CA1210425A - Control apparatus - Google Patents
Control apparatusInfo
- Publication number
- CA1210425A CA1210425A CA000456905A CA456905A CA1210425A CA 1210425 A CA1210425 A CA 1210425A CA 000456905 A CA000456905 A CA 000456905A CA 456905 A CA456905 A CA 456905A CA 1210425 A CA1210425 A CA 1210425A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- ing
- temperature responsive
- contact
- control apparatus
- buss bar
- 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
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- Preparation Of Compounds By Using Micro-Organisms (AREA)
- Measuring Or Testing Involving Enzymes Or Micro-Organisms (AREA)
Abstract
Abstract of the Disclosure Temperature responsive control apparatus including a housing portion, a socket portion, a circuit portion, a tem-perature responsive portion, a connecting portion and a fas-tening portions; the housing portion including an enclosure member including a major face section, sidewall sections and a cover section forming a chamber; the socket portion includ-ing a plurality of openings in the enclosure member, the open-ings being arranged into groups of at least two adjacent open-ings with each group providing a combination of openings mate-able with an electrical plug member; the circuit portion in-cluding at least two spaced buss bar members, each of the buss bar members including a contact section adjacent each end thereof extending in one direction therefrom toward the socket openings and terminating adjacent thereto, one of the contact sections that extends from one of the buss bar members being disposed adjacent a socket opening of each socket opening group and one of the contact sections that extends from another buss bar member being disposed adjacent a second socket opening of each socket opening group, the temperature responsive portion including a bi-metal thermostat disposed within the chamber and having one contact thereof connected to one of the buss bar member; the connecting portion including positive and neutral contact terminals, a contact terminal extending from on of the buss bar members, and another of the contact termi-nals extending from a second contact of the bi-metal thermostat.
Description
- ( 't ~ 5 003~i!RO:~ AP~AL~rUS
~hi8 in~en~ion relate~ to ~ ~ovel ~ontrol ~ tu~
and ~sre par~u~rl~ r~t~ o a n~w ~ rol ~ u~
~or ~ v~c~
-Sooiet~ ut~liz~ ~ wid~ v~ri~ty o~ differen~ c-tric~l d~v~ce~ ~ery day,. ~ome o~ tbe~ davi~e# ~8 oper ~d o~l~ on an inc~mitke~t ba~ d nor~ ar~ a~
tivat~d by a ~witah of 801ae t~ 1ith dev~os tbat ~: are i~axpe~iY~ a¢ti~r~tio~ o~ th~ devi~ u~ually ~ ~
lo. aeco~ ho~ ~th a ~I~P1Q ms~Ual 13wit;cbO ~!,', .....
' '' `' . ,~
Msnual ~wi~che~ o~ el~ctr~c~ vi¢~38 ~ lian- ~ -oes ord~n~ ars ~ati~ta~tory ~rhe~ the u~er ~t b~ -pr~s~ during th~ op~r~tio~ ~h~r~of. ~a~pl~ o~u~b dev~ce~ lu~e hal~ a~r~ b~Y~rs~ b~d~r~ aR~ the EEo~e~er9 w~'cb 80m~ elec,t~ic~l d~vi~ om~stia~ ~ -i8 d0~3irab~1~ 'to ~ps~te them wh0~ ~o O~@ i8 pre~e~tO --Exa~ s are OY81~ hot w~ter h~at~rs, etc. . Such devic0s ~ormally are oquipp~d witb tiD~r~ or ~mper~ture ~o~trol~
20 that call b0 ~t to act~Y~$e the d0vi~e whs~ a pxe~lect~d - time or t~mp~raturo i~ ach~tred~ owev3r,~.~uch co~trols ~ significantly to the ~o~t o~ th~ ite~ a~d th~re~ore d~ic~ e~uip~d in ~h~s s~ay ~ay not e~r~n be a~ailabl~
to t~e co~umer.
~2~4~5 Orle m~nual~y op~rat~ ~lectrical de~ice widel~ u~ed by v~hicle owners p~ticul~rly i~ cold climatea is tha eDgine heater. Such heater3 ar~ uaed i~ cold we~ther to mailltain tho engino ~nd lt~ co~pon~nt~ at a tempera ~ure abovc ambie~t ~emper~ture. '~ i8 do~e to ~clli~
ta~ startin~ of tbe en~Sine when the ~hicl~ ha~ heen standing ol~t~lde ~n cold weat~er~
I~ the en~i~s i5 ~ot s~i~tain~d at a te~perature above a~bient ~D. e~ctxemely cold weabbar, the oll and other ~luids ifi ~h~ e~ and its acce~or$e~ b~-co~e v~ cou~., 'rh~ inarea~ v~co~it~ o~ t;hc ~luid~ can mak~ 1~ diffi~ul~ to mo~e the wo~ g p~tB
o~ th0 ~ngi~o and thu~ the e~gine c~nnot b~ ~t~t~d~
A furt~ CO~iC~tiO~ hc ~a¢t tbat tho b~tt~ Ga~-not d~liva~ elcctr~c~l a~org~y to the st~rt~r a~ e~Go tively in ~r~r;sr eold w~atbore . .
~ o Isini~iæe il~r~ 8 '1~ the v~0~o~i~9 o~ oil aR~
othor ~luid~ a~ tbe 'G~ ~ture drop~ ~ult~ a~ oils ~nd ~lUid~ halre ~en d0Yeloped. ~bo~ ~or~ tio~ ar~
d~sigal~d to prov~d~ a lo~ vl~co~lt7, ~.g. lO ~ 1QW te~
perature~ and a hi~h vl~co~ty7 a.~,. 40 at higber t~m-perature~ ile the use of such multi-~raae oil~ doe~
bene~it en~ine ~tarting at low t~mperatllr~s, when tbe temp~r~ture dropl3 dra~tical~y, it ~till m~y not b~ pO9-~ibl~ to ~tart an engine~.
B~cause of the~e wint~r engine st~rting probl~ms, en~ine heaters ha~e become popul~r in cold weakhf~r cli-mates. ~e beat3r~ ~re of two gener~l t~rpe~ -- plug heat~r~ which are inserted ~hrough ~ plug ope~ing ~n the en8i~e or tank or ho~e heater~ that are in~erted along the len~;th of a w~ter ho~e of the e~ginQ.
In th~ usa o~ ~uch eng~e h~aters, th~ vahicla owner co~e¢ts tbe beater cord to a powor ~uppl;s~ 3uch ~ ~n el~ctrlc~l circ-lit of 81 buildingO ~he ow~er do~ th~
whsn h~ wi~he~ to ~ta~ hi~ ~ebicl0 engine. I~ow~lrer~
~inco it taXe~ ~ome time ~or the heater ~o w~rm the ~g-gine~ the heater must be acti ~rated at a time prl or to that wh~n tho owner wi3he~ to ~a:rt tb~ eE~gine.
¢ting tha props~ time to ~cti~rate th~ heatcr can ~r~nt proble~ ar~ ow~r will ~o~ u~e bi8 ~e-hic~ until late i~ t~e ~a~,, h~ can ~ plD ac'civat~ th~
heater ~ fe~d hour~ b~ore he w~;nt~ to 8tlrt the e~ ne~
How~v~ i~ tho ow~or wi~h~ ~o u8~ th~ v~3hi~ early i~ tb~ ~or~ e olth~r ba8 to awak~Il a~v~;~l bour~
earl;r or ho h~ to Qctiv~ko tbe h~;0~ b~or~ he go~
to b~d th0 ~;ht b~o~e. ~e la~t~r p~oce~u~ o~'c co~moa 5~iDC0 ~ery ~w ow~r~ are willing to i~terru~
th0i~ ~e~p ~u~ to a~ ræ~ b~ato~ i~ the ~iddlo o~ the night .
Whon electrical en~rg~ wa~ relativcly in~e~oi~o~
mo~ ~eople did no~ mir~dl the relativel~r 8111all additio~al encrg~ ¢08t ~0 insur0 'chat their vehicl~ eaginos would 8t;42!'C eQ~ily eY~n in ~v~r~ cold w~ather. ~Iowæv~r~ wl~h th~ ~ery larg0 incr~ in the cost o~ elcctrical en-erg;y in r~cent ~s~r~;, people have become much more con-8ciou8 o:' e~er~y con~erY~t;io~ and car*fully watoh tb~ir ~z~
U8~ 0~ energyq hs ~ r~sult~ indi~idual~ ~o~ ~cr~
realize t~e co~ Or u~in~, an engine heater and ar~
ing to reduce ~h~ amount o~ tims th~t ~be~ u8e tho h0stsr~
Wher~a~ por~on~ ~o~rl~ aGtivated their ~ngine ~eater~ e~ch tlighb during t~e cold 3~ason, now ~bey ars ~oni~orin~; weather fc~r~ca~ rnore close~ y to deterEIline i~ thcy can aYoid the u~3 o~ th~ heat~r on certain da~
a~d ~i~hts~ e in theor;y thi~ procodure app~ t~
bc all accept~le ~301ut;io~9 in practice it le ve~ muc~
to be d~red~
Sillce it i~ i~po~sible to pred~t t~e weather with c~r'cai~ty, if ths vebiGl0 owner does nok ~ctiva~e the ~eater h~ ~ takin3 a c~ ce th~t the w~ather wlll be much colder tha~l predic~0dO Sho~ald th~ ocaur~ h3 ma.y ~ot b~ ablo to ~tart h~ ~ehicle in tbe ~orDiII~; whs~
h~ d~ to go ts ~ork o~r lta~ ~8.r~ o~ ~o~ oth~r ~er~r $mpor~aRt ta~O On ~he oth~r ba~d~ h~ owrl~r ac~
at~ the b0ater a~d th~ weath~r u~s:2~ectedly ~urn~ w~rm;
or than pr0dictedp the ~mer will ha~ ws~t~d Qlectri c~l ~n~3rgy in heati~8 'c~0 e~in~ wh~ it W~B nol; noce~-~y"
Prom the ~bove di$c~ion, it i~ evidenk ~hat en-gine heaters pr0sently available ~o not pro~ide a sat-i~ac~or~ ~olut~ on i~ man~ en~ine heRtlT~g siku~t~on~ .
~hu~ " t~er~ nesd ~or a control appara~UR that can oY~rcoL~e the ~hor~coming~ of curr~t heaters a~ w~ll a~ other ~anually operated electri¢al devicas ~uch a~
fa~s, spac0 h0aters and t'.le like, the opcratio~ oY whi~h zs i~ determined by changes in ambient temperature condi-tion~.
~e pre~ent invention provide~ a ~o~el col~trol ap- -paratus for ~l~ctrical d~vice~ The appaxatus e~ the invention proYide~ a mean~ for oYercoming the problom~
e~countered witb, exce~ opera~ on er au~h dcvic23~ h$
ce~trol apparatu~ confiDe~ operation t~ereo~ ~o gi~ua-tions ~-1 which the deviG6 actually i8 required. '~e apparatu~ automatically controls tbe ~perati4n of the device.
~he con~ro~ apparatUB o* the invention i~su~e3 that a~ eleatrical de~ice ~o~ aot ~pePat~ u~ne¢e3~arilyl, A~ a re~ult, the control ~pE/ara~us minimiz~ h~ elec-trical ~ner~y u8ed a~d thereby xiE;~lific~tl~ r~duco8 t~ co~t o~ op~tion a~d increas~ the li~ o~ tho do- ~
vice.
~ be co~t~o~ tlpparatu~ o~ the pre~ inY~tion i8 ~impl~ in de~i~;B a~d relativ~ly illoxpen~iYe~ appa-ratu~ ca~ bo f~ricatsd from c~mor~ially availabl~
terial~ and compone~t~ Co~re~t~onal electrical devic~
manufacturing t~cl~nique8 and pro¢edure~ can be utili~ad i~ its ~abrieRtion. ~he apparatU~ i8 durabl~ in con-~tructlon ~nd haa a long use~ul lif~ witb a minîmum o~
mai~tenance .
~ h~ controL app~ratu~ of the pr~ent i~-re~t~an can b~ t~l}ed by person~ wi~h Limi~ed m~ch~nical aptitude and/or experienceO '~he in~tallation can bo completed Z~
.?
in a ~hort period o~ t~me af~er a minimum of ln~truction~
A wide ~rari~t~y o~ diffe;a~nt elec~rica~ device~3 ca~ be modi~ied ~imply ar~d conve~iently b,y most individual8.
~he appara~u~ can be empls7,~ed ~itb a ~i~gle uni~ or to control th~ ope~ati~II cf ~everQl device~ ~imult~ou81;y.
~ he~ a~d oth~r bene~it~ at~d ~dvan~aees oi t~e nov~l co~trol ~p~aratu~ of the pr~ t i~vention wilL b~ appare~t from ~h0 ~ollowin~ d~cription a~d the accomp~n7in~ draw-ings in whi¢hs Figur~ a ~chematia illu8tration parti~lly i~
~c~ion o~ o~ ~orm of tempere.ture re~porui~ control apparatu~ o~ ~ha inlt~ntion in U8~!3 wi~h ~rehicl~ he~tsr~;
~ igur~ 2 i~ a~ enlar~;~d view in p~r~l?ective of t;be temp~ur~ r~?o~ re eorlt3~01 app~tu~ ~how~ in ~;ur~ 1 P{~,ure 3 ~ ~ 3ect~0~1 vi~w o~ thq t~peratur~
re~po~siYo control a~pa~tu~ how~ in ~igure 2 take~
al~ 3 - 3 ~ 0~3 Figur~ 4 i8 a s~ctio~al vlew of tho ~emp~ra~ure re8po~3ive ~o~trol apparatus ~how~ sur~ 2 taken alor~ 4 - 4 th~reo~;
~ igure 5 i8 a ri.ght end view o~ a bu~8 bar member ~d thermo81~at of t'n~ t~rDpera ture resporl8iv~s control appa~atu~ ~howrl in ~igure ~;
z~
F~ure 6 i8 a right end vi~w o~ ano~h¢r bu~ ~ar ~emb0r of the tempera~ur0 r0spo~ive coatrol ~pparatu~
~how~ ~n Figure ~.
Fi~ure 7 i~ a right eDd vie~ o~ a thir~ bu8s bar m~ber of th~ tempera~ure rQ~Pon~ive control app~ratu~
~how~ in ~iguro 3; and Figure 8 is a schematic illustration of one form of circuitry of the temperature responsive control apparatus of the invention.
A~ shown i~ th2 ~r~ing~9 on0 ~orm o~ ~e ~oYol ~em-perature re~po~8iv~ contr~l ~ppar~tuc 11 o~ th8 presa~t inv0~tio~ i8 ~hown i~ UBe wl~h a ~hicle 12~ ~he ~ontrol ~pparatu~ co~ectcd e~ectrically to at lea~t o~e heati~g ele~nt mou~ted ~n the ~hicle and ~D ~ elec-trica~ circuit o~ ~ buildi~g 13~
~ he heati~g ~lemenk ~ay be a~ e~gi~e h~ti~g elom~t 14 3u~h as a plu6 beater or a pa~8~nger oomp~rt~e~t heat-lng eleg~erlt 15.. ~he ~ngin3 h~at~slg el~nt 14 T~y b~
co~merc~all~ avQilable unit commo~l~ e~ploy~d to h~at ~he ~n~i~e to ~ac-ilitat~ ~arti~g t~r~o~ ~n co~d w~ath~r~
~ha in~rior be~ki~g ~le~e~t 15 ~l~o ma~ bo a co~rci~lly available un~t t~t i5 utilized to k~ep the pa~8~er co~part~ent of the vehicle ~t a com~ortable ~emperature during ~tor~g~ in cold w~atber ~o it will not ~e col~
whon th~ driv0r enter~
2he te~p@rature re~po~sive control apparatus 11 of tbs invention i~clude~ a hou~ing portion 17, a ~ocket portion 18~ a circuit portion 19~ a te~peratur~ respon-8ive por~ion 20, a conn~cting portion 21 and a f~stening portion 22.
~Z~4~i ~ he hou~i~qg portion 17 of the co~trol appar~tu~ 11 includes an enclo~urs memb~r 25. ~o e~closura mem~er 25 i~clude~ a m~or fac~ ~ection 26 and ~ plurali~ of ~ides~ l 3~ction8 27~ 2~ 29 and 30~ sidewall sec-tions 27; 30 ~3~ten~ ~roM edE~e~ o~ the face 80~t~01Q 26.
A cov~r ~sction 32 joins ~he ~r~ edge~ OI the ~dewall 8ectlon8 to for~ a chamber 33 with tha e~closur~ ~em~
ber 250 ~ h~ enclo~ure mem~er 25 ~l~o includes a plur~lity o~ di~ider sectio~ 35~ 36 arld 370 The divid~r ~IOI:tiOrl8 ~5 - 37 extend ~rom t~ ce ~eation 26 and t~e sid~-w~ ctions 27 - 30 toward th~ ~oY~r ~ectio~ ~" Ad~
vantag;eously~ the housing por~io~ sr~d of pla8gie9 e~clo~ur~ melcber 25 pre~ bl~ a L~n~tary ~tructuro7 p~ u}a~l~ o$ a Quadra~gular co~igur~tio~0 ~ ~ocke~ portioll la of th~ co~rol appar~tu~ 11 i~cludo~ a plu~ ;y o~ ad~c~t cooper~ e; op~
40, 41" 42~ 43, 44 and 45 i~ o:r ~a¢~ ~c~ion 26 Or the ~nGlo~3u~e m~ab~l~ 25a ~ op~ g~ 40 - 45 ~ro ar-~anged i~to ~rou~s 47 ~ 48 witb at laa3~ two an~ ad-vant;~eou~ bree adaacent openin~ tha~ i~s op~ni~s 40 - 4~ in ~rsup 47 and ope~in~;s 43 ~ 45 in group 48O
Each ~roup 47 alld 48 provides a eombin~tio~ og opoE~ 3n mRtsab~ witb a~ ~lectrical plug ~e~ber 49., ~e ~ocket openi~,ra o~ e~ch ~ro~ap pre~era~ly are arra~g~d in a tri-an~ul~ con~igur~ti.on.
~he circuit portion 19 of the co~trol appar~tus 11 includes at le~t two and adva~tageou~ly tbree sp~ced ~Z~42~
bu~33 bar ~es~srs 51, 52 an~ 53~ q!he buss bar ~emb~rs are dispo~ed w~hin the c~mber 33 o~ the e~closur~ mem-ber 25 i~ a gen~rally parallal relatio~hip, Preferabl~y~
the bu~ bar meD~ber~ ~re xetained i~ po8it;$0~ throug~3 divider asGtion~ ~5 - 37. ~ch OI the busa b~r ma~ber~
51 - 53 i~clude~ ~ Pair o~ contact aac~ions 55~ ~6, 57, 58, 59 and 500 ~ho contact ~a¢t~on~ are ~isposed a~a-ca~t each and oî th~ xeapective bu~8 bar memb~r~
~ o contact sectio~ 55 60 extend from the bu88 bar mem~er~ ~n one dire~t~o~ t~ard the socket openir~ga and termina~,e ~djace2lt thereto. ~e oX the co~tact 8ec tion~ e.g~ 559 of orle of~ the buss bar me~ber~ 51 ~
di~po~d ad.iacent ~ sock~t opening 40 of ~oc~et openi~g group 47. ~ikew~9 ono of tb~ ~o~tact ~ection~ 56 t~at extend~ from anoth~r bu~s bar mem~er 52 i~ dispo~3cd ad-~a¢en~ & ~econd ~o~l~et op2ni~ag 41 o~ the ~am~ ~sroup 47~.
~im~ y, coa~act ~ect~on 57 o:r bus3 bar mem~r 53 i~
dispo~ed al~ac~nt a third 8~ket op~ing 42 o~ ~h~ srou~
47o I~ thi~ w~y,~ th~ thr~ co~act ~ec~-iolls 55t 56 and 57 o~ socket openin~ group 47 extend from three difYer-ent bu~s bar member~ 51, 52 and 53 so a p~ug mem~er 4 of th~ conven~io~lal three prong confizuration can b~
in~er~ad in ths socket openings 40" 41 and 42 of ~ocket ~roup 47 to provide po61tivc, neutral and æround co~n~c-tiorls ~imultaneously.
~ hc temperature re~po~ivc portion 20 of tbe ~ontrol apparatus 11 i.ncludes a b i-~etal thermo~tat means ~;8.
4'~
The ~i-metal thermo3tat 68 i8 di~pcsed within the cha~ber 33 of the enclo8ur~ m~b~r 250 !1?~3 bi-m~t~l ~her~ostat 68 dvan~ageou~ly in~lude~ ~ in~ulator hou~ing 61. Pb~
bi-metal thermo~t6lt h~ one contact ~2 thsreo~ coIl~2ected to one of the buss b~r me~bers (buss b~r 51)~
... .
I!he comlecting portion 21 of tbe control apparatus 11 of the invention include~ po~itiv~ and n~ut:~l con-tact ~er~inals 63 and ~ resp~ctively, Cont~ct tkrm~
nal 63 extends from a second contact 6~ of th~ bi-m~tal 10 ther~os~at G8~ Another ¢ontact terminal ~4 extend,~ rr one of-~'ae bus~ bar mem~er~ 5~?o A third ~sround ~ermlnal ~6 preferably cxtend~ from the -third bu~ b~r memb~r 53.
~ he contact arld ground terminal3 advantageou~l~
oxtend throu~h the cover æeot~ on 7~ Preferably, th~?
conta¢t t~rmi~al~ 63 and ~ a ~e blade conf i.gura'cion~
and tbe ground terminal 6~.~ i s an eiongated cylindrical pin. When the COllt;~lCt termin~1~ 63 ~nd 64 are blade~, it i~ pre~errad th~t th~r b~ arr~sed ~ubstantial1.~ par-allel ~o e~ch ot~cr.
~he fa~ter~ing portion 22 o~ the appar~tus li include~
~asteI~ers that ~ecur~ the c~ver ~ection 32 to the e~clo-~ure member 25~ Advantagsous1y~ the fa~tener~ lncludo ~crew~ 67 which oxtend throu,4,~h the coYer ~ection into the dividax sections ~5 and ~,6 of the enclo~ure mem~el~.
In the U3~ of the control apparatu~ 11 o~ the pro~ent invention, one or more heating ele~ents are installed in the vehicle 12 (Figure 1). An engine heating element 14 can be ia~ta~lcd i~ the engine ~ the same way as wi~ con~en-tio~al engine heaters. ~ha heatin~ eleme~t ma~ bs i~
~t~lled in an ellgine plug openl~; o~ by inaerti~; ~long a liquid circulating bo~sO Al~ol ~passe~ger co~part-me~t heating ~le~t i5 ¢an be in8talled ~ tb¢ ~hicle i~terior., Cord~ or wire~ 70 a~d 71 ~ro~D th~ r~38p~ctiv2 ~eating elcmsn'c~ are connected into the ~;ocket groups 47 and ~8 ~P tb~ control appa~atu~ 11 wbicb is locat~d out~id~ the vobicle n the a~bia~t at~o~phere~
I~ th~ sam~ way~ th~ control apparatus 11 i~ co~ec- -ted 'co an elec~ri¢al curr~nt ~upply. ~8 shcw~, the co~-~rol apparatu~ ia co~neeted to a~ slactric~l cir~uit 72 o~ a buildin~ 13 through Q ~uitabl~ e~rt~nsio~ cord 73 or by pluggin~; t~rminals 63 - 65 ~irectly into the circuit. The cantrol app~r~tu~ w wad~ for U8e.
.:
Tbe control ~par~tu3 11 automa~i~ally hca~- the v~hicl~ 12 without ~n~ attenti.o~ ~rom the e~ r~ ~hu~7 if the ~eatber tur~ col~ ~uch 8~ a t~.p~rature drop at night~ the bi-metal ther~30st~ ;8 n~ t:he ^ontrol apparatus will close the circuit (Figure 8) throuah the apparatus 11 ~llowi~g ~lectrical current to pa~æ fro~ tbe circuit 7 of the ~uildinæ 1~ to ti~e heatin~; elements 14 and 15.
In th~ w~y~ the -~reS~icle 12 wil~ be h~at.ed properly when th~ o~er i8 ro~dy to us~ it. ~he veh~c~e en~i~e will start ea~ ly ~ince it i~ warm~ Al~o, the interior of t~e Ye~lcle will be war~ for the dril~er snd an~ p~s~en-~ars.
z5 .
On the other han~ the a~bien~ te~ raturo re~
at a level i~ which the v~hicie sn~;ine wîll 3tar~ ly, the bi~~etal thermost~t 6~3 of th~ co~r~ pa~u~ 11 will remain op~an . o that electr~ cal curr0~t ~d~ 11 not activa~e the heati~ ele~a~ks 14 and 157, Adv2~nta~eou81 the bi~matal~h~rmoal;~t ~or vehicle heati~ C1013~9 at . a ~e~ rat~re b~t~een about 0 a~ 20F,, q~hus~ the con~rol apparatu~ 11 pro~ride~ heat whe~
the a~b~-~nt te~p~ratur~ drops below a minimum ~h;r~3~01d temperatur2 but do~ not wa~te ~lectrical energy $o h~at tbe ve~icla whe~ not nec~sc~ry~, All oî ~his i~
do~e autom~icall~ wi ~hout roqui~in~ the ~ten~ ~n o~
the ol~mer or o ~.her p~r~ons ~n ~ddit~on to t;Le uc~ of ~;be co~t,rol app~at~
11 in ~o~b~ ion with heatin/~ element~ fo~ -~rehicl~3~ .
the ~4ntrol app~r~t~l~ aL~3o can be emp~oyed with a wide '' va~ ty o~ di~era~t el~ric~l dovices ~d ~pp~iuncea thst ar~ oper~ r~p3~gls ko cha~ ia ambl~n~ ~em p~r~tura~ Ex~14~ o~ oth~r he~tcrs i~clud~ ~p~e he~at-e~ greonhow~a~ a~i~sl barn~ ~ump ho~sesg in~uba- ;
~orst 3~0t c~llar~ etcO~ id h~ers such Qll l~.Ve!-#to~ ~atorit~ t~ h~ati~ tap~ ~or water ~ipa~ and t~ e. ~h~ coxltrol apparatu~ is u~ful al~o with fa~ ch a~ at~ic ~an~ woo~ sto~re ~a~ etcO which ¢ircul~t~ wa~ or hot air. ~he aontrol ap~ar~tus i8 ~mplo~oi5 iE~ th~ ner d-~Gribed abo~re w~th the opora- I
ra~ o~ tho bi~m~tal thernlo~ta~ b~ing s~l~c~ed for ~he ~pocif~c te~per~1;ure conditions to be encountared~.
S
Ths3 above de~criptio~ d 'ch~ ~ccompanyin~; drawi~a ~h~w that the pr~ent i~E3n1~i~n provideE~ o~} c~rol apparatu3~ !Zh~ a~ t~ o~ ~he invent~o~ minlmize~
the clec~rical o~org~ u~e~ and ~hu~ 3iE~i~ieantly rsduce~
~he operat~n~s co~ * ~lo~rical de~vice~r ~he ap~ara~u~
ca~ bc u~d cor~ lenkl~ b~ per~on~ with~ut m~aba~ir-~l or elec~rical a~tud0~ -ontrol app~ratu~ of th~ on~G~o~ i~pio i~ de~ and can be p:rod~0d relat~ely il50Xpel~9i~
aommer¢~ll.y ~vai~abl~ ~t~ri~l~ and oo~on~t~ ~a~
u~od in it8 rab~catio~ ~ployl~g conYo~tio~l el~ric~
~anu~acturinæ tech~iq~eY a~d proc~dure~
~ he co~trol apparat~a~ can be ~t~lled ~ t~r olaly a mi~imum o~ iu~truction~ -A w~d0 ~riety o~ dî~-~ront electr~eal d~rice~ ~d a~pl~ano0~ cu:~s~
u~e c~ be ~ h the app~:ratu~ o* ~b~ ntio~ -.
relativ~ ui.cl~l~ in on~ a few rn~nut~ he app~!;u3 ca~ bo ~odified 8a81~ c~o~mo~te ~articu~ar op~
t~g te~per~tur~ h~ a~p~ratu~ i~ durable in con~t~u~-tio~ ~nd haa ~ lony; u~e~u~ lie ~tb littl~ if all;y ~a~n-teDan¢~
It ~Yill be apparent tha~ ~Tarious modif:ications c~
be made in t~e particular centrol apparatu~ de~crib~d a~ detail and ~ow~ in th0 drawin3s withi~ th~ ~cope o~ tbe inv~tio~q ~he 8~0, coz~igur~tiol~ and ~rrang~-ment of ~ompoll~nt~ can be dif~erent to m~et spaci~ie requiremerlt~O Al~o 7 the npparatu~ ca~ be designed to acc~mmo~ate electrical d~vices o~r~tin~ At par~icular ,Q9LZS
temperature :ranges as de~irod~, ~heae and other chango~
can be made provid~d the fu~ctio~ ; and operation of the control appara~u~ ~ro not advarse}y a~fected. ~her~--, fore~ th~ scop~ of the irlvention i8 t0 bo li~ed o~ly by the ~ollow~ng cla~s.
~hi8 in~en~ion relate~ to ~ ~ovel ~ontrol ~ tu~
and ~sre par~u~rl~ r~t~ o a n~w ~ rol ~ u~
~or ~ v~c~
-Sooiet~ ut~liz~ ~ wid~ v~ri~ty o~ differen~ c-tric~l d~v~ce~ ~ery day,. ~ome o~ tbe~ davi~e# ~8 oper ~d o~l~ on an inc~mitke~t ba~ d nor~ ar~ a~
tivat~d by a ~witah of 801ae t~ 1ith dev~os tbat ~: are i~axpe~iY~ a¢ti~r~tio~ o~ th~ devi~ u~ually ~ ~
lo. aeco~ ho~ ~th a ~I~P1Q ms~Ual 13wit;cbO ~!,', .....
' '' `' . ,~
Msnual ~wi~che~ o~ el~ctr~c~ vi¢~38 ~ lian- ~ -oes ord~n~ ars ~ati~ta~tory ~rhe~ the u~er ~t b~ -pr~s~ during th~ op~r~tio~ ~h~r~of. ~a~pl~ o~u~b dev~ce~ lu~e hal~ a~r~ b~Y~rs~ b~d~r~ aR~ the EEo~e~er9 w~'cb 80m~ elec,t~ic~l d~vi~ om~stia~ ~ -i8 d0~3irab~1~ 'to ~ps~te them wh0~ ~o O~@ i8 pre~e~tO --Exa~ s are OY81~ hot w~ter h~at~rs, etc. . Such devic0s ~ormally are oquipp~d witb tiD~r~ or ~mper~ture ~o~trol~
20 that call b0 ~t to act~Y~$e the d0vi~e whs~ a pxe~lect~d - time or t~mp~raturo i~ ach~tred~ owev3r,~.~uch co~trols ~ significantly to the ~o~t o~ th~ ite~ a~d th~re~ore d~ic~ e~uip~d in ~h~s s~ay ~ay not e~r~n be a~ailabl~
to t~e co~umer.
~2~4~5 Orle m~nual~y op~rat~ ~lectrical de~ice widel~ u~ed by v~hicle owners p~ticul~rly i~ cold climatea is tha eDgine heater. Such heater3 ar~ uaed i~ cold we~ther to mailltain tho engino ~nd lt~ co~pon~nt~ at a tempera ~ure abovc ambie~t ~emper~ture. '~ i8 do~e to ~clli~
ta~ startin~ of tbe en~Sine when the ~hicl~ ha~ heen standing ol~t~lde ~n cold weat~er~
I~ the en~i~s i5 ~ot s~i~tain~d at a te~perature above a~bient ~D. e~ctxemely cold weabbar, the oll and other ~luids ifi ~h~ e~ and its acce~or$e~ b~-co~e v~ cou~., 'rh~ inarea~ v~co~it~ o~ t;hc ~luid~ can mak~ 1~ diffi~ul~ to mo~e the wo~ g p~tB
o~ th0 ~ngi~o and thu~ the e~gine c~nnot b~ ~t~t~d~
A furt~ CO~iC~tiO~ hc ~a¢t tbat tho b~tt~ Ga~-not d~liva~ elcctr~c~l a~org~y to the st~rt~r a~ e~Go tively in ~r~r;sr eold w~atbore . .
~ o Isini~iæe il~r~ 8 '1~ the v~0~o~i~9 o~ oil aR~
othor ~luid~ a~ tbe 'G~ ~ture drop~ ~ult~ a~ oils ~nd ~lUid~ halre ~en d0Yeloped. ~bo~ ~or~ tio~ ar~
d~sigal~d to prov~d~ a lo~ vl~co~lt7, ~.g. lO ~ 1QW te~
perature~ and a hi~h vl~co~ty7 a.~,. 40 at higber t~m-perature~ ile the use of such multi-~raae oil~ doe~
bene~it en~ine ~tarting at low t~mperatllr~s, when tbe temp~r~ture dropl3 dra~tical~y, it ~till m~y not b~ pO9-~ibl~ to ~tart an engine~.
B~cause of the~e wint~r engine st~rting probl~ms, en~ine heaters ha~e become popul~r in cold weakhf~r cli-mates. ~e beat3r~ ~re of two gener~l t~rpe~ -- plug heat~r~ which are inserted ~hrough ~ plug ope~ing ~n the en8i~e or tank or ho~e heater~ that are in~erted along the len~;th of a w~ter ho~e of the e~ginQ.
In th~ usa o~ ~uch eng~e h~aters, th~ vahicla owner co~e¢ts tbe beater cord to a powor ~uppl;s~ 3uch ~ ~n el~ctrlc~l circ-lit of 81 buildingO ~he ow~er do~ th~
whsn h~ wi~he~ to ~ta~ hi~ ~ebicl0 engine. I~ow~lrer~
~inco it taXe~ ~ome time ~or the heater ~o w~rm the ~g-gine~ the heater must be acti ~rated at a time prl or to that wh~n tho owner wi3he~ to ~a:rt tb~ eE~gine.
¢ting tha props~ time to ~cti~rate th~ heatcr can ~r~nt proble~ ar~ ow~r will ~o~ u~e bi8 ~e-hic~ until late i~ t~e ~a~,, h~ can ~ plD ac'civat~ th~
heater ~ fe~d hour~ b~ore he w~;nt~ to 8tlrt the e~ ne~
How~v~ i~ tho ow~or wi~h~ ~o u8~ th~ v~3hi~ early i~ tb~ ~or~ e olth~r ba8 to awak~Il a~v~;~l bour~
earl;r or ho h~ to Qctiv~ko tbe h~;0~ b~or~ he go~
to b~d th0 ~;ht b~o~e. ~e la~t~r p~oce~u~ o~'c co~moa 5~iDC0 ~ery ~w ow~r~ are willing to i~terru~
th0i~ ~e~p ~u~ to a~ ræ~ b~ato~ i~ the ~iddlo o~ the night .
Whon electrical en~rg~ wa~ relativcly in~e~oi~o~
mo~ ~eople did no~ mir~dl the relativel~r 8111all additio~al encrg~ ¢08t ~0 insur0 'chat their vehicl~ eaginos would 8t;42!'C eQ~ily eY~n in ~v~r~ cold w~ather. ~Iowæv~r~ wl~h th~ ~ery larg0 incr~ in the cost o~ elcctrical en-erg;y in r~cent ~s~r~;, people have become much more con-8ciou8 o:' e~er~y con~erY~t;io~ and car*fully watoh tb~ir ~z~
U8~ 0~ energyq hs ~ r~sult~ indi~idual~ ~o~ ~cr~
realize t~e co~ Or u~in~, an engine heater and ar~
ing to reduce ~h~ amount o~ tims th~t ~be~ u8e tho h0stsr~
Wher~a~ por~on~ ~o~rl~ aGtivated their ~ngine ~eater~ e~ch tlighb during t~e cold 3~ason, now ~bey ars ~oni~orin~; weather fc~r~ca~ rnore close~ y to deterEIline i~ thcy can aYoid the u~3 o~ th~ heat~r on certain da~
a~d ~i~hts~ e in theor;y thi~ procodure app~ t~
bc all accept~le ~301ut;io~9 in practice it le ve~ muc~
to be d~red~
Sillce it i~ i~po~sible to pred~t t~e weather with c~r'cai~ty, if ths vebiGl0 owner does nok ~ctiva~e the ~eater h~ ~ takin3 a c~ ce th~t the w~ather wlll be much colder tha~l predic~0dO Sho~ald th~ ocaur~ h3 ma.y ~ot b~ ablo to ~tart h~ ~ehicle in tbe ~orDiII~; whs~
h~ d~ to go ts ~ork o~r lta~ ~8.r~ o~ ~o~ oth~r ~er~r $mpor~aRt ta~O On ~he oth~r ba~d~ h~ owrl~r ac~
at~ the b0ater a~d th~ weath~r u~s:2~ectedly ~urn~ w~rm;
or than pr0dictedp the ~mer will ha~ ws~t~d Qlectri c~l ~n~3rgy in heati~8 'c~0 e~in~ wh~ it W~B nol; noce~-~y"
Prom the ~bove di$c~ion, it i~ evidenk ~hat en-gine heaters pr0sently available ~o not pro~ide a sat-i~ac~or~ ~olut~ on i~ man~ en~ine heRtlT~g siku~t~on~ .
~hu~ " t~er~ nesd ~or a control appara~UR that can oY~rcoL~e the ~hor~coming~ of curr~t heaters a~ w~ll a~ other ~anually operated electri¢al devicas ~uch a~
fa~s, spac0 h0aters and t'.le like, the opcratio~ oY whi~h zs i~ determined by changes in ambient temperature condi-tion~.
~e pre~ent invention provide~ a ~o~el col~trol ap- -paratus for ~l~ctrical d~vice~ The appaxatus e~ the invention proYide~ a mean~ for oYercoming the problom~
e~countered witb, exce~ opera~ on er au~h dcvic23~ h$
ce~trol apparatu~ confiDe~ operation t~ereo~ ~o gi~ua-tions ~-1 which the deviG6 actually i8 required. '~e apparatu~ automatically controls tbe ~perati4n of the device.
~he con~ro~ apparatUB o* the invention i~su~e3 that a~ eleatrical de~ice ~o~ aot ~pePat~ u~ne¢e3~arilyl, A~ a re~ult, the control ~pE/ara~us minimiz~ h~ elec-trical ~ner~y u8ed a~d thereby xiE;~lific~tl~ r~duco8 t~ co~t o~ op~tion a~d increas~ the li~ o~ tho do- ~
vice.
~ be co~t~o~ tlpparatu~ o~ the pre~ inY~tion i8 ~impl~ in de~i~;B a~d relativ~ly illoxpen~iYe~ appa-ratu~ ca~ bo f~ricatsd from c~mor~ially availabl~
terial~ and compone~t~ Co~re~t~onal electrical devic~
manufacturing t~cl~nique8 and pro¢edure~ can be utili~ad i~ its ~abrieRtion. ~he apparatU~ i8 durabl~ in con-~tructlon ~nd haa a long use~ul lif~ witb a minîmum o~
mai~tenance .
~ h~ controL app~ratu~ of the pr~ent i~-re~t~an can b~ t~l}ed by person~ wi~h Limi~ed m~ch~nical aptitude and/or experienceO '~he in~tallation can bo completed Z~
.?
in a ~hort period o~ t~me af~er a minimum of ln~truction~
A wide ~rari~t~y o~ diffe;a~nt elec~rica~ device~3 ca~ be modi~ied ~imply ar~d conve~iently b,y most individual8.
~he appara~u~ can be empls7,~ed ~itb a ~i~gle uni~ or to control th~ ope~ati~II cf ~everQl device~ ~imult~ou81;y.
~ he~ a~d oth~r bene~it~ at~d ~dvan~aees oi t~e nov~l co~trol ~p~aratu~ of the pr~ t i~vention wilL b~ appare~t from ~h0 ~ollowin~ d~cription a~d the accomp~n7in~ draw-ings in whi¢hs Figur~ a ~chematia illu8tration parti~lly i~
~c~ion o~ o~ ~orm of tempere.ture re~porui~ control apparatu~ o~ ~ha inlt~ntion in U8~!3 wi~h ~rehicl~ he~tsr~;
~ igur~ 2 i~ a~ enlar~;~d view in p~r~l?ective of t;be temp~ur~ r~?o~ re eorlt3~01 app~tu~ ~how~ in ~;ur~ 1 P{~,ure 3 ~ ~ 3ect~0~1 vi~w o~ thq t~peratur~
re~po~siYo control a~pa~tu~ how~ in ~igure 2 take~
al~ 3 - 3 ~ 0~3 Figur~ 4 i8 a s~ctio~al vlew of tho ~emp~ra~ure re8po~3ive ~o~trol apparatus ~how~ sur~ 2 taken alor~ 4 - 4 th~reo~;
~ igure 5 i8 a ri.ght end view o~ a bu~8 bar member ~d thermo81~at of t'n~ t~rDpera ture resporl8iv~s control appa~atu~ ~howrl in ~igure ~;
z~
F~ure 6 i8 a right end vi~w o~ ano~h¢r bu~ ~ar ~emb0r of the tempera~ur0 r0spo~ive coatrol ~pparatu~
~how~ ~n Figure ~.
Fi~ure 7 i~ a right eDd vie~ o~ a thir~ bu8s bar m~ber of th~ tempera~ure rQ~Pon~ive control app~ratu~
~how~ in ~iguro 3; and Figure 8 is a schematic illustration of one form of circuitry of the temperature responsive control apparatus of the invention.
A~ shown i~ th2 ~r~ing~9 on0 ~orm o~ ~e ~oYol ~em-perature re~po~8iv~ contr~l ~ppar~tuc 11 o~ th8 presa~t inv0~tio~ i8 ~hown i~ UBe wl~h a ~hicle 12~ ~he ~ontrol ~pparatu~ co~ectcd e~ectrically to at lea~t o~e heati~g ele~nt mou~ted ~n the ~hicle and ~D ~ elec-trica~ circuit o~ ~ buildi~g 13~
~ he heati~g ~lemenk ~ay be a~ e~gi~e h~ti~g elom~t 14 3u~h as a plu6 beater or a pa~8~nger oomp~rt~e~t heat-lng eleg~erlt 15.. ~he ~ngin3 h~at~slg el~nt 14 T~y b~
co~merc~all~ avQilable unit commo~l~ e~ploy~d to h~at ~he ~n~i~e to ~ac-ilitat~ ~arti~g t~r~o~ ~n co~d w~ath~r~
~ha in~rior be~ki~g ~le~e~t 15 ~l~o ma~ bo a co~rci~lly available un~t t~t i5 utilized to k~ep the pa~8~er co~part~ent of the vehicle ~t a com~ortable ~emperature during ~tor~g~ in cold w~atber ~o it will not ~e col~
whon th~ driv0r enter~
2he te~p@rature re~po~sive control apparatus 11 of tbs invention i~clude~ a hou~ing portion 17, a ~ocket portion 18~ a circuit portion 19~ a te~peratur~ respon-8ive por~ion 20, a conn~cting portion 21 and a f~stening portion 22.
~Z~4~i ~ he hou~i~qg portion 17 of the co~trol appar~tu~ 11 includes an enclo~urs memb~r 25. ~o e~closura mem~er 25 i~clude~ a m~or fac~ ~ection 26 and ~ plurali~ of ~ides~ l 3~ction8 27~ 2~ 29 and 30~ sidewall sec-tions 27; 30 ~3~ten~ ~roM edE~e~ o~ the face 80~t~01Q 26.
A cov~r ~sction 32 joins ~he ~r~ edge~ OI the ~dewall 8ectlon8 to for~ a chamber 33 with tha e~closur~ ~em~
ber 250 ~ h~ enclo~ure mem~er 25 ~l~o includes a plur~lity o~ di~ider sectio~ 35~ 36 arld 370 The divid~r ~IOI:tiOrl8 ~5 - 37 extend ~rom t~ ce ~eation 26 and t~e sid~-w~ ctions 27 - 30 toward th~ ~oY~r ~ectio~ ~" Ad~
vantag;eously~ the housing por~io~ sr~d of pla8gie9 e~clo~ur~ melcber 25 pre~ bl~ a L~n~tary ~tructuro7 p~ u}a~l~ o$ a Quadra~gular co~igur~tio~0 ~ ~ocke~ portioll la of th~ co~rol appar~tu~ 11 i~cludo~ a plu~ ;y o~ ad~c~t cooper~ e; op~
40, 41" 42~ 43, 44 and 45 i~ o:r ~a¢~ ~c~ion 26 Or the ~nGlo~3u~e m~ab~l~ 25a ~ op~ g~ 40 - 45 ~ro ar-~anged i~to ~rou~s 47 ~ 48 witb at laa3~ two an~ ad-vant;~eou~ bree adaacent openin~ tha~ i~s op~ni~s 40 - 4~ in ~rsup 47 and ope~in~;s 43 ~ 45 in group 48O
Each ~roup 47 alld 48 provides a eombin~tio~ og opoE~ 3n mRtsab~ witb a~ ~lectrical plug ~e~ber 49., ~e ~ocket openi~,ra o~ e~ch ~ro~ap pre~era~ly are arra~g~d in a tri-an~ul~ con~igur~ti.on.
~he circuit portion 19 of the co~trol appar~tus 11 includes at le~t two and adva~tageou~ly tbree sp~ced ~Z~42~
bu~33 bar ~es~srs 51, 52 an~ 53~ q!he buss bar ~emb~rs are dispo~ed w~hin the c~mber 33 o~ the e~closur~ mem-ber 25 i~ a gen~rally parallal relatio~hip, Preferabl~y~
the bu~ bar meD~ber~ ~re xetained i~ po8it;$0~ throug~3 divider asGtion~ ~5 - 37. ~ch OI the busa b~r ma~ber~
51 - 53 i~clude~ ~ Pair o~ contact aac~ions 55~ ~6, 57, 58, 59 and 500 ~ho contact ~a¢t~on~ are ~isposed a~a-ca~t each and oî th~ xeapective bu~8 bar memb~r~
~ o contact sectio~ 55 60 extend from the bu88 bar mem~er~ ~n one dire~t~o~ t~ard the socket openir~ga and termina~,e ~djace2lt thereto. ~e oX the co~tact 8ec tion~ e.g~ 559 of orle of~ the buss bar me~ber~ 51 ~
di~po~d ad.iacent ~ sock~t opening 40 of ~oc~et openi~g group 47. ~ikew~9 ono of tb~ ~o~tact ~ection~ 56 t~at extend~ from anoth~r bu~s bar mem~er 52 i~ dispo~3cd ad-~a¢en~ & ~econd ~o~l~et op2ni~ag 41 o~ the ~am~ ~sroup 47~.
~im~ y, coa~act ~ect~on 57 o:r bus3 bar mem~r 53 i~
dispo~ed al~ac~nt a third 8~ket op~ing 42 o~ ~h~ srou~
47o I~ thi~ w~y,~ th~ thr~ co~act ~ec~-iolls 55t 56 and 57 o~ socket openin~ group 47 extend from three difYer-ent bu~s bar member~ 51, 52 and 53 so a p~ug mem~er 4 of th~ conven~io~lal three prong confizuration can b~
in~er~ad in ths socket openings 40" 41 and 42 of ~ocket ~roup 47 to provide po61tivc, neutral and æround co~n~c-tiorls ~imultaneously.
~ hc temperature re~po~ivc portion 20 of tbe ~ontrol apparatus 11 i.ncludes a b i-~etal thermo~tat means ~;8.
4'~
The ~i-metal thermo3tat 68 i8 di~pcsed within the cha~ber 33 of the enclo8ur~ m~b~r 250 !1?~3 bi-m~t~l ~her~ostat 68 dvan~ageou~ly in~lude~ ~ in~ulator hou~ing 61. Pb~
bi-metal thermo~t6lt h~ one contact ~2 thsreo~ coIl~2ected to one of the buss b~r me~bers (buss b~r 51)~
... .
I!he comlecting portion 21 of tbe control apparatus 11 of the invention include~ po~itiv~ and n~ut:~l con-tact ~er~inals 63 and ~ resp~ctively, Cont~ct tkrm~
nal 63 extends from a second contact 6~ of th~ bi-m~tal 10 ther~os~at G8~ Another ¢ontact terminal ~4 extend,~ rr one of-~'ae bus~ bar mem~er~ 5~?o A third ~sround ~ermlnal ~6 preferably cxtend~ from the -third bu~ b~r memb~r 53.
~ he contact arld ground terminal3 advantageou~l~
oxtend throu~h the cover æeot~ on 7~ Preferably, th~?
conta¢t t~rmi~al~ 63 and ~ a ~e blade conf i.gura'cion~
and tbe ground terminal 6~.~ i s an eiongated cylindrical pin. When the COllt;~lCt termin~1~ 63 ~nd 64 are blade~, it i~ pre~errad th~t th~r b~ arr~sed ~ubstantial1.~ par-allel ~o e~ch ot~cr.
~he fa~ter~ing portion 22 o~ the appar~tus li include~
~asteI~ers that ~ecur~ the c~ver ~ection 32 to the e~clo-~ure member 25~ Advantagsous1y~ the fa~tener~ lncludo ~crew~ 67 which oxtend throu,4,~h the coYer ~ection into the dividax sections ~5 and ~,6 of the enclo~ure mem~el~.
In the U3~ of the control apparatu~ 11 o~ the pro~ent invention, one or more heating ele~ents are installed in the vehicle 12 (Figure 1). An engine heating element 14 can be ia~ta~lcd i~ the engine ~ the same way as wi~ con~en-tio~al engine heaters. ~ha heatin~ eleme~t ma~ bs i~
~t~lled in an ellgine plug openl~; o~ by inaerti~; ~long a liquid circulating bo~sO Al~ol ~passe~ger co~part-me~t heating ~le~t i5 ¢an be in8talled ~ tb¢ ~hicle i~terior., Cord~ or wire~ 70 a~d 71 ~ro~D th~ r~38p~ctiv2 ~eating elcmsn'c~ are connected into the ~;ocket groups 47 and ~8 ~P tb~ control appa~atu~ 11 wbicb is locat~d out~id~ the vobicle n the a~bia~t at~o~phere~
I~ th~ sam~ way~ th~ control apparatus 11 i~ co~ec- -ted 'co an elec~ri¢al curr~nt ~upply. ~8 shcw~, the co~-~rol apparatu~ ia co~neeted to a~ slactric~l cir~uit 72 o~ a buildin~ 13 through Q ~uitabl~ e~rt~nsio~ cord 73 or by pluggin~; t~rminals 63 - 65 ~irectly into the circuit. The cantrol app~r~tu~ w wad~ for U8e.
.:
Tbe control ~par~tu3 11 automa~i~ally hca~- the v~hicl~ 12 without ~n~ attenti.o~ ~rom the e~ r~ ~hu~7 if the ~eatber tur~ col~ ~uch 8~ a t~.p~rature drop at night~ the bi-metal ther~30st~ ;8 n~ t:he ^ontrol apparatus will close the circuit (Figure 8) throuah the apparatus 11 ~llowi~g ~lectrical current to pa~æ fro~ tbe circuit 7 of the ~uildinæ 1~ to ti~e heatin~; elements 14 and 15.
In th~ w~y~ the -~reS~icle 12 wil~ be h~at.ed properly when th~ o~er i8 ro~dy to us~ it. ~he veh~c~e en~i~e will start ea~ ly ~ince it i~ warm~ Al~o, the interior of t~e Ye~lcle will be war~ for the dril~er snd an~ p~s~en-~ars.
z5 .
On the other han~ the a~bien~ te~ raturo re~
at a level i~ which the v~hicie sn~;ine wîll 3tar~ ly, the bi~~etal thermost~t 6~3 of th~ co~r~ pa~u~ 11 will remain op~an . o that electr~ cal curr0~t ~d~ 11 not activa~e the heati~ ele~a~ks 14 and 157, Adv2~nta~eou81 the bi~matal~h~rmoal;~t ~or vehicle heati~ C1013~9 at . a ~e~ rat~re b~t~een about 0 a~ 20F,, q~hus~ the con~rol apparatu~ 11 pro~ride~ heat whe~
the a~b~-~nt te~p~ratur~ drops below a minimum ~h;r~3~01d temperatur2 but do~ not wa~te ~lectrical energy $o h~at tbe ve~icla whe~ not nec~sc~ry~, All oî ~his i~
do~e autom~icall~ wi ~hout roqui~in~ the ~ten~ ~n o~
the ol~mer or o ~.her p~r~ons ~n ~ddit~on to t;Le uc~ of ~;be co~t,rol app~at~
11 in ~o~b~ ion with heatin/~ element~ fo~ -~rehicl~3~ .
the ~4ntrol app~r~t~l~ aL~3o can be emp~oyed with a wide '' va~ ty o~ di~era~t el~ric~l dovices ~d ~pp~iuncea thst ar~ oper~ r~p3~gls ko cha~ ia ambl~n~ ~em p~r~tura~ Ex~14~ o~ oth~r he~tcrs i~clud~ ~p~e he~at-e~ greonhow~a~ a~i~sl barn~ ~ump ho~sesg in~uba- ;
~orst 3~0t c~llar~ etcO~ id h~ers such Qll l~.Ve!-#to~ ~atorit~ t~ h~ati~ tap~ ~or water ~ipa~ and t~ e. ~h~ coxltrol apparatu~ is u~ful al~o with fa~ ch a~ at~ic ~an~ woo~ sto~re ~a~ etcO which ¢ircul~t~ wa~ or hot air. ~he aontrol ap~ar~tus i8 ~mplo~oi5 iE~ th~ ner d-~Gribed abo~re w~th the opora- I
ra~ o~ tho bi~m~tal thernlo~ta~ b~ing s~l~c~ed for ~he ~pocif~c te~per~1;ure conditions to be encountared~.
S
Ths3 above de~criptio~ d 'ch~ ~ccompanyin~; drawi~a ~h~w that the pr~ent i~E3n1~i~n provideE~ o~} c~rol apparatu3~ !Zh~ a~ t~ o~ ~he invent~o~ minlmize~
the clec~rical o~org~ u~e~ and ~hu~ 3iE~i~ieantly rsduce~
~he operat~n~s co~ * ~lo~rical de~vice~r ~he ap~ara~u~
ca~ bc u~d cor~ lenkl~ b~ per~on~ with~ut m~aba~ir-~l or elec~rical a~tud0~ -ontrol app~ratu~ of th~ on~G~o~ i~pio i~ de~ and can be p:rod~0d relat~ely il50Xpel~9i~
aommer¢~ll.y ~vai~abl~ ~t~ri~l~ and oo~on~t~ ~a~
u~od in it8 rab~catio~ ~ployl~g conYo~tio~l el~ric~
~anu~acturinæ tech~iq~eY a~d proc~dure~
~ he co~trol apparat~a~ can be ~t~lled ~ t~r olaly a mi~imum o~ iu~truction~ -A w~d0 ~riety o~ dî~-~ront electr~eal d~rice~ ~d a~pl~ano0~ cu:~s~
u~e c~ be ~ h the app~:ratu~ o* ~b~ ntio~ -.
relativ~ ui.cl~l~ in on~ a few rn~nut~ he app~!;u3 ca~ bo ~odified 8a81~ c~o~mo~te ~articu~ar op~
t~g te~per~tur~ h~ a~p~ratu~ i~ durable in con~t~u~-tio~ ~nd haa ~ lony; u~e~u~ lie ~tb littl~ if all;y ~a~n-teDan¢~
It ~Yill be apparent tha~ ~Tarious modif:ications c~
be made in t~e particular centrol apparatu~ de~crib~d a~ detail and ~ow~ in th0 drawin3s withi~ th~ ~cope o~ tbe inv~tio~q ~he 8~0, coz~igur~tiol~ and ~rrang~-ment of ~ompoll~nt~ can be dif~erent to m~et spaci~ie requiremerlt~O Al~o 7 the npparatu~ ca~ be designed to acc~mmo~ate electrical d~vices o~r~tin~ At par~icular ,Q9LZS
temperature :ranges as de~irod~, ~heae and other chango~
can be made provid~d the fu~ctio~ ; and operation of the control appara~u~ ~ro not advarse}y a~fected. ~her~--, fore~ th~ scop~ of the irlvention i8 t0 bo li~ed o~ly by the ~ollow~ng cla~s.
Claims (15)
1. Temperature responsive control apparatus includ-ing a housing portion, a socket portion, a circuit por-tion, a temperature responsive portion, a connecting portion and a fastening portion; said housing portion including an enclosure member including a major face section and a plurality of sidewall sections extending from edges thereof, a cover section joining free edges of said sidewall sections and forming a chamber with said sidewall sections and forming a chamber with divider sections extending from said major face section and said sidewall sections toward said cover section;
said socket portion including a plurality of openings in said enclosure member, said openings being arranged into groups of at least two adjacent openings with each group providing a combination of openings mateable with an electrical plug member; said circuit portion including at least two spaced buss bar members, said buss bar mem-bers being disposed within said chamber of said enclosure member in a generally parallel relationship, each of said buss bar members including a contact section adjacent each end thereof extending in one direction therefrom toward said socket openings and terminating adjacent there-to, one of said contact sections that extends from one of said buss bar members being disposed adjacent a socket opening of each socket opening group and one of said con-tact sections that extends from another buss bar member being disposed adjacent a second socket opening of each socket opening group; said temperature responsive por-tion including bi-metal thermostat means, said bi-metal thermostat means being disposed within said chamber and having one contact thereof connected to one of said buss bar members; said connecting portion including positive and neutral contact terminals, a contact terminal extend-ing from one of said buss bar members, and another of said contact terminals extending from a second contact of said bi-metal thermostat means; said contact terminals being arranged closely adjacent to each other, each of said contact terminals extending through said cover sec-tion; said fastening portion including fasteners secur-ing said cover section to said enclosure member; whereby electrical current only moves through said control appa-ratus to energize electrical devices having plug members inserted into said socket portion when a threshold tem-perature of said bi-metal thermostat means is passed.
said socket portion including a plurality of openings in said enclosure member, said openings being arranged into groups of at least two adjacent openings with each group providing a combination of openings mateable with an electrical plug member; said circuit portion including at least two spaced buss bar members, said buss bar mem-bers being disposed within said chamber of said enclosure member in a generally parallel relationship, each of said buss bar members including a contact section adjacent each end thereof extending in one direction therefrom toward said socket openings and terminating adjacent there-to, one of said contact sections that extends from one of said buss bar members being disposed adjacent a socket opening of each socket opening group and one of said con-tact sections that extends from another buss bar member being disposed adjacent a second socket opening of each socket opening group; said temperature responsive por-tion including bi-metal thermostat means, said bi-metal thermostat means being disposed within said chamber and having one contact thereof connected to one of said buss bar members; said connecting portion including positive and neutral contact terminals, a contact terminal extend-ing from one of said buss bar members, and another of said contact terminals extending from a second contact of said bi-metal thermostat means; said contact terminals being arranged closely adjacent to each other, each of said contact terminals extending through said cover sec-tion; said fastening portion including fasteners secur-ing said cover section to said enclosure member; whereby electrical current only moves through said control appa-ratus to energize electrical devices having plug members inserted into said socket portion when a threshold tem-perature of said bi-metal thermostat means is passed.
2. Temperature responsive control apparatus accord-ing to Claim 1 wherein said housing portion is formed of plastic.
3. Temperature responsive control apparatus accord-ing to Claim 1 wherein said enclosure member is a unitary structure.
4. Temperature responsive control apparatus accord-ing to Claim 1 wherein said enclosure member has a quad-rangular configuration.
5. Temperature responsive control apparatus accord-ing to Claim 1 wherein each group of said socket portion includes three socket openings.
6. Temperature responsive control apparatus accord-ing to Claim 5 wherein said three socket openings are arranged in a triangular configuration.
7. Temperature responsive control apparatus accord-ing to Claim 1 wherein said buss bar members are retained by said divider sections.
8. Temperature responsive apparatus accord-ing to Claim 1 wherein said circuit portion includes three buss bar members.
9. Temperature responsive control apparatus accord-ing to Claim 8 wherein said contact sections of said third buss bar member are disposed adjacent a third socket opening of each socket opening group.
10. Temperature responsive control apparatus accord-ing Claim 1 wherein said bi-metal thermostat means includes an insulator housing.
11. Temperature responsive control apparatus accord-ing to Claim 1 wherein said contact terminals have a blade configuration.
12. Temperature responsive control apparatus accord-ing to Claim 1 wherein positive and neutral contact ter-minals are blade members arranged substantially parallel to each other.
13. Temperature responsive control apparatus accord-ing to Claim 8 including a ground terminal extending from said third buss bar member.
14. Temperature responsive control apparatus accord-ing to Claim 13 wherein said ground terminal includes an elongated cylindrical pin.
15. Temperature responsive control apparatus accord-ing to Claim 1 wherein said fastening portion includes screws extending through said cover section into said divider sections.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US595,549 | 1984-03-30 | ||
| US06/595,549 US4538134A (en) | 1982-04-29 | 1984-03-30 | Control apparatus |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1210425A true CA1210425A (en) | 1986-08-26 |
Family
ID=24383681
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000456905A Expired CA1210425A (en) | 1984-03-30 | 1984-06-19 | Control apparatus |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1210425A (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5968393A (en) * | 1995-09-12 | 1999-10-19 | Demaline; John Tracey | Hot water controller |
-
1984
- 1984-06-19 CA CA000456905A patent/CA1210425A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5968393A (en) * | 1995-09-12 | 1999-10-19 | Demaline; John Tracey | Hot water controller |
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