US1252874A - Time-operated circuit-controlling means. - Google Patents

Description

A. J. ALLARD.

TIME OPERATE-D CIRCUIT CONTROLLING MEANS.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. I6. I9II- Patented Jan. 8, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

1% INVENTOR 7 V; I Azforneys NESSES A. J. ALLARD.

TIME OPERATED CIRCUIT CONTROLLING MEANS- APPLICATION FILED JAN. 16, 1911.

Patented Jan. 8; 1918.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

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A [lame mnnw JOSEPH ALLABID, or nrcnmonn; vmemm.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ANDREW J ALI.Ann, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of Richmond, in the countyof *Henrico and State of-Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Time-Operated Circuit-Controlling Meansyand I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as Will-enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in time operated circuit controlling meansfor lighting and extinguishing electric vlights,

and more particularly for controlling the lighting and extinguishing of the lights on automobiles at predetermined timQes,-one object of the invention being to provide simple and efiicient means .iassociated with the mechanism of, an automobile clock for closing the circuits at a predetermined time,

of the electric lighting system, embodying] the head andtail lights of an automobile and to retaining said, circuits closed for a definite length of time. 1 V

A further object is to provide, in an automatic clock, means for closing lighting circuits at a predetermined time, and s1m 1e resent twenty four hours and efiicient'means: for setting themec anism to operate at aredetermmed time.

With these and ot er ob'ectsin view,"th e.

invention consistsin certam novel features of construction and combinations of parts 'as hereinafter set forthandi pointed out in the claims. I

In the accompanying drawings; Figure 1 isa face view of an automobile clock, with the face removed, showing an embodiment, of my invention; Fig. 2 is a sectionaliview; Fig 8- is a face viewofthe clock: face ;=Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse secti0n'; Fig. an a diagrammatical view. s y

1 represents a clock casing and 2.the frame inwhich the major 01ti0! 1 0f the mecha-. nism is mounted. T e time-mechanism of the clock may be conventional in construction and transmits motion to a-compara tively large spur wheel 3 mountedlooselyi to rotate on a spindle 4 and to move longitudinally of said spindle. This spindle carries a hand 5 to register with a dial 6 on the clock face and said dial is aduated to repivided into two series of twelve hours eachrepresenting the a, m. and pa in. divisions of a day. The

Specification of Letters Patent Application filed January 16, 1917. Serial No, 142,696.

'rmn-ornnarnn CIRCUIT-CONTROLLING Means Patented Jan. s, 1918,

spindle 4- is provided with a fixed hub 7 havlng a laterally projecting lug 8 and the spur wheel is provided on its outer face with a cam 9 to engage said lug. A spring arm 19 is secured at one end to the frame some distance from the spur wheel, at one side thereof and extends under said wheel and to an appreciable distance beyond the same at thefopposite side thereof,said spring havmg a hole intermediate of its ends for the passage of the spindle 4 and the tendency of said spring is to press the spur wheel outwardly against the hub 7 and its lug 8. The free end of the spring arm 10 is bifurcated to engage a grooved collar 11 at one end of a longitudinally movable rod 12 mounted in the framework 2. At its other end, said rod has secured thereto a plurality of electrically connected switch arms 1314--15 to engage! (under certain conditions) a plurality of-f'contact blocks 16-17'-18 secured to butxe'lectrically insulated from one of the platesof the-framework 2.

A su table source of electric energy is illustrated diagrammatically at 19 and may consist of a suitable batterylocated at any convenient position in the car. One pole of this battery is grounded, as shown at 20,

A while the other pole of said battery is conheated by means of'a conductor 21 with the contact block 18' of the circuit closer above described. The head lights 22, 22 of the car are connected in a circuit 23 between the contact block 16 and a grounded connection 24;, whilethe .tail light 25 of the car'is connectedflin a-circuit 26' between the contact block 17*of the circuit connection 27; l 1 It will be seen that when the'rod 12 rises to cause the switch arms to engage the concloser and a grounded tact blocks of the circuit. closer, two ground ed circuits included in'parallel with the sourceof electrical supply and including the head and ,tail lamps, respectively, will be closed, thus' causing said lamps to be lighted.

. When the rod 12 is freeto rise, it will be forced upwardly by the action of a springv ,28 encircling said rod and bearing at one end against thecollar 11 on said rod and at the'other end against one of the platesof ,the framework 2. v 4

Themovements of the rod 12 to close the circuitsiof the head and tail lights of the car and to open saidcircuits at predetermined times, are controlled by the clock mecha lighting circuits.

'nism, through the medium of the spur wheel 3 and its cam 9 cooperating with the lug 8 carried by the spindle 4, and the movements of said rod 12 to effect the closing or the opening of the lighting circuits at predetermined times are controlled by theposition at which the lug 8 may be set relatively to spur wheel to move longitudinally on the. spindle and the spring arm 10 to release the circuit closer and effect the closing of the of the spur wheel, between the ends of the cam 9 is such that the lighting circuits will be maintained closed for approximately twelve hours,at the expiration of which time, the cam 9 will ride. under the lug 8 and cause such movement of the rod 12 as will open the circuit closer and thus extinguish the lights.

Means are provided however, whereby the li hting circuit may be opened at the will 0? the operator so that the lights may be extinguished when the car is run into the garage at a time during the night earlier, than the time at which the mechanism,.may"

- be set-to open the circuit closer automatically. Such means may consist of a manually operable switch 29which may be conveniently located in the circuit 21 as shown in Fig. 5. In applying this switch 1 to the clock, the switch arm 29 may be pivotally mounted between its ends on the interior wall of the casing l and contact blocks 30-30 may be also secured to but insulated certain conditions as hereinafter described) from saidcasing in position to beelectrically connected by the switch arm 29,--said contact blocks being included in the circuit 21. A hand lever 32 is pivotall mounted on the flange 3310i the'casing an connected with the pivoted switch arm 29 for hperating the latter. 0 providesimple and spindle 4 relativelyto thecam 9cm thespur be employedpv A pinion 34 is secured a to thespindle 4 and is adapted to receive motion (under from a pinion 35 carried by a" spindle 36,-

the latter being mounted in the'framework w in a manner to permit itto be moved lon 'itudinally andto the upper end of this spindle, a pinion 37 is secured and receives mo-' tion (under certain conditions) from an annular rack 38 carried by a ring 39 mounted on the casing 11. and having a knurled pe- The distance on the face efiicient means for setting the hand 5;, on the dial 6 and con sequently setting. the lug Scarried by the f v nected with the spindle 3. With such conwheel 3, the devices new to be'described may neeae'za riphery to permit it to be readily turned by the operator. A spring 40 surrounding vided on the spindle 36 and a manually operable lever 42 is mounted on the casing and formed with a toe 43 to engage the cam disk or flan e 41 and cause the spindle 36 to be move longitudinally so as tomove the pinion 35 into mesh with the pinion 34 and the pinion 37; into mesh with the rack 38. If the ring 39 be now turned, motion will be imparted to the spindle 3 and the lug 8 on said spindle may be set relatively to the cam 9 on the spur wheel 4, so that the circuit closer will be operated at any predetermined time, as indicated on the dial 6 when'the spindle 3 is turned as above described. The lever 42 will be maintained in its normal position with its toe 43 out of engagement with the cam flange or disk 41, by the action of a spring 44.

The ring 39 and its annular rack may also be utilized to operate the winding mecha nism and for setting the hands of the clock, but as these winding and setting devices form no essential part'ot my present invention, specific description of the same herein is not necessary.

In the modified circuit closing means 4 are'utilized' as the circuit closing means.

With this construction, the spindle 3 is insu- I lated from the casing and from the spur wheel and thecam 9 is insulated 'from the wheel 4 or'said cam may be made of insulating material; The spring arm 10 makes electrical contact with the spur wheel 4 and one circuit terminal is connected with said spring arm, while the other terminal is constructien, it is apparent that when the lug 8 1 is in contact with the metal of the spur wheel,- the circuit will be closed and that when said lugis in engagement with the insulated. cam on said wheel, the. circuit will beopen. 1

-Various, slight changes mi ht be made in the details ofconstruction o my invention, without departing from the spirit thereof or limiting its scope and hence I do not wish to restrlct myself to the precise details herein set forth, v

Having fully described my invention,

what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is 1. A' device of the character described, comprising the casing and frame of a time mechanism, a rod mounted to move longi- .tudinally'in, said frame and adapted to be moved in one direction by the 0 eration of the time mechanism, a spring iihr moving said rod in the other direction, contact arms carried by said rod, contact blocks secured to the frame in position to cooperate with said contact arms, an electric circuit including lamps connected with said contact blocks, electrically separated switch blocks carried by said casing and connected in said circult, anda manually operable switch lever mounted on said'casing and cooperable with said switch blocks for opening or closing said circuit.

2. A device of the character described comprising the casing of a time mechanism, a casing therefor, a spur wheel to be operated by the time mechanism and carrying a cam, a spindle on which said wheel is movable longitudinally, a lug on said spindle to cooperate with said cam, and circuit closing means controlled by the movements of said wheel longitudinally on the spindle, a

manually operable ring mounted on the casmg and provided with an annular rack, a

of mesh with said first mentioned pinion and annular rack respectively, a 'cam flange on said longitudinally movable spindle, and a lever mounted on the casing and having a toe thereon to engage said cam flange to move the pinions on said spindle simultaneously into mesh with the firstmentioned pinion and the rack respectively whereby the first-mentioned spindle may be turned to set the lug thereon relatively to the cam on the spur wheel, when the manually operated ring is turned, and a spring for moving said longitudinally movable spindle to disengage the pinions thereon from the first mentioned pinion and the rack.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

ANDREW JOSEPH ALLARD. Witnesses:

WM. P. REDD, PERCY SMITH.

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