Thermally operated bimetal actuator
US4088976A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 14, 1975 |
| Grant date | May 9, 1978 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 14, 1995 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01H37/10
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A thermally operated actuator useful as a relay, flasher, circuit breaker, or the like, in which a bimetal element is movable by heating and cooling in response to an electrical resistance heater and/or current passing through the bimetal element. In one form of the invention ambient compensation is achieved by rigidly clamping one end of the bimetal element to provide a cantilever support, and providing a support at the other end that either clamps or pivotally engages the bimetal element and longitudinally compresses the element, causing the element to buckle into a curved configuration. Heat is applied selectively to the bimetal element adjacent either end to produce a snap action change in the shape of the element between two fixed positions. In an alternative form of the invention, two parallel bimetal elements are linked together to provide ambient compensation while still providing the snap action change in shape in response to selectively applied heat.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.