US2227621A - Alarm clock contact device - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 7, 1941. w BAlLEY 2,227,621

ALARM CLOCK CONTACT DEVICE Filed April 8, 1959 E4 5 5&3 5&4 l

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2a 3 /3 7 q 28 Z INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 7, 1941 E UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ALARM CLOCK CONTACT DEVICE William P. Bailey, New York, N. Y.

Application April 8, 1939, Serial No. 266,774

1 Claim.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a contact device for alarm clocks which may readily be installed by the average layman on clocks now in use, and which may also be incorporated in the manufacture of the clock.

The invention is an alarm clock having the alarm winding key insulated, and two contact points positioned in the path of the key, with the key adapted to engage the points to complete a circuit therethrough.

Many devices have been provided for operating furnaces, radios, and other devices by alarm clocks, and some have been incorporated in the clock to engage one of the hands, and others have been provided in various forms, however for some uses it has been found particularly desirable to design some form of contact that may readily be installed and in which the clock may be used without adding additional parts, or, in fact, hardly changing any of the parts thereof.

The object of this invention is, therefore, to provide means for completing a circuit as the alarm of an alarm clock starts without changing the construction of the clock.

Another object is to provide a plurality of contact points adapted to be installed on the back of an alarm clock in the path of the alarm winding key which may readily be installed on clocks now in use.

A further object is to provide an alarm clock with two contact points positioned about the alarm winding key so that both points may readily be engaged by the key as the alarm is started.

And a still further object is to provide a circuit closing device on an alarm clock which is of a simple and economical construction.

With these ends in view the invention embodies an alarm clock having two contact points positioned on the back thereof and extending outward from the back so that they will be engaged by the alarm winding key, and a hub of insulating material for the said key.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with the drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view showing the back of an alarm clock with the contacts in place.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the clock shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a detail showing a hub of insulating material for the alarm winding key.

Figure 4 is a detail showing an alternate design in which the key may be drawn outward so that it will pass by the points when Winding the alarm.

Figure 5 is a view showing another alternate design in which the contact points are provided on a plate adapted to be mounted on the back of thee lock and held by a screw in the back thereof.

Figure 6 is a view showing another alternate design in which the contact points are provided on a separate stand and positioned in the path of the alarm winding. key.

Figure 7 is a view showing another alternate design in which the contact points are provided on a spring clip adapted to be snapped over the back of the clock.

Figure 8 is. a detail showing an alternate arrangement in which the contacts are covered and the circuit completed through a bar on the knob of the alarm winding key.

In the drawing the device is shown as it may be made, wherein numeral I indicates an alarm clock numeral 2, the alarm winding key, and numerals 3 and 4, contact points.

In the design shown in Figures 1 and 2, the contact points 3 and 4 are mounted on the back of a clock and positioned in the path of the alarm winding key 2, and it will be noted that, with the alarm wound and with the points 3 and 4 connected in a circuit, the circuit will be instantly completed as soon as the alarm starts, and, when setting the device, it is only necessary to move the key a relatively short distance. It will be noted, therefore, that once the alarm is wound it cannot run down, and it is only necessary to move the key away from the contact points to break the circuit and set the alarm.

The alarm winding key may be provided with a hub 5 of insulating material, as shown in Figure 3 in which a portion of the hub is broken away, and it will also be noted that the hub, which is indicated by the numeral 6 in Figure 4, may be provided with a slot 1 adapted to slide over a pin 8 so that it may be drawn outward to wind the alarm if desired.

In the design shown in Figure 5, the contact points, which are indicated by the numerals 9 and ID, are mounted upon a separate plate II, and this plate may be attached to the back of the clock by a screw l2 which normally holds the back to the case. It will be understood that the screws that hold the case of the alarm clock are located in different positions and, therefore, the plate ll may be of any type or design and may be arranged to fit over a screw so that it may be held in such a position that the points 9 and ill will be in the path of the key 2.

In the design shown in Figure 6 the contact points l3 and M are mounted on a separate stand l and positioned to be engaged by the key 2, and it will be understood that these points may be in a radio or mounted in a bracket or frame of any type or design.

In the design shown in Figure '7, the contact points l5 and I? are mounted upon a spring clip l8 that may readily be snapped over the clock, thereby providing means for mounting the contact means on the clock without screws or other attaching means.

In the design shown in Figure 8, the hub 19 of the alarm winding key 20 is lengthened, and the inner end provided with a flexible metal bar 2! adapted to contact points 22 and 23 similar to the points 3 and 4, and, in this design, the device is provided with a stop pin 25 resiliently held inward by a spring 25 and provided with a knob 2'. extending outward through a cover 28, and it will be noted that this pin may be positioned to stop the bar 2| at any point, or may be held outward when winding the alarm key. With this device, or, in fact, with any of the other designs, it will be possible to make or break a circuit, however, with the device shown in Figure 8, the stop pin 25 will hold the key in such a position that it will either complete a circuit or hold the circuit open.

It will be understood that other changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. One of which changes may be in the location or position of the contact points, another may be in the use of other means for adjustably mounting the key, and still another may be in the use of other means for mounting the contact points on the back of the clock.

The construction will be readily understood from the foregoing description. In use the contact points 3 and 4 may readily be attached to the back of the clock and positioned so that the key 2 will engage them when the alarm starts, and, although the wires are not shown, it will be understood that wires extend from the points, and these wires may connect the points in a circuit to a furnace, radio, lights, or any object or device, and, with the alarm set at a certain time, the key will turn as soon as the alarm starts and as soon as it engages the points a circuit will be completed.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

A contact device for alarm clocks and the like having alarm winding keys, comprising a contact bar on the key adapted to rotate therewith, contact points positioned on opposite sides of the key and in the path of the said contact bar, and a cover forming an enclosure for the bar and points and through which a bail of the key extends; said device characterized by a spring pin resiliently mounted in the cover and positioned to engage the said contact bar to limit the movement thereof, and also in that the key in the winding operation rotates only a short distance disengaging the bar from the points, and then as the alarm is released, rotates only a very slight distance to engage the points to complete a circurt.

WILLIAM P. BAILEY.

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