Alps Electric launches new brake system solution

    Recently, Alps Electric announced the launch of a new automotive electronic brake micro switch series called SPVQC. (A micro switch is a switch with a small contact spacing and a snap-action mechanism. It uses a specified stroke and a specified force to perform a switch action. It is covered with a shell and has a drive rod on the outside. The external mechanical force acts on the action reed through the transmission element. When the action reed moves to the critical point, an instantaneous action is generated, causing the moving contact at the end of the action reed to quickly connect or disconnect with the fixed contact. When the force on the transmission element is removed, the action reed generates a reverse action force. When the reverse stroke of the transmission element reaches the critical point of the action of the reed, the reverse action is completed instantly.) Alps Electric's SPVQC micro switch series began mass production in June 2013.

    With the continuous advancement of automotive electronics, more and more cars in the US, Europe and South Korea are equipped with electric parking brake systems. The purpose of this type of system is to improve vehicle safety, so it is often regarded as an automatic fail-safe device (an automatic fail-safe device is a remedial mechanism after an accident occurs in the system). So far, the on-board electric parking brake system generally uses two micro switches, which has the problem that the two micro switches cannot be synchronized at low speeds. At the same time, because the micro switch adopts a contact structure, when the current is extremely small, the micro switch may cause contact failure due to point contact or other conditions.

    In addition, as more and more surface mount components are used in devices such as LEDs in vehicle electric parking brake systems, this also requires that micro switches have the same reflow soldering characteristics as other surface mount components.

    The SPVQC series launched by Alps Electric is a surface mount two-pole sliding contact microswitch. Alps Electric's previous product SPVQ9 series belongs to this type of microswitch, which adopts a dual-circuit sliding contact structure. The SPVQ9 series has been well received since its launch and has occupied as much as 50% of the European market share (this data comes from Alps Electric's research report). Alps Electric's SPVQC series microswitch uses the same structural composition as the SPVQ9 series, but the SPVQC series uses a high-impedance switch, which ensures the reliability of the microswitch under vibration and impact. In addition, Alps Electric has also optimized the mechanical design and precision processing of the SPVQC series, improved its internal structure, and reduced its overall width by 1 mm.

    Alps Electric's SPVQC series micro switches use double-sided movable contacts, and their sliding contact structure can clamp the contact points in both directions. This structure ensures that the micro switch can ensure good switch contact under any circumstances. Coupled with the unique small contact spacing of the micro switch, Alps Electric's SPVQC series micro switches can be freely controlled at any position and speed, thus greatly improving their switch reliability.

    The switching frequency of the Alps Electric SPVQC series micro switches is the same as the SPVQ9 series, and its switching frequency can reach 15 milliseconds regardless of the speed. At this switching frequency, the automatic fail-safe device of the equipment can be equipped with a single switch, which not only reduces costs but also saves space.

    Alps Electric's SPVQC series micro switches meet IP67 (IP67 specifically refers to the protection safety level of the mobile phone industry. IP is the abbreviation of Ingress Protection Rating or International Protection code, which defines the protection ability of an interface against liquid and solid particles. The explanation of IP67 is protection against dust inhalation, overall prevention of contact, protection against dust penetration; protection against short-term immersion) waterproof and dustproof rating.

    The overall size of the Alps Electric SPVQC series micro switch is 15.4*7.4*7.5 mm. The first batch of samples was launched in May 2013, and mass production began in June 2013 at Wuxi Alps Electric Co., Ltd. The price is RMB 350 (tax included), and the monthly output is planned to be 400,000 pieces in October 2013. Under the highest load, its service life is 300,000 times.