US2626660A

US2626660A - Electrical timer outlet

Info

Publication number: US2626660A
Application number: US157196A
Authority: US
Inventors: Alfred O Seeler; Gehrig Lawrence
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1950-04-21
Filing date: 1950-04-21
Publication date: 1953-01-27
Anticipated expiration: 1970-01-27

Description

Jan. 27, 1953 A. o. sx-:ELER ErAL 2,626,660

ELECTRICAL TIMER OUTLET Filed April 2l, 1950 le/moy Patented Jan. 27, 1953 ELECTRICAL TIMER OUTLET' v, Alfred O. Seelen Irvington, and LawrenccGehrig,

Montclair, N. J

Y ApplicationAprilf 21, 1950, Serial No. 157,196

(Cl. ll- 1).

This invention relates' toelectrical timer outletsand more especiallyI to such outlets as are suitablefor operating orturning oif the operation of electrical appliances of various kinds such as televisionand radio sets.

An object of our linvention is to provide an electrical timer control of the type referred to which is simple in construction and inexpensive in cost and' which in great degree utilizes conventional-parts in a novel arrangement. The foregoing and other objects are accomplished in accordance with our present invention by our novel electrical timer outlet having in combination, a timingr mechanism, means external said mechanism for actuating the latter, these same means also serving to actuate an electrical switch after a predetermined period of time, the entire assembly being connected electrically to a television or radio set, or other electrical device, whereby operation of the electrical devices is automatically controlled.

A specific embodiment of ourinvention is described herein by way of example only and in accordance with the manner in whichl we now prefer to practice the invention, the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like numbers represent like parts throughout and which form a part hereof, being intended for the purpose of illustration.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational View of our timer outlet;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of our timer outlet with the rear of' casing open to expose the parts, the timer outlet being shown under tension and part of the springv being broken away to expose parts underneath;

Fig; 3 is similar to Fig. except that'the parts are shown after the timer has become untensionedV and the electric switch has been actuated;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged View of the winding pinion showing it loosely placed' around the square top shaft;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the winding clutch which nts over and engages'the winding pinion;

Fig. 6V is a section taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 3.

Fig. '7` is a side elevation of the part shown in Fig. 5; and

Fig. 8 is a side'elevation of the pinion or gear of Fig. 4.

Referring to the draw-ings, our timer outlet Il! is contained in a casing II into which is secured in known manner an electrical receptacle or socket I2. Terminal; I3r is at allftimes'ineleetrlcal contact with split contact I5 but is in electrical contact with binding post I6 only when switch I8 touches the split contact l5. Terminal I4 is at all times in contact with binding post I'I, The binding posts are connected by the usual electrical wire IS terminating in a conventional plug 2D for insertion in a receptacle or socket (not shown).

The switch I8 is urged by spring means (not shown) to its normal position against or in contact with split contact I5. Working against the spring is an insulated push rod 2I whichis adapted to cause the switch I8 to move away from contact I5 when rod 2I is moved left-ward (as viewed in the drawings) The timing mechanism 22 comprises a conventional watch lmovement (details not shown) having a center wheel but no main spring. To the center wheel is iixedly mounted a shaft 23 the other or external end 24 of which is squared (Fig. 4). Loosely placed over the external end of the shaft 23 is a sleeve gear or winding pinion 25 provided with spur teeth 26 along its outer and lower periphery and with ratchet teeth 21 along its'inner and upper periphery. Above the sleeve gear is a winding clutch 28 having ratchet teeth 29 corresponding to and meshing with those of the sleeve gear 25.. The clutch 28 has a square central hole corresponding to the sc uare end 24 of the shaft 23. In order to prevent the parts from coming loose in transit or in operation a flat spring 3f! is provided asa stop guide.

In order to set the aforesaid timing mechanism inl operation and also to actuate theelectrical switch, we provide the following means. Locatedl on the-iront of the outlet I!! is a'time scale 43 and a. movable timing indicator 3|. Located within the casing I I is a crank 32 responsive in movement to the movement of the timing indicator 3l. One arm 33 of the crank 32 extends through opening 34 of one end of plunger bar 35. This bar 35 has a channel 38 and is movable along guide screws 3l back and forth (from right to left and vice-versa, in the drawings) As shown in Fig. 3, when the switch I8 is not in contact with the split contact I5 the plunger 35 bears against the push rod 2I. Also, under such conditions the teeth 38 of the plunger 35 are not in contact with the spur teeth 26 of the sleeve gear 25. When the plunger 35 is moved to the right (Fig. 2) by setting timing indicator 3l to any position other than off the plunger teeth 38 and gear teeth 26 are in contact.

It will be noted from the foregoing that when the timing indicator is set as aforesaid the timing mechanism is not affected in any way by the parts described because the gear 25 is merely a sleeve around shaft 23 and does not rotatably engage it. This is true in spite of the fact that the ratchet teeth of winding clutch 28 would engage the corresponding teeth of gear 25 during leftward travel of the plunger 35 and in so doing also would rotatably engage shaft 23.

All that needs to be done however to set the timing mechanism into operation is to provide a spring 39 (shown broken away) which urges the plunger 35 to move leftward and in so doing places the aforesaid gear train and shaft 23 in operation. The spring 39 is anchored at one end 4B of the plunger 35 and to bracket l suitably secured, as to the timing mechanism casing 42.

In operation, our timer outlet is simply connected to an appliance such as a radio which it is desired to place into operation for a certain period by placing the plug of the latter into socket l2. The outlet timer plug 20 is inserted into a source of current and the timing indicator 3l is set for the desired period, as indicated by the scale d3. The plunger 35 is urged leftward by the force exerted by spring 99, this force causing gear 25 to move in a clockwise direction (in the embodiment shown) In moving in this direction the gear 25 causes clutch 28 to move along with it, as the ratchet teeth 2l, 29 of the gear and clutch, respectively engage each other operably in this direction. Since the clutch opening rotatably engages shaft top 2li the timing mechanism is consequently put into operation and remains in operation as long as the spring 39 exerts its force and as ong as the plunger and gear teeth are in mesh.

However, just at the predetermined time while the spring 39 still exerts its aforesaid force urging the plunger 35 leftward, the last of the plunger teeth 38 passes out of mesh with gear spur teeth At this instant the bar 35, being free of operative contact with the timing mechanism, is immediately urged leftward unimpeded and 'pushes rod 2| to the left, causing the switch i8 to break the electrical contact, thereby turning the radio off automatically.

While we have described our invention in detail in its preferred embodiment, it will be obvious `appended 'claims to cover all Such modifications and'changes. Thus, we do not wish tobe'limited to any particular kind of timing mechanism vor electrical switch. Furthermore, while we have -described an embodiment in which our timer outlet permits the operation of an electrical device for a pre-determined period of time and then automatically causes it to cease operation, we contemplate the use of our timer outlet in these cases when it is intendedto start'operation of an electrical device after a desired period. This could be done by modifying the arrangement of the switch in our outlet timer so that it normally keeps the circuit open and closes it when 'actuated by the plunger, for example, by placing the switch to the right of and normally out of contact with the split contact I and causing contact of the switch and split contact i5 to occur when the plunger pushes rod 2i to the left.

The timer outlet can also be modified so as to actuate a switch after long or short periods,

,4 for example, by varying the number of teeth on the gear and/or plunger.

We claim:

1. An article of manufacture, which comprises, in combination, a clock escapement having a shaft, a pinion rotatable on said shaft and having a set of spur teeth on its periphery and a set of ratchet teeth on one face thereof, a rack bar engageable with said spur teeth of saidpinion, a clutch member rotatable with said shaft and having ratchet teeth meshing with said ratchet teeth of said pinion, and yieldable means for driving said rack bar.

2. An article of manufacture, which comprises, in combination, a clock escapement having a shaft, a pinion rotatable on said shaft and having a set of spur teeth on its periphery and a set of ratchet teeth on one face thereof, a rack bar engageable with said spur teeth of said pinion, a clutch member rotatable with said shaft and having ratchet teeth meshing with said ratchet teeth of said pinion, yieldable means for driving said rack bar, and an electric switch actuated by said bar.

8. An article of manufacture, which comprises, in combination, a timing escapement having a shaft, a pinion rotatable on said shaft and having a set of spur teeth on its periphery and a set of ratchet teeth on one face thereof, a longitudinally-movable rack bar having spur teeth along part of its length and engageable with said spur teeth of said pinion, a clutch member rotatable with said shaft and having ratchet teeth meshing with said ratchet teeth of said pinion, and an expansion spring for driving said bar.

4. An article of manufacture, which comprises, in combination, a timing escapement having a shaft, a pinion rotatable on said shaft and having a set of spur teeth on its periphery and a set of ratchet teeth on one face thereof, a longitudinally-movable rack bar having spur teeth along part of its length and engageable With said spur teeth of said pinion, a clutch member rotatable with said shaft and having ratchet teeth meshing with said ratchet teeth of said pinion, an eX- pansion spring for driving said bar, and an electric switch actuated by said bar.

5. An article of manufacture, which comprises, in combination, a timing escapement having a shaft, a pinion rotatable on said shaft and having a set of spur teeth on its periphery and a set of ratchet teeth on one face thereof, a longitudinally-movable rack bar having spur teeth along part cf its length and engageable with said spur teethof said pinion, a clutch member rotatable with said shaft and having ratchet teeth meshing with saidratchet teeth of said pinion, an expansion spring for driving said bar, and an electric switch actuatedby said bar pushing it.

ALFRED O. SEELER.

LAWRENCE GEI-IRIG.

REFERENCES CTED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,337,680 Williams et al Apr. 20, 1920 1,606,656 Michael Nov. 9, 1926 1,866,808 Ireland July l2, 1932 2,986,950 Shelton July 13, 1937 2,266,014 Erickson Dec. 16, 1941 2,434,470 Rhodes Jan. 13, 1948 2,492,063 Quilter Dec 20, 1949