413's degree of freedom in the second direction Y. Because the magnetic rotating member 500 employed in the present disclosure exhibits a fan-shaped motion, the pusher 300 is susceptible to deflection with the magnetic rotating member 500 when the magnetic rotating member 500 rotates. To overcome this problem, in this embodiment, the support member 413 is limited to the housing in the second direction by the second limiting structure. This means that the support member 413's degree of freedom in the second direction Y is limited. Therefore, when the magnetic rotating member 500 drives the pusher 300 to move in the first direction X, the pusher 300 does not deflect with the magnetic rotating member 500 and can move stably in the first direction X, allowing the two movable contacts 411 at both ends of the movable contact 412 to reliably contact and separate with the corresponding stationary contacts 421.

[0089] In some embodiments, in order to achieve the limiting cooperation between the dynamic contact member 412, the pushing member 300 and the housing, two support members can also be set. These two support members are respectively limited and cooperated with the housing to achieve the limitation of the freedom of the support member 413 in the second direction Y and the third direction Z respectively, which is not limited to this embodiment.

[0090] As shown in Figures 6 and 9 , based on the design of a first limiting structure provided on the housing, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the housing includes a base 100 and a cover plate 700 that are fixed to each other, with a bottom plate provided on the side of the base 100 away from the cover plate 700. The first limiting structure may include a support wall 110 and a first limiting post 710. The support wall 110 is provided on the bottom plate of the housing, and the first limiting post 710 is provided on the cover plate 700 of the housing. Accordingly, at least a portion of the support member 413 abuts against the support wall 110 and the first limiting post 710 on both sides along the third direction Z, thereby limiting the degree of freedom of the support member 413 in the third direction Z.

[0091] As shown in Figure 6, based on the design that the shell is provided with a second limiting structure, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the second limiting structure may include two retaining walls 120, both of which are arranged on the bottom plate of the shell, and the two retaining walls 120 are respectively located on both sides of the support member 413 along the second direction Y, so as to respectively provide the two sides of the support member 413 with abutment and limit the freedom of the support member 413 along the second direction Y.

[0092] As shown in Figures 6 and 10, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, each support member 413 may have two support arms 4131, each extending from the ends of the movable contact member 412 in the second direction Y. Both support arms 4131 may be elastic. A second limiting post 130 and a third limiting post 140 may be provided in the housing at the ends of each support arm 4131. The second limiting post 130 is located on the side of the support arm 4131 facing the static contact assembly, and the third limiting post 140 is located on the side of the support arm 4131 facing away from the static contact assembly.

[0093] Through the above design, the present disclosure can utilize the second limiting column 130 and the third limiting column 140 to cooperate with each other to limit the displacement of the support arm 4131 in the first direction X. That is, in actual application, the spacing between the second limiting column 130 and the third limiting column 140 can be controlled to minimize the displacement of the support arm 4131 in the first direction X, thereby reducing the amount of scraping and friction between the support arm 4131 and the housing. At the same time, the present disclosure can utilize the second limiting column 130 and the third limiting column 140 to abut the support arm 4131, so that the support arm 4131 undergoes elastic deformation in both the closed and open states of the dynamic contact assembly 410. This can provide driving force to the dynamic contact assembly 410 and the pusher 300, improve the response speed of the dynamic contact assembly 410 when closed and opened, and enable the magnetic circuit portion to use a smaller magnetic force to achieve drive, thereby facilitating a reduction in the volume of the magnetic circuit portion.

[0094] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the movable contact 411 and the stationary contact 421 are closed, the support arm 4131 abuts the second limiting post 130 and stores energy, thereby applying a force to the movable contact 412 that enables it to move away from the corresponding stationary contact assembly. When the movable contact 411 and the stationary contact 421 are disconnected, the support arm 4131 abuts the third limiting post 140 and stores energy, thereby applying a force to the movable contact 412 that enables it to move toward the corresponding stationary contact assembly.

[0095] When the magnetic rotating member 500 drives the pushing member 300 and the dynamic contact member 412 to move to the closed state, the elastic force formed by the support arm 413 under the abutment of the second limiting column 130 reduces the impact force when the dynamic contact 411 and the static contact 421 contact, thereby improving the service life of the dynamic contact 411 and the static contact 421; when the magnetic rotating member 500 drives the pushing member 300 and the dynamic contact member 412 to move to the disconnected state, the elastic force formed by the support arm 4131 under the abutment of the third limiting column 140 can reduce the influence of inertia on the pushing member 300, so that the pushing member 300 will not over-travel due to the existence of idle travel, thereby further improving the smoothness of the movement of the pushing member 300.

[0096] Based on the design of the housing being provided with the second limiting post 130 and the third limiting post 140, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the support member 413 is fixedly connected to the dynamic contact assembly 410, and the support arm 4131 can be arranged at an angle relative to the second direction Y. In the first direction X, the end of the support arm 4131 connected to the dynamic contact member 412 is closer to the corresponding static contact assembly than the end thereof. Based on this, along the second direction Y, the second limiting post 130 is arranged farther away from the dynamic contact member 412 than the third limiting post 130. The end of the support arm 4131 is provided with a reverse bend 41311. The reverse bend 41311 bends in a direction opposite to the tilt direction of the support arm 4131 and is arranged around a portion of the outer circumference of the second limiting post 130.

[0097] Through the above design, the present disclosure utilizes the reverse bend portion 41311 to prevent the support arm 4131 from being disengaged from between the second positioning post 130 and the third limiting post 140 when deformation occurs. The reverse bend portion 41311 can further prevent scraping between the support arm 4131 and the retaining wall 120. In a preferred embodiment, the end of the reverse bend portion 41311 can be further bent, further reducing the risk of scraping between the support arm 4131 and the retaining wall 120.

[0098] 17 , which representatively shows a front view of a partial structure of a relay in another exemplary embodiment that can embody the principles of the present disclosure, specifically showing a front view of the combined structure of the pusher 300 , the contact portion, and the magnetic rotating member 500 .

[0099] Different from the design in which the pushing member 300 is provided with a first avoidance hole 320 in the embodiments shown in Figures 14 and 15, as shown in Figure 17, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the pushing member 300 can be provided with a first avoidance groove 330, which passes through the pushing member 300 along the second direction Y, and opens to a side edge of the pushing member 300 in the third direction Z, for example, opens to a side edge of the bottom plate facing away from the outer shell, and the yoke 220 is passed through the first avoidance groove 330.

[0100] Through the above design, the present disclosure can utilize the first avoidance groove 330 to enable the yoke 220 to pass through the pushing member 300 along the second direction Y, thereby achieving the coil 210 and the magnetic rotating member 500 being respectively arranged on both sides of the pushing member 300 in the second direction Y, and can also reduce the space occupied in the third direction Z.

[0101] In some embodiments, the pushing member 300 and the yoke 220 may also adopt other matching structures. For example, the yoke 220 may be provided with a second avoidance groove, and the pushing rod 300 is not provided with an avoidance structure for the yoke 220 to pass through. The second avoidance groove of the yoke 220 passes through the yoke 220 along the first direction X, and its opening is at a side edge of the yoke 220 in the third direction Z. The pushing member 300 is passed through the second avoidance groove of the yoke 220, which is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment.

[0102] As shown in Figures 10 and 11, the relay proposed in the present disclosure also includes an elastic member 414, which abuts between the dynamic contact member 412 and the pushing member 300 along the first direction X; when the dynamic contact assembly 410 leans against the static contact assembly, the pushing member 300 applies force to the dynamic contact member 412 through the elastic member 414, and closes the dynamic contact 411 and the static contact 421.

[0103] As shown in Figure 5, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the electrical connection end 423 of the static contact assembly extends out of the housing and is connected to a lead-out tab 422. The lead-out tab 422 may be provided with a mutual inductor (not shown). The housing has a first edge in the second direction Y, and the lead-out tab may extend through this first edge 101 of the housing. The coil 220 may be located on the side of the pusher 300 facing the first edge 101. Due to the rotational arrangement of the magnetic rotating member 500, the installation position of the magnetic rotating member 500 in the second direction Y occupies a larger area than the installation position of the coil 210. Through this design, the present disclosure positions the coil 210, which requires less space in the second direction Y, closer to the first edge 101. This allows the pusher 300 and the contact portion to be closer to the first edge 101 of the housing, that is, closer to the edge from which the lead-out tab 422 extends. This, in turn, allows the two lead-out tabs 422 to be closer to this edge, thereby making the relay layout more compact and reducing copper consumption in the lead-out tabs.

[0104] It should be noted that Figures 1 to 5 show some lead-out pieces 422 of the relay. For example, in the second direction Y, the lead-out piece 422 located on the same side of the pusher 500 can refer to the structure shown in the accompanying drawings, while the lead-out piece located on the other side of the pusher 500 is not shown, and it can be understood that various existing lead-out piece structures can be adopted.

[0105] As shown in Figures 2 and 13 to 16, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, a driving arm 520 is provided on one side of the magnetic rotating member 500 along the second direction Y. The pushing member 300 is provided with a mating slot 310. The end of the driving arm 520, which is away from the magnetic rotating member 500, is a driving end 521, which is located in the mating slot 310. Accordingly, when the magnetic rotating member 500 rotates, the driving arm 520 is driven to swing, causing the driving end 521 to push against the two side slot walls 311 of the mating slot 310 in the first direction X, thereby driving the pushing member 300 to move along the first direction X.

[0106] As shown in Figure 15, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the driving end 521 contacts the two side groove walls of the matching groove 310 in the third direction on both sides in the third direction Z respectively, thereby achieving the relative positioning of the driving arm 520 and the pushing member 300 in the third direction Z.

[0107] As shown in Figures 4-5 and 13, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the magnetic circuit portion is disposed in the housing and includes a coil 210. A yoke 220 is connected to each end of the coil 210 along a first direction X. The end of the yoke 220 away from the coil 210 is a first contact end 221. The two first contact ends 221 extend to one side of the coil 210 in a second direction Y. A magnetic rotor 500 is rotatably disposed in the housing and is located on one side of the coil 210 in the second direction Y. The magnetic rotor 500 includes two contact arms 510 spaced apart in the second direction Y. The two ends of the contact arms 510 in the first direction X are respectively second contact ends 511. The two second contact ends 511 of each contact arm 510 correspond to the two first contact ends 221. As mentioned above, the basic operating principle of the relay proposed in the present disclosure includes: by controlling the energization and excitation of the coil 210, a magnetic force is generated between the first contact end 221 and the second contact end 511 to drive the magnetic rotating member 500 to rotate, thereby driving the pushing member 300 to move, thereby closing and disconnecting the moving contact 411 and the static contact 421.

[0108] As shown in Figures 15 and 16, based on the design that the pushing member 300 is provided with a mating groove 310 and the magnetic rotating member 500 is connected to the driving arm 520, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the driving end 521 swings relative to the pushing member 300, the width of the driving end 521 along the first direction X (for example, the outer diameter D1 of the driving end) can be smaller than the width D2 of the mating groove 310 along the first direction X, so that the driving arm 520 has an idle stroke in the process of switching to abut the groove walls 311 on both sides of the mating groove 310 along the first direction X. For example, in this idle stroke, there is a gap G between the driving end 521 and the groove wall 311.

[0109] Through the above design, during the swinging process of the magnetic rotating member 500, when the driving end 521 switches from abutting the groove wall 311 on one side of the mating groove 310 to the groove wall 311 on the other side, the driving end 521 has an idle stroke that does not cooperate with the groove wall 311 of the mating groove 310. The existence of this idle stroke reduces the movement component and friction force of the driving end 521 relative to the pushing member 300 along the second direction, thereby reducing the deflection amount of the pushing member 300, thereby further improving the stability of the pushing member 300 moving along the first direction X, so that the two moving contacts 411 of the moving contact member 412 can reliably contact and separate with the corresponding static contacts 421.

[0110] As shown in Figure 16, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, a relief chamfer 3111 can be provided at the notch of the mating slot 310 facing the magnetic rotor 500. This design allows the present disclosure to utilize the relief chamfer 3111 to widen the notch of the mating slot 310, facilitating the insertion of the driving arm 520 into the mating slot 310. Furthermore, when the driving arm 520 is connected to a rib 525, the relief chamfer 3111 can further facilitate the rib 525's movement, preventing interference.

[0111] As shown in FIG16 , in one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the driving end portion 521 of the driving arm 520 swings to any position relative to the pusher 300, the contact between the driving end portion 521 and the groove wall 311 may be line contact or point contact. For example, the driving end portion 521 may be generally cylindrical, with the axis of the cylinder perpendicular to the bottom plate of the housing, i.e., the axis of the cylinder extends along the third direction Z, and the outer diameter D1 of the corresponding circle of the cylinder may be smaller than the width D2 of the mating groove 310 along the first direction X.

[0112] Through the above design, the present disclosure can reduce the contact area between the driving end 521 and the groove wall 311, thereby reducing scraping and reducing the friction between the driving end 521 and the pusher 300, thereby reducing the possibility of the pusher 300 swinging with the driving end 521.

[0113] In some embodiments, the driving end 521 may also be in other shapes, such as a polygonal column, an elliptical column, a sphere, an ellipsoid, etc., and is not limited to this embodiment.

[0114] As shown in Figure 16, based on the design that the driving end 521 and the groove wall 311 have an idle stroke, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the width of the driving end 521 (for example, the outer diameter D1 of the corresponding circle of the above-mentioned cylinder) can account for 0.5 to 0.9 of the width D2 of the mating groove 310 along the first direction X, for example, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, etc.

[0115] Through the above design, the present disclosure can avoid the width of the driving end 521 being too small. When the width of the driving end 521 is smaller than the width D2 of the matching groove 310, the idle stroke of the driving end 521 during the swinging process is larger, resulting in the magnetic rotating part 500 needing to swing at a larger angle to make the driving end 521 contact with the groove wall 311.

[0116] Furthermore, the present disclosure can avoid the width of the driving end 521 being too large, thereby avoiding the idle stroke of the driving end 521 being too small during the swinging process. If the idle stroke is too small, a large relative movement along the second direction is likely to occur between the driving end 521 and the groove wall 311, resulting in an increase in the friction force in the second direction, and easily causing the pushing member 300 to swing along with the driving end 521.

[0117] In some embodiments, the ratio of the width of the driving end 521 to the width D2 of the matching slot 310 may be less than 0.5, or greater than 0.9, such as 0.49, 0.91, etc., and is not limited to this embodiment.

[0118] As shown in Figures 13 and 16 , in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the driving arm 520 can be fixedly connected to the magnetic rotor 500. For example, the driving arm 520 can be integrally formed with the magnetic rotor 500, or can be connected to the magnetic rotor 500 by welding or other methods. Accordingly, when the magnetic rotor 500 swings about the first rotation axis R1 relative to the housing, the driving arm 520 also swings about the first rotation axis R1.

[0119] It should be noted that the so-called first rotation axis R1 refers to the shaft structure that enables the rotational connection between the magnetic rotating element 500 and the housing. It is not limited to the specific component on which it is disposed, nor is it limited to whether it comprises a single shaft structure or a multi-segment shaft structure. For example, when the magnetic rotating element 500 includes a housing 530, the first rotation axis R1 may comprise two shaft structures, one disposed in the housing 530, with the two shaft structures connected to opposite sides in the third direction Z.

[0120] As shown in Figure 13 , based on the design in which the drive arm 520 is fixedly connected to the magnetic rotor 500, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the magnetic rotor 500 may further include a housing 530 rotatably mounted to the outer housing, for example, via a first rotation axis R1. Furthermore, the contact arm 510 of the magnetic rotor 500 may be mounted within the housing 530, with the second contact end 511 of the contact arm 510 extending from the housing 530. The drive arm 520 and housing 530 may be integrally injection-molded.

[0121] As shown in FIG16 , in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the driving arm 520 may include a driving arm body 524 connected to the driving end portion 521 and the magnetic rotating member 500. The width D3 of the driving arm body 524 may be smaller than the width of the driving end portion 521 (e.g., the outer diameter D1 of the driving end portion 521). When the width D3 of the driving arm body 524 is too large, during the swinging process of the driving arm 520, the driving arm body 524 may contact the slot wall 311 of the mating slot 310 before the driving end portion 521. For example, the driving arm body 524 may first contact the notch on the side of the mating slot 310 facing the magnetic rotating member 500, thereby preventing the driving end portion 521 from properly contacting the slot wall 311.

[0122] Through the above design, the present disclosure can further ensure that the driving arm body 524 does not contact the pusher 300 during the swinging process, ensuring that the driving end 521 contacts the groove wall 311, and further optimize the pushing effect of the driving arm 520 on the pusher 300. In addition, when the relay is a single-phase relay, the above design can also be selectively adopted.

[0123] As shown in Figures 13 and 16 , in one embodiment of the present disclosure, a rib 525 can be connected between the drive arm body 524 and the magnetic rotor 500. Rib 525 is tilted, and the tilt direction can be aligned with the avoidance chamfer 3111. This design enhances the structural strength of the drive arm 520 and ensures the structural stability of the relay. Furthermore, this design can also be selectively employed when the relay is a single-phase relay.

[0124] As shown in Figures 2 and 3, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the relay proposed in the present disclosure may further include a fixing frame 600, which is fixedly mounted on the housing and is used for rotationally connecting the magnetic rotating member 500. For example, the fixing frame 600 and the bottom plate of the housing are arranged at intervals along the third direction Z, and the fixing frame 600 is located on the side of the magnetic circuit portion and the magnetic rotating member 500 facing away from the bottom plate.

[0125] On this basis, the magnetic rotating member 500 is rotatably connected to the housing via a first rotating shaft R1 , and an end of the first rotating shaft R1 away from the housing can be rotatably connected to the fixing bracket 600 .

[0126] Through the above design, the present disclosure can use the fixing frame 600 to provide insulation function for the magnetic circuit part, and can also use the fixing frame 600 to provide protection for components such as the coil 210 and the magnetic rotor 500, thereby improving the structural stability of the relay.

[0127] Based on the design of the relay including the fixing frame 600, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the fixing frame 600 and the housing can be plug-fitted, and the housing can limit the movement of the fixing frame 600 in the first direction X and the second direction Y. At the same time, the cover 700 and the housing can also cooperate to limit the movement of the fixing frame 600 in the third direction Z.

[0128] As shown in Figure 3 , based on the design of the relay including a fixed frame 600, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the fixed frame 600 may include a first portion 610, a connecting portion 630, and a second portion 620, which are sequentially connected along the second direction Y. The first portion 610 is rotatably connected to the magnetic rotating member 500, the second portion 620 covers the coil assembly 210 along the third direction Z, and the connecting portion 630 is connected to the middle of the first portion 610 and the second portion 620 along the first direction X. The width of the connecting portion 630 in the first direction X is smaller than the widths of the first portion 610 and the second portion 620 in the first direction X. Furthermore, the pusher 300 is provided with a third avoidance groove 340 to avoid the connecting portion 630.

[0129] Through the above-described design, the present disclosure utilizes the connecting portion 630 to integrate the two fixed frames corresponding to the magnetic rotor 500 and coil 210 into a single integral component. This reduces the number of parts, lowers the cost and difficulty of processing and assembly, and helps ensure the structural strength of the pusher 300. Furthermore, the present disclosure utilizes the design of the third avoidance groove 340 to avoid the increase in dimensions in the third direction Z caused by the provision of the connecting portion 630, further facilitating a compact design.

[0130] As shown in Figures 2, 5, 6 and 9, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the relay proposed in the present disclosure is a multi-phase relay. The contact portion includes at least two moving contact assemblies 410 and at least two static contact assemblies. The at least two moving contact assemblies 410 are arranged on the pusher 300 at intervals along the first direction X. The housing is provided with at least four electrical connection terminals, each of which is provided with a static contact. The moving contacts 411 of each moving contact assembly 410 face the same side of the first direction X. In other words, when the pusher 300 moves, the moving contacts 411 of each moving contact assembly 410 move synchronously toward or away from their corresponding static contacts 421, that is, the moving contacts 411 and static contacts 421 of each moving contact assembly 410 are synchronously closed or opened.

[0131] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the relay is a multi-phase relay, taking a three-phase relay as an example, each of the three movable contact assemblies 410 can be fixedly connected to a support member 413. As shown in FIG10 and FIG11 , the two movable contacts 412 in each movable contact assembly 410 are simultaneously fixedly connected to the corresponding support member 413. On this basis, only the support member 413 to which one of the movable contact assemblies 410 is fixed can be used to support the pusher 300 within the housing along the third direction Z. For example, when the housing is provided with a first limiting structure (e.g., a supporting wall 110 and a first limiting column 710), the two enlarged areas of FIG8 respectively illustrate the support members 413 to which the movable contacts 412 of the two movable contact assemblies 410 are connected. As shown in FIG8 , only the support arm 4131 of the left support member 413 is supported on the supporting wall 110. The support arms 4131 of the other two support members 413 are not supported on the supporting wall 110, but have a gap with the supporting wall 110 in the third direction Z.

[0132] Through the above-described design, when applied to a three-phase relay, the present disclosure can achieve position limiting in the third direction Z by only using one movable contact assembly 410 and the housing, while simultaneously coordinating the position limiting cooperation between the drive arm 520 and the pusher 300 in the third direction Z. This achieves a suspended arrangement of the relay's movable components (including the pusher 300, each movable contact assembly 410, and each elastic member 414) within the housing, minimizing the frictional resistance generated between the movable components and the housing during movement, further reducing the driving force required for the magnetic circuit, and further facilitating a reduction in the volume of the magnetic circuit. In some embodiments, when the relay is a multi-phase relay, only one movable contact 412 may be fixedly connected to the support member 413, and this is not limited to this embodiment.

[0133] As shown in Figure 8, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, when only one dynamic contact assembly 410 is engaged with the housing in the third direction Z, the dynamic contact 412 furthest from the magnetic circuit portion can be selected to have a limited position relationship with the housing along the first direction X. Through this design, the present disclosure can further optimize force distribution and enhance the stability and reliability of the dynamic component.

[0134] As shown in Figures 5 and 14 to 16, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the magnetic circuit portion can be located between two adjacent movable contact assemblies 410 along the first direction X. Specifically, taking the pusher 300 provided with an assembly groove for arranging the movable contact assembly 410 as an example, along the first direction X, the mating groove 310 is located between two adjacent assembly grooves.

[0135] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, for each movable contact assembly 410 , when the movable contact 411 is disconnected from the static contact 421 , the sum of the gaps between the two movable contacts 411 and their corresponding static contacts 421 may be greater than or equal to 5.5 mm.

[0136] As shown in Figures 5 and 14 to 16 , in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the number of dynamic contact assemblies 410 located on both sides of the magnetic circuit portion along the first direction X is equal or differs by one. Through the above design, the present disclosure can position the magnetic circuit portion approximately in the middle region of the housing in the first direction X, preventing the magnetic circuit portion from being too close to the edge of the housing in the first direction X, and ensuring that the force on the pusher 300 is balanced on both sides of the magnetic circuit portion.

[0137] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the relay further comprises a cover plate 700, which is disposed on the housing and serves to seal the opening of the housing. The cover plate 700 and the housing can be fastened together using a snap-fit ​​mechanism or assembled using connectors such as bolts. Furthermore, the cover plate 700 and the housing can be opened and closed along a third direction Z, along a first direction X, or along a second direction Y (e.g., a push-pull mechanism), or can be opened and closed using a flip mechanism with one side as the axis, without being limited to this embodiment.

[0138] 18 , FIG18 representatively shows a plan view of another exemplary embodiment of a relay that can embody the principles of the present disclosure, wherein the cover plate 700 is specifically omitted.

[0139] Different from the three-phase relay design used in the embodiments shown in Figures 1 to 16, as shown in Figure 18, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the relay proposed in the present disclosure can be a single-phase relay, and the contact part of the single-phase relay only includes a moving contact component 410 and a static contact component, that is, the housing is only provided with two electrical connection terminals 423, and the push member 300 is only connected to one moving contact component 410.

[0140] As shown in FIG13 , FIG17 , or FIG18 , in some embodiments of the present disclosure, the magnetic rotating member 500 is rotatably connected to the housing via a first rotating shaft R1 , and the first rotating shaft R1 may be located between the two contact arms 510 . Furthermore, the axis of the first rotating shaft R1 may be located on a line connecting the midpoints of the two contact arms 510 .

[0141] It should be noted that the relays shown in the drawings and described in this specification are only a few examples of the many types of relays that can employ the principles of the present disclosure. It should be clearly understood that the principles of the present disclosure are in no way limited to any details of the relays shown in the drawings or described in this specification or any components of the relays.

[0142] In summary, the relay proposed in the present disclosure includes a housing, a magnetic circuit portion, a contact portion, and a pusher 300. The magnetic circuit portion is disposed in the housing and includes a coil 210, two yokes 220, and a magnetic rotating member 500. The coil 210 extends along a first direction X, and the two yokes 220 are respectively connected to the two ends of the coil 210. The contact portion includes at least one moving contact assembly 410 and at least one static contact assembly. The static contact assembly is disposed on one side of the moving contact assembly 410 along the first direction X. Each moving contact assembly 410 includes a moving contact 412, and each static contact assembly includes two electrical connection ends 423, each of which is provided with at least one static contact point. The pusher 300 extends in a direction parallel to the first direction X. The pusher 300 can be driven by the magnetic rotating member 500 to move along the first direction X, and drive the moving contact 412 toward or away from the static contact assembly. The coil 210 and the magnetic rotating member 500 are respectively located on both sides of the pushing member 300 in the second direction Y. The pushing member 300 and the yoke 220 avoid each other and can be driven by the magnetic rotating member 500 to move along the first direction X.

[0143] Through the above-mentioned design, the present disclosure enables the relay to simultaneously meet the design requirements of large contact gap and small volume. Specifically, in the present disclosure, the dynamic contact 412 extends along the second direction Y perpendicular to the first direction X, and a dynamic contact 411 is provided at both ends of the dynamic contact 412, that is, the dynamic contact 412 is a bridge structure. Therefore, in this contact portion, the total contact gap is equal to the sum of the gaps between the two dynamic contacts 411 and their corresponding static contacts 421. The gap between a single dynamic contact 411 and the corresponding static contact 421 is half of the total contact gap. The movement stroke of the dynamic contact 412 relative to the static contact assembly is also half of the total contact gap, achieving the large contact gap requirement with a small movement stroke, which is conducive to reducing the volume occupied by the contact portion and reducing the driving force of the magnetic circuit portion, reducing the number of turns of the coil 210 of the magnetic circuit portion, reducing the coil volume, and realizing the miniaturization design of the relay.

[0144] In addition, during actual use, since the dynamic contact piece 412 is carried by current, and the compression spring used to apply contact pressure to the dynamic contact piece 412 when the push piece 300 forms an overstroke is not carried by current, the volume of the compression spring does not need to be made large in order to carry a large current, and its own stress is small. Therefore, the magnetic circuit part only needs to use a smaller magnetic driving force to drive the push piece 300 to push the compression spring until it is deformed and forms contact pressure, which is beneficial to reducing the volume of the magnetic circuit part.

[0145] Furthermore, the magnetic circuit part adopts the form of a combination of a coil assembly and a magnetic rotating part 500, that is, a traditional swinging armature assembly structure is adopted. In the magnetic rotating part 500, since the magnet and the armature fit closely, the magnetic resistance between the two is small. Therefore, the overall magnetic efficiency of the magnetic circuit part is high, which is further beneficial to reducing the volume of the magnetic circuit part and meets the miniaturization design requirements of the relay.

[0146] In addition, in the above design, the moving contact 412 is installed on the pushing member 300 along the middle of its extension direction, that is, the pushing member 300 supports the middle of the moving contact 412, so that the pushing member 300 supports the moving contact 412 more stably, ensuring the reliability of the two contact points of the moving contact 412 being able to contact or disconnect with the corresponding static contact 421.

[0147] On this basis, the bridge-type dynamic contact requires a relatively large space in its extension direction. If the coil 210 and the magnetic rotating member 500 are placed on the same side of the pusher 300, the combined magnetic circuit portion and the bridge-type dynamic spring will occupy a relatively large volume in the second direction Y, making it difficult to meet the requirements of miniaturization. To address this, the present disclosure breaks with traditional design thinking. Based on the use of a bridge-type dynamic spring, the coil 210 and the magnetic rotating member 500 are placed on either side of the pusher 300 along the extension direction of the dynamic contact 412. This reduces the volume in the second direction Y, facilitating the design of a compact design.

[0148] Furthermore, since the layout direction of the coil 210 and the magnetic rotating part 500 is consistent with the extension direction of the dynamic contact part 412, and the magnetic circuit part and the contact part are arranged in the extension direction of the pushing part, the overall structure composed of the magnetic circuit part and the contact part is compactly arranged along the length direction (that is, the extension direction of the pushing part 300), and the occupancy in the thickness direction and width direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the pushing part 300 is relatively small, which is more conducive to miniaturizing the overall volume of the relay to meet application requirements.

[0149] In summary, the relay design scheme disclosed in the present invention can simultaneously meet the requirements of high load, large contact gap and miniaturization, and can easily meet the design requirements of small space and large contact gap in application scenarios such as electric meters.

[0150] In addition, the present disclosure also provides an electric meter, which includes the relay described above and inherits all the advantages of the relay.

[0151] The exemplary embodiments of the relay proposed by the present disclosure are described and / or illustrated in detail above. However, the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the specific embodiments described herein. On the contrary, the components and / or steps of each embodiment can be used independently and separately from the other components and / or steps described herein. Each component and / or each step of one embodiment can also be used in combination with other components and / or steps of other embodiments. When introducing the elements / components / etc. described and / or illustrated herein, the terms "one", "an", and "above" are used to indicate the presence of one or more elements / components / etc. The terms "comprising", "including", and "having" are used to express open-ended inclusion and mean that in addition to the listed elements / components / etc., additional elements / components / etc. may be present. In addition, the terms "first" and "second", etc. in the claims and the specification are used only as labels and are not numerical limitations on their objects.

[0152] While the relays presented in this disclosure have been described in terms of various specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A relay, characterized in that: include: shell; a magnetic circuit portion, disposed in the housing and comprising a coil, two yokes, and a magnetic rotating member, wherein the coil extends in a first direction, the two yokes are respectively connected to two ends of the coil in the first direction, and the magnetic rotating member is capable of switching a rotation direction when a forward pulse voltage and a reverse pulse voltage are applied to the coil; The contact portion includes at least one dynamic contact component and at least one static contact component corresponding to the dynamic contact component, each of the dynamic contact components includes a dynamic contact piece, the dynamic contact piece extends in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and both ends of the dynamic contact piece are provided with dynamic contacts; each of the static contact components includes two electrical connection ends for forming an electrical connection with the outside, each electrical connection end is provided with at least one static contact point, each of the static contact components is provided on one side of the corresponding dynamic contact piece along the first direction, and the static contacts of each static contact component respectively correspond to the dynamic contacts of the dynamic contact piece; as well as a pusher extending in a direction parallel to the first direction and capable of being driven by the magnetic rotating member to move in the first direction; the movable contact member is mounted on the pusher in the middle portion along the second direction, and the movable contact member as a whole moves with the pusher in the first direction to close or open with the static contact assembly; Wherein, the coil and the magnetic rotating member are respectively located on two sides of the pushing member in the second direction.

2. The relay according to claim 1, wherein: The pushing member is provided with a first avoidance hole, and the first avoidance hole penetrates the pushing member along the second direction for the yoke to pass through.

3. The relay according to claim 2, characterized in that Along the third direction, the width of the yoke is smaller than the width of the first avoidance hole, and there is a gap between the two ends of the yoke in the third direction and the two side groove walls of the first avoidance hole in the third direction. The third direction is perpendicular to a reference plane, and the reference plane is parallel to the first direction and the second direction.

4. The relay according to claim 1, wherein: The pushing member is provided with a first avoidance groove; the first avoidance groove passes through the pushing member along the second direction, and its opening is at a side edge of the pushing member in the third direction, the third direction is perpendicular to a reference plane, the reference plane is parallel to the first direction and the second direction, and the yoke is passed through the first avoidance groove.

5. The relay according to claim 1, wherein: The yoke is provided with a second avoidance hole, which passes through the yoke along the first direction for the pushing member to pass through.

6. The relay according to claim 1, wherein: The yoke is provided with a second avoidance groove; the second avoidance groove passes through the yoke along the first direction, and its opening is at a side edge of the yoke in a third direction, the third direction is perpendicular to a reference plane, the reference plane is parallel to the first direction and the second direction, and the pushing member is passed through the second avoidance groove.

7. The relay according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The pushing member is provided with a matching groove; the magnetic rotating member is provided with a driving arm on the side facing the coil; the end of the driving arm facing the coil is the driving end; the driving end is located in the matching groove; wherein, the relay is configured such that: when the magnetic rotating member rotates, the driving end pushes against the groove wall on either side of the matching groove in the first direction, driving the pushing member to move along the first direction.

8. The relay according to claim 7, characterized in that When the driving end portion swings relative to the pushing member, its width along the first direction is smaller than the width of the matching groove along the first direction, so that the driving arm has an idle stroke during the process of switching to abut against the groove walls on both sides of the matching groove along the first direction.

9. The relay according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: In the second direction, the housing has a first edge; the electrical connection end is connected to a lead-out piece, and the lead-out piece is led out through the first edge; wherein the coil is located on a side of the pushing member facing the first edge.

10. The relay according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The contact portion includes at least two dynamic contact components and at least two static contact components. The at least two dynamic contact components are arranged at intervals along the first direction and follow the pushing member along the first direction.

11. The relay according to claim 10, characterized in that Along the first direction, the magnetic circuit portion is located between two adjacent moving contact assemblies.

12. The relay according to claim 11, wherein: Along the first direction, the number of the dynamic contact components located on both sides of the magnetic circuit portion is equal or differs by one.

13. The relay according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The contact portion includes a moving contact component and a static contact component.

14. The relay according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: It also includes at least one supporting member, which is fixedly connected to the dynamic contact component or the pushing member and is supported on the housing along a third direction; the third direction is perpendicular to a reference plane, and the reference plane is parallel to the first direction and the second direction; the magnetic rotating member is supported on the housing along the third direction, and the magnetic rotating member is also used to support the pushing member in the third direction; the pushing member is supported by the magnetic rotating member and the at least one supporting member and is suspended in the housing.

15. The relay according to claim 14, characterized in that The housing is provided with a first limiting structure, and the first limiting structure cooperates with the support member in the third direction to limit the degree of freedom of the support member in the third direction.

16. The relay according to claim 15, characterized in that The housing is further provided with a second limiting structure; the second limiting structure cooperates with at least one of the support members to limit the position in the second direction to limit the degree of freedom of the support member in the second direction.

17. The relay according to claim 16, characterized in that The shell includes a base and a cover plate fixed to each other; a bottom plate is provided on the side of the base away from the cover plate; the first limiting structure includes a supporting wall and a first limiting column, the supporting wall is arranged on the bottom plate, and the first limiting column is arranged on the cover plate of the shell, and at least a portion of the support member is respectively in contact with the supporting wall and the first limiting column on both sides along the third direction.

18. The relay according to claim 17, wherein: The second limiting structure includes two retaining walls; the two retaining walls are both arranged on the bottom plate and are respectively located on both sides of the support member along the second direction, so as to respectively provide abutment for both sides of the support member and limit the freedom of the support member along the second direction.

19. The relay according to claim 16, wherein: Each of the support members has two support arms; the two support arms extend out from both ends of the dynamic contact member along the second direction respectively, and both support arms are elastic; corresponding to the end of each support arm, a second limit column and a third limit column are provided in the housing, the second limit column is located on the side of the support arm facing the corresponding static contact component, and the third limit column is located on the side of the support arm facing away from the corresponding static contact component; the second limit column and the third limit column cooperate with each other and limit the displacement of the support arm in the first direction.

20. The relay according to claim 19, wherein: When the moving contact is closed with the static contact, the support arm abuts against the second limiting column and stores energy to apply a force to the moving contact piece that enables it to move away from the corresponding static contact component; when the moving contact is disconnected with the static contact, the support arm abuts against the third limiting column and stores energy to apply a force to the moving contact piece that enables it to move toward the corresponding static contact component.

21. The relay according to claim 20, characterized in that The support member is fixedly connected to the dynamic contact assembly; the support arm is arranged obliquely relative to the second direction; in the first direction, one end of the support arm connected to the dynamic contact member is closer to the corresponding static contact assembly than the end thereof; wherein, along the second direction, a reverse bending portion is provided at the end of the support arm, and the reverse bending portion is arranged around the outer periphery of the second limiting column portion.

22. The relay according to claim 1, wherein: It also includes an elastic member, which abuts between the dynamic contact member and the pushing member along the first direction; when the dynamic contact assembly leans towards the static contact assembly, the pushing member applies force to the dynamic contact member through the elastic member, and closes the dynamic contact and the static contact.

23. An electric meter, characterized in that: Comprising the relay according to any one of claims 1 to 22.

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