US2467989A - Delayed-action control device - Google Patents

Description

April 19, 1949. H. 1.. PORCH DELAYED-ACTION CONTROL DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed July 17, 1941 April 19, 1949. H. L. PORCH DELAYED-ACTION CONTROL DEVICE 5 SheetsSheet 2 Original Filed July 17, 1941 y W 6 l 0 W 7 m 4 W W w April 19, 1949. H. 1.. PORCH 2,467,989

DELAYED-ACTION CONTROL DEVICE Original Filed July 1'7, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Arron [x Patented Apr. 19, 1949 DELAYED-ACTION CONTROL DEVICE Howard L. Porch, Riverside, Calif., assignor to Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation, San Jose, Calif., a corporation of Delaware Original application July 17, 1941, Serial No. 403,079. Divided and this application August 13, 1943, Serial No. 498,531

7 Claims. 1

This invention relates to control devices, and particularly to such devices as secure a desired effect after the lapse of a given period of time following the actuation of the device.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved device of this character capable of sustaining hard use over long periods of time without requiring attention thereto, and without failure.

Remote control is often effected by the turning on or oil? of a switch in an electric circuit. Where a fluctuating value is depended upon for actuating this control and the switch is directly responsive thereto an excessive burden is placed upon the switch, as the life of such switches is relatively limited.

It is an object of this invention to provide a delayed-action control device functioning through an electric switch in which intermittent actuation by the controlling value short of a sustained actuation for a pre-determined length of time, is not transmitted to said switch.

This application is a division of my co-pending application for U. S. Letters Patent. Serial No. 403,079, filed July 19, 1941, for Coating spray control, now Patent No. 2,362,926. The present invention has wide utility, but for illustrative purposes it is disclosed herein as when employed in said coating spray control.

The manner of accomplishing the foregoing objects, as well as further objects and advantages, will be made manifest in the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a, diagrammatic cross sectional view of a fruit coating machine at present in current commercial use with a preferred form of the device of my invention embodied therewith, this view showing an orange just leaving said machine and another orange just entering said machine, the entering orange being positioned to start a spray of coating material in the machine.

Fig. 2 is a. fragmentary view illustrating a portion of Fig. 1 in which the device of my invention is embodied with the parts thereof disposed as when no fruit is entering said machine.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the control mechanism of my invention showing it positioned as when stopping the spray of coating mate-rial in said machine.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4, this view showing the clutch of said control mechanism engaged as when no fruit is entering the machine.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing the clutch of said control mechanism disengaged as by fruit entering the machine.

Fig. 7 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 5 and showing the switch opened and motor and spray shut ofi.

Fig. 8 is a similar vertical cross sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 6, showing the switch allowed to close, motor and spray turned on.

Fig. 9 is a wiring diagram of the electric circuit of the invention.

Referring specifically to the drawings, I have shown therein a spray waxer l0 including a rectangular housing H, having a floor l2, supporting legs 13, front and rear walls I4 and I5, side walls It and a top wall ll. Provided in the front and rear walls l4 and I5 are fruit inlet and discharge openings 20 and 2|, there being a delivery board 22 mounted along the lower edge of the opening 20 and inclined inwardly for receiving fruit delivered to the machine I0, while a discharge board 23, inclined outwardly, is provided in the discharge opening 2| of the machine.

Mounted in a manner well known in the art, in the interior of the housing II, is a roller conveyor 25, the upper flight 26 of which is disposed along an upwardly inclined path so that when this conveyor travels in the direction of the arrow 21 it receives fruit from the delivery board 22, conveys this along a path extending through the machine I0 and discharges this fruit onto the discharge drop board 23 over which the fruit gravitates from the machine. Provided in the end wall I4 is a motor housing 28 which contains a motor 29 for driving the conveyor 25.

Mounted on the top wall I! is a power spray unit 30 having nozzles 3 I, this unit expelling from these nozzles streams 32 of ,fine atomized particles of a solution of coating material so that these particles travel directly from the nozzles 3| into contact with fruit travelling on the conveyor upper flight 26 within the zone 33 (see Fig. 1).

One of the walls i6 is provided with an air exhaust opening 40 which connects with a suction space 4| disposed just below the upper conveyor flight 26, the bottom of which is covered by a drip pan 42 and a semi-cylindrical wall 43 which connect together, as shown in Fig. 1, and extend entirely across the space between the side walls 18. A suitable air blower (not shown) is disposed outside the housing II and connected with the opening 40 to evacuate air from the chamber to 3 the suction space 4!, thus drawing air downwardly between the rollers of the upper conveyor flight 26 while the machine is operated so as to prevent an accumulation of vapors of the solvent used in connection with the coating material applied by the machine I ll.

The delivery board 22 has a depressible middle plate 50 provided with a finger the latter resting against the upper end of a rod 52 which slides in a collar 53 mounted on the wall Id. The lower end of rod 52 is pivotally connected to an arm 55 of a clutch lever 56 of a control mechanism 51 which is mounted on the floor l2 in the motor housing 28. Attached to the rod 52 and the wall M is a spring 58 which holds this rod and the depressible plate 58 in upward position, as shown in Fig. 2, excepting when one or more pieces of fruit F may be rolling across this plate. When the latter occurs, as shown in Fig. 1, the weight of, this fruit causes the plate 56 and rod 52 to be depressed with results to be described hereinafter.

The control mechanism 51 includes a rectangular shell 60 to the bottom of which is secured by bolts 6! a frame casting 62 having walls 63, i

64, 65, 66 and 6'! extending upwardly therefrom. Extending through suitable holes in the walls 65 and 66 and pinned in place is a clutch yoke shaft on which the bifurcated lower end of the clutch yoke 55 is pivotally mounted. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, this clutch yoke has screws with heads 12 which are located in closel spaced relation with the body of the yoke 56.

Mounted on the wall 5? is a small motor 13 with a gear box M, the latter gearing the motor 13 to a shaft 15, this latter being received axially in an Opening in one end of a clutch shaft l6 and rigidly secured thereto by a set screw ll, said shaft having at its other end a portion is of reduced diameter which extends into and journals in a hole 19 in the wall 83. Freely rotatable on the shaft portion i8 is a cone clutch bell 38, this bell having pins 8| and 82 extending radially therefrom. Connected at its opposite end to the pin BI and to the wall 65 is a contractile spring 83. Adjustably mounted in a slot 84 formed in the wall 63 is a stop pin 85, the purpose of this pin being to limit the angular position of rest of the clutch bell 80 when the spring 83 rotates this bell so as to bring the pin 8| into contact with the pin 85.

Secured on the wall 64 is a Micro-switch 88 having a yieldable arm 89, the depression of which brings this into engagement with a switch pin 90 which opens switch 88.

As shown in Figs. 3, 4 and '7, the inner end of the switch arm 89 extends into the rotational path of the clutch pin 82.

Splined on the shaft 16 is a clutch cone 9i which unites with clutch bell 88 to form a clutch 92. The clutch cone 9| has an annular flange 93 which extends between the clutch yoke 56 and the bolt heads 12.

The electric circuit of the machine It! is shown in Fig. 9 where it is seen that coating material solution is fed to the nozzles 3| through a pipe 95, this pipe having a valve 96 controlled by a solenoid 91. Electricity is supplied from power lines L-I and L2 through conductors 98 and 99 to the timing motor 13 and the solenoid 91. The switch 88 is located between the main line L-l and the conductor 98 so that when this switch is closed by the arm 89 being released from pressure from the pin 82, current is supplied to the timing motor 13 causing this to run, and to the solenoid 9i causing this to open the valve 96 and permit coating material solution to be supplied through the pipe 95 to the nozzles 3i, thus causing sprays of atomized particles of coating material solution 32 to be produced and directed against pieces of fruit F travelling on the upper conveyor flight 26 through the zone Likewise, when the switch arm 89 is depressed, as when this is engaged by the clutch pin 82 so as to open the switch 88, this immediately shuts oif the valve 96 and the timing motor 73.

Operation The problem involved is to so control the production of atomized particles of coating material solution 32 that all of the fruit F passing through the machine It] will be properly covered with coating material, yet not permit an accumulation of this coating material on the rolls of the conveyor 25 during a break in the supply of fruit to the conveyor, so that when fruit is again supplied to this conveyor excess quantities of coating material are picked up by the fruit from the conveyor rolls, thus doing a bad job of coating the fruit and probably damaging the fruit.

In the normal operation of the machine 22' the fruit F is fed in a more or less continuous supply across the drop board 22 and is carried in a continuous flow along the pathway lying just above the upper conveyor flight 26 and thence out of the machine over the drop board 23. Flowing along this path the fruit F passes through the coating zone 33 in which the fruit is subjected to the cones of atomized particles of coating solution 32 produced by the nozzles 3|.

When changing from one lot of fruit to another and in certain minor emergencies in the packing of the fruit, which are not of infrequent occurrence, there is a cessation of the supplying of fruit F over the delivery board 22 to the conveyor 25. As soon as the fruit is being delivered in a relatively constant flow over the delivery board 22 pieces of fruit F are rolling over and depressing the plate Ell, as shown in Fig. 1. This movement is transmitted to the arm 55 and swings the clutch yoke 56, as shown in Fig. 6, thereby compressing the spring M and withdrawing the clutch cone 9| from the clutch bell The clutch bell si thereby freed to be rotated by the spring 63 about its shaft l8 into the position in which it is shown in Fig. 8 where the pin 8! has been brought to rest against the stop pin 85.

When the clutch bell 80 is so positioned, the pin 82 is out of contact with the spring switch arm 89 which causes the switch 88 to remain closed. As already pointed out, while this condition exists the motor 13 continues to rotate the shaft 15 and the clutch shaft 16 and the clutch cone 9! splined thereon, and the valve continues to remain open causing the nozzles 3i to spray coating material onto the fruit.

Whenever there is any cessation of the supply of fruit F to the conveyor 25, so that the depressible plate 50 is allowed to rise under the influence of the spring 58, as shown in Fig. 2, the clutch yoke 56 is brought into vertical position under the influence of springs 58 and 94, thus frictionally inserting the clutch cone 9i into the clutch bell 80. As the shaft 76 is being continuously rotated by the motor l3 (although this rotation is at a very slow rate of speed owing to the low gear ratio in the gear box 14) the clutch cone 9| is also being rotated and this rotation is transmitted to the clutch bell 8B which if the plate 5!} remains in upper position, as shown in Fig. 2, for a predetermined interval, results in the pin :32 being shifted from the position in which it is shown in Fig. 8 to the position in which it is shown in Fig. '2 where it depresses the switch arm 89 and opens the switch 88.

As previously pointed out, opening this switch deenergizes the motor 73 and the solenoid 3? and shuts off the valve 96 thereby causing the delivery of atomized coating material to the zone 33 to cease immediately.

The rest position of the pin 8! is so determined by the location of the adjustable stop pin 85 in the slot 84 that the predetermined interval of time intervening between the cessation of the supply of fruit to the conveyor and the de-energizing of the timing motor 13 and the solenoid ill is such that the last of the fruit supplied over the delivery board 22 to the conveyor 25 is carried by the upper flight Of this conveyor a suincient distance into the zone 33 during this interval so that this fruit has received an adequate deposit of coating material from the nozzles 3| before the latter are shut off by the de-energizing of the solenoid 9?.

When the supply of fruit F to the upper flight of the conveyor 25 is resumed, the first piece of fruit to cross the delivery board 22 depresses the plate 50 of this delivery board thereby immedi--- ately turning on the supply of coating material solution to the nozzles 3| and causin a resumption of the application through these nozzles of atomized particles of coating material to any fruit travelling in the zone 33 on the upper conveyor flight 25. Thus the initial fruit supplied to the machine it) on the resumption of operations, after a cessation of said supply, is assured of receiving an adequate deposit of coating material directly from the nozzles 3|.

The intermittent character of the stream of fruit F crossing the delivery board 22 causes the plate 50 to be shifted between the positions in which it is shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 a relatively large number of times. Each of these movements of the plate 5!) is transmitted to the clutch 92 and either opens or closes this clutch. That is, each such movement of the plate 56 shifts the lever 55 from one to the other of the positions of this shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

In actual commercial practice these actuations of the plate 50 by the fruit F are as frequent as 150 per minute. In the mechanism of my invention each of these actuations merely operates the clutch 82. Only when a predetermined period has elapsed without the plate 5!] being depressed, is the clutch 92 allowed to remain engaged long enough for the pin 8| to be rotated into engagement with the switch arm 89 so as to open the switch 88.

It is thus seen that the device of my invention effects control through an electric circuit by op eration of a switch therein in response to an in-- termittently occurring value (that is, no fruit F on the plate 5E!) without this switch being required to function in response to the occurrence of said value until and unless that value continues to exist for a predetermined period of time.

I have accomplished this protection of the switch for the reason that no switches of this type are available which will stand operation as frequently as would be necessary if the device were designed so that the switch is closed or opened each time the plate 5%] moves between the positions in which it is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The clutch 92, however, which is responsive to each of these movements of the plate 50, is capable of enduring this rapid actuation over long operating periods without failure.

While I have shown and described a single embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications might be made in this without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination: an electric motor; an electric circuit including said motor; a switch in said circuit; lost motion means adapted to shut ofi said switch upon said means being shifted a predetermined extent from a starting position; a clutch directly connecting said motor to said lost motion means for positively shifting the latter as aforesaid; means automatically returning said lost motion means to starting position when said clutch is released; and means independent of said motor circuit for throwing said clutch in and out.

2. In combination: an electric motor; an electric circuit including said motor; a switch in said circuit; lost motion means adapted to shut off said switch upon said means being shifted a predetermined extent from a starting position; a clutch directly connecting said motor to said lost motion means for positively shifting the latter as aforesaid; means automatically returning said lost motion means to starting position when said clutch is released; means independent of said motor circuit for opening said clutch in response to a given control value; and means for automatically closing said clutch when said opening means is released.

3. In combination: an electric control circuit including a switch; lost motion means adapted to actuate said switch upon said means being shifted a predetermined extent from a starting position; power means; a clutch directly connecting said power means to said lost motion means for positively shifting the latter as aforesaid; means automatically returning said lost motion means to said starting position when said clutch is released; and means independent of said control circuit for throwing said clutch in and out.

4. In combination: an electric control circuit including a switch; lost motion means adapted to actuate said switch upon said means being shifted a predetermined extent from a starting position; power means; a clutch directly connecting said power means to said lost motion means for positively shifting the latter as aforesaid; means automatically returning said lost motion means to said starting position when said clutch is opened to disconnect said power means from said lost motion means; means independent of said control circuit for opening said clutch; and means for automatically closing said clutch when said opening means is released.

5. In combination: an electric switch which is normally closed; a clutch including a driven element and a driving element; an electric motor, the circuit of which includes said switch; means connecting said motor to said driving element to rotate the latter at a substantially uniform rate; means responsive to a given degree of rotation of said driven element to open said switch; means constantly acting on said driven element for returning said driven element and said switch opening means to their starting position whenever said clutch is opened; and means independent of said switch for controlling the closing and opening of said clutch.

6. In combination: an electric motor; an electric circuit including said motor; a normally closed switch in said circuit; lost motion means adapted to shut ofi said switch upon said means being shifted a predetermined extent from a starting position; a clutch directly connecting said motor to said lost motion means for positively shifting the latter as aforesaid; means automatically returning said lost motion means to starting position whenever said clutch is disengaged; and means independent of said motor and said motor circuit for engaging and disengaging said clutch.

7. In combination: an electric switch; a clutch including a driven element and a driving element, said driven element being adapted to actuate said switch When rotated by said driving element to a given position; means yieldably rotating said driven element a given distance away from said position to a starting position whenever said clutch is disengaged; means for rotating said driving element at a substantially uniform rate; and means for engaging and disengaging said clutch independently of said switch and said rotating means.

HOWARD L. PORCH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Korte et al Nov. 30, 1943

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