US1099093A - Electric contact device. - Google Patents

Description

A.`A. KENT. ELECTRIC CONTACT DBVTGE.

APPLICATION FILED DEO. 7, 1908.

Patented June 2, 1914A 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

wlrNEssE ATTORNEY MT5/M A. A. KENT.

ELECTRIC CONTACT Dimm;A

Patented J une 2, 1914.

' WITNESSES vices in which are positively ATWATER KENT, OF PHILADELPHIA1 PENNSYLVANIA..

ELECTRIC CONTACT DEVICE.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR KENT, a citizen of the United States, and resident ofthe city of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Contact Devices, of which the following is a full, clear, and complete disclosure, refer` ence being had to the accompanying dravvings, forming part ofthis ,spcciiication My invention relates to electric Contact devices andgespeciallyto that kind of dethe circuit is closed and then broken by, mechanical'means, the same beingpartcularly adapted for use in ,opsnin and `elosirigtliesparking circuit of interna combustaonengines, but my invention is not tofbeconstrued as being limited to such use s inasmiiclrns it may'be used wherever it is desirable .to mechanically make and break a circuit. f

One object'of my invention is toprovide a device inivvhich. both of thev` contact points .ginoved in one direction,l ut with the ,vpoint's out of contact with each other,`ai1d stehlen suddenly moved in a different origreverse. direct-ion and returned to their originnl position, and my invention contemplatesjthe closing and breakingr et the `circuit. during the second or reverse movement of said contact points.

A further object of my invention is to the contact points, or the supportupon which one of said Contact Ypoints is inounted,'with means to move that contact point into engagement with the other movable contact point, for predetermined length of time and then to suddenly separate said points, the speed at which the circuit is closed and broken again, and consequently the time or duration of the closure of the circuit, being uniform irrespective of thespeed at which the mechanisni on which said device is mounted and by which it is operated, is moving.

A further object of my invention is to make the ctiective Weight of one of the contact points` greater than that of the other, so'that the closure of the circuit is con trollosl or ,governed by the lag or t'nc retai-ding of the movement of the weighted contact point, at the beginning of its movenient in a changed or different direction, due to th(` inertia of said contact point.

A further object of my invention is to Specication of Letters Patent. Application med December 7, 1908.

breaking of the same, 'tion of sai-dl parts, and'conserqucntly the time a definite Patented Junge, 1914.

smania. 466,233.

structure, se that they may be removed together to repair, adiust or replace any of the parts thereot` without disturbing the other iai-ts ofthe contact mechanism.

A Anrther Aobject of use -a constant, unvarying force, such as 'the momentum or inertia of the moving parts, o r of :one of the contact carrying or supporting members, as'the force to control the closure of the circuit and the. subsequent and to make the operaaiid character of the closure of the circuit,

Aconstant ,and uniform.

A further objectof myinvention is to make the` movablen parts of myv Contact device light, simple and Acompact, so that they ivill becapable of quick, certain and positive movement.

Other objects of my invention will appear in the specification and claims below. t'

In theV drawings, forming a part of the specification in which the same part is designated by the same reference character throughout the several my invention is shown on a greatly enlarged scale; Figure 1 is a longitudinal, sectional view of one form of my improved Contact device, Fig. 2 is a similar view of the same device showing the position which the contact points assume during lthe different or changed or reverse movement; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of the lifter and parts `mounted thereon the section beingv taken ou the line 3-3 of Fig. i; andvFig. 4 is a modified ,form of Contact device embodying my invent-ion. v

liotatably mounted in a plate 'cr standard l and connected with and rotated from any suitabic source of motion, as for example the drive shaft of an internal combustion cn- `gine, is a shaft 2, upon which is mounted a caio 3, normally driven in the direct-ion of the arrow 4. Aiso mounted upon the base or standard l is a suitable pivot pin or support. 5 about; which as a center thc lifter G is adapted to be oscillatcd by the Cam 4,

views, and inwhich.

l mount both contact points upon a single my invention is to which is in engagement with the opposite the cam 3. The lifter 6 is preferably held down upon and against the pivot pin and the support 7 by a spring 8, one end of 5 which 1s connected to a stud or pin 9 on the support or plate 1, and the other end of which is attached to any suitable fastening .T device, as to an eye 10 attached to a plate 11, "Supported Von said lifter 6 but insulated m therefrom byfarsheetl of insulating material 12.' fUpon the'fopposite side of the lifter,6,

' i andlvongitudinally of each side thereof, are

arranged: suitable insulating plates 13 and 14, above which, and resting upon the same, is Va'plate-lf This plate 15,15 adapted to carry the resilient .arm or support 16 for the contact point 17. :A This resilient arm or support lrmay be 'secured'to-the plate. 15 in any. suitable'manner, but I prefcrto clamp :o the end of lsaidarml towsaid plate by screws-19 passingthrough a clamping plate ;`.l8,.andthence through the' resilient arm 16 into .theplate.15. The plate 11"theinsu1ating pIate'QI-rtheupperfinsulating .plates 13 "fmdilnd' fhUPPel-Plte; .15 lare'filfil'y Sethe lifterl l by fscewspassing .the lifter 6, and-,for thatpurp'ose I have pro-A vided `the-lift'ei-gfrwitlifienlarged holesA 21 throughjwhich saidscrews -20 pass.A Upon the top'. ofthe lifterllfinount. the resilient firm @Support 22, fertile Contact peint 23, and I similarly clamp -onefnd of said arm 22 .ftfthe lifter A6 byjmearsof the clamping .plate 24, andthe screws 25 passing through saidclamping plate 24, and said resilient arm22 and into thelite'r 6. From this construction it will be seen that th'resilient arms16 and 22 normally lie for. substanrtially their whole length upon the platesl 'i and j' the lifter G-Vrespectively, and consequently they are prevented from freely vibrating'in any manner other than that re quired by the operation of my device, as will be explained below.

' I prefer to make the inertia of the free -end o f the, support 22 for `the contact int 23 considerably greater than that o the other contact point 17, and for this purpose adjacent the-contact point 23, I provide the free end of. the arm 22 with a weight '26,'

which normallyvrests upon the offset outer end portion 6 of the lifter 6. l j From the above it will he seen that the arm 22 and the weight 26 mounted thereon" form a member. er support,`having a considerable mass or weight, upon which .the contact point 23 is mounted or carried.

It will also helapparent from the above description that the resilient arm 16, and 'the contact point 17 carried thereby, are iin snlated from the lifter 6, but by reason f the metallic engagement of the arm 16, plete 15, screws 20, and lower. plate 1'1, the sai'd contact point 17 is electrically connected Y with the lower plate 11 -and also with thc spring 8.

The stud or pin 9 is electrically insulated from the base plate 1 by an insulating block 9. I have indicated diagrammatically a battery 27, onepolc of which is grounded to the machine by being connected with the base 1. and consequently with the contact point 23, and the other pole of which 'is connected to the stud or 'pin 9 and hence through the spring '8, eye 10, and screws 20 with the contact point 17.

The operation of my device is as follows: Motion being communicated to the shaft 2 Ato rotate the cam 3 in the direction of the arrow 4, the outer or free end ofthe lifter 6 is first carried upwardly and away from the pin or support 7, the whole structure tum ing about the pivot pin 5 as an ax'Ls` This movement of the lifter 6 also carries with it the contact points 17 and 23the same being rigidly carried by reason of the engagement of the resilient arms 16 and V22 with vthe plate 15 and the lifter 6 respectively, and the contact points 17 and 23, during this part of their movement, are thus normally heldout of engagement with each other. As the cam 3 rotates further the free end of the lifter 6 'drops downwardly as the cut away portion must be constant or invariable,4 the movement being effected by the constant force, the tension ofthe spring 8, absolutely independently of the speed of the ,shaft 2.

In Fig. 2 I have shown my device in the position which it assumes immediatelyafter its release from the high point on the cam during its downward movement under vthe influence of the. spring 8. This downward movement of the lifter 6 being very rapid, and the resilient contact carrying arm 16 being very light, the contact point 17 follows very rapidly the downward movement of the lifter 6. With the Weighted Contact point 23,'4xowever, there is a lag or retardation at th'ebeginning of the downward movement of the said contact point 23, that; is to say, on account of the inertia of the weighted contact point 23, that contact point does not at first move downwardly so rapidly as the contact point 17. The resilient arm or support 22 for the contact point 23 allows this lag or retardation of the movement of the contact'point 23 and consequently during the first prtof the downward movement the two'contact'p'ints 17 and ,23' are for la. moi i iso gagement they remain until the contact point 23 has acquired the same speed as' the contact point 17. At this point, however, the resiliencyof the arm 22 comes into efect and accelerates the downward movement of the contact point 23, thus suddenly effecting a breaking of the circuit by the movement of the contact points out of engagement with each other. It may here also be noticed that the weight of the contact point 23 may, moment-arily, lift the resilient arm 1G away from the plate 15 and thus produce a slight dwell in the engagement of the contact points and consequently@ slightly prolonged engagement of the contact points and a correspondingly prolonged closure of the circuit. This is shown plainly in Fig. 2, wherein the resilient arm A16 is slightly forced -away from its supporting plate 15. When the said arm 16 is so forced away from its supporting plate 15, the tension of the resili-l ent arm 16 acts against, and supplementary to the tension of, the spring arm 22 and produces a more rapid movement of the arm 22 and the-parts carried thereby than would result if the arm 16 were not resilient. The effeet of this sfthatwhen under the combinedv tension of the arms 16 and 22, the Contact point 23 is about to move out of engagement with the contact point 17 ,p the end of the arm 22 is moving `quite rapidly, and the Contact points 17 and 23 are separated or moved out of operative engagement `with each other very quickly and sharply. Thus a very rapid'breaking of the circuit isreffected.

I have shown the spring 8 as the lifter (3 through the eye 10 and plate 11 in such a manner as to tend to draw the lifter 'longitudinally in the direction of the cam 3 seas to holdthe litter 6 firmly against the pivot pin while at the same time the said springlalso exerts tension to draw the free end of the lifter G down against its supporting pin 7 at the instant it is released from the high point on the cani 3. It desirable, however, I may provide an auxiliary spring 28 having one end attached to the lifter G and its other end secured to a pin 20 carried by the base or support 1.

lVhen for any reason thecazm is revolved in the reverse direction, it is desirable to have the lifter moved out of the way ot the cani 3 without closing the circuit through the contact points 17 and 23. The strnctun` above described is ully,capable of such movement because when the flat face 3 of the cam resses against the end of the lifter G,v the w ole structure, that is to' say, the litter G and the parts carried thereby, will be .forced longitudinally to the right of the position'shown in Fig. V1, the said lifter and -the parts carried thereby sliding on the pivot pin 5 and the support 7, and when the flat tace 3 of the cam has been moved below the end 6 of the lift-er 6, the whole structure attached tol will be quickly drawn back to the position shown in Fig. 1 under the influence of the r tension of the spring 8, and if the spring 28 is used, by lsaid spring 28.

parent that when .direction of the arrow 4 the lifter and the parts carried thereby will be oscillated about the pivot 5, but when the cam is driven in 3 the reverse direction the lifter and the parts 'carried thereby will reciprocate longitudi na'lly on the pins 5 and 7.

' In the modilication shown in Fig. 4 the same results are attained but the structure is slightly different. In this form the litter 30 is mounted to oscillate upon the pin 3l when the cam 32 is rotated in the direction of the 4arrow 33, the said lifter 30 also resting upon the pin 34, down upon which it is held by the spiral spring 35. having one end attached to a hook 36 carried by the lifter 30 land its other end 'fastened to a pin- 3T carried by the base 38. In this case also an auxiliary spring A39. may be employed, saidfspring haring one end attached to the lifter 30 and the othertoa pin 40 carried 'by the-base 38. Upon the lilfter 30 I mount a suitableI block or support 41 carrying a plate 42 against w h the resilient arm 43 of the contact" poi t 44 is adapted to be held and pressedby a clamping plate 45, the said plate 45, arm 43, plate 42, and block 41 beino rigidly secured to by suitable screws 4G. ln this case the other contact point 47 is carried by a resilient arm 48, rigidly secured at one end to a block 49 hy screws 50, a sheet or plate of insulation 51 being interposed between the end of said arm 48 and said block 49. The outer end of said resilient arm 48 is provided with a weight 52 rigidly secured to the free end of said arm in any suitable manner, but insulated therefrom by a plate of insulation 53. The tension ot' said arm 48 is so arranged as to malte the weight carried by the free end of said arm normally press .lirmly a'gainst the plate 54, rigidly secured to the lifter 30 immediately beneath said Weight. tery 55 is shown as having one pole grounded to the machine by being connected with the plate 38 and the other pole connected to said resilient arm 4 When the cam 32 is rotated in the direction of the arrow 33, both contact points are moved upwardly but out of contact with each other, but Whenythe free end of the lifter 30 drops from the highest point of the cam 32 down against its seat or stop pin 34, the weighted contact point 47 will lag, that is to say, it will not start on its downward movementv so quickly as the lighter Contact point 44, and a. closure on the breaking otI the circuit will be effected in the same inanner as that described in connection with the torni of my device illustrated in Figs. l, 2

The bat-- the lifter 30 lll -and 3. In this modified form a reversal of the movement of the cam will oseillate ,the lifter and the parts carried therebyv on the supporting pins 31 and 34, but without bringing the contact points into engagement with each other.

.While I have described twostruetu'res in which my invention is embodied, I do not wishto construed 'as being limited to. the exact forms abovelshown'and described, inasmuchas my invention is capableof heingfembodied in -many forms. g Having thus-fully described-my invention, I elaimand desire to secureby Letters Pat- .ent of the United States :-1 Y l' 1-. In a'fcontaet device, a pair oi contact points, means to increase .of Asaid points over the'- other, ing supporte' foi-that point having the greater inert'ima'support for the other of said contact points,v and means to"oseillatc "saidsupports whereby ing the greaterinertia 'lags'and brings the pomtsinto operat' nt with' each i of saidpoints overtllxfefotherg'a yielding support oigthat cntaetjff-point .having lthe 30 greate nei-tia u-snpportiforthe other of `saideonta Iandgllansfio oscillate said-` suppe s snbstaitiallytf'fsimnltamisly vvherebysaid l` f'ntf fliaving the' Ygreater inertia lags' andeomes intol operative engage yment with ith`ipther`foisaid contact points `duringtheiroscillation in one direction. a vcontact device, -aipair of contact ints, means'formoving'lthes'same in sub; stantially one direction 'separated from each other, means to 'reverse the direction' of the movement of said .points,` andrmeans to retard the reverse movement of vone of said points to bring said Contact points into operative engagement with each other to close theeircuit,A j.,

4." In a -Contact device, i1 contact point, a support therefor, means` t0 oscillate said support, a second contact point, and means to hold said pointsbutofvoperative engage-- ment with-each other-'during their movevment in one direction and operated by the inertia of said second point to brin said 'points into operative engagement wit other during their movement in the opposite direction.

Y 5.'In a contact device, a pair of contact points, means for simultaneously moving said points in one direction out of operp ative engagementwith each other, means to change'thc direction of-,the movcmcnis ci said points'and means 'tfcanseone of said f' intsto respond to said means for changang the 'direction of said points less rapidly ythan the other tebring said points into opirative engagement with each other.

the inertia of one and a yieldthat contact point hav-r of` contact ertia, of onev .allow the said point t'o able when moved in the 6. In a Contact device, a pair of contact. points, means for moving the same in one direction out of Contact with each other, and means to reverse the movement of said points and means to cause one of said points to respond to said means to'reverse the movement of said points less rapidly than the other to effect an engagement ofsaid points.

T. In a Contact device, a pair of Contact points, means for moving the same in one direction out of enga ement with each other, means to reverse tie movement of said points, and means to' retard the reverse movement of one of said points to cause an engagement of said points and to 'then separate said points.

8. In a contact device, a 'pair of contact points, means to simultaneously move both points in substantially one direction and out oi engagement with each other, means to suddenly change the direction of movement of said points, and weighted yielding said points to means for supporting one e he acted upon by than the said reversing means less rapidi reversing other point is acted upon by sai means E). In a contact. device, a pair of contact points, a stiff support for one of said points1 a support for the other of said points eldg direction o said stiff support and means to oseiliate said supports in substantial unison.

10. In a Contact device, a pair of contact points, yielding means for supporting said points, means to -'move both of said contact points simultaneously in substantially one direction and out of contact with each other,

means (o change the direction of the move' ment of said points, and means to cause one of said points to move in the changed direction more slowly than the other of said Contact points to cause an engagement of said points. w

11. In a contact device, a pair of Contact points, one of `which is heavier than the move both of said contact points simultaneously in substantially the same direction, out of engagementwith each other` means to change the direction of the movement. of said points, the inertia of the heavier of said points causing the same to more in the changed direction at tiret more slowly than the other to, cause an engagement of said points, andmeans io separate said points. .v

iff. ln a Contact devicera. pair of cor-.tact points, one of seid-points feing Weighted, a yielding support forV said weighted point, means to move 'ooth of said points in sub-A stantially the same direction out of engagement with each other, an'dmeans to reverse the'A direction of the n'ror'ement of said contact points, whereby said weighted contact 25 i versing I neans'and said weightedpoint.

nuwwee- Contact point to ea-use said points to momentarily engage and then separate.

14. In a contact device, a pair of contact points, one of said' contact points being weighted, a rresilient arm for supporting said weighted Contact point, means to move both of-saidcontact points in one direction out of engagement with each other, and means to suddenly reverse the movement of said Contact points.

Ina contact device, a pair` of contact points, one'of said points being weighted, means toflmove both 4ofsaid points simultaneously, in one direction out of engagement with each other, means to reverse the direction of'the movement of said points, and al yielding. connection between said re- `y516.55I`n a'eontacti device, a pair ofcontact .pontsand supports therefor, means to move said"snpportsin'substantially the same directionfjandv "then to releasesaid supports fromicsaidy moving means, and aspring to return said supports to their original position, the support of one of vsaid. contact pointsl being.l controlled by the inertia yof the point mounted thereon to bring-said points into engagement during their return movement.

17. In afcontactdevice a. lifter, a pair of 1 contact pointglsupprts mounted on said lifter, said supports being yielding in one direction, a contact point on each of said supports, meansst move said lifter relatively gradually in one direction, and means to suddenly and relatively rapidly reverse the direction of the movement of the said lifter, the mass of the contact point in advance of the other contact point during the reverse movement of the lifter being greater than that of the said other contact point whereby thc inertia ot' the contact point greater mass operates to bring said co; *act points into engagement during such reverse movement of the lifter.

18. In a Contact device, a lifter, a. pair o contact point supports mounted on said. lifter, said supports being yieldable in the same direction, a contact point on each of said supports, means to move said lifter relatively slowly in one direction, and means to suddenlv and relatively rapidly reverse the direction of the movement of said lifter, the weight of the Contact point in advance of the other contact point daring the ref verse movement 0f the litter being greater than that of said other contact point whereby the inertia of said heavier contact point causes its support to yield in the direction of the other Contact point, and to e'ect an operative engagement of said contact points.

19. In a contact device, a contact point, means to oscillate said point, a second contact point, a connection between said second contact point and said means to vibrate said first contact point and yieldably in a direc tion toward said first contact point` the inertia of said second contact point being greater than that of the other contact point, 20. In a Contact device, a Contact point, a

Support therefor, means to oscillate said support, a second contact point, and means. operated by the inertia of said second contact point to bring said contact'points into operative engagement with each other dur ing the movement of said firstcontact point in one direction of its oscillation.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this second day of December, 1908.

ARTHUR ATWATER KENT.

Witnesses:

J oHN B. Rnrnnnroao, ALsroN B. MoULroN.

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