Abstract:
A central unit for grouping electronic and electrical components of refrigerators, freezers and similar appliances, comprising a housing containing at least one electronic card provided with electrical connection means and socket means for connecting the appliance to the electrical power supply.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to a central unit for grouping electronic and electrical components of refrigerators, freezers and similar appliances.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0004]    In the aforelisted appliances, electrical and electronic components are variously connected together and to the electrical power supply by cables. By way of example, a refrigerator can comprise at least one lamp for lighting the refrigerated compartment or compartments, electrical equipment such as fans, controls and the like, at least one compressor, thermostats and other controls, and an electrical or electronic circuit which receives data provided by the thermostats and controls and thereby controls operation of one or more of the aforesaid components.  
           [0005]    The multiplicity of connections and cabling resulting can be criticised not so much for its appearance but more for the time required to make these connections during the manufacture of the appliance (refrigerator) and in identifying and remedying a fault or malfunction during maintenance.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    An object of the present invention is to provide a central unit which enables connections and cabling to be simplified and hence favourably affect the cost of the operations concerned.  
           [0007]    This and further objects which will be more apparent from the ensuing detailed description are attained by a central unit in accordance with the teachings of the accompanying claims. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]    The invention will be more apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 1 is a perspective view with parts separated, showing the central unit of the invention;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 2 is again a perspective view with parts separated, showing the central unit of the invention, but taken from the opposite side;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 3 is a schematic partial section on the line III-III of FIG. 1. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0012]    With reference to FIG. 1, the central unit of the invention is in the form of a housing  1 , constructed by moulding plastic material and consisting basically of two parts  1 A,  1 B removably connected together by traditional means. Inside the housing  1  there is housed an electronic circuit board  2 , for example fixed by screw means to one of said parts, for example  1 B, on supports  3  moulded in one piece with said part.  
         [0013]    The electronic circuit board typically includes metal contacts in accordance with the requirements for pin connectors (these contacts are partly visible in FIG. 1 where they are indicated by  4 ), designed for push-on connectors ( push-on connectors are partly shown in FIG. 2 where they are indicated by  8  and  9 ).  
         [0014]    The contacts  4  are accessible from the outside the housing  1  through at least one aperture  6  present in the housing  1  and closable by a cover  7  (for example by snap-engagement).  
         [0015]    Contacts  4  are intended to be engaged, for example, by the cable plugs  8  and  9 , one ( 8 ) for powering a lighting lamp, the other ( 9 ) for powering electrical equipment (for example fans). The cover  7  enables the contacts  4  involving the cabled plugs  8  and  9  to be insulated from external agents. On the cover  7  there are provided passageways (not shown) for the sealed exit of the cables connected to the plugs  8  and  9 . By means of a connector, not shown, a usual thermostat can be connected via cable  10  to the contacts  4  to provide the control part of the circuit board  2  with data for controlling the operation of the compressor or compressors that is (are) powered by a cable  11  which enters the housing through an aperture, not shown. The cable  11  is connected to an electronic relay or switch, mounted on the circuit board or in the housing, and controlled by the electronic circuit provided for this purpose.  
         [0016]    The part  1 A of the casing  1  also includes a socket  12  to enable a conventional capacitor  13  to be mounted if required by the compressor motor. In the usual manner, the capacitor includes two blades  14  for connecting the capacitor to the circuit board  2 . Connection to the circuit board  2  may be by push-on connectors  5  through slots  15  formed in the socket  12 . As shown in FIG. 3, slots  15  are closed by a film or thin layer  16 , provided during the moulding of the housing  1 . Film  16  is designed to be broken when the capacitor  13  is mounted on the housing  1 A to enable the electrical connection to be made between the blade  14  and push-on connector  5 . The films  16  close the slots  15  (if the capacitor is not used) to prevent entry of water or moisture into the housing  1 .  
         [0017]    As can be seen from FIG. 2, the part  1 B of the housing  1  is provided with a socket  16  to facilitate connection of the central unit to the electrical power supply. Adjacent to socket  16  two projecting hook-shaped appendices  17 ,  18  are provided for latching a plug  19  to the socket and maintaining it coupled. The angle plug  19  has two parts  19 A and  19 B, positioned at an angle to each other. The part  19 A enters the socket  16  while the part  19 B passes between the hook-shaped appendices  17 ,  18  to force these apart elastically and then be secured in the space between them to securely retain plug  19  connected to control unit  1 . The angle plug is connected to a cable  20  provided, at its opposite end, with a plug for connection to the electric power supply. The cable  20  can be supplied with the appliance (refrigerator or the like) and can be connected by the user himself, and not necessarily during manufacture.  
         [0018]    During the manufacture and/or testing of the appliance a plug  21  can used for connection to the socket  16 . Plug  21  can be easily connected and disconnected from socket  16  because it does not engage the hook-shaped appendices  17 ,  18 .  
         [0019]    The invention has the advantage of enabling the connections and cabling to be put into a state of order and the number of components (for example brackets, nuts, connectors etc.) involved in completing the electrical-electronic part of the appliance to be reduced. The invention also enables the capacitor to be easily mounted. The provision of the hook-shaped appendices  17 ,  18  (and in particular their positioning to the side of the socket  16 ) afford a way of simplifying or reducing the series of steps and/or operations currently used during the manufacture of the household electrical appliance (refrigerator, freezer and the like). In this respect, the invention enables the electrical supply cables to use angle plugs, which can be installed by the user (as stated heretofore).  
         [0020]    The electrical supply cables do not need to be installed on the appliance production line, but instead can be installed when the appliance is installed in a user&#39;s home. The hook-shaped shaped appendices ensure that the angle plug will not become detached or withdrawn even in the case of impact or vibration. The use of a straight plug, that does not engage the hook-shaped appendices  17 ,  18 , enables testing to be simplified and allows standardization of the connection system on all production lines. For the same product (appliance) and product appearance, storage standardization can be achieved for the packaged product if the cable  20  with its angle plug  19  is kept external to the product or inserted only on its shipment. Further, use of a separable cable  20  for connecting the appliance to the electric power source can allow use of different cables with different plugs for connection to the electrical power supply such as may be required according to the electrical codes in different countries without requiring a separate, different, model for appliances differing only in the configuration of the plug for connection to the electrical power supply.