Thermostat
AssigneeMatsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
InventorYoshihide Nakajima
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A thermostat has a switch, a temperature sensor, a lever, a spring, and a control plate. The sensor generates a force to operate switch in response to the ambient temperature. The lever having an arm turns with the force from the sensor to open/close contacts of the switch. The first end of the spring is hooked to the lever to bias a force to the lever in the direction opposite to the force from the sensor. The control plate is hooked to the second end of the spring and is disposed on the lever, allowing a force for turning the lever to increase or to decrease due to turning of the control plate. The control plate turns the arm to perform the forced switch-off operation.
Claims5
A thermostat comprising:
- a switch having contacts;
- a sensor generating a force to operate the switch in response to an ambient temperature;
- a lever provided with an arm, the lever turning with the force from the sensor to open/close the contacts of the switch;
- a spring having a first end hooked to the lever and a second end, the spring biasing a force to the lever in a direction opposite to the force from the sensor;
- and
- a control plate hooked to the second end of the spring and disposed on the lever, the control plate increasing/decreasing a force required for turning the lever due to turning of the control plate,
- wherein the arm turns together with the control plate to open the contacts of the switch when the control plate turns at more than a predetermined angle, and
- the arm has a ridge provided on a side facing the control plate, the ridge making contact with the control plate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.