Slip ring brush having a galvanic multi-layer system

Abstract

A slip ring arrangement comprises a brush with a first contact material on the surface, which rests on a slideway with a second contact material on the surface. The slideway further comprises a layer with a third contact material beneath the second contact material. In this case, the abrasion of the brush is lower than that of the second contact material in the case of a sliding contact between the brush and the second contact material. In the case of a sliding contact between the brush and third contact material, the abrasion of the brush is higher than that of third contact material. As a result, the second contact material of the slideway is degraded first, which corresponds to the normal service life of a slideway. Subsequently, the brush is worn off relative to the third contact material, by means of which a further considerable extension in the service life is achieved.

Claims

1. A slip ring assembly, comprising: a brush with a first contact material coupled to a surface of the brush; and a slideway in contact with the brush, the comprising a base, second and third contact materials coupled to a surface of the base, where a layer of the third contact material is disposed between the base and a layer of the second contact material, wherein the assembly is configured such that: when the brush is in sliding contact with the second contact material of the slideway, the abrasion of the first contact material of the brush is less than the abrasion of the second contact material of the slideway, and in the event that the layer of the second contact material of the slideway is worn through and the brush is in sliding contact with the layer of the third contact material of the slideway, the abrasion of the first contact material of the brush will be higher than the abrasion of the third contact material of the slideway and the slip ring assembly can continue to function.

2. A slip ring assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the hardness of the second contact material is lower than the hardness of the first contact material.

3. A slip ring assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that the hardness of the third contact material is higher than the hardness of the first contact material.

4. A slip ring assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the hardness of the third contact material is higher than the hardness of the first contact material.

5. A slip ring assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the layer of the third contact material of the slideway has a smooth surface.

6. A slip ring assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the layer of the third contact material of the slideway has a roughness height of less than 1 m.

7. A method for producing a slideway for sliding contact with a brush having a base, a first contact material on a surface of the brush, the method comprising: coating a surface of the base of the slideway with a layer of a third contact material that is configured to, in sliding contact with the brush, have a lower abrasion than the first contact material of the brush; coating the layer of the third contact material with layer of a second contact material that is configured to, in sliding contact with the brush, have a higher abrasion than the first contact material of the brush, so that a slip ring assembly comprising the brush and the slideway can continue to function in the event that the layer of the second contact material is worn through.

8. A method according to claim 7, characterized in that the hardness of the second contact material is lower than the hardness of the first contact material.

9. A method according to claim 8, characterized in that the hardness of the third contact material is higher than the hardness of the first contact material.

10. A method according to claim 7, characterized in that the hardness of the third contact material is higher than the hardness of the first contact material.

11. A method according to claim 7, characterized in that the layer of the third contact material of the slideway has a smooth surface.

12. A method according to claim 7, characterized in that the layer of the third contact material of the slideway has a roughness height of less than 1 m.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In the following, the invention will be described by way of example, without limitation of the general inventive concept, on examples of embodiment and with reference to the drawings.

(2) FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a slip ring assembly of general form;

(4) FIGS. 3A-3C show various steps of the abrasion;

(5) FIG. 4 shows a brush with visible wear and tear;

(6) While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(7) FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment. The brush 10 comprises a layer 11 made of a first contact material, which ma be a first gold alloy. Alternatively, the brush can also completely consist of said first contact material. It runs in a V-shaped groove of the slideway 30 and rests on the contact points 50, 51 on the slideway. The slideway 30 comprises a bottom layer 32 with a third contact material which may be a third gold alloy and an upper layer 31 with a second contact material, which may be a second gold alloy. The layers of the contact materials are shown in the drawings in a clearly enlarged manner in order to provide better illustration to the drawings. Actually, it is preferred to have the layer thicknesses are in the range of approximately 3 m to 5 m.

(8) FIG. 2 shows a slip ring assembly of general form. At least one brush 10 runs on a slideway 30, which brush is held by a brush-holder device 20.

(9) FIGS. 3A-3C show various stages of the abrasion. In this respect, FIG. 3A shows the new state with completely arranged and non-abraded layers made of contact materials 11, 31, 32. FIG. 3B shows a worn upper layer 31 with a second contact material of the slideway. In this case, the layer 11 with the first contact material of the brush is still without any wearing phenomena. Further use of the slip ring leads to wear and tear of this layer too, so that the state shown in FIG. 3C occurs. In the event that the brush has a core of a non-contact material such as steel for example, the wearing threshold is reached. If the brush should consist massively of the first contact material, its use can further be continued.

(10) FIG. 4 shows a side view of a brush 10 with worn contact material. A material defect has occurred at position 12 by sliding on the slideway. It can be used for indicating wear and tear. As long as the brush is without defects in the material, the upper layer 31 with the second contact material of the slideway is obviously still worn off and a wearing threshold has not yet been reached. Only when material defects occur on the brush will it slide in the bottom layer 32 of the slideway. An exchange or a renewal of the slideway should now occur in this state.

(11) It will be appreciated to those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that this invention is believed to provide contacting sliprings, sliding tracks and brushes thereof used for the transmission of electrical signals. Further modifications and alternative embodiments of various aspects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of this description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the general manner of carrying out the invention. It is to be understood that the forms of the invention shown and described herein are to be taken as the presently preferred embodiments. Elements and materials may be substituted for those illustrated and described herein, parts and processes may be reversed, and certain features of the invention may be utilized independently, all as would be apparent to one skilled in the art after having the benefit of this description of the invention. Changes may be made in the elements described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the following claims.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

(12) 10 Brush 11 Layer with first contact material 12 Material defect on the brush 20 Brush-holder support 30 Slideway 31 Upper layer with second contact material 32 Bottom layer with third contact material 40 Slideway support 50, 51 Contact points