Texas Instruments Corporation

Other

Henry J Boulanger

Giuseppe Notaro

Salvatore P Rizzo

Ciro Calenda

Andrew C McGuirk

Donald A Olsen

Pietro De Filippis

James R Thayer

Richard E Puccini

William J LaPlante

Bryan C Jansen

William J Midon

Elliot Whipple

Theodore Brassard

Victor Lowell

Brian C Ehlers

Philip R Gouin

A control device has a nested stack of dished disc elements disposed in a cup beneath a diaphragm to move toward an inverted dished configuration with snap action to perform a control function or the like in response to occurrence of a predetermined pressure applied to the discs through the diaphragm. An annulus or bolster disposed between the rim of the cup and the diaphragm has an inner diameter nested in closely spaced relation to the domed, central portion of the dished element at the top of the stack normally cooperate with the stack of elements in supporting the diaphragm against pressure applied to the diaphragm. The annulus protects the diaphragm from being damaged by being pressed against peripheral portions of the disc elements when the discs move with snap action to their inverted dished configurations. The cup configuration is selected to include an increment in the cup side wall corresponding to each dished disc element in the stack thereby to permit convenient mounting of the diaphragm in precise position relative to the elements in an inexpensive, durable, welded and sealed structure while permitting accommodation of different numbers of disc elements in the cup as desired to provide devices with predetermined different actuating pressure characteristics.

Condition-responsive device with diaphragm protection means

The disclosure relates to a pressure or temperature responsive switch wherein the high temperature environment at the measuring portion of the switch is thermally isolated from other portions of the switch which are incapable of operation at such high temperatures, thereby providing a relatively low cost switch with the desired capability. There is also provided a pressure or temperature responsive switch as noted above which is assembled by friction fit among the parts and without rivets or the like. Furthermore, the materials used permit waterproof sealing by the use of shrink tubing which bonds to the wire insulation.

Method of waterproof sealing a lead from a pressure or temperature

A window screen assembly is shown which is especially useful with metallic window frames having flat, irregular or compound curved surfaces defining the window opening. The assembly is flexible and readily stored in a compact space as by rolling it up for placement in a mailing type tube. The assembly includes magnets to secure the assembly to the frame.

Window screen apparatus and method for making

A thermostat having an electrically insulating housing and a push button extending therein through a bottom wall thereof. Two normally closed contacts, one fixed and the other on a movable carrier with a projection are disposed within the housing. A spring member pivotable about its center portion has an end resting against the push button and an opposite end resting against the movable contact carrier. An electrically insulating sheet is disposed over an open end of the housing with a convex outwardly bimetallic disc over and external to the insulating sheet and a cap disposed over the disc to enclose the disc within the housing. In an alarm status, the disc becomes convex inwardly and pushes against the projection on the movable contact carrier to separate the contacts. To reset, the push button is moved toward the disc and rotates the spring member about its pivot, thereby resetting the disc and pushing the end portion of the spring member against the carrier of the movable contact to maintain the contacts open. The contacts remain open until the push button is released to allow the spring member to rotate away from the carrier for the movable contact and allow the contacts to close, the disc now being in the non-alarm state. In any position of the disc, the spring member holds the contacts open if the pushbutton is pushed in sufficiently to interfere with the normal operation of the disc and contacts.

Trip free/reset free manual reset

A pressure or temperature responsive switch wherein the high temperature environment at the measuring portion of the switch is thermally isolated from other portions of the switch which are incapable of operation at such high temperatures, thereby providing a relatively low cost switch with the desired capability. There is also provided a pressure or temperature responsive switch as noted above which is assembled by friction fit among the parts and without rivets or the like. Furthermore, the materials used permit waterproof sealing by the use of shrink tubing which bonds to the wire insulation.

Pressure or temperature responsive switch having temperature gradient

A door interlock arrangement for an appliance such as a self-cleaning electric oven has an operating lever manually movable in a limited arc to move a door bolt into and out of door latching position and provide further motion to close the door very securely, and has a lock arranged in a novel cooperative relationship with an electrical interlock unit to permit certain appliance operations only when the door is latched and to permit opening of the door after the end of those appliance operations only when a selected appliance zone has cooled to a safe temperature.

Interlock arrangement for an appliance door and an interlock unit

A thermally responsive electric switch has an open ended, cup shaped, thermally and electrically conductive housing containing a thermostatic disc. A base of electrically insulative material, mounting a stationary contact arm, is received in the open end of the housing and captures an end of a movable contact arm between the base and the housing. The movable contact arm extends through a window in the stationary contact arm and has an opposite end disposed adjacent to the outer periphery of the disc and is adapted to be moved by the disc when it snaps from an unactuated to an actuated configuration to thereby control switch actuation.

Thermally responsive electric switch apparatus

A thermostat equipped with a bimetallic element sensitive to a given temperature comprises a monolithic base open at one end in which two terminals connectable to an electric circuit are inserted and precisely located, each having one end bent at a right angle and each carrying a stationary contact, an element carrying movable contacts for connecting the stationary contacts with one another, a spring housed in a seat on said base biasing the movable contact element to engage the stationary contacts, a sliding element for moving and guiding said movable contact-carrying element, a bimetallic element suitably spaced from the said sliding element for initiating movement of the sliding element in response to temperature change, and a lid which fastens the said bimetallic element to the said base with said spacing from the sliding element.

Thermostat

A thermostat has a cup-shaped insulating base open at one end, a pair of terminals ultrasonically secured in the bottom of the base precisely locating respective stationary contacts within the base and having portions thereof extending outside the base, a flat metal element carrying movable contacts for engaging the stationary contacts, a flat metal motion transfer element secured to the movable contact element and having an extending portion precisely located adjacent the open end of the cup-shaped base, a spring mounted in the base biasing the movable contact element to engage and interconnect the stationary contacts, a dished thermostat metal element disposed in the open end of the base and movable with snap action in response to selected temperature change to engage and move the extending portion of the motion transfer element to move the movable contact element against the spring bias to disengage the stationary contacts, a thin electrically insulating film disposed over the thermostat metal element, and a lid secured over the open end of the base mounting the thermostat metal element in the open base end, the motion transfer element having a slit therein permitting compression of the extending portion thereof to adjust its spacing from the thermostat element for calibrating the thermostat.

A sealed thermostatic electric switch has a heat responsive thermostatic element disposed in good heat transfer relationship with the closed end of a heat conductive cup shaped member. The side wall of the cup shaped member extends upwardly from the closed end and is spaced a selected distance from the housing of the switch. A plastic sleeve has one end tightly received over the side wall and adhesively secured thereto and another end closed except for a tubular portion extending therefrom with electrical leads of the switch extending from the switch through and beyond the tubular portion. The tubular portion has opposed wall portions which are in contact and coalesced with each other and with the aligned plastic insulation of the leads to effectively seal the tubular portion of the sleeve. A mounting plate is welded to the bottom outer surface of the cup shaped member which interfits with a strap or clip for attachment to a surface whose temperature is to be monitored. In one embodiment a clip is provided with tabs receivable in slots formed between the mounting plate and the cup shaped member. The clip has downwardly depending opposed legs adapted to springingly receive therebetween a tubular conduit whose temperature is to be monitored. In other embodiments the mounting strap extends along the bottom surface of the cup shaped member and is captured there by the mounting plate.

Sealed electrical switch and mounting therefor

A pressure responsive device suitable for high pressure hydraulic applications has a formed metal disc or diaphragm adapted to move from an original dished configuration toward an inverted dished configuration with snap action in response to the application of a selected fluid pressure. Support means of selected surface radius extend into the space defined by the original dished configuration of the diaphragm to intercept and limit such diaphragm movement to prevent damage to the diaphragm under the applied pressure and to limit stresses in the diaphragm material particularly adjacent to the periphery of the dished part of the diaphragm for improving reliability and service life of the device.

Pressure responsive device

A thermostat device comprises a thermostat unit having a surface which faces in a first direction and which is preferably disposed in thermally-coupled heat-transfer relation to an object whose temperature is to be monitored so that the thermostat unit is promptly responsive to an object temperature, the unit also having other surfaces which face in an opposite direction. A metal mounting bracket plate has a base portion, has a stud secured to the base portion to extend in one direction from the base for securing the plate to the object to be monitored in thermally-coupled heat-transfer relation to the object, and has integral spring portions upstanding from respective opposite ends of the base portion of the plate. The spring portions have openings fitted over respective portions of the thermostat unit so that parts of the spring portions around the margins of the openings engage said other unit surfaces for detachably attaching the bracket plate to the unit and for resiliently biasing the first unit surface against the base portion of the bracket plate to be thermally-coupled in heat-transfer relation to the object to be monitored.

Thermostat device having improved mounting means

A thermostat device comprises a thermostat unit having a surface which faces in a first direction and which is preferably disposed in thermally-coupled heat-transfer relation to an object whose temperature is to be monitored so that the thermostat unit is promptly responsive to changes in object temperature, the thermostat unit also having other surfaces which face in an opposite direction. A metal bracket mounting means comprises a plate having an integral base portion extending in a plane to be secured to an object to be monitored, having an opening in the base portion of the plate, and having a pair of integral spring portions of the plate upstanding from said plane at respective opposite sides of the opening, the spring portions having distal ends thereof folded toward each other and back toward said plane to engage the second surface portions of the thermostat unit for detachably attaching the bracket means to the thermostat unit and for resiliently biasing the unit toward the object to be monitored so that said first surface of the unit extends through the base opening into thermally-coupled heat-transfer relation to the object.

A heat responsive electrical switch comprises a small, open ended, generally cylindrical housing in which are mounted two spaced plate members extending in parallel directions from a bottom wall into a switch cavity. The first plate member mounts at its distal free end a relatively inflexible movable contact arm which is adapted to move into and out of engagement with a stationary contact mounted on the second plate member. A relatively low spring rate spring is connected between the movable contact arm toward the stationary contact with a selected contact force created by displacing a portion of the spring with a reaction force. The open end of the housing is formed with a plurality of raised plateaus. A thermally conductive cup is received over the open end interfitting with the plateaus. A thermally responsive snap-acting disc and a flexible motion transfer sheet of resinous material can be captured by the cup at the open end of the housing. The plate members are formed so that they are either rigidly staked to the bottom wall of the housing or are riveted directly to terminal blades outside the housing.

Snap-acting thermostatic switch using inflexible, spring biased contact

A time delay relay has a switch assembly, a spring terminal assembly, and an electrical resistance heater unit of an inexpensive construction held together in a reliable and economical manner by a pair of easily mounted metal spring clips. The clips have opposite ends each securely hooked over portions of the terminal assembly and resiliently engaged with respective, oppositely-facing surfaces of the switch and terminal assemblies so that the heater unit is firmly held in a predetermined position in the relay with opposite electrical poles of the unit resiliently engaged with respective terminals in the terminal assembly for directing electrical current through the heater, so that a thermally-responsive dished thermostatic disc is disposed in close heat-transfer relation to the heater unit at a location where it is free to move at a precisely predetermined temperature as it is heated by the heater unit, and so that a motion transfer pin is guided for free movement in response to the disc movement to provide snap-acting opening and closing of electrical contacts in the switch assembly.

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Cumberland, RI, United States of America

Henry J Boulanger