Development of a new IC-controlled interchangeable AC and DC contactor

摘要

In this paper, we aim at developing an interchangeable electromagnetic contactor that essentially features with high power efficiency, low electromagnetic noise, and high power resource usage. The magnetic coils of the new IC-controlled method can be excited by AC or DC voltage and the range of the operating voltage is shown to be much larger than the conventional contactor. This leads to a wider area of applications for the new contactor. According to the electric performance requirement, the pulse width modulation (PWM), which provides the suitable energy for the exciting coils under the different operating condition, is implemented in the proposed contactor. This is resulted in a stable operation between make or break phase of the contactor and greatly reduced in the electromagnetic noise and energy loss for the exciting coils. Thus, the lifespan of operation of the contactor can be greatly extended. In order to prove the validity of the proposed IC-controlled method, several experiments had been conducted and the results are shown the feasibility and reliability of the new design.