WO1982003117A1

WO1982003117A1 - Control system for the power supply of a gas and electricity apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO1982003117A1
Application number: PCT/FR1982/000039
Authority: WO
Inventors: Des Gaz Application; Nino Urbano; Gerard Scremin
Original assignee: Applic Gaz Sa
Priority date: 1981-03-06
Filing date: 1982-03-05
Publication date: 1982-09-16
Also published as: GB2107521B; FR2501394B1; GB2107521A; HU193634B; FR2501394A1; CH651680A5; DE3235928T1

Abstract

In an apparatus operating, as desired, with gas or electricity (optionally with low and high voltage) and fitted with a control valve (1) with ignition pusher (7) comprising a rest position (shown for its control button (8) fixed angularly), as well as with a switch (2) associated with heating electric circuits, there is provided between (1) and (2) a safety mechanism preventing the simultaneous operation of the apparatus with gas and electricity. This mechanism comprises a drum (17) keyed on the shaft (14) of (2) and a finger (16) which, as soon as (8) it is pushed back from its closing position of (1), engages a groove (17a) of (17) thereby blocking (2) at the opening whereas if (2) is in a closed position, (8) is blocked at the closing of (1).

Description

Control system for the supply of energy to a gas and electricity appliance.

The present invention relates to systems for controlling the supply of energy to devices which can work as desired with a gas burner (butane or propane for example), or with at least one electrical resistance.

Without the scope of the present invention being limited to absorption refrigerators, it will be explained by reference to these devices. Many absorption refrigerators are of the mixed type, in the sense that the aggregate boiler (refrigeration circuit ensuring the circulation in closed cycle of the refrigerant mixture, generally water-ammonia-hydrogen) can be heated indifferently with a gas burner or an electrical resistance. This results in the existence on the device of two separate energy supply circuits;

- On the one hand a gas circuit, comprising from the source of combustible gas to the burner, firstly a gas shut-off valve, either provided on the appliance or separate from the refrigerator, this valve comprising a two-way handwheel positions, one of opening completes the other of closing separated angularly by 90 ° or 180 °, secondly a control valve or safety valve comprising an inlet in connection with the gas shut-off valve and a connected outlet to the burner, open when the latter is in operation, and closing when it stops operating, thirdly and possibly a thermostat modulating the flow of combustible gas as a function of the interior temperature of the refrigerator; - on the other hand an electrical circuit, comprising from the electrical source (electrical outlet or battery) to the resistance, firstly an electrical switch making it possible to establish or interrupt the electrical circuit, secondly and possibly a thermostat modulating or interrupting the current electric depending on the interior temperature of the refrigerator.

Preferably, the control valve comprises an elastically loaded valve, a seat for the latter, a thermosensitive element (electromagnet, for example) connected to the burner (for example, by a thermocouple), ensuring the retention of the valve against its elastic load when the burner is in operation, an elastically charged pusher allowing to temporarily push the valve against its own elastic load when the burner is being ignited, said pusher being generally reset in its initial position under the effect of its own elastic load.

Generally, the actuating or controlling members of the two energy supply circuits are grouped together in a control panel provided adjacent to the refrigerator. Such a table groups, but separately:

- possibly the handwheel of the gas stop valve; - The push-button of the safety valve, when the latter includes a heat-sensitive element, as described above;

- possibly the gas thermostat control button; - the control member of the electrical switch;

- optionally the electric thermostat control button.

Such an association is for example shown by the Luxembourg patent N ° 66 621. For various reasons, in particular of safety, it is essential that the boiler is not heated simultaneously by the gas burner and by the electrical resistance, and therefore that the The opening of the gas circuit does not take place at the same time as the closing of the electric circuit. In accordance with the prior art, various solutions have been made to this technical problem.

Several proposals have been made to control by a single operating member, on the one hand the electric switch, and on the other hand the gas stop valve or the safety valve, said operating member having at least two positions, a first corresponding exclusively to an opening of the gas circuit, and an opening of the electrical circuit, and a second corresponding exclusively to a closing of the gas circuit, and a closing of the electrical circuit.

According to US Pat. No. 3,875,369, the gas shut-off valve with handle with two angular positions separated by 90 °, and the electrical switch with an operating lever pivoting in at least two positions, are assembled adjacent to each other, l one above the other. An intermediate part, controlled by a single operating member accessible to the user, is both movable in translation between two positions, and in rotation in both directions. In the non-depressed position of the intermediate piece, and by turning the latter in one direction, the tap handle is engaged with said piece and rotated by 90 °; during this rotation the switch lever remains free relative to the intermediate piece, and in its open position of the electrical circuit. In the depressed position of the intermediate piece, and by turning the latter in the opposite direction, from the valve closed position, the switch lever is engaged with an appropriate groove of said intermediate piece, and therefore pivots by the latter towards its closed position of the electrical circuit; during this rotation the valve handle remains free relative to the intermediate part, and therefore in its closed position of the gas circuit.

British patent No. 1,383,841 proposes a solution of the same type as that described above in preference to American patent No. 3,875,369, but simpler. In this case, the electrical switch is rotary-controlled, and its control wheel merges with the single operating member of the gas circuit and the electrical circuit The intermediate part is wedged on the control shaft of the switch, behind the latter relative to the operating member, between the tap and this switch. A suitable groove is provided on the intermediate piece, in engagement with the valve handle. By turning the intermediate piece in one direction, the valve handle is brought to its open position, the switch remaining in the open position of the valve. electrical circuit. By turning the intermediate piece in the other direction, from the position of closing the valve, we arrive at the position of the switch closing the electrical circuit; the shape of the groove is such that during this rotation the handwheel is not actuated and therefore remains in its closed position. Even simpler, according to British Patent No. 1,439,766, it is proposed to actuate the gas valve directly with the control shaft of the electrical switch of the rotary type, and not with a separate hand wheel; the switch and the valve are arranged one behind the other, coaxially. The angular position of the switch control shaft corresponds to the closing of the electrical circuit and that of the gas circuit; at another position correspond the opening of the electric circuit and that of the gas circuit. According to American Patent No. 3,105,363, the solution proposed by British Patent No. 1,439,766 is reversed, in the sense that the valve operating handwheel constitutes the single operating member, the electric switch is disposed behind the valve, and the rotation of the valve wheel directly actuates the electrical switch.

The safety valve, when it is of the thermosensitive type, for example when it has an electromagnet retaining the valve thanks to the electric current delivered by a thermocouple heated by the burner, can be controlled by opening or closing the circuit. electric connecting the thermocouple and the electromagnet; if opened, the valve is pushed back under the effect of its own electrical charge

Various solutions have previously been proposed to take advantage of such a characteristic. According to German patent application No. 2,019,042 and American patent No. 3,370,436, an electric switch is provided, ensuring not only the opening and closing of the electric circuit to the heating resistor, but also those of the electrical circuit of the safety valve. The single operating member merges with the control member of the electrical switch. The latter is arranged in such a way that the opening of the electrical circuit of the resistor corresponds to the closing of the electrical circuit of the safety valve, and vice versa. Other proposals relate to the coexistence, on the control panel of the handwheel of the gas shut-off valve and of the control member of the electric switch, but with the interposition between the two of a safety mechanism having the following functions:

- it authorizes the supply of gas to the burner, only when the switch is in a first position interrupting (or opening) the electrical circuit of the resistor; - it prohibits the operation of the switch from its first position, when the burner is supplied with gas;

- it authorizes the operation of the switch when the gas supply to the burner is cut off. According to US Pat. No. 3,295,334, the gas shut-off valve with handle with two angular positions separated by 90 °, and the electrical switch with two-position swivel operating lever, are assembled adjacent to each other, one at below each other. The valve handle is integral with a part which, in front view, has the shape of a quarter of a circle. In the closed position of the tap, the operating lever of the switch can be lowered to its closed position of the electrical circuit, along an edge of the aforementioned part. In the open position of the valve, the operating lever of the switch is locked in its open position of the electrical circuit, against the circular edge of the aforementioned part.

In a technical field different from absorption refrigeration, a similar solution is proposed by French Patent No. 1,393,748. According to the latter, the gas shut-off valve has a handwheel with several angular positions, including the one corresponds to the closing of the gas circuit, and another corresponds to a minimum opening of the same circuit, and the electric switch has a tilting control member with two positions, one for opening and the other for closing the electric circuit . In the valve closed position, the switch control member is located in an appropriate notch on the valve operating handwheel and can therefore be actuated manually to its position. closing. By opening the valve, the latter's handwheel switches the switch control member to its closed position, covers it, and blocks it in said position. The present invention relates to a safety mechanism as explained above and not to a solution with a single operating member of the gas circuit and the electrical circuit. According to the invention, the safety mechanism associates in a new way the electrical switch and the safety valve, the latter being in a manner known per se of a particular type, called mechanical display. Safety valves of this type differ from safety valves with thermosensitive element described above, in that the pusher is reset, when the burner is ignited, either in its initial position, under the cumulative effect of its load. elastic and that of the valve, if the burner is not lit, or in an intermediate position, under the sole effect of its elastic load, if the burner is lit. Unlike the other valves, for which the pusher always returns to its initial position, whether the burner is on or not, for the display valves the position of the pusher is directly signifying the state of the burner on or not.

Still according to the invention, the display valve and the electrical switch are associated in such a way that:

- the operation of the pusher is authorized only when the switch is in its first position.

- the switch operation from its first position is prohibited when the pusher is in its intermediate position;

- the operation of the switch is authorized when the push-button is reset to its initial position.

Given that there is a wide variety of rotary control, rocker, pushbutton, etc. switches, a large number of different mechanical means can be used to achieve the three previously defined safety effects in combination.

The attached drawing, given by way of example, will allow better understand the invention, the characteristics it presents and the advantages it is likely to provide

Fig. 1 is a plan view in section showing the assembly of the shut-off valve of the control valve, of the switch, of their control members and of the safety system interposed therebetween.

Fig. 2 and 3 are diagrams reproducing part of FIG. 1 and showing the valve control push button on the one hand to its fully depressed position corresponding to the ignition of the burner, on the other hand to that intermediate corresponding to normal operation with gas.

Fig. 4 is a partial front view showing the control panel of the refrigerator with the push-button of the control valve and the steering wheel of the switch. There is shown in I-I the section plane of FIG. 1.

Fig. 5 is a section along V-V (fig. 1).

Fig. 6 to 8 are views similar to that of FIG. 5, but corresponding to other positions of the parts.

The control system comprises two members joined and arranged adjacent, with their respective axes substantially parallel, namely on the one hand a control valve 1 (also called safety valve) with mechanical visualization, and on the other hand a switch electric 2. These two components are attached to the top of an absorption refrigerator, behind a control panel 3.

The control valve 1 is conventional; this is for example that referenced 819-13 sold by the French company MADEC. Without going into the details of its internal arrangement, which has been summarized in the introduction to this description, this valve comprises:

- a tubular body 20;

- A gas inlet 4 connected, for example by a flexible pipe 21 to a stop valve 22 separate from the refrigerator, which tap is connected to a bottle or to a rigid gas pipe;

- A gas outlet 5 connected by a rigid pipe to a burner (not shown) in heat exchange relationship with the boiler of the aggregate;

a heat-sensitive element 23, for example a electromagnet, connected by an electrical connection 6 to a thermocouple (not shown) in contact with the burner flame;

- A valve 24 pushed against its seat 20a by an elastic load 25;

- A pusher 7 movable in translation loaded outwards by a spring 26 allowing its rod 27 to temporarily push the valve 24, against its own elastic load 25, when the burner is being ignited;

- Balls 28 on the pusher 7, loaded centrifugally, and cooperating with a chamfer 20b of the body 20;

The operation of such a valve is as follows: - by pressing the pusher 1, against the elastic load 26, the valve 24 is pushed back, against the elastic load 25;

- Once, the burner lit, the pusher is pushed back by the elastic load 26 only, whereby the balls 28 retained in the chamfer 20b block said pusher in the intermediate position;

- If the burner is not lit, the pusher is further repelled by the elastic load 25, whereby the balls 28 can escape from the chamfer 20b to push the pusher back to its initial position.

The pusher 7 is linked to a control button 8 via a piezoelectric mechanism 9 and a connecting piece 10, all of these elements being aligned along the axis of the control valve. The purpose of the piezoelectric mechanism is to generate an electrical voltage, transmitted by at least one conductive wire to at least one electrode disposed in the vicinity of the burner, which voltage generates an ignition spark. The control button 8 has two parts 11 and 12 of different colors - it is fixed in rotation; in fact, it is of square section and can move in translation in an adjusted light 13 of the control panel 3.

After having been moved, the push-button 7 resets itself, either in its initial position, which corresponds the emergence outside table 3 of the two parts 11 and 12 of button 8 and means that the burner is not lit, either in an intermediate position, which "corresponds to the emergence outside table 3 of the part 11 only of the button and indicates that the burner is on The initial position and the intermediate position of the control button 8 are shown in Figs. 1 and 3 respectively.

The switch 2 is rotary-controlled and has an operating shaft 14 connected to a flywheel 15. This switch control has four possible positions, namely:

- a first position (fig. 5), identified by the word "GAS", in which the respective circuits of electric supply of two resistors, located in heat exchange relation with the boiler of the aggregate, one in 220 V alternating and the other in 12 V direct, are open and therefore interrupted;

- a second position (fig. 6) marked with "220 V" in which the 220 V circuit is closed and the circuit

12 V open; - a third position (fig. 7) marked with 12 V in which the 12 V circuit is closed by the open 220 V circuit;

- a fourth position marked with "0" in which the two 12 V and 220 V circuits are open. The safety mechanism according to the invention comprises, on the one hand a finger 16 and on the other hand a longitudinal longitudinal recess (parallel to the axis of the valve 1 and to that of the switch 2) or groove of complementary shape 17a. More specifically, the finger 16 is integral with the control button 8 and is disposed on the side of the latter. An intermediate piece

17 is wedged on the shaft 14 between the flywheel 15 and the body

18 of the switch 2. It is this part 17 which co-transports the recess 17a with a shape complementary to that of the finger 16, in this case a shape in trapezoidal section. Referring to fig. 1, 2, 3 and 5, it can be seen that the finger 16 and the recess 17a are only coincident for the "GAS" position of the electric switch.

Starting from the "GAS" position (see fig. 1, 3 and 5) of switch 2, and from the initial position (burner not on) of the push-button 7 or of the control button 8 of the control valve 1, the operation of the safety mechanism according to the invention can be explained as follows.

Firstly, in the "GAS" position, when the control button 8, and therefore the pusher 7 of the control valve 1 is pushed back, the first is able to move over its entire travel to fully depress the pusher, since the finger 16 can penetrate and move in the recess 17a, and is limited in its travel only by the body 18 of the switch 2, which is located behind the end of travel of the pusher 7 (cf. fig. 2 ). This coupling and this displacement relative to one another of the finger 16 and the recess 17a make it possible to push the valve plug 1 against its elastic load and to ignite the burner thanks to the piezo mechanism -electric 9, the latter being triggered after the end of travel of the pusher 7.

Second, when the burner is on and the control button 8 is released, the latter returns to an intermediate position shown in FIG. 3- In this position, the finger 16 remains coupled to the recess 17a since it remains in the latter in an intermediate position. It is then impossible to operate the switch from the "GAS" position to the "220. V" or 12 V "position, since the shaft 14 is locked in rotation, due to the coupling 16-17a but also locking in rotation of the control button 8.

Thirdly, if one wants to switch to electric power, it is necessary to cut off the gas supply to the refrigerator by means of tap 22, whereby the burner goes out and the pusher 7 of the control valve returns to its position. initial (see Fig. 1). As soon as the finger 16 and the recess 17a are uncoupled, that is to say as soon as the finger 16 escapes from the recess 17a, the switch can be placed in the "220 V" or "12 V" position, or "O"; this last position corresponds to the opening of the "12 V" and "220 V" electrical circuits, and the inability to act on the control valve 1.

In the three aforementioned positions (cf. FIGS. 6 to 8) there is no longer an axial coincidence between the elements 16 and 17a and when the control button 8 is pressed, the finger 16 immediately comes into abutment on the intermediate part 17, so that it is no longer possible to actuate the control valve.

It should moreover be understood that the foregoing description has been given only by way of example and that it in no way limits the field of the invention from which one would not depart by replacing the execution details described by all other equivalents.

Claims

1. System for controlling the supply of energy to an appliance working either with a gas burner or with at least one electrical resistance, comprising: - a control valve (1) comprising an inlet (4) in connection with a gas shut-off valve, separate from said valve, and an outlet (5) connected to the burner, said valve remaining open when the burner is in operation, and closing when the burner stops operating; - an electrical switch (2) for establishing or interrupting the resistance circuit;

a safety mechanism allowing, on the one hand to authorize the supply of gas to the burner only when the switch is in a first position interrupting the electrical circuit of the resistor, and on the other hand to prohibit the operation of the switch from its first position, when the burner is supplied with gas, but to authorize said operation when the gas supply to the burner is cut, characterized in that, in a manner known per se, the control valve (1) is mechanically visualized, and comprises an elastically loaded valve, a seat for said valve, a heat-sensitive element connected to the burner ensuring the retention of the valve against its elastic load when the burner is in operation, an elastically loaded pusher allowing temporarily push the valve against its elastic load when the burner is being ignited, said pusher being reset, either in its initial position under the cumulative effect of its elastic load and that of the valve, i.e. in an intermediate position under the sole effect of its elastic load, and in a new way the safety mechanism associates the electric switch (2) and the push-button ( 7) of the control valve according to a relative arrangement in which: - the operation of the pusher is authorized only when the switch is in its first position (fig. 1, 2, 4, 5);

- operation of the switch from its first position is prohibited when the pusher is in its intermediate position (fig. 3);

- the operation of the switch is authorized when the pusher is reset to its initial position (fig. 1). 2. System according to claim 1, characterized in that in a manner known per se, the switch is with rotary control, and the pusher of the control valve is movable in translation, and in a new way, on the one hand the switch ( 2) and the control valve (1) are arranged adjacent to each other, their respective axes being substantially parallel, and on the other hand the safety mechanism comprises two complementary elements, namely, firstly a finger (16) secured to the pusher the control valve, and secondly a part (17) locked in rotation on the switch control shaft (14), said part comprises a longitudinal recess (17a), and said finger and said part are arranged one with respect to the other so as to:

- put the recess and the finger in coincidence in the first position of the switch (fig. 1 and 5);

- being able to move the finger longitudinally in the recess, when operating the valve lifter, in the so-called coincidence position (fig.

2);

- prohibit the rotary actuation of the switch control shaft, from its first position, as long as the finger remains in the recess, in an intermediate position corresponding to the intermediate position of the valve lifter (fig. 3 );

- disconnect the finger and the recess when the valve tappet is in its initial position (fig. 1), and thus authorize the rotary operation of the switch from its first position, this operation preventing any longitudinal movement of the plunger.

3. System according to claim 2, characterized in that the finger (16) is integral with a control button (8) connected to the pusher (7) of the control valve.

4. System according to claim 3, characterized in that the part (17) locked in rotation on the switch control shaft is disposed between the body (18) of said switch and its control wheel (15).

5. Absorption refrigerator working either with a gas burner, or with at least one electrical resistance, characterized in that it comprises a system for controlling the supply of energy according to any one of claims 1 to 4.