Pressure response switch

Abstract

To provide a pressure response switch which allows easy wiring of electric wires.SOLUTION: A pressure response switch 1 includes: a microswitch A including a lever 47; a terminal 60 to be connected to a contact whose conductive state changes in response to the displacement of the lever 47; and a case 10 for accommodating the microswitch A therein. A case 10 includes: a cover 15 and a rear wall 13; and a top wall 12 and a bottom wall 14. The lever 47 is disposed on a rear side X1 inside the case 10. The terminal 60 includes a connection portion (a) for connecting an electric wire 70, and the connection portion (a) is disposed on a front side X2 inside the case 10. A notch portion 17 that opens in a vertical direction Z is formed on an edge of the front side X2 of the bottom wall 14, and the notch portion 17 and the connection portion (a) face each other in the vertical direction Z.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a pressure responsive switch. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a pressure responsive switch that detects a change in refrigerant pressure in a refrigeration cycle (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The pressure responsive switch described in Patent Document 1 includes a box-shaped support case and a mechanical switch housed inside the support case. The mechanical switch includes a terminal. A plate-shaped lower side plate is provided on the bottom surface of the support case, and a circular hole is formed in the center of the lower side plate, penetrating in the plate thickness direction. An electric wire connected to the terminal inside the support case is led out to the outside of the support case through the hole in the lower side plate. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-334780 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the above-mentioned pressure-responsive switch, since it is necessary to secure an operating space for the lever (switch lever) attached to the mechanical switch, if the side where the lever of the mechanical switch is provided is the rear side (back side) of the mechanical switch, the terminal must be located on the front side (front side) of the mechanical switch. Therefore, the connection point between the terminal and the electric wire is located on the front side of the lower side plate when viewed from the bottom of the pressure-responsive switch. Due to such a layout constraint, the connection point of the terminal and the electric wire and the position of the hole in the lower side plate are misaligned in the front and rear directions, so that the electric wire is likely to interfere with other components when wiring the electric wire. Therefore, it is difficult to lead the electric wire to the outside, making wiring the electric wire difficult.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT An object of the present invention is to provide a pressure responsive switch which allows easy wiring of electric wires. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, the pressure responsive switch of the present invention is a pressure responsive switch comprising: a microswitch having a responsive member that displaces in response to an external force; a terminal that is provided on the microswitch and is connected to a contact whose conductive state changes in response to the displacement of the responsive member; and a case that houses the microswitch, wherein the case comprises a front wall and a rear wall that face each other in the front-to-rear direction, and a top wall and a bottom wall that face each other in a vertical direction perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction, the responsive member is arranged on one side in the front-to-rear direction within the case, the terminal has a wiring portion for connecting an electric wire, the wiring portion is arranged on the other side in the front-to-rear direction within the case, and a notch that opens in the vertical direction is formed on the edge of the bottom wall on the other side in the front-to-rear direction, and the notch and the wiring portion face each other in the vertical direction.

[0007] According to the present invention, the connection portion of the terminal and the notch portion in the bottom wall of the case face each other in the vertical direction, so that the position of the connection portion and the position of the notch portion can be aligned when viewed from the bottom of the case. Therefore, when wiring the electric wires, there is no need to bend the electric wires to avoid interference with other components, and the electric wires can be easily led from the inside of the case to the outside by drawing them out in the vertical direction. Therefore, it is possible to provide a pressure responsive switch in which wiring of electric wires can be easily performed.

[0008] In this case, it is preferable that the microswitch is provided with a plurality of the terminals, the connection parts are arranged in a left-right direction perpendicular to the up-down direction, and the dimension of the notch in the left-right direction is set to be larger than the dimension of the connection parts from the end of one side in the left-right direction to the end of the other side in the left-right direction. According to this configuration, since the dimension of the notch in the left-right direction is larger than the dimension of the connection parts from the end of one side in the left-right direction to the end of the other side in the left-right direction, even when the microswitch is provided with a plurality of terminals and the connection parts are arranged in a left-right direction, the interference can be avoided and the electric wires can be easily wired.

[0009] Moreover, it is preferable that the cutout portion is formed in a rectangular shape when viewed from the bottom of the case. According to this configuration, by forming the cutout portion in a rectangular shape when viewed from the bottom of the case, the left-right dimension of the opening portion for guiding the electric wire to the outside is less likely to change in the front-rear direction compared to a conventional circular hole (i.e., an arc having the same radius). Therefore, even if the position of the connection portion is slightly shifted in the front-rear direction due to, for example, a tolerance, it is possible to prevent the position of the connection portion and the position of the cutout portion from shifting when viewed from the bottom of the case.

[0010] It is also preferable that the microswitch is provided with a plurality of terminals, and that the connection parts are arranged in a stepped manner with their positions shifted in the vertical direction and the front-rear direction. With this configuration, even if the microswitch is provided with a plurality of terminals, the connection parts are arranged in a stepped manner with their positions shifted in the vertical direction Z and the front-rear direction X, so that it is possible to prevent the electric wires connected to the connection parts from overlapping each other in the vertical direction and the front-rear direction and interfering with each other. This makes it even easier to wire the electric wires. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a pressure responsive switch that allows easy wiring of electric wires. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a front view of a pressure responsive switch according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a front view of the pressure responsive switch with the cover removed. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a switch component housed in a case of the pressure responsive switch. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the switch component as viewed from the terminal block side. [Diagram 5] FIG. [Figure 6] 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 6. In the following description, the direction in which the front and back surfaces of the case 10, which will be described later, face each other is referred to as the "front-rear direction X", one side of the front-rear direction X is referred to as the "rear side X1", and the other side is referred to as the "front side X2". In addition, the width direction of the case 10 is referred to as the "left-right direction Y", one side of the left-right direction Y is referred to as the "left side Y1", and the other side is referred to as the "right side Y2". In addition, the height direction of the case 10 is referred to as the "upper-lower direction Z", one side of the up-down direction Z is referred to as the "upper side Z1", and the other side is referred to as the "lower side Z2". Note that these definitions are merely for the convenience of description, and do not necessarily correspond to the front-rear direction, left-right direction, and up-down direction in the actual use state of the pressure responsive switch 1, and do not limit the directions in the actual use state of the pressure responsive switch 1.

[0014] The pressure responsive switch 1 according to this embodiment is used as a switch for detecting, for example, a pressure change of a refrigerant in a compressor of a refrigeration cycle, a temperature change of a fluid such as a refrigerant, etc. As shown in FIG. 1, the pressure responsive switch 1 includes a case 10 having a generally rectangular shape. The case 10 includes a C-shaped main body frame 11 that opens to a front side X2, and a cover 15 (front wall) that closes the opening of the main body frame 11, and accommodates various components such as a microswitch A described later inside. The main body frame 11 is formed by bending a metal plate material, and includes a top wall 12, a rear wall 13, and a bottom wall 14. The top wall 12 is formed in a rectangular plate shape extending in the front-rear direction X and the left-right direction Y. The rear wall 13 is formed in a rectangular plate shape and extends from an edge of the rear side X1 of the top wall 12 to a lower side Z2. The bottom wall 14 is formed in a rectangular plate shape, extends from the lower edge of the rear wall 13 to the front side X2, and faces the top wall 12 in the up-down direction Z. The cover 15 is formed in a rectangular plate shape, closes the opening of the main body frame 11, and faces the rear wall 13 in the front-to-rear direction X. A pair of left and right windows 16 penetrating in the front-to-rear direction X are formed in the plate surface of the cover 15, and the inside of the case 10 can be seen through the windows 16.

[0015] A pair of elements 20 and a pair of joint tubes 21 connected to the pair of elements 20 are connected to the bottom wall 14 of the case 10. The element 20 has a sensory member such as a bellows or a diaphragm (not shown) inside. The sensory member is deformed or displaced in the vertical direction Z in response to a pressure change of the pressure fluid introduced through the joint tube 21. As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of left and right transmission mechanisms 30 and a pair of left and right switch components 40 are housed inside the case 10. The transmission mechanism 30 has a reinforcing plate 31 formed into a C-shape that opens on the rear side X1 by bending a metal plate material, and a transmission member 32 is housed inside the reinforcing plate 31. An example of the transmission member 32 is, for example, an operating plate 32a. The operating plate 32a receives a force that deforms or displaces the above-mentioned sensory member as an external force, rotates around a rotation shaft 33, and converts the external force into an operating force, and transmits the operating force to a lever 47 (a response member) described later.

[0016] The switch part 40 is configured with a plurality of contacts (not shown) therein, and changes the conductive state of the contacts when it receives the above-mentioned operating force. A pair of the switch parts 40 are provided adjacent to each other in the left-right direction Y, and constitute a dual-type microswitch A. As shown in FIG. 3, the switch part 40 has a box part 41. The box part 41 is formed in a substantially cubic shape from, for example, a resin material. A connection part 43 that protrudes to the lower side Z2 is formed on a lower wall 42 of the box part 41. The connection part 43 is formed in a plate shape extending in the front-rear direction X and the left-right direction Y, and is fixed to the bottom wall 14 of the above-mentioned case 10. A rectangular box-shaped fixing member 45 is attached to a rear surface part 44 of the box part 41. A rotating shaft 46 extending in the left-right direction Y is fixed to a side wall of the fixing member 45, and a lever 47 (a reaction member) is attached to the rotating shaft 46 so as to be rotatable around the shaft. That is, the lever 47 is disposed on the rear side X1 in the case 10.

[0017] The lever 47 is formed in a plate shape and extends from the rotating shaft 46 to the upper side Z1, and is inclined so as to be located on the rear side X1 as it moves from the lower end supported by the rotating shaft 46 to the upper end. The lever 47 rotates around the rotating shaft 46 by receiving the above-mentioned operating force. That is, it is displaced around the rotating shaft 46 in response to the above-mentioned external force. The rotational motion of the lever 47 is transmitted to a micro-actuating shaft (not shown) and converted into a forward and backward motion in the forward and backward direction X. Then, the forward and backward motion of the micro-actuating shaft operates a switching means (not shown) provided in the box part 41, and the switching means switches the conductive destinations of the multiple contacts. That is, the conductive destinations of the contacts are switched in accordance with the displacement of the lever 47.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 4, a terminal block 50 is formed in the front side X2 of the box part 41. The terminal block 50 is a part for installing and fixing the terminals 60. In this embodiment, a total of six terminal blocks 50 are formed, including three upper terminal blocks 50a arranged in the left-right direction Y, and three lower terminal blocks 50b adjacent to the lower side Z2 of the upper terminal block 50a and arranged in the left-right direction Y on the rear side X1 of the upper terminal block 50a. The upper terminal block 50a includes an upper installation surface part 51 having a rectangular shape in a plan view extending along the front surface part 48 of the box part 41, an upper wall rib 52 extending from the edge of the upper side Z1 of the upper installation surface part 51 to the front side X2, a pair of upper wall ribs 53 extending from the left side Y1 and right side Y2 of the upper installation surface part 51 to the front side X2, and an upper insertion hole 54 penetrating the upper installation surface part 51 and communicating with the inside of the box part 41. The lower terminal block 50b includes a lower mounting surface portion 55 which is rectangular in a planar view and extends along the front portion 48 of the box portion 41 below the upper mounting surface portion 51 on the rear side X1, a connection surface 56 which extends from the edge of the upper side Z1 of the lower mounting surface portion 55 to the front side X2 and is connected to the upper mounting surface portion 51 and faces the lower side Z2, a pair of lower wall ribs 57 which extend from the left side Y1 and right side Y2 of the lower mounting surface portion 55 to the front side X2, and a lower insertion hole 58 which penetrates the lower mounting surface portion 55 and communicates with the inside of the box portion 41.

[0019] In this manner, the terminal block 50 is located on the front side X2 in the case 10, and the upper terminal block 50a and the lower terminal block 50b are formed in a stepped shape with the positions in the up-down direction Z and the front-back direction X offset, and are provided in a plurality of rows in the left-right direction Y. Terminals 60 are inserted into the upper insertion hole 54 and the lower insertion hole 58. The terminals 60 are members that are connected one-to-one to the above-mentioned contacts, and are formed in a plate shape using a conductive material, and a plurality of terminals 60 are fixed to the terminal block 50. The terminals 60 each include a main body portion 61 that is inserted into the upper insertion hole 54 or the lower insertion hole 58 and extends in the front-back direction X, and a connection portion 62 that is continuous with the main body portion 61, bent in the left-right direction Y, and fixed to the upper installation surface portion 51 or the lower installation surface portion 55. A female screw portion 63 that penetrates in the plate thickness direction is formed in the center of the connection portion 62. 5, a fastening member 64 is screwed into the female thread portion 63, and a contact portion 73 of an electric wire 70 (described later) is connected and fixed to a connection portion 62 of the terminal 60 via the fastening member 64. In the connection portion 62, a portion that abuts against the contact portion 73 of the electric wire 70 is referred to as a connection portion a in this embodiment.

[0020] Since the connection portion 62 is provided on both the upper terminal block 50a and the lower terminal block 50b, in this embodiment, the connection portion a is composed of an upper connection portion a1 provided on the upper terminal block 50a side and a lower connection portion a2 provided on the lower terminal block 50b side. As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the upper connection portion a1 and the lower connection portion a2 are arranged on the front side X2 (the other side in the front-rear direction) in the case 10, and are lined up in a plurality of rows in the left-right direction Y, with the lower connection portions a2 arranged in a stepped manner shifted to the lower side Z2 and rear side X1 with respect to the position of the upper connection portion a1.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 6, the electric wire 70 includes an electric wire portion 71 composed of a core wire and a coating, and a terminal portion 72 provided at an end of the electric wire portion 71. A plate-shaped contact portion 73 is formed at the tip of the terminal portion 72. The electric wire portion 71 of the electric wire 70 connected to the terminal 60 is led out to the outside through a notch portion 17 formed in the bottom wall 14 of the case 10. The notch portion 17 is a portion for leading the electric wire 70 connected and fixed to the connection portion a from the inside of the case 10 to the outside, and is formed at the edge of the front side X2 of the bottom wall 14 of the case 10. As shown in FIG. 5, the notch portion 17 includes a first edge portion 17a extending in the left-right direction Y and a second edge portion 17b extending from both left and right ends of the first edge portion 17a to the front side X2, is formed in a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the bottom of the case 10, and is open to the front side X2 and the up-down direction Z.

[0022] In the cutout portion 17, the dimension S1 from the second edge portion 17b on one side to the second edge portion 17b on the other side (hereinafter referred to as the dimension S1 in the left-right direction Y of the cutout portion 17) is set to be larger than the dimension S2 in the left-right direction Y from the left end (the end on one side in the left-right direction Y) to the right end (the end on the other side in the left-right direction Y) of the multiple connection portions a. Also, as shown in FIG. 6, the position of the first edge portion 17a is approximately coincident in the up-down direction Z with the position of the upper surface of the lower installation surface portion 55 of the lower terminal block 50b described above, so that the depth dimension S3 (dimension in the front-rear direction X) of the cutout portion 17 is approximately the same as the sum S4 of the dimensions in the front-rear direction X of the upper wall rib 52 of the upper terminal block 50a and the connection surface 56 of the lower terminal block 50b. Note that this is merely an example, and the position of the first edge portion 17a may be set to the rear side X1 of the connection surface 56, and the depth dimension S3 of the cutout portion 17 may be larger than that of this embodiment.

[0023] 6, the cutout portion 17 and the connection portion a face each other in the vertical direction Z, and the positions of the connection portion a and the cutout portion 17 coincide with each other in the vertical direction Z. Therefore, when wiring the electric wire 70, the electric wire portion 71 is drawn out from the connection portion a to the lower side Z2 without bending the electric wire portion 71, whereby the electric wire 70 can be led out from the inside of the case 10 to the outside.

[0024] As described above, according to the embodiment described above, the connection portion a of the terminal 60 and the notch portion 17 of the bottom wall 14 of the case 10 face each other in the vertical direction Z, so that the position of the connection portion a and the position of the notch portion 17 can be aligned in the bottom view of the case 10. Therefore, when wiring the electric wire 70, there is no need to bend the electric wire 70 to avoid interference with other components, and the electric wire portion 71 can be easily led from the inside to the outside of the case 10 by drawing the electric wire 70 in the vertical direction Z. Therefore, it is possible to provide a pressure responsive switch 1 in which the electric wire 70 can be easily wired.

[0025] Furthermore, according to the above configuration, the dimension S1 in the left-right direction Y of the cutout portion 17 is larger than the dimension S2 in the left-right direction Y from the left end (the end on one side in the left-right direction Y) to the right end (the end on the other side in the left-right direction Y) of the multiple connection portions a. Therefore, even if multiple terminals 60 are provided on the microswitch A and the connection portions a are arranged in the left-right direction Y, the above-mentioned interference can be avoided and the electric wires 70 can be easily wired.

[0026] Furthermore, according to the above configuration, by forming the cutout portion 17 in a rectangular shape when viewed from the bottom of the case 10, the dimension of the opening portion for guiding the electric wire 70 to the outside in the left-right direction Y is less likely to change in the front-rear direction X, compared to a conventional circular hole. Therefore, even if the position of the connection portion a is slightly shifted in the front-rear direction X due to, for example, a tolerance or the like, it is possible to prevent the position of the connection portion a from shifting from the position of the cutout portion 17 when viewed from the bottom of the case 10.

[0027] Furthermore, according to the above embodiment, even if the microswitch A is provided with a plurality of terminals 60, the connection portions a are arranged in steps offset in the vertical direction Z and the front-rear direction X, so that the electric wires 70 connected to the connection portions a can be prevented from overlapping and interfering with each other in the vertical direction Z and the front-rear direction X. This makes it even easier to wire the electric wires 70.

[0028] The above-described embodiment merely shows a representative embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these. That is, various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. As long as such modifications have the configuration of the pressure-responsive switch 1 of the present invention, they are of course included in the scope of the present invention. For example, in this embodiment, the notch 17 is formed in a rectangular shape, but the shape of the notch 17 does not necessarily have to be rectangular, and the notch 17 can be formed in various shapes such as a circular shape, an oval shape, and an elliptical shape. In addition, the number and arrangement of the terminal block 50, the terminal 60, and the connection portion a described above are merely examples, and the number of these can be changed as appropriate. That is, the connection portion a does not necessarily have to be provided in a plurality of rows in the left-right direction Y, and does not necessarily have to be provided in a plurality of rows in a staggered manner in the up-down direction Z and the front-back direction X.

[0029] In addition, although the pressure responsive switch 1 of this embodiment has been described mainly as a pressure switch, the pressure responsive switch 1 can also be used as a temperature switch. That is, in this embodiment, the pressure responsive switch 1 is used as a pressure switch that detects pressure changes by introducing a fluid to be detected (here, a refrigerant circulating in a refrigeration cycle) through the joint tube 21 and applying the pressure of the fluid to be detected directly to a sensitive member such as a bellows or a diaphragm, but the use of the pressure responsive switch 1 is not limited to this. That is, a temperature switch can be configured by connecting a temperature sensing tube to the element 20 in the pressure responsive switch 1 of this embodiment through a capillary and filling the closed space formed by the sensitive member, the capillary, and the temperature sensing tube with a refrigerant. In this way, in a temperature switch using the pressure responsive switch 1 of this embodiment, the sensitive member deforms or displaces in the vertical direction Z in response to the pressure inside the closed space that changes due to the temperature change detected by the temperature sensing tube, and the force at this time is transmitted to the lever 47 (responsive member) to change the conductive state of the contacts. [Explanation of symbols]

[0030] X Anteroposterior direction Z vertical direction A Micro Switch a Connection part 1 Pressure Response Switch 10 Cases 12 Ceiling Wall 13 Back wall 14 Bottom wall 15 Cover (front wall) 17 Notch 47 Lever (reaction member) 60 Terminals 70 Electric wire

Claims

1. A pressure responsive switch comprising: a microswitch having a responsive member that is displaced in response to an external force; a terminal that is connected to a contact that is provided on the microswitch and whose conductive state changes in response to the displacement of the responsive member; and a case that houses the microswitch, The case includes a front wall and a rear wall that face each other in a front-rear direction, and a top wall and a bottom wall that face each other in a top-bottom direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction, The reaction member is disposed on one side in the front-rear direction within the case, The terminal includes a connection portion for connecting an electric wire, The wire connection portion is disposed on the other side in the front-rear direction within the case, A notch portion that opens in the up-down direction is formed on an edge of the bottom wall on the other side in the front-rear direction, A pressure responsive switch, wherein the notch and the wire connection portion face each other in the vertical direction.

2. The microswitch is provided with a plurality of terminals. The wire connection portion is provided in a plurality of rows in a left-right direction perpendicular to the up-down direction, The pressure responsive switch as described in claim 1, characterized in that the left-right dimension of the cutout portion is set to be larger than the left-right dimension from one left-right end of each of the multiple wiring portions to the other left-right end of each of the multiple wiring portions.

3. 3. The pressure responsive switch according to claim 2, wherein the cutout portion is formed in a rectangular shape when viewed from the bottom of the case.

4. The microswitch is provided with a plurality of terminals.

4. The pressure responsive switch according to claim 1, wherein the wire connection portion is provided in a plurality of stages arranged in a staggered manner in the up-down direction and the front-rear direction.

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