Zangirolami, Marco c/o Gianus S.P.A. (Strada Per Castelletto 69, Borgoticino, I-28040, IT)
| 1. | Thermostat (1), characterised in that it is equipped with : at least two connection means (14); securing means (6) adapted for installing said thermostat (1) onto a plurality of DIN, EN,... bars with different sizes; flexible adjusting means (4a, 4b) ; and at least one terminal (3a, 3b, 3c) equipped with tightening means (3b) adapted to be manually and/or automatically controlled. |
| 2. | Thermostat (1) according to claim 1 characterised in that said at least two connection means (14) are composed of at least two wires for the cascade connection of a plurality of thermostats (1). |
| 3. | Thermostat (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that said terminal (3a, 3b, 3c) is composed of at least one nut (3a), at least one screw (3b) and at least one connection wing (3c). |
| 4. | Thermostat (1) according to claim 3, characterised in that said connection wing (3c) connects said terminal (3a, 3b, 3c) to a bimetal (5). |
| 5. | Thermostat (1) according to claim 4, characterised in that said bimetal (5) is interchangeable. |
| 6. | Thermostat (1) according to claim 3, characterised in that said screw (3b) has a doublecut head, namely a head equipped both with a cut, for the manual operation through a screwdriver, and with a cross, for the automatic operation with a screwing device. |
| 7. | Thermostat (1) according to claim 3, characterised in that said screw (3b) can be actuated through a hole facing it that is present on the upper cover (2a) and that is sized in order to allow the access of a screwdriver. |
| 8. | Thermostat (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that said securing means (6) are composed of a plurality of flexible supports (6). |
| 9. | Thermostat (1) according to claim 8, characterised in that said supports (6) are present in the lower cover (2b). |
| 10. | Thermostat (1) according to claim 8, characterised in that said supports (6) are complementary profiles to existing section bars. |
| 11. | Thermostat (1) according to claim 10, characterised in that said existing section bars are DIN 462771, DIN 462773, EN 50022 and DIN 462772. |
| 12. | Thermostat (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that said adjusting means are a wheel (4a) equipped with a silkscreened reference scale (4b). |
| 13. | Thermostat (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that said terminal (3a, 3b, 3c) is made integral with said thermostat (1) without the help of external terminals, said terminal (3a, 3b, 3c) being build flexibly in order not to damage said thermostat (1) when tightening the screws (7). |
Various types of thermostats for industrial applications are known in the art ; however, they have some limits, that in detail are: - scarce flexibility of use on different types of standardised bars profiles (DIN, EN,...) since it is necessary to provide a different model according to every profile ; it is possible to connect a single output wire, this making it difficult to perform a cascade connection of a plurality of similar thermostats ; -difficult wiring, due to the presence of screws with cut heads adapted to cooperate with manual tools (screwdrivers), but not with automatic tools (screwing devices); and - it is possible to adjust them only through a screwdriver, thereby reducing the adjustment efficiency.
Object of the present invention is solving the above prior-art problems, by providing an improved thermostat that simultaneously integrates the different functionalities that are individually provided by the thermo-adjusting devices belonging to the prior art.
Moreover, the thermostat of the present invention adopts technical solutions that allow performing assembling, installation and user-need customisation operations of the thermostat itself with lower difficulties and costs than the already existing devices.
In the two currently preferred main embodiments, the thermostat of the invention will be suitable for different applications, such as: anti-condensate resistances (normally closed version), fans-filters and exchangers (normally open version), and will be able to guarantee high performance and maximum reliability. Its two major features are: restricted tolerance in operating temperature (about 2°K) wide adjustment range for every model from-10 to +80 °C innovative securing system.
The above and other objects and advantages of the invention, as will appear from the following description, are obtained by an improved thermostat as claimed in Claim 1. Preferred embodiments and non-trivial variations of the present invention are claimed in the dependent Claims.
The present invention will be better described by some preferred embodiments thereof, given as a non-limiting example, with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which: - Figure 1 is an exploded view of an embodiment of the thermostat of the present invention ; - Figure 2 shows a side view of the internal device of an embodiment of the thermostat of the present invention ; - Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the thermostat in Fig. 1 in an assembled condition; - Figure 4 shows a cascade connection (of the "daisy chain"type) of four thermostats like the one in Fig. 3 ; and - Figure 5 shows four possible assemblings on as many standardised bars profiles (DIN, EN,...) of the thermostat in Fig. 3.
With reference to the Figures, it is possible to note the characterising aspects of the thermostat 1 of the present invention ; the connection terminal in fact is realised by following the remote control switch scheme, and allows inserting at least two 4x4-mm wires contrary to the already existing devices, that allow inserting a single wire whose diameter is 2.5 mm: this arrangement allows an easy cascade connection of many thermostats 1 according to the present invention. Such terminal is composed of a nut 3a, a screw 3b and a connection wing 3c: such connection wing 3c is aimed to simultaneously perform the functions of completing the terminal and connecting the terminal itself to the bimetal 5. Such screw 3b has a double-cut (combi) head : with a cut for a manual operation, with a cross for an operation with a screwing device ; the head is sized in order to be perfectly coupled with a screwdriver (for example of type 3), that is the one standardly used in electric wiring. Such screw 3b can be actuated from outside the housing through an hole facing it that is present on the upper cover 2a, that is also sized in order to allow an easy access to a type-3 screwdriver.
The lower cover 2b is equipped with particular securing means 6 that allow the thermostat 1 according to the present invention to be assembled on all currently-used profiles (for example DIN 46277-1, DIN 46277-2, EN 50-022 and DIN 46277-2, as can be well seen in Fig. 5) through a plurality of supports 6 complementary thereto.
Moreover, through a tool with sliding belt, a hacksaw, a file or cutting nippers, it is possible to remove such supports 6 allowing to install the thermostat 1 directly on a wall by means of locking screws 7.
The thermostat 1 according to the present invention has a device, whose operation is known in the art, contained inside the housing composed of the upper cover 2a and the lower cover 2b beng kept joined by the closing screw 8, whose characteristic sizes are such as to allow the interchangeability of the bimetal 5 with the one from other manufacturers. The exchange of the bimetal 5 however implies the need of moving the reference scale that can be found on the adjusting wheel 4a: in order to solve this inconvenience, a rotating silk-screened scale 4b is adopted, instead of a fixed scale, in order to adapt the thermostat to the different bimetals, without having to perform costly and long modifications of plastics injection molds.
As can be well seen in Fig. 3 and 4, at least one pair of wires 14 (different from the single wire that can be found in similar prior art thermostats) can be applied to every terminal of the thermostat 1, thereby allowing to realise a cascade connection of various thermostats 1, as can be seen in Fig. 4.
Finally, the thermostat 1 terminal is made integral with the thermostat 1 itself without using external terminals, and is build flexibly in order not to damage the thermostat 1 when tightening the screws 7.