JPH10116545A - Thermally-responding switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent dust, etc., from getting into the vicinity of a terminal pin before a connector socket is mounted and prevent lowering of withstand voltage by covering the surface of the cover plate of a closed vessel and a fixing part of the terminal pin and an auxiliary terminal with an insulating member on which a hole inserting and passing into/through the terminal pin and the auxiliary terminal is provided. SOLUTION: A thermal element assembly 8 which is mounted on a controlled system equipment and is used for a thermally-responding switch operating by detecting overheat of the controlled system equipment has a thermal element 4 of a closed vessel constituted of a case 2 and a cover plate 3 and a terminal pin 5 fixing an auxiliary terminal 6 to an end part. The surface of the cover plate 3 and a fixing part of the terminal pin 5 and the auxiliary terminal 6 is covered with an insulating member 7 having a protruding part 7B. Thus, dust, etc., is prevented from getting into the vicinity of the terminal pin 5 while a connector socket is mounted on the auxiliary terminal 6 after the thermal element assembly 8 is mounted on a controlled system equipment.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermally responsive switch for opening and closing a contact in response to an ambient temperature or the like, and more particularly, to a thermally responsive switch for connecting to an external lead wire by inserting a connector socket into its terminal pin. It is about switches.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as such a thermally responsive switch, there is, for example, JP-A-7-226137 by the present applicant. In this thermal response switch, a case for attachment to a controlled device is fixed to a thermosensitive element having a closed container, and the thermosensitive element is attached to the controlled device with an elastic member such as a snap ring using a flange provided in this case. Fix it in the provided mounting hole. Thereafter, an auxiliary terminal conductively fixed to a terminal of the thermosensitive element is inserted by inserting a connector socket having a connection terminal connected to a lead wire therein (referred to as a housing in the prior art publication) into the open end of the case. The connection terminal of the connector socket is inserted and connected to the connector socket, and at the same time, the connector socket is fixed to the case by an engaging member provided on the connector socket.

[0003] In this thermal responsive switch, each component such as a heat sensitive element is configured to be mounted from one direction, so that there is an advantage that the mounting operation can be easily automated.

[0004]

However, in this thermally responsive switch, the fixing operation is complicated because the case is fixed with an adhesive. Also, before installing the connector socket, the area around the terminal pins of the thermal element is exposed, so metal powder etc. adheres to the surface of the glass etc. that insulates and fixes the terminal pins, and the terminal pins and the sealed container Between them may be reduced.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, in the heat responsive switch of the present invention, a metal thin plate is provided at the tip of a conductive terminal pin insulated and fixed to a thermosensitive element having a metal hermetically sealed container. An auxiliary terminal having a hollow cylindrical shape and at least a portion having a part having flexibility at least in part is conductively fixed so as to cover one end of the auxiliary terminal,
A resin insulating member provided with a hole through which a terminal pin is inserted substantially covers the surface of the lid plate and the fixing portion between the terminal pin and the auxiliary terminal on the surface of the lid plate of the closed container, and conductive dust is insulated and fixed to the terminal pin. The auxiliary terminal protruding above the insulating member is attached with a waterproof connector socket at the tip of the auxiliary terminal. It is characterized in that it is attached to the device with fixing members such as screws.

Another feature is that the fixing through-hole extends along a circle having a predetermined radius with respect to the center of the heat-sensitive element so that a slight shift in the rotational direction at the time of mounting the heat-sensitive element can be tolerated. It was a long hole.

[0007]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a thermoresponsive switch according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state where the thermally responsive switch 1 of the present invention is mounted on a compressor 20 such as a car air conditioner, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the mounted part. FIG. 3 shows a heat-sensitive element assembly used in the thermoresponsive switch. Compressor 2
Numeral 0 denotes a so-called open type compressor in which a compression action is performed by a driven shaft having a pulley driven in conjunction with the engine. Through-hole 2 communicating with compression chamber 20A
0B is provided on a part of the wall surface,
Is attached to this through hole 20B.

The thermally responsive switch 1 is a thermosensitive element 4 comprising a metal-closed cylindrical case 2 and a substantially disk-shaped cover plate 3 which is tightly fixed to the open end face of the case 2.
have. The heat-sensitive element 4 has a mechanism for opening and closing a contact at a predetermined temperature with a bimetal or the like inside, and operates by detecting overheating of a device to be controlled. The cover plate 3 of the thermosensitive element is provided with two through holes, and conductive terminal pins 5 are hermetically insulated and fixed to the through holes with glass or the like.

A contact mechanism (not shown) is connected to the inside of the airtight container between the terminal pins 5. Auxiliary terminals 6 are fixed to outer ends of both terminal pins 5 by welding or the like. The auxiliary terminal 6 is formed into a slightly flexible hollow cylindrical shape formed by processing a metal thin plate, and is conductively fixed so that one end of the auxiliary terminal 6 covers the terminal pin tip. A cut-and-raised portion 6A is provided in the vicinity of the fixed portion of the auxiliary terminal 6 to prevent the insulating member described below from falling off. Further, the tip portion of the auxiliary terminal 6 is rounded to facilitate insertion into a connection terminal described later.

An insulating member 7 is held on the surface of the cover plate 3 so as to cover most of the surface. The insulating member 7 is made of, for example, a resin such as PPS, and has an insertion hole 7A into which the terminal pin 5 and the auxiliary terminal 6 are inserted, and covers around the fixing portion between the terminal pin 5 and the auxiliary terminal 6. Protrusion 7B is thus provided.
A step portion 7C is provided at an intermediate portion of the insertion hole, and the cut-and-raised portion 6A of the auxiliary terminal 6 comes into contact with the step portion 7C so that the inserted insulating member 7 does not easily fall off. Has been.

As shown in FIG. 2, the heat-sensitive element assembly 8 constructed as described above is provided with a through hole 20B of the compressor 20.
Attached to. A step 20B1 is provided in the through-hole 20B, and a sealing member 9 such as an O-ring is attached to this portion, and a step 20B is formed between the flange portion 3A of the cover plate 3 of the thermosensitive element.
The through hole 20 </ b> B is sealed by sandwiching the through hole 20 </ b> A. A locking portion 20B2 for holding the locking member 10 such as a snap ring is provided on a further outer wall surface of the through hole 20B. The thermal element assembly 8 is securely fixed to the through hole 20B by the locking member 10, and does not fall out of the through hole 20B when the pressure inside the compressor increases due to normal use.

The connector socket 11 has two connection terminals 12 inserted and held in a resin socket body. Lead wires 13 are connected to the respective connection terminals 12. A liquid-tight structure is provided by attaching a rubber bush 14 to a portion where the lead wire 13 is drawn out. The opening end 11A of the connector socket 11 is inserted and mounted in the outside opening of the through hole 20B, and at the same time, the auxiliary terminal 6 of the thermosensitive element assembly 8 is inserted into the connection terminal 12. Here, a sealing member 15 such as an O-ring is provided around the open end 11A to provide a waterproof structure.
Is attached, and after the attachment, in cooperation with the rubber bush 14 described above, it is possible to prevent water, dust and the like from entering the connector socket 11.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the connector socket 11 has a penetrated elongated hole 11B for projecting further outward from a peripheral edge thereof and being fixed to the compressor 20 with a fixing member such as a bolt 16. Is provided. Although the elongated hole 11B is vertically penetrated, it is isolated from the inside of the connection portion of the terminal, and thus does not affect the waterproofness. This hole need only be a hole through which the fixing bolt 16 passes, and is not necessarily a long hole. However, as in the embodiment, a circular hole having a predetermined radius with the rotation center of the heat-sensitive element being the virtual axis is used. By using a long hole extending along the circumference, even when the thermosensitive element assembly 8 is attached to the compressor 20 and slightly displaced in the rotational direction from the normal position, the bolt 16 can be easily inserted into the long hole. It can be inserted, and the connector socket can be quickly and reliably attached and fixed to the compressor.

In a compressor or the like to which such a thermoresponsive switch is attached, if a long lead wire is attached, the subsequent handling becomes complicated. Therefore, before the lead wire is attached, the connector socket 11 is attached in the embodiment. Before performing the various operations, the connector socket is attached. Conventionally, the surrounding area of the terminal pins of the thermal element is exposed before the connector socket is installed, so conductive dust such as metal powder may insulate and fix the terminal pins during the above operation. And the insulation between the terminal pin and the sealed container may be reduced.

Therefore, in the present invention, the insulating member 7 is attached so as to be almost in close contact with the cover plate 3 of the thermal element 4, so that the periphery of the terminal pin 5 is not exposed even before the connector socket 11 is attached. No dust adheres to the surface of the glass on which the terminal pins 5 are insulated and fixed. Therefore, the insulation between the terminal pin 5 and the sealed container does not decrease. Further, since the distance between the two terminal pins 5 is at least twice the distance of the above-mentioned glass surface, if there is dust generated by ordinary work, insulation between the terminal pins poses a problem in use. It is unlikely to be reduced to a degree.

The insulating member 7 is connected to each terminal pin 5
A configuration is made to cover the fixed portion between the power supply terminal and the auxiliary terminal 6 and the periphery thereof, thereby preventing the external force from being intensively applied to the fixed portion. The auxiliary terminal 6 is a hollow cylindrical shape formed by processing a metal thin plate and has at least a part having a part having flexibility. For example, in the embodiment, the auxiliary terminal 6 is provided with an opening 6B as shown in FIG. It is possible to prevent an excessive force from being applied and to prevent deterioration of the airtightness of the heat-sensitive element itself due to breakage of glass or the like. The mode of the flexible portion is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that various methods such as providing a flexible portion near the welded portion are possible.

[0017]

According to the thermal responsive switch of the present invention, a resin insulating member provided with holes for inserting terminal pins in the surface of the lid plate of the sealed container is provided on the surface of the lid plate and the fixing portion between the terminal pins and the auxiliary terminals. By mounting so as to substantially cover the terminal socket, it is possible to prevent dust and the like from entering the vicinity of the terminal pin before mounting the connector socket, thereby preventing a decrease in withstand voltage between the terminal pin and the sealed container. Further, since the fixing portion between the terminal pin and the auxiliary terminal and the periphery thereof are covered, it is possible to prevent external force from being concentrated on the fixing portion and prevent the auxiliary terminal from falling off.

Further, the auxiliary terminal of the thermally responsive switch of the present invention is made by processing a thin plate and has at least a portion having a little flexibility, so that the force required for mounting the connection terminal is small. In particular, the force in the torsional direction is alleviated by the deflection of the auxiliary terminal, preventing unnecessary force from being applied to the glass of the cover plate through the terminal pin, and preventing the hermeticity of the heat-sensitive element itself from being deteriorated due to breakage of the glass. .

Further, according to the present invention, the shape of the screw-through hole is formed as a long hole along a circle having a predetermined radius with respect to the center of the thermosensitive element. And the mounting work can be facilitated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of an example of a compressor for a car air conditioner equipped with a thermally responsive switch of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of the vicinity of a heat responsive switch mounting portion of the compressor of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a thermal element assembly used in the thermally responsive switch of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an overhead view showing a mounting state of the thermally responsive switch of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an overhead view of a thermal element assembly used in the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a connector housing used in the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a connector housing used in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Thermal switch 2: Case 3: Lid plate 4: Thermal element 5: Terminal pin 6: Auxiliary terminal 7: Insulating member 8: Thermal element assembly 11: Connector socket 12: Connection terminal 13: Lead wire 16: Bolt (fixing member) )

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A thermosensitive element having a closed container comprising a metal-made bottomed cylindrical case and a substantially disc-shaped lid plate tightly fixed to an opening end face of the case, and a lid plate of the thermosensitive element. A conductive terminal pin is insulated and fixed therethrough, and at the tip of the terminal pin, an auxiliary terminal having a hollow cylindrical shape made of a thin metal plate and having at least a part with a part having some flexibility is provided. A resin insulating member, which is conductively fixed in such a manner that one end of the terminal pin covers the terminal pin tip and has a hole through which the terminal pin is inserted on the surface of the cover plate, is provided on the surface of the cover plate and a fixing portion between the terminal pin and the auxiliary terminal. The auxiliary terminal is attached so that conductive dust does not adhere to the insulating fixing part of the terminal pin, and a waterproof connector socket is attached to the tip of the auxiliary terminal protruding on the insulating member. A thermally responsive switch characterized in that mounting to a control target device is performed by a fixing member using a fixing through-hole provided in a connector socket. 2. A through hole for fixing is formed as a long hole along a circle having a predetermined radius with respect to the center of the thermosensitive element so that a slight shift in the rotation direction at the time of mounting the thermosensitive element can be tolerated. The thermally responsive switch according to claim 1, wherein