CH651680A5 - DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING THE ENERGY SUPPLY OF A GAS AND ELECTRICITY APPLIANCE. - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a device for controlling the supply of energy to devices which can work either with a gas burner (butane or propane for example) or with at least one electrical resistance.

Without the scope of the present invention being limited to absorption refrigerators, it will be explained by reference to these devices. Many absorption refrigerators are of the mixed type, in the sense that the aggregate boiler (refrigeration circuit ensuring the circulation in closed cycle of the refrigerant mixture, generally water / ammonia / hydrogen) can be heated indifferently with a gas burner or with an electrical resistance. This results in the existence on the device of two separate energy supply circuits;

- on the one hand, a gas circuit comprising, from the source of combustible gas to the burner, firstly a gas shut-off valve is provided on the appliance, or separate from the refrigerator, this valve comprising a handwheel to two positions, one of full opening and the other of closing angularly separated by 90 or 180 °, secondly a control valve or safety valve comprising an inlet in connection with the gas shut-off valve and a connected outlet to the burner, open when the latter is in operation, and closing when it stops operating, thirdly and possibly a thermostat modulating the flow of combustible gas as a function of the interior temperature of the refrigerator;

- on the other hand an electrical circuit comprising, from the electrical source (electrical outlet or battery) to the resistance, firstly an electrical switch making it possible to establish or interrupt the electrical circuit, secondly and possibly a thermostat modulating or interrupting the current electric depending on the interior temperature of the refrigerator.

Preferably, the control valve comprises a resiliently loaded valve, a seat for the latter, a heat-sensitive element (electromagnet for example) connected to the burner (for example by a thermocouple), ensuring the retention of the valve against its elastic load when the burner is in operation, an elastically loaded pusher making it possible to temporarily push the valve against its own elastic load when the burner is in the process of lighting, said pusher being generally reset in its initial position under the effect of its own elastic load.

Generally, the actuating or controlling members of the two energy supply circuits are grouped together in a control panel provided adjacent to the refrigerator. Such a table groups, but separately:

- possibly the handwheel of the gas stop valve;

- The push-button of the safety valve, when the latter includes a heat-sensitive element, as described above;

- possibly the gas thermostat control button;

- the control member of the electrical switch;

- possibly the electric thermostat control button.

Such an association is for example shown by the Luxembourg patent "N ° 66621.

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For various reasons, in particular for safety, it is essential that the boiler is not heated simultaneously by the gas burner and by the electrical resistance, and therefore that the opening of the gas circuit does not take place at the same time as the closing of the electrical circuit.

In accordance with the prior art, various solutions have been made to this technical problem.

Several proposals have been made to control by a single operating device, on the one hand, the electric switch and, on the other hand, the gas stop valve or the safety valve, said operating device having at at least two positions, a first corresponding exclusively to an opening of the gas circuit and an opening of the electric circuit, and a second corresponding exclusively to a closing of the gas circuit and a closing of the electric circuit.

According to US Patent No. 3,875,369, the gas shut-off valve with handle with two angular positions separated by 90 ° and the electrical switch with an operating lever pivoting to at least two positions are assembled adjacent to each other, one at- above each other. An intermediate piece, controlled by a single operating member accessible to the user, is both movable in translation between two positions and in rotation in both directions. In the non-depressed position of the intermediate piece and by turning the latter in one direction, the valve handle is engaged with said piece and rotated by 90 °; during this rotation, the lever of the switch remains free relative to the intermediate piece and in its open position of the electrical circuit. In the depressed position of the intermediate piece and by turning the latter in the opposite direction, from the valve closed position, the switch lever is engaged with an appropriate groove of said intermediate piece, and therefore pivots through the latter towards its closed position of the electrical circuit; during this rotation, the valve handle remains free relative to the intermediate part and therefore in its closed position of the gas circuit.

The British patent N ° 1383841 proposes a solution of the same type as that exposed previously by preference to the American patent N ° 3875369, but simpler. In this case, the electrical switch is rotary-controlled, and its control wheel merges with the single operating member of the gas circuit and the electrical circuit. The intermediate piece is wedged on the switch control shaft, - behind the latter relative to the operating member, between the valve and this switch. A suitable groove is provided on the intermediate piece, in engagement with the tap handle. By turning the intermediate piece in one direction, the valve handle is brought to its open position, the switch remaining in the open position of the electrical circuit. By turning the intermediate piece in the other direction, from the position of closing the valve, we arrive at the position of the switch closing the electrical circuit; the shape of the groove is such that, during this rotation, the handwheel is not actuated and therefore remains in its closed position.

Even simpler, according to British Patent No. 1439766, it is proposed to actuate the gas valve directly with the control shaft of the electrical switch of the rotary type and not with a separate hand wheel; the switch and the valve are arranged one behind the other, coaxially. At an angular position of the switch control shaft correspond the closing of the electric circuit and that of the gas circuit; to another position correspond the opening of the electric circuit and that of the gas circuit.

According to the American patent N ° 3105363, the solution proposed by the British patent N ° 1439766 is reversed, in the sense that the valve operating handwheel constitutes the single operating member, the electric switch is placed behind the valve and the rotation of the valve's handwheel directly activates the electrical switch.

The safety valve, when it is of the thermosensitive type, for example when it has an electromagnet retaining the valve thanks to the electric current delivered by a thermocouple heated by the burner, can be controlled by opening or closing the electrical circuit connecting the thermocouple and the electromagnet; if opened, the valve is pushed back under the effect of its own electrical charge.

Various solutions have previously been proposed to take advantage of such a characteristic. According to German patent application N ° 2019042 and American patent N ° 3370436, an electric switch is provided ensuring not only the opening and closing of the electric circuit towards the heating resistor, but also those of the electric circuit of the valve of security. The single operating member merges with the control member of the electrical switch. The latter is arranged in such a way that the opening of the electrical circuit of the resistor corresponds to the closing of the electrical circuit of the safety valve and vice versa.

Other proposals concern the coexistence on the control panel of the handwheel of the gas shut-off valve and the control member of the electric switch, but with the interposition between the two of a safety mechanism having the following functions:

- it authorizes the supply of gas to the burner only when the switch is in a first position interrupting (or opening) the electrical circuit of the resistor;

- it prohibits the operation of the switch from its first position, when the burner is supplied with gas;

- it authorizes the operation of the switch when the gas supply to the burner is cut off.

According to US Patent No. 3295334, the gas shut-off valve with handle with two angular positions separated by 90 ° and the electrical switch with swivel operating lever in two positions are assembled adjacent to each other, one below the other. The valve handle is integral with a part which, in front view, has the shape of a quarter of a circle. In the closed position of the tap, the operating lever of the switch can be lowered to its closed position of the electrical circuit, along an edge of the aforementioned part. In the open position of the tap, the operating lever of the switch is locked in its open position of the electrical circuit against the circular edge of the aforementioned part.

In a technical field different from absorption refrigeration, a similar solution is proposed by French patent N ° 1393748. According to the latter, the gas stop valve has a handwheel with several angular positions, one of which corresponds at the closing of the gas circuit and another at a minimum opening of the same circuit, and the electric switch has a tilting control member with two positions, one for opening and the other for closing the electric circuit. In the valve closing position, the switch control member is located in an appropriate notch on the valve operating wheel and can therefore be actuated manually towards its closing position. By opening the valve, the latter's handwheel switches the switch control member to its closed position, covers it and blocks it in said position.

The present invention aims to include a safety mechanism and avoids a solution with a single operating member of the gas circuit and the electrical circuit.

The device according to the invention is defined by claim 1. The safety valve is of a particular known type, known as mechanical display. Safety valves of this type differ from safety valves with thermosensitive element described above in that the pusher is reset, when the burner is ignited, either in its initial position, under the cumulative effect of its elastic load. and that of the valve, if the burner is not lit, either in an intermediate position, under the sole effect of its elastic load, if the burner is lit. Unlike the other valves, for which the pusher always returns to its initial position, whether or not the burner is lit, for the display valves the position of the pusher is directly signifying the lit or not state of the burner.

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Since there is a wide variety of rotary control, rocker, push button, etc. switches, a large number of different mechanical means can be used to achieve the three previously defined safety effects in combination.

The appended drawing, given by way of example, will allow a better understanding of the invention, the characteristics which it presents and the advantages which it is capable of providing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view with section showing the assembly of the stop valve of the control valve, of the switch, of their control members and of the safety mechanism interposed therebetween.

Figs. 2 and 3 are diagrams reproducing part of FIG. 1 and showing the valve control push button, on the one hand, in its fully depressed position corresponding to the ignition of the burner, on the other hand, that in the intermediate position corresponding to normal gas operation.

Fig. 4 is a partial front view showing the control panel of the refrigerator with the push-button of the control valve and the steering wheel of the switch. There is shown in I-I the section plane of FIG. 1.

Fig. 5 is a section along V-V (fig. 1).

Figs. 6 to 8 are views similar to that of FIG. 5, but corresponding to other positions of the parts.

The control device comprises two members joined and arranged adjacent, with their respective substantially parallel axes, namely, on the one hand, a control valve 1 (also called safety valve) with mechanical display and, on the other hand , an electrical switch 2. These two components are fixed on the top of an absorption refrigerator, behind a control panel 3.

The control valve 1 is conventional; this is for example that referenced 819-13 sold by the French company Madec. Without going into the details of its internal arrangement, which has been summarized in the introduction to this description, this valve comprises:

- a tubular body 20;

- A gas inlet 4 connected, for example by a flexible pipe 21 to a stop valve 22 separate from the refrigerator, which tap is connected to a bottle or to a rigid gas pipe;

- A gas outlet 5 connected by a rigid pipe to a burner (not shown) in heat exchange relationship with the boiler of the aggregate;

- a thermosensitive element 23, for example an electromagnet, connected by an electrical connection 6 to a thermocouple (not shown) in contact with the burner flame;

- A valve 24 pushed against its seat 20a by an elastic load 25;

- A pusher 7 movable in translation loaded outwards by a spring 26 allowing its rod 27 to temporarily push the valve 24, against its own elastic load 25, when the burner is being ignited;

- Balls 28 on the pusher 7, loaded centrifugally and cooperating with a chamfer 20b of the body 20.

The operation of such a valve is as follows:

- by pressing the pusher 7, against the elastic load 26, the valve 24 is pushed back, against the elastic load 25;

- Once the burner is lit, the pusher is pushed back by the elastic load 26 only, whereby the balls 28 retained in the chamfer 20b block said pusher in the intermediate position;

- If the burner is not lit, the pusher is also pushed back by the elastic load 25, whereby the balls 28 can escape from the chamfer 20b to push the pusher back to its initial position.

The pusher 7 is linked to a control button 8 via a piezoelectric mechanism 9 and a connecting piece 10, all of these elements being aligned along the axis of the control valve. The purpose of the piezoelectric mechanism is to generate a voltage

electric, transmitted by at least one conductive wire to at least one electrode disposed in the vicinity of the burner, which voltage generates an ignition spark. The control button 8 has two parts 11 and 12 of different colors; it is fixed in rotation; in fact, it is of square section and can move in translation in an adjusted light 13 of the control panel 3.

After being moved, the pusher 7 resets itself either in its initial position, which corresponds to the emergence outside of table 3 of the two parts 11 and 12 of the button 8 and means that the burner is not lit, either in an intermediate position, which corresponds to the emergence outside table 3 of part 11 only of the button and indicates that the burner is lit. The initial position and the intermediate position of the control button 8 are respectively shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

The switch 2 is rotary-controlled and has a drive shaft 14 connected to a flywheel 15. This switch control has four possible positions, namely:

- a first position (fig. 5), identified by the word GAZ, in which the respective circuits of electrical supply of two resistors, located in heat exchange relationship with the boiler of the aggregate, one in 220 V alternating and the other in 12 V DC, are open and therefore interrupted;

- a second position (fig. 6), identified by 220 V, in which the 220 V circuit is closed and the 12 V circuit open;

- a third position (fig. 7), identified by 12 V, in which the 12 V circuit is closed by the open 220 V circuit;

- a fourth position, marked with O, in which the two 12 V and 220 V circuits are open.

The safety mechanism according to the invention comprises, on the one hand, a finger 16 and, on the other hand, a longitudinal recess (parallel to the axis of the valve 1 and to that of the switch 2) or groove of complementary shape 17a. More specifically, the finger 16 is integral with the control button 8 and is disposed on the side of the latter. An intermediate piece 17 is wedged on the shaft 14 between the flywheel 15 and the body 18 of the switch 2. It is this piece 17 which has the recess 17a of a shape complementary to that of the finger 16, in this case a shape in trapezoidal section.

Referring to fig. 1,2, 3 and 5, it can be seen that the finger 16 and the recess 17a are only coincident for the GAS position of the electric switch.

Starting from the GAS position (fig. 1, 3 and 5) of the switch 2 and from the initial position (burner not lit) of the pusher 7 or the control button 8 of the control valve 1, the operation of the safety mechanism according to the invention can be explained as follows.

Firstly, in the GAS position, when the control button 8 and therefore the pusher 7 of the control valve 1 are pushed back, the first is able to move over its entire travel to fully depress the pusher, since the finger 16 can penetrate and move in the recess 17a and is limited in its travel only by the body 18 of the switch 2, which is located behind the end of travel of the pusher 7 (fig 2). This coupling and this displacement relative to one another of the finger 16 and of the recess 17a make it possible to push the valve plug 1 against its elastic load and to ignite the burner thanks to the piezo mechanism -electric 9, the latter being triggered after the end of travel of the pusher 7.

Secondly, when the burner is on and the control button 8 is released, the latter returns to an intermediate position shown in FIG. 3. In this position, the finger 16 remains coupled to the recess 17a since it remains in the latter in an intermediate position. It is then impossible to operate the switch from the GAS position to the 220 V or 12 V position, since the shaft 14 is locked in rotation, due to the coupling 16-17a, but also from the rotation lock button 8.

Thirdly, if you want to switch to electrical energy, it is necessary to cut off the gas supply to the refrigerator thanks to the robi-

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net 22, whereby the burner goes out and the pusher 7 of the control valve returns to its initial position (fig. 1). As soon as the finger 16 and the recess 17a are uncoupled, that is to say as soon as the finger 16 escapes from the recess 17a, the switch can be placed in the position 220 V or 12 V, or O; this last position corresponds to the opening of the 12 V and 220 V electrical circuits and the impossibility of actuating the control valve 1.

In the three aforementioned positions (fig. 6 to 8), there is no longer any axial coincidence between the elements 16 and 17a and, when the control button 8 is pressed, the finger 16 immediately comes into abutment 5 on the intermediate piece 17, so that it is no longer possible to actuate the control valve.

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2 sheets of drawings

Claims (5)

651,680 1. A device for controlling the supply of energy to an appliance working either with a gas burner or with at least one electrical resistance, comprising: - a control valve (1) comprising an inlet (4) in connection with a gas shut-off valve, separate from said valve, and an outlet (5) connected to the burner, said valve remaining open when the burner is in operation and closing when the burner stops working; - an electrical switch (2) for establishing or interrupting the resistance circuit; - a safety mechanism allowing, on the one hand, to authorize the supply of gas to the burner only when the switch is in a first position interrupting the electrical circuit of the resistor and, on the other hand, to prohibit the operation of the switch from its first position, when the burner is supplied with gas, but to authorize said operation when the gas supply to the burner is cut, of the type comprising a control valve (1) with mechanical display, a valve resiliently loaded, a seat for said valve, a heat-sensitive element connected to the burner ensuring the retention of the valve against its elastic load when the burner is in operation, an elastically charged pusher allowing to temporarily push the valve to the against its elastic charge when the burner is being ignited, said pusher being reset, ie in its initial position under the cumulative effect of its elastic charge and that of the valve t, either in an intermediate position under the sole effect of its elastic load; characterized in that the safety mechanism associates the electric switch (2) and the pusher (7) of the control valve according to a relative arrangement in which; - operation of the pusher is only possible when the switch is in its first position (fig. 1, 2, 4, 5); - it is not possible to operate the switch from its first position when the pusher is in its intermediate position (fig. 3); - operation of the switch is possible when the button is reset to its initial position (fig. 1). 2. Device according to claim 1, the switch of which is rotary-controlled and the push-button of the control valve is movable in translation, characterized in that, on the one hand, the switch (2) and the control valve (1 ) are arranged adjacent to each other, their respective axes being substantially parallel, and, on the other hand, the safety mechanism comprises two complementary elements, namely firstly a finger (16) secured to the pusher of the control valve, and secondly a part (17) locked in rotation on the switch control shaft (14), said part comprising a longitudinal recess (17a), said finger and said part being arranged relative to each other so as to: - put the recess and the finger in coincidence in the first position of the switch (fig. 1 and 5); - be able to move the finger longitudinally in the recess, when operating the valve lifter, in the so-called coincidence position (fig. 2); - prohibit the rotary operation of the switch control shaft, from its first position as long as the finger remains in the recess, in an intermediate position corresponding to the intermediate position of the valve lifter (fig. 3) ; - disconnect the finger and the recess when the valve tappet is in its initial position (fig. 1) and thus make it possible to operate the switch in rotation from its first position, this operation making any longitudinal movement of the tappet impossible . 2 3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the finger (16) is integral with a control button (8) connected to the pusher (7) of the control valve. 4. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that the part (17) locked in rotation on the switch control shaft is disposed between the body (18) of said switch and its control wheel (15). 5. Absorption refrigerator working either with a gas burner or with at least one electrical resistance, characterized in that it comprises a device for controlling the energy supply according to one of claims 1 to 4.