WO2008141491A1 - Thermal sensitive controller and corresponding electric immerse heater - Google Patents

Abstract

A thermal sensitive controller for an electric immerse heater has a house and a lid that is provided on the house. The thermal sensitive controller comprises a thermal sensitive stream switch, an overheat protector and a melt fuse means, which are connected in series by a connect sheet. The overheat protector and the melt fuse means are equipped with two switch nodes independent each other.

Description

 Thermal sensor controller and corresponding electric water heater

Technical field

 The present invention relates to a thermal sensing controller, and more particularly to a thermal sensing controller applied to an electric water heater. Background technique

 Electric water heaters, especially electric water heaters such as electric kettles, generally require a controller to control the energization and de-energization of the appliance to control the temperature of the liquid. In practical applications, the mechanically constructed thermal sensing controller is the most common and simple control system for controlling electrical continuity. Typically, this thermal sensing controller is mounted with an electric heater for better thermal contact. This heat sensitive controller is typically a collection of several functions, typically a vapor-type thermal sensor switch, a snap-on overheat protector made of a recoverable bimetallic material, and a plastic (or metal) fuse. For electric water heaters using immersion electric heaters, electric heaters and thermal sensing controllers are typically mounted on the side of the liquid heating vessel. For electric heaters that place one side in water, an electric heater and a heat sensitive controller are typically installed at the bottom of the liquid heating vessel.

 For the installation of electric heaters and thermal sensing controllers on electric water heaters, a basic solution has been proposed and applied to integrate a thermally sensitive vapor switch with a recoverable thermal induction overheat protector. The controller is mounted on the end face of the immersed electric heater, and the vapor switch is used to perform basic heating, on/off, and overheat protection of the bimetal. This kind of controller is in the UK patent

Description is made in GB2170956A and GB22044451. However, the patent document does not propose a fuse safety device. Later, there were many technical solutions to improve the above basic technical solutions, and proposed to add a fuse safety device to solve the problem that may cause danger after the failure of the overheat protection device.

A disadvantage of the existing thermal sensing controllers is that there is no very safe proposal for the sequence of operation of the overheat protection device and the optimal position for thermal recovery of the recoverable overheat protection device. A set of electrical contacts that operate with a thermally sensitive vapor switch and a set of electrical contacts that operate with a recoverable thermal protection device are typically disposed on the two electrodes of the power supply. A technical solution in which a fuse fuse is added generally sets the position at which the fuse device operates to any one of the above two sets of contacts. It is not considered that the contacts for the recoverable overheat protection device or the thermally sensitive vapor switch may sometimes be sintered together after multiple switching. This will not cut the power supply from here. At this time, even if the fuse fuse is operated, it cannot be guaranteed to separate the connected electrical contacts. At this time, the fuse protection device cannot provide the final insurance function. Therefore, consumers are increasingly demanding electrical safety, and the above technical solutions are not sufficient to provide reliable security. Summary of the invention

 The object of the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art solutions in practical applications, and to provide a more perfect and reliable temperature controller to solve the power failure protection of the electric water heater under abnormal conditions, and to provide overheat protection measures. A reasonable response.

 The invention provides a thermal induction controller applied in an electric water heater, comprising a casing and a cover mounted on the casing, the thermal induction controller comprising a thermal induction steam switch and an overheat protector The fuse is electrically connected to the power supply passage in the housing, wherein the thermal protector and the fuse are provided with two independent switch nodes.

 The two switch nodes are connected by a bridge electrical connection piece, and two ends of the bridge electrical connection piece are respectively provided with one electrical contact. Thus, the fuse fuse has its own separate set of electrical contacts. As the last temperature fuse, even if the electrical contacts for the overheat protector are stuck together due to frequent switching, the fuse can be disconnected from the power supply path after the fuse has been actuated.

 The electrical contacts opposite to the electrical contacts mounted on the electrical bridge of the bridge have a one-to-one correspondence with the operating components of each temperature control device, and each set of electrical contacts is only subjected to the above Control of the operating components of a temperature control device.

 The thermal induction steam switch, the overheat protection device, and the fuse safety device have a certain sequential action relationship. When the electric water heater is in a normal operating condition, only the thermally sensitive vapor switch operates when the liquid is heated to boiling, opening its corresponding electrical contact, interrupting the supply of electrical energy. This is the normal use of electric water heaters. It has been confirmed in the test that the thermal-sensing steam switch operation can perform more than 10,000 times of on-off operation, which can meet the service life requirements of ordinary customers.

When the action of the thermal-sensing vapor switch caused by the absence of liquid or other unpredictable reason in the electric water heater fails, the overheat protection device operates to open its corresponding electrical contact, interrupting the supply of electric energy. The overheat protector is installed in the housing, and includes a bimetal brake, a second rod body disposed through the cover body, a second movable electrical connection piece, a bridge type electrical connection piece, and a power plug. The second rod body is in contact with the bimetal actuator, and the other side is in contact with the second movable electrical connection piece, the bridge type electrical connection piece is electrically connected to the power plug, the second The movable electrical connecting piece and the bridge type electrical connecting piece form one of the switch nodes in the power supply path through the second moving contact and the second fixed contact thereon, the second movable connecting piece The movable end is in a touchable connection with an elastic bayonet device. When the Han metal actuator feels the abnormality of the electric water heater After heating, it will act, and the second movable body and the second static contact are pushed open by the second rod to interrupt the power supply path.

 The elastic bayonet device is a second elastic piece, and one side of the second elastic piece is provided with a folded edge which is angled, and the folded edge is at the second movable contact and the second fixed contact After the separation, the second movable electrical connecting piece is locked, and the second elastic piece ends form a touchable connection with a manual recovery machine through a touch bending edge. In this way, the overheat protector does not automatically recover after an abnormal action, and the repeated abnormal heating of the electric water heater is avoided.

 The manual return mechanism includes a reset lever and a diagonal rib fixedly coupled thereto, and the reset lever is in a stable position through the diagonal rib to make a contactable connection with the touch bending edge of the elastic piece, so that the The flange of the shrapnel is raised. That is, after the one end of the manual return mechanism is depressed, one end of the manual return mechanism interferes with the touch bending edge. Thus, when the return mechanism is manually turned, the one end of the return mechanism will interfere with the touched bending side of the interference to release the jammed electrical connection piece. The overheat protector returns to the normal power state.

 The fuse safety device includes a first rod body installed in the casing, a first movable connecting piece, and the first movable electrical connecting piece and the bridge type electrical connecting piece are separated by a first dynamic touch The head and the first stationary contact form another switch node in the power supply path, the first static contact is located on the opposite side of the second fixed contact, and the first rod end is opposite to the first A movable electrical connection piece is in contact, and the other end is disposed outside the housing and is in contact with a flexible switch.

 The elastic switch includes a first elastic piece and a rivet made of a low melting point material, and the rivet fixes the elastic piece to the housing.

 The present invention also provides an electric water heater comprising a body having an electrical circuit, the body of the electrical circuit comprising a thermal sensing controller as claimed in claim 1.

 Due to the above technical solution, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

 1. Since the fuse safety device, the thermal induction steam switch, and the overheat protection device have independent electrical contacts, the electrical contacts can be reliably separated when the fuse safety device is operated, and the final insurance is provided. Features.

 2. Due to the provision of the elastic bayonet in the overheat protection device, the repeated dry burning of the electric water heater is avoided.

 1 is a perspective structural view of a thermal induction controller of the present invention;

1 is a plan and a layout view of an internal electrical contact of a thermal induction controller of the present invention; 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 2, which is a cross-sectional view of the thermal sensor of the present invention before the overheat protector is inoperative;

 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 2, which is a cross-sectional view of the thermal protector of the thermal sensitive controller of the present invention after operation;

 Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of Figure 2, showing a cross-sectional view of the thermal protector of the thermal sensor controller of the present invention after being reset by a manual return mechanism;

 Figure 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the second shrapnel member

 Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B of Figure 2, which is a cross-sectional view of the fuse-preventing device of the thermal sensor controller of the present invention. detailed description

 The invention will now be further described with reference to the drawings and specific embodiments.

 As shown in FIG. 1, it is a three-dimensional structure diagram of the thermal induction controller of the present invention. As can be seen from the figure, the thermal sensor controller 1 comprises a housing 5, a cover 4, a bimetallic actuator 3 for overheat sensing, a fixing sleeve 8, a reset lever 6 and three connections. The pins 71, 72, 73 of the power supply (where 72 is the pin for grounding). The cover 4 has two holes 101, 102 for receiving the electric heater lead-out bars. The bimetallic actuator 3 is fixed to the cover 4 by a hollow annular fixing sleeve 8, and the bimetallic actuator 3 has a certain retracting space. The fixing sleeve 8 is fixed to the cover by two screws 91, 92. The hollow annular fixing sleeve 8 has an extending arm 81 on one side. The projecting arm 81 is placed on an extension 41 on the cover 4 to form a bridge suspended below. A first elastic piece 18 is disposed below the extension arm 81. The movable end of the first elastic piece 18 is fixed to the projecting arm 81 at a position close to the projecting table 41 by a rivet 2 made of a low-melting material. The rivet 2 made of a low melting point material is placed in good thermal contact with the electric heater during installation. The first elastic piece 18 at this time is set to be in a state of being accumulating. The direction of the force is to disengage the first elastic piece 18 from the extending arm 81 toward the cover body 4.

As shown in Fig. 2, a front view of the thermal induction controller of the present invention, in which the component cover and the components mounted on the cover are hidden to see the distribution of the internal components. One end of the bridge electrical connecting piece 13 is connected to the first movable contact piece 143 and the first movable contact piece 144 via a first movable contact 144. A switch node in the power supply path is formed. The fixed end of the first movable electrical connection piece 16 is coupled to the pin 71 to form a supply electrode in a power supply path. The movable end of the first movable electrical connection piece 16 contacts one end of a first rod body 17. A second movable contact 142 is disposed on the free end of the second movable movable connecting piece 12 having a certain elasticity. A second stationary contact 141 is disposed on one end of the bridge electrical connection piece 13. Second movable electrical connection piece 12 and the bridge electrical connection piece 13 form another switch node in the power supply path through the second static contact 141 and the second movable contact 142. The other end of the second movable electrical connection piece 12 is disposed under the hole 101 and connected to an extraction rod of the electric heater. The other lead rod of the electric heater is connected to the end of the plug 73 under the other hole 102 (there is an opening and junction point in the middle, which is used to sense the junction of the heat sensitive vapor switch, which is not here. Within the scope of the invention, it is understood that the known technical solutions are considered to be connected together. Thus, in the case where the two pins 71, 73 are energized, the second fixed contact 141, the second movable contact 142, the first fixed contact 143, and the first movable contact 144 are all turned on at this time. Thus the power supply path is closed and the power supply supplies power to the electric heater. A second elastic piece 15 is disposed at the free end of the second movable electrical connection piece 12. The free end of the second elastic piece 15 is disposed in a hole 51 in the housing 5.

 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 2, which is a cross-sectional view of the thermal sensor of the present invention before the overheat protector is not operated. The bimetallic actuator 3 is in a ready state, and its arc is bulged toward the electric heater. The center position of the Han metal actuator 3 contacts one end of the second rod body 11. The other end of the second rod 11 is in contact with the movable end of the second movable movable connecting piece 12 having a certain elasticity. A second movable contact 142 is provided on the free end of the second movable electrical connection piece 12 as described in FIG. The second stationary contact 141 is disposed on one end of a bridge electrical connection piece 13. The second movable electrical connection piece 12 and the bridge electrical connection piece 13 form a switch node in the power supply path through the second movable contact 142 and the second fixed contact 141. A first stationary contact 143 is disposed on the other end of the bridge electrical connection piece 13. A first movable contact 144 opposite the first stationary contact 143 is disposed on the movable end of the first movable electrical connection piece 16. The first rod body 17 is in contact with the top end of the movable end of the first movable electrical connection piece 16. The other end of the first rod 17 is in contact with the movable end of the first elastic piece 18. Since the slats are fixed by the rivets 2 made of a low-melting material at this time, they are not bounced. The first rod 17 is also not pressed. The first stationary contact 143 is connected to the first movable contact 144, and is always turned on without the first rod 17 being depressed, and there is no on-off phenomenon.

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 2, which is a cross-sectional view of the thermal protector of the thermal sensor controller of the present invention after the action. At this time, the bimetal actuator 3 operates by sensing the abnormal heating of the electric heater, and its curvature is the direction of the drum toward the second rod 11, and the second rod 11 is moved in the direction of the right side. The other end of the first rod body 11 moves the second movable electrical connection piece 12 in the direction of the right side. The second movable contact 142 disposed thereon is disengaged from the second stationary contact 141 disposed on the bridge electrical connection piece 13 to disconnect the power supply path. The power supply to the electric heater is interrupted, and the abnormal heating state is stopped. At the same time, a second edge 15 is provided on the second elastic piece 15 with a certain angle. After the second movable electrical connection piece 12 is pushed in the right direction as shown in the figure, after being separated from the bridge electrical connection piece 13 The folded edge 151 catches the movable end of the second movable electrical connection piece 12. The reset lever 6 provided in an eccentric mechanism is now in a stable position. At this time, even when the electric heater is restored due to the stop of the heating temperature drop, the second movable electrical connection piece 12 is not reset and the bridge electrical connection piece 13 is turned on. This avoids repeated abnormal heating. At this time, since the rivet 2 made of the low melting point material is not melted due to overheating, the first elastic piece 18 is still in the state of being stored, and the first stationary contact 143 and the first movable contact 144 are in an ON state.

 As shown in FIG. 5, it is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 2, which is a cross-sectional view of the thermal protector of the thermal sensor controller of the present invention after being reset by the manual return mechanism. At this point, the consumer finds the abnormal heating of the electric heater, takes corresponding corrective measures and dials the reset lever 6 to another stable position. The second elastic piece 15 is provided with a touch bending edge 152 at a position adjacent to the hem 151. A rib 61 provided on the reset lever 6 is passed through a hole 51 provided in the casing 5 to move the touch bending edge 152 by a certain distance in the upward direction. The flange 151 connected to the touch bending edge 152 is also dialed a certain distance. The movable end of the jammed second movable electrical connection piece 12 is disengaged from the hem 151. The movable end of the second movable electrical connecting piece 12 is moved to the left direction by the elastic restoring force of the elastic movable connecting piece 12, so that the second movable contact 142 disposed on the second movable connecting piece 12 is disposed at the bridge The second stationary contact 141 on the electrical connection piece 13 is in contact. Thereby, the power supply of the electric heater is restored, and the previous state to be triggered is restored. An enlarged view of the components of the second elastic piece 15 is shown in Fig. 6.

 As shown in Fig. 7, Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B of Fig. 2, which is a cross-sectional view of the heat-sensitive sensor of the present invention after the action of the fuse device. When the electric water heater has a thermal induction steam switch and a recoverable thermal induction overheat protection device, the electric heater is always heated, and the fuse in the fuse has good thermal contact with the electric heater in the electric water heater. The rivet 2 made of the melting point material is melted, so that the first elastic piece 18 is disengaged from the fixing sleeve 8, and the first elastic piece 18 of the accumulating force pushes the first rod body 17 toward the right side as shown in the figure. The first movable electrical connection piece 16 is moved in the direction of the right side as shown. The first movable contact 144 provided on the first movable electrical connecting piece 16 is synchronously moved to be separated from the first fixed contact 143 provided on the bridge electrical connecting piece 13, interrupting the supply of electric energy. Due to the unrecoverable destructive action of the riveting point 55, the interrupted electrical contacts are unrecoverable.

 Since the fuse safety device and the overheat protector of the invention have independent electrical contacts, the fuse safety device can be independently operated after the steam switch and the overheat protector are failed, and the electrical contacts can be reliably separated during operation, and the final operation is performed. Insurance function.

It should be noted that the above embodiments are merely illustrative of the invention and are not intended to limit the detailed description of the invention, but those skilled in the art will understand that the invention may still be Modifications or equivalent replacements, for example, separate the thermal sensing controller of the present invention from the assembled structure into two components, which are then connected together by wires. Although it seems that the thermal sensing controller is structurally different from the present invention, it is identical to the present invention in terms of technical points and effects obtained; for example, the present invention is straight from the embodiment of the specification. The plug-in thermal sensing controller and the immersed electric heater are mounted on the electric water heater as an explanation, and the same applies to the electric water heater equipped with the rotary thermal sensing controller and the conductive electric heater. The invention is not limited to the technical solutions described in the present invention; and all the technical solutions and improvements thereof without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention are intended to be included in the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

Rights request 1. A thermal induction controller for use in an electric water heater, having a housing and a cover mounted on the housing, the thermal sensing controller comprising a thermally sensitive vapor switch, an overheat protector, and a fuse The safety device is connected in series with the power supply passage in the housing, wherein the thermal protector and the fuse protection device are provided with two independent switch nodes. The thermal sensor controller according to claim 1, wherein the two switch nodes are connected by a bridge electrical connection piece, and each of the two ends of the bridge electrical connection piece is respectively provided with a static Contact. The thermal sensor controller according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the overheat protector is mounted in the housing, and includes a bimetal brake, a second rod body disposed through the cover body, a second movable electrical connection piece, a bridge type electrical connection piece and a power supply pin, wherein the second rod body side is in contact with the bimetal actuator, and the other side is in contact with the second movable electrical connection piece, The bridge type electrical connection piece is electrically connected to the power plug, and the second movable electrical connection piece and the bridge type electrical connection piece are powered by the second movable contact and the second fixed contact on the second bridge. One of the switch nodes in the path, the movable end of the second movable electrical connecting piece is in a touchable connection with an elastic bayonet device. The thermal sensor controller according to claim 3, wherein the elastic bayonet device is a second elastic piece, and one side of the second elastic piece is provided with a folded edge at a certain angle. The folding edge can lock the second movable electrical connecting piece after the second movable contact and the second static contact are separated, and the second elastic piece end is formed by a touch bending edge and a manual recovery machine Touchable connection. 5. The thermally sensitive controller of claim 4 wherein said manual return mechanism includes a reset lever and a bevel rib fixedly coupled thereto, said return lever passing said bevel at a stable position A contact connection with the touch bending edge of the elastic piece is performed to lift the folded edge of the elastic piece. 6. The thermal induction controller of claim 3 wherein said fuse safety device comprises a first rod body, a first movable connecting piece mounted in said housing, said first movable electricity The connecting piece and the bridge type electrical connecting piece form another switch node in the power supply path by the first movable contact and the first fixed contact disposed thereon, the first fixed contact is located at the second The first side of the first rod is in contact with the first movable electrical connection piece, and the other end is disposed outside the housing and is in contact with a flexible switch. A thermal sensor controller according to claim 6, wherein said elastic switch comprises a first elastic piece and a rivet made of a low melting point material, said rivet fixing the elastic piece to said housing . An electric water heater comprising a main body having an electric circuit, characterized in that: the main body of said electric circuit comprises a thermal induction controller as claimed in claim 1.