JPH11111147A - Bimetal apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bimetal apparatus which is easy to be incorporated in a circuit breaker for wire distribution and used for a mechanism for tripping overcurrent. SOLUTION: A bimetal main body 1 is formed into an inverted U-shape by a slit 2 formed in the center from the lower end to the upper end and two leg plate part 3, 3 are formed in lower ends. One leg plate part 3 is formed while being warped forward in relation to the direction of the thickness of the bimetal main body 1 through a bent step part 3a facing forward and the other leg plate part 3 is formed vertically as same as the bimetal main body 1. A finger 5 of made of an elastic plate provided with a contact 4 is welded in the front face of the former leg plate part 3 and a terminal seat 6 is welded in the rear side of the latter leg plate part 3, so that the bimetal main body 1, the finger 5, and the terminal seat 6 are made to be an integral set part and consequently these parts are made easy to be incorporated in circuit breaker for wire distribution.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bimetal device used for a bimetal type overcurrent tripping mechanism of a circuit breaker for wiring.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional bimetal apparatus usually has a bimetal body 21 simply formed in a plate shape as shown in FIG. Therefore, in order to use the bimetal main body 21 as an electric circuit and to properly bend by heat generation when an overcurrent flows to press the trigger 25 shown in FIG. When the lower end is connected to the finger 22, it is necessary to connect the upper part of the bimetal body 21 to the terminal seat 23 by an electric wire. As this electric wire, a flexible stranded wire 24 has been used so as to be able to cope with the curvature of the bimetal body 21.

[0003]

However, in this conventional device, connection work such as welding and brazing for connecting the twisted wire 24 is troublesome, and twisting is performed before assembling into a circuit breaker for wiring. Bimetallic body 2 connected by wires 24
Since the positional relationship between the terminal 1 and the terminal seat 23 is uncertain, it is difficult to correspond to assembly by an automatic assembly machine as a set part.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems and to provide a bimetal apparatus which does not use a twisted wire and which can be easily assembled by an automatic assembling machine. A plate-shaped bimetal body is formed in the center thereof with a slit extending from the lower end to the upper end to form an inverted U shape, and two leg plate portions are provided below, and at least one leg plate portion is biased in the thickness direction of the bimetal body. Then, a finger or a terminal seat is welded to each leg plate portion.

[0005]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment, in which 1 is a plate-shaped bimetallic body, and the bimetallic body 1 has a slit 2 provided at the center thereof from the lower end to the upper end as shown in FIG. To form an inverted U-shape, and two leg plates 3, 3 are provided at the lower end. One leg plate portion 3 is provided so as to be biased forward in the thickness direction of the bimetal body 1 via a bent step portion 3a facing forward.
The other leg plate 3 is formed in the same vertical plate shape as the bimetal body 1, and at least one leg plate 3 is biased in the thickness direction of the bimetal body 1. Then, a finger 5 made of an elastic plate with a contact 4 is welded to the front surface of one leg plate portion 3,
On the rear surface of the other leg plate 3, a mounting piece 6a bent downward at the base end of the terminal seat 6 is welded.

In this configuration, the bimetal body 1 is formed in an inverted U-shape by a slit 2 provided at the center from the lower end to the upper end, so that the electric current is supplied to one leg plate provided at the lower end. 3 flows through the upper end of the bimetal body 1 to the other leg plate 3. For this reason, when an overcurrent flows in the bimetal body 1, it is possible to accurately bend by heat generation and press the trigger 25 to operate the overcurrent tripping mechanism. Moreover, the one leg plate 3 and the other leg plate 3 to which the finger 5 and the terminal seat 6 are welded have one leg plate 3 biased in the thickness direction, so that a sufficient insulation distance is secured between the two. And there is no danger of short circuit.

Further, the bimetal body 1 changes the height of the slit 2 so that the upper and lower widths of the power supply remaining at the top of the bimetal body 1 are changed, so that the bimetal body 1 can be used for power distribution circuit breakers of various current ratings. Further, the energization distance of the bimetal body 1 is determined by the slit 2.
The height can be about twice as high as that of the power distribution circuit breaker.

FIGS. 3 to 5 show another embodiment. The difference from the first embodiment lies in the structure of the leg plates 3, 3. FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, one leg plate portion 3 is formed in the same vertical plate shape as the bimetal body 1, and the other leg plate portion 3 is formed vertically through the rearward bent step portion 3b. Thus, at least one leg plate 3 is biased in the thickness direction of the bimetal body 1. An elastic plate finger 5 with a contact 4 is welded to the front surface of one leg plate portion 3, and a mounting piece portion 6 a bent downward at the base end of the terminal seat 6 is formed on the rear surface of the other leg plate portion 3. Is welding.

In FIG. 4, one leg plate 3 is formed in a vertical plate shape on the bimetal body 1, and the other leg plate 3 is formed.
Is bent rearward to form a parallel plate, and at least one leg plate portion 3 is biased in the thickness direction of the bimetal body 1. An elastic plate finger 5 with a contact 4 is welded to the front surface of one leg plate portion 3, and a plate-like terminal is formed on the upper surface of the other leg plate portion 3 with a space left at the base end of the leg plate portion 3. The tip of the seat 6 is welded.

Further, in FIG. 5, one leg plate 3 is bent forward of the bimetal body 1 to form a parallel plate, and the other leg plate 3 is formed in a vertical plate shape with respect to the bimetal body 1. And at least one of the leg plates is biased in the thickness direction of the bimetal body. A folded leg portion 5a bent at the lower end of the finger 5 is welded to the upper surface of the leg plate portion 3 formed at one end of the parallel plate, leaving a space at the base end thereof, and a terminal seat is formed on the rear surface of the other leg plate portion 3. A mounting piece 6a bent downward is welded to the base end of the base 6. In each of the above embodiments, at least one lower portion of the bimetallic leg plate portion 3 is biased in the thickness direction of the bimetal body 1, but it is a matter of course that both may be biased. is there.

[0011]

According to the present invention, as is apparent from the above description, the bimetal body is formed in an inverted U-shape by a slit provided at the center from the lower end to the upper end, and at least one of the leg plates is formed in the thickness direction of the bimetal body. The finger or terminal seat is welded and welded to each leg plate, so if an overcurrent flows through the bimetal body, it will bend properly due to heat generation and press the trigger to activate the overcurrent tripping mechanism That can be done. The bimetal body, fingers, and terminal seats can be incorporated into the circuit breaker as a set part having a fixed shape by welding, so that it can be easily adapted to an automatic assembling machine. Also,
By changing the height of the slit, the same bimetal body can support various current ratings. further,
There is also an advantage that it is possible to cope with a low capacity rating such as 3A or 5A which generates little heat. Therefore, the present invention has a large contribution to industrial development as a solution to the problem of the conventional bimetal device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway front view showing a usage example of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

6A and 6B show a conventional example, in which FIG. 6A is a perspective view and FIG.
Is a partially cutaway front view showing an example of its use.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bimetal body 2 Slit 3 Leg plate part 5 Finger 6 Terminal seat

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plate-shaped bimetal body (1) is formed in an inverted U-shape by providing a slit (2) at the center thereof from a lower end to an upper end, and two leg plate portions (3), (3 ), And at least one leg plate (2) is biased in the thickness direction of the bimetal body (1), and a finger (5) or terminal seat (6) is welded to each leg plate (3), (3). A bimetal device characterized by the following.