# US 12,183,529 B2 · Electromagnetic relay

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- Number: US 12,183,529 B2
- Document ID: US12183529B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/011,191
- Filed: 2021-06-16
- Published: 2023-08-03
- Granted: 2024-12-31
- Earliest claimed: 2020-07-02
- Assignees: OMRON Corporation
- Applicants: OMRON Corporation
- Inventors: Ryota Minowa; Naoki Kawaguchi; Kohei Otsuka
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12183529B2

## CPC

- H01H 50/546: {for contactors having bridging contacts}
- H01H 9/443: {using permanent magnets}
- H01H 50/18: Movable parts of magnetic circuits, e.g. armature
- H01H 50/38: Part of main magnetic circuit shaped to suppress arcing between the contacts of the relay
- H01H 50/44: Magnetic coils or windings
- H01H: ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES (contact cables H01B7/10; electrolytic self-interrupters H01G9/18; emergency protective circuit arrangements H02H; switching by electronic means without contact-making H03K17/00)

## Abstract

An electromagnetic relay includes a fixed terminal, a movable contact piece, a first contact, a second contact, a movable mechanism, and a magnet unit. The first contact is disposed on one of the fixed terminal or the movable contact piece. The second contact is disposed on another of the fixed terminal or the movable contact piece. The magnet unit generates a magnetic field to apply a Lorentz force to an arc generated between the first contact and the second contact. The magnet unit applies the Lorentz force in a first direction to the arc when a current flowing through the arc is directed from the second contact toward the first contact. In a state in which the first contact is in contact with the second contact, a center position of the first contact and a center position of the second contact are shifted from each other in the first direction.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An electromagnetic relay comprising:
a fixed terminal;
a movable contact piece;
a first contact disposed on one of the fixed terminal or the movable contact piece;
a second contact configured to contact the first contact and disposed on another of the fixed terminal or the movable contact piece;
a movable mechanism configured to move the movable contact piece between a closed position where the first contact is in contact with the second contact and an open position where the first contact is separated from the second contact; and
a magnet unit configured to generate a magnetic field to apply a Lorentz force to an arc generated between the first contact and the second contact, wherein
the magnet unit applies the Lorentz force in a first direction to the arc when a current flowing through the arc is directed from the second contact toward the first contact,
one of the first contact or the second contact protrudes in the first direction with respect to another of the first contact or the second contact, and
in a state in which the first contact is in contact with the second contact, a center position of the first contact and a center position of the second contact are shifted from each other in the first direction.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The electromagnetic relay according to claim 1, wherein
the first contact protrudes in the first direction with respect to the second contact.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The electromagnetic relay according to claim 2, wherein
the second contact protrudes in a second direction opposite to the first direction with respect to the first contact, and
the magnet unit applies the Lorentz force in the second direction to the arc when a current flowing through the arc is directed from the first contact toward the second contact.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The electromagnetic relay according to claim 1, wherein
in a state in which the first contact is separated from the second contact, the center position of the first contact and the center position of the second contact are shifted from each other in the first direction.