Patent ID: 7760066
Filing Date: 2010-07-20
Classification: H01H

Abstract:
1. A temperature switch having an insulation substrate to which a fixed contact connected to one external terminal is attached, a movable plate that is attached to the insulation substrate, has a movable contact at a position facing the fixed contact, and is connected to an other external terminal, and a thermally-actuated element which is loosely attached to the movable plate and whose warping direction is inverted at a prescribed temperature for electrically opening and closing a line between one of the external terminals and the other external terminal connected to the fixed contact and the movable contact, wherein: the movable plate has, on both sides thereof, pawl parts each having a U-shaped cross section with an opening height that catches a side portion thickness of the insulation substrate; the insulation substrate has, on both sides thereof, cut-out portions that are wider than widths of the pawl parts and deeper than tip lengths of the pawl parts; and the movable plate catches both side-portions of the insulation substrate and is fixed to the insulation substrate by using the pawl parts when the pawl parts are fitted into the cut-out portions and slid in a prescribed pawl-part-width direction; wherein: the cut-out portion has two steps in a direction from a side portion to a center of the insulation substrate; the pawl part has a width that is smaller than a width of a second cut-out portion of the insulation substrate having the two steps, has the tip length that is smaller than a depth of the second cut-out portion, and has the opening height that catches a side-portion thickness having a first cut-out portion of the insulation substrate having the two steps; and the movable plate is positioned with the width-direction-end part at a sliding-direction-downstream side of the pawl part abutting a gap portion between the first cut-out portion and the side portion and the pawl part catches a side-portion thickness having the first cut-out portion of the insulation substrate and is fixed to the insulation substrate when the pawl part is fitted into the second cut-out portion and the movable part slides in a direction of the first cut-out portion direction.