Uni'ted States Patent Office Pati I !nted Dec. 23, 1958 866,041 THERMOSTAT WITH TERMINAL CLIEPS THEREON 5 Saul V. Dell, Akron, Ohio, assignor to Mechanical Industries Production ComPany, Akron, Ohio, a corporation of Ohii) Application October 28, 1957, Serial No. 692,840 10 4 Claiins. (Cl. 200-138) 'rhis inventioii relates to thermostats, and,especially to 15 a thermostat for making and breaking an electrical circuit with appropriate changes in temperature, said thermostat having special terminal strips 6r clips extending therefrom. In making thremostats for commercial use, each cus- 20 tomer normally wants different types and styles of leads connected thereto. Even though thermostats can be made to standard sizes, it still has been difficult for the manufacturer to build up any inventories of one of his standard thermostats and have such thermostat unit be 25 -available for adoption and use by any of a number of customers because of the different leads required for different uses of the thermostats. Hence, thermostats usually are custom built and are usually made as ordered. The leads for the thermostats have usually been made as 30 integral portions thereof. The present invention relates to thermostats of any conventional design, one example of which is shown in and covered by United States Letters Patent No, .2,586,309. The general object of the present invention is to provide 35 a standard thermostat unit with inexpensive: easily positioned terminal slips or strips extending therefrom so that the thermostat can have any desired style and length of leads secured thereto after the thermostat unit has been completed. 40 Another object of the invention is to provide a thermostat characterized by its ability to have leads readily secured thereto after the thermostat unit per se had been completed and precalibrated to desired , - operatin@ temperature, 45 Yet another object of the invention is to provide a thermostat with a steel terminal clip or strip - extending therefrom whereby such thermostat units can be magnetically tested and be sorted from similar thermostats without such contacts thereon. 50 Yet another object of the invention is to provide a terminal clip or clips extending from a thermostat unit and: with lead receiving loops being provided in suc@h clips so that leads can be either welded @ to or be compressed in the loop for electrical @connection to the 55 therinostat. Another object of the invention is to provide copper or cadmitim plated steel terminal clips for use in thermo.tats, which clips beina adapted to receive leads for con- 60 nection to the thermostat. Another object of the invention is to provide a thermostat with a steel or metal contact strip which can be easily inserted manually into a compressible assembly', without prewelding or soldering, and then staked and assembled under compression to provide a positive, fixed (5 clip or wire terminal havin.- very good mechanical strength to wire leads . and excellent electrical conductivity to the thermostat. A further object of the invention is to provide a thermostat with a steel or metal contact strip with a - cylindrical 70 opening for he insertion of a wire terminal so shaped aud positioned that a wire lead may be both welded and compressed to the cylindrical contact strip barrel in a single operation, and so providing maximum strength and conductivity to the wire lead The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will be made more apparent as the specification proceeds. For a better understanding of the invention, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a plan of a thermostat member embodying the principles of the invention and having a pair of con-@ tact leads secured thereto and extending therefrom; Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken of the thermostat element of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section through the base end of the thermostat with the terminal clips or strips extendin@ therefrom; and Fig. 4 is a plan of a terminal clip or strip of the invention. When referring to corresponding parts shown in the drawings and referred to in the specification, corresponding numerals are iised to facilitate comparison therebetween. In order to i-inderstand the present invention completely, reference now should be had to the details of the invention and, in the drawings, athermostat is indicated as a whole by the numeral 1. This thermostat I includes a casing 2 that usually is made of n-ietal, for exami)le aluminum, brass or copper, or the equivalent, so ihai the casing is a good conductor of electricity. This casing 2 normally has asubstantially oval shape in cross section and with one end Of the casing'being flattened and compacted as indi-cate-I at 3. The flattened and compacted end 3 of the casin,@ 2 engages with and positions a bimetal arm or strip 4 within the casing 2. Such cas;ng engages the strip 4 by suitable means such as an insulation sleeve or wrap 5 provided around one portion of the bimetal strip 4. This insulation means provided is of any con-ventional construction and, fCT example, may be made from silicon-impregnated glass fabric, as such material has pteviously b.-en found to be particularly effe@ctive for use in thermostats of the invention. One portion of this bimetal strip 4, as indicated at 4a, is positioncd as a cantilever with:@n the casing 2 by the insulation and casin- means being in clamped or com-, press--d engagement therewith so that such section of the bimetal strip is available fc)r arcuate movement within the casing dependent upon th-@ temperature conditions to which the bimetal strip is subjected. Any suitable type of contact rnembers, such as contact buttons 6 and 7, are suitably seel-ired to the free end portion of the bimotal strip 4 and to a wall of the casin.2, respectively, as best shown in Fig. 2 of the drawinas. In the example shomin for illustrative purposes, the casing 2 has one open end thereon and a metal end cap 8 is shown in engagement therewith. This end cap 8 usually positions an asbestos disc 9 at the open end of the casing 2 and effectively insulates the contact buttons 6 and 7 from any arcing condition or from aiiy short 'circuiting through the e,.id cap or other associated portions of the enclosure rpeans of the thermostat. Any suitable type of an insulat,'@on disc can be provided in the cap, or the end cap could have an insulatioii linin.therein, as desired. Ustially the end cap 8 is soldered to the remainder of the casing. Normally the flattened and compact-,d areas of the casin.- 2 include transversely e@- tending stakes 10 and 11 in the top and bottom o@f the casing which stakes or flattened areas effect a,concentrat;on of the compacting pressures on the casin.- and insul-e a spaced-apart, effective anchoring or gripping of each bimetal strip iii the casing so as to provide a very rigid cantilever support for the bimetal strip 4. Thus the present thermostat is con-

3 structed in general like the thermostat shown in the U. S. Patent referred to hereinabove and it may have two bimetal strips therein, if desired. This thermostat I can be calibrated readily by changirig the angular relationship between the casihg 2 in the 5 portion thereon adjacent the bimetal trip 4 with rolation to the fixedly anchored end of such bimetal str'IP. As an iinportant feature of the present ihventidn, a pair of terminal clips, or strips, 12 and 13 are - provided in the thermostat I @nd they extond from the end of ihe 10 casing 2 having the insulation means 5 positioned th.-rein. Fig. 2 of the drawings best shows that one of these terminal clips 12 is positioned intermediate the insulation means 5 and the associated surface of the casing 2@ whereas the other clip i3 is positioned adjacdnt and secured, 15 as by a spot welding operation, to the bimetal strio A. Ea.ch of thtse metal clips 12 ;Ind 13 is formed fron! a suitable material, preferably steel or other magnetic material, and the clips 12 and 13 usually would be copper or cadmium plated, or otherwise coated, as for example 20 by dipping the clips or strios into a molten metal bath. Thus excellent electrical contacts are provided by the clips 12 and 13 and with each of these clids having lead receiving means such as a slot, hole, or an end loop 14 or 15, respectively, provided thereon for receipt of suit25 able lead o,r @conne@ctor wire therein; Fig' 3 of the drawings shows the position of the loops 14 and 15 on these clips 12 and 13 when the thermostat I is in'tially made. Thus the loop 14 normally will lie immediately adjacent the end of the casing 2, whereas 30 the loop 15 extends from the end of the insulation means 5 used in the thermostat. Preferably when the thermostat is made, no leads or other connector means are associated with these'loops 14 and 15 and the thermostats I are stored until actually sold to a specific customer for a 35 particular job. At such time, it. is known what style and length of leads are required for the thermostat I so that at such time leads 16 and 17, respectively, are threaded through the loops 14 and 15. Usually the loops are thereafter flattened @and the leads 16 and 17 may, if desired, be 40 welded to these loops 14 and 15 for effective electrical contact with the tliermostat 1. it will be seen that the terminal clip 12 is in good physical en.-agement with the casing 2 because of the compression of the one end of the casing and by the 45 stakin- 10 and 11 provided in the tasing. 'thus a good electrical contact is provided between the terminal clip 11 and the casing. it will be seen that the bimetal strip 4 effectively de5 termines the len.-th of the casin.@ 2 and of the thermo0 stat I so that ariy desired reasonable length may be provided in such bimetal strip 4@ The thermostat I can then be adjusted to have the operating properties desired for normal use of such member. it should be realized that the thermostats I of the in55 vention then can be sorted by use of magnetic means where one is testing or sorting the thermostats to ddterinine whether they a@-c properly completed and have clips 12 and 13 of the invention associated therewith. By making such clips from a magnetic material, the 60 thermostat I can be treated as a magnetic unit and rapid, eff6etive, inexpensive sorting can be performed to test @6r the presence of such clips in the thermostat. It should be realized that these novel clips of the invention can be used with thermostat means of other de- 65 signs, as desired, and that the particular - construction shown herein is only one typical illustration of a thermostat with, which the terminal clip means of the invention are readily adapted for use@ 2,866)@041 4 tive electrical connection between the clip 12 and the casing 2 as such loop 14 may be welded to the casing when weldin.- a lead to this clip loop. From the fore.-oing, it will be seen that a novel, useful type of a thermostat has been provided and this thermostat can be assembled and then calibrated to a desired operating temperature and stored before sale of the th@rinostat to a parti@ular customer. Tbus, cith6r the -customer can directly attach leads as desired to this thermostat 1, or the thermostat manufacturer can apply slich conductor leads to the, thermostat member im @mediately prior to sale thereof when the specific requireffieilts of a given customer are knbwn. Hence, it is believed that the objects of the invention have been achieved. While one complete embcidiment of the invention has been disclosed herein, it will be appreciated that modifi-cation of this particular embodiment of the invention may be resorted to without departing from the scbp6 Of the inveiition as- defined in the appended claims. What is