JPH11167852A - Apparatus with relay - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To ensure returning after reverse operation by constituting a thermoswitch part with a moving contact plate with a contact, a disk-shaped bimetal for switching the moving contact plate, and a means for regulating the movement of the position of the bimetal. SOLUTION: An electrothermal relay 1 has a protector part 10 which shuts off current by increasing current passed and a thermoswitch part 30 which shuts off current by increasing temperature. The protector part 10 has a dish type main bimetal 11 and an adjusting screw 12 installed in the center of a bottom 3A of a reverse opening end of a cylindrical case 3, and the main bimetal 11 is pushed against a head part 13 of the adjusting screw 12 with a coil spring 15 and held. The adjusting screw 12 consists of a screw part 12A and the head part 13, and fixed with a thermally fusible metal 14, and after completion of adjustment, fixed with an adhesive 16 for locking. Each fixed terminal plate has an inlaid type fixed contact.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device having a relay suitable for protecting a compressor constituting a refrigeration cycle, such as an air conditioner or an electric refrigerator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Compressor motors used in air conditioners and the like are not only protected during motor rotor restraint and overload operation, but also when there is refrigerant leakage, short-circuit or disconnection of the operation capacitor, and instantaneous power failure. Under severe conditions such as start-up, a device that can respond quickly is required. In such a case, the compressor of the air conditioner heats up, but the current of the motor does not increase much in many cases, and it is not possible to protect the conventional protector which mainly responds only to the current.

Therefore, a thermal protector has been proposed in which a main bimetal P made of a plate-shaped main bimetal B and the like which can be installed in a compressor and a temperature switch TH are integrally disposed (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-79240 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 9-79240). 7-2628
This will be described below.

A first conventional example is shown in FIGS. FIG. 17 is a partially cut front view, and FIG.
7 is a sectional view taken along the line AA ′, and FIG. 19 is an electric circuit diagram. In these figures, a thermoswitch TH1 that is normally open and closes when the temperature rises to a predetermined temperature, and a resistor R1 that is energized therefrom, are provided near the main bimetal B of the main protector P, and the thermoswitch TH1 and the resistor R1 are connected in series. The circuit is connected in parallel with the motor M as a load.

More specifically, a motor M is connected in series to a power source E via terminals a and b at both ends of a main bimetal B of a main protector P, and one end of a resistor R1 is connected to an output terminal b of the main bimetal B. The other end is connected to a thermoswitch TH1 via a lead c, and the other end of the thermoswitch is connected to another phase of the power supply by a lead d.

Accordingly, when the motor M is overloaded or the rotor is restrained, the temperature of the main bimetal B increases due to an overcurrent as in a normal protector.
When the current is normal and only the temperature rises, the thermoswitch TH1 is closed,
The circuit is cut off by energizing the resistor R1 to generate heat and inverting the main bimetal B.

Next, a second conventional example is shown in FIGS. 20 is a plan view, FIG. 21 is a front view, FIG. 22 is a sectional view taken along line AA ′ of FIG. 20, and FIG. 23 is an electric circuit diagram. A normally closed thermoswitch TH2 and a main protector P are connected in series with a motor M as a load. The main protector P has a heater wire R near its main bimetal B.
2, the bimetal B is always heated, and if only the temperature rises, the thermoswitch TH2 is opened to prevent the motor M from burning. That is, the terminals a and b at both ends of the bimetal B of the main protector P, the heater R
2. Since they are connected to the motor M via both ends (lead wires) c and d of the thermoswitch TH2, they are all in the same phase of the power supply. Therefore, the heater R2 can reduce the insulation distance to the main bimetal B and each terminal as compared with the first conventional example. For this reason, the heater has a large degree of freedom in design, for example, by appropriately selecting the wire diameter and length of a material such as a nichrome wire according to the power supply of the motor M, and arranging the heater in a bending type or a coil winding type. Has become. In addition,
Since the main bimetal B is heated by the heater R2 in addition to the self-heating by the motor current, it can be applied to a system with a small motor current.

[0008]

However, in the first prior art, the main bimetal B is usually only self-heated by a relatively large current, such as a compressor motor constituting a refrigeration cycle of an air conditioner or the like. Since this technology operates, it is difficult to apply this technology to a small-sized and small-current compressor as it is because the heat generated by the main bimetal is small, so that the technology can only be applied to a compressor with a large motor current. Further, one end of the thermostat TH1 is connected to the opposite phase to the main bimetal B or the like of the power supply, so that the power supply voltage is directly applied to the resistor R1,
Care must be taken in the selection of this resistor, and the other phases (the thermoswitch TH1 and the c of resistor R1)
Side) requires a considerable insulation distance to prevent current leakage. For this reason, the thermoswitch TH1 is housed in a single housing and pulled out by a lead wire.

The opening and closing of the compressor motor are all performed only by the main protector P, and the thermoswitch TH1 can be used only for the role of auxiliary means, and the function is immediately stopped when the life of the main protector P expires and the contacts are welded. (The life performance depends on the life performance of one of the two relays even if two types of relays are used), and a long-life type relay cannot be obtained.

Next, in the second conventional example, the main bimetal B is heated by the heater R2 in addition to the self-heat generated by the motor current, so that the two types of relays used for opening and closing the compressor motor M are both heated by the heater R2. Although there is an advantage that it can be applied to a device with a small current, the thermoswitch TH2 is different from that of FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 6 to 18, since the main protector P is completely separate from the main protector P and is provided with a housing, not only the overall required space must be increased, but also the speed of heat conduction is slow, and the motor There is a problem that the temperature rise of M is allowed. In addition, the increase in the size of the housing has a drawback in that, when the housing is mounted on a compressor surface of an air conditioner or the like, interference of surrounding pipes and electric parts becomes a problem. Further, since the thermoswitch TH2 is arranged in a limited space and has a housing, it is impossible to open and close the current of the large-capacity compressor motor, and the contact opening / closing ability is impossible. And the reliability in terms of life performance was not high.

In particular, when the ambient temperature is low, the main protector has a longer operation time due to the nature of the bimetal, and on the other hand, a shorter recovery time, so that the average duty ratio (= duty ratio = operation time / (operation time) + Return time)), and the danger of burnout of the compressor motor for the air conditioner becomes extremely large.

In order to prevent this, it is necessary that the thermoswitch TH detects the temperature rise of the compressor motor M as quickly as possible and responds to this. Then, the main protector P responds to the rise of the current promptly, trips and opens the circuit. After the operation, the main protector P maintains the high temperature as long as possible without dissipating heat to the outside, and extends the time until the return. However, it was necessary to lower the above-mentioned current-carrying rate, but this could not be achieved in the prior art.

In order to solve these problems, the thermoswitch is provided with a cantilevered movable contact and a thermo-bimetal which reverses when heated, and the current is interrupted by pushing up the movable contact by the reversal operation of the thermo-bimetal. I thought anew. However, it was found that there was a failure that the operation was not reliably restored during the operation experiment and re-energization was hindered.

An object of the present invention is to provide a device provided with a relay that can be reliably restored after an inversion operation.

[0015]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to provide a relay having a protector section for interrupting an electric current by increasing an energized current and a thermoswitch section for interrupting an electric current by an increase in temperature. In the equipment,
A movable contact plate having a contact,
This is achieved by using a disk-shaped bimetal for turning on and off the movable contact plate and means for restricting the movement of the position of the bimetal.

Preferably, the means for controlling the movement of the position of the bimetal includes a hole provided in the bimetal, a shaft provided in a base corresponding to the hole, and a shaft. The hole is loosely fitted.

Further, the means for restricting the movement of the position of the bimetal is such that at least one or more surfaces of the base peripheral recess surrounding the end surface of the disk-shaped bimetal are formed as a tapered surface.

The means for restricting the movement of the position of the bimetal may be provided such that a bent portion is provided at one end of the bimetal, and the bent portion is loosely fitted into a fitting hole provided in a thermobase on which the bimetal is arranged. I do.

The means for restricting the movement of the position of the bimetal is provided with a bent portion at one end of the bimetal, and the bent portion is loosely fitted into a fitting hole provided in the movable contact plate.

Further, a means for restricting the movement of the position of the bimetal is provided with a cut-and-raised portion in a part of the movable contact plate, and the cut-and-raised portion is provided with a fitting hole provided in the bimetal and the bimetal. Into the fitting hole provided in the thermo base.

Further, the above object is to provide a refrigeration cycle having a compressor, a condenser and an evaporator, a protector section and a thermostat section attached to the compressor and connected to form a series circuit. A device having a relay mounted so that a portion thereof is on the compressor side and having an insulating material between the protector portion and the thermoswitch portion, the device having a movable contact of the thermoswitch portion. A contact plate, a jumping disk-shaped bimetal arranged between the movable contact plate and a thermo base, which is a concave portion provided in the thermoswitch portion, such that a convex curved surface faces the movable contact plate; It is further achieved that the device is provided with a means that does not separate from the thermobase when the bimetal is inverted.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the thermal relay according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a front view cut along a center line (a front view of a cross section taken along line AA ′ of FIG. 4), FIG.
3 is an electric circuit diagram, FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a main part of the present embodiment, FIG. 4 is a plan view, FIG. 5 is a left side view, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB ′ of FIG. And Fig. 7 incorporates the protector part in the case,
The cover and the thermoswitch are the bottom view before assembling, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a cover and a thermoswitch unit. FIG.
11 to 11 are explanatory diagrams showing one part of a thermoswitch unit.
9 is a front view taken along the line DD ′ in FIG. 10, FIG. 10 is a bottom view, and FIG. 11 is a side view taken along the line EE ′ in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a state where the relay according to the present embodiment is attached to a compressor of a refrigeration cycle for an air conditioner.

The thermal relay 1 is provided on the outer surface 7 of the compressor to be protected.
Attached to. Reference numeral 2 denotes an outer shell made of an insulator, which comprises a cylindrical case 3 open at one end and a cover closing the open end.
This cover is used for the thermo base 4 of the thermo switch unit 30.
And a cap 6.

The protector unit 1 is provided inside the cylindrical case 3.
After the 0 is installed, a normally closed thermoswitch portion 30 that opens at a predetermined temperature is fitted with a flexible insulating material 5 such as a polyamide paper or a phenol laminate laminated therebetween.
Further, the filling portion exposed to the outside (a part of the movable terminal 33 described later) is filled with the adhesive 8 to cover it, and the cap 6 is fixed.

The protector section 10 will be described. 11
Is a plate-shaped main bimetal, 12 is an adjusting screw threaded at the center of the bottom 3A at the opposite open end of the cylindrical case 3, and 15 is a coil spring that fixes the main bimetal 11 to the head 13 of the adjusting screw 12.
And hold it. The adjusting screw 12 is
A and a head 13 are fixed with a heat-fusible metal 14, and are fixed with a locking adhesive 16 after the adjustment is completed. Referring to FIGS. 4 to 6, reference numerals 17 and 18 denote fixed terminal boards having inlay-type fixed contacts 19 and 19, respectively.
After the legs are inserted into the slots 3B and 3C of the bottom 3A of the cylindrical case 3, the sides are crimped and planted. A tab terminal 20 for connecting a lead wire (not shown) from a power supply is fixed to an outer end of one of the fixed terminal plates 17 by spot welding or the like. The movable contact 2 provided on the main bimetal 11
1 is opposed to and separated from the fixed contacts 19, 19, respectively. The heater terminal plate 22 is implanted in a slot 3D at a position 90 degrees away from the center of the bottom 3A of the tubular case 3 similar to the fixed terminal plates 17, 18 (see FIG. 4). In FIG.
A heater 23 such as a nichrome wire is installed facing the vicinity of the main bimetal 11 so as to heat the bimetal 11, and the other fixed terminal plate 18 and the heater terminal plate 22 are heated.
The both ends are connected by spot welding or the like.

As shown in FIG. 7, the outer wall of the cylindrical case 3 on the side of the main bimetal 11 forms a double wall with the inner side wall 3F along the side edge of the main bimetal 11 and the side wall 3G of the outer circumference circle. Then, the air is retained in the small chambers (closed by the insulating material 5 and the thermo base 4 described later) to maintain the heat-insulating air layer, and to have the inner protector portion and the outer heat-insulating action. That is, the outer dimensions of the cylindrical case 3 are the same, and the inner wall 3F is provided corresponding to the outer shape of the main bimetal 11, so that the capacity for accommodating the protector portion 10 is reduced, and a heat insulating space is provided therebetween. Since the inner wall 3F is provided in the axial direction of the cylindrical case 3, the cylindrical case 3
The molding die does not require any special structure, and can be integrally molded with the cylindrical case 3 at the same time. By closing the opening of the heat insulating space with the insulating material 5, convection can be prevented and the heat insulating performance can be improved.

As described above, in the protector section 10, current always flows (inputs) from the tab terminal 20 to which the one fixed terminal plate 17 is fixed, and the fixed terminal plate 17, the fixed contact 19, the movable contact 21, and the fixed contact 19 are provided. , And reaches the heater terminal plate 22 via the other fixed terminal plate 18 and the heater 23. It should be noted that the above-described heat insulating space has the same effect even if the heat insulating space is simultaneously closed by a cover that closes the open end of the cylindrical case 3 containing only the protector portion 10, and is affected by the internal configuration. Never.

Next, at the center of the bottom 3A of the cylindrical case 3,
The outside portion is thickened so as to have a thickness (T in FIG. 1) that is twice or more the thickness (t in FIG. 1) of the other portions, and an adhesive 16 is applied to the threaded portion 3J of the adjusting screw 12. When injected, not only the tip of the adjusting screw 12 and the cylindrical case 3 are bonded and fixed, but also the adhesive 16 penetrates into the screwing part through each part of the adjusting screw 12, and the screw and the cylindrical part at this part Case 3 is fixed. At this time, the adhesive 16 has a thick threaded portion,
It stops within the thickness and does not reach the bimetal 11 side.

Since the nut is not used for fixing the adjustment screw 12 and the cylindrical case 3 in this way, the adjustment position of the main bimetal once set when the nut is tightened does not change. Further, since the spring force of the coil spring 15 always acts in the axial direction between the main bimetal and the bonding portion, the adjusting screw does not loosen.

Further, the other end of the coil spring 15 for pressing the main bimetal 11 against the adjusting screw head 13 is stably held by a concave portion 3L having a thickness of 1/2 or more in the bottom of the cylindrical case 3. Thus, when the size between the main bimetal 11 and the bottom wall of the cylindrical case 3 is reduced in size, the length of the spring is absorbed by the concave portion. (Constants, etc.) can be used.

The height of the overlay 3J formed on the bottom surface 3A of the cylindrical case 3 is made lower than the terminals 20 and 37 projecting upright from the bottom surface 3A of the cylindrical case 3 and at the same time as the height of the screw portion 3J. The tip of the adjusting screw 12 protruding is also connected to the terminal 2.
By setting it lower than 0 or 37, an adjusting screw screw portion is formed in an ineffective space portion where several terminals and the like protrude, so that the overall size is not increased.

After an overcurrent flows into such a protector section 10 and the main bimetal 11 operates to cut off the contacts 19 and 21,
When the temperature drops, the main bimetal 11 returns and the contact 1
9 and 21 are closed again. If this is repeated many times, the contacts will be welded and the main bimetal 11 will be in a dangerous state where it cannot operate. At this time, the heater 23 is continuously energized, and both the heat generation energy and the rise in the temperature of the protected body compressor cause The heat fusible metal 14 joining the head 13 and the screw portion 12 of the adjusting screw 12 is melted, the main bimetal 11 is pushed up by the coil spring 15, and the contacts 19 and 21 are cut off. Thereafter, the non-return operation is performed without returning the main bimetal 11 to the old position.

The situation where the main bimetal 11 is forcibly separated from the contacts 19 and 21 by the coil spring 15 is that the motor current becomes overcurrent and the main bimetal 1
Reference numeral 1 denotes a state in which contact welding occurs and current is excessively flowing. If the main bimetal 11 is forcibly shut off in this state, an arc is generated due to the excessive current. Between the circuits where this arc passes the main bimetal, for example, the fixed terminal 19 on the fixed terminal plate 17 side and the thermoswitch unit 30
If it jumps between the fixed terminals 31 on the motor side, the main circuit cannot be cut off, and there is a problem that current continues to flow.

Therefore, the distance between the protector unit 10 and the thermoswitch unit 30 must be a distance at which the arc does not fly. However, if this distance is taken, the height of the thermal relay itself becomes large. In order to solve this problem, in this embodiment, the main bimetal 1
The insulating material 5 is disposed at a position where the head of the adjusting screw 12 after the non-return operation 1 is touched but does not touch the movable contact plate 34 after the operation of the thermoswitch 30. As a result, it is possible to reduce the dimension in the height direction as compared with the dimensions that were taken for securing the arc scattering distance,
The height dimension of the thermal relay itself can be reduced.
In the case where the adjusting screw 12 has the protector unit 10 other than the non-returnable type which does not use the heat-soluble metal 14, the heater 23
Needless to say, due to the heat generation energy continuously supplied and the temperature rise of the protected body compressor, a thermoswitch section 30 described later operates to maintain safety.

Next, the thermoswitch section 30 will be described in detail. 3
Reference numeral 1 denotes a fixed-side terminal provided with an inlay-type fixed contact 32 at its bent portion 31B, 33 denotes a movable-side terminal, 34 denotes a movable contact plate having a thermo-movable contact 35 at a free end, and 36 denotes a thermo-bimetal. Fixed terminal 31 and movable terminal 33
Is inserted into the thermo base 4 which also functions as a cover for sealing the open end of the cylindrical case 3 together with the cap 6, and the respective extended portions 31A and 33A become terminals.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 9, the movable terminal 33 is a thermo-base (see FIG. 1 and FIG. 9) in which heat from the protected body is effectively conducted by a fan-shaped wide portion 33B having a notch in the middle and having a notch on both sides. The cover 4 is inserted at a predetermined position. The convex portion 4A having an arc-shaped cross section of the cover 4 is exposed at the middle of the wide portion 33B. The movable contact plate 34 is fixed by caulking after inserting the small convex portion 33D of the movable terminal into the small hole 34A at the base end made of an elastic metal plate.
5 is moved toward and away from the fixed contact 32. Referring to FIG. 3, the thermo bimetal 36 has a thermo base 4 between the movable contact plate 34 and the arcuate concave portion 4 </ b> A at the center of the cover 4.
A shaft portion 4C is formed in the thermo base 4 so that the thermo bimetal 36 does not come out of the thermo berth 4 enclosure when the thermo bi metal 36 is turned over, and a hole 36c is provided in the thermo bi metal 36 corresponding thereto. It is loosely fitted and inserted. The thermo-bimetal 36 normally has an upwardly projecting shape as shown in FIG.
Numeral 4 contacts the thermo-movable contact 35 at the tip of the thermo-fixed contact 32 facing the thermo-fixed contact 32 by its own elasticity.
When the temperature of the thermo-bimetal 36 rises to a predetermined temperature, the thermo-bimetal 36 is inverted to be convex downward (concave upward), and the contact 32 and the contact 35 are quickly separated and cut off.

The thermoswitch unit 30 integrally formed on the thermobase 4 is made up of the cylindrical case 3 as follows.
Attached to. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, extension portions 31 </ b> A and 33 </ b> A of fixed terminal 31 and movable terminal 33 protruding from thermoswitch portion 30 are fixed to protector portion 10 at bottom 3 </ b> A of cylindrical case 3. A position (AA) perpendicular to the center line BB ′ of the terminal plates 17 and 18
It is attached by inserting it into the slots 3D and 3E provided on the 'line'). The extension 33A is provided in the slot 3
Heater terminal plate 2 of the protector already planted in D
2 is fixed by spot welding or the like. On the other hand, slot 3
The extension 31A of the fixed-side terminal 31 inserted into E is fixed to the tab terminal 37 positioned by being inserted into the step 3E 'from the outside by a joining means such as spot welding in the same manner as described above. The tab terminal 37 becomes an output terminal to the motor M, which is a protected body. Through the above series of operations, the thermoswitch unit 30 is fixed to the case 3 so that the protector unit 10 and the thermoswitch unit 30 are connected to each other through the slot 3D. As described above, the tab terminal 20 of the protector unit 10 serves as a power input terminal, and the tab terminal 37 of the thermoswitch unit 30 serves as an output terminal to the motor M as a load.

However, as shown in the circuit diagram of FIG. 2, all of the thermal relays in the present embodiment are provided in the same phase as the power supply, so that even if the input side and the output side are reversed, trouble occurs. Can be used without.

As shown in FIG. 8, the thermo-bimetal 36 is designed such that a substantially square one is formed (formed) and the bending direction is reversed at a predetermined temperature. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 8, the thermo-bimetal 36 is guided and held by both the recess 4 </ b> B formed inside the thermobase 4 and the shaft 4 </ b> C provided in the recess 4 </ b> B. Arc-shaped convex part 4A
And the movable contact plate 34.

In FIG. 1, when heat for inverting operation is applied to the thermo-bimetal 36, the thermo-bimetal 36 is deformed so as to be concave upward (convex downward). However, FIG.
And, as shown in FIG.
6, the right end side is located on the fixed side of the movable contact plate 34. Therefore, when the reversing operation is performed, the operation in the height direction in the figure is regulated, and the entire thermo-bimetal is inclined to the lower right by the reversing operation. (The aforementioned arc-shaped convex portion 4 of the cover 4
A, the left end on the figure rises at the intersection), the movable contact plate 34
By pushing up, the two contacts 35 and 32 are separated from each other to cut off the circuit. In this way, the left end of the thermo-bimetal 36 in the figure jumps by more than the height difference before and after the reversing operation (the action of the convex shape of the arc-shaped convex portion 4A and the action of the right end of the thermo-bimetal 36 being loosely supported). Since the left end of the bimetal 36 moves freely and relatively largely), the amplitude of the tip of the movable contact plate 34 and the thermo movable contact 35 driven thereby becomes large and quick, so that
Even if the arc flies, it can be moved to a distance at which the arc is interrupted, so that the current can be reliably interrupted.

Next, a shaft 4C provided on the thermo base 4
The operation and effect of will be described. It is assumed that the thermo-bimetal 36 is in a free state (when there is no shaft portion 4C and the hole 36C that engages with the shaft portion 4C). The thermoelectric relay is heated, and the thermo-bimetal 36 performs an inverting operation (a concave shape in FIG. 1). Since this operation is performed rapidly, the position may move. With this position moved, the thermo-bimetal 3 returns to its original shape.
When the end of the thermo bimetal 36 is caught by a step (which may be a burr or a structure in manufacturing) around the thermo-bimetal 36 when it is returned (upwardly convex in FIG. 1), it is returned diagonally. And the movable contact plate 34
It has been found that a contact failure occurs in which the contact 35 does not come into contact with the contact 32 due to being hindered by the thermo-bimetal 36 and becoming in a floating state. This poor contact cannot be easily eliminated because the thermo-bimetal 36 is pressed by the movable contact plate 34 in which a restoring force is acting on the surrounding steps.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the arc-shaped convex portion 4
A shaft 4C (a protrusion may be used as long as it restricts the movement of the thermo-bimetal 36) is provided near the top of A, and a hole 36C is provided in the thermo-bimetal 36 at a position corresponding to the shaft 4C. It was made. With these configurations, the position movement of the thermo-bimetal 36 in the front-rear and left-right directions is restricted, so that the thermo bimetal 36 does not come out of the recessed portion 4B and cause a catching operation failure, so that the repetitive operation is smooth and highly reliable. This has the effect that opening and closing are guaranteed for a long time.

The operation of the above-described thermal relay will be described. When an overcurrent flows due to an overload or a rotor restraint of the motor M that operates the compressor as a load, the main bimetal 11 and the heater 23 generate heat.
When the temperature of 1 reaches 160 ° C., the plate shape is inverted, and both movable contacts 21 are separated from both fixed contacts 19 to cut off the current and protect the motor M. After that, through the cylindrical case, by the insulating space made using the cylindrical case,
Since the escape of heat from the protector can be suppressed, the operation time is shortened and the return time is lengthened, for example, the protection performance of the compressor of the air conditioner is ensured and the coil temperature is reduced.

In the event that only the temperature rises without an increase in current due to a refrigerant leak or the like, the thermostat was convex upward at normal temperature (shown by a solid line in FIG. 1A). Bimetal 36
Rises to a predetermined temperature, for example, at 120 ° C., the dish shape is rapidly inverted to push up the movable contact plate 34,
32 is opened (shown by a broken line in FIG. 1A). As described above, since both relays operate for different purposes, unlike the conventional case, only one of the relays does not interrupt the current, so that there is an effect that reliability is increased. Further, since the energy can be used without losing the energy at the time of the inversion operation of the bimetal, a thermoswitch portion that is difficult to weld the contact can be obtained. This appears as stable life performance over a long period. For this reason, a highly reliable relay having excellent operation stability in the entire range from the large capacity to the small capacity of the compressor motor can be obtained.

Since an insulating material is interposed between the protector section and the thermoswitch section, when one of the two sections is cut off, an obstacle such as an arc does not spread to the other, and the heat generated from the protector section is removed. Since it can stay in the protector part, it can respond quickly to a temperature change. In addition, since the bimetal of the thermo-switch portion is prevented from detaching from the enclosure of the base, smooth operation of the movable contact plate can be obtained, and opening / closing failure similar to welding of contacts can be prevented.

FIGS. 13 to 16 show another embodiment in which the position of the thermo-bimetal 36 is restricted (prevention of detachment).
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 shows a main part of a thermoswitch unit 30 according to the second embodiment. The difference from the above-described embodiment is that a tapered surface 4D is provided on the inner surface of the concave portion 4B so as to surround the four end surfaces of the bimetal 36 of the thermo base 4 of the thermo switch portion 30. As a result, even if the bimetal 36 repeats the reversing operation, the bimetal 36 returns to the original position by the action and effect of the tapered surface 4D, so that an operation defect such as being caught by the insulating paper guide on the inner surface of the concave portion 4B does not occur. The tapered surface 4D may be provided in any of the front, rear, left, and right directions. or,
It is noted that a similar effect can be obtained by increasing the height of the concave portion 4B.

Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
In this embodiment, one end of the thermo-bimetal 36 is bent to form a bent portion 36A, and the bent portion 36A is loosely fitted into a fitting hole 4E formed in the thermo base 4.
Since the fitting portion is provided on the root side of the movable contact plate 34, even if the thermo-bimetal 36 is reversed, the movable distance on the root side is short, so that the movable bi-metal plate 36 does not come off and displace. Also,
In the first embodiment, the thermo base 3 is arranged around the shaft 4C.
Although there is a possibility that position rotation occurs due to rotation of the position 6, according to the present embodiment, since the position in the horizontal direction is regulated, the possibility of position shift is reduced. Also, even if it shifts, there is a high possibility that it will return to the original.

FIG. 15 shows a fourth embodiment. this is,
A fitting hole 3 in which a bent portion 36B is provided at one end of the bimetal 36 and the bent portion 36B is provided in the movable contact plate 34
4B. Since the fitting portion is provided on the root side of the movable contact plate 34, the risk of disengagement is small as in the third embodiment, and lateral displacement can be prevented. There is no need to perform any processing on the thermobase 4, and the fitting portion is provided in the dead space, so that the space can be effectively used.

FIG. 16 shows a fifth embodiment. this is,
A cut-and-raised portion 34C is provided in a part of the movable contact plate 34, and the cut-and-raised portion 34C is loosely fitted into a fitting hole 36C provided in the bimetal 36 and a fitting hole 4E provided in the thermobase 4. The same effects as those of the fourth embodiment can be obtained.

Next, an example in which the above-described thermal relay is used as a protection device for a compressor motor for an air conditioner will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, 38 is a compressor (protected body),
A compression mechanism for compressing the refrigerant and circulating the refrigerant to a condenser 39 and the like, which will be described later, and a motor for driving the compression mechanism 38 are provided in an interior (not shown). 40 is a blower for cooling the condenser, 41
Is a decompressor (for example, a capillary tube), 42 is a cooler, 43 is a blower for forcibly circulating the air cooled by the cooler into the room. These constitute a refrigeration cycle in which the compressor 38, the condenser 39, the decompressor 41, and the cooler 42 are sequentially connected in series and are connected in a ring. Conversely, when the refrigerant is circulated, heating is performed. Also, it was explained for air conditioning,
It can also be used for refrigerators and other refrigerators.

The relay described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11 and FIGS.
4 (of course, the thermoswitch section 30 of the relay is directly or indirectly attached to the surface of the compressor 38). The air conditioner having such a configuration is protected by the relay in the following cases, so that the probability of damaging the product itself is very small.

(1) When the compressor motor is locked due to some accident, a lock current several times as large as that of the normal motor flows through the previous motor. At this time, when the surface temperature of the compressor is low, the thermoswitch section 30 does not operate, but the protector section 10 (main bimetal of the figure) operates. The case temperature gradually rises while the main bimetal 11 is repeatedly turned on and off, resulting in an abnormal compressor surface temperature. This is detected by the thermoswitch unit 30 and the operation of the air conditioner is stopped. (The same applies when the air conditioner is operated with an abnormal load.) (2) When the compressor is operated at a low voltage or a high voltage, the current flowing through the motor increases in any case. At this time, as in the previous section, the thermoswitch unit 30 follows the main bimetal 11.
Operates to stop the operation of the air conditioner.
Further, when a gas leak accident occurs in a refrigeration cycle incorporating the compressor, the compressor is operated with an abnormally light load.
Therefore, a small current that is a fraction of the normal current flowing through the compressor motor flows.

However, although the flowing current is small, the motor coil temperature and the compressor surface temperature rise. Also at this time, the thermoswitch unit detects the surface temperature of the compressor and stops the operation of the air conditioner.

Since the air conditioner provided with the thermal relay according to the various embodiments described above exhibits the above-mentioned operation state, damage to the compressor and the air conditioner can be prevented beforehand. It is. Further, the thermal relay has an insulating material interposed between the protector section 10 and the thermoswitch section 30 and that the cylindrical case has an adiabatic space. In addition, the protector 11 including the heater 23 and the thermoswitch section 30, Since the compressor motor is connected in series and the like, it is possible to provide a highly reliable protection device, and of course, the outer dimensions can be reduced by the space between the protector unit 11 and the thermoswitch unit 30. In addition, it can be easily mounted on the compressor surface, and does not interfere with other equipment or piping.

Further, the protector section and the thermoswitch section are provided in a common case, and have the functions of the two conventional elements, and play the role of two stages of overcurrent protection and overheating prevention. By providing an insulating material between the protector section and the thermoswitch section, there is an effect that when one of the two is interrupted, an obstacle such as an arc does not propagate to the other. In this case, a commercially available insulator such as polyamide paper or phenol laminate can be used as the insulating material, so that it is easy to respond.

Furthermore, since the reversing operation of the bimetal of the thermoswitch portion is safe and reliable, a highly reliable thermoswitch portion can be obtained. As a result, the reliability of the device provided with this type of relay having the protector unit and the thermoswitch unit has an effect of greatly improving.

[0057]

According to the present invention, there is an effect that the device can be reliably restored after the inverting operation of the thermo-bimetal of the thermo-switch portion in the device provided with the relay, and the current can be reliably re-energized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a relay according to an embodiment of the present invention, cut off at a center line (a cross-sectional front view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG. 4).

FIG. 2 is an electric circuit diagram of a relay according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a main part of a relay according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a left side view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line BB ′ of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the case before the protector unit is assembled and the cover and the thermoswitch unit are assembled.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a cover and a thermoswitch unit.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a part of a thermoswitch part.
FIG. 11 is a front view taken along the line DD ′ in FIG. 10.

FIG. 10 is a bottom view of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a side view taken along the line EE ′ of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a place where a relay equipped with the present invention is attached to a compressor of a refrigeration cycle for an air conditioner.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a partially cutaway front view of the first conventional example.

FIG. 18 is a sectional view taken along line AA ′ of FIG. 17 in a first conventional example.

FIG. 19 is an electric circuit diagram in a first conventional example.

FIG. 20 is a plan view of a second conventional example.

FIG. 21 is a front view of the second conventional example of FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is a sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of the second conventional example in FIG. 20;

FIG. 23 is an electric circuit diagram of a second conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... relay, 2 ... said section, 3 ... cylindrical case, 3A ...
... Bottom (unopened end), 3B, 3C, 3D, 3E... Groove, 3E ′... Step, 3F.
3H: concave mirror-shaped portion, 3J: screwed portion, 3K: concave portion, 4: thermobase, 4A: convex portion having an arc-shaped cross section,
4B recess (for guiding the thermo-bimetal), 4C ...
Shaft, 4D ... tapered surface (for thermostat guide)
4E fitting hole, 5 insulating material, 6 cap, 7
... surface of the protected object, 8 ... adhesive for filling, 10 ... protector part, 11 ... main dish-shaped bimetal, 12 ... adjustment screw, 12A ... screw part, 13 ... head, 14 ... heat-fusible metal, 15 ... coil spring, 16 ..., locking adhesive, 17 ... fixed terminal plate (one), 18 ... fixed terminal plate (the other), 19, 19 ... inlay Fixed contacts,
20: tab terminal, 21, 21: movable contact, 22:
Heater terminal plate, 23 ... heater, 24 ... insulating member, 3
0: thermoswitch part, 31: fixed terminal, 31A
... Extension terminal portion, 31B, bent portion, 32, inlay type fixed contact, 33, movable terminal, 33A, extension terminal portion, 33B, wide portion (a fan shape with a cutout in the middle), 33C: claw portion, 33D: convex portion (for caulking the movable contact plate), 34: movable contact plate, 34A: small hole at the base end, 4B: fitting hole, 34C: cut-and-raised portion, 35 …
... Thermo movable contact, 36 ... Thermo bimetal, 36A
... Bending part, 36B Bending part, 36C Fitting hole 37 Tab terminal 38 Compressor 39 Condenser 40 Blower for condenser cooling 41 Decompressor ,
42 ... cooler, 43 ... blower, 44 ... fitting, P
... Main bimetal of conventional example, TH1, TH2..., First and second thermoswitches of conventional example, R1.
, R2... The second conventional heater wire.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Toshio Shimada 800, Tomita, Odaicho, Shimotsuga-gun, Tochigi Prefecture Inside the Cooling and Refrigerating Business Dept., Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor Masahiko Niino 5-45 Kamiida Minamicho, Kita-ku, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture Yamada Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Claims (7)

[Claims] An apparatus provided with a relay having a protector section for interrupting an electric current by increasing an energized current and a thermoswitch section for interrupting an electric current by an increase in temperature. A device comprising: a movable contact plate having contacts; a disk-shaped bimetal for turning on and off the movable contact plate; and means for restricting the movement of the position of the bimetal. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the means for restricting the movement of the position of the bimetal includes: a hole provided in the bimetal; a shaft provided in a base corresponding to the hole; A device provided with a relay in which a part and the hole are loosely fitted. 3. A relay according to claim 1, wherein said means for restricting the movement of the position of said bimetal is such that at least one surface of a concave portion around a base surrounding an end surface of said disk-shaped bimetal is formed as a tapered surface. Equipment with. 4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the means for restricting the movement of the position of the bimetal is provided with a bent portion at one end of the bimetal, and the bent portion is fitted into a fitting hole provided in a thermo base on which the bimetal is arranged. Equipment equipped with a relay that is loosely fitted. 5. A device according to claim 1, wherein said means for restricting the movement of the position of said bimetal has a bent portion at one end of said bimetal, and said bent portion is loosely fitted into a fitting hole provided in said movable contact plate. Equipment with a relay that 6. A device according to claim 1, wherein said means for restricting the movement of the bimetal is provided with a cut-and-raised portion in a part of said movable contact plate, and said cut-and-raised portion is provided in a fitting hole formed in said bimetal. And a device provided with a relay that is loosely fitted in a fitting hole provided in a thermobase in which the bimetal is arranged. 7. A refrigeration cycle having a compressor, a condenser, and an evaporator, a protector unit and a thermostat unit attached to the compressor and connected to form a series circuit, wherein the thermoswitch unit is the thermoswitch unit. In a device equipped with a relay mounted to be on the compressor side and configured to have an insulating material between the protector unit and the thermoswitch unit, a movable contact plate having a movable contact of the thermoswitch unit; A jumping disc-shaped bimetal disposed between the thermo base, which is a concave portion provided in the thermo switch portion, and the movable contact plate such that a convex curved surface faces the movable contact plate; A device equipped with a relay equipped with means to prevent it from falling out of the thermobase at times.