CA1070738A - Cartridge type fuse and fusible element therefor - Google Patents

Cartridge type fuse and fusible element therefor

Info

Publication number
CA1070738A
CA1070738A CA252,954A CA252954A CA1070738A CA 1070738 A CA1070738 A CA 1070738A CA 252954 A CA252954 A CA 252954A CA 1070738 A CA1070738 A CA 1070738A
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
fuse
short
turns
winding
sections
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
CA252,954A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
David G. E. Beswick
Stanley Wright
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Kenneth E Beswick Ltd
Original Assignee
Kenneth E Beswick Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Kenneth E Beswick Ltd filed Critical Kenneth E Beswick Ltd
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1070738A publication Critical patent/CA1070738A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01HELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H85/00Protective devices in which the current flows through a part of fusible material and this current is interrupted by displacement of the fusible material when this current becomes excessive
    • H01H85/02Details
    • H01H85/04Fuses, i.e. expendable parts of the protective device, e.g. cartridges
    • H01H85/05Component parts thereof
    • H01H85/055Fusible members
    • H01H85/08Fusible members characterised by the shape or form of the fusible member
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01HELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H69/00Apparatus or processes for the manufacture of emergency protective devices
    • H01H69/02Manufacture of fuses

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A fuse element for a cartridge fuse-link comprises a thin metal wire helically wound about a thin flexible core consisting of an electrically and heat insulating filament. Spaced sections of the winding at opposite ends of the fuse element are metallised so as to short-circuit the turns in these sections. The short-circuit sections are electrically interconnected by the active turns of an intermediate section which constitutes the fusible link. The fuse element is disposed in an insulating cartridge with its short-circuit sections connected to conductive end caps on the cartridge.

Description

~7~3~

B~ICGROUND OF T~IF INVENTION
The prosent inVentiQn relates to electrical f`use-li~cs for pro-tecting electrîcal and e:Lectronic equipment.
British Patent No. 1,304,629 in the name of Olvis Smeltze1ceringen~ Fabriek~ N.V. and dated 1Oth May, 1971, describes a fuse element consisting o-f a very thin or fine wire helically wound about a rlgidified insulating core. The lat-ter serves to support the ~ire and prevent sagging thereof and also provldes handling strength for the fuse element. The core should be heat-resistlve and be a good heat insulator and not maintain combustion, as well as being an electrical insulator and should be thin so that its heat dissipation can be sllbstantially ne~lected.
thin rigidifiod core made from a fibre or filament of glass-fibre material has the required properties and its mana~e~
ability allows the core to be sufficiently thin for its heat dissipation to be substantially neglected. The thin wire is wound onto the thin ri~idified core in a multiplicity of closely spaced turns. ~-One disadvantage which has been experienced Wit}l the type of fuse element comprising a thin core supporting the windings of a thin fuse wire 9 is the relativelr high resistance which results from a large number of turns of the wire wound on the core and one objec-t of the present invention is -to reduce or overcome -this disadvantage.
Another object is to provide a low resistance fuse element o~ this type which has impro~ed time-lag or timè~delay characteristics.
SU~RY OF T~ INV~NTION
From one aspect, the present inventlon consi~ts . .

. .

' ~(1 7~731~

:in a f-lsc elemcnt comprislng:-(a) a thin flexlble electrically inslllating andheat lnsulatlng filament core, (b) R fuse windlng comprising a thin metal fllse wire helically wound wlth a multiplici-ty of turns about said core, ~ c) said winding including spaced lon~itudinal sections disposed respectively at opposi-te ends of said core and spaced apart by an intermediate section of said windin~, (d) each of said spaced sections including multiple turns of said windin~, and (o) mcarls short-circuiting the said multiplc turns of each of said spaced sections, (f) said short~circuited turns of saicL spaced ~ ~ _ sections bein~ electrically interco~nected by the active turns of said in-termediate section of said winding.
It is only the acti~e -turns of the intermediate section of the winding which cons-titute the fusible link and these active turns may be relatively few in number.
The fuse element according to the lnvention is particularly suitable for makin~ lo~r-resistance time~la~
fuse-links intended to rupture at lo~ current ~alues 9 for example, below 7 ~mps, The thin flexible core is convenient-ly made from a fibre or fil~nent of ~lass-fibre material and its di~neter is preferably not greater than 0.030 inches.
The thin metal wire preferably has a well-defined melting point and a diameter not greater than 0.015 inches.
The fuse element may be secured between electrically conductive terminals at opposite ends of a cartricLge or `~1,,~ ) ~C~7~73~

container with its short-circuited sectloll~ eo.~lected to the tcrminals9 -tho .intermediate sec-tion consisting of the acti~o turns o~ the windirl~ being disposed approximately midway be-tween the terminals in thc centre of the cartrid~e.
From c~-other aspeet, the inventioll consists in a method of m~nufacturing a cartridge f~lse-link comprisin~
the steps of:-~a) helically winding a thin metal fuse wire with a multiplicity of turns about a thin fle~ible core consisting of an electrically insulating and hea-t insulatin~
filament, (b) short~circuiting mlll-tiple turns in two spaced longitudinal sections of the windin~, and (c) mountin~ the fuse element thus formed in a tubular lnsulating cartridge with said short-cireuited longitudinal sections in electrical contact ~ith electrically conductive terl~inals secured to opposite ends of said cartridge.
The fusa alement may be produeed by continuously winding said f-use wlre abo~t a eontinuous filament~ cutting -the wound filament into perdetermined lengths, and then short-eireuiting the turns in spaced longitudinal seetions of the winding at and ad~acent opposite ends of a cut length so as to form said fuse element. Alternatively, it ~ay be produced by eontinuously windin~ said fuse wire about a eontinuous filament 9 short~eircuiting the tu-r.ns in a plurality of longitudirlal sections of the winding spaced ~-apart along said filament 9 and cutting the wound filament ; at positions intermadiate the ends of consecuti~e short-circuited longitudinal sections so as to :form said fuso .

1~7~373~

e lcmen t .
The t~lr.ns of tho ~lnding may be shor-t-circuited in a mmlber of different ways. In a preferred form o~
the invent:ion, the spaced longitlldinal sections of -the 5 winding> are metallised wi-th a solder coating after the winding s-tep. IIowcver, tlle scction~ may be short-circuited by any other suitable me~ns.
The sbor-t-circuited sections of the fuse elemen.t result in a considerable reduction in the elec-trica.l ~.
resistance of a fuse-linlc incorporating such a ~lse elemen-t. The short-circuited sections also serve to stiffen the fuse element and make it more manageable.
Whilst the thin metal wire is conveniently wound onto the f lexlble core in a multipliclty of closely spaced turns, it is also possible to provide the wire with an insulating coating and to wind it on the core so that its turns are in contiguous relation. The present invention is equally applicable to such a constructlon, the insulating cDating on the wire readily being destroyed in those sections of the winding which are to be short-circuited by the application of heat upon metallisation of the sections, or any other means. An insulated wire is particularly advantageous for producing very low current fuses, for example, less than 250mA. The very flne fuse wires used at such values tend to dissolve in the solder upon metallisation and an insulating coating reduces or avoids this tendancy~

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Figure l illustrates, on an enlarged scale~
a piece of fuse element material made in accordance with the invention, and Figure 2 is an axial section through a cartridge fuse-link embodying the invention.
DESCRIPTIO~ 0~ P~ ~ Rl~ ~M~UUIM~NIS
Referring to Figure l of the drawings, the use element material is produced by winding a thin metal wire 1 `
having a well-defined melting poin~ for example a copper or silver wire, about a thin flexible fibrous filament 2, for example9 a glass-fibre thread. The wire is wound on the core in a multiplicity of c`losely spaced turns.

~'71~738 Consecuti~e longitudinal sections or regions 3 o ths winding spaced at intervals along the core a~e then metallised with a solder coating so as to short-circuit the turns in those sections. The short-circulted sections 3 are electrically interconnected by intermediate sections 4 having unshort-circuited or active turns. The fuse element material may be readily manufactured by an automated process.
The ratio of metallised to unmetalllsed sections, the winding pitch, wire material and diameter and core diameter can all be varied to obtain different current rattngs and blowing or melting characteristics for the fuse elements to be fonmed from the fuse material.
The fuse elemer~t material is formed into individual fuse elements by cutting the material at positions intermediate the ends of consecutive metallised sections 3 so as to produce a fuse element having metallised sections at opposite ends thereof interconnected by the active ~urns of an intermediate section 4. The fuse element thus produced may be mounted in a cartridge or container of non-conductive material and be electrically connected to end terminations which serve as electrical terminals for connecting the fuse-link in an electrical circuit~ One such cartridge fuse~link is illustrated in Figure 2. It comprises a glass tube 6, or a tube made from another insulating material, having metal end caps 7 which ser~e as electrical terminals for conne~ing the use-link in an electrical circuit. ThP fuse element 5 is moun~ed in the tube by gripping the metallised sections 3 of ; 30 the element between the end caps and the tube at opposite 73~

ends of the latter. A sealing material 8 is provided on the inside of each end cap between the adjacent end of the tube and the end wall of the cap.
In the resulting fuse-link, only the relatively few turns of the winding in the intenmediate section 4 perform the fuction of active fusing and the fuse-link has considerably less electrical resistance than hitherto kno~n fuse-links having a fuse element formed from fine metal wire wound on a flexible insulating core. Moreover, the metallised sections at each end of the fuse element serve to stiffen the element and make it more manageable during assembly of the fuse-link.
Whilst particular embodiments have been described, it will be understood that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. For example, in an alternative embodiment to that shown in Figure 2, ~he metallised ends of the fuse element 5 may be soldered to the central portions of the end caps 7 instead of being gripped between the caps and the ad~acent portions of the tube 6.

.

Claims (10)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. A fuse element comprising:-(a) a thin flexible electrically insulating and heat insulating filament core, (b) a fuse winding comprising a thin metal fuse wire helically wound with a multiplicity of turns about said core, (c) said winding including spaced longitudinal sections disposed respectively at opposite ends of said core and spaced apart by an intermediate section of said winding, (d) each of said spaced sections including multiple turns of said winding, and (c) means short-circuiting the said multiple turns of each of said spaced sections, (f) said short-circuited turns of said spaced sections being electrically interconnected by the active turns of said intermediate section of said winding.
2. A fuse element as claimed in claim 1, wherein said short-circuiting means comprises solder coatings on said spaced longitudinal sections of the winding.
3. A fuse element as claimed in claim 1 9 wherein said fuse wire has an insulating coating and is helically wound onto the core with its turns in contiguous relation.
4. A fuse element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the diameter of said fuse wire is not greater than 0.015 inches and the diameter of said core is not greater than 0,030 inches.
5. A fuse element as claimed in claim 1, wherein (a) said thin metal fuse wire has a well-defined melting point, (b) said flexible core consists of a thread of twisted glass fibres, c) said wire has an insulating coating.
d) and said short-circuiting means consists of solder coatings over said longitudinal sections at opposite ends of said core, whereby said insulating coating is destroyed in said sections which are short-circuited by said solder coatings.
6. A cartridge fuse-link including a fuse element as claimed in claim 1, comprising:-a) a tubular insulating cartridge, b) electrically conductive end caps secured to opposite ends of said cartridge, c) said fuse-element being secured between said end caps with its short-circuited longitudinal sections in electrical contact with said caps.
7. A method of manufacturing a cartridge fuse-link comprising the steps of:-a) helically winding a thin metal fuse wire with a multiplicity of turns about a thin flexible core consisting of an electrically insulating and heat insulating filament, b) short-circuiting the turns of two spaced longitudinal sections of the winding, and c) mounting the fuse element thus formed in a tubular insulating cartridge with said short-circuited longitudinal sections in electrical contact with electrically conductive terminals secured to opposite ends of said cartridge.
8. A method as claimed in claim 7, including the steps of:-a) continuously winding said fuse wire about a continuous filament, b) cutting the wound filament into predetermined lengths, and c) short-circuiting the turns in spaced longitudinal sections of multiple winding at and adjacent opposite ends in a cut length so as to form said fuse element.
9. A method as claimed in claim 7, including the steps of:-a) continuously winding said fuse wire about a continuous filament, b) short-circuiting the turns in a plurality of longitudinal sections of the winding spaced apart along said filament, and c) cutting the wound filament at positions intermediate the ends of consecutive short-circuited longitudinal sections so as to form said fuse element.
10. A method as claimed in claim 7, 8 or 9, wherein the fuse wire has an insulating coating and is wound about the filament with its turns in contiguous relation, and the insulation of the turns in the spaced longitudinal sections is destroyed by the short circuiting step.
CA252,954A 1975-05-22 1976-05-20 Cartridge type fuse and fusible element therefor Expired CA1070738A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB2242275A GB1545205A (en) 1975-05-22 1975-05-22 Electric fuse-links

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1070738A true CA1070738A (en) 1980-01-29

Family

ID=10179110

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA252,954A Expired CA1070738A (en) 1975-05-22 1976-05-20 Cartridge type fuse and fusible element therefor

Country Status (6)

Country Link
JP (1) JPS596466B2 (en)
CA (1) CA1070738A (en)
DE (1) DE2623127A1 (en)
FR (1) FR2312102A1 (en)
GB (1) GB1545205A (en)
NL (1) NL167795C (en)

Families Citing this family (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
AT353882B (en) * 1978-02-03 1979-12-10 Wickmann Werke Ag MELT FUSE
NZ195642A (en) * 1979-12-03 1984-11-09 Beswick Kenneth E Ltd Cartridge fuse:wire on insulator strip within barrel
WO1982003724A1 (en) * 1981-04-10 1982-10-28 Watson David Electrical fuse
DE3302034A1 (en) * 1982-01-26 1983-10-27 Jean Müller KG Elektrotechnische Fabrik, 6228 Eltville Electrical melting fuse
US4626817A (en) * 1985-04-17 1986-12-02 Westinghouse Electric Corp. Current limiting fuse with less inverse time-current characteristic
US6552646B1 (en) * 2000-04-10 2003-04-22 Bel-Fuse, Inc. Capless fuse
JP6373640B2 (en) * 2014-05-12 2018-08-15 Koa株式会社 Manufacturing method of cylindrical current fuse
DE102019004223A1 (en) * 2019-05-16 2020-11-19 Siba Fuses Gmbh Fusible link and fuse

Family Cites Families (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB816706A (en) * 1956-05-03 1959-07-15 Belling & Lee Ltd Improvements in electrical fuses
GB243245A (en) * 1925-05-20 1925-11-26 John Harry Hickey Improvements in electric fuses
US1861369A (en) * 1929-09-09 1932-05-31 Edward V Sundt Low capacity fuse and method of making the same
DE694793C (en) * 1936-06-05 1940-08-08 Efen Elektrotech Fab Overload straps device fuse
NL151209B (en) * 1972-06-22 1976-10-15 Olvis Nv MELTING SAFETY AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SUCH MELTING SAFETY.
CH572276A5 (en) * 1973-12-10 1976-01-30 Weber Ag Fab Elektro

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
NL167795C (en) 1984-11-16
NL7605458A (en) 1976-11-24
FR2312102B1 (en) 1980-10-03
DE2623127A1 (en) 1976-12-02
JPS596466B2 (en) 1984-02-10
NL167795B (en) 1981-08-17
GB1545205A (en) 1979-05-02
JPS524041A (en) 1977-01-12
FR2312102A1 (en) 1976-12-17

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