GB2129596A

GB2129596A - Educational aid

Info

Publication number: GB2129596A
Application number: GB08328594A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Slevin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1982-11-04
Filing date: 1983-10-26
Publication date: 1984-05-16
Also published as: GB8328594D0

Abstract

An aid for demonstrating the principles of electrical and/or electronic circuits comprises a housing 10 having a front surface 16 carrying a circuit diagram and sockets 18 and terminals 19 for connection of components, e.g. light bulbs, ammeters A, voltmeters V, at their illustrated positions, the sockets and terminals being connected to each other by wiring within the housing 10. When power is supplied to the circuit, e.g. via a variable power supply 23 which may be fastened to the housing to form a compact unit, the circuit is operative and is readily visible to all pupils in a class while a teacher explains and demonstrates salient principles. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Educational aid This invention concerns an educational aid for use in teaching the principles governing the operation of electrical and/or electronic circuits.

Hitherto it has been usual for a teacher to explain such principles to pupils or students by reference to circuit diagrams drawn on a blackboard and subsequently to demonstrate one or more of the circuits in a physics laboratory where it or they have been constructed from the appropriate components.

This method of instruction has a number of drawbacks. In particular, the pupils often find the circuit diagrams dull and difficult to understand or remember, and they may also have considerable difficulty relating the circuit laid out in the laboratory to the diagram and the underlying principle. For his part, the teacher feels he must give the class a practical demonstration to assist them in understanding and remembering the lesson, but to do so he must book a session in a laboratory and make the effort to set out the circuit beforehand and dismantle it afterwards. Moreover if there is only one working circuit and a large class crowding around it, many pupils may not even be able to observe its operation and thus gain no benefit from the demonstration.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate these drawbacks in the practical demonstration of electrical and electronic circuits.

With this object in view, the present invention provides an educational aid comprising a housing formed with opposing front and rear surfaces spaced apart by side walls, the front surface of said housing carrying an electrical and/or electronic circuit diagram and sockets and/or terminals for connection of components at positions indicated in the diagram, the circuit illustrated in the diagram being completed by wires in the interior of the housing and being operative upon insertion of appropriate components and connection to a power supply.

Fastening means may conveniently be provided to permit attachment of the.housing to the casing of a variable power supply so as to form a compact unit.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: Figure 1 is a front view illustrating one practical embodiment of the educational aid of the invention affixed to a variable power supply casing; and Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same embodiment.

As illustrated, a practical embodiment of the educational aid of the invention comprises a substantially rectangular shallow housing 10, approximately 60cm long and 40cm wide, with a dept of about 5cm. This housing consists of a rectangular wooden frame form ing four narrow sidewalls 11, 12, 13, 14 I between which are mounted a front wall 1 5 of plastics material and a back wall (not visible) of hardboard. The outer or front sur face 1 6 of the front wall 1 5 carries a circuit diagram.In this particular case the diagram includes three gaps 1 7 for three light bulbs (not shown) wired in series, indications of the positions of respective voltmeters V1, V2, V3 disposed in parallel with each bulb, indica tions of the positions of four ammeters Al, A2, A3, A4, are located adjacent each bulb and are located adjacent a switch S. The front surface 1 6 also carries a socket 1 8 in each gap 1 7 for reception of the respective light bulbs and respective terminals 1 9 for connec tion of the above-mentioned voltmeters V1, V2, V3 and ammeters Al, A2, A3, A4 at the positions indicated in the diagram.Inside the housing 10, these sockets 1 8 and terminals 1 9 are connected together and leads are provided for connection to a power supply.

One of the wooden side walls 11 carries fastening means in the form of a pair of spaced apart L-shaped brackets 20, each with one limb firmly attached to the side wall 11.

The other limbs thereof project perpendicu larly to the side wall 11 and each have a hole in which a winged screw 21 with an ex panded end 22 is threadedly engaged.

When the aforesaid device is to be used to demonstrate the operation of the electrical circuit depicted on the front surface 1 6 thereof to a class of pupils or students, the bulbs and other components indicated in the diagram are connected in their illustrated posi tions, i.e. located in the sockets or between the appropriate terminals respectively. It is, of course, possible to omit some of the compo nents if so desired. For example, the voltmet ers V1, V2, V3 may be omitted without affecting the operation of the circuit a great deal. However, if one or more of the ammet ers Al, A2, A3 or A4 are omitted it is necessary to connect a piece of wire between the reievant terminals to complete the circuit.

Once the circuit is thus assembled as de sired by the teacher, the housing 10 is, of course, orientated so that its front surface 1 6 faces the class. The housing 10 is also prefer ably mounted on top of the casing of a variable power supply 23 by means of the expanded ends 22 of the threaded screws 21 being brought firmly into engagement with the opposing sides of the casing. It will prob ably also be desirable for controls and dials indicating current and voltage of the variable power supply 23 to face the class.

The variable power supply 23 is connected to the mains and switched on so that a suitable AC or DC supply is applied to the circuit being demonstrated. When the switch S is actuated, the three light bulbs in the circuit will, of course, be illuminated and catch the pupils' attention. In a DC circuit, the teacher can point out to the class that the voltage applied to the circuit, as indicated by the dial on the variable power supply 23, equals the sum of the voltmeter readings, indicating the voltage drop over each bulb.

Also, the current through the circuit will be shown to be substantially uniform as the ammeter readings should all be approximately equal to the applied current, indicated by the variable power supply 23. Other points which could be demonstrated are the way in which variation of the total voltage affects all bulbs simultaneously and the fact that removal of one bulb will prevent illumination of the other bulbs.

The arrangement also helps pupils become familiar with components and their standard symbols. It is envisaged that a considerable number of such housing units, each depicting and assembled with a different circuit (which may, incidently, include all types of electrical and electronic components e.g. resistors, potentiometers, capacitors, induction coils, diodes, transistors) should be held in a library where a teacher can simply go and select an appropriate circuit and obtain a variable power supply prior to taking a lesson. The educational aid proposed by the present invention is particularly advantageous because it permits demonstration in a normal class room or even a mobile classroom, as long as a 1 3A socket outlet is available, (i.e. no laboratory is required). Moreover, due to its visual impact and simple lay out is much more likely to be understood and remembered by the pupils then conventional types of laboratory demonstrations.

The invention is not confined to the precise details of the above-described embodiment. In particular, the shape, dimensions and materials of the housing may vary and it need not have fastening means for attachment to a power supply. Other variations are possible, and as mentioned, any desired type of circuit may be illustrated upon the housing and demonstrated in substantially the same way as described above.

Claims

1. An educational aid comprising a housing formed with opposing front and rear surfaces spaced apart by side walls, the front surface of said housing carrying an electrical and/or electronic circuit diagram and sockets and/or terminals for connection of components at positions indicated in the diagram, the circuit illustrated in the diagram being completed by wires in the interior of the housing and being operative upon insertion of appropriate components and connection to a power supply.

2. An educational aid as claimed in claim 1 further including fastening means enabling attachment of the housing to the casing of a variable power supply so as to form a compact unit.

3. An educational aid substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.