1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bimetal snap-action type temperature control devices and more particularly, to a thermostat device, which has multiple manually resettable thermostat units arranged in a stack for working individually at different temperature ranges, and which allows a user to reset all the manually resettable thermostats at a time through one single action.
2. Description of the Related Art
According to the design of a conventional manually resettable bimetal snap-action thermostat, the bimetal snap-action spring plate is caused to curve from a first position to a second position when the temperature rises over a predetermined temperature. When the temperature drops below the predetermined temperature, the bimetal snap-action spring plate returns from the second position to the first position. At this time, the switch circuit is not reset, and an external force must be applied to reset the thermostat. This type of manually resettable thermostat has the advantages of high reliability and ease of use. Therefore, this type of manually resettable thermostat is intensively used in different fields. However, this type of manually resettable thermostat is workable only at one single temperature point. For multiple temperature control point application, multiple manually resettable thermostats shall be used. In case there is no sufficient installation space for multiple manually resettable thermostats, the aforesaid conventional design becomes useless.
For example, when designing an automatic rice cooker, as shown in FIG. 5, it is necessary to rapidly increase the heating temperature to a first temperature point t1, i.e., the food safety temperature about 60˜75° C. to kill microbes in rice, and then to lower the heating power for enabling the heating temperature to be increased slowly to a second temperature point t2, i.e., the saturation temperature about 85˜95° C. to have rice be well cooked, and then to lower the heating temperature to a third temperature point t3, i.e., the warm-keeping temperature about 60˜65° C. It is the most economic and convenient way to detect the first temperature point t1 and the second temperature point t2 by means of the use of a snap-action type thermostat. However, when the temperature drops, the snap-action type thermostat does not return to its former position automatically, i.e., it cannot let the heating temperature drop to the warm-keeping temperature point t3 to keep the cooked rice warm. This warm-keeping temperature point t3 is lower than the saturation temperature point t2. For the control of the first temperature point t1 and the second temperature point t2, a manually resettable thermostat can be used. The best installation position for thermostat between the electric heater and the cooker is the center area. However, the available space around this center area is limited. In a rice cooker, this space is sufficient for accommodating one single manually resettable thermostat. When multiple manually resettable thermostats are arranged together, the resetting mechanism will be complicated.
The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is the main object of the present invention to provide a thermostat device, which is suitable for use in a temperature control system that requires control of multiple temperature points and, which is easy to operate and saves much installation space.
To achieve this and other objects, the thermostat device comprises a plurality of manually resettable thermostat units arranged in a stack. The manually resettable thermostat units act at different temperature ranges. Each manually resettable thermostat unit comprises a thermoconducting top cover, a bottom cover, an intermediate structure set in between the thermoconducting top cover and the bottom cover, a smoothly arched bimetal snap-action spring plate for switching on/off a circuit subject to change in temperature, a center push rod inserted axially slidably inserted through the respective intermediate structure. The smoothly arched bimetal snap-action spring plate, the thermoconducting top cover and the bottom cover each have a center through hole for the passing of the respective center push rod. The center through hole of the thermoconducting top cover of one lower manually resettable thermostat unit allows the center push rod of the adjacent upper manually resettable thermostat to pass such that said manually resettable thermostat units work individually at a respective different temperature range and are simultaneously manually resettable. The manually resettable thermostat units are arranged in a stack in such an order that the manually resettable thermostat unit that is disposed at a lower side acts at a relatively lower temperature range than the manually resettable thermostat unit that is disposed at an upper side.
The thermostat device further comprises a thermoconducting housing surrounding the manually resettable thermostat units and disposed in connection with the thermoconducting top covers of the manually resettable thermostat units for quick transfer of heat energy to keep the thermoconducting top covers of the manually resettable thermostat units at a same temperature.
The thermostat device further comprises at least one automatically resettable thermostat unit arranged on the top side of the manually resettable thermostat units.
The thermostat device further comprises a thermal insulative covering surrounding the thermoconducting housing. The thermal insulative covering is preferably prepared from glass fiber cloth.
Further, the center push rod of each manually resettable thermostat unit has its top end normally kept in flush with the associating thermoconducting top cover, and its bottom end normally kept in flush with the associating bottom cover.
By means of the aforesaid arrangement, the manually resettable thermostat units work individually at different temperature ranges, however the manually resettable thermostat units are manually resettable at a the same time through one single action. Therefore, the thermostat device of the present invention saves much installation space, and is easy to operate.
a-3d are schematic drawings showing different operation status of the manually resettable thermostat device shown in
Referring to
When the temperature reached the snap-action temperature t2 of the second thermostat T2 that is stacked on the first thermostat T1, the smoothly arched bimetal snap-action spring plate of the second thermostat T2 is caused to make a snap action and to curve in the reversed direction from a first stable state position to a second stable state position (see
The center push rod 40 is a combination rod comprised of a main shaft 42, a top guide rod 41 and a bottom guide rod 43. The top guide rod 41 is inserted through a center through hole 8 of the smoothly arched bimetal snap-action spring plate 1 and the center through hole 11 of the thermoconducting metal top cover 10. The top guide rod 41 has a shoulder 44 that is kept in contact with the bottom surface of the smoothly arched bimetal snap-action spring plate 1 so that the center push rod 40 can be pushed downwards by the smoothly arched bimetal snap-action spring plate 1 when the smoothly arched bimetal snap-action spring plate 1 is caused to make a snap action and to curve from the upwardly curved first stable state position to the downwardly curved second stable state position.
The smoothly arched metal spring plate 2 is coupled to the center push rod 40 between the shoulder 44 of the top guide rod 41 and the topmost edge of the main shaft 42. The arched metal spring plate 2 can be curved from an upwardly curved first stable state position to a downwardly curved second stable state position. However, when the smoothly arched bimetal snap-action spring plate 1 is caused to curve from the downwardly curved second stable state position to the upwardly curved first stable state position, the center push rod 40 does no work, and at this time, the smoothly arched metal spring plate 2 is maintained in the downwardly curved second stable state position.
As shown in
During the assembly process of the present invention, the thermostat of which the smoothly arched bimetal snap-action spring plate has a relatively lower working temperature is provided at the bottom side of the bottom cover of the thermostat of which the smoothly arched bimetal snap-action spring plate has a relatively higher working temperature, keeping the respective center push rods 40 in vertical alignment, as shown in
As stated above, the invention provides a thermostat device, which has multiple thermostats arranged in a stack and individually operable at different temperature levels. The thermostat device is easy to operate and saves much installation space, allowing all the thermostats be simultaneously reset through one single action.
Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/CN2006/002402 | 9/14/2006 | WO | 00 | 5/6/2008 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2007/051386 | 5/10/2007 | WO | A |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20090115566 A1 | May 2009 | US |