US1391419A - Fford service - Google Patents

Description

w. F. SERVIQE.

TIMER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.15, 1911. RENEWED FEB. 19,1920.

1,391,419 atenmdse t. 20,1921.

IVNVENTOR A'TTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM moan sm wrcn or :POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK, sssrenon, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, ro CHARLES HARDY; AND CHARLES H. roman, BOTH or new TIMER.

- Spe cifleationof Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 20, 1921.v 2

Application filed mam; 15, 917 sem 1a. 207,37. Renewed February 19, 1920. set-m1 No. 359,849.

To all'w hbm' z't may concern:

resident'of Po ughkeepsie', in thecounty of Dutchess and State of New York,.have invented certain new and, useful Improvements in Timers, of which the following is a specification. e

The invention relates to timers or devices adapted for-"use with the ignition system of internal combustion engines; and ithas for itsobjectto provide a simplified and inexpensive timer whichjshall be composed'of few and simple parts, be positive and eifective in its action: and properly safe-guarded against short-cir'cuiting. A further object of the invention consists in the novel manner of supplying-lubricant to the'movable V the contact shoes are properly positioned parts of the timer.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the invention- Figure l is a vertical section through the f timer; and Fig.2 is an underneath view of. the timer and the rotor shaft, with a portion 1 of saidtimer shown in section.. Similar characters of reference views. a I V; v

Referring to the'drawings, 10 designates the housing of the timer, the same, being the securing fram elcfor the timer, as iswell understood. The housing 10 is vprovided with equidistantly spaced openings 15 circularliyl tiOn t to the housing 10 by means of thethrcaded extensions 17 of contact shoes 18,1which'extensions pass through the openings 15 pro-j vided in the housing. "Theseth'readed ex 'f tensions serve,also,1to securefthe shoes 18 to the ring 16, the same being counter-sunk in said ring and the ring itself held to the said housing'through a suitable insulating washer 19, located outside of the housing, and lock nuts; 20 beyond same andworking over the threaded portion. This'threaded portion of the contact shoes extends beyond the l -nu s Q ahQI Yi Q s c os I designate" c )rresponding' parts throughout the several disposedin the cylindrical wall por ereof, which said cylindrical portion is designed tojreceive an annulus or ringshaped member 16 of suitable insulating material. The'sa'id annular men'iberiishheld l or terminal through whichcontact may be Be it known that I, WILLIAM From) Smv. 10E, a citizen of the United States, and a made the various cylinders (not shown) of the internalcombustion engine, as is well understood, a further nut 21 being provided I between such threaded extension and the housing wall, the openings 15; therein are made of sufficient diameter to provide the necessary gap between the housing walland the threaded extension, which latter is positively located .with reference to said openings, by providing enlargements 22 on the said housingabout the opening 15 through which said extensions pass, and countersinking the insulating washers 19 therein. In thismanner, the threaded extensions of and there can beno danger of short-circuiting, as frequently occurs where these precautions are not considered.

The shoes 18 are fitted immovably relative to the ring 16 and the radial openings or apertures throu h the ring 16"for accommodating the ro s or extension parts 17 also preferably fit tightly to said extensions so that the extensions are allowed no appreciable movement relative to the ring. The

effect of tl'fezwasher 19 and the nuts 20 in holding the extensions centered in the openings 15, therefore, serves also to 'efi'ectually prevent inovementof the ringrelative to theh'ousing '10 in "all directions and thus prevents moyementof the shoes 18 out of correct o'sition. 4

{Axial y disposed within the housing 10 is asha'ft 25 driven from the internal combustion engine (not shown), and there is mounted, to rotate with said shaft the rotor 26 carrying a suitable contact member hereinafter more specifically set forth. The in-' vention comprehends a sliding contact between the member carried by said rotor and the contact shoeshereinbefore described and carried by the" insulating ring 16, rather a rolling contact as is the general prac-. tice. To this end,fthe 'rotor is provided with a tubu'lar extension 27 forming a guide for a cylindrical plunger'28 whose outer end is hardened and curved to suit the inner: surface of the annular member. 16; Plunger 28 is tubular in form and is provided with an internal'shoulder 29 against which abuts one end ofa spring 30 whose other end is in contact with the rotor 26. The plunger 28 is thus urged outwardly by said spring to provide the necessary contact pressure to insure suitable electrical connection, exerting a uniform tension on the ring, and also to prevent foreign material from lodging between the inner surface of said ring and the said contact member, thereby destroying or marring the surface of said ring.

To further insure a smooth action between the sliding surfaces, the tubular plunger member 28 contains an axially disposed wick or other suitable material 31 through which is fed, by capillary attraction and centrifugal action, a suitable lubricant initially placed in the bottom of said member 27 to lubricate the plunger and plunger end. A

sufficient quantity of this lubricant can be placed therein at the time of manufacture of the timer to last for its natural life.

It is desirable, furthermore, to feed lubricant also to the inner surface of the ring 16 in addition to the lubricant fed through the rotor member; and, to this end, a small oil connection in the nature of a hollow, remov able cap 35 is brought out through the housing 10 and communicates with a wick 36 which is placed in a recess 37 of the ring 16, said recess having a short, small-diameter extension 38 communicating with the interior of the said housing at the wall of the said ring.

By the system of oiling hereinbefore described, no more oil can reach the contact surfaces than is absolutely needed to properly lubricate the insulation ring, obviating flooding of the timer, with consequent shortcircuiting of same. Furthermore, small openings 39 may be made in the housing wall on both sides of the ring 16 to insure drainage of any possible accumulation.

The wick material 31 is preferably disposed within the spring 30 so that it is thereby always held substantially centrally of the body of lubricant within the member 27. The opening in the outer end of the plunger 28, through which the material 31 extends is relatively small as compared with the surface extent of the end of the plunger. Considerable surface extent of the end of the plunger is present particularly at opposite sides of the opening, as viewed in Fig. 1. All of the lubricant delivered through the opening in the plunger, therefore, is so delivered that it must directly lubricate a considerable portion of the end surface of the plunger before it can possibly leave the rubbing surfaces. None of the lubricant from the plunger can possibly be discharged without having first'performed its appointed function of lubricating the rubbing surfaces. The lubricant within the plunger is preferably a non-fluid lubricant. When the device is operating a certain amount of heat is generated and the action of this upon the lubricant within the plunger enables the wick material to absorb a quantity sufiicient to properly lubricate the rubbing surfaces.

The lubricant supplied to the wick. 36 within the ring 16, is preferably a fluid lubricant. The wick is so disposed as to provide a heavy wad within the recess 37 and the lubricant is applied from time to time directly to this wad either through the cap 35 Or by removal of said cap. The wad being saturated with oil, a suitable quantity of the oil is carried by capillary attraction through the wick extension which extends through the small opening 38 to the rubbing surface of the ring.

The liquid lubricant thus applied to the rubbing surface of the ring has a desirable action upon the non-fluid lubricant present at the end of the plunger in that the two lubricants combine to a greater or less extent so as to produce a desirable quality of lubricant for the rubbing surfaces. The heavy non-fluid lubricant placed in the plunger when the device is manufactured, combines with the lighter lubricant which is readily and easily supplied to the rubbing surfaces through the wick 36 to provide an appropriate quality of lubricant for the rubbing surfaces.

It is to be noted that in order that lubricant may be fed to the wick within the recess 37, said recess must be held in register with the cap, or opening 35. Since this recess is formed within the ring 16 which is held against movement relative to the housing by the retaining means of the extensions 17 of the contact plates 18, it follows that these extensions and their retaining means serve to hold the recess 37 in correct register with the opening or cap 35.

Due to the sliding contact, rather than a rolling contact as is the general practice, all dirt or grit accumulating on the insulation ring will be wiped off by the contact plunger andno foreign material will be forced into the insulation to scratch and wear same, as well as to cause jumping of the contact, resulting in chatter and misfire. A roller contact, moreover, affords but a very small line of contact; whereas, with the sliding plunger herein disclosed, ample contact surface is afforded.

As many changes could be made in this construction without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description, or shown in the accompanying drawings, shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.

I claim: I

1. A timer comprising a housing, a ring of insulating material carried thereby, a plurality of contacts carried by said ring, a rotor operable for successively engaging said contacts, the rotor comprising a tubular part and a plunger part slidable within the tubular part, a coil spring urging the plunger part outwardly into surface engagement with said ring and contacts, said tubular part being adapted to contain a lubricant, and a wick arranged within said coil spring and extending through said plunger part to the outer surface thereof adapted to feed lubricant from said tubular part to the rubbing surface of said ring and plunger.

2. A timer comprising a housing, a ring of insulating material carried thereby, a plurality of contacts carried by said ring, a' rotor operable for successively engaging said contacts, the rotor comprising a tubular part and a plunger part slidable within the tubular part, means for urging the plunger part outwardly so that its outer surface will rub over the inner surface of said ring and contacts as the rotor rotates, and a wick extending from within said tubular part through an opening in said plunger part adapted to feed lubricant from said tubular part to the outer surface of the plunger part Within the margins of said outer surface.

3. A timer comprising a housing, a ring of insulating material carried thereby, a plurality of contacts carried by said ring, a rotor operable for successively engaging said contacts, the rotor including a part for rubbing over the inner surface of said ring and contacts, said ring having a recess formed in the outer surface thereof communicating with an opening formed through the wall of the housing, said ring also having a relatively small opening communicating between its inner surface and said recess, and a wick disposed within said recess in a position to receive lubricant through said opening in the wall of the housing, said wick having a portion extending along said reduced opening in the ring to adjacent the inner surface of the ring for feeding lubricant to said rotor and the inner surface of the ring.

4. In a timer comprising a housing, a ring of insulating material carried thereby, a plurality of contacts carried by said ring, and a rotor operable for successively engaging said contacts, the combination therewith of two separate means for supplying lubricant to the rubbing surfaces of said ring and rotor, one of said supply means being comprised in said rotor and the second supply means being comprised in said ring.

5. In a timer comprising a housing of conducting material, a separately formed ring of insulating material arranged within said housing, a plurality of contacts carried by said ring, a rotor operable for successively making electrical connection with said contacts, a plurality of rods connected with said contacts and being fixed rigidly with said ring projecting radially therefrom at spaced points circumferentially of said ring, said housing having an annular wall part within which said ring is fitted, said wall part having openings therethrough one for each of said rods, and said openings being of greater diameter than said rods so as to leave an insulating air space between each rod and the walls of the openings, the combination therewith of insulating means, means interengaging between said rods and said housing serving to hold each rod substantially centered in its respective opening so as to maintain said air spaces and at the same time to retain said ring against movement relative to said housing.

Signed at Poughkeepsie in the county of Dutchess and State of New York this 11th day of December, A. D. 1917.

WILLIAM FFORD SERVICE.

Witnesses:

F. HOWELL GREENE, H. E. HoBsoN,

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