A protective element includes: an insulating substrate; a heat-generating element formed on the insulating substrate; first and second electrodes formed on side edges of a front surface of the insulating substrate; first and second connecting terminals provided on the back surface of the insulating substrate and being continuous with the electrodes; through-holes penetrating the front and back surfaces of the insulating substrate to connect the electrodes to the connecting terminals respectively; a heat-generating element extracting electrode electrically connected to the heat-generating element; and a meltable conductor laminated on a region extending from the heat-generating element extracting electrode to the electrodes and to be melted by heat to interrupt the current path between the electrodes; wherein the through-holes are formed at a central portion of the side edges of the insulating substrate on which the electrodes are formed.

In a protective circuit substrate having a circuit substrate and a protective element, the protective element including: an insulating substrate; a heat-generating element; first and second electrodes laminated on the insulating substrate; a first and second connecting terminals provided on one side edge of a mounting surface to be mounted to the circuit substrate, the first connecting terminals being continuous with the first and second electrodes; a heat-generating element extracting electrode provided in a current path between the first and second electrodes and electrically connected to the heat-generating element; and a meltable conductor provided between the first and second electrodes, wherein the circuit substrate includes a region for mounting the protective element in which no electrode pattern other than a connecting electrode to the protective element is provided.

A temperature-dependent switch includes a housing with a top face and an outer face that runs transversely to the top face. The switch includes a first outer contact area that is arranged on the top face. The switch includes a second outer contact area that is arranged at the housing. The switch includes a temperature-dependent switching mechanism that is arranged in the housing and configured to establish or open an electrically conductive connection between the first and the second outer contact area depending on a temperature of the switching mechanism. The housing is disposed in a metal mounting cap that includes a wall. An upper rim of the wall protrudes beyond the top face of the housing. An inner side of the wall bears at least partially against the outer face of the housing.

A breaker comprises: a fixed piece having a fixed contact; a movable piece having a movable contact and pressing the movable contact against the fixed contact to contact therewith; a thermally-actuated element for shifting the movable piece from a conduction state in which the movable contact contacts with the fixed contact to a turn-off state; a PCT thermistor; and a resin case. The fixed piece has a contacting portion contacting with the PCT thermistor. The resin case has a bottom surface provided with a concave portion. In a planar view when the fixed piece is viewed from the PCT thermistor, the contacting portion is disposed within the concave portion. The concave portion has a bottom recessed from the bottom surface of the resin case to prevent the bottom from protruding outwardly from the bottom surface when the thermally-actuated element is deformed.

A protective element includes: at least two electrode portions (main electrodes) supported by an insulating support (insulating substrate); a fuse element that connects the electrode portions; and an operating flux provided on the fuse element. The operating flux has, on a surface thereof, a coating layer that covers the operating flux to prevent the operating flux from flowing.

Thermal Cut-Off (TCO) devices suitable for surface mount reflow processes are disclosed. The TCO devices are modeled after existing lead attached TCO device structures, but are improved with compact and miniaturized structures suitable for surface mount reflow operations. The arm and base terminals include pads for surface mount reflow. The base molds are designed for receiving the PTC device, bimetal device, and arm terminal feature and may operate using either a single base terminal or a multi-part base terminal. Multiple cover designs are disclosed to lower the heat capacity of the upper plate of the TCO device relative to the base terminal. A TCO device featuring an integrated arm and bimetal device terminal is also disclosed, with an updated base portion to support the integrated terminal.

A breaker 1 includes a fixed piece 2 having a fixed contact 21, a movable piece 4 including a movable contact 41 and having the movable contact 41 so as to be pressed against and in contact with the fixed contact 21, a thermally actuated element 5 shifting the movable piece 4 from a conductive state to a cut-off state in accordance with a temperature change, and a case 7 accommodating the fixed piece 2, the movable piece 4, and the thermally actuated element 5. The case 7 includes a case main body 71 accommodating the movable piece 4 and the thermally actuated element 5, a lid member 81 covering a housing concave portion 73 of the case main body 71, and a metal plate 9 embedded in the lid member 81. Heat capacity of the metal plate 9 is larger than heat capacity of the fixed piece 2.

An installation structure of a temperature fuse is disclosed. The temperature fuse includes a first leg fixed to one surface of a printed circuit board (PCB), a bent part formed to be bent several times in an outer direction of the PCB from an end part of the first leg, and a second leg incorporated with the bent part and fixed to one surface of the PCB while being spaced apart from the first leg by a predetermined distance. The installation structure of the temperature fuse includes a third leg formed to extend from any one of the first leg and the second leg, a conductive member electrically connected to the third leg while being electrically isolated from the PCB, and a sensing part electrically connected to the third leg through the conductive member, and configured to detect whether a connection state between the third leg and the conductive member is normal.

A circuit protection element includes a vertical wall substantially perpendicular to a mounting surface of a circuit board in a mounted state; a first mounting part formed by being bent from the first end part of the vertical wall once and substantially parallel to the mounting surface; the second mounting part formed by being bent from the second end part of the vertical wall once and substantially parallel to the mounting surface; an elastic deformation part formed so as to project from the vertical wall in a predetermined direction, which has the contact part in the vicinity of an end part thereof on the opposite side to the vertical wall, and accumulates an elastic stress caused by elastic deformation thereof; and the self-locking part formed on the vertical wall and the elastic deformation part for maintaining the elastic deformation part in a state elastically deformed.

A circuit protection element includes a first leg part formed by being bent once from a first end part of a ceiling part that is the bending reference plane; a second leg part formed by being bent once with respect to the bending reference plane; a first mounting part and a second mounting part each formed by being bent twice with respect to the bending reference plane so as to be flush mutually and parallel to a mounting surface of the circuit board; and a plastic deformation part (a curved part) set in a predetermined region of the second leg part and plastically deformed by applying a load in the vicinity of a second end part of the ceiling part toward the mounting surface of the circuit board.