JPH04296419A - Thermal relay - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To form a pivoting part of a rotating lever and an operating plate only by sheet metal processing without using other parts. CONSTITUTION:A holding piece 37f, substantially parallel to the swing direction of the rotating lever 37, and in which a rectangular holding hole 37g being opened in its center portion, is projected on one end part of a rotating lever 37. Knotch grooves 38a are formed on both side rims in the middle part of an operating plate 38. A holding recessed part 37h is formed on one side rim of the holding rim of the holding hole 37g such that its width being substantially equal to the distance between respective knotch grooves 38a. A holding protrusion 37i is formed on the other side rim of the holding hole 37g opposite to the holding recessed part 37h. The operating plate 38 is attached to the holding recessed part 37h in an engaging relation in the region corresponding to the knotch groove 38a. The side rim of the holding hole 37g, opposing to the holding recessed part 37h, is plastically deformed, so that the operating plate 38 is swingably held between the holding recessed part 37h and the holding protrusion 37i.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal relay in which a contact device is driven by a thermal element that is displaced in accordance with the amount of current applied.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of thermal relay has been provided with a trip device for transmitting the displacement of a thermal element including a bimetal or the like to a contact device. The trip device includes a reversing mechanism that reverses the open/closed state of the contact device when the press plate is pressed by a predetermined amount, and a contact relationship that adjusts the correspondence between the amount of displacement of the thermal element and the amount of pressure on the press plate. and an operating point adjustment mechanism that adjusts the amount of displacement of the thermal element required to reverse the device.

In other words, the operating point adjustment mechanism includes a rotary lever whose intermediate portion is pivotally supported relative to the device body, and a rotary lever that is movable in the same direction as the rotary lever and has a swing range. An actuation plate whose intermediate portion is pivotally supported on one end of the rotary lever in a regulated manner, and an operation that adjusts the rotation range of the rotary lever by adjusting the position where it contacts the other end of the rotary lever. Equipped with a point adjustment cam. The displacement of the thermal element is transmitted to one end of the actuating plate via the interlocking plate, and the pressing plate of the reversing mechanism is pressed by the other end of the actuating plate. Therefore, the amount of pushing of the pressing plate by the actuating plate corresponds to the sum of the amount of rotation of the actuating plate with respect to the rotary lever and the amount of rotation of the rotary lever with respect to the body, and the operating point adjustment cam is By adjusting the position of contact with the rotary lever, the amount of displacement of the thermal element required to reverse the open/closed state of the contact device can be adjusted.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 21, the rotating lever 37 and the actuating plate 38 are constructed by connecting a shaft 37A fixed to one end of the rotating lever 37 to a bearing 3 provided in the middle of the actuating plate 38.
Currently, it is pivotally attached by inserting it into 8A.

[0005]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] According to the above-mentioned conventional structure, the shaft 37A and the bearing 38A are required as separate parts, so they cannot be formed by sheet metal processing alone, and the number of parts increases and the manufacturing time is increased. Problems arise in that the number of steps increases, the ease of assembly is poor, and costs increase. The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems, and provides a thermal relay in which the pivot part between the rotary lever and the actuating plate can be formed only by sheet metal processing without using separate parts. That is.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a thermal element that is displaced according to the amount of current supplied;
A rotary lever whose middle part is pivotally supported relative to the body, and a rotary lever whose middle part is swingable in the same direction as the rotary lever and whose swing range is restricted. An actuating plate pivotally supported at one end, an interlocking plate that transmits the displacement of the thermal element to one end of the actuating plate and rotating the rotating lever via the actuating plate, and an interlocking plate that is connected to the other end of the rotating lever. An operating point adjustment cam that adjusts the rotation range of the rotary lever by adjusting the contact position, and a reversing mechanism that reverses the open/closed state of the contact device when the other end of the actuating plate is pressed by a predetermined amount. In the thermal relay equipped with the above-mentioned thermal relay, a holding piece protruding from the one end of the rotating lever is approximately parallel to the swinging direction of the rotating lever and has a rectangular holding hole opened in the center, and a holding piece is provided on the operating plate. Notched grooves are formed on both sides of the intermediate portion, and an actuating plate is inserted into the holding recess formed at one side edge of the holding hole so as to have a width approximately equal to the distance between the notched grooves. At the same time, the other side edge of the holding hole opposite to the holding recess is plastically deformed, and the actuating plate is held between the bottom surface of the holding recess and the other side edge of the holding hole. .

[0007]

[Function] According to the above structure, a holding piece is provided at one end of the rotating lever and extends approximately parallel to the swinging direction of the rotating lever and has a rectangular holding hole opened in the center. Notched grooves are formed on both sides of the intermediate portion, and an actuating plate is inserted into the holding recess formed at one side edge of the holding hole so as to have a width approximately equal to the distance between the notched grooves. At the same time, the other side edge of the holding hole facing the holding recess is plastically deformed to hold the actuating plate between the bottom of the holding recess and the other side edge of the holding hole. The movement of the actuating plate in the longitudinal direction is restricted by engaging the notched grooves on both sides of the actuating plate with the holding recesses formed in the hole, and the movement of the actuating plate in the longitudinal direction is restricted. Movement of the actuating plate in the thickness direction is restricted between the plastically deformed portion and the bottom surface of the holding recess. That is, the actuating plate can be pivotally attached to the rotary lever only by sheet metal processing without using separate parts such as shafts or bearings. the result,
This reduces the number of parts and improves ease of assembly, leading to lower costs.

[0008]

[Example] As shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 7, FIG. 8, etc., the container body 1
is formed by a body 11 with one side open, a cover 12 that closes the opening of the body 11, and an inner lid 6 interposed between the body 11 and the cover 12 to cover a part of the body 11. The body 11 and the cover 12 are coupled by screwing an assembly screw 14 through the cover 12 into a boss 13 formed on the body 11. Figure 10
As shown in FIG.
is provided in a protruding manner and engages with a perforated engagement piece 12a provided on the cover 12, thereby increasing the bonding strength between the body 11 and the cover 12.

The interior of the body 11 is roughly divided into three sections 16a, 16b, and 16c by a partition wall 15. The second section 16b is formed on one side of the container body 1 over almost the entire length in the vertical direction in FIG.
a and the third section 16c are arranged above and below in FIG. The first section 16a has a partition wall 1 formed substantially parallel to the partition wall 1.
It is further divided into three chambers by 5, and a thermal element 2 is housed in each of the other two chambers except for the central one. The thermal element 2 includes an insulating material 2 on a bimetal 21 formed into a rectangular plate shape.
A belt-shaped heater 23 is spirally wound through a bimetal 21, and one end of the heater 23 is fixed to one end of the bimetal 21 by welding or the like. Bimetal 21 is the first
The bimetal 21 is arranged parallel to the partition wall 15 that partitions the compartment 16a into three rooms, and when the bimetal 21 is heated, the partition wall 1
5 is deformed in the thickness direction. The other end of the bimetal 21 and the other end of the heater 23 are fixed to terminal plates 24 and 25, respectively.

The terminal plate 24 is formed of a sheet metal and includes a fixing piece 24a disposed along the inner surface of the bottom wall of the body 11.
, a connecting piece 24b that is arranged to protrude from the inner surface of the bottom wall of the body 11 and is integrally continuous with the fixing piece 24a, and a connecting piece 24b that is arranged to penetrate through the bottom wall of the body 11 and is integrated with the fixing piece 24b. and a continuous terminal piece 24c. Fixed piece 2
4a is formed with a screw hole 24d, and as shown in FIG. 10, the terminal plate 24 is fixed to the body 11 by a fixing screw 26 that passes through the bottom wall of the body 11 and is screwed into the screw hole 24d. Further, the other end of the bimetal 21 is fixed to the connecting piece 24b by a method such as welding. A screw hole 24e is formed in the terminal piece 24c so that a terminal screw 27 having a washer 27a is screwed into the screw hole 24e.

On the other hand, the terminal plate 25 has a shape in which a connecting piece 25a substantially parallel to the bimetal 21 and a terminal piece 25b protruding from the container body 1 through the cover 12 are integrally continuous. The other end of the heater 23 is fixed to the connecting piece 25a by a method such as welding. In addition, the connection piece 25
A step portion 25c is formed in the third section 16, and a part of the connecting piece 25a protrudes outward from the opening surface of the body 11.
It is designed to straddle c.

[0012] A terminal board 28 in the form of connecting pieces 24b and 25a of the terminal board 24 and the terminal board 25 integrally connected is disposed in one central chamber of the first section 16a. That is, the terminal board 28 includes a terminal piece 28a that projects from the container body 1 through the bottom wall of the body 11, and a terminal piece 28b that projects from the container body 1 through the cover 12, and both terminal pieces 28a, 28b.
are connected together. The terminal piece 28a has
A screw hole 28c is formed so that a terminal screw 27 having a washer 27a is screwed into the screw hole 28c.

On the outer surface of the body 11, each terminal piece 2
Each terminal piece 24c, 2
A partition wall 11b is provided to isolate 8a (see FIG. 11). Further, in the cover 12, the terminal piece 25b
, 28b protrude from the holding wall 12b to prevent the terminal pieces 25b, 28b from wobbling. According to the above configuration, when electricity is applied between the terminal piece 24c and the terminal piece 25b, a current flows through the bimetal 21 and the heater 23, and due to the self-heating of the bimetal 21 and the heat generation of the heater 23, the bimetal 21 is heated. The one end portion is displaced in the thickness direction of the bimetal 21 with respect to the other end portion. The direction of displacement is such that the one end approaches the second section 16b, and the amount of displacement depends on the amount of heat generated by the bimetal 21 and the heater 23.

Partition wall 1 that divides the first section 16a into three rooms
5, and the partition wall 15 that partitions the first section 16a and the second section 16b has a slit 15a formed at a position corresponding to the one end of the bimetal 21, and moves in a direction perpendicular to the opening surface of the slit 15a. The interlocking plate 17 is arranged so as to be freely movable. The interlocking plate 17 has three leg pieces 1
7a are integrally connected via a connecting piece 17b to form a substantially E shape, and when at least one bimetal 21 is deformed, the leg piece 17a is pressed and the second leg piece 17a at one end of the interlocking plate 17 is
The amount of protrusion into the section 16b is increased. A pushing piece 17c is provided in a protruding manner on the leg piece 17a that protrudes into the second section 16b. Further, the interlocking plate 17 has play in the movement direction with respect to the bimetal 21, so that when one bimetal 21 is deformed, it can be moved without deforming the other bimetal 21.

[0015] The trip device 3 is housed in the second compartment 16b. As shown in FIG. 1, the trip device 3 includes an inversion mechanism section 31 and an operating point adjustment mechanism section 32. The reversing mechanism section 31 includes a frame 33 fixed to the body 11.
A pressing plate 34 and a contact driving plate 35 are swingably attached to the contact driving plate 34, and the pressing plate 34 and contact driving plate 35 are connected via a reversing spring 36 made of a coil spring. The frame 33 includes a press-fit piece 33a that is press-fitted into a mounting hole 18 (see FIG. 12) formed in the body 11, and arm pieces 33b and 33 that have approximately V-shaped notch grooves 33d and 33e.
c. The pressing plate 34 and the contact driving plate 35 are supported such that one end thereof is inserted into the notch grooves 33d and 33e, respectively, so that the other end thereof can swing freely in the thickness direction of the frame 33. In addition, notch grooves 33d, 3
3e are opened in the direction away from each other, and the press plate 34
The contact drive plate 35 is held by the frame 33 by applying a tensile force between the contact drive plate 35 and the contact drive plate 35 via a reversal spring 36.

In this reversing mechanism section 31, the contact drive plate 35
In the thickness direction of the frame 33, place the tip end of the frame 3
When the center line of the reversing spring 36 is moved away from the frame 33 , the center line of the reversing spring 36 crosses the straight line connecting the joint part of the contact driving plate 35 with the reversing spring 36 and the fulcrum of the contact driving plate 35 with respect to the frame 33 . When the contact driving plate 35 is located on the opposite side, the spring force of the reversing spring 36 acts in a direction to pull the tip of the contact driving plate 35 away from the frame 33. Therefore, the tip of the contact drive plate 35 is held at a position away from the frame 33 in the thickness direction of the frame 33 (hereinafter, this position will be referred to as a reset position). Also,
When the tip of the contact drive plate 35 is apart from the frame 33 in the thickness direction of the frame 33, the pressure plate 34
When the middle part of the reversing spring 36 is pressed in a direction toward the frame 33, the center line of the reversing spring 36 is aligned with the connecting part of the reversing spring 36 on the contact driving plate 35 and the frame 3 of the contact driving plate 35.
3, the spring force of the reversing spring 36 acts to move the tip of the contact drive plate 35 closer to the frame 33, causing the contact drive plate 35 to move closer to the frame 33. It is rapidly moved in a direction approaching the frame 33. That is, a so-called snap action is performed, and the tip end of the contact drive plate 35 is held at a position close to the frame 33 in the thickness direction of the frame 33 (hereinafter, this position will be referred to as a trip position).

The operating point adjustment mechanism 32 includes a rotary lever 37 that is rotatably attached to a shaft protrusion 19 that protrudes from the body 11 in a direction perpendicular to the bottom wall, and The actuating plate 38 is swingably held against the body 11.
The operating point adjusting cam 39 is rotatably attached to the peripheral wall of the operating point adjusting cam 39. The rotating lever 37 has a substantially U-shaped lever body 37c in which a pair of mutually parallel leg pieces 37a are connected via a pair of connecting pieces 37b, and the shaft protrusion 19 is inserted into one of the leg pieces 37a. A bearing hole 37d is formed, and a bearing recess 37e that contacts the circumferential surface of the shaft protrusion 19 is formed in the other leg piece 37a. One connecting piece 37b of the lever body 37c is approximately T-shaped, and a holding piece 37f is formed in a shape substantially orthogonal to the T-shaped leg, and the holding piece 37f holds the actuating plate 38 in a swingable manner. A holding hole 37g is formed. The holding hole 37g has a substantially rectangular shape as shown in FIG. 2, and has a holding recess 37h formed on one side of the connecting piece 37b. Further, a holding protrusion 37i is provided protruding from the inner peripheral edge of the holding hole 37g, facing the holding recess 37h. A leg piece 37a provided with a bearing hole 37d extends toward the opposite side of the holding piece 37f with respect to the bearing hole 37d, and an adjustment piece 37j is provided at the tip of this leg piece 37a in approximately the same plane as the connecting piece 37b. is formed.

The actuating plate 38 has notched grooves 3 on both side edges of the intermediate portion.
8a. This actuating plate 38 is connected to the rotating lever 37.
The holding hole 37g is inserted into the holding hole 37g, and both side circumferences of the holding recess 37h of the holding hole 37g are fitted into both notched grooves 38a. That is, by fitting a portion of the actuating plate 38 into the holding recess 37h, movement of the actuating plate 38 in the longitudinal direction and width direction is restricted. Further, in order to restrict the movement of the actuating plate 38 in the thickness direction, the distance between the bottom surface of the holding recess 37h and the tip surface of the holding protrusion 37i is set to be slightly larger than the thickness of the actuating plate 38, as shown in FIG. 3(a). ) in the state of operating plate 3.
8 into the holding hole 37g, one side of the periphery of the holding hole 37g on which the holding protrusion 37i is provided is plastically deformed by a method such as pounding, as shown in FIG. 3(b). Here, the swing range θ of the actuating plate 38 with respect to the rotary lever 37 is regulated by the distance between the bottom surface of the holding recess 37h and the holding protrusion 37i, as shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the actuating plate 38 swings only within a range corresponding to the gap between the bottom surface of the holding recess 37h and the tip end surface of the holding protrusion 37i. One end of the actuating plate 38 is placed in a position where it can come into contact with the pushing piece 17c of the interlocking plate 17, and the other end is placed in a position where it can come into contact with the pressing plate 34. That is, when the interlocking plate 17 moves due to the deformation of the thermal element 2, the actuating plate 38 is pressed by the interlocking plate 17 and rotates around the holding hole 37g, causing the pressing plate 34 to move into the frame 33.
It pushes towards.

On the other hand, the operating point adjustment cam 39, as shown in FIG. A cam projection 39c is provided. The leg portion 39a is the body 1
The flange portion 39b is inserted into a through hole 11c bored in the peripheral wall of the body 11, and the flange portion 39b abuts on the outer surface of the body 11. A cross-shaped driver groove 39f is formed in the center of the part of the operating point adjustment cam 39 exposed on the outer surface of the body 11, into which the tip of a Phillips screwdriver can be inserted. The adjustment cam 39 can be rotated. Further, a protective wall 11d surrounding the periphery of the flange portion 39b is formed on the outer surface of the peripheral wall of the body 11 to prevent the operating point adjustment cam 39 from inadvertently rotating due to other members touching the outer periphery of the flange portion 39b. It is prevented. A groove portion 39d is formed around the entire circumference of the leg portion 39a, and a retaining spring 39e is mounted between the groove portion 39d and a retaining groove 11e formed on the inner circumferential surface of the peripheral wall of the body 11. Further, the body 11 has a leg portion 3 at a portion facing the retaining spring 39e.
A retaining wall 11f is formed against which the retaining spring 39 abuts.
The operating point adjusting cam 39 is prevented from coming off from the body 11 by sandwiching the leg portion 39a between the holding wall 11f and the holding wall 11f.

The cam protrusion 39c is provided eccentrically with respect to the center of rotation of the leg portion 39a at a position where the adjustment piece 37j of the rotary lever 37 can come into contact with it. Therefore, by rotating the operating point adjustment cam 39, the range of rotation of the rotating lever 37 around the shaft protrusion 19 can be adjusted. Furthermore, since the swinging range of the operating plate 38 with respect to the rotating lever 37 is restricted, by rotating the operating point adjustment cam 39, the thermal change when the pressing plate 34 receives the pressing force from the operating plate 38 can be adjusted. This allows the amount of deformation of the element 2 to be changed. That is, when the interlocking plate 17 moves due to the deformation of the thermal element 2, the actuating plate 38 is pressed, but the actuating plate 38 is not supported by the interlocking plate 17 until the adjustment piece 37j of the rotary lever 37 comes into contact with the cam protrusion 39c. The pressing force only rotates the rotating lever 37 (rotating clockwise in FIG. 9) and does not act on the pressing plate 34 of the reversing mechanism section 31. On the other hand, when the adjusting piece 37j of the rotating lever 37 comes into contact with the cam protrusion 39c, the rotating lever 37 cannot be rotated, so that the pressing force acting on the actuating plate 38 from the interlocking plate 17 is transmitted to the pressing plate 34. . With this configuration, the amount of deformation of the thermal element 2 required to reverse the reversing mechanism section 31 to the trip position when it is at the reset position can be adjusted by the rotational position of the operating point adjustment cam 39. . That is, the operating point adjustment cam 39
Sensitivity is adjusted by rotating the .

[0021] The contact device 4 has a second section 16b and a third section 16b.
It is arranged astride the section 16c. The contact device 4 includes a pair of movable spring plates 41a and 42a, each movable spring plate 41a,
A pair of fixed plates 43a, 44a corresponding to 42a, respectively.
It is equipped with Each movable spring plate 41a, 42a and each fixed plate 43a, 44a are connected to terminal plates 41b, 42b, 43 arranged so as to penetrate the bottom wall of the body 11, respectively.
b, fixed to 44b. Each terminal board 41b, 42b, 4
3b, 44b have screw holes 41c, 42c, 43c, 44 into which terminal screws 45 each having a washer 45a are screwed.
c is formed. Each terminal plate 41 on the outer surface of the container body 1
b, 42b, 43b, and 44b are separated by a partition wall 11b, as shown in FIG. Each movable spring plate 41
a, 42a and each of the fixed plates 43a, 44a are provided with contact points each formed in a slender shape so as to be substantially orthogonal to each other. Furthermore, each movable spring plate 41a, 42a has a spring force so as to contact the corresponding fixed plate 43a, 44a when no external force is applied.

The reversing mechanism section 31 is connected to the movable spring plates 41a and 41b via a card 46 made of insulating synthetic resin.
The contact drive plate 35 is connected to the contact drive plate 35. The card 46 is slidably arranged with both ends inserted into the slits 15b and 15c formed in the partition wall 15.
5b so as to straddle the second section 16b and the third section 16c. As shown in FIG.
The one end inserted into the second section 16b includes:
A cutout groove 46a that engages with the contact drive plate 35 and a cutout groove 46b that engages with one movable spring plate 41a are formed. Furthermore, a wide notch 46c into which each movable spring plate 41b is inserted is formed in a portion of the card 46 located in the third section 16c. Therefore, the reversing mechanism section 3
The card 46 slides as the first contact drive plate 35 swings, and the card 46 swings the movable spring plates 41a and 42a. Each slit 15b,
A stopper protrusion 46d that can come into contact with the circumferential portion of 15c;
46e is provided protrudingly, and one of the stopper protrusions 46d and 46e corresponds to the slit 15 when the card 46 is moved.
By contacting the peripheral edges of the cards 46 and 15c,
The range of movement is now regulated. That is,
Both stopper protrusions 46d and 46e are connected to both slits 15b and 1
5c, and corresponds to the difference between the distance between the slits 15b and 15c and the distance between the stopper projections 46d and 46e, which is the distance over which the card 46 can be moved. In the position where the reversing mechanism section 31 is at the reset position and the card 46 has moved toward the second section 16b in the sliding direction, the movable spring plate 41a contacts the fixed plate 43a, and the movable spring plate 42a contacts the periphery of the notch groove 46c. is pushed away from the fixed plate 44a. Further, when the reversing mechanism section 31 is in the trip position and the card 46 has moved toward the third section 16c in the sliding direction, the movable spring plate 42a contacts the fixed plate 44a, and the movable spring plate 41a is in the notched groove 46b.
It is pressed by the peripheral edge of and separates from the fixed plate 43a. In short, both movable spring plates 41a and 42a are connected to the corresponding fixed plate 43.
The opening and closing states of a and 44a are reversed.

A test piece 46f is provided on the card 46 and protrudes to the outside of the container 1 through the cover 12. By operating the test piece 46f using a screwdriver or the like, the opening/closing state of the contact device 4 can be determined. The test is now available. Further, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 14, a third section 16c of the card 46 is provided on the outer surface of the body 11.
A recessed stepped portion 11 surrounded by three sides at a portion corresponding to one end edge of the side.
g is formed, and a part of the card 46 is inserted into the corner portion formed by two surfaces orthogonal to the card 46 among the three surfaces surrounding the recessed step portion 11g so as to be freely advanced and retracted. That is,
As the card 46 slides, the amount of exposure of the card 46 to the recessed step portion 11g changes. Here, the shape of the recessed step 11g is set so that when the reversing mechanism section 31 is located at the reset position, the card 46 is hardly exposed in the recessed step 11g. Further, by making the container 1 black and the card 46 yellow so that the container 1 and the card 46 can be easily distinguished, the card 4
6 so that the position can be easily confirmed. In short, by looking at the amount of protrusion of the card 46 into the recessed step portion 11g, the operating state of the reversing mechanism section 31 and the open/closed state of the contact device 4 can be confirmed.

A reset button 5 is provided on the body 11 in order to return the reversing mechanism 31 to the reset position via the card 46 by pushing it into the body 11 when the reversing mechanism 31 is in the trip position. It will be done. The reset button 5 has a cylindrical head 5a, a leg 5b protruding from one end surface, and a disk-shaped flange 5c provided in the middle of the leg 5b. The body 11 has a recess 5 which has an opening in a part of the outer wall parallel to the card 46 and a surface facing the cover 12, and has a partition wall 52 parallel to the card 46.
1 is formed. The periphery of the slit groove 53 formed in the partition wall 52 of this recess 51 is held between one end edge of a return spring 54 made of a coil spring inserted into the leg 5b of the reset button 5 and the flange 5c. As a result, the reset button 5 is biased by the return spring 54 so that the head 5a projects to the outer surface of the body 11. Therefore, in the reset button 5, the return spring 54 is connected to the head 5a and the recess 5.
1 (the position most pushed into the body 11) and the flange 5c.
can freely move forward and backward between the position where it contacts the partition wall 52 of the recess 51 (the position that most protrudes from the body 11).

A notch 55 that is open on the cover 12 side is formed in the peripheral wall of the recess 51 that is parallel to the card 46 and serves as the outer wall of the body 11, and a peripheral edge of this notch 55 that faces the cover 12 is formed. A semicircular notch 56 is formed in the center of the periphery. Furthermore, a stopper rib 57 and a guide rib 58 are formed inside the recess 51, as shown in FIG. The stopper rib 57 runs in a direction substantially perpendicular to the card 46, and the guide rib 5
8 is formed so that a part formed parallel to and opposite to a part of the stopper rib 57 and a part formed apart from the outer wall of the body 11 so as to be parallel to the card 46 are continuous. The edge of the portion of the guide rib 58 parallel to the card 46 is formed in a shape that follows the opening edge of the notch recess 56 .

By the way, the inner lid 6, which is held between the partition wall 15 of the body 11 and the cover 12, is disposed at a portion corresponding to the third section 16c. Positioning holes 61 are formed in two places in the inner lid 6, and positioning protrusions 15d protruding from the distal end surface of the partition wall 15 are inserted into the positioning holes 61, thereby positioning the inner lid 6 with respect to the body 11. It will be done. As shown in FIG. 16, on the surface of the inner lid 6 facing the cover 12, a holding wall 62 is formed to hold a portion of each terminal plate 25, 28, respectively. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 17, the inner lid 6 is integrally formed with a first protrusion 63 inserted into the recess 51 and a second protrusion 64 inserted into the third section 16c. . The first protrusion 63 and the second protrusion 64 are spaced apart from each other with the partition wall 52 of the recess 51 in between. The first protrusion 63 is formed in a shape that fills a portion of the notch 51 excluding the notch recess 56, and the surface facing the notch recess 56 forms a circle together with the notch recess 56, and the reset button 5 It is formed to have a semicircular cross section so that it can hold the head 5a of. The head 5 of the reset button 5 is mounted on the first protrusion 63.
A protruding wall 65 that protrudes from the outer surface of the body 11 along the outer peripheral surface of the body 11 is integrally formed. Body 1 of this projecting wall 65
The amount of protrusion from the body 11 is set to be approximately equal to the maximum amount of protrusion of the reset button 5 from the body 11, and the reset button 5 surrounds half the circumference of the head 5a of the reset button 5. Therefore, the presence of the projecting wall 65 prevents other members from inadvertently coming into contact with the reset button 5. A window hole 66 is formed in the middle part of the projecting wall 65 in the circumferential direction, and a part of the window hole 66 is integrally connected to the first projecting base 63 and a part of the window hole 66 is connected to the inside of the projecting wall 65. A guide piece 67 is provided that protrudes inward from the circumferential surface. The guide piece 67 is attached to the first protrusion 63 so that it can be broken off relatively easily.
is combined with The tip end surface of the second protrusion 64 is formed to have a semicircular cross section so that the flange 5c of the reset button 5 can slide against it. Therefore, the reset button 5 includes the slit groove 53, the notch recess 56, the first protrusion 63, the second
It is held by a protrusion 64 or the like so that it can move forward and backward without axial wobbling.

The circumferential surface of the head 5a of the reset button 5 is as shown in FIG.
As shown in 8, a guide protrusion 5e is provided to protrude, and the guide protrusion 5e is arranged so as to be movable only along the guide rib 58. That is, the guide protrusion 5e can move only between the stopper rib 57 and the guide rib 58 and between the guide rib 58 and the bottom wall of the recess 51. The guide protrusion 5e is connected to the stopper rib 57 and the guide rib 58.
If the guide protrusion 5e is located between the guide rib 58 and the bottom wall of the recess 51, the reset button 5 cannot rotate and moves forward or backward. Although it can rotate, it is restricted by the guide rib 58 into the body 11 and can hardly move forward or backward. Also, the range of rotation is the stopper rib 5.
7 (hereinafter referred to as the manual reset position) and the position where the first protrusion 63 comes into contact with the tip surface (hereinafter referred to as the automatic reset position) is regulated within a range of about 90 degrees. ing.

An inclined surface 5d is formed at the tip of the leg portion 5b of the reset button 5. The inclined surface 5d is inclined in the sliding direction of the card 46 at the manual reset position, and is inclined so that the trip position side of the anti-war mechanism section 31 projects more than the reset position side. Now, when the reversing mechanism section 31 is at the trip position, the inclined surface 5d comes into contact with the periphery of the notch groove 46c of the card 46 by pushing in the reset button 5, and the card 46 is rotated by the pressing force received from the inclined surface 5d. The reversing mechanism section 31 is inverted to the reset position. On the other hand, the inclined surface 5
d is inclined in a direction substantially perpendicular to the sliding direction of the card 46 at the automatic reset position, and in this state, when the reversing mechanism section 31 attempts to move to the trip position, the card 4
When the leg portion 5b of the reset button 5 comes into contact with the periphery of the notch groove 46c of the card 46, the position of the card 46 is regulated so that the trip position is not held. That is, the movable spring plate 42a is brought into contact with the fixed plate 44a only while the pressing force from the operating plate 38 is acting on the pressing plate 34 of the reversing mechanism section 31, and when the pressing force on the pressing plate 34 is removed, The movable spring plate 41a returns to the state in which it contacts the fixed plate 43a. In short, it becomes stable only at the reset position, resulting in monostable operation.

The head 5a of the reset button 5 has a guide groove 5 into which a guide piece 67 is inserted in the manual reset position.
f is formed. The guide groove 5f is formed along the advancing and retreating direction of the reset button 5, and the guide piece 67 is formed in the guide groove 5.
When the reset button 5 is inserted into position f, movement of the reset button 5 is restricted so that it can only move forward and backward. That is, the guide piece 6
7 is present, the automatic reset position cannot be taken. Under normal usage, it can be reset manually, so there is no problem with functionality. Since the guide piece 67 can be broken off relatively easily, if it becomes necessary to move the reset button 5 to the automatic reset position, the guide piece 67 can be broken off. A driver groove 5g is formed on the tip end surface of the head 5a of the reset button 5 so that a Phillips screwdriver can be inserted, and the reset button 5 can be pushed in and rotated using a screwdriver or the like. .

In the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the holding protrusion 37i was formed on the inner peripheral edge of the holding hole 37g that holds the actuating plate 38, but as shown in FIG. The actuating plate 38 may be held without being provided. In this case as well, as shown in FIG. 20(a), before deforming the holding hole 37g, the actuating plate 38 is
7g, the periphery of the holding hole 37g may be deformed as shown in FIG. 20(b). Here, since the actuating plate 38 is held between the periphery of the holding hole 37g and the bottom surface of the holding recess 37h, the amount of deformation can be increased compared to the case where the holding protrusion 37i is provided. is necessary.

[0031]

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the present invention includes a holding piece protruding from one end of the rotating lever that is substantially parallel to the swinging direction of the rotating lever and has a rectangular holding hole opening in the center. , a notch groove is formed on both sides of the middle portion of the actuating plate, and a holding recess formed on one side edge of the holding hole so as to have a width approximately equal to the distance between the notch grooves corresponds to the notch groove. At the same time, the other side edge of the holding hole facing the holding recess is plastically deformed to hold the actuating plate between the bottom surface of the holding recess and the other side edge of the holding hole. Therefore, the notch grooves on both side edges of the actuating plate engage with the holding recesses formed in the holding hole, thereby restricting the movement of the actuating plate in the longitudinal direction. Movement of the actuating plate in the thickness direction is restricted between the plastically deformed portion of one side edge and the bottom surface of the holding recess. That is, the actuating plate can be pivotally attached to the rotary lever only by sheet metal processing without using separate parts such as shafts or bearings. As a result, there is an advantage that the number of parts is small and assembly efficiency is improved, leading to cost reduction.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of main parts showing an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of essential parts showing the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an assembly process of main parts showing an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of main parts of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of main parts of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an external perspective view of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a rear view of the embodiment with the cover and inner lid removed.

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a front view of the embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of the embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a rear view of the embodiment with the cover and inner lid of the main parts removed.

FIG. 16 is a rear view of the embodiment with the cover removed.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the inner lid used in the example.

FIG. 18 is a sectional view of a main part of the embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of main parts of another embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an assembly process of main parts of another embodiment.

FIG. 21 is an exploded perspective view of main parts of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Vessel 2 Thermal element 4 Contact device 17 Interlocking plate 31　　　　Reversing mechanism section 37 Rotating lever 37f Holding piece 37g holding hole 37h Holding recess 38 Actuation plate 38a Notch groove 39 Operating point adjustment cam

Claims (1)

[Claims] [Claim 1] A thermal element that is displaced according to the amount of current applied;
A rotary lever whose middle part is pivotally supported relative to the body, and a rotary lever whose middle part is swingable in the same direction as the rotary lever and whose swing range is restricted. An actuating plate pivotally supported at one end, an interlocking plate that transmits the displacement of the thermal element to one end of the actuating plate and rotating the rotating lever via the actuating plate, and an interlocking plate that is connected to the other end of the rotating lever. An operating point adjustment cam that adjusts the rotation range of the rotary lever by adjusting the contact position, and a reversing mechanism that reverses the open/closed state of the contact device when the other end of the actuating plate is pressed by a predetermined amount. In the thermal relay equipped with the above-mentioned thermal relay, a holding piece protruding from the one end of the rotating lever is approximately parallel to the swinging direction of the rotating lever and has a rectangular holding hole opened in the center, and a holding piece is provided on the operating plate. Notched grooves are formed on both sides of the intermediate portion, and an actuating plate is inserted into the holding recess formed at one side edge of the holding hole so as to have a width approximately equal to the distance between the notched grooves. is engaged, and the other side edge of the holding hole opposite to the holding recess is plastically deformed, so that the actuating plate is held between the bottom surface of the holding recess and the other side edge of the holding hole. Thermal relay features.