US1248419A - Program-clock. - Google Patents

Description

W; A. NICHOLS.

' PROGRAM CLOCK.

APPLICATION FILED ran. I5, ms.

anwwto'z Patented-Nov. 27, 1917. 2 SHEETSSHET 1.

Waimma 1.;

W. A. NlCHOLS.

' PROGRAM CLOCK. -APPLICATION 'msn m. as. me.

Pawnted Nov. 2" 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM A. NICHOLS, or JANESVILLE, wIsooNsIN, ASSIGNOR T0 LOUIS A. AVERY, 0F

JANESVILLE, wIsooNsIN.

PROGRAM-CLOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 2'7, 1917.

Application filed February 15, 1916. Serial No. 78,450.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. NIoHoLs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Janesville, in the county of Rock and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Program- Clocks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in clocks and more particularly in program clocks, the primary object of my invention being the provision of a clock which may be set to give an alarm after a predetermined time and which may be further 'set to give additional alarms either prior to such time or subsequent thereto in order that the clock may be employed in giving notification of time in regard to several events.

More particularly, my improved program clock is intended for use by fruit andvegetable canners and the like to indicate or give an alarm at the exact time that the cook should be taken from the oven. In this connection, one of the primary objects of my invention consists in the provision of a program clock for this purpose which may be employed in giving a number of separate and independent signals and, consequently, which may be employed in connection with a number of ovens or in connection with a number of difl'erent cooks in the same oven.

A still further object of myinvention consists in providing a clock of the above described character which, in addition to the ordinary dial for reading time, is provided with a pair of additional dial rings, one of which is driven at a predetermined rate of speed by the works of the clock and the other of which is stationary and in effect forms the contact receiving ring of the clock, the signals of which are given electrically by the closing of a circuit through a brush carried by the movable dial ring and a contact inserted in an opening formed in the fixed dial ring or signal ring. 7

In this connection, a further object of my invention is to so construct the co-acting dial rings that the dial as a whole may be correctly read from any position.

With these and other objects in view, my invention will be more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and

then specifically pointed out in the claim wh1ch forms a part of this application.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a perspective view of my inn proved program clock;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation, a portion of the fixed dial or signal ring being shown in section and a portion of the main dial being broken away;

Fig. 3 is a central vertical sectional view of the clock;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective View of certain of the clockworks controlling the driving of the movable dial ring;

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view of the wiring system.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the. same reference characters.

' My invention includes a substantially rectangular casing 10 having a hinged front closure 11. Mounted within this casing is a conventional clock mechanism 12 and a plurality of dry cells 13 supported by clamps 14 and making up the battery, indicated in the diagram at 15 which energizes an elec tric gong 16 or other suitable signal preferably secured to the outside of the casing.

The cells are preferably fastened to the casing itself and the works of the clock, as shown, are secured to the inner face of the closure in order that they may be readily accessible upon opening of the closure. This closure is formed with an opening 17 through which the minute and hour hand shafts 18 and 19, respectively, extend and through which also extends a shaft 20 suitably journaled in the face plates of the clock. The shafts 18 and 19 carry the minute and hour hands 21 and 22, respectively. p The minute hand shaft'has fixed upon it a pinion 23 which mesheswith a toothed wheel 24 loosely mounted upon an idler shaft 25 and connected to a pinion 26 which meshes with the toothed wheel 27 fixed upon the hour hand shaft 19, these being the toothed wheels and pinions employed in transmitting power from the minute hand shaft, which is the drive shaft, to the hour hand shaft, thesetoothed wheels and pinions be ing common to substantially all clockworks.

In the present instance, however, I mount an additional toothed wheel 28 upon the p shaft 20, previously referred to, this toothed wheel meshing with the toothed wheel 24: and being so proportioned that it will turn its shaft 20 through a complete revolution once every two hours. This shaft 2-0 also projects through the closure 11 of the easm Secured to the outer face of the closure 11 and concentrically with respect to the shaft 20, is a metal disk 29 forming the true dial plate of the clock itself, this disk being inscribed with the usual hour and minute hand divisions, as shown at 30, and being apertured for the passage of the hour and minute hand shafts and the shaft 20, none of the clock mechanism, however, touching the disk. This disk, adjacent its peripheral edge, is formed with a circular series of openings 31 equally spaced and extending throughout the entire circumference of the disk, there being 120 of such openings. (lo-acting with the shaft 20, is a movabledial ring 32 having a diametrically formed brace 33 provided centrally with a hub. 3d engaging about the shaft 20 to which it is secured by a set screw 35. Because of this, the dial ring will interfere but slightlywith a view of the clock dial proper 30 in any position which it may occupy. This dial ring is somewhat less in external diameter than the diameter of the circular outlineof the openings 31 of the plate 29 and has its periphery marked off by a plurality of radial minute divisions, as shown at 36, there being 120 of these divisions, each corresponding to one of the openings 31, This dial ring 32, at its 120th, which is also its zero division has an outwardly and radially resilient contact member or brush 37 which projects slightly beyond the openings 31 as the dial ring revolves.

The dial or face of the clock is covered by a door, indicated as a whole by the numeral 38 and including a transparent crystal 39, secured by locking buttons 40 to the inner face of the inwardly directed annular fiangeof a ring 41 which is. hingedly connected to the closure 11 as shown at 4:2 to swing upwardly and outwardly from the closure, As shown, the ring all is propertioned to clearthe plate 29 at its peripheral edges and a set screw 42 threaded into the lower peripheral edge of the ring a l is adapted to engage between the fingers of a bracket 13. secured to the closure 11 and to: be clamped against such fingers to hold the door 38 in place. The ring del forming the frame of the door has its inwardly directed. annular flange provided with a series of openings 44 corresponding to and. one. in alinement with each one of the openingsv 31 of the plate 29. This flange is also formed with radial inscriptions 4L5 projecting from the openings 14 and in effeet forming continuations of the corresponding inscriptions or divisions 36 of the movable dial ring These alined openings are adapted to receive the shanks of removable contact pins 21-6 in the manner best shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, any pin mounted in one of these pairs of alined openings, of course, projecting in the path of the brush 37. A plurality of these contact pins are provided each preferably having its head inscribed with a distinguishing number and when the pins are not'in use, their shanks are seated in a series of openings 47 formed in the closure 11 adjacent its lower end. A conductor wire 48 leads from one pole of the battery 15 to the bracket 13, a conductor wire f?) has electrical engage ment with the shaft 20 and leads to one terminal of the bell 16, and a conductor wire 50 leads from the other terminal of this bell to the other pole of the battery 15. It will, therefore, be seen that there is a circuit through the battery and bell normally open between the revolving dial ring 32 and the ring 11 forming a combined dial and signal ring and that this circuit may be closed by engagement with the brush 37 with a contact pin passed through the ring 11.

In operation, assuming that a cook has just. been placed in the oven, in which it should remain for thirty minutes, one of the contact pins would be placed or passed through that opening 44 of the contact ring ll which is then opposite the'divisionof the revolving dial ring 32 marked 30. Under these circumstances, the circuit through the signal would be automatically closed at the end of thirty minutes and the person in charge notified that the cook should be removed from the oven. Obviously, cooks in any number of ovens or any number of cooks in the same oven may be timed by a signal clock by giving each of the cooks a number corresponding to the distinguish ing number of the contact pin employed with it. The program clock illustrated and described is capable of giving a signal at any time fromone minute to two, hours after it is set, which isv usually sufliciently longv for the purpose. Obviously, however, it may be reset as often as necessary and thus arranged. to give a signal any number of hours after it was first set. Furthermore, I do not wish to limit myself to the employment of a movable dial ring which turns once in two hours, in conjunction with a fixed dial or contact ring having 120 contact'openings as the movable dial may be driven at such a speed as to revolve only once in twoor three hours and the dial and contact ring may be formed with a correspondingly large number of contact pin receiving openings. By forming both, the fixed, dial and contact ring and the revoluble dial ring with radial inscriptions and by mounting the latter immediately at the rear of the former, it will be clear that I provide an arrangement which may be easily read from any direction. Furthermore, although I have described the clock as particularly adapted for use by fruit and vegetable canners, it will be understood that it may be employed for any purpose in which indication of lapse of time is desirable, such as in connection with washing machines, driers and the like. For this reason, I do not wish to limit myself to any specific features or details of construction other than those embodied in the claim.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

In a program clock, a swingingly mounted non-rotatable dial ring provided with an annularseries of openings, a two-part fas-- tener for securing the dial ring in normal position, one part of the fastener being carried by the ring, a clock driven revoluble dial ring provided with circumferential scale divisions corresponding to the openings, a brush carried by the revoluble ring, a contact insertible in one of the openings of the fixed dial ring to extend in the path of the brush, a circuit including the fixed and revoluble dial rings and the two parts of the fastener normally open between the brush and contact, and a signal device in the circuit.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

WILLIAM A. N IGHOLS. [1 s.]

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0.

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