AU2006246501B2 - Timer - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT (Original) APPLICATION NO: LODGED: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION LODGED: ACCEPTED: PUBLISHED: RELATED ART: NAME OF APPLICANT: Schneider Electric (NZ) Limited ACTUAL INVENTORS: Geoffrey Stewart Dawson Nigel Ruhi Hingston ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: LORD AND COMPANY, Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys, of 4 Douro Place, West Perth, Western Australia, 6005, AUSTRALIA. INVENTION TITLE: "TIMER" DETAILS OF ASSOCIATED APPLICATION NO: New Zealand Patent Application Number 543918 filed on 2 December 2005 The following Statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me/us: TITLE TIMER FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a timer for controlling the operation of electrically powered equipment. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A number of different timers for electrical equipment are available. However, many of the currently available timers are specific to one piece of equipment, and often are built into the equipment which they are designed to control. Independent timers generally are preset for a specified period and cannot be reprogrammed for a different period by the user. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a timer which is capable of providing different modes of operation without requiring reprogramming. The present invention provides a timer which includes: a printed circuit board incorporating a programmable microprocessor; two multi-position switches connected to 5 the printed circuit board, one multi-position switch being arranged to select from a number of possible modes of operation programmed into the printed circuit board, the other multi-position switch being arranged to select the period for which the timer is activated; and a manually operable switch which is adapted to switch the timer on or off. 0 Preferably, each multi-position switch is a rotary switch. Most preferably each multi position switch is a rotary binary switch. 2 Preferably, the manually operable switch is a pushbutton switch which may be optionally arranged to activate the timer in a different mode depending upon how long the switch is depressed for. The manually operable switch is adapted to be toggled to switch the timer on or off. Preferably, the timer of the present invention is designed as a modular insert which is capable of being removably fitted into a standard electrical switch plate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS By way of example only, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is an isometric front view of a timer in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is an isometric rear view of the timer of Figure 1; Figure 3 is an exploded view of the timer of Figure 1, on a smaller scale; Figure 4 is a block diagram of the component assembly; and Figures 5, 6 and 7 graphs showing three modes of timer operation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to Figures 1-3 of the drawings, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a timer 10 is produced as a modular unit with the exterior dimensions of the 5 housing 11 such that the module is a sliding fit in the aperture of a standard switch plate (not shown). The exterior surfaces of the top and bottom of the housing 1 both are formed with a resilient wedge shaped lug 15,16 arranged with the thin end of the wedge facing the rear o of the module. To mount the timer 10 in the aperture of a standard switch plate, the timer simply is pushed into the aperture; the walls of the aperture compress the lugs 15,16 as the timer is pushed into the aperture, and the resilience of the lugs holds the timer 3 securely in the aperture. The use of lugs 15,16 to secure the timer 10 in place allows it to be easily mounted and removed without any screws. The housing 11 is formed from a top part 13 and a bottom part 14. The top part 13 provides the top surface and the upper parts of the side and rear surfaces of the housing; the bottom part 14 provides the lower surface and the lower parts of the side and rear surfaces of the housing. The top part 13 is releasably secured to the bottom part 14 by means of a pair of catches 17 on each side of the top part 13 which are apertured to engage corresponding resilient lugs 18 located on the sides of the bottom part 14. The rear surface of the top part 13 supports a pair of rotary binary switches 20,21, which can be manually rotated to select one of a range of predetermined settings, as discussed below. The rear surface of the bottom part 14 extends outwards beyond the rear surface of the top part 13 and provides channels for connection cables 22. Cables 22 are shown exiting the housing I1 vertically. This is advantageous, as it allows enough clearance to the standard ejector tool used for removing the device from the switch plate aperture. The front of the bottom part 14 of the housing provides a frame 23. A LED 24 and a pushbutton 25 are designed to be supported by the frame 23, with the front surface 26 of the pushbutton 25 projecting outwards from the frame. Optionally, a front cover 27 may be clipped to the frame 23 to provide an attractive trim around the button 25. Preferably, the front cover 27 is of the type described in co-pending application number 540457. 5 Referring to Figures 3 and 4, the housing 1 1 contains a component assembly 29 which consists of a printed circuit board (PCB) 30 of known type, which incorporates a programmable microprocessor and to which are connected start/reset controls 31, the rotary binary switches 20,21, and the connection cables 22. 0 The PCB 30 is connected by the cables 22 to a power source (which may be a mains 4 power supply and/or a battery) and to the equipment to be controlled by the timer. The microprocessor of the PCB 30 is programmed to receive instructions from the setting of the rotary binary switches 20,21 and to switch the connected equipment on or off in one of the pre-programmed modes, in accordance with the setting of the rotary binary switches 20,21, as described below, when the start/reset controls 31 are operated by a user pressing the pushbutton 25. The start/reset controls 31 may be any suitable pressure-sensitive switch capable of being operated in at least two modes, where a mode is selected depending upon the length of time pressure is maintained on the controls 31 by a user pressing the pushbutton 25. Toggling pushbutton 25 switches the timer between on and off. Rotary binary switch 20 is depicted as having four different possible settings, and rotary binary switch 21 as having three possible settings; however, either or both switches may provide fewer or more possible settings, as required by the particular application of the timer. Both rotary binary switches 20,21 are of known type, in which the switch dial can be manually rotated to any of a number of possible setting positions, to operate the timer; each setting of each switch 20,21 alters the mode of operation of the PCB, and hence of the equipment which the timer is connected. Rotary binary switch 20 controls the time i.e., the period for which the equipment connected to the timer will be turned on or off (depending upon the selected mode) when pushbutton 25 is pressed. The setting of the rotary binary switch 21 controls the mode of operation of the timer. 5 The above described timer is used as follows:- the rotary binary switches 20,21 of the timer are rotated to select the required on/off time and the mode of operation, as described below. The timer is then mounted in a wall socket as described above, and is connected to a power supply and to the equipment to be controlled, by means of the cables 22. 5 Figures 5-7 showed three possible modes of operation. Referring first to Figure 5, the mode of operation depicted is known as the "on timer " mode:- this means that when the pushbutton 25 is pressed for less than two seconds, the start/reset controls 31 send a signal to the PCB 30 which operates to start the equipment connected to the timer for a period pre-selected by the setting of rotary binary switch 20. This is depicted in the graphs:- initially, the load is off i.e., the equipment is switched off. At point A, the pushbutton 25 is pressed for less than two seconds and the equipment is started by the timer, remains on for the period A-C, and is then switched off. While the equipment is on, the LED 24 in the timer flashes every second as shown in the lower graph. If the pushbutton 25 is pressed while the timer is on, as shown at point B, this switches the timer and the equipment off, as shown in broken lines in Figure 5. Another possible mode (not illustrated) is the reverse of the mode shown in Figure 5, in which the equipment controlled by the timer is on continuously until the timer is activated as described above; the equipment is then turned off by the timer for the preset period. The second mode of operation is shown in Figure 6; this is known as the "off timer" mode. In this mode, pressing the pushbutton 25 for less than two seconds (point D) turns on the equipment controlled by the timer. When the pushbutton 25 is pressed a second time (point E), this activates the timer, which allows the equipment controlled by the timer to remain on for a pre-selected period (E-G) and then switches the equipment off. The LED flashes every second while the timer is active. If the pushbutton 25 is pressed 5 against while the timer is active (point F), this switches the timer off, as shown in broken lines in Figure 6. Figure 7 shows the "manual override" mode. In this mode, when the pushbutton 25 is pressed for more than two seconds (point H), the timer overrides its current state 0 (whether the timer is on or off) and switches on the equipment connected to the timer. The equipment stays switched on until the pushbutton 25 is pressed again (point I) to 6 switch the equipment off. The LED is on continuously while the equipment is on. The rotary binary switch 21 also provides for a test mode (not illustrated) to allow the timer to be tested. It will be appreciated that the above described timer provides a convenient and versatile timer:- in addition to the above described modes of operation, the timer can be programmed to give alternative modes. The time periods for which the timer can be programmed to operate typically can vary from 15 seconds to 120 minutes. The mode of operation and/or time can be altered easily by means of the rotary binary switches 21, 20, but the timer cannot easily be tampered with because the timer has to be removed from its mounting to access the rotary binary switches. 7

Claims (20)

1. A timer which includes: a printed circuit board incorporating a programmable microprocessor; two multi-position switches connected to the printed circuit board, the first multi-position switch being arranged to select from a number of possible modes of operation programmed into the printed circuit board, the second multi-position switch being arranged to select the period for which the timer is activated; and a manually operable switch which is adapted to switch the timer on or off.

2. A timer according to claim 1, wherein each multi-position switch is a rotary switch.

3. A timer according to claim 2, wherein each multi-position switch is a rotary binary switch.

4. A timer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the manually operable switch is a pushbutton switch.

5. A timer according to claim 4, wherein the pushbutton switch is arranged to activate the timer in a different mode depending upon how long the switch is depressed for. 5

6. A timer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the timer is a modular insert which is capable of being removably fitted into a standard electrical switch plate. 8

7. A timer according to claim 6, wherein the multi-position switches are in a location which is not accessible when the modular insert is fitted into the electrical switch plate.

8. A timer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the timer is fitted with a light emitting diode which indicates the load status of the timer.

9. A timer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein one of the possible modes of operation is an "on timer" mode wherein when the manually operable switch is toggled the printed circuit board operates to start equipment connected to the timer and at the end of the period selected by the second multi-position switch the printed circuit board operates to turn off the equipment.

10. A timer according to claim 9, wherein if the manually operable switch is toggled after the equipment has started, but before the end of the period selected by the second multi-position switch, the printed circuit board immediately operates to turn off the equipment.

11. A timer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein one of the possible modes of operation is a "reverse on timer" mode wherein when the manually operable switch is toggled the printed circuit board operates to turn off equipment connected to the timer and at the end of the period selected by the second multi position switch the printed circuit board operates to start the equipment. 5

12. A timer according to claim 11, wherein if the manually operable switch is toggled after the equipment has been turned off, but before the end of the period selected by the second multi-position switch, the printed circuit board immediately operates to start the equipment. 0

13. A timer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein one of the possible modes of operation is an "off timer" mode wherein when the manually operable 9 switch is toggled the printed circuit board operates to start equipment connected to the timer and when the manually operable switch is toggled a second time the microprocessor measures the period selected by the second multi-position switch and at the end of the period the printed circuit board operates to turn the equipment off.

14. A timer according to claim 13, wherein if the manually operable switch is toggled after the second time, but before the end of the period selected by the second multi-position switch, the printed circuit board immediately operates to turn off the equipment.

15. A timer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein one of the possible modes of operation is a "manual override" mode wherein when the manually operable switch is toggled, the printed circuit board operates to toggle the equipment between an on state and an off state.

16. A timer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein one of the possible modes of operation is a testing mode.

17. A timer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein one of the possible modes of operation is an "on timer" mode wherein when the manually operable switch is toggled the printed circuit board operates to start equipment connected to the timer and at the end of the period selected by the second multi-position switch the printed circuit board operates to turn off the equipment and another of 5 the possible modes of operation is an "off timer" mode wherein when the manually operable switch is toggled the printed circuit board operates to start equipment connected to the timer and when the manually operable switch is toggled a second time the microprocessor measures the period selected by the second multi-position switch and at the end of the period the printed circuit board 0 operates to turn the equipment off. 10

18. A timer according to claim 17, wherein when the timer is in "on timer" mode, if the manually operable switch is toggled after the equipment has started, but before the end of the period selected by the second multi-position switch, the printed circuit board immediately operates to turn off the equipment.

19. A timer according to either of claims 17 or 18, wherein when the timer is in "off timer" mode, if the manually operable switch is toggled after the second time, but before the end of the period selected by the second multi-position switch, the printed circuit board immediately operates to turn off the equipment.

20. A timer substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings. 11