FR2823004A1 - Fuse for connecting multiple-source power supply to power receiving device, comprises separate terminal leads, common connector region, and fuse links comprising overlay - Google Patents

Abstract

Fuse has separate terminal leads (20); common connector region; and fuse links made from a first conductive material. The fuse links interconnect each terminal leads to the common connector region. At least a portion of the fuse link(s) comprises an overlay of a second conductive material, different from the first, having a lower melting temperature than the first conductive material.

Description

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 The invention relates generally to fuses. In particular, the invention relates to a fuse arrangement which establishes a fuse connection for multiple power sources to a single common area for fixing electrical connectors.

 Taking power from a multi-source power supply, such as a battery pack with a plurality of cells or cells, often poses problems. Although it is desirable to "disconnect" individual malfunctioning cells or sources by means of a fusible link before the device receiving power is damaged, it is also desirable to be able to continue to supply power to the device. Using a plurality of individual fuses for this purpose wastes valuable space and makes assembly more difficult and time consuming.

 US Patent 3,877,770 to Sanders et al. describes an electrical connector that connects the ends of two separate segments of a ribbon-type multi-conductor cable. The connector includes a plurality of conductive strips each including a fusible link.

Each individual conductor strip of the connector is used to contact an individual conductor of the ribbon type cable with an individual conductor of another ribbon type cable.

 US patent 4,670,725 in the name of Ahs describes a relay tab unit comprising a main part, a part comprising 20 fuses, transition parts and tab-shaped parts. The relay tab unit is described as being fixed to a relay by a clamp which is screwed into the relay. Ahs indicates that if a single fuse blows, the entire unit must be replaced.

 U.S. Patent 2,934,627 to Bristol et al.

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 describes a plate-like element in a printed circuit configuration. The printed circuit configuration includes a common wire or conductor, fusible portions, and a plurality of individual conductors. Bristol et al. describe inserting the device into a socket slot so that all of the fusible links are centralized in one location.

 US Patents 3,810,063 and 3,721,935 to Blewitt and Kozacka respectively describe a plurality of fuse links which interconnect two individual blade type connections at both ends of the fuse.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In an exemplary embodiment, a fuse for establishing a connection between a multi-source power supply comprising a plurality of cells and a power receiving device includes a plurality of separate strip conductors, a common region contact, and a plurality of fusible links formed of a first conductive material and interconnecting a respective one of the terminal conductors to the common contact region. At least a portion of at least one of the fusible links includes a coating formed of a second conductive material which is different from the first conductive material from which the fusible link is formed. The second conductive material of the coating has a lower melting temperature than that of the first conductive material of the fusible link. In one embodiment, the fusible links are made of copper and the coating is made of tin.

 When at least one terminal is connected to the power supply and the common contact region is connected to the power reception device, current flows from the connected terminal conductor via the associated fuse link to reach the

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 common contact area and the power receiving device. Under an overcurrent condition, the coating melts and forms an alloy with the fusible bond material having a melting temperature lower than that of the fusible bond material. Thus, the operating temperature of the fuse link is controlled and the fuse link does not reach the higher operating temperatures that the material of the fuse links would allow. Consequently, safety is improved due to the reduction in operating temperatures of the fusible links and, as desired, operating points of adjacent fusible links can be modified by providing, omitting or modifying the coating so as to form a fuse for a more differentiated use. This is why power sources with a malfunction can be isolated from the power receiving device, while the other power sources continue to send power to the power receiving devices through other strip conductors and other fusible links.

 In addition, a protective body is attached to the fuse in at least one area of the fusible links and includes a structure formed of two elements, which is mounted on at least the common contact region. In various embodiments, the fusible links include split fusible links, elements such as wires, and narrowed regions formed in terminal conductors.

 In more detail the invention relates to a fuse for establishing a connection between a multi-source power supply comprising a plurality of cells and a power reception device, characterized in that said fuse comprises: a plurality of terminal conductors separate,

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 a common contact region, and a plurality of fusible links, each of said fusible links being formed of a first conductive material and connecting a respective one of said terminal conductors to said common contact region, at least a portion of at least one of said fusible links comprising a coating formed of a second conductive material, different from said first conductive material, said second conductive material having a melting temperature lower than that of said first conductive material.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, said at least one link among said fusible links being made of copper.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, said coating is formed of tin.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, said at least one link among said fusible links is made of a copper alloy.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, said at least one link among said fusible links is formed from a tin alloy.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, the fuse further comprises a protective body fixed to said fuse at least in the area of said fuse links.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, said protective body comprises at least two separate elements which are mounted on at least said common contact region.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, at least one of said fusible links is split.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, at least one fusible link comprises a wire-shaped element which crosses a gap between a terminal conductor and a common contact region.

 According to another characteristic of the invention,

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 said wire-like member has a diameter of about 0.28 mm.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, at least one of said fusible links comprises a narrowed region formed in said terminal conductors.

 The invention also relates to a fuse for connecting a multi-source power supply having a plurality of cells to a power reception device, characterized in that said fuse comprises: a plurality of separate terminal conductors, a common region of contact, a plurality of fusible links made of a first conductive material, each of said fusible links connecting a respective one of said terminal conductors to said connector region so as to connect said multi-source power supply to said power reception device, at least part of at least one of said fusible links comprising a coating formed of a second conductive material, the melting temperature of said conductive material being lower than the melting temperature of said first conductive material, and a current flowing from at minus one of said plurality of cond terminal drives, passing through at least one of said fusible links and terminating at said common contact region when said at least one terminal is connected to the power supply and when said connector region is connected to the power reception device.

 According to another characteristic of a fuse according to the invention, each fuse link has an operating point, said operating point of at least one fuse link being different from the operating point of another of said fuse links.

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 According to another characteristic of a fuse according to the invention, it further comprises a protective body fixed to said fuse at least in the area of said fuse links.

- la figure 3B est une vue en élévation latérale d'une autre forme de réalisation du fusible de la figure 1 ; - la figure 4 est une vue en plan du fusible de la figure 1 à un stade intermédiaire de fabrication ; - la figure 5 est une vue en coupe transversale prise suivant la ligne 5-5 sur la figure 4 ; - la figure 6 est une vue en élévation latérale d'une structure de liaison fusible qui peut être utilisée avec la présente invention ; - la figure 7 est une vue en plan d'une autre structure de liaison fusible qui peut être utilisée avec la présente invention ; - la figure 8 est une vue en élévation latérale de la liaison fusible de la figure 7 ;

- la figure 9 est une vue en plan d'une autre structure de liaison fusible qui peut être utilisée avec la présente invention ; - la figure 10 est une vue en plan d'une autre structure de liaison fusible qui peut être utilisée avec la présente invention ; Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will emerge from the description given below taken with reference to the appended drawings, in which: - Figure 1 is a plan view of a fuse according to the present invention; - Figure 2 is an end view of the fuse of Figure 1; - Figure 3A is a side elevational view of the fuse of Figure 1;

- Figure 3B is a side elevational view of another embodiment of the fuse of Figure 1; - Figure 4 is a plan view of the fuse of Figure 1 at an intermediate stage of manufacture; - Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 in Figure 4; - Figure 6 is a side elevational view of a fusible link structure which can be used with the present invention; - Figure 7 is a plan view of another fusible link structure which can be used with the present invention; - Figure 8 is a side elevational view of the fuse link of Figure 7;

- Figure 9 is a plan view of another fusible link structure which can be used with the present invention; - Figure 10 is a plan view of another fusible link structure which can be used with the present invention;

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 - Figure 11 is a side elevational view of the fuse link of Figure 10; and - Figure 12 is a partial plan view of another embodiment of a fuse.

 Referring to Figure 1, a fuse device according to the present invention is generally represented by the reference 10. The fuse 10 comprises a plurality of separate individual conductors with terminals 20, which can be used to establish a connection electric from a plurality of power sources, such as, for example, individual cells of a multi-element grid (not shown), on a single charge, such as a radio apparatus and a telephone apparatus. The fuse according to the present invention is also suitable for intense current applications, such as for example electric vehicles and non-peak energy storage devices for electrical appliances. The terminal conductors 20 are preferably formed from a conductive material such as copper. However, any other suitable conductive material can be used.

 The number of terminal conductors can vary depending on the specific requirements of a desired application. In the embodiment shown in the figures, eight individual terminal conductors 20 are provided. On the opposite side of the fuse 10 is arranged a common contact zone 30, which provides a single zone of electrical connection with a device for receiving power. The common contact area 30 may include openings 35 serving to facilitate electrical and / or mechanical connection.

 The fuse 10 also includes a protective body 40. The material of the protective body is non-conductive and can be formed from any suitable non-conductive material. Preferably the protective body 40 is

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 formed of a non-conductive plastic. At least one protective cover 50 is fixed to the protective body 40 and is mounted on a flange 42 inside an opening formed in the protective body 40 (see FIGS. 1 and 5).

 The protective body can also include at least two projecting parts 60 facilitating the mounting of the fuse 10. The protective body 40 and at least one cover 50 surrounds the fusible links by protecting them from the environment, by preventing contact unintended fuse links and containing the fuse links when the fuse element has "blown" during an overload state. The protective plastic housing can be formed from two separate mounting elements 100 and 110.

 Although the type of fuse 10 of the present invention may have any suitable size, determined for example by a desired application, the dimensions given below are given by way of illustration.

Profondeur 212 du corps protecteur 40 = 16, 00 mm Epaisseur 214 du corps protecteur 40 = 4, 5 mm Largeur 190 des conducteurs 20 = 4, 0 mm Espace 200 entre les conducteurs 20 = 1, 25 mm Largeur 216 de la zone commune de contact 30 = 40, 0 mm Epaisseur 220 des conducteurs de bornes 20 = 0,64 mm
En se référant à la figure 2 et à la figure 3A, la zone commune de contact 30 s'étend sur un côté du corps protecteur 40. Les conducteurs de bornes 20 peuvent avoir n'importe quelle forme requise et s'étendent à partir d'un côté opposé du corps protecteur 40 le long d'une région 80 jusqu'à un coude 70. Les conducteurs de bornes s'étendent ensuite à partir du coude 70 le long d'une région distincte 90 et se termine en des extrémités 95. Les conducteurs de bornes 20 sont coudés sur un angle d'environ 90 . L'épaisseur 220 de la feuille d'un matériau conducteur, qui forme Protective body width 210 40 = 42.75 mm

Depth 212 of the protective body 40 = 16.00 mm Thickness 214 of the protective body 40 = 4.5 mm Width 190 of the conductors 20 = 4.0 mm Space 200 between the conductors 20 = 1.25 mm Width 216 of the common area of contact 30 = 40.0 mm Thickness 220 of terminal conductors 20 = 0.64 mm
Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3A, the common contact area 30 extends on one side of the protective body 40. The terminal conductors 20 can have any required shape and extend from an opposite side of the protective body 40 along a region 80 to an elbow 70. The terminal conductors then extend from the elbow 70 along a separate region 90 and ends at ends 95 The terminal conductors 20 are bent at an angle of about 90. The thickness 220 of the sheet of a conductive material, which forms

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 the common contact area 30 and the terminal conductors 20 is shown at 220.

 Otherwise, as shown in FIG. 3B, the conductor terminals 20 ′ can extend in a straight line from the protective body 40, without being bent.

 Referring to Figure 4, there is shown the fuse 10 in an intermediate state of manufacture. While fuse 10 can be made using any suitable manufacturing method, such a process will be described below. A sheet formed of a conductive material, such as copper, is cut, by forming a mounting frame 120 with terminal conductive wires, which includes slots 130. The slots 130 are wider in a region 132. Then fix the body of non-conductive protective plastic 40, to the mounting frame 120 by any suitable method, such as for example an insertion molding or snap-fit mounting of the two separate housing elements 100, 110 around the mounting frame 120. The mounting frame 120 is then cut into zones 160 of the fusible links so as to separate the terminal conductors 20 from the common contact zone 30. The plastic body has openings 150. Access to zones 160 of the fusible links takes place through openings 150.

 The fuse links 170 (FIG. 6) are mounted on the terminal conductors 120 so as to be connected to the common contact area 30. The protective cover 50 can then be fixed on each side of the protective body 40 to surround the areas of the connections fuses. The covers 50 can be fixed by any suitable method, such as for example by means of an adhesive bond or sonic welding. The mounting frame 120 is then sectioned along the line 140 to form the individual terminal conductors

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 20. The angle 70 of the terminal conductors 20 is then formed, if desired.

 FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 in FIG. 4. FIG. 5 represents a specific arrangement of openings 150, of a fusible link zone 160, of a terminal frame 120, a plastic body 40, an edge 42, a projecting part 60 and a common contact area 30.

 Figure 6 is a side elevational view of a preferred embodiment of the fusible link structure. In this form, the terminal conductors 20 are separated from the common contact area 30, for example by punching. One end of a fuse link element such as a wire 170 is fixed to terminal 20 at 175 and the other end of the fuse link element is fixed to common contact area 30 at 176. In a As an embodiment, the wire has a diameter of about 0.28 mm. The wire fixing technique shows a certain flexibility. Wires with different diameters and / or different lengths can be used to produce the desired effect. Multiple wires can be attached to a single terminal conductor 20 having the same or different dimensions and the same or different materials. These techniques can be used to produce different nominal fuses for individual terminals and / or to modify the time / current characteristics. The wire-like material of the fusible link 170 can be made of any suitable material, such as silver, copper or gold. In the preferred embodiment, the wire material is formed from 0.9999 (99.99%) pure copper. Other embodiments may include fusible links having other sizes and formed from other materials. The fuse element 170 is fixed to the terminal conductor 20 and to the common contact area 30

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 by any suitable method, such as a corner ultrasonic bond.

 Figure 7 and Figure 8 show another fusible link structure according to the present invention. Here the thickness of the terminal conductor 20 in the fuse link zone 160 has a reduced thickness in cross section. This region of thickness reduced in 180 is adapted to "melt" in an overload condition, which interrupts the electrical connection with this particular source or cell. The reduction in thickness can be obtained by any suitable method, such as for example the formation of a notch 180 in at least one surface of the terminal conductor.

 FIG. 9 shows another form of structure of the fusible link according to the present invention. Here the width of the terminal conductor is narrowed or "throttled" at 162 in the area of the fuse link 160. This region having a reduced transverse width at 162 is adapted to "melt" in an overload condition, which interrupts the connection. electric with this particular source or cell.

 FIG. 10 shows another possible structure of a fusible link. In this embodiment, a through member 184 defines the fusible link and extends between first and second sections 182 and 186 of terminal conductors. The through member 184 and the adjacent sections can be formed by any suitable material. For example, the adjacent sections 182,186 can be formed from copper, since the through member 184 is formed from zinc or silver. Note that the through member 184 may be provided with any of the notches described, narrowed regions or other surface modifications described herein.

 The areas of the fusible links can take many forms not shown specifically. Through

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 example the fusible link zone can be defined by a combination of a narrowed or constricted region and of a reduced thickness by forming a notch in the constricted or constricted zone. Otherwise, the fusible link zone can be formed by a hole in the mounting frame 120.

The hole could be circular, oval, ovoid, square, rectangular, diamond-shaped, wedge-shaped, or have any shape required to produce the feature described.

 By implementing the principles mentioned above, it is possible to construct fuses having a nominal value of IOA at least 500 A.

 By equipping each terminal conductor 20 with its own fuse element leading to a common contact zone 30, it is possible to provide a fuse structure and an associated method, by means of which individual sources, circuits or cells malfunction can be isolated, while properly functioning sources, circuits or cells can continue to be electrically connected to the common contact area 30 via terminal conductors 20.

 Figure 12 is a partial plan view of another embodiment of a fuse 200 in which a protective body 201 represented by a dashed line (Figure 12) and removed. In one embodiment, the protective body 201 is similar to the protective body 40, as described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

 The fuse 200 includes a plurality of separate terminal conductor wires 202, a common contact region 204 formed of conductive material and a plurality of conductive fuse links 206 connecting the common contact region 204 to a respective terminal conductor 202 An electrical connection made from a plurality of power sources, such as

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 example of the individual cells of a multi-cell battery (not shown), with a single charge such as a radio device or a telephone device, is therefore facilitated by the electrical coupling of the power sources to respective terminal conductors 202 and by coupling the load to a common contact region 204. Thus, a current flows from the power sources passing through strip conductors 202, and via fusible links 206, to a region contact common 204 and finally to a charge receiving device. Fuse links 206 protect the charge receiving device from a malfunctioning power source when a current flowing through the associated fuse links exceeds a predetermined amplitude, which melts, disintegrates or otherwise opens the associated fuse link and interrupts the electrical circuit between the malfunctioning energy source and the charge receiving device via the fuse 200, while sending energy to the charge receiving device via the other terminal conductors and the fuse links .

As indicated above, the amplitude of the current conveyed in a fusible link 206 depends on the characteristics of the fusible link, for example the dimensions of the fusible link and the material from which it is formed.

 In an exemplary embodiment, each fusible link 206 is split and, to further improve performance, is covered by a coating 208 of a conductive material which has a composition different from that of the fusible link 206 .

In one embodiment, for example, the fusible links 206 are made of copper and the coating 208 is made of tin. Since tin has a lower melting temperature than copper, coating 208 is heated to a melting temperature in

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 an overcurrent state before the fusible copper link 206. The molten coating then reacts with the fusible copper links 206 and forms a tin-copper alloy which has a lower melting temperature than that of tin or copper itself . Thus, the operating temperature of the fusible links 206 is reduced under an overcurrent condition and the fusible links 206 cannot reach the higher melting point of the copper. Consequently, the conduction characteristics and advantages of copper are profiled while avoiding undesirable operating temperatures. In other embodiments, other conductive materials may be used to fabricate fusible links 206 and the coating 208, including without limitation therein, copper alloys or alloys respectively. tin to get similar benefits. In other embodiments, the coating 208 is formed from antimony or indium.

 The coating 208 is applied to fusible links 206 by known techniques including, without limitation, electrolytic plating baths, thin film deposition techniques and vapor deposition methods. Using these techniques, in different embodiments, the coating 208 is applied to a part or all of the fusible links 206. For example, in one embodiment, only a central part of a fusible link 206 comprises a coating 208 while in another embodiment, the entire surface of a fusible link 206 has a coating 208. In another embodiment, the coating 208 is applied to only one side of a fusible link 206, while in a different embodiment, the two sides of the fusible link 206 have a coating 208.

 In other embodiments of the fuse

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 200, less than all of the fusible links 206 of the fuse 200 include a coating 208 serving to modify the melting temperature or the operating point, as desired, between respective fusible links 206. In addition, although in the embodiment shown, four terminal conductors 202 and four fusible links 206 are used in combination with the common contact region 204, higher or lower numbers of link conductors 202 and fusible links 206 can be used as desired in a given application.

 It is envisaged that the coating 208 can be used in a similar manner in the embodiments described above with reference to Figures 1 to 11 to reduce an operating temperature of the respective fuse links in operation.

 In another embodiment, it is further contemplated to use more than one fuse link 206 to connect a common contact region 204 to a respective terminal conductor 202, and the fuse links may have the same or other characteristics different. In different embodiments of this type, selected combinations with and without coating can be used to achieve the desired performance objectives. In addition, different compositions of a coating 208 and / or of fuse links 206 can be used to modify the operating temperature of adjacent fuse links 206 in a single fuse 200.

 Although the invention has been described on the basis of different specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will find that the invention can be implemented without modification within the scope and scope defined by the claims.

Claims (1)

CLAIMS 1. Fuse (200) for establishing a connection between a multi-source power supply comprising a plurality of cells and a power reception device, characterized in that said fuse comprises: a plurality of terminal conductors (202) separated, a common contact region (204), and a plurality of fusible links (170;  206), each of said fusible links being formed of a first conductive material and connecting a respective one of said terminal conductors (202) to said common contact region (204), at least a part of at least one of said fusible links (206) comprising a coating (208) formed of a second conductive material, different from said first conductive material, said second conductive material having a melting temperature lower than that of said first conductive material.  2. Fuse according to claim 1, characterized in that said at least one link among said fusible links (170; 206) is formed of copper.  3. Fuse according to claim 2, characterized in that said coating (208) is formed of tin.  4. Fuse according to claim 1, characterized in that said at least one link among said fusible links (170; 206) is formed of a copper alloy.  5. Fuse according to claim 1, characterized in that said at least one link among said fusible links (170; 206) is formed of a tin alloy.  6. Fuse according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises a protective body (40) fixed to said fuse at least in the area of said fuse links.  7. Fuse according to claim 6, characterized <Desc / Clms Page number 17>  in that said protective body (40) comprises at least two separate elements which are mounted on at least said common contact region.  8. Fuse according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one of said fuse links (170; 206) is split.  9. Fuse according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one fusible link (170; 206) comprises a wire-shaped element which crosses a gap between a terminal conductor and a common contact region.  10. A fuse according to claim 9, characterized in that said wire-shaped element has a diameter of about 0.28 mm.  11. Fuse according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one of said fusible links (170; 206) comprises a narrowed region formed in said terminal conductors.  12. Fuse for connecting a multi-source power supply having a plurality of cells to a power receiving device, characterized in that said fuse comprises: a plurality of separate terminal conductors (202), a common contact region (204), a plurality of fusible links (206) made of a first conductive material, each of said fusible links connecting a respective one of said terminal conductors to said common contact region so as to connect said multi-source power supply to said power reception device, at least part of at least one of said fusible links (206) comprising a coating (208) formed of a second conductive material, the melting temperature of said second conductive material being lower than the temperature melting said first conductive material, <Desc / Clms Page number 18>  and a current flowing from at least one of said plurality of terminal conductors, passing through at least one of said fusible links and arriving at said common contact region when said at least one terminal is connected to the power supply and that said contact region is connected to the power receiving device.  13. A fuse according to claim 12, characterized in that said at least one fusible link (206) is formed of copper.  14. A fuse according to claim 12, characterized in that said coating (208) is formed of tin.  15. A fuse according to claim 12, characterized in that at least one of said fuse links (206) is split.  16. A fuse according to claim 12, characterized in that each fuse link (206) has an operating point, said operating point of at least one fuse link being different from the operating point of another of said fuse links.  17. A fuse according to claim 12, characterized in that it further comprises a protective body (201) fixed to said fuse at least in the region of said fuse links.