JP2011096410A - Contact device, relay using the same, and micro relay - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a contact device capable of improving transmission characteristics of a signal without increasing cost, a relay using the contact device, and a micro relay. <P>SOLUTION: The contact device includes a transmission line 1 forming a coplanar line made from a center conductor 10 arranged on an upper surface of a base A and being as a signal wire, and ground conductors 11 arranged on both sides of the center conductor 10 and arranged on the same surface by separating from the center conductor at a fixed space, a fixed contact 10a arranged on the center conductor 10 of the transmission line 1, a movable contact 20 freely coming in contact with and separating from the fixed contact 10a, and a movable section 2 having the movable contact 20 and making the movable contact 20 freely oscillate between a position coming in contact with the fixed contact 10a and a position separating from the fixed contact 10a. A thick film section 11a having a thickness dimension thicker than the other sections of the ground conductor 11 is formed on a section in the vicinity of the center conductor 10 on each ground conductor 11 on an upper surface of a base A. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a contact device, a relay using the contact device, and a micro relay.

  Conventionally, as a high-frequency small-sized relay, a micro relay such as a MEMS relay formed by using a semiconductor microfabrication technique has been provided, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1. The micro relay described in Patent Document 1 has a storage portion that stores an electromagnet device that generates a magnetic flux in response to an excitation current applied to a coil wound around a yoke, and a fixed contact is provided on one surface side in the thickness direction. Provided base substrate. Also, a frame-like frame portion fixed to the one surface side of the base substrate, and an armature disposed inside the frame portion and supported by the frame portion through a support spring portion so as to be swingable and driven by an electromagnet device And a main block having a movable contact base portion supported by a movable portion to which the armature is fixed via a contact pressure spring portion and provided with a movable contact. Further, a cover having a peripheral portion fixed to the frame portion on the side opposite to the base substrate in the main block is provided. In the electromagnet device, a permanent magnet is provided in a magnetic path formed by the armature and the yoke within the thickness dimension of the base substrate. The contact device according to the present invention includes a fixed contact, a movable contact, and a means for displacing the movable contact so that the movable contact can be freely moved. As in the conventional example, an electromagnet device is used as the means. Used for electromagnetic relays.

JP 2005-216541 A

  By the way, in the contact device as described above, a so-called coplanar line having a structure in which a linear conductor foil is formed on the surface of a plate-like dielectric substrate and transmitting electromagnetic waves is used as a transmission line for transmitting signals. For example, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, such a transmission line 1 has a central conductor 10 that forms a signal line, and a central conductor 10 on both sides of the central conductor 10 at a constant interval on the same plane. The ground conductor 11 disposed on the base plate A is formed on a base A of a plate substrate made of a dielectric material such as glass. Fixed contact points 10a are provided at opposite ends of the central conductors 10, and the contact points are opened and closed when the movable contact point 20 provided on the movable part 2 contacts and separates from the fixed contact point 10a. It has become.

  In order to improve the signal transmission characteristics in the transmission line 1 constituted by such a coplanar line, as shown in FIG. 7C, the thickness dimensions of the center conductor 10 and the ground conductor 11 are increased (L2> L1). ) To reduce the electrical resistance. However, since the transmission line 1 is composed of a coplanar line, the area of the ground conductor 11 is often designed to be large, and simply increasing the thickness of the center conductor 10 and the ground conductor 11 increases the cost. There was a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a contact device capable of improving signal transmission characteristics without increasing cost, a relay using the contact device, and a micro relay. And

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 comprises a coplanar line comprising a central conductor forming a signal line, and ground conductors arranged on the same plane at a certain distance from the central conductor on both sides of the central conductor. A transmission line, a fixed contact provided on a central conductor of the transmission line, a movable contact that can be freely contacted to and separated from the fixed contact, a position having a movable contact and a position at which the movable contact comes into contact with the fixed contact A contact device having a movable part that can swing between, and a thick film part having a thickness dimension larger than other parts of the ground conductor is formed in a part of the ground conductor near the center conductor. And

  The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1, a thick film portion having a thickness dimension larger than that of other portions of the center conductor is formed in a portion of the center conductor near the ground conductor.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the transmission line according to the first or second aspect, the transmission line has a center conductor and a ground conductor arranged on one surface in the thickness direction of the substrate made of a dielectric, and a ground conductor on the other surface. The thick film portion of the ground conductor is provided with a through electrode that penetrates the substrate in the thickness direction and electrically connects the ground conductor on one side and the ground conductor on the other side. It is characterized by that.

  According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided the contact device according to any one of the first to third aspects, and a drive device that drives the movable portion so that the movable contact comes into contact with or separates from the fixed contact. Features.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the relay according to the fourth aspect, the driving device is a micro relay comprising an electromagnet device that swings the movable portion by generating a magnetic field that is made of a magnetic material and attracts the armature provided on the movable portion. And a base formed of a substrate and containing an electromagnet device and having a fixed contact and a transmission line provided on one side in the thickness direction, and a frame-like frame fixed to the one side of the base, And a main block having a movable portion and an armature that are swingably supported by the frame, and a cover whose peripheral portion is fixed to the frame on the opposite side of the base of the main block.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the relay according to the fourth aspect, the driving device is a micro relay comprising an electromagnet device that swings the movable portion by generating a magnetic field that is made of a magnetic material and attracts the armature provided on the movable portion. A base made of a substrate and provided with a fixed contact and a transmission line on one side in the thickness direction, a frame-like frame fixed to the one side of the base, and a movable supported in a swingable manner by the frame A main block having a portion and an armature; and a cover having a peripheral portion fixed to the frame on the opposite side of the base of the main block and having a storage portion for storing an electromagnet device.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the transmission line composed of the coplanar line, a thick film is formed on a part of the ground conductor in view of the fact that the current is concentrated and distributed in the portion where the ground conductor and the center conductor are close to each other. By forming the portion, signal transmission characteristics can be improved in the same manner as when the thickness dimension of the entire ground conductor is increased. Therefore, it is not necessary to increase the thickness dimension of the entire ground conductor, and the signal transmission characteristics can be improved without increasing the cost.

  According to the invention of claim 2, by forming only the portion where the current is concentrated and distributed in the central conductor in the thick film portion, the signal transmission characteristics are improved in the same manner as when the thickness dimension of the entire central conductor is increased. Can be made. Therefore, it is not necessary to increase the thickness of the entire central conductor, and the signal transmission characteristics can be improved while further reducing the cost.

  According to the invention of claim 3, even when a high frequency signal is handled, the potential of each ground conductor is kept equal, so that the signal transmission characteristics can be improved.

  According to the invention of claim 4, it is possible to realize a relay that exhibits the effect of any one of claims 1 to 3.

  According to invention of Claim 5, 6, the micro relay which has the effect of any one of Claim 1 thru | or 3 is realizable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows Embodiment 1 of the contact apparatus which concerns on this invention, (a) is a principal part perspective view, (b) is sectional drawing, (c) is sectional drawing which shows another structure. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the contact device according to the present invention, in which (a) is a perspective view of an essential part, (b) is a sectional view of (a), and (c) is a case where the thickness dimension of the ground conductor is not reduced. (D) is sectional drawing of (c). It is a figure which shows Embodiment 3 of the contact apparatus which concerns on this invention, (a) is a principal part perspective view, (b) is sectional drawing. It is a figure which shows the basic form 1 of the micro relay which concerns on this invention, (a) is a disassembled perspective view, (b) is the perspective view seen from the lower side. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the basic form 2 of the micro relay which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing same as the above. It is a figure which shows the contact device by which the conventional transmission line was comprised from the coplanar line, (a) is a principal part perspective view, (b) is sectional drawing, (c) enlarges the thickness dimension of a center conductor and a grounding conductor. FIG.

  Hereinafter, in describing embodiments of a contact device according to the present invention, basic forms 1 and 2 of a microrelay including the contact device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the vertical direction in FIG. 4A is defined as the vertical direction.

(Basic form 1)
As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the basic form includes an electromagnet device 6 that generates magnetic flux in response to an exciting current applied to a coil 62 wound around a yoke 60, and a rectangular plate-like glass substrate. A base 5 provided with a pair of fixed contacts 50 at each end in the longitudinal direction on one surface (upper surface) side in the thickness direction, a rectangular frame 31 fixed to the upper surface side of the base 5, and A movable portion 30 disposed inside the frame 31 and supported by the frame 31 via the four support spring portions 32 so as to be swingable. The movable portion 30 is supported by two contact pressure spring portions 35. In addition, two movable contact bases 34 each provided with a movable contact (not shown) and an armature (not shown) provided on the movable part 30 made of a magnetic material and driven by the electromagnet device 6 are provided. Having armature And click 3, the peripheral portion on the opposite side of the base 5 in the armature block 3 and a cover 4 made of a rectangular plate-shaped glass substrate which is fixed to the frame 3.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the yoke 60 in the electromagnet device 6 has an elongated rectangular plate-shaped coil winding portion 60a around which the two coils 62 are directly wound, and a longitudinal direction of the coil winding portion 60a. A pair of leg pieces 60b that extend from both ends toward the movable part 30 and whose opposite end surfaces are excited with different polarities according to the excitation current to the coil 62, and the coil between the leg pieces 60b. A rectangular plate-shaped permanent magnet 61 arranged in the center of the winding portion 60a in the longitudinal direction and an elongated rectangular plate-like shape on the opposite side of the surface facing the permanent magnet 61 in the coil winding portion 60a. And a resin molded body 63 fixed so as to be orthogonal to the coil winding portion 60a. The yoke 60 is formed by bending or casting an iron plate such as electromagnetic soft iron, and the cross sections of both leg pieces 60b are formed in a rectangular shape.

  In the permanent magnet 61, both magnetic pole surfaces in the thickness direction are magnetized differently from each other, one magnetic pole surface is in contact with the coil winding portion 60a, and the other magnetic pole surface is flush with the tip surfaces of both leg pieces 60b. The thickness dimension is set so as to be located above. Further, each coil 62 is restricted from moving in the longitudinal direction of the coil winding portion 60a by the permanent magnet 61 and both leg pieces 60b. The resin molded body 63 is made of an insulating resin material, and the coil terminals 63a are provided so as to partially expose the longitudinal ends of one surface thereof. In each of the coil terminals 63a, a circular part forms an external connection electrode, and a rectangular part forms a coil connection part. A bump 64 made of a conductive material (for example, Au, Ag, Cu, solder, etc.) is appropriately fixed to the external connection electrode in each coil terminal 63a, but a bonding wire is used instead of fixing the bump 64. Bonding is acceptable.

  The base 5 is formed in a rectangular shape by heat-resistant glass such as Pyrex (registered trademark), and as shown in FIG. 4B, the electromagnet device 6 is accommodated through the center portion in the thickness direction. A storage hole 56 is provided therethrough, and through holes (not shown) penetrating in the thickness direction are provided in the vicinity of the four corners. Also, lands 52 are formed on both sides of the base 5 in the thickness direction and on the periphery of each through hole. Here, the lands 52 overlapping in the thickness direction of the base 5 are conductive materials (for example, Cu, Cr, Ti, Pt, Co, Ni, Au, or alloys thereof) deposited on the inner peripheral surface of the through hole. Etc.) are electrically connected by a conductor layer (not shown). Further, bumps 53 are appropriately fixed to the lands 52 on the other surface (lower surface) side in the thickness direction of the base 5. By fixing the bumps 53 to the lands 52, openings of through holes are formed on the lower surface side of the base 5. The surface is covered with bumps 53. The opening surface of each through hole is circular, and four lids 54 made of a silicon thin film covering the opening surface of each through hole and the land 52 are fixed to the upper surface of the base 5.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, each pair of fixed contacts 50 are arranged in parallel between two through holes formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the base 5 so as to be spaced apart in the short direction of the base 5. It is electrically connected via a conductive pattern 51 and a land 52 formed at the periphery of the through hole adjacent in the short direction. Here, as a material of the fixed contact 50, the conductive pattern 51, and the land 52, for example, a conductive material such as Cr, Ti, Pt, Co, Cu, Ni, Au, or an alloy thereof may be employed. As the material of 53, for example, a conductive material such as Au, Ag, Cu, or solder may be employed. The through hole and the accommodation hole 56 may be formed by, for example, a sand blast method or an etching method, and the conductor layer may be formed by, for example, an electroplating method, a vacuum evaporation method, a sputtering method, or the like.

  The opening surface of the storage hole 56 has a cross shape as shown in FIG. 4B, and a lid 57 made of a silicon thin film that closes the storage hole 56 is fixed to the upper surface side of the base. Here, the electromagnet device 6 is inserted into the storage hole 56 such that the front end surfaces of both leg pieces 60 b of the yoke 60 face the lid body 57. In the electromagnet device 6, the permanent magnet 61 is provided in a magnetic path formed by the armature and the yoke 60 within the thickness dimension of the base 5, and the surface of the resin molded body 63 is substantially flush with the lower surface of the base 5. Yes. The lids 54 and 57 are made of a silicon thin film formed by thinning a silicon substrate by etching or polishing, and the thickness dimension is set to 20 μm. Here, the thickness dimension of the lid 57 is not limited to 20 μm, and may be appropriately set within a range of, for example, about 5 to 50 μm. Further, the lids 54 and 57 are not limited to the silicon thin film, but may be formed of a glass thin film formed by thinning a glass substrate by etching or polishing.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the armature block 3 is formed by processing a semiconductor substrate made of a silicon substrate by a semiconductor microfabrication process, and the above-described rectangular frame-shaped frame 31 and four support springs. It comprises a part 32, a rectangular plate-like movable part 30 arranged inside the frame 31, four contact pressure spring parts 35, and two movable contact base parts 34. For example, a rectangular plate-shaped armature made of a magnetic material such as soft iron, electromagnetic stainless steel, or permalloy is fixed to the surface of the movable portion 30 facing the base 5.

  The support spring portions 32 are formed at two locations on both side surfaces in the short direction of the movable portion 30 so as to be separated from each other in the longitudinal direction of the movable portion 30. Each support spring portion 32 has one end portion integrally connected to the frame 31 and the other end portion integrally connected to the movable portion 30. In addition, each support spring part 32 is lengthened by forming the site | part between one end part and the other end part in the planar shape in the meandering shape in the same plane. For this reason, when the movable part 30 swings, the stress concerning each support spring part 32 can be disperse | distributed, and it can prevent that each support spring part 32 is damaged.

  The movable portion 30 has a rectangular protruding piece 36 integrally extending from the center of both side edges in the short direction, and a rectangular protruding piece 37 from a portion corresponding to the protruding piece 36 on the inner peripheral surface of the frame 31. Is integrally extended. The projecting pieces 36 and 37 are such that the tip surfaces thereof face each other, and the projection provided on the tip surface of the projection piece 36 abuts on the inner peripheral surface of the recess provided on the tip surface of the projection piece 37. Thus, the movement of the movable portion 30 in the plane orthogonal to the thickness direction of the frame 31 is restricted.

  The movable contact base portion 34 is disposed between both ends of the movable portion 30 and the frame 31 in the longitudinal direction of the movable portion 30, and a movable contact made of a conductive material on a surface (lower surface) facing the base 5. Is fixed. Here, the movable contact base part 34 is supported by the movable part 30 via two contact pressure spring parts 35. In addition, since the stopper part 33 which restrict | limits the amount of armature displacement is integrally extended in the four corners of the movable part 30, respectively, the planar shape of the contact pressure spring part 35 is three sides of the outer periphery of the stopper part 33. It is formed in U shape along.

  The cover 4 is made of heat-resistant glass such as Pyrex (registered trademark), and a recess (not shown) that secures a swinging space of the movable portion 30 is formed on the surface facing the armature block 3. .

  Here, a metal thin film for bonding (not shown) is formed over the entire periphery of the surface (lower surface) facing the base 5 in the frame 31, and the periphery of the surface (upper surface) facing the cover 4. A metal thin film for bonding 38a is also formed on the entire portion over the entire circumference. Further, a metal thin film 55 for bonding is formed over the entire periphery of the surface of the base 5 facing the armature block 3 (upper surface), and the periphery of the surface of the cover 4 facing the armature block 3 (lower surface). In addition, a bonding metal thin film (not shown) is formed over the entire circumference. Therefore, the armature block 3, the cover 4 and the base 5 can be hermetically joined by pressure welding or anodic bonding, and the airtightness of the space surrounded by the base 5, the cover 4 and the frame 31 can be improved.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the basic mode will be described. When the coil 62 is energized, one end of the armature in the longitudinal direction is attracted to one leg piece 60b of the yoke 60 according to the direction of magnetization, and the movable part 30 swings, and the other end side of the movable part 30 The movable contact held by the movable contact base 34 contacts the pair of fixed contacts 50 facing each other with a predetermined contact pressure. Even if energization is stopped in this state, the attractive force is maintained by the magnetic flux generated by the permanent magnet 61, and the state is maintained as it is.

  Further, when the energization direction to the coil 62 is reversed, the other end portion of the armature in the longitudinal direction is attracted to the other leg piece 60b of the yoke 60, and the movable portion 30 swings. The movable contact held by the movable contact base 34 contacts the pair of fixed contacts 50 facing each other with a predetermined contact pressure. Even if energization is stopped in this state, the attractive force is maintained by the magnetic flux generated by the permanent magnet 61, and the state is maintained as it is.

(Basic form 2)
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, this basic form mainly includes a base 100, an armature block 200 provided on one surface (upper surface) side in the thickness direction of the base 100, and a side opposite to the base 100 side in the armature block 200. A cover 300 provided on the upper side and an electromagnet device 400 are provided.

  The base 100 is formed of, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped glass substrate. As shown in FIG. 5, a transmission line including a pair of signal lines 110 is formed on each of both ends in the longitudinal direction on the upper surface side of the base 100. ing. The signal lines 110 are all formed in a straight line, and the longitudinal direction thereof coincides with the short direction of the base 100. Further, the pair of signal lines 110 are arranged in a straight line along the short direction of the base 100. Here, a pair of external connection electrodes (not shown) are formed on both ends in the longitudinal direction on the other surface (lower surface) side in the thickness direction of the base 100. The pair of external connection electrodes are electrically connected to the pair of signal lines 110 and through the through holes (not shown) penetrating the base 100 in the thickness direction.

  A plurality of fixed contacts 120 electrically connected to the signal line 110 are formed on the upper surface side of the base 100. Each fixed contact 120 is connected to an end portion that is inside the base 100 in each signal line 110. Therefore, a pair of fixed contacts 120 are formed on each of the left and right ends of the base 100. In each signal line 110, an end portion that is outside the base 100 is electrically connected to the external connection electrode through the above-described through-hole wiring. The fixed contact 120 is a metal thin film made of a metal material having good conductivity such as Cu or Au, and is formed by using a sputtering method, an electroplating method, a vacuum deposition method, or the like. Further, the fixed contact 120 is not limited to a single layer structure, and may be a multilayer structure including, for example, an Au layer and a Ti layer interposed between the Au layer and the base 100.

  The armature block 200 mainly includes a movable part 210 and a frame 220. The frame 220 is formed in a rectangular frame shape, and the movable portion 210 is disposed in the opening of the frame 220. Here, the opening of the frame 220 includes a rectangular first opening 230 provided at the center of the frame 220 and a second opening 231 provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the frame 220. Including. The second opening 231 communicates with the first opening 230 at the center in the vertical direction. The outer dimensions of the frame 220 are the same as the outer dimensions of the base 100.

  The movable part 210 has a main body part 211 disposed in the first opening 230 of the frame 220. The main body 211 is formed in a rectangular plate shape, and is disposed in the first opening 230 so that its longitudinal direction is along the longitudinal direction of the frame 220. A contact protrusion 212 is provided at each central portion of both ends in the short direction of the main body 211, and the tip thereof is disposed in the second opening 231. A movable contact 213 is provided on a surface (lower surface) of the contact protrusion 212 facing the base 100 (see FIG. 6). The movable contact 213 is configured to short-circuit between the pair of fixed contacts 120 when contacting the pair of fixed contacts 120. The movable contact 213 is a metal thin film made of a metal material such as Cu or Au, like the fixed contact 120, and is formed using a sputtering method, an electroplating method, a vacuum deposition method, or the like. Further, the movable contact 213 is not limited to a single layer structure, and may have a multilayer structure like the fixed contact 120 described above.

  On the other hand, a fulcrum protrusion 214 projects from the center of the surface (upper surface) of the main body 211 facing the cover 300. The fulcrum protrusion 214 is used as a fulcrum for the swinging operation (seesaw operation) of the movable portion 210.

  Such a movable portion 210 is integrally connected to the frame 220 by a plurality of (four in the drawing) support pieces 240. Each of the support pieces 240 is configured to integrally connect the inner side surface of the first opening 230 of the frame 220 in the longitudinal direction and the outer side surface of the main body 211 in the short direction. The four support pieces 240 are arranged so as to be point-symmetric about the center of the main body 211. Further, the support piece 240 is formed in a meandering shape so as to advance and retreat in a direction along the longitudinal direction of the main body portion 211 within a plane orthogonal to the thickness direction. As a result, the movable portion 210 is swingably supported by the frame 220. Further, each support piece 240 is formed in a meandering shape to increase the length dimension, and the stress applied to the support piece 240 when the movable portion 210 swings is dispersed.

In the above-described armature block 200, the movable part 210, the frame 220, and the support piece 240 are formed on the semiconductor substrate 25 having a thickness of, for example, about 50 μm to 300 μm, preferably about 200 μm, by a semiconductor micromachining technique such as a photolithography technique and an etching technique. It is integrally formed by patterning using it. The semiconductor substrate 25 is an SOI (two-layer SOI) substrate in which semiconductor layers made of silicon and insulating layers made of silicon oxide (SiO ₂ ) are alternately stacked.

  An armature 500 is provided on a surface (upper surface) of the main body 211 of the movable unit 210 facing the cover 300. The armature 500 is used for swinging the movable part 210 by a magnetic field generated by the electromagnet device 400. The armature 500 is formed into a rectangular plate shape by machining a magnetic material such as electromagnetic soft iron, electromagnetic stainless steel, or permalloy, and is joined to the main body 211 by a method such as adhesion, welding, heat fitting, or brazing. In addition, a reinforcing member 600 that holds the armature 500 on the movable portion 210 and reinforces the movable portion 210 is provided on the side of the movable portion 210 facing the base 100 (lower surface). In order to avoid an increase in the thickness of the micro relay due to the reinforcing member 600, the base 100 is provided with a recess 130 that avoids the reinforcing member 600 (see FIG. 5).

  The armature block 200 described above is attached to the upper surface side of the base 100 by joining the frame 220 to the base 100 with the movable contact 213 and the pair of fixed contacts 120 facing each other.

  The cover 300 is formed of, for example, a glass substrate that is an insulating material, and the outer dimensions thereof are equal to the outer dimensions of the base 100. Thus, the cover 300 is formed in a size that can close the opening of the frame 220. An opening 310 that penetrates in the thickness direction is formed at the center of the surface (upper surface) opposite to the frame 220 side of the cover 300. The opening 310 is formed in a size that can accommodate the electromagnet device 400, and a closing plate 320 that closes the entire opening 310 is tightly bonded to a surface (lower surface) on the frame 220 side. The closing plate 320 is made of, for example, a silicon plate or a glass plate having a thickness of about 5 to 50 μm (preferably about 20 μm). A space surrounded by the inner peripheral surface of the opening 310 and the closing plate 320 constitutes a storage chamber of the electromagnet device 400. The cover 300 described above is joined to the surface (upper surface) of the frame 220 opposite to the base 100 side.

  The electromagnet device 400 generates a magnetic field that attracts the armature 500 and includes a permanent magnet 410 for latching the movable portion 210. The electromagnet device 400 mainly includes a yoke 420 and a pair of coils 430. The yoke 420 is integrally provided with a long rectangular plate-shaped main piece 421 and rectangular plate-shaped leg pieces 422 projecting from both ends in the longitudinal direction on the surface side (lower surface side) of the main piece 421. . Such a yoke 420 is formed by bending or forging an iron plate such as electromagnetic soft iron. The permanent magnet 410 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is magnetized so that one surface side and the other surface side in the thickness direction have different polarities. The permanent magnet 410 is attached to the yoke 420 such that the other surface is in contact with the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the lower surface of the main piece 421 of the yoke 420. The pair of coils 430 is disposed at each portion of the main piece 421 between each leg piece 422 and the permanent magnet 410.

  Further, the electromagnet device 400 is provided with a pair of coil terminals (not shown). By applying a voltage between the pair of coil terminals, a current flows through both coils 430. Such an electromagnet device 400 is stored in the storage chamber of the cover 300. Here, a linear wiring pattern (not shown) is formed on the surface (upper surface) of the cover 300 opposite to the armature block 200 side, and a coil terminal is soldered to one end of the wiring pattern. Etc. are electrically connected.

  A drive electrode (not shown) for energizing both coils 430 is provided on the lower surface side of the base 100, and the base 100 is located at a position where the drive electrode and the other end of the wiring pattern overlap in the thickness direction. A through hole (not shown) penetrating the armature block 200 and the cover 300 in the thickness direction is provided. A through-hole wiring (not shown) is formed in the through-hole, and the drive electrode and the coil terminal are electrically connected through the through-hole wiring and the wiring pattern.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the basic mode will be described. When energization of both the coils 430 is performed, one end of the armature 500 in the longitudinal direction is attracted to one leg piece 422 of the yoke 420 according to the direction of magnetization, and the main body 211 of the movable unit 210 swings. The movable contact 213 provided on the contact protrusion 212 on one end in the longitudinal direction of the main body 211 comes into contact with the pair of fixed contacts 120 facing each other with a predetermined contact pressure. Even if energization is stopped in this state, the attractive force is maintained by the magnetic flux generated by the permanent magnet 410, and the state is maintained as it is.

  Further, when the energization direction of both the coils 430 is reversed, the other end portion of the armature 500 in the longitudinal direction is attracted to the other leg piece 422 of the yoke 420, and the main body portion 211 of the movable portion 210 swings. The movable contact 213 provided on the contact protrusion 212 on the other end side in the longitudinal direction of the portion 211 comes into contact with a pair of fixed contacts 120 facing each other with a predetermined contact pressure. Even if energization is stopped in this state, the attractive force is maintained by the magnetic flux generated by the permanent magnet 410, and the state is maintained as it is.

  As described above, since the electromagnet device 400 is housed in the opening 310 of the cover 300 in this basic embodiment, the thickness of the base 100 can be reduced compared to the case where the electromagnet device 400 is housed in the base 100. it can. For this reason, the through-hole wiring for connecting the fixed contact 120 to the external connection electrode can be shortened, and the high frequency characteristics can be improved. In addition, since the distance between the electromagnet device 400 and the fixed contact 120 can be increased, the influence of the magnetic field generated by the electromagnet device 400 can be reduced.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, a contact device according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the vertical and horizontal directions in FIG. 1B are defined as the vertical and horizontal directions. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, a pair of fixed contacts 10a provided on a transmission line 1 wired to a base A which is a substrate (for example, a glass substrate), A pair of movable contacts 20 (in the figure, one) that can freely contact and separate from each fixed contact 10a, and a movable contact 20 that swings between a position where the movable contact 20 contacts the fixed contact 10a and a position where the movable contact 20 opens. A movable part 2 (only part of which is shown) is provided. The movable portion 2 of the present embodiment swings when a rectangular plate armature (not shown) provided on one surface (lower surface) facing the base A is attracted by an electromagnet device (not shown). It is supposed to be.

  The movable portion 2 is formed in a rectangular plate shape, and a movable contact 20 is provided on one surface (lower surface) facing the base A at both ends in the longitudinal direction. A fulcrum protrusion (not shown) protruding upward is provided at a portion of the base A that faces the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the movable part 2, and when the fulcrum protrusion swings the movable part 2. It becomes the fulcrum of

  The transmission line 1 has a base A based on a pair of center conductors 10 forming a signal line and a pair of ground conductors 11 arranged on the same plane at a certain interval on both sides of each center conductor 10. A coplanar line is formed by forming on the upper surface of the. In this embodiment, the ground conductor 11 is formed not only on the upper surface (front surface) of the base A but also on the entire lower surface (rear surface). However, the ground conductor 11 may not be provided on the lower surface of the base A. Further, the fixed contact 10a is provided on the upper surface of the inner end of each central conductor 10 facing each other. When the movable contact 20 comes into contact with the fixed contact 10a, the contact is closed. The center conductor 10 and the ground conductor 11 are made of, for example, gold (Au), silver (Ag), copper (Cu), platinum (Pt), iridium (Ir), titanium (Ti), ruthenium (Ru), nickel ( Ni), aluminum (Al), cobalt (Co), magnesium (Mg), or other metal materials, or a composite metal material thereof.

  Here, when the transmission line 1 is composed of a coplanar line, an electric field is generated at a portion where each center conductor 10 and each ground conductor 11 on the upper surface of the base A are opposed to each other, so that each center conductor 10 and each ground conductor 11 are mutually connected. Current concentrates and distributes in adjacent parts. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a thick film portion 11a having a thickness dimension larger than that of other portions of the ground conductor 11 is formed in a portion near each center conductor 10 in each ground conductor 11 on the upper surface of the base A. That is, only the thickness dimension of the thick film portion 11a and each central conductor 10 of each ground conductor 11 is increased, and the thickness dimension of the other part of each ground conductor 11 is decreased.

  As described above, by increasing only the thickness dimension in the vicinity of the portion where the current is concentrated and distributed, the signal transmission characteristics are improved in the same manner as when the thickness dimension of the entire ground conductor 11 on the upper surface of the base A is increased. be able to. Therefore, it is not necessary to increase the thickness of the entire ground conductor 11 on the upper surface of the base A, and the signal transmission characteristics can be improved without increasing the cost. The width d of the thick film portion 11a is preferably set to about 10 to 300 μm in view of the current distribution. Further, in view of the current distribution, as shown in FIG. 1 (c), in each ground conductor 11 on the upper surface of the base A, a corner portion (a dotted line portion in the figure) that is a boundary between the thick film portion 11a and another portion. A taper may be provided on the reference).

(Embodiment 2)
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the contact device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Since the basic configuration of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, common portions are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. 2 shows a portion of the transmission line 1 where the fixed contact 10a is not provided, and therefore the illustration of the fixed contact 10a, the movable portion 2, and the movable contact 20 is omitted. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the thickness of the central conductor 10 in the vicinity of each ground conductor 11 on the upper surface of the base A is larger than the other portions of the central conductor 10. It is characterized in that the film part 10b is formed. That is, only the thickness dimension of the thick film portions 10b and 11a of the center conductor 10 and each ground conductor 11 is increased, and the thickness dimension of other portions of the center conductor 10 and each ground conductor 11 is decreased.

  As described above, by forming the thick film portion 10b only in the portion where the current is concentrated and distributed in the center conductor 10, the signal transmission characteristics are improved as in the case where the thickness of the entire center conductor 10 is increased. be able to. Therefore, it is not necessary to increase the thickness dimension of the entire central conductor 10, and the signal transmission characteristics can be improved while further reducing the cost. As shown in FIGS. 2C and 2D, when the thickness of the entire ground conductor 11 on the upper surface of the base A is increased, the effect of suppressing the cost is reduced, but the signal transmission characteristics are further improved. Can be made.

(Embodiment 3)
Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the contact device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Since the basic configuration of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, common portions are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. 3 shows a portion of the transmission line 1 where the fixed contact 10a is not provided, and therefore the illustration of the fixed contact 10a, the movable portion 2, and the movable contact 20 is omitted. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the thick film portions 11a of the ground conductors 11 on the upper surface of the base A penetrate the base A in the thickness direction and the ground conductor 11 on the upper surface of the base A. And a through electrode 11b that electrically connects the ground conductor 11 on the lower surface of the base A. The through electrode 11b has one or more (four in the figure) through holes formed in the thick film portions 11a of the ground conductors 11 on the upper surface of the base A, and the through holes are filled with a conductive paste. To be provided.

  Here, when the ground conductor 11 is provided on each of the upper surface and the lower surface of the base A, each ground conductor 11 is not equipotential, so that there is a problem that signal transmission characteristics deteriorate when a high frequency signal is handled. Therefore, by configuring as described above, the potential of each ground conductor 11 is kept equal even when a high-frequency signal is handled, so that the signal transmission characteristics can be improved.

  By the way, in this embodiment, the through electrode 11b is provided by filling the through hole with a conductive paste. However, the through electrode 11b may be provided by plating the inner surface of the through hole. Examples of the plating material in this case include gold (Au), silver (Ag), copper (Cu), platinum (Pt), iridium (Ir), titanium (Ti), ruthenium (Ru), and nickel (Ni). Alternatively, a metal material such as aluminum (Al), cobalt (Co), magnesium (Mg), or a composite metal material thereof may be used. Alternatively, the through electrode 11b may be provided by bottom-up plating in which the ground conductor 11 on the upper surface or the lower surface of the base A is used as a seed layer.

  In addition, the contact device of each said embodiment is employable in any of the basic forms 1 and 2. When the contact device of each of the above embodiments is adopted as the basic form 1, the conductive pattern 51 is the central conductor 10, the fixed contact 50 is the fixed contact 10a, the movable contact provided on the movable contact base 34 is the movable contact 20, The transmission line 1 may be configured by replacing the movable part 30 with the movable part 2 and separately providing the ground conductor 11 with the center conductor 10 interposed therebetween. Further, when the contact device of this embodiment is adopted as the basic form 2, the signal line 110 is the central conductor 10, the fixed contact 120 is the fixed contact 10a, the movable contact 213 is the movable contact 20, and the movable part 210 is the movable part 2. The transmission line 1 may be configured by replacing each of them and separately providing a ground conductor 11 with the central conductor 10 interposed therebetween. Of course, the relay provided with the contact device of the present invention is not limited to the micro relay of the above basic form, and the contact device of the present invention may be adopted for a relay and a micro relay having other structures. . In addition, the driving device for swinging the movable portion is not limited to the electromagnetic driving type, and for example, an electrostatic driving type driving device may be adopted.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transmission line 10 Center conductor 10a Fixed contact 11 Ground conductor 11a Thick film part 2 Movable part 20 Movable contact

Claims (6)

  A transmission line that forms a coplanar line from a central conductor that forms a signal line, and ground conductors that are arranged on the same surface at a certain distance from the central conductor on both sides of the central conductor, and a fixed line provided on the central conductor of the transmission line A contact device having a contact, a movable contact that can be moved to and away from the fixed contact, and a movable part that has a movable contact and is swingable between a position where the movable contact contacts the fixed contact and a position where the movable contact opens. A contact device in which a thick film portion having a thickness larger than that of other portions of the ground conductor is formed in a portion of the ground conductor near the central conductor.   2. The contact device according to claim 1, wherein a thick film portion having a thickness dimension larger than that of other portions of the center conductor is formed in a portion of the center conductor near the ground conductor.   The transmission line includes a central conductor and a ground conductor disposed on one surface in the thickness direction of the substrate and a ground conductor disposed on the other surface, and the substrate is disposed in the thickness direction on the thick conductor portion of the ground conductor. 3. The contact device according to claim 1, further comprising a through electrode that penetrates and electrically connects the ground conductor on one side and the ground conductor on the other side.   A relay comprising: the contact device according to any one of claims 1 to 3; and a drive device that drives a movable portion so that the movable contact is in contact with and away from the fixed contact.   5. The relay according to claim 4, wherein the driving device is a micro relay comprising an electromagnet device that swings the movable portion by generating a magnetic field that is made of a magnetic material and attracts an armature provided on the movable portion. A base in which a storage portion for storing an electromagnet device is formed and a fixed contact and a transmission line are provided on one side in the thickness direction, a frame-like frame fixed to the one side of the base, and a frame that is swingable A microrelay comprising: an armature block having a movable part to be supported and an armature; and a cover having a peripheral part fixed to a frame on the opposite side of the base of the armature block.   5. The relay according to claim 4, wherein the driving device is a micro relay comprising an electromagnet device that swings the movable portion by generating a magnetic field that is made of a magnetic material and attracts an armature provided on the movable portion. An armature having a base provided with a fixed contact and a transmission line on one surface side in the thickness direction, a frame-like frame fixed to the one surface side of the base, and a movable portion and an armature that are swingably supported by the frame A microrelay comprising: a block; and a cover having a peripheral portion fixed to a frame on the opposite side of the base of the armature block and having a storage portion for storing an electromagnet device.

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