The present invention relates to an on/off device particularly for
submersible pumps.
Currently known submersible pumps have, inside a dome that closes
them in an upper region, a bistable microswitch operated by means of a
switching lever.
Said lever is arranged between the ends of a fork that is rotated
rigidly together with a shaft that in turn is moved by a supporting rod,
arranged externally with respect to the dome, for a float.
The lifting of the float, caused by the rise in the level of the liquid,
generally domestic and industrial waste water, in which the pump is at least
partially immersed, turns the shaft and the fork with it.
Such fork, by rotating, acts with a first end on the switching lever of
the bistable switch, accordingly activating the pump.
As the liquid flows out due to the action of the pump, the float moves
downward and the fork rotates in the opposite direction, until the second
end of the fork acts on the lever, again switching the bistable microswitch so
as to deactivate the pump.
An on/off device such as the one described, although being used
extensively, has aspects that can be improved.
The bistable microswitch is generally fixed to the dome by means of
two threaded elements, and its two contacts are tin-soldered to the electric
power supply cables.
If, in an alternative setup of a similar pump, the float is arranged in a
mirror-symmetrical position on the opposite side of the shaft around which
it rotates with respect to the position of the basic setup, such alternative
setup is very inconvenient to achieve.
It is in fact necessary to unsolder the soldered electric cables, unscrew
the bistable microswitch from the dome, turn it over, screw back on the
threaded fixing elements for fixing to the dome, and solder the electric
cables again.
Moreover, the pump motor is usually at least partially resin-cast.
Due to overheating of the motor, the resin casting generates vapors
that rise to the dome and deposit, by cooling, both on the contacts and on a
spring steel bow that functionally connects the switching lever to the
internal circuit of the bistable microswitch.
This deposit insulates the contacts at least partially and causes the
microswitch to malfunction, hindering the correct snap motion of the spring
steel bow.
The incorrect snap action of the bow can lead to early or late
switching of the microswitch, with consequent malfunction of the pump and
of the discharge system to which the pump belongs.
Moreover, the bistable microswitches used in known on/off devices
are very expensive and are generally custom-made for the type of pump.
The aim of the present invention is to provide an on/off device
particularly for submersible pumps that is capable of solving the drawbacks
noted in known types.
Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide an
on/off device particularly for submersible pumps that can be installed
quickly and easily both in a pump in which the float is on one side of the
rotating shaft and in a pump in which the float is arranged mirror-symmetrically
on the opposite side.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an on/off device
in which the contacts of the microswitch are well-protected against the
vapors of the resin casting of the motor.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an on/off device
that can be manufactured at low cost by also using standard components that
are easily commercially available.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an on/off
device whose performance is not lower, and whose reliability is higher, than
known types.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide an on/off
device particularly for submersible pumps that can be manufactured with
known systems and technologies.
This aim and these and other objects that will become better apparent
hereinafter are achieved by an on/off device particularly for submersible
pumps, of the type that comprises, inside a dome, a microswitch that is
operated by means of a switching lever arranged between the ends of a fork
that rotates rigidly with a rotation shaft that is moved by a supporting rod,
arranged externally to said dome, for a float, said device being characterized
in that it comprises, inside a containment shell, a monostable microswitch in
which the switching button is available to the action of a cam-like lug of
said switching lever, said lever being pivoted to a fulcrum that is arranged
inside said shell.
Advantageously, said lever has, proximate to said fulcrum and
symmetrically with respect to the axis of said fulcrum, two protrusions with
a cam-like profile for reversible snap engagement between two retention
elements that are adapted to stabilize the configuration assumed by said
cam-like lug.
Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become
better apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred but not
exclusive embodiment thereof, illustrated by way of non-limiting example
in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 is a partially sectional side view of a pump equipped with an
on/off device according to the invention; Figure 2 is a front view of part of a device according to the invention
in a first configuration; Figure 3 is a front view of the same part as in Figure 2 of a device
according to the invention in a second configuration; Figure 4 is a view of another part of a device according to the
invention; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a device according to the invention.
With reference to the figures, an on/off device particularly for
submersible pumps according to the invention is generally designated by the
reference numeral 10.
The device 10 comprises, inside a dome 11 that constitutes the upper
part of a submersible pump 60, a microswitch 12, which is operated by
means of a switching lever 13 arranged between the ends, designated by the
reference numerals 14a and 14b respectively, of a fork 14.
The fork 14 rotates rigidly with a shaft 15, which is moved by a rod
16 that is arranged externally to the dome 11 and is designed to support a
float 17.
The device 10 comprises, inside a containment shell 18, a
microswitch 12 of the monostable type.
The switching button 19 is available to the action of a cam-like lug 20
of the switching lever 13.
The lever 13 is pivoted to a fulcrum 21 arranged inside the shell 18.
The lever 13 has two protrusions 22a and 22b with a cam-like profile
that are arranged proximate to the fulcrum 21 symmetrically with respect to
the axis of the fulcrum.
The protrusions 22a and 22b allow reversible snap engagement
between two retention elements 23, which are adapted to stabilize the
configuration assumed by the cam-like lug 20.
The retention elements 23 are formed by two bars, designated
respectively by the reference numerals 24a and 24b, which are elastically
deformable and mutually opposite; their free ends 25a and 25b each have a
raised portion 26a and 26b, which is shaped so as to engage reversibly the
corresponding protrusion 22a or 22b having a cam-like profile.
The containment shell 18 is constituted by two half- shells 27a and
27b.
The two half- shells 27a and 27b, as well as the lever 13, are
conveniently obtained by molding plastic material.
The bars 24a and 24b are monolithic with the first half-shell 27a and
the fulcrum 21 is monolithic with the second half-shell 27b.
The shell 18 also has a stroke limiting abutment 28 for the lever 13
and two openings 30a and 30b for accessing contacts 31 of the monostable
microswitch 12.
The contacts 31 are of the type known commercially as Faston.
The monostable microswitch 12 has three male Faston contacts,
designated by the reference numerals 31a, 31b and 31c in the figures.
The monostable microswitch 12, of a standard and easily
commercially available type, has intrinsic characteristics of waterproofness,
compactness and low cost.
The monostable microswitch 12, of a commercially known type, and
the shell 18 whose components are obtained by molding plastic material,
allow the overall cost of the device 10 according to the invention to be far
lower than the cost of conventional bistable microswitches.
Among the three male Faston contacts, there is an input contact 31a, a
first output contact 31b, and a second output contact 31c.
Only one of the output contacts 31b and 31c, in addition to the input
contact 31a, is connected to a female Faston contact 80 so as to close the
electric circuit, not shown for the sake of convenience, for activating the
motor of the pump 60.
The lever 13, actuated by the ends 14a and 14b of the fork 14,
switches the circuit, closing it onto the output contact, for example 31b, that
is connected to the female Faston contact 80, or opening it on the other
output contact, for example 31c, that is free from the female Faston contact
80.
In the exemplified case, the lever 13 closes the circuit on the first
contact 31b, releasing the switching button 19, as shown in Figure 2.
The pump 60 therefore is on when the button 19 is released and is off
when the button 19 is pressed by the cam-like lug 20, as shown in Figures 1
and 3.
This solution allows to install the float 17 on the opposite side of the
rotation shaft 15 with respect to the example of application described here,
without having to remove and invert the device 10, as occurs in known
devices, but simply by shifting the female Faston contact 80 from the first
output contact 31b to the second free output contact 31c.
Installing the float 17 on the opposite side of the rotation shaft 15
with respect to the described example of application entails that the fork 14,
when the float 17 rises, rotates in the opposite direction with respect to the
described setup.
The pump 60, accordingly, must be on when the switching button 19
is pressed by the cam-like lug 20 and no longer when it is released as in the
example described above.
This can be achieved easily, as mentioned, simply by moving the
female Faston contact 80 from the first output contact 31b to the second free
output contact 31c.
In view of the characteristics of the monostable microswitch 12 that is
used, pressing the button 19 in fact connects the input contact 31a to the
second output contact 31c, while releasing the button 19 connects the input
contact 31a to the first output contact 31b.
The shell 18 is accommodated in a compartment 33 provided inside
the dome 11.
The shell 18 is locked in the compartment 33 by an extraction-preventing
cover 34.
The cover 34 is fixed to the dome by means of a threaded coupling
that is not shown for the sake of simplicity.
The rotation shaft 15 is inserted in a through opening 35 that is
provided with sealing gaskets 36 on a wall 37 of the dome 11.
The fork 14 is reversibly keyed on the shaft 15, on a first portion 15a
thereof that is arranged inside the dome 11.
The rod 16 that supports the float 17 is instead keyed reversibly on a
second portion 15b that is arranged outside the dome 11.
The internal end 15c of the shaft 15 is inserted in a hole 39 provided
on a supporting plate 40 that is rigidly coupled to the dome 11, while the
outer end 15d is accommodated in a recess 41 that is obtained on an
extraction-preventing plate 42 for the rod 16.
The plate 42 is connected externally to the plate 11 by way of
reversible fixing means 43.
The reversible fixing means 43 are constituted by two plugs 43a and
43b, which are arranged symmetrically with respect to the axis of the shaft
15 and are forced reversibly into complementarily- shaped pockets 44a and
44b that protrude from the dome 11 around the through opening 35.
Removal of the plate 42, which is also possible manually, allows a
user to extract the rod 16 from its keying with the shaft 15 and to arrange it
in a configuration at 180° with respect to the original described
configuration.
In practice it has been found that the invention thus described solves
the problems noted in conventional on/off devices particularly for
submersible pumps.
In particular, the present invention provides an on/off device that can
be manufactured at low cost also by using standard components that are
easily commercially available.
Moreover, the present invention provides an on/off device
particularly for submersible pumps in which a commercial-type monostable
microswitch is integrated in a shell that is obtained at an extremely low cost
by molding plastic material and is provided with simple mechanisms that
make the device according to the invention operate like a bistable
microswitch.
Moreover, the present invention provides an on/off device in which
the contacts of the microswitch are well-protected against the vapors of the
resin casting of the motor.
Moreover, the present invention provides an on/off device
particularly for submersible pumps that can be installed quickly and easily
both on a pump in which the float is on one side of the rotation shaft and on
a pump in which the float is arranged mirror-symmetrically on the opposite
side.
Moreover, the present invention provides an on/off device whose
performance is not lower, and whose reliability is greater, than known types.
Moreover, the present invention provides an on/off device
particularly for submersible pumps that can be manufactured with known
systems and technologies.
The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous
modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the
appended claims.
All the details may further be replaced with other technically
equivalent elements.
In practice, the materials employed, so long as they are compatible
with the specific use, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to
requirements and to the state of the art.
The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. PD2003A000273
from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by
reference.
Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by
reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole
purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such
reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each
element identified by way of example by such reference signs.