The invention relates to an active electrical component, in particular a switching element such as a relay or a contactor.

Such components are often connected to a counter-element in an electrically conductive manner by means of a contact and a counter-contact. For example, they may have a plug type contact which is inserted into a mating plug type contact. In this instance, only small forces are required to insert and subsequently separate the connection. Such a connection is thus unreliable since it can be readily separated unintentionally. In another solution from the prior art, the contact and the counter-contact are soldered to each other. However, this leads to thermal loading and is complex in terms of production technology.

An object of the invention is to provide an active electrical component which can be readily fitted in a reliable manner to the counter-element and which is suitable in particular for high currents.

According to the invention, this is achieved by an active electrical component, in particular a switching element such as a relay or a contactor, having at least one contact which is accessible from the outer side for connection in an insertion direction to a counter-contact of a counter-element and having at least one force transmission structure which extends to the contact in a continuous manner from a side of the component opposite the contact.

The component can be readily connected to a counter-element by the two being connected to each other. In this instance, greater forces than normal can be used since the force transmission structure transmits the forces to the contact from the side of the component opposite the contact without damaging other elements at the inner side. The connection produced in this manner is more reliable as a result of the greater insertion forces since it cannot be so readily separated. Furthermore, high currents can be transmitted therewith.

The solution according to the invention can be further improved by means of the following developments and embodiments which are each advantageous per se.

A particularly good force transmission with minimal material use is produced when the force transmission structure extends in a linear manner from the contact through the component.

In order to be able to introduce the force into the force transmission structure in an effective manner, the force transmission structure may terminate in a pressing face. In order to configure the force transmission in a particularly efficient manner and to prevent lateral displacement during a pressing action, in an advantageous embodiment, at the side of the component opposite the contact, the force transmission structure terminates in a pressing face which is arranged in alignment with the contact with respect to the insertion direction.

In order also to be able to connect the component to the counter-element when a housing is already fitted to the component, the pressing face may be formed by the housing.

When the pressing face is formed by the housing, the pressing face can at least be reinforced with respect to the immediate environment in order to be able to receive greater forces. For example, a housing may have a greater wall thickness in the region of the pressing face.

In an advantageous embodiment, the contact extends as a member of the force transmission structure as far as the side of the component opposite it. The force transmission structure may be constructed in a monolithic manner. It may be integral with the contact. Such a component is particularly simple to produce and ensures reliable force transmission. At the side opposite the contact, the force transmission structure may be covered by a housing. In another embodiment, the force transmission structure may comprise a plurality of elements which are connected to each other and/or which are in abutment with each other. Individual members may substantially ensure only mechanical stability whilst other members are also electrically conductive and, for example, enable an electrical connection.

In an advantageous embodiment, a plurality of contacts may be arranged at a lower side of the component, the insertion direction extending perpendicularly to the lower side. In such an embodiment, electrical connections can thus be produced on the plurality of contacts at the same time by the component being fitted on the counter-element.

If a plurality of contacts are arranged at a lower side of the component, in a particularly advantageous embodiment the contacts may extend inside the base face of the lower side away from the lower side. The surface-area required to fit the component on the counter-element is thereby not increased.

The contact may be constructed as a socket or a connector. It is advantageously constructed as a connector since no specific counter-contact then has to be present on the counter-element. Instead, a hole or a bore is sufficient for the contacting.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment, the contact is constructed as a pressing contact. Pressing contacts are conventional, for example, in solder-free contacting arrangements of components on printed circuit boards. Such a pressing contact may, for example, be constructed in such a manner that it produces a high resilient force transversely relative to the insertion direction and consequently enables reliable contact with a high current-bearing capacity.

It is possible to use as a counter-element in particular a printed circuit board or a lead frame. The counter-contacts in this instance may be constructed, for example, as bores or holes. High mechanical stability is thereby ensured.

If a plurality of contacts are present, with the contacts each having a pressing face, in an advantageous embodiment the pressing faces may terminate in a plane. The connection is thereby particularly simple since all the contacts can be inserted at the same time onto the counter-contacts with a tool which has a planar face. In an alternative embodiment, the pressing faces may have different positions and/or orientations. For example, an encoding possibility can thereby be achieved for an assembly tool so that the component can be fitted to the counter-element only in one correct orientation.

The component may have a coil and an armature which can be moved by the coil. Advantageously, the movement direction of the armature then extends perpendicularly relative to the insertion direction. The direction of the electrical switching function is thereby decoupled from the insertion direction. The high insertion forces consequently have no influence on the switching movement of the armature having narrow tolerances.

In an advantageous embodiment, the force transmission structure is constructed as a rigid member or a chain of a plurality of rigid members which are connected to each other and which are in abutment with each other at least when a force is applied to the chain in the insertion direction. The rigid members are in this instance rigid at least in the insertion direction, preferably also in other directions. The action of a force in a direction thus does not lead to a change of the length of a chain element in the direction of the action of the force.

The force transmission structure may advantageously be constructed as a carrier frame for the component. It may carry other elements of the component. The force transmission structure may act as a support for the component or for members of the component. Therefore, the force transmission structure in this instance carries out a dual function, whereby other load-bearing elements of the component may become superfluous and the structural size of the component is thereby reduced.

The invention is explained in greater detail below with reference to the drawings by way of example. The embodiments described constitute only possible embodiments, but in which the individual features, as described above, can be combined or omitted independently of each other.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a schematic, partially sectioned perspective view of a first embodiment of a component according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic, perspective view of a second embodiment of a component according to the invention,

Figure 3 is a schematic side view of the second embodiment of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a schematic view of the second embodiment from below.

Figure 1 is a partially sectioned view of an active electrical component 1. The active electrical component 1 is a relay 2. A coil 3 of the relay 2 can be switched using currents of different strengths. In this instance, an armature 4 can be moved in and counter to a movement direction A.

The component 1 is constructed to be connected to a counter-element. To this end, it has at a lower side 5 a plurality of contacts 6 which are constructed in this instance as plug type contacts 7 for insertion in a socket (not shown). The contacts 6 can be connected in an insertion direction S to a counter-contact. The counter-contact may, for example, be a socket or a hole. The contacts 6 are constructed as pressing contacts 8. They are in the form of an eye of a needle, metal sheets which act as springs being arranged in the eye of the needle so that, in a transverse direction Q which extends transversely relative to the insertion direction, a high resilient force is produced. A high retention force in the counter-contact and a high current-carrying capacity of the connection are thereby achieved.

The component 1 has a plurality of force transmission structures 9 which extend to the contacts 6 from a side 10 opposite the contacts 6 in a continuous manner. The force transmission structures 9 enable a force to be transmitted to the contacts 6 from the side 10 opposite the contacts 6 without mechanically loading other members of the component 1. In particular, the force transmission structures 9 can be used in order to connect the component 1 to a counter-element by force being applied at the side 10 opposite the contacts 6 in the insertion direction S. The force transmission structures 9 enable the application of high forces which are required to connect the contacts 6 to the counter-contacts in a mechanically stable manner and so as to conduct a high current.

In order to construct the force transmission structures 9 in the most stable manner possible, they extend in a linear manner from the contacts 6 through the component 1. They extend in the load directions L. In this instance, the force transmission structures terminate in pressing faces 11 which are arranged in alignment with the contacts 6 with respect to the insertion direction S. In the embodiment shown in this instance, the pressing faces 11 are formed by a housing 12. In this instance, the pressing faces 11 are reinforced with respect to their immediate environment in order to be able to absorb high forces. The wall thickness of the housing 12 is thicker in the region of the pressing faces 11 than in other regions. A thickened portion 21 of the housing 12 is delimited in and counter to the insertion direction S by internal faces 18 and external faces 19 which each extend perpendicularly relative to the insertion direction S.

The housing 12 is in abutment with the remainder of the force transmission structures 9 in the region of the pressing faces 11. The inner faces 18 of the thickened portion 21 of the housing 12 are in direct abutment with end faces 13 of the remainder of the force transmission structure 9. When a force acts on the pressing faces 11 in the insertion direction S, this is transmitted directly into the remainder of the force transmission structures 9, for example, without the housing 12 bending.

The housing 12 may, for example, comprise metal or plastics material. In order to keep production costs low, the housing 12 may, for example, be produced from a thermoplastic plastics material in an injection-moulding method. The use of other materials is also possible.

The component 1 has a plurality of contacts 6 which are arranged on the lower side 5. The contacts

6 extend in each case perpendicularly from the lower side 5 in the insertion direction S away from the lower side 5. The contacts 6 extend in this instance inside the base face of the lower side 5 away from the lower side 5. They are thus not located laterally beside the component 1, whereby the lateral structural size of the component 1 does not increase.

The force transmission structures 9 are constructed in this instance as chains of rigid members.

They each comprise a member which comprises the contact 6 and is integral therewith, and a member of the housing 12. These two members are in mutual abutment and thus ensure a continuous structure, which enables the force to be transmitted to the contact 6 from the side 10 opposite the contact 6 without other members of the component 1, such as the coil 3, being excessively mechanically loaded and potentially damaged. A force transmission structure 9 is constructed in this instance by a chain of two rigid members. In other embodiments, the force transmission structure may also comprise more than two rigid members, for example, three, four or even more rigid members. The individual rigid members may in this instance have different properties. A rigid member may, for instance, be particularly stable and be used for mechanical securing. Another rigid member may be electrically conductive and be used for electrical contacting.

The force transmission structures 9 each have side elements 14, to which other members of the component 1 are fitted. The force transmission structures 9 may act as a carrier frame 15 for the component 1. For example, portions of the coil member 16 are fitted to lateral elements 14. Furthermore, a base portion 20 of the component 1 is fitted to the force transmission structure 9.

Figure 2 illustrates a second embodiment of a component 1. It is constructed in a similar manner to the embodiment in Figure 1, but has no housing 12. The pressing faces 11 are arranged at the sides of the force transmission structure 9 opposite the contacts 6. The force transmission structures 9 are in this instance formed by a single rigid member, respectively. The rigid members are each integral with the contacts 6.

The pressing faces 11 are located in a common plane E so that a planar pressing tool can be used. In an alternative embodiment, the pressing faces 11 could also be located in different planes and/or have different orientations. For example, the pressing faces 11 could provide an encoding possibility in order to prevent incorrect assembly of the component 1. For example, a pressing face 11 could protrude from a plane formed by the other pressing faces 11. Together with a corresponding assembly tool, this would enable assembly only in a single orientation.

Figure 3 is a side view of the second embodiment of Figure 2. It can be seen in particular that the insertion direction S extends perpendicularly relative to the movement direction A, in which the armature 4 is moved by the coil 3. A switching movement of the armature 4, which is subjected to small tolerances, is thereby not influenced by the high insertion forces in the insertion direction S since the insertion in the insertion direction S is decoupled from the movement of the armature 4 in the movement direction A.

Figure 4 shows the second embodiment from below. It can be seen here in particular that the contacts 6 are located inside the base face 17 of the lower side 5. They therefore do not protrude laterally. All the force transmission structures 9 do not protrude laterally beyond this base face 17. The space required to fit the component 1 thereby substantially corresponds to the base face 17.

The force transmission structures 9 shown in Figures 2 to 4 are each integral with the contacts 6. They are punched from a metal sheet. Of course, a force transmission structure 9 may also, for example, be produced in a different manner, for example, by means of casting or forging. Furthermore, the force transmission structure 9 does not have to be integral with the contacts 6, but may also comprise a plurality of elements which are, for example, joined together in a flush manner in the insertion direction S.

Reference Numerals

1 Component

2 Relay

3 Coil

4 Armature

5 Lower side

6 Contact

7 Connector

8 Pressing contact

9 Force transmission structure

10 Side opposite the contact

11 Pressing face

12 Housing

13 End face

14 Lateral element

15 Carrier frame

16 Portion of the coil member

17 Base face

18 Inner face

19 Outer face

20 Base portion

21 Thickened portion

A Movement direction

E Plane

L Load direction

S Insertion direction