US1495112A - Electric time switch - Google Patents

Description

May 20 1924, I 1,495,112 F. SAUTER ELECTRIC TIME SWITCH Filed March 23, 1920 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 20, 1924.

UNITED srA'rEs FRITZ SAUTER, 0F BASEL, SWITZERLAND.

ELECTRIC TIME SWITCH.

Application filed March 23. 1920. Serial No. 368,114.

T 0 all whom it may concern-I Be it known that I, FRITZ SAU'rnn. a citizen of the Swiss Republic, and resident of Basel. Switzerland, have invented new and useful Improvements in Electric Time Switches, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

The invention relates to electric time switches comprising a spring driven clock movement adapted at predetermined intervals of time to connect in circuit an electric motor for actuating the contact elements of the switch and for automatically winding up the driving spring of the clock movement. The special feature of the improved construction of the present invention consists in the arrangement whereby the winding up of the spring barrel of the clock movementat each switching operation is eliected by the electric motor by means of a transmission gear wheel and a coupling member cooperating therewith, the coupling member remaining connected to the transmission gear wheel until after the spring barrel has been completely wound. A control element operated by the spring barrel during the winding operation disengages the coupling member with the object of winding the spring barrel at each switching operation to an extent exceeding the extent of running down until the spring is fully wound.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 of which is a diagrammatic view of a construction embodying the invention, whilst Figure 2 shows the "detail of a commutator, Figure 3 shows the operative connection of the clock movement with a relay switch and Figure 4 is a corresponding plan view thereof.

Referring now to the drawings it will be seen that the time switch comprises the spring barrel 1 (Figure 1) of a clock movement, of which only onedriving wheel 2 is shown which is connected to a time disc (Figs. 3 and 4) by means of a toothed gear 'not-slrown in Figure 1, but repges nted in Figure 3J0 rotate said time disc." he time disc 40 ofthe clock movement is arranged Y to actuate a relay switch 3 by ;means of tappets 41, 42 mounted on said disc and coopcrating with the movable lever 3 of the switch 3, which is ferably provided with a known quick action throwing-in device. The axis of the switch lever 3 carries a control lever 44 with abutting parts 45, 46 arranged so as to be respectively in the path of movement of the tappets 41, 42. The switch 3 controls a circuit indicated at 4, 5 including a small elecrtic motor 6 and a revolving commutator'7. The latter consists of an electrically conducting rotatable disc 8 having two insulating segments 9 (Figure 2) and two contact springs 10, 11 pressing against the periphery of the disc. The contact springs 10, 11 are connected to the contacts 12, 13 of the relay switch 3, anda contact spring 14 which is in constant engagement with the conducting portion of the disc 8, is connected to one terminal of the electric motor 6. The disc 8 is located on the rotatable switch spindle 15, which carries the switch contacts 16 completing the electric circuit a: to be controlled. The switch spindle 15 also carries a gear-wheel 17 which intermeshes with an intermediary gear wheel 18 in engagement with a toothed pinion 19 mounted'on the electric motor shaft 20. On the spindle 2120f the intermediary gear wheel 18 a. transmission wheel 22 is loosely mounted between two shaft collars, the wheel 22 engaging-with the transmission gear 1 of the spring barrel. The gear 1 also intermeshes with aetoothed control pinion 23 mounted upon a rotatable screw-threaded spindle 24 which is provided with a gear wheel 25 intermeshin'g with the driving wheel 2. The intermediate spindle 21 also carries a coupling sleeve 26 adapted to slide along the spindle by means of feather and key-way, the sleeve tending to move towards the gear wheel 22 under the action of a spring 27. The sleeve 26 is provided with a coupling dog 28 "which cooperates with a corresponding dog'- 2 9 on the gear wheel 22. A disengaging leverf O extends between two flanges on the sleevef26, the free end of this lever being in engagen'ient with the control pinion 23. A pawl mechanism 31 prevents the backward movement of the spring barrel 1.

1 The operation of the electric time switch above described is substantially as follows At a certain time, the tappet 41 of the time disc 40 (Figure 3) actuated by the clock movement strikes against the abutting part 45 of the controllever 44 to throw the switch lever 3 to the right as shown in Figure 1 When the control circuit 4, 5 is thus closed to one side by means of the relay switch 3 under the action of the time disc of the apparatus the electric motor 6 is started; into operation and drives the switch,

spindle 15 (Figure 1) and at the same time,

by means of the coupling sleeve 26, (the dogs 28 and 29 being in engagement with one another) drives the transmission gear wheel 22 to wind the spring barrel 1. After a predetermined rotary. movement of the switch spindle 15 the switch contacts 16 carried thereby have completed the switching operation, that is to say the'connection or disconnection'of the circuit m to be controlled. As the spring barrel 1 is wound up the control pinion 23 is moved along the relatively stationary screw-threaded spindle 24 to a predetermined extent. At the same time the commutator disc 8 will havebeen rotated by an amount such that the contact spring 10 previously carrying current passes on to one insulating segment 9 of the disc, the contact spring 11 however which was previously not traversed by current passing from the other insulating segment to the conducting portion of the disc 8. At the next operation of the time disc 40, when the tappet 42 (Figure 3) strikes against the end 46 of the control lever 44, the switch lever 3 of the relay switch 3 is thrown to the other side and the circuit of the electric motor is again closed through the contact spring 11 which is now in contact with the.

conducting portion of the commutator disc 8, whereby the current passes in the same direction as before through the motor. The electric motor thus efiects a fresh switching operation in the circuit a; to be controlled and a further winding of the spring barrel takes place. This repeated winding of the spring barrel causes its spring to be further wound up on each occasion since each winding operation is designed to wind up the spring to a greater extent than it is unwound by the running down of the clock movement until finally after the spring barrel has been fully Wound the control pinion 23 has moved sufliciently along its spindle to cause the disengaging lever 30 to act upon the coupling sleeve 26 against the action of the spring 27 so as to effect the disengagement of the coupling whereupon the winding operation is discontinued. The position of the parts under these conditions is shown for example in Figure 1. As the clock movement runs down the control pinion 23 does not rotate but on the other hand the screwthreaded spindle 24 being rotated by the driving wheel 2 the control pinion 23 again slowly moves downwards and again permits the engagement of the coupling sleeve 26 for a new rewinding movement.

'What I claim is In a spring barrel clockwork controlled electric motor driven time switch, a mechaby the spring barrel during the winding oporation, and interconnecting means between "said control pinion and the coupling member to disengage the same when the spring barrel is fully rcwound, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name this third day of March, 1920, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRITZ SAUTER.

Vitnesses WILLIAM E. HOLLAND, AMAND BANN.

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