US2158553A - Mechanical calendak - Google Patents

Description

May 16, 1939. G. D. ROGERS MECHANICAL CALENDAR Fil ed Aug. 10, 1956 Patented May 16, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in adjustable mechanical calendars, and has particular reference to a calendar possessing novel features of construction and operation by which cer- 6 tain events, cycles or conditions occurring in a given period of time may be quickly and accurately ascertained.

In carrying out the present invention, a calendar is provided comprising a pair of relatively movable ordinal bearing members arranged in superposed or overlapping order, and having disposed thereon registering scales designating in consecutive numerical order the days of the calendar month, whereby upon relative adjustment between and on the part of said members, the said scales may be registered to indicate the daily ordinals of adjoining months (or other definite periods of time) irrespective of the variations in the length in the number of days of any par- 20 ticular month, or other period of time. The calendar further includes as an essential part thereof an adjustable masking or concealing member, recessed in registration with the scales on said ordinal bearing members to expose any predetermined number or group of ordinals appearing on such scales to view, the said masking member bearing indicia arranged in registration with the scales. and dividing the day indicating ordinals viewable through the recess into classifications of events or conditions which may take place during the given periods of time indicated by the calendar.

For a further understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the following description and the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. l is a view in front elevation of a preferred form of calendar embodying the features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view on the plane indicated by the line IIII of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of a calendar;

Fig. 4 is a detail front view of the masking dial;

Fig. 5 is a similar view of the intermediate ordinal bearing dial;

Fig. 6 is a similar view of the bottom ordinal bearing dial;

Fig. '7 is a view in front elevation of a modified form of the invention wherein the members of the calendar are linearly slidable.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, and to the form of my invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, the improved calendar comprises back, intermediate and front dials I, 2 and 3 respectively. These dials may be formed from any suitable sheet material, such as cardboard, Celluloid, metal or synthetic compositions. The said dials are disposed in overlapping or superposed relationship and, in this instance, are provided with registering axially disposed openings 4, adapted for the reception of a pivot pin or stud 5, on which the said dials are mounted for relative rotatable adjustment.

As shown more particularly in Fig. 6, the rear or back dial i has its peripheral portion provided with a semi-circular scale 6 upon which appear in consecutive order ordinals representing the days of a month, and numbered from one to thirty-one inclusive. Also, the lower portion of the back dial l is formed with an arcuate extension 1 which projects beyond the normal circular periphery of the dial l to provide a finger engaging extension for its rotative manipulation about the axis of the pin 5.

The intermediate dial 2 is also provided with a substantially semi-circular scale 8 which is adapted to register with the scale 6 appearing on the back dial I, the scale 8 containing a consecutive series of ordinals, ranging from 1 to 2'? inclusive, and in this instance designating the days of a month or any other given period of time, depending upon the uses to which the calendar is adapted. The intermediate dial on the side thereof opposite to the scale 8 is reduced in diameter as at 9 so that when the dial 2 occupies its normal position on the dial l, the ordinals appearing on the scale 6 in registration with the region 9 may be clearly viewed. The indicating or front dial 3, as shown particularly in Fig. 4, has its lower peripheral edge provided with a plurality of notches H), the upper portion of said dial being recessed or reduced in diameter, as indicated at H, to a sufficient extent so that the upper peripheral edge of the front dial will expose to view the numerals or ordinals appearing on the scales 6 and 8 of the back and intermediate dials l and 2 respectively. Contiguous to the circularly recessed edge H of the front dial, the latter is provided with indicia l2 denoting certain periods, cycles or conditions which may occur in the period of time designated on the viewable portions of the scales 6 and 8.

To retain the dials in their relative positions of adjustment, the calendar in this form of the invention is provided with a wire or looking member [3. One end of the member I3 is secured, as shown in Fig. 3, to the inner end of the pin 5 by passing through a transverse opening formed in said pin, the locking member thus confining the dials on the pin 5 between the loop portion ll of said member, arranged at the back of the dials,

and a shoulder or collar [5 formed on said pin at the front of the dials, preventing relative separation of the latter. The loop portion M of the member l3 terminates in an outwardly bent lateral extension l6, which passes through an opening I! formed in the region I of the dial l. The lateral extension then passes through one of a plurality of notches l8 formed in the lower part of the intermediate dial 2, and through anyone of the plurality of notches 50 provided in the peripheral portion of the front dial 3. The locking member l3 then includes an upwardly extending resilient arm I 9 which extends radially across the outer face of the front dial 3 and terminates in a head 20. The inner face of this head is formed with a spring socket 2| which is detachably fastened in connection with a spherical enlargement 22 provided on the outer end of the pin 5. When the enlargement 22 is fastened in connection with the socket 2i, as shown in Fig. 2, any desired adjustment of the calendar is maintained. The intermediate dial 2 is formed with a manipulating extension 23 having a shoulder 24, the latter being spaced from a lug 25, the extension l6 of the fastening member being disposed between the shoulder 24 and the lug 25 and beyond the notches I8 when said fastening member is released, so that the intermediate dial may be adjusted rotatably through limited degrees of movement, corresponding to four divisions on the scale 6, so that the intermediate dial may be adjusted relative to the back dial to compensate for months containing a varying number of days, for example, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty or thirty-one. The front dial at the ends of its peripherally notched portion l includes substantially radially disposed shoulders 26 which are adapted to be brought into reading relationship with the numerals appearing on the scales 6 and 3, as shown in Fig. 1.

In the use of the calendar, when it is desired to indicate a given period of days in adjoining months, for instance twenty-eight days from the 20th day of a month having thirty-one days therein, it is merely necessary to unfasten the locking member [3 by disconnecting the socket 26 formed in the head 20 of the arm Hi from the spherical stud enlargement 22, which removes the lateral extension of said locking member from engagement with the notches ill and I8 provided in the front and intermediate dials, thereby allowing said dials to be rotatably adjusted about the longitudinal axis of the pin 5. The intermediate dial is then moved until the ordinal 1 thereon is disposed immediately beyond the ordinals 31 on the backing dial, see Fig. 1. This is one of the limits of adjustment of the intermediate dial with respect to the backing dial, since the shoulder 24 on the extension 23 engages with the extension l of the locking member. If the month designated by the scale ii of the backing dial had only twenty-eight days in the same, the intermediate dial would be rotated while the numeral 1 appearing on its scale 8 would be disposed immediately adjacent to the ordinals 28 on the scale 6.

In this manner, consecutive days of adjacent months may be readily indicated by the adjustment of the arcuate scales. The masking or front dial 3 is then adjusted to indicate a period of twenty-eight consecutive days on the combined arcuate scales 6 and 8. If the beginning of this indicated period shall start on the 20th day of a given month, as in Fig. 1, the front dial is adjusted so that the shoulder 26 at the left will be disposed immediately adjacent the ordinal 20 on the scale 6, the shoulder 23 at the right of the front dial being registered with the ordinal 16 on the intermediate dial. After the desired adjustments of the dials have been secured, the socket ll of the arm I9 is brought into fastened relationship with the spherical head 22, which elevates the lateral extension is and causes the latter to enter appropriate notches it and it so that the front and intermediate dials will be held in fixed or locked relationship with respect to the back dial.

The improved calendar comprising the present invention is, of course, useful in many capacities, but is especially adaptable for use in affording a convenient and adjustable means for facilitating the determination of the intra-"nonthly periods of fertility and non-fertility of the human female reproduction organisms. When used in this latter connection, the indicia appearing on the first dial registers with the ordinal scales to clearly define the days of a given monthly period in which fertility and non-fertility may be anticipated.

In the form of the invention disclosed in Fig. 7, the parts of the calendar are mounted so as to be slidably adjustable with respect to one another. In this form of the invention, the back member is indicated at 50., the intermediate member at 2a and the front member at 3a. The back and intermediate members are provided with longitudinally extending slots 36 and 3i which receive pins 32 carried in connection with the front member 3a, the slots and pins serving to limit the extent of separation of said members. In this construction, the back member la is provided with a scale ordinals and the intermediate member is provided with a complemental scale of ordinals 3a. These ordinals are adapted to be brought into registration with a recess 33 formed in the upper longitudinal edge of the front member 3a, the ends of said recess providing shoulders 26a to facilitate the reading of the ordinals.

The construction of the calendar lends itself to many other utilitarian applications and which will fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A calendar comprising front, back and intermediate dials arranged in superposed order, means uniting the axial portions of said dials for relative rotative adjustment, said back dial having a scale of ordinals arranged in arcuate order thereon adjacent to its periphery and setting forth consecutively the days of the calendar month, a registering scale of ordinals arranged arcuately on the peripheral portion of said intermediate dial, said intermediate dial being peripherally recessed to expose the scale of ordinals on the back dial to view, said front: dial being peripherally recessed to disclose the ordinal scales on both the back and intermediate dials to view, circumferentially spaced notches formed in the periphery of said intermediate and front dials, and means for positively retaining said dials in their various positions of relative adjustment, said last-named means being carried by the dial pivoting means and cooperative with the notches provided in the peripheral portions of the intermediate and front dials.

2. A mechanical calendar comprising front, back and intermediate dials arranged in superposed order, pivot means extending through the central portion of each of said dials to provide for their relative rotative adjustment, an arcuately arranged scale of ordinals setting forth consecutively the days of a calendar month provided adjacent the periphery of said back dial, a registering set of ordinals provided on said intermediate dial, a portion of the edge of said intermediate dial being recessed to expose to view the ordinals on said back dial, said front dial being formed with a region of reduced diameter whereby to expose to view a portion of the ordinals on both said back and intermediate dials, period denoting indicia provided on the periphery of said front dial at the region of reduced diameter, spaced notches provided in the edge of said front dial over the region of unreduced diameter, registering notches formed in the edge of said intermediate dial, and locking means fixed to said back dial and positioned in aligned notches in said front and intermediate dials to secure said dials in predetermined positions of adjustment.

3. A mechanical calendar comprising a trio of superposed dials having substantially equal diameters, an arcuately arranged scale of ordinals setting forth consecutively the days of a calendar month provided on the lowermost first dial, a second set of ordinals arranged on the second dial in registration with the ordinals on said first dial, said second dial being provided with a region of reduced diameter whereby the ordinals on said first dial are exposed to View, the third dial also being provided with a region of reduced diameter to expose to view a predetermined portion of numerals on the first and second dials, period denoting indicia provided on said third dial at the reduced region, the portion of the third dial having the unreduced diameter being provided with spaced notches, the second dial having notches which register with those of the third dial, means for providing rotative adjustment between the'several dials, adjustment limiting means provided in connection with said second and third dials and locking means fixed to the first dial and positioned in the notches of said second and third m dials to secure said dials in predetermined positions of adjustment.

GEORGE D. ROGERS.

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